102 



near Sitka, ■vvhere it is said to be common : it \vas given to me by 

 my friend W. F. Tolmie, Esq., surgeon of the Hon. Hudson's Bay 

 Company. I saw three other specimens from Paget's Sound, in 

 the possession of Capt. Erotchie, and understood him to say that 

 it was a burrowing animal.' Sitka is, I believe, the principai set- 

 tlement of the Russians on Norfolk Sound and Paget's Sound, a few 

 degrees North of the Columbia River. 



" The head is broader than that of the Sc. Hudsonius, and the fore- 

 head much arched. The ears, which are situated far back on the 

 head, are short, oval, and thickly clothed with fur ; they are not 

 tufted as in the Sc. Hudsonius and Sc. vulgaris of Europe, but a quan- 

 tity of longer fur, situated on the outer base of the ear, and rising 

 two or three lines above the margins, give the ears the appearance 

 of being somewhat tufted. In the Squirrels generally, the posterior 

 margin of the ear doubles forvvard to form a valve over the auditory 

 opening, and the anterior one curves to form a helix ; in the present 

 species the margins are less folded than those of any other species I 

 have examined. The whiskers are longer than the head ; feet and toes 

 short; rudimentai thumb armed with a broad flatnail ; nails slender, 

 compressed, arched and acute ; the third on the fore-feet is a little the 

 longest, as in the Squirrels. The tail bears some resemblance to that 

 of the Flying Squirrel, and is thickly clothed with hair, -svhich is a 

 little coarser than those on the back. On the fore-feet the paims 

 are only partially covered 'vvith hair; but on the hind feet, the under 

 surface, from the heel even to the extrenuty of the nails, is thickly 

 clothed -vvith short softhairs. 



" The fur is softer and m ore downy than that of any other North 

 American species, and the whole- covering of the animal indicates it 

 to be a native of a cold region. 



" Dental formula : incis. |, can. ^^, mol. j— į, =20. 



" The upper incisors are smaller and more compressed than those 

 of Sc. Hudsonius; the iower ones are a little longer and sharper than 

 the upper : the upper grinders, on their inner surface, have each an 

 elevated ridge of enamel ; on the outer crest or edge of the tooth, 

 there are three sharp points instead of two obtuse elevations, as i n 

 the Squirrels generally, and in this particular it approaches the 

 Spermophiles . In the lower jaw, the grinders, -vvhich are quadrangu- 

 lar in shape, present each four sharp points. 



"The incisors are of an orange colour; and the lower incisors 

 are nearly as dark as the upper. Whiskers pale bro-^Ti. Nails -vvhite. 

 The fur on the back, from the roots to near the extremity, is 

 •vvhitish gray ; some hairs are annulated near the tips Avith deep 

 yellow, and at the tip black : on the sides of the body the hairs are 

 annulated with cream colour. Hind-feet above, grizzled vvith black 

 and cream colour. Tliere is a broad line of white around the eyes ; 

 a spot of -vvhite on the hind-part of the head, a little in advance 

 of the anterior portions of the ears. The nose is \vhite, and this 

 colour extends along the forehead and terminates above the eyes, 

 •vvhere it is gradually blended -vvith the colours on the back. The 

 cheeks are -vv-hite, a little grayish beneath the eyes. The whoIe of 



