354 



THE RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 



•■ Gophers." The Chestnut-Cheeked Gopher ( Geomys casta- 

 no/>s) is a small species, about ten inches long, found in Texas 

 and New Mexico. The fur of this species is soft and glossy. 

 In striking contrast is the harsh, lustreless fur of the Quachil 

 [Geomys kispidus) of Central America, and the closely allied 

 Mexican Gopher [G<o»tys mtxicatws) both of which are large 

 species about equal in size to the common Pouched Gopher. 



Belonging to the same sub-family as the Gophers are the 

 animals known as Pocket Rats ( Thomomys), which differ from 

 the Gophers in having smooth-edged incisors, ears slightly 

 more developed, smaller claws, and relatively larger cheek 

 pouches. The common Pocket Rat ( Thomomys talpoides) is 

 almut eight inches long, the upper part of the fur varying in 

 color from a gray to a brown or reddish hue. The lower por- 

 tion is always of lighter tint and quite often white. From the 

 Mississippi valley west to California from the Gulf of Mexico 

 to Hudson's Bav these Rodents may be found. Like the Go- 

 phers, thev are burrowing animals. Other species of Pocket 

 Rats are known, one being the Rocky Mountain Pocket kat 

 t Thomomys clusius), six inches long, with a tail about one and a 

 quarter inches. 



Common 



Zbc porcupines. 



NINTH FAMILY: Hystrichid.e. 



The Porcupines (Hystrichidd) show a much greater 

 development of a defensive coat (its armor being 

 composed of quills) than do other mammals which 

 are simply equipped with bristles. The entire group 

 takes its name from its best known member, and to 

 enable one to recognize any individual, there is not 

 needed a lengthy descrip- 

 tion of the anatomical 

 peculiarities which char- 

 acterize the species. The 

 quills are a common attri- 

 bute of all animals belong- 

 ing to the group, though 

 the different species ex- 

 hibit a great diversity in 

 form. 



Range and Habits All Porcu- 

 of the Porcu- pines are 



pines. natives of the temperate and warm 



countries of the Old and New Worlds. In the West- 

 ern Hemisphere one finds the climbing species, in 

 the Eastern the burrowing species predominate. 

 The Old World Porcupines are confined to a life on 

 the ground, and those of the New World to an ex- 

 istence on trees. In accordance with these condi- 

 tions the former live in thinly grown forests and 

 steppes, hidden during the day in tunnels and holes 

 dug in the hard, compact soil; the latter inhabit ex- 

 tensive forests and pass their hours of retirement 

 curled up in a fork of the branches of a thick tree- 

 top, or sitting in a hollow tree trunk. The move- 

 ments of the species during the day are slow, meas- 

 ured, sluggish. With the advent of night, however, 

 when they have become thoroughly awake, some 

 run along very nimbly on the ground and at a con- 

 siderable pace, while others climb up and down the 

 branches with considerable agility, although in this 

 respect they do not equal Squirrels. Those inhab- 

 iting the ground are most skillful burrowers, and 

 know how to remove all obstructions that the hard- 

 ness of the ground may occasion. Among their 

 perceptive senses that of the organ of smell seems 

 to be most efficient, the sense of touch being devel- 

 oped to a hi^h degree in the climbing Porcupines; 

 sight and hearing are more or less deficient in all 

 the species. Their intellectual capacities are on a 

 low plane of intelligence. They are stupid, forget- 

 ful, deficient in resources, malicious, violent, shy and 



timid, though when confronted by an enemy all of 

 them try to intimidate their opponents by erecting 

 their quills and some by producing a rattling noise 

 with the spines on their tails. They are as little in- 

 clined to live on amicable terms with creatures of 

 other species as with individuals of their own kind; 

 a choice morsel may provoke a serious quarrel be- 

 tween even male and female. One never sees two 

 Porcupines playing together or engaged in friendly 

 intercourse with each other. They never evince 

 friendship for the keeper who cares for them and 

 apparently never know how to distinguish him from 

 other persons. Their vocal expressions are a dull 

 grunt, a snort, a low moan, or a squeal which is diffi- 

 cult to describe. 



food The food of the Porcupines consists 



of the Porcu- of all vegetable substances, from 

 pines. roots up to fruit. Nearly all Por- 



cupines seem to be able to abstain from water for a 

 considerable time; probably the dew which is de- 

 posited on the leaves, which they eat, is sufficient 

 for their needs. 



THE PORCUPINES PROPER. 



The Porcupines proper {Hystrix) are easily recog- 

 nized by their short, stoutly formed body, their 

 heavy blunt muzzled head set on a stout neck, their 

 short tail thickly studded with quills, as is the 

 remainder of the body, which is thus incased in a 



defensive armor of spines 

 developed out of all pro- 

 portion to the size of the 

 body. Their further char- 

 acteristics are the small, 

 roundish ears, the wide 

 upper lips and the cleft 

 between the nostrils. 

 The Common The Common 

 Porcupine Porcupine 

 a Type. ( Hystrix cris- 

 tata) is of stouter propor- 

 tions, though not longer than a European Badger, 

 and appears to be much larger than it really is, 

 owing to its quills. Its length amounts to twenty- 

 six inches; the tail measures four and one-half 

 inches, and the height at the shoulder is nine and 

 one-half inches; the weight ranges between thirty 

 and forty pounds. The short, blunt muzzle and the 

 nose are adorned with only a few. hairs; the thick 

 upper lip is covered with several rows of lustrous 

 black whisker-hairs and similar bristles grow on 

 small protuberances above and behind the eyes. 

 Along the neck there is a mane composed of very 

 long, strong, curved quills, slanting when at rest in 

 a backward direction; these may be erected or de- 

 pressed at will. They are thin and flexible, in part 

 white, in part gray and usually tipped with white. 

 The remainder of the upper surface of the body is 

 overgrown with smooth and sharply pointed bristles 

 of varying lengths, alternately of dark or blackish 

 and white color, implanted but loosely in the skin 

 and therefore easily pulled out and intermingled in 

 all parts with bristly hairs. On the sides of the 

 body, on the shoulders and near the tail the quills 

 are shorter and blunter than those in the middle of 

 the back. The long and flexible quills attain a 

 length of sixteen inches, while the short, stout ones 

 are only from six to twelve inches long and may be 

 one-fifth of an inch thick. They are all hollow in 

 the middle or else they are filled with a sponge- 

 like marrow, the base and tip being mostly white. 



ket Rat. ( Thomomys talpoides.) 



