61 



ML'RIDJE. 



MURID^E. 



(62 



acorns, nuts (C'orylus rottrato), and grass, and commit great havoc in 

 the potato-fields adjoining the foit, not only by devouring the pota 

 toea on the spot, but by carrying off large quantities of them in thei 

 pouches. 



The following figure is copied from Sir John Richardson's Diplos 

 toma (?) bulbivorum. 



, , ^ X l$S- 



^-- ; ;:.:,. >-** 



\v 



Ltiploatoma bulbivorum, 



Not Pouched. 



Aplodontia (Richardson). Head large, depressed ; ears short and 

 round ; no cheek-pouches. Feet 5-toed, with large, strong, and com- 

 pressed claws. Tail very small, and concealed by the fur. First molar 

 in upper jaw small, cylindrical, and pointed, placed within the anterior 

 corner of the second one, and existing in the adult. 



Dental Formula : Incisors, ; 



Molars, l 



= 22. 



A. leporina. Head large; nose thick and obtuse, covered with a 

 dense coat of short fur ; eye very small ; ear resembling the human 

 iu form. Body short, thick, and rabbit-like. Legs very short, and 

 covered down to the wrists and heels with fur similar to that on the 

 body ; a little above the wrist-joint, on the inner side," is a small tuft 

 of stiff white hairs. Fur like that of a rabbit out of season, amber 

 and chestnut-brown above ; grayish or clove-brown beneath ; lips 

 whitish ; a rather large spot of pure white on the throat ; some white 

 hairs dispersed through the fur. Tail slender, cylindrical, hardly half 

 an inch long. 



6 ^a=; . s 



SUulI, Teeth, nd 1'jws of Aplodontiu. 



1, anterior half of the skull, with lower jaw, profile ; 2, anterior half of skull, 

 Men from below ; 3, the same seen from above j 4, lower jaw, with right con- 

 dyle broken, (teen from abore ; 5, upper molar tooth; 6, 7, fore feet, upper 

 surface ; 8, sole of bind foot. 



Sir John Richardson gives the following as the sjnonyms of thifl 

 Rnim.il: Sewellcl, Lewis and Clark; Anitonyx (?) rvfa, Kaflneeque- 

 .Smaltz, Desm. ; Arctomyi rvfa, Harlan ; Marmot, No. 17, Hudson'* 



HAT. HIST. DIT. YOU III. 



Bay Museum ; and he says that amongst Mr. Douglas's specimens there 

 was a young one, with more white hairs interspersed through its fur, 

 and some differences in the form of its skull, which seem to point it 

 out as a second species, but the specimen was not sufficiently perfect 

 to enable Sir John Richardson to give its characters as a distinct 

 species, though he has little doubt of its being so. Sir John adds, 

 that since the account of the genus was published in the ' Zoological 

 Journal' (vol. iv.), Mr. Douglas had placed in his hands an Indian 

 blanket, or robe, formed by sewing the skins of the Sewellel together. 

 The robe contained 27 skins, which had been selected when the fur 

 was in prime order. In all of them the long hairs were so numerous as 

 to hide the wool or down at their roots, and their points had a very 

 high lustre. The general colour of the surface of the fur was between 

 chestnut and umber-brown, lighter, and with more lustre on the sides. 

 Some of the skins which were in the best order had the long hairs 

 on the back of the head and between the shoulders almost black. Sir 

 John observes further, that it is probable that there were the skins of 

 two species of Sewellels in the robe, and that one of them wants the 

 white mark on the throat. The down of all the skins of the robe had 

 a shining blackish-gray colour. 



These animals live in small societies, in burrows, and feed on veget- 

 able substances. They inhabit the neighbourhood of the Columbia 

 River, and are most abundant near the great falls and rapids. 



Dr. Gray makes the Aspaladdte the fifth family of the Glires, with 

 the following character : 



Cutting teeth two in each jaw, lower chisel- or awl-shaped, often 

 very much exposed ; grinders compound or simple ; rarely rootless ; 

 ears and eyes often very small, sometimes hid ; clavicles strong ; limba 

 proportionate ; tail none, or hairy, cylindrical ; fur very soft. He thus 

 subdivides it into five sub-families. 



t 1. ASPALACINA. Orycterus, F. Cuv.; Bathyergus, 111.; Asyalax, 

 Oliv. 



2. LEMNINA (Lemmina ?). Anicola, Lacep. ; Sigmodon, Say. ; Nea- 

 toma, Say.; Lemnus (Leinmust), Linn. 



tt 3. CRICETINA. Cricetus, Lacep. 



4. PSEUDOSTOMINA. Pieudostoma, Say.; 2Hploiloma and Oeomys, 

 Rafin. 



5. ARCTOMINA. Arctomys, Qmel. ; Spermophilus, F. Cuv. 



Dr. Fischer thinks that Cretzchmar's genus Psammomyt should be 

 placed before Aipalax. (See Ruppel, ' Zool. At].') Psammomys obesus, 

 on which the genus is founded, lives gregariously in the sandy deserts 

 of Alexandria, forming multifarious burrows, and is a nocturnal and 

 root-eating animal, without cheek-pouches. 



Aipalax (Oliv. and others ; Spalax, Giild., 111., and others). Muzzle 

 obtuse. Eyes rudimentary, and hidden under the skin. Ears null, 

 or mere obsolete margins of the auditory passage. Body thick and 

 cylindrical. Feet short, pentadactyle, with falcular claws, proper for 

 digging. Tail null or very short. Molars simple. 



Dental Formula :- 



-Incisors, - 

 2 



Molars, H = 16. 

 3 3 



A. typhlus. Thia species appears to be the Spalax typhlus of Illiger ; 

 Aspalax typhlus of Desmarest ; Mws typhlus of Pallas and others ; 

 Marmota typldus of Blumeubach; Qeorychus typhlui of Lesson; the 

 Zemui of Rzaczynski ; the Slepez of Grnelin ; the Podolian Marmot 

 of Pennant ; and the Blind Rat of Shaw. 



I'odoliiin Marmot (Aspalax typhhu). 



Description.- The head is bronder than the body, no aperture for 



u rudimentary eyes, which, no bigger than poppy-peed*, pr<> hid 



oueath the skin ; no external ears ; end of the nose covered with a 



3Q 



