48 
quadrupeds. 
Clafs I. 
time. Its bite is not only fevere, but danger¬ 
ous ; the wound being immediately attended 
with a great fwelling, and is a long time in 
healing. Thefe rats are fo bold, as fome- 
times to turn on thofe that purfue them, and 
fallen on the flick or hand of fuch as offer to 
ftrike them. 
M. Briffon defcribes this fame animal twice 
under different names, p. 170. under the title 
of le rat de boh ; and again, p. 173* tinder 
that of le rat de norvege. M. Buff on flyles it 
le Surmulot 5 as refembling the mulcts, or 
field mice, in many refpedls } but exceeding 
them in bulk. 
SPECIES 
The WATER RAT. 
Mus major aquaticus, feu Rattus 
aquaticus. Raii jyn. quad' 217, 
Sorex aquaticus. Charlton ex. 25. 
Meyer's an- 2. ah. 84. 
Mus cauda longa pilis fupra ex 
nigro etfiavefcente mixtis, in¬ 
fra cinereis veftitus. Brijffcn 
quad. 175. 
Buffon Tom. 7. 348. Tab. 43. 
Mus amphibius. Mus cauda elon- 
gata pilofa plantis palmatis. 
Lin. fyft. 61. 
Caftor cauda lineari tereti. Faun. 
Juec. 25. 
Mus aquatilis. Klein quad. 57. 
Britijh, Llygoden y dwfr 
French , Rat d’eau 
Italian , Sorgo morgange 
Spanifh , 
> NAMES - 
IN NM U S, from the external 
appearance of this animal, has in 
one of his fyflems placed it in the 
fame genus with the beaver. The form of 
the head, the fhortnefs of the ears, and the 
thicknefs of the fur, and the places it haunts, 
vindicate in fome degree the opinion that great 
naturahfl was at that time of 5 but the form 
of the tail is fo different from that of the 
beaver, as to oblige him to reftore the water 
rat to the clafs he found it, in the fyflem of 
our illuflrious countryman Ray. 
The water rat never frequents houfes; but 
is always found on the banks of rivers, ditches 
and ponds, where it burroughs and breeds. 
It feeds on fmall fifh, or the fry of greater $ on 
r Por tug. 
German , Waffer mufz, W. Ratz 
Dutch , Water rotte 
1 'ifh , Watn. rotta 
frogs, infedts, and fometimes on roots; it 
has a fiftiy tafle 5 and in fome countries is 
eaten. M. Buffon informing us that the pea- 
fants in France eat it on maigre days. 
It fwims and dives admirably well, and con¬ 
tinues long under water, tho’ the toes are di¬ 
vided like thofe of the common rat; not con¬ 
nected by membranes, as Mr. Ray imagined , 
and as Linnaeus, and other writers relate after 
him. 
The male weighs about nine ounces 5 the 
length feven inches from the end of the nofe 
to the tail; the tail five inches : on each foot 
are five toes, the inner toe of the fore-foot is 
very fmall; the firft joint of the latter is very 
flexible, which mu ft aflift it greatly in fwim- 
ming 
