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obtained by waiting for them in the evening, and shooting them when 
their head scarcely emerged from their caves. 
“Whilst residing in the elevated valleys of the Andes, on the 
eastern side, I observed on the dry slopes of the mountains the la- 
bours of a Rodent (probably a species of Ctenomys or Poephagomys) 
different from any I had previously met with; the chief difference 
consisted in the mouth of the cave never being left open. Its mode of 
burrowing is similar to Poephagomys ater, in being near the surface ; 
but as I was unfortunately unprovided with traps, I could not obtain 
one. 
“ Lagotis pallipes, Bennett.—This is the mountain ‘ Viscacha’ ; 
the specimen brought home by me, and now in the British Museum, 
was taken on the east side of the Andes, at an elevation of 4000 
to 5000 feet, between Villavicencia and Uspallata. The specimen 
alluded to I found soon after sunrise near Uspallata, in a rocky val- 
Jey; I saw four of these animals feeding on the scanty herbage, and 
at first took them to be young foxes, but my men assured me to the 
contrary. I gave my dog in charge of one of the men, so that I might 
approach them; but, unfortunately, before I got within gunshot the 
dog got loose. It was amusing to see these animals bound over the 
rugged and rocky side of the mountain, swinging their beautiful 
brushy tail and endeavouring to regain the caves in the rock. 
«« There is a mountain ‘ Viscacha’ on the west side of the Andes,. 
but not having seen it, I am unable to say if it be the Lagotis pallipes 
or another species of the same genus. This animal avails itself of 
caves in the rock or situations extremely rugged, where large stones 
lie tumbled one on another, leaving spaces between them sufficiently 
large to admit the body of the Lagotis. 
«« Notice of a new species of Didelphys.—In looking over the beau- 
tiful plates of the ‘ Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle,’ I find 
three species of Didelphys figured, and I feel pleasure in stating that 
I am acquainted with another species in Chile, inhabiting the pro- 
vince of Colchagua. It is known to the natives by the name of 
‘Llaca,’ pronounced ‘Yacu.’ In its appearance it resembles D. 
elegans, but is larger in size and possesses an extraordinary fleshy 
tail. In 1835, whilst some men were taking down a cottage on an 
estate near Curico, two of those beautiful little animals were found 
in the thatch; one was taken alive, and after having it several days 
in my possession it by some means made its escape. It appears to 
be rare, although, from its having a native name, it might be imagined 
to the contrary; I frequently offered a reward to the natives to in- 
duce them to obtain another specimen, but never was able to pro- 
cure one.” 
«Descriptions of four new species of Ortyz,” by Mr. Gould. 
Ortyx teucopurys. Ort. facie et strigd latd superoculari ful- 
vescenti-albis ; nuche laterumque colli plumis splendide castaneis 
albo utrinque fimbriatis ; illis dorsi superioris castaneis, plumbeo 
marginatis ; pectore cinereo, strigd rubide castaned per plumas 
singulas excurrente, primariis saturate ferrugineis. 
