696 SCIURIDAZ—SCIURUS 
surface, just in front of the throat, are three strong, light-coloured 
vibrisse. 
The eyes are large, black, and prominent. The ears are erect, long 
(overlapping the eyes when laid forwards), rather narrow, and with 
rounded tips; externally they are clothed with abundant long hairs, 
which, from early winter to late summer, project beyond the tips as 
conspicuous tufts or pencils; the inner surfaces have a thinner covering 
of shorter and finer hairs. In each ear the lower portion of the 
anterior margin is curled backwards above the small tragus ; while the 
basal half of the posterior margin is curled forwards to form a large 
and strong triangular flap, which conceals the feeble antitragus, and is 
capable of closing the meatus from without. 
Each hand has five prominent and cushioned pads: of these three 
are anterior and relatively small, and are placed between the bases of 
digits 2 and 3, 3 and 4, and 4 and 5, the median one being more 
advanced than the others, which are level; the two posterior pads are 
larger and of square or somewhat rounded form. Of the digits, 4 is 
distinctly the longest, 3 is slightly shorter, 2 reaches the ball of digit 3, 
and 5 is very slightly shorter. These digits are long and free, capable 
of wide-spreading, hairy above, feebly annulated and naked below, and 
each is armed with a moderately long, sharp, curved, and strongly com- 
pressed claw. The thumb is reduced to a minute vestigial tubercle, 
which is placed beside the postero-internal carpal pad, being scarcely 
one-fourth of the size of the latter, and it bears a small flattened nail. 
In comparison with the fore-limbs the legs appear disproportionately 
long and heavy. In each foot there are four small pads placed between 
the bases of the digits; there is no trace of posterior pads. The toes 
are quite like the fingers in general character, and each, including the 
hallux, is armed with a long and strong claw; the claws are, however, 
somewhat stouter than in the hand. Digits 3 and 4 are nearly equal in 
length, 4 being, however, very slightly the longer; 5 reaches to the base 
of the ball of 4; 2 is slightly longer than 5; and digit 1 is well- 
developed, reaching a little beyond the base of 2. Both the palms and 
the soles are naked in summer typically, the skin between the pads 
being wrinkled and very finely granular; but with the approach of 
winter they acquire a more or less dense and extensive covering of 
short and fine fur. 
The tail without the terminal hairs is about equal to the body ; with 
the hairs about equal to the body and head in length; it is cylindrical 
and smooth skinned, not scaly. It is clothed with a dense, woolly 
underfur, and with very numerous long, soft, but strong hairs, which, 
rising principally from its back and sides, grow outwards and backwards 
horizontally, and form a dense bilaterally symmetrical fringe or brush. 
When fully haired the tail as seen from above or below is strikingly 
