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NEOTOMA DRUMMONDII .—Richardson. 



RocK¥ Mountain Neotoma. 



PLATE XXIX, Winter and Summer colours. Natural Size. 



N. subtus albida ; supra hyeme flavo-fuscescens, asstate saturate cine- 

 reus ; cauda crassa, corpore longiore muse decumano robustior. 



CHAKACTERS. 



Colour, above, yellowish-browti in winter and darh-asli in summer ; 

 whitish beneath ; tail, bushy and longer than the body ; larger than the Nor- 

 way rat. 



STNONYMES. 



Rat or the Rocky Mountains, Lewis and Clarke, vol. iii., p. 41. 



Myoxus Drhmmondii, Rich., Zool. Jour., 1828, p. 5, 7. 



Neotoma Dbummondii, Rich., Fauna Boreali Americana, p. 137, pi. 7. 



DESCRIPTION. 



This species bears a striking resemblance to the Florida rat. It differs 

 from the Norway rat by its longer and broader ears, and by its bushy 

 tail and light active form. Fur, long and loose, bearing a considerable 

 resemblance to that of the gray rabbit ; nose, rather obtuse ; the nostrils 

 have a very narrow naked margin ; the tip of the nose is covered with 

 short hairs ; ears, large, oval, and rounded, nearly naked within, except 

 near the margins, where they are slightly clothed with short hairs. On 

 the outer surface there are a few more hairs, but not enough to conceal 

 the skin beneath ; eyes, small, much concealed by the fur ; whiskers, 

 like hogs' bristles, very strong, the longest reaching to the shoulders ; 

 neck, short, and fully as thick as the head. 



Fore-legs, short ; feet, of moderate size, with four toes ; claws, small, 

 compressed, and pointed. The third toe nearly equals the middle one, 

 which is the longest, the first is a little shorter, and the outer one not 

 more than half the length of the other two ; there is also the rudiment of 

 a thumb, which is armed with a minute nail. The toes of the hind-feet 



