SEVERN RIVER FLYING-SQUIRREL. 
203 
under their roots there is a compressed callous space, projecting from the 
end of each toe, and there is a callosity in place of a thumb, armed with a 
very minute nail. 
There are five hind toes ; the claws resemble those of the fore feet, and 
are almost concealed by the hair of the toes ; the soles are covered with a 
dense brush, like the feet of a rabbit or hare. The fur is soft, long, and 
silky on all parts. 
COLOUR. 
Incisors, deep orange ; whiskers, black ; a, dark gray marking around 
the eye. The hairs on the upper surface of the head and body are of a 
deep blackish-gray colour from the roots to near the tips, which are pale 
reddish-brown, but distinctly presented only when the fur lies smoothly ; 
on the flying membrane the colour is a shade darker in consequence of the 
under colour not being concealed by the lighter colour of the tips ; the 
outer surfaces of the feet are pale bluish-gray ; the margins of the mouth, 
sides of the nose, cheeks, and whole ventral aspect of the body, white, with 
a tinge of buff under the belly, and particularly under the flying membrane. 
Tail, nearly the colour of the back, with an intermixture however of black 
hairs ; beneath, it is buff ; hair on the soles, yellowish-white. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Length of head and body, - 
Inches. 
- - - - 8 
Lines. 
Tail, including fur, 
. 5 
9 
Height of ear, 
- 
54 
Heel to end of claw, - 
. i 
54 
Longest hind-toe and nail, - 
. 
43 
Fore-toe and nail, 
. 
5 
HABITS. 
We found this interesting Flying-Squirrel in abundance at Quebec, and 
many of them were offered for sale in the markets of that city during our 
sojourn there. It appears indeed to take the place of the common small 
Flying-Squirrel of the United States ( P . volucella ) in Lower Canada, where 
we did not observe the latter east of Montreal. 
W e heard that one of these pretty animals was caught alive by a soldier 
who saw it on the plains of Abraham, and ran it down. 
A brood of young of this species, along with the mother was kept in 
