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Show 138 MAMMALIA. that of the preceding; tail three-fourths as lot~g as the body. It lives in troops in the prairies of North Amertca. There is one found in the Indian Archipelago, that is nearly the size of a Cat· the male of a fine lively maronne above, and red underneath;' the female brown above and whitish underneath. It is the Sc. petaurista, L.; Buff. Supp. III, xxi, and VII, lxvii. (The Taguan.) The same place produces another small one, the Sc. sagitta, L. A deep brown abovo ; white beneath ; distin· guished from other species, the small ones especially, by its membrane, which, as in the Taguan, forms an extremely acute projecting angle behind the tarsus.( 1) M. Geoffroy has very properlr separated from this genus the CHEIROMYs, Cuv. (2) Or the Aye-Ayes, whose inferior incisors, much more compressed, and above all, more extended from front to back, resemble plough· shares. Each foot has fiv.e toes, of which four of the anterior are excessively elongated, the medius being more slender than the others ; in the hind feet the thumb is opposable to the other toes; so that they are in this respect among the Rodentia, what the Opos· sums are among the Carnaria. The structure of their head is otherwise very different from that of the other Rodentia, and is re· lated to the Quadrumana in more points than one. There is only one species of the Aye-Aye known. It was dis· covered at Madagascar by Sonnerat. It is the Cheir. Madaga&· cariensis; Sc. Madagascat., Gm.; Buff. Su pp. VII, lxviii. (The Aye-Aye.) Size of a Hare, of a brown colour, mixed with yel· low; tail long and thick, with stout black bristles; ears large and naked. It is a nocturnal animal, to which motion seems painful; it burrows under ground, and uses its slender toe to convey food to its mouth. Linnreus and Pallas united in one single group, under the name of Mus, Lin., All the Rodentia furnished with clavicles, which they could not dis· tinguish by some very sensible external character, such as the tail of the Squirrel or that of the Beaver, from which resulted the utter impossibility of assigning to them any common character; the greater number had merely pointed lower incisors, but even this was subject to exceptions. (1) Add Pt. ltudsonius, Gm. .11m. Ed. (2) Cheiromys, a rat with hands. RODENTIA. 139 Gmelin has already separated f1·om them the Marmots, Dormice, and the Jerboas; but we carry their subdivision much further, from considerations founded on the form of their grinders. AROTOMYs,( 1) Gm. The Marmots, it is true, have the inferior incisors pointed like those of the greater number of animals comprehended in the great genus Mus; but their grinders, like those of the Squirrel, amount to five on each side above, and four below, all bristled with points ; accordingly, some species are inclined to eat flesh and feed upon insects, as well as grass. There are four toes and a tubercle in place of a thumb to the fore feet, and five toes to the hind ones. In other respects these animals are nearly the direct reverse of the Squirrels, being heavy, having short legs, a middle sized or short hairy tail, and a large flat head, passing the winter in a state of torpor, and shut up in deep holes, the entrance of which they close with a heap of grass. They live in societies, and are easily tamed. Two spe~ cies are known in the eastern continent. .!lrct. alpinus; Mus alpinus, L.; Buff. VIII, xxvm. (The Alpine Marmot.) Large as a Hare; tail short ; fur yellowish grey, with ash coloured tints about the head. It lives in high mountains, immediately below the region of perpetual snow. .!lrct. bobac; M. bobac, L.; Pall. Glir. V; Schreb. CCIX. (The Bohac.) Size of the preceding; of a yellowish grey, tinted with red about the head. Inhabits low mountains anti hills, from Poland to Kamschatka, and frequently digs its burrow in the hardest soil.(2) America also produces some species . .!lrct. m.onax; Buff. Supp. III, xxviii. (The Maryland Marmot.) Grey ; tail blackish, as well as the top of the head. .!lrct. empetra, Pall.; Schreb. CX. Less than the preceding; grey; red beneath. SPERMOPHILus, Fred. Cuv. T We apply this name to those Marmots that have cheek pouches. he su per1· 0r I1' ghtness of their structure has caused them to be called Ground Squirrels. Eastern Europe produces one species: M. citillus, L.; Buff. Supp. III, xxxi. (The Souslik or Zizel.) A pretty little animal, of a greyish brown, watered or mottled (l) JJ.rctomys, Bear-Rat. ~) Russian Travellers in Bu.charia mention some other Marmots, .B.rct. fulvus, gu' h 1to-dactylus, .ll.rct. mmogaricus, which are not yet perhaps sufficiently distin- 11 e from the Bobac or from the Souslik. |
