86 RODENTIA. 



the year through, biirrowiiift- under the snow in search of 

 stunted Alpine plants. It has been taken on the top of the 

 Finsteraarhorn, 12,000 feet above the sea, and on other 

 equally elevated spots. Is found commonly in the Central, 

 Northern, and Southern Alps, and indeed belongs to the 

 whole of that mountain chain. Is said to have been found 

 in the Pyrenees on the Pic du Midi. 



If this species is identical mth Crespon's A. Lehrunii, as 

 Blasius surmises, it must inhabit the plain country around 

 N ismes ; those taken there by Crespon were found to re- 

 semble the A. socialis, except in their larger size. I con- 

 ceive, however, that this French habitat is very doubtful. 



Arvicola destructor. 



Arvicola destructor, De Selys, Micromm. 

 Arvicola terrestris, Buon. Fauu. Ital. (figured). 



Desceiptton. — Tail brown, longer than half the body. Fur 

 of the upper parts of the body yellowish brown, mixed mth 

 grey, a good deal like that of the back of the Norway Rat 

 {M. decumanus) ; sides rather lighter ; throat and breast 

 whitish ash; abdomen ashy, very slightly tinged with 

 yeUow ; end of the muzzle and of the upper lip the same 

 colour as the back; lower Hp the colour of the throat; 

 snout swollen and blunt at its extremity ; ears and eyes as 

 in A. amphibius ; the fur of the back is still more linear 

 than in that species, and mixed with longer and darker 

 hairs ; the tail is a little longer in proportion, containing 

 about 135 rings, and covered mth short stiff hairs, dark 

 on the upper surface, light grey underneath. There is a 

 marked difference in the shape of the skull between this 

 species and all its congeners. 



Length of head and body, 6 inches ; head, 1 inch G lines ; 

 tail, 3 inches 9 lines ; ears, 4 lines. — F. M. 



Has only been observed in Italy, where it occurs in the 



