692 CLASS XVII. 



highly prized as a dainty, and used to fatten in separate hutches ; it lives 

 in the South of Europe up to the Wolga, also in Georgia. — Myoxus nitela 

 ScHREB., Mas quercinus L., Bdff. viii. PL 25, Schkeb. Siiugth. Tab. 226. 

 — Myoxus avellanarius, Mus avellanarius L., Myoxus muscardinus Buff. 

 VIII. PI. 26 ; the smallest European species, ruddy yellow. A still smaller, 

 with short ears, and dark brown longitudinal streak on the back, occurs 

 in Japan, Myoxus elegans Temm. 



These animals live in trees and feed chiefly on nuts, small birds, eggs 

 and beetles^; they sleep during the winter. In external form they have 

 some resemblance to the squirrel (especially the species first named). The 

 skull, however, between the orbits is much narrower. They have no 

 coecum, in which respect they deviate from all other rodents. From a 

 species from the Cape of Good Hope, which (probably only in aged in- 

 dividuals with worn teeth) has simple molars without transverse bands, 

 F. CuviEE formed the genus Grapkiurus. The crowns of the molars 

 present indeed in the other species of this genus very great variety; 

 see CoviEE Eech. sur les Ossein, foss. iii. p. 299, PI. 68, figs. 8 — 11, where 

 they are described and figured in the three European species cited by us. 



Phalanx II. Arctomyina. 



Arctomys ScHREB., Gm, Incisor teeth smooth in front, rounded, 



5 — 5 

 molars -. — -: , enamelled continuously, marked by transverse tuber- 

 cles on the crown, the first upper tooth less than the rest. Ears 

 short, rounded, scarcely emergent from the fur of head. Fore feet 

 with four toes and hallucar wart unguiculate, hind feet pentadacty- 

 lous ; claws incurved, strong. Tail short, in a few moderate, 

 equalling or slightly surpassing half the length of body. (Dent. 



c r^ • 1-1 1-1 4-4 ^ " 



form. Owen, i. — —r , p. — — : , m. ^3-5 = ^'^■) 



Compare F. Cuvier Considerations su>- les caracteres gener. de certaines 

 families de Mammif., appliques aux Marmottes et formation du genre Sper- 

 mophile, Mem. du Mus. ix. 1822, pp. 293—305, PI. 15, 16; on the North 

 American species, J. Sabine Transact, of the Linn. Soc. xiii. 1822, pp. 

 579--59I- 

 Arctomys F. Cuv. Buccal pouches none. Tail short, furnished 

 with long hair from its origin. 



1 Sometimes they attack small animals also. Thus F. S. Leuckaet states that a 

 Myoxus nitela eat up some bats, with which it had been shut up for the winter 

 (Heusinger Zeitschr. f. die organ. Physik, ill, Heft 4, s. 480) ; the Count Tyzenhauz 

 states, that a Myoxus dryas in confinement eat up its two newly-born young ones 

 (GUEBIN Revue et Magas. de Zoologie, 1850, p. 363). 



