702 



MAMMALIA 



[CH. 



Lepus timidus, and the Mountain Hare, L. variabilis, are both 

 British; they have longer legs than the third British form, the 

 Rabbit, L. cuniculus, and have fewer young at a time. In the 

 temperate part of North America there are at least six species of 

 Duplicidentata all referable to the genus Lepus. Of these the most 

 interesting are Lepus americanus and Lepus campestris. The fur 



of both these species turns 

 white at the tips in winter, 

 enabling the animals to escape 

 observation on the snow-covered 

 ground. 



L. am&ricanm, the North- 

 ern Hare, is abundant in New 

 England and Eastern Canada: 

 its summer fur has a cinnamon 

 colour. L. campestris is the 

 famous "Jack-Rabbit" of the 

 western prairies, which has fur 

 of a yellowish-gray colour in 

 summer. It can run with 

 great swiftness. 



The remaining Rodentia are 

 called SIMPLICIDENTATA, and 

 possess only two incisors above, 

 one on each side. 



The Squirrels, SCIURIDAE, 

 are distinguished by their 

 bushy tail, their large hind- 

 limbs and the fact that the 

 cusps on their back teeth are 

 distinct. Sciurus vulgaris is 

 the common British Squirrel; 

 it extends from Ireland to 

 Japan. Two species are very 

 common in Canada and New 

 England, viz., Sciurus hudsonicus, the Red Squirrel, and S. caro- 

 linensis, the Gray Squirrel. These lively little animals can be 

 seen in autumn disporting themselves in the trees lining the 

 avenues of the suburbs of Montreal. Sciuropterus volans is the 

 Flying Squirrel ; this animal is provided with a furry expansion of 

 the skin of its sides joining the elbow and knee. This expansion 



FIG. 353. Dorsal view of the skull of a 

 Babbit, Lepus cuniculus. 



1. Nasal bone. 4. Frontal. 7. Pro- 

 cess of squamosal supporting the jugal. 

 8. Parietal. 10. Supra-occipital. 

 12. External auditory meatus. 13. 

 Angle of lower jaw. 17. Interparietal. 



