Mzxsox.—On a Plague of Rats. 208 
Length of body from the tip of snout to base of tail, 4°75-5°5 inches ; 
length of tail, 4°75-5-5 inches; length of head, about 1°6 inch; length 
of hind foot, about 1:25 inch; length of fore foot, about °75 inch ; 
measurement of ears, ‘75 x :625 inch; whisker hairs, numerous, of vari- 
ous lengths, largest 1:5 inch; colour of fur (which is long, very thick, 
soft, and glossy), except at tips, always iron or bluish-grey, intermingled 
with perfectly white hairs at tips ; greyish-brown on back, white on belly. 
The ears are rounded and naked; tail long, scaly, covered with very short 
hairs ; legs clothed in soft hair, which in the hind feet is long and covers 
the claws ; toes, 4 in fore-feet and 5 in hind ones, each toe provided with 
nails which are sharp and white at tip. Dental formula, i tt, m $5—16; the 
lower incisors large, rounded, and yellow. 
Now in turning over the pages of the Transactions and Proceedings of 
the N.Z. Institute, I see, passim, the following species of rats noticed as 
found in the colony and distinguished from one another. It is not by any 
means easy to gather from these scattered notices the information needful 
for writing a clear account. Those who have examined specimens and 
read papers or spoken thereon at the meetings of the Philosophical Societies 
have differed somewhat from one another, and in some cases later informa- 
tion seems to have led to the withdrawal of previously expressed opinions. 
This seems to have arisen partly from the fact that in most cases a solitary 
individual specimen has been the subject. Such an one was the rat, 
ochréous in colour, found in 1853 (Trans., vol. ii., p. 3), and placed in the 
Auckland Museum. This in size was about as big as our rat, but Dr. 
Hector considered that it was probably a Sydney species. Again a rat of 
large size, with a tail 8 inches long, was found in Tinakori Road, Wellington, 
in 1871 (Trans., vol. iv., p. 183). It was a female, is now in the Wellington 
Museum, and was regarded by Professor Hutton as a specimen of Mus rattus, 
Two or three rats, again, were found by Mr. Taylor White near Napier, in 
1876 (Trans., vol. xi., p. 343), and a skin was also found at the Port, all 
of which Professor Hutton regards as being specimens of Mus rattus. Then, 
again, in 1870 (Trans., vol. iii., p. 1), Dr. Buller communicated a paper to 
the Transactions, on a specimen forwarded to him from Wangaehu, which 
he minutely describes, and regards as the true Maori rat—the Kiore Maori. 
This also is deposited in the Wellington Museum. Now some of these 
specimens, [ submit, had in all probability been stowaways on board vessels 
arriving at the New Zealand ports from Europe or the Australian colonies, . 2 
and the accounts given of them therefore increase the difficulty of b^ | 
at a conclusion as to what species of rats are indigenous or accHmaM P — 
in New Zealand. However, I think these three species are and have been 
for some time in different parts of the colony. unm 
