THE BARBARY MOUSE. 



57 



stripes, about half as broad as the intervening spaces, 

 extending along the whole length of the body, and be- 

 coming confused towards the under parts, which are 

 nearly white. On the fore-feet only three of the toes 

 are at first visible, and this circumstance, mentioned in 

 the specific character given by Linnaeus, has led many 

 subsequent naturalists to doubt whether the Barbary 

 mouse really belonged to the genus with which it was 

 associated. Linnseus himself had, however, stated in 

 his description of the species, that rudiments of a thumb, 

 and also of a fifth toe, were observable on closer inspec- 

 tion ; and this statement has been fully confirmed by an 

 examination of the specimens in the Zool. Gardens" 

 (' Gardens and Menagerie delineated,' p. 31). 



Of the native habits and manners of the Barbary 

 mouse we have no definite information. Those in con- 

 finement, to which we have alluded, resembled the rat 

 in actions and disposition. Their carnivorous propensi- 

 ties indeed were amply evinced on the death of one of 

 their number, by the two survivors having commenced 

 devouring the body. 



It may be observed that the specimens examined by 

 Linnaeus were very young, for he describes them as 

 being smaller than the common mouse. 



A beautiful striped mouse, termed the Cape striped 

 mouse (Mus pumilio), is peculiar to the districts of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. It was first described by Sparr- 

 man, who gives a figure of it in his ' Travels in Africa,' 

 taken from a young individual. The general colour is 

 brownish-gray, with four black stripes along the back ; 

 the upper surface of the head is black. Another species, 

 the Indian striped mouse {Mus striatus), of which a 

 few years since little was known, may also be noticed. 

 Specimens of this animal have been kept alive in the 

 vivarium of the Zool. Soc. The general colour is gray 

 with a tinge of reddish or yellow, and the back is marked 

 with a dozen longitudinal rows of small white spots dis- 

 tinct from each other, forming so many interrupted 

 stripes ; the under parts are whitish. 



