8 A SHORT NOTE ON THE INDIAN RATS. 



lighter and more rufescent in colour. Two distinct varieties have 

 been described, - alexandrinus, larger, heavier and typically found 

 in Northern India, and rufescens, smaller, redder and typically 

 found in Southern India. Recent work particularly in Calcutta 

 seems to indicate that no sharp distinction can be drawn between 

 the varieties, as both occur together and intergrade completely. 

 Accordingly the name Mus rattns has been used and the terms 

 alexandrinus and rufescens have been dropped altogether. The 

 tail is uniform brown and regularly annulated; a white tip is 

 exceptionally found. The teats are f . The distribution is pro- 

 bably cosmopolitan, ranging up to 8,000 feet according to Blanford. 

 This rat is almost solely responsible for the plague of Upper 

 India, as far as is known at present. 



2. MUS DECUMANUS— THE BROWN RAT. 



This is the brown rat of England, a sewer and ship rat 

 probably introduced from Europe, though there are some that hold 

 that its original home is China. It is confined mainly to ports 

 and is, so far as is known, comparatively rare inland. It is a large 

 heavy rat which may be distinguished by its bi-coloured tail, 

 which is distinctly lighter below, its large heavy flesh-coloured feet, 

 its short, round ears and broad heavy-jowled head. It is brown in 

 colour, becoming grizzled below and fading off into dirty white 

 on the belly. The ears generally fall short of the eye when laid 

 down along the face, whereas in Mus rattus the} 7 generally cover 

 the eye. The tail is heavy, uniformly tapered and averages 89 

 per cent, of the length of the head and body. The most common 

 formula of the mammae is f. Though a burrowing, drain-frequent- 

 ing rat it is frequently captured in the upper storeys of houses. 

 It exceptionally reaches a very large size in Calcutta, — as much 

 as 11 inches in length of head and body, practically the size of the 

 bandicoot. The different shape of its head and the comparative 

 smallness of its foot will distinguish it. This is the rat most 

 frequently affected by plague in Bombay. 



3. NESOKIA BENGALENSIS— THE INDIAN MOLE RAT. 



This has been in the past very frequently confused with the 

 preceding rat, as in size and general appearance it is not unlike 

 it. It is however a much more coarsely furred rat, the underfur 

 being so thin that the naked skin can frequently be seen when it 

 is enraged and erects its fur. The back is covered with very long 

 black bristles 4 — 5 cm. in length, which are quite characteristic. 

 When trapped it is generally very savage in demeanour, bristling 

 its coat, spitting and snarling at one. The head and neck are 

 short and thick and the whole body is stout. In colour it is a 

 colder greyer brown than the brown rat and fades off to a dirty 

 rusty white on the belly. The tail is characteristic, being rather 

 short (81 per cent, of the length of the head and body), uniformly 



