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SCIURUS. SQUIRREL. 



Generic Character. 



Denies Primores supcriorcs 

 cuneati, inferiores acuti. 



Mo/ares ad utrumque latus 

 superiores quinque, infe- 

 riores quatuor. 



Clavicula perfectae. 



Cauda disticha. 



Upper front-teeth cuneated, 

 lower sharp. 



Grinders in the upper jaw 

 five on each side, in the 

 lower four. 



Clavicles in the skeleton. 



Tail (in most species) spread- 

 ing towards each side. 



rn 



JL HE animals composing this elegant genus are 

 remarkable for the liveliness of their disposition, 

 the celerity of their motions, and the general 

 beauty and neatness of their appearance. They 

 inhabit woods, live entirely on vegetable food, 

 and take up their residence in the hollows of 

 trees, where they prepare their nests. Some spe- 

 cies are furnished with an expansile lateral skin, 

 reaching from the fore legs to the hind ; by the 

 help of which they are enabled to spring to a 

 greater distance than the rest of the genus, and 

 to transport themselves occasionally from tree to 

 tree ; but this momentary support in air is all that 

 they are capable of, and though called, from this 

 circumstance, flying squirrels^ they are unable to 



