THE RODENTIA, OR GNAWING ANIMALS 385 



same direction, ancQneet at the same angle. The canine teeth are 

 entirely deficient, and behind the great chisel-sharp incisors there 

 is on each side a toothless gap of considerable extent, beyond 

 which come the grinding teeth. The order includes the Squirrels, 

 Flying Squirrels, Marmots, Beavers, Dormice, Rats and Mice, 

 Voles, Lemmings, Musk-Rats, Capybara, Porcupines, Agoutis, 

 Guinea-Pigs, Picas or Tailless Hares, and the Hares and Rabbits. 



The Common Squirrel is so familiar to every lover of animal 

 life as to call for no description here. The graceful, impudent 

 little fellow has a very wide range, being found all over Europe, 

 parts of Asia, and probably Persia. The North American Grey 

 Squirrel is a larger and less handsome animal. It thrives well 

 in captivity, and has been established in several parks and estates 

 in England. Unfortunately it does not appear to live on friendly 

 terms with its smaller British relation, and has in several cases 

 ejected the latter from its native haunts. 



The Flying Squirrels, as they are called, may be distinguished 

 from the others by the presence of a large fold of skin extending 

 along the sides of the body, and including the limbs as far as the 

 wrists and heels. In the case of the Common Squirrel it has been 

 observed that in performing leaps of any considerable distance 

 the limbs are stretched out, and the long, bushy tail extended, so 

 as to give the animal as large a surface as possible; but in the 

 Flying Squirrel, when the limbs are extended laterally the folds 

 of skin become tightly stretched, and form a regular parachute, 

 which seems to give the animal essential support in its most ex- 

 tensive leaps. 



The Spermophiles, or Gophers, occur in North America from 

 Mexico to the Arctic regions, but never to the east of the great 

 central prairie region ; and in the Old World they extend from 

 Silesia, through Russia, and across Asia to the Amoor and Kam- 

 chatka. They are squirrel-like in form, and have rather short 

 tails. They are sociable, living in companies or societies, and 

 prefer dry sandy soil, in which they can easily make their 

 burrows. 



The Prairie Dogs (Cynomys) are stouter in form, and have 



shorter ears and tail than the gophers, and are peculiar to North 



America. The best known of the two species is the Cynomys 



ludovicianus, to which the name of Prairie Dog was first applied: 



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