93 



SOCIAL MOUSE. 



MIM Social is. 3f. cavda semiunciati, auriculis orliadatis breris- 

 *WNW, palmis svbtetradactyiis, carport pattido subtus cdbo. Lin, 

 Sysf. Xat. Gmsl. p. 135. Pall. Gfer. p. 705. 



Pale-grey Mouse, white beneath, with very short ixrarrdetf ears, 

 subtetradactyle fore-feet, and tail of half an inch in length. 



Social Rat. Pennant Quadr. %.p. aoj. 



The Social Mouse is a native of the Caspian 

 deserts between the Volga and the Yaik, and the 

 country of Hircania. It lives in low sandy situa- 

 tions, in large societies ; the ground in many 

 places being covered with the little hillocs formed 

 by the earth cast out in forming the burrows, 

 which are said to be about a span deep, with 

 eight or more passages. The animals are always 

 observed to live in pairs, or with a family; they 

 are fond of tulip-roots, which form a principal ar- 

 ticle of their food. They appear chiefly in the 

 spring, when they are very numerous, but are 

 rarely seen in autumn, and are supposed either to 

 migrate in autumn or to conceal themselves 

 among the bushes, &c. and in the winter to shel- 

 ter themselves in hay-ricks. The head in this 

 species is thick, and the nose blunt ; the whiskers 

 white ; the ears oval and naked ; the limbs short 

 and strong, and the tail slender. The upper parts 

 are of a light grey, and the under, white. 



