200 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 
[62.] 1. Geomys Dovuctasu. (Rich.) Columbia Sand-Rat. 
G. (Douglasii), super fuligneus subter pedibusque pallidior, caudd dimidium corporis superanti. 
Columbia Sand-rat, of a dusky-brown colour above, paler beneath, and on the feet, with a tail exceeding half the body 
in length. 
Pirate xvut C. Fie. 1 to 6. 
DESCRIPTION. 
The head is large and depressed ; the nose obtuse, particularly when viewed sideways. The 
nostrils are small and round, situated at the extremity of the nose, and separated by a 
furrowed septum about a line wide; they have a small naked margin, and the narrow upper 
lip betwixt them and the roots of the upper incisors is covered with short hair. Mouth 
moderately large; lips hairy. Jncisors, strong, exserted, orange-coloured ; upper ones with a 
fine but distinct furrow on their anterior surface, close to their inner edges; lower ones with 
a similar furrow on their sides, close to their outer edges. Cheek-pouches large, much 
resembling the thumb of a lady’s glove, in form and size, and hanging down by the sides of 
the head ; they have a pale buff-colour, and are of a soft membranous texture, nearly bare 
outside, having merely some very short, soft, scarcely visible, white hairs, scattered over them, 
with a reticulation of darker nerves: within they appear glandular, and their openings into 
the mouth are sufficiently wide to admit the point of the little finger, being nearly equal to 
the diameter of the pouch itself. The fore-side-of the pouch is posterior to the eye, and the 
hind-side is opposite to the ear ; its tip, which must touch the ground when the animal walks, 
is very obtuse. The whiskers are short and soft. 
Body, shaped like that of a mole, and covered with short, soft, dense, velvety fur, of an 
uniform dusky-brown colour. The fur on the belly and feet has a lighter hue. Tail, more 
than half the length of the body, round, tapering, and obtuse ; covered with hair, particularly 
near its root. 
Legs, short and thick. Fore-toes short, but very flexible ; the three middle ones united at 
their bases by skin ; the outer one is smaller and further back, and the thumb is very small, 
but is armed with a claw similar in form to the others, though it is much smaller, The claws 
are very sharp-pointed, compressed, curved, and about as long again as their respective toes. 
The palm is naked, and its posterior part is filled by a large, rounded, callous eminence. 
The hind-feet are a little more slender than'the fore-ones, and they are armed with smaller 
claws, shaped like those on the hind-feet of the spermophiles. The hind-soles are entirely 
naked, without any conspicuous tubercles ; the-heel is naked and narrow. 
