Chapter XVIII: Section II: Myomorpha--Rat-Like Rodents (2)

There is a smaller rat, only four inches in length, which agrees exactly with the above, which Hodgson named _M. horietes_. It is not mentioned in Blyth's Catalogue, but it has not been overlooked by Blyth, as Jerdon's remarks would lead one to suppose, for in the 'Memoir on the Rats and Mice in India,' by the former, in the 'J. A. S. B.' vol. xxxii. for 1863, it is entered with a quotation from Hodgson.

NO. 344. MUS CAUDATIOR. _The Chestnut Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 183_).

HABITAT.--The lower Eastern Himalayas, i.e., Nepal, Darjeeling, &c.; also in Burmah, Lower Pegu, and Martaban.

DESCRIPTION.--"Above a fine bright cinnamon colour, with inconspicuous black tips; the under-parts white, which is abruptly divided from the cinnamon hue above" (_Blyth_). Sometimes yellowish-white (_Jerdon_). Muzzle sharp; ears and tail long.

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

According to Blyth the Nepal specimens are darker than those from Burmah, which he says "differs only from the Nepalese animal of Mr. Hodgson by having the upper parts entirely of a bright cinnamon colour."

NO. 345. MUS CONCOLOR. _The Common Thatch Rat of Pegu_.

HABITAT.--Upper and Lower Burmah, Malayan peninsula.

DESCRIPTION.--I have been unable to trace any accurate description of this rat, which Blyth says "conducts from the long-tailed arboreal rats to the ordinary house mice." In his 'Catalogue of the Mammals of Burmah,' published in the 'Jour. Asiatic Soc. Beng.' for 1875, he remarks that "it requires to be critically examined in the fresh state." In the 'J. A. S. B.,' vol. xxviii. p. 295, he describes a young one as dark greyish mouse colour; but this is not reliable, as the young rats and mice change colour as they attain full growth.[23]

[Footnote 23: Since writing the above, Dr. Anderson has kindly allowed me to examine the specimens of _Mus concolor_ in the museum, and in the adult state they are considerably more rufescent. In one specimen, allowing for the effects of the spirit, the fur was a bright rufescent brown; but, whatever be the tint of the prevailing colour, it pervades the whole body, being but slightly paler on the under-parts. Size, about 4 inches; tail, about 4-1/2 inches.--R. A. S.]

NO. 346. MUS PALMARUM. _The Nicobar Tree Rat_.

HABITAT.--Nicobar Islands.

NO. 347. MUS CEYLONUS.

HABITAT.--Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur soft, lead colour; hair of upper parts tipped with dark fawn and black; ears large, naked; whiskers long, black; tail longer than the head and body, scaly.

SIZE.--Head and body, 4-3/4 inches; tail, 6 inches.

"This small rat is found in out-houses in the cinnamon gardens at Colombo. I have no reason to think it to be the young of the former species (_M. decumanus_); the teeth were well developed; the darker colour and long tail will easily distinguish the species from other Colombo rats" (_Kellaart_). The character of the molar teeth is all that can be depended on in the foregoing description, and this may require further investigation. The young of rats and mice are always darker than the adults, and the tail is longer in proportion.

* * * * *

The following are doubtful species:--

NO. 348. MUS PLURIMAMMIS. _Jerdon's No. 177_.

This, which Blyth considered a good species, is, I am informed, referable with _M. Taraiyensis_ and _M. Morungensis_ to Gray's _Nesokia Bengalensis_. The type and drawing of it are in the British Museum.

NO. 349. MUS AEQUICAUDALIS.

of Hodgson, described in Horsfield's Catalogue as pure dark brown above, with a very slight cast of rufescent in a certain aspect; underneath from the chin to the vent, with interior of thighs, yellowish-white; ears nearly an inch long; head proportionately long ('Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist.' new series, iii. p. 203). This, with Blyth's _M. nemoralis_, seems identical with _M. brunneus_.

_Mus arboreus_ of Horsfield's Catalogue is _Mus rufescens_. It remains to be seen whether there is sufficient difference between _M. rufescens_ and _M. niveiventer_ to warrant the separation of the latter as a distinct species.

* * * * *

The following species lead on to the mice--beginning with the long-tailed arboreal species, _Vandeleuria_ of Gray, which connect the arboreal rats with the house mice.

The characteristics of _Vandeleuria_ are: upper incisors triangular, grooved in front; ears hairy; fur soft, with long bristles interspersed; long tail, sparsely haired; hind feet very long, slender; soles bald beneath; toes .45 long, slender, compressed, the pads much more strongly developed than in ground mice; the inner and outer toes with a small flattened nail.

NO. 350. MUS OLERACEUS. _The Long-tailed Tree Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 184_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Marad-ilei_, Canarese; _Meina-yelka_, Telegu of the Yanadees (_Jerdon_).

HABITAT.--Throughout India from north to south, but has not been reported from Ceylon. In Burmah Dr. Anderson found it in the valley of the Nampoung, a frontier stream dividing Burmah from China.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper surface rich rufous or chestnut red, paling to brown on the ears and muzzle before the eyes; under-parts white, with a yellowish tinge; feet pale brown, shading off into white on the toes; under surface of feet yellowish; tail brownish or dusky with grey hairs; it tapers to a point, finely ringed; sparsely haired between the rings, the hairs more numerous and longer towards the tips. The length of the head, according to Dr. Anderson, whose description ('Anat. and Zool. Res.' p. 313) is more complete than Jerdon's, is about one-third the length of the body; the muzzle is moderately long and slightly contracted behind the moustachial area; eyes large; ears ovate, sparsely clad.

SIZE.--Head and body, from 2-1/2 to 3 inches; tail one-half longer than the combined length of body and head.

Jerdon says of this pretty little mouse that "it is most abundant in the south of India, where it frequents trees, and very commonly palm-trees, on which it is said to make its nest generally. It, however, occasionally places its nest in the thatch of houses, on beams, &c. It is very active, and from its habits difficult to procure" ('Mammals of India,' p. 202). According to Sykes it constructs its nest of oleraceous herbs in the fields, and Hodgson states it to tenant woods and coppices in Nepal.

NO. 351. MUS NILAGIRICUS. _The Neilgherry Tree Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 185_).

HABITAT.--Ootacamund.

DESCRIPTION.--"Above deep but bright chestnut brown, beneath bright fawn yellow, with a distinct line of demarcation between the two colours; head rather elongated; ears long, oval; tail somewhat hairy."--_Jerdon_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-1/2 inches; tail, 5 inches.

This tree mouse was discovered and named by Dr. Jerdon. He says: "The first I observed was brought into the house by a cat. I afterwards, on two or three occasions, found the nest, a mass of leaves and grass, on shrubs and low trees, from four to five feet from the ground, and on one occasion it was occupied by at least eight or ten apparently full-grown mice."

NO. 352. MUS BADIUS. _The Bay Tree Mouse_.

HABITAT.--The valley of the Sittang, Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--"Similar to _M. oleraceus_, but with the eye fully twice as large, and black whiskers; colour of the upper parts a more rufous chestnut or cinnamon hue, of the lower parts white, almost pure."--_Blyth_.

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

NO. 353. MUS GLIROIDES. _The Cherrapoonjee Tree Mouse_.

HABITAT.--Khasia hills.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur exceedingly dense and fine, of a light brown, tinged with fawn; the basal two-thirds of the piles are dusky ash coloured; the lower parts are white, very faintly tinged with fawn; the white purest about the lips and chin; whiskers long; feet large and sparsely clad with white hairs; a distinct brown mark on each hind foot reaching almost to the division of the toes; ears smallish, ovoid, naked.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2 inches; tail (?) mutilated.

Blyth says this animal has much of the aspect of the European dormouse (_Myoxus avellanarius_), but nothing is said about its dentition, which would at once settle the question whether the young specimen with its imperfect tail were a true _Mus_ or a species of _Myoxus_.[24]

[Footnote 24: See Appendix A for description and dentition of _Myoxus_.]

NO. 354. MUS PEGUENSIS. _The Pegu Tree Mouse_.

HABITAT.--The Sittang valley, Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Fulvescent olive brown on the upper parts, yellowish-white below; whiskers remarkably long; the tail very long and conspicuously haired towards the tip; more so, Blyth remarks, than any other mouse, especially when held up to the light.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-1/8 inches; tail, 3-7/8; in one specimen, 4-1/2 inches.

* * * * *

We now come to the terrestrial or house mice.

NO. 355. MUS URBANUS. _The Common Indian Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 186_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Lengtia-indur_, Bengali; _Mesuri_, _Musi_, _Chuhi_, Hindi.

HABITAT.--Throughout India and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Somewhat resembling the English mouse, but with very much longer, coarser tail, larger eyes, and smaller ears; dusky reddish-brown above, somewhat paler below; the feet paler still, whitish in some; the tail nude, thick at base, longer by an inch than the head and body, and of a dark brown colour. The young are more dusky.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 2 to 3 inches; tail, 3 to 4 inches.

I have kept these mice in confinement for considerable periods, and have had many opportunities of studying their habits of late. During many years' residence in the Currency Office, I never once found a mouse in my private quarters on the third story, although I frequently observed them in the vaults and strong rooms on the ground floor. During my absence at Simla in 1880 my quarters were unoccupied, as the Public Works Department were giving the building a thorough repair. It was then, I suppose, a few of the mice from the ground floor were driven upstairs, and, being unmolested by us, as we liked to see the little things playing about, they increased to a most uncomfortable extent within eight months. I failed to discover their breeding places, though I suspect they made much use of a large doll's-house for the purpose, for on taking out the front staircase, under which the bells of the establishment were hung, I found a nest of torn paper, and I caught two young ones in one of the rooms. Some of them came out every night whilst we were at dinner, and paid a visit to a rose-headed parraquet (_Palaeornis rosa_), mounting up on Polly's perch, and sitting down to supper in the tin receptacles for food at each end. She generally treated them with silent contempt, or gave a snappish little peck if they were too familiar; sometimes, when they were too sky-larky, she retreated to her ring above, where she swung and looked down at them from a coign of vantage. Their agility in running up and down the wires of a cage is marvellous. They have also an extraordinary faculty for running up a perpendicular board, and the height from which they can jump is astounding. One day, in my study, I chased one of these mice on to the top of a book-case. Standing on some steps, I was about to put my hand over him, when he jumped on to the marble floor and ran off. I measured the height, and have since measured it again, 8 feet 9-1/2 inches.

I consider this species the most muscular of all mice of the same size. I have had at the same time in confinement an English mouse (albino), a Bengal field mouse, and house mice from Simla of another species, and none of them could show equal activity. I use, for the purpose of taming mice, a glass fish-globe, out of which none of the other mice could get, but I have repeatedly seen specimens of _M. urbanus_ jump clear out of the opening at the top. They would look up, gather their hind quarters together, and then go in for a high leap. They are much more voracious than the Simla or other mice. The allowance of food given would be devoured in less than half the time taken by the others, and they are more given to gnawing. What sort of mothers they are in freedom I know not, but one which produced four young ones in one of my cages devoured her offspring before they were a week old. I have two before me just now as I write, and they have had a quarrel about the highest place on a little grated window. The larger one got the advantage, so the other seized hold of her tail, and gave it a good nip.

* * * * *

Now we come to some doubtful species, doubtful in the sense that they should not be separated, but considered as one to be named afterwards, according to priority of discovery. Dr. Anderson is at present investigating the matter, and we must await his decision, but from such external observations as I have been able to make, it appears probable that the following will prove identical:--

_Mus homourus_; _Mus Darjeelingensis_; _Mus Tytleri_; _Mus Bactrianus_; _Mus cervicolor_(?)--_Jerdon's Nos. 187, 189, 190, 191, and 192_. These are all hill mice, except the last, and found under the same conditions.

NO. 356. MUS HOMOURUS.

HABITAT.--Lower Himalayan range.

DESCRIPTION.--Dark rufescent above, rufescent white below; hands and feet fleshy white; tail equal to length of head and body; "fur more gerbille-like in character than in _M. musculus_" (or _urbanus_), stated to be the common house mouse of the Himalayan hill stations from the Punjab to Darjeeling. Stated by Hodgson to have eight teats only in the female, other mice having ten. Possibly his description was founded on young specimens. I myself was of opinion for some time that I had got two species of hill mice, a larger and a smaller, the latter being so much darker in colour, but I kept them till the young ones attained full size in six months, at which time they were not distinguishable from the old ones. Hodgson may have overlooked the pectoral mammae when he noted the number.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-1/2 inches; tail, 3-1/2 inches.

NO. 357. MUS DARJEELINGENSIS.

DESCRIPTION.--Dusky brown, with a slight chestnut reflection; under-parts pale yellowish-white.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3 inches; tail, 2-1/2 inches.

NO. 358. MUS TYTLERI.

HABITAT.--Dehra Doon.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur long and full, pale, sandy mouse-coloured above, isabelline below; pale on the well-clad limbs, and also on the tail laterally and underneath.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2-3/4 inches; tail, 2-3/4 inches.

NO. 359. MUS BACTRIANUS.

HABITAT.--Punjab, Kashmir, Candahar, Baluchistan, and Southern Persia.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper parts brown above, with a sandy tinge, more on the head; the longer hairs with a dusky tip; the basal two-thirds deep ash; under-parts and feet white; tail clad thinly with fine whitish hair; the fur in general long, dense, and silky.

SIZE.--Head and body, from 2-1/4 to 3-1/4 inches; tail, about the same.

This is the mouse, I think, that I caught in the house at Simla in 1880. Of eight specimens I got--seven in a cupboard in the dining-room and one in a bath-room--I sent two in spirits to the Indian Museum and brought down to Calcutta three alive, which I kept for about seven months, when they died. I have since then seen living specimens of _M. bactrianus_ from Kohat, with which they appear to be identical. They also resemble--I speak under correction--_M. cervicolor_, which is a field mouse found in Bengal. I made the following notes regarding them: Fur very fine, close and silky, rufescent brown, more rufous on the head, isabelline below; feet flesh-coloured, hinder ones large, much larger than those of the English mouse; the hind-quarters are also more powerful; has a very pretty way of sitting up, with the body bent forwards, and its hands clasped in an attitude of supplication. The young mice seem darker both above and below, and are much more shy than the old ones, of which one soon after being caught took bits of cake from my fingers through the bars of its cage. More delicate looking than _Mus urbanus_, with a much shorter and finer tail; less offensive in smell.

Dr. Anderson got, not long ago, two of these mice in a box from Kohat. They bore the journey uncommonly well, and were in lively condition when I saw them at the Museum. Whilst we were talking about them, we noticed an act of intelligence for which I should not have given them credit had I not seen it with my own eyes. They were in a box with a glass front; in the upper left-hand corner was a small sleeping chamber, led up to by a sloping piece of wood. The entrance of this chamber was barred by wires bent into the form of a lady's hair-pin, and passed through holes in the roof of the box.

The mice had been driven out, and the sleeping-chamber barred, for they were having their portraits taken. Whilst we were talking we found, to our surprise, that one mouse was inside the chamber, although the bars were down. There seemed hardly space for it to squeeze through; however, it was driven out, and we went on with our conversation, but found, on looking at the cage again, that our little friend was once more inside, so he was driven out again, and we kept an eye on him. To our great surprise and amusement we saw him trot up his sloping board, put his little head on one side, and seize one of the wires, which worked very loosely in its socket, give it a hitch up, when he adroitly caught it lower down, hitched it up again and again till he got it high enough to allow him to slip in underneath, and then he was quite happy once more. He had only been in the box two days, so he was not long in finding out the weak point. I begin to believe now in rats dipping their tails into oil-bottles, and other wonderful stories of murine sagacity that one reads of. Mice, are supposed to live from two-and-a-half to three years. I had the English albino above mentioned for three.

NO. 360. MUS CRASSIPES. _The Large-footed Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 188_).

HABITAT.--Mussoorie and, according to Jerdon, the Neilgherries.

DESCRIPTION.--This is stated to be like _M. homourus_, but the difference is well marked in a very much longer tail and much larger feet.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2-3/4 inches; tail, 3/4 inch; hind foot, 3/4 inch.

NO. 361. MUS SUBLIMIS.

HABITAT.--Ladakh, 13,000 feet.

DESCRIPTION.--Brown above; whitish below; the colours gradually blending; fur soft and long; all except the tips dark slaty grey, the terminal portions of the shorter hairs being light brown, and of the longer hairs dark brown; upper whiskers black; lower white; ears oval; feet thinly clad with short light brown hairs; tail with short bristly hairs, dusky brown above, whitish below; tail longer than head and body.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2.6 inches; tail, 3.05; length of hind foot, 0.83 inch.

Mr. Blanford, who named the above species, which was procured in the expedition to Yarkand, is doubtful whether it may not be referable to the last species.

NO. 362. MUS PACHYCERCUS.

HABITAT.--Yarkand.

DESCRIPTION.--Sandy brown above; under-parts white; fur soft and very like _M. bactrianus_; ears large, rounded, hairy; feet clad above with white hair; soles naked; tail thick, shorter than head and body, and thinly clad with white bristles throughout; skin dark above, pale below; incisors deep yellow.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2.35 inches; tail, 1.9 to 2 inches.

Mr. Blanford says this is a house mouse. It is figured in Blanford's 'Mammalia of the Second Yarkand Mission.'

NO. 363. MUS ERYTHRONOTUS.

HABITAT.--Yarkand, Persia.

DESCRIPTION.--Rufous, washed with blackish above, white below, abruptly separated; hairs on the back are slaty at the base, then blackish and bright ferruginous at the tips, the extreme points being black, except on the sides, where the black tip is wanting; upper whiskers black, lower white; ears large, rounded, naked; feet white above, dusky and naked below; tail equal to head and body, nearly naked. Mammae six.

SIZE.--Head and body, 4 inches; tail, 4.2 inches.

This mouse is figured and carefully described in Blanford's 'Eastern Persia,' vol. ii. p. 35.

NO. 364. MUS CERVICOLOR. _The Fawn-coloured Field Mouse_.

HABITAT.--Bengal, Nepal, Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--"Distinguished by its short tail. Above dull fawn, below sordid white; lining of ears and extremities pale" (_Blyth_). "Ears large, hairy" (_Jerdon_). Of the specimens I have seen the fur is soft and of a light sandy brown above and white below, very like _M. bactrianus_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-1/2 inches; tail, 2-7/8 inches.

NO. 365. MUS TERRICOLOR. _The Earth-coloured Field Mouse_.

HABITAT.--India generally, I think. It has been found in the valley of the Ganges, in Bengal, in the Santal district west of Midnapore, and Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--The colour varies according to the soil, but in general fawn brown, more or less rufescent--those from the valley of the Ganges being darker than those from the ferruginous soil of other parts. The under-parts are white, abruptly separated from the brown; fur short and soft.

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

NO. 366. MUS PEGUENSIS. _The Pegu Field Mouse_.

HABITAT.--The valley of the Sitang River, Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--"Fur very full and dense, pale fulvescent olive brown on the upper parts, slightly yellowish-white below; whiskers remarkably long" (_Blyth_). Tail longer than head and body, and well clad with hairs, especially towards the tip.

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

NO. 367. MUS NITIDULUS. _The Shiny Little House Mouse of Pegu_.

HABITAT.--The Sitang valley in Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--The description given of this mouse by Blyth is extremely vague. He says: "A house mouse apparently, with tail equal to head and body, and uniformly furnished with minute setae to the end; ears large and ample; colour nearly that of _M. decumanus_, with the under-parts subdued white, tolerably well defined."

He remarks further on that the front teeth are conspicuously larger than those of _M. musculus_ and _M. urbanus_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-1/4 inches; tail, the same.

NO. 368. MUS BEAVENI. _Beaven's Mouse_.

HABITAT.--Maubhum, and, according to Blyth's Catalogue, Burmah, valley of the Salween.

DESCRIPTION.--"Above rusty brown, medially black; lips and the whole under side pale ochraceous; feet white, all the hair being slate coloured at the base; tail above brown, below with white hairs; upper whiskers black, lower white. Rather smaller and more delicately built than our common harvest mouse."--_Prof. Peters_, 'P. Z. S.' 1866, p. 559.

NO. 369. MUS CUNICULARIS. _The Little Rabbit-Mouse_.

HABITAT.--Cherrapunji, Assam.

DESCRIPTION.--"A small field (?) mouse, remarkable for its ample ears and tail shorter than head and body; colour of a wild rabbit above, below white; and the feet with brownish hairs above, but with white hairs upon the toes; tail conspicuously ringed; the setae minute and inconspicuous."--_Blyth_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2-1/2 inches; tail, 2-1/8 inches; ears posteriorly half an inch.

NO. 370. MUS ERYTHROTIS. _The Cherrapunji Red-eared Mouse_.

HABITAT.--Cherrapoonji, Assam.

DESCRIPTION.--A small mouse with very deep soft fur, very long and silky, of a rich dark brown colour, grizzled and brightly tinged with rufous or rufo-ferruginous towards the tail, and upon the ears conspicuously. In such spirit specimens as I have seen the colour was darker than in life, but the soft silkiness of the fur could be seen to advantage as it floated in the clear liquid; the lower parts are whitish, tinged with fawn; feet with brown hairs above; ears small and hirsute, and the tail is also hairy.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2-1/4 inches; tail, 2-3/8 inches.

NO. 371. MUS FULVIDIVENTRIS.

HABITAT.--Ceylon, Trincomalee.

DESCRIPTION.--This is a small mouse very like _Mus cervicolor_, or perhaps _M. terricolor_, which it more nearly approaches in size. Kellaart in his 'Prodromus,' calls it _cervicolor_, but Blyth afterwards separated it under the name given above, though after all I think he was doubtful whether it ought to have been so distinguished. The fur is long, soft, and glossy, fulvous fawn brown above, paler below; feet dingy grey.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2-9/10 inches; tail, 2-5/10 inches.

NO. 372. MUS KAKHYENENSIS. _The Kakhyen Mouse_.

HABITAT.--Burmo-Chinese frontier, Ponsee.

DESCRIPTION.--Differs from _Mus urbanus_ by its shorter tail, longer hind feet, and larger ears; muzzle moderately deep, and short; ears large and rounded; fur long, dense, and soft, reddish-brown on the upper parts, with a dark speckled appearance due to the stronger hairs having broad brown tips; sides of the head dusky greyish; chin to vent and under-parts greyish-white, with a silvery sheen; feet dusky pale brown; ears and upper surface of tail dark brown, under surface of tail pale brown.--_Anderson_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2.90 inches; tail, 3.36 inches.

This mouse was discovered and named by Dr. Anderson, who procured one example at Ponsee, where it occurs, he says, on the old rice and Indian corn clearings. The next species is also a new one discovered and named by him.

NO. 373. MUS VICULORUM. _The Kakhyen House Mouse_.

HABITAT.--The Burmo-Chinese frontier, Ponsee.

DESCRIPTION.--Muzzle rather sharply pointed, moderately long and not deep; ears moderately large, rounded; its height a little in excess of the distance between the inner canthus and the front of the muzzle; hind-feet not long; tail a little longer than the body and head, finely ringed, five rings to one-tenth of an inch; fur soft, short, dense, dull dark brown on the upper parts, tending to blackish on the back, paling to brownish on the sides, and passing into pale dusky brownish on the under parts with a silvery sheen; feet brownish; toes with shining greyish-yellow hairs; ears and tail brown. (_See_ Anderson's 'Anat. and Zool. Res.,' p. 308.)

SIZE.--Head and body, 2-9/10 inches; tail, 3.14 inches.

This species, according to Dr. Anderson, frequents the villages and houses of the Kakhyens. He obtained it at Ponsee.

* * * * *

We now come to an interesting little group of mice, of which the hairs are mixed with flat spines, which form the genus _Leggada_ of Gray, a term taken from the Wuddur name for the next species.

_GENUS LEGGADA_.

CHARACTERISTICS.--Molars high, with somewhat convex crowns; the cross ridges of the upper grinders deeply three-lobed; the front one with an additional lunate lobe at the base of its front edge; fur fine, mixed with numerous spines somewhat flattened.

NO. 374. LEGGADA PLATYTHRIX. _The Brown Spiny Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 194_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Leggade_ and _Kal-yelka_, of Wuddurs; _Gijeli-gadu_, Telegu, of Yanadees; _Kal-ilei_, Canarese.

HABITAT.--Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--Sandy brown or light brown fawn above, white underneath, with a band of pale fawn separating the two colours.

The fur mixed with flat transparent spines, smaller beneath; head long; muzzle pointed; ears rather large, oblong, rounded, about half an inch in length.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-1/2 inches; tail, 2-1/2 inches.

The following description has been given by Sir Walter Elliot and reproduced in Jerdon's 'Mammals': "The Leggade lives entirely in the red gravelly soil in a burrow of moderate depth, generally on the side of a bank. When the animal is inside the entrance is closed with small pebbles, a quantity of which is collected outside, by which its retreat may always be known. The burrow leads to a chamber in which is collected a bed of small pebbles on which it sits, the thick close hair of the belly protecting it from the cold and asperity of such a seat. Its food appears to be vegetable. In its habits it is monogamous and nocturnal.

"In one earth which I opened, and which did not seem to have been originally constructed by the animal, I found two pairs, one of which were adults, the other young ones about three-parts grown. The mouth of the earth was very large, and completely blocked up with small stones; the passage gradually widening into a large cavity, from the roof of which some other passages appeared to proceed, but there was only one communication with the surface, viz. the entrance. The old pair were seated on a bed of pebbles, near which, on a higher level, was another collection of stones probably intended for a drier retreat; the young ones were in one of the passages, likewise furnished with a heap of small stones."

Dr. Jerdon adds he has often opened the burrows of this mouse, and can confirm the above account. He also states that the Yanadees of Nellore declare that one variety uses small sticks instead of stones to sit upon, and they give it a distinct appellation, but he could not detect any difference in the specimens they brought him.

NO. 375. LEGGADA SPINULOSA. _The Dusky Spiny Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 195_).

HABITAT.--Punjab, and also Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--"Nearly affined to _M. platythrix_ (Sykes), but of a dark dusky colour above, with fulvous tips to the softer fur; below and all the feet dull whitish; upper rodential tusks orange, the lower white; whiskers long and fine, the posterior and longer of them black for the basal half or more, the rest white."--_Blyth_, 'J. A. S. B.' 1863.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-3/4 inches; tail, 3 inches.

NO. 376. LEGGADA JERDONI. _The Himalayan Spiny Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 196_).

HABITAT.--Himalayan range, up to 12,000 feet.

DESCRIPTION.--"Bright dark ferruginous above, pure white below; some fine long black tips intermingled among the spines of the back; limbs marked with blackish externally; the feet white."--_Blyth's_ 'Mem., J. A. S. B.' vol. xxxii.

SIZE.--Head and body, 4 inches; tail, 3-1/2 inches.

Dr. Jerdon first found this mouse at Darjeeling, but afterwards in the valley of the Sutlej in Kunawur, at an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet, living under large stones.

NO. 377. LEGGADA LEPIDA. _The Small Spiny Mouse_ (_Jerdon's No. 197_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Chitta-burkani_, _Chit-yelka_, _Chitta-ganda_, Telegu of Wuddurs; _Chitta-yelka_ of Yanadees.--_Jerdon_.

HABITAT.--Southern India.

DESCRIPTION.--Similar to _L. platythrix_, but smaller and more weakly spinous; above pale sandy brown, pure white below, the two colours clearly separated. "The spines are small, fine, transparent, and of a dusky tinge, tipped with fawn; head very long; muzzle pointed; ears large, ovate, naked; tail naked, limbs rather long, fine."--_Jerdon_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2-1/2 to 3 inches; tail, 2-3/4 inches.

Jerdon says of this mouse that he has found it in gravelly soil in gardens and woods in most parts of Southern India making a small burrow, which generally has a little heap of stones placed at a short distance from the hole. It is preyed on now and then by the common Indian roller or jay, and it is very generally used as a bait to catch that bird with bird-lime.

_GENUS GOLUNDA_.

The following rats are separated by Gray as a distinct genus, which from the Canarese name of the type he has called _Golunda_, the characteristics of which are: "the grinders, when perfect, low, with a broad, flat crown; the cross ridges of the crown of the upper grinders divided into three distinct slightly raised tubercles; upper incisors grooved; rest like _Mus_."

NO. 378. GOLUNDA ELLIOTI. _The Bush Rat or Coffee Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 199_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Gulandi_, Canarese; _Gulat-yelka_ of Wuddurs; _Sora-panji-gadur_, Telegu of Yanadees; _Cofee-wattee-meeyo_, Singhalese (this name seems to me a corruption of "coffee rat").

DESCRIPTION.--Fur thick and stiff, fulvous brown, mixed with black, some olive brown mixed with fulvous, tawny grey beneath; hairs of upper parts flattened, ashy grey, tipped yellow, with some thinner and longer ones, also tipped yellow, with sub-terminal black band; under fur soft and of a light lead colour; face and cheeks rough; ears moderate, sub-ovate, hairy; tail round, tapering, scaly and hairy, dark brown above, yellowish below; cutting teeth yellow.

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

Dr. Kellaart says these are the rats most destructive to coffee-trees, whole plantations being sometimes deprived of buds and blossoms by them.

There is an illustration of one in Sir Emerson Tennent's 'Natural History of Ceylon' in the act of cutting off the slender branches which would not bear its weight in order to feed on the buds and blossoms when fallen to the ground. "The twigs thus destroyed are detached by as clean a cut as if severed with a knife." Sir Walter Elliot writes of it: "The _gulandi_ lives entirely in the jungle, choosing its habitation in a thick bush, among the thorny branches of which, or on the ground, it constructs a nest of elastic stalks and fibres of dry grass thickly interwoven. The nest is of a round or oblong shape, from six to nine inches in diameter, within which is a chamber about three or four inches in diameter, in which it rolls itself up. Round and through the bush are sometimes observed small beaten pathways along which the little animal seems habitually to pass. Its motion is somewhat slow, and it does not appear to have the same power of leaping or springing by which the rats in general avoid danger. Its food seems to be vegetable, the only contents of the stomach being the roots of the haryalee grass. Its habits are solitary (except when the female is bringing up her young) and diurnal, feeding in the mornings and evenings." Dr. Jerdon says: "The Yanadees of Nellore catch this rat, surrounding the bush and seizing it as it issues forth, which its comparatively slow actions enable them to do easily. According to Sir Emerson Tennent the Malabar coolies are so fond of their flesh that they evince a preference for those districts in which the coffee-plantations are subject to their incursions, where they fry the rats in cocoanut-oil or convert them into curry." Both he and Dr. Kellaart mention the migratory habits of this animal on the occurrence of a scarcity of food. Kellaart says that in one day on such visits more than a thousand have been killed on one estate alone.

NO. 379. GOLUNDA MELTADA. _The Soft-furred Bush Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 200_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Mettade_, of Wuddurs; _Metta-yelka_, Telegu of Yanadees; _Kera ilei_, Canarese.

HABITAT.--Southern India and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur very soft; above deep yellowish, olive brown or reddish-brown, with a mixture of fawn; under fur lead colour; chin and under parts whitish; head short; muzzle sharp; ears long and hairy; tail shorter than body, scaly, but scales covered with short black adpressed hairs; feet pale.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 inches; tail, 2-1/4 to 4-1/4 inches.

The specific name of this rat is an absurd corruption, such as is not unfrequent in Dr. Gray's names, of the native _mettade_, which means soft. According to that accurate observer Sir Walter Elliot, "the _mettade_ lives entirely in cultivated fields in pairs or small societies of five or six;[25] making a very slight and rude hole in the root of a bush, or merely harbouring among the heap of stones thrown together in the fields, in the deserted burrow of the _kok_,[26] or contenting itself with the deep cracks and fissures formed in the black soil during the hot months. Great numbers perish annually when these collapse and fill up at the commencement of the rains. The monsoon of 1826 having been deficient in the usual fall of rain at the commencement of the season, the _mettades_ bred in such numbers as to become a perfect plague. They ate up the seed as soon as sown, and continued their ravages when the grain approached to maturity, climbing up the stalks of jowaree and cutting off the ear to devour the grain with greater facility. I saw many whole fields completely devastated, so much so as to prevent the farmers from paying their rents. The ryots employed the Wuddurs to destroy them, who killed them by thousands, receiving a measure of grain for so many dozens, without perceptibly diminishing their numbers. Their flesh is eaten by the Tank-diggers. The female produces six to eight at a birth."--'_Madras Journ. Lit. Sc._' x. 1839.

[Footnote 25: In this case probably parents and young.]

[Footnote 26: _Nesokia providens_.]

Kellaart's _Golunda Newera_ is, I fancy, the same, although the measurement he gives is less. Head and body, 3-1/4 inches; tail, 2-1/2. The description tallies, although Kellaart goes upon difference in size and the omission of Gray to state that _G. meltada_ had the upper incisors grooved. He says that "this rat is found in pairs in the black soil of Newara Elia, and is a great destroyer of peas and potatoes." So its habits agree.

_GENUS HAPALOMYS_.

This was formed by Blyth on a specimen from Burmah of a murine animal "with a long and delicately fine pelage and exceedingly long tail, the terminal fourth of which is remarkably flattened and furnished with hair more developed than in perhaps any other truly murine form; limbs short, with the toes remarkably corrugated underneath; the balls of the inguinal phalanges greatly developed, protruding beyond the minute claws of the fore-feet, and equally with the more developed claws of the hind-feet; head short; the ears small and inconspicuous; the skull approaches in form that of _Mus Indicus_,[27] but the rodential tusks are broader and flatter to the front. Molars as in the _Muridae_ generally, but much worn in the specimen under examination; they are considerably less directed outward than usual, and the bony palate has therefore the appearance of being narrow; the superorbital ridges project much outward in form of a thin bony plate, and there is a considerable process at the base of the zygoma anteriorly and posteriorly to the anti-orbital foramen; zygomata broad, and compressed about the middle."

[Footnote 27: _Nesokia Blythiana_.]

NO. 380. HAPALOMYS LONGICAUDATUS.

HABITAT.--Shway Gheen, in the valley of the Sitang river in Burmah, or its adjacent hills.

DESCRIPTION.--"Fur long and soft, measuring about five-eights of an inch on the upper parts, slaty for the basal two-thirds, then glistening brown with black tips, and a few long hairs of very fine texture interspersed; lower parts dull white; whiskers black, long and fine, and there is a tuft of fine blackish-hair anterior to the ears."--_Blyth_.

SIZE.--Head and body of a male, 5-3/4 inches; tail 7-1/4 inches. Of another specimen, female: 5-1/4 inches; tail, 7-1/2 inches; sole, 1-1/8 inch; ears posteriorly, 1-1/4 inch.

Specimens of adult male and female with a young one were forwarded to the Asiatic Society's Museum by Major Berdmore.

* * * * *

We have now come to the end of the purely murine group as far as they exist within the limits assigned to these investigations. I ought perhaps to give some short notices of the following specimens discovered in Thibet by the Abbe David, and described by Professor Milne-Edwards in his 'Recherches sur les Mammiferes.'

NO. 381. MUS OUANG-THOMAE. _The Kiangsi Rat_.

HABITAT.--Kiangsi in Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--A tawny grey above, mixed with long hairs, tipped with brown, greyish below; between the fore-paws a crescent of pure white, which is a distinguishing mark of the species.

SIZE.--A little less than _Mus rattus_, which is about seven inches long; tail an inch longer.

This rat Professor Milne-Edwards describes from a single specimen; it is apparently rare, and was named after the Abbe David's Chinese servant--'Recherches sur les Mammiferes,' p. 290.

NO. 382. MUS FLAVIPECTUS. _The Yellow-breasted Rat_.

HABITAT.--Moupin; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Reddish-brown; chin greyish; throat and chest tawny, mixed with grey; belly and inside of limbs yellowish-grey; ears large, nearly naked; incisors deep yellow; tail brown, covered with short hairs.

SIZE.--About 7-3/4 inches; tail, 6-1/4 inches.--'Mammiferes,' p. 289.

NO. 383. MUS GRISEIPECTUS. _The Grey-breasted Rat_.

HABITAT.--Moupin; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Brown above; the under-parts of a clear grey.

SIZE.--About the same as the last, but with a somewhat shorter tail.--'Mammiferes,' p. 290.

NO. 384. MUS CONFUCIANUS.

HABITAT.--Moupin; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Fawn brown above, pure white below; lower part of cheek white; on the back the fur is interspersed with longer hairs of a blackish tint; feet pale.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 4 inches.--'Mammiferes,' p. 286.

NO. 385. MUS CHEVRIERI.

HABITAT.--Moupin; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour tawny brown, grizzled with dark brown; lower parts of a clear grey, almost white; ears short; feet small; tail covered with short hair.

SIZE.--About 4-3/4 inches; tail about 3-1/2 inches.--'Mammiferes,' p. 288.

NO. 386. MUS PYGMAEUS. _The Pigmy Mouse_.

HABITAT.--Moupin; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Distinguished by its very short ears and the square form of its head; deep brown above; greyish-yellow beneath; tail shorter than in the common mouse.

SIZE.--About 2-3/4 inches; tail, about 2 inches.--'Mammiferes,' p. 291.

ARVICOLINAE.

In this sub-family the molars are generally semi-rooted or rootless. The _Arvicolinae_ or Voles consist of the American Musquash (_Fiber zibethicus_), a very beaver-like water rat of large size; the Lemmings (_Myodes_), of which there are several species which are celebrated for their vast migrations; and the true Vole (_Arvicola_), which is the only genus found in India, and then only in the colder climate of the Himalayas. There are several species in Europe, of which three are found in England. According to Professor Dallas, the true Voles number about fifty species, arranged by various writers under a considerable number of sub-genera. In India we have only eight known species, and two more from the adjacent country of Thibet.

The European forms of _Arvicolae_ have been divided by Blasius into four sub-genera of two divisions--the first division having rooted molars in the adult animal--containing one sub-genus only, _Hypudaeus_ of Illiger; the second division consists of three sub-genera with rootless molars, viz. _Paludicola_, _Agricola_, and _Arvicola_, which last has again been subdivided into long-eared and short-eared Voles--_Arvicola_ and _Microtus_--distinguished by the former having eight and the latter four mammae, and respectively six and four tubercles on the plantae, the ears of the latter being almost hidden by the fur.

None of the forms with which we have now to deal belong to the first division, for, as far as the matter has been investigated, the Indian Voles have rootless molars, but the character of the teeth in some differs from the European forms, and therefore Mr. Blanford has proposed a new section, _Alticola_, for their reception. I have not space here, nor would it accord with the popular character of this work, to go minutely into all the variation of dentition which distinguish the different species. To those who wish to continue to the minutest details the study of the Indian Voles, I recommend a most careful and elaborate paper on them by Mr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. L., pt. ii.; but without entering into the microscopic particulars of each species, I may here give a general idea of the formation of the teeth of the _Arvicolae_ differing as it does so much from others of the myomorphic or mouse-like group of rodents. In these the general contour of the molar teeth is roundish oblong, the margins being wavy or indented, according to the convolutions of the enamel, but in the Voles there is a sharp angularity about these indentations; the marginal lines, instead of being in well-rounded curves, are sharply zigzag, forming acute angles. If you were to draw two close parallel zigzag lines it would give you some idea of the contour of these teeth. The molars are in fact composed of alternating triangular prisms, with the outer folds of enamel forming deep and acute angles. The other characteristics of this family are: skull, with brain case rhomboidal, frontals much contracted; infra-orbital opening typical; limbs moderate; tail moderate, or short and hairy.

_GENUS ARVICOLA_.

Muzzle blunt; fore-feet small, with short claws; soles naked; tail longer than the hind-foot, clad with short hairs; incisors plain, smooth in front. The fore-feet in some species have but a small wart in place of a thumb; in others there is a small thumb with a minute claw. The hind-feet have five toes.

NO. 387. ARVICOLA STOLICZKANUS. _The Yarkand Vole_.

HABITAT.--Yarkand.

DESCRIPTION.--"Bright ferruginous brown above, pure white beneath; fur soft, rather woolly, 0.5 to 0.6 inch long on the middle of the back, the basal portion throughout both head and body being dark leaden grey; this is the case on the back for about three-quarters of the length of the hairs; the remaining quarter is rufous white, tipped with darker rufous, whilst numerous rather longer hairs are dark rufous-brown at the ends; rather a sharp line divides the rufous of the back from the white belly; upper part of the head the same colour as the back; upper whiskers dark brown, lower, including the longest, white; ears small, rounded, hairy, completely concealed by the fur, with rather short bright rufous hair near the margin inside; and covered outside with longer and paler hair; feet small, the thumb of the fore-foot quite rudimentary and clawless; remaining claws long, compressed, sharply pointed, but much concealed by the long white hairs which cover the upper part of the foot, sales naked; tarsus hairy below, a few hairs between the pads of the toes; tail short, apparently about a quarter the length of the body and head together, covered with stiff fulvescent white hair, which extends about half an inch beyond the end."--_W. T. Blanford_, 'Sc. Res. of Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 43.

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

NO. 388. ARVICOLA STRACHEYI. _The Kumaon Vole_.

HABITAT.--Kumaon.

DESCRIPTION.--Light brown above, with a greyish tint and dusky forehead; under-parts, feet, and tail white; ears small, not longer than the fur, and thickly clad with hair; feet of moderate size; thumb as in the last; tail short and covered with white hairs.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 3.7 inches; tail; 0.7.

This vole was procured first by Capt. (now Lieut.-Gen.) R. Strachey at Kumaon.

NO. 389. ARVICOLA WYNNEI. _The Murree Vole_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Kannees_.

HABITAT.--Northern Himalayas; Murree.

DESCRIPTION.--Dark brown above, with a slight greyish tinge; head rufescent, and under-parts pale brown; tail dark brown; ears short and rounded, hidden by the fur; fore-feet rather large; thumb small, with a short claw; incisors orange.

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

NO. 390. ARVICOLA ROYLEI. _The Cashmere Vole_ (_Jerdon's No. 202_).

HABITAT.--Kashmir; Kunawur near Chini at 12,000 feet.

DESCRIPTION.--Yellowish-brown, with a rufous tint on the back, paler below; tail brown above, whitish underneath; feet concolorous with the under-part; ears small, hairy and nearly hidden by the fur; incisors yellow in front.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3-3/4 inches; tail, 1-2/12 inch.

Jerdon states he got this vole at Kunawur, near Chini, again on the south side of the Barendo pass, and also in the Pir Punjal.

NO. 391. ARVICOLA BLANFORDI. _The Gilgit Vole_.

HABITAT.--Kashmir territory; Gilgit, at an elevation of 9000 to 10,000 feet.

DESCRIPTION.--Light greyish-brown above, slightly tinged with rufous; greyish-white underneath; fur soft, the basal three-fourths being slaty grey, the rest fawn colour, in some instances with black tips, the hairs of the under-parts being white tipped; ears moderately large, well above the fur, hairy; very long whiskers, chiefly white, a few brown; feet whitish, moderate size; tail cylindrical, not tapering, and well clad with hair, which project about a fifth of an inch beyond the end of the vertebrae.

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

This vole was described by Dr. J. Scully in the 'Annals and Magazine of Natural History,' for November, 1880, vol. vi., and he named it after Mr. W. T. Blanford. It is said to be common on the mountains around Gilgit.

* * * * *

The next two species come under the section _Paludicola_.

NO. 392. ARVICOLA BLYTHII.

HABITAT.--Western Thibet, Leh and Ladakh.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour above yellowish-brown, below pale isabelline; fur soft; basal two-thirds of the upper hairs, and one-half of the lower hairs, dark slaty; the upper hairs are tipped, some isabelline and some, which are coarser and longer, dark brown; ears round, small, equal, with the fur thinly clad with pale brown hairs inside, and more thickly so with longer hairs outside; upper whiskers dark brown, lower whitish; feet pale isabelline; soles naked; tail cylindrical, distinctly ringed, covered with short light brown hair like the under-parts in colour.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 3 to 4 inches; tail, 1 to 1-1/4 inch.

Mr. Blanford has written fully regarding this species, which was the type of Blyth's genus _Phaiomys_, in the 'Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission,' page 39, in which he contends, after going through a mass of literature on the subject, that there are no grounds for constituting it the type of a new species; and, if this be conceded, then the specific name given by Blyth, viz. _leucurus_, being forestalled, it is necessary to rename it, which he has done in honour of that well-known naturalist.

NO. 393. ARVICOLA MANDARINUS. _The Afghan Vole_.

HABITAT.--Afghanistan; Chinese Mongolia.

DESCRIPTION.--Light greyish rufescent brown above, white beneath; ears short, hidden by the fur and hairy; feet whitish; tail rufescent brown.

SIZE.--About 4 inches; tail about 1 inch.

This vole, which is described and figured by Milne-Edwards, is supposed to have been found in Afghanistan from a specimen in Griffith's collection. _A. mandarinus_ comes from Chinese Mongolia, and it is figured in the 'Recherches sur les Mammiferes.'

* * * * *

The next species was made a separate genus, _Neodon_, by Hodgson, which has been adopted by Jerdon; but there are no good grounds for continuing this separation. Mr. Blanford is certainly of this opinion, and in his remarks on it (_see_ his 'Sc. Results Second Yarkand Mission,' pp. 41-42) he writes: "The genus _Neodon_, appears to be founded on characters of only specific importance, and the type _N. Sikimensis_ is, I think, a true _Arvicola_."

NO. 394. ARVICOLA SIKIMENSIS. _The Sikim Vole_ (_Jerdon's No. 203_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Phalchua_, Nepalese, apparently Hindi; _Cheekyu_, Kiranti; _Singphuci_, Thibetan.

HABITAT.--Nepal; Sikim; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur soft and silky. "Deep brownish-black above with a slight rusty shade, minutely and copiously grizzled with hairs of a deep ferruginous tint" (_Horsfield_). Or a deep golden brown from yellow hairs being intermixed; bluish-grey beneath, with a slight fulvous tint; fur leaden grey for the basal three-fourths, the terminal fourth being brownish or tawny with some tipped black; the hairs of the under-parts are dipped with dirty white; ears project beyond the fur moderately, and are hairy; feet very slender; tail thinly clad with short brown hair. The female has six mammae.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 4-3/4 inches; tail, 1-1/2 inch. Horsfield gives 5 inches for head and body.

According to Jerdon this vole has only been procured in Sikim near Darjeeling, at heights varying from 7000 to 15,000 feet; but I believe the area it inhabits to be much larger. Hodgson found his specimens at Darjeeling, and on one occasion got a nest in a hollow tree in the forest; it was saucer-shaped, of soft grass without any lining, and contained a male, female, and two young. The latter were "2-1/8 inches long, hairy above, nude below, and blind; the ears also closed." Jerdon writes: "Mr. Atkinson found it under fallen trees and stones on the top of Tonglo, near Darjeeling, 10,000 feet, whence also I had a specimen brought me."

* * * * *

The next species is one described and figured by Professor Milne-Edwards, and from Thibet he has two illustrations of it--one of an entire blackish-brown, the other darker above, but with the black belly.

NO. 395. ARVICOLA MELANOGASTER.

HABITAT.--Moupin in Tibet.

DESCRIPTION.--"It is characterised by the colour of the lower parts, which are a blackish-grey. The upper parts are sometimes as black as a mole, sometimes grizzled with brown" ('Mammiferes,' p. 284). The brown specimen with the dark belly is evidently a rarity.

FAMILY SPALACIDAE.

The members of this family are characterised by very large incisors; some have premolars, as in _Bathyergus_ and two other genera, but not in the _Spalacinae_, of which our bamboo-rat (_Rhizomys_) is the representative in India. "The grinding teeth are rooted, not tuberculate, but with re-entering enamel folds; infra-orbital opening moderate or small, with no perpendicular plate; occipital plane high, often sloped boldly forward; palate narrow; form cylindrical; eye and ear-conch very small, sometimes rudimentary; limbs short and stout; claws large; tail short or absent" (_Alston_, 'P. Z. S.' 1876, p. 86). There are two subfamilies--_Spalacinae_ and _Bathyerginae_.

_GENUS RHIZOMYS--THE BAMBOO-RAT_.

"Form robust; eyes very small; ears very short, naked; pollex rudimentary; tail rather short, partially haired; skull broad; occipital plane only slightly sloped forward; infra-orbital opening small, sub-triangular; upper incisors arched forward; no premolar; upper molars with one deep internal and two or more external enamel-folds; the lower molars reversed."--_Alston_.

NO. 396. RHIZOMYS BADIUS. _The Chestnut Bamboo-Rat_ (_Jerdon's No. 201_).

NATIVE NAME.--Known to the Chingpaws or Kakhyens as the _Yewcron_.--_Anderson_.

HABITAT.--The Sikim and Nepal Terai; Burmah; Arakan; Kakhyen Hills.

DESCRIPTION.--Fine fur, of a grey or slaty grey for two-thirds of the basal portion, the remaining upper third being from a deep to a bright chestnut. "Most intense on the head, and dullest on the rump" (_Anderson_). "Below dark ashy grey" (_Jerdon_). "The fur of the under-parts in these Eastern examples of the species" (referring to those from the Kakhyen hills) "is paler and more reddish than chestnut, whereas in some Nepal animals it inclines even to slaty grey, washed with reddish. The area immediately around the muzzle and the chin is pale brownish, with a tinge of greyish, and the teeth are brilliant reddish, the nose, ears, feet, and tail being pale flesh-coloured" (_Anderson_, 'Anat. and Zool. Res.' p. 329).

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

Jerdon says of this species that "it eats the roots of bamboos and other trees, constructing burrows under the roots. It is said to be very bold, and easily taken." "In Burmah it constructs its burrows amongst a rank and tall jungle grass, on the roots of which it is said to live" (_Anderson_). Blyth, who writes of the Burmese form, says: "it is barely separable from _R. badius_, from which it seems to differ only in its much brighter colouring."

NO. 397. RHIZOMYS ERYTHROGENYS. _The Red-cheeked Bamboo-Rat_.

HABITAT.--Burmah; the Salween hill tracts; Tenasserim.