RODENTIA. 



GENUS LAGOSTOMUS. 



This genus, which contains only one species, has a close resemblance 

 to the Chinchilla. They have four toes on the front feet, and three on 

 the hind ; the latter armed with long claws. 



The ViSCACllA, l.agostoiiius Iricliodaclylus (Plate LVlll), is the Vis- 

 cacha of the I'anipas. Their habitat is the vast plains of South 

 America, or the basin of La Plata river. They live in communities, 

 and hollow out very dee]i burrows. Grasses and vegetables consti- 

 tute the cliic'f i)art ol" tlicir food. Their usual posture is that generally 

 assumed by rabbits; and they use their feet to convey their food into 

 their mouths. Their movements are very active, and they are exces- 

 sively wary and difhcult to approach. They are hunted for the sake 

 of tiicir fur. Their burrows are (hig in common, and inhabited in 

 common, and are provided with countless exits and entrances; often 

 forty or fifty tunnels have been found, and the burrow is divided 

 into as many chambers as there are families. During the day they 

 live undergroimd, at sundown tiie\' steal out one by one, and in tiie 

 twilight a ninnerous com|)any assembles. The horsemen of the I'ampas 

 and the condor are deadly enemies to the Viscachas. Tiiese persecuted 

 creatures display an almost iumian affection for each otiier; if one is 

 woundetl when outside the burrow, its companions carry it off into tiie 

 safest recess. The Indians believe that if a burrow is stopjjcd up, tlie in- 

 habitants of the neighborhood assemble and dig out their buried kinsfolk. 



The family (^cI'odoN'IID.I''. includes a number of curious and obscure 

 rat-like animals, mostly confined to tlie moimtains antl o])en plains of 

 South .America, but having a few stragglers in other ]iarts of the world, 

 or the eight genera, two are peculiar to the West India islands; and two 

 to Africa. 



GENUS CAPROMYS. 



The generic characteristics of the tlirce species are a short, thick body 

 with powerful hindquarters; a short, thick neck; a long, broad head; 

 broad, almost hairless cars; large eyes; strong legs, with five toes on 

 the hind, and four on tiie Iroiit feet. Tiie fur is abundant, smooth, and 

 glistening. 



The MuriA Conga, Capromys piloridcs, is described by Ovicdo in 



