FAMILY MURID jE. 81 
Length of the head, ... 1 • 5. 
Ditto of body,____5 - 5. 
Ditto of tail,. 7 9. 
This animal is also supposed to have originally been derived from Europe, and thence trans¬ 
mitted to America. It is smaller than the preceding, and is generally thought to have disap¬ 
peared before it; at any rate, it is now exceedingly rare. It is said to breed several times in 
the year, producing from six to twelve at a litter. Like the preceding, it is omnivorous. 
THE AMERICAN BLACK RAT. 
MUS AMERICAXUS. 
PLATE XXL FIG. 1. — (COLLECTION OF J. G. BELL.) 
Characteristics. Black above, leaden beneath. Ears .higher than broad. Tail shorter than 
the body. Length 15 inches. 
Description. Ears large, dilated and rounded, almost entirely naked, sparsely furnished 
with short hairs. Whiskers black, numerous, extending to the hind head. Fore feet feeble, 
with five tubercles on the soles. Claws horn-colored, small, acute, incurved ; the toe next 
to the internal longest. Hind feet with four tubercles arranged quadrilaterally ; toes longer 
and more robust than on the fore feet; claws stouter, and not so much incurved. Muzzle 
bifid. Nostrils lateral. Tail cylindrical, tapering regularly to the tip : the annulations about 
_ a hundred and forty, covered sparsely with short hairs, which extend 0 • 2 beyond the tip. 
Teeth. In the lower jaw, the incisors are longer than those above. The molars gradually 
diminish in size ; the first largest, with two cavities ; the anterior trilobate in front, and sepa¬ 
rated by a waved transverse ridge from the adjacent tooth ; the second with two smaller ca¬ 
vities, separated in the same manner. The posterior tooth smallest, with two cavities, the 
ultimate space rounded. 
Color. Above uniformly black, the fur at the base slightly fulvous ; beneath, of a uniformly 
leaden hue. Incisors yellowish. Fore toes whitish, with a rufous tinge on the inside. 
Length of head,. 
_2-4. 
Height of ear,... 
0-75. 
Ditto of body,.. 
_7-0. 
Width of ditto,__ 
0-45. 
Ditto of tail,. 
_ 6-0. 
Girth of body at shoulders, 
o 
o 
We cite no synonimes, as we believe the species to have been either unobserved, or con¬ 
founded with the imported Black Rat of Europe. It is very rare. • The only specimen I have 
ever seen was brought to me in a recent state by Mr. John Bell, when the fur was distinctly 
black. After having been mounted for several months, the fur assumed a more brownish hue. 
It appears to differ from the decumanus in its teeth, the number of its annulations, position of 
the mouth, and proportion of its ears ; from the. rattus, in its dentition, relative length of ears, 
and tail. 
Fauna. 11 
