MAMMALIA. 115 
[34.] 1. Finer Zipetuicus. (Cuvier.) The Musquash. 
Genus Arvicola, Sub-genus Fiber. CuviEr. 
Rat-musqué. Sacarp TuropatT, Canada, p. 771. 
Castor Zibethicus. Linn. Sysé., xii. 1. p. 79. 
L’Ondatra. Burron, tom.x. p. I. 
Musk-rat. Lawson, Carolina, p. 120. 
Musk-beaver. PENNANT, Arctic Zool., vol.i. p. 106. 
Musquash. JossELYN, New England. HEarne, Journey, p. 379. 
Mus Zibethicus, Lin. GMELIN, vol.i. p. 125. 
Fiber Zibethicus. Sasine, Franklin’s Journey, p. 659. Haran, Fauna, p. 132, 
Musk-rat. Gopman, Nat. Hist., vol. ii. p. 58. 
Ondathra. Hurowns. 
Musquash, watsuss, or wachusk, also peesquaw-tupeyew (the animal that sits on the ice in a 
round form), CREE INDIANS. 
DESCRIPTION. 
The Musquash, or, as it is often named, the Musk-rat, has a thick flattish body, with a 
short head, indistinct neck, thighs hid in the body, very short legs, and large hind-feet. Its 
tail is compressed laterally, and has a length nearly equal to that of the body, excluding the 
head. It is furnished with large yellowish incisors, of which the upper ones are flatly rounded 
anteriorly, without grooves, and obliquely truncated on the cutting edge. The lower ones are 
chiselled away posteriorly, so as to come nearly to a point at the extremity, and are some- 
what longer than the upper ones. The lips, covered with coarse hair, turn inwards. The 
nose is short, thick, and obtuse, and is covered with short hair. The eyes, small and lateral, 
ate much hidden by the fur. The ears, low and oblong, are covered with hair like that on 
the adjoining parts of the head, and are not conspicuous. 
The fur much resembles that of the beaver, but is shorter; the down is coarser and of 
much less value, and the long hairs are less strong and shining, and do “not form so close a 
coat. Although the fur of the Musquash resists the water when the animal is alive, it is 
easily wetted immediately after death. The fur on the upper parts is somewhat longer than 
that beneath. Its colour externally is a dark umber-brown on the whole upper part of the 
head, including the ears, between the shoulders and on the back. The sides, anterior part of 
the belly, middle of the breast, lateral parts of the neck, and the cheeks, are ofa shining 
yellowish-brown hue, the tint being deepest on the sides, but fading on the belly and cheeks 
into light wood-brown, The chin, throat, sides of the chest, and posterior part of the 
abdomen, are ash-gray, owing to the down being intermixed with few long hairs, and, con- 
sequently, more visible on those parts. The down on the upper parts exhibits, when blown 
aside, a dark lead-gray or blackish-gray colour from the roots upwards, the tips alone being 
tinged with brown ; on the under surface of the animal the down has a lighter bluish-gray 
colour, and its tips are brownish-gray. 
Q2 
