462 RODENTIA 



laminae. Flattened spines mingled with the hair ; tail thickly 



haired. Represented by one genus. 



Platacanthomys. 1 The one representative of this genus is P. 



lasiurus, found in the clefts of rocks and hollow trees in Southern 



India at elevations of about 3000 feet. This elegant little animal 



closely resembles a Dormouse ; the tail and body having a length 



of 6 inches. 



Subfamily Gerbillinae. Incisors narrow; molars with transverse 



laminae (Fig. 205). Auditory bullae very large in most cases. 



Hind limbs elongated. Tail usually long and hairy. Ranges over 



the Palaearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian regions. 



Gerbillus.' 2 Upper incisors grooved; first molar with three 

 laminae, second with two, and third with one. 

 There are some sixty species, with a range 

 coextensive with that of the family. The 

 Gerbils, with their large and bright eyes and 

 long tufted tails, are very graceful creatures, 

 inhabiting sandy plains, where they form ex- 

 tensive burrows. Remains of existing species 

 are found in cavern-deposits in Madras (Fig. 



205) 



" P^yuramys .'-The African genus Pachy- 

 view of the molars, from a uromys is distinguished by the very large size 

 cavern deposit in Madras. o f ^e auditory bulla, as well as by the short 



(From the Pakeontologia j i. A -T v v I-LT.I mi 



Jn< iica.) anc * neshy tail, which is club-shaped. The 



incisors are narrow and faintly grooved. 



Mystromys* Otomys, 5 and Dasymys. 6 These genera, also from 

 South Africa, differ from Gerbillus in the form of the molars, and 

 are represented by a few species. 



Malacomys? The one known species of this genus is from the 

 Gaboon, and is in some respect intermediate between the true 

 Gerbils and the Rats. Thus the dentition and feet are those of the 

 former, but the long scaly tail resembles that of the latter. 



Subfamily Phlseomyinse. 8 This subfamily is represented only 

 by Phlceomys 9 cumingi, of the Philippine Islands, in which the incisors 

 are very broad, the molars are divided into transverse laminae, and 

 the claws are large. The muzzle is blunt ; the ears are hairy 



1 Blyth, Proc. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xxviii. p. 289 (1859). 

 2 Desmarest, Nouv. Diet. cVHist. Nat. vol. xxiv. p. 22 (1804). 



3 Lataste, Le Nat. vol. i. p. 314 (1880). 



4 Wagner, Wiegmanris Archiv, 1841, p. 132. 



5 F. Cuvier, Dents des Mammiferes, p. 168 (1825). 



6 Peters, Monatsber. Ak. Berlin, 1875, p. 12. 



7 A. Milne-Edwards, Bull. Soc. Philom. ser. 6, vol. xi. p. 9 (1877). 



8 Nesocia was included by Alston in this subfamily. 



9 Waterhouse, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1839, p. 108. 



