138 



VERTEBRATA. 



same mistake baa often been made by the older naturalists. Their food consists not only of in- 

 i their Larva* as mighl be supposed from the name given to the order, but also of worms 

 and molluscs, and some of the larger species even devour the smaller vertebrate animals. Tl. 



i, ,„,, aiwaj ,,., b their movements and nocturnal in their habit* 



man) of them pass the winter in a stale of torpidity. 









SEr 



TUPAIAS. 



THE TUPAIAS. 



t is TUPAIA : Tupaia. — Those are small animals, having somewhat the form and agility of 



squirrels. The head is long, the snout attenuated, eyes large and prominent, the claws sharp 

 and hooked, the Bole naked, the tail long, the body long and cylindrical, and covered with clo 



fur. Tin -'■ animals arc the most elegant and graceful of all the insectivora : they are found in 

 the great islands of Asia, and some are also met with in India. 



'/'. Javanica, called Banxring and Sinsring, seems most common at the eastern extremity 



■a. It is of the size of a common squirrel, and greatly resembles it ; its fur is close, silky, and 



delicate, with a few coarse hairs dispersed along the back, sides, and extremities : the upper parts 



arc brown, Blightly diversified with different shades of gray; the lower parts are a dirty white. 



Th ntgineoy almosl wholly of a reddish-brown color, is fourteen inches long, including the 



which is longer than the body. It is common in Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. Sir Stamford 



R i ne thai was tamed and allowed to go freely about the house, never failing to 



pres • meal-time, when it partook of fruit and milk. Another species, the T. tana, found 



in the same region, is of a somewhat larger size. The T.peguana, found in the Birman Empire, 



and the T. Elliotii^ found in Madras, are the other species. 



IIVI.< >MY8 : Hylomya.—A tfthis there is but a single species, the H. suillus, of Borneo. 

 It b a Bmall tupaia, with a rudimentary tail, nearly naked. 



PTTLO ER< [JS: Ptilocercu8. — This also presents but a single species, the P. Low&i 

 which is found in Bor , and has somewhat the face of the marsupials of Australia, with a very 



