YELLOW-FOOTED POUCHED MOUSE AND THE MYRMECOBIUS. 147 



The Yellow-footed Pouched Mouse is a very pretty little creature, 

 its fur being richly tinted with various pleasing hues. 



The face, the upper part of the head, and the shoulders are dark 

 gray, diversified with yellow hairs, and the sides of the body are 

 warmed with a wash of bright chestnut. The under parts of the body, 

 the chin, and the throat are uniform white, and the tail is black. There 

 is often a slight tufting of hair on the extremity of the tail. The total 

 length of the animal is about eight inches, the head and body being 

 rather more than four inches and a half in length, and the tail a little 

 more than three inches. 



The Myrmecobius is remarkable for several p'arts of its structure, 

 and more especially so for the extraordinary number of its teeth, and 

 the manner in which they are placed in the jaw. Altogether, there are 

 no less than fifty-two teeth in the jaws of an adult and perfect specimen 

 of the Myrmecobius, outnumbering the teeth of every other animal, 

 with the exception of one or two cetacea and the armadillo. There 

 is no pouch in this animal, but the tender young are defended from 

 danger by the long hairs which clothe the under portions of the body. 



It is a beautiful little animal, the fur being of agreeable tints and 

 diversified by several bold stripes across the back. The general color 

 of the fur is a bright fawn on the shoulders, which deepens into 

 blackish brown from the shoulders to the tail, the fur of the hinder 

 portions being nearly black. Across the back are drawn six or seven 

 white bands, broad on the back and tapering off toward their extrem- 

 ities. The under parts of the body are of a yellowish white. The tail 

 is thickly covered with long bushy hair, and has a grizzled aspect, 

 owing to the manner in which the black and white hairs of which it 

 is composed are mingled together. Some hairs are annulated with 

 white, redrust, and black, so that the tints are rather variable, and 

 never precisely the same in two individuals. 



The length of the body is about ten inches, and the tail measures 

 about seven inches, so that the dimensions of the animal are similar to 

 those of the common water vole of Europe. 



It is an active animal, and w^hen running its movements are very 

 similar to those of the common squirrel. When hurried it proceeds 

 by a series of small jumps, the tail being elevated over its back after 

 the usual custom of squirrels, and at short intervals it pauses, sits 

 upright, and casts an anxious look in all directions before it again takes 

 to flight. Although not a particularly swift animal, it is not an easy 

 one to capture, as it immediately makes for some place of refuge, under 

 a hollow tree or a cleft in rocky ground, and when it has fairly placed 

 itself beyond the reach of its pursuers, it bids defiance to their eflforts 

 to drive it from its haven of safety. Not even smoke — the usual 

 resort of a hunter when his prey has gone to " earth " and refuses to 



