40 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



from 15 to 17 inches and the tail is about 8 inches 

 long. At the extreme base the tail is furnished with 

 spines, but throughout nearly "the whole of its 

 length it is covered with rhombic scales of relatively 

 large size, and arranged regularly in oblique series or 

 rings. A short fine hair . . . starts from the base of 

 each scale and lies closely adpressed to its median line, 

 giving to the scale the appearance of being keeled (like 

 the scale of a snake). Towards the end of the tail the 

 hairs become longer, and the terminal quills are much 

 elongated, 2-3 inches long, and compressed with a 

 shallow groove, like blades of grass, only much narrower, 

 and form a thin bundle. The majority are truncate at 

 their extremity and hollow." These quills may be 

 regarded as homologous with the peculiarly modified 

 caudal quills of other Porcupines, but their structure 

 shows that no rattling noise can be produced by them 

 when the tail is shaken. Curiously enough, adult speci- 

 mens are sometimes found without any tail at all, and 

 for some time it was supposed that there were two 

 species of Trichys in Borneo, a tailed species and a 

 tailless one. Dr. Hose, however, procured a tailless 

 female accompanied by her young one, which was 

 furnished with a fully developed and normal tail. This 

 proved beyond reasonable doubt that there was only one 

 species of Trichys in Borneo, but what has never yet 

 been satisfactorily explained is the reason of the dis- 

 appearance of the tail in certain individuals. 1 Can this 

 Porcupine shed its tail, when seized by that appendage, 

 as do so many lizards ? This question has yet to be 



1 Dr. Hose writes : " The tailless specimens of Trichys I have 

 noticed in nearly every case are females, and I am inclined to think 

 that the tails are often bitten off when chased by the males." E, B. P. 



