Rats.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



67 



the motion of the spear, it is evident that the animal 

 is struck, the house is broken down, and it is taken 

 out. The principal seasons for taking the musquash 

 are the autumn before the snow falls, and the spring, 

 after it has disappeared, but while the ice is still 

 entire. In the winter time the depth of snow pre- 

 vents the houses and breathing-holes from being 

 seen. One of the first operations of the hunter is 

 • to stop all the holes with the exception of one, at 

 which he stations himself to spear the animals that 

 have escaped being struck in their houses and come 

 hither to breathe. In the summer the musquash 

 burrows in the banks of the lakes, making branched 

 canals many yards in extent, and forming its nest 

 in a chamber at the extremity, in which the young 

 are brought forth. When its house is attacked in 

 the autumn, it retreats to these passages, but in the 

 spring they are frozen up. The musquash may be 

 frequently seen on the shores of small muddy 

 islands, sitting in a rounded form, and not easily to 

 be distinguished from a piece of earth, until, on the 

 approach of danger, it suddenly plunges into the 

 water. In the act of diving, when surprised, it 

 gives a smart blow to the water with its tail. Its 

 flesh is eaten by the natives, though it has a strong 

 musky flavour. The fur is used for hat-making, 

 and between four and five hundred thousand skins 

 are annually imported into Great Britain. The mus- 

 quash breeds three times in the year, producing from 

 three to seven at a birth. 



272, 273.— The Mole-Rat 

 (Aspalomys typhlus, Laxmann). Spalax typhlus, 

 Guldenst.; Aspalax typhlus, Desm, ; Zemni, Rzac- 

 zinski ; Slepez, Gmelin ; Podolian Marmot, Pennant. 



This strange animal (which forms the type of 

 a distinct family) is expressly organized as a miner. 

 The body is mole-shaped and covered with close 

 fur, the limbs are short and thick, with strong short 

 claws. The head is broad and flat, with a lateral 

 margin or ridge running from the great naked nose 

 to the ears, and indicated by a line of white stiff 

 hairs. Breadth of head across, 2f inches ; length 

 the same. Total length eleven inches. Tail 

 wanting. Teeth white : general colour pale sandy 

 ash-grey ; the hairs pale lead colour at the base. 

 The specimen from which these notes were made 

 (in the Paris Museum) was brought from Russia 

 (" le pays des Cosaques du Donn ") : a second 

 specimen, from Syria, was smaller; eight and a half 

 inches long, with bright orange teeth, and the 

 lateral ridge of the head not fringed with white hairs ; 

 its colour also was darker. 



The mole-rat is a native of Asia Minor, Syria, 

 Mesopotamia, and Southern Russia between the 

 Tanais and Volga. The Russians term it Slepez, 

 or the blind ; and the Cossacks, Sfochor Nomon, 

 which has the same meaning. It is generally sup- 

 posed to be the a.aita.xa.\ (Aspalax) of Aristotle ; but 

 as a species of mole inhabiting Europe (Talpa caeca) 

 has the eyes also rudimentary, this point is doubtful. 

 In the mole-rat the eye is a minute black grain 

 lying beneath the skin, which passes over it, and is 

 besides covered with the fur : it is evident that the 

 sense of vision is denied to this creature ; but by 

 way of amends its internal organs of hearing are 

 largely developed, and the external orifice is wide, 

 though the conch of the ear is almost obsolete. 

 The mouth is small ; the tip of the nose is largely 

 bare and cartilaginous, with the nostrils wide apart 

 and placed below. The mole-rat has much of the 

 manners of our common mole : it is gregarious, and 

 its burrows are clustered together. Rich level plains 

 are its favourite localities. Its burrows consist of 

 galleries at a little distance below the surface of the 

 earth, which communicate with chambers sunk to a 

 greater depth. From its galleries it drives lateral 

 passages in search of roots, particularly of the bulbous 

 Chaerophyllum, on which it feeds. According to 

 Rzaczinski, it also devours grain, of which it amasses 

 a store in its burrow for winter consumption. Its 

 actions are sudden and quick, but irregular ; and it 

 moves along with equal ease both forwards and 

 backwards. It burrows very expeditiously. In the 

 morning it often quits its retreat and basics with its 

 mate in the sun. At the least noise it raises its 

 head to listen, and in a menacing attitude ; when 

 attacked, it snorts and gnashes its teeth, and defends 

 itself resolutely, inflicting severe wounds. There is 

 a superstition among the people of the Ukraine, 

 that the hand which has suffocated one of these 

 animals is gifted with the virtue of curing scrofulous 

 affections. 



274, 275. — The Canada Sand-Rat 



(Geomys bur sarius). Mus bursarius, Shaw. Fischer 

 regards, and perhaps correctly, the genera Sac- 

 cophorus, Pseudostoma, Diplostoma, and Saccomys, 

 as synonymous with the genus Geomys of Rafinesque, 

 and which is represented by the sand-rat, distin- 

 guished by large cheek-pouches, which when full 

 have an oblong form and nearly touch the ground, 

 but when empty are retracted for three-fourths of 

 their length. Their interior is very glandular, par- 



ticularly the orifice that opens into the mouth. 



4 4 



The incisors are — -. Fig. 275* represents the skull 



and teeth of Geomys, as given by Dr. Richardson : 

 1, 2, 3, skull, natural size,* in different views: 4, 

 lower jaw; 5. palate and upper teeth; 6, upper 

 grinder magnified. Fig. 27G represents the teeth of 

 Geomys (Saccomys, F. Cuv.) enlarged. 



The skull is large and depressed, the nose short, 

 the nasal and frontal bones are in the same plane ; the 

 palate is very narrow, and the zygomatic arch is but 

 little depressed below the upper surface of the skull. 



The nostrils are somewhat lateral ; the mouth is 

 contracted; the pendulous cheek-pouches are thinly 

 clothed with short hairs, and sometimes almost naked 

 — they open into the mouth by the side of the molar 

 teeth; auditory openings large, external ear almost 

 obsolete ; eyes small and far apart. ; body cylindrical ; 

 tail of moderate length, round, tapering, and more 

 or less hairy. Limbs short ; toes five on each foot, 

 with strong claws. 



Dr. Richardson observes that the sand-rats bur- 

 row in sandy soils, and feed on acorns, nuts, roots, 

 and grass, which they convey to their burrows in 

 their cheek-pouches; they throw up little mounds 

 of earth, like mole-hills, in summer, but are not seen 

 abroad in the winter season; speaking of the 

 Columbia sand-rat, he observes, that when in the 

 act of emptying its pouches it sits up like a mar- 

 mot or squirrel, and squeezes the sacks against 

 its breast with its fore-paws and chin. These ani- 

 mals commit great havoc on the potato-fields. 

 The Canada sand-rat is known only from Dr. Shaw's 

 description (in the 'Linnsean Transactions,' vol. v., 

 p. .227) of a specimen in Mr. Bullock's Museum, 

 and which afterwards passed into the hands of M. 

 Temminck. There is no specimen in any of our 

 museums; nor did Dr. Richardson see the animal 

 in his expedition. It may, however, possibly prove 

 to be identical with one of the species he has de- 

 scribed. This animal is stated to be about, the size 

 of a common rat, and of a pale-greyish brown. A 

 specimen of the mole-like sand-rat (G. talpoides) is 

 preserved in the collection of the Zool. Soc. It is 

 a native of the borders of the Saskatchewan. 



277. — The Camas Pouched-Rat 



(Diplostoma bulbivorum). The animals of this 

 genus differ from those of the genus Geomys, in 

 having cheek-pouches which open externally at 

 the sides of the mouth, and are carried inwards and 

 downwards along the side of the lower jaw; these 

 pouches are not. pendulous ; the mouth is a vertical 

 fissure nearly an inch long, entirely exposing the 

 incisors ; and the lateral fold of skin before the open- 

 ing of the pouch is covered internally and exter- 

 nally with fur. The body resembles that of a great 

 mole with a large clumsy head. 



The animals of this genus were termed " Gauffres,'' 

 by the early French travellers : there appear to be 

 several species. 



The Camas pouched-rat is common in N. America, 

 on the banks of the Columbia river, and the Mult- 

 nomah, where it is known under the name of Camas- 

 rat, because the bulbous root of the Quamash or 

 Camas-plant (Scilla esculenta) forms its favourite 

 food. It is eleven inches long, and of a chesnut- 

 brown colour. These animals, the Gauffres of the 

 French, are excessively voracious, and they are very 

 destructive to beets, carrots, and similar vegetables. 

 They live almost exclusively under ground, work- 

 ing their way like a mole, and are said to fill their 

 cheek-pouches with the earth by means of their 

 paws, and to empty them of their contents at the 

 mouth of the burrow. 



278.— The Coast-Rat 



(Bathiergus maritimus). The dental form of Ba- 

 thiergus (Orycterus, F. Cuv.) is as follows: Molars 



4 4 



(see Fig. 278*). In this genus are compre- 

 hended several species of mole-like Rodents pe- 

 culiar to Africa, the whole form and organization of 

 which fit them for an underground existence. The 

 most remarkable is the coast-rat, or sand-mole of 

 the downs. This species is a native of Southern 

 Africa, frequenting sandy tracts along the coast. 

 On the surface of the ground it proceeds slowly, 

 but it burrows with great rapidity, and works out 

 long galleries, throwing up hillocks as does the 

 mole. In some districts these are extremely nu- 

 merous, rendering it dangerous to pass over them 

 on horseback, and not pleasant even on foot, the 

 earth, where excavated, suddenly giving way. This 

 animal is about a foot in length, exclusive of the 

 tail, which is about three inches. The incisors are 

 of enormous size, and those above have a deep 

 longitudinal furrow down the front ; and a hairy 

 palate extends behind them. The general colour is 

 greyish ash. 



279. — The Rabbit Cercomts. 

 This animal, which in shape resembles a rat, repre- 

 sents the genus Cercomys, closely allied to that of 



Echymys, containing the spiny rats. The molars 



4 — i 

 are — - rooted. The general colour of this spe- 

 cies is deep brown above, paler on the sides and 

 cheeks ; all the under parts are whitish ; the tale is 

 long, like that of the rat; ears and eyes large. It 

 is a native of Brazil, but of its habits we have no 

 detailed accounts. The teeth of the genus Echy- 

 mys (a South American group) are figured 280. 



281. — Cuming's Octodon 



(Octodon Oumingii). Dendrobius Degus, Meyen. 

 The family Octodontidae is established for a few 

 allied genera peculiar to South America, of which 



that termed Octodon is the type. Molars, -— & 



'4—4* 

 The antorbital foramen is as large as the orbit, or 

 nearly so. The descending ramus of the lower jaw 

 is deeply emarginated behind, and the posterior 

 angle acute. Fig. 282 represents the skull of Oc- 

 todon in different views ; and Fig. 283 the skull of 

 an allied genus, Ctenomys. 



Cuming's Octodon in size and shape resembles 

 a water-rat. General colour brownish grey ; clouded 

 with dusky black ; under surface dusky grey ; base 

 of the tail beneath nearly white. 



These animals are exceedingly abundant, in the 

 central parts of Chile. They frequent by hundreds 

 the hedge-rows and thickets, where they make bur- 

 rows which communicate with one another. In 

 the neighbourhood of Valparaiso multitudes may be 

 seen together feeding fearlessly in the day-time. 

 Sometimes they ascend the lower branches of small 

 shrubs, but not often. They are very destructive to 

 fields of young corn. On being disturbed, they all run 

 like rabbits to their burrows. When running they 

 carry their tails raised up, more like squirrels than 

 rats ; and they also sit up like those animals. Accord- 

 ing to Molina they lay up a winter store of food, but 

 do not become dormant. The Octodon is the Degu 

 of that writer: he says that the Indians used for- 

 merly to eat them with much relish. Piebald and 

 albino varieties are not uncommon. The greatest 

 enemy of these active little creatures is a species of 

 horned owl, which feeds chiefly upon them. 



284. — The Tucutuco 



(Ctenomys Magellanicus). General colour brown- 

 ish grey tinged with yellow and slightly varied by 

 a blackish tint; under parts paler ; chin and throat 

 pale fawn. Length of head and body about seven 

 inches ; of the tail about two inches and a quarter. 

 Toes, as in Octodon, five on each foot. 



Locality. — The east entrance of the Strait of 

 Magelhaens at Cape Gregory and the vicinity 

 (King). The wide plains north of the Rio Colo- 

 rado are undermined by these animals : and near 

 the Strait of Magelhaens, where Patagonia blends 

 with Tierra del Fuego, the whole sandy country 

 forms a great warren for them. 



Mr, Darwin ('Journal and Remarks') gives a cir- 

 cumstantial account of this curious animal, which 

 he well describes as a rodent with the habits of a 

 mole. "The tucutuco," says that author, " is ex- 

 tremely abundant in some parts of the country, but 

 is difficult to be procured, and still more difficult 

 to be seen when at liberty. It lives almost entirely 

 underground, and prefers a sandy soil with a gentle 

 inclination. The burrows are said not to be deep, 

 but of great length. They are seldom open ; the 

 earth being thrown up at the mouth into hillocks, 

 not quite so large as those made by the mole. 

 Considerable tracts of country are so completely 

 undermined by these animals, that horses, in passing 

 over, sink above their fetlocks. The tucutucos 

 appear, to a certain degree, to be gregarious. The 

 man who procured specimens for me had caught 

 six together, and he said this was a common occur- 

 rence. They are nocturnal in their habits; and 

 their principal food is afforded by the roots of 

 plants, which is the object of their extensive and 

 superficial burrows. Azara says they are so diffi- 

 cult to be obtained, that he never saw more than 

 one. He states that they lay up magazines of food 

 within their burrows. This animal is universally 

 known by a very peculiar noise which it makes 

 when beneath the ground. A person, the first time 

 he hears it, is much surprised : for it is not easy to 

 tell whence it comes, nor is it possible to guess 

 what kind of creature utters it. The noise consists 

 in a short but not rough nasal grunt, which is re- 

 peated about four times in quick succession ; the 

 first grunt is not so loud, but a little longer and 

 more distinct than the three following : the musical 

 time of the whole is constant, as often as it is 

 uttered. The name Tucutuco is given in imitation 

 of the sound. In all times of the day, where this 

 animal is abundant, the noise may be heard, and 

 somelimes directly beneath one's feet. When kept 

 in a room, the tucutucos move both slowly and 

 clumsily, which appears owing to the outward action 

 of their hind-legs: and they are likewise quite 

 incapable of jumping even the smallest vertical 



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