26 



CHINCHILLID^E. 



of union of the two ends of the American continent ; 

 the woods furnishing animals not very dissimilar to 

 those which are found, in such vast numbers, to the 

 north westward of Canada, while the open and arid- 

 places present us with those of Paraguay, or rather 

 with animals resembling these in their general habits. 

 But still there is a great difference in the climates of 

 the two places ; for, though the southern Andes, on 

 the parallel alluded to, are subjected to more violent 

 storms than any part of Siberia, the plains have a 

 much greater uniformity of temperature, so much so, 

 that up to the very southern extremity of the American 

 continent, vegetation retains a tropical character. We 

 might, therefore, be prepared to expect a considerable 

 difference between the appearance aud covering of 

 the animals which perform the same part in the 

 economy of nature in each of the two. And, accord- 

 ingly, we find the fur upon the American animals 

 much more delicate, and not nearly so well adapted 

 for throwing off snow as that of the Siberians. They 

 are also more gentle animals ; and they probably 

 more habitually burrow in the ground. 



The characters of the chinchillidae are, two simple 

 incisive teeth in each jaw, and four grinders in each 

 side of both jaws. The grinders, as is general in all 

 the herbivorous part of the order, have no roots, and 

 are not produced in the substance of the gum, but 

 grow, adhering to its surface ; and, as is the case with 

 all teeth that grow in this manner, they continue grow- 

 ing during the whole life of the animal. Animals of 

 this tribe have all to subsist on very hard food at some 

 eason or other ; and therefore, this constant growth 

 >f the teeth is a very wise provision for them. The 

 eeth of the family under consideration have parallel 

 lates of enamel and osseous matter ; and their bruis- 

 ug crowns act directly against each other. 



There are three genera, Lagostomus, on the east 

 <ide of the Andes ; Chinchilla, on the lower slopes of 

 the mountains, and Lagotis on the western side. The 

 tfrst genus gets its name of " hairy mouth," from its 

 remarkably produced whiskers ; the name of the 

 second is a country name ; and the third is called 

 " hairy ears," from the large size of these ap- 

 pendages. The first and third are indiscriminately 

 called Viscacha; and thus, it is necessary, not to con- 

 found the one with other. The first, or eastern one 

 being best known, may be considered as the true 

 Viscacha, and, perhaps, for the sake of popular distinc- 

 tion, it may be as well to apply the epithet Peruvian 

 to the other. 



The Viscacha (Lagosiomus trichodactylus) is about 

 the size of a rabbit. It has also a good deal of the 

 manners of that animal, only it is much less timid, 

 and the vast production of grey fur on the cheeks 

 gives it a very grave appearance. The grinders have 

 two oblique lamellae in the first three, and three in 

 the last one, at least in the upper jaw : three toes on 

 the hind feet, and four on the fore ; thumbs always 

 wanting ; nails on the toes, nearly straight, and very 

 strong ; the ears and tail of mean size. The colour 

 of this species is grey, of different shades, arising from 

 the points of the individual fibres being of a different 

 colour from the greater part of the length. The skin 

 is of no great value as fur, and the flesh is described 

 as having rather a rank and musky flavour. It is, we 

 believe, sometimes eaten by the Indians, though there 

 is little temptation in a country where wild cattle are 

 to be had for the labour of catching them. The 

 fibres of the covering of this animal are individually 



long, but they are coarse, and so few in number, 

 that they do not conceal the skin, so that they are 

 by no means ornamental ; and this inutility of the 

 animal, both as food and as clothing, leaves it at 

 peace to multiply to that vast abundance in which it 

 is found in the plains above mentioned. 



Chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigerd). This species is as 

 remarkable for the delicate texture and closeness of 

 its fur as the former is for the opposite qualities ; and 

 of the same individual the colour is about uniform all 

 over the body, which renders it very available to the 

 furrier, who can thus obtain an article of large size 

 without any appearance of patching. The fur is so 

 well known, that any description of it would be 

 superfluous ; but we may remark, that, notwithstand- 

 ing its extreme softness, it adheres very firmly to the 

 skin. Some varieties of the chinchilla have been 

 mentioned, but they are at any rate nothing but 

 differences, and very slight differences, of colour ; 

 and it is very probable that, as has been the case 

 with some other animals, a clean skin and a dirty 

 one have been described as different species. 



The leading characteristics of this animal are : 

 teeth same in number as in the former species, 

 but they have three oblique ridges in each, and 

 the front grinders in the upper jaw are divided into 

 two lobes ; the fore-feet have the thumb complete, 

 and consequently five toes ; the hind feet have only 

 four toes, and a rudimental thumb. The ears are 

 very long, and the tail partakes of a similar cha- 

 racter. It does not appear that this animal is so 

 constantly found burrowing as the viscacha, for it 

 is frequently found lurking in holes of the rocks. It 

 extends geographically over great part of the neigh- 

 bourhood of the Andes, both in Chile and in Peru, 

 and its numbers are very abundant. It is a much 

 smaller animal than the viscacha, and every way 

 much more delicate in its appearance ; but the 

 fineness and closenese of its fur enable it to endure 

 the cold much better. 



Lagotis (Lagotis Cuvieri] has still the same number 

 and general structure of teeth, but the grinders have 

 three single oblique lamellae in each. There are four 

 toes on all the feet, the thumb being deficient. The 

 nails are small, and a little knife-shaped. The tail is 

 long, and the ears very long. 



In its size, and also in the general shape of its 

 body, this animal very much resembles a rabbit, but 

 the tail, which is equal to the whole body, exclusive 

 of the head, gives it a very different appearance. It 

 is a jumping animal, and has its hind legs of nearly 

 twice the length of the fore ones. The bristly hairs 

 of its whiskers are quite black, very numerous, very 

 closely set, and some of them more than half a foot 

 long. The ears are about three inches long, one 

 inch in breadth, and cut square over at the tips ; 

 they are almost entirely destitute of fur. The hair 

 on the fore feet is long and bristly, and almost 

 entirely conceals the claws. The inner toe on the 

 fore feet is flattened, curved inwards, and has its 

 inner margin beset with stiff bristles, which have 

 nearly the consistency of a small comb. This last 

 circumstance is not, however, peculiar to it, for it 

 occurs also in the chinchilla. 



The hair of this animal is very soft and downy, of 

 considerable length, and beautiful in appearance, but 

 it adheres so slightly to the skin as to render it of no 

 value to the furrier. The base of the hairs is dusky, 

 and about a quarter of an inch at the tip, of a dull 



