ZOOLOGICAL 



19 



^ At least 60 extinct species have been referred to this family, all of them 

 being from the Tertiary beds of Southern Brazil, the Argentine Republic or 



Patagonia. 



HYSTRICID.E and ERETHIZONTID^l (Porcupines; 48 Species). 



Plate 6, Map iv. 



Porcupines, taken as a whole, have an extremely wide range, occurring 

 in all the zoological regions save the Australian. In the Old World, how- 

 ever, they are confined to the extreme south of Europe, Southern Asia, 

 and a large part of Africa. These animals may be grouped into two 

 families, which are distinct both zoologically and geographically. The Old 

 World forms, which may be called True Porcupines (family Ilystricidse) 

 are terrestrial and nocturnal animals. Some 23 species are known, of which 

 the Common Porcupine (Hystrix cristata) is the most familiar. This animal 

 is restricted to the countries bordering upon the Mediterranean, such as 

 Southern Spain and Italy, Sicily, Asia Minor, Palestine and Northern Africa. 



The Porcupines occurring in the New World constitute, according to 

 the most modern authorities, the family JErethizontidse (sometimes called 

 Ccendidse). Most of them (genus Ccendu) are characterised by the posses- 

 sion of a prehensile tail, fitting them for an exclusively arboreal life, and 

 these are confined to the Neotropical Eegion. The Canadian and Cali- 

 fornian Porcupines, forming the genus Erethizon, are, however, purely 

 Nearctic in distribution, ranging from Alaska and Labrador southwards to 

 New Mexico. They are entirely absent from the eastern half of the United 

 States. 



About 30 fossil species have been referred to this family, their remains 

 occurring chiefly in the Tertiary beds of Europe and America. 



OCTODONTHLE (Spiny Mice ; 109 Species). Plate 6, Map iv. 



This family is characteristic of the Neotropical Region. Only some 

 dozen species are found beyond its limits, and these occur in Algeria, Tunis, 

 tropical and South Africa. The species of Capromys, known as Hutias, 

 and six in number, are confined to Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas, 

 while the genus Plagiodontia is represented by a single species in San 

 Domingo. With these exceptions the Spiny Mice are entirely inhabitants 

 of Central and South America, where they range from Nicaragua to Tierra 

 del Fuego. All the members of the family are somewhat rat-like in ap- 

 pearance, and are mostly terrestrial in habit, though some are aquatic and 

 others subterranean. Worthy of special mention is the Coypu (Myocastor 

 coypus), an aquatic species about as large again as the Common Rat, which 

 inhabits the banks of rivers and lakes in South America. The under-fur of 

 this animal is of importance in commerce, being used as a substitute for 

 that of the Beaver, and the number of individuals annually sacrificed may 

 amount to half a million. 



More than 60 extinct species have been described, only two of which are 

 from the Old World. Most of the others are from the Tertiary beds of 

 Patagonia and the Argentine Republic. 



JACULID.5; (Jumping Mice, Jerboas, &c. ; 47 Species). 

 Plate 6, Map vi 



The Jaculidse are practically confined to the Palfearctic and Nearctic 

 regions, only one species occurring beyond the limits of the former, namely, 

 in Western Kordofan. In Central and Northern Europe the family is re- 

 presented by a single species, belonging to the genus Sicista. 1 



The Jerboas, of which there are half a dozen different genera and 

 about 30 species, dwell in the desert regions and steppes of Eastern Europe, 

 Central Asia, and Northern Africa, living in burrows and only venturing 

 out at night, when they hop about like pigmy Kangaroos. The so-called 

 Jumping Mice (Zapus), on the other hand, are the sole representatives of the 

 family in the New World. The 12 known species range from the Great 

 Slave Lake and Hudson Bay southwards to California and New Mexico, 

 while within these limits of latitude they occur from Atlantic to Pacific. 

 They frequent damper regions than their Old World relatives, while they 

 are more often seen during the day. 



Two fossil species of this family have been described from Southern 

 France. 



PEDETID^G (African Jumping Hares ; 2 Species). 

 Plate 6, Map vi. 



As their popular name suggests, these curious animals are confined to 

 Africa. The better known species occurs from the Cape to Angola and the 

 Zambesi, inhabiting both mountains and plains, and possessing habits like 

 those of the Jerboas. The second species was described in 1902 from Ibea, 

 in tropical East Africa. 



GE0MYID.E (Pouched Rats or Pocket-Gophers ; 84 Species). 

 Plate 6, Map v. 



The Rodents of this family, together with the Pocket-Mice and their 

 allies of the family Reteromyidse are characterised by having peculiar cheek- 

 pouches, which are lined with hair. They are entirely confined to North 

 and Central America, have a rat-like appearance, and are remarkable from 

 the fact that they pass the whole of their lives underground. The principal 

 genera are Geomys and Thomomys. The nine known species of the former 

 genus are found to the east of the Rocky Mountains; while the more 

 numerous (about 50) species of Thomomys, on the contrary, live chiefly to 

 the west of that range, and penetrate southwards to Mexico. Only eight 

 species of the family are found in Central America. 



1 Since the map was prepared, the discovery of a species of Sicista in the island of 

 Sa"-halien has extended the range of the family eastwards. 



HETEEOMYID-E (Pocket-Mice and Kangaroo Eats ; 107 Species). 

 Plate 6, Map v. 



These animals are closely related to the Geomyidse., but have a somewhat 

 different distribution, although confined to the New World. The principal 

 genera are Dipodomys (Kangaroo Rats), ranging from California and Nevada 

 to Mexico ; Perognathus (Pocket-Mice), with nearly 40 species occurring from 

 British Columbia to Mexico; and Heteromys, with 21 species, three of which 

 occur in South America and one in Trinidad. 



SPALACID.E; (Mole-Eats ; 21 Species). Plate 6, Map v. 



To this exclusively Old- World family belong a number of strange-look- 

 ing creatures, all of which are subterranean in their habits, and specially 

 adapted in structure for this mode of life. The three genera of which the 

 family is composed have each a distinct and separate distribution. The 

 members of the typical genus Spalax, 13 in number, inhabit South-eastern 

 Europe, South-western Asia, Syria and Northern Egypt. They live in 

 tunnels like those of the Mole, and have their eyes completely covered with 

 skin. The Bamboo-Rats (Rhizomys), of which five species are known, are 

 confined to the eastern portion of the Oriental Region ; while the three 

 species of the remaining genus (Tachyoryctes) are only found in Abyssinia 

 and eastern Central Africa. 



Three fossil species of this family have been described, from the Indian 

 Miocene, European Pliocene, and the Pleistocene of Palestine respectively. 



BATHYEEGID^E (African Mole-Eats ; 23 Species). 

 Plate 6, Map v. 



The Bathyergidse are natives of Eastern and Southern Africa, and differ 

 from the Spcdacidse in the nature of the lower jaw and by their possessing 

 premolar teeth. Since the map was prepared a species has been described 

 from Togoland. The most remarkable members of the family are the 

 so-called Naked Sand-Rats (genera Heterocephalus and Fomarina). They 

 are tiny, almost hairless creatures, which are blind and devoid of external 

 ears, spending the whole of their time burrowing in the sand of the 

 deserts. Three species have been described, two from Somaliland and one 

 from Abyssinia. 



MUEID-ffi (Rats, Mice, Voles, Lemmings, Hamsters, &c, 1477 Species). 



Plate 6, Map vi. 



This enormous family contains a larger number of species than any 

 other family of Vertebrates, and is cosmopolitan in its distribution. The 

 consideration of the family as a whole, therefore, offers few points of 

 special interest, beyond the fact that it is the only family of Rodents which 

 possesses representatives in either the Australian region or Madagascar. 



To accommodate such a large variety of forms 13 sub-families have been 

 formed, based upon certain characters found associated with the molar teeth. 

 The first sub-family (Ilydromyinse) contains 11 species, which inhabit Aus- 

 tralia, New Guinea, the Ke Islands, and the Philippines. The best-known 

 of these is the Australian Water-Rat or Beaver-Rat (Hydromys chrysog aster), 

 an animal of aquatic habits and possessing webbed feet. The next two sub- 

 families (Rhynchomyinse and Phlseomyinse) contain together only four species, 

 which are confined to the Philippines. The fourth sub-family (Gerbillinse) 

 comprises 113 species known as Gerbils, which are found in the Pala^arctic, 

 Oriental, and Ethiopian regions, and range from Russia to Mongolia in 

 the north, southwards to Ceylon, and throughout the whole of Africa. The 

 next sub-family (Otomyinse) is purely Ethiopian, containing a dozen species 

 which range from Abyssinia and Somaliland to Angola and the Cape of 

 Good Hope. The Dendromyinse are another Ethiopian sub-family. Twenty- 

 one species belong here, and these occur from Togoland and Abyssinia 

 southwards to the Cape of Good Hope. Next comes the typical sub-family 

 (Murinse) with 463 species. We include among these all the Australian 

 members of the family save the few which belong to the first sub-family. 

 The Murinse, known as true Rats and Mice, are only found in the Old 

 World, with the exception of the Black Rat, the Brown Rat, and the 

 Common House Mouse, which have been carried by ships to all parts of the 

 globe. In Britain there are five representatives of this sub-family, all 

 belonging to the typical genus Mus. The Brown Rat (M. norwegicus or 

 decumanus) was introduced into our islands at a date which is not known 

 with certainty ; probably, however, in the eighteenth century. It is now 

 universal, having driven out the Black Rat (M. rattus), which was intro- 

 duced about the fifteenth century and became generally distributed, but is 

 now only locally or occasionally met with. The Common House Mouse (31. 

 musculus) is everywhere abundant, while the Harvest Mouse (M. minutus) is 

 pretty generally spread over the whole of England and the southern countries 

 of Scotland. The Wood-Mouse or Long-tailed Field-Mouse (M. sylvaticus), 

 of which there are several races, is universally distributed in Britain. The 

 eighth sub-family (Cricetinse) includes 28 species of Cricetus, known as Ham- 

 sters, which are exclusively Palajarctic, and two species of Mystromys, found 

 in Central and South Africa. The ninth sub-family (Nesomyinse) is formed 

 for a dozen species of mice found in Madagascar, and these are the only 

 rodents found in that island. The next sub-family (Sigmodontinee) is the 

 largest of all, containing no fewer than 524 species. The whole of these are 

 confined to the New World, and are known as White-footed Mice. The 

 Common White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) appears to represent 

 the Common House-Mouse of Europe, but is a much prettier animal, owing 

 to the contrast in colour between the upper and under parts of its body. 

 The genera Peromyscus and Oryzomys contain together nearly half the 

 species of the sub-family. The eleventh sub-family (Neotominse) contains 

 50 species which are confined to North and Central America, ranging from 

 Alaska and Canada southwards to Guatemala. Then follows an important 

 sub-family, the Microtinse, containing the Voles, the Lemmings, and the 



