156 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



the crupper it becomes brown ; the circumference of the 

 eyes and nose is whitish, and there is a spot of the same 

 tint above the eye, and another behind the ear ; the sides 

 of the head are of a whitish ash-colour ; all the under parts 

 of the body are entirely white, as is the under part of the 

 tail ; the upper part is ash- coloured, but cut by about two 

 hundred brown streaks, which form so many rings. 



Pallas has observed the Tamaricin on the southern coasts 

 and deserts of the Caspian Sea, and this great naturalist is 

 of opinion that this pretty animal also inhabits the warmer 

 climates of Asia. It frequents those departments which 

 abounds in tamarisks and saline plants, such as the sali- 

 cornus, airijjlex maritimus, fyc, which form the principal 

 articles of its subsistence. Each individual of this species 

 lives isolated in a profound hole, dug under the roots of 

 trees. This burrow has two galleries, the openings of 

 which will scarcely admit one's four fingers. The Tamari- 

 cin never quits this retreat but at night, and is easily taken 

 in the snares which are set at the entrance of its hole. 



The second species is the Gerbillus lndicus, described in 

 the eighth volume of the Linnean Transactions, under the 

 name of Yerbua. This animal is about the size of the 

 Domestic Rat, but its head is larger in proportion than its 

 body ; the ears are large, round, upright, and almost naked; 

 the nose is very round, and furnished with mustachios ; the 

 upper jaw is half an inch longer than the lower ; the lower 

 incisors are twice as long as the upper ; but these last are 

 longer, and divided by a longitudinal furrow ; the eyes are 

 large and of a brilliant black ; the legs are of an unequal 

 length; the fore ones are shorter than the hind, and have 

 four toes and a small tubercle; the hind-feet have five toes; 

 the three middle ones are twice as long as the one on the 

 fore-feet ; the external toe is one-half as long as the others, 

 and the internal is the shortest of all ; the claws are white, 

 and of a moderate length. 



