ARV1C0LA TERRESTRIS.— ARVICOLA RATTICEPS. 87 



neighbourhood of Pavia and Milan. Is common near Home 

 and in Tuscany ; in the Maremme of the latter country it 

 is very abundant. In the province of Piombino these Voles 

 appeared in such numbers in the spring of 1837, and again 

 in 1838, as seriously to injure the crops. 



Arvicola terrestris. 



Arvicola terrestris, De Selys, Micromm. 

 A. argentoratensis, Desm. Mamm. Sp. 436. 

 Campagnol Sckermaus, De Selys, /. c. 



Desceipiion. — Has thirteen pairs of ribs. Pur yellowish 

 brown, dark on the back, lighter on the sides of the head and 

 body, on which parts the yellow tint becomes more decided, 

 never passing into red as in A. amphibius, of equal length, 

 without long hairs on the back ; body beneath rather light 

 ashy, very slightly tinged with pale yellow on the abdo- 

 men ; tail a little more than one-third of the length of the 

 body, covered with short hairs, brown above, lighter be- 

 neath ; the feet are also covered with very short whitish 

 hairs ; eyes very small, black ; ears as in A. amphibim, but 

 the snout thicker and blunt ; it differs also from that species 

 in the form of the skull. Its habits are the same. White 

 and black varieties have been met with. 



Length of head and body, 5 inches ; head, 1 inch 2 lines ; 

 tail, 2 inches ; ears, 3^ lines. — P. M. 



Has been found near Strasburg and in the East of Ger- 

 many. In Switzerland, especially near Zurich ; it is there 

 sometimes called " the "Wurtzelmaus." 



Arvicola ratticeps. 



Arvicola ratticeps, Blasius, Wirbelth. Deutschlands, p. 365. 



Descbiption. — Teeth 16 in number. Ears nearly half as 

 long as the head, their upper portion on the outside covered 



