THE GUINEA PIG FAMILY— COYPU. 



367 



The Degu and The D e g u ( Octodon cumtningii) is 



its Peculiar/'- brownish gray upon its upper sur- 



ties. face, marked with irregular spots; it 



is grayish brown below, the breast and nape of neck 



are darker and the base of the tail is nearly white. 



The total length is about ten and one-half inches, 



THE TUCO-TUCO. A member of the Octodon family of Rodents which forms a distinct 



genus is an inhabitant of Patagonia, called by the native tribes Tuco-tuco. It has five toes on each 

 foot, the innermost toe being much shorter than the other four. It measures about ten inches, 

 of which about two and a half inches belong to the tail. The fur is brownish gray tinged with yellow, 

 and lighter on the under portion. It inhabits the plains of Patagonia north of the Rio Colorado, where 

 it lives in burrows. (Ctenomys magellanicus.) 



curved, pointed claws, the inner toes of the fore-feet 

 showing a flat nail. The long tail is cylindrical, scaly 

 and rather plentifully overgrown with strong, close 

 bristly hair. The rest of the fur is thick, rather long 

 and soft and consists of a short, soft, downy, woolly 

 coat, nearly impermeable to water and a longer, 

 "•"soft, slightly lustrous outer fur, 

 which determines the color, as it 

 completely covers the inner fur. 

 In regard to its dentition, the enor- 

 mous, broad, gnawing teeth remind 

 the observer of those of the Beaver. 

 The Coypu attains to nearly the 

 proportions of a European Otter. 

 Its body is on the average from six- 

 teen to eighteen inches long, and 

 its tail nearly the same in length; 

 one sometimes finds old males, 

 however, which are fully three feet 

 long. The usu^lcolor is maroon 

 red on the back, deepening into 

 nearly blackish brown on the un- 

 der parts, and brightening into a 

 fiery red on the flanks. 



Range and This important fur- 

 Habits of the producing animal 

 Coypu. i s indigenous to a 



large portion of temperate south- 

 ern America. The Coypu is known 

 rather more than one-third of this length being in nearly all the countries south of the tropic of 

 occupied by the tail. Capricorn. It is exceptionally plentiful all over 



The Degu is one of the commonest animals of the the country drained by the River La Plata, and in 

 middle province of Chile. Hundreds of them in- Buenos Ayres, Patagonia and central Chile. Its 

 fest the hedges and bushes; even in the immedi- range extends from Atlantic to Pacific, crossing the 

 ate neighborhood of populous cities they fearlessly mountains, and from the twenty-third to the forty- 

 run about on the high 

 roads, boldly invading 

 gardens and orchards, 

 where they cause as much 

 damage by mischievously 

 gnawing (apparently for 

 pastime) at the plants as 

 they do by their voracity. 

 They rarely leave the 

 ground to climb on the 

 lower branches of trees. 

 In respect to their habits 

 these animals resemble 

 Squirrels much more than 

 do the Rats. Notwith- 

 standing the mildness of 

 the climate of the coun- 

 tries in which they live, 

 they lay by provisions but 

 do not hibernate. 



THE COYPU OR 

 NUTRIA. 



The Coypu or Nutria of 

 Spanish Americans (Myo- 

 potamns coypti ) also be- 

 longs to this family. Its 

 body is stout and plump, 

 the neck short and thick, 

 the head thick, long and 



broad, blunt-muzzled and flat at the top; the eyes are 

 round and prominent, the ears small and somewhat 

 longer than they are broad; the limbs are short but 

 stoutly fashioned, the hinder pair being slightly the 

 longer; the feet are five-toed, the digits being joined 

 by a wide web and furnished with long, strongly 



HUTIA TONGA. This Rodent of the Octodon family is the largest indigenous animal of Cuba and Hayti, 



attaining a length of from fourteen to sixteen inches exclusive of the tail. Its fur is of a dull black color. It is arbo- 

 real in its habits, makes its home in the hollows and clefts of trees and feeds on leaves and fruits. It is sometimes 

 eaten, but its flesh is insipid to the taste. (Capromys pilorides.) 



third parallel of south latitude. It lives in couples 

 on the banks of lakes and rivers, especially near mo- 

 rasses and stagnant waters in which there is a rank 

 enough growth of aquatic plants to form a suffi- 

 ciently firm surface to the water to hold it up or en- 

 able it to pass over on the distended vegetation. 



