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Show 140 MAMMALIA. w.i t h w 1u ' te , the spots very small, which is found from Bohemia to Sibet·ia. It has a peculiar fondness for flesh, and does not spare even its own species. . . N ·th America has several species of them, one of whtch ts 01 • h' h remar k ab l e by the thirteen fawn coloured . stnpes w. 1c exte. nd along the back on a blackish ground.. It IS th.e Tlnrteen. stnped Souslik, .O.rct. 13-lineatus, Harl.; or Scwrus 13-ltne~tus, Mitchell; or .fl. ret. Hoodii, Sabine, Lin. Trans. XIII, pl. xxtx.( 1) . There is one of the Rodentia which it appears we must apprOXI· t t the Marmots that is remarkable for living in large troops ma e o ' d ·n 1 · in immense but·rows, which have even been style VI ages. t. ts called the Pra·irie Dog or Barking Squirrel, the latter appellation ar1· s·m g f' rom 1't s voice , which resembles the bark of a small D•o g. It is the Arct. ludovicianus, of Say, Jour. to the Rocky Mountams, I, 451. M. Rafinesque, who states it has five toes to each foot, makes it the type of his genus CvNoMvs. Mvoxus, Gm.(2) The Dormice have pointed lower incisors, and four "rinders, the crown of each of which is divided by enamelled lines. They are pretty little animals, with soft fur,. a hair~ and even tufted tail and a lively eye which live on trees hke Squirrels, and feed on fr'u it. Of the num, erous order of the Rodentia, t h'I S .IS th e only subgenus in which there is no crecum. They become torpid in winter like the Marmots, and pass through it in the most profound lethargy.(3) . M. glis, L.; Buff. VIII, xxiv. (The Fat Dormouse.) Stze of a Rat; ashy grey-brown above, whitish underneath; of. a deeper brown around the eyes; tail very hairy the whole of Its length, and disposed somewhat like that of a Squirrel, and fre· quently a little forked at the extremity. It inhabits the south of Europe, and nestles in the hollows of trees and fissut·es of rocks. It sometimes attacks small birds. This is probably the Rat, fattened by the ancients, among whom it was considered a delicacy of the very highest description.( 4) (1) Add .O.rct. Parrii, Hichards., App. Parry's Voy.-Severa.l of the Marmots announced in the travels of Lewis and Clarke, Parry, Franklin, &c. .B.r~. Fra~ linii, Ricltardst:mii, pruinosa, seem to belong to this subgenus. See Sabme, Lin· Trans. XIII, pl. xxvii, xxviii, &c. (2) Myo'xus, Rat with a pointed nose. . (3) So natural is this to them, that a dormouse from Senegal, (M. CoUJll'_') which had never experienced it in its native country, fell into a profound sleep 111 Europe the moment it was exposed to the cold. t (4) TheM. dryas of some authors (Schreb. 220, ll) does not appear to me 0 differ from the Fat Dormouse. RODENTIA. 141• M. nitela, Gm.; Buff. VIII, xxv. (The Garden Dormouse.) Somewhat less than the preceding ; greyish brown above ; white underneath; black round the eye, which extends to the shoulder; tail tufted and black, tuft white. Common in the gardens of Europe, where it shelters itself in holes about the walls, and does much injury to trees. M. avellanarius, L.; Buff. VIII, xxvi. (The Common Dormouse.) Size of a Mouse ; cinnamon red above ; white beneath . hairs of the tail somewhat disposed like a feather. From the' forests of all Eut·ope. It constructs its nest of grass on low branches, to bring up its young; the rest of the time, and particulal'ly during winter, it remain3 in the hollows of trees.(l) We should place near the Dormice, the EoHIMvs, Geoff.-LoNOHEREs, lllig.(2) Four grinders also, but formed in a peculiar way; the upper ones consisting of two blades, bent into the shape of a V, and the under ones of one blade only that is bent, and of another that is simple. The fur of several species is harsh, and intermixed with flattened spines or prickles, like sword blades. From America. One of them, Ech. chrysuros, Schreb. CLXX, B ; Lerot a queue doree, Buff. Supp. VII~ 72. (The Golden-tailed Echimys.) More than twice the size of the Brown Rat; it is a beautiful animal, of a chesnut brown colour; white belly; an elongated crest of hairs, and a white longitudinal band on the head; the tail is long and black; the posterior half yellow. From Guiana. E~h. rufus; . Rat epineux, Azzara, V oy. pl. xiii. (The Red Echimys.) Size of a Rat, and of a reddish grey; tail shorter than the body. It is found in Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay. It excavates long subterraneous galleries. Others, again, have merely the ordinary kind of hair, more or less rough. The most remarkable is the . Ech. dactylicus, Geoff. (The Long-toed Echimys.) Which Is still larger than the chrysuros, and has the two middle toes of the fore feet double the length of the lateral ones. Its scaly tail is longer than the body; its fur is a yellowish grey, and the hairs on its nose form a crest directed in front.(3) ~!) ;d~ Myoxua Coupeii, Fred. Cuv. Mammif. chtmys, or Spiny Rat. .B.m. Ed. • · · (3) Add theE h' f · . J.-.. c 1mys o Cayenne, the Silky Echtmys. I suspect the MU8. para- i~ts .h Tkh omas ' L1'n • T rans. XI' (II ETEROllYB, Lesson) dt·f fers from the Echimys in c ee ·pouches on 1Y • IIo wever, not h av·m g s~en 1· ts teeth, I cannot arrange it. |