88 THE CASPIAN AREA 



south as Bushire on the Persian Gulf. The alagdaga is about 7 inches long 



exclusive of the tail, which is considerably longer. In colour it is greyish rufous 



above and white below, the tail being brown with a black and white arrow-shaped 



tip. These jerboas associate in small parties, two or three pairs together in a 



burrow, which they dig in the ground. This burrow, which is of considerable size, 



and somewhat elaborate in plan, consists of a central chamber and several galleries, 



one of which ends near the surface and is opened only as an exit in case of danger. 



In the deep chamber of the burrow, the young, five to eight in number, are born 



in summer, and remain with their parents till the following spring, the whole 



family hibernating from the beginning of September until the end of April. On 



its nocturnal excursions the alagdaga steals the eggs and young of the steppe-lark, 



though it chiefly feeds on vegetables and occasionally on insects. Food being 



scarce in the desert, the alagdaga, like other animals of this area, travels long 



distances in search of provender. Its speed when moving over the ground in long 



leaps is considerably greater than that of the three-toed jerboas, and even exceeds 



that of a hare. 



Allied to the jerboas is the mouse-like rodent known as Sicista or 



Sminthus subtilis, which differs from ordinary mice and voles by the 



presence of four, in place of three, upper cheek-teeth. The Caspian is about the 



centre of the distributional area of this species, which comprises northern, eastern, 



and south-eastern Europe, as well as western and central Asia. In length the 



sminthus measures approximately 2h inches, and the tail is about the same. The 



hair on the body is very soft, but that on the tail is short and thinly spread. Along 



the yellowish grey upper-parts runs a black stripe bordered by a light band, the sides 



being light greyish yellow and the under-parts yellowish white, while the point of 



the nose, the lips, chin, and feet are white. In habits this rodent resembles the 



voles. 



Passing on to the mouse tribe, it may be mentioned that a pecu- 

 Mouse Tribe. ,.,,.-.,,., , ~ . 



liar blind vole-like rodent occurs in the Caucasus, representing a 



genus by itself, for which the name Prometheomys has been proposed. 



Gerbils are represented in the Caspian area by Gerbillus tamaricinus, which is 



about 13 inches long inclusive of the tail, the length of the latter being about 6 



inches. In colour it is yellowish grey above, paler at the sides, and brownish on 



the hind part of back, with a white spot on each side. Above the eyes and behind 



the ears it is white, as are the lower parts ; but the tail is brown. Another 



murine rodent, the rice-hamster (Cricetus [Cricetulus] phwus), which owes its 



name to the damage it does to rice-plantations, and has been already mentioned 



in the preceding chapter, ranges from southern Russia through the Caspian area 



into Persia and Afghanistan. Only about a third the size of the common species, 



it is light grey in colour with white under-parts and feet. 



Manui or PaUas's On the steppes the place of the European wild cat is taken by 



Cat Pallas's cat (Felis rnanul), which has a large range in central Asia 



extending from the Kirghiz steppe in the west to Mongolia in the east, and from 



southern Siberia in the north to the highlands of Tibet in the south. About the 



size of an ordinary domestic cat, it is distinguished by its very long soft fur and 



bushy tail. The general colour is a silvery, yellowish grey, darker on the back 



