919 



MURID^E. 



MURID.E. 



950 



London" (1837), dividing them into several subordinate groups, t 

 which he assigns the sub-generic titles of Scapteromys, Oxymycterus 

 Abrothrix, Calomys, and Phyllotit, which last, in Mr. Waterhouse' 

 opinion, indicates an aberrant form of the Sfwidce. 



Mus (Pkyllotii) Darwinii may be taken as an example. The fu 

 above is cinnamon and blackish intermixed ; in front of the eyes ash 

 colour ; cheeks, sides, and tail, near the base, yellow-cinnamon ; unde 

 parts and feet white ; ears very large and leaf-like, nearly naked ; th< 

 tail, which is nearly equal to the head and body, blackish-brown above, 

 white beneath. Length from the tip of the nose to the end of th 

 tail 10 inches 9 lines, of which the tail measures 4 inches 9 lines. 

 is a native of Coquimbo. 



V 



Mus (Pkyllotii) Darwinii. 



Mr. Waterhouse also characterises from the same collection two new 

 genera of small Rodents, Reithrodon and Jfabrocoma. The affinity of 

 the first ia stated to be with the Murida, and the second Mr. Water- 

 house considers to be evidently allied on the one hand to Octodon, 

 Ctcnomyt, and Poephagomys, and on the other to the Chinchillidce, 

 [CHINCHILLID.E ; HYSTBICIDS.] 



Before we take leave of this part of the subject we must refer to an 

 observation of Dr. Gray, who remarks ('Zool. Proc.,' 1832) that the 

 comparative length of the hinder feet, and the relative distance of the 

 tubercles of the sole from the end of the toes and from the heel, 

 appear to furnish very good distinctive characters for the species ol 

 this difficult genus. Thus, in the Wood-Mouse (M. sylvaticw), the 

 hinder tubercle of the sole is about a line nearer to the heel than to 

 the end of the toes ; while in the Common Mouse (M. Mueculw), 

 which has a shorter hind foot, the hinder tubercle is nearly equidistant 

 between the heel and the tip of the toes. 



Mr. Darwin ('Journal and Remarks') observes that mice, and other 

 small rodents, subsist in considerable numbers in very desert places 

 as long an there is the least vegetation. In Patagonia, even on the 

 borders of the Salinas, where a drop of fresh water can never be found, 

 they swarm. Next to lizards, he adds, mice appear to be able to 

 support existence on the smallest and driest portions of the earth, 

 even on the islet* in the midst of great oceans. He believes it will be 

 found that several islands, which possess no other warm-blooded 

 quadruped, have small rodents peculiar to themselves. Sir Woodbine 

 Parish (' Buenos Ayres,' &c.) states, that after the great drought of 

 1830, 1831, and 1832, there was a prodigious increase of all kinds of 

 vermin, especially field mice, myriads of which overran the country, 

 and entirely destroyed the maize harvest of 1833. 



Capromyt, Desmarest (Iiodon, Say). -Fore feet 4-toed ; thumb 

 rudimentary : hind feet strong, thick, 5-toed. Tail moderate, thick 

 at the base, scaly, with few hairs. Molars prismatic, with their 



Capromys. 



a, muzzle ; b, portion of tail enlarged to show its scales and bail's ; c, under 

 part of fore foot ; d, under part of hind foot. 



crown traversed by folds of enamel, which penetrate rather deeply, 

 and resemble those in the crown of the teeth of the Beavers. 



Dental Formula: Incisors, _; 



Molars, LJ = 20. 

 4 4 



C. Fournia-i, Desm. (Isodon pilorides, Say). It is the size of a rather 

 small rabbit. Fur coarse, greenish, or blackish-brown, tinged witli 

 specks of obscure yellow above, except on the rump, where the hairs 

 are stiffer, and which is reddish-brown ; belly and chest dirty brownish- 

 gray ; muzzle and feet blackish. 



Oapromys Foitrnieri. 



M. Desmarest was presented with two males from Cuba by 

 M. Founder. Of the habits of these animala in the wild state, the 

 latter knows only that they are found in woods, that they climb trees 

 with great facility, and that they live on vegetables. In the domesti- 

 cated state, M. Desmarest remarked that their intelligence appeared 

 to be developed as much as that of rats and squirrels, being much 

 beyond that of rabbits and Guinea pigs. They showed great curiosity, 

 and were very wakeful at night ; but their sense of hearing did not 

 seem so fine as that of rabbits and hares. Their nostrils were inces- 

 santly in motion, especially when they smelt any new object, and their 

 taste was sufficiently delicate to enable them to distinguish and reject 

 vegetables which had been touched by animal substances, which last 

 appeared to be odious to them. They agreed well, sleeping close 

 together ; and when they were apart they called to each other with a 

 sharp cry, differing little from that of a rat. They expressed pleasure 

 by a low soft kind of grunting. They hardly ever quarrelled, except 

 for food, as when one piece of fruit only was given between both ; one 

 would then seize it and run away till the other was able to take it 

 from him. They sometimes played for a long time together, holding 

 ihemselves up in the manner of kangaroos, firmly supported upon the 

 aroad soles of their feet and the base of the tail, and striking eacU 

 other with the hands, until, one of them finding a wall or some other 

 Dody against which to support himself, acquired additional power and 

 gained advantage ; but they never bit each other. They manifested 

 ihe greatest indifference to other animals, paying no attention even to 

 cats. They were fond of being caressed, and particularly of being 

 scratched under the chin. They did not bite, but slightly pressed 

 with the Incisive teeth the skin of those who caressed them. They 

 did not^ordinarily drink, but M. Desmarest saw them occasionally suck 

 ip water as squirrels do. Their food was solely vegetable, such as 

 :abbage, succory, grapes, nuts, bread, apples, &c. ; and they were not 

 r ery difficult in their choice of it, though they were very fond of 

 lighly flavoured herbs and aromatic plants wormwood, rosemary, 

 >impernel, geraniums, celery, &c., for instance. Grapes too pleased 

 hem mightily, and to obtain the fruit they climbed up a long pole ou 

 vhich it was placed. They were fond of bread steeped in anisseed or 

 wine. Their excrements were long black lumps, similar in consistence 

 o that of rabbits. Their urine reddened, in drying, white linen 

 etted with it. 



They were almost absolutely plantigrade, and their movements 

 vere slow, the hinder parts appearing to be embarrassed, as it were, 



hen they walked, as may be observed in the bear. They took occa- 

 ional leaps, suddenly turning round from head to tail, like the field 

 mouse, and gallopped, when at play, making a considerable noise with 

 lie soles of their feet. They climbed with ease, assisting themselves 

 ith their tails as a support, and using the same in descending. In 

 ertain positions, on a stick for example, the tail served as a balance 

 o preserve equilibrium. They often raised themselves to a listening 

 osture, sitting erect, with the hands hanging down, like rabbits and 

 ares ; and in eating they employed sometimes both of their hands, 

 t other times one only. The latter happens when the substance they 



