TAPIRS — RATS AND MICE — PORCUPINES 



569 



but the animal is everywhere confined to the forest tracts, and is entirely 

 nocturnal. 



On the highlands of Ecuador and Colombia this species is replaced by Roulin's 

 tapir (T. roulini), which has a rounder neck and a long white spot on the chin. The 

 other two species are from Central America, where Baird's tapir (T. hnirdi) ranges 

 from Panama to Mexico, while Dow's tapir (T. dowi) is confined to Guatemala, 

 Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. 



South America absolutely swarms with rodents, although many 

 well-known northern types such as jumping-mice, dormice, and 

 beavers are want- 



/ * 



Rats and Mice. 



ing. Squirrels, on 

 the other hand, are 

 represented by a 

 certain number of 

 species. The great 

 majority of the 

 South American 

 mice belong to the 

 cricetine group, and 

 include representa- 

 tives of the genera 

 Onychomys, Rhip i- 

 domys, Tylomys, 

 Holochilus, Oryz- 

 omys, Rhithrodon- 

 tomys, Eligmodon, 

 Neotomys, Rh ith- 

 rodon, Phyllotis, 

 Scapteromys, Ich- 

 thyomys, Acodon, 

 x y m y c t e r u s, 

 Blarinomys, Not i- 

 omys, etc. ; several 

 of these being 

 peculiar to Central 

 and South America. 

 Among them, the 

 fish-eating rat (Ich- 

 thyomys stolz- 

 nianni), of the 



mountains of Peru, is an aquatic species of the approximate size of a water-rat, 

 with fringes of hair to the feet. 



In another group, the South American porcupines, which are 

 classed with the Canadian porcupine in the family Brithizontidce, 

 have short spines, in some cases almost hidden in the hair, but very numerous and 



occasionally provided with small barbed hooks. One of the most common is the 

 vol 11. — 24 



rr-^ 





TREE-PORCUPINE. 



Porcupines. 



