Chapter XX: Section III: Hystricomorpha (1)

PORCUPINE-LIKE RODENTS.

This section contains six families, viz.:--

_Octodontidae_ = 3 sub-families, 18 genera.
_Hystricidae_ = 2 sub-families, 5 genera.
_Chinchillidae_ = 5 genera, of which two are fossil.
_Dasyproctidae_ = 2 genera.
_Dionymidae_ = 1 genus.
_Caviidae_ = 3 genera.

Of these we have to deal with but one, the second family, _Hystricidae_, the rest belonging to Africa in part, but the majority to the American continent, chiefly South America.

I give the general characteristics of the section as laid down by Mr. Alston:--

"One premolar above and below (except in _Ctenodactylus_); grinding teeth rooted or rootless, not tuberculate; frontals with no distinct post-orbital processes (except in _Chaetomys_); infra-orbital opening large, sub-triangular, or oval; zygomatic arch proportionately stout; molar not advancing far forward, (except in _Ctenodactylinae_ and _Chinchillidae_) and not supported below by a continuation of the maxillary zygomatic process; incisive foramina small; foramina in the base of skull proportionally large; an inter-pterygoid fissure; mandible with its angular portion springing from the _outer side_ of the bony covering of the lower incisor, triangular, usually pointed behind; coronoid process small, and condyle low; clavicles perfect or imperfect; fibula persistent as a distinct bone throughout life; upper lip rarely cleft; muffle clad with fine hairs; nostrils pointed above, sigmoid or linear; ears usually emarginate behind; tail hairy, sub-naked, or scaly."--'P. Z. S.,' 1876, p. 90.

As I have said before, we have only to do with the _Hystricidae_ or Porcupines, but many of the others are familiar by name. Of the _Octodontidae_ the best known is the coypu of the Andes, one of the largest of the rodents, and the ground-rat or ground-pig of western and southern Africa. The chinchilla, which is the typical form of the third family, is known to all, especially ladies, from its delicate soft fur. The agouti of South America is the representative of the _Dasyproctidae_. The family _Dinomyidae_ consists of one animal only, _Dinomys Branickii_; the only known example of which was obtained in Peru on the Montana de Vitoc. It was found walking about in a yard at daybreak, and showed so little fear of man that it suffered itself to be killed by the stroke of a sword. It is a pity no one was sensible enough to try and take it alive. As yet nothing is known of its habits. Of the last family, _Caviidae_, the cavy and the capybara are well known to travellers in South America, and the common guinea pig is familiar to us all.

FAMILY HYSTRICIDAE--THE PORCUPINES.

In this family the hairs of the body are more or less converted into spines or quills; the form of the skull is peculiar, being ovate, often greatly inflated with air cavities in the bones; the facial portion is broad and short; the malar portion of the zygomatic arch has no inferior angular process as in the _Octodontidae_; the occipital plane or hinder-surface is perpendicular, with a median ridge; the incisor teeth are large and powerful; the molars with external and internal folds, four in each jaw. The form is robust; limbs sub-equal; fore-feet with four toes, and a small wart-like thumb; hind-feet with four and five toes; tail long in some, short in others. There are two sub-families--_Sphingurinae_ and _Hystricinae_. With the genera of the first we have nothing to do. They include the prehensile-tailed porcupines of South America, _Sphingurus prehensilis_, _S. villosus_, and _S. Mexicanus_, all arboreal forms, and the Canada porcupine (_Erythizon dorsatus_) which is covered with woolly hairs and spines intermixed. The true porcupines, sub-family _Hystricinae_, consist of two genera, both of which are represented in India--_Atherura_ and _Hystrix_.

SUB-FAMILY HYSTRICINAE--THE TRUE PORCUPINES.

Grinding teeth semi-rooted; skull rather more elongate; infra-orbital foramen of great size; clavicles imperfect, attached to the sternum, and not to the scapula; upper lip furrowed; tail not prehensile; soles of feet smooth. The female has six mammae. In these points they differ from the American arboreal porcupines (_Sphingurus_), the skull of which is very short, the tail prehensile, the soles of the feet tuberculated, and the female has only four mammae.

The two genera, _Atherura_ and _Hystrix_, which compose this sub-family, are distinguished by long tail and flattened spines (_Atherura_); and short tail and round spines (_Hystrix_).

_GENUS ATHERURA--THE LONG-TAILED PORCUPINE_.

Nasal part of skull moderate; upper molars with one internal and three or four external folds, the latter soon separated as enamel loops; the lower teeth similar but reversed; the spines are flattened and channelled; the tail long and scaly, with a tuft of bristles at the end.

NO. 402. ATHERURA FASCICULATA. _The Brush-tailed Porcupine_.

HABITAT.--Assam, Khasia hills, Tipperah hills, Burmah, Siam, and the Malayan peninsula.

DESCRIPTION.--"The general tint of the animal is yellowish-brown, freckled with dusky brown, especially on the back; the spines, taken separately, are brown white at the root, and become gradually darker to the point; the points of the spines on the back are very dark, being of a blackish-brown colour. The long and stout bristles, which are mixed with the spines on the back, are similarly coloured" (_Waterhouse_, 'Mammalia,' vol. ii. p. 472). The spines are flat on the under-surface and concave on the upper, sharply pointed and broadest near the root. Mixed with the spines on the back are long bristles, very stout, projecting some three inches beyond the spines, which are only about an inch in length; below these is a scanty undergrowth of pale coloured hairs; the tail is somewhat less than half the length of the head and body, scaly, and at the end furnished with a large tuft of flattened bristles from three to four inches long, of a dirty white colour, with sometimes dusky tips; the ears are semi-ovate; whiskers long and stout, and of a brown colour; muzzle hairy; feet short, five toes, but the thumb very small, with a short rounded nail.

SIZE.--Head and body, 18 inches; tail, exclusive of tuft, 7-1/2 inches.

Specimens of this animal were sent home to the Zoological Gardens, from Cherrapoonjee in the Khasia hills, by Dr. Jerdon. This species is almost the same as the African form (_A. Africana_). They are about the same in size and form and in general appearance. This last is found in such plenty, according to Bennett, in the Island of Fernando Po as to afford a staple article of food to the inhabitants. Blyth was of opinion that the Indian animal is much paler and more freckled than the African.

_GENUS HYSTRIX--THE PORCUPINE_.

"Spines cylindrical; tail short, covered with spines and slender-stalked open quills; nasal cavity usually very large; air sinuses of frontals greatly developed; teeth as in _Atherura_. The hind-feet with five toes; claws very stout."

The hinder part of the body is covered by a great number of sharp spines, ringed black and white, mostly tipped with white; the spines are hollow or filled with a spongy tissue, but extremely tough and resistant, with points as sharp as a needle. The animal is able to erect these by a contraction of the skin, but the old idea that they could be projected or shot out at an assailant is erroneous. They easily drop out, which may have given an idea of discharge. The porcupine attacks by backing up against an opponent or thrusting at him by a sidelong motion. I kept one some years ago, and had ample opportunity of studying his mode of defence. When a dog or any other foe comes to close quarters, the porcupine wheels round and rapidly charges back. They also have a side-way jerk which is effective.

NO. 403. HYSTRIX LEUCURA. _The White-tailed Indian Porcupine_ (_Jerdon's No. 204_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Kanta-sahi_, _Sayi_, _Sayal_, _Sarsel_, Hindi; _Sajru_, Bengali; _Chotia-dumsee_, Nepali; _Saori_, Gujrati; _Salendra_ and _Sayal_, Mahrathi; _Yed_, Canarese; _Ho-igu_, Gondi; _Phyoo_, Burmese; _Heetava_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--All over India (except perhaps Lower Bengal), Burmah and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Blackish-brown; muzzle clad with short, stiff, bristly hairs; whiskers long and black, and a few white spines on the face; spines on the throat short, grooved, some with white setaceous points forming a half-collar; crest of head and neck formed of long black bristles, with here and there one with a long white tip; the spines of the sides are short, flattish, grooved or striated, mostly with white points; the large quills of the back are either entirely black or ringed at the base and middle with white, a few with white tips; the longer and thinner quills on the back and sides have long white terminations; many of these again, particularly the longest, have a basal and one or two central white rings; the short quills on the mesial line of the lumbar region are nearly all white, and the longer striated quills of this region are mostly white; quills of the tail white or yellowish, a few black ones at the root; pedunculated quills are long, broad, and much flattened in old animals.

SIZE.--Head and body, 32 inches; tail, 8 inches.

The description given in his 'Prodromus Faunae Zeylanicae' by Dr. Kellaart, who was a most careful observer, has been of great assistance to me in the above, as it was also, I fancy, to Jerdon, and his subsequent remarks are worthy of consideration. "The identification of species from single characters," he observes, "is at all times difficult and unsatisfactory in the genus _Hystrix_, particularly so as regard the conformation of the skull." And again: "The number of molars varies also in different specimens. In two adults obtained at Trincomalee there were only three molars on each side of the jaw, four being the dental formula of the genus _Hystrix_."

I think such aberrations ought to warn us from trying to make too many genera out of these animals. Dr. Gray, whose particular forte--or shall I say weakness?--was minute subdivision, classed (in 1847) the Indian porcupines in three sub-families, _Hystrix_, _Acanthion_, and _Atherura_; and _Acanthion_ he some years after (1866, _see_ 'P. Z. S.' p. 308) divided again into three groups, _OEdocephalus_, _Acanthochaerus_ and _Acanthion_. The difference in the skull of _Hystrix_ and _Acanthion_ lies in the intermaxillaries and the grinders, as follows:--

_Hystrix_--Inter-max. broad, truncated, wide behind as before; _grinders_ oblong, longer than broad, one fold on the inner, and three or four on the outer side.

_Acanthion_--Inter-max. triangular, tapering behind; _grinders_ sub-cylindrical, not longer than broad, one fold on the inner, two or three on the outer side.

According to Waterhouse the European porcupine (_Hystrix cristata_ of Linnaeus) is the _Acanthion Cuvieri_ of Gray; and Gray, who afterwards modified his views of 1847 in 1866, wrote of it: "I am not aware of any external characters by which this species can be distinguished from the _Hystrix cristata_, though the skull is so different." Gray in another place writes that: "Though the skulls of _H. leucurus_ preserve a very distinct character, yet they vary so much amongst themselves as to show that skulls afford no better character for the distinction of species than any other single character, such as colour, but can only be depended on when taken in connection with the rest of the organisation." In these circumstances I think it will be better not to attempt any further subdivision of the Indian porcupines in the present work beyond the two already given, viz. _Hystrix_ and _Atherura_. There is a great similarity between the Indian _H. leucura_ and the European _H. cristata_. According to Waterhouse the quills in the lumbar region, which are white in the Indian, are dusky in the European, which last has long white points to the bristles of the crest, whereas in the Indian one some only of the points are white, and the rest quite brown.

The Indian porcupine lives in burrows, in banks, hill sides, on the bunds of tanks, and in the sides of rivers and nullahs. It is nocturnal in its habits, and in the vicinity of cultivation does much damage to such garden stuff as consists of tubers or roots. In the jungle its food consists chiefly of roots, especially of some kinds of wild yam (_Dioscorea_). I have found porcupines in the densest bamboo jungles of the central provinces, where their food was doubtless young bamboo shoots and various kind of roots.

The porcupine all the world over is known to be good eating, and is in many countries esteemed a delicacy. The flesh is white and tender, and is much prized by most people in those places where it abounds. Brigadier-General McMaster, in his 'Notes on Jerdon,' in speaking of the only instance where he found a porcupine on the move after daylight, says: "Just at dawn a porcupine appeared, and, as I suppose his house was somewhere between us, trotted and fed, grunting hog-like, about the little valley at our feet until long after the sun was well up, and until I, despairing of other game, and bearing in mind his delicious flesh (for that of a porcupine is the most delicate I know of), shot him. Well may the flesh be tender and of delicate flavour, for, as many gardeners know to their cost, porcupines are most scrupulously dainty and epicurean as to their diet. A pine-apple is left by them until the very night before it is fit to be cut. Peas, potatoes, onions, &c., are not touched until the owner has made up his mind that they were just ready for the table." The Gonds in Seonee were always on the lookout for a porcupine. I described in my book on that district the digging out of one.

"The entrance of the animal's abode was a hole in a bank at which the dogs were yelping and scratching; but the bipeds had gone more scientifically to work by countermining from above, sinking shafts downwards at various points, till at last they reached his inner chamber, when he scuttled out, and, charging backwards at the dogs with all his spines erected, he soon sent them flying, howling most piteously; but a Gondee axe hurled at his head soon put an end to his career, for a porcupine's skull is particularly tender."

The female produces from two to four young, which are born with their eyes open. Their bodies are covered with short soft spines, which, however, speedily harden. It is said that the young do not remain long with their mother, but I cannot speak to this from personal experience. I have had young ones, but not those born in captivity.

NO. 404. HYSTRIX BENGALENSIS. _The Bengal Porcupine_ (_Jerdon's No. 205_).

NATIVE NAME.--_Sajaru_ or _Sajru_, Bengali.

DESCRIPTION.--"Smaller than the last; crest small and thin; the bristles blackish; body spines much flattened and strongly grooved, terminating in a slight seta Or bristle; slender flexible quills much fewer than in _leucura_, white, with a narrow black band about the centre; the thick quills basally white, the rest black, mostly with a white tip; a distinct white demi-collar; spines of lumbar region white, as are those of tail and rattle; muzzle less hirsute than in _leucura_."

SIZE.--Head and body, 28 inches; tail, 8 inches.

There is occasionally a variety to be found of this species with orange-coloured quills, or rather the orange hue is assumed at times. Jerdon mentions the fact that Sclater describes his _H. Malabarica_ as having certain orange-coloured quills in place of white, and also that Blyth considered the two species identical. He also states that Mr. Day procured specimens of the orange porcupine from the Ghats of Cochin and Travancore, and that they were considered more delicate eating by the native sportsmen, who aver that they can distinguish the two kinds by the smell from their burrows; but he was not apparently aware at the time that a specimen of _H. Malabarica_ with orange quills in the Zoological Gardens in London moulted, and the red quills were replaced by the ordinary black and white ones of the common Indian kind. Dr. Sclater afterwards (_see_ 'P. Z. S.' 1871, p. 234) came to the conclusion that _H. Malabarica_ was synonymous with _H. leucura_.

NO. 405. HYSTRIX (ACANTHION) LONGICAUDA. _The Crestless Porcupine_ (_Jerdon's No. 206_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Anchotia-sahi_ or _Anchotia-dumsi_ in Nepal; _Sathung_, Lepcha; _O'--e_ of the Limbus (_Hodgson_). (N.B.--The _ch_ must not be pronounced as _k_, but as _ch_ in church.) _Anchotia_ means crestless, the crested porcupine being called _Chotia-dumsi_.

HABITAT.--Nepal and Sikim, and on through Burmah to the Malayan peninsula, where it was first discovered.

DESCRIPTION.--Distinguished from the other species "by its inferior size, total absence of crest on its head, neck, and shoulders, by its longer tail, by the white collar of the neck being evanescent; and lastly by the inferior size and smaller quantity of the spines or quills."--_Hodgson_.

It is covered with black spinous bristles from two to three inches long, shortest on the head and limbs. The large quills of the back and croup are from seven to twelve inches long, mostly with one central black ring.

SIZE.--Head and body, 24 inches; tail, 4, or with the quills, 5-1/2 inches.

This is Hodgson's _H. alophus_, which is, I think, a more appropriate name than the one given, for its tail is not so very long in proportion. Hodgson says of it: "They breed in spring, and usually produce two young about the time the crops ripen. They are monogamous, the pair dwelling together in burrows of their own formation. Their flesh is delicious, like pork, but much more delicate flavoured, and they are easily tamed so as to breed in confinement. All tribes and classes, even high-caste Hindoos, eat them, and it is deemed lucky to keep one or two alive in stables, where they are encouraged to breed. Royal stables are seldom without at least one of them."

This animal was described by Gray as _Acanthion Hodgsonii_, the _lesser Indian porcupine_. Waterhouse, in writing of _Hystrix_ (_Acanthion_) _Javanica_, says: "The habits of the animal, as recorded by Muller, do not differ from those of _H. Hodgsonii_"; and Blyth, as mentioned by Jerdon, was of opinion that the two species were one and the same. The _Acanthochaerus Grotei_, described and figured by Dr. Gray in 1866 ('P. Z. S.' p. 306), is the same as this species. It is to be found at Darjeeling amongst the tea plantations, between 4000 and 5000 feet elevation.

NO. 406. HYSTRIX YUNNANENSIS.

HABITAT.--Burmah, in the Kakhyen hills, at elevations of from 2000 to 4500 feet.

DESCRIPTION.--after Dr. Anderson, who first discovered and named this species: "Dark brown on the head, neck, shoulders, and sides passing into a deep black on the extremities, a very narrow white line passing backwards from behind the angle of the mouth to the shoulder; under surface brownish; the spiny hairs of the anterior part of the trunk flattened, grooved or ungrooved. The crest begins behind the occiput and terminates before the shoulders; the hairs are long, slender and backwardly curved, the generality of them being about 4-1/2 inches long, while the longer hairs measure about six inches.

"They are all paler than the surrounding hairs, and the individual hairs are either broadly tipped with yellowish-white, or they have a broad sub-apical band of that colour. The short, broad, spiny hairs, lying a short way in front of the quills, are yellow at their bases, the remaining portion being deep brown, whereas those more quill-like spiny hairs, immediately before the quills, have both ends yellow tipped.

"The quills are wholly yellow, with the exception of a dark brown, almost black band of variable breadth and position. It is very broad in the shorter quills, and is nearer the free end of the quill than its base, whereas in the long slender quills it is reduced to a narrow mesial band. The stout strong quills rarely exceed six inches in length, whilst the slender quills are one foot long. Posteriorly above the tail and at its sides many of the short quills are pure white. The modified quills on the tail, with dilated barb-like free ends are not numerous, and are also white. There are three kinds of rattle quills, the most numerous measure 0.65 inch in the length of the dilated hollow part, having a maximum breadth of 0.21 inch, whilst there are a few short cups 0.38 inch in length, with a breadth of 0.17 inch, and besides these a very few more elongated and narrow cylinders occur."--'Anat. and Zool. Res.,' p. 332.

SUB-ORDER DUPLICIDENTATA--DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS.

These rodents are distinguished by the presence of two small additional incisors behind the upper large ones. At birth there are four such rudimentary incisors, but the outer two are shed, and disappear at a very early age; the remaining two are immediately behind the large middle pair, and their use is doubtful; but, as Dallas remarks, "their presence is however of interest, as indicating the direction in which an alliance with other forms of mammalia more abundantly supplied with teeth is to be sought."

Another distinctive characteristic of this sub-order is the formation of the bony palate, which is narrowed to a mere bridge between the alveolar borders, or portions of the upper jaw in which the grinding teeth are inserted.

The following synopsis of the sub-order is given by Mr. Alston:--

"Incisors 4/2; at birth 6/2; the outer upper incisor soon lost; the next pair very small, placed directly behind the large middle pair; their enamel continuous round the tooth, but much thinner behind; skull with the optic foramina confluent, with no true alisphenoid canal; incisive foramina usually confluent; bony palate reduced to a bridge between the alveolar borders; fibula anchylosed to tibia below, and articulating with the calcaneum; testes permanently external; no vescicular glands. Two families."--'P. Z. S.' 1876, p. 97.

There are only two families each of one existing genus--LEPORIDAE, genus _Lepus_, the Hare; and LAGOMYIDAE, genus _Lagomys_, the Pika, or Mouse-Hare, as Jerdon calls it. There are three fossil genera in the first family, viz. _Palaeolagus_, a fossil hare found in the Miocene of Dacota and Colorado, _Panolax_ from the Pliocene marls of Santa Fe, and _Praotherium_ from Pennsylvanian bone-caves. A fossil Lagomys, genus _Titanomys_, is found in the Post-Pliocene deposits in various parts of Europe, chiefly in the south.

FAMILY LEPORIDAE--THE HARES.

"Three premolars above and two below; molars rootless, with transverse enamel folds dividing them into lobes; skull compressed; frontals with large wing-shaped post-orbital processes; facial portion of maxillaries minutely reticulated; basisphenoid with a median perforation, and separated by a fissure from the vomer; coronoid process represented by a thin ridge of bone; clavicles imperfect; ears and hind-limbs elongated, tail short, bushy, recurved."--_Alston_.

Hares are found all over the world except in Australasia. The Rabbit is much more localised; in India we have none, unless the Hispid Hare, the black rabbit of Dacca sportsmen, is a true rabbit; it is said to burrow, but whether it is gregarious I know not. Another point would also decide the question, viz. are the young born with eyes open or shut? The hare pairs at about a year old, and has several broods a year of from two to five; the young are born covered with hair and their eyes open, whereas young rabbits are born blind and naked. The hare lives in the open, and its lair or "form" is merely a slight depression in some secluded spot. It has been noticed that the hare always returns to its form, no matter to what distance it may have wandered or have been driven.

_GENUS LEPUS_.

NO. 407. LEPUS RUFICAUDATUS. _The Common Indian Red-tailed Hare_ (_Jerdon's No. 207_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Khargosh_, _Kharra_, Hindi; _Sasru_, Bengali; _Mullol_, Gondi.

HABITAT.--India generally.

DESCRIPTION.--"General hue rufescent, mixed with blackish on the back and head; ears brownish anteriorly, white at the base, and the tip brown; neck, breast, flanks and limbs more or less dark sandy rufescent, unmottled; nape pale sandy rufescent; tail rufous above, white beneath; upper lip small; eye-mark, chin, throat, and lower parts pure white."--_Jerdon_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 20 inches; tail, with hair, 4 inches; ear externally about 5 inches; maximum weight, about 5 lbs.

The Indian hare is generally found in open bush country, often on the banks of rivers, at least as far as my experience goes in the Central Provinces. Jerdon says, and McMaster corroborates his statement, that this species, as well as the next, take readily to earth when pursued, and seem to be well acquainted with all the fox-holes in their neighbourhood, and McMaster adds that they seem to be well aware which holes have foxes or not, and never go into a tenanted one.

The Indian hare is by no means so good for the table as the European one, being dry and tasteless, and hardly worth cooking.

NO. 408. LEPUS NIGRICOLLIS. _The Black-naped Hare_ (_Jerdon's No. 208_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Khargosh_, Hindi; _Malla_, Canarese; _Sassa_, Mahrathi; _Musal_, Tamil; _Kundali_, Telegu; _Haba_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Southern India and Ceylon; stated to be found also in Sind and the Punjab.

DESCRIPTION.--"Upper part rufescent yellow, mottled with black; single hairs annulated yellow and black; chin, abdomen, and inside of hind-limbs downy white; a black velvety spot on the occiput and upper part of neck extending to near the shoulders; the spot under the neck is in some specimens of a bright yellow colour; ears long, greyish-brown, internally with white fringes, at the apical part dusky, posteriorly black at the base; feet yellowish; tail above grizzled with black and yellow, beneath white."--_Kellaart_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 19 inches; tail, 2-1/2 inches; ears, 4-3/4 inches.

A friend of Brigadier-General McMaster's, writing to him, says: "The black-naped hare of the Neilgherries, which appears to be the same as that of the plains, only larger from the effect of climate, often, when chased by dogs, runs into holes and hollow trees. I have found some of the Neilgherry hares to be nearly, if not quite, equal to the English hares in flavour. I think a great deal depends upon keeping and cooking."

NO. 409. LEPUS PEGUENSIS. _The Pegu Hare_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Yung_, Arakanese.

HABITAT.--Pegu, Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--Very like _L. ruficaudatus_, but with the tail _black_ above; the colour of the upper parts is separated more distinctly from the pure white of the under parts.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 20 inches.

NO. 410. LEPUS HYPSIBIUS. _The Mountain Hare_.

HABITAT.--Northern Ladakh.

DESCRIPTION.--Colour rufous brown, more or less mixed with black on the back, dusky ashy on the rump; lower parts white with a slight rufescent tinge, fur long, woolly, rather curly, and thick; head brown, whitish round the eyes; whiskers partly black, partly white; outside surface of ears brown in front, whitish behind, the brown hairs having short black tips; the extreme tip of ears black; tail white; throughout limbs chiefly white, a brownish band running down the anterior portion of the fore-legs.

SIZE.--Of skin about 24 inches. (_See_ Blanford's 'Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 60; also plate iii.)

NO. 411. LEPUS PALLIPES. _The Pale-footed Hare_.

NATIVE NAMES.--_Togh_, _Toshkhen_, _Yarkandi_, i.e. Mountain Hare.

HABITAT.--Yarkand; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--"Fur long, dense and soft, of a pale ochre colour, but on the back of the animal pencilled with black; haunches greyish; under-parts white, chest of a delicate yellow rufous tint; the front of the fore-legs and the fore-feet nearly of the same hue; tarsus almost white, but somewhat suffused with rufous in front; tail white, excepting along the middle portion of the upper surface, where it is grey."--Waterhouse's 'Mammalia,' vol. ii. p. 62.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 18 inches; tail, with hair about 5 inches.

This hare was first described by Hodgson ('J. A. S. B.,' vol. xi.), who also gave a plate; but there is a full description with an excellent plate in Blanford's 'Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission.'

NO. 412. LEPUS TIBETANUS. _The Thibet Hare_.

HABITAT.--Little Thibet; Ladakh.

DESCRIPTION.--Ears longer than the head, margined with yellow white internally, externally, with the apex, edged with black and with a narrow edging of black extending about half-way down the hinder margin. The general colour seems to vary, as is the case with most of the mountain hares. According to Waterhouse it is "palish-ashy grey; the back mottled with dusky and yellowish-white; the back of neck pale rufous brown." Two specimens, described by Blanford, are "general colour rufous brown (very dark brownish tawny)," and another, "above dusky brown, with an ashy tinge on the rump." Waterhouse's specimens may have been in the winter dress; the under-parts are white; legs longish and white; tail white, with the upper surface sooty or grey-black. The excellent plate in the Yarkand Report is nearer to Waterhouse's verbal portraiture, being of a mottled ashy grey.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 18 inches; tail, with hair, 4-1/2 inches.

NO. 413. LEPUS YARKANDENSIS. _The Yarkand Hare_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Toshkhan_, Yarkandi.

HABITAT.--The plains of Yarkand and Kashghar.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour sandy, more or less mixed with dusky; pale isabelline on the sides; no grey on rump; tail dark brown above; ears without black tip; lower parts white; fur soft and long; fore-legs very pale, brown in front; hind-legs still paler, brown outside.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 17 inches; tail, 4 inches.

Mr. Blanford remarks that "one striking peculiarity of this very pale coloured hare is the absence of any black patches, and of all grey coloration throughout." The specimens were all shot in winter too. (_See_ Blanford's 'Scientific Results, Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 65, and plate iv., fig. 1.)

NO. 414. LEPUS PAMIRENSIS. _The Pamir Hare_.

HABITAT.--Lake Sirikal, Pamir.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale sandy brown; almost isabelline on back and sides; rump greyish-white; tail black above; face and anterior portion of the ears concolorous with back; terminal portion of ears black outside at the edge; breast light rufous; lower parts white; fur fine, close and soft; fore-legs in front, and hind-legs outside, with a light brownish tinge.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 17 inches; tail, 4 inches.

The hare is described and named by Mr. W. T. Blanford, and from his full description I have abridged the above short notice. It is also well figured in the 'Yarkand Report,' plate v., fig. 1.

NO. 415. LEPUS STOLICZKANUS. _Stoliczka's Hare_.

HABITAT.--Kashghar, Altum Artush district, north-east of Kashghar.

DESCRIPTION.--"General colour light sandy brown, much mixed with black on the back; the rump very little paler; tail rather long, black above; face and anterior portion of ears the same colour as the back; terminal portion of ears black outside; nape and breast light rufous; lower parts white. The skull differs much from that of _L. Yarkandensis_ and _L. Pamirensis_, the nasals being much more abruptly truncated behind than in either, and the parietal region or sinciput flatter" (Blanford's 'Scientific Results, Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 69, and plate v. fig. 2, skull plate, Va. fig. 2).

SIZE.--Head and body, about 17 inches; tail, with hair, 5 inches.

This hare was obtained by Dr. Stoliczka, and was first described and named by Mr. W. T. Blanford ('J. A. S. B.' vol. xiv. 1875, part ii. p. 110).

NO. 416. LEPUS CRASPEDOTIS. _The Large-eared Hare_.

HABITAT.--Baluchistan, Pishin.

DESCRIPTION.--Colour brown above, white below; the fur of the back is very pale French grey at the base, then black, and the tip is pale brown, almost isabelline; the black rings are wanting on the nape, hind neck and breast, which, like the fore-legs and hinder part of the tarsi are pale rufous brown; ears externally mouse brown, blackish-brown on the posterior portion near the tip, the anterior edges white, with rather longer hairs, except near the tip, where the hair is short and black; the posterior margins inside pale isabelline, the pale edge becoming broader near the tip; tail black above, white on the sides and below; whiskers black near the base, white except in the shorter ones throughout the greater part of their length; a pale line from the nose, including the eye, continued back nearly to the ear (Blanford's 'Eastern Persia,' vol. ii. p. 81, with plate).

SIZE.--Head and body, 15 inches; tail, with hair, 4.5 inches; ear, 6 inches; breadth of ear laid flat, 3.25 inches.

This is a new species, described and named by Mr. W. T. Blanford.

NO. 417. LEPUS HISPIDUS. _The Hispid Hare_.

HABITAT.--The Terai and low forests at the base of the Himalayas.

DESCRIPTION.--"General colour dark or iron grey, with an embrowned ruddy tinge, and the limbs shaded outside, like the body, with black, instead of being unmixed rufous" (_Hodgson_). The inner fur is soft, downy, and of an ash colour, the outer longer, hispid, harsh and bristly. Some of the hairs ringed black and brown, others are pure black and long, the latter more numerous; ears short and broad.

SIZE.--Head and body, 19-1/2 inches; tail, with hair, 2-1/8 inches; ears, 2-3/4 inches.

This animal seems to be a link between the hares and the rabbits. Like the latter, it burrows, and has more equal limbs; but, according to Hodgson, it is not gregarious, but lives in pairs. It would greatly help in the identification of its position if some one would procure the young or a gravid female, and see whether the young are born blind and naked as in the rabbits, or open-eyed and clad with fur as in the hares. Jerdon says it is common at Dacca, and is reported to be found also in the Rajmehal hills, and that its flesh is stated to be white, like that of the rabbit.

FAMILY LAGOMYIDAE--THE PIKAS, OR MOUSE-HARES.

One or two premolars above and below; grinding teeth as in _Leporidae_; skull depressed; the frontals are contracted, without the wing-like processes of the hares; a single perforation in the facial surface of the maxillaries; a curious prolongation of the posterior angle of the malar into a process extending almost to the ear tube, or auditory meatus; the basisphenoid is not perforated and separated from the vomer as in _Lepus_; the coronoid process is in the form of a tubercle; the clavicles are complete; ears short; limbs nearly equal; no tail.

_GENUS LAGOMYS_.

Animals of small size and robust form; short-eared and tailless; two premolars above and below.

NO. 418. LAGOMYS ROYLEI. _Royle's Pika_ (_Jerdon's No. 210_).

NATIVE NAME.--_Rang-runt_, or _Rang-duni_, in Kunawur.--_Jerdon_.

HABITAT.--The Himalayan range, from Kashmir to Sikim.

DESCRIPTION.--Rabbit grey or brown, with a yellowish-grey tinge, more or less rufous on the head, neck, shoulder and sides of body; a hairy brown muzzle, with pale under-lip; long whiskers, some white, the posterior ones dark; under-parts white; fur soft and fine. The upper lip is lobed as in the hare; ears elliptical, with rounded tops.

SIZE.--From 6 to 8 inches.

The first specimen was sent to England by Dr. Royle, in whose honour Mr. Ogilby named it. It was obtained not far from Simla. It lives in rocky ground or amongst loose stones in burrows, and is the tailless rat described by Turner in his 'Journey to Thibet,' which had perforated the banks of a lake by its holes.

NO. 419. LAGOMYS CURZONIAE. _Curzon's Pika_.

HABITAT.--The higher ranges of the Himalayas, from 14,000 to 19,000 feet. It has been found northerly in Ladakh, and easterly in Sikim.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale buff above, tinged with rufous, the sides being more rufescent; head, as far back as the ears, decidedly rufescent; ears large and oval; sides of head and nose dirty fulvous white; under-parts white, with a faint yellow tinge; limbs and soles of feet white; whiskers, some black, some white; fur long, fine and silky.

SIZE.--About 7 inches to 8 inches.

NO. 420. LAGOMYS LADACENSIS. _The Ladak Pika_.

NATIVE NAMES.--_Zabra_, _Karin_, or _Phisekarin_, Ladakhi.

HABITAT.--High plateaux of Ladakh.

DESCRIPTION.--"General hue of the upper body pale buff, fulvous, with a very slight rufous tint, and tipped with dark brown; below whitish with translucent dusky blue."--_Stoliczka_, quoted by Blanford.

SIZE.--From 7 inches to 9 inches.

It is as yet doubtful whether this is not identical with the last. Mr. Blanford has separated it, and Dr. Gunther, agreeing with him, named this species _L. Ladacensis_; but the skull characteristics of _L. Curzoniae_ have not as yet been compared with this, and the separation has been made on external characters only.

NO. 421. LAGOMYS AURITUS. _The Large-eared Pika_.

HABITAT.--Lukong, on the Pankong lake.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour above smoky or wood brown; the head, shoulders and rump rather paler and more rufous; lower parts whitish, with the dark basal portion of the hair showing through; fur very soft, moderately long; ears large, round, clothed rather thinly inside near the margin with whitish-brown hairs, and outside with much longer hairs of the same colour; whiskers fine and long, the upper dark brown, the lower white; feet whitish. (_See_ Blanford's 'Sc. Res. Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 75, plate vi. fig. 2.)

SIZE.--About 8 inches.

NO. 422. LAGOMYS MACROTIS.

This seems to be a doubtful species; it may probably prove to be the same as the last, the skulls being similar. Mr. Blanford remarks: "I am strongly disposed to suspect, indeed, that _L. auritus_ is the summer _L. macrotis_, the winter garb of the same species; but there are one or two differences which require explanation. The feet appear larger in _L. macrotis_, and the pads of the toes are black, whilst in _L. auritus_ they are pale coloured. In the former the long hair of the forehead is lead black at the base, in the latter, pale grey; the feet and lower parts generally are white in _L. macrotis_, buffy white in _L. auritus_, but this may be seasonable."

NO. 423. LAGOMYS GRISEUS. _The Grey Pika_.

HABITAT.--Yarkand, Kuenlun range, south of Sunju pass.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour dull grey (almost Chinchilla colour), with a slight rufescent tinge on the face and back; lower parts white; fur very soft, about 0.9 inch long in the middle of the back; glossy leaden black at the base and for about two-thirds of its length, very pale ashy grey towards the end; the extreme tips of many hairs dark brown, and on the back the tips of all the hairs are brownish; the sides are almost pure light ashy; rump still paler; feet white; hair on the face long, light brown on the forehead, greyer on the nose, pure grey on the sides of the head. A few of the upper whiskers black, the rest white; ears large round with rather thin white hairs inside, very short hairs close to the margin, white outside, black inside, outer surface covered with whitish hairs, which become long near the base of the ear. (_See_ Blanford's 'Scientific Results, Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 77, and plate vii. fig. 1.)

SIZE.-About 7 inches.

NO. 424. LAGOMYS RUFESCENS. _The Red Pika_.

HABITAT.--Afghanistan, Persia.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale sandy red, darker on the top of the head, the shoulders and fore part of back; two large patches behind the ears; the feet and the under-parts are pale buff yellow; ears moderately large, subovate and well clad, rusty yellow, paler on the under part; whiskers very long, brown, a few brownish white; toe-pads blackish.

SIZE.-About 8 inches.

This species has been found in the rocky hills of Cabul. _Lagomys Hodgsonii_, from Lahoul, Ladakh and Kulu, is considered to be the same as the above, and _L. Nipalensis_, described by Waterhouse, as synonymous with _L. Roylei_.

* * * * *

Under the systems of older naturalists the thick-skinned animals were lumped together under the order UNGULATA, or _hoofed animals_, subdivided by Cuvier into _Pachydermata_, or thick-skinned non-ruminants, and _Ruminantia_, or ruminating animals; but neither the elephant nor the coney can be called hoofed animals, and in other respects they so entirely differ from the rest that recent systematists have separated them into three distinct orders--_Proboscidea_, _Hyracoidea_ and _Ungulata_, which classification I here adopt.

ORDER PROBOSCIDEA.

It seems a strange jump from the order which contains the smallest mammal, the little harvest mouse, to that which contains the gigantic elephant--a step from the ridiculous to the sublime; yet there are points of affinity between the little mouse and the giant tusker to which I will allude further on, and which bring together these two unequal links in the great chain of nature. The order Proboscidea, or animals whose noses are prolonged into a flexible trunk, consists of one genus containing two living species only--the Indian and African Elephants. To this in the fossil world are added two more genera--the _Mastodon_ and _Dinotherium_.

The elephant is one of the oldest known of animals. Frequent mention is made in the Scriptures and ancient writings of the use of ivory. In the First Book of Kings and the Second of Chronicles, it is mentioned how Solomon's ships brought every three years from Tarshish gold and silver and ivory (or elephants' teeth) apes and peacocks. In the Apocrypha the animal itself, and its use in war, is mentioned; in the old Sanscrit writings it frequently appears. Aristotle and Pliny were firm believers in the superstition which prevailed, even to more recent times, that it had no joints.

"The elephant hath joints, but none for courtesy;
His legs are for necessity, not flexure"--

says Shakespeare. Even down to the last century did this notion prevail, so little did people know of this animal. The supposition that he slept leaning against a tree is to be traced in Thomson's 'Seasons'--

"Or where the Ganges rolls his sacred waves
Leans the huge elephant."

Again, Montgomery says--

"Beneath the palm which he was wont to make
His prop in slumber."

At a very early period elephants were used in war, not only by the Indian but the African nations. In the first Punic war (B.C. 264-241) they were used considerably by the Carthaginians, and in the second Punic war Hannibal carried thirty-seven of them across the Alps. In the wars of the Moghuls they were used extensively. The domestication of the African elephant has now entirely ceased; there is however no reason why this noble animal should not be made as useful as its Indian brother; it is a bigger animal, and as tractable, judging from the specimens in menageries. It was trained in the time of the Romans for performances in the arena, and swelled the pomp of military triumphs, when, as Macaulay, I think, in his 'Lays of Ancient Rome,' says, the people wondered at--

"The monstrous beast that had
A serpent for a hand."

It seems a cruel shame, when one comes to think of it, that thousands of these noble animals should perish annually by all sorts of ignoble means--pitfalls, hamstringing, poisoned arrows, and a few here and there shot with more or less daring by adventurous sportsmen, only for the sake of their magnificent tusks.

Few people think, as they leisurely cut open the pages of a new book or play with their ivory-handled dessert-knives after dinner, of the life that has once been the lot of that inanimate substance, so beautiful in its texture, so prized from time immemorial; still less do they think, for the majority do not know, of the enormous loss of life entailed in purveying this luxury for the market. An elephant is a long-lived beast; it is difficult to say what is the extent of its individual existence; at fifty years it is in its prime, and its reproduction is in ratio slower than animals of shorter life, yet what countless herds must there be in Central Africa when we consider that the annual requirements of Sheffield alone are reported to be upwards of 46,000 tusks, which represent 23,000 elephants a year for the commerce of one single city! The African elephant must be decreasing, even as it has been extirpated in the north of that continent, where it abounded in the time of the Carthaginians, and the time may come when ivory shall be counted as one of the precious things of the past. Even now the price is going up, and is nearly double what it was a year ago. Now enhanced price means either greater demand or deficient supply, and it is probably to this last we must look for an answer to the question. True it is that if we want ivory animals must be killed to get it, for the notion that some people have gained from obsolete works on natural history, to the effect that elephants shed their tusks, is an erroneous one. It is generally supposed that elephants do not shed their tusks at all, not even milk-teeth, but that they grow _ab initio_, as do the incisors of rodents, from a persistent pulp, and continue growing through life. Mr. G. P. Sanderson, the author of 'Thirteen Years among the Wild Beasts,' whom I have to thank for much and valuable information about the habits of these animals, assured me, when I spoke to him about the popular idea of there being milk-tusks, that he had watched elephants from their birth, and had never known them to shed their tusks, nor had his mahouts ever found a shed tusk; but Mr. Tegetmeier has pointed out that there are skulls in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, showing both the milk and permanent tusks, the latter pushing forward the former, which are absorbed to a great extent, and leave nothing but a little blackened stump, the size of one's finger. This was brought to my notice by a correspondent of _The Asian_, "Smooth-bore," and I have lately had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Tegetmeier, and speaking to him on the subject. There is apparently no limit to the growth of tusks, so that under favourable circumstances they might attain enormous dimensions, owing to the age of the animal, and absence of the attrition which keeps the incisors of rodents down. As in the case of rodents, malformations of whose incisors I have alluded to some time back, the tusks of elephants assume various freaks. I have heard of their overlapping and crossing the trunk in a manner to impede the free use of that organ. The tusks of fossil elephants are in many cases gigantic. There is a head in the Indian Museum, of which the tusks _outside the socket_ measure 9-3/4 feet, and are of very curious formation. The two run parallel some distance, and then diverge, which would lead one to suppose that the animal inhabited open country, for such a formation would be extremely uncomfortable in thick forest. That tusks of such magnitude are not found nowadays is probably due to the fact that the elephant has more enemies, the most formidable of all being man, which prevent his reaching the great age of those of the fossil periods. It may be said, by those who disbelieve in the extermination of this animal, that, as elephants have provided ivory for several thousand years, they will go on doing so; but I would remind them that in olden days ivory was an article in limited demand, being used chiefly by kings and great nobles; it is only of late years that it has increased more than a hundredfold. Our forefathers used buck-horn handled knives, and they were without the thousand-and-one little articles of luxury which are now made of ivory; even the requirements of the ancient world drove the elephant away from the coasts, where Solomon, and later still the Romans, got their ivory; and now the girdle round the remaining herds in Central Africa is being narrowed day by day. Mr. Sanderson is of opinion that it is not decreasing in India under the present restrictions, but there is no doubt the reckless slaughter of them in Ceylon has greatly diminished their numbers. Sir Emerson Tennent states that the Government reward was claimed for 3,500 destroyed in part of the northern provinces alone in three years prior to 1848, and between 1851 and 1856, 2000 were killed in the southern provinces.

_GENUS ELEPHAS--THE ELEPHANT_.

In the writings of older naturalists this animal, so singular in its construction, will be found grouped with the horse, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, tapir, coney, and pig, under the name of pachydermata, the seventh order of Cuvier, but these are now more appropriately divided, as I have said before, into three different orders--Proboscidea, the elephants; Hyracoidea, the conies; and the rest come under Ungulata. Apparently singular as is the elephant in its anatomy, it bears traces of affinity to both Rodentia and Ungulata. The composition of its massive tusks or incisors, and also of its grinders, resembles that of the Rodents. The tusks grow from a persistent pulp, which forms new ivory coated with enamel, but the grinders are composed of a number of transverse perpendicular plates, or vertical laminae of dentine, enveloped with enamel, cemented together by layers of a substance called _cortical_. The enamel, by its superior hardness, is less liable to attrition, and, standing above the rest, causes an uneven grinding surface. Each of these plates is joined at the base of the tooth, and on the grinding surface the pattern formed by them distinguishes at once the Indian from the African elephant. In the former, the transverse ridges are in narrow, undulating loops, but in the African they form decided lozenges. These teeth, when worn out, are succeeded by others pushing forward from behind, and not forced up vertically, as in the case of ordinary deciduous teeth, so that it occasionally happens that the elephant has sometimes one and sometimes two grinders on each side, according to age. In the wild state sand and grit, entangled in the roots of plants, help in the work of attrition, and, according to Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, the tame animal, getting cleaner food, and not having such wear and tear of teeth, gets a deformity by the piling over of the plates of which the grinder is composed. An instance of this has come under my notice. An elephant belonging to my brother-in-law, Colonel W. B. Thomson, then Deputy Commissioner of Seonee, suffered from an aggravated type of this malformation. He was relieved by an ingenious mahout, who managed to saw off the projecting portion of the tooth, which now forms a paper-weight. In my account of Seonee I have given a detailed description of the mode in which the operation was effected.

The skull of the elephant possesses many striking features quite different from any other animal. The brain in bulk does not greatly exceed that of a man, therefore the rest of the enormous head is formed of cellular bone, affording a large space for the attachment of the powerful muscles of the trunk, and at the same time combining lightness with strength. This cellular bone grows with the animal, and is in great measure absent at birth. In the young elephant the brain nearly fills the head, and the brain-case increases but little in size during growth, but the cellular portion progresses rapidly with the growth of the animal, and is piled up over the frontals for a considerable height, giving the appearance of a bold forehead, the brain remaining in a small space at the base of the skull, close to its articulation with the neck. According to Professor Flower, the cranial cavity is elongated and depressed, more so in the African than the Indian elephant. The tentorial plane is nearly vertical, so that the cerebellar fossa is altogether behind the cerebral fossa, or, in plainer terms, the division between the big brain (cerebrum) and the little one (cerebellum) is vertical, the two brains lying on a level plane fore and aft instead of overlapping. The brain itself is highly convoluted. The nasal aperture, or olfactory fossa, is very large, and is placed a little below the brain-case. Few people who are intimate with but the external form of the elephant would suppose that the bump just above the root of the trunk, at which the hunter takes aim for the "front shot," is really the seat of the organ of smell, the channels of which run down the trunk to the orifice at the end. The maxillo-turbinals, or twisted bony laminae within the nasal aperture, which are to be found in most mammals, are but rudimentary in the elephant--the elongated proboscis, according to Professor Flower, probably supplying their place in warming the inspired air. The premaxillary and maxillary bones are largely developed, and contain the socket of the enormous tusks. The narial aperture is thus pushed up, and is short, with an upward direction, as in the Cetacea and Sirenia, with whom the Proboscidea have certain affinities.

There are no lower incisors (except in a fossil species), and only two of the molar teeth are to be seen on each side of the jaw at a time, which are pushed out and replaced by others which grow from behind. During the life-time of the animal, twenty-four of these teeth are produced, six in each side of the upper and lower jaws.

The elephant has seven cervical vertebrae, the atlas much resembling the human form; of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae the number is 23, of which 19 or 20 bear ribs; the caudal vertebrae are 31, of a simple character, without chevron bones.

The pelvis is peculiar in some points, such as the form of the ileum and the arrangement of its surfaces, resembling the human pelvis.

The limbs in the skeleton of the elephant are disposed in a manner differing from most other mammalia. The humerus is remarkable for the great development of the supinator ridge. "The ulna and radius are quite distinct and permanently crossed; the upper end of the latter is small, while the ulna not only contributes the principal part of the articular surface for the humerus, but has its lower end actually larger than that of the radius--a condition almost unique among mammals" (_Prof. Flower_).