Chapter XVII: Section II: Myomorpha--Rat-Like Rodents (1)

The second section of the order GLIRES, containing the following families--those that are not Indian being in italics:--

_Myoxidiae_, _Lophiomyidae_, Muridae, Spalacidae, _Geomyidae_, _Theridomyidae_ (fossil), Dipodidae.

The molar dentition is from 3--3/3--3 to 6--6/6--6, the former being the usual number; the tibia and fibula are united for at least a third of their length; the zygomatic arch is slender, and the malar process rarely extends so far forwards as in the preceding section, and is generally supported below by a continuation of the maxillary zygomatic process; the collar-bones are perfect (except in _Lophiomyidae_). Upper lip cleft; the muffle small and naked; tail cylindrical, sometimes hairy, but commonly covered with scales arranged in rings.

In all the Indian mammalogy this section is probably the most difficult to write about. Our knowledge of the smaller rodents is extremely imperfect, and is just engaging increased attention. In the meanwhile I feel that, while I make use of such material as is now available, before long much will have to be revised and corrected after the exhaustive inquiries now being made by Dr. Anderson are published.

The Indian families with which we have to deal are but three--the _Muridae_, _Spalacidae_, and the _Dipodidae_. The _Arvicolidae_ of Jerdon's work is merely a sub-family of _Muridae_. Of these the _Muridae_ take the first place, as containing the greater number of genera. It is estimated that the total number of species known of this family throughout the world exceed 330, of which probably not more than one-fourth or fifth are to be found in India and adjacent countries.

FAMILY MURIDAE.

CHARACTER.--"Lower incisors compressed; no premolars; molars rooted or rootless, tuberculate or with angular enamel folds; frontals contracted; infra-orbital opening in typical forms high, perpendicular, wide above and narrowed below, with the lower root of the maxillary zygomatic process more or less flattened into a perpendicular plate; very rarely the opening is either large and oval, or small and sub-triangular. Malar short and slender, generally reduced to a splint between the maxillary and squamosal processes; external characters very variable; pollex rudimentary, but often with a small nail; tail generally sub-naked and scaly, rarely densely haired."--_Alston_, 'P. Z. S.' 1876.

This family is divided into about ten sub-families, of which the Indian ones are as follows: _Platacanthyominae_; _Gerbillinae_; _Phlaeomyinae_; _Murinae_; _Arvicolinae_; _Cricetinae_.

The other four are _Sminthinae_, _Hydromyinae_, _Dendromyinae_, and _Siphneinae_, none of which are found within our limits.

_GENUS PLATACANTHOMYS_.

CHARACTER.--Molars 3/3, divided into transverse laminae; infra-orbital opening as in typical _Muridae_; incisive foramina and auditory bullae small; form _myoxine_ (or dormouse-like); fur mixed with flat spines; tail densely hairy. The general resemblance of this animal to the dormouse (_Myoxus_) is striking, to which its hairy tail and its habits conduce, but on closer examination its small eyes, thin ears, short thumb of the fore-foot bring it into the murine family. The genus was first noted and named by Blyth, who seemed inclined to class it as a dormouse, but this has not been upheld for the reasons given above, and also that _Platacanthomys_ has the normal _murine_ number of molars, viz.: 3--3/3--3, whereas _Myoxus_ has an additional premolar above and below. These points were first brought to notice by Prof. Peters of Berlin (_see_ 'P. Z. S.' 1865, p. 397). There is a coloured plate of the animal in the same volume, but it is not so well executed as most of the illustrations in the Society's works.

NO. 316. PLATACANTHOMYS LASIURUS. _The Long-tailed Spiny Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 198_).

HABITAT.--Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--Light rufescent brown; the under fur paler, more rufous on the forehead and crown; whiskers black; under parts dull white; the hairs on the tail, which are arranged distichously, are darker than those of the body, infuscated except at the tip of the tail, where they are whitish; the muzzle is acute; ears moderate and naked; the fur above is mixed densely with sharp flat spines; the under coat is delicate and fine; the few spines on the lower parts are smaller and finer; the thumb is without a nail.

SIZE.--Head and body, 6 inches; tail, 3-1/2, or five inches including the hair; planta, 1 inch.

This species was discovered by the Rev. Mr. Baker in the Western Ghats of Malabar, and in Cochin and Travancore, at an elevation of about 3000 feet. He writes of it: "It lives in clefts in the rocks and hollow trees, and is said to hoard ears of grain and roots, seldom comes into the native huts, and in that particular neighbourhood the hillmen told me they are very numerous. I know they are to be found in the rocky mountains of Travancore, but I have never met with them on the plains." In another place he adds: "I have been spending the last three weeks in the Ghats, and, amongst other things, had a great hunt for the new spiny dormice. They are most abundant, I find, in the elevated vales and ravines, living only in the magnificent old trees there, in which they hollow out little cavities, filling them with leaves and moss. The hill people call them the 'pepper-rat,' from their destroying large quantities of ripe pepper (_Piper nigrum_). Angely and jackfruit (_Artocarpus ovalifolia_ and _integrifolia_) are much subject to their ravages. Large numbers of the _shunda_ palm (_Caryota_) are found in these hills, and toddy is collected from them. These dormice eat through the covering of the pot as suspended, and enjoy themselves. Two were brought to me in the pots half drowned. I procured in one morning sixteen specimens. The method employed in obtaining them was to tie long bamboos (with thin little branches left on them to climb by) to the trees; and, when the hole was reached, the man cut the entrance large enough to admit his hand, and took out the nest with the animals rolled up in it, put the whole into a bag made of bark, and brought it down. They actually reached the bottom sometimes without being disturbed. It was very wet, cold weather, and they may have been somewhat torpid; but I started a large brown rat at the foot of one of these trees, which ran up the stem into a hole, and four dormice were out in a minute from it, apparently in terror of their large friend. There were no traces of hoarding in any of the holes, but the soft bark of the trees was a good deal gnawed in places. I had two of these dormice alive for some time, but, as they bit and gnawed at everything intended to keep them in durance, I was obliged to kill both. I noticed that when their tails were elevated, the hairs were perfectly erect like a bottle-brush" ('Proc. As. Soc. Beng.' 1859, p. 290).

SUB-FAMILY GERBILLINAE.

Incisors narrow; molars divided into transverse laminae; pterygoid fossae short; auditory bullae usually large; hind limbs very long; tail long and hairy.

_GENUS GERBILLUS_.

Form murine, with the exception of the elongated hind-limbs; muzzle pointed; ears moderate and oval; eyes very large and bright; occipital region broad; auditory bullae large; upper incisors grooved; first molar with three laminae, the second with two, and third with one only; hinder tarsus and toes much elongated; the fore-limbs small; tail long and hairy, with a tuft at the end.

NO. 317. GERBILLUS INDICUS. _The Indian Jerboa-Rat, or Kangaroo-Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 170_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Hirna-mus_, Hindi; _Jhenku-indur_, Sanscrit and Bengali; _Yeri-yelka_ of the Waddurs; _Tel-yelka_ of the Yanadees; _Billa-ilei_, Canarese.

HABITAT.--All over India and in Ceylon, but apparently not in Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Light fulvous brown above or fawn colour, paling on the sides; under-parts white; the hairs of the back are ashy at the base, with fulvous tips, a few thin black hairs intermixed chiefly on the side and cheeks.

The eyebrow is whitish; whiskers long and black and a few grey; the nose is elongated; the upper jaw projecting nearly half an inch beyond the lower; tail, which is longer than the body, is blackish above and below, pale laterally, and terminates with a black tufted tip; the ears are large and nearly naked; the eye is particularly large and lustrous, which, with its graceful bounds, have given it its Indian name of "antelope-rat" (_Hirna-mus_).

SIZE.--Head and body, about 7 inches; tail, 8-1/2 inches; fore-foot, 5/10 inch; hind-foot, 2 inches. Weight, 6-3/4 ounces.

This graceful little creature frequents bare plains and sandy country in general, where it forms extensive burrows. Hardwicke writes of it: "These animals are very numerous about cultivated lands, and particularly destructive to wheat and barley crops, of which they lay up considerable hoards in spacious burrows. A tribe of low-caste Hindus, called Kunjers, go in quest of them at proper seasons to plunder their hoards, and often within the space of twenty yards square find as much corn in the ear as could be crammed in a bushel." Sir Walter Elliot's account of their burrows is most interesting. He says: "The entrances, which are numerous, are small, from which the passage descends with a rapid slope for two or three feet, then runs along horizontally, and sends off branches in different directions. These galleries generally terminate in chambers from half a foot to a foot in width, containing a bed of dried grass. Sometimes one chamber communicates with another furnished in like manner, whilst others appear to be deserted, and the entrances closed with clay. The centre chamber in one burrow was very large, which the Wuddurs attributed to its being the common apartment, and said that the females occupied the smaller ones with their young. They do not hoard their food, but issue from their burrows every evening, and run and hop about, sitting on their hind legs to look round, making astonishing leaps, and on the slightest alarm flying into their holes." This account differs from that of Hardwicke as regards the hoarding of food, and from what I can learn is the more correct.

The food of this animal is grain, grass, and roots, but Kellaart mentions certain carnivorous propensities, for one night several of them nearly devoured an albino rat which had been put into the same cage with them. McMaster says of its agility: "I have seen them when released from a trap baffle and elude dogs in the most extraordinary manner by wonderful jumps made over the backs, and apparently into the very teeth of their pursuers."

Buchanan-Hamilton's assertion that "these animals live in holes which they dig in the abrupt banks of rivers and ponds" is misleading. They may do so occasionally, but in general they choose sandy plains. The female is prolific, bringing forth from eight to twelve young ones, and Dr. Jerdon states that it is said to have occasionally as many as sixteen to twenty. With regard to Kellaart's accusation of its being carnivorous at times, I may say I have noticed such tendencies amongst several other rodents which are supposed to be purely vegetarians. I have also known ruminants take to flesh-eating when opportunity offered.

NO. 318. GERBILLUS HURRIANAE. _The Desert Jerboa-Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 171_).

HABITAT.--The sandy deserts west of the Jumna and Hurriana; also in Afghanistan according to Horsfield's Catalogue, and probably in Rajpootana, Sindh, and the Punjab.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale rufous or sandy above, with fine dusky lines, the hairs being blackish at the base, the rest fawn coloured, with a blackish tip very minute; sides paler, with fewer dusky lines; under-parts white, tinged more or less with fulvous or fawn on the belly; limbs pale fawn; orbits pale; whiskers whitish, a few of the upper ones dark; tail yellowish-rufous or fawn colour throughout, with a line of dusky brown hairs on the upper surface of the terminal half, gradually increasing in length to the tips.

SIZE.--Smaller than the last species. Head and body, 5 inches; tail, 4-1/2.

Jerdon says of this rat that it is "exceedingly numerous in the sandy downs and sand-hills of Hurriana, both in jungles and in bare plains, especially in the former, and a colony may be seen at the foot of every large shrub almost. I found that it had been feeding on the kernel of the nut of the common _Salvadora oleifolia_, gnawing through the hard nut and extracting the whole of the kernel. Unlike the last species, this rat, during the cold weather at all events, is very generally seen outside its holes at all hours, scuttling in on the near approach of any one, but soon cautiously popping its head out of its hole and again issuing forth. In the localities it frequents it is far more abundant than I have ever seen _G. Indicus_ in the most favourable spots" ('Mammals of India,' p. 186).

NO. 319. GERBILLUS CRYPTORHINUS. _The Lobe-nosed Jerboa-Rat_.

HABITAT.--Yarkand.

DESCRIPTION.--after Mr. Blanford, who first described and named the species: "Colour above sandy rufescent, some specimens rather more rufous than others; below white, the two colours sharply divided on the sides; cheeks pale; supercilia whitish; feet white; tail above rather more rufous than the back, paler and occasionally whitish below, becoming dark brown or blackish above near the end, and with the slight tuft of longer hairs at the end of the same dark colour; fur soft and glossy, about half an inch long in the middle of the back, all the basal portion being at least three-quarters of the length, dark ashy; the terminal portion pale yellow brown to pale rufous, with numerous longer hairs with black tips mixed; on the under surface the hairs are white throughout; on the tail the hair is rather short, coarse, and close together; there are a very few longer black tips mixed, but scarcely enough to produce an effect in the general colour.

"The ears are oval and of moderate length; densely clad with brown hairs on the anterior portion of the outer surface, and with a fringe of longer hairs on the anterior margin; the posterior portion of the external surface is nearly naked, except near the margin, and the anterior portion of the inner surface is completely destitute of hair, but the inner surface is more hairy near the hinder margin. The whiskers are very numerous, the longest slightly exceeding the head; the uppermost behind being black, all the rest white; all are mixed at the base with long hairs, which cover the side of the nose; soles of the fore-feet with scattered white hairs, but nearly naked; those of the hind-feet densely covered with hair everywhere except at the extreme tips of the toes and at the heel.

"Mammae, eight--four pectoral and four inguinal, as usual in the genus.

"The most remarkable character of these species is the presence at the end of the snout of a semi-circular lobe, which forms a flap completely covering the openings of the nostrils. This lobe can, of course, only be well seen in the specimens preserved in spirit. In the dried skin its presence can sometimes be detected, but not always. In the only spirit specimen, an adult female, the flap measures about 0.3 inch in breadth, and is barely an eighth of an inch long.

"It is hairy both outside and inside, the hairs being very short and rather scattered inside; the surface below the nostrils covered by the flap is also hairy. The use of this lobe is evidently to keep out sand and dust from the air passages" (W. T. Blanford's 'Mammalia of the Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 56).

SIZE.--Head and body, about 5-1/2 inches; tail, 5 inches; length of fore-foot, 0.5 inch; hind-foot, 1.4 inch.

The peculiarity of the lobe, which was first detected by Mr. Oscar Fraser in removing a skull from a spirit specimen, distinguishes this species from the other Asiatic forms. There is also a peculiarity in the skull noticed by Mr. Blanford, which is that the lachrymal process, instead of being anchylosed to the adjoining bones, as in others of the genus, is free, and this species is therefore distinguished from the one most resembling it, _G. unguiculatus_ from Chinese Mongolia, in which the lachrymal process is united to the frontal.

NO. 320. GERBILLUS ERYTHRURUS. _The Red-tailed Jerboa-Rat_.

HABITAT.--Afghanistan and Persia.

DESCRIPTION.--Rufous brown above, with a few long black hairs, more numerous on the rump and thighs; under fur slaty; under-parts white, gradually blending with the colour of the sides; ears much larger than in the last species, hairy outside and near the margin inside; soles of hind feet and toes thickly covered with hair, except on the hinder half of the tarsus; tail very rufous--brown with a black tip, black hairs are scattered along the upper surface, and form a black band towards the end above, finally covering the whole tip.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 6 inches; tail, equal.

Mr. Blanford, to whose 'Eastern Persia' I am chiefly indebted for the above description, writes: "From _G. Hurrianae_, which Jerdon thought might probably be the same, the present form is distinguished by its much larger ears and by the hind feet, and especially the toes, being more thickly covered with hair beneath; the fur too is longer and the colour browner on the back; the tail is more rufous, and the tip blacker; the skull is larger and broader; the nasal portion more elongate and less concave above, and the hind upper molar has a distinct talon, or rudimentary second transverse ridge, in young specimens, traces of which may be detected in the form of the worn tooth."

Its habits are similar to those of the last species.

NO. 321. GERBILLUS NANUS. _The Dwarf Jerboa-Rat_.

HABITAT.--Baluchistan.

DESCRIPTION.--The fur is soft and long, rufous brown or fawn colour above, white below, the colours being less sharply distinguished than in _G. Indicus_; the hairs of the upper parts have no black tips, and the basal two-thirds are slaty grey. There is a broad white supercilium in front, joining the white area of the sides of the face, so that the brown of the nose is reduced to a rather narrow band; ears almost naked, a few short whitish hairs near the edge only; whiskers nearly all white; a few of the upper hairs brown near the base; feet white above, naked beneath, tail light brown above, whitish beneath; towards the end a band of darker brown hairs runs along the upper portion, those at the end lengthened; but there is a less marked tuft than usual, and there are no black hairs at the end (Blanford's 'Eastern Persia,' vol. ii. p. 72, _with plate_).

SIZE.--Head and body, 2.6 inches; tail, exclusive of hair, 4.5 inches; hair, 0.55 inches.

This curious little animal was first found and named by Mr. W. T. Blanford, who obtained two specimens, with others of _G. Hurrianae_, in a large area of ground that was flooded. He at first supposed them to be the young of _G. Indicus_, but found on subsequent examination that they were full grown.

SUB-FAMILY PHLOEMYINAE.

Incisors broad; molars divided into transverse laminae; infra-orbital opening typical; claws large.

_GENUS NESOKIA_.

Muzzle blunt; ears moderate; claws long; fur rather harsh; tail short, scaly, sparsely haired; palate narrow; incisive foramina short; auditory bullae rather small; incisors broad; first molars with three laminae, the rest with only two.--_Alston_.

There has been some confusion regarding the species of this genus. Jerdon, in his 'Mammals of India,' gives only two, including _Arvicola Indica_ and _Mus kok_ of Gray, _Mus providens_ of Elliot, and _Mus pyctoris_ of Hodgson, under _Nesokia Indica_, and classifying _Nesokia Huttoni_ with _N. Hardwickii_; but Dr. Anderson, after a most careful examination of specimens from all parts of India, has proved the distinctness of _Mus providens vel kok_ from the species called by Jerdon _Nesokia Indica_, which, being a synonym of _N. Hardwickii_, he has now renamed _Mus (Nesokia) Blythianus_ (_see_ 'Jour. As. Soc. Beng.' 1878, vol. xlvii. pt. ii.), and Mr. Blanford had clearly demonstrated that _N. Huttoni_ is a distinct species from _N. Hardwickii_ ('Zool. of Persia,' vol. ii. p. 59).

NO. 322. NESOKIA HARDWICKII. _Hardwick's Field-Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 173_).

HABITAT.--North-western India.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour sandy brown on the upper parts, paler on the sides, dusky grey, with a tinge of yellowish-rufous on the under-parts; muzzle, feet, and tail flesh-coloured; ears of the same, but rather darker; head short and bluff; muzzle broad and deep; eye moderately large; ears moderate, rounded, clad with minute hairs; fur soft and moderately long, of three kinds, viz. short under-fur, ordinary hairs, and mixed with them, especially on the back and rump, numerous long black hairs which project a good way beyond the fur.

SIZE.--Head and body, nearly 8 inches; tail, about 4-1/2 inches.

It is probable that this species is identical with _Mus Griffithi_, though the dimensions given by Horsfield ('Cat. Mam. Mus. E. I. Comp.') and the description do not quite agree. He gives the size of head and body at 6-1/2 inches; tail, 3 inches, and says that the teeth are nearly white.

NO. 323. NESOKIA HUTTONI. _Hutton's Field-Rat_.

HABITAT.--Northern India, Afghanistan and Persia.

DESCRIPTION.--Colour above from ferruginous brown to sandy brown, lower parts isabelline, but frequently appear dark in consequence of the fur being thin or worn; the basal portion dark slaty grey both above and below the animal; hairs on the back soft and of moderate length, a very few black hairs being scattered amongst the brown ones; tail naked, and ears almost naked, the latter having only a few extremely short hairs, thinly scattered, and the feet are covered above very sparsely with short whitish hairs (_see_ Blanford's 'Persia,' vol. ii., for description and plate). Nose and feet flesh-coloured; ears and tail darker and brownish; mammae eight, as usual in the genus.

According to Dr. A. Barclay (quoted by Dr. Anderson) the holes of this rat do not run deep, but ramify horizontally just below the surface of the ground. It throws out a mound of earth at the exit of the hole.

NO. 324. NESOKIA SCULLYI. _Scully's Field-Rat_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Mughi_, Turki.

HABITAT.--Kashgaria at Sanju, south-east of Yarkand.

DESCRIPTION.--Light rufescent brown above, dirty white beneath; fur fine and silky, blackish-grey at the base, and for two-thirds, the last third of the longer hairs being fawn colour; face earthy brown; whiskers black, tipped with white; ears very short, semi-nude; feet and claws flesh-coloured; tail naked, with a few scattered fine short hairs.

SIZE.--Head and body, 6.6 inches; tail, 5.2 inches.

NO. 325. NESOKIA PROVIDENS. _The Southern India Field-Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 172_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Kok_, Canarese; _Golatta-koku_, Telegu of the Yanadees; _Yea-kwet_ (?) Burmese.

HABITAT.--Southern India and Ceylon, probably Burmah, as one species is mentioned there by Blyth.

DESCRIPTION.--Head short and truncated, with a deep muzzle; ears nearly round, semi-nude, sparsely covered with minute hairs; eyes moderately large, half-way between snout and ear; feet largish; claws short and stout; tail nearly equalling length of head and body, semi-nude, ringed, and with short brown bristly hairs round the margin of the annuli; whiskers full and long; colour of the fur--which is harsh and long, as in the rest of the genus, and of the usual three kinds--is a brown, mixed with a tinge of fawn; the under-parts are whitish, with a yellowish tinge; the nose, ears, and feet are dark flesh-coloured or brownish, and the feet are covered with short brown hair. The incisors are orange yellow; the claws yellowish.

Sir Walter Elliot states that a variety found in red soil is much redder in colour than that inhabiting the black land. The skull is considerably smaller, according to Dr. Anderson, than that of the Bengal _Nesokia_, _N. Blythiana_, of the same age, from which it is also distinguished by its more outwardly arched malar process of the maxillary, by its considerably smaller teeth and long but less open anterior palatine foramina. The brain case is also relatively shorter and more globular than that of _Nesokia Blythiana_.

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

The habits of this rat are similar to those of the Bengal species, to which I will allude further on, and it has the same way of taking to water when pursued.

Jerdon says that this rat is most destructive to tea-trees, biting the roots just below the surface, more, he believes, because they happen to come in the way of their burrows than to feed on them.

Sir Walter Elliot writes: "In its habits it is solitary, fierce, living secluded in spacious burrows, in which it stores up large quantities of grain during the harvest, and when that is consumed lives upon the _huryale_ grass and other roots. The female produces from eight to ten at a birth, which she sends out of her burrow as soon as they are able to provide for themselves. When irritated it utters a low grunting cry, like the bandicoot. The race of people known by the name of Wuddurs, or tank-diggers, capture this animal in great numbers as an article of food, and during the harvest they plunder their earths of the grain stored up for their winter consumption, which in favourable localities they find in such quantities as to subsist almost entirely upon it during that season of the year. A single burrow will sometimes yield as much as half a seer (1 lb.) of grain, containing even whole ears of jowaree (_Holchus sorghum_)." Sir Walter Elliot goes on to give a most interesting account of the construction of the burrows of this animal.

NO. 326. NESOKIA BLYTHIANA. _The Bengal Field-Rat_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Yenkrai_, Bengalee.

HABITAT.--From Ghazipur in the North-west to Eastern Bengal and Cachar. Very common about Calcutta.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur coarse as in the genus, profusely intermixed with long piles, more numerous on the lumbar and sacral regions, which project a long way beyond the ordinary pelage. The general colour a dark brown with yellowish hairs intermingled, which give a somewhat rufous tinge, paler beneath. Nose, ears, and feet flesh-coloured; tail naked, ringed, and sparsely covered with short bristly hairs at the margin of the rings; feet moderately large; claws short and stout; eyes moderately large, placed a little nearer to the ear than to the snout; ears rounded, semi-nude, covered with a fine down; whiskers black; incisor teeth rich orange, but generally white towards their tips.

The female has eight pairs of mammae.

SIZE.--Head and body, 8-1/4 inches; tail, 6-1/2 inches.

I have already alluded to the distinguishing features of the skull of this species, as compared with _Nesokia providens_. From the skull of _N. Hardwickii_ it differs in its considerably narrower incisors and smaller and more irregularly laminated molars, and by its long and open anterior palatine foramina. It has also a more arched skull (_Anderson_).

This animal, which is included in Jerdon's _Nesokia Indica_, is very generally distributed over Lower Bengal. In the neighbourhood of Calcutta, Alipore for instance, it is abundant, and is a great nuisance in gardens. It burrows in tortuous directions, only a few inches below the ground, there being no definite plan, some being more complicated than others--the principal passage leading to a chamber containing a nest of leaves and grass. I have been told by natives that large quantities of grain are stored by these rats. When I first heard of its aquatic powers, I was led to believe that it was a species of vole, and was particularly desirous to get one, not being aware of any true water-rat in India. However, the reports of the natives have been confirmed by what Sir Walter Elliot states regarding the habits of _N. providens_, and by Dr. Anderson, who made several experiments with these rats in captivity. He says: "To test this aquatic power, I had two rats placed in a large wire birdcage, and the cage partially submerged; if the rats, when in those circumstances, were much annoyed, they immediately dived to the bottom of the cage, where they could be observed running about under water. I also had them removed from the cage, and let loose in the large sheet of water in the Zoological Gardens, between the two iron bridges. When let loose at the bank, and an attempt was made to catch them, they immediately dived; and the stronger of the two did not appear at the surface for some time, when it was observed at a considerable distance from the bank making for the opposite side."

In confinement these rats are not engaging pets; they show a considerable amount of surliness and ferocity. I have noticed that on approaching the bars of the cage, one would grind its teeth, put back its ears, and fly at you with a grunt.

NO. 327. NESOKIA BARCLAYIANA. _Barclay's Field-Rat_.

HABITAT.--Northern India, the North-west and some parts of Bengal (Purneah) and Assam.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour brownish; under surface silvery grey; feet and muzzle flesh-colour; tail nearly black; claws horny white; a white band from the nose through the eye; muzzle short and bluff; forehead slightly arched; tail exceeding the length of the trunk, but not equal to head and body, ringed, and sparsely clad; fur coarse; piles moderately long.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 8-3/4 inches; tail, 7-1/4 inches.

This rat was first discovered by Dr. Arthur Barclay at Goona in Central India, and apparently it appears to be identical with specimens collected at Srinagar in Kashmir, in the Purneah district, and in Cachar.

* * * * *

The next two have usually been classed as true _Mus_, and the latter is to be found in Jerdon; but, from the breadth of the incisors and the lamination of the molars, which are less sinuous and relatively larger than in _Mus_, and from other characteristics of the skull, they are nearer allied to _Nesokia_ than to the true rats.

NO. 328. MUS (NESOKIA) ELLIOTANUS. _Elliot's Field-Rat_.

HABITAT.--Bengal, Assam, Khasia hills.

DESCRIPTION.--This rat is thus described by Dr. Anderson. It is the nearest approach in size to the bandicoot: "Head short and deep; muzzle deep and broad; eye half-way between ear and nose, moderately large; ears not large, rounded, sparsely covered with short hairs; feet large and well developed, with strong claws, and sparsely clad; tail sparsely covered with short bristles on the margins of the annuli, and nearly equalling the length of the body and head. Pelage coarse, with moderately large piles, most numerous on the back; vibrissae moderately long.

"General colour, above brown, with intermixed yellowish or pale brown hairs producing much the same colour as in _M. (N.) Blythianus_; paler on the sides, and passing into greyish on the under-parts; nose and feet flesh-coloured; ears dark brown; tail blackish" ('J. A. S. B.' 1878, vol. xlvii; pt. ii. p. 231).

NO. 329. MUS (NESOKIA) GIGANTEUS. _The Bandicoot_ (_Jerdon's No. 174_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Indur_, Sanscrit; _Ghunse_, Hindi; _Ikria_, Bengali; _Heggin_, Canarese; _Pandi-koku_, i.e. pig-rat, Telegu; _Oora-meyoo_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Throughout India; also in Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur coarse, consisting of the three kinds, of which the coarser piles are very long, and almost hide the general pelage on the lumbar and dorsal regions. These piles are almost absent on the head, neck, and sides; general colour earthy brown, with yellowish hairs intermixed; the piles blackish-brown; under-parts dusky brown, mixed with grey; limbs brownish; nose, inside of ear and feet flesh-coloured; tail black, ringed, and sparsely haired. The female has twelve mammae.

SIZE.--Head and body, from 12 to 15 inches; tail, from 11 to 13. Weight, about 3 lbs.

This is a well known rat, but it is not common in Calcutta, although supposed to be so. People frequently mistake very large specimens of the common brown house-rat (_Mus decumanus_) for this animal, which, Blyth remarks, is rare here. Jerdon states that it is common in the fort of Madras, where he killed many, some of large size. When assailed it grunts like a pig, hence its Telegu name _Pandi-koku_, from which the word bandicoot is derived. McMaster states that the bandicoot, though so formidable in appearance, does not show so good a fight as an ordinary English rat, being a sluggish and cowardly animal; and though, from its size and weight, it takes a good deal of worrying, it seldom does much in self defence, and any moderately good dog can kill it with ease. It is however a most destructive animal, doing much damage to granaries, gardens, and even poultry-yards. In some parts of the country, as for instance Fort St. George in Madras, Government used to pay a reward of one anna for every bandicoot killed within the walls.

SUB-FAMILY CRICETINAE.

CHARACTER.--Molars tuberculate; infra-orbital opening sub-typical, not much narrowed below, and the perpendicular plate little developed; large internal cheek pouches.--_Alston_.

_GENUS CRICETUS--THE HAMSTERS_.

Form thick-set, with short limbs and tail, the latter sparsely haired, not scaly. "Skull with marked but rounded supra-orbital ridges continued into temporal ridges; coronoid process high and falcate" (_Alston_). The incisors are plain; the molars tuberculated when young, but in the old animal the tubercles are worn down and exhibit laminae. They are very nearly related to the true rats, but differ conspicuously in the possession of large cheek pouches--like those of the pouched monkeys, into which they stuff the grain they carry to their burrows. The hind-limbs have five toes, the fore-feet four only, the thumb being represented by a wart. The European hamster is a very destructive little animal, from its numbers and the quantity of grain it stores away in its burrows. They have two sets of burrows for summer and winter, the latter being the deepest and most complicated. They pass the winter in a torpid state, but make up for it by their activity in the summer months. The young are produced twice in the year and in number varying from six to eighteen, and they develop very rapidly. Their eyes open in about a week, and when a fortnight old the parents drive them off to shift for themselves. The European hamster is a most savage little creature, and has been known to attack even a red-hot bar, and hold on in spite of the pain.

* * * * *

The two following are dwarf species--_Cricetulus_ of some authors:--[22]

[Footnote 22: Dallas mentions (Cassell's 'Nat. Hist.') a species from Kumaon, _Cricetus songarus_.]

NO. 330. CRICETUS PHAEUS. _The Persian Hamster_.

HABITAT.--Yarkand, Gilgit, Persia.

DESCRIPTION.--Cinereous above, white below; the colour varies from pure ashy grey to grey with an isabelline tinge.--_Blanford_.

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

NO. 331. CRICETUS FULVUS. _The Sandy Hamster_.

HABITAT.--Yarkand, Gilgit.

DESCRIPTION.--Colour above light sandy brown to sandy grey; no band down the back; lower parts, feet, and tail white; fur very soft, fully half an inch long in the middle of the back in some specimens. Rather larger than the last species. (_See_ Blanford's 'Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 45.)

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

SUB-FAMILY MURINAE.

CHARACTER.--Molars tuberculate, at least in youth; infra-orbital opening typical; pterygoid fossae lengthened; auditory bullae moderate; cheek pouches absent or very small; tail scaly, more or less naked, cosmopolitan (_Alston_). Three molars in each jaw, the first of which is the largest and the hinder one the least. I think that, with the exception of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, some of the members of this family are known in every quarter of the globe.

_GENUS MUS_.

"Muzzle pointed; eyes prominent; ears rather large, sub-naked; fur soft (rarely mixed with spines); pollex rudimentary; claws short; tail moderate or long, scaly, with scattered hairs; no cheek pouches; skull elongate, narrow; temporal ridges nearly parallel; palate compressed; incisive foramina long; auditory bullae moderately large; coronoid process high, falcate; incisors rarely grooved; molars with transverse ridges, each composed in youth of three tubercles" (_Alston_).

NO. 332. MUS RATTUS. _The Black Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 175_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Kala-mus_, _Kala-chuha_, Hindi; _Kala-meeyo_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Chiefly Europe, but is said to be of south Asian origin; it is stated to occur in towns near the sea-coast in India, and Kellaart obtained it in Trincomalee only.

DESCRIPTION.--Greyish-black above, dark ashy beneath, or, as Kellaart describes it, "above blackish-brown, along the dorsal line nearly black; sides paler, some of the hairs with pale fulvous tips; beneath and inside of limbs fur very short, of a uniform sooty ash colour, separated from the colour above by a distinct line of demarcation; ears large, rounded, slightly fulvous externally" ('Prodromus Faunae Zeylanicae,' p. 58).

SIZE.--Head and body about 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 inches; tail, 7-1/2 to 8 inches.

Jerdon says of this rat that the muzzle is sharper than that of the brown rat; the ears are more oval; it is lighter in its make, and has much longer hair.

Whether this rat be, as Jerdon seems to suspect, imported into India in ships or not, it is generally supposed to have had its origin in southern Asia, and is almost identical with the Egyptian rat (_M. Alexandrinus_). It was the common rat of England, and indeed of northern Europe, whence it was expelled by its formidable rival, the brown rat, before which it has gradually receded, and it is seldom found now in England.

NO. 333. MUS DECUMANUS. _The Brown Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 176_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Ghur-ka-chuha_, Hindi; _Demsa-indur_, Bengali; _Manei-ilei_, Canarese; _Gaval-meeyo_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Throughout India, Ceylon, and in some parts of Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur greyish-brown, mixed with tawny above, with longer piles of a dark colour, almost black; ears round; tail generally longer than head and body, scaly, with short bristles at the margins of the rings.

SIZE.--Head and body, from 8 to 10 inches; tail, from 6 to 11 inches.

The brown rat of India is identical with that of Europe, most naturalists being now agreed that it originally came from the East. It was supposed by Pallas that the brown rat crossed over into Russia about the year 1727. When frightened by an earthquake, numbers swam over the Volga from countries bordering on the Caspian Sea. It seems to have driven out the black rat before it wherever it made its appearance. In England it was introduced by shipping about the middle of the last century, and has since then increased to such an extent as to swarm over the whole country, and render the old English black rat a comparatively rare animal. From its ferocity and fecundity the brown rat is a veritable pest; if it cannot beat a retreat from an enemy it will show most determined fight, and in large numbers will attack and kill even men. A story is related by Robert Stephenson, the great engineer, that in a coal-pit in which many horses were employed, the rats, allured by the grain, had gathered in large numbers. On the pit being closed for a short time, and the horses being brought up, the first man who descended on the re-opening of the work was killed, and devoured by the starving rats. Similar stories have been told of men in the sewers of Paris. In the horse slaughterhouses at Montfaucon in Paris, the rats swarm in such incredible numbers that the carcases of horses killed during the day would be picked clean to the bone during the night; sometimes upwards of thirty horses would be so devoured. This shows the carnivorous tendencies of these abominable pests. I confess to a general love for all animals, but I draw the line at rats. There is something repulsive about one of these creatures, and a wicked look about his large protruding eye, like a black glistening bead, and his ways are not pleasant; instead of keeping, as he ought, to sweet grain and pleasant roots, he grubs about for all the carrion and animal matter he can get.

I find there is no bait so enticing to the brown rat as a piece of chicken or meat of any kind. I have heard stories of their attacking children, and even grown-up people when asleep, but I cannot vouch for the truth of this beyond what once happened to myself. I was then inhabiting a house which swarmed with these creatures, and one night I awoke with a sharp pain in my right arm. Jumping up, I disturbed a rat, who sprang off the bed, and was chased and killed by me. I found he had given me a nip just below the elbow. I once had a most amusing rat-hunt in the house I now occupy. I had then just taken it over on the part of the Government, in 1868. The whole building is floored with polished marble, which, being new, was like looking-glass. I found an enormous rat, which I took for a bandicoot, in one of the bath-rooms, and, shutting him in for a while, I closed the doors of a very large room adjoining, which was quite empty, and then turned my friend in with a small black-and-tan terrier. The scrimmage that ensued was most laughable, as both rat and dog kept slipping and sliding all over the place. At last the former was pinned in a corner, where he made a most determined stand, and left several marks before he died. They seldom now come so high as the third story, but we had two or three last year which dug a hole through a brick wall into my study, and they were surreptitiously disposed of unknown to my eldest little girl, whose passionate love for every living creature made her take even the rats under her protection, and one of them would come out every morning in the verandah to be fed by her with crumbs and grain. This one was spared for a while, but I was not sorry to find one day that it had fallen into a tub of water in a bath-room and was drowned.

The brown rat breeds several times in the year, and has from ten to fourteen at a time, and it is to be hoped that there is considerable mortality amongst the infants. I have never kept rats as pets, but have noticed amongst mice a tendency on the part of the mother to devour her offspring. I have no doubt that this also is the case with the brown rat, and aids in keeping down its numbers. It is stated that they will attack, kill, and eat each other. The Rev. J. G. Wood remarks in his Natural History: "From some strange cause the male rats far outnumber the females, the proportion being about eight of the former to three or four of the latter. This disproportion of the sexes may possibly be caused by the cannibalistic habits of the rat, the flesh of the female being more tender than that of the opposite sex. Whatever may be the cause, it is clear that the wider increase of these creatures is greatly checked by the comparative paucity of females." During the late siege of Paris by the Germans, amongst the various articles of food which necessity brought into use, rats held a high place as a delicacy. It is a difficult matter to stop the burrowing of rats; the best plan is to fill the holes with Portland cement mixed with bits of bottle glass broken in small pieces. It is said that quicklime will temporarily prevent rats from entering a hole, as the lime burns their feet. A friend of mine lately told me of some wonderful Japanese bird-lime which he uses. It is spread on a board, and will retain any rat that puts even one foot on it. An albino variety is common, and is sold for pets. Rats are partial to certain scents, and some are consequently used by trappers. In Cooley's 'Cyclopaedia' the following receipts are given:--

1. Powdered cantharides steeped in French brandy. It is said that rats are so fond of this that if a little be rubbed on the hands they may be handled with impunity.

2. Powdered assafoetida 8 grains, oil of rhodium 2 drams, oil of aniseed 1 dram, oil of lavender 1/2 dram. Mix by agitation.

3. Oil of aniseed 1/2 ounce, tincture assafoetida 1/4 ounce.

4. Oil of aniseed 1/4 ounce, nitrous acid 2 to 3 drops, musk (triturated with a little sugar) 1 grain.

These scents are not only rubbed on traps, but a few drops are mixed with the various rat poisons, of which perhaps the most efficacious is phosphorous paste.

NO. 334. MUS ANDAMANENSIS. _The Andaman Rat_.

HABITAT.--The Andaman and Nicobar islands.

DESCRIPTION.--A little darker on the back than _Mus decumanus_, paler on the sides, and dull white below. "The long piles are at once distinguished by their flattened spinous character, which is also slightly the case in _M. rattus_, though much less conspicuously than in the present species. It would appear to be a burrower in the ground" (_Blyth_). Ears round as in the brown rat.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 8 inches; tail the same.

NO. 335. MUS ROBUSTULUS. _The Burmese Common Rat_.

HABITAT.--British Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Dark-brown above, under-parts whitish, stoutly formed, with tail not quite so long as head and body; feet conspicuously white.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 6 inches; tail, a little shorter.

Mr. Mason remarks of this rat that they are only second to the white ants for the mischief they perpetrate. "They burrow in the gardens, and destroy the sweet potatoes; they make their nests in the roofs by day, and visit our houses and larders by night. They will eat into teak drawers, boxes, and book-cases, and can go up and down anything but glass. In the province of Tonghoo they sometimes appear in immense numbers before harvest, and devour the paddy like locusts. In both 1857 and 1858 the Karens on the mountains west of the city lost all their crops from this pest." They seem to migrate in swarms, and cross rivers by swimming. Mr. Cross captured one out of a pair he observed swimming the Tenasserim river at a place where it is more than a quarter of a mile wide. _M. Berdmorei_ is the same as this species.

* * * * *

The following three are Burmese rats collected by Dr. Anderson during the Yunnan Expedition, and are new species named by him:--

NO. 336. MUS SLADENI. _Sladen's Rat_.

HABITAT.--Kakhyen hills; Ponsee at 3500 feet.

DESCRIPTION.--Head rather elongated; snout somewhat elongate; muzzle rather deep; ears large and rounded, sparsely clad with short hairs; feet well developed, hinder ones rather strong; claws moderately long and sharp; the feet pads markedly developed, indicating an arboreal habit of life; tail slightly exceeding length of head and body, coarsely ringed, there being three rings to each one-tenth of an inch; the hairs sparse and brown; general colour of upper surface reddish-brown, more rufous than brownish, palest on the head, many hairs with broad yellow tips; cheeks greyish-rufous; chin, throat, and chest whitish, also the remaining under-parts, but with a tinge of yellowish; ears and tail pale brownish. (Abridged from Anderson's 'Anat. and Zool. Res.' p. 305.)

SIZE.--Head and body of one, about 6.30 inches; tail, 7.20 inches.

Dr. Anderson says this species is closely allied to Hodgson's _Mus nitidus_, but its skull is less elongated, with a shorter facial portion, with very much shorter nasals, and with a more abruptly defined frontal contraction than either in _M. nitidus_ or _M. rufescens_ so called. He adds that this appears to be both a tree and a house rat.

NO. 337. MUS RUBRICOSA. _The Small Red Rat of the Kakhyen Hills_.

HABITAT.--Kakhyen hills and the Burma-Chinese frontier at Ponsee, and in the houses of the Shan Chinese at Hotha.

DESCRIPTION.--"Snout moderately pointed and long; ears small, and somewhat pointed; hind foot long and narrow; claws moderately long, compressed and sharply pointed; upper surface dark rusty brown, darkest on the middle and back, and palest on the muzzle, head and shoulder; on the sides and lower part of shoulder the reddish brown tends to pass into greyish; feet greyish; the sides of the snout greyish; all the under-parts silvery grey tending to white, without any trace of rufous, or but with a very faint yellowish blush; the tail, dull brown, is somewhat shorter than the body and head, and it is coarsely ringed, 2-1/2 rings to one-tenth of an inch, the hair being short, sparse, and dark brown" ('Anat. and Zool. Res.' p. 306).

SIZE.--Head and body, 5.70 inches; tail, 5.15 inches.

NO. 338. MUS YUNNANENSIS. _The Common House Rat of Yunnan_.

HABITAT.--Yunnan, at Ponsee; Hotha and Teng-yue-chow.

DESCRIPTION.--"Muzzle rather short and broad; ear large and rounded, its height considerably exceeding the distance between the inner canthus and the front of the muzzle, sparsely clad with short hairs; feet well developed; hind foot moderately long; pads prominent; claws compressed, strong, curved, and sharp; tail coarsely ringed, three rings to one-tenth of an inch; upper surface dark rich brown, with intermixed pale hairs, with broad brown tips, the sides of the face below the moustachial area, chin, throat, and all the under-parts yellowish washed with rufous; the ears and tail dusky brown; feet pale yellowish, and more or less brownish above; the tail varies in length, but is generally longer than the body and head, although it may occasionally fall short of that length" ('Anat. and Zool. Res.' pp, 306, 307).

SIZE.--Head and body, 5.70 inches; tail, 5.65 inches. An adult female had a much longer tail.

NO. 339. MUS INFRALINEATUS. _The Striped-bellied Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 178_).

HABITAT.--Madras; Bustar forests.

DESCRIPTION.--"Above, the fur fulvous, with the shorter hairs lead coloured; throat, breast, and belly pure white, with a central pale fulvous brown streak; tail slightly hairy."--_Jerdon_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 5-1/2 inches; tail, not quite 5 inches; another about 5 inches; tail, 4-1/4 inches.

Jerdon calls this a field rat in his popular name for it, but I think that the term should be restricted to the _Nesokia_ or true field and earth-burrowing rats. He is of opinion that Gray's _Mus fulvescens_ from Nepal is the same, the description tallying to some extent, concluding with: "in one specimen a central yellow streak," i.e. on the belly.

NO. 340. MUS BRUNNEUS. _The Tree Rat_ (_Jerdon's. No. 179_).

HABITAT.--India and Ceylon. The common house rat of Nepal.

DESCRIPTION.--Above rusty brown; below rusty, more or less albescent; extremities pale, almost flesh-coloured; ears rather long; head rather elongated; tail equal to and sometimes exceeding head and body.

SIZE.--Head and body, from 8-1/2 to 9-1/2 inches; tail, from 9 to 9-1/2 inches.

Jerdon states that this rat, which Dr. Gray considered identical with _M. decumanus_ (_see_ 'Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.' vol. xv. 1845, p. 267), "is to be found throughout India, not habitually living in holes, but coming into houses at night; and, as Blyth remarks, often found resting during the day on the _jhil-mil_ or venetian blinds. It makes a nest in mango-trees or in thick bushes and hedges. Hodgson calls it the common house rat of Nepal, and Kellaart also calls it the small house rat of Trincomalee." It is probable that this is the rat which used to trouble me much on the outskirts of the station of Nagpore. It used to come in at night, evidently from outside, for the house was not one in which even a mouse could have got shelter, with masonry roof, and floors paved with stone flags. Kellaart evidently considered it as distinct from _M. decumanus_, which he stated to be rare in houses in the town of Trincomalee, though abundant in the dockyard.

NO. 341. MUS RUFESCENS. _The Rufescent Tree Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 180_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Gachua-indur_, Bengali; _Ghas-meeyo_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--India generally; Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur above pale yellowish-brown; under fur lead coloured, mixed with longer piles of stiff, broad, plumbeous black tipped hairs; head long; muzzle narrow; whiskers long and black; ears large, subovate, slightly clad with fine hairs; eyes large; incisor teeth yellow; feet brownish above, but the sides and toes are whitish; tail longer than head and body.

SIZE.--Head and body, from 5-1/2 to 7-1/2 inches; tail from 6-1/2 to 8-1/2 inches.

This is _M. flavescens_ of Elliot, and is so noticed in Kellaart's 'Prodromus.' He calls it "the white-bellied tree-rat of Ceylon," and he states that it lives on trees or in the ceiling of houses in preference to the lower parts. Sir Walter Elliot observed it chiefly in stables and out-houses at Dharwar. According to Buchanan-Hamilton it makes its nests in cocoanut-trees and bamboos, bringing forth five or six young in August and September. "They eat grains, which they collect in their nests, also young cocoanuts. They enter houses at night, but do not live there." Kellaart's _M. tetragonurus_ is a variety of this, if not identical.

NO. 342. MUS NIVEIVENTER. _The White-bellied House Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 181_).

HABITAT.--The lower Himalayan ranges.

DESCRIPTION.--"Above blackish-brown, shaded with rufous; below entirely pure white, tail and all."--_Blyth_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 5-1/4 to 7 inches; tail, 6 to 7-1/2 inches.

Hodgson stated this to be a house rat in Nepal, but not very common. Jerdon found it common at Darjeeling. Specimens have been received from Mussoorie.

NO. 343. MUS NITIDUS. _The Shining Brown Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 182_).

HABITAT.--Nepal; Darjeeling.

DESCRIPTION.--Dusky brown above, dusky hoary below. According to Hodgson it is "distinguished for its smooth coat or pelage, wherein the long hairy piles are almost wanting. It is a house rat, like _M. niveiventer_, but much rarer, and frequents the mountains rather than the valleys." The long hairs are 11/16 inch in length, horny at the base, with black tip, the short fur ashy, with rufous tips.

SIZE.--Head and body, 6-1/2 inches; tail 7-1/4 inches.

Blyth writes of this species ('J. A. S. B.' vol. xxxii. 1863, p. 343): "We have several specimens of what I take to be this rat from Darjeeling. They are especially distinguished by the fineness and softness of the fur. One specimen only, of eight from Darjeeling, which I refer to this species, has the lower parts pure white, abruptly defined."