THE BRdOKLVX INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 
BROOKLYN MUSEUM 
SCIENCE BULLETIN 
VOL. 3, KO. 5 
HETEROCEPHALUS, THE REMARK.\BLE AFRICAN 
BURROWING RODENT. 
By W. J. Hamilton, JR- 
DEPT. OF BIOLOGY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 
The curious hairless rodent, Heteroccphalus, pecuhar to eastern 
Africa, has been known for nearly one hundred years, but very few 
specimens are represented in niLiseums. The species was described by 
Ruppell in 1845 from a single individual. The next reached the British 
Museum forty 3'ears later, and a short time later, the Civic Museum of 
Genoa secured a number of these rodents. Very few specimens are 
represented in the collections of this country. X single individual of the 
Naked Rat, collected in British East Africa by Glover M. Allen, is in the 
Museum of Comparative Zoology. In 19 12 the National Museum se- 
cured twelve specimens of Hetcrocephalus from the Rainey African 
Expedition. Mrs. Delia J. Akeley, in charge of the Brooklyn Museum 
Expedition, collected two Heterocephalus in Kenya Colony, British East 
Africa, in 1925. Through the kindness of Mr. George P. Engelhardt, 
Curator, Department Natural Science, I have been permitted to make a 
study of these peculiar rodents. 
External Features. 
Heteroccphalus is a small rodent, appearing in general form somewhat 
like the red-backed mouse, Evoiomys. The naked appearance, due to the 
almost total lack of hair, and the large protruding incisors, give a rather 
unpleasant appearance to the animal. The entire body is wrinkled. This 
is not due entirely to the action of the preservative, as Capt. B()tleg(j 
(Parona and Cattaneo, 1893) has commented on this condition in living 
animals. The color in preserved specimens is a lead hue dorsally, grad- 
ing into flesh color on the belly. Bottego states that the live specimens 
are reddish. 
The head is short and chunky, the protruding incisors giving the 
animal quite a ferocious appearance. The upper lip, like that of many 
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