90 RODENTIA. 



sides ; the feet are dark ash ; snout thick, blunt ; four 

 teats, none of them pectoral. The fur of A. subterraneus 

 above is of the colour of the Common Mouse (If. musculus), 

 while that of A. arvalis is more like the Brown Eat (J/. 

 decumanus). The very young are black all over, with a 

 slight blue tint, and the skin of the ears is white. 



Length of head and body, 3 inches 4 lines; head, 11^ 

 lines ; ears, 4 lines ; tail, 1 inch. — F. M. 



Inhabits Belgium, French Flanders, and the neighbour- 

 hood of Paris ; and has not yet been found in any other 

 country (De Selys, 1839). 



Arvicola arvalis. 



Arvicola arvalis, De Selys, Micromm. 

 Arvicola vulgaris, Desm, Mamm. Sp. 439. 

 Arvicola agrestls, Bell, Brit, Quad. 

 Mms agrestis, Linn^us. 

 Short-tailed Field-mouse, Bell, I. c, 

 Le Cam'pagnol, Bupfon. 



Description. — Tail about one-third of the length of the 

 body, sparingly covered with hairs of a dirty yellow colour ; 

 ears just appearing above the fur, clothed with short yel- 

 lowish hairs ; head large ; muzzle very obtuse ; body thick 

 and full ; the thumb of the fore-feet rudimentaiy, without 

 a claw ; feet covered with short stiff hairs ; teats 8 in 

 number, of which 4 are pectoral. Colour of the fur on 

 the upper parts reddish brown mixed with grey, of the 

 under parts ash- colour. Varieties occur of white, yellowish 

 white, speckled, and black. 



Length of head and body, 4 inches 1 line ; head, 1 inch 

 2 lines ; ears, 5 lines ; tail, 1 inch 3^ lines. 



Is extremely prolific, and when in numbers inflicts 

 serious damage on grain, seeds, and roots. 



Very common in England, all over France, Belgium, 



