284 RODENTIA. 



THE CHINCHILLA. 



The Chinchilla is the most valuable and beautiful of all 

 the rodentia. It is found only in a limited area in South 

 America, where it lives in burrows among the loose rocks, 

 coming out to feed in the early morning, and towards sun- 

 set. The Chinchillas often travel considerable distances 

 in search of their food, which consists entirely of roots 

 and grasses and other vegetable matter, for which their 

 strong, sharp incisors are well adapted. "When eating they 

 sit on their haunches, holding their food in their fore 

 paws. They are very prolific, the female producing five 

 or six young twice a year. The skin is light and thin, and 

 the animal, which somewhat resembles the rabbit in the 

 formation of its head and its long, broad ears, will measure 

 from six to twelve inches in length, exclusive of the long 

 bushy tail. It is covered with a dense, soft, lustrous, silky 

 fur, nearly an inch long on the back of the finest skins, 

 which come from the mountainous districts near Arica. On 

 the sides the fur is somewhat longer and thinner. The 

 color is a delicate French grey, darkly mottled on the 

 surface, with a bluish slate tint beneath. 



The skins incorrectly named and known to the trade as 

 "Bastard Chinchillas" (Chinchilla-lanigera), come from 

 the La Plata Valley, and owing to the lower altitude and 

 warmer climate of their habitat, are smaller than the 

 "Arica" skins, and have a shorter and less beautiful fur, 

 that is idarker underneath and not so clear one top. 

 This species is more abundant than any of the others. 



The Peruvian, Bolivian and Chilian Chinchillas, which 

 have shorter ears and tails than the other species; all belong 

 to the same genus and species (Chinchilla-brevicaudat^), 

 but the skins of the Chilian Chinchillas are larger and not 

 quite so choice as those of the other two varieties. The 

 Chinchillone (Largotis-cuvieri), whose principal habitat 

 is in the Argentine Republic, but which ranges as far 

 south as Patagonia, is larger than any of the foregoing 

 species, and by some is supposed to be a cross between the 

 rabbit and the chinchilla. The Largotis is yellower and 

 dingier than the other Chinchillas, and the fur, while long 

 and fine, is rather ragged. 



