- 
76 DR. A. GUNTHER ON A BORNEAN PORCUPINE. [Feb. 19 
He, however, referred them to Atherura fasciculata of Buffon and 
Shaw, which is a Porcupine with ong spines of a different coloration 
and with a thick bundle of terminal quills at the end of the tail, 
and, probably, identical with <Atherwra macrura. Waterhouse 
describes distinctly the short spines of our Porcupine and the 
peculiar form of the terminal tail-quills; and when he mentions the 
rhombic scales of the tail as provided with a median “ridge,” he 
clearly describes the appearance of the short hair which starts 
from the base of each scale and is closely adpressed to its median 
line. 
To supplement my first account of Trichys lipwra, I proceed 
now to describe the tail of a full-grown specimen, of which the skin 
measures about 15 inches without tail. The tail is long (83 inches) 
and slender, longer than one half of the body and head, covered 
with spines for about one inch of its basal portion. Nearly in the 
whole of its length it is covered with rhombic scales of relatively 
large size (fig. a), and arranged regularly in oblique series or rings. 
A short fine hair, which is never spinous as in Atherura macrura, 
a. Portion of the tail of Trichys lipura, showing the arrangement of 
the scutes and hairs. 08, One of the terminal caudal bristles. 
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) as mentioned already. Towards the end of the 
tail the hairs become longer, and the terminal quills (fig. 4) are much 
elongate, 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, 
therefore, differ much in shape from those of Atherura, and are, 
in fact, a less developed form of the caudal quills of other Porcupines. 
They are unfit for producing the rattling or quivering noise which 
the more highly specialized forms of Porcupine make under the 
influence of fear or anger’. 
1 Morphologically as well as physiologically the terminal tuft of quills on 
the tail of Porcupines reminds us of the rattle of Rattlesnakes. 
