336 Dr. Richardson on Aplodontia, 



Arctomys rufa. Harlan, ^meric. Fauna, p. 308. Griffith's Animal 

 Kingd. v. p. 245, spec. 636. 



Marmot, No. 17. Hudson's Bay Museum. 



Description. The Sewellel stands very low on its legs, and has a 

 short, thick body, like that of a hare, with a rather large head. The 

 nose is thick cind obtuse, the nostrils small and round, and the whiskers 

 very strong, and longer than the head. The eye is very small, the open- 

 ing in the skin not exceeding two lines. The ear strongly resembles the 

 human ear in its form. The flap or auricle is rounded, and is about half 

 an inch high above, and posterior to the auditory opening. It is pro- 

 longed beneath the opening in form of a narrow thick margin, and its 

 anterior part forms a distinct helix. It is clothed with very short, soft 

 fur, intermixed with a few larger hairs. 



The stump of the tail is scarcely half an inch long, and has a slender 

 cylindrical form. It is covered with fur of the same colour and length 

 with that on the neighbouring parts, and is not visible when the animal 

 is aUve. 



Fore-feet. The thumb is of sufficient length to be of use in grasping, 

 and its upper phalanx is closely covered by a smooth rounded nail. The 

 second fore-toe is the longest, the third is a little shorter, the first is about 

 two lines shorter than the second, and the fourth or last is scarcely shorter 

 than the first. The claws are large, and very much compressed, so that 

 their edges are in contact beneath, for nearly their whole length. The 

 hind-feet are a little more slender than the fore ones, and their claws are 

 about one-half smaller, rather more arched, and less compressed. 



The fur resembles that of a musk-rat, or a rabbit when out of season, 

 and consists of a close short down, four or five lines long, mixed with 

 longer scattered hairs. The general colour of the back is intermediate 

 between umber and chestnut browns, without any tendency towards a 

 rufoTis hue, and it is rendered darker by most of the long scattered hairs 

 on that part being black. The belly is greyish or clove brown, and many 

 of the long hairs there, and on the sides, are tipped with white. The 

 nose is clothed with short hairs, nearly of the colour of the back ; the 

 lips are whitish, and there is a pretty large spot of pure white on the 

 throat. In the female the mammcE are indicated by brown circular 

 marks on the fur. The fur has no lustre on its surface, and little beauty. 



