62 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Mice, 



gentle and familiar, and when allowed to run about 

 a room never attempt to escape. 



The uomraon mouse produces young to the num- 

 ber of 5 or G, several times darine the course of the 

 year. In about a fortnight they leave the mother, 

 and obtain their livinc^ independently. 



To this species Mr. Wateihouse (see ' Zool. of 

 Beagle') refers six specimens in Mr. Darwin's collec- 

 tion: "Two were found living in the short grass 

 near the summit of the island of Ascension, where 

 the climate is temperate. Two othere were pro- 

 cured on a small stony and arid island, near Porto 

 Praya, the capital of St. Jago, in the Cape de 

 Verde Islands, where ihe climate is very hot and 

 dry. Excepting during the rainy season these little 

 animals can never taste fresh water, nor does the 

 island aflord any succulent plant. A specimen was 

 also procured on a grassy clitf on East Falkland 

 island, at the distance of a mile from any habitation. 

 It is sincrular that so delicate an animal should be 

 able to subsist under the cold and extremely humid 

 climate of the P'alkland Islands and on its unpro- 

 ductive soil. — D." It must be observed that all these 

 specimens are rather less than full-grown indivi- 

 duals of the same species procured in England: in 

 other respects they do not differ. 



The sixth specimen is from Maldonado, where it 

 is common in the houses of the town, and is ^inlilar 

 in habits to its European relative. Tlie Maldonado 

 mouse is considerably less than British specimens of 

 the common mouse, and is of a richer and brighter 

 colour; the head is smaller, the muzzle shorter in 

 proportion, whilst the tarsi are even longer than in 

 a large specimen of Mus musculus. These points 

 of dissimilarity induced Mr. Waterhouse to regard 

 it ns a distinct species, and to apply to it the name 

 of * bievirosliis.' But upon subsequent re-examina- 

 tion, he was induced to change his opinion. The 

 teeth indicate that it is not an adult specimen. 



Mr. Darwin ('Journal and Remarks') observes 

 that mice and other small Rodents subsist in con- 

 siderable numbere in very desert places, as long as 

 there is the least vegetation. In Patagonia, even 

 on the borders of the Salinas, where a drop of fresh 

 water can never be found, they swarm. Next to 

 lizards, he adds, mice appear to be able to support 

 existence on the smallest and driest portion of the 

 earth, even on the islets in the midst of great oceans. 

 He belie*es it will be found that several islands, 

 which possess no other warm-blooded quadruped, 

 have small Rodents peculiar to themselves. Sir 

 Woodbine Parish (' Buenos Avres,' &c.) states, that 

 after the great drought of 1830, 1831, and 1832, 

 there was a prodigious increase of all kinds of ver- 

 min, especially field-mice, myriads of which overran 

 the country, and entirely destroyed the maize-harvest 

 of 1833. 



255. — Tbe Babdabt MonsE 



(Mus Barbarus). In size this beautiful species is 

 intermediate between the common mouse and rat. 

 It is found in Barbary, where the natives term it 

 Phar Azeph, the Palmetto mouse. Some time ago 

 three individuals were living in the Vivarium of the 

 Zool. Soc. Lond. ; and were described and figured 

 by Mr. Bennett, who may be said to have really in- 

 troduced this species to science : for, since the time 

 of Linnasus, who first described the animal in the 

 addenda to the twelfth edition (the last published by 

 himself) of his ' Systema Naturae,' no naturalist ap- 

 pears to have seen it. So completely, indeed, had 

 It escaped the researches of later zoologists, that M. 

 Desmarest ventured to suggest a doubt of its exist- 

 ence. 



" The ground-colour of the Barbary mouse is dark 

 brown, maiked on each side with five or six yellow- 

 ish stripes, about half as broad as the intervening 

 spaces, extending along the whole length of the 

 body, and becoming confused towards the under 

 parts, which are nearly white. On the fore feet 

 only three of the toes are at first visible, and this 

 circumstance, mentioned in the specific character 

 given by Linnaeus, has led many subsequent natu- 

 ralisls to doubt whether the Barbary mouse really 

 belongs to the genus with which it was associated. 

 Linnaeus himself had, however, stated in his de- 

 scription of the species, that rudiments of a thumb, 

 and also of a fifth toe, were observable on a closer 

 inspection ; and this statement has been fully con- 

 firmed by an examination of the specimens in the 

 Zool. Gardens." (' Gardens and Menagerie de- 

 lineated,' p. 31.) 



Of the native habits and manners of the Barbary 

 mouse we have no definite information. Those in 

 confinement, to which we have alluded, resembled 

 the rat in actions and disposition. Their carnivo- 

 rous propensities indeed were amply evinced on Ihe 

 death of one of their number, by the two survivors 

 having commenced devouring the body. 



It may be observed that the specimens examined 

 by Linneeus were very young, for he describes them 

 as being smaller than the common mouse. 



A beiutiful striped mouse, termed the Cape striped 



mouse (Mus pumilio), is peculiar to the dristrcts of 

 the Cape of Good Hope. It was first described by 

 Sparrman, who gives a figure of it in his 'Travels in 

 Africa,' taken from a young individual. The gene- 

 ral colour is brownish grey, with four black stripes 

 along the back ; the upper surface of the head is 

 black. Another species, the Indian striped mouse 

 (Mus striatus), of which a few years since little was 

 known, may also be noticed. Specimens of this 

 animal have been kept alive in the Vivarium of the 

 Zool. Soc. The general colour is grey with a tinge 

 of reddish or yellow, and the back is marked with a 

 dozen longitudinal rows of small white spots distinct 

 from each other, forming so many interrupted stripes; 

 the under parts are whitish. 



256. — Darwi.n's Mouse 



(Mtii Dancinii). Among the numerous small Ro- 

 dents belonging to the family MuridiB collected by 

 Mr. Darwin (see 'Zool. .of 'H.M.S. Beagle '), is a 

 small group, the species of which, Mr. Wateihouse 

 observes, though very closely allied to the genus 

 Mus, offer some slight modification not only in their 

 external form, but also in the structure of the teeth. 

 " They have the fur soft and silky ; the head large ; 

 and the fore-legs very small and delicate ; the tarsus 

 moderately long, and bare beneath. In the num- 

 ber and proportion of their toes they agree with the 

 true rats; the tail is moderately long, and more 

 thickly clothed with hair than in the typical rats. 

 The ears are large and clothed with hair. Like the 

 true rats, they have twelve rooted molars ; the folds 

 of enamel however, penetrate more deeply into the 

 body of each tooth, and enter in such a way that 

 the crowns of the teeth are divided into transverse 

 and somewhat lozenge-shaped lobes of a triangular 

 form. In ihe front molar of the upper jaw the 

 enamel enters the body of the tooth twice, both in 

 the outer and inner sides ; and in the second and 

 posterior molars, both of the upper and under jaws, 

 the enamel penetiates but once externally and inter- 

 nally in each. In the front molar of the lower jaw 

 the enamel enlers the body of the tooth three times 

 internally and twice externally " (' Proc. Zool. Soc.,' 

 1837, p. 27). These Murine animals Mr. Water- 

 house regards as constituting a sub-genus for which 

 he proposes the name of Phyllotis. Darwin's mouse, 

 Mus (Phyllotis) Darwinii, was found in dry and 

 stony places at Coquimbo in Chile. The fur above 

 consists of cinnamon-coloured and blackish hairs 

 intermixed ; the space before the eyes is of a greyish 

 tint; the sides of the face and body are of a i-alo 

 cinnamon colour; the under parts and limbs white ; 

 the ears are large : the tail as long as the head and 

 body ; brownish above, white beneath. Length of 

 head and body six inches. 



Besides the sub-genus Phyllotis, Mr. Waterhonse 

 characterizes the following as siib-eoneric sections 

 of the genus Mus, all peculiar to South America, 

 and of which specimens were collected by C. Darwin, 

 Esq., at various localities, viz.,Coquimbo, Valparaiso, 

 Port Desire, Maldonado, Bahia Blanca, &c. : Scap- 

 teromys, Oxymycterus, Abiothrix, Calomys, Rei- 

 throdon, and Acracoma. (' Proc. Zool. Soc' 1837.) 

 The two latter, indeed, he considers as valid 

 genera. 



In North America there are two interesting ' 

 genera of the Muridse, which may here be noticed, I 

 namely, Neotoma and Sigmodon, both established 

 by Say and Old in the ' Journal of the Acad. Nat. 

 Soc.,' Philadelphia. To the firet genus belongs the 

 Florida rat (Neotoma Floridana), larger than the 

 ordinary rat, with soft velvety fur of a lead colour, 

 with yellowish and black hairs intermixed. The 

 specimen described by Say and Ord was discovered 

 in a log granary situated in a ruined and deserted 

 plantation in East Florida. "When first aroused it 

 ran a short distance, then returned, and stood close 

 by us, allowing us to touch it with a gun before it 

 again retreated. It was mild, or without that sus- 

 picious and cunning air so remarkable in the 

 common brown rat. We have reason to think that 

 the species is not uncommon in Florida, as several 

 individuals were seen by Mr. Say, in an old mansion, 

 but he was unprovided with the means of capturing 

 them." Specimens are preserved in the Museum of 

 the Zool. Soc. A second species was discovered by 

 Mr. Drumraond in the Rocky Mountains, and is 

 described by Dr. Richardson under the title of N. 

 Drummondii. This animal " makes its nest in the 

 crevices of high rocks, and seldom appears in the 

 daytime. Its food most probably consists of herb- 

 age of various kinds, and of small branches of 

 pine-trees, because there is generally a considerable 

 store of those substances laid up in the vicinity of 

 its residence. It is very destructive. In the course 

 of a single night the fur traders who have encamped 

 in a place frequented by these animals have sus- 

 tained much loss by their packs of furs beinsr gnawed, 

 the blankets cut in pieces, and many small articles 

 carried entirely away. Mr. Drumniond placed a 

 stout pair of Enzlish shoes on the shelf of a rock, 

 and ai he thought in perfect security, but on his 



return after an absence of a few days he found them 

 gnawed into fragments as fine as saw-dust. This 

 species is nine inches in the length of the head and 

 body, its tail being seven and a half inches. It* 

 general colour is yellowish brown above, and white 

 beneath: the fur is full and soft, and the tail i» 

 bushy and densely hairy, instead of being round, 

 tapering, .ind thinly covered with hair, as in the 

 Florida rat. (Specimen in Museum of Zool. Soc.) 

 With respect to the genus Sigmodon. the dentition 

 of which is characterized by the flexures w hich the 

 folds of enamel on the molar teeth present, one 

 species only is described, viz., the Rough-haired 

 Sigmodon (S. hispidum). This animal is very 

 numerous in the deserted plantations lying on the 

 river St. John in East Florida, particiilarlv in the 

 gardens. Its burrows are seen in every direction. 

 Emigrants to that section of the country will find 

 the species a creat pest to rural economy. General 

 colour, pale dirty ochre mixed with black; under 

 surface, ashy grey. Length of head and body, six 

 inches ; of the fail, four inches. (Specimen in Mu- 

 seum of Zool. Soc.) Closely allied 1o the genua 

 Neotoma isa species termed the white-footed mouse 

 (Mus leucopus), found in California, and on the 

 borders of the Columbia river. The habits of thi» 

 elegant little creature are well described by Dr. 

 Richardson, who observed it as far north as the 

 Great Bear Lake. " The gait and actions of thi» 

 little animal are so much like those of the Eiiclish 

 domestic mouse, that most of the Europeans resident 

 at Hudson's Bay have considered it to be the same 

 species, although overlooking the obvious differ- 

 ences of their tails and other peculiarities. This 

 American mouse, however, has a habit of making 

 hoards of grain or liltle pieces of fat, wliich I 

 believe is unknown of the European domestic 

 mouse ; and what is more singular, these hoards are 

 not formed in the animals' retreats, but generally in 

 a shoe left at the bedside, the pocket of a coat, a 

 nightcap, a bag hung against the wall, or some 

 similar place. It not unfrequently happened that 

 we found barley which had been brought from a 

 distant apartment, and introduced into a drawer, 

 through so small a chink, that it was impossible for 

 the mouse to gain access to its store. The quantity 

 laid up in a single night, neaily equalling the bulk 

 of a mouse, renders it probable that several indivi- 

 duals unite tlieir efforts to form it. This mouse 

 does considerable mischief in gardens, and in a very 

 few nights will almost destioya plantation of maize,, 

 by tracing the rows for the purpose of collecting the 

 seeds, and depositing them in small heaps under 

 the loose mould, generally by the side of a stone or 

 piece of wood. From the facility with which it 

 seenvs to transport the substances it preys upon, f 

 suspected that it had cheek-pouches, but none were 

 found on examination. The ermine is a most in- 

 veterate enemy to this species, and pursues it evea 

 into the sleeping apartments of houses." The colour 

 above is tine dark brown ; the under part and feet 

 are white. (Specimens in Museum of Zool. Soc.) 



2J". — The Loxg-tailed Field-Mouse 



{Mus sylvaticvs'). Eyes full, black, and bright : — 

 colour above reddish brown, beneath whiiisii ; eai* 

 more than half the length of the head; tail some- 

 what shorter than the head and body. Length of 

 head and body three inches eight lines. It is Le 

 Mulot ot Buftbn. 



This beautiful but mischievous liltle animal is 

 spread over the whole of temperate Europe. It 

 frequents woods, plantations, parks, orchards, and 

 gardens, where it commits creat devastations. In 

 some places it multiplies in hosts, and instances are 

 on record of young plantations covering acre* 

 having been totally destroyed by their depredations. 

 They strip the bark and shoots from off the sapling 

 trees, and root up the newly-planted acorns ; nor 

 are they less injurious in wheat fields. Eacii indi- 

 vidual lays up in its hole or burrow a winter store 

 of food, consisting of grain, acorns, nuts, peas, &c. ;. 

 and hence it is not only from what they devour at 

 the time, but also from what they carry away that 

 they cause such injuries. In the kitchen-garden, 

 as we can personally testify, they are not a little 

 annoying, digging up peas and beans when newly 

 sown or when beginning to germinate. One of 

 their natural enemies, and one of the most efficient 

 asrents in their destruction, is the short-eared owl 

 (Otis Ulula). Latham informs us that in certain 

 districts which have been infested with these mice, 

 the "owls have collected in large troops, and at- 

 tacked the depredators to their utter extermina- 

 tion." It is not exclusively to vegetable matters- 

 thatthe<e mice confine their diet; young birds be- 

 come their prey, and when food is scarce they will 

 attack each other, the younger or weaker falling 

 victims to the more poweiful. 



The field-mouse, thouch extremely timid, is easily 

 tamed and rendered familiar, and its manneis are 

 very ensrasing. It is free from ihe unpleasant 

 odour which renders the common mouse a nuiaance. 



