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Show 76 DR. A. GUNTHER ON A BORNEAN PORCUPINE. [Feb. 19 He, however, referred them to Atherura fasciculata of Buffon and Shaw, which is a Porcupine with long spines of a different coloration and with a thick bundle of terminal quills at the end of the tail, and, probably, identical with Atherura macrura. Waterhouse describes distinctly the short spines of our Porcupine and the peculiar form of the terminal tail-quills ; and when he mentions the rhombic scales of the tail as provided with a median " ridge," he clearly describes the appearance of the short hair which starts from the base of each scale and is closely adpressed to its median line. To supplement my first account of Trichys lipura, I proceed now to describe the tail of a full-grown specimen, of which the skin measures about 15 inches without tail. The tail is long (8| inches) and slender, longer than one half of the body and head, covered with spines for about one inch of its basal portion. Nearly in the whole of its length it is covered with rhombic scales of relatively large size (fig. a), and arranged regularly in oblique series or rings. A short fine hair, which is never spinous as in Atherura macrura, a a. Portion of the tail of Trichys lipura, showing the arrangement of the scutes and hairs, b. One of the terminal caudal bristles. starts from the base of each scale and lies closely adpressed to its median line, giving to the scale the appearance of being keeled (like the scale of a snake) as mentioned already. Towards the end of the tail the hairs become longer, and the terminal quills (fig. b) are much elongate, 2-3 inches long, and compressed with a shallow groove, like blades of grass, only much narrower, and form a thin bundle. The majority are truncate at their extremity and hollow. These quills, therefore, differ much in shape from those of Atherura, and are, in fact, a less developed form of the caudal quills of other Porcupines. They are unfit for producing the rattling or quivering noise which the more highly specialized forms of Porcupine make under the influence of fear or anger1. 1 Morphologically as well as physiologically the terminal tuft of quills on the tail of Porcupines reminds us of the rattle of Rattlesnakes. |
