350 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
found in Borneo. It is a small species allied to the preceding, but lias the tail more rat-like, and 
clothed only with comparatively short hairs, those of the lower surface especially being very short. 
LOW’S PTILOCERQUE .* 
Besides the true Bangsrings forming the genus Tupmct , this family includes two other small 
animals, one of which, Low's Ptiloeerque, is a very elegant little creature. The specimen originally 
described by Dr. Gray in 1848 was captured by Mr. Low in Rajah Brooke's house in Borneo. It has 
a rather shorter head than the true Bangsrings, but its dentition is nearly the same ; the aperture 
under the orbit is round, and the circle of the bony orbit is not quite complete behind. The most 
distinctive character of the animal is, however, to be found in its tail, which is an exceedingly 
peculiar organ. The tail itself is long and slender, and instead of being thickly clothed with bushy 
hairs, as in the Bangsrings, it has the basal portion hairy ; then a long piece naked, covered with 
rings of broad, square scales, among which there are only a few short, scattered hairs • and, finally, 
about a third of its length is furnished with long hairs arranged on the two sides of the tail, so as 
jo produce the appearance of the two wings of a dart or arrow (see figure, p. 342). 
The Ptiloeerque, which is an inhabitant of Borneo and Sarawak, is between five and six 
inches long, with a tail rather longer than the body. Its general colour is blackish-brown above, 
minutely grizzled by the yellowish tips of the hairs ; the lower parts and the cheeks are yellowish, 
and there is a black streak oil each side of the face, enclosing the eyes. The tail is black, with the 
long hairs of the tip white, except a few towards the base. The habits of the animal are probably 
the same as those of the Tupaias. 
THE SHORT-TAILED BANGSRING.f 
A curious little animal belonging to this family was discovered in Sumatra by Dr. S. Muller. It 
has its muzzle produced into a long, movable snout, and the tail very short and naked. The skull 
is flatter than in the true Bangsrings ; the orbit is incomplete ; the sub-orbital aperture is in the 
form of a little fissure ; and the dentition is different, there being six incisors in the upper as well as 
in the lower jaw, and four premolars on each side in both jaws. The total number of teeth is thus 
forty-four instead of thirty-eight. This animal has been found in Java and Sumatra. 
The same, or a very nearly allied species, has been obtained in Pegu, and described by Mr. Blyth 
under the name of Hylomys peguensis, Professor Gill regards these animals as most nearly related to 
Gymnura in the family Erinacekhe. 
FAMILY III. — MACROSCELIDID2E, OR JUMPING SHREWS. 
Some curious little creatures, peculiar to Africa and its islands, in which, as in the Jerboas and 
Kangaroos, the hind legs are more developed than the fore limbs, enabling the animals to advance in 
a biped fashion by a succession of leaps, are regarded by most zoologists as nearly related to the 
Bangsrings, in fact, both Professor Mivart and Mr. Gill .make these two families form a distinct tribe 
of Insectivora. They both have the same kind of molar teeth, and the intestine furnished with a large 
ctecum. But whilst the Bangsrings are squirrel-like animals, with feet adapted for a life in trees, the 
Jumping Shrews are mouse-like creatures, of terrestrial jumping habits, and furnished with a long, 
thin, proboscis-like muzzle, which has procured for them the name of Elephant Shrews. They have 
large eyes, and ears of a moderate size and rather widely separated ; their hind limbs are considerably 
elongated, especially the shank and the metatarsus, or portion forming the foot, which has a naked sole 
that is applied to the ground ; the two bones of the shank (tibia and fibula), and in general those of 
the forearm (radius and ulna), are attached to each other at the lower end ; and the first or inner toe 
is either placed further back than the others, or altogether deficient. The sides of the muzzle are 
usually furnished with very long whiskers. The tail is long, and more or less rat-like, but covered 
with short hairs. 
In two of the three genera into which the family is divided the number of teeth is forty, namely, 
# Ptilocercus Loivii. 
t Hylomys suillus. 
