128 RODENTS. 



the tail about half as much again. Its general colour is yellowish grey mixed 

 with black, with the under-parts pale yellow, and the rump, feet, and lower surface 



of the tail white. 



. 



THE WOOD-RATS. 

 Genus Neotoma. 



The Florida rat (Neotoma floridana) is the best known representative of a 

 small genus of North American Cricetines, distinguished by their large size and 

 the circumstance that the cusps on their molars show some approximation to the 

 type of structure obtaining in the voles. The .Florida rat, which inhabits the 

 southern United States and the north of Mexico, is about the size of an ordinary 

 rat, to which it also approximates in general coloration, although the under-parts 

 and feet are entirely white. This species has a thin scaly tail, but in the bushy- 

 tailed wood-rat (N. cinerea) from the north-western and western districts of North 

 America, this appendage resembles that of a dormouse. The wood- rats are active, 

 climbing animals, sometimes found in forests, but in other cases inhabiting rocky 

 districts. In woods or near streams they frequently make heaps of twigs, straw, 

 etc., in which to form their nests. The young, of which there are from three to six 

 in a litter, cling to the sides and back of the female parent when she is walking 

 about, somewhat after the manner of certain opossums, and two litters are generally 

 produced in the year. In addition to vegetable food, the Florida rat will also eat 

 crayfish and frogs. 



There are several other genera belonging to the Cricetine sub- 

 OtHer Cricetines. .,,!_ 



lamily which cannot be mentioned here. It may be observed, 



however, that Hypogeomys, together with four other genera, are confined to 

 Madagascar, where they are the sole representatives of the Rodents. 



THE AFRICAN CRESTED RAT. 

 Genus Lophiomys. 



A rare and remarkable Rodent from North -East Africa differs from the 

 preceding Cricetines in certain features, which have been regarded as entitling 

 it to rank as the representative of a distinct family, but there can be little doubt 

 that it is merely a highly-specialised member of the present group. The African 

 crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi) derives its name from the great crest of long 

 erectile hairs running down the back and tail, some of which are as much as 3J 

 inches in length, and at their bases have a peculiar spongy structure. The tail is 

 long and bushy, the limbs short, and the ears small. In the hind-foot the small 

 front toe can be opposed to the others. The general colour is blackish brown, but 

 there is a large triangular white spot on the front of the head, and a white streak 

 beneath each eye, while the tip of the tail is also of the same hue. Moreover, the 

 long hairs of the body have only the middle portion dark-coloured, their two 

 extremities being white. Internally the crested rat differs from all other members 

 of the family by its rudimentary collar-bones, and also by the circumstance that 



