RODENT1A : SClURIDjE. 85 



agile, live upon trees, and feed on fruit and nuts. There 

 are about fifty American species, of which twelve or more 

 belong to the United States. 



The Southern Fox Squirrel, 5. vulpinus, Gm., of the 

 Southern States, from North Carolina to Texas, is twelve 

 inches long to the root of the tail, which is fifteen inches ; 

 the color varies from gray above and white beneath, 

 through all shades of rusty to pure uniform lustrous 

 black ; the ears and nose white. This is the largest 

 North American Squirrel that has been described. 



The Fox or Cat Squirrel, 5. cinereus, Linn., of New 

 Jersey to Virginia, and west to the Alleghanies, is about 

 twelve inches long to the tail, which is fourteen inches ; 

 the body heavy, color varying from light gray above and 

 white beneath, through all shades of pale rusty, to a grizzly 

 above and black below ; the ears and nose never white. 



The Western Fox Squirrel, 5. ludovicianus, Custis, of 

 the Mississippi Valley, is about twelve inches long to the 

 tail, which is about the same length ; color grizzly rusty- 

 gray above, and bright ferruginous beneath ; the nose 

 and ears never white. 



The Gray and the Black Squirrel, 5. carolinensis, Gm., 

 of the United States east of the Missouri, is nine to eleven 

 inches long to the tail, which is about an inch longer 

 than the head and body ; the color in the gray variety, 

 grizzled light yellowish-gray above, pure white beneath. 

 The Southern gray squirrel and the Northern gray squir- 

 rel are generally regarded as distinct species ; but Baird 

 considers them as varieties of one species, for which he 

 retains the name given above. The Southern variety is 

 smaller than the Northern, and, according to Audubon, 

 has different habits. The gray squirrel occurs of every 

 shade from gray to jet-black ; and the black and dusky 

 varieties have also been regarded by some as a species 

 distinct from the gray. Gray squirrels are remarkable for 



