The Rodents, or Gnawing Animals 



161 



Photo by Jf. P. Dando] 



[Regent's Park, 



CHINCHILLA. 



A small rodent of the Andes, possessing very soft and valuable grey fur. 



The tail is long, and carried upright as 

 the animal leaps. The head and body 

 are nearly 2 feet long, and the tail 

 20 inches. It is found both in the plains 

 and mountains of South Africa, where 

 it makes deep burrows, in which several 

 families live. It is mainly nocturnal. 



THE OCTODONT FAMILY. 



America is the main home of this 

 family of rodents, though there are several 

 representatives in Africa. Their name 

 is due to the fact that they have four 

 molar teeth on each side of the jaw. 

 The best-known species is the COYPU, or 

 NUTRIA, of South America, an aquatic, 

 fur-bearing animal. It is very plentiful 

 in the large rivers of that continent, 

 where its fur is a valuable commodity 

 for export. When swimming, the female 



coypu carries its young on its back. The coypu is usually 20 inches long, with a tail two-thirds 

 of the length of its head and body. The general colour is brown above and brownish yellow 

 below. Coypus live in pairs in holes in the river-banks. In the Chonos Archipelago they 

 frequent the seashore, and burrow near the beach. 



The HUTIA, another large octodont, is found in the West Indies. There are two species, 

 both partly arboreal. The TUCO-TUCOS, burrowing octodonts of the pampas and the far south 

 of the American Continent, are rat-like animals, with large claws and very small eyes and ears. 



THE PORCUPINES. 



These animals are either tree-climbers or ground-dwellers. The former are found in South 

 America, though one, the CANADIAN PORCUPINE, is 

 found in the North ; the latter are European and 

 Asiatic. In Africa they are also common. The 

 Canadian porcupine passes nearly all its life in 

 trees, feeding on the leaves ; but it has not a 

 prehensile tail. The COMMON PORCUPINE is abundant 

 in Italy (where it is eaten by man), Greece, Spain, 

 and Africa. It lives in burrows or among rocks. 

 In India a very similar species is found. The head 

 and shoulders of these ground-porcupines are not 

 protected by the larger sharp spines which guard the 

 rest of their bodies. 



The tree-porcupines of the forests of Central 

 America have long prehensile tails, and are very 

 lightly built. The quills are short, the head 

 rounded, and the appearance very different from 

 that of the European or African species. The 

 common porcupine of Europe and North Africa 

 measures about 28 inches in length from the nose 

 to the root of the tail. The head, neck, and 

 shoulders are covered with short spines and hairs, 

 and the shoulders and back by a crest of long 



Photo ly York tfc So/i] 



[Sotting Hill. 



AGUTIS. 



The agutis are also a South American group, found both in 

 the forests and on the plains. 



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