THE COMMON CHINCHILLA 1 93 



by an English naturalist. In that year Mr. Bennett, 

 Secretary to the Zoological Society of London, des- 

 cribed an individual living in the Society's then 

 infant managerie, and published a figure of it by 

 Harvey. This animal — the first ever brought alive 

 to England and perhaps to Europe — had been pre- 

 sented by Captain Beechey, and was soon afterwards 

 followed by a second and larger individual said to 

 have been brought from Coquimbo, the gift of Lady 

 Knighton.^ In 1831 Mr, Yarrell, the new Secretary, 

 on the death of Mr. Bennett published an account 

 of the anatomy of the chinchilla. Yarrell was justly 

 esteemed as a careful and accurate dissector ; he 

 probably used one (or both) of the specimens which 

 had been recently received at the Gardens. Dr. 

 Lichtenstein, of Berlin, about this time also described 

 the chinchilla, so that it was at last definitely and 

 thoroughly introduced to scientific Europe. Both 

 the Regent's Park specimens were preserved as late 

 as 1838 in the museum of the Zoological Society, 

 while another, presented to the National Collection 

 by Alexander Collie, R. N., figures in Dr. Gray's 

 Mammal Catalogue of 1843." 



The common chinchilla inhabits the hia-her Andes, 

 ranofincr from the north of Boliva to the south of 

 Chili. A well-known haunt of these little creatures 



1 A nmseuiii specimen of the chinchilla, according to M . Deleuze, 

 was preserved as early as 1823 in the collection of tiie Jardin d es Plantes 

 at Paris. 

 2 See J. E. Gray: Catalogue of the Manunaliain the Uritish Muscnni. 



