THE RODENTS, OR GNAWING ANIMALS 139 
colour, becoming almost pure white be- 
low. The tail is long, and carried up- 
right as the animal leaps. The head and 
body are nearly 2 feet long, and the tail 
20 inches. It is found both in the plains 
and mountains of South Africa, where it 
makes deep burrows, in which several’ 
families live. It is mainly nocturnal. 
THe Ocropontr FAmILy. 
America is the main home of this 
family of rodents, though there are sev- 
eral representatives in Africa. Their name 
is due to the fact that they have four 
: molar teeth on each side of the jaw. The 
CHINCHILLA best-known species is the Coypu, or Nu- 
A small rodent of the Andes, possessing very soft and valuable gray fur TRIA, of South America, an aquatic, fur- 
: bearing animal. It is very plentiful in the 
large rivers of that continent, where its fur is a valuable commodity for export. When swim- 
ming, the female coypu carries its young on its back. The coypu is usually 20 inches long, with 
a tail two-thirds of the length of its head and body. The general colour is brown above and 
brownish yellow below. Coypus live in pairs in holes in the river-banks. In the Chonos 
Archipelago they frequent the seashore, and burrow near the beach. 
The Horta, another large octodont, is found in the West Indies. There are two species, 
both partly arboreal. The Tuco-tucos, burrowing octodonts of the pampas and the far south of 
the American Continent, are rat-like animals, with large claws and very small eyes and ears. 
Photo by 47, P, Dando 
THE PORCUPINES. 
These animals are either tree-climbers or ground-dwellers. The former are found in South 
America, though one, the CANADIAN PORCUPINE, is 
found in the North; the latter are European and 
Asiatic. In Africa they are also common. The 
Canadian porcupine passes nearly all its life in trees, 
feeding on the leaves; but it has not a prehensile 
tail. The Common Porcupine is abundant in Italy 
(where it is eaten by man), Greece, Spain, and Africa. 
It lives in burrows or among rocks. In India a very 
similar species is found. The head and shoulders of 
these ground-porcupines are not protected by the 
larger sharp spines which guard the rest of their 
bodies. 
The tree-porcupines of the forests of Central 
America have long prehensile tails, and are very 
lightly built. The quills are short, the head 
rounded, and the appearance very different from 
that of the European or African species. The 
common porcupine of Europe and North Africa aera ee ee 
measures about 28 inches in length from the nose to AGP i a 
the root of the tail. The head, neck, and shoulders 7, agutis are also a South American group, found both in 
are covered with short spines and hairs, and the the forests and on the plains 
