100 MAMMALIA OF INDIA. 
easily tamed, and, not being purely insectivorous, are not difficult to feed 
in captivity. Sir T. S. Ratfles describes one that roamed freely all 
over the house, presenting himself regularly at meal-times for milk and 
fruit. Dr. Sal. Miiller describes the other species (7: /avanica) as a 
confiding, simple little animal, always in motion, seeking its food at one 
time amongst dry leaves and moss on thfe ground, and again on the 
stems and branches of trees, poking its nose into every crevice. Its 
nest, he says, is formed of moss at some height from the ground, 
supported on clusters of orchideous plants. Dr. Cantor, in his 
‘Catalogue of the Mammalia of the Malayan Peninsula,’ writes as 
follows: ‘In a state of nature it lives singly or in pairs, fiercely 
attacking intruders of its own species. When several are confined 
together they fight each other, or jointly attack and destroy the 
weakest. The natural food is mixed insectivorous and frugivorous. 
In confinement, individuals may be fed exclusively on either, though 
preference is evinced for insects; and eggs, fish and earth-worms are 
equally relished. A short, peculiar, tremulous, whistling sound, often 
heard by calls and answers in the Malayan jungle, marks their 
pleasurable emotions, as for instance on the appearance of food, while 
the contrary is expressed by shrill protracted cries. Their disposition 
is very restless, and their great agility enables them to perform the 
most extraordinary bounds in all directions, in which exercise they 
spend the day, till night sends them to sleep in their rudely-con- 
structed lairs in the highest branches of trees. At times they will sit 
on their haunches, holding their food between their forelegs, and after 
feeding they smooth the head and face with both fore-paws, and lick 
the lips and palms. They are also fond of water, both to drink and to 
bathe in. The female usually produces one young.” 
The above description reminds one forcibly of the habits of squirrels, 
so it is no wonder that at one time these little creatures were con- 
founded with the Scuride. 
GENUS TUPATIA. 
The dentition of this genus is as follows: Either four or six incisors 
in the upper jaw, but always six in the lower; four premolars and three 
molars in each jaw, upper and lower. ‘The skull has a complete 
bony orbit, and the zygomatic arch is also complete, but with a small 
elongated perforation ; the muzzle attenuated, except in Z: E//oti ; ears 
oval ; the stomach possesses a czecum or blind gut; the eyes are large 
and prominent, and the tail bushy, like that of a squirrel; the toes 
are five in number, with strong claws ; the shank-bones are not united 
as in the hedgehogs, The diet is mixed insectivorous and frugivorous. 
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