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Show 44 ZOOLOGY OF TilE VOYAGE OF TilE BEAGLE. . . d 'tl mm. ute SJ'L vm•y -w lll.te hairs ,. beside the orclmary beneath IS covere · WI t 'tJ.O n f h 1 f tile foot and the base of the toes 0 t e so e o tubercles, the anterwr P01 cl d 'ts which are much more nume-beneath :ue crowcled with small roun e war ' rous and conspicuous than in the common mouse. In. Lines. ln. Lines. J.,cngth from nose to root of tail of tail 11 4~ Length from nose to base of ear . of tarsus (claws included) · of car 0 8] 0 8 0 1-.} from nose to eye Habitat, Maldonado, La Plata, (Juue.) . . is rather shorter ancl broader than that of JJlus The skull of tlus anunal,. . . heel the zygomatic arch is much more 1 er surface IS mole arc ' A-Iuscnlus, tc l 1eh upp 1 bon<e s are rath er. 1n .o a·lel' In the convexity of the upper u . slender, an t c nasa . s of the z omatic arch, this skull very nearly resem-surface, and the slend~~nes .1 . l t~g. however has the zygomatic arch more bl 1 t f ]Jf graczLtpes · t us a er, ' 1 b es t lU 0 . tin• g more su d' d en 1y on tll e anterior part ' ancl the interparieta l' one convex, Pl'OLJ eC th of skull 10 1.m es, w1' dtll v..-.21 • length of nasal bones 4 mcs, sdmisatallnecre. beetwnge en the outer. st. cl e of the incisors , of the upper jaw, and the first molar 2i lines. See Plate 34, fig. 3. a. The dentition is figured in Plate 34, figs. 3. b and c. . . . . . · · . tl er less than M. JJ!usctdus, the tail IS much shortet rn p1 o- Tlus mouse IS ra 1 d' · 1 1 th l ith )JOrtion, the f.u r r·s 1o ngcr and softer ' and the ears arc more rstmct y c o e<. w hair. The pal e an d d e1 1' ca te yellow colour of the upper parts of the. body, ancl thset 1 ·t f the under parts render!:! the present species consptcuous among ~urc w u ~ o I nay furth~r remark that the white colour which in the Mmid::c I(tws hceon nr?t eoncecrus.r s ) 1. sI usu ally confined to the under part of the body, 'do r ebxlt emls but sl·i ghtly on t l1 c S·l U.l eS•, 1· s I· 11 the present animal cxtencled cons1 f era Y on the sides of the body, and occupies an equal portion ':ith the yellow o t'1w l upper parts. The name bimaculatus ·ts app 1·t e d to tll l·S . am mal on account of t to two conspicuous white patches, which are situated behmd the ears. JJJ . In affinity as well as in appearance it most nearly approacl~es to.· us <rracilipes ancl M. elegans; with no other species of the ge.nus Mus, here descnbcd, ~an it be confounded, since these only have the tarsus hauy beneat?. The principal points of distinction betw?en the present anunal and Mus ele<rans are noticed in the account of that speCies. 0 "T' }1 is mouse when alive, had a very elegant appearance. A countryman, who brought it me,' found six of them living together m· one b urrow. " - D · .MAMMALIA. 45 1\'Jus GRACILI11 ES. PLATE XI. Mus gmcilipes, Waterh., Proceedings of tho Zoological Society of London, for February 1837, p. 1 o. JJf. supra flavo-lavatus; pilis pone am·em utramque, labiis, corporeque S'ltbtzls, albis; pedibus pm·vulis, gmcilibus, carneis, supn) et ad calcem pilis albis tectis; caudri gracili, pilis albis instructcl, quoad longitudinem C01]Jus fer?: cequante; mwibus mediocribus; vellere mediocri et molli, pilis omnibus arl basin plurnbeis. DESCRIPTION.-Gencral colour very pale yellowish brown, a tint produced by the admixture of black and pale fawn colour; the hairs of the ordinary fur being of the latter tint near the apex, and dusky at the apex, whilst the longer hairs are black. The feet, tail, under parts of the body and the sides of the muzzle, are pure white. All the hairs of the body, (which are soft, and of moderate length), are deep gray at the base. The ears are of moderate size, well clothed with hairs, of which those on the inner side are yellowish, and those on the ontcr, arc brown on the anterior part, and white on th posterior. A small tuft of white l1airs springs from the neck immediately behind the cars ; this tuft is hidden when the ears are folded back. The tail is slender and short, (being not quite equal to the body in length) of a pale flesh-colour, and sparingly furnished with minute white l1airs. The feet arc very small and slender, and the naked parts are of a pale flesh-colour. The sole of the foot is covered with hairs; the toes beneath, and the tubercles (which are as in Mus lJ.fusculus), however, arc naked. The hairs of th moustaches are of moderate length, and of a blackish colour, some of them, however, are grayish white. Length from nose to root of tail of tail from nose to eye In. Lines. 10 I 7 0 4b Habitat, Bahia Blanca, (September.) Length from nose to car of tarsus (claws included) . of car ln. Line. g J 4 This species slightly exceeds the harvest mouse (JJius rnessorius) in size, it~ cars arc considerably larger in proportion, aud the tail is shorter. Compared with the common mouse (Mus Musculus) it is smaller, the tail is more slender, and shorter, and the feet are likewise more slender and proportionately much smaller ; the ears arc more distinctly clothed with hairs. |
