THE HUTIAS 



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belly gray. Internally this species is remarkable in that the liver is split up into a 

 number of small lobules. Another Cuban species is the hutia-carabali (C pre hen- 

 silts], distinguished among other characteristics, by the tip of the tail being 

 prehensile. In Jamaica there is the short-tailed hutia (C. brachyurus], while in 

 the Bahamas the genus is represented by Ingraham's hutia (C. ingrahami). 



The hutia-couga inhabits dense forests, and is an expert climber, as- 

 cending trees both to avoid pursuit and in search of food. It subsists 

 mainly on fruits, leaves, and bark; but it also eats the flesh of small animals, partic- 

 ularly that of a kind of lizard. This species can be easily tamed, and its flesh is 

 considered a delicacy by the natives of Cuba, who either hunt the creature with 

 dogs, or capture it by means of snares. The smaller hutia-carabali is said to confine 



Habits 



THE CANE RAT. 

 (One-fourth natural size.) 



itself to the most remote districts of the forests, and to frequent the topmost branches 

 of the trees. It is more shy and less easily tamed than the first species, and, like the 

 latter, fights fiercely in self-defense when attacked. In one of the species, at least, 

 there are but four teats in the female, from which it may be inferred that the num- 

 ber of young in a litter is small. The nipples, as in the coypu, are situated high 

 up on the sides of the body, and this seems to disprove the suggestion that in the 

 latter animal they are thus situated in order that the young may be able to suckle 

 while the parent is in the water. In Hayti and Jamaica the hutias are also repre- 

 sented by a nearly-allied Rodent known as Plagiodon tedium, distinguished by the 

 extreme complexity of the enamel folds of the molar teeth, which in the upper jaw 

 form a kind of zigzag pattern. 



