COAST RAT. 107 



are five toes, of which the interior is the longest; 

 the claws very long and sharp ; that on the thumb 

 being shorter than the rest : the hind-feet, which 

 are very long, large^ and naked, have also five 

 toes, with much shorter and weaker claws than 

 those of the fore-feet : the hair on the sides of the 

 feet is very strong and bristly. This large species 

 is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and is 

 there known by the name of the Sand Mole, being 

 chiefly found in the neighbourhood of the shores, 

 and never in the interior parts of the country. 

 It renders the ground, in the places it frequents, 

 so hollow, by flinging up the earth in forming its 

 burrows, as to be highly inconvenient to travel- 

 lers ; breaking every six or seven minutes under 

 the horses' feet, and letting them in up to the 

 shoulders. It is supposed to feed principally on 

 the bulbous Ijcice and Antholyzce. From the fre- 

 quency of this species about the Cape, it is sup- 

 posed to be an animal of a prolific nature. 



