Chapter XV: Section I: Sciuromorpha (1)

Contains the following families, those that are not Indian being in italics;--

(1) _Anomaluridae_; (2) Sciuridae; (3) _Ischyromyidae_, a fossil genus; (4) _Haplodontidae_; (5) _Castoridae_.

The Anomalures are African animals resembling our flying squirrels, to which they were at first thought to belong, but were separated and named by Mr. Waterhouse, the chief peculiarity being the tail, which is long and well covered with hair, though not bushy as in the squirrels, and which has, at its basal portion, a double series of projecting horny scales, which probably help it in climbing trees. There are several other peculiarities, which I need not dwell on here, which have justified its separation from the true squirrels. The flying membrane, which is quite as large as that of the flying squirrels, extends from the elbow to the heel instead of from the wrist, and it is held out by a strong cartilaginous spur starting from the elbow.

Of the Sciuridae we have many examples in India, which will be noticed further on.

The _Ischyromyidae_ is founded on a single North American fossil genus (_Ischyromys typus_), which is nearly allied to the Sciuridae, but also shows some affinity to the beavers.

The _Haplodontidae_ is also an American family, founded on one genus, but an existing and not a fossil animal. The _Haplodon rufus_ is a small burrowing rodent, valued by the Indians both for its flesh and its skin, of which from twenty to thirty are sewn together to form a robe; the teeth are rootless, simple, and prismatic, the surface of each being surrounded by a mere border of enamel.

The _Castoridae_ is the beaver family, which is also unknown in India. Unlike as this animal is externally to the squirrels, its anatomy warrants its position in the Sciuromorpha, otherwise one would feel inclined to include it in the next section.

We see that of the five families, of which this section is composed, only the second has its representatives in India.

SCIURIDAE--THE SQUIRRELS.

This family contains the true squirrels, including the flying ones, and the marmots. The distinctive characteristics of the former are as follows: The gnawing teeth are smooth, compressed. The grinding teeth are 5--5/4--4 or 4--4/4--4; in the former case the first upper premolar is small, and sometimes deciduous; they are tubercular, at least in youth, and rooted. Skull with distinct post-orbital processes; infra-orbital opening small, usually placed in front of the maxillary zygomatic process; palate broad and flat; twelve or thirteen pairs of ribs; tail cylindrical and bushy; feet either pentadactylous or with a tubercle in place of a thumb on the fore-feet. Mostly quite arboreal.

_GENUS SCIURUS_.

Premolars, 2--2/1--1; molars, 3--3/3--3; gnawing teeth smooth, orange-coloured, or brown; no cheek pouches; mammae three or four pairs; first upper premolar soon lost in many cases; limbs free; form agile; tail long and very bushy.

Jerdon states that "there are three well marked groups in India distinguished by size, coloration and habits," by which he means the large forest squirrels, the medium size grizzled ones, and the little striped squirrels, to which however I must add one more form, which is found out of the geographical limits assigned to his work--the _Rhinosciurus_, or long-snouted squirrel, an animal singularly like a Tupaia. The squirrels, as a whole, form a natural and well-defined group, with a remarkable uniformity of dentition and skull, but of infinite variation in colour. In fact, it is most puzzling and misleading to find so great a diversity of pelage as is exhibited by a single species. I was shown by a friend a few months ago a fine range of colours in skins of a single species from Burmah--_S. caniceps_. I cannot attempt to describe them from memory, but the diversity was so marked that I believe they would have been taken by unscientific observers for so many different species. Now in domesticated animals there is great variation in colouring, but not in the majority of wild species. What the causes are that operate in the painting of the skin of an animal no one can say, any more than one can say how particular spots are arranged on the petal of a flower or the wing of a butterfly. That specific liveries have been designed by an all-wise Creator for purposes of recognition I have no doubt, as well as for purposes of deception and protection--in the former case to keep certain breeds pure, and in the latter to protect animals from attack by enabling them better to hide themselves, as we see in the case of those birds and quadrupeds which inhabit exposed cold countries turning white in winter, and in the mottled skin of the Galeopithicus, which is hardly discernible from the rough bark of the tree to which it clings. I have hardly ever noticed such varied hues in any wild animals, although the _Viverridae_ are somewhat erratic in colouring, as in the Indian squirrels, and it is doubtful whether several recorded species are not so nearly allied as to be in fact properly but one and the same. There is much in common in at least five species of Burmese squirrels, and it is open to question whether _S. caniceps_ and _S. Blanfordii_ are not the same. Dr. Anderson writes: "I have examined a very extensive series of squirrels belonging to the various forms above described, viz., _S. pygerythrus_, _S. caniceps_, _S. Phayrei_ and _S. Blanfordii_, and of others which appears to indicate at least, if not to prove, that all of them are in some way related to each other." In another place he says: "The skull of an adult male, _S. caniceps_, which had the bright red golden colour of the back well developed, presents so strong a resemblance to the skull of _S. Blanfordii_, that it is extremely difficult to seize on any point wherein they differ." After comparison of the above with skulls of _S. griseimanus_ and _S. Phayrei_, he adds: "such facts taken in conjunction with those mentioned under _S. Blanfordii_, suggest that there is a very intimate connection between all of these forms, if they do not ultimately prove to be identical" ('Anat. and Zool. Researches,' pp. 229, 231).

Blyth also, speaking of the larger squirrels, says: "It is difficult to conceive of the whole series as other than permanent varieties of one species; and the same remark applies to the races of _Pteromys_, and at least to some of those of _Sciuropterus_, as also to various named _Sciuri_" ('Cat. Mam.,' p. 98).

The large forest squirrels come first on our list. They inhabit lofty tree jungle, making their nests on the tops of the tallest trees. They are most active in their habits, and are strictly arboreal, being awkward on the ground. When kept as pets they become very tame, though some are crotchety tempered, and bite severely.

NO. 273. SCIURUS INDICUS. _The Bombay Squirrel of Pennant_ (_Sciurus Malabaricus and S. Elphinstonei in Jerdon, Nos. 148 and 150_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Jangli-gilheri_, Hindi; _Shekra_, Mahrathi; _Kesannalu_, Canarese of the Halapyks.

HABITAT.--The dense forests of the Western Ghats, but extending easterly as far as Midnapore and Cuttack.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper surface of body dark maroon red, lower part of back and rump and upper portions of limbs and the whole of the tail black, the latter ending in a broad brownish-yellow tip; the outside of the hind-legs and half-way down the outside of the fore-legs a uniform rich maroon red; the under parts from chin to vent, inside of limbs, lower part of fore-legs, the inter-aural region and the cheeks bright orange yellow; forehead and nose reddish-brown, with white hairs interspersed; ears small and tufted; a narrow maroon line from the anterior angle of the ear extends downwards to the side of the neck, with a yellow line behind it; whiskers and bristles black.

Dr. Anderson also remarks on the skull of this species that it is considerably smaller than that of _S. maximus_, and has a narrower and less concave inter-orbital space; the nasals are also broader posteriorly, and less dilated anteriorly, the upper dental line being also shorter.

SIZE.--Head and body, 20 inches; tail, 15-1/4 inches.

Jerdon's description of this animal is taken _verbatim_ from Sykes, who named it after the Honourable Mountstuart Elphinstone, under the impression that it was a new species, but it is apparently the same as _S. Indicus_ of Erxleben and _S. Malabaricus_ of Schinz.

NO. 274. SCIURUS MAXIMUS. _The Central Indian Red Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 149_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Kat-berral_, Bengali; _Karat_, Hindi; _Rasu_ and _Ratuphar_ at Monghyr, according to Hamilton; _Kondeng_ of the Coles; _Per-warsti_, Gondi; _Bet-udata_, Telegu; _Shekra_, Mahrathi.

HABITAT.--Malabar coast, Central India, and, according to Dr. F. B. Hamilton, the hills about Monghyr, whence doubtless the Calcutta market is supplied. Hodgson records it from the Himalayan Terai.

DESCRIPTION.--"The upper surface and the sides of the neck, the shoulders, and the outside of the fore-limbs, the lumbar and sacral regions, the outside of the thighs and the tail are black, the black of the hind-quarters being prolonged forwards along the mesial line towards the black of the shoulders; a large dark maroon spot on the vertex, separated from the maroon of the nape by yellowish inter-aural area, which extends downwards and forwards to the cheeks; a maroon-coloured line passes downward from the front of the ear, with a yellow area behind it. The sides of the face and muzzle are pale yellowish, the latter being flesh-coloured; the other portions of the trunk and the lower half of the tibial portion of the hind limbs are maroon. The tail is either black or maroon black, sometimes tipped with yellowish brown. The whole of the under-parts and inside of the limbs and the hands and feet are rich yellowish; the ears strongly maroon and tufted" (_Dr. Anderson_). Jerdon's description of this animal is very meagre and doubtful.

SIZE.--About the same as the last.

This squirrel was tolerably common in the forests of Seonee, and we had one or two in confinement. One belonging to my brother-in-law was so tame as to allow of any amount of bullying by his children, who used to pull it about as though it were a puppy or kitten, but I have known others to bite severely and resent any freedom.

NO. 275. SCIURUS MACROURUS. _The Long-tailed Forest Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 152_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Rookeeah_ or _Dandoleyna_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Ceylon, Southern India, i.e. Malabar, Travancore, Mysore, Neilgherries.

DESCRIPTION.--"Fur of the upper parts coarse and slightly waved; above, the colour varies from maroon-black to rufous brown; hairs sometimes grizzled and tipped white or pale yellow, particularly on the croup, sides, and upper parts of limbs; crown of the head darker in most specimens than other parts; cheeks, under-parts, and lower two-thirds of limbs of a fulvous white; occiput of a deeper fulvous, sometimes yellow or ferruginous brown; an indistinct dark spot on the cheek, which is sometimes absent; two-thirds or more of the basal portion of the tail black or brown; the rest grizzled grey or fulvous. In some the hairs of the whole tail are tipped white, and in others grizzled white throughout. In the young there is very little of brown or black; the whole tail is more or less formed of grey hairs, and the terminal third is nearly white. Grey is also the prevailing colour on the posterior half of the body; toes in all black or blackish brown; ears hairy, only slightly tufted in adults."--_Kellaart_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 13-1/2 inches; tail, 11 inches.

This squirrel also varies greatly in colouring, and has led several naturalists astray. Kellaart, in his 'Prodromus Faunae Zeylanicae,' says he has seen them in a transition state from dark brown to grizzled grey.

NO. 276. SCIURUS GIGANTEUS. _The Black Hill Squirrel_ (_Sciurus macrouroides in Jerdon, No. 151_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Shingsham_, Bhotia; _Le-hyuk_, Lepcha; _Jelarang_, Javanese; _Chingkrawah-etam_, Malay; _Leng-thet_, in Arakan; _Sheu_, in Tenasserim.

HABITAT.--North-west Himalayas to Assam, the Garo hills, Sylhet, and Cachar, spreading from Northern Assam across to Yunnan, and through Arakan and Tenasserim on to the Malayan peninsula and Borneo.

DESCRIPTION.--"This species has well-tufted ears; the upper surface is either wholly black or reddish-brown, without any trace of white; the tail is generally jet black, also the outside of the fore and hind limbs, and the upper surface of the feet; an elongated black spot is almost invariably found below the eye from beyond the moustache, and the eye is encircled with black. There are generally two black spots on the under surface of the chin; the under parts and the inside of the limbs vary from pale yellowish-white to a rich rufous orange; the basal portion of the hairs of the under-parts is dark brown or black, and the ventral area has frequently a dull hue where the yellow tips are sparse; the coats of these squirrels are generally sleek, glossy and deep black, and while in this condition the under surface is most brilliant, especially at its line of junction with the black, along the sides of the body and limbs, tending to form a kind of bright band.

"In some the upper parts have a brownish hue, but this is not characteristic of any particular locality, as two individuals, one from Nepal and the other from Borneo, are equally brown. While the fur is of this colour it is long and coarse, and the under-parts are less brilliant. These phases are probably seasonal, and connected with the breeding period."--_Anderson_.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 15 inches; tail, about 16 inches.

* * * * *

The next group consists of squirrels of medium size with grizzled fur, as Jerdon remarks of the two species he mentions; but with the rich fields of Burmah and Assam we can swell our list to over a dozen. It is doubtful whether one or two of the named species are not varieties of one and the same, so nearly are they allied, but this remains to be proved.

NO. 277. SCIURUS LOKRIAH. _The Orange-bellied Grey Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 153_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Lokriah_, Nepalese; _Zhamo_, Bhotia, _Killi_, or _Kalli-tingdong_, Lepcha (_Jerdon_).

HABITAT.--Nepal, Sikim, Assam (Khasia Hills), and Burmah (Arakan).

DESCRIPTION.--A deep ferruginous olive-brown, the hairs tipped with orange, soft and silky; the under-parts from chin to vent and the outside of the thighs a rich orange; the tail is shorter than that of the next species, concolorous with the body above, but the banding of the hair is coarser, the apical black band being very broad, tipped with orange or white, generally the latter, the general hue being blackish washed with orange or white. In some the general hue is orange brown with obscure annuli; the arrangement of the hair is distichous or in two rows.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 8 inches; tail, 6-1/2 to 8 inches, including hair.

There is some confusion between this and the next species, _S. lokroides_, and the distinctive characteristics quoted by Jerdon and others, founded on colouring alone, are not to be depended upon, for colouring varies, but there is considerable difference in the skulls of the two, _S. lokriah_ having a smaller skull, with distinct peculiarities. The inter-orbital portion of the skull is narrower anteriorly and posteriorly, and the muzzle is narrow at the base, and of nearly equal breadth throughout. The nasals are long and narrow, and reach further back than in _S. lokroides_. These points, which are brought forward by Dr. Anderson, are sufficient to indicate that they are quite distinct species. As regards colouring _S. lokriah_ has normally red thighs, but even this is absent at times. Dr. Anderson says: "It is much more richly coloured than _S. lokroides_, with no rufous even on the thighs, and with generally a tuft of pure white hair behind the ear, by which it can be recognised, as it occurs in twenty instances out of twenty-five, and even when absent the hairs in that locality have a paler colour. As this whitish tuft lies backwards, it is only seen when the ear is carefully examined."

NO. 278. SCIURUS LOKROIDES. _The Hoary-bellied Grey Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 154_).

HABITAT.--In the lower ranges of the South-eastern Himalayas, Nepal, Sikim, Assam, Tipperah and Arakan.

DESCRIPTION.--This is a most difficult species to describe. Dr. Anderson writes: "I have before me sixty-two examples of various squirrels which have been referred to _S. lokroides_, _S. Assamensis_ and _S. Blythii_ by Hodgson, M'Clelland and Tytler, also the types of _S. similis_ (Gray), which were forwarded to the British Museum as _S. lokroides_ by Hodgson. After a careful consideration of these materials, they appear to me to be referable to one species. Hodgson, who first described it, referred to it all those Himalayan squirrels slightly larger than _S. lokriah_, and which had the ventral surface either pale whitish or slightly washed with rufous, the sides also being sometimes suffused with this tinge especially on the anterior half of the thigh, which in many is bright orange red; but this colour is variable, and many squirrels have this portion of the body white, of which _S. Blythii_ is an example; and others similar to it are before me from Bhutan and Assam which do not differ from _S. lokroides_ except in the presence of this white area, which is evidently only a variation on the red area, and probably a seasonal change, as many show merely a faint rufous tinge in the inguinal region, that colour being entirely absent on the outside of the thigh.

"It is, however, worthy of note that those squirrels which have a rufous tinge in the inguinal region rarely, if ever, have the outside of the thigh bright red, and that the squirrels distinguished by white on their thighs are from Bhutan, Assam, and the Garo hills. But I do not see that these latter differ in any other respect from the squirrels sent by Hodgson as specimens of _S. lokroides_, with and without red thighs. Moreover, one of Hodgson's specimens of _S. lokroides_ shows a tendency in the thigh to become white" ('Anat. and Zool. Researches,' pp. 247, 248).

The difficulty in laying down precise rules for colouring is here evident, but in general I may say that the upper parts are rufescent olive brown, the hair being grizzled or banded black and yellow, commencing with greyish-black at the base, then yellow, black, yellow with a dark brown or black tip; the lower parts are rufous hoary or grey, tinged with rufous, or the latter shade may be restricted to the groin or inguinal parts. The fur is coarser and more broadly ringed than in _S. lokriah_, and the ventral surface is never tinged with orange, as in that species; the tail is concolorous with the back; the hair more coarsely annulated; there is no white tuft behind the ears, as in the last species.

SIZE.--About the same as the last, or Dr. Anderson says: "In the form referable to _S. Blythii_, a white spot occurs on the inguinal region of the thigh in the position in which the rufous of the so-called red-legged squirrels is developed. The groin in some of these squirrels shows also a decided rufous tinge, while the remainder of the belly is sullied grey white. If these forms were without the white thigh-spot, they would exactly conform to the type of _S. Assamensis_. A squirrel in the British Museum, labelled _S. Tytleri_ (Verreau, 'Indes Orientales'), agrees with _S. Blythii_" ('A. and Z. Res.', p. 249).

Blyth has seen a squirrel of this species renewing its coat, and assuming a variegated appearance during its transition to the breeding dress.

A jet-black squirrel of the same proportion occurs in Sylhet and Cachar, which Dr. Anderson is inclined to think belongs also to this species.

We may, therefore, regard the following as being the same as _S. lokroides_, viz., _S. Assamensis_, _S. Blythii_, _S. similis_, and the black one, which has apparently not been named.

Jerdon states that these squirrels are mostly seen in the autumn when the chestnuts, of which they are very fond, ripen.

NO. 279. SCIURUS PYGERYTHRUS.

HABITAT.--Burmah (Lower Pegu, and common in the neighbourhood of Rangoon).

DESCRIPTION.--Upper parts dark olive grey; basal third of the tail concolorous with the back, its latter two-thirds ringed olive-yellow and black; the tip black; feet olive grey, sometimes washed with yellowish; under surface and inside of limbs orange yellow, which extends also along the middle of the under part of the tail. Paler varieties occur. The skull of this species is smaller than those of _S. caniceps_, _S. Phayrei_ and _S. Blanfordii_.

NO. 280. SCIURUS CANICEPS. _The Golden-backed Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Burmah (Upper Tenasserim and Tavoy).

DESCRIPTION.--General colour grey or fulvous above; limbs outside grizzled grey; feet yellowish-grey; in some cases the nape, shoulders, and upper parts of back are vivid light ferruginous or golden fulvous, sometimes extending downwards on to the base of the tail. Some have only a trace of this colouring, others none at all. There is infinite variety of colouring in this species, as I observed in my remarks on the genus, and it is closely allied to the next three, if they do not ultimately prove to be the same.

"Out of a large series of specimens referable to _S. caniceps_, the males illustrate three phases of colouring, associated with a difference in the character of the fur. The first is a grey, the second a yellowish, and the third a phase in which the back becomes brilliant yellowish-red."--_Anderson_.

NO. 281. SCIURUS PHAYREI. _The Laterally-banded or Phayre's Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Burmah. Common in Martaban; has also been obtained at Tounghu.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper parts dark olive grey; lower parts rich orange red; the same colour being more or less continued along the under surface of the tail; the orange colour extends over the inside of the limbs, the front of the thigh and on the feet; the fore-limbs are dusky outside, with pale rufous yellow feet. Its chief distinguishing mark is a brown well-defined dark band on the flanks between the colour of the upper and lower parts.

NO. 282. SCIURUS BLANFORDII. _Blanford's Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Upper Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale grey above, finely punctulated with black and grey; tail concolorous, with a black tip; under parts pale orange yellow; hands and feet yellow. Dr. Anderson shot a female at Pudeepyo, in the beginning of January, which had a distinct tendency to the formation of a dusky lateral stripe, as in the last species; the under-parts also were much more rich orange than in the type of this species. In the grey phase of _S. caniceps_ that species is so like _S. Blanfordii_ in the colouring of the upper parts and feet that it is almost impossible to distinguish them, but, according to Dr. Anderson, "on examining the under parts it is found that in these phases of _S. caniceps_ they are grey, whereas in _S. Blanfordii_ they are a beautiful rich orange, and the feet are yellow."

Before proceeding to the next species, which is a better marked one, I will quote one more passage from Dr. Anderson's careful comparison of the four preceding squirrels. "_S. Phayrei_ corresponds in the colour of the upper fur to the yellow phase of _S. caniceps_, and the tail is the same as in it, having a black tip, which is the character also that that appendage has in _S. pygerythrus_. In some examples of _S. Phayrei_ the dusky or blackish is not confined to the lateral line, but extends over the outside of the fore-limbs, the feet being always yellow in squirrels presenting these characters. Some specimens of _S. pygerythrus_ show a distinct tendency to have yellow feet, and further research will probably prove _S. Phayrei_ to be only a variety of _S. pygerythrus_. When Blyth first encountered this form, he simply regarded it as a variety of _S. pygerythrus_, and I believe his first opinion will be ultimately found to be more in accordance with the real interpretation of the facts than the conclusion he afterwards adopted. In the Paris Museum there is an example of _S. Blanfordii_ from Upper Burmah which distinctly shows a dark lateral streak, so that, taking into consideration the other examples to which I have already referred, there seems to be a presumption that it and _S. Phayrei_ are one and the same species, and that they are probably identical with _S. pygerythrus_; moreover, my impression is that a more extensive series will establish their identity with _S. caniceps_. This view of the question is also supported by a small series of these squirrels in the Leyden Museum from Tounghu in Upper Burmah, presented by the Marquis of Tweeddale. From the characters manifested by these squirrels, and the circumstances that they were all shot in one locality, they are of great interest. One is an adult, and in its upper parts it exactly resembles _S. Blanfordii_, also in its yellow feet and black tip to its tail, but, like _S. Phayrei_, it has a broad blackish-brown lateral stripe. The others are smaller, and resemble the foregoing specimens in all their characters, except that they have no dark lateral streak, and that the feet of two are concolorous with the upper parts, while in the remaining squirrel the feet appear to be changing to yellow, as in the adult. The two former of these, therefore, conform to the type of _S. pygerythrus_, but the fur of the upper parts is greyer and not so richly coloured as in it, but the annulation of the fur has the same character in both. The remaining specimen in its features is distinctly referable to _S. Blanfordii_" ('Anat. and Zool. Researches,' p. 232).

NO. 283. SCIURUS ATRODORSALIS. _The Black-backed Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Burmah and the Malayan countries. Common in Martaban.

DESCRIPTION.--There are two phases of colouring, in which both old and young of this species are found: with the black on the back, and again without it. In the latter case the upper parts and feet are a yellowish-rufous. The upper surface of the head, as far back as to include the ears, orange red; under parts and inside of limbs more or less chestnut; under surface of neck orange yellow, with a centre line of the same on the chest; tail variable--in the young it has seven alternate orange and black bands, the orange being terminal; but the adults have sometimes only five bands, the apical one so broad as to make a rich orange tail with yellowish-white tipped hair. In those with black backs the colour of the upper fur is less fulvous, and the chestnut of the lower parts is darker; in some the tail has broad orange tipped hairs, whilst in others it is, with the exception of the base, wholly black, and not annulated. These differences in colouring are not sexual, nor due to age. The skull of _S. atrodorsalis_ resembles that of _S. caniceps_, but is broader, with a somewhat shorter muzzle, has smaller teeth, and would appear to be, from comparisons made by Dr. Anderson, smaller.

NO. 284. SCIURUS ERYTHRAEUS. _The Assam Red-bellied Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Assam, Garo hills, Munipur.

DESCRIPTION.--The upper parts glistening deep reddish-black, minutely grizzled with light fulvous or yellowish-brown, each hair having two annulations; under parts and inside of limbs dark reddish maroon; feet black; tail concolorous with the back from the basal third, then gradually less grizzled; the terminal half black; whiskers black. Pallas describes the black of the tail as passing upwards in a mesial line.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 9 to 10 inches; tail with hair, from 11 to 12 inches.

NO. 285. SCIURUS GORDONI. _Gordon's Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Upper Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Dr. Anderson, who first named this species, describes it as follows: "_S. Gordoni_ has the upper surface and a narrow line from between the fore-limbs along the middle of the body grizzled olive-brown or greyish, with a variable rufous tint; the annulations are not so fine as in _S. erythraeus_. The chin and sides of the throat are paler grizzled than on the back and the lower part of the throat; the chest, belly, and inside of the limbs are either pale yellow or rich orange-yellow, or passing into pale chestnut in the Assam variety, in which the belly is rarely lineated. The ears are feebly pencilled; the tail has the same proportion as in _S. erythraeus_ and _S. castaneoventris_[20] but it is more persistently and uniformly concolorous with the body than in these species, and is finely ringed with black and yellow, the rings being most distinct on the latter fourth; the tip is generally washed with orange yellow" ('Anat. and Zool. Res.').

[Footnote 20: A Chinese species: Western China, Formosa and Hainau.--R. A. S.]

SIZE.--Head and body, 9 inches; tail, 7 inches.

NO. 286. SCIURUS HIPPURUS. _The Chestnut-bellied Assam Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Assam; also in the Malayan peninsula.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper parts of the body, with base of tail yellowish-rufous, punctulated with yellow and black; the lower parts deep ruddy ferruginous or chestnut; feet, tail (which is bushy) and whiskers black.

Dr. Anderson, however, mentions several varieties. He writes: "The specimen in the British Museum referred by Dr. Gray to _S. rufogaster_, var. _Borneoensis_ differs from Malayan specimens in having portions of the upper parts unannulated and of a deep rich chestnut, which embraces the upper surface of the base of the tail, and is concolorous with the chestnut of the under parts. This, however, is evidently not a persistent form, because I have seen a specimen from the same island in which the red portion of the upper parts is grizzled and much of the same tint as Malayan individuals, except in the mesial line of the neck and back, where the colour is rich red-brown extending along the dorsum of the tail for about three inches.

"Muller and Schlegel mention a variety that I have not seen, and of which they state that the red colour of the under parts extends to the heel, the forefoot and the toes, while the colour of the upper parts passes into a uniform lustrous black. They also remark, however, that the back not unfrequently assumes a pale yellowish brown tint" ('Anat. and Zool. Res.' p. 242).

Horsfield remarks:--"This species is nearly allied to the _S. erythraeus_ of Pallas, but it varies in the depth of the colours both above and underneath."

"In the skull the orbit is rather large, and the muzzle is so contracted at its base that the extremity is but little narrower."--_Anderson_.

NO. 287. SCIURUS SLADENI. _Sladen's Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Upper Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--After Dr. Anderson ('Proc. Zool. Soc.' 1871, p. 139) who first obtained and named this species: "grizzled, rufous olive above, the annulations fine, and the fur of moderate length; the forehead, face, chin, throat, belly, inside of limbs, front of thighs, lower half of fore-limbs, and the hind-feet rich chestnut red; tail rather bushy, as long as the body without the neck and head, concolorous with the upper surface of the body, but slightly more rufous; with a bright chestnut red tip."

SIZE.--Head and body, 10-1/4 inches; tail, including rufous tip, 8 inches.

This handsome squirrel is figured in the volume of plates belonging to Dr. Anderson's work on the Zoology of the Yunnan Expedition. Speaking of the skull he says: "The skull of _S. Sladeni_ has a rather short muzzle, with considerable breadth across its base superiorly, and it is a shorter and broader skull than the skulls of squirrels referred to _S. Blanfordii_. Compared with the skull of the red-headed specimen of _S. erythraeus_ from Bhutan, there is a decided resemblance between the two, the chief distinction being the less breadth of the base of the muzzle of the latter, but the teeth of this specimen show it to be young, while the teeth of _S. Sladeni_ are much worn by use."--'A. and Z. Res.' p. 243.

NO. 288. SCIURUS FERRUGINEUS. _The Rusty-coloured Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--From Assam to Burmah and Siam, and the adjacent islands of Pulo Condor and Sichang.

DESCRIPTION.--Colouring most diverse, no less than ten named species being referable to this one, viz., _S. Finlaysoni_, _S. ferrugineus_, _S. Keraudrenii_, _S. splendidus_, _S. cinnamomeus_, _S. Siamensis_, _S. splendens_, _S. Germani_, _S. Bocourtii_, _S. leucogaster_; some are rich red, one jet black, and another is white, but apparently most of the varieties come from Siam; the Assam and Burmah specimens being reddish, of which the following description is by Blyth, according to Horsfield's Catalogue, where it is entered as _S. Keraudrenii_: "Entirely of a deep rufo-ferruginous colour, rather darker above than below; the fur of the upper parts somewhat glistening; toes of all the feet blackish, as in the three preceding, and the extreme tip of the tail yellowish-white."

* * * * *

The following group consists of the striped squirrels, a smaller and more terrestrial species, allied to the ground squirrels (_Tamias_).

NO. 289. SCIURUS PALMARUM. _The Common Indian Ground Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 155_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Gilehri_, Hindi; _Beral_, _Lakki_, Bengali; _Kharri_, Mahrathi; _Alalu_, Canarese; _Vodata_, Telegu; _Urta_ of Waddurs (_Jerdon_).

HABITAT.--India generally, except in some parts of Malabar and North-eastern Bengal.

DESCRIPTION.--The upper parts are dusky greenish-grey, with five yellowish-white dorsal lines, the two outer ones being faint and indistinct; under parts whitish; the hairs of the tail are annulated with red and black; ears round. But the colouring varies; some are much darker than others; one I have is a deep ferruginous brown between the dorsal stripes.

SIZE.--Head and body, 6-1/2 to 7 inches; tail, 5-1/2 to 6 inches.

This beautiful little animal is well known to almost all who have lived in India, and it is one of the most engaging and cheerful of all the frequenters of our Mofussil bungalows, although I have heard the poor little creature abused by some in unmeasured terms, as a nuisance on account of its piercing voice. I confess to liking even its shrill chatter; but then I am not easily put out by noise, and am rather like the deaf old King of Oude, who sits and reads in his cockatoo house, and looks up smilingly, as half a dozen of them give vent to extra diabolical shrieks, and pleasantly remarks: "Ah: the birds are singing a little this morning!" I am not quite so bad as that; but as I now sit writing, I have a hill myna on one side of me imitating an ungreased cart-wheel and the agonies of an asthmatic _derzie_, and on the other side a small female of the rose-headed parrakeet, which has a most piercing selection of whistles and small talk, to say nothing of two small bipeds of five and seven, who cap all the rest for noise, till I sometimes wish I had the aural afflictions of the old king. I can, however, quite imagine the irritation the sharp chirrup-chirrup of this little squirrel would cause to an invalid, for there is something particularly ear-piercing about it; but their prettiness and familiarity make up in great measure for their noisiness. They are certainly a nuisance in a garden, and I rather doubt whether they are of any use, as McMaster says, "in destroying many insects, especially white ants, beetles, both in their perfect and larval state," &c. He adds: "They are said to destroy the eggs of small birds, but I have never observed this myself." I should also doubt this, were it not that the European squirrel is accused of the same thing. General McMaster, I think, got his idea from a quaint old book, which he quotes at times, Dr. John Fryer's 'Voyage to East India and Bombain,' who, writing on the nests of the weaver bird (_Ploceus baya_), says: "It ties it by so slender a Thread to the Bough of the Tree, that the Squirrel dare not venture his body, though his Mouth water at the eggs and Prey within." McMaster himself writes: "This familiar little pest is accused, but I believe unjustly, of robbing nests; were he guilty of this, it would in the breeding season cause much excitement among the small birds, in whose society he lives on terms of almost perfect friendship." There is much truth in this. Wood and others, however, state that the European squirrel has been detected in the act of carrying off a small bird out of a nest, and that it will devour eggs, insects, &c.

Jerdon relates the Indian legend that, when Hanuman was crossing the Ganges, it was bridged over by all the animals; one small gap remained, which was filled by this squirrel, and as Hanuman passed over he put his hand on the squirrel's back, on which the marks of his five fingers have since remained. It is not unlike the chipmunk of America (_Tamias striatus_), but these true ground squirrels have cheeks pouches and live in burrows. Our so-called palm squirrel (though it does not affect palms any more than other trees) builds a ragged sort of nest of any fibrous matter, without much attempt at concealment; and I have known it carry off bits of lace and strips of muslin and skeins of wool from a lady's work-box for its house-building purposes. The skins of this species nicely cured make very pretty slippers. They are very easily tamed, and often fall victims to their temerity, in venturing unknown into their owner's pockets, boxes, boots, &c. One I have now is very fond of a mess of parched rice and milk. It sleeps rolled up in a ball, not on its side, but with its head bent down between its legs.

NO. 290. SCIURUS TRISTRIATUS. _The Three-striped Ground-Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 156_).

NATIVE NAMES.--As in the last. _Leyna_ in Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Ceylon and Southern India; on the Neilgherries. Has been found in Midnapur, and it is stated to range northward to the Himalayas.

DESCRIPTION.--Somewhat larger and darker than the last species, manifesting considerable variation in the colour of the dark lines of the back. In some the lines are rufous; in others dark brown or blackish throughout, or black only from the shoulder to the lumbar region. The general tints are rusty red on the head, greyish on the shoulders, blackish in the middle of the back, rusty on the haunches. Three well-defined yellow dorsal lines, not extending the whole length of the back; the tail rusty beneath, darker than _S. palmarum_ on the sides.

SIZE.--Head and body, 7-1/2 inches; tail, 7-1/2 inches.

This squirrel is more shy than the last, and keeps to the woods, although occasionally it will approach houses. Dr. Jerdon says a pair frequented his house at Tellicherry, but they were less familiar than _S. palmarum_, and endeavoured to shun observation. Kellaart gives a careful description of it, but does not say anything about its habits, at which I wonder, for it is common there, and takes the place of our little Indian friend, though probably its more retiring disposition has prevented so much notice being taken of it. Were it in the habit of frequenting houses in the manner of its Indian cousin, I am sure Sir Emerson Tennent would have devoted a page to it, whereas he does not mention it at all. It had also escaped McMaster's notice, careful observer though he was. Waterhouse, in his description ('Proc. Zool. Soc.' 1839, p. 118), describes some differences in the skull of this and _S. palmarum_, but Dr. Anderson finds no difference whatever.

NO. 291. SCIURUS LAYARDI. _Layard's Striped Ground-Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 157_).

HABITAT.--Ceylon; in the highlands and the mountains of Travancore in Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--Dark dingy olive, inclining more to ashy than fulvous, except on the head and flanks. Lower parts ferruginous, paler on the breast; middle of back very dark, with a narrow bright fulvous streak in the middle, reaching from between the shoulders to near the tail, and an obscure shorter stripe on either side, barely reaching to the croup; tail ferruginous along the centre, the hairs margined with black, with white tips; a narrower black band near the base of each hair; tip of tail black, forming a pencil tuft three inches long. In some specimens the centre dorsal streak is bright orange, the two intervening bands being jet black. In those in which the streaks are pale, the intervening bands differ only from the surrounding fur in being darker, but are grizzled like it. There is a narrow rufous area round the eye; the whiskers are black; the under-parts and inside of limbs are bright reddish-chestnut, and this colour extends along the under-part of the tail. Jerdon calls this squirrel _the Travancore striped squirrel_, but I see no reason to retain this name, as it is not peculiar to Travancore, but was first found in Ceylon by Mr. E. Layard, after whom Blyth named it.

NO. 292. SCIURUS SUBLINEATUS. _The Dusky-striped Ground-Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 158_).

HABITAT.--The mountains of Ceylon and Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--Smaller than the palm squirrel; fur soft, dense, grizzled olive brown; base of hairs dusky black; three pale and four dark lines on the back and croup, the lineation being obscure, and reaching only from the shoulder to the sacral region. Under-parts variable, but always dusky, never bright, from grey to dusky brown washed with rufous; tail concolorous with the upper part of the body and obscurely annulated.

SIZE.--Head and body, 5 to 6 inches; tail, 4-1/2 to 6 inches.

Kellaart calls this _the Newara Elia ground-squirrel_, and Jerdon _the Neilgherry striped squirrel_, but, as it is not peculiar to either one or the other place, I think it better to adopt another popular name. It is common about Newara Elia and Dimboola, but it does not seem to descend lower than 3000 feet. In Southern India it is found in the Neilgherries, Wynaad and Coorg, but only at considerable elevations.

NO. 293. SCIURUS MCCLELLANDI. _McClelland's Ground-Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 159_).

NATIVE NAME.--_Kalli-gangdin_, Lepcha.

HABITAT.--"This species has a wide distribution, ranging from Nepal and Thibet to the east of China and Formosa, and through Assam and Cachar south-eastward to Tenasserim and Siam."--_Anderson_.

DESCRIPTION.--General hue olive brown, each hair having a blackish tip, a sub-apical yellow band, and a slaty black base. A pale yellowish band on the side of the nose, passing underneath the eye and ear along the side of the neck, and continued along the side of the back to the base of the tail; its upper margin has a dusky line; a narrow black line from between the shoulders over the vertebrae to the root of the tail; tail grizzled dark above, fulvous beneath; whiskers black; limbs concolorous with the body: ears small, black edged, fulvous white within, and with white pencil tufts.

SIZE.--Head and body, 5 inches; tail, 4 inches.

Dr. Anderson obtained this species at Ponsee in Burmah, at an elevation of 3500 feet, and Dr. Jerdon, at Darjeeling, at from 4000 to 6000 feet. This species is synonymous with Blyth's _S. Barbei_.

NO. 294. SCIURUS BERDMOREI. _Berdmore's Ground-Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Tenasserim and Martaban.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour brownish, with a distinct rufous tinge on the middle of the back. It is punctulated with yellowish on the head, sides of face and body and outside of limbs, and with rich rufous on the middle of the back. An obscure narrow black line along the middle of the back from between the shoulders, but only extending half way down the trunk. On the sides of the back a yellow line from shoulder to articulation of femur; this is margined below with a broad black band, and above by an obscure dusky line. There is a broad pale yellow linear area below the former of these two dark bands, the portion of the side below it being concolorous with the thighs and fore-limbs. The rufous area of the back is confined between the two uppermost yellow lines; ears are large; all under-parts white, slightly washed here and there with yellowish; the tail moderately bushy, all the hairs annulated with four alternative orange and black bands, the terminal black band being occasionally tipped with white, and being as broad as the three remaining bands, so that the tail has a decidedly black tint washed with whitish, the orange bands, however, appearing through the black.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 7-3/4 inches; tail without hair, 5 inches.

NO. 295. SCIURUS QUINQUESTRIATUS. _The Stripe-bellied Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--Kakhyen hills, on the Burmo-Chinese frontier.

DESCRIPTION.--"Above grizzled olive, brownish-grey, with a distinct rufous tint, deepest on the dorsal surface; annulation fine, as in the grizzled squirrels generally; chin and throat obscurely grizzled greyish, washed with reddish; a rufous grizzled blackish-brown band from the chest along the middle line of the belly to the vent; external of this, on either side, a broad pure white well-defined band from the side to the chest along the belly and prolonged along the inguinal region to the vent; a broad black band from the hollow of the axilla along the side of the belly, expanding on the inside of the thighs, where it is faintly washed with greyish; inside of the fore-limbs blackish, washed with greyish; toes black, with rufous annulations. Tail nearly as long as the body and head, concolorous with body, but the black and rufous annulations much broader and more marked, assuming the form of indistinct rufous and black rings on the posterior third; tip of tail jet black, narrowly terminated with greyish."--_Dr. J. Anderson_ in 'Proc. Zool. Soc.' 1871, p. 142.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 9-1/2 inches; tail, 7-1/4 inches.

This curious squirrel was first discovered and named by Dr. Anderson, who states that it was common at Ponsee on the Kakhyen range of hills east of Bhamo, at an elevation of from 2000 to 3000 feet, and as yet it has only been found on those hills. There is a coloured plate of it in the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society' for 1871.

* * * * *

The next animal forms a curious link in resemblance between the Tupaiidae and the squirrels. I mentioned some time back that the first Tupaia was taken for a squirrel; and certainly, to look at this long-snouted squirrel, one might easily be misled into supposing it to be a Tupaia, till an examination of its dentition proved it to be a rodent. It is supposed to be a Malayan species, but I was shown not long ago a specimen in Mr. Hume's collection which I understood Mr. Davison to say he had procured in Burmah. It has been classed by Dr. Gray in a separate genus, _Rhinosciurus_.

NO. 296. SCIURUS (RHINOSCIURUS) TUPAOIDES. _The Long-nosed Squirrel_.

HABITAT.--The Malayan peninsula and Borneo, and I believe the Tenasserim provinces.

DESCRIPTION.--This animal differs from all other squirrels by the extreme length of its pointed muzzle, with which is associated a long and narrow skull. The coloration varies from light to dark, and almost blackish-brown; the tail is shorter than the body, moderately bushy, narrow at the base, but expanding towards the tip; the hairs are broadly banded with four alternate pale and dark brown bands, the last being the darkest and broadest, with a pale tip; the under-parts are white in some, rich orange yellow in others.

SIZE.--Head and body, 7-1/2 inches; tail reaches to the eye.

* * * * *

The Flying Squirrels next engage our attention. In several groups of animals of strictly arboreal habits, nature has gone beyond the ordinary limits of agility afforded by muscular limbs alone, and has supplemented those limbs with elastic membranes which act like a parachute when the animal takes a leap into space, and gives it a gradual and easy descent. Amongst the lemurs the _Galeopithecus_, the _Pteromys_ in the squirrels, and the _Anomalurus_ in another family of rodents, are all thus provided with the apparatus necessary to enable them to float awhile in the air, for flying is scarcely the proper term for the letting-down easy principle of the mechanism in question.

The flying squirrels, with which we have now to deal, are in general details the same as ordinary squirrels, but the skin of the flanks is extended between the fore and hind limbs, which, when spread out, stretches it into a wide parachute, increased in front by means of a bony spur which projects from the wrist. These animals have been subdivided into the large round-tailed flying squirrels, _Pteromys_, and the small flat-tailed flying squirrels, _Sciuropterus_. The distinction was primarily made by F. Cuvier on the character of the teeth, as he considered _Sciuropterus_ to have a less complex system of folds in the enamel of the molars, more like the ordinary squirrels than _Pteromys_; but modern research has proved that this is not a good ground for distinction. Dr. Anderson has lately examined the dentition in eleven species of _Pteromys_ and _Sciuropterus_, and he says: "According to my observations the form of the enamel folds in youth are essentially similar, consisting of a series of tubercular folds which are marked with wavy lines in some, and are smooth in others, but in all there is a marked conformity to a common type. The seemingly more complex character of the folds appears to depend on the extent to which the tubercular ridges are worn by use." He also questions the propriety of the separation according to the distichous arrangement of the hairs of the tail. After a careful examination of the organ in nearly all the members of the series, he writes: "I have failed to detect that it is essentially distinctive of them--that is, that the distichous arrangement of the hairs is always associated with a diminutive species; but at the same time there can be no doubt that it is more prevalent among such." He then goes on to show that the tail is bushy in seventeen species, partially distichous in one, and wholly so in ten, and concludes by saying: "I am therefore disposed to regard the flying squirrels generally as constituting a well-defined generic group, the parallel of the genus _Sciurus_, which consists of an extensive series of specific forms distinguished by a remarkable uniformity of structure, both in their skulls and skeletons, and in the formations of their soft parts." There is a laudable tendency nowadays amongst mammalogists to reduce as far as possible the number of genera and species, and, acting on this principle, I will follow Dr. Anderson, and treat all the Indian flying squirrels under _Pteromys_.

_GENUS PTEROMYS_.

General anatomy that of the squirrel, except that the skin of the flanks is extended between the limbs in such a manner as to form a parachute when the fore and hind legs are stretched out in the act of springing from tree to tree.

NO. 297. PTEROMYS ORAL. _The Brown Flying Squirrel_ (_Pteromys petaurista in Jerdon, No. 160_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Oral_ of the Coles; _Pakya_, Mahrathi; _Parachatea_, Malabarese; _Egala dandoleyna_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--India, wherever there are large forests; Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper parts dusky maroon black grizzled with white; this effect being due to the ends of the hairs being white, tipped with a small black point.

The muzzle and around the eyes, and the feet are black; the limbs and side membrane a lighter rufous maroon; the male has an irregular rufous patch on the sides of the neck, according to Elliot, which in the female is a pale fawn colour; the tail is rather longer than the body, and very bushy; its terminal two-thirds or three-fourths are black or blackish--sometimes (rarely) a little white at the extreme tip; the under-parts are dingy brownish-grey or nearly white. The female has six mammae--two pectoral and four ventral.

SIZE.--Head and body, 20 inches; tail, 21 inches; breadth of expanse, 21 to 24.

This species is nocturnal in its habits as noticed by Mr. Baker ('Journ. As. Soc. Beng.' 1859, vol. xxviii. p. 287), Jerdon and others.

Mr. Baker says it makes a noise at night in the depths of the jungle which is alarming to strangers. On the other hand Tickell, who was one of the first to bring it to notice, says its voice is seldom heard, and it is a weak, low, soft monotone quickly repeated, so low that in the same room you require to listen attentively to distinguish it. "It is to the Coles a sound ominous of domestic affliction. When angry the oral seldom bites, but scratches with its fore-claws, grunting at the same time like a guinea-pig." "When taken young it becomes a most engaging pet. It can be reared on goat's or cow's milk,[21] and in about three weeks will begin to nibble fruit of any kind. During the day it sleeps much, either sitting with its back bent into a circle, and its head thrust down to its belly, or lying on its back with the legs and parachute extended--a position it is fond of in sultry weather. During the night time it is incessantly on the move."

[Footnote 21: I advise half water in the case of cow's milk, or one quarter water with buffalo milk.--R. A. S.]

Jerdon says of it: "It frequents the loftiest trees in the thickest parts of the forest, and is quite nocturnal in its habits, usually making its appearance when quite dusk. The natives discover its whereabouts by noting the droppings beneath the trees it frequents. It is said to keep in holes of trees during the day, and breeds in the same places. In the Wynaad many are killed, and a few captured alive by the Coorumbars, a jungle race of aborigines, who are usually employed to fell the forest trees in clearing for coffee; and I have had several sent to me alive, caught in this way, but could not keep them for any time. It lives chiefly on fruits of various kinds; also on bark, shoots, &c., and, Tickell says, occasionally on beetles and the larvae of insects."

Jerdon says he had several times witnessed the flight of this species from tree to tree, and on one occasion he noted a flight of over sixty yards.