76 DR. A. GPNTHER ON' A BORXEAN PORCrPIXE. [Feb. 19 



He, however, referred them to Atherura fasciculata of BufFon and 

 Shaw, which is a Porcupine with long spines of a diflferent coloration 

 and with a thick bundle of terminal quills at the end of the tail, 

 and, probably, identical with Atherura macrura. T\'aterhouse 

 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 Upura, 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 (8i 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 Upura, showing the arrangement of 

 the scutes and hairs, h. 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. 6) are much 

 elongate, 2-3 inches long, and compressed with a shallow groove, like 

 blades of grass, onlv 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 speciahzed forms of Porcupine make under the 

 influence of fear or anger', 



■" Morphologically as well as physiologically the terminal tuft of quiUs on 

 the tail of Porcupines reminds us of the rattle of Rattlesnakes. 



