70 NEW-YORK FAUNA. 



(EXTRA-LIMITAL.) 



A. empetra. (Richardson, pi. 9.) Hoary above, reddish orange beneath; cheeks whitish. Tail 



bro\%Ti and hoary, with a black tip. Size of monax. Northern Regions. 

 A. pruinosus. (Richardson, p. 150.) Long coarse fur, especially on the back and shoulders, where 



it is hoary ; hind parts dull yellowish brown. Tail bushy, blackish brown. Size of preceding. 



Rocky Mountains. 

 A. brachyurus. (Harlan, p. 304.) Above bro^vnish grey tinged with red, and speckled with lighter; 



nose, feet and under side of body brick red. Tail flat, red above, with a white margin. Length 



17-0. Tail 2-5. Columbia River. 



FAMILY III. GERBILLIDJE. 



Fore feet very short. Hind feet disproportionately long. Tail generally longer than the 

 body. Molars with tubercular crowns, 6-8 beneath. 



Obs. This forms a small but distinct group, comprising at present about ten species, 

 included under three genera. 



GENUS MERIONES. Illiger. 



Consisting of small species. Tail very long, slender, and nearly naked. Molars beneath 

 six. Forefeet with a rudimentary thumb, with a small nail. Hybernate. Nocturnal. 



THE DEER-MOUSE. 



Meriones americanus. 



PLATE XXIV. FIG. 2. — (STATE COLLECTION.) 



Labrador Rat. Penn. Arct. Zool. Vol. 1, p. 132. 



Dipus americanus. Barton, Am. Philos. Trans. Vol. I, p. 114, figure. 



D. canadensis. Davis, Lin. Trans. Vol. 4, p. 155, pi. 8, figs. 5 and 6. 



Gerbillus canadensis et labradorius. Harlan, Fauna Am. p. 155. GoDMAN, Am. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2, p. 94, figure. 



Meriones labradorius. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 1, p. 144, pU 7. 



Gerbillus canadensis. E.MMOMS, Mass. Report, 1840, p. 69. 



Characteristics. Dark reddish brown above, yellowish on the sides ; beneath whitish, tinged 

 ■with yellow. Length 8 • - 9 • 0. 



Description. Head narrow, conical, with a small projecting black muzzle covered with 

 short rigid hairs, leaving a naked space about a tenth of an inch wide. Nostrils small, oval 

 and lateral. Mouth beneath. Whiskers long and black, extending to the ears, and even 

 beyond them, with a few scattering hairs before the eyes. Ears suboval, nearly a quarter of 

 an inch long. Eyes very small. Fore feet feeble, 0-5 long, with four white, sharp, com- 



