MALABAR SPINY MOUSE — HARES— PORCUPINES 125 



Malabar spiny The Malabar spiny mouse (Platacanthomys lasiurus), which is 



Mouse. the sole representative of its genus, occurs in the Anamalai Hills and 

 Travancore, where it lives at heights of 2000 feet above the sea. It is not unlike 

 a dormouse, and is reddish brown above and almost white below, with a long, 

 bushy, squirrel-like tail. The length of the head and body is about 4i inches, and 

 that of the tail about 5 inches. It lives exclusively in high trees, gnawing small 

 holes into the stems and branches, and lining the holes with moss and leaves. 

 According to native reports, this mouse eats pepper-pods, damages jack -fruit, and 

 drinks palm-juice. 



Three species of the hare family occur within the Indian area. 



Hares 



Of these the red-tailed hare (Lepus ruficaudatus), which has a length 

 of from 18 to 20 inches to the root of the tail, is reddish brown above, with some 

 black on the back and face, the chest and legs being rufous, the upper side of the 

 tail reddish brown, and the chin, throat, and lower-parts white. It inhabits the 

 north of India, except Rajputana, Sind, and the south-western Punjab, and ranges 

 from the foot of the Himalaya to the Godaveri, or farther south, while it occurs 

 as far as Assam in the east, and north-western Hazara in the west. A second 

 species, the black-naped hare (L. nigricollis), is found to the south of the Godaveri 

 and in Ceylon. It is chiefly a hill-species, and is common on the Nilgiris and in 

 Newera Ellia. Like the red-tailed hare, it seeks refuge in holes of the ground or 

 in trees when in danger, and has apparently only one or two young which, in the 

 Nilgiris, are born between October and February. It may be easily recognised by 

 the large black patch on the back of neck; and has been introduced into 

 Mauritius. 



The spiny hare (Cajirolagus hispidus) represents another genus, of which 

 one of the species (0. furnessi) inhabits the Liu-Kiu Islands, while an allied type 

 {Nesolagus netscheri) occurs in Sumatra. It has short ears, small eyes, and coarse 

 bristly fur. In colour it is black and brownish white above, and paler brownish 

 white below. This hare, which inhabits the foot of the Himalaya from Gorakhpur 

 to Upper Assam, is remarkable for making burrows like a rabbit, although, like 

 the true hares, it does not collect in colonies. 



Of the porcupines the common Indian species (Hystrix leucura) 

 Porcupines. ran g eg from K as h m i r to Ceylon, and from the Bay of Bengal to the 



Black Sea. In length it measures to the root of the tail from 28 to 30 inches, the 

 tail beino- some 3 or 4 inches long. In colour it is blackish brown, with the tips of 

 the spines on the cheeks, and on a collar on the throat, the terminal halves of those 

 on the back, and the whole length of those on the tail, white. 



During the day this porcupine remains in clefts among rocks, or in burrows 

 which it digs on the slopes of hills, the banks of rivers, or somewhat similar places. 

 Although it sometimes ventures out before sunset and does not return till after 

 sunrise, it is practically nocturnal, and therefore very seldom seen. Nevertheless 

 it is one of the most common of Indian mammals. It feeds principally on roots, 

 but does great damage to cultivated fields by destroying root-crops of all kinds, as 

 well as fruits. The Himalayan porcupine (H. hodgsoni) differs from the last by the 

 absence of a crest and by its dark brown coloration. Inhabiting the lower slopes of 

 the Himalaya in Nepal and Sikhim up to a height of 5000 feet, and also found in 



