298 Mammals of Eastern Asia 
than the head and body, is clad near its root with short dark 
hairs which become longer and whiter toward the end, where 
they form a brush or pencil, usually whitish. The length of the 
head and body varies from 2% inches to 3% inches, tail 3% 
to 4% inches, hind foot % inch. It is likely that the term ''Blind 
Mouse," a translation of Typhlomys, is a misnomer, since no 
positive evidence has yet been brought to indicate either weak- 
ness of vision or even burrowing habits, or what often accom- 
panies them — reduction in the size of the eyes. Typhlomys cin- 
ereus is known from Fukien Province, about 4000 feet. A larger 
related form, T. c. chapensis, with hind foot % inch in length, 
comes from Tonkin. 
The Spiny Dormouse, Plataccmthomys lasiurns, is, like 
Typhlomys, an isolated genus. It is found in southern India and 
is recorded from Cochin-China (Trouessart: this record doubt- 
ful). The animal, though slightly like a Dormouse or a tiny 
Squirrel, is but distantly related to either. It has a long bushy 
tail, the distal hairs of which are arranged distichously, or like 
the webs of a feather. The ears are rather long and pointed. The 
pelage comprises a mixture of hairs and broad flat spines, which 
have thickened edges. The color above is reddish brown, be- 
neath white, the line of demarcation sharply drawn. The length 
of the head and body is 4% inches, tail without hair 3% inches 
(with hair, 5 inches), hind foot 1 inch. In southern India this 
rodent is found in old trees in rocky ravines at about 3000 feet 
above sea-level. 
THE JERBOA-LIKE RODENTS (SUPERFAMILY DIPODOIDEA) 
These animals are represented in North America only by our 
Jumping Mice, seen occasionally in moist meadows where 
plenty of lush grass grows. In Asia there exists a wealth of 
Jumping Mouse relatives, usually divided into two families : the 
Jumping Mice, family Zapodidse, and the True Jerboas, family 
Dipodidae. Most of them are extraordinarily like small or even 
