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Show ZOOLOGY OF TilE VOYAGE OF TilE BEAGLE. SECTION- LEPORIN A. FAMILv-LEPORTDJE. LEPUS MAOELLANICUS. Lepus Magcllanicus, L esson et Ganlot, Zoologio du Voynge autuur du Mondo de la. Corvette, La. Coquille. " A black variety of the domesticated species, which ':as turned o~t o~ these islands by the eadier colonists, has been considered, but w1th some hestt~twn, by M. Le son, as a distinct species. He has called it Lepns JJ:Iagellanzcz~s, an~ has given the following specific character,-' Pilis ornnino at1·o-viola~ezs, a~b~s - passim sparsis: m.tricn lt.s .Jr ttscz·s , capz" t e br evw· n" bu s ; n utcuza alba naso , mtersltltO nariunt, meuti, gulce,frontique.'* In the ::;pecimens preserved on board tl~ e Deng_le, the form and position of the white marks neither agree with M. Lesson _s descnption, nor with each other. In one there is a broad white patch on one stde of tl:e head, and another on one of the hind er thi ghs. The Spaniards employed m hunting wild cattle, (who are all excell ent practical observers) assured me, that the black rabbits were only varieties of the common gmy kind, and they gave the following reasons for thinking so ;- namely, that the two sorts diu not live apart; that the black one had not a different range from the other; that the two bred freely together, and that they produced pie-bald offspring. As the rabbits extend their range very slowly, (not hav ing yet crossed the central range,) the Spaniards have sometimes canied a few and turned them out in different parts of the island, and thus they have ascertained that the black and gray kinds breed together freely. Bougainville, moreover, who visited the part of the island, where the black variety is now most common, distinctly states, in his voyage round the world, that no animal, excepting the great wolf-like fox inhabited these islands. M. Lesson supposes that the L epus JJ![agellanicus· is found near the Strait of Magellan; but I inquired of the Indians, who Jive there, and they knew of no other 'conejos' or rabbits, except the Kerodon Kingii, which no doubt is the animal alluded to by the early voyagers. "-D. 1. DASYPUS HYBRIDUS. Dasypus hybridus, .A.uct. "This species seems to prefer rocky and slightly undulating bround, and • Voyage de La Coquille. Partie Zoologiquc, vul. i. p. 168. 1\fAMMALI.A. 93 I~_ence ~: c~mmon in Band 0 a Oriental and Entre Rios. Azara says it is found fiom ~0 30' to at least 4 0 1 south; but, I was assured, perhaps incorrectly, that t~e S1err~ ~apalguen (37_ ~0'), where the nature of the country becomes slightly dlffe.reut, IS Its southern hm1t. The D. villosus, minutus, and mataco, are found at Bahia Dla?ca, in latitude 39°. I was also assured that these three species, together With the D. ltybridus, frequent the plains near Mendoza, in latitude 33° to 34°."-D. 2. DASYPUS MINUTUS. Dasypus minutus, .A.uct. "The northern limit of this species on the Atlantic side of the continent, is (as I was told by the inhabitants) near the southern one of the D. ltybridus, namely, 37° 30'. It is extremely abundant on the arid plains near the Sierra Ventana, and likewise in the neighbourhood of the Rio Negro. 'I his species has a range considerably further southward than any other : I obtained specimens at Port Desire, where, however, it is far from common, and at Santa Cruz (iu latitude .10°) I saw its tesselated covering lying on the ground. At Bahia Blanca, I found in the stomach of this armadillo, coleoptera, larvm, roots of plants, and even a small snake of the genus Amphisbmna. All the species, excepting one, wander about by day. At Bahia Blanca, during a morning's ride, three or four of the D. minutns generally were met with; but, in order to secure them, it was necessary to jump off one's horse as quickly as possible, otherwise, they would have disappeared by burrowing in the sandy soil. This species often endeavours to escape detection by squatting close to the ground, and remaining motionless."-D. 1. DIDELPHIS AZARJE. Didelphis Az:uro, .A uct. " This species is said to inhabit burrows : it is nocturnal, and is very destructive to poultry. The body after death possesses a very offensive odour. My specimen was procured at Maldonado.''-D. |