THE AMERICAN M URINES. 



Ill 



MOLAR TEETH OF THE HAPALOTE 



species builds a nest on cocoa-nut trees and bamboos, and occasionally makes predatory visits to the 

 houses. The STRIPED MOUSE (JIus barbarus) is remarkable for its coloration, its ground colour being 

 a bright yellowish-brown or reddish-yellow, adorned with 

 several longitudinal blackish-brown, streaks. This elegant 

 Mouse inhabits Northern Africa, especially in stony places. 

 It is very abundant in Algeria. 



Nearly allied to the true Mice are numerous forms 

 more restricted in their distribution, which have been 

 formed into distinct genera. Thus Pelomys fallax, in which 

 the incisors are grooved, the tail short, and the first and 

 fifth toes of all the feet shorter than the three middle ones, 

 is peculiar to Mozambique; Acanthomys, in which the fur 

 is mixed with flattened spines, is an African genus ; whilst 

 Echinothrix, which has a somewhat similar coat, is Austra- 

 lian. Madagascar possesses two peculiar genera, Nesomys 

 and Brachytarsomys, the former having some relation to the 

 American Murinse, the latter remarkable for the shortness 

 of the hind feet; and in Australia, besides the genus 

 already mentioned, and one or two species of true Mus, 



we find the genus Hapalotis represented by about thirteen exclusively Australian species. These 

 animals have the hind limbs rather long, the ears large, and the tail long and hairy, terminating 

 in a tuft. The molar teeth also exhibit a peculiar pattern. The best known species is the 

 WHITE-FOOTED HAPALOTE (Hapalotis albipes}, an animal about the size of the Brown Eat, of a 

 smoky brown colour, with the belly and the feet white. It inhabits New South Wales, especially 

 in the mountainous parts. The animals of this genus were formerly regarded as allied to the South 

 American Chinchillas and Viscachas. 



The American Murines all belong to a group to which the name of Sigmodontes has been given, 

 because their molar teeth, which in the young state have two tubercles in each transverse row (instead 

 of three, which is the usual number in the preceding forms), when ground down by use, show some 

 S-like patterns in the enamel folds in place of transverse ridges. The greater number of the species 

 belong to the genus Hesperomys (Western Mouse), which is represented in both divisions of the 

 American continent, and has been divided by authors into several sub-genera. The WHITE-FOOTED, or 

 DEER MOUSE (Hesperomys leucopus) is perhaps the best known of all the species, and its varieties, 

 or rather local permanent races, are distributed all over the continent of North America. The fur 

 shows various brownish or greyish tints above ; and the lower surface, with the feet up to the 

 wrist and ankle, is snow-white. What Dr. Coues gives as the normal colour of typical specimens is 

 a rich fawn, with a darker streak along the back : but he says that this is shown by not more than 

 one example in six. The tail is generally white beneath. The length of the head and body is about 

 three inches ; the tail varies considerably in length. The White-footed Mouse is nocturnal in its 

 habits, and feeds to a great extent upon corn, of which, with acorns and other nuts, it lays up stores 

 for winter use. It lives a good deal upon trees, taking up its abode in the deserted nest of a Squirrel 

 or of some small bird. When it constructs its own nest the little fabric is placed in a bush at 

 from five to fifteen feet from the ground, and is very neatly constructed, usually of fine moss and 

 strips of bark. In some localities it burrows in the ground. The GOLDEN or RED MOUSE (ff. 

 aureolus), which resembles the preceding species in form and size, has the fur of the upper sur- 

 face golden-cinnamon colour, and the lower parts yellowish-white. It inhabits the Centi-al and 

 Southern States of the North American Union. The RICE-FIELD MOUSE (H. palustris}, which has 

 been placed in a distinct genus (Oryzomys), is a larger species, sometimes attaining the size of a 

 small Rat. This is found in the Southern States, chiefly along the coast, and in rice-fields, 

 where it is exceedingly abundant and does considerable damage. It is eminently aquatic in 

 its habits. The AMERICAN HARVEST MOUSE (Ochelodon humilis] closely resembles the preceding 

 species, but differs from them in a rather remarkable character. It has the upper incisor teeth 

 grooved, a peculiarity which occurs also in the South American Rats of the genus Reithrodon. 



