300 



M U S L E U C O P U S .— RAFiNESQtiE. 



American White-Footed Mouse. 



PLATE XL. JIale, Female and Young. Natural size. 



Cauda elongata, villosa ; auribus magnis ; supra fulvo-fuscescens, 

 subtus albus ; pedibus albis. 



CHARACTERS. 



Tail, long and hairy ; ears, large ; yellowish, brawn above ; feet and 

 lower parts of the body, white. 



SYNONYMES. 



Mos Sylvaticos, Forster, Phil. Trans., toI. Ixii., p. 380. 

 Field-Rat, Penn., Hist. Quad., toI. ii., p. 185. 



" Arctic Zool., vol. i., p. 131. 

 Mi'scDLDS Leucopus, Rafinesque, Amei. Month. Review, Oct. 1818, p. 414. 

 Mos Leocopus, Desmar. Mamm., esp. 493. 

 Mus Sylvaticcs, Harlan, Fauna, p. 151. 

 Mns Agrabius, Godm., Nat. Hist., vol. ii., p. 88. 

 MuB Leucopus, Richardson, F. B. A., p. 142. 

 Abvicola Nuttallii, Harlan, variety. 

 Abvicola Emmonsii, Emm., Mass. Report, p. 61. 

 Mus Leucopus, Dekay, Nat. Hist. N. Y., pi. 1, p. 82. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Head, of moderate size ; muzzle, sharp pointed ; eyes, large ; ears, 

 large, membranous, rounded above, nearly naked. There are a few 

 short hairs on the margins, on both surfaces, not sufficient to conceal the 

 integument. Whiskers, longer than the head. 



The form of this species is delicate and of fine proportions ; the fur 

 (which is not very long) is soft and fine, but not lustrous. 



Feet, slender, and clothed with short adpressed hairs, covering the toes 

 and nails ; there are four toes on the fore-feet, with six tubercles on 

 each palm ; the thumb is rudimentary, and covered by a very small 

 blunt nail. The nails are small, sharp, and hooked ; the hind-feet are 

 long, especially the tarsal bones ; the toes are longer than on the fore- 

 feet. The tail is round, slender, tapering, and thickly clothed with short 



