324 MAMMALIA : INSECTIVORA. — XLIX. 



form is var. leucotis Gapper, larger, the brownish band on back 

 narrow. The typical carolinensis is Southern, N. to St. Louis. 

 L. 17f T. 8. 



1061. S. niger L. Fox Squirrel. General color rusty gray, 

 varying from almost white, through various shades of rusty red, to 

 jel black, the latter color rare northward, reddish and orange shades 

 predominating westward; tail very large and bushy. L. 26. T. 11. 

 E. U. S., very abundant S. W., N. to Mass. Leading varieties are: 

 var. niger. the Southern form, gray to black, with the ears and nose 

 white, the belly reddish; var. cinereus L., the Eastern form, similar 

 in color, the ears and nose not white, the ears short, scarcely longer 

 than the Eur; and var. ludovicianus Custis, the common Western 

 Fox Squirrel, with high ears and a prevailing tinge of orange red; 

 ears, feet and belly reddish. 



555. SCITJROPTERUS Frederic Cuvier. (anovpos, squirrel ; 



TTTepov, wing.) 



1062. S. volans 1 (L.). Common Flying Squirrel. Dull yel- 

 lowish brown, creamy white below. L. 10. T. 4. N. Am., abundant. 

 The Canadian form. var. sabrimis Shaw, is larger (L. about 12; 

 T. 41), with more dusky, especially on tail. (Lat., flying.) 



" But we have reached the end of the chain of rodent beings of 

 the earth, the water, and almost of the air, a cycle of mammalian 

 life which circumscribes extraordinary diversity of form and func- 

 tion, revolving aboul a single central point of organization, namely, 

 adze-like teeth, to gnaw wood with. The number of individuals 

 which make a living in this way in a world of Malthusian strife is 

 simply incalculable. . . . Yet they have one obvious part to play, 

 that of turning grass into flesh, in order that carnivorous Goths 

 and Vandals may subsist also, and in their turn proclaim, ' All 

 flesh is grass.'" (Coues.) 



Order XLTX. INSECTIVORA. (The Insect-eaters.) 



Teeth of three kinds, molars, canines and incisors, all with 

 enamel; brain small, the cerebrum without sylvian fissure; limbs 

 well-developed and adapted for walking. 



A large group of small animals, analogous to the Carnivora in 

 many respects, but the individuals so small as to be unable to attack 

 vertebrate animals, and therefore feeding chiefly on insects. But 

 two of the numerous families are represented in our fauna. 



a. Fur soft, without spines; sides of body without membrane for "flying;" 

 canine teeth indistinct. 



1 This is VusvolansJj. S. N. ed. x. p. 03. Sciurus volans L. (p. 64) is the European 

 Flying Squirrel, Pteromys volans. 



