MAMMALIA. 



45 



MUS GRACILIPES. 



Plate XI. 



Mus gracilipes, Waterh., Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, for February 1837, p. 19. 



M. supra flavo-lavatus ; pilis pone aurem utramque, labiis, corporeque subtits, albis ; 

 pedibus parvulis, gracilibus, carneis, supra, et ad calcem pilis albis tectis ; cauda 

 gracili, pilis albis instructd, quoad longitudinem corpus fere cequante ; auribus 

 mediocribus ; vellere mediocri et molli, pilis omnibus ad basin plumbeis. 



Description. — General colour very pale yellowish brown, a tint produced by the 

 admixture of black and pale fawn colour ; the hairs of the ordinary fur being 

 of the latter tint near the apex, and dusky at the apex, whilst the longer 

 hairs are black. The feet, tail, under parts of the body and the sides of the 

 muzzle, are pure white. All the hairs of the body, (which are soft, and of 

 moderate length), are deep gray at the base. The ears are of moderate 

 size, well clothed with hairs, of which those on the inner side are yellowish, 

 and those on the outer, are brown on the anterior part, and white on the 

 posterior. A small tuft of white hairs springs from the neck immediately 

 behind the ears ; this tuft is hidden when the ears are folded back. The tail 

 is slender and short, (being not quite equal to the body in length) of a pale 

 flesh-colour, and sparingly furnished with minute white hairs. The feet are 

 very small and slender, and the naked parts are of a pale flesh-colour. The 

 sole of the foot is covered with hairs ; the toes beneath, and the tubercles 

 (which are as in Mus Musculus), however, are naked. The hairs of the 

 moustaches are of moderate length, and of a blackish colour, some of them, 

 however, are grayish white. 



Length from nose to root of tail 

 of tail 

 from nose to eye 



In. Lines. 



2 10 



1 7 



4.1 



Length from nose to ear . . .0 8^ 



of tarsus (claws included) . .0 6^ 

 of ear . . . . .0 4+ 



Habitat, Bahia Blanca, {September.) 



This species slightly exceeds the harvest mouse (Mus messorius) in size, its 

 ears are considerably larger in proportion, and the tail is shorter. Compared 

 with the common mouse (Mus Musculus) it is smaller, the tail is more slender, 

 and shorter, and the feet are likewise more slender and proportionately much 

 smaller ; the ears are more distinctly clothed with hairs. 



