ARCTOMYS BOBAC. 181 



Sub'fam. Arctomydin^, Marmots. 



1—1 1—1 4—4 . . 



Dental formula, incisors r^T > pi'semolars ■:, — -, ; molars „ „ ; incisors 



smooth, in front, rounded ; molars enamelled continuously, marked by- 

 transverse tubercles on tbe crown ; the first upper tooth smaller than 

 the rest. Ears short, i"ounded, scarcely apparent. Fore-feet with 

 4 toes, and an unguiculate hallucar wart ; hind-feet with 5 toes ; claws 

 strong, incurved. Tail short or moderate. 



Marmots are heavy-bodied animals with short tails, of social habits, 

 and strictly terrestrial, burrowing extensively in the ground, and 

 inhabiting elevated districts in the north of both continents, more 

 particularly North America. There are only two genera in the sub- 

 family, one distinguished by the presence of cheek-pouches, and not 

 represented in our limits. The other is 



Gen. Arctomys, Gmelin. 



Char. — Those of the family ; tail short ; head and eyes large ; no 

 cheek -pouch ; body stout j ten to twelve mammae in the female. 



168. Arctomys bobac. 



ScHREBER. — Blyth, Cat. 348. — Pallas, Glires, t. 8. — A. tihetanus, 

 Hodgson, oWm A. himalay anus. — A. caudatns, Jacquemont, Voyage. — 

 Brin of Kashmir. — Kadia-inti, in Tibet. — Chibi, Bliot, — Lho or Pot- 

 sammiong, Lepch. — White Marmot of Adams. 



The Tibet Marmot. 



Descr. — Colour a clear fulvescent cat-gray, like i\\^i oi Felis chans, 

 fading into pure rufescent-yellow beneath ; limbs and ears the same, but 

 darker ; chaffron and end of tail dark-brown ; fur close and thick, both 

 hairy and woolly ; tail cylindric, bluff-pointed. 



Length, head and body 23 to 24 inches ; tail 5 to 6. 



This marmot, which inhabits Eastern Europe and Central Asia, is only 

 a scanty outlier in our province, crossing over the snowy Himalayas only 

 for a short distance, but found on the Indian side along the whole length 

 of the range, from Kashmir to Sikim, though less abundantly than on 



