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Show 142 MAMMALIA. H vnnoMvs, Geoff. The Hydromys have many external points of relation to th: E~himys, but they are distinguished from all ot.her Rats by their h1nd J' t -thirds of which are palmated; their two molars have also ,eet, wo . . . 'd d . bl' I a peculiar character in the crown, which IS diVI e m:o o Ique y qua d rangu1 a r lobes , whose su. mmits are hollowed out hke the bowl of a spoon. They are aquatic. Several of these animals have been sent to Europe from Van Dieman's land, some of which have the belly white, and others fawn coloured, but all of a deep brown above, with ~ long tail which is black at the base, and the posterior half wh1te. They arc sometimes double the size of the brown Rat. Hydromys leucogaster, and Hyd. chrysogaster, Geoff. An. Mus. VI, pl. xxxvi. CAPROMYS, Desmar. The Houtias have four molars every where with flat crowns, the enamel of which is folded inwards so that it forms three angles on the external edge, and one only on the internal edge of the upper teeth, and the inverse in the lower ones. The tail is round and scantily pilose; they have, like the Rats, five toes to the hind foot, and four, with the rudiment of a thumb, to the fore feet; their form is that of a Rat ; as large as a Rabbit or Hare. Two species are known. Cap. fournieri, Desmar., Mem. de la Soc. d'Hist. Nat. de Par. I, 1823. (The Congo Houtia.)(l) Brown; muzzle and top of the neck whitish; tail brown, but half the length of the body. Cap. prehensilis, Pressig. Less than the preceding ; brown, with a whitish throat; tail red, as long as the body, and partly naked at the end. Both species inhabit the island of Cuba, and together with the .!lgoutis, at the time of the discovery, consti· tuted the principal game of the Indians. Mus, Cuv. The true Rats have three molars every where, of which the ante· rior is the largest; its crown is divided into blunt tubercles, which by being worn, give it the shape of a disk, sloped in various direc· tions; the tail is long and scaly. These animals are very injurious from their fecundity, and the voracity with which they devour every (1) This is the laodon pilorides, Say, Zool. Journ. No. 2, p. 229. RODENTIA. thing that come~ within their. reach. There are three species which have become quite common m our houses, viz. M. musculus, L.; Buff. VII, xxxix. (The Common Mouse.) Universally known. M. rattus, L.; Buff. VII, xxxvi. (The Black Rat.) Of which no mention is made by the ancients, and which appears to have entered Europe in the middle century. It is more than double the size of the Mouse in each of its dimensions. The fur is blackish. Several individuals have been occasionally found connected by the interlacing of their tails; constituting what the Germans style the King of Rats.(l) M. decumanus, Pall.; Buff: VIII, xxvii. (The Norway or Brown Rat.) Whi~h did not pass into Europe till the eigh· teenth century, and 1s now more common in large cities than the Black Rat itself. It is larger than the latter by one-fourth and differs from it also by its reddish·brown hair.(2) ' These two large species appear to have originated in the East, and have been transported in ships, together with the Mouse, to all parts of the globe. Eastern Tartary and China have a Rat equal to the decuM manus. M. caraco, Pallas, Glir. XXIII; Schreb. clxxvii. (The Ca. raco Rat.) Of a light colour; tail a little shorter than the pre· ceding, and the jaws stronger, There is another in India, oneMfourth larger than the Brown ~at, the Rat perc!tal, Buff. Supp. VII. lxix, which is of a red· dtsh brown. There is a large one in the Indian Archipelago ~ ' M. setifer, Horsf. Jav. Of a blackish brown. These last two species are bristled over with setaceous hairs, which ex· tend beyond the others. One of the largest and most mischievous Rats known is the _M. pil~rides, :au. and Gm. (The Musk·Rat of the Antilles.) Ftfteen mches m length without the tail, which is still longer than the body; hair coarse, of a deep black above, and whitish beneath.(3) g; See Belle1·man on the King of the Hats (in German), Berlin, 1820. 17<l'lo It appears to belong to Persia, where it lives in burrows. It was not till Vo~l'g •a, t hat, after an earthqu ak e, 1't arr1· ve d at A stracan, by sw·t mm.m g across the ear()3' ) Pha' llas .a nd Gm e 1m' erroneous1 y d escrt. be 1. t as be.m g entirely white. The ciselt ers u lstortans of the co1 o m. es attrt' b ute to 1. t the above colours, which are pre-y ch as we have seen on the animal. |