THE PEN-TAIL. 443 
toes, the three middle toes being longer than the others. The muzzle is much lengthened, 
but is cut off rather abruptly at its termination, The eyes are small in proportion to the 
dimensions of their owner, and the ears are small, rounded, and devoid of hairy covering. 
One distinguishing peculiarity of the animal is, that the fur which covers the body 
and head is pierced by a number of very long bristling hairs, that project for a considerable 
distance from the body, and are much longer on the neck and shoulders than on any 
other portion of the body. The colour of the creature is a rather peculiar mixture of 
black and white, which are arranged as follows :—the ereater part of the body, the upper 
portion of the legs, and the beginning of the tail, are “black ; while the head, the neck, 
and flanks, and the remainder of the tail, are white. There is also a black stripe over 
each eye, which forms a bold contrast with the white fur of the head. 
Like the preceding animals, the Bulau is pos- 
sessed of glands which secrete a substance of a 
powerful musky smell. For the introduction of 
this animal to science we are indebted to Sir 
Stamford Raffles, who brought it from Sumatra, 
and, taking it for one of the viverrine animals, 
described it under the name of Viverra Gymnura. 
THE extraordinary animal which has been 
recently brought before the notice of zoologists, 
under the characteristic name of PEN-TAIL, is a 
native of Borneo, from which country it was 
brought by Mr. Hugh Low. 
It is about the size of a small rat, but appears 
to be of greater dimensions on account of its 
extremely long tail with the remarkable appendage 
at its extremity. As may be seen from the en- 
graving, the tail is of extraordinary length when 
compared with the size of the body, and is devoid 
of hair except at its extremity, where it is fur- 
nished with a double row of stiff hairs on each 
side, which stand boldly out, like the barbs of a 
quill pen, or the feathers of an arrow. The re- 
mainder of the tail is covered with scales, which 
are square in their form, like those of the long- 
tailed rats, and of considerable size. The colour 
of the tail is black, and the bristly barbs are white, 
so that this member presents a peculiarly quaint 
aspect. 
The fur which covers the body of the Pen-tail 
is extremely soft in texture, and is of a blackish- 
brown tint above, fading into a yellowish-grey 
beneath, As the tips of the hairs are tinged with 
a yellow hue, the precise tint of the fur is rather 
indeterminate, and is changeable, according to the 
position of the hairs which are exposed to view. 
The specimen which is preserved in the British 
Museum was captured by Mr. Low in the house PEN-TAIL.—Ptilocereus Lowii 
of Sir James Brooke, the celebrated Rajah of 
Sarawak. 
It is presumed that the lone tail of the Bens tail is used for the purpose of balancing 
itself in its progress among the branches of trees ; but this conjecture is only problematical, 
as the habits of the animal are not yet known. By the arrangement and form of the 
teeth, it is supposed to be allied to the Tupaias, which are described on page 430, and 
with which animals it would have been placed but for an unavoidable omission. 
