MURID& 



47i 



fur, interspered with longer stiff, glistening hairs, which overlie and 

 conceal the former on the upper surface and sides of the body. 

 The general colour is dark umber-brown, almost black on the back 

 and gray below. The tail and naked parts of the feet are black. 

 The musky odour from which it derives its name is due to the 

 secretion of a large gland situated in the inguinal region, and present 

 in both sexes. 



The Musk-Rat is peculiar to America, being extensively distri- 

 buted in suitable localities in the northern part of the continent, 

 extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Rio Grande 



FIG. 209. The Musk-Rat (Fiber zibethicus.) 



to the barren grounds bordering the Arctic Seas. It is aquatic in 

 its habits, living on the shores of lakes and rivers, swimming and 

 diving with great facility, feeding on the roots, stems, and leaves of 

 water-plants, or on fruits and vegetables which grow near the 

 margin of the streams it inhabits. Musk-Rats are most active at 

 night, spending the greater part of the day concealed in their 

 burrows dug out of the bank, consisting of a chamber with numerous 

 passages, all of which open under the surface of the water. For 

 winter quarters they build more elaborate houses of conical or 

 dome-like form, composed of sedges, grasses, and similar materials 

 plastered together with mud. As their fur is an important article 

 of commerce, large numbers are annually killed, being either trapped 

 or speared at the mouths of their holes. 



The skull of the Musk-Rat is shown in Fig. 203 (p. 459) ; its 

 structure is essentially Arvicoline, but the squamosals are greatly 



