SYNOPSIS OF THE 



i 



Castor fiber, Lin Kaarupy Arist. Hist. Anim. Fiber, 

 Pliny, I. 8, c. 30. 



Beaver, Ray, Synop. 209. Le Castor ou le B\evve,Buf. 

 t. 8. 282. 



Icon. Screb. tab. 175. Buff. I. c.pl.3fi. F. Cuvier, Mam. 

 lithog. Pennant, Br. Zool. i. pl.^, and Hist. Quad.pl. 71. 



Inhabits North America, and the vicinity of some of the 

 larger rivers of Europe, as the Rhine, the Rhone, and the 

 Danube. 



Obs. The Beaver is considerably subject to vary in colour, 

 thus M. Geoffroy notes that the Beaver of France is gene- 

 rally of an olivaceous yellow, Brisson (Regne Anim. 135) 

 describes the white Beaver. Black, spotted, and yellow 

 varieties, have also been noticed. 



Genus II. — Mus, Lin. 



Incisive teeth, f; canine teeth, ^^ ; cheek-teeth varying J 

 in the different subgenera; anterior toes, four or five ; pos- 

 terior, five ; anterior limbs furnished with clavicles. 



Sub-Genus I. — Fiber, Cuv. — Incisive teeth, ^; canines, 

 14 ,* cheek-teeth, ff ; the lower incisors sharp pointed, and 

 convex in front, cheek-teeth with flat tops, furnished with < 

 scaly transverse zigzag lamincB ; anterior feet with four toes,\ 

 and the rudiment of a thumb; posterior, with five, with the 

 edges furnished with stiff hairs, used in swimming like the 

 membrane of palmated feet ; tail long, compressed laterally ; 

 an oderiferous tmguent secreted in both sexes. 



532. 1. F. Zibethicus (the Ondatra, or Musk Arvicola.) 



About the size of a Rabbit ; reddish gray, ashy underneath. 



Castor Zibethicus, Lin. Mus Zibethicus, Gm. j 



L'Ondatra, Buff. t. 10. Rat musque, Sarrazin Mem. del 



VAcad. 1725, 323, Rat Musque de Canada, Briss. Regn. 



Anim. 136. Musk Rat, Laivson''s Carolina, 120. Musquash, 



208 



