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Show 7 ZOOLOG1• OF THE YOY AGE OF THE BEAGLE. WEST COAST. y ALPARAISO. Mus Ronggeri. _ decumanus. CoNCEPCION· Mus longicaudatus. EAST COAST. BuENOS AYnEs. --Mus decumanus. BAlliA BLANCA. Mus Bra.zilicnsis. --clcgans. _ _ gracilipcs. RIO NEGRO. Mus grisco-:flavus. PonT Dl!siRE. CmLOE AND CnoNos AncRlPELAOO. Mus cancsccns. Mus brachiotis. STRAITS OF MAGELLAN. Mus xanthorhinus. __ Magellanicus. Reithro<lon chinchilloidcs. Sr. JuLIAN. Rcithrcdon cuniculo"idcs. __ xanthopygus. Reithrodon cuniculo'i<lcs. SANTA Cnuz. Mus cancscens. __ micropus. __ xanthopygus. Roithro<lon cuniculo.ides. FALKLAND IsLANDs. Mus dec~tmanus. __ .Afuscultti. SECTION-HYSTRICIN A. FAnnLY- ---? MvoPoTAMUS CoYPus. Myopotamus Coypus, Auct. · · k by the name of " Coypu ; , at Bue.n os Ayre·lsy, "This animal, in Chtle, lS nown . h th . , skins they are ImfHOpet d · ·ied on w1t eu ' - ,r 1 where an extensive tra e lS carr d' g to Azara, their In tan J ame called ' nutrias,' or otters. In Paraguay: accor ~n range from Lat. 24o (Azara) i. 'guiya. ' On tile east side of the contment t ey :MAMMALIA. 7fl to the Rio Chupat in 43' 20' ;-distance of 1160 miles. This latter 1·iver is 170 miles south of the Rio Negro, and the intervening space consists of level, extremely arid, and almost desert plains, with no water, or at most one or two small wells. As the Coypu is supposed never to leave the banks of the rivers, and being, from its web-feet and general form of body, badly adapted for travelling on land, its occurrence in this I"ive1· is a case, like so many others in the geographical distribution of animals, of very difficult explanation. The same remark is indeed applicable, but with less force, to its existence in the Rio Negro. On tiJC west coast, it is found from the valleys of central Chile (Lat. 33°) to 48° S., or perhaps even somewhat farther, but not in Tierra del Fuego. So that, on the Atlantic side of the continent, the plains of Patagonia check its tange southward, as, on the Pacific side, the deserts of Chile do to the north. Its range, including both sides, is from 24' to 41l", or 1440 miles. In the Chonos Archipelago these animals, instead of inhabiting fresh water, live exclusively in the bays and channels which extend between the innnmerable small islets of that group. They make their burrows within tl1e forest, a little way above the rocky beaches. I believe it is far from being a common occurrence, that the same species of any animal shoul<.11Iaunt indifferently fresh water, ancl that of the open sea. We shall see that the Capybara is sometimes found on the islands near the mouth of the Plata; but these cannot be considered as tl1eir habitual station in the same manner as the channels in the Chonos Archipelago are to the Coypu. The inhabitants of Chiloe, who sometimes visit this Archipelago for the purpose of fishing, state that these animals do not live solely on vegetable matter, as is the case with those inhabiting rivers, but that they sometimes eat shell-fish. The Coypu is said to be a bold animal, and to fight fiercely with the dogs employed in chasing it. Its flesh when cooked is white and good to eat. An old female procured (January) amongst these islands, weighed between ten and eleven pounds." D. FAMILY-OCTODONTID.lE. CTENOMYS BRAZILIENSIS. Cteuomys Brazilicnsis, lJe lJlainville, Bulletin de Ia Societe Philomatique, Juno 1836, P· 62· Maldonado, La Plata, (June.) "This animal is known by the name of Tucutuco. I have given an accoun~ of its habits in my journal, but I shall here repeat it for the sake of keepmo- |