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Show 154 l1AMMALIA. ATHERURus, Cuv. \Vhere neither the head nor muzzle is inflated, and in which we observe a long non-prehensile tail; the toes are like those of the true Porcupines. Hyst. fasciculata, L.; Buff. VII, 77; Schreb. 170:(1) (The Pencil-tailed Porcupine.) The upper part of the spmes on the back grooved, and the tail terminated by a bundle of Oattened horny slips, constricted from space to space. ERETISON, F. Cuv. The Ursons have a fiat cranium; the muzzle short, and not con· vex; the tail of a middle size, and the spines short, and half hidden in the hair. One species only is known, the Hystrix doraata, L.; Buff. XII, lv. (The Urson.) From North America.(2) SvNETHEREs, F. Cuv. The muzzle short and thick ; the head vaulted in front, and the spines short; the tail long, naked at the extremity, and prehensile, like that of an Opossum or Sapajou. There are only four toes, all armed with claws ; they climb trees. Hyst. prehensilis, L.; Cuendu, Marcg., Hoitztlaquatzin, Her· nand.(3) (The Prehensile-tailed Porcupine.) Hair of a brown· ish-black; spines black and white. Hystrix insidiosa, Lichtenst.; the Couiy of Azzara; Pr. Max. Brazil. Smaller; the spines partly red or yellow, and hidden during a part of the year under its long greyish-brown hair. LEPus, Lin. Hares have a very distinctive character in their superior incisors, which are double, that is, each of them has a smaller one behind ( 1) This figure, copied from Seba, I, 52, i, is too short. That of Buff. is better, but the slips at the end of the tail are not represented with sufficient distinct· ness. We can conjecture no reason by which De lllainville and Desmaretsrefer this species to the genus of Uats ; it has the teeth, and other characters of the Porcupines, external as well as internal. (2) The pretended Coendou of Buffon is also an Urson, but a disfigured specimen that had lost its hair. See Buff. XII, 54. . (3) This word, in the Mexican language, means Spiny Opossum. It is the long ta•led Coendou of Buff. Supp. VII, 78; but the muzzle in the figure is too short. The figure of Hernandez conveys a much better .idea of the animal. RODENTIA. 155 it.(l) Their molars, five every where, are individually formed of two verticallaminre soldered together, and in the upper jaw there is a sixth, simple and very small. They have five toes before and four behind; an enormous crecum, five or six times the size of the stomach, furnished internally with a spiral fillet, which traverses its length. The inside of their mouth, and the under part of the feet are lined with hairs like the rest of the body. LEPus, Cuv. Or the true Hares, have long ears; a short tail; the hind feet much longer than the fore ones; imperfect clavicles, and the infraorbitary spaces in the skeleton reticulated. The species are so numerous and similar, that it is difficult to characterise them. L. timidus, L.; Buff. VII, xxxviii. (The Common Hare.) Of a yellowish grey; the ears one-tenth longer than the head; ash coloured behind; black at the tips; tail the length of the thigh, white, with a black line above. Every one knows this animal, whose dark flesh is excellent food, and whose fur is useful. It lives solitarily, never burrows, sleeps on the open ground, when hunted describes large: circles, and has never yet been domesticated. L. variabilis, Pall., Schreb. CCXXXV, B. (The Variable Hare.) Somewhat larger than the preceding, with rather shorter cars and tail, the latter white at all seasons; the rest of the fur is grey in summer, and white in winter. This animal, which is found in the North, and on the high mountains of the south of Europe, has the habits of the common Hare, but its flesh is insipid.( 2) L. cuniculus, L.; Buff. VI, I. (The Rabbit.) Less than the Hare; the ears somewhat shorter than the head ; tail not so long as the thigh ; fur of a yellowish-grey; some red on the neck ; throat and belly whitish; ears grey, without any black; some brown on the tail. This animal, said to be originally from ~pain, is now found throughout all Europe. It lives in troops, ln burrows, to which it flies for shelter when pursued. Its flesh, which is white and agreeable to the palate, differs considerably from that of the Hare. In a domestic state the Rabbit multiplies prodigiously, and varies as to colout· and fur. Other countries furnish several species which can only be th (l) There is even a period when they are shedding their teeth, dw·ing which ey appear to have three incisors, one behind the other, six in all. (2) This · · 1 b. spec1es m 1a 1ts all the northern and colder part of the American continent. Jlm. Ed. |