COMMON SQUIRREL. 
25 
lies over against Kavenstone, and between that village and Normanton-on- 
Heatb,’’ but in no other woods of the county did he discover it. The late Mr. 
Widdowson wrote, in 1885: — “Not heard of for a certainty, save one brought 
in a load of oak-bark.” INIr. Ingram wrote, in 1885: — “I have never met 
with it.” 
Family SCIUKID^. 
COMMON SQUIRKEL. Sciuy'its vulgaris, Linnaeus. 
Resident, and generally distributed. — Harley remarked that it was abundant 
in our enclosed parks and woods, such as Garendon, Donnington, and Gopsall. 
I saw several in the drive approaching Sir Arthur Hazlerigg’s residence at 
Noseley, on 21st October, 1885; and \\hlson told me that he saw one running 
from his haystack, in a field by the mill at Aylestone, into an adjoining oak- 
tree, on 24th October, 1885. 
A curious, though not very uncommon example, exhibiting malformation 
of the teeth in this animal, was presented to the Museum by Mr. R. Wingate, 
on 18th April, 1876. In this specimen the upper incisors have become prolonged 
and curved into a half-circle in this manner : — The right upper incisor is 
considerably lengthened, coming below the lower jaw; it then ascends and 
curls around, reaching to just below and in front of the eye, forming a perfect 
half-circle, measuring If in. on its inferior curve. The left upper incisor 
follows the curve of the other until it reaches the lower jaw, when it bends 
slightly away, and enters the mouth, curving upward, inside, until it touches 
the palate. Both the lower incisors are pushed away to the left side ; the right 
lower incisor not only bending outward, but growing to the length of f in. 
No locality is given with the specimen, and I therefore assume it to have 
been a caged animal, fed, doubtless, upon food too soft to allow the natural 
grinding of the teeth necessary to prevent such malformation. 
A young Squirrel caught near Narborough was kept in captivity, for about 
six years, in the family of Mr. Lees, of Castle Street, Hinckley, being fed on 
sopped bread and other soft food. Towards the end of its life, as I am 
informed, an extra claw or toe appeared on one of its fore-feet (the left one, 
my informant believes), and this grew to about three times as large as any of 
the others. I addressed Mr. Lingham Lees on the subject, and he replied : — 
“ The growth on the Squirrel’s foot was a perfect toe with an abnormally large 
claw. All who saw it will agree with me that this was the case.” 
Harley remarked that the species is “ subject to much variety.” On this 
point, however, I think he is in error, the only varieties I have met with 
being the ordinary ones due to sex, age, and season ; the young being bright 
red in summer, and at all ages changing at the approach of winter to greyish 
red — due, I think, to “point-casting” of the hairs. 
