208 NORTHERN ZOOLOGY. 
curved, and much compressed. Their edges are in contact beneath at their insertions into 
the ends of the toes, and separate a little towards their points, being very similar in form to 
the claws of the spermophiles, but not so strong in proportion to the size of the animal, The 
middle claw is the longest ; those belonging to the thumb and outer toe are much shorter and 
more conical than the rest, but they are in other respects similar, the thumb-claw differing in 
that respect from the obtuse, rounded flat thumb-claw of a spermophile. 
The hind-feet are covered above with whitish hairs. The soles are naked and narrow, and 
the toes short. The first and fifth toe are so much smaller and further back than the others, 
that, at first sight, there appear to be only three hind-toes. Of these three the middle one 
is longer than the one on each side of it; and of the other two, the first toe is a little further 
back, but somewhat larger than the outer or fifth one. The hind nails are short, conical, 
obtuse, and more or less excavated underneath. The nail of the fourth toe is more spoon- 
shaped than the others. 
> 
DIMENSIONS. 
Inches. Lines. Inches, Lines. 
Length of the head and body ’ e ell 0. | Length of middle hind-toe Fi * 0 4 
> head : 3 0 ss middle hind-claw 0 2 
Br enact of the head behind sie — wifen ty upper incisors (the exposed donor) 0 6 
the pouches are distended 3 6 sD lower incisors ditto 0 9 
Length of the tail 2 6 5, from the orbit to the tip of the nose 1 2 
~ palm, middle fore-toe ran flan wyel 0 5, Of the orbit, about © 1) 3 
35 middle fore-toe 0 3 », from the orbit to the aadivonyapeea 0 6 
oo middle fore-claw 0 44| Height of the back, about 4 0 
55 sole, middle hind-toe and ica 1 6 Length of the fur on the back . 0 6 
M. Rafinesque has not detailed the characters of his diplostoma fusca from the 
Missouri sufficiently to enable us to judge how far it differs from the camas-rat ; 
but the furrows on the upper and lower incisors of his species, and no mention 
being made of the white fur about the mouth, lead me to consider it as distinct. 
The want of a tail, and the smaller number of toes on his specimen, may have 
been owing to an injury the skin had sustained, as he had not an opportunity of 
examining the recent animal. 
Mr. Schoolcraft gives a description of a “ gopher” that he procured at the 
Falls of St. Anthony, on the Mississippi, which I shall transcribe, as it contains 
the fullest account of the habits of these animals which I have met with. “ It is 
about ten inches long from the nose to the tail, with a body shaped very much 
like that of a large wharf-rat, which it also resembles in the colour of its hair and 
the length and nudity of its tail. Its legs are short, and each foot is furnished 
with five long and sharp claws. It has two large fore-teeth in each jaw, resembling 
those of the squirrel, but its most remarkable character is a pouch on each side of 
the jaw, formed by a duplicature of the skin of the cheek. These project inwardly, 
where they are accommodated by an unusual width and flattening out of the head. 
