70 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Rats, 



height. When eating they rest on their hind-legs 

 and hold the piece in their fore-paws ; they ap- 

 pear also to wish to drag it into some corner. 

 They are very stupid in making any attempt to 

 escape ; when angry or frightened, they utter the 

 tucutuco. Of those I kept alive, several, even the 

 first day, became quite tame, not attempting to bite 

 or to run away; others were a little wilder. The 

 man who caught them asserted that many are found 

 blind. A specimen which I preserved in spirits was 

 in this state. When the animal was alive I placed 

 my finger within half an inch of its head, and 

 not the slightest notice was taken : it made its 

 way however about the room nearly as well as the 

 others." 



285.— The Utia 



(Capromys Fumieri). Isodon Pilorides, Say. Mr. 

 Waterhouse considers the genus Capromys as one 

 of those included in the Histricine section of Ro- 

 dents. The anterior paws have four toes and a ru- 

 dimentary thumb ; the hind-feet are thick, broad, 

 and strong, and five-toed ; the claws are strong ; 

 the soles of all the feet are naked, and covered with 

 a coarse granular black skin, divided into pads by 

 deep fissures. The muzzle is obtuse ; the nostrils 

 are open, oblique, edged externally with an elevated 

 rim, and separated by a medial furrow, running to 

 the fissure of the upper lip. The whiskers are 

 long ; the tail is annudated with a scaly epidermis, 

 with short thinly-set hairs from between each scale 

 (see Fig. 286 : a, muzzle ; h, portion of tail ; c, 

 under part of fore-foot ; d, under part of hind-foot). 

 The ears are moderate, erect, almost rounded. 



4 — 4 

 Molars ■-. — -., with the crown traversed by folds of 



enamel. Eyes small. 



This animal is a native of Cuba, where it is known 

 by the name of Utia. It appears to have been de- 

 scribed by Bomare and Oviedo three hundred years 

 ago. The general colour of the utia is glossy 

 brown grizzled with yellowish grey ; the muzzle, 

 chest, and under parts greyish white ; the fur of a 

 coarse texture ; length about two feet two inches, 

 of which the tail is eight inches. 



With respect to the habits of the utias in a wild 

 state, it is only known that they are found in the 

 woods, that they climb trees with great facility, and 

 that they live on vegetables. From observations 

 on those kept in a domesticated state, M.Desmarest 

 gives the following details : — " Their intelligence 

 appears to be developed to as great a degree 

 as that of rats and squirrels, much more so than 

 that of rabbits and guinea-pigs. They have, indeed, 

 a great, share of curiosity. At night they are very 

 wakeful, and the form of the pupils is indicative of 

 nocturnal habits. The sense of hearing does not 

 appear to be so acute as that of rabbits or hares. 

 Their nostrils are incessantly in motion, especially 

 when they smell any new object. Their taste is 

 sufficiently delicate to enable them to distinguish 

 and reject vegetables which have been touched by 

 animal substances, to which they manifest the 

 greatest repugnance. They agree perfectly well 

 together, and sleep close by each other. When they 

 are apart they call each other by a sharp cry, dif- 

 fering little from that of a rat. Their voice, when 

 they express pleasure, is a low soft kind of grunting. 

 They scarcely ever quarrel except for food — as when 

 one piece of fruit is given between both ; in that 

 case one seizes and runs away with it, until the 

 other is able to take it from him. They some- 

 times play for a long time together, holding them- 

 selves upright in the manner of kangaroos, firmly 

 supported upon the broad soles of their hind-feet 

 and the base of the tail, and striking each other 

 with their paws, until one of them, finding a wall 

 or some other body against which to support him- 

 self, acquires an additional power, and gains an 

 advantage ; but they never bite each other. To- 

 wards other animals they manifest the greatest 

 indifference, paying no attention even to cats. 

 They are fond of being caressed, and particularly 

 of being scratched under the chin. They do 

 not bite, but slightly press with the incisor teeth 

 the skin of those who caress them. They do not 

 ordinarily drink, but occasionally suck up water 

 as squirrels do. Their food consist of vegetables 

 exclusively, such as cabbage, succory, grapes, nuts, 

 bread, apples, &c. They are not very difficult in 

 the choice of their food, but still have a particular 

 fondness for strong-flavoured herbs and aromatic 

 plants, as wormwood, rosemary, geraniums, pimper- 

 nel, celery, &c. Grapes pleased them much, to 

 obtain which they would instantly climb up a 

 long pole, at the top of which the fruit was placed. 

 They are also fond of bread steeped in aniseed 

 or even wine. These animals are plantigrade ; 

 their movements are slow, and their hinder parts 

 are embarrassed when they walk, as is observable 

 in the bear. They leap occasionally, turning 

 suddenly round from head to tail like the field- 

 mouse. When they climb, which they do with 



the greatest ease, they assist themselves with 

 the base of their tail as a support, and the same 

 in descending. In certain positions, on a stick 

 for example, the tail serves as a balance to pre- 

 serve their equilibrium. They often raise them- 

 selves to a listening attitude, sitting erect, with the 

 paws hanging down, like rabbits and hares. In 

 eating they employ sometimes only one, sometimes 

 both their fore-paws ; the former is the case when 

 the substance they are holding is small enough to 

 be held between the fingers and the tubercle at the 

 base of the thumb." 



287.— The Cotpu 



(Myopotamus Coypus). Quoiya, dAzara; Coui", 

 Molina; Hydromys Coypus, Geoff. ; Mus Castorides, 

 Burrow. 



The coypu is common in certain districts of 

 South America, as Chile, Buenos Ayres, and 

 Tucuman, The head is large ; the muzzle obtuse : 

 the ears small and round ; fore-feet with a rudi- 

 mentary thumb and four toes, all free : hind-feet 

 plantigrade, with five toes, of which the outermost 

 only is free, the rest pal mated. Tail strong 

 and scaly, and sprinkled with scattered hairs. 



4—4 

 Molars ■r— -%, increasing in size from the first to 



the last, with winding folds of enamel (see Fig. 

 288). The eyes are small, approximating to each 

 other, and placed high in the head. Behind the 

 upper incisors there is a hairy palate or space, a 

 peculiarity noticed also in Bathiergus. The body 

 is clothed with two sorts of hair, an under-garment 

 of fine close fur almost water-proof, and an upper 

 layer of long, shining, straight hairs of a rich brown, 

 which is the general colour, the muzzle being dirty 

 white. The limbs are short but strong; and the move- 

 ments of the animal on land are slow and crawling. 

 The coypu remained unknown to the scientific 

 world, while thousands of its skins, under the name 

 of Racoonda, for more than forty years had been 

 annually imported into Europe, for the sake of the 

 fine under-fur, which, like that of the musquash and 

 beaver, is extensively used in the manufacture of hats. 

 This animal is gregarious and aquatic, residing in 

 burrows which it excavates along the banks of rivers: 

 and in these burrows the female produces and rears 

 her young, from three or four to seven in number, 

 to which she manifests great attachment. In the 

 Chonos Archipelago, according to Mr. Darwin, 

 " these animals, instead of inhabiting fresh water, 

 live exclusively in the bays or channels which ex- 

 tend between the innumerable small islets of that 

 group." "The inhabitants of Chiloe, who sometimes 

 visit this archipelago for the purpose of fishing, 

 state that these animals do not live solely on vege- 

 table matter, as is the case with those inhabiting 

 rivers, but that they sometimes eat shell-fish. The 

 coypu is said to be a bold animal, and to fight 

 fiercely with the dogs employed in chasing it. 

 Its flesh when cooked is white and good to eat. 

 An old female procured on these islands weighed 

 between ten and eleven pounds " An extensive 

 trade in the skins of these animals is carried on at 

 Buenos Ayres, where they are improperly called 

 "Nutrias," or otters. In captivity the coypu soon 

 becomes gentle and attached ; and is evidently 

 pleased with marks of attention from those with 

 whom it is familiar. Length of adult male, one 

 foot eleven inches, exclusive of the tail, which is 

 one foot three inches. 



The Family Histricidse, or Porcupines. — The 

 porcupines, a spine-clad family, are divided into 

 the genera Hystrix, Erethizon, Synetheres, &c, 

 and are respectively distributed over Europe and 

 North Asia, Africa, India and its islands, and North 

 and South America. All the porcupines have the 

 molars four in each jaw on each side ; nearly equal 

 in size, and furnished with distinct roots ; when 

 worn the surfaces present tortuous folds of enamel 

 (see Fig. 289, the teeth of Hystrix, and Fig. 290, the 

 teeth of Erethizon). The tongue is rough with 

 papillae, like those of the cats ; the head is short and 

 blunt; the nostrils large and open; the ears and 

 eyes comparatively small ; and the general form 

 thick and clumsy. 



Two figures of skulls (Fig. 291) represent the 

 skull of a species termed, by F. Cuvier, Acanthion 

 Javanicum (1), and that of the common porcupine 

 (2), by way of comparison. With respect to the 

 genus Acanthion founded by F. Cuvier on the cha- 

 racters of two skulls, one of which was brought from 

 Java, we are strongly inclined to consider it iden- 

 tical with the genus Atherura of Baron Cuvier, 

 though the latter, in his'Regne Animal,' makes no al- 

 lusion to the genus proposed by his brother. Fischer 

 gives the Acanthion Javanicum of F. Cuvier as 

 identical with the fasciculated porcupine (Atherura 

 fasciculata), and is probably correct. The fasci- 

 culated porcupine has been long known to science, 

 and is figured by Buffon as the "Pore-epic de 

 Malacca; " but since his time, till within the few last 

 years, no specimen had reached Europe. In 1828, 



M. Biard sent a skin and skeleton to France, from 

 India, and about the same time a living individual 

 was brought to England by Lieut. Vidal, and pre- 

 sented to the Zool. Soc. Lond. It was described 

 and figured by Mr. Bennett, and now forms a part 

 of the riches of the museum. This individual, how- 

 ever, was not brought from India or its islands, but 

 from Fernando Po, where it is stated to be in such 

 abundance as to furnish a staple article of food to 

 the inhabitants, Whether it be truly indigenous 

 there, or was originally brought by the early Por- 

 tuguese settlers to that island from India or Java, 

 and has become naturalized, are points unsettled. 



292, 293.— The Common Porcupine 

 (Histrix cristata)— Pore-epic of the French: Istrice 

 of the Italians ; Stachelschwein, Dornschwein, and 

 Porcopick of the Germans. This spine-covered 

 animal is found in Italy, throughout. Africa, in 

 Southern Tartary, the borders of the Caspian Sea, 

 Persia, and India ; it was observed by Mr. Hodgson 

 inhabiting the central and lower regions of Nepal. 

 When full-grown it is upwards of two feet in length ; 

 but the specimens from Italy are generally smaller 

 than the African, and have shorter quills. It would 

 appear that in Italy it is not indigenous, but has 

 become naturalized. 



The porcupine is a nocturnal animal, of quiet 

 and secluded habits, passing the day in its subter- 

 ranean retreat, for the digging of which its muscular 

 limbs and stout claws are well adapted. At night 

 it steals forth to feed ; roots, bark, fruits, and vege- 

 tables constitute its diet. In winter it appears to 

 undergo a partial hybernation. Sluggish and timid, 

 the porcupine is yet enabled, clothed in its array 

 of spears, to repel the assault of enemies : when 

 driven to act on the defensive, he bends his head 

 down, turns his back towards his assailant, erects 

 his spines, and receiving the rash assault, pushes 

 them forcibly by the action of the whole body 

 against the aggressor. The wounds thus inflicted 

 are very severe, and do not heal readily. The 

 spines of the porcupine are of two sorts: one short 

 being long, slender, and bending ; the other spines, 

 concealed beneath the former, are short, thick in 

 the middle, and tapering to a sharp point ; they are 

 ringed black and white. The length of the short 

 spines, which are the true effective weapons, is 

 from four to ten inches, and the point, which con- 

 sists of flint-like enamel, is somewhat compressed 

 with two slightly raised and opposite ridges, which 

 when minutely examined are found to" be finely 

 jagged. There is another sort of furniture on the 

 tail, namely, a number of dry, hollow, open quills, 

 of considerable circumference, and supported upon 

 long and very slender stalks, which vibrate with 

 every motion. When the porcupine clashes these 

 together they produce a rustling noise. The appa- 

 ratus by which the spines and these hollow rattles 

 are clashed and raised consists of a strong muscular 

 expansion underneath, and adherent to the thick 

 skin. From the raising and clashing of the spines, 

 and perhaps the accidental falling of one looser 

 than the rest (about to be shed naturally), has 

 arisen the belief that the animal was capable of 

 darting his spines, like a javelin, point foremost — 

 an error we need not stay to confute. 



294. — The Brazilian Porcupine 

 {Synetheres prehensilis) . Cuandu of Marcgrave ; 

 Coendu, Buffon; Prehensile Porcupine of Pennant. 



In North America the porcupines are represented 

 by the Hairy or Canada Porcupine (Erethizon dor- 

 satum), which is in a great degree arboreal in its 

 habits. In Brazil we are presented with the species 

 termed Cuandu, more decidedly organised as a 

 climber, having a prehensile tail, resembling that 

 of the oppossum. The muzzle is broad and short; 

 the head convex in front, the spines rather short ; 

 the tail very long, and naked for half its length. 

 The feet have only four toes. The length of this 

 species is about two feet, exclusive of the tail, which 

 is about eighteen inches ; the nose is covered with 

 brownish hair ; the ears are nearly naked ; the 

 body is covered above with spines, the longest (on 

 the lower part of the back) are about three inches 

 in length ; those on the. sides and base of the limbs 

 are the shortest. All are sharp, and barred near 

 their points and roots with white ; brown in the 

 middle. The basal half of the tail is clad with 

 short spines; the breast, under parts, and lower 

 portion of the limbs with dark brown bristles. 



The Brazilian porcupine appears very much to 

 vesemble the Canada porcupine in its habits, living 

 in woods, sleeping by day, and feeding on fruits, 

 &c. by night. Marcgrave states that its voice is 

 like that of a sow. The quills are stated to have 

 the same penetrating and destructive quality as 

 those of the Canadian species. It is a sluggish 

 animal, climbing trees very slowly, and holding on 

 with its prehensile tail, especially in its descent. 

 It grows very fat, and the flesh is said to be white 

 and well-tasted. Our cut is taken from a living 

 specimen in the garden of the Zoological Society. 



