116 
TORRID JERBOA. 
with a great protuberance next to the inner toe. 
The claws of the fore toes are crooked, and two- 
thirds longer than the toes themselves. It has 
four toes behind, with short claws. Its colour is 
tawny above ; cinereous below, mixed with long 
hairs pointed with black. Two-thirds of the tail 
is tawny, the rest blackish, and full of hair. The 
length or the body fourteen, of the tail fifteen, of 
the ears near three inches. It inhabits the great 
mountains, far north of the Cape of Good Hope ; 
and is called by the Dutch, the jumping hare. It 
is very strong, and will leap twenty or thirty feet 
at a time. It emits a grunting sound ; sits upright 
like a squirrel, when it eats, with its legs extended 
horizontally, and its back bent. It uses its for^ 
feet to bring food to its mouth ; and burrows witfii 
them most expeditiously. In sleeping, it sits with 
its knees separate, and puts its head between its 
hind legs, and, with its fore legs, holds its ears 
over its eyes. It is the largest of the jerboas. 
It burrows in the ground like others of the genus. 
It is noticed by La Vaillant. 
Torrid jerboa. 
The torrid jerboa has naked oval ears ; long 
whiskers ; four toes on the fore feet ; the hind 
feet are as long as the body, thick and strong, 
but thinly haired. It has five toes on each foot ; 
scarcely any neck. The tail is also the length of 
the body, with very little hair upon it. The 
colour of the upper part of the body is yellow ; 
of the lower white. It is of the size of a common 
mouse. It inhabits the Torrid Zone, and the 
sandy desert of Naryn, 46~° north latitude. Its 
burrows are about an ell deep, and have three en- 
tries. It does not walk erect, like other jerboas^ 
but runs with great rapidity. 
