NATURAL HISTORY. 



13 



SEAL. 



WHITE BELLIED JTHMPING MOUSE. 



diminished by both these circumstances, 

 and it was the general opinion, that, jvhen 

 first caught, its weight Tfas not less" than 

 100 pounds. 



The teeth of this Panther were all per- 

 fectly sound and white, showing no marks 

 of wear, and as the posterior molars in the 

 upper jaw were not fully developed, there 

 can be no doubt that it was a young animal, 

 pi'obably about two years old. 



The Panther, above described, is the last 

 and the only one whicli has been, to my 

 knowledge, killed in Vermont for many 

 years ; and as the animal is now exceedingly 

 scarce, and there may never be another ob- 

 tained, within the state, for any of our 

 museums, I have thought it advisable to be 

 thus minute in its description and history, 

 notwithstanding the full general account 

 given in Part I — p. 37. 



SEAL. 

 Phoca V itulin a. — Lin" j<m;us. 



In Part I, page 38, of my History of 

 Vermont, will be found some account of a 

 Seal captured on the ice on Lake Champlain 

 in 1810. Another Seal was killed upon the 

 ice between Burlington and Port Kent, on 

 the 23d of February, 1 846. Mr. Tabor, of 

 Keeseville, and Messrs. Morse and Field, of 

 Peru, were crossing over in sleighs, when 

 they discovered it crawling upon the ice, 

 and, attacking it with the but end of their 

 whips, they succeeded in killing it, and 

 brought it on shore at Bui'lington, where it 

 was purchased by Morton Cole, Esq. , and 

 presented to the University of Vermont, 

 where its skin and skeleton are now pre- 

 served. Before it was skinned I noted 

 down the following particulars : 



Total length of the Seal 50 inches ; thick- 

 ness just behind the fore legs 12 inches; 

 weight 70 pounds. Length of the fore paw 

 7, nails Lj, width 4 ; hind paw, length 8, 

 nail 1, width 11, measured along the mar- 

 gin of the web, with the foot spread. Tail 

 3.5 inches long and 2 broad at the base ; 

 hair on the tail reversed, forming a crown 

 at the extremity. Xose truncated and 

 somewhat notched, being 2.5 inches across 

 the extremity. Whiskers numerous, and 

 nearly white ; four erect, stiff and nearly 

 white bristles, situated above and a little 

 behind each eye. Distance between the 

 eyes 2^- inches. 



The specimen was a female, having two 

 abdominal mammne situated thus ( . •'"''"" ^ '\ 



V teats./ 



The teats appeared rather like cavities than 

 protubei'ancos, and she was doubtless a fe- 

 male which had never suckled young. 

 Dental Formula — Incisors - canines i~i5 



_ Lower incisors quite small. Upper in- 

 cisors larger, ( the two outward ones largest, ) 

 overlapping the lower ones, when the mouth 

 is shut. Canines rather large and hooking 

 inward. The molars are placed obliquely 

 in the jaw; that nearest the canines small- 

 est, and increasing backward in size and in 

 the number of their sharp pointed tubercles. 

 Its dentition resembles very closely that of 

 the common cat. 



^ Its hair was short, stiff, thick and even. 

 Color of the hair brown olive and tawny 

 white, forming a beautiful dark spotted 

 marbling, lighter and more tawny on tlie 

 bell3\ Base of all the hnirs on the hind 

 feet brown olive, with the tips slightly 

 brushed witii white, giving them a lioary 

 appearance. Hair on the fore feet obscurely 

 mottled. 



At the time the above mentioned seal 

 was taken, the lake, with the exception of 

 a few cracks, was entirely covered with ice. 



WHITE BELLIED JUMPING MOUSE. 

 Mus leucopus. — Rickardson. 

 Description — .Head moderately large, 

 with the nose pointed. Eyes medium size. 

 Ears lai-ge, rounded above, and naked, 

 with the exception of a short down, which 

 is whitish, along the margin. Auditory 

 opening rather large. Whiskers turned 

 backward, in part, longer than the head, 

 some of the hairs black and some white. 

 Fore feet with four claws and a rudimentary 

 thiimb, without nail. Hind feet with five 

 toes, having feeble curved claws, nearly 

 concealed by long wdiite hairs. Tail slen- 

 der, and slightly tapering. Incisors yellow. 

 Fur fine, and rather long. Color above 

 reddish brown, darkest along the back. 

 The reddish brown extends downward on 

 the shoulders and on the outside of the 

 thighs, forming a band. All the under 

 parts, from the chin to the extremity of the 

 tail, including the feet and nails, pure 

 white, excepting a naiTow band of reddish 

 brown under the base of the tail. Color of 

 the fur, plumbeous, at its base. Length 

 of the specimen before me, which is a male, 

 measuring from the snout to the extremity 

 of the tail, 7 inches ; head 1, body 2.7, 

 tail 3.3, fore feet, 0.45, hind feet, 0.8, whis- 

 kers 1.5. 



History. — This Mouse is a very delicate 

 and beautiful little animal. It is exceed- 

 ingly active, often leaping to considerable 

 distances in the manner of the Deer-Mouse, 

 but it has nothing of that Kangaroo form, 

 or disproportion between the fore and hind 

 legs, which exists in that species. It is 

 most common in forests and wooded places, 

 but frequents, also, meadows and cultivated 

 fields, particularly where grain and grasa^ 



