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VERTEBRATA. 
same mistake has often been made by the older naturalists. Their ibod consists not only of in- 
sects and their larvas, as might be supposed from the name given to the order, but also of worms 
and mollusca, and some of the larger species even devour the smaller vertebrate animals. Th 
are generally — ^though not always — slow in their movements and nocturnal iu their habitp 
many of them pass the winter in a state of torpidity. 
TUPAIAS. 
THE TUPAIAS. 
Genus TUPAIA : Tupaia'. — These are small animals, having somewhat the form and agility of 
squirrels. The bead is long, tbe snout attenuated, eyes large and prominent, tlie claws sharp 
and hooked, the sole naked, the tail long, the body long and cylindi-ical, and covered witli close, 
soft fur. These animals are the most elegant and graceful of all the insectivora : they are found in 
the great islands of Asia, and some are also met with in India. 
The T. Javanica^ called Banxring and Sinsring, seems most common at the eastern extremity 
of Java. It is of the size of a common squirrel, and greatly resembles it ; its fur is close, silky, and 
delicate, with a few coarse hairs dispersed along the back, sides, and extremities : the upper parts 
are brown, slightly diversified with different shades of gray ; the lower parts are a dirty white. 
The T . ferruginea^ almost wholly of a reddish-brown color, is fourteen inches long, including the 
tail, which is louger than the body. It is common in Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. Sir Stamford 
Raffles describes one that w^as tamed and allowed to go freely about the house, never failing to 
present itself at meal-time, w^hen it partook of fruit and milk. Another species, the T. tana^ found 
in the same region, is of a somewhat larger size. The T.'peguana^ found in the Birman Empire, 
and the T. Elliotii, found in Madras, are the other species. 
Genus HYLOMYS : Hylomys. — Of this there is but a single species, the H. suillus^ of Borneo. 
It is a small tupaia, Avith a rudimentary tail, nearly naked. 
Genus PTILOCERCUS : Ptilocercus. — This also presents but a single species, the P. Lowii, 
which is found in Borneo, and has somewhat the face of the marsupials of Australia, with a very 
