ASTRACAX MOUSE. 103 



posed of the sea lyme-grass and other plants. It 

 is said to he chiefly a nocturnal animal, and of a 

 fierce, untameable disposition. 



ASTRACAX MOUSE. 



Mus Phaeus. M. buccis sacculiferis, cor pore caudaqucfusco-cine- 



ra-scentibus subtus albis. Lin. Syst. Xat. Gmel. p. 138. 

 Ash-brown pouched Rat, white beneath. 

 Zarizyn Rat. Pennant Quadr. 2. p. 211. 



THIS species measures about three inches and a 

 half in length, exclusive of the tail, which is about 

 three quarters of an inch long : the forehead is 

 elevated ; the edges of the eyelids black ; the ears 

 naked and oval ; the colour of the animal on the 

 upper parts is pale cinereous or hoary, with a 

 dusky streak along the back : the sides are whit- 

 ish ; and the circumference of the mouth, under 

 side of the body, and the extremities of the limbs, 

 milk white. It is an inhabitant of the desert of 

 Astracan, and particularly about Zarizyn, where 

 it is occasionally taken in the winter season in. 

 places about stables and out-houses. Is is also 

 found about the Persian villages in the Hyrcanian 

 mountains, and seems to have been first distinctly 

 described by Dr. Pallas. 



