390 



V Ell TED It AT A. 



THE PATAGONIA^ CAVT. 



viscacha for a retreat. It •wanders at times to great distances from its home ; on these occasions, 

 two or three are usually seen together. The animal in its mode of running greatly resembles the 

 rabbit, but though its limbs are long it does not run very fast; it sometimes, though seldom, 

 Bquats after the manner of the hare, is very shy and 'watchful, and feeds by day. The eyes, like 

 those of the Kangaroos, are defended from the direct rays of the sun by well-developed eye-lashes, 

 which is not the case with ordinary cavies. It generally produces two young at a birth, and brings 

 forth in its burrow; its flesh is white when cooked, but rather dry and tasteless. The long legs 

 and rather long erect ears, combined with the general form of the head, and the short recurved 

 tail, have caused this animal to be very generally mistaken for a hare by casual observers. Its 

 fur is soft, and its color brown on the back and fawn on the sides. For size it surpasses the com- 

 mon hare, full-grown individuals weighing from twenty to thirty pounds, and indeed the Patago- 

 nian Cavy must rank among the largest of the rodent tribe, though surpassed by its aquatic con- 

 gener, the capybara. 



It is found in Patagonia on the east coast, from latitude 37° to 48° south. Darwin says it "is 

 found only where the country has a desert character. It is a common feature in the landscape of 

 Patagonia to sec in the distance two or three of these Cavies hopping one after the other in a 

 Btraighl line over the gravelly plains thinly clothed by a few thorny bushes and a withered 

 herbage." 



Genus N ER< »I >< »\ : Kermlon. — Of this there is a single species, the Rock Cavy, K. rupestritf 

 tin- Kerodcm .)/>»■<, ,,t' 1". Cuvier. In this animal the fur is soft, its general hue gray, tinted with 

 rufons on the hinder part of the hack; throat white, chest whitish; abdomen white, suffused with 

 pale ocheroua yellow. It inhabits the interior of Brazil, and is confined to rocky districts, where 

 eks ita retreat in holes among the fragments of the rocks. It is frequently met with at Del- 

 monte, Rio I 'ardo, ami Rio de St. Francisco, being found near the rivers, but always in the higher 

 parts of their course. Its tlesh is said to be well-flavored, on which account it is sought by the 

 Indians, to whom it is known by the name of HoM; by the Portuguese it is called Mokb. It is ' 

 Buperior in size to most other cavies, stands higher on its legs, and is remarkable in its group for 

 the comparative softness of its fur, and the structure of the nails of its toes. 



Get, us ( 'A VIA : Cavia, or ( '< >BAYE, according to Gervais. — Of this there are several speci. 

 all called Cavies, the most noted of which is the Restless Caw, C. aperea; the Cochon cTJndc' 



