THE RODENTS, OR GNAWING ANIMALS 161 



colour, becoming almost pure white be- 

 low. The tail is long, and carried up- 

 right as the animal leaps. The head and 

 body are nearly 2 feet long, and the tail 

 20 inches. It is found both in the plains 

 and mountains of South Africa, where it 

 makes deep burrows, in which several 

 families live. It is mainly nocturnal. 



THE OCTODONT FAMILY. 



America is the main home of this 

 family of rodents, though there are sev- 

 eral representatives in Africa. Their name 

 is due to the fact that they have four 

 molar teeth on each side of the jaw. The 

 best-known species is the COYPU, or NU- 

 TRIA, of South America, an aquatic, fur- 

 bearing animal. It is very plentiful in the 



large rivers of that continent, where its fur is a valuable commodity for export. When swim- 

 ming, the female coypu carries its young on its back. The coypu is usually 20 inches long, with 

 a tail two-thirds of the length of its head and body. The general colour is brown above and 

 brownish yellow below. Coypus live in pairs in holes in the river-banks. In the Chonos 

 Archipelago they frequent the seashore, and burrow near the beach. 



The HUTIA, another large octodont, is found in the West Indies. There are two species, 

 both partly arboreal. The TUCO-TUCOS, burrowing octodonts of the pampas and the far south of 

 the American Continent, are rat-like animals, with large claws and very small eyes and ears. 



Photo by W. P. Danda 



CHINCHILLA 



A small rodent of the Andes, possessing -very soft and valuable gray fur 



THE PORCUPINES. 



These animals are either tree-climbers or ground-dwellers. 

 America, though one, the CANADIAN PORCUPINE, is 

 found in the North; the latter are European and 

 Asiatic. In Africa they are also common. The 

 Canadian porcupine passes nearly all its life in trees, 

 feeding on the leaves ; but it has not a prehensile 

 tail. The COMMON PORCUPINE is abundant in Italy 

 {where it is eaten by man), Greece, Spain, and Africa. 

 It lives in burrows or among rocks. In India a very 

 similar species is found. The head and shoulders of 

 these ground-porcupines are not protected by the 

 larger sharp spines which guard the rest of their 

 bodies. 



The tree-porcupines of the forests of Central 

 America have long prehensile tails, and are very 

 lightly built. The quills are short, the head 

 rounded, and the appearance very different from 

 that of the European or African species. The 

 common porcupine of Europe and North Africa 

 measures about 28 inches in length from the nose to 

 the root of the tail. The head, neck, and shoulders 

 are covered with short spines and hairs, and the 



The former are found in South 



Photo by York & Son] 



AGUTIS 



[Netting Hill 



The agutis are also a South American group, found both in 

 the forests and on the plains 



