The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cassell's Natural History, Vol. 3 (of 6), by 
P. Martin Duncan and A. H. Garrod and W. S. Dallas and R. Bowdler Sharpe

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not
located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the
country where you are located before using this ebook.


Title: Cassell's Natural History, Vol. 3 (of 6)

Author: P. Martin Duncan
        A. H. Garrod
        W. S. Dallas
        R. Bowdler Sharpe

Release Date: November 1, 2020 [EBook #63592]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CASSELL'S NATURAL HISTORY ***




Produced by Jane Robins, Reiner Ruf, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)

CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LITH. LONDON.

DEER FAMILY.

1. Indian Muntjac (Cervulus muntjac).
2. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).
3. Javan Deerlet (Tragulus napu).
4. Fallow Deer (Dama vulgaris).
5. Wapiti Deer (Cervus strongyloceros).
6. Porcine Deer (Hyelaphus porcinus).
7. Roebuck (Capreolus caprea).
8. Elk (Alces machlis).
9. Chinese Water Deer (Hydropotes inermis).

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

CHAMOIS.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

[Pg 1]

CASSELL’S NATURAL HISTORY.

WATER DEERLET, OR CHEVROTAIN.

CHAPTER I.
ARTIODACTYLA—RUMINANTIA: BOVIDÆ—SHEEP, GOATS, AND GAZELLES.

THE Swine, together with those animals which most nearly approach them, namely, the Peccaries and Hippopotami, form but a small division of the cloven-hoofed order of the Mammalian animals; by far the greater number of the species of the Artiodactyla being included in a group known familiarly as that of the Ruminantia, because, as part of the digestive process, they chew the cud.

This chewing the cud is a phenomenon restricted to the group of animals now under consideration, although it may be mentioned that some naturalists have thought that the Kangaroos among the Marsupials do the same to a certain extent.

[Pg 2]

As to the details of the process, the individual, a Cow, for instance, whilst grazing, nips off the grass between the large cutting teeth in the front of the lower jaw, and the tough pad which replaces in these creatures the similarly situated teeth of the upper jaw. After each mouthful it does not proceed to masticate the food, but swallows it forthwith, and continues thus to graze until it has satisfied its appetite. Seeking a quiet and shaded spot, it then seats itself that it may ruminate, or chew the cud, at leisure. If watched it will be seen that it commences shortly to perform a slight hiccough action, in which some contraction of the flanks is to be noticed. Its mouth, which was previously empty, is found to be full of what it is not difficult to recognise to be coarsely-masticated grass, which has been forced up into it; and this it immediately proceeds to chew between its back or grinding teeth, in a slow and continuous manner, moving its lower jaw uniformly from one side to the other—from right to left. When this chewing process has lasted for a time sufficient to convert the food into a pulpy state, it is again swallowed, after which another bolus is brought up to undergo a similar operation. And this is repeated at frequent intervals until most of the food swallowed has been masticated.

A complicated stomach is necessary for the operation of this elaborate chewing process, the undisturbed duration of which has led to the word by which it is designated being applied metaphorically to a brooding condition of mind. Thus the poet of the “Night Thoughts” says:—

STOMACH OF A RUMINATING ANIMAL: (A) EXTERIOR, (B) INTERIOR.

This complicated stomach is not identical in all the Ruminantia. In the Camels and the Llamas it presents many points of difference from that of all the other members of the group, and in the Chevrotains it has slight peculiarities of its own.

This organ, as found in the Ox—and it is almost identically the same in the Giraffes, the Antelopes, the Sheep, and Deer—is seen to be divided into four well-defined compartments, as represented in the accompanying figures. These are known as—

1. The Rumen, or Paunch (b).
2. The Reticulum, or Honey-comb Bag (c).
3. The Psalterium, or Manyplies (d).
4. The Abomasum, or Reed (e).

The paunch (b) is a very capacious receptacle, shaped like a blunted cone bent partly upon itself. Into its broader base opens the œsophagus, or gullet (a), at a spot not far removed from its[Pg 3] wide orifice of communication with the second stomach, or honey-comb bag (c). Its inner walls are nearly uniformly covered with a pale skin (known as mucous membrane), which is beset with innumerable close-set, short, and slender processes (known as villi), resembling very much the “pile” on velvet. It is this organ, together with its villi, which constitutes the well-known article of food termed “tripe.”

The honey-comb bag (c) is very much smaller than the paunch. It is nearly globose in shape, and receives its name on account of the peculiar arrangement of the ridges on the mucous membrane which lines it, these being distributed so as to form shallow hexagonal cells all over its inner surface, as seen in the figure on the previous page.

It is situated to the right of the paunch, with which, as well as with the manyplies (d), it communicates. Running along its upper wall there is a deep groove coursing from the first to the third stomach. This groove plays an important part in the mechanism of rumination; its nature must therefore be fully understood.

Its walls are muscular, like those of the viscus with which it is associated, which allows its calibre to be altered. Sometimes it completely closes round so as to become converted into a tube by the apposition of its edges. At others it forms an open canal.

The manyplies (d) is a very peculiar organ. It is globular, but most of its interior is filled up with folds, or laminæ, running between its orifices of communication with the second and fourth stomachs. These folds are arranged very much like the leaves of a book, and very close together. They are, however, not of equal depth, but form series of greater or less breadth. Their surfaces are roughened by the presence of small projections or papillæ.

The reed (e) is the stomach proper, corresponding with the same organ in man. Its shape is somewhat conical. The valve which partially obstructs its communication with the intestine is at the left of the foregoing figure. Its walls are formed of a smooth mucous membrane, which secretes gastric juice, and it is this stomach that, in the manufacture of cheese, is employed to curdle the milk.

Whilst grazing, the possessor of this complicated stomach fills its paunch with the imperfectly masticated food, and it is not until it commences to chew the cud that any of the other parts are brought into play.

In the act of rumination, the following is the probable order of events:—The paunch contracts, and in so doing forces some of the food into the honey-comb bag, where it is formed into a bolus by the movement of its walls, and then forced into the gullet, from which, by a reverse action, it reaches the mouth, where it is chewed and mixed with the saliva until it becomes quite pulpy, whereupon it is again swallowed. But now, because it is soft and semi-fluid, it does not divaricate the walls of the groove communicating with the manyplies, and so, continuing on along its tubular interior, it finds its way direct into the third stomach, most of it filtering between the numerous laminæ on its way to the fourth stomach, where it becomes acted on by the gastric juice. After the remasticated food has reached the manyplies, the groove in the reticulum is pushed open by a fresh bolus; and so the process is repeated until the food consumed has all passed on towards the abomasum, or true digestive stomach.

BRAIN OF A SHEEP.

There are other features also which are characteristic of the ruminating animals. Their symmetrical four-toed feet (in which the thumb on the fore and the great toe on the hind are entirely absent) have the toes so proportioned that the axis of the limb runs down between the two middle toes at the same time that both the inside and outside toes are much reduced in size, and lost entirely in the Camel tribe, the Giraffe, and the Cabrit.

[Pg 4]

Another peculiarity which exists in all ruminating animals is the absence of cutting-teeth in the middle of the upper jaw; and it is only in the Camels and their intimate allies, the Llamas, that there are any upper cutting-teeth at all, they being replaced in all the others by a callous pad, on which the lower cutting-teeth impinge in mastication.

The canine teeth, which correspond to the tusks of the Lion and Dog, also deserve attention. Those of the lower jaw are always present, and are modified so as to appear like lateral cutting-teeth. In the upper jaw they are most often absent, but are enormous, projecting far down outside the lip, in the Musk, the Chinese Water Deer, and the Muntjacs. In some other Deer they are present, but small, and generally they are wanting.

The grinders are six on each side of each jaw, and are so formed that their surfaces wear down unevenly by the lateral movement to which they are subject during mastication. As in the Elephant, this depends upon each tooth being made up of alternate layers of enamel, dentine, and cementum, which, being of different degrees of hardness, are differently affected by the grinding action.

The ruminating animals exhibit a fair amount of intelligence, never, however, attaining that power of perception and memory exhibited by the Carnivora and other higher forms. The figure of the surface of the brain of the Sheep indicates that the convolutions of the brain are far from inconsiderable in number, and its allies of the same size agree with it in this respect, whilst larger species have more, and smaller less elaborate brain-markings, as is nearly always found to be the case in every group.

The accompanying table gives an outline sketch of the classification of the ruminating animals which has been adopted by zoologists:—

Sub-order.		Section.		Division.		Group.
						Ox-tribe (Bovidæ)
				HORNED RUMINANTS.
		TRUE RUMINANTS.				Deer-tribe (Cervidæ)
RUMINANTIA.				CHEVROTAINS OR DEERLETS (Tragulidæ).
		CAMEL TRIBE (Tylopoda).

The large sub-order of the Ruminantia is seen to be primarily divided into two sections, namely, the typical Ruminants and the aberrant Ruminants (the Tylopoda). The typical Ruminants, in which the stomach is formed upon the plan of that described above in the Oxen, fall into two divisions, the smaller of which—that of the Chevrotains or Deerlets—possesses no psalterium, or third stomach, except in a rudimentary condition. The Horned Ruminants, including the Deer, Muntjacs, Elk, Oxen, and Antelopes, compose by far the largest number of the whole sub-order, and will be first described.

The Horned Ruminants—with which, anomalous as it may at first seem, have to be included one or two hornless species, on account of their so closely resembling them in other respects—have their cranial appendages developed after one or other of two principles. In one group, which, from the fact that the Oxen are included with them, are named the Bovidæ, the horns are hollow, straight, or variously-twisted cones, supported upon bony prolongations from the forehead, resembling them in shape upon a smaller scale. These horns are permanent, except in the American Antelope, increasing in size each year, at the same time that they often exhibit transverse markings, which indicate the annual increase. In the other group—the Cervidæ, or Deer Tribe—the horns or antlers are deciduous, being cast off each year, to be shortly replaced by others, which share the fate of their predecessors. These antlers are entirely made of bone, and when fully grown are not covered with any less dense investment.

To commence, then, with the Bovidæ, or Oxen, and their allies.

[Pg 5]

THE BOVIDÆ, OR HOLLOW-HORNED RUMINANTS.

In these ruminating animals the permanent bone-cones on the forehead are covered with a black horny coating, which is not shed during the whole life of their owners, and in which, as they continue to grow until adult life at least, the tips are the oldest parts. The females in some species have horns like their mates, but smaller, as in the Ox and Eland; while in others—the Koodoo and the Sing-Sing Antelope, for example—the males alone are horned. The most aberrant members of this group are the Giraffe, the Cabrit, and the Musk, which will be considered after the less peculiar genera have been discussed. These include the Oxen, Bush-Bucks, Antelopes, Koodoos, Goats, Sheep, &c., which will be referred to more in detail.

MERINO SHEEP.

THE SHEEP AND GOATS.[1]

Between the bearded Goat and the beardless Sheep there exist intermediate species, which so completely fill up the gaps that it is almost impossible to separate the two into different genera. With triangular, curved, and transversely-ridged horns in both sexes, a characteristic general appearance, and feet formed for mountain climbing, the species present differences which are recognised with facility.

With reference to the domestic Sheep, it is the opinion of most naturalists that it has descended from several distinct species. “Abel was a keeper of Sheep,” is a Biblical statement from which the immense antiquity of a domestic breed may be inferred, whose origin cannot be better studied than by a comparison of the different forms found wild in Asia, the head-quarters of the genus. That no Sheep existed in Australia when that continent was first discovered is a well-known fact.

[Pg 6]

“Endowed by nature,” as Mr. Spooner, in his work on the Sheep aptly puts it, “with a peaceable and patient disposition, and a constitution capable of enduring the extremes of temperature, adapting itself readily to different climates, thriving on a variety of pastures, economising nutriment where pasturage is scarce, and advantageously availing itself of opportunities where food is abundant,” it is not to be wondered at that the animal has become the companion of man from the earliest times.

The fleece of the wild species of Sheep is composed of hair with wool at its roots, in the same way that in the Duck there is a covering of feathers and down. In the domesticated species the hair, by selection, has been reduced to a minimum, so that the wool forms the only coat.

In the southern parts of Western Asia many of the Sheep have a curious tendency to the deposition of fat on the tail rather than under the skin of the body generally, and this may occur to such an extent that the thus loaded caudal appendage may contain a large part of the entire weight of the body.

The Astracan breed, of small size, has a fine spiral black and white wool, sometimes entirely black, which is obtained from the lamb when the finest furs are required.

Of all the breeds of Sheep the Merino of Spain is one of the most important, on account of the excellence of its wool. In England the breed can hardly be said to exist, because the dampness of the climate does not suit its constitution. It is extensively found in Germany, and is the Sheep of Australia. The animal is small, flat-sided, and long-legged. The males have long horns, these appendages being absent in the females. The face, ears, and legs are dark, and the forehead is woolly, at the same time that the skin about the throat is lax. The body-wool is close-set, soft, twisted in a spiral, and short.

In Great Britain the breeds of Sheep are very numerous, some of the best being of quite recent origin. First among the heavy breeds are the Dishley, or Improved Leicesters, which, from their early maturity, aptness to fatten, smallness of bone, and gentle disposition, well deserve the high repute in which they stand. It is to the persevering energy and acuteness of Mr. Bakewell that we are indebted for the present animal, which in origin is far from pure bred. His aim was entirely in the direction of the carcass, and in his object he and his followers have quite succeeded, notwithstanding an inherent delicacy in constitution and an inferiority of the wool. “The head of this breed,” we are told, “should be hornless, long, small, tapering towards the muzzle, and projecting horizontally forwards; the eyes prominent, and with a quiet expression; the ears thin, rather long, and directed backwards; the neck full and broad at its base, where it proceeds from the chest, but gradually tapering towards the head, and being particularly fine at the junction of the head and neck; the neck seeming to project straight from the chest, so that there is, with the slightest possible deviation, one continuous horizontal line from the rump to the poll; the breast broad and full; the shoulders also broad and round, and no uneven or angular formation where the shoulders join either the neck or the back, particularly no rising of the withers or hollow behind the situation of these bones; the arm fleshy through its whole extent, and even down to the knee; the bones of the leg small, standing wide apart, no looseness of skin about them, and comparatively bare of wool; the chest and barrel at once deep and round; the ribs forming a considerable arch from the spine, so as in some cases—and especially when the animal is in good condition—to make the apparent width of the chest even greater than the depth; the barrel ribbed well home; no irregularity of line on the back or the belly, but on the sides, the carcass very gradually diminishing in width towards the rump; the quarters long and full, and, as with the fore-legs, the muscles extending down to the hock; the thighs also wide and full; the legs of a moderate length; the pelt moderately thin, but soft and elastic, and covered with a good quantity of white wool, not so long as in some breeds, but considerably finer.”

The large-sized Lincoln Sheep, with lengthy fleece, those of the Cotswold Hills, the Teeswater, and Romney Marsh, are also heavy breeds, not equal in the totality of their points to the Improved Leicesters, although excelling them either in quantity of wool or hardiness of constitution.

The Short-woolled Southdowns, with close-set fleece of fine wool, face and legs dusky brown, curved neck, short limbs, and broad body, is one of the oldest and most valuable unmixed breeds that we possess. Their mutton greatly excels that of the Improved Leicesters, which, taken in[Pg 7] association with their other good qualities, has caused them to extend to nearly every county. In parts of Hampshire, Shropshire, and Dorsetshire there are local breeds of Short-woolled Sheep which replace the Southdowns.

The Cheviot and the Black-faced, or Heath breed of our northern counties are mountain Sheep, of small size and hardy constitution, the former horned, the latter hornless and with a white face.

Welsh mutton is obtained from the small, soft-woolled Sheep with a white nose and face. The rams alone have horns, wherein the breed differs from that of the higher mountains, in which the ewes also are horned, at the same time that a ridge of hair is present along the top of the neck.

As wool forms so important an element of the mercantile transactions of Great Britain, and as Sheep-farming has so rapidly increased in Australia and New Zealand, a few words with reference to the statistics of the subject will not be out of place.

In 1788, when Governor Phillip landed at Port Jackson, there was not a Sheep in all Australia, and it was not until 1793 that about thirty of the Indian breed reached Sydney, their number being shortly augmented by the importation of breeding-stock from England and the Cape of Good Hope, principally Merinos. The progeny soon spread towards the interior, where the growing of wool became a lucrative pursuit. Sheep were first imported into New Zealand in 1840. It is estimated there are now one hundred million sheep in Australia, and nearly thirty million in New Zealand.

The following table of the number of bales of wool imported into Great Britain at twenty-year intervals, that is, in 1836, 1856, and 1876, gives a better idea than can be otherwise obtained as to the changes in the sources of wool as well as to the richness of each colonial district:—

IMPORTATION OF COLONIAL AND FOREIGN WOOL INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM (IN BALES).

		1836.		1856.		1876.
New South Wales and Queensland		19,066		59,342		169,874
Victoria		None		64,843		306,803
Tasmania		15,449		17,951		20,480
South Australia		None		16,618		102,067
West Australia		None		1,267		7,510
New Zealand		None		6,840		162,154
Total Australasian		34,515		166,861		768,888
Cape of Good Hope		1,740		50,607		169,908
Total Colonial		36,255		217,468		938,796
German		90,426		22,272		29,580
Spanish and Portuguese		20,451		8,106		7,906
East Indian and Persian		1,981		45,236		86,678
Russian		15,072		4,181		34,511
River Plate				5,151		118,593
Peru, Lima, and Chili		16,653		52,477
Alpaca
Mediterranean and Africa		14,714		13,665
Mohair		No returns		13,515
Sundry		12,784		10,735
Total Foreign		172,081		175,338		277,268
TOTAL IMPORTATION		208,336		392,806		1,216,064

So much for the domestic Sheep; of other species of the genus Ovis we have Marco Polo’s Sheep.[2] This splendid Sheep, one of the finest species of the genus, has horns, describing a spiral of about a circle and a quarter when viewed from the side, pointing directly outwards, and sometimes measuring as many as sixty-three inches from base to tip along their curve, and as much as four and a half feet from tip to tip. At the shoulder the animal measures just under four feet. It inhabits the high lands in the neighbourhood of the lofty Thian Shan mountains, north of Kashgar and Yarkand, not descending below an elevation of 9,000 feet above the sea level, often ascending much higher. It is[Pg 8] on account of the rarefaction of the air in these regions that there is considerable difficulty in obtaining specimens which have been wounded, because Horses at these heights are much distressed in their breathing, whilst the Sheep are not so. Mr. N. A. Severtzoff, an eminent Russian naturalist, has described three or four other species closely allied to Marco Polo’s Sheep, which are smaller than it, from Turkestan and the district east of it. In this Sheep, during the winter, the sides of the body are of a light greyish-brown, changing to white below. There is a white mane all round the neck and a white disc round the tail. A dark line runs the whole length of the middle of the back. In summer the grey changes to dark brown.

AMMON.

The OORIAL and the SHAPOO are bearded Sheep, from Ladakh and the Suliman range of the Punjab respectively, with large horns, which form not more than half a circle in the Shapoo and nearly a complete one in the Oorial. The colour of the Oorial is a reddish-brown above, paler beneath, the abdomen being white. A lengthy dark beard, reaching to the knees, fringes the whole length of the neck from the chin to the chest. The points of the horns are directed inwards. It is found at altitudes of 2,000 feet. The Shapoo is brownish-grey, white below, with a short brown beard. Its horns turn outwards at the tips. It is never found at altitudes lower than 12,000 feet.

The MOUFLON at one time abounded in Spain, but is now restricted to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The species is a small one, of a brownish-grey colour, with a dark streak along the middle of the back, at the same time that there is a varying amount of white about the face and legs. The horns, present in the males only, are proportionately not large, curve backwards and then inwards at the tips. The tail is very short, in which respect they differ strikingly from the domestic Sheep, to which otherwise they are intimately related. The Mouflon frequents the summits of its native hills[Pg 9] in small herds, headed by an old ram. Its skin is used by the mountaineers for making jackets. It breeds freely with the domestic species.

AMMON.

The AMMON of Tibet has been known to measure as much as four feet and an inch at the shoulder, and has a most imposing appearance on account of the erect attitude in which it holds its head. Its horns attain a great size, being sometimes as much as four feet long and twenty-two inches in circumference at their bases, forming a single sweep of about four-fifths of a circle, their points being turned slightly outwards and ending bluntly. Its body colour is dark brown above, paler posteriorly and below. A mane surrounds its neck, white in the male, dark brown in the female. The tail measures only an inch in length. In the female the horns do not exceed twenty-two inches in length.

The BURHEL, or Himalayan “blue wild Sheep,” stands three feet at the shoulder, and has horns which, commencing very close together on the forehead, describe a half circle of two feet or so, and are directed very much outwards and backwards. In the female the horns do not exceed eight inches in length, and stand backward instead of diverging. The coarse fleece of winter is of an ashy-blue colour, which, in summer, is replaced by one that is much darker. The abdomen is white, and a black stripe runs along each side of the body, the front of the legs and the chest being also black. It has no beard.

The AMERICAN ARGALI, or BIG-HORN, inhabits the range of the Rocky Mountains. Its height is three and a half feet at the shoulder. The horns form a complete circle, and are nearly three feet long in the male. They are said to come so far forward and downward that old rams find it impossible to feed on level ground. Its flesh is peculiarly well flavoured.

The WILD SHEEP OF BARBARY, known also as the TRAGELAPHUS, is a large and handsome species, with a comparatively lengthy tail, tufted at its end. The hair on the chin is short, whilst that along the lower margin of the neck, as well as on the front of the knees, attains a great length. The horns are not massive, and hardly exceed two feet in length. They are black, and are directed outward as well as backward.

[Pg 10]

THE GOATS.[3]

Modern naturalists, as intermediate forms become more numerous, find much difficulty in separating off the Goats (which constitute the genus Capra of earlier authors) from the Sheep (Ovis). In the Goats the horns are flattened from side to side, and rough in front and arched backwards, whilst in the Sheep they are more uniformly cylindrical, turned laterally, curling downwards, and often cork-screwed. A beard is a common addition to the former animal, and a most unpleasant odour is emitted by them.

BARBARY WILD SHEEP.

The domestic Goat is almost certainly descended from the Paseng, or Ibex, of the mountains of Asia, with little or no admixture of other blood. In it, however, the female is bearded as well as the male, which is not the case with the Paseng. It has been subjugated from time immemorial, when the flesh of the kid was considered a delicacy. Its sure-footedness and its boldness are proverbial, as is its unpleasant odour. The power possessed by the species of ascending precipitate heights is marvellous. On more than one occasion it has been recorded—contrary to the teaching of Æsop—that whilst two individuals have met on a path too narrow for both to pass, one has lain down in order that the other might go over its back. With no great bulk of body; coarse hair of different lengths and tints, springing from out of a mass of much shorter wool; horns of varying size, but always out-turned at the tips; narrow ears, an almost entirely hair-covered nose; sight, hearing, and smell all acute; powerful thick-set legs, and a short tail naked below, it stands its own in mountainous and less civilised[Pg 11] districts. Varieties occur with large pendulous instead of upright ears; others with extra horns, occasionally spiral as in Nepaul, or none at all. In the Angora and Cashmere breeds the hair is white.

The Goat of Cashmere is famous on account of the long and very fine wool with which it is covered, which is employed in the manufacture of Cashmere shawls. It is said that the wool of ten of these Goats is required for the material of a single shawl.

IBEX.

The IBEX is found in the Alpine heights of Europe and of Western Asia, including the Himalayas. The large scythe-blade-shaped horns of the male curve boldly upwards and backwards, diverging all the way. Along the front of their convex surfaces there is a series of protuberances or partial rings, which are only just indicated laterally. The largest specimens reach three feet and a half in height at the shoulder, which is a little less than the length their horns sometimes attain. The body colour is a yellowish-grey, white below, with a dark brown line along the middle of the back. The soft and close-set hair hides an under-fur still finer. The beard is black. European specimens are smaller than those from Asia, rarely exceeding two feet and a half in height, with horns three feet in length. The species inhabits the most precipitous and dangerous parts of mountain regions, and is wonderfully sure-footed.

The PASENG is the wild Goat of Western Asia; it is also found on the northern side of the Caucasus and in some of the islands of the Ægean. In height the male measures two feet and three-quarters at the withers, the female being nearly six inches less. In the male the horns may measure as much as four feet in length. They are flattened, slender, curved backwards as part of a large circle, having their points turned sometimes inwards, so much so as now and again to cross, whilst at others they are directed outwards. Along their anterior edges are protuberances, separated by a greater distance as they approach the tips, indicative of the age of the animal, as after the third year a[Pg 12] fresh knob is formed in each succeeding one. Mr. Danford, who has made a special study of the species, remarks, with reference to the reputed use to which their owners turn their immense cranial appendages, that “regarding the use of the great horns carried by the Ibex family, the general idea among the older authors was that they were employed to break the animal’s fall in leaping from a height. Pennant relates that Monardes was witness to the wild Goat saving itself in this way; and Gesner says: ‘Cadens ab alto totum corpus inter cornua protegit a collisione et ictus lapidum magnorum excipit cornibus!’[4] This view is confirmed by Mr. Hutton, whose tame Aegagrus [Paseng] repeatedly used his horns for this purpose. I made many inquiries among the native hunters, and they all agreed in saying that the horns were never so used, or for any purpose except fighting; and the result of my own observations is, that during the leap the head is carried as far back as possible, though it may be that the situations in which I observed the animals did not necessitate the employment of the horns in the way referred to.” The horns of the female are not more than a foot long, the knobs being almost obsolete. Unlike its consort, also, it has no beard. The general colour of the species is grey, shaded with reddish-brown. A blackish-brown line extends from the similarly coloured forehead along the spine.

MARKHOOR.

The MARKHOOR, or “Serpent Eater,” of North-east India and Cashmere, is a fine Goat of larger size than the Ibex, with much-flattened triangular horns, which, while running upwards from the head, are spiral and attain an immense size, sometimes as much as five feet along their curve. The spiral twist is much more open in some specimens than in others, depending on the locality in which they are found. The body colour is a dirty light blue-grey, the lengthy beard being of a darker colour. It inhabits very similar localities to the Ibexes and is very shy.

The TAHR of the Himalayas is a not common Goat, with small horns curved directly backwards,[Pg 13] not much more than a foot in length, flattened from side to side, with a notched anterior margin. The body colour is a fawn-brown; the hair of the neck, chest, and shoulders being of great length and reaching to the knees. In the female the horns are much smaller and of lighter colour. According to Captain Kinloch, “the Tahr is, like the Markhoor, a forest-loving animal, and although it sometimes resorts to the rocky summits of the hills, it generally prefers the steep slopes which are more or less clothed with trees. Female Tahr may be frequently found on open ground, but old males hide a great deal in the thickest jungle, lying during the heat of the day under the shade of trees or overhanging rocks. Nearly perpendicular hills, with dangerous precipices, where the forest consists of oak and ringall cane, are the favourite haunts of the old Tahr, who climb with ease over ground where one would hardly imagine that any animal could find a footing. Tahr ground, indeed, is about the worst walking I know, almost rivalling Markhoor ground; the only advantage being that, bad as it is, there are generally some bushes or grass to hold on to.”

THE GAZELLES.[5]

Under the title of Gazelles are included several strikingly elegant, small, slender, sandy-coloured species of ruminating animals, in which the males always, and the females in most cases, carry horns, which are transversely ringed, and vary considerably in the direction which they take, many having them curved in such a way that the two together form a lyre-shaped figure, at the same time that in others they are nearly straight, turned slightly backwards or forwards, and diverging or converging at the tips. Where present, the horns of the females are more slender than in the corresponding males.

The Gazelles inhabit Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, and Central Asia only. They rarely exceed thirty inches in height at the shoulder; the largest, the Swift Antelope of Pennant (Gazella mohr), reaching nearly three feet. In all the Gazelles the face is marked with a white band running from the outer side of the base of each horn nearly down to the upper end of each nostril, cutting off a dark triangular central patch, and bordered externally by a diffused dark line. The under surface of the abdomen is white, and there is a dark line traversing the flank which bounds this. The rump is also white, which in many cases encroaches more or less upon the haunches.

Of the twenty species of Gazelles known to naturalists, only a few of the best known will be specially mentioned here. By Sir Victor Brooke they have been thus arranged, in accordance with certain easily ascertained distinctive features in coloration and shape of horn:—

The GAZELLE par excellence, from Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, stands scarcely two feet high. The elegance of its proportions are too well known to need description. The beauty of its eyes is not to be[Pg 14] compared with that of some of the other ruminating animals, the whole face being far too sheep-like, and this remark equally applies to all its near allies. The Dorcas Gazelle is a name by which it is also known. Like many other members of the genus, it has a tuft of hair upon each knee. The tail is long and tapering; the body hair rather coarse and of a pale fawn colour. The hips, as well as the breast and the abdomen, are white. As to their habits, Mr. Blanford, in his work on Abyssinia, tells us that, so far as his observation went, “neither the Dorcas nor Bennett’s Gazelle is ever seen in large flocks, like the animals of the Spring-bok group. Usually both are seen solitary, or from two to five together, inhabiting thin bushes generally on broken ground. They feed much upon the leaves of bushes. The male has a peculiar habit, when surprised, of standing still and uttering a short, sharp cry. Like most Antelopes, they keep much to the neighbourhood of some particular spot. After long observation, I am convinced that Bennett’s Gazelle never drinks; and all that I could ascertain of the Dorcas Gazelle leads to the same conclusion in its case.”

DORCAS GAZELLE.

Captain Baldwin says that, “like other Antelopes, the little Ravine Deer [by which is meant Bennett’s Gazelle] has many enemies besides man. One day, when out with my rifle, I noticed an old female Gazelle stamping her feet, and every now and then making that ‘hiss’ which is the alarm-note of the animal. It was not I that was the cause of her terror, for I had passed close to her only a few minutes before, and she seemed to understand by my manner that I meant no harm. No; there was something else. I turned back, and on looking down a ravine close by, saw a crafty Wolf attempting a stalk on the mother and young one. Another day, at Agra, a pair of Jackals joined in the chase of a wounded Buck.

“The Chikarah [again another name for Bennett’s Gazelle] is as easily tamed as the common Antelope; they are favourite pets, and become strongly attached to those who rear and feed them. I have seen tame ones driven out with a herd of Goats to graze, and never attempt to make their escape. It is not at all unusual to find the wild Gazelles feeding close to, sometimes almost mingling with, herds of Goats, when the latter have been driven out to pasture.... Like all Antelopes, the eyesight of the Chikarah is very acute, and the animal is perpetually on the watch against danger. It, however, appears to be gifted with only a moderate sense of hearing, and still less so of smell.”

THE ARABIAN, OR ARID GAZELLE, is the same size as the preceding, differing, as may be gathered from the table given on page 13, in the shape of its horns, which, from being directed upwards and[Pg 15] outwards, turn at their tips more outward and also forward. The speed of the Gazelle, like that of most of its allies, is very great; its eyes are large and lustrous, and its general colour a rich yellowish-brown.

The PERSIAN GAZELLE stands twenty-six inches. Its body colour is grey fawn colour, the breast and abdomen being white. Of its habits, Major St. John says that, “like the wild Ass, it especially affects the neighbourhood of the salt deserts. It appears to retire generally to the valleys at the base of hills to breed, and is most commonly seen in small parties of three to half a dozen. The fleetest Greyhound cannot come up with the Gazelle when it gets a fair start; but when suddenly roused from a hollow, or when the ground is heavy after rain, good Dogs will often pull down males. The does are more difficult to catch.”

SAÏGA.

SOEMMERRING’S GAZELLE stands two feet and a half high. The body colour is sandy fawn above; the horns are massive and lyrate, more slender in the female. It lives in pairs, and is a powerful species.

The horns of GRANT’S GAZELLE are larger than in any other of the species.

The SPRING-BOK derives its name from the habit it has of leaping straight up in the air for several feet when alarmed or whilst running. Its height is two feet and a half. The horns are lyrate, being very small in the females. Its colour is yellow dun, with the under parts, as usual, white. A peculiar white line along the middle of the back can be varied in extent within certain limits by the animal at pleasure. Major C. Hamilton Smith, when writing of this species, tells us that it assembles in South Africa in vast herds, “migrating from north to south and back with the monsoons. These migrations, which are said to take place in the most numerous form only at the interval of several years, appear to come from the north-east, and in masses of many thousands, devouring, like locusts, every green herb. The Lion has been seen to migrate and walk in the midst of the compressed phalanx, with only as much room between him and his victims as[Pg 16] the fears of those immediately around could procure by pressing outwards. The foremost of these vast columns are fat, and the rear exceedingly lean while the direction continues one way; but with the change of the monsoon, when they return towards the north, the rear become the leaders, fattening in their turn.”

The SAÏGA[6] and CHIRU[7] differ from the Gazelles but slightly, and approach the Sheep; the former belonging to Eastern Europe and Western Asia, the latter to Tibet.

The Saïga is as large as a Fallow Deer, tawny yellow in summer, light grey in winter; being specially peculiar about the nose which is much lengthened, at the same time that the nostrils are expanded to such a degree that in feeding they have to walk backwards. The horns, found only in the males, are not a foot long, slightly lyrate, and annulated. In its native haunts—which are barren, sandy, and salt—it assembles frequently in vast herds. It runs rapidly when pursued, but is soon exhausted.

INDIAN ANTELOPE.

The CHIRU is slightly smaller, of a reddish fawn colour, with the face and front of the limbs black. The slender jet-black horns, very small in the female, are ringed nearly to the tips, curved forward, and about two feet long. From Captain Kinloch’s account we learn that “in the early part of the summer the Antelope appears to keep on the higher and more exposed plains and slopes where snow does not lie; as the season becomes warmer, the snow which has accumulated on the grassy banks of the streams in the sheltered valleys begins to dissolve, and the Antelope then comes down to feed on the grass which grows abundantly in such places, and then is the time that they may most easily be stalked and shot. They usually feed only in the mornings and evenings, and in the day-time seek more open and elevated situations, frequently excavating deep holes in the stony plains in which they live, with only their heads and horns visible above the surface of the ground.”

[Pg 17]

THE PALLAH.[8]

THE PALLAH, OR IMPALLA, of South and South-east Africa, is another closely-allied form of large size, being more than three feet high at the shoulder. Its colour is dark red above, yellow dun on the sides, and white below. There are no false hoofs in the usual situation on the lengthy legs: a peculiarity which it shares with the Cabrit and the Giraffe. The eyes are very large and liquid. The horns, wanting in the female, are twenty inches long in the male, and lyrate; they are ringed nearly to their tips. They are abundant on or near to hills, and collect in herds of from twenty to thirty. Mr. Drummond, vividly describing his South African experience, on an occasion whilst hunting Buffalo, “saw something red moving among the trees, and stopped to watch it. It turned out to be a troop of Impalla coming back from water and making for some of the grassy glades. There might have been seventy or eighty of them, picking their way along in Indian file, nibbling here and there, but always moving, and seeming like a troop of ghosts in the dim twilight and silence.”

THE INDIAN ANTELOPE.[9]

THE INDIAN ANTELOPE, OR BLACK BUCK.—This species differs but little from the Gazelles in many respects, whilst its peculiarities are striking. Like the Nylghau, the male differs greatly from the female in its colour. The female has no horns; those in the male are black and of great size, spirally twisted for three or four turns like a corkscrew, slightly divergent, and often reaching thirty inches in length. It stands a little over two feet and a half at the shoulder. The colour of the males is deep brown-black above, with an abrupt line of separation from the pure white of the belly. This dark colour extends down the outer surface of each limb. The face is also black, with a white circle round the eyes and nose. In the females and young of both sexes the black and brown are replaced by a light fawn colour. The tail is very short and white below. At certain seasons of the year the glands below the eyes are much enlarged and form a prominent feature in the face of the male.

The Black Buck is one of the swiftest of the Antelopes, no Greyhound having any chance against it. Its flesh, being dry and unsavoury, is rarely eaten. The species falls a frequent prey to the Tiger, and is generally found in herds, fifty does, or so, accompanied by a single buck. The height to which they can bound is very great. According to Major C. Hamilton Smith, the native Indians “have raised the common Antelope among the constellations, harnessed it to the chariot of the moon, and represented it as the quarry of the gods. In the opinion of Hindoos the animal is sacred to Chandra, female devotees and minstrels lead it, domesticated, by the harmony of their instruments, or the power of their prayers, and holy Brahmins are directed to feed upon their flesh, under certain circumstances prescribed by the Institutes of Menu.”

THE STEINBOKS.

THE KLIPSPRINGER, the OUREBI, the STEINBOK, and the GRYSBOK form a small section of the African Antelopes, elegant and small, with horns only in the males, these being straight, or nearly so. Their body hair is harsh. The Klipspringer stands a little under two feet high; it is the heaviest in build[Pg 18] of the four; its horns are four inches long and curved a little forward. Its colour is olive. It lives singly or in pairs, in mountainous districts, and it was at one time so abundant in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope that its hair was employed to stuff saddles with.

The Ourebi, in height and length of horn, resembles the last-mentioned species. Its build is very delicate, its general colour being a tawny yellow, white below. Its speed is very great. According to Mr. Drummond, “its peculiar colour so much resembles the soil on which it lies that, trusting to remain unobserved, it often allows you to get within fifteen or twenty yards of where it is squatting. It is a handsome and peculiarly graceful Antelope, extremely good eating, and well worth the hunter’s attention. One thing he should bear in mind is, that however slightly they may be wounded, they will go and lie down within a few hundred yards, if not chased by a Dog, and will in such cases very generally allow him to get within shot again.” The Steinbok is twenty inches high, with straight horns four inches long, large ears, and a mere stump of a tail. Its colour is red-brown, white below.

HEAD OF FEMALE BUSH-BUCK.

The Grysbok, with the same measurement, is chocolate-red.

The MADOQUA of Abyssinia is not bigger than a Hare, standing fourteen inches high, the slender legs being comparatively long. The horns, present only in the males, are not more than half the length of the head, being nearly straight, and curved a little forward. The tail is a mere stump. The back is reddish-brown, the sides grey; the face, together with a peculiar tuft between the horns, is red, as are the legs. The under parts are white.

The Bush-bucks form a clearly-defined group of small Antelopes peculiar to tropical and Southern Africa. They are also known by sportsmen as Duykers, or Bush-goats. They are characterised by the possession of horns in the male sex, which are short, straight, and simple cones, very much depressed, or slanting backwards, and rising some distance behind the eyes; at the same time that there is a tuft of lengthy hair, directed backwards, which is arranged in a kind of horseshoe shape between the ears. The crumen or gland in front of each eye is also peculiar. Instead of it being a sac with a circular opening, it is spread out in the form of a curved line, and not contracted to form an orifice at all. This feature, which is not observed in any other animal, may be seen in the drawing of the head of the female Bush-buck. The muffle, or extremity of the nose, is much like that of the Ox, comparatively large and always moist. The tail is very short, whilst the ears are of a fair size and oval in form. The legs are particularly slender and delicate, terminated by minute hoofs. In most the forehead is strongly convex. The coloration of the many species is not striking, being a uniform red-brown, dark bluish-grey, or sooty-black. The smallest of the species, the Pigmy Bush-buck, is not bigger than a Rabbit, and might at first sight, especially the female, be mistaken for a Deerlet. According to Mr. Drummond, “it feeds principally on certain berries and shrubs found growing in the jungles, and seems to be on the move, more or less, the whole day, though, in common with the rest of the animal creation, it is most often to be seen at early morning and evening.”

Of the Bush-bucks, the Philantomba, of West Africa, is grey-brown; the Blau-bok, of Southern Africa, a bluish-grey; the Duyker-bok, of South Africa, a yellowish-brown; the Coquetoon, a deep[Pg 19] reddish-bay; the Bay Antelope, of West Africa, a dark bay, whilst there are other species black, brown, &c.

WATER-BUCK.

In India and Tibet there are two peculiar species of small Antelopes, the true Four-horned and the Brown Indian Antelope. In the former of these, known also as the Chikarah, different from what is found as a natural condition in any other living animal, there are two pairs of well-developed horns; the hinder, which are the larger, being five inches long, in the usual situation; the smaller, an inch and a half long, are close together not far behind the eyes. In the Brown Indian Antelope the anterior pair of horns are rudimentary, and nothing more than knobs. All these horns are straight and conical. Neither species is common. Their size is about that of the Arabian Gazelle; their colour a reddish-brown, becoming lighter below; the hair is coarse; the female is hornless. Captain Kinloch says of them that “four-horned Antelopes are generally found alone, or frequently in pairs; they conceal themselves in long grass or among low bushes, and somewhat resemble hares in their habits. They are seldom to be seen out feeding, but usually jump up at the feet of the hunter and bound away at a great pace.”

The NAGOR, the REITBOK, the LECHÈ, the AEQUITOON, the SING-SING, and the WATER-BUCK are closely allied African Antelopes, with good-sized horns (only present in the males), which are transversely wrinkled, curved forwards, and a little inwards at the tips. Most of them are water-loving animals, and abound in marshy districts on the banks of rivers.

[Pg 20]

The Nagor is a little more than two feet and a half in height at the shoulder, the horns being six inches long, and the tail ten inches. The colour of the long, loose hair is fulvous-brown above, white below. The Reitbok is of a grizzly ochreate colour. Its height is nearly three feet, the horns being twelve inches long. According to Dr. Kirk, the species is “commonly found feeding in small herds; in the heat of the day it rests in long grass, and may be approached within fifty yards before starting. It seldom runs far without stopping to look round. Before again making off it gives a shrill whistle, as it does often when first started. Should the female have young unable to run far, and danger near, she places her foot on the shoulder and presses it to the ground; after which it never moves until almost trodden upon, and is expected to remain in the same spot until the return of the mother.” The Lechè is of a pale brown colour above and white below. Sir John Kirk says it “is a water Antelope, frequenting damp, marshy places, and taking to impassable swamps, among reeds and papyrus. It goes in considerable herds, accompanied by several males, mingling often with the ‘Poku,’ another Antelope peculiar to that region (the valley of the Zambesi). In the distance the Lechè may be known by the peculiar way in which it allows its horns to recline back, almost touching the withers.” The POKU, Vardon’s Antelope of Livingstone, is smaller than the Lechè, and thicker in the neck; otherwise it closely resembles it.

ELAND.

The Sing-sing Antelope and Water-buck are much alike, the former wanting a white elliptical patch, which is found near the base of the tail in the latter. The body colour is a greyish-brown. Long hair on the neck produces a mane. At the shoulder they stand four feet six inches, and the pale horns are two feet and a half long. “The Water Antelope,” says Mr. Drummond, “is an extremely fine animal, and so plentiful that there are, perhaps, more of them shot than of any of the other large Antelopes. The large ringed horns which, in the male, crown its brow, bear a strong resemblance to[Pg 21] those of the Reedbuck [Reitbok], while the habits and general appearance of both species are almost identical. Both frequent thickets and reedy places near water, and are principally found in pairs or small groups. The hair of the species [of Water-buck] inhabiting Eastern Africa is very long and coarse, though that of the one found in Central Africa [the Sing-Sing] is remarkably soft, and is highly prized by the natives as being so.”

The REH-BOK of South Africa, “though almost approaching a Fallow Deer in size, more nearly,” says Mr. Drummond, “resembles a Chamois in other particulars; indeed, it has been called the African Chamois, and so far deserves the title, that it certainly possesses many of the characteristics and habits of the European species—decidedly more so than any other of the Antelope genus found in South Africa, with the exception of the Klipspringer. Their colour is light grey, the hair being somewhat long and coarse, and the horns are straight [bent forwards at the tips], and by no means unusually large for the animal’s size. They are never found but on the bare hills, among rocks and stones, and their powers of springing are wonderful. It seems extraordinary how their delicate limbs escape injury, when they take bound after bound like an indiarubber ball, in places that a Cat would shudder at.” According to Major C. H. Smith, “it is an animal of great swiftness, moving with wonderful rapidity by lengthened stretches, close to the ground, so as to seem to glide over the desert like a mist driven by the winds, and, favoured by the indistinct colours of the fur, is immediately out of sight. The Bushmen and western tribes [of South Africa] make lance-heads, awls, and other tools of the horns, and occasionally cloaks of their skins for the women.”

THE ELAND.[13]

This fine species attains to the size of an Ox, the bull standing six feet and a half at the withers. Attempts have within the last few years been made to breed it in England for the sake of its flesh, which is as good as the best beef. It is, however, found to be impossible to get the price sufficiently low for market purposes. Two varieties are known, one of a pale fawn colour from Central Africa, the other, from South Africa, of a bright yellow tan colour, marked transversely with narrow white lines, about fifteen in number, running from a black line which goes along the back, to the belly. These marks are present in all young individuals, and disappear or fade considerably in the adults. The full-grown bull has a broad tuft of lengthy slight brown hair on the forehead, between and in front of the horns, which are situated some distance behind the eyes, being straight, a foot and a half in length, and at their bases carrying a thick and conspicuous screw-like ridge which extends in some cases nearly to their ends. In the females the horns are never quite so large as in the males. A large dewlap hangs from the throats of the bulls, whilst a dark, short mane continues from the forehead backwards. The tail is about two feet and a quarter in length, with a large tuft of brown hair at its end.

According to Captain W. Cornwallis Harris, “in size and shape the body of the male Eland resembles that of a well-conditioned Guzerat Ox, not unfrequently attaining the height of nineteen hands, and weighing two thousand pounds. The head is strictly that of an Antelope, light, graceful, and bony, with a pair of magnificent straight horns, about two feet in length, spirally ringed, and pointed backwards. A broad and deep dewlap fringed with brown hair reaches to the knee. The colour varies considerably with the age, being dun in some, in others an ashy blue with a tinge of ochre; and in many also sandy-grey approaching to white. The flesh is esteemed by all classes in Africa above that of any other animal; in grain and colour it resembles beef, but is better tasted and more delicate, possessing a pure game flavour, and the quantity of fat with which it is interlarded is surprising, greatly exceeding that of any other game quadruped with which I am acquainted. The female is smaller and of slighter form, with less ponderous horns.”

When writing on the hunting of these creatures, known in South Africa as the Impoofo, the same author remarks that, “notwithstanding the unwieldy shape of these animals, they had at first greatly exceeded the speed of our jaded horses, but being pushed they soon separated; their sleek coats turned first blue and then white with froth; the foam fell from their mouths and nostrils, and the perspiration from their sides. Their pace gradually slackened, and with their full brilliant eyes turned imploring towards us, at the end of a mile, each was laid low by a single bullet.”

[Pg 22]

With reference to these animals, the Hon. W. H. Drummond tells us that “more Eland are killed from horseback than on foot; for as it is utterly out of the question to make a practice of running them down, and as they generally inhabit the treeless flats, where they cannot, except by chance, be stalked, while the uncertainty of their movements and their keeping out of cover render it impossible to find them, like the large animals, by the aid of their spoor, some more certain method is needed than the chance meetings which occur to the hunter when in pursuit of other game, more especially as their hide is held in great repute by the Dutch colonists, who make trek-tows for their wagons, and reins for their oxen from it, even preferring it to that of a Buffalo. The demand thus induced has so diminished their numbers as to have restricted this noble Antelope to a few favoured localities, even in which it is becoming more scarce every day, while not many years ago it formed a component part of almost every landscape in the southern and eastern portions of Africa.”

THE KOODOO.[14]

KOODOO.

This is one of the handsomest of all the Antelopes. It is more slender in build and smaller than the Eland, which it somewhat resembles. The horns are about four feet long, and form most graceful open spirals like corkscrews, there being a ridge along their whole length. The females are hornless. The ear is large and trumpet-shaped, moved at the slightest noise towards its source. The eyes are large and liquid. The body colour is slaty-grey, with transverse white markings, like those on the striped variety of the Eland. A small mane extends along the neck and withers, and another from the chin to the throat and breast. The tail is of moderate length, and hairy. This species is most abundant in Southern Africa, but it extends as high as Abyssinia. It is able to travel with very great speed, and makes prodigious bounds. It stands about five feet in height at the shoulders.

“Majestic in its carriage,” writes Captain Harris, with all the enthusiasm of a true sportsman, “and brilliant in its colour, this species may with propriety be styled the king of the tribe. Other Antelopes are stately, elegant, or curious, but the solitude-seeking Koodoo is absolutely regal! The ground colour is a lively French grey approaching to blue, with several transverse white bands passing over the back and loins: a copious mane, and deeply fringed, tricoloured dewlap, setting off a pair of[Pg 23] ponderous yet symmetrical horns, spirally twisted, and exceeding three feet in length. These are thrown along the back as the stately wearer dashes through the mazes of the forest or clambers the mountain-side. The old bulls are invariably found apart from the females, which herd together in small troops, and are destitute of horns.”

ANGAS’ HARNESSED ANTELOPE.[15]

This elegant animal, much like the Koodoo in its proportions, stands three feet four inches high at the shoulders. In the male, which alone bears horns, these appendages are nearly two feet long, twisted and sub-lyrate, having sharply-pointed tips of a pale straw colour, their other parts being of a brownish-black, deeply ridged for half their length from their bases. The colour of the body is greyish-black, tinged with purplish-brown and ochre, white transverse stripes, like those of the Koodoo, being present on the neck, flanks, and cheeks. A black mane courses down the neck, whilst from the neck and belly depends long shaggy hair in abundance, reaching to the knees. The ears are large, and the face is of a bright sienna-brown. The tail is one foot eight inches long, black above, with under side and tip white. The female is small, and of a bright rufous colour, with transverse stripes more numerous than in the male.

This species is found in troops of eight or ten together, feeding on the mimosa bushes in the Zulu country. Closely allied to it is a second from Central Africa, which is of a dull bay, nearly uniform, colour, the horns reaching thirty inches in length. It is known as Speke’s Antelope.

The HARNESSED ANTELOPES proper are all of small size, the elegant GUIB not being larger than a Goat, its proportions being infinitely more delicate. It is of a pale bay colour, and the distinct transverse white streaks, running down from the middle of its back with connecting bands, have given the origin to its name.

The BUSH BUCK differs in wanting any body stripes. It is also African. Writing of it, Mr. Drummond remarks that the Bush Buck, “the male of whom is known as the ‘Ukouka,’ and the female as the ‘Umbabala,’ and which differ so greatly that experience is necessary to teach one that they are of the same species, is undoubtedly the finest in every way of all the Antelopes, whether found in the [Cape] Colonies or interior, that are known to the hunter as ‘small game.’ In size it resembles a full-grown Fallow Buck, weighing, according to age and condition, from nine to thirteen stone; its colour is a dark reddish-brown, often verging into black, and with indistinct markings on the sides, haunches, and legs; it has a great deal of hair, and a considerable mane, while the neck, which is thick out of all proportion, is nearly bare. The last mentioned peculiarity detracts from the otherwise graceful outlines of its body, the more so, perhaps, from the head being so finely shaped and small. The horns are nearly straight, rough, and ringed for about three inches from their base, and then taper away, smooth and polished, to an almost invisible point; they vary from nine inches to a foot long, and from the way in which they are set on the skull, the immense strength in the neck and shoulders of the animal, and their extreme sharpness, form about as formidable weapons as could well be imagined, especially as their owner is the most plucky Antelope, without exception or consideration of size, with which I have become acquainted in Africa. I do not think that in all my experience ... I remember a single instance in which a Ukouka has not tried to charge when wounded and brought to bay; and no one, even after a very moderate experience, would ever allow any Dog on which he placed any value to attack them.”

THE BOVINE ANTELOPES.[17]

The BUBALINE ANTELOPE, together with the HARTEBEEST, has a peculiarly elongated and narrow head, at the same time that the body is not elegant in its proportions, being triangular in form, heavy in the shoulders, and falling away behind. The horns, which are smaller in the females, are turned abruptly backwards at their tips after having been directed forwards and upwards in a lyrate manner. The Bubaline of North Africa is of a uniform bay colour, and the much more recently discovered[Pg 24] TORA ANTELOPE of Eastern Africa resembles it in this respect, whilst its horns differ slightly in their direction and size, being more divergent and slender. The Hartebeest is grey-brown, and black on the outer sides of the limbs, with large, triangular white spots on the haunches; a black line also runs down the middle of the face from between the horns.

Mr. Pringle, when writing on the Hartebeest, says of it that it “is one of the largest and handsomest of the Antelope family.... In the nooks of the narrow ravines, through which the game are wont to descend from the steep and stony mountains, for change of pasturage, or to drink at the fountains that ooze from their declivities, I have frequently found fresh skulls and horns of the Hartebeest, those slight relics being all that remained to indicate that there the Lion had surprised and rent his prey, and that the ferocious Hyæna had followed and feasted on the fragments, devouring even the bones, except the skull and a few other unmanageable portions.”

BUBALINE ANTELOPE.

The BLESBOK, BONTE-BOK, and SASSABY are about the size of a calf three months old. Their horns are lyrate and ringed at their bases. The two former are of a purple-red colour, white faces and white rumps. Of the Blesbok, Mr. C. J. Andersson remarks—“It is of a beautiful violet colour, and is found in company with black wilde-beests and Spring-boks in countless thousands, on the vast green plains of short, crisp, sour grass occupying a central position in South Africa. Cattle and Horses refuse to pasture on the grassy products of these plains, which afford sustenance to myriads of this Antelope, whose skin emits a most delicious and powerful perfume of flowers and sweet-smelling herbs.”

The Sassaby, or Bastard Hartebeest of the Cape colonists, stands four feet and a half in height. It has strong horns a foot in length, crescentic, with the points directed inwards. Its body colour is a dark purple-brown above, which changes into dusky-yellow underneath, a slate-coloured patch extending from the shoulder and the hip down to the knee and hock, at the same time that the rump is fawn-coloured. The tail is nearly two feet long.

[Pg 25]

THE GNUS.[18]

The GNU and the BRINDLED GNU are two of the most grotesque of creatures. With the head not unlike that of a small Cape Buffalo, it has the limbs and hind-quarters not unlike those of a pony, in proportions as well as size. The nose is broad and flattened, with a bristly muzzle. The horns are broad at the base, where they nearly meet, and after turning downward as well as forward, they again turn up abruptly in a hook-like manner. They are found abundantly in Southern Africa, where, as their flesh is worthless, they are not much hunted. They are extremely wild and fearless, and remarkably tenacious of life. Their speed is great, and they have a habit of prancing about and kicking out furiously when suspecting danger. Both species have a mane along the neck, and lengthy hair between the forelegs. In both the tail is long, covered with a mass of hair not unlike that of the Horse.

GNU.

The Common Gnu is of a deep brown-black, the tail and mane being white, whilst the bushy beard, running back to the chest and between the forelegs, is black. Lengthy black hairs, diverging and ascending from a median line, cover the upper part of the nose, at the same time that other smaller tufts under the eyes help to give a most ferocious aspect to the face. From Captain Harris’s description of the animals of South Africa, an excellent idea of the peculiarities of the creature may be gained. “Of all quadrupeds,” he writes, “the Gnoo is probably the most awkward and grotesque. Nature doubtless formed him in one of her freaks, and it is scarcely possible to contemplate his ungainly figure without laughter. Wheeling and prancing in every direction, his shaggy and bearded head arched between his slender and muscular legs, and his long white tail streaming in the wind, this ever-wary animal has at once a ferocious and ludicrous appearance. Suddenly stopping, showing an imposing front, and tossing his head in mock defiance, his wild red sinister eyes flash fire, and his snort, resembling the roar of a Lion, is repeated with energy and effect. Then lashing his sides with his floating tail, he plunges, bounds, kicks up his heels with a fantastic flourish, and in a moment is off at speed, making the dust fly behind him as he sweeps across the plain.”

In the Brindled Gnu the front of the face lacks the lengthy hair of its ally; the tail is also black instead of white. Its body colour is a dirty dun, variegated with obscure pale streaks. This species, as well as the Common Gnu, is the constant companion of the equally abundant Quaggas of the same region.

The SEROW (sometimes written Surrow) of India, the CAMBING-OUTAN of Sumatra, with the GORAL of North India, form a small group of strongly-built Goat-like Antelopes, with short, conical, upright horns, ringed at the base, and of nearly equal size in both sexes. The feet are large, and the tapering tail short.

Captain Kinloch gives us the following account of the Serow. He says it “is an ungainly-looking animal, combining the characteristics of the Cow, the Donkey, the Pig, and the Goat! It is a large and powerful beast.... The body is covered with very coarse hair, which assumes the form of a bristly mane on the neck and shoulders, and gives the beast a ferocious appearance, which does not belie its disposition. The colour is a dull black on the back, bright red on the sides, and white underneath, the legs also being dirty white. The ears are very large; the muzzle is coarse.... The Serow has an awkward gait; but in spite of this can go over the worst ground; and it has, perhaps, no superior in going down steep hills. It is a solitary animal, and is nowhere numerous; two or three may be found on one hill, four or five on another, and so on. It delights in the steepest and most rocky hillsides, and its favourite resting-places are in caves, under the shelter of overhanging rocks, or at the foot of shady trees.”

GORAL.

Of the Goral, the same author remarks that it “is an active little beast, and much resembles a small Goat, but the back is more arched. The prevailing colour is a brownish-grey, with a dark stripe along the back, and dark markings on the legs. Underneath the throat is a large white spot, which is very conspicuous when the animal is standing above one, and often betrays its presence when it would otherwise have escaped observation. The hair is soft but rather coarse, and about two inches long.” In the male the horns reach nine inches in length.

The Cambing-outan stands about two feet and a quarter at the shoulder. Its long, coarse hair is brown-black in colour, the mane and throat alone being white. The horns are not more than six inches in length, cylindrical, slightly annulated and curved backwards at their lips. Mountain forests, where it leads a particularly active life, are its haunts.

[Pg 27]

Dr. J. Anderson remarks of the TAKIN, or BUDORCAS, another allied species, “Major Stewart informs me that it is found in all the high ranges of the north-east of Debrooghur, and is far from uncommon. The Mishnees, with their very inferior appliances to shoot and catch them, are, nevertheless, frequently dressed in their skins, or have a part of a skin with the hair on as an ornament, which would seem to indicate that they are numerous.... They are seen in pairs, and sometimes in herds of twenty or more. They are swift of foot and good climbers.”

In Formosa and Japan there are also Goat-like Antelopes, that from the former locality being named after Mr. Swinhoe, who discovered it. Its horns are short and conical, its brown fur harsh and crisp. Both closely resemble the Cambing-outan. There is still another with a long tail inhabiting Northern China.

The MAZAMA, or Mountain Goat of California and the Rocky Mountains, is an allied species, with short, thick, conical, recurved horns, and long, straight, soft hair of a white colour, specially abundant in the region of the throat, shoulders, sides, and tail. Its size is that of a large Sheep, which it much resembles in physiognomy. The flesh has an unpleasant musky flavour, the skin is thick and spongy, at the same time that the hair is considered of but little value.

THE CHAMOIS.[19]

This well-known Goat-like Antelope inhabits the snow-clad mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus, ascending during the summer, and in winter going below the line of snow in search of food. Both sexes possess horns—black, short, and cylindrical—rising perpendicularly and parallel from the forehead for some distance, then forming a small hook directed backwards to their pointed tips. These rarely exceed seven inches in length. The female is slightly smaller than the male, which stands a little over two feet at the shoulder. In winter the colour of the lengthy, hairy coat is dark brown, which becomes a brownish-yellow in the summer, a darker streak along the back alone remaining. The head is pale yellow, darker from the nose upwards to between the ears and around the eyes. Behind the horns and between the ears is a pair of peculiar glands, opening externally, the function of which is unknown. The voice of the species is a rough bleat under all ordinary circumstances; but when the one which watches whilst the others feed—and there is always found to be one such in every herd—finds cause to fear, it gives a shrill whistle as a danger signal to its companions.

HEAD OF THE CHAMOIS.

The senses of sight, hearing, and smell of the Chamois are developed to a maximum, and this fact, taken in association with the animal’s great sure-footedness among the lofty, snow-covered Alps, in which it has its home, makes hunting it a task of no mean difficulty and danger. Dogs are of no service on the rocky eminences to which the Chamois will retreat when it is pursued, and the sportsman has to rely upon his own sure-footedness and courage in climbing the steep and slippery precipices, whither he is tempted by the sight of game. If so hard pressed that it is driven to some height beyond which it cannot go, it is said that it will precipitate itself upon its pursuer, sending him down into the depths below. Besides man, the eagle is an enemy whose constant endeavour is to obtain the kids from their watchful mothers. Its skin is much valued for its toughness combined with its pliability. Its flesh is also greatly esteemed.

[Pg 28]

THE ORYXES.[20]

Of the Antelopes there is a fairly well-marked section, distinguished by the possession of horns in both sexes, at the same time that the body is peculiarly deep at the shoulder, whilst the lengthy tail is cylindrical and tufted at the extremity. Among these there is a mane along the neck in three closely-allied species, the BLAUBOK, or Equine Antelope of South Africa, the SABLE ANTELOPE of the Transvaal and the eastern coast of Africa, and BAKER’S ANTELOPE, or the Maarif of Upper Nubia, as well as in the ORYX, which is found in many parts of Africa, the BEISA of Abyssinia, the BEATRIX ANTELOPE of Arabia, and the GEMSBOK of South Africa; whilst in the not distant ADDAX ANTELOPE of North Africa there is no nape-mane, but a slight one on the throat.

ORYX.

In the Blaubok, which stands more than four feet and a half at the shoulder, with a glaucous, grey coat upon a black skin; in the Sable Antelope, which stands four feet and a half, being black except upon the abdomen, as well as in streaks upon the face, which are white; and in Baker’s Antelope, which stands four feet eight inches, being of a pale fulvous liver colour, the horns are two feet and more in length, and curved gently backwards, being ringed transversely except at the tips, where they are smooth. In the Oryx, the Beisa, the Beatrix Antelope, and the Gemsbok, the lengthy conical horns, although similarly ringed, are much more slender, starting backwards in a line with the face, whilst in those previously mentioned they rise at an angle from it, being straight in the Gemsbok and Beisa, very slightly curved backwards in the Beatrix, and more so in the Oryx. In the nearly allied Addax the similarly-constructed horns are gently twisted in a corkscrew manner. All these last-mentioned Antelopes are pale in colour, being almost white, with the throat protected by long black hair.

Whilst speaking of the Beisa Antelope, Mr. Blanford remarks that “the appearance of a herd of Oryx is very imposing. They are some of the most elegant and symmetrical of animals, the motions[Pg 29] being those of a Wild Horse rather than of an Antelope. Their favourite pace appears to be either a steady quick walk or a trot; they rarely break into a gallop unless greatly alarmed. When frightened they dash off, sometimes snorting and putting their heads down, as if charging, raising their long tails, and looking very formidable. They are wary animals, though far less so than some other Antelopes. It is said that they frequently attack when wounded, and their long, straight horns are most deadly weapons.”

Of the Gemsbok, Captain Harris tells us that it “is about the size of an Ass, and nearly of the same ground colour, with a black list stripe down the back and on each flank, white legs variegated with black bands, and a white face, marked with the figure of a black nose-band and head-stall, imparting altogether to the animal the appearance of being clad in half-mourning. Its copious black tail literally sweeps the ground; a mane reversed, and a tuft of flowing black hair on the breast, with a pair of straight, slender horns (common to both sexes) three feet in length, and ringed at the base, completing the portrait.” The resemblance between the Gemsbok, when seen from the side view, and the Unicorn of heraldry, is sufficiently striking to make it more than probable that the conception of the latter originated in the former.

The author just quoted says of the Blaubok, or Roan Antelope, by which name it is also known, that it “is an inhabitant of the elevated downs and ridges about the source of the river Limpopo [four degrees to the west of Delagoa Bay, and a little north of it], and being utterly destitute of speed, may be ridden to a standstill without difficulty.... It is heavily built, and has an upright mane, long asinine ears, and robust scimitar-shaped horns.”

THE NYL-GHAU, OR BLUE OX.[21]

THIS is the largest of the Antelopine animals found in India, the adult male standing over four feet in height at the shoulders, which are at a considerably higher level than the haunches. The female is about one-third smaller than her consort, and without horns, which in the male are but short, rarely exceeding nine inches in length, and rising perpendicularly from the head. Each horn is black, smooth, angular, and turned slightly forward, ending in a sharp point.

The body colour of the male is a slate blue, darker about the head and under parts of the body, whilst the legs are black; the female is tawny-red; the aged bull is nearly black. A short mane runs along the neck and over the highest part of the shoulder, in which latter situation it is of greater length. There is a considerable tuft of dark hair hanging from the middle of the front of the neck, over six inches in length, which is situated just below a conspicuous white, anchor-shaped throat-patch, the shank of which runs up between the two halves of the lower jaw almost to the lip. On each cheek also there is a circular white spot below and behind the eye. A transverse[Pg 30] white line above and below each fetlock stands out conspicuously also. The inner sides of the thighs are white, this colour extending for some distance upwards and inwards. There is a white patch also in front of each pastern joint. The tail is lengthy, and tufted at the end. The ears are nearly of the same length as the horns. The limbs are elegantly shaped, though rather heavy, and their proportions show a tendency towards those of the Giraffe, which animal it also resembles in the employment of its tongue for seizing food, and not its lips.

The Nyl-Ghau is found only in continental India, where it abounds in parts, not being a favourite with sportsmen, because its small horns are so insignificant a trophy, but more so with the larger members of the Cat tribe—the Tiger and the Leopard—as well as the wild Dog, with whom it is a frequent meal. Its temper is uncertain, which fact, when taken in connection with its powerful build, makes it a dangerous pet. It lives well in confinement. When attacking, it drops on its knees, and thus advances until it feels itself within a sufficient distance of its foe to make a sudden leap upon it, which it can do with great velocity and force. The leather manufactured from its skin is valuable, but its flesh is never eaten by the Hindoos, on account of their belief that it belongs to the Ox tribe, which it is not lawful to slay. With a good Horse in open country, the Blue bull may be hunted successfully with spears. It is very tenacious of life. The first specimens introduced into England were brought from Bombay by Lord Clive in 1767.

NYL-GHAU.

THE MUSK OX[22]

is an animal whose exact affinities it is not easy to determine. By some naturalists it has been thought to be intermediate between the Sheep and the Ox, whence its scientific generic name, Ovibos. It is found only in Arctic America north of latitude 60°, and exhales a strong musky odour at certain seasons of the year, an approach to which is recognisable in several of the Bovidæ. It is a heavy-built, but not large creature, with short legs, and a very lengthy brown hairy coat, which almost reaches to the ground. Its horns are very similar in form to those of the Cape Buffalo, and in the bulls they meet in the middle line of the forehead. The tail is very short, being entirely hidden by the fur of the haunches. The nose is not naked, as in the Oxen, but is almost entirely covered with hair, as in the Elk and Reindeer, both Arctic ruminants also. The spread of their feet is considerable, and they can cover the ground at no little speed. Captain Franklin describes their habits as follows:—[Pg 32]“The Musk Oxen, like the Buffalo, herd together in bands, and generally frequent barren grounds during the summer months, keeping near the rivers, but retire to the woods in winter. They seem to be less watchful than most other wild animals, and when grazing are not difficult to approach, provided the hunters go against the wind. When two or three men get so near a herd as to fire at them from different points, these animals, instead of separating or running away, huddle closer together, and several are generally killed; but if the wound is not mortal they become enraged, and dart in the most furious manner at the hunters, who must be very dexterous to evade them. They can defend themselves with their powerful horns against Wolves and Bears, which, as the Indians say, they not infrequently kill. The Musk Oxen feed on the same substances as the Reindeer; and the prints of the feet of these two animals are so much alike, that it requires the eye of an experienced hunter to distinguish them. The largest killed by us did not exceed in weight three hundred pounds.”

MUSK OXEN.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

It being quite unnecessary to describe the general form and proportions of this animal, as seen among us in a domesticated state—Shorthorns, Alderney, Highland, &c.—we will at once proceed to notice the famous cattle of Chillingham Park, in Northumberland, which are known to have been in existence in the thirteenth century. The wild cattle there are all cream white, with a brown muzzle, with the insides and tips of the ears reddish-brown, at the same time that the horns are white tipped with black, of which latter colour are the hoofs. Calves more or less coloured are occasionally born, but these are promptly destroyed by the keepers. Some of the bulls have a thin, short mane. Their habit, on strangers approaching them, is to “set off in a full gallop, and at a distance of about two hundred yards make a wheel round and come boldly up again, tossing their heads in a menacing manner. On a sudden they make a full stop at the distance of forty or fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of their surprise; but upon the least motion being made, they all again turn round and fly off with equal speed, but not to the same distance, forming a shorter circle; and again returning with a bolder and more threatening aspect than before, they approach much nearer, probably within thirty yards, when they again make another stand, and then fly off. This they do several times, shortening their distance, and advancing nearer and nearer, till they come within such a short distance that most people think it proper to leave them, not choosing to provoke them further.” They differ from domestic cattle in that they feed at night, and generally sleep during the day. They also hide their calves.

CHILLINGHAM CATTLE.

In all the so-called wild cattle of Great Britain the forehead is flat or slightly concave, the head is small, the back is straight, and the legs are short.

[Pg 33]

It is now almost universally agreed that domestic cattle are descended from two or three species of the genus Bos, which existed in late geologic or prehistoric times, the remains being found in Switzerland, Ireland, and other parts of Europe. The Zebu, Yak, Gayal, and Arni, to be referred to immediately, have also been domesticated.

Cattle have been so distributed and mixed in breeding that any precise arrangement of the breeds according to their ancestral affinities can scarcely be tabulated. Most important of the heavy breeds are the well-known Shorthorns of the north of England, so carefully and successfully developed by Charles and Robert Colling between 1780 and 1818, at Ketton and Barmpton, close to Darlington, in Durham, by a process of in-and-in breeding—“Hubback,” the “Duchess,” “Lady Maynard,” “Young Strawberry,” “Foljambe,” and “Comet,” the last bull of which, at Charles Colling’s sale in 1810, fetched a thousand guineas.

HUNGARIAN BULL.

Following close upon the Collings came the Booths—Richard, Thomas, and J. Booth—between 1814 and 1864, at Studley, Killerby, and Warlaby, where “Isabella,” the twin sisters “Necklace” and “Bracelet,” were parents of goodly herds, “Commander-in-Chief” being one of the latest gems. On one occasion, it is stated, Mr. Richard Booth, of Warlaby, refused the unique offer of fifteen hundred guineas for a cow named “Queen of the May.”

In 1810 Thomas Bates, of Ridley Hall, and afterwards of Kirkleavington, then a well-known breeder of cattle, purchased at Charles Colling’s sale “Young Duchess,” daughter of “Comet,” a granddaughter of “Duchess” by “Daisy” bull, and she became the founder of the famous “Duchess” tribe. In 1831, with the accession of the bull “Belvidere,” a descendant of Robert Colling’s “Princess” tribe, the “Duchess” breed produced “Short Tail” and the renowned “Duke of Northumberland.” The “Matchem” cow, purchased at the same date, did much to improve the stock. Mr. Bates died in 1849.

Several enterprising American breeders have, since 1817, introduced Shorthorns into the United[Pg 34] States and Canada, Colonel Lewis Sanders, of Kentucky, being the first who did so on anything like thorough principles. Others followed his example with success, especially about the year 1852, when a fresh impulse was given to their production because of the rise of price in meat, as well as the foreign demand for it. The Booth and Bates bloods predominate in these animals, and form the basis of much of the beef now re-shipped to England.

The great advantage of the Shorthorn breed is that they, together with a good temper, combine the advantages of great size and aptitude to fatten, rapidly reaching maturity. For dairy purposes they are excelled by the Suffolk Duns and Ayrshire cattle, the latter, with their enormous udders, broad hips, and deep flanks, being the best as milkers. Hereford, North Devon, and Scottish black Shorthorns are inferior to those of the northern counties in their slowness of growth and power of filling out. Those of North Devon are particularly symmetrical in form. The mountain cattle of the western Highlands, otherwise known as the Kyloe breed, are best known from the hardiness of their constitutions, protected as they are by their thick hides and shaggy coats. The Welsh and Shetland cattle resemble them in many respects.

In Hungary, Turkey, and Western Asia there is a breed of large cattle with peculiarly long and slender outward-spreading horns, black-tipped, and greyish throughout the rest of their length.

In India, the Sacred Cattle, or ZEBUS, with convex forehead, short horns, large drooping ears, and a short head, possess a high hump upon the withers, as well as an ample dewlap falling in undulating folds along the whole length of the neck. Their disposition is mild, as is indicated by their expression, and the liberty they are allowed in India is wonderful. They vary greatly in size, some being not bigger than an average month-old calf. The breed has extended in times gone by through Persia into Eastern Africa, where it is found with a narrower and flatter face, at the same time that the hump is smaller.

The introduction of steam, as well as the extension in the employment of the Horse, has almost entirely superseded the use of cattle as beasts of burden or draught in highly civilised nations.

The GOUR, the GAYAL, and the BANTING are three species of wild cattle found in the Oriental world from India to Java, peculiar in possessing a ridge running along the middle of the back, and horns which, after running outwards from the head, are directed upwards and not backwards. Of these the Gour of Central India is the largest, measuring six feet at the withers, having also a convex profile, very high withers, and an arched back, which makes the line from the nose to the root of the tail, along the spine, a fairly continuous curve. Its colour is a deep brown glossy black, excepting a ring of white encircling the base of each hoof, and a white tuft on the forehead. There is not any trace of a dewlap in either sex. The horns are not more than two feet in length, strong, and curved boldly upwards at their tips. The Gour is found abundantly in herds of twenty or so around the tablelands, especially of South Bahar, feeding on the young leaves of the trees and shrubs. It appears to have resisted all attempts at domestication. The Gayal is found in the hill-region east of the Brahmaputra. It is much the size of English cattle. The bull is bold, and the cow easily domesticated. Its home is the deep jungle, where it can obtain the young leaves and shoots of the brushwood. According to Mr. Macrae the following is the method employed by the Kookies of the Chittagong hill-region to catch the animal:—“On discovering a herd of wild Gayals in the jungle, they prepare a number of balls, of the size of a man’s head, composed of a particular kind of earth, salt, and cotton. They then drive their tame Gayals towards the wild ones, when the two herds soon meet and assimilate into one; the males of the one attaching themselves to the females of the other, and vice versâ. The Kookies now scatter their balls over such parts of the jungle as they think the herd most likely to pass, and watch its motions. The Gayals, on meeting these balls as they pass along, are attracted by their appearance and smell, and begin to lick them with their tongues; and relishing the taste of the salt, and the particular earth composing them, they never quit the place until all the balls are consumed. The Kookies, having observed the Gayals to have once tasted their balls, prepare a sufficient supply of them to answer the intended purpose, and as the Gayals lick them up they throw down more; and it is to prevent their being so readily destroyed that the cotton is mixed with the earth and the salt. This process generally goes on for three changes of the moon, or for a month and a half, during which time the tame and the wild Gayals are always together, licking the decoy balls, and the Kookie, after the first day or two of their being so, makes his appearance at such a distance as not to alarm the wild[Pg 35] ones. By degrees he approaches nearer and nearer, until at length the sight of him has become so familiar that he can advance to stroke his tame Gayals on the back and neck without frightening the wild ones. He next extends his hand to them, and caresses them also, at the same time giving them plenty of his decoy balls to lick. Thus, in the short space of time mentioned, he is able to drive them, along with the tame ones, to his parrah, or village, without the least exertion of force; and so attached do the Gayals become to the parrah, that when the Kookies migrate from one place to another, they always find it necessary to set fire to the huts they are about to abandon, lest the Gayals should return to them from the new grounds.”

The Gayal carries its nose forwards, as a rule, like a Buffalo. Its ears are longer than those of the Ox. It possesses a dewlap smaller than in the Zebu. The tail is short, not descending below the hock. Its general colour is a varying and generally dark brown, the abdomen and the legs being white in parts. Its cry is a shrill, insignificant lowing. Its horns are conical, turned directly outwards, and a little upwards at their tips, not exceeding one foot and a half in length.

The Banting extends from Cochin China, through the Indo-Malay archipelago, to the islands of Bali and Lombok. Its colour and proportions are almost exactly those of the Gour.

Closely related to the Oxen are the Bisons of Europe and of North America, together with the Tibetan Yak. The two species of Bison agree closely with one another in general appearance, the American form being shorter and weaker in the hind-quarters, and a little smaller altogether.

The hair of the head and neck is very abundant and long, forming a mane of very dark colour, at the same time that it nearly conceals the eyes and ears as well as the base of the short conical horns, which are directed outwards and upwards. Under the chin there is a lengthy beard. A line of lengthy hair also extends along the back nearly to the tail, which is itself only covered with short soft hair, except at the end where there is a lengthy tuft. There is a hump developed on the shoulders, at which spot the adult male is nearly six feet in height, the female being smaller.

The European Bison, or Aurochs, is on the verge of extinction, surviving only in the forests of Lithuania, Moldavia, Wallachia, and the Caucasus, on account of the severe laws against its destruction. The horns are longer and more curved than in the American species. The females are less hairy and smaller than their mates. Its strength is very great, and an old bull is said to be a match for at least four Wolves. Its speed is considerable, and it raises its hoofs above the level of its lowered head whilst galloping.

In his description of the Black Forest (Sylva Hercynia) Cæsar describes the species (the Urus) thus:—“They are but little less than Elephants in size, and are of the appearance, colour, and form of a Bull. Their strength as well as their speed is very great. They spare neither man nor beast that they see. They cannot be brought to endure the sight of men, nor can they be tamed, even when taken young. The people, who take them in pitfalls, assiduously destroy them; and young men harden themselves in this labour, and exercise themselves in this kind of chase; and those who have killed a great number, the horns being publicly exhibited in evidence of the fact, obtain great honour. The horns, in magnitude, shape, and quality, differ much from the horns of our Oxen. They are much sought for, and after having been edged with silver at their open ends, are used for drinking vessels at great feasts.”

According to some authorities, however, it is a mistake to identify the European Bison with the Aurochs.

To all intents and purposes the American Bison is an extinct animal, killed off by the rifle and the rail and the encroachment of man upon its haunts. A few specimens are preserved with what may be described as laudably jealous care in the Yellowstone Park, and small herds may be found in Montana, Texas, and Canada.

EUROPEAN BISON.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

Huge herds, numbering millions of individuals, “so numerous as to blacken the plains as far as they can reach,” were once a common sight on the prairies, and repeatedly stopped the Kansas Pacific Railway when first formed. Hunters spread false notions as to the organisation of these herds,[Pg 37] which was of a most simple character, excellently explained by Mr. Allen, who says that the timidity and watchfulness of the cows, accustomed as they were to the care of their offspring, led them to take the initiative in the movements of the herd, and this kept them near the front, especially when the herd was moving. The popular belief that the bulls kept the cows and the young in the middle of the herd, and formed themselves, as it were, into a protecting phalanx, had some apparent basis; but the theory that the old bulls, the least watchful of all the members of the herd, were sentinels posted on the outskirts to give notice of an approaching enemy, was wholly a myth, as was also the supposition that the herd consisted of small harems.

AMERICAN BISON.

These “Buffaloes,” as they were generally called, were much like domestic cattle in their habits. They were, however, fond of wallowing in the mud, and so coating themselves with a protection from their insect pests. Their ferocity of appearance was not evident in their true natures, for their disposition was sluggish and fearful. Colonel Dodge remarked of them that, “endowed with the smallest possible amount of instinct, the little he has seems adapted rather for getting him into difficulties than out of them. If not alarmed at sight or smell of a foe, he will stand stupidly gazing at his companions in their death-throes, until the whole herd is shot down. He will walk unconsciously into a quicksand or quagmire already choked with struggling dying victims. Having made up his mind to go a certain way it is almost impossible to swerve him from his purpose.”

The flesh of the “Buffalo” was thought equal to the best beef if from the young animal, but dry and insipid when from the adult. The tongue and hump were esteemed great delicacies. Pemmican was made mostly from the dried flesh, pounded fine and mixed with an equal weight of tallow.

The YAK differs from the Bisons mostly in the distribution of its long hair, which, instead of being situated on its hump and neck, forms a lengthy fringe along the shoulders, flanks, and thighs, and completely invests the tail, which latter is much prized in India, where it is known as “Chowry,” and is employed as a fly-switch in great ceremonials.

[Pg 38]

The Yak is a native of the high ground of Tibet, where it is rigorously protected by the native government against the foreign sportsman. Its colour is black, except some spots upon the face, which are white or grey. Its tail is often white, as is frequently the long hair tuft on the top of the withers. Its horns reach nearly a yard in length, and are directed outwards, forwards, and then upwards. Its voice is much like that of a Pig, whence the name Grunting Ox, by which it sometimes goes.

As to the habits of the creature, Captain Kinloch tells us that “the Yak inhabits the wildest and most desolate mountains; it delights in extreme cold; and is found, as a rule, at a greater elevation than any other animal. Although so large a beast, it thrives upon the coarsest pasturage, and its usual food consists of a rough, wiry grass, which grows in all the higher valleys of Tibet, up to an elevation of nearly 20,000 feet.... Yak seem to wander about a good deal. In summer, the cows are generally to be found in herds varying in number from ten to one hundred, while the old bulls are for the most part solitary or in small parties of three or four. They feed at night or early in the morning, and usually betake themselves to some steep and barren hillside during the day, lying sometimes for hours in the same spot.”

YAK.

The BUFFALOES have the horns flattened and triangular in section, inclined outwards and backwards, turning up at the tips. The Common Buffalo is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Indian region. The huge Indian variety, with most lengthy horns, is also known as the Arni. Its horns are elongated and narrow, sometimes reaching six feet and a half in length. It stands nearly or quite six feet at the shoulder, its proportions are bulky, and its general colour dusky-black. It lives in small herds numbering not more than twenty, and solitary bulls are often met with which attack sportsmen in a most vicious manner without provocation. The Cape Buffalo has shorter horns, expanded at their bases, so that they almost meet in the middle line of the forehead. It is found all over Central and South Africa, and is a formidable animal when wounded, as, quite regardless of the cloud of smoke which follows the shot aimed at it, it charges right through it, and so does[Pg 39] frequent injury to the experienced hunter. Its general colour is blue-black, but in some cases it has a reddish tinge. The Hon. W. H. Drummond gives the following account of a fight between two bulls of which he was an eye-witness. After having had his attention attracted by a loud clattering noise, he remarks that, “on looking through the edge of the last thicket which had concealed them, I saw two Buffalo bulls standing facing each other with lowered heads, and, as I sat down to watch, they rushed together with all their force, producing the loud crash I had before heard. Once the horns were interlocked they kept them so, their straining quarters telling that each was doing his best to force the other backwards. Several long white marks on their necks showed where they had received scratches, and blood dripping over the withers of the one next me proved that he had received a more severe wound. It was a magnificent sight to see the enormous animals, every muscle at its fullest tension, striving for the mastery. Soon one, a very large and old bull, began to yield a little, going backwards step by step; but at last, as if determined to conquer or die, it dropped on to its knees. The other, disengaging its horns for a second, so as to give an impetus, again rushed at him, but, whether purposely or not I could not tell, it did not strike him on the forehead, but on the neck, under the hump, and I could see that with a twist of his horns he inflicted a severe wound. However, instead of following up his seeming advantage, he at once recoiled, and stood half facing his antagonist, who, getting on his legs again, remained in the same position for several minutes, and then with a low grunt of rage, rushed at him. This time he was not met, and his broad forehead struck full on his rival’s shoulder, almost knocking it over. The old bull then went a few yards off and stood watching the other for fully a quarter of an hour, when he walked slowly away in the opposite direction.”

The Cape Buffalo, which is found all over Africa south of the equator, is replaced in the north-eastern portion of the continent by a smaller variety, of a browner colour, and with much shorter horns, which are not closely approximated at their bases, at the same time that they spread out almost horizontally instead of curving downwards and backwards.

ANOA.

In western and the western-equatorial parts of Africa there is again another still smaller variety[Pg 40] in which the hair is yellowish-red instead of nearly black or brown, the short horns being, as well, directed considerably upwards instead of directly outwards.

In the Island of Celebes the smallest species of Buffalo is found, which differs but little in appearance from the young of the Cape species. It is known as the ANOA; is black, with short, wavy hair, and has short, parallel prismatic horns directed upwards from the forehead.

THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE.[26]

This Antelope of North America, one of the few forms of the Hollow-horned Ruminants which inhabit the New World, is different from all the other members of the group in two respects at least, namely, that its horns are branched, as implied in the name, and that they are annually shed.

The accompanying figure is a side view of the skull of the animal, whose size is nearly that of a Fallow Deer, although its build is not so heavy. It is there seen that each horn-core forms a blade-shaped projection six inches long, with the pointed end behind, situated above the eyes perpendicular to the line of the face, rounded posteriorly and sharpened in front. Each horn itself is a foot or so in its greatest length, is pointed and gently curved backwards, at the same time that from the front of it, very slightly above the middle of its height, a short branch arises which is directed forwards, the whole there dividing into two. Each horn is flattened from side to side, is not annulated, and in its structure scarcely differs from that of a Sheep or Goat.

For some years before it was certainly known to be the case, it had been rumoured by the hunters of Fort Union that the Pronghorn Antelope shed its horns each year; and in the year 1858 Dr. C. A. Canfield, of Monterey, California, in writing to Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, informed him that in specimens in his possession “their horns drop off annually.” This letter remained unprinted until in England Mr. A. D. Bartlett, Superintendent of the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park, London, in 1865 drew attention to the same fact, which was observed by him in a male animal living in the Gardens at the time.

SKULL OF THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE.

The horns—not antlers, be it noticed—are, it is now certain, detached each year from their supporting cores, and subsequently dropped, to be replaced by others which at the time of shedding have already advanced some way in growth, although at first they are very pale and soft. In this respect the Pronghorn is not resembled by any other Antelope, and differs entirely from the Deer.

Of the species Dr. Canfield, in the letter above referred to, gives several interesting details as to its habits, from which we may infer that they are not so cunning or so fleet as their allies in Africa and India:—“From the 1st of September to the 1st of March they run in bands, the bucks, does, and kids all together,” shortly after which time the young are born, upon which the bucks separate and wander about alone until the following season.[Pg 42] “A band of Pronghorn Antelopes, when frightened, never run directly away from you, but cross over in front of you, running across your path from one side to the other repeatedly, and keeping about a hundred yards ahead. On this account it is sometimes easy, on a smart Horse, to run into a drove of them and catch one of them with a noose. When one is alone, and is watched by a person or animal and becomes frightened, it makes a sort of shrill blowing noise like a whistle, and then commences bounding off. On the neck it has a heavy, thick, chestnut-coloured mane, five or six inches long, and on the rump a white patch of coarse hair; and when the animal is frightened it always erects the mane and the hair and this white spot, thus giving it a very singular and characteristic appearance as it runs bounding away from you. The Antelope has a very peculiar odour, strong and, to some people, offensive.... On the whole, I consider the meat of the Pronghorn to be very excellent.”

PRONGHORN ANTELOPE.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

There is a peculiarity in the feet of the Pronghorn in which it resembles the Giraffe, a few Antelopes, and the different members of the Camel tribe, namely, that the false hoofs, as well as their supporting bones, are entirely absent, from which it may be inferred, as is the case, that the number of digits in each foot is only two.

In the females of the species the horns are present, but they are much reduced in size, and almost hidden in the hairy covering of the head. The end of the nose—in other words, the muffle—is hairy, and not, therefore, damp at all times in any part, as is that of the Ox and most ruminants. The tail is very short; the fur is very short and close set, being stiff and wavy. Its colour is a pale fawn above and on the limbs, whilst the breast as well as the abdomen are a yellowish-white, at the same time that the tail and round about it are pure white, as is the inside of the ear.

Although the Pronghorn is here described after all the more ordinary hollow-horned Ruminantia, it is far from impossible that it is much more intimately related to some one of the above-mentioned families than to the others. It must either have originated direct from the earliest type of Bovine Ruminant, and from that time continued isolated until the present day, or it may have been a straggler from some already differentiated group, like the Gazelles, for instance, that, arriving in a land so unlike the haunts of its progenitors, took on itself from altered circumstances peculiar modifications in its horn-growth and foot-form which have resulted in its present characteristics.

This interesting animal, from the male of which is obtained a powder contained in a pouch about the size of an orange, on the surface of the abdomen, and which is one of the most fragrant of perfumes, is generally included among the Cervidæ. Nevertheless, there are many reasons in favour of its being considered an Antelopine animal. Apart from the fact that it has a gall-bladder, which is not found in any Deer, but in almost all Antelopes, its pale grey hair is peculiarly coarse and Goat-like, and the absence of antlers or horns in both sexes tells in neither direction, for, as in the Brockets of South America and the Chinese Muntjac, the antlers are rudimentary, so are the horns in the Bush-bucks of Africa, and in some domestic Sheep as well as Oxen.

The presence of enormous canine tusks, three inches long, would at first sight seem to be in favour of its relations with the Deer, because in the Muntjacs they are also found. Nevertheless there is no à priori reason why these formidable weapons should not be developed in a hollow-horned ruminant; for, cropping up independently in genera so distant as the Deerlets, the Muntjacs, and the Water Deer, why should they not do so in the Antelopes as well?

SKULL OF THE MUSK [DEER].

The Musk is twenty inches in height, its ears large, and its tail rudimentary. Its hoofs are small, but their spread is large, because of the yielding attachment of the false hoofs, as in the Reindeer. The coarse and brittle hair is grey and slightly brindled. Its habitat is Central Asia, from the Himalaya Mountains to Pekin, at elevations above 8,000 feet.

“The Musk Deer,” according to Captain Kinloch, “is a solitary and retiring animal; it is nearly nocturnal in its habits, remaining concealed in some thick bush during the daytime, and only coming out to feed in the mornings and evenings. It frequents the highest parts of the forest, preferring the birch, rhododendron, and juniper, and is almost always found alone, rarely in pairs, and never in flocks. No animal seems more indifferent to cold, from which it is well protected by its thick coat of hollow hair, which forms as it were a sort of cushion, which acts as an insulator, and enables the Deer to lie even on snow without much loss of animal heat. It is amazingly active and sure-footed, bounding along without hesitation over the steepest and most dangerous ground. Its usual food seems to be leaves and flowers, but the natives say that it will kill and eat Snakes.”

[Pg 43]

The value of the Musk perfume causes the animal to be persecuted beyond measure. From Chardin we learn that the hunters are obliged to cover the nose and mouth with linen when removing the scent-sac, to prevent pulmonary hæmorrhage. “I have,” says he, “gained accurate information respecting this circumstance, and as I have heard the same thing talked of by some Armenians who had been to Boutan, I think that it is true. The odour is so powerful in the East Indies that I could never support it, and when I trafficked for musk I always kept in the open air, with a handkerchief over my face, and at a distance from those who handled the sacs; and hence I know by experience that this musk is very apt to give headaches, and is altogether insupportable when quite recent. I add that no drug is so easily adulterated, or more apt to be so.”

MUSK [DEER.]

Apart from its unique proportions and its size, the Giraffe presents peculiarities in its organisation which compel us to separate it from the Deer on the one hand, and the hollow-horned ruminants on the other. In both these groups the appendages on the head, whether developed as antlers or as horns, are distinct prolongations from the forehead bones themselves. In the Giraffe, however, the three bony appendages, one median and two lateral, all covered with skin, instead of being produced as outgrowths from any portion of the skull, are separate and independent conical bony “processes” which stand upon the skull, capping roughened conical prominences destined to support them. Neither are horns, like those of Sheep or Oxen, nor antlers like those of the Deer, ever found upon these processes, a tuft of hair alone surmounting the lateral pair.

The neck of the Giraffe is longer than that of any other living animal, notwithstanding which it conforms to what, on account of its almost constant applicability, may be termed a law, namely, that there are but seven vertebræ which go to form the neck of a mammalian animal. In this animal, such being the case, each vertebra is very long, which makes the neck correspondingly awkward and inflexible; so that when the head is much carried to the side, the conformation and enumeration of the bones in the cervical region is not a matter of any difficulty.

The Giraffe is a native of Africa south of the Sahara. Most of the specimens which reach Europe in a living state are brought from Nubia and the north-east of the continent generally. The adult male attains a height of sixteen feet, the female rarely exceeding fourteen feet. They live and have bred well in captivity, although, as may be readily imagined, they are most delicate, and require much special care, particularly to prevent the joints of their lengthy limbs from being injured.

[Pg 44]

M. Thibaut, who, in 1836, obtained the first specimen of the Giraffe alive for the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park, tells us that “the first run of the Giraffe is exceedingly rapid. The swiftest Horse, if unaccustomed to the desert, could not come up with it unless with extreme difficulty. The Arabs accustom their coursers to hunger and to fatigue; milk generally serves them for food, and gives them power to continue their exertions during a very long run. If a Giraffe reaches a mountain, it passes the height with rapidity; its feet, which are like [not exactly in structure] those of the Goat, endow it with the dexterity of that animal; it bounds over ravines with incredible power; Horses cannot, in such situations, compete with it.”

“The Giraffe eats with great delicacy, and takes its food leaf by leaf, collecting them from the trees by means of its long tongue. It rejects the thorns, and in this respect differs from the Camel.... It is extremely fond of society, and is very sensible. I have observed one of them shed tears when it no longer saw its companions or the persons who were in the habit of attending it.”

By Le Valliant and other sportsmen most graphic accounts have been given of the hunting of the Giraffe. Quoting from Captain Harris, we learn that “the rapidity with which the awkwardly-formed animals can move is beyond all things surprising, our best Horses being unable to close with them under two miles. Their gallop is a succession of jumping strides, the fore and hind leg on the same side moving together instead of diagonally, as in most other quadrupeds; the former being kept close together, and the latter so wide apart, that in riding by the animal’s side the hoof may be seen striking on the outside of the Horse, threatening momentarily to overthrow him. Their motion, altogether, reminded me rather of the pitching of a ship or rolling of a rocking-horse, than of anything living; and the remarkable gait is rendered still more automaton-like by the switching, at regular intervals, of the long black tail, which is invariably curled above the back, and by the corresponding action of the neck, swinging as it does like a pendulum, and literally imparting to the animal the appearance of a piece of machinery in motion. Naturally gentle, timid, and peaceable, the unfortunate Giraffe has no means of protecting itself but with its heels; but even when hemmed into a corner, it seldom resorts to this mode of defence.”

SKELETON OF THE GIRAFFE.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

GIRAFFES.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

THE Deer tribe, known scientifically as that of the CERVIDÆ, is more circumscribed, and therefore better defined, than are the BOVIDÆ, or hollow-horned ruminants. Their best distinguishing character is that in the males there is each year developed a pair of antlers which is shed at the end of the season to be reproduced in the following spring. The females do not carry antlers, except in the case of the Reindeer, in which, although these elegant appendages are of the same form as in their mates, they are constructed upon a much smaller scale. There are, however, one or two Deer in which not even the males carry antlers, and these are the only members of the family with reference to which there is any serious doubt on the subject of affinity. The Musk (Moschus moschiferus) may be taken as an example. In this pretty creature, which is more fully described on pages 42–3, there are no antlers and no horns. Nevertheless, other peculiarities in its organisation have led most naturalists to include it among the Cervidæ, a position which is, however, so doubtful that it is quite possible that it may be an aberrant member of the bovine section, as we have for several reasons thought best to consider it.

A more certain Deer without antlers is the Water Deer of China, the flesh of which has formed an article of food among the natives of Shanghai for years. This small Deer has lengthy tusks, as has the Musk Deer, and nearly every member of the family in which the antlers are diminutive. Its very existence was not known in Great Britain until the year 1862, when Mr. Swinhoe, then our consul at Shanghai, described it, which shows how ignorant we still may be of the creatures which inhabit the mighty Celestial Empire.

In most other respects the Deer closely resemble the hollow-horned ruminants. Their complicated stomach does not differ from that of the Ox, and their other organs are constructed upon the same plan, except the liver, which, like that of the Giraffe, lacks a gall-bladder, this reservoir being present in nearly all the Bovidæ. Their general proportions are also much the same. The Red Deer and the Fallow Deer are those best known to most of us, as both are to be found living in Great Britain, as is the Roebuck in the north of Scotland.

HEAD OF RED DEER, IN WHICH THE GROWING ANTLERS ARE SEEN COVERED WITH “VELVET.”

The nature, growth, and shedding of the antlers deserve special consideration. In the commencement of the spring a pair of knobs is to be seen upon the forehead of the adult male animal. This is[Pg 47] covered with a nearly smooth dark skin; and a scar can be detected in the middle of each, which is that left by the antler of the year before, where it fell off.

As the weather becomes more propitious these knobs commence to grow, feel warm to the touch, and are evidently filled with actively-circulating blood, supplied by special vessels which are developed at the time. They do not increase regularly in all directions, for if they did the antler would be a sphere, but they sprout out, as it may be termed, around the above-mentioned scar; in most cases there being one branch which takes a direction forward, whilst a second larger one makes its way backward. These become, in the fully-formed antler, the brow antler and the main beam; and it is by other branches growing upon the beam, according to definite laws, different in different species, that the elaborate complications of the fully-developed structure are produced.

As long as the antler, which is composed of genuine bone of very dense texture, is increasing in size, it will be found to be covered with the same warm black skin as is the knob from which it sprang; and as this skin is covered with short, fine, close-set hair, it has received the name of the “velvet.” It is this “velvet” which secretes the bony texture of the antler from its inner surface, just in the same way that the outer covering (the periosteum) of any long bone of the body is mainly concerned in the formation of the bone itself. As, also, in the same way, if we seriously graze our shins, and scrape off this covering, the bone exposed is very apt to die, so in the Deer any mishap to the “velvet” injures the growth of the antler in the part affected. The animals, therefore, during the time they are “in velvet” are more than usually careful to protect their cranial appendages, and are inoffensive even to strangers.

HEAD OF RED DEER, IN WHICH THE ANTLER IS FULLY DEVELOPED AND THE “VELVET” HAS DISAPPEARED.

When their antler-growth has ceased their natures change. The “velvet” has performed its function and dries into a parchment-looking membrane, to get rid of which the Deer adopt a very simple method. They rub their antlers against any neighbouring trees, and force them into the soft earth until there is none left, and the bare bone, with scarcely any trace of hollow in the middle of it, is completely exposed. Now, in the glory of their full equipment, they go in search of others of their kind, having previously maintained a comparative solitude. They try their strength by butting at imaginary enemies, and choose their wives, unless prevented by others of their species mightier than themselves, with whom, if fairly matched, they enter into the most formidable contests, to win or to be driven from the herd with ignominy. During these contests the sound of their battering antlers may be heard for considerable distances, whilst now and then, by accident, they interlock themselves inextricably, and perish both, as is attested by skulls so found, and to be seen in more than one museum.

Looking upon the Deer generally, we find them inhabiting many parts of the world—Europe,[Pg 48] Asia, and America. In Africa none occur south of the Sahara, they being there replaced by members of the Bovine section of the order. None are found in Australia, and in America they are far less common than in Great Britain. To understand the peculiar features and the distribution of the various species, it is necessary to classify them in groups of kindred genera, most falling into sections which are distinguishable without difficulty.

In arranging the different members of the Deer-tribe for description, there are peculiarities in their outward conformation which agree with those internal differences upon which all correct notions of relationship alone can be established. In classifying animals, naturalists must always be guided by the totality of the structure of each member of each group; but, as in describing them to those who have not made the minute details of their organisation their special study it is impossible to lay stress on all the various parts which have to be included by the student in arriving at the desired result, those outward features only can be mentioned which are found to tally with their total structure, namely, their osteology, their visceral anatomy, and their muscular arrangement. As an example of the relative importance of different external structures, we may mention that the late Dr. J. E. Gray, in his Catalogue of the Ruminant Mammalia in the British Museum, gives the following arrangement of the genera, in which the length of the tail suggests one distribution of them, whilst the shape of the antlers is in favour of another, which is very different:—

1.—Tail very short or clubbed.			2.—Tail elongate, with longer hair at the end.
Red Deer and its near allies.		Antlers elaphine.		Mantchurian Deer.
				Japanese Deer.
				Fallow Deer.
Eld’s Deer.		Antlers rusine.
Barasingha Deer.				Hog Deer.
Schomburgk’s Deer.				Spotted Axis.
Sambur and its near allies.
Roebuck.		Antlers capreoline.
Chinese Elaphure.

This table is useful as a means of comparing the tails of the different genera; but other points of structure do not in the least support the classification suggested by that appendage, as a result of which it has to be ignored in the consideration of distant affinities, although, where questions of specific proximity are concerned, it is found to be of considerable value.

The antlers render much more trustworthy information in the determination and expression of relationships; and their characterising features can be most readily grasped by having an ideal type in the mind wherewith to compare all aberrant and complicated specimens. This ideal type may be derived in one or other of two ways. The first of these is from the study of the antlers as they are each year developed in any given kind of Deer, commencing with its earliest age. For example, in the Common Red Deer: in the spring of the year following its birth the antlers are nothing more than straight, conical, and unbranched “beams,” the animal being then known as a “Brocket.” In the following spring the antler has, besides the “beam,” a small branch from its base, directed forwards, known as the “brow antler;” it is then termed “Spayad.” In the third year an extra front branch is formed, known as the “tres,” and the whole antler is larger. This “tres” is sometimes seen in the smaller antler of the Spayad. In the fourth year the brow-antler is doubled, to form the “brow” and “bez-tyne,” at the same time that the top of the main beam divides into the “sur-royals” of the “Staggard,” or four-year male. In the fifth year the sur-royals become more numerous, the whole antler of the “Stag” being heavier than previously, only to be exceeded in weight by those of the fully adult “Great Hart,” with ten or more “points,” each being larger and longer than the year before. In Great Britain the conditions of life and the food are not of the quality which develops first-rate antlers, at the same time that it is—in Scotland, at least—the habit to shoot those with the finest heads, and so leave the indifferent specimens to perpetuate their species. In some of the ancient forests of Germany superb heads of the Red Deer are to be obtained, whilst in several of the old castles of that country antler trophies are preserved as memorials of sport in times gone by, with as many as six-and-sixty points. Lord Powerscourt has in his possession a pair with five-and-forty tynes.

The second way is from the study of the antlers of the species in which they are simple, in[Pg 49] comparison with those in which they are particularly complex, both methods as they ought to do, leading to the same result. There are Deer—as, for example, the American Brockets, David’s Deer, and Reeves’ Muntjac—in which the antler is never more than a simple dag, like that of the “Brocket” stage in the Red Deer. There are others with never more than a single tyne besides the beam, as instances of which may be mentioned the Indian Muntjac and the Huamel. Others, again—and these form an important section of the family—are triply branched, as in the Spayad, the beam bifurcating some distance above the brow-antler. As instances of these we find the Sambur Deer of India, with its large and thus simple antlers; the closely-allied Javan and Swinhoe’s Deer; the Spotted Axis; the Hog Deer, and the Roebuck.

We have now arrived at the stage in which the beam has bifurcated, and almost all the more elaborate forms result from an excess in the development of both, or one or other, of the limbs of this bifurcation. In the Deer known as Elaphine—because they more or less resemble the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)—the front of these two branches (the “tres”) does not increase or become complicated, whilst from the much-enlarged hind one the numerous sur-royals spring in the biggest species, such as the Wapiti, Cashmere, Red, and Barbary Deer, as well as the Maral, of Persia. In the smaller species which follow this type of structure the sur-royals are less developed, at the same time that the brow-antler does not split in two to form a “bez” as well, examples of which are to be seen in the Mantchurian, Formosan, and Japanese Deer, as well as in the Fallow Deer and its newly-discovered ally from Mesopotamia. These two last-named differ also in the “palmation” of their antlers—a peculiarity referred to further in the special description of the species.

VARIOUS TYPES OF ANTLERS.

(From the Proceedings of the Zoological Society.)

The accompanying outline diagram represents the most important types of antlers, to one or other of which those of almost every known Deer can be referred. To facilitate future description, they may be named as follows:—

The Rusine type (1), in which the brow-tyne (A) is simple, at the same time that the beam ends in a simple bifurcation, is found in the Sambur Deer (Rusa Aristotelis) of India. The Rucervine type, in which the bifurcate beam is further subdivided, tends to be prolonged in the direction of the tres-tyne (B), at the same time that there is a corresponding reduction of the royal (C). In Schomburgk’s Deer (Rucervus Schomburgki) of Siam, both branches of the beam are equally developed (2); in the Swamp Deer (Rucervus Duvaucelli) of India (3), the tres (B) is larger than the royal (C); whilst in Eld’s Deer (Rucervus Eldi) (4), of Burmah, there is but a small snag (C) at the back of the enormous tres-tyne (B) to represent the royal. The Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) (6), besides having the brow-tyne (A) re-duplicated, has the royal (C) developed at the expense of the tres (B), and much divided up in well-grown animals. In the Japanese Deer (Cervus sika) (5) and its allies the relative proportions of the tynes are much the same, although the brow-tyne (A) is simple.

THE ELK, OR MOOSE DEER.[29]

The Elk, the largest of the family of the Cervidæ, is found in North America, Northern Europe, and the coldest parts of Asia, thinly scattered in all but the first-named locality. At the[Pg 51] shoulder it may attain so great a height as eight feet when adult. The female is antler-less. In the male these appendages possess quite a peculiar shape, the two together forming a kind of basin, on account of their being developed into huge palmated concave sheets of bony tissue, which diverge laterally from the skull.

ELK HUNT.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

YOUNG ELK.

At nine months old the antlers first appear, not being more than straight and rounded dags in the first year. They reach their full length in the fifth year, from which period for many more years they increase in breadth and weight, and add, it is said, a fresh point to their palmated margins until the fourteenth, when the creature is considered quite adult.

[Pg 52]

The colour of the animal is a deep blackish-brown; the neck is short and thick, with a peculiar bob-shaped, pendulous, and hair-covered lap of skin hanging down from its middle, just behind the angles of the jaw. The limbs, especially the front ones, are long; the tail is rudimentary. The coat is formed of close-set harsh angular hair, which breaks when bent, produced into a mane upon the neck and shoulders. Sir John Richardson gives the following account of the habits and food of the Elk, with the mode of hunting it:—“In the more northern parts the Moose Deer is quite a solitary animal, more than one being very seldom seen at a time, unless during the rutting season or when the female is accompanied by her fawns. It has the sense of hearing in very great perfection, and is the most shy and wary of all the Deer species, and on this account the art of Moose-hunting is looked upon as the greatest of an Indian’s acquirements, particularly by the Crees, who take to themselves the credit of being able to instruct the hunters of every other tribe. The skill of a Moose hunter is most tried in the early part of the winter; for during the summer the Moose, as well as other animals, are so much tormented by Mosquitoes that they become regardless of the approach of man. In the winter the hunter tracks the Moose by its footmarks in the snow, and it is necessary that he should keep constantly to leeward of the chase, and make his advance with the utmost caution, for the rustling of a withered leaf or the cracking of a rotten twig is sufficient to alarm the watchful beast. The difficulty of approach is increased by a habit which the Moose Deer has of making daily a sharp turn in its route, and choosing a place of repose so near some part of its path that it can hear the least noise made by one that attempts to track it. To avoid this, the judicious hunter, instead of walking in the animal’s footsteps, forms his judgment from the appearance of the country of the direction it is likely to have taken, and makes a circuit to leeward until he again finds the track. This manœuvre is repeated until he discovers by the softness of the snow, in the footmarks and other signs, that he is very near the chase. He then disencumbers himself of everything that might embarrass his motions, and makes his approach in the most cautious manner. If he gets close to the animal’s lair without being seen, it is usual for him to break a small twig, which, alarming the Moose, it instantly starts up, but not fully aware of the danger, squats on its hams and waits a minute before setting off. In this posture it presents the fairest mark, and the hunter’s shot seldom fails to take effect in a mortal part. In the rutting season the bucks lay aside their timidity, and attack every animal that comes in their way, and even conquer their fear of man himself. The hunter then brings them within gunshot by scraping on the blade-bone of a Deer, and by whistling, which, deceiving the male, he blindly hastens to the spot to assail his supposed rival. If the hunter fails in giving it a mortal wound as it approaches, he shelters himself from its fury behind a tree, and I have heard of several instances in which the enraged animal has completely stripped the bark from the trunk of a large tree by striking with its fore-feet. In the spring time, when the snow is very deep, the hunters frequently run down the Moose on snow-shoes, which give them immense advantage, because the slender legs of the animal sink into the snow for their whole length each step they take, which makes their progress very slow.”

The usual pace of the Moose is a high shambling trot, and its strides are immense. On account of their necks being short at the same time that their legs are long, they browse upon the bushes rather than on the ground, which they find difficulty in reaching with their mouths.

THE ELAPHINE DEER.[30]

This group is characterised by the presence of a bez-tyne in all its members—except that under the influence of protracted bad nutrition individuals resident in barren parts may lose it—whilst the tres-tyne is small, and the third main branch of the antler splits up into several snags, sometimes arranged in the form of a cup. The deep brown coat is varied by a conspicuous light, almost white patch upon the rump, in which the uncovered rudiment of a tail is included. All the species are large, the best known to us being

THE RED DEER.[31]

This species is a native of the British Isles and many parts of Europe. Northern specimens[Pg 54] are much the smaller, and carry far inferior antlers, those of South Germany and Hungary possessing heads worthy, of the species. In England they are still to be found wild in Exmoor Forest, in Scotland north of the Forth and Clyde; and in Ireland about Killarney, Connemara, and Erris.

RED DEER.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

A well-grown Stag stands over four feet at the withers, with a thickly-coated neck of a greyish tint, a rich red-brown body-colour, uniformly curved symmetrical antlers, and head held high. The Stag in summer is a lordly creature. In winter its coat is longer and of a greyer tint. As is the case in allied species, and all but a few of the Rusine Deer, the new-born calves are brilliantly spotted with white.

RED DEER AND FALLOW DEER IN WINTER.

The pairing season occupies the early part of October. The calves are born at the end of May or the beginning of June; whilst the Stags drop their antlers between the end of February and the earlier days of April, the youngest latest. Up till the age of twelve the animal continues to increase in bulk and strength, and it is highly probable that they do not ever much outlive twenty years, although superstition credits them with very many more.

[Pg 55]

It is towards the end of August or the beginning of September that the well-nourished Stags, having already cleared their antlers of their “velvet,” leave their retirement, and with swollen necks as well as restless mien, seek out the hinds. During the rutting season, which lasts about three weeks, they eat but little, and lose weight rapidly, to be regained in the subsequent repose upon the summer-developed foliage. In the southern counties of Great Britain the hunting of the Stag has degenerated into the repeated chase of a few individuals, deprived of their antlers, and let out of boxes shortly before the sportsmen put in an appearance; whilst long-ranged rifles have reduced the difficulties of what not many years ago—more especially in Scotland—was a form of sport which very severely taxed the physical capacities of the most determined and courageous.

RED DEER FIGHTING.

The WAPITI, the PERSIAN, the CASHMERIAN, and the BARBARY DEER resemble the Red Deer in almost every detail except size, the first and second being considerably larger. Their antlers all branch in the same manner, except that the proportionate sizes of some of the snags are apt to vary. Superb heads of Wapiti are numerous in Great Britain, with their brown beams and white burnished tips.

The Wapiti is kept in confinement without difficulty, although in autumn the stags become savage. Its home is the woodlands and the mountains of North America, where it is generally incorrectly called the “Elk.” Stalking the species is a common sport, but there is not so much interest associated with it as with Moose-stalking, because it is a more stupid creature, and its senses are less acutely developed. When started, a herd will make off for a short distance, and stop to recognise the source of danger before continuing its flight. Its food is mostly leaves of trees and shrubs, though it frequently eats grass and weeds. Dr. J. D. Caton, of Ottawa, Illinois, who has had much experience in the preserving of American Deer, has published many interesting details with regard to this species. Among others he mentions, with reference to the young, that “the most prominent instinct of the young fawn is that of deception. I have several times come across fawns evidently but a few hours old, left by the mother in supposed security. They affect death to perfection, only they forget to shut their eyes. They lie without a motion, and if you pick them up they are as limp as a wet rag, the head and limbs hanging down without the least muscular action, the bright eye fairly sparkling all the time.” The venison is excellent; it is said to be more nutritious than any other meat.

The Persian Deer, or Marāl, differs from the Cashmerian Deer but little. Its head, however, is longer and more pointed.

The Cashmerian Deer, or Barasingha, again, is hardly distinguishable from the Wapiti. Professor Leith Adams remarks, with reference to it, that “the Cashmere forests seem the head-quarters of this species on the western ranges, for it is seldom, if ever, met with between Mussouree and the Vale of Cashmere. The dense forests and fertile valleys of the latter country are particularly inviting to this species. In habits and general appearance the Cashmere Stag bears a striking resemblance to the Red Deer. Although it is seldom, nowadays, that individuals of the latter species escape[Pg 56] the hunter so long as to attain the size and magnitude of the Barasingha [twelve points], yet I think it will be found that the horns of those killed in the forests of Scotland in former years are equal in size to any at present met with in Cashmere. It is in the dense pine forests on the Northern Pinjal, and in the many beautiful valleys among these ranges, that we find the species most abundant. There are very few on the southern ranges. In the secluded depths of these solitudes they lie all day, to issue forth at dusk and feed on the grassy hill-sides, or descend even into the Valley of Cashmere when forced by the snows of winter. An adult Stag averages thirteen hands in height. The colour of the coat varies but little in the sexes or the seasons of the year; dark liver-colour, with reddish patches on the inner sides of the hips; belly and lower parts white, or a dirty white. The male has the hair on the lower part of the neck long and shaggy (wanting in the female); the horns large, and usually very massive, with from ten to fifteen or more points, according to age (the largest pair of horns I have measured were four feet round the curves, with six and seven points). They are shed in March; and the new horn is not completely formed until the end of October, when the rutting season commences, and the loud bellowings of the Stags are heard all over the mountains. During vigorous winters they are frequently driven to seek for shelter and food around the villages in the valleys, when many are destroyed by natives, who hunt them with Dogs. The Cheetahs, Wild Dogs, and Bears are said to kill the young.”

The very similar Barbary Deer is most interesting, in that it is the only member of the Cervine group which is found in Africa.

FALLOW DEER.

[Pg 57]

THE SUB-ELAPHINE DEER.[32]

The JAPANESE, FORMOSAN, and MANTCHURIAN DEER are all species allied to those just described, but differing in being smaller in size, at the same time that the antlers conform to the sub-elaphine type, in which the bez-tyne is never present, and the sur-royals are but inconsiderably branched. They are all strongly spotted in their summer dress, which, especially in the Mantchurian—the largest of the species—is most brilliant. In the winter their coats are nearly uniform, and of a dark brown colour. A fawn-red is the groundwork of the summer coat, the spots being yellowish-white, whilst a black streak, in perfect contrast, runs the whole length of the middle of the back, continuing down the tail and expanding slightly at its base. The throat is white. The sombre winter coat is a nearly uniform dark red-brown.

SAMBUR DEER.

The FALLOW DEER (Dama vulgaris), so well known on account of its being preserved in a semi-domesticated state in so many English parks, has antlers constructed upon the same plan as those of the Mantchurian Deer (sub-elaphine). These, however, present special peculiarities found in none of the allied species, for they are palmated in their upper parts, in the region of the sur-royals, the digitations or terminal points being developed along the convex posterior margins of the palmated surface. The buck is about three feet high at the shoulder. The head is short and broad, the tail between seven and eight inches long. The colour of the wild animal, both buck and doe, is a rich yellowish-brown in summer, spotted with white all over. In winter the tints are more sombre and greyish. Domestic varieties vary immensely, both in the distinctness of the spotting and the general colouration. Until six years of age the buck receives a separate name each year from sportsmen[Pg 58]—fawn, pricket, sorrel, soare, buck of the first lead, and buck complete, being the terms employed—the antlers not being developed at all in the fawn, being simple snags in the pricket, with two front branches in the sorrel, with slight palmation of the extremity of the beam in the soare, and the whole antler larger and larger until the sixth year. The venison of the Fallow Deer is fatter than that of the Red Deer, and is preferred by most.

BORNEO RUSINE DEER.

The species is not a native of Britain, having most certainly been introduced, although exactly when is not known. The dark-coloured and more hardy breed was brought from Norway by James I. Its true wild habitat was probably the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, both north and south.

The PERSIAN FALLOW DEER,[33] so closely related to the species just referred to that they breed together, was made known to us in 1875 by Sir Victor Brooke, who described it from specimens sent to England by Mr. Robertson, the British Vice-Consul at Busrah. It resembles the Common Fallow Deer in almost every detail, except that it is slightly larger, and that the antlers are not the same. As stated above, in the Common Fallow Deer the antlers, whilst developed on the sub-elaphine type, are palmated in the region of the royals, with several snags projecting from the upper margin, at the same time that the lower portion of the beam, the tres, and the brow-tynes are cylindrical, as usually is the case in other species.

AXIS DEER.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

[Pg 59]

In the Persian Fallow the palmation at the extremity of the antlers is much less conspicuous, and scarcely exists, although many snags are present there, directed upwards. The palmation is at the bases of the antlers instead, including the brow-tyne and the beam, so that the general appearance of the antlers is quite peculiar to the species.

THE RUSINE DEER.[34]

The SAMBUR, OR GEROW (Rusa Aristotelis), of India, is found abundantly in all the hill-districts of that country. It is nearly five feet high, of a deep brown colour, with the hair of the neck developed almost into a mane. The tail is of fair length. Its build is massive, as are its antlers, which present three powerful points, and reach over three feet in length. Above the considerable brow-tyne the beam bifurcates high up into two fairly equal snags, and no more in well-grown antlers. The hind is much less massive, and of a yellowish tint. Captain Kinloch says of the species that “Sambur delight in stony hills, where there is plenty of cover, and where they can have easy access to water. They browse more than graze, and are nearly nocturnal in their habits. During the daytime they seek the most shady retreats, and old Stags especially are most difficult to find, frequently betaking themselves to almost inaccessible places, where the uninitiated would never dream of looking for them. The experienced hunter, indeed, has frequently to depend more upon fortune than his own knowledge of woodcraft.” In Java an almost identical species differs mostly in having the hinder of the two branches of the beam of the antler longer than the one in front. Swinhoe’s Deer from Formosa is also almost indistinguishable, at the same time that Sumatran and Bornean specimens agree with it in being particularly dark in colour.

Three smaller species, with antlers branched in exactly the same manner, are found in the islands of Borneo, Timor, Ternate, and the Philippines.

The HOG DEER of India and Ceylon is not bigger than the Roebuck although the legs are shorter and the body heavier. Its antlers consist of a brow-tyne and bifurcate beam, of which the posterior tyne is short, and turned inwards; they rarely exceed a foot and a half in length. It is of a uniform dark brown colour, rarely spotted indistinctly with white. Their name is derived from the pig-like way in which they run, with their heads low, when pursued.

The SPOTTED HOG DEER is a rare species, of a slightly lighter colour, and with pale yellow spots.

The AXIS DEER of India, sometimes called the Cheetal, resembles the Fallow Deer in size and colouration most closely, although its antlers serve to show that its true relations are quite different. These latter are not palmated at all, and are quite rusine in type, presenting the three points characteristic of them, the front tyne of the bifurcate beam being of great length. There is a beauty in the intensity of the spotting of the coat of this species which is unequalled by any other member of the Cervidæ, and it is interesting to know that according to the universal testimony of sportsmen, the effect of sunlight through foliage so much resembles it that it is almost impossible to recognise the animal in the woods. They have a reputation for being indolent, as they feed during the night, and sleep throughout the day, frequenting the heavy grass jungles along the banks of rivers. Their cry is a shrill bark at the approach of danger. The accompanying figure (see Plate 26), drawn from a specimen in captivity, gives an excellent idea of the immense length attained by the antlers, which in this particular case are blunt-tipped, because not quite fully grown. The hinder tyne on the right side, it will be noticed, is almost entirely hidden in the hair of the flank.

PRINCE ALFRED’S DEER,[35] about the size of the Fallow Deer, was first described by Dr. Sclater from a specimen brought from the Philippine Islands by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1870. Its glossy coat is of a rich chocolate colour, covered with pale yellow spots; a broad line along the back, as in all spotted Deer, being uninterrupted; the under parts are of a pale yellow. The antlers are only nine inches in length, but comparatively thick, and simply branched upon the rusine type, with three points. The legs are rather short, at the same time that the body is heavy.

The SWAMP DEER.[36] The name Barasingha, signifying “twelve points,” is applied to two very different species of Indian Deer, the Cashmerian Deer, previously mentioned, and the Swamp Deer.

The Swamp Deer of India and Assam is slightly smaller than the Sambur, not exceeding four[Pg 60] feet in height. Its colour is a rich light yellow. As its name signifies it delights in moist situations, where it congregates in herds of great numbers. Its antlers are large, and of the intermediate rucervine type. The brow-tynes reach a foot in length, and are directed forwards with an upward turn at their tips. The beam is long, and branches into an anterior, massive, and branched continuation of itself, as well as a posterior smaller bifurcate tyne.

SCHOMBURGK’S DEER.

In Siam this species is replaced by the closely-allied SCHOMBURGK’S DEER, a little-known species, in which the antlers are extremely elegant, the long brow-tyne being followed by a short beam which bifurcates into two equal branches, these again, each of them, bifurcating in a similar manner.

ELD’S DEER, OR THE THAMYN.[37] This Deer, which differs from the Swamp Deer only in its antlers, was discovered by Captain Eld, in 1838. It abounds in the swamp lands of Burmah, and extends as far east as the Island of Hainan. Its form is slimmer than that of the Red Deer, at the same time that it is somewhat smaller, attaining a height of over four feet. During the summer months its body-colour is a light rufous brown, with a few faint indications of white spots. Its under parts are nearly white, as are the insides of the hairy ears. Its tail is short, and black above. In winter its lengthy hair takes on a darker tint.

Lieutenant R. C. Beavan has given an excellent account of the habits of Eld’s Deer, from which we learn that their food must consist almost entirely of grass and paddy, which grow both cultivated and wild, in the swamps in which they dwell. “In habits they are very wary and difficult of approach, especially the males. They are also very timid, and easily startled; the males, however, when wounded and brought to bay with Dogs, get very savage and charge vigorously. On being disturbed they invariably make for the open, instead of resorting to the heavy jungle like Hog Deer and Sambur. In fact the Thamyn is essentially a plain-loving species; and, although it will frequent tolerably open tree-jungle for the sake of its shade, it will never venture into dense or matted[Pg 61] underwood.... When first started the pace of the Thamyn is great. It commences by giving three or four large bounds like the Axis or Spotted Deer, and afterwards settles down into a long trot, which it will keep up for six or seven miles on end when frequently disturbed.” As to the means employed to hunt them, the same author informs us that “a large number of men would assemble from the neighbouring villages, and gradually encircle three or four moderate-sized herds with long strings, upon which plantain-leaves were tied so as to flutter in the wind. The circle, originally formed at some distance, was gradually lessened as the Deer, afraid to pass the scarecrows, got gradually driven together, until they were completely surrounded and at the mercy of the hunters. The object was to get them into a corner near the heavy jungle, into which, if they attempted to run, they either became entangled, or allowed their pursuers to get up quite close. As many as a hundred and fifty to two hundred, my informant tells me, he has himself seen killed in one battue in former years. To such a length was this [shameful] system carried, and such enormous havoc was thereby created, that the Burmese Government, fearing the species would be utterly exterminated, wisely put a stop to the practice.”

THE MUNTJACS.[38]

THE Muntjacs form a group of small and elegant Deer found in India, Burmah, China, the Malay Peninsula, and the large islands of the Indo-Malay Archipelago. They differ from all other members of the family in that their diminutive antlers are supported on lengthy bony pedestals, covered with a hairy skin much like the horn-processes of the Giraffe. Most, also, have a pair of elongated longitudinal ridges between the eyes, within the folds of which small glands are situated, at the same time that there is a dark crest of retroverted hair, tending to the shape of a horseshoe, upon the forehead. In the males the upper canine teeth develop into tusks, which project externally some way below the lip, though not so far as in the Musk, forming efficient instruments of attack.

The INDIAN MUNTJAC, OR KIDANG, is the best known species. Its antlers attain a larger size than those of any of the others, although they are not more than four inches long, composed of an undivided beam, at the base of which there is a diminutive brow-tyne. Its size is slightly less than that of the Roebuck, its colour uniformly foxy red-brown, with the throat, hind part of abdomen, and under surface of tail white. A black line runs up the inner side of each antler-pedestal of the male, instead of forming the frontal horseshoe of the female.

Dr. Horsfield tells us that in Java, where it is much hunted, “the Muntjac selects for its retreat[Pg 62] certain districts, to which it forms a peculiar attachment, and which it never voluntarily deserts. Many of these are known as the favourite resort of the animal for several generations. They consist of moderately elevated grounds, diversified by ridges and valleys, tending towards the acclivities of the more considerable mountains, or approaching the confines of extensive forests.... The Muntjac has a strong scent, and is easily tracked by Dogs. When pursued it does not go off, like the Stag, in any accidental direction; its flight, indeed, is very swift at first, but it soon relaxes, and taking a circular course, returns to the spot from which it was started. After several circular returns, if the pursuit be continued, the Kidang thrusts its head into a thicket, and in this situation remains fixed and motionless, as if in a place of security, and regardless of the approach of the sportsman.”

INDIAN MUNTJAC.

In China the Muntjacs are smaller than those of India and Java; their antlers are less developed at the same time that the tint of their coats is less rufous, and the neck is not white. They were first described by Mr. Ogilby under the name of Reeves’ Muntjac, a larger form having been more recently discovered by M. A. Milne-Edwards and Mr. Swinhoe. With reference to its habits the last-named naturalist tells us that “this species affects the low ranges of hills which are covered with long, coarse grass and tangled thicket. It is there usually found in small herds, basking in the sun, or lying in hidden lairs. They are very seldom approached near, except by stealth. The least noise startles them, and they dash away with bounds through the yielding grass, occasionally showing their rounded backs above the herbage. They have, however, their regular creeps and passes through the covert, near which the natives lie when stalking them, while others drive them. The little startled creatures hurry from danger along these beaten tracks, and are then picked off with the matchlock.” In captivity they soon become very docile, even when taken in the adult state. The flesh of this animal is very tender and palatable.

The enterprising missionary Père David, among his numerous discoveries in Chinese zoology, sent from Moupin, in Western China, to Paris, skins of a peculiar Muntjac, which is of special interest. Having canine tusks, a black frontal hairy horseshoe, and the proportions of a Muntjac generally, its antlers are not more than an inch long, at the same time that their pedestals are[Pg 63] correspondingly reduced in length as well as thickness. Its body-colour is mouse-brown, verging on grey, whilst the hairy covering is coarse. It may be called DAVID’S MUNTJAC.

Very shortly after the above-mentioned skins arrived at Paris, Mr. Michie, of Shanghai, forwarded to Mr. Swinhoe in England another specimen from Ningpo, which, although derived so far east of Moupin, is almost indistinguishable from that belonging to the latter district. The animal is there known as the “Shanyang,” or Wild Goat. It is an undoubted Muntjac, although peculiar in not possessing the glands on the forehead found in the more common species.

THE ROEBUCK.[39]

This elegant, small, and almost tailless Deer is, like the Red Deer, a native of Great Britain, as well as of all Northern Europe and Asia below the line of perpetual snow. In Asia the individuals attain a greater size than in Europe. The adult Roebuck stands a little over two feet high at the shoulder. Its colour is a dark reddish-brown in summer, becoming yellowish-grey in the cold weather. There is a large patch of white on the rump. The antlers, which are peculiarly near together at their bases, rarely exceed a foot in length, possessing three points, the rugose unbranched beam continuing from the considerable burr for half a foot unbranched; then bifurcating fore and aft, the posterior branch again bifurcating. The destruction of the forests throughout Britain has driven the Roebuck farther north, till now it is most common in the north of Scotland, although it still survives in the woods of Westmoreland and Cumberland. Its disposition is wild, shy, and cautious. Its favourite resort is the thick underwood of forests, living singly or in small companies of a pair with their young, which latter—contrary to what we find in the case of most other Deer—are two or three in number. Its venison makes very indifferent food.

ROEBUCK: MALE, FEMALE, AND YOUNG.

THE CHINESE WATER DEER.[40]

This is an entirely isolated small species, not bigger than an Indian Muntjac, discovered by Mr. Swinhoe, in which there are no antlers, the canine teeth of the upper jaw being developed into immense tusks which project downwards, as in the Musk and Muntjacs. The legs are short, and[Pg 64] the body lengthy. The body-colour is a light red-brown all over. There is no tuft of hair on the head as in the Muntjacs, to which by some it might be imagined to be allied. From Mr. Swinhoe’s account of the species we learn that “In the large riverine islands of the Yangtsze, above Chinkiang, these animals occur in large numbers, living among the tall rushes that are there grown for thatching and other purposes. The rushes are cut down in the spring; and the Deer then swim away to the main shore and retire to the cover of the hills.... Fortunately for the Deer, the Chinese have an extraordinary dislike for their flesh. I could not ascertain why; but it must be from some strange superstition, as the Celestials are otherwise pretty omnivorous. The Deer are killed only for the European markets [of Shanghai], and sold at a low price. Their venison is coarse, and without much taste.... The Chinese at Shanghai call this animal the Ke, but at Chinkiang they are named Chang—the classical term for the Muntjac.”

CHINESE WATER DEER.

THE CHINESE ELAPHURE.[41]

This most interesting Deer was discovered in 1865 by the indefatigable French naturalist, M. Armand David. In his account of the animal, Dr. Sclater[42] tells us that M. David first observed it whilst looking over the wall of the Imperial Hunting-park at Pekin, to which no European is allowed admission. There it is found in a semi-domesticated state, its native place probably being Eastern Mantchuria. In 1869, Sir Rutherford Alcock succeeded in sending a living pair to England, which were exhibited for some time in the London Zoological Gardens, and from which much information has been obtained with reference to their habits. It resembles the Swamp Deer of India (Rucervus Duvaucelli) in its proportions and size, standing nearly four feet at the shoulder. The legs are somewhat heavy and the feet expanded, but it is in its antlers that the Elaphure is quite different from any other Deer. They are represented in the accompanying engraving, from which the abrupt ascent of the beam, with an enormous back-tyne arising from the lower end, and no brow-tyne, may be most clearly seen. The beam branches higher up, but its furcations follow none of the ordinary rules of cervine antler-growth.

The body-colour of the animal is light and rufous, paler on the under parts. A black line runs some way down the back, being most conspicuous at the shoulders. The tail is not longer than in the Fallow Deer, and is hairy at the tip. Mr. Swinhoe tells us that the Chinese name is Sze-poo-seang, which signifies “like none of the four”—to wit, the Horse, the Cow, the Deer, or the Goat.

CHINESE ELAPHURE.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

[Pg 66]

THE REINDEER.[43]

The Reindeer, which differs from all its allies in that the females carry antlers as well as the males, forms so important an element in the social economy of the Laplanders that more has been written on its habits than of any other species of the family. It is found distributed throughout the Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and America, extending farther south in the last-named of these in the same way as the isothermal line of 32° Fahr., as might be expected from the relation borne by its economy to its temperature. In Spitzbergen, Finland, and Lapland it attains the greatest size, being inferior in strength and stature in Norway and Sweden. In Iceland it has been introduced and thrives. The Caribou is the name by which it goes in the New World, where it extends through Greenland, Canada, and Newfoundland. The horns of the American variety differ from those of the Old World so much that it is not difficult to recognise their origin; nevertheless, attempts which have been made to establish the specific difference of the two forms have not found much favour with naturalists generally.

REINDEER AT A LAPP ENCAMPMENT.

The animal, with a characteristic deer-like form, is powerfully built, with short limbs and heavy neck. The feet have the false hoofs well developed, while the fissure between the median toes is so much extended upwards, and the ligaments which bind them together are so loose, that their hoofs spread out considerably when pressed upon the ground, and so increase the surface for support upon the yielding snow—their most frequent foothold. Upon raising the limbs in rapid action these hoofs make a sharp snap at the moment when they close together.

REINDEER.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

[Pg 68]

Individuals vary much in tint as well as with the season. Some are entirely white, whilst in winter the coat is always lighter than in summer. Deep brown is the prevailing tint, and there is generally a band of white above each hoof. As in the Elk—another Arctic ruminating animal—the muffle of the nose is covered with hair, and is not moist. The fur is of two sorts—an outer covering of longer, harsh, brittle hair, and an under-coat of closely-matted and much finer, wool-like texture, which serves as an excellent protection against the inclement temperature, and makes the skins so valuable for articles of clothing in the Arctic regions.

The antlers are strikingly large for the size of their owners. Although they vary considerably in detail, the general plan of their construction is always the same, agreeing with that of the Virginian Deer and the Barasingha. As in the Wapiti and Red Deer, the brow-antlers on each side are, however, re-duplicated, so that a bez is present. This, as well as the brow-tyne, is branched, or palmated, wherein it is peculiar; and further, in the Caribous one of the brow-tynes is generally aborted, in order to allow of the great development of its fellow of the opposite side into a palmated triangle, flattened from side to side, directed straight forward in the middle line of the head, and attached by its apex to the beam. The function of this share-like expansion in the economy of the animal can hardly be other than to remove the snow which covers its favourite food, each movement of the lowered head from side to side effecting this result. The beam is lengthy, curved boldly upwards and forwards, with a small snag at the back, about half-way from each end. Its extremity is branched and often palmated, much like the horns of the Fallow Deer. The beam may reach a length not more than three inches less than five feet. In the females the same plan of structure of the antlers exists as in the males. They are considerably smaller in every respect, more slender, and scarcely palmated, if at all so.

The Woodland Caribou and the Barren-ground Caribou are the names given to a larger and a smaller breed in Canada. Both are hunted by the Indians for their flesh as well as for their hides, the venison obtained from the latter being held in high estimation. The pounded meat, when mixed with melted fat, is known as pemmican. The tongue is esteemed a great delicacy.

The Reindeer, from the nature of the country it inhabits, is compelled to lead a migratory life, in which the natives of Lapland, who have to depend entirely for their sustenance on the animal, have to participate. Troops of them during the winter months reside in the woods, feeding on the lichens that depend from boughs of the trees, as well as on those that grow upon the ground beneath. In the spring they repair to the mountains in order to escape the swarms of stinging Gnats and Gad-flies which infest the air, and inflict wounds in the skin of most serious severity.

THE AMERICAN DEER.

In America there are several species of Deer which differ considerably from those of the Old World. In our remarks on these animals we will not include among them the Wapiti and the Elk: the Wapiti, because it is nothing but a large representative of the Red Deer of Great Britain; the Elk, because it stands very much by itself, at the same time that it is found in the Arctic Old World as well as in America. We ourselves think that the Reindeer conforms to the American type of structure, and have therefore described it in relation with the New World Deer, although most authors class it not far from the Elk.

None of the typical Deer of America attain any considerable size, and their antlers are decidedly small when contrasted with those of the Old World. The species which will be first described is the VIRGINIAN DEER, which is the “Common” Deer of North America, and is slightly smaller than the Fallow Deer. Its colour is uniform, being of a reddish-yellow in summer and light grey in winter. The individual members of the species are small in Mexico, and get larger as they live more north. The antlers belong to the extreme rucervine type, their beams turning outwards and forwards in a very characteristic manner, with several points directed upwards from their convex border. The brow-tyne is short and pointed upwards instead of forwards. The tail is nearly a foot and a half in length. In disposition it is timid and wild, and is therefore domesticated with difficulty. Its flesh was in times gone by one of the staple articles of food of the aborigines. Audubon and other authors have described in detail the various modes employed in capturing these Deer, including the “still hunt,” “jack hunt,” “fire hunt,” &c., according to the nature of the country.

[Pg 69]

The MULE DEER and the BLACK-TAILED DEER are not far distantly related North American species. The former is slightly larger than the Virginian and of a heavier build. Its tail is short, tufted, and white; its colour a dark grey in winter, dull yellow in summer. Its name was suggested from its lengthy ears. The latter is smaller, and has shorter legs. Its colour is tawny grey, the short tail black above and white below. Of both these species the antlers differ from the Virginian Deer in detail, only the brow tyne of the Black-tailed species being rudimentary, at the same time that the snags on the convex margin of the beam spring from a single stem instead of independently. In the Mule Deer they are smaller and less branched. Lord Walsingham, in writing of them, remarks, “They appear to frequent the thick willow clumps and other brushwood bordering the streams and swamps. They were extremely difficult to distinguish among the foliage, and remarkably quick when alarmed. As they bound off over logs and fallen trees, or dash through the thicket, they have a habit of swinging their broad white tails with a conspicuous flourish, which becomes annoying to a sportsman, to whom they never afford anything but a snap shot, which is very apt to fail.”

GUAZUTI DEER.

The GUAZUS are small South American Deer with large ears and short tails, in which the antlers want the brow tyne, and have the beam branched in almost exactly the same way as Schomburgk’s Deer when not quite full grown. The Guazuti, one of them, is not more than two feet six inches in height.

The BROCKETS are equally small, with minute antlers of a most simple form—whence the name—they being unbranched and shelving backwards. The colour of the fur in the Guava Viva and Brazilian Brocket is pale brown, and shining red-brown in the Red Brocket and the Eyebrowed Brocket.

The VENADA, OR PUDU DEER, is not bigger than Reeves’ Muntjac or a Hare. Its colour is red-brown, and it has minute antlers, not far separated from one another. It inhabits the western coast of South America.

It is not until within the last few years that naturalists have separated off from the true Deer a group of diminutive animals which look like them in miniature, but are entirely destitute of antlers. These little creatures, known as Chevrotains, for which we take the liberty of coining the name Deerlets, were placed together with the Musk into a single section, characterised by the fact that the males possess large tusks situated in the upper jaw, which project downwards, and are conspicuous even when the mouth is fully closed, grooving the lower lip on each side. Now,[Pg 70] however, they are entirely separated off from the Deer and Ox tribes, to constitute an independent family, because of the peculiarities of many of their parts. They have a complex stomach composed of paunch, honeycomb-bag, and reed, the manyplies being so much reduced in size, that it may practically be said not to be present.

From the bones of their feet it is evident, too, that they cannot be correctly classed with the more ordinary Ruminants, and that they tend towards the other family of the Cloven-hoofed Ungulata, namely, the Swine. Each foot of the common Pig possesses four toes, that corresponding to our thumb in the fore-limb, and to our great toe in the hind being absent, as has been previously explained. The bones of all these toes are quite separate from one another, as in those of man, at the same time that those of the outer and inner digits in each limb are smaller than those which bear the larger hoofs. In the true Ruminants and in the Camel tribe these larger toes are partly fused together, the bones of digit three and digit four corresponding to those situated in the human palm and sole, being joined from end to end to form the “cannon-bone;” whilst those of digit two and digit five are reduced to mere imperfect splinters, or are sometimes altogether lost, as in the Giraffe and in the Camel. Now, in the Deerlets, these bones are not blended at all in the fore-limbs of the Water Deerlet of West Africa, in which, as in all the other species, digit two and digit five are perfect from end to end. They therefore stand, in this respect, as in others easily explained, intermediate between the Swine and the true Ruminants.

JAVAN DEERLET.

All the Deerlets are particularly delicate, diminutive, and graceful animals, the slenderness and clear-cut outline of their limbs being exceedingly striking. With bodies as big as that of a Hare or Rabbit, their legs are not so thick as a cedar pen-holder or a clay pipe-stem. Their proportions are very much those of the small Water Bucks of Africa, and of many of the kinds of Deer, especially the Hog Deer of India, in which the body, as in them, is not carried very high above the ground. The want of antlers in both sexes makes them resemble Hinds rather than Stags at first sight, whilst their elegantly-pointed noses, and large dark eyes, add to their general interesting appearance.

Of the Deerlets there are five species—the Meminna, the Kanchil, the Javan, the Stanleyan, and the Water Deerlets. The first four are confined to India, Ceylon, Malacca, Java, and Sumatra, the last being found in Sierra Leone and the Gambia district. These differ slightly in their size and markings, the MEMINNA, or INDIAN DEERLET, being nearly eighteen inches long, and about eight inches high at the shoulder, the tail being very short. As in its allies, the white spotting of the surface is disturbed by two or more streaks of the same which run along the flanks.

The JAVAN DEERLET, known sometimes as the Napu, is smaller than the preceding. It is of[Pg 71] a rust-brown colour above and white beneath, three white stripes radiating backwards, one along the middle line, and the other two laterally from the front of the neck. The short tail is white-tipped. The naked and moist muzzle is black. The Javan Deerlet is gentle in disposition, and somewhat uninteresting in captivity. Specimens are frequently brought to Great Britain, and live if carefully protected from the cold.

The KANCHIL is still smaller in size, at the same time that it is darker in colour, especially along the back. Its activity and cunning are remarkable, so much so that Sir Stamford Raffles, in his original description of the creature, tells us that it is a common Malay expression, with reference to a great rogue, that he is “as cunning as a Kanchil.” Feigning to be dead when caught, its captor incautiously releases his hold, when the animal is immediately up and away before any means can be employed for its recapture. It is also said that when pursued by Dogs it will jump up towards a bough, and there hook itself by means of its lengthy tusks until its tormentors have passed under it.

STANLEYAN DEERLET.

The STANLEYAN DEERLET was named after the grandfather of the present Earl of Derby, in whose menagerie at Knowsley the species was first recognised.

The WATER DEERLET of West Africa is slightly larger than the Meminna. Its deep glossy brown coat is also streaked with white lines, and is irregularly spotted.

The name Tylopoda, by which the Camels, together with the Llamas, are known to naturalists, is derived from two Greek words (τύλος, a knot or callus, and πούς, a foot), signifying that the feet, instead of being protected by hoofs, are covered with a hardened skin, enclosing the cushion-like soles of the feet, which are so constructed that they spread out laterally when brought in contact with the ground, an arrangement of evident advantage to desert-ranging animals. The tips of each of the two toes are protected by nails, as can be seen in the accompanying drawing.

FOOT OF CAMEL.

There are also other points in which these creatures differ from the more ordinary Ruminantia. In the front of the upper jaw there are two teeth—one on each side, placed laterally—which correspond to the side cutting teeth in man, and to[Pg 72] the similarly-situated “nippers” of the Horse. In the Deer, Ox, Sheep, and their allies there is not a trace of these, as has been previously explained (page 4). As to the limbs, it may also be mentioned that the true knee-joints—which in animals like the Horse are almost entirely hidden within the general skin-covering of the body—are much more conspicuous and free.

The stomach is peculiar; it wants the “manyplies,” or third compartment, but possesses the “paunch,” “honeycomb-bag,” and “abomasum,” the last-named of which is of great length. In the walls of the paunch there are present two extensive collections of “water-cells,” which serve their owners in good stead whilst traversing the desert or residing in regions where fresh water is not to be procured except with difficulty.

Fig. A.—STOMACH OF THE LLAMA.

Fig. B.—WATER CELLS OF THE CAMEL’S STOMACH.

Fig. A is a view of the stomach from below (or, in other words, from the side farthest from the backbone), in which it is seen that the clusters of water-cells (a and b) are arranged, one (a) the larger, along part of the right border of the viscus, whilst the second (b) is transverse, the remainder of the walls being smooth. These water-cells, seen from within in Fig. B, are formed by the development of septa, both transverse and longitudinal, in the substance of the paunch-wall. They are deep and narrow, much like the cells of a honeycomb, and have a muscular membrane covering their mouths, in which there is an oval orifice opposite to each compartment capable of being further dilated or completely closed, probably at the will of the animal. When fully distended, these paunch-cells in the Arabian Camel are capable of storing a gallon and a half of water. The second stomach, or reticulum, is also modified in the same direction, the usually extremely shallow cells being deep, at the same time that food is[Pg 73] never found in them after death. Of the last compartment, or “abomasum,” it may be noted that it is nearly cylindrical in shape, its walls being very muscular. It is in this stomach that true digestion is carried on.

Of the Camels two species are known, differing in the number of the humps upon their backs. Nothing is known of either variety in the wild state. We will commence with the description of

THE (TRUE) CAMEL.[45]

The One-humped Camel of Arabia is frequently termed the Dromedary, but this latter name is correctly applicable only to the swift variety of the species which is employed for riding, the heavier-built One-humped Pack-Camel not being included under the designation.

HEAD OF THE (TRUE) CAMEL.

It is the Arabian Camel—the Ship of the Desert—which is much more serviceable to man than its Bactrian ally. Its distribution has extended westwards along North Africa, from which attempts have been made to introduce it into Spain. Eastwards it is found as far as India.

In the Camel the limbs and neck are lengthy. A single bulky hump is present on the middle of the back, composed of fatty cells held together by strong bands of fibrous tissue which cross in all directions. Like all similar accumulations, it varies much in size according to the condition of the animal, dwindling almost to nothing after protracted hard work and bad feeding, being firm and full in times of ease and plenty. When on the point of commencing a long journey, there[Pg 74] is nothing on which an Arab lays so much stress as on the condition of his Camel’s hump, which, from what we have just said, must be considered to be nothing more or less than a reserved store of food.

Upon the chest, the elbows, the fore-knees (true wrists), knees, and hocks, callous pads of hardened skin are found, upon which the creature supports its weight whilst kneeling down, a position in which it always rests, and one which it assumes when being loaded. These pads are present in the new-born Camel-calf, proving, contrary to the view maintained by some, that they are not the direct result of pressure, but are special provisions in accordance with the requirements of the species, arrived at by a process of natural selection, those individuals alone surviving in which there is the power of resisting the injurious effects of protracted strain upon a few spots of the skin.

The coat is, in the summer, scanty; in the winter, of considerable length, and matted into lumps. The two-toed feet are very much expanded, and tipped with a pair of small hoofs. The lips are covered with hair, the upper one being split up for some distance in the middle line. The nostrils, when closed, are linear, and from their construction prevent sand from entering the air-passages when the animal desires it. The tail is of fair length, reaching to the ankle-joint. There is a fixity about its attitudes, and a formality about its paces, which is quite characteristic. Its power of enduring fatigue upon its scanty fare, whilst carrying a weight as great as 600 lbs., together with its endurance, makes it invaluable in its desert home.

(TRUE) CAMEL.

A stolid obstinacy is its usual disposition. Mr. Palgrave, criticising the reputation that the animal has for docility, remarks:—“If docile means stupid, well and good; in such a case the Camel is the very model of docility. But if the epithet is intended to designate an animal that takes an interest in its rider so far as a beast can; that in some way understands his intentions, or shares them in a subordinate fashion; that obeys from a sort of submissive or half fellow-feeling with his master,[Pg 75] like the Horse or Elephant: then I say that the Camel is by no means docile—very much the contrary. He takes no heed of his rider, pays no attention whether he be on his back or not, walks straight on when once set agoing, merely because he is too stupid to turn aside; and then, should some tempting thorn or green branch allure him out of the path, continues to walk on in the new direction simply because he is too dull to turn back into the right road. In a word, he is from first to last an undomesticated and savage animal rendered serviceable by stupidity alone, without much skill on his master’s part, and any co-operation on his own, save that of an extreme passiveness. Neither attachment nor even habit impresses him; never tame, though not wide awake enough to be exactly wild.”

BACTRIAN CAMEL.

Nevertheless the animal gives indications of intelligence when badly treated, if we may judge from its revengeful nature, well illustrated in the following account:—

“A valuable Camel, working in an oil-mill, was severely beaten by its driver. Perceiving that the Camel had treasured up the injury, and was only waiting a favourable opportunity for revenge, he kept a strict watch upon the animal. Time passed away; the Camel, perceiving that it was watched, was quiet and obedient, and the driver began to think that the beating was forgotten, when one night, after the lapse of several months, the man was sleeping on a raised platform in the mill, whilst, as is customary, the Camel was stabled in a corner. Happening to awake, the driver observed by the bright moonlight that, when all was quiet, the animal looked cautiously around, rose softly, and stealing towards a spot where a bundle of clothes and a bernous, thrown carelessly on the ground, resembled a sleeping figure, cast itself with violence upon them, rolling with all its weight, and tearing them most viciously with its teeth. Satisfied that its revenge was complete, the Camel was returning to its corner, when the driver sat up and spoke. At the sound of his voice, and perceiving the mistake[Pg 76] it had made, the animal was so mortified at the failure and discovery of its scheme, that it dashed its head against the wall and died on the spot.”

THE BACTRIAN CAMEL.[46]

The Two-humped Camel is found in the regions to the east and north of the home of its One-humped ally, extending as far as Pekin and Lake Baikal. It it a heavier, shorter-legged, and thicker-coated species, at the same time that the feet are more adapted to a less yielding soil from their greater callousness. The hair is specially abundant upon the top of the head, the arm, wrist, throat, and humps. There is no variety of this species corresponding to the Dromedary One-humped Camel.

HUANACO ATTACKED BY A PUMA.

THE LLAMAS.[47]

The Llamas, when the term is employed in its wider sense, include the American representatives of the Camel tribe, none of which have any trace of the dorsal hump or humps found in their Old World allies. They are mountain animals, found in the Cordilleras of Peru and Chili, in this respect also differing from the desert-loving Camels, with which they agree in all important structural peculiarities, including the stomach, lips, nostrils, and coat. The feet are somewhat modified in accordance with the rocky nature of the mountain regions which they inhabit, the sole-pads being less considerable, and almost completely divided into two hard cushions, with a long and hooked nail in the front of each.

ALPACA.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

Llamas were found domesticated when South America was first discovered by the Spaniards,[Pg 77] and as there were then no Mules or Horses there, these creatures were employed exclusively as beasts of burden, as well as for their flesh, their wool, and hides. Their disposition and their habits also resemble those of the Camel. They have their own peculiar gait and speed, from which they cannot well be made to vary. When irritated they foam at the mouth and spit, sulking and lying down when overloaded. As beasts of draught their most important use is to convey the ores from the mines of Potosi and elsewhere in the Andean range. From the account of Augustin de Zerate, who was a Peruvian Spanish Government official in the middle of the sixteenth century, we learn that “in places where there is no snow the natives want water, and to supply this deficiency they fill the skins of Sheep [Llamas being meant] with water, and make other living Sheep carry them, for it must be remarked that these Sheep of Peru are large enough to serve as beasts of burden. They can carry about one hundred pounds or more, and the Spaniards used to ride them, and they would go four or five leagues a day. When they are weary they lie down upon the ground, and as there is no means of making them get up, either by beating or assailing them, the load must of necessity be taken off. When there is a man on one of them, if the beast is tired he turns his head round and discharges his saliva, which has an offensive odour, into the rider’s face. These animals are of great use and service to their masters, for their wool is very good and fine, particularly that of the breed called Pacas, which have very long fleeces; and the expense of their food is trifling, as a handful of maize suffices them, and they can go four or five days without water. Their flesh is as good as that of the fat Sheep of Castile.”

LLAMA.

It is somewhat difficult to decide exactly the relations of the wild to the domesticated species of the Llamas. It seems most probable that there are two true species, known as the Huanacos (Lama huanacos) and the Vicuna (Lama vicugna), of the former of which the true Llama is a domesticated variety, as the Alpaca is of the latter.

The HUANACO—or Guanaco, as it is sometimes written—has a more elongated head and more slender legs than the Vicuna, at the same time that there are elongated warty tubercles upon the hinder limbs not found in the latter species. Its height at the shoulder is three feet and a half. The fur is uniformly brown, at the same time that it is rough and short. It can be domesticated without difficulty. Its tail is short and hairy. Its native haunts are the highlands of Peru and Chili, as well as farther south, where it lives in herds, which descend to the valleys in the winter[Pg 78] months. When hunted they have a habit of now and again facing their pursuers, after which they gallop off afresh. When attacked at close quarters they defend themselves by striking with their fore-feet. From Mr. Darwin’s account of the animal in the “Voyage of the Beagle,” we learn that it “abounds over the whole of the temperate parts of South America, from the wooded islands of Tierra del Fuego, the rough Patagonia, the hilly parts of the La Plata, Chili, even to the Cordillera of Peru. Although preferring an elevated site, it yields in this respect to its near relative the Vicuna; on the plains of Southern Patagonia we saw them in greater numbers than in any other part. Generally they go in small herds, from half a dozen to thirty together, but on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred. On the northern shores of the Strait of Magellan they are also very numerous. Generally the Guanacoes are wild and extremely wary. The sportsman frequently receives the first intimation of their presence by hearing from a distance the peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. If he then looks attentively, he will perhaps see the herd standing in a line on some distant hill. On approaching them, a few more squeals are given, and then off they set at an apparently slow—but really quick—canter along some narrow beaten track to a neighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he should abruptly meet a single animal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless, and intently gaze at him; then, perhaps, move on a few yards, turn round, and look again. What is the cause of this difference in their shyness? Do they mistake a man in the distance for their chief enemy, the Puma, or does curiosity overcome their timidity? That they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on the ground and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to reconnoitre him.... On the mountains of Tierra del Fuego, and in other places, I have more than once seen a Guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge.... The Guanacoes readily take to the water; several times at Port Valdez they were seen swimming from island to island. Byron, in his ‘Voyage,’ says he saw them drinking salt water. Some of our officers likewise saw a herd drinking the briny fluid from Salina, near Cape Blanca. I imagine, in several parts of the country, if they do not drink salt water they drink none at all. In the middle of the day they frequently roll in the dust in saucer-shaped hollows.... The Guanacoes appear to have favourite spots for dying in. On the banks of the St. Cruz the ground was actually white with bones in certain circumscribed places, which were generally bushy, and all near the river. On one such spot I counted between ten and twenty heads, some gnawed, as if by beasts of prey.”

The Domestic Llama resembles its wild ancestor in most respects. Its colour may, however, be variegated, or even white. Its woolly coat is longer, but not so fine, and when it is removed by shearing the animal is conspicuously spotted.

The VICUNA is a smaller animal of a light lion-brown colour, with a short and hairy face; its neck is lengthy, as in its allies; its height about two feet six inches. Its wool is particularly fine, and has been much employed, undyed, as a material for clothing. It is active and spiteful, inhabiting a region higher and therefore colder than the Huanaco.

The Alpaca is its domestic form, with thicker and much darker wool, as well as shorter limbs. Its colour is often nearly black, or black varied with white or brown.

The manufacture of alpaca stuffs dates from the year 1836, when Mr. (afterwards Sir) Titus Salt commenced weaving the unusually long-haired wool, which at the time found no sale in the markets on account of its not being suited to the existing combing apparatus. Since that period alpaca has been much employed as a fabric, possibly to be again replaced in great measure by the sheep wool of the Australian and other British colonies.

The study of fossil forms throws as much light upon the development of existing types of Ruminantia as it does in the case of the Perissodactyla. Until the last of the three great geologic epochs none have been found; whilst in the Tertiary strata from Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene formations, numerous species are known, resembling existing types more closely as they are discovered in the more recently deposited strata.

[Pg 79]

As might be anticipated from what has been said above, and as is indicated in the table of classification of the Artiodactyla on page 336, Vol. II., the oldest forms of cloven-hoofed Mammalia must have been intermediate in structure between the Pigs and Ruminants. Such a creature existed at the close of the Eocene period in Chœropotamus, discovered first by the illustrious Cuvier in the palæontologically most interesting gypsum beds at Montmartre. Another specimen has also been found near Ryde, in the Isle of Wight. The creature was pig-like in size, and in the tuberculated structure of its grinders, the parts, together with the lower jaw, alone discovered as yet.

SKELETON OF THE IRISH ELK.

Hyopotamus, Dichobune, Xiphodon, and Cainotherium were four-toed Upper Eocene transitional forms approaching the Ruminants, but all possessing upper cutting-teeth, the last-named differing but little from the Deerlets. Oreodon is a genus of small pig-like animals, appearing first in the Miocene of North America, and evidently closely related to the Ruminantia. Sivatherium was a gigantic Ruminant with four horns in pairs, and evidently a trunk. Its remains are found in the Miocene deposits of the Sewalik hills of India. Deer, Oxen, Goats, and Sheep first appeared in the Pliocene period, as did Camels and Llamas. Antelopes and Giraffes existed earlier, namely, in the Late Miocene. It is a fact of interest that Camels are abundant in the Miocene and Pliocene of North America, whilst they are only very scantily distributed in the same strata of the Old World, Arabia and Asia being their sole living habitat.

Among the most interesting of the Pleistocene species which has been discovered in Great Britain is the gigantic Irish deer, a species originally included with the Elk, on account of the palmation and outward inclination of its huge antlers, in some specimens only a few inches less than[Pg 80] eleven feet in span, and each more than five feet long in a straight line from burr to tip. In general form the antlers do not strikingly differ from those of the Common Fallow Deer. The brow-tyne is quite simple at its base, and generally slightly bifid at its extremity, there being no true “bez.” The beam is cylindroid as far as the insignificant “trez,” beyond which it is flattened out into a gigantic triangular expansion, or “palm,” with the free base developed into snags, usually about seven in number, and a fairly independent posterior tyne.

IRISH ELK. (Restored.)

At the withers the skeleton, which is quite cervine in every detail, measures as much as six feet; its great peculiarity in the male being the large size of the cervical or neck vertebræ, necessarily extra strong that they may support the massive antlers, about seventy pounds in weight. In the females, which had no cranial appendages, the vertebræ of the neck were one-third smaller.

The accompanying figure is an attempt to represent the species under consideration, as it must have appeared when living. It is worthy of note, however, that as the coat of the Fallow Deer, which may be its nearest ally, is brilliantly spotted, the great Irish Deer may have resembled it in that respect.

The first fairly complete skeleton of the species was found in the Isle of Man. Others have been obtained from Waterford and elsewhere in Ireland.

A. H. GARROD.

[Pg 81]

PRAIRIE DOG.

ORDER RODENTIA.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—THE SQUIRREL, MARMOT, ANOMALURE, HAPLODONT, AND BEAVER FAMILIES.

WHILE the last few chapters have been devoted to orders which contain the largest and most powerful of terrestrial mammalia, we have now to treat of a group, all the members of which are of comparatively small size. “Mice, rats, and such small deer,” to use Shakspere’s phrase, make up a great proportion of the order Rodentia. The biggest of them is only about the size of a small Pig; and perhaps the common House Rat, or, at any rate, the common Squirrel, may be taken as showing the average dimensions of a Rodent. But, although from this point of view they[Pg 82] may be looked upon as “a feeble folk,” their numerous species render them a most important section of the mammalian fauna of nearly all countries, and this importance is greatly increased, practically, by the immense number of individuals by which each species is usually represented.

The Rodentia, or gnawing mammals—GLIRES, as Linnæus and some modern zoologists call them—notwithstanding the great number of the species and the immense variety of forms which they display, constitute, perhaps, the most definitely circumscribed order of the Mammalia. In most other groups of the same value, we find that some types exhibit divergent characters, which render it difficult to frame a general description of the order which shall include them; or else some species present a marked tendency towards some other order; but in the case of the Rodents, we never have any difficulty, a cursory inspection of the dentition is always sufficient to decide whether a quadruped belongs to the Rodentia or not; and in spite of an almost infinite variety of form, the structure of the rest of the organism is most clearly in accordance with the evidence derived from the teeth.

SKULL OF THE TAGUAN, A FLYING SQUIRREL.

The teeth are only of two kinds—incisors and grinders (see the above figure of the skull of the Taguan)—and the number of efficient teeth of the former kind is never more than two in each jaw. Almost throughout the order, indeed, there are actually, even from the first, only two incisors present; but in the Hares and Rabbits, and some allied forms, there are in the upper jaw, in addition to the working teeth, a pair of rudimentary incisors,[48] placed immediately behind the large ones, but quite incapable of taking any part in the business of gnawing, for which the latter are so admirably fitted. Their presence is, however, of interest, as indicating the direction in which an alliance with other forms of Mammalia more abundantly supplied with teeth is to be sought.

DENTITION OF THE HARE.

The great incisors, which are characteristic of the Rodents, exhibit the following peculiarities:—They possess no roots, but spring from a permanent pulp, so that they continue growing during the whole life of the animal; and their form, and that of the cavity which constitutes their socket, is always that of a segment of a circle,[49] in consequence of which, they always protrude from the front of the jaws in the same direction, and meet at the same angle. By this means, as the teeth are worn away at their summits by use in gnawing, a fresh supply of tooth is continually being pushed forward to take the place of the portion thus removed, and, in fact, so intimately are the two functions of use and growth correlated in the teeth of these animals, that if by chance one of the incisors should get broken, or the natural opposition of these teeth should be disturbed in consequence of injury to the jaw, the teeth, thus deprived of their natural check, continue growing, and, following the curve of their sockets, gradually form circular tusks, which must always be greatly in the way of the animal when feeding, and sometimes, by actually penetrating again into the mouth, cause its death by absolute starvation. The teeth themselves are composed of dentine, coated along the front surface with a layer of hard enamel, which substance is wanting on the other surfaces of the teeth, except in the Hares, Rabbits, and other forms with additional rudimentary incisors in the upper jaw, in which, as further evidence of their relationship to the other Mammalia, the whole surface of the incisors is encased in enamel, although this coat is excessively thin except on the front or outer face. The purpose[Pg 83] of this structure of the incisors is easily understood. In the action of gnawing, the dentine, which forms the greater part of the tooth, is more easily abraded than the harder enamel, which is thus left as a sharp front edge, to which the mass of dentine behind it, being worn away into a bevelled surface, gives the necessary firmness and support, the whole forming a chisel-like instrument, constructed precisely on the principle of those tools in which a thin plate of hard steel forms the cutting edge, and is stiffened by a thicker bevelled plate of softer iron.

The canine teeth are entirely deficient, and behind the incisors we find on each side a toothless gap of considerable extent (see figures p. 82), beyond which come the grinding teeth. In these it is difficult to recognise any distinction of molars and pre-molars; the whole series presents nearly the same structural characters, and for all practical purposes we may speak of them as molars, although some zoologists prefer to regard the three hindmost teeth on each side as true molars, and any others that may be present as premolars. In one genus (Hydromys) the number of grinding teeth is reduced to two on each side in each jaw; in a great proportion of the species the number is three; others have four or five grinders on each side, either in one or both jaws (usually one more in the upper series); and the largest number is possessed by the Hares and Rabbits, in which the upper jaw has six and the lower five grinders.[50] The grinders are sometimes furnished with true roots, but are more commonly open below, and provided, like the incisors, with a permanent pulp. They are sometimes tubercular, at least in youth, but generally show a flat, worn surface with transverse bands, or re-entering folds, and sometimes cylinders of enamel, which display a great variety of patterns. Sometimes the enamel is confined to the surface of the tooth; in other cases each tooth is, as it were, made up of two or more variously-shaped tubular portions of enamel, filled up with dentine. Curiously enough, this structure of the grinders, especially the arrangement of the transverse ridges and plates of enamel in these little animals, reminds us strongly of the characters of the molars of the gigantic Proboscidea, in which, moreover, the incisors also are represented by the permanently-growing tusks.

The articulation of the lower jaw with the skull is peculiar, and in special relation to the armature of teeth which we have described. Instead of articulating freely, as in man and many herbivorous mammals, by which provision is made for a sort of rotatory action of the molars, or by a regular transverse hinge-joint, as in the Carnivora, the articulating surfaces are elongated in a direction parallel to the middle line of the skull, an arrangement which, like that occurring in Carnivora, has the effect of preventing much lateral movement of the jaw; but, at the same time, the pits with which the jaw articulates are open in front, so that the jaw is allowed a certain amount of play, backwards and forwards. This motion greatly increases the gnawing power of the large incisor teeth.

SKELETON OF THE RABBIT.

The head in the Rodents is generally of small or moderate size in proportion to the body, and the skull is usually rather elongated, and flattened on the upper surface. The tympanic bullæ are generally of considerable size; the zygomatic arch is in nearly all cases well developed; but the orbits of the eyes are never closed behind, and only in certain families is there even a small process of the zygomatic arch behind the orbits, as an indication of possible closure. Of the vertebral column we need only say that the lumbar vertebræ are remarkable for possessing large transverse processes directed forwards, and that the tail varies[Pg 84] greatly in length, being sometimes longer than the body, sometimes reduced to very small proportions, whilst between these two extremes almost every grade of development may be met with.

The sternum, or breast-bone, is usually long and narrow. Collar-bones are nearly always present, but in a few forms they become rudimentary, or even disappear altogether. The pelvis is long and narrow. The limbs exhibit a very great variety in their development; in many, the two pairs are nearly equal in length, but in the majority the hind limbs are distinctly longer and more powerful than their fellows, and in some groups they attain a most disproportionate length, and serve almost exclusively as the organs of locomotion. On the other hand, in the great majority of the order, the fore limbs serve in a certain degree as hands, and are used for holding the food to the mouth; and in these the radius and ulna, which are always distinct bones, retain the power of rotation. The corresponding bones in the hind limbs (tibia and fibula) are, on the contrary, firmly anchylosed together in two great groups of the order. The feet have usually five toes, but sometimes this number is reduced to four, or even to three, in the hind feet. These toes are armed with claws, which, however, in one family, acquire more or less of the appearance of hoofs.

In point of intelligence the Rodentia do not stand high. The brain is comparatively small, and the cerebral hemispheres show no traces of those convolutions of the surface which are characteristic of most Mammals (see figures). The Capybara alone is known to have a few convolutions. The cerebellum is entirely uncovered by the hemispheres. The organs of the senses are generally well developed, and the eyes and external ears, especially, are often of large size. In the Mole Rats and some other burrowing forms, however, the external ears are entirely wanting, and the eyes are very much reduced in size, and in some instances even concealed beneath the skin. The intestinal canal is long, and in all but one family furnished with a distinct cæcum.

BRAIN OF BEAVER (from above).

BRAIN OF BEAVER. (Profile.)

The body in the Rodents is generally plump and short, and the head is borne upon a short neck. The limbs also are usually short, so that the belly is close to the ground; but in some cases all four legs are of moderate length, or, as already stated, the hind legs are enormously developed, forming powerful leaping organs. In general structure, as to a certain extent in habits, there is, in fact, a most striking parallelism between the Rodentia and the Insectivora (see Vol. I., p. 343); in both we find arboreal and terrestrial forms, and among the latter some specially organised for burrowing in the earth, and others equally adapted for springing lightly over its surface; a few, also, in both orders, are aquatic. But here the parallel ceases. The dentition in the two groups is widely divergent, and, as might be anticipated from this circumstance, the food is very different; for, although some Rodents, such as the common Mouse and Rat, are omnivorous, there is no doubt that, as a whole, the Rodents must be regarded as vegetarians. Grass and the leaves of plants and trees furnish some of them with nourishment; whilst others feed upon fruits, seeds, and nuts, in the consumption of which last the powerful incisor teeth come into play. Many species lay up stores of food for the winter season, of which they pass more or less in a state of torpidity; and some of these are provided with cheek-pouches, often of considerable size, in which to convey their harvest into their store-houses.

As might be expected from the great number of species belonging to this order, and their general uniformity of structure, their classification is a matter of some difficulty, and very different views as to their relationships have prevailed at different times. Nowadays, however, zoologists have arrived at something like uniformity of opinion in this matter, and except in some minor points they may be said to be pretty nearly agreed. In the following sketch of the natural history of the Rodents we shall follow the classification proposed by the late Mr. E. R. Alston in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society. Mr. Alston accepted the division of the order into two primary groups (sub-orders),[Pg 85] proposed fifty years ago by Professor Gervais, and characterised by the number of incisor teeth. The first of these sub-orders, which includes by far the majority of the Rodents, is formed by those species which never at any period of their lives possess more than two incisors in the upper jaw, and have the enamel on these strictly confined to the front surface of the teeth. These are denominated SIMPLICIDENTATA, or SIMPLE-TOOTHED RODENTS. In the second group, which includes only the Hares, Rabbits, and Calling Hares, we have those species which in the adult state possess four incisors in the upper jaw, namely, two large and efficient teeth, and behind these two small, almost rudimentary incisors (see figure of the dentition of the Hare on p. 82). These are called DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS, or DUPLICIDENTATA.

Besides the characters derived from the number of incisor teeth above mentioned, several other peculiarities of structure seem to show the existence of a decided difference between the Simple-toothed and Double-toothed Rodents; but most of these are of a rather abstruse nature, and need not be noticed here, the most important additional distinctive characters of the former being that the bony palate is well developed, and that the fibula does not articulate with the calcaneum, or heel-bone; whereas in the Double-toothed Rodents the palate is reduced to a mere bridge between the portions of the upper jaw in which the teeth are inserted, and the fibula does articulate with the heel-bone.

The Simplicidentata include a great number of families, and various attempts have been made to group these under larger heads; but it must be confessed that, owing to the way in which the families approach one another, it is difficult to bring them together in sections capable of being very strictly defined. Certain broad principles of relationship are, however, generally recognised, and Mr. Alston represented these by placing the Simple-toothed families under three great sections, the first indicated by Mr. Waterhouse—the Squirrel-like, Mouse-like, and Porcupine-like Rodents.

The Squirrel-like Rodents have four molars on each side in the lower jaw, and either four or five in the upper. When the latter number is present, the foremost tooth is smaller than the rest. The fibula remains as a distinct bone through life, and is usually quite free, although sometimes attached to the tibia at the extremity. The upper lip is usually cleft, the muffle is small and naked, and the nostrils are comma-shaped, with the rounded part above. The zygomatic arch is formed chiefly by the process of the malar bone, which is not supported below by a continuation of the zygomatic process of the maxillary. The collar-bones are perfect. The tail is usually cylindrical and hairy.

The Mouse-like Rodents agree with the preceding in the characters of the upper lip, muffle, and nostrils, but they have the tibia and fibula completely united for at least the last third of their length. The zygomatic arch is slender, and the malar process rarely extends so far forward as in the preceding group and is generally supported below by a continuation of the maxillary process. The collar-bones are perfect, except in one very small family; and the tail is cylindrical, and although sometimes hairy, more commonly covered with scales arranged in rings. The number of molar teeth in this section varies from three to six[51] on each side in each jaw, but three is the most usual number.

TEETH OF THE TAGUAN.

The Porcupine-like Rodents, with one exception, have four molars on each side in both jaws; the fibula distinct throughout life; the upper lip rarely cleft; the muffle clad with a velvety coat of fine hairs; and the nostrils either S-shaped or straight. The zygomatic arch is stout, and the malar process does not advance far forward, nor is it supported below by the maxillary process.

[Pg 86]

SECTION I.—(SCIUROMORPHA.) SQUIRREL-LIKE RODENTS.

FAMILY I.—SCIURIDÆ.

This first family, which includes the true Squirrels and the Marmots, is distinguished from the rest of the section by the possession of five rooted molars on each side of the upper jaw (see figure of the teeth on p. 85), the first being very small and sometimes deciduous, and four molars on each side of the lower jaw, and by the presence on the skull and zygomatic arch of small processes, indicating the posterior boundary of the orbits (see figure of the skull on p. 82). The molars are tubercular, at least at first; but the summits of the tubercles are generally more or less worn down as the animal increases in age.

COMMON SQUIRREL.

[Pg 87]

The true Squirrels, which may be regarded as the types of this family, are distinguished by their slender and graceful forms, and their long and generally bushy tails, the latter character having originated their classical name of Sciurus, as a compound of two Greek words, indicating their habit of carrying their tails thrown up, so as to shade the back. Our COMMON SQUIRREL (Sciurus vulgaris) may serve as a good example of this division of the family. It is too well known as a pet to need any detailed description; its elegant form and graceful movements, the rich brownish-red colour of its upper surface, contrasting with the white of the belly, and the beautifully-pencilled or tufted ears, which, combined with its bright black eye, give it such a lively appearance, must be familiar to every one. When full-grown, the Squirrel measures from eight to ten inches in length of body, and has a tail seven or eight inches long. British specimens are generally smaller than those from the Continent of Europe. It varies considerably in colour with the seasons, especially in northern regions; but even in Central Europe and in Britain the fur of the sides and back becomes mixed with a certain quantity of greyish-white hairs in the winter, whilst in Lapland and Siberia the whole upper surface acquires a grey tint at that season. In the summer also the ear-tufts diminish, or altogether disappear. In the Alps and Pyrenees, there is a variety having the back of a dark brown colour, speckled with yellowish-white. This has been described as a distinct species, under the name of Sciurus alpinus.

The Common Squirrel is a widely-distributed species. It is abundant all over Europe, except, according to Pallas, in the Crimea, and extends beyond the Ural Mountains through the whole length of Southern Siberia to the Altai and the Amoor region. It occurs in the Caucasus, and probably in Persia. Everywhere it haunts the woods and forests, living chiefly upon the trees, among the branches of which it displays the most astonishing agility. On the ground—to which, however, it does not often descend—it is equally quick in its movements. If alarmed under these circumstances, it dashes off to the nearest tree with lightning-like rapidity, and by the aid of its sharp claws rushes up the trunk till it has reached what it considers a safe elevation, when the little sharp face and bright eyes may be seen peeping at the intruder, apparently in triumph over his supposed disappointment.

The food of the Squirrel consists chiefly of nuts, beech-mast, acorns, and the young bark, shoots, and buds of trees. In eating the former articles, they are held in the fore-paws, which thus supply the place of hands, and the strong incisors soon make a way through the outer shells into the contained kernels, which alone are eaten; for in all cases in which the kernel is coated with a coarse brown skin (as in the common hazel-nuts), the Squirrel carefully removes every particle of this from the portions on which he feeds. The bark, buds, and young shoots of trees seem generally to be attacked by the Squirrel when he finds a deficiency of other and more congenial nourishment; but this is so regularly the case in the spring of the year, that these animals actually cause a great amount of damage to the trees in forest regions. Hence, not unnaturally, the Squirrel is regarded in forest countries as a most mischievous little animal, whose depredations are not to be condoned on account of its elegant appearance and lively habits. As another unamiable quality, may be mentioned its habit of plundering birds’ nests and eating the eggs, which appears to be established upon unquestionable evidence. In some northern regions the inhabitants turn their Squirrels to a more profitable use than putting them, as we so often do, into a sort of treadmill. In Lapland and some parts of Siberia, especially on the banks of the Lena, these animals are killed in great numbers for the sake of their grey winter-coats, which, however, are not equal in beauty to those of the north American Grey Squirrel.

The Squirrel passes the greater part of the winter in a torpid state, lying coiled up in some hole of a tree, where its long bushy tail is of service in keeping it warm and comfortable. On fine and warm days, however, it rouses itself from its slumbers; and, as if foreseeing the occurrence of such days, it lays up in the autumn stores of nuts, acorns, and beech-mast, upon which it can feed when it wakes during the winter. This winter provision is not laid up all in one place, but stored away in several different holes in trees surrounding the place of its own retreat.

Squirrels appear to be strictly monogamous, pairing for life, and constantly inhabiting the same dwelling. The young, three or four in number, are produced in June, and for their reception the parents prepare a very beautifully constructed nest, formed of interlaced moss, leaves, and vegetable fibres, which is placed either in the hole of a tree, or in the fork between two branches. The young[Pg 88] Squirrels are very carefully attended by both parents, and the family remains united until the following spring, when the young go out to find partners, and settle themselves in the world.

The Common Squirrel may serve as an example of the whole genus Sciurus, which includes the ordinary Tree Squirrels, the species of which are very numerous, probably more than one hundred, and distributed over nearly all parts of the world. The species are most numerous in the warm Oriental regions, in India, and the countries and islands lying to the east of it, from which nearly fifty species have been recorded. The northern parts of the Old World only possess half a dozen species, but North America has about eighteen, many of which are considerably larger than the European Squirrel. The most striking of the North American species are the GREY SQUIRREL (Sciurus carolinensis) and the FOX SQUIRREL (Sciurus niger), both of which are abundant in the Atlantic States, and vary considerably in colour, presenting both grey and black individuals.

BLACK FOX SQUIRREL.

Besides the ordinary Squirrels, a considerable number of other species are arboreal in their habits, and, indeed, even more strictly so than the true Squirrels. These are the Flying Squirrels, as they are called, which may be at once distinguished from the others by the presence of a large fold of skin, extending along the sides of the body, and including the limbs as far as the wrists and heels (see figure on next page). In the case of the Common Squirrels, it is observed that in performing leaps of any considerable extent the limbs are stretched out, and the long, bushy tail extended, so as to give the animal as large a surface as possible; but in the Flying Squirrels, as in the Flying Lemur (Vol. I., p. 344), when the limbs are extended laterally the folds of skin (patagia) become tightly stretched, and form a regular parachute, which seems to give the animal essential support in its most extensive leaps. The extent of this membrane is increased by means of a sort of bony spur, which articulates with the wrist.

The TAGUAN (Pteromys petaurista) is a large species, indeed, the largest of the whole family Sciuridæ. It measures about two feet long, and has a bushy tail of nearly equal length. Its ears are pointed, but not tufted, and its eyes are large and prominent. Its colour above is greyish-black, produced by a mixture of entirely black hairs with others having the tips greyish-white; beneath it is greyish-white. About the head and on the limbs the fur is tinged with brown or chestnut brown, and the lateral folds are sometimes of the latter colour, sometimes blackish-brown above and grey beneath. The tail is rounded in its form.

[Pg 89]

This species inhabits the peninsula of India and Ceylon, Malacca and Siam, where it is found only in the forests, living in trees, either singly or in pairs. Its activity is chiefly nocturnal, in which respect it differs from the ordinary Squirrels. During the day it sleeps in the holes of trees, but at night it comes forth, climbing and leaping with the greatest rapidity about the trees on which it lives. While thus engaged the lateral membranes are loosely folded at the sides of the body; but from time to time the Squirrel wishes to pass from one tree to another at some distance, and then it ascends to a considerable elevation and springs off, at the same time extending all four limbs as much as possible, when the tightly-stretched folds of skin lend the body a support, which enables it to glide through the air to some distance, although it seems always to alight at a lower level than that from which it started. During these aerial excursions the long bushy tail serves as a sort of rudder, and enables the animal even to change its course during flight. Of the habits of the Taguan very little is known. It appears to feed upon fruits, and is exceedingly shy and fearful. Of a nearly-allied species which he observed in China, Mr. Swinhoe says that the nest, which was placed high up in a large tree, measured about three feet in diameter, and was composed of interlaced twigs, and lined with dry grass. It contained only a single young Squirrel; but this might be exceptional.

TAGUAN.

Some nine or ten additional species of the genus Pteromys, which includes the Flying Squirrels with cylindrical tails, are found in the forest regions of India and of the countries to the east of that peninsula, including China, Formosa, and Japan. The same region also harbours three or four species of another kind of Flying Squirrel, in which the long hairs of the tail are arranged in two rows, and the tail is flat instead of cylindrical. These animals, to which the name of Sciuropterus has been given, are, however, more numerous in the north, where their distribution extends from Lapland and Finland, through Siberia, to Northern China and Japan. Squirrels of this genus also occur over the whole continent of North America and as far south as Guatemala. The best known of the Old World species is the POLATOUCHE (Sciuropterus volans), which inhabits the north-eastern parts of[Pg 90] Europe and nearly the whole of Siberia. It is an elegant little creature, about six inches in length, and with a broad, flat tail, rather shorter than the body: as, indeed, is the case in all the Sciuropteri. Its silky coat is in summer of a tawny brown on the upper surface, darker on the flying membrane and the outsides of the limbs, beneath pure white; whilst the tail is greyish above and light rusty red beneath. In winter the fur becomes longer and thicker, and appears of a silver grey colour on the upper surface. The Polatouche lives in the birch woods, or in places where pines, firs, and birches grow intermingled; but the presence of the birch seems to be a necessity of its existence. It is met with singly or in pairs, but always on the trees, sleeping during the day in its nest or in the hole of a tree, and coming forth at dusk to climb and leap about the branches with great agility. In going from tree to tree by the aid of its lateral membranes, it is said to cover distances of twenty or thirty yards with ease, always, however, taking its leap from the highest branches of the tree it starts from, and alighting at a considerably lower level. Its food consists of nuts, seeds, berries, the buds, young shoots, and catkins of the birch, and the young shoots of pines and firs. The nest is made in the hole of a tree, carefully lined with soft moss and herbage. Like the Common Squirrel, the Polatouche sleeps through the cold weather, but wakes up from time to time and goes out in search of food.

POLATOUCHE.

This group of Flying Squirrels is also represented on the North American continent. The number of species seems rather uncertain, some authors making it two, others four; while Mr. J. A. Allen regards all the North American Flying Squirrels as belonging to a single species, which varies greatly in size in different localities. This species is the ASSAPAN (Sciuropterus volucella), one of the smallest of its family, the length of its head and body being only from four and three-quarters to seven and a half inches; the smaller specimens (var. volucella) being found in the more southern States, and even as far south as Guatemala; and the larger ones (var. hudsonius) in more northern localities. In its habits this elegant little Squirrel resembles the Polatouche, but appears to be more sociable. It thrives well in confinement.

Besides these Tree Squirrels, a few species of the Sciurine sub-family live upon the ground. In Abyssinia and in other parts of Africa some curious animals, forming the genus Xerus, are found, distinguished by their very small ears, longish limbs, and the singular texture of their hair, which scantily clothes the skin and generally takes the form of flattened spines. They have a slender body, a pointed head, and a longish tail. These animals live in elevated forest regions, and even upon comparatively barren steppes, where they burrow in the ground under rocks, or among the roots of[Pg 91] trees and bushes. They are diurnal, and feed chiefly upon buds and herbage, but also devour small birds, eggs, and insects. The best known species (Xerus rutilans) is about twenty inches long, of which the tail makes about nine inches. Its colour is reddish-yellow above, becoming paler on the sides, and whitish below.

COMMON CHIPMUNK.

The true GROUND SQUIRRELS (Tamias) are distinguished from the rest of the Squirrels (Sciurinæ), and approach the Marmots, which form a second sub-family of Sciuridæ. Like some of the latter, they possess large cheek-pouches opening into the mouth. The ears in this genus are short; the fourth toe of the fore feet is longer than the rest, as in all the Sciurinæ; the limbs are short, and nearly equal in length; and the tail is shorter than in the true Squirrels. In general form and appearance, however, the Ground Squirrels greatly resemble the latter, except that they are rather stouter in the body. Four species of this group inhabit the continent of North America, where they are known as Chipmunks; and one of these, according to Mr. J. A. Allen, is identical with the only known Old World species (Tamias asiaticus), which is found in North-eastern Europe and across Northern Asia, as far as the mouth of the Amoor, North China, and Japan. This species, which goes by different names in the different localities which it inhabits, and the COMMON CHIPMUNK (Tamias striatus) of the United States, agree very closely in all respects, and are exceedingly pretty little animals, with light-coloured fur adorned with darker stripes, varied in the case of the Chipmunk with streaks of white. They are from eight to ten inches long, including the tail. These animals live in burrows in the ground, and feed upon nuts, acorns, grain, and other seeds of various kinds, of which they lay up great stores in the autumn, carrying home their provisions in their cheek-pouches, which they stuff as full as they can hold. In this way they do no small damage to cultivated grounds near their haunts, plundering the corn and maize fields very freely; over eight pounds of corn in the ear are often found in the granaries of the Siberian form. The burrow is made deep enough to protect the animals from frost in winter, and the sleeping chamber contains a large nest of leaves and grass, in which several individuals, probably the parents with their grown-up family, sleep through the cold weather; but it must be remarked that their torpidity is very imperfect, and that they have frequent recourse to the supplies of food which they have stored up during the summer and autumn in separate chambers at the ends of lateral passages. These stores are so large that they generally greatly exceed the wants of the provident little animals,[Pg 92] and in the spring the residue is greedily devoured by Wild Pigs and Bears. Even the poorer human inhabitants of the countries frequented by the Ground Squirrels do not disdain to eke out their scanty means of subsistence by plundering the hoards of these animals. Many of them perish in severe winters, great numbers are destroyed by man, by the smaller Carnivora, and by birds of prey, but, nevertheless, they manage to hold their own, in consequence of the great fertility of the females, which produce several young twice in the year, namely, in May and August. At pairing time the males fight violently.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE MARMOT.

From the Ground Squirrels we pass, by a perfectly natural transition, to the MARMOTS (Arctomyinæ), the second sub-family of Sciuridæ. These animals differ from the preceding forms by their broader incisors, shorter tail, and stouter form of body, and by having the third finger longer than the rest. The first upper molar, also, is larger and more persistent than in the Squirrels, and the other molars differ in structure (see figure). The Marmots are all terrestrial animals, living and storing provisions in burrows, which they dig in the ground, and they are strictly confined to the northern parts of the two hemispheres.

STRIPED SPERMOPHILE, OR GOPHER.

BURROWS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG.

The nearest approach to the Squirrels is made by the SPERMOPHILES (Spermophilus), several species of which occur in North America from Mexico to the Arctic regions, but never to the east of the great central prairie region; whilst in the Old World their domain extends from Silesia, through Russia, and across Asia, to the Amoor and Kamstchatka. The Spermophiles are Squirrel-like in form and have rather short tails, but in the American species this organ is generally longer than in those of the Eastern continent. On the thumb the claw is either very small or altogether wanting; the two series of molars are nearly parallel, and the mouth is furnished with large cheek-pouches. The ears are very small. These animals live in society, and prefer a dry, sandy, or loamy soil, in which they can easily make their burrows, which terminate in a chamber lined with grass and herbage, and have, besides, side-chambers, in which provisions can be stored for winter use. Like the other species of the family, the Spermophiles pass the winter in a state of partial torpidity. In the summer they are exceedingly lively and playful. Their food consists of roots, berries, and seeds of various kinds, and their winter stores of these articles are carried into the burrows in[Pg 93] their large cheek-pouches. The females are very prolific, producing from four to eight young at a birth, and in some cases even as many as ten have been found. The commonest and most widely distributed of the North American species is the STRIPED SPERMOPHILE, or GOPHER (Spermophilus tredecimlineatus), a pretty little creature of from six to eight inches long, usually of a chestnut brown colour with seven yellowish-white lines running along the back and between these six rows of small squarish spots of the same colour. This species extends its range from the Red River in Canada southwards as far as Texas, and is common on the prairies east of the Mississippi. This and some other species of the genus are said to be very carnivorous in their habits, preying upon small birds and mammals; and the Gopher was even described as feeding upon the flesh of Bisons, which it found lying dead on the prairies. The other American species are more local in their distribution; four of them occur in Mexico, and one of these is only known from that country. Of the Old World species the best known is the SISEL, or SUSLIK (Spermophilus citillus), which is abundant in Central and[Pg 94] Eastern Europe and in Siberia. Several other species are known from Asia Minor, Siberia, and Central Asia.

The BARKING SQUIRRELS, or PRAIRIE DOGS, of which two species (Cynomys ludovicianus, see figure on p. 81, and C. columbianus) are found in the United States of America, are of a stouter form than the Spermophiles, and have the ears and tail short. The claws are well developed on all the toes of the fore feet, the cheek-pouches are shallow, and the two rows of grinding teeth converge towards the back of the mouth. These animals are peculiar to North America, where the former inhabits the prairies east of the Rocky Mountains, and the latter is found on the plains of the Columbia river, and in other parts of the western territories as far south as New Mexico. The best known of the two species is the Cynomys ludovicianus, to which the name of the PRAIRIE DOG was first applied: this name being given to it from a fancied resemblance of its voice to the barking of a small Dog. It measures about a foot in length, and its tail is about four inches long. Its colour on the upper surface is reddish-brown, variegated with grey, and with a few scattered black hairs; the tail is flattened, and brownish-black towards the end, and the lower surface is brownish or yellowish-white. These animals live together in great societies, especially upon those portions of the prairies where the so-called buffalo-grass (Sesleria dactyloides) grows most luxuriantly, this grass and succulent roots constituting their chief food. They live in burrows, which they dig in the ground at a distance of twelve or fifteen feet apart; a hard-beaten path runs from burrow to burrow, and would seem to give evidence of the sociable disposition of the animals; and at the mouth of every burrow there is a little hillock, formed by the earth thrown out of it, which serves the occupant as a watch-tower. These burrows are usually so numerous upon favourable pieces of ground that the space occupied by them is quite populous, and presents a scene of considerable animation when the inhabitants are out in the pursuit of their business or their pleasure, and hence they are in common parlance spoken of as “towns” or “villages.” Their curious appearance is heightened by the almost constant presence in them of numerous small Owls, of the species known as the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), a widely-spread species, which in some places digs its own subterranean habitation, but on these prairies saves itself the trouble by taking possession of the deserted abodes of the Prairie Dogs. These birds are diurnal in their habits, and are to be seen mixed up with the Prairie Dogs in their settlements. Another inhabitant of the burrows is the Rattlesnake; and some of the earlier observers thought that the Prairie Dogs, Owls, Rattlesnakes, and some other animals, such as Horned Frogs and an occasional Tortoise, occupied the same burrow, and lived there on the most amicable footing. Unfortunately, this paradisaic picture is an imaginary one. It is true that the Rattlesnake does take up his abode in the Prairie Dog’s burrows, but he either selects a deserted one, or dispossesses, and perhaps devours, the rightful owner; and his object in his residence among the lively little Marmots is anything rather than peaceful, as they constitute his favourite food. The little Burrowing Owl has also been said by some writers to feed on the young Prairie Dogs; but this is not proved, and the food of the Owls is known to consist chiefly of Grasshoppers and Crayfish. According to the latitude in which they live, the Prairie Dogs seem to be more or less subject to torpidity during the winter.

The true MARMOTS (Arctomys) are nearly related to the Prairie Dogs. They are stout in the body, have a short tail, and a rudimentary thumb with a flat nail; and are either entirely destitute of cheek-pouches or have mere indications of those organs. The rows of molar teeth are placed nearly parallel to each other in each jaw. The skull is broad and flat above, with a depression between the orbits; and the post-orbital processes are larger than in any other Sciuridæ. The Marmots are confined to the Northern hemisphere, but over it they are widely distributed in both continents. Of the Old World species, the best known are the BOBAC (Arctomys Bobac) and the ALPINE MARMOT (A. Marmota), of which the former extends from the south of Poland and Galicia over the whole of Southern Russia and Siberia to the Amoor region and Kamstchatka, whilst it is found in elevated situations as far southward as Cashmere, Tibet, and the Himalayas; and the latter inhabits only the higher regions of the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians. In North America the common species is the WOODCHUCK (Arctomys Monax), the distribution of which is from the Carolinas northward to Hudson’s Bay, and westward from the Atlantic coast to Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota; the Rocky Mountain region is inhabited by a distinct species (A. flaviventer); and a third very large species, the HOARY MARMOT, or WHISTLER[Pg 95] (A. pruinosus), which measures from twenty-three to twenty-five inches in length of body, appears to be most abundant in the north-western parts of the continent, and is said to range northward as far as the Arctic Circle. The Marmots live usually in large societies in extensive burrows, which they form underground; and in some localities, as on the great plains of Russia and Siberia, their dwelling-places are described as producing a remarkable effect, owing to the multitude of little hillocks formed by the earth thrown out of their burrows. During the summer they are in a state of constant activity, playing and running about in search of food in the neighbourhood of their dwellings. The winter they pass in a state of torpidity, in a comfortable chamber lined with soft herbage, and protected from the outside cold by the closure of the main passage leading into their abode. For a time after their retirement for the winter they continue active in their domicile, and feed upon the stores of food which they have laid up during the summer; and as a preparation for their winter sleep, they become exceedingly fat during the autumn. The Marmots are the largest members of their family, and, indeed, some of them may be reckoned among the larger Rodents. The Alpine Marmot measures more than twenty inches in length, and the Bobac about fifteen inches, exclusive of the tail.

ALPINE MARMOT.

FAMILY II.—ANOMALURIDÆ.

Some curious African animals, closely resembling the Flying Squirrels, and at first regarded as belonging to that group, were formed by Mr. Waterhouse into a distinct genus, which he called Anomalurus, in allusion to the peculiar characters presented by their tail. This organ, which is long and well clothed with hair, although not so bushy as in the true Squirrels, has on the lower surface of its basal portion a double series of horny scales, which project from the skin, and probably serve to assist the animal in climbing upon the branches of trees.

Besides this peculiarity, these animals exhibit certain other characters which have induced modern[Pg 96] zoologists to separate them from the Squirrels as a distinct family. Thus, the post-orbital processes are wanting, or nearly so; the infra-orbital openings are large; the molar teeth are four in number on each side, above and below, nearly equal in size, and not tubercular, but with a flat surface, crossed by transverse loops of enamel; and the palate is contracted in front and deeply notched behind. In the skeleton we find sixteen pairs of ribs, whereas in the Squirrels there are only twelve or thirteen pairs; and the internal anatomy, first described by Mr. Alston, is very peculiar. The flying membrane is quite as largely developed as in the Flying Squirrels, and is in the same manner extended from the wrists to the heels, and further supported by cartilaginous spurs starting from the fore limbs; but, whilst in the Flying Squirrels this spur springs from the wrist itself, in the Anomalures it projects from the elbow, and thus produces a still greater extension of the membrane. The ears are well developed, the eyes large, and the general aspect both of head and body completely squirrel-like. Six species of this family have been described, all from the West Coast of Africa. One of them occurs in the island of Fernando Po. The species figured (Anomalurus fulgens) is from the Gaboon. It is a handsome little creature, of a bright reddish colour, paler below, and having a small white spot between the ears. Its length is fourteen inches, and its tail is seven inches long. In some of the other species the tail is as long as the body. Of the habits of these animals little is positively known, but they are said to feed upon fruits. They probably resemble the Flying Squirrels in their general mode of life.

FULGENT ANOMALURE (From the Proceedings of the Zoological Society).

MOLAR TEETH OF THE ANOMALURE.

FAMILY III.—HAPLODONTIDÆ.

This is another small family, smaller even than the preceding one, for it includes only a single known species, limited in its range to the western coast of North America. This is the Sewellel, a little Rodent, first observed by the American travellers, Lewis and Clarke, in 1805 or 1806, described in 1814 by Rafinesque under the name of Anisonyx rufa, and afterwards, in 1829, by Sir John Richardson, as the type of a new genus, as Aplodontia leporina. This generic name has been corrected, in accordance with its derivation, by more recent writers, to Haplodon, from which the name of the family has been formed.

In this animal there are five molars in the upper and four in the lower jaw; the first upper molar[Pg 97] is very small, and all these teeth are rootless, simple, and prismatic, the surface of each tooth being surrounded by a mere border of enamel. The skull is very flat, very wide behind, and furnished with large zygomatic arches; between the orbits and in front it is much contracted, and there are no post-orbital processes. In the lower jaw the angular portion is twisted so as to form a horizontal ridge. The body is stout and clumsy, the tail very short, and the claws of the fore feet (which are five-toed, as well as the hind ones) are very powerful; in fact, as Dr. Coues says, “The whole organisation, viewed externally, indicates terrestrial and highly fossorial habits.”

The SEWELLEL (Haplodon rufus) is about a foot long, with a tail of an inch or an inch and a half; its colour is brownish, with an intermixture of black hairs, lighter and more greyish below. The whiskers, claws, and upper surface of the feet are whitish, and the incisor teeth yellow. It inhabits the Washington and Oregon territories, from the Rocky Mountains to the shores of the Pacific, and extends also into the southern portions of British Columbia and the upper parts of California.

The Sewellel is described as having very much the same habits as the Prairie Dog, living in society, burrowing very readily in the ground, and feeding on roots and berries. Their companies, however, seem to be much smaller than those of the Prairie Dog, and they are said chiefly to frequent spring-heads in rich, moist places. They are described as having the curious habit of neatly cutting off some herb or plant, which, when packed in bundles, they lay out and expose to the sun to dry; this is probably for the purpose of storing for winter consumption. It seems to be uncertain whether the Sewellel is torpid during the winter, but probably in this respect it varies according to local conditions or the coldness of the seasons. Dr. Suchley believes that the Sewellel has several litters of young during the season. The Indians trap them, and esteem them very highly as food. Cloaks or blankets are made of their skins, which are sewn together with fibres derived from the sinews of the Elk and Deer. A robe described by Sir John Richardson was composed of twenty-seven skins.

FAMILY IV.—CASTORIDÆ.

Unlike as the Beaver may be to a Squirrel, it yet presents many characters which prove that its nearest affinity is to the animals which compose the group Sciuromorpha. This relationship has indeed been overlooked by many zoologists, but Mr. Alston and Mr. Allen have clearly shown that Professor Gervais was right in placing the Castoridæ in close juxtaposition with the Squirrels. The peculiarities which make the apparent discrepancy so striking are indeed chiefly those by which the Beaver is adapted to an aquatic life.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE BEAVER.

The Beaver, which is the sole living representative of this family, is a more powerful animal than any of the preceding, and his incisor teeth and the means of working them are especially well developed. The head is large and the skull massive, and furnished with a distinct median (sagittal) crest for the insertion of the strong muscles which move the lower jaw. There are no post-orbital processes. There are four molars on each side in each jaw, and these are nearly similar in size and structure; but, contrary to what we have seen in the preceding groups, the first molar is the largest, and the others diminish in size towards the hinder end of the row. The series of teeth in the two sides of the mouth converge toward the front; and the teeth themselves, which are for a long time rootless, and only close up to form a simple root when the animal grows old, show three folds or loops of enamel on one side, and a single fold on the other: the three folds entering from the outer surface of the tooth in the upper jaw, and from its inner surface in the lower.

The general form is stout and heavy, especially in the hinder parts; the tail is of moderate length, broad, flattened, and covered with a scaly skin; the feet are all five-toed, the fore pair considerably smaller than the hinder, but all well furnished with claws, and the hinder pair fully webbed to the extremities of the toes. The wrist has a large ossicle, in addition to those usually[Pg 98] composing that part of the body. The eyes are small, have the pupil vertical, and are furnished with a nictitating membrane; the ears are small and short, and their antitragus can be so applied to the head as almost entirely to close the auditory aperture; and the nostrils are also so arranged as to be capable of closing.

BEAVER.

The Beaver is usually about two feet and a half long, and is, therefore, one of the largest of the Rodentia, except the Capybara. The tail, which is flattened above and below, and of an elongated oval form, measures about ten inches. The muffle is naked; the ears scaly; the soles of all the feet are naked, and their upper surfaces clothed with hairs; and the second toe of the hind feet is usually furnished with a double claw, the additional one being placed beneath the other. The general colour of the fur is reddish-brown on the upper surface, lighter and greyish below. The colour varies a little in different individuals, and appears to become darker, or even blackish, in northern localities. White or pied individuals are not uncommon. The Beaver appears to increase in size for some years after it has attained maturity. Mr. Allen says that in America “two-year-old Beavers generally weigh about thirty-five to forty pounds, while very old ones occasionally attain a weight of upwards of sixty.” The size of the skull seems to increase throughout life; the thickness and density of the bones also increase, and the ridges for the attachment of the muscles become stronger in old individuals.

The Beaver is, or has been, distributed generally over all the northern parts of the Northern hemisphere, especially in the forest regions. Formerly it ranged over the whole of Europe, including[Pg 99] the British islands, where there is historical evidence of its former existence, besides the skulls and bones which have been found in various places, but especially in the Fen lands. At present the animal appears to be completely exterminated in the southern parts of Europe from France southwards, with the exception of a small colony on the Rhone, which we believe is still in existence; and only a very few individuals survive in Germany, where they are found on a tributary of the Elbe, and in one or two other places. In some parts of Poland, Russia, and Austria, and in the Scandinavian peninsula, they still, to a greater or less extent, hold their ground; and in Asia they abound about the rivers of Siberia, and in the streams which flow into the Caspian Sea. In North America Beavers formerly abounded from Texas, and, according to manuscript evidence cited by Mr. Allen, even from Mexico, northward to the extreme limit of forest growth, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The constant pursuit to which the animals were subjected, in consequence of the demand for their skins, greatly diminished their numbers, and in many localities altogether exterminated them; but they still occur over a very large extent of the North American continent, especially in the western territories, where they are even abundant in some of the wilder parts.

In the preceding statements we have spoken of the Beaver as forming a single species; but it has long been a moot question with zoologists whether the Beavers of the Old and New Worlds were or were not specifically identical. The external differences are very slight, and those observed in the skull, upon which most stress has been laid, do not appear to be of sufficient importance for the separation of the animals as distinct species. They consist chiefly in the greater breadth of the anterior portion of the skull, including the inter-orbital space; the extension farther back of the nasal bones, the greater size and depth of the basilar cavity and the more anterior position of the auditory bullæ, in the European Beaver; but the examination of large series of specimens has proved that the skulls from both hemispheres present many exceptions, in which one or more of the peculiarities which they ought to exhibit do not occur: a circumstance which of necessity greatly invalidates the distinction founded upon such characters. Dr. Ely sums up the results of an extended investigation in the following words:—“The extremes of difference, in their aggregate, on the one side and on the other, are sufficiently striking to justify us in regarding them as varieties of one and the same species; while the want of constancy in these peculiarities suggests the inference that these variations are due to long separation of the races, and to accidental causes, rather than to original diversity of the stock.” The Beaver may thus be regarded as a species with two geographical forms (varieties or sub-species), viz., Castor fiber, var. europæus, and Castor fiber, var. canadensis.

So much has been written upon the habits of the Beaver, that the following short statement will suffice to give the leading facts in the natural history of the animal, the accounts of the marvellous sagacity of which, given by the older writers, have, perhaps, invested it with an exaggerated interest.

In populous countries the Beaver is contented, like the Otter, with a long burrow for his residence; but in the wilder regions of Siberia and North America his dwelling-place is a much more complicated affair. But even in these regions, according to some authorities, a certain number of Beavers—always males—show a lazy unwillingness to take part in the common labours of the colony, and these, as idlers, are expelled from the community, often with rather severe treatment, and then take up their abode by themselves in holes, which they dig out in the banks of rivers, whence they are called “terriers.” On the other hand, it would appear that the building instinct which is so remarkably manifested by the Beaver is not always extinct even in those which inhabit populous countries, for we have a most interesting account from M. Meyerinck of the construction of a lodge, and even of a dam, by the colony of Beavers on a tributary of the Elbe.

In North America, from which we have the fullest accounts of the habits of the Beavers, these animals select for their habitation some small stream running through a locality well covered with trees, especially willows, birches, and poplars, upon the bark of which they chiefly feed. These trees they cut down with their powerful incisor teeth, usually selecting those from the thickness of a man’s arm to that of his thigh, but sometimes even felling trunks eighteen inches in diameter. The operation, which at first sight would seem to be a rather difficult one for an animal like the Beaver to perform, is effected by gnawing all round the trunk for a certain distance, and gradually working deeper and deeper into its substance in the middle of the part attacked, until at length the tree stands[Pg 100] upon quite a slender piece of wood, with the trunk both above and below this tapered off into the form of two cones, united by their apices. The work is done as sharply and neatly as if the wood had been cut away by a chisel; and the animals are said to have the sagacity to weaken the trunk more on the side that looks towards the water than on the opposite side, by which means, when it falls, it will generally do so in the direction of the water, which materially facilitates the further operations of the Beavers. The quantity of trees cut down by them in this way is very great, so that in the neighbourhood of a Beaver encampment the ground is everywhere full of the stumps which they have left.

These tree trunks are then cut up into lengths of five or six feet, which, after their bark has been stripped off and eaten, are employed in the formation of a lodge, to serve as a shelter for the company of Beavers forming it. Access to the lodge is obtained by means of several subterranean passages, which always open under water, and lead up into the chamber occupying the interior of the lodge. The lodge is usually of an oven-like shape, and is built close to the edge of the water; its walls are very thick, and composed of the above-mentioned trunks of trees, plastered over with mud, clay, &c., mixed with grasses and moss, until the whole fabric measures from twelve to twenty feet in diameter, and forms a hill some six or eight feet high. The larger lodges are in the interior about seven feet in diameter, and between two and three feet high; and the floor of this spacious chamber is covered with fine chips of wood, grasses, and the soft bark of trees, which serve to form the beds of the occupants. Occasionally the lodges are said to contain store-rooms. In front of the lodge, according to Audubon, the Beavers scratch away the mud of the bottom until they make the water deep enough to enable them to float their pieces of timber to this point, even when the water is frozen; and, communicating with this, a ditch surrounds the lodge, which is also made so deep that it will not readily freeze to the bottom. Into this ditch, and the deep water in front of the lodge, the passages by which access to the water is obtained always open, and thus the inhabitants can at any time make their way out when their business requires them to do so. In the neighbourhood of the lodge the timber cut into lengths, as above described, is piled up, so as to furnish a supply of food as it is required; and the pieces of timber, after being stripped of their bark, are usually employed by the Beavers either in repairing their lodges or in constructing or strengthening the dams which they very frequently throw across the streams haunted by them. These dams, which are destined to keep the water of variable streams up to the necessary height for the convenience of the Beaver, are wonderful pieces of work, and almost justify the marvellous stories told of its intelligence and sagacity by the older writers. They are often of great length—sometimes 150 or 200 yards and more—and run across the course of the brook inhabited by the Beavers—sometimes in a straight line, sometimes in a curved form, according to peculiarities in the ground or the stream, and the exigencies of the engineers. They are composed, like the lodges, of lengths cut from the trunks and branches of trees, filled in with smaller sticks, roots, grasses, and moss, and all plastered with mud and clay in a most workmanlike manner, until the whole structure becomes quite water-tight. Their height is from six to ten feet, and their thickness at the bottom sometimes as much as double this, but diminishing upwards by the slope of the sides until the top is only from three to five feet wide. These dams convert even small rivulets into large pools of water, often many acres in extent; and in districts where Beavers abound these pools may occupy neatly the whole course of a stream, one above the other, almost to its source. Their use to the Beavers, as constantly furnishing them with a sufficiency of water in which to carry on their business, and especially to float to their lodges the tree trunks necessary for their subsistence, is easily understood; but it is a more remarkable circumstance that by this means the Beavers exercise a considerable influence upon the external appearance of the locality inhabited by them, which may persist even long after they have themselves disappeared. In and about the pools the constant attacks of the Beavers upon the trees produce clearings in the forest, often many acres in extent; at the margins of the pools the formation of peat commences, and under favourable circumstances proceeds until the greater part of the cleared space becomes converted into a peat-moss. These peaty clearings are known as Beaver-meadows, and they have been detected in various countries where the Beaver is now extinct.

As in the case of the majority of Rodents, the chief activity of the Beaver is nocturnal; and it is only when driven from its lodge by a high flood, or in the wildest and most sequestered localities, that[Pg 101] it goes about during the day. It swims quickly, but entirely by the agency of the hind feet, the fore feet being used chiefly for carrying and building operations, and for conveying the food to the mouth. Before diving, it is said to slap the surface of the water with its tail, producing a sound that may be heard at a considerable distance. On land it sometimes travels a good way in the warm season, and is then stated to indulge in a change of diet, feeding upon roots and fruits, and sometimes upon corn. The roots of the water-lily (Nuphar) are also said to constitute part of its food. The Beaver is hunted—but less now than in former years—for the sake of its skin, the soft under fur of which was much used in the manufacture of hats. It is asserted that the flesh is very good, but according to some authorities, only certain parts of it are palatable; and Audubon declares that the tail, which is regarded as a peculiarly choice morsel, closely resembles marrow, and is so rich that only those whose stomachs are incapable of being upset by greasy food can eat more than a very little of it.

The Beaver has been hunted not only for its fur, but also, and from time immemorial, for the sake of a peculiar secretion produced by it, which, under the name of Castoreum, has been for many centuries a highly-esteemed medicament. This substance is secreted in a pair of glandular pouches, situated in the inguinal region of the male Beaver; and it would seem that it was almost entirely in order to procure these that the ancients hunted this animal. Even in connection with this they had wonderful tales to tell of its sagacity: as how that, when it was pursued and found itself unable to escape, it would throw itself upon its back, as if to invite the hunter to take what he wanted and spare its life. Nay, some ancient writers seem to have believed that the Beaver would go the length of biting off its own castoreum glands, and leaving them for the hunter to pick up! Castoreum contains some volatile oil and resin, and a peculiar crystallisable substance called castorine; it is used in medicine as a stimulant, and seems to act especially on the nervous system, but is not much employed nowadays. Its odour, which appears to spread over a considerable space, is described as being very attractive to other Beavers. Audubon states that it is used for this reason as a lure by the American trappers.

SECTION II.—MOUSE-LIKE RODENTS (MYOMORPHA).

THE Myomorphic, or Mouse-like group of Rodents, includes a much greater variety of forms than the preceding, and the number of species is also very great. We find in it arboreal, terrestrial, and aquatic species; and in the second of these categories some presenting almost every variety of habit which the Rodent type is capable of assuming. Naturally the families and sub-families into which it is divided are rather numerous. Mr. Alston distinguished seven family groups, the first of which is the Myoxidæ.

[Pg 102]

FAMILY V.—MYOXIDÆ.

The Dormice, which constitute this family, have generally been regarded as nearly related to the Squirrels; and certainly, although they fall under the definition of the Myomorphic section, they have a plain affinity to the Sciuridæ. In form they are Squirrel-like, and the tail is long and hairy, although not so bushy as in the true Squirrels. They have four molars on each side in each jaw (see figure), the front one in each series being smaller than the rest. All these teeth are rooted, and their crowns show transverse folds of enamel. The frontal bones are much narrowed; the fore limbs are small, with the thumbs rudimentary and furnished with a small flat nail; and the hind feet have five toes. The Dormice differ from all other Rodents by having the intestine entirely destitute of a cæcum. They are confined to the Eastern hemisphere, and chiefly to its temperate and colder regions; although a species of Myoxus, and some forms on which a special genus (Graphiurus) has been founded, inhabit Africa. The number of known species is only about a dozen.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE DORMOUSE.

The common DORMOUSE (Myoxus avellanarius) is an elegant little creature, about three inches long, with a somewhat bushy, cylindrical tail, two inches and a half in length. Its fur is of a light reddish-tawny colour above, becoming paler and yellowish on the lower surface. On the throat there is a small whitish mark. It is widely distributed in Europe, ranging from Britain and Sweden in the north to Tuscany and Northern Turkey in the south. Generally it is more abundant in southern than in northern countries, but in the south of France it is less common than either of the other two European species. Eastwards it does not extend beyond Galicia, Hungary, and Transylvania.

DORMOUSE.

The Dormouse is nocturnal in its habits. During the day it sleeps in its nest or in some snug retreat, and at night comes forth in search of its food, which consists of nuts, acorns, seeds, berries, and the buds of trees and shrubs. It is particularly fond of the nuts of the common hazel, whence its specific name, and the name of “Haselmaus,” which it bears in Germany; these nuts it is said to pierce and empty without plucking them or taking them out of their cups. The Dormouse lives in small societies in thickets and hedgerows, where it is as active in its way amongst the bushes and undergrowth as its cousin the Squirrel upon the larger trees. Among the small twigs and branches[Pg 103] of the shrubs and small trees the Dormice climb with wonderful adroitness, often, indeed, hanging by their hind feet from a twig in order to reach and operate on a fruit or a nut which is otherwise inaccessible, and running along the lower surface of a branch with the activity and certainty of a Monkey. Detached articles of food are held up to the mouth by the fore paws, after the fashion of a Squirrel. Towards the winter the Dormouse becomes exceedingly fat, and having collected a small store of food, makes for itself a little globular nest, composed of small twigs, leaves, pine-needles, moss, and grass, and within this, coiled up into a ball, passes into a torpid state.

Nevertheless, the winter sleep is not wholly uninterrupted; on mild days the Dormouse wakes up for a time and takes a little of its stored-up food. The female produces usually about four young, in the spring according to Professor Bell, in August according to Brehm; but the former writer thinks that in some cases two broods are produced in the year, as he has received from the same locality in September a half-grown Dormouse and three very young ones, evidently not more than a fortnight or three weeks old.

Of the other common European species, the LOIR (Myoxus glis) is found only in southern regions, its range extending from Spain to Southern Russia, and passing into the neighbouring parts of Asia. It is considerably larger than the Dormouse, measuring rather more than six inches in length, and has a bushy tail, in which the hairs are arranged in two rows, as in that of the Squirrel. The habits of this species are like those of the Dormouse. Fruit constitutes a portion of its diet, and it is said also to destroy and devour small birds and other animals. The Loir is a very voracious feeder, and becomes exceedingly fat in the autumn. By the ancient Roman epicures it was regarded as a dainty morsel, and they spared no pains to fatten it for the table. It sleeps during the day, and hibernates in some hole in a tree or in the ground, and the nest is formed in the former situation. The female usually produces about six young.

GARDEN DORMOUSE.

The GARDEN DORMOUSE, or LEROT of the French (Myoxus nitela), is common all over the southern and western parts of the Continent, extending northwards through Germany into the Baltic provinces of Russia. It is a little smaller than the preceding species, which, however, it resembles in its general habits; but it dwells commonly in gardens, and feeds on fruits, often doing much damage to the choicer varieties. It is a lighter and more active animal than the Loir, and is said to be even more predaceous in its habits. The female produces from four to six young, sometimes in a beautifully-made nest of her own, sometimes in the deserted or usurped nest of a Blackbird or Thrush, or in that of a Squirrel.

FAMILY VI.—LOPHIOMYIDÆ.

The importance of an animal in the zoological system by no means depends either upon its size or on its abundance in the world; its rank in the classification is decided solely by peculiarities of[Pg 104] organisation which distinguish it more or less from its fellows; and in many cases the creatures which are regarded with the most interest by the naturalist are those which seem most to withdraw themselves from general observation. A single genus, perhaps containing only one or two species, may, by a singular combination of characters, be so completely isolated from all the recognised allied groups that it cannot be placed in any of them, and accordingly a distinct family, possibly even an order, has to be established for its reception. Sometimes subsequent discoveries add to the number of species forming the group thus set up, and in this way the prescience of its founder is confirmed. Sometimes the group remains in its original condition, leaving us, according to circumstances, to regard the anomalous creatures of which it is composed either as a special development of their general type, or as the residue of a group which may have presented a greater variety of forms at some past period of the earth’s history.

SKULL OF LOPHIOMYS.

The latter is perhaps the case with the curious little Rodent which alone forms the present family, of which its original describer, M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, writes as follows:—“In its general aspect it somewhat resembles certain Opossums, and like these it is pedimanous;[52] but these are the only analogies it presents to the Marsupials, and in its dental system, as also in the rest of its organisation, we easily see that it belongs to the order Rodentia. It differs, however, from all the members of this group by characters of considerable importance; I may even say that, by some peculiarities of structure it departs from all other Mammals, and that we find in it anatomical arrangements of which we have hitherto had examples only in the class of Reptiles.” After an exhaustive discussion of the characters of this curious little animal, M. Milne-Edwards comes to the conclusion that it is most nearly related to the members of the following family, and especially to the Hamsters, although he found it impossible to unite it with them. In this course he has been followed by other writers.

LOPHIOMYS.

The general construction of the skull is the same as in the Muridæ, but from the temporal ridges thin plates are developed, which bend downwards, and articulate with similar plates springing from the malar bones, and thus completely arch over the temporal fossæ after a fashion only met with in certain reptiles, and especially in the Hawksbill Turtle (Chelone caretta). The whole upper surface of the skull is covered with minute but perfectly definite granules, arranged with much regularity, and these, which occur in no other Mammal, give the skull a very peculiar aspect, such as may be seen in some fishes. As in the Muridæ, there are three molars on each side in each jaw, and these are rooted and strongly tubercular; the foremost in each series having three and the others each two ridges. Without entering in detail into the peculiarities described at great length by M. Milne-Edwards, we may say that in its general structure, and especially in that of the skeleton, the animal is murine, but with a very important distinction, namely, that the collar bones, which are well developed in the Rats and their allies,[Pg 105] are here reduced, as in the Hares and Rabbits, so as to form only two small bony styles freely suspended among the muscles, and that the first toe in the hind feet, although not very long, is so attached as to be opposite to the rest, thus converting the organ into a prehensile hand which the animal uses freely in climbing. The cæcum is small.

In its external characters this animal is as remarkable as in its anatomical structure. In general appearance, as stated by its describer, it has much resemblance to a small Opossum, but the bushy tail and the peculiar arrangement of the hair on the body are met with in no Marsupials. The head is small; the general form stout; the limbs short, and the hind ones not much longer than their fellows; and the ears are of moderate size and sparingly clothed with hair. The prevailing colour is blackish-brown, but a triangular spot on the forehead, a streak under each eye, and the tip of the tail, are white; and the long hairs which clothe the body and tail are dark only in the middle, the base and tip being white, as are also a great quantity of finer and shorter hairs which form a sort of under fur. But the chief peculiarity of the coat is to be found in the arrangement of the hairs of the body. The long hairs of the middle of the back and tail, some of which are nearly three inches in length, are capable of being raised into a nearly upright position, forming a sort of crest which gives the animal a very peculiar aspect, and this crest is separated from the pendulous hair of the flanks by a sort of furrow clothed with very peculiar hair of a greyish-tawny colour. These hairs are unlike any others known to occur among Mammals. The apical part is of the ordinary construction; but the following portion down to the base is “very rugose, and presents a spongy aspect, due to the interlacing, and, so to speak, felting of a multitude of epidermic filaments emanating from radiate cells, which constitute a perfect network of irregular meshes. Within the sort of sheath thus formed longitudinal filaments which break up into bundles of fibrils are to be seen.”

Very little is known as to the habitat of this animal, which M. Milne-Edwards has named Lophiomys Imhausi, the former name referring to the crested character of the back, the second commemorating the person who first brought the creature to the notice of naturalists. M. Imhaus, stopping for a few hours at Aden on his way home from Réunion, saw a living specimen of this Rodent in the possession of a negro from whom he bought it, but could learn nothing as to its origin. He inferred, however, that it had not been brought very far, and that its native country was either Southern Arabia, or some region in Abyssinia, or Nubia, on the other side of the Red Sea. This specimen was brought to France, and lived for about a year and a half in the Garden of Acclimatization in the Bois de Boulogne, where it fed upon maize, vegetables, and bread, slept during the day, and climbed with ease upon chairs and other convenient objects by the aid of its hinder hands. It never took its food in the fore-paws to carry it to the mouth as so many Rodents do. When irritated it elevated the crest right down to the end of the tail, and defended itself by biting vigorously.

It is doubtful whether the Lophiomys inhabits Arabia, but it is found in the neighbouring parts of Africa. Professor Peters described the skull of the animal as representing a new generic type under the name of Phractomys æthiops. His specimen was obtained by Dr. Schweinfurth from the tombs of Maman, north of Kassala, in Upper Nubia. A third specimen has been brought from Keren in the Bogos country, and a fourth from the Erkanid mountains between Suakim and Singat.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE BLACK RAT.

FAMILY VII.—MURIDÆ.

We come now to the largest and most typical family of the Rodents: that, namely, which includes the Rats and Mice and their numerous allies. Mr. Wallace estimates the number of known species at 330, which is probably within the mark. All these forms agree in the following characters:—The lower incisors are compressed; the molars are usually three in number on each side in each jaw, in one genus only two in the lower or in both jaws, and in another four in both jaws. They are rooted or rootless, tubercular or flat, with folds of[Pg 106] enamel; the malar bone is short and slender, generally reduced to a mere splint between the maxillary and squamosal processes of the zygomatic arch; the thumb is rudimentary, but often furnished with a small nail; and the tail is generally scaly, with a few scattered hairs, densely hairy only in a few species.

As might be expected in so large an assemblage of species, the variety of forms is very great among the Muridæ, but broadly, the common Rats and Mice, which are only too well known to most of us, may serve as characteristic types of the whole series. The family, however, includes jumping forms, swimming forms, arboreal forms, and burrowing forms, in which the peculiarities of the life-habits are very distinctly indicated by the external appearance of the creatures. In their distribution the Muridæ are almost absolutely cosmopolitan, the family being represented in every part of the world, with the sole exception of the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Australia possesses about thirty species of the family. New Zealand, at the time of its discovery, harboured a Rat, known as the Forest Rat, or Maori Rat, which was a favourite article of food with the natives, and is now almost extinct. It was proved by Capt. Hutton to be identical with the Black Rat (Mus rattus), and was probably introduced by the ancestors of the Maoris. Certain species also, such as the common Brown Rat and Mouse, are now perfectly cosmopolitan in their distribution, having accompanied man in all his migrations on the surface of the globe.

BROWN RAT.

The Rat and Mouse form the types of a great sub-family, MURINÆ, which have the molars rooted and tuberculate when young, the infra-orbital opening high and perpendicular, widest above, and the lower root of the zygomatic maxillary process flattened into a perpendicular plate. They possess no cheek-pouches, have the fore and hind limbs approximately equal in length, the thumb rudimentary, and the tail nearly naked, covered with scaly rings. The genus Mus, to which our household pests belong, includes upwards of one hundred species, scattered over most parts of the Eastern Hemisphere, and living sometimes chiefly in the neighbourhood of human habitations, granaries, &c., where they often feed indifferently upon animal and vegetable substances, sometimes in the open country, and feeding[Pg 107] almost exclusively upon the latter. The common BROWN RAT (Mus decumanus), sometimes called the Norway Rat, which is almost too well known to need description, is not a native of Great Britain, but was certainly introduced there by commerce, probably from some southern or eastern country—perhaps, as Pennant thinks, from the East Indies. Haunting ships in great numbers, it has now been introduced into all parts of the world, and it is quite impossible to ascertain its original habitat. It was known in Asia long before it made its appearance in Europe; and its passage into Russia is fixed by Pallas in the year 1727, when, he says, after an earthquake it swam across the Volga from the countries bordering the Caspian. Its first appearance in France and England is said to have occurred about the middle of the last century.

BLACK RAT.

From its great fecundity and determined ferocity of disposition, the Brown Rat has become a great pest wherever it has taken up its abode. “It digs,” says Professor Bell, “with great facility and vigour, making its way with rapidity beneath the floors of our houses, between the stones and bricks of walls, and often excavating the foundations of dwellings to a dangerous extent. There are many instances of their fatally undermining the most solid mason-work, or burrowing through dams which had for ages served to confine the waters of rivers and canals.” It is almost impossible to keep them out of our houses, and, once in, there is no end to the mischief they do. Their ferocity is very great; and although they will, if possible, retreat from a powerful enemy, they will fight in the most savage fashion when they cannot escape.

Although not averse to a vegetable diet—as those who have to do with corn and seeds, whether in the field or the store-house, know to their cost—the Brown Rat evinces a decided preference for animal food, which he consumes of all kinds and in all states. The case of the horse slaughter-houses of Montfaucon, near Paris, is well known; here, the carcases of all the Horses killed during the day, sometimes to the number of thirty-five, would be picked to the bone by the next morning; and one main argument against the removal of the establishment to a greater distance from the city was that these swarms of ferocious vermin would be left without means of support, and would become a complete pest in the neighbourhood. That such an apprehension was not unfounded is proved by several instances recorded of the escape of Rats from wrecked ships upon small islands. In the course of[Pg 108] a few years they exterminated every other living thing. Professor Bell, on the authority of the late Mr. Robert Stephenson, relates the following instance of the extreme ferocity of the Rat when driven by hunger:—“In a coal-pit,” he says, “in which many Horses were employed, the Rats, which fed upon the fodder provided for the Horses, had accumulated in great multitudes. It was customary in holiday times to bring to the surface the Horses and the fodder, and to close the pit for the time. On one occasion, when the holiday had extended to ten days or a fortnight, during which the Rats had been deprived of food, on re-opening the pit, the first man who descended was attacked by the starving multitude, and speedily killed and devoured.” Stories are also told, with what truth we do not know, of the occurrence of similar catastrophes in the sewers of Paris and London, where, as is well known, Rats abound.

The Brown Rat breeds several times during the year, and produces as many as ten, twelve, or fourteen young ones in a litter. Its general length is about nine inches. It may be distinguished from the old English Rat, which it has displaced in most localities, by its greyish-brown colour and by the comparative shortness of its ears, which, when pressed down, do not reach the eye.

The BLACK RAT (Mus rattus), or old English Rat, as it is sometimes called, agrees closely in its habits with the Brown Rat. It is smaller than the Brown Rat, measuring only about seven inches in length, but has a comparatively much longer tail and larger ears, which, when pressed forward, cover the eyes. Its colour above is greyish or brownish-black, and the lower parts are dark ash colour. Although the Black Rat has generally been compelled to give way before its larger and more vigorous competitor, it is still widely dispersed, but not in such numbers as formerly, in Europe. Its native country was probably Southern Asia. Nearly allied to it, if indeed specifically distinct, is the EGYPTIAN RAT (Mus alexandrinus). Both these Rats are said to keep more to the upper parts of houses than the Brown Rat.

Although the true Mice are very nearly allied to the Rats, of which they are copies on a small scale (and some of them, at any rate, are as destructive in their way as their larger relatives), they do not excite by any means the same sentiments of disgust with which Rats are generally regarded; ladies, indeed, will sometimes scream at the mere sight of a Mouse, but most of them will admit that, apart from its predatory habits, it is an elegant little creature. The COMMON MOUSE (Mus musculus) seems to be as completely associated with man as the Rat, and has accompanied him in his wanderings to all parts of the world. It is, however, said not to occur in the Sunda Islands. Of its general appearance and habits we need say nothing; they are too familiar to need description. But besides haunting our houses, the Mouse takes up its abode in the rick-yard, and here its devastations are often very serious. The Mice live in the ricks, through which they make passages in every direction, and their fecundity is so great that several bushels of Mice are often destroyed during the removal of a single rick. The Mouse breeds all the year round, and usually produces five or six young at a birth, so that its rapid increase under favourable circumstances is easily understood. Several varieties of the species are well known, especially the Albino form, or White Mouse, which is such a favourite pet with boys. The Common Mouse in England is sometimes patched with white, and we sometimes see in the shops Pied Mice, which are said to be of Indian origin. A pale buff variety is also sometimes met with; and during the removal of a rick some years ago, it was found to be infested by a breed of Mice with a naked wrinkled skin, to which the name of Rhinoceros Mice was given at the time.

Besides these more or less domestic species, there are in Britain two other representatives of the genus Mus, which do not generally frequent houses. One of these is the LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE (Mus sylvaticus), sometimes called the Wood Mouse, an exceedingly pretty little creature, rather larger than the Common Mouse, and having a proportionally longer tail. It measures about four inches in length, and the tail is about as long as the body; its colour is yellowish or yellowish-brown on the upper surface, whitish beneath; and the tail is brown above and white beneath. This species is found all over the temperate parts of Europe and Asia, living in the fields and gardens, where it takes up its abode, either in some small cavity under the root of a tree, in the deserted runs of the Mole, or less commonly in a little burrow excavated by its own labour. It feeds chiefly upon grain and seeds, of which it lays up a considerable store for winter use in its subterranean dwelling, and in this way does considerable damage to the crops. The Field Mouse does not, however, strictly[Pg 110] confine itself to a vegetable diet, but under circumstances of privation will attack and devour smaller and weaker animals, not even sparing its own species. It breeds more than once in the year, and produces from seven to ten young in each litter. It is easily tamed, and soon becomes familiar.

HARVEST MICE.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

The remaining British species, the HARVEST MOUSE (Mus minutus), is the smallest of the British quadrupeds, with the exception of the Lesser Shrew (Sorex pygmæus). The Harvest Mouse is to be found in most parts of England. It also occurs in Scotland as far north as Aberdeenshire; and in Ireland, but very rarely. On the Continent its range extends over nearly the whole of Europe, from Russia in the north to Italy in the south. It is well known in Siberia, and occurs abundantly in the steppes near the Caucasus.

The total length of this pretty little Mouse is about five inches, of which nearly one-half is made up of the tail. In it the eyes are less prominent than in the common Field Mouse, and the ears considerably shorter in proportion. Its colour on the upper surface is bright reddish-brown, and below pure white, the two colours being sharply separated. During the summer, the Harvest Mouse associates with the other Field Mice in corn-fields, and with them is very frequently carried in the sheaves of corn to rick-yards and barns, where it then takes up its abode for the autumn and winter, and, like other Mice, multiplies very rapidly, and no doubt does a good deal of mischief. The less fortunate individuals who are left behind in the fields retreat to little burrows for protection from the inclemency of the winter, which they pass in a state of at least partial torpidity; and to provide against exigencies they lay up in their dwellings a small store of food, to which they can have recourse when a fine day recalls them for a time to activity. Those which have been introduced into ricks and barns are, of course, liberally provided for, and they show their gratitude by remaining awake all the winter, as if on purpose to consume their abundant provender. In the open field their food consists of corn and the seeds of grasses and other plants, but also to a considerable extent of small insects.

In its movements the Harvest Mouse is wonderfully agile. On the ground it runs very rapidly; and it climbs upon shrubs and plants as cleverly as a Monkey, running out upon the thinnest twigs with the greatest confidence, and climbing up stalks of grasses so thin that they bend nearly to the ground with its weight. In these operations the long slender tail comes into use, as its extremity is prehensile, and can be twisted neatly round the small stalks and branches over which the little climber is making its way. From its lively habits, and the elegance of its form, the Harvest Mouse is a very interesting pet.

The Harvest Mouse breeds several times during the year, producing from five to eight or nine young at a birth, and provides for them one of the prettiest cradles formed by any Mammal. It is placed, according to the locality, upon several grass-leaves split and interwoven with the other materials, or suspended at a height of from eighteen inches to three feet above the ground, upon the twigs of some shrub or between several stalks of corn or strong grasses. It is egg-shaped, or nearly round, about the size of the egg of a Goose, and is composed externally of slit leaves of the reeds or grasses among which it is formed, each leaf being carefully divided longitudinally by the sharp teeth of the little architect into six or eight thread-like portions, which are then all woven together, so as to produce a firm structure. The interior is lined, or rather stuffed, with all sorts of soft vegetable substances, so that it has been a question with many observers how the mother could get at all the members of her family to suckle them, and how the nest could contain them all as they began to increase in bulk. The young usually remain in the nest until they can see; but as soon as they are able to provide for themselves, the mother takes them out, gives them some practical instructions in the art of living, and then leaves them to their own devices. According to Brehm, as these Mice increase in age they improve in the art of nest-building.

Besides these few species, a multitude of Rats and Mice, belonging to the same genus, occur as natives of nearly all parts of the world, but in their habits they agree in general with the British species. India harbours a considerable number, among which we may mention the BANDICOOT RAT (Mus bandicota), a large species, which inhabits the Indian and Malayan peninsulas, and is very destructive in plantations; and the TREE RAT (Mus arboreus), a native of Bengal, seven or eight inches in length, which lives partly on grain, of which it lays up stores in its nests, and partly on young cocoa-nuts, which constitute its favourite food, and in search of which it climbs the trees. This[Pg 111] species builds a nest on cocoa-nut trees and bamboos, and occasionally makes predatory visits to the houses. The STRIPED MOUSE (Mus barbarus) is remarkable for its coloration, its ground colour being a bright yellowish-brown or reddish-yellow, adorned with several longitudinal blackish-brown streaks. This elegant Mouse inhabits Northern Africa, especially in stony places. It is very abundant in Algeria.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE HAPALOTE.

Nearly allied to the true Mice are numerous forms more restricted in their distribution, which have been formed into distinct genera. Thus Pelomys fallax, in which the incisors are grooved, the tail short, and the first and fifth toes of all the feet shorter than the three middle ones, is peculiar to Mozambique; Acanthomys, in which the fur is mixed with flattened spines, is an African genus; whilst Echinothrix, which has a somewhat similar coat, is Australian. Madagascar possesses two peculiar genera, Nesomys and Brachytarsomys, the former having some relation to the American Murinæ, the latter remarkable for the shortness of the hind feet; and in Australia, besides the genus already mentioned, and one or two species of true Mus, we find the genus Hapalotis represented by about thirteen exclusively Australian species. These animals have the hind limbs rather long, the ears large, and the tail long and hairy, terminating in a tuft. The molar teeth also exhibit a peculiar pattern; The best known species is the WHITE-FOOTED HAPALOTE (Hapalotis albipes), an animal about the size of the Brown Rat, of a smoky brown colour, with the belly and the feet white. It inhabits New South Wales, especially in the mountainous parts. The animals of this genus were formerly regarded as allied to the South American Chinchillas and Viscachas.

The American Murines all belong to a group to which the name of Sigmodontes has been given, because their molar teeth, which in the young state have two tubercles in each transverse row (instead of three, which is the usual number in the preceding forms), when ground down by use, show some S-like patterns in the enamel folds in place of transverse ridges. The greater number of the species belong to the genus Hesperomys (Western Mouse), which is represented in both divisions of the American continent, and has been divided by authors into several sub-genera. The WHITE-FOOTED, or DEER MOUSE (Hesperomys leucopus) is perhaps the best known of all the species, and its varieties, or rather local permanent races, are distributed all over the continent of North America. The fur shows various brownish or greyish tints above; and the lower surface, with the feet up to the wrist and ankle, is snow-white. What Dr. Coues gives as the normal colour of typical specimens is a rich fawn, with a darker streak along the back: but he says that this is shown by not more than one example in six. The tail is generally white beneath. The length of the head and body is about three inches; the tail varies considerably in length. The White-footed Mouse is nocturnal in its habits, and feeds to a great extent upon corn, of which, with acorns and other nuts, it lays up stores for winter use. It lives a good deal upon trees, taking up its abode in the deserted nest of a Squirrel or of some small bird. When it constructs its own nest the little fabric is placed in a bush at from five to fifteen feet from the ground, and is very neatly constructed, usually of fine moss and strips of bark. In some localities it burrows in the ground. The GOLDEN or RED MOUSE (H. aureolus), which resembles the preceding species in form and size, has the fur of the upper surface golden-cinnamon colour, and the lower parts yellowish-white. It inhabits the Central and Southern States of the North American Union. The RICE-FIELD MOUSE (H. palustris), which has been placed in a distinct genus (Oryzomys), is a larger species, sometimes attaining the size of a small Rat. This is found in the Southern States, chiefly along the coast, and in rice-fields, where it is exceedingly abundant and does considerable damage. It is eminently aquatic in its habits. The AMERICAN HARVEST MOUSE (Ochetodon humilis) closely resembles the preceding species, but differs from them in a rather remarkable character. It has the upper incisor teeth grooved, a peculiarity which occurs also in the South American Rats of the genus Reithrodon.[Pg 112] The American Harvest Mouse inhabits the Southern States, and extends northwards as far as Iowa and Nebraska.

The FLORIDA RAT, or Wood Rat (Neotoma floridana), is a widely distributed species in the United States, inhabiting especially the southern portion, but extending northwards as far as New York and Massachusetts. It measures from six to nine inches in length, with a tail from four to six inches long. In its coloration it presents a general resemblance to the common Brown Rat, but is brighter, especially on the sides; the lower surface is white. According to Audubon and Bachmann, the habits of this species vary considerably in different localities. These authors say that “in Florida they burrow under stones and the ruins of dilapidated buildings. In Georgia and South Carolina they prefer remaining in the woods. In some swampy situations, in the vicinity of sluggish streams, amid tangled vines interspersed with leaves and long moss, they gather a heap of dry sticks, which they pile up into a conical shape, and which, with grasses, mud, and dead leaves, mixed in by the wind and rain, form, as they proceed, a structure impervious to rain, and inaccessible to the Wild Cat, Raccoon, or Fox. At other times their nest, composed of somewhat lighter materials, is placed in the fork of a tree.” This species is very active and Squirrel-like in its habits. It feeds on grain, seeds, and fruits, and sometimes makes a meal of a Crayfish or a Frog. There are from three to six young in each litter, and two litters in the year. The young animals in very early days continue to adhere to the teats of their mother, even when she is walking about outside the nest, and even at a later period they will cling to her sides and back, after the manner of some Opossums. The female seems but little inconvenienced by this burden, and shows great affection for her family, defending them even at the risk of her own life. A nearly-allied, but smaller species, the BUSHY-TAILED WOOD RAT (N. cinerea), inhabits the western and north-western parts of America, also extending eastward to Hudson’s Bay, and southward to New Mexico and California. The COTTON RAT (Sigmodon hispidus), another inhabitant of the Southern States and Mexico, ranges southwards to Vera Cruz and Guatemala.

Besides several species of Hesperomys, South America possesses various Murine animals, which have been placed in special genera. Among these the most remarkable are those of which Mr. Waterhouse formed his genus Reithrodon, as these, although true Murines, have a very Rabbit-like character, and further present the peculiarity of having the upper incisors grooved. They have the profile much arched, the eyes large, the ears hairy, and the first and fifth toes of the hind feet very short. The tail is well clothed with hair. The RABBIT-LIKE REITHRODON (R. cuniculoides) inhabits Patagonia, where it was discovered by Mr. Darwin. It is of a yellowish-grey colour, mixed with black, with the throat and belly pale yellow, and the rump and feet white. The tail is about half the length of the head and body, dusky above, white beneath. The length of the head and body is six inches and a half. Two other species are described: one (R. typicus) from the La Plata; the other (R. chinchilloides) from the Strait of Magellan.

HEAD OF THE RABBIT-LIKE REITHRODON.

The HAMSTERS, forming the sub-family CRICETINÆ, are very nearly related to the true Mice and Rats, but differ from them at the first glance by their possession of large internal cheek-pouches, those organs being entirely wanting or very small in the Murinæ. Their molars, three in number in each series, are also tuberculate when young and regularly rooted. As age advances they become more and more worn away, so as to exhibit folds of enamel. They are stoutly-built rat-like animals, generally with short tails, with the upper lip cleft, and with short limbs, of which the hinder have five, and the anterior four, toes, the thumb being represented by a small wart. The Hamsters are confined to the Old World, and chiefly inhabit the temperate parts of Europe and Asia; two or three species occur in Africa. They live generally in corn-fields, where they dig deep burrows with numerous chambers, into which they can retreat to take their repose, and in which they pass the winter, previously, however, taking care to lay up a good store of provisions in some of the chambers of their domicile.

HAMSTERS.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

[Pg 113]

The best known species is the HAMSTER (Cricetus frumentarius, see Plate 28), a rather pretty little beast, of about ten inches long, with bright, prominent, black eyes, short, membranous ears, and a tapering hairy tail, about two inches and a half in length. The fur, which is thick and somewhat lustrous, is usually of a light yellowish-brown colour above, with the snout, the neighbourhood of the eyes, and a band on the neck reddish-brown, and a yellow spot on each cheek; the lower surface, the greater part of the legs, and a band on the forehead are black, and the feet white. Many varieties occur. This Hamster is widely distributed, ranging from the Rhine, through Europe and Siberia, to the Obi; and in most localities where it occurs it appears in great numbers, and causes great injury to the crops. Its burrows are exceedingly spacious, and consist of numerous passages and chambers. In its temper it is exceedingly irascible, and at the same time very courageous, defending itself bravely against its enemies, and standing boldly on the defensive the moment any danger appears to threaten it. Its diet is by no means of a purely vegetable nature, but it will destroy and devour all sorts of small animals that come in its way. Besides the corn, which forms its chief winter provender, green herbage, peas and beans, and roots and fruits of various kinds, are welcome articles of diet, and in confinement it will eat almost anything.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE HAMSTER.

The Hamsters pass the winter in their burrows in a torpid state, but waken up very early in the spring, generally in March, but frequently in February. At first they do not open the mouths of their burrows, but remain for a time subsisting on the stores laid up during the preceding autumn. The old males make their appearance first, the females about a fortnight after them, the latter about the beginning of April. They then set about making their summer burrows, which are not so deep or so complicated as the winter dwellings; and shortly afterwards the sexes pair. The young are produced twice in the year, in May and July; their number varies from six to eighteen. They have teeth when first born, and their development as babies is very rapid. Their eyes open in little more than a week after birth, and in another week they begin to burrow in the ground, and then their hard-hearted parent drives them off to take care of themselves.

The other species of this sub-family generally very closely resemble the Hamster, both in appearance and manners. Most of them are found in Central Asia and Siberia, extending southwards as far as Persia and South Tartary. Cricetus songarus has been obtained at Kumaon. The recorded African species belong to two peculiar genera: they are Saccostomus lapidarius and fuscus, and Cricetomys gambianus.

Other African forms constitute the small sub-family of the TREE MICE (Dendromyinæ), which are entirely confined to the southern portion of the continent. They are characterised by having the incisors rounded and grooved in front, the infra-orbital opening not narrow below, and the coronoid process of the lower jaw very small. The ears are clothed with hairs; and the feet, which are five-toed, are furnished with long claws, which are serviceable to the little rat-like animals in climbing up the trunks of trees. The BLACK-STREAKED TREE MOUSE (Dendromys mesomelas) is a rather pretty little species, of a greyish colour, with a black line down the middle of the back. It is slender in form, with a long, scaly tail, rounded ears, and the two outer toes in each foot shorter than the rest. Steatomys pratensis, from Mozambique, is stouter in form than the preceding, and has a short, densely hairy tail; and in Lophuromys ater, from the same locality, the incisors are not grooved, and the fur is developed into fine flattened bristles.

The GERBILLES (Gerbillinæ) are distinguished from all other Muridæ (although approached by Hapalotis) by the great length of the hind limbs, which are converted into powerful leaping organs, somewhat as in the Jerboas and Kangaroos, although not quite to the same extent. Like all the preceding forms, they have the molars furnished with roots, but not with tuberculate crowns, these being divided into transverse plates formed by separate elliptical or rhomboidal coats of enamel. The incisor teeth are narrow, the infra-orbital opening as in the Murinæ, and the tail long and hairy.[Pg 114] The Gerbilles are plump little animals, with a short neck, a broad head, and a pointed muzzle. The feet are five-toed, but the thumb on the fore feet is reduced to a mere wart-like process with a flat nail. They are confined to the Eastern hemisphere, and, indeed, to the African continent, the south of Asia, as far as India, and the south-east of Europe, where they live both in cultivated districts and in the driest deserts, and often occur in great numbers, when they may cause considerable damage to the neighbouring crops. They shelter themselves during the day in shallow burrows, and come forth in the evening in search of their food, which consists chiefly of grain and roots. They store up great quantities of the ears of corn in their subterranean dwellings, and in many places the poorer inhabitants search after these stores, and by digging them out procure a good supply of grain. They are very prolific, the females producing large families several times in the year.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE GERBILLE.

Several other forms of Muridæ, with rooted molars, have been distinguished, and all are inhabitants of the Eastern hemisphere. The genera Phlœomys and Nesokia, each including a single species, form the group PHLÆOMYINÆ, characterised by having broad incisors and the molars divided by transverse plates of enamel. The characters of the skull are as in the Murinæ. Phlœomys Cumingii is from the Philippine Islands; Nesokia Griffithii inhabits Northern India. Platacanthomys lasiurus, the only known species of the group PLATACANTHOMYINÆ, resembles a Dormouse in its form, and is nearly allied to the preceding species, but has the fur of its back mixed with long, flattened, bristle-like spines. It is a native of the Malabar coast.

SKULL OF THE WATER-MOUSE.

The WATER MICE (Hydromyinæ) are of particular interest, as being a small group, exclusively confined to the Australian region, and presenting the exceptional character among the Rodents of having only two molars on each side in each jaw. These teeth, are rooted, and divided into transverse lobes by ovate enamel lobes; the front tooth is much larger than its fellow. The Hydromys are small rat-like animals of slender form, with long tails, rather densely clothed with short hairs, and short limbs. The hind feet have much stronger claws than the fore feet, and their toes are partially webbed. Five species of this group are known from Australia and Van Diemen’s Land, where they inhabit the banks of the streams. The best known are the Yellow-bellied and the White-bellied Water Mice (Hydromys chrysogaster and leucogaster), both of which inhabit New South Wales, and the latter is also found in Van Diemen’s Land. The Sooty Water Mouse (H. fuliginosus) is an inhabitant of Western Australia.

In the SMINTHINÆ—a group which includes only the genus Sminthus, founded for the reception of a rat-like Rodent (S. vagus) first discovered in the Crimea, but now known to range from Hungary, Finland, and Sweden, through Russia to the banks of the Irtisch and Yenisei, and into Tartary (Bokhara)—we find another exceptional character of the molar teeth. There are four of these teeth on each side both above and below, the first and fourth of which are much smaller than the intervening ones. In this animal the ears are rather long and pointed, the legs are rather short, and the tail is about as long as the body, and clothed with short hairs.

TEETH OF SMINTHUS.

In the remainder of the Muridæ, the molars, which are again only three in number on each side, are generally rootless, although occasionally the growth of the teeth stops and they close up below. The molars are composed of triangular prisms placed alternately. Two groups are thus characterised, namely, the Voles and the Zokors.

[Pg 115]

The VOLES (Arvicolinæ), which, next to the true Rats and Mice, form the most important group of Muridæ, are represented in the northern parts of both hemispheres. The brain-case in these animals is rhomboidal when looked at from above, the frontal region of the skull is much contracted, and the zygomatic arch stands out very far. The infra-orbital opening is as in the Murinæ. The molars are so constructed of alternating triangular prisms that the whole margin is enclosed by deep angular folds of enamel. These are mouse- and rat-like Rodents of a rather stout build, with the limbs and tail of moderate length, or short, and the latter more hairy than in the true Murines. The ears are short, often nearly concealed beneath the fur.

The true Voles (genus Arvicola) number about fifty known species, which have been arranged by various writers under a considerable number of sub-genera, generally corresponding to differences in mode of life. Three species, representing three of these groups, are found in Britain, and may serve to illustrate the natural history of the Voles. The largest of these is the well-known WATER VOLE, or Water Rat, as it is more commonly called (Arvicola amphibius), an animal rather smaller than the Common Rat, and having, like all the Voles, the muzzle considerably blunter, and the tail a good deal shorter and more hairy. Although thoroughly aquatic in its habits, the feet of the Water Vole are not webbed; they have five toes, but the thumb in the fore feet is very short. The general colour of the fur is reddish-brown, mixed with grey on the upper surface, and yellowish-grey beneath; the ears are nearly concealed in the fur; and the incisor teeth are deep yellow in front, and very strong, presenting a considerable resemblance to those of the Beaver, to which great Rodent the Voles were formerly considered to be related. It is very widely distributed, being found in all parts of Europe, and stretching right across Central and Northern Asia, to China, the Amoor region, and the Sea of Okhotsk. In Ireland, however, it is not found. Its habits vary a little in different localities, but in general it haunts the banks of rivers, in which it burrows to a considerable distance. In the water it is very active, swimming and diving with the greatest facility, and it is here that it seeks its food, which appears to consist exclusively of vegetable substances. Professor Bell says:—“A decided preference is shown, during the summer months, for the inner or concealed part of some species of sword-flags, which is very succulent and sweet-tasted. As this portion is usually below water, the animal gnaws the plant in two near its root, when it rises to the surface, and being conveyed to some sound footing, is consumed at leisure. In default of its more favourite food, it will make a satisfactory meal on the common duckweed. Only the green and fleshy leaf is eaten, the roots and other fibrous parts being rejected. While feeding on this plant, the creature sits like a Squirrel on its haunches near the water’s edge, and taking up a lump of the soft and slimy-looking mass in its fore paws, eats a small part only, and letting the remainder fall, takes up some more in the same manner.” The accusation sometimes brought against the Water Vole of eating worms and insects, and even of destroying fish-spawn, young fishes, and even young ducks, seems to be entirely unfounded. In the winter the Water Voles will feed on turnips, mangel-wurzel, and other roots, and also upon the bark of osiers and willows, to which they do considerable damage; and in some localities they appear to frequent gardens at all seasons of the year, burrowing in the ground, and feeding luxuriously upon the produce of the gardener’s labour. Their greatest activity is in the twilight, but in quiet situations they are to be seen abroad during the day. The female produces from two to six young at a litter: twice in the year in Britain, according to Professor Bell; three or four times in the course of the summer, according to Brehm and other Continental naturalists.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE WATER RAT.

A second British species is the FIELD VOLE, or Short-tailed Field Mouse (Arvicola agrestis), which is less than half the size of the Water Vole, and has the tail only about one-third the length of the body, instead of half that length. In the general form of the head and body the two species are a good deal alike, but the ears project farther beyond the fur in the Field Vole. The general colour of this species is greyish-brown, becoming tinged with reddish or yellowish on the sides; the[Pg 116] lower surface is pale grey or dirty white, and the tail is brown above and greyish beneath. The Field Vole is a very abundant species in the northern and central parts of Europe, but is wanting in Ireland and south of the Alps and Pyrenees. It is usually found in damp places, especially in meadows in the neighbourhood of woods and copses, where it forms burrows of considerable extent. Its food consists almost exclusively of vegetable substances, such as roots and herbage, and in times of scarcity it will climb up trees and bushes to feed on the tender parts of the bark. In case of necessity, however, it does not disdain animal food, but will eat insects and meat, and even sometimes kill and devour smaller individuals of its own species. It breeds three or four times in the year, producing from four to six young at a birth, in a small round nest made of moss and leaves, among the roots of the herbage in some hollow of the ground. Their increase, which would otherwise be very formidable, is checked by the smaller predaceous beasts and birds, such as the Weasel, the Kestrel, and the Owls, which destroy them in great numbers. The BANK VOLE (Arvicola glareolus[53]), the third British species, which is chestnut-coloured, with white feet and with a longish tail, closely resembles the preceding species in its habits, but feeds rather on fruits and roots than on herbage, and is far more addicted to a diet of animal food, freely devouring insects, worms, snails, and even young birds and carrion. It is pretty generally distributed over Europe, but not so uniformly as the Field Vole, which it even exceeds in fecundity, the females producing from four to eight young three or four times in the year, in a nest constructed of grass and moss placed in a hollow of the surface of the ground among dense herbage.

SOUTHERN FIELD VOLE.

The Continent of Europe is inhabited by several other species of Voles, among which we may notice the little SOUTHERN FIELD VOLE (Arvicola arvalis), which more or less completely takes the place of our common Field Vole in Southern Europe, but also extends over the whole of Central Europe, and into Western Asia. Several of these species, and others to which we cannot specially refer, ascend to considerable elevations on the mountain-sides, but at least one species,[Pg 117] the SNOW MOUSE (Arvicola nivalis), lives on the Alps and Pyrenees, at elevations of 4,000 feet and upwards, being most abundant about the limit of perpetual snow, where it not only resides during the short period of summer, when some portion of the surface is freed from its snowy covering, but actually throughout the winter, buried under the snow, through which it makes its way in search of the roots of plants. The ROOT VOLE (Arvicola œconomus) is a large and abundant Siberian species, the range of which extends from the Obi to Kamstchatka. This and some other northern species often migrate in great bodies, after the fashion to which we shall have to refer when speaking of the Lemmings.

In North America, it would appear from Dr. Coues’ monograph, there are about a dozen distinct species of Voles. One of them, confined to the northern parts of the Continent, he identifies with the Arvicola rutilus of the Old World, which he regards as a circumpolar species. South of a line running from sea to sea, a little north of the boundary of the United States, comes another form, A. Gapperi, which is regarded as a sub-species of A. rutilus, to which A. glareolus (see p. 116) is considered to stand in a similar relation. The most abundant North American species is the MEADOW MOUSE (A. riparius), which is distributed, apparently, over the greater part of the Continent, and takes the place of the Field Vole. On the prairies there is a peculiar species (A. austerus), a sub-species of which (A. curtatus) is found in the Western territories as far as California; the PINE MOUSE (A. pinetorum) inhabits the country east of the Mississippi; and the genus is represented in Mexico by one species (A. quasiater). The Voles are most numerous and abundant in the northern and north-western parts of North America.

Another American species is the MUSQUASH, MUSK-RAT, or ONDATRA (Fiber zibethicus), which constitutes a genus distinguished from the true Voles by having the tail compressed and nearly naked, the hinder toes united by short webs, and fringed with long hairs, and the enamel folds of the molars united by a line running down the middle of the tooth. The form of the animal is thickset, and in this respect, as in its aquatic habits, it resembles the Beaver, to which it was formerly supposed to be nearly allied. The head is short and broad, the ears project very little beyond the fur, the hind limbs are longer than the fore legs, and terminate in five toes with strong claws, while the fore limbs have only four toes and a wart-like thumb; the fur is very thick and shiny, and the colour is usually brown above and grey below, with the tail, which is nearly as long as the body, black. The fur is well known in commerce. The length of the head and body of a full-grown male is about twelve inches. The name Musk-rat, often given to this species, refers to the musky odour diffused by the secretion of a large gland situated in the inguinal region.

The Musquash, which may be described as a large Water Rat, inhabits all the suitable parts of North America, from the thirteenth to the sixty-ninth degree of north latitude, and is most abundant in the Canadian region, which offers it peculiarly favourable conditions of life in the multitude of rivers and lakes, upon the banks of which the Musquash always takes up its abode. It is a nocturnal animal, passing the day in concealment, and coming forth with the twilight to seek its nourishment, and amuse itself with its fellows. In the water it displays wonderful activity, and, in many respects, presents much resemblance to the Beaver. Curiously enough, the parallelism of habits holds good to a certain extent, even in the construction of their dwellings. The Musquash generally lives in a burrow dug out of the bank of the stream in which he disports himself, and consisting of a chamber with numerous passages, all of which open under the surface of the water. But, under certain conditions, especially in the north, he builds himself a house of a rounded or dome-like form, composed of sedges, grasses, and similar materials, plastered together with mud, and supported upon a mound of mud of sufficient height to raise it above the water. The house contains a single chamber from sixteen inches to two feet in diameter, and is entered by a passage which opens at the bottom of the water. Other passages are said to issue from this, and to lead down into the ground under the bottom of the water; these are made by the animal in his search for the roots of water-lilies and other aquatic plants, which constitute a great part of his nourishment. The Musquash also seeks provisions on land, and in this way often does much mischief in gardens. Fresh-water mussels also form a part of its diet. It passes the winter in its house, which it then furnishes with a soft bed of leaves, grasses, and sedges, and, according to Audubon, ventilates by covering the middle of the dome only with a layer of similar materials, through which the air can pass. Of the propagation of the Musquash very little seems to[Pg 118] be known with certainty. They pair in April and May, and the female produces from three to six young at a birth; but whether this takes place once or several times in the course of the summer is a matter of doubt. They are captured in fall-traps baited with apples, or by traps set at the mouth of their burrows. The Indians sometimes spear them in their houses.

MUSQUASH.

The LEMMING (Myodes lemmus) is one of the most remarkable of the Muridæ, on account of the great migrations which it performs, apparently with no special object. In Norway, where it is best known, they make their appearance in the cultivated districts in such enormous numbers, and so suddenly, that the peasants have always believed them to fall from the clouds. The Lemming is a Vole-like animal, about six inches long, of which the tail makes up about half an inch. It varies considerably in colour, but is usually brownish-yellow, with dark spots above, and with a yellow streak enclosing the eye on each side of the face; the under surface is yellowish. The ears are very short, scarcely projecting beyond the fur; the eyes are small, black, and bead-like; the soles of the feet are hairy, and the claws of the fore feet much stronger than those on the hinder extremities. The Norwegian Lemmings live and breed among the peat mosses of the mountains. They are lively and active little creatures both by day and night, and feed upon the scanty vegetation of their Alpine home—grasses, lichens, the catkins of the dwarf birch, and roots. They are active even through the winter, when they make passages for themselves under the thick covering of snow which then veils the whole country, and thus are enabled to go in search of their ordinary food. They also make their way up to the surface, upon which they may occasionally be seen running, even in the depth of winter. They breed in their burrows and under stones, and must be very prolific, seeing that every predaceous animal in the country destroys and devours them. The Lemming is, in one sense, an exceedingly timid little creature, the slightest disturbance of its quietude, or even the passing over-head of a cloud, being sufficient to alarm it; but when attacked it displays the[Pg 119] most dauntless courage, standing on the defensive against both men and animals, and biting very sharply at anything that comes within its reach. From time to time, from some unexplained cause, the Lemmings start in vast swarms from their mountain fastnesses, and make their way in a straight line in some definite direction. Nothing seems to turn them from their course; they go straight on, over hill and dale, and, although said at other times to have an aversion to water, they now swim across any lakes or rivers that come in their way. In this operation many of them lose their lives, for they require smooth water for their navigation, and the least breeze ruffling the surface suffices to send hundreds of them to the bottom. In this way they gradually arrive at the cultivated regions, where they do so much damage to vegetation, that in olden times a special form of prayer and exorcism was in use against them. Their march is accompanied by great numbers of carnivorous beasts and birds of all sorts. Wolves, Foxes, and Wild Cats, and the smaller quadrupeds of the family Mustelidæ, Eagles, Hawks, and Owls, all prey upon them with avidity—even the Reindeer is said to stamp them to death; and the story of his eating them, long discredited, has been confirmed on good authority, while man, with his Dogs and Cats, is not behindhand in the work of destruction. Nevertheless, a great multitude survives all these dangers, and, strange to say, the termination of this painful migration is always the sea, into which the survivors of the march plunge, and, apparently, voluntarily commit suicide. Mr. Crotch, who has published several papers on the Lemming and its migrations, says that in Norway these animals always proceed from the central backbone of the country in an east or west direction, and that in either case the survivors of the march drown themselves, those that go westward in the Atlantic, those that go eastward in the Gulf of Bothnia. His notion is that the migration is in obedience to an inherited instinct acquired at a time when there was land where the sea now rolls; but there are many difficulties in the way of such a hypothesis.

LEMMING.

Besides the Scandinavian Lemming above noticed, several other species occur in the northern parts of the world. Three species (Myodes lagurus, obensis, and torquatus) inhabit Siberia; the latter[Pg 120] two are found in North America, the last also in Greenland. In this species, which has been placed in a distinct genus under the name of Cuniculus torquatus, the third and fourth toes of the fore feet are much larger than the second and fifth (the thumb being rudimentary), and their claws become periodically enlarged to double their ordinary size by an enormous growth during winter of horny matter on the lower surface.

The transition from this to the next family is effected by two genera, which to such an extent combine the characters of the two as to have led different zoologists to place them sometimes in the one, sometimes in the other. Externally they have all the characters of the Mole-rats of the following family; in the characters of the skull and teeth they more resemble the Voles. The ZOKOR (Siphneus aspalax), which may be taken as an example of these forms, is an inhabitant of the Altai Mountains, has the eyes very small, the external ears reduced to mere rudiments, the body cylindrical, as in the true Mole-rats, and the fore-feet armed with very long and strong claws, of which that on the fifth toe is longer than the toe itself. This animal lives in subterranean runs something like those of the Mole, but of much greater extent, and in burrowing in the earth makes use of its strong incisors to cut through the roots it meets with, and when necessary to loosen the earth. The runs pass very near the surface, and are no doubt made for the purpose of feeding on the tender roots of grasses. A species of Siphneus is said to occur in North China. The other genus (Ellobius) includes two species; one (E. luteus) from the country about the Sea of Aral; the other (E. talpinus) from south-eastern Russia and the west of Asia. The latter abounds in the Crimea. These animals form the sub-family Siphneinæ.

FAMILY VIII.—SPALACIDÆ (MOLE RATS).

ALTHOUGH the Zokor and its allies in the preceding family have to a certain extent prepared us for the peculiar characters presented by the Mole-rats, these are exhibited by the latter in a much more extreme form. They have a very large broad head, which is usually flattened above, and forms an appropriate anterior termination to a clumsy, cylindrical body, supported upon short stout limbs; their incisor teeth are large and broad, and are most formidably exposed in front of the mouth; their eyes are exceedingly small, hidden in the fur, and sometimes quite rudimentary; the external ears are reduced to the smallest possible size, or altogether wanting; and their tails are either so short as to be concealed within the hair of the hinder part of the body, or altogether wanting externally, although the skeleton still shows some caudal vertebræ. The molar teeth are rooted, and not tuberculate; their surface shows re-entering folds of enamel. The feet have five toes, but the thumb is generally very small, although furnished with a nail. The number of molars varies from three to six on each side in each jaw.

In their mode of life, as in their form and the condition of the organs of sight and hearing, these animals present a considerable resemblance to the Moles; but as their food is exclusively of a vegetable nature, the object of their burrowing is not exactly the same. They all inhabit the eastern hemisphere, and are generally met with in dry sandy plains, the soil of which lends itself readily to[Pg 121] mining operations. They seldom quit their burrows, and usually work in these only at night, when they make their way rapidly through the ground, and, like the Mole, can run either backwards or forwards in their subterranean galleries with equal facility. They feed chiefly on roots, and especially on the bulbs and tubers which so many plants possess in the dry districts which they frequent; but some of them also eat nuts, seeds, the young bark of trees, and herbage. None of them fall into a state of torpidity during the winter—indeed, only two species inhabit northern regions; but these, although active in the winter season, are said not to take the precaution to lay up a store of provisions.

SKULL OF MOLE-RAT.

Most zoologists distinguish two groups of Spalacidæ. In the SPALACINÆ, the representatives of which range from south-eastern Europe to further India and the south of China, and also occur in Africa in the countries of Abyssinia and Shoa, the palate between the molar teeth is broader than one of the sockets of the molars, and the angular portion of the lower jaw springs from the lower edge of the bony case of the incisor. To this group belongs the MOLE-RAT (Spalax typhlus), which inhabits Hungary and Galicia, and the south-east of Europe generally, and ranges eastwards into Asia as far as the Caucasus and Ekaterinoslav. It possesses only three molars on each side in each jaw, and has the eyes rudimentary and covered by the skin, so that the animal is quite blind; the upper incisors are placed perpendicularly; and the tail reduced to a sort of wart. The toes, especially those of the fore-feet, are furnished with very powerful claws, which are vigorously employed by the animal in the digging operations above described. The general covering of the body is a soft fur of a yellowish-brown colour, tinged with ashy-grey; the head lighter, but becoming brownish behind; and the lower surface ashy-grey, with some white streaks and spots. The muzzle, chin, and feet are whitish, and along each side of the face there runs a sort of ridge of stiff bristle-like hairs. This species is particularly abundant in the Ukraine and the country about the Volga and the Don.

The genus Rhizomys, of which there are an East Indian and two African species known, has the eyes uncovered, though very small, short naked ears, and a short partially hairy tail. The upper incisors are arched forward. The CHESTNUT MOLE-RAT (Rhizomys badius) lives in Northern India, Siam, and Arracan; and, according to Mr. Finlayson, the food of a specimen in confinement consisted of unhusked rice and other grain, but he showed himself fond of yams and pumpkins. The NAKED MOLE-RAT (Heterocephalus glaber), which has no external ears and a short tail, has the body almost entirely naked. It is a native of Shoa.

MOLE-RAT.

The other section of the Mole rat family, the BATHYERGINÆ, is entirely confined to Africa, and, indeed, almost exclusively to the southern extremity of that continent, only a single species being[Pg 122] found elsewhere—at Mozambique. They show a resemblance to the Hystricine Rodents in the structure of the lower jaw, the angular portion of which springs from the side of the bony case of the lower incisor; and the palate between the molars is narrower than in the Spalacinæ. The best known of the six species inhabiting the Cape of Good Hope is the STRAND MOLE-RAT (Bathyergus maritimus), which is nearly as large as a small Rabbit, its length being about ten inches, with a tail two inches in length. In general form it resembles the species last described; it has small but uncovered eyes, a broad nose, no external ears; very long, compressed, and powerful claws on all the toes, except the thumb of the fore-feet, which has a crooked nail; four molars on each side, and long white incisors, of which the upper ones are strongly grooved in front. The colour of the fur is greyish-white, with a yellowish tint on the upper surface. The tail has a sort of radiating tuft of hairs at the end. The Strand Mole-rat lives entirely in sandy localities near the sea-shore, and especially in the sand-hills or dunes which fringe the coast of the Cape of Good Hope in some parts. Here it burrows freely in all directions, its galleries generally radiating from several central points, and joining in various places. It avoids the light as much as possible, and if by chance it is exposed on the surface it is exceedingly helpless. Very little is known of the habits of this species, which probably feeds chiefly on roots like the other members of the family. It is regarded as mischievous, as it undermines the ground so much as to make it unsafe to ride over. The colonists, therefore, often destroy it by various means. The enamel folds of the teeth become effaced with use.

The Georychi, five species of which inhabit Cape Colony, resemble the preceding species, but are smaller and weaker. The claws of the fore-feet are shorter and weaker, and the upper incisors, which are long and arched forward, are not grooved. The best-known species is the so-called CAPE MOLE-RAT (Georychus capensis). In the Mozambique species (Heliophobius argenteo-cinereus) there are six molars on each side above and below, and the second toe of the hind feet is the longest. In most other characters it resembles Georychus.

FAMILY IX.—GEOMYIDÆ, OR POUCHED RATS.

The Pouched Rats, or Pocket Gophers, and the Pouched Mice of North America, constitute a family distinguished from all the preceding forms by the presence of a pair of great cheek-pouches, opening outside and not inside the mouth (see figure). These cheek-pouches are hairy inside throughout. The angular portion of the lower jaw is strongly twisted, the molars are four in number on each side in each jaw, and the squamosal bone is very large. In external characters the animals of this family present considerable diversity, which has led to their being divided into two well-marked sub-families, the distinctive peculiarities of which are of such importance that Dr. Coues has raised them to the rank of distinct families. The GEOMYINÆ, or Pouched Rats, are more or less Rat-like animals, in which the feet are five-toed, and all the toes furnished with claws, those of the fore feet being very strongly developed; and the tail is short. Certain other characters are presented by the skull. The outline of this part, including the zygomatic arches, is almost quadrangular; the infra-orbital opening is far in front of the jugal process; the malar bone extends forward to the lachrymal.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE MEXICAN POUCHED RAT.

UNDER SURFACE OF THE HEAD OF HETEROMYS.

Of the animals thus characterised, the Continent of North America possesses, according to Dr. Coues, seven species, and they are met with from Hudson’s Bay and the Columbia River in the north, as far south as Mexico. The best-known species, the COMMON POCKET GOPHER (Geomys[Pg 123] bursarius), inhabits the whole valley of the Mississippi, and extends northwards into Canada. It reaches the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, but is not known to occur west of that range. It is also found in Texas. This Pouched Rat, like the rest of its genus, has the incisors broad and the upper ones deeply grooved; but in addition to the ordinary deep groove it has a fine line close to the inner margin of each of these teeth. Its form is stout and clumsy, but its coat is beautifully soft and velvety, like that of the Mole, but of a dull reddish-brown colour, with the feet and tail white. The average length of an adult specimen is from seven to eight inches, and the tail is two or three inches long. This organ is clothed with hair nearly to the tip.

SKULL OF THE MEXICAN POUCHED RAT.

Like the Mole, this animal lives in burrows, which it makes in all directions in the ground, throwing out as it proceeds heaps of earth, which exactly resemble ordinary mole-hills. To enable it to perform these labours the claws of the fore feet are exceedingly powerful; and to adapt it the better to its subterranean existence, the eyes are very small, and the external ears are wanting. Its digging operations have generally the same object as those of the Mole—namely, the search for food. The tunnel is carried along not far from the surface of the ground, and the roots of any plants that lie in its course are bitten off and devoured by the little miner. Besides the runs, the Pouched Rat digs himself a convenient dwelling in the shape of a chamber hollowed out under the roots of a tree, access to which is gained by a somewhat spiral descending passage. This chamber, which is usually at a depth of four or five feet, is comfortably lined with soft grass, and the nest in which the female brings forth her young is a cavity of the same kind, but surrounded by circular passages, from which, like that of the Mole, other passages branch off. One of these, according to Gesner, leads from the nest to a large store-chamber filled with nuts, seeds, and roots, among which the potato was found to play an important part. These provisions are carried to the store-house in the great cheek-pouches, which the animal is said to fill by the aid of its tongue, and to empty with the fore paws. This Pouched Rat does much damage in cultivated ground by attacking the roots of both plants and trees, sometimes destroying a great number of the latter in a few days. The female produces from five to seven young at the end of March or the beginning of April. The other species of Geomys closely resemble this in their habits.

Of the second genus belonging to this sub-family (Thomomys) Dr. Coues admits only two species, one of which, however, occurs under three named forms. They may be distinguished from the species of Geomys by their having the upper incisors plain, without grooves.

The NORTHERN POCKET GOPHER (Thomomys talpoides), with its sub-species, ranges over nearly the whole of North America from the Hudson’s Bay Territory to California and New Mexico. The three forms are for the most part in accordance with geographical distribution. A small species (Thomomys clusius) has been obtained in the Rocky Mountains.

The HETEROMYINÆ (forming the family Saccomyidæ of Dr. Coues, although he does not accept the genus Saccomys) are more slender and delicate in form than the Geomyinæ, and have the hind limbs and tail elongated, the former, indeed, being converted into leaping organs like those of the Jerboas and Kangaroos. The eyes and ears are larger, and the animals are in every respect adapted to life in the open, while the Geomyinæ, on the contrary, are subterranean in their habits. The hair in the present family is coarse and harsh, sometimes even spiny. In skeletal characters we find a similar alteration. The incisors are narrow; the skull is delicate, with its angles rounded off, and the mastoid bones form a considerable part of the roof of the cranial cavity; the zygomatic arches are slender; and, the lower root of the maxillary process being undeveloped, the infra-orbital opening is not defined. As in the Jerboas, the cervical vertebræ are sometimes anchylosed. Like the Geomyinæ, these animals are confined to America, and chiefly limited to the Southern United States and Central America, although some of the species occur as far north as the Columbia[Pg 124] River and Hudson’s Bay, and one is found in Trinidad. By American writers they are called “Pocket Mice.”

PHILLIPS’S POCKET MOUSE, also known as the Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys Phillipsii), is one of the best known species of this group. It is an elegantly formed little creature, about four inches long, with a slender tail nearly six inches in length. Its colour above is mouse-brown, white beneath; the sides of the body have some white streaks, especially one from the ear towards the shoulder, and one on the thigh running towards the root of the tail; the tip of the tail is also white. This is a Californian species, but extends throughout the Pacific region of the United States. It is represented in the Rocky Mountains by a rather larger and stouter form, with smaller ears and a shorter tail (Dipodomys Ordii), which is generally regarded as distinct, but is placed by Dr. Coues as a sub-species. The habits of the species are comparatively little known, but they appear to live in the most desert places they can find, the barren spots on which the only plants that seem to flourish are the great mis-shapen cactuses. They dwell in holes under rocks and stones, from which they emerge at sunset, and hop about gaily after the fashion of little Kangaroos. The places in which these Pocket Mice are found are so bare of vegetation and destitute of water, that it is difficult to imagine how they contrive to exist. In all probability they pick up a scanty living in the shape of roots and grasses, especially seeds, carrying a supply for the day into their holes in their great cheek-pouches.

The YELLOW POCKET MOUSE and the LEAST POCKET MOUSE (Cricetodipus flavus and parvus) are very minute creatures, only about two inches long in the head and body. The tail is longer than the head and body in the latter, shorter in the former species, and the colour of the fur in both is a pale buff. These species are found in the Rocky Mountains and the region west of that range to the Pacific, the latter being inhabited by the second of the above species. Several species of the genus Heteromys inhabit Central America, and one is found in the island of Trinidad. Nothing appears to be known of their habits.

From these we pass as by a natural transition to

FAMILY X.—DIPODIDÆ (THE JERBOAS).

The JERBOAS are a more extensive and much more widely distributed family of hopping Rodents. In these we find the organisation for jumping brought to greater perfection than in any other group. The body is light and slender, the hind limbs much elongated, the fore limbs very small, and the tail long and usually tufted at the end. The number of toes on the hind feet varies from three to five, and the metatarsal bones are very often united so as to form what is called a “cannon bone” in the Horse. The incisor teeth are compressed; the molars sometimes four, but usually three in each series, rooted or rootless, not tuberculate; the infra-orbital opening is rounded and very large, and the zygomatic arch slender. The great home of these animals is the vast steppe region which stretches from South-eastern Europe across the greater part of Central Asia, but they extend southwards round the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean, through Syria and Arabia to Egypt and Africa, over a great part of which they are found, and eastward to India, Afghanistan, and Ceylon. A single species occurs at the Cape of Good Hope; and another is found in North America. We may commence by noticing this last species, as it not only makes the nearest approach to those of preceding families, especially the Muridæ, but differs from the rest of the Jerboas in characters of such importance, that Dr. Coues maintains its right to form a separate family (Zapodidæ).

SKULL OF THE CAPE JUMPING HARE.

The AMERICAN JUMPING MOUSE (Zapus[54] hudsonius) has a wide range, extending across[Pg 125] the continent of North America from sea to sea, and from Labrador, Hudson’s Bay, and the Great Slave Lake in the north, to Virginia and the elevated portions of Arizona and New Mexico in the south. It is an elegant little mouse-like creature, rather more than three inches long, and furnished with a cylindrical tail, which exceeds the head and body in length by about two inches. Its hind limbs are not quite so disproportionately developed as in the other members of the family. Its fur in summer is of a brown colour above, becoming yellowish on the sides and white below; in the winter the brown tint covers the whole surface. The ears, which are not very large, are black, with a light-coloured rim; the hind feet are greyish, and the fore feet whitish on the upper surface; and the tail, which tapers to an exceedingly fine point, where there is a fine pencil of hairs, is ringed and nearly naked.

The characters in which this animal differs from its nearest relatives are as follows:—In the upper jaw there are four rooted molars on each side, the first being very small, the second the largest, and the rest gradually diminishing in size; the fore feet have the thumbs rudimentary, and the hind feet have five toes, all of which touch the ground; the metatarsal bones are separate; and the soles of the feet naked, with granules and small horny shields.

AMERICAN JUMPING MOUSE.

The American Jumping Mouse is found in meadows in the neighbourhood of woods and copses. It is nocturnal in its activity, sleeping during the day in its burrow, which is usually about two feet deep, and coming forth at night. It is sociable in its habits, and excessively active, covering from three to five feet of ground at each leap, so that it is a matter of no little difficulty to capture a specimen in the open. In the woods it is worse, as the little creature will bound over bushes, and get out of sight in a moment. Its food consists of seeds of various kinds, and it is exceedingly fond of beech-mast. For protection from the cold of winter the Jumping Mouse makes a little hollow clay ball, within which it coils itself up, and goes comfortably to sleep. The nest is made about six inches under the surface of the ground, and is composed of fine grass, sometimes mixed with feathers, wool, and hair; and in this the female produces from two to four young, probably several times in the course of the summer, as the nests and young are to be found from May to August.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE JERBOA.

If we regard the American Jumping Mouse as constituting a peculiar section of the family, ZAPODINÆ, a second group, DIPODINÆ, is formed by the TRUE JERBOAS, which make up the greater[Pg 126] part of the family. These either possess only three molars, or a very small additional tooth exists in front of each series in the upper jaw. The molars are rooted, and diminish in size backwards in each series. The cervical vertebræ are anchylosed; the fore feet have the thumbs rudimentary, but sometimes furnished with a small nail; the hind feet have only three toes fully developed, and the metatarsals are united into a single bone of great length; the soles are furnished with elastic balls; and the tail is very long, well-clothed with hair, and tufted at the end.

JERBOA.

Of these pretty little creatures, which are in some respects singularly bird-like, about twenty species have been recorded, and these occupy the whole of the Old World area of the family, except South Africa. The JERBOA (Dipus ægyptius) may serve as an example of this section of the family. This is a most lively and active little creature, which inhabits the deserts of north-eastern Africa as far south as Nubia, and extends its range into Arabia and south-western Asia. On these arid plains, so scantily clothed with a few grasses and dry shrubs that it is difficult to conceive how any animal can find a living on them, the Jerboa lives, often in numerous societies, and in company with the few birds and lizards which enliven the wilderness. These animals dwell in subterranean abodes consisting of many branched galleries, which they dig out in the hard soil not far from the surface. The Arabs assert that these habitations are produced by the joint labour of the whole society. They retreat into their burrows at the least alarm. The females are said to produce from two to four young at a birth in a nest made in the deeper part of the burrow, and lined with hair pulled from the under surface of her own body. When going along quietly, the Jerboa walks and runs by alternate steps of the hind feet, but when there is occasion for rapid motion it springs from both feet at the same time, covering so much ground at each leap, and touching the ground so momentarily between them,[Pg 127] that its motion is more like that of a bird skimming close to the surface of the ground than that of a four-footed beast.

The Jerboa is about six inches long, with a tail about eight inches in length exclusive of the tuft with which its tip is adorned. Its upper surface is of a greyish sand-colour, like that of many other desert animals; the lower surface is white; and the tail pale-yellowish above and white beneath, with the tuft white, with an arrow-shaped black mark on its upper surface.

ALACTAGA.

Several other species of Jerboas are known, some from the deserts of North Africa, others from the steppes of Central Asia. The latter region harbours some forms, which differ from the preceding, among other characters, by having five toes in the hind feet, whereas the true Jerboas have only three, but of the five toes only three are sufficiently developed to take part in the animal’s progression. The best known of them is the ALACTAGA (Alactaga jaculus), a rather larger species than the Jerboa, and with a still longer tail, reddish-yellow with a greyish tinge above, white beneath and on the hind legs. Its range extends from the Crimea and the steppes of the Don across Central Asia to the borders of China. It walks upon all-fours, and when advancing quickly springs along after the fashion of the Jerboa. Its food consists of all sorts of vegetable substances, but it is especially fond of the bulbs of plants, and does not refuse occasionally to eat insects, or even the eggs and young of the birds which inhabit the steppes with it. The Alactagas live in very complicated burrows, with many passages and branches, and they are said always to make one passage from the central chamber of their residence, which terminates close to the surface of the earth at some distance, but is only opened in case of danger, when the inhabitants escape through it, the position of its intended aperture being previously unrecognisable. In cold weather they sleep in their nests. The female produces from five or six to eight young, in a nest lined with her own hair. Species of Alactaga occur not only in Central Asia, but also in Arabia and North Africa.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE JUMPING HARE.

South Africa produces one species, the CAPE JUMPING HARE (Pedetes caffer), which constitutes a distinct sub-family, PEDETINÆ, having four rootless molars on each side in each jaw, the metatarsal bones[Pg 128] separate, the tail bushy, and the hind feet furnished with four toes having broad, hoof-like nails. This is a much larger animal than any of the preceding, being about the size of the common Hare, which it also resembles in its colours. The Jumping Hare inhabits a considerable portion of South Africa, extending on the west coast at least as far as Angola. It is abundant at the Cape of Good Hope, both in the mountains and in the plains. Great numbers of the animals often live together, and their burrows, which, like those of other Dipodidæ, are inhabited by numerous individuals as a common residence, consist of many-branched galleries made at no great depth from the surface, but leading into a more deeply-seated habitation. They generally go about slowly upon all-fours, but can advance with extraordinary rapidity by Kangaroo-like springs, in each of which, when pressed, they will cover a space of twenty or thirty feet. Their food consists of roots, seeds, and herbage. The female produces three or four young at a birth.

CAPE JUMPING HARE.

FAMILY XI.—OCTODONTIDÆ.

This first family of the Porcupine alliance consists of a number of rat-like animals, nearly all of which are inhabitants of South America, three species only being peculiar to the large West Indian Islands, whilst, singularly enough, four more are known from different parts of the African continent. Except in one of these last, all the members of the family have four molars on each side in each jaw, and the crowns of these teeth show internal and external folds of enamel. The malar portion of the zygomatic arch has an angular process at its lower margin.[Pg 129] The hind limbs are not disproportionately developed, and both they and the fore feet are nearly always furnished with five toes, armed with curved claws; and the clavicles are perfect. The ears are generally short and sparingly hairy, and the tail, which is of various lengths, is either clad with short hairs, or naked and scaly.

We may begin with two African species of this generally American family, which have the two inner claws of the hind feet furnished with comb-like fringes of horny bristles, whence the name of Ctenodactylus has been applied to the best known species. These two species, which exhibit strong affinities to the Jerboas, form the sub-family CTENODACTYLINÆ. The GUNDI (Ctenodactylus Massoni) has only three molars on each side in each jaw, and only four toes upon each foot. It is an animal about the size of the Water Rat, but with a mere stump of a tail, very small ears, very long whiskers, and the hind limbs rather longer than their fellows. It lives in North Africa, chiefly on the borders of the Sahara, where it takes up its abode in the rocky hills, and descends therefrom to the cultivated grounds to feast upon the growing corn. It is diurnal in its habits, but exceedingly shy and watchful, making off to its fastnesses at the least appearance of danger. Pectinator Spekei, a species named after its discoverer, the celebrated African traveller, is nearly related to the preceding, but has a small additional molar in each series. The tail is of moderate length, and bushy, and the ears have a small antitragus. It inhabits the Somali land in the interior of North-eastern Africa.

DEGU.

The DEGU (Octodon Cumingii), a very abundant species in Chili, which also extends into Peru, may be taken as a typical example of the whole family, and also of its typical sub-family OCTODONTINÆ, in which the molars are simply indented on each side. The fur is soft, and the tail is short. The Degu is a rat-like animal, rather smaller than the Water Vole, the head and body measuring from seven and a half to eight inches in length, and the tail, exclusive of its terminal tuft, rather more than half that length. The general colour of the animal is brownish-yellow, pencilled with black on the back; the lower surface is yellowish, the feet white, and the tail dusky above, whitish beneath, with the tufted tip dusky or blackish. In the central parts of Chili, according to various travellers, the Degu is exceedingly abundant, living in large societies about hedges and thickets, and running about boldly, even on the high roads. The animals make their burrows in the hedge-banks and similar places, and when alarmed rush into them with their tails elevated, very much after the manner of Rabbits. As the burrows communicate freely with each other, the Degus can easily escape pursuit, going in at one opening and coming out at another at some considerable distance. They sometimes climb up into the bushes among which they live. Their ordinary food consists of the herbage which grows about their dwelling-places, but they also invade gardens and fields, where they may do considerable damage. In the winter they will feed upon the tender bark of certain trees, but they are said by some authors to lay up a store of food against this season. They do not become torpid. The female is believed to produce two broods in the year, each consisting of from four to six young. Two other species of Octodon are known from Chili and Bolivia, which region is also inhabited by two species of Habrocoma, a genus distinguished by the large size of the ears, and the extreme softness of the fur. In these animals the molar teeth differ in the two jaws, the upper ones being as simple as in the preceding species, while the lower ones show a complication of the enamel folds like what we shall meet with in the third sub-family.

[Pg 130]

The BROWN SCHIZODON (Schizodon fuscus), which inhabits certain elevated spots in the southern part of the Andes (75° S. lat.), has the enamel folds of the molar teeth meeting in the middle. It is about the size of the common Rat (seven and a half to nine inches long), and has a shortish tail clothed throughout with short hairs. Its fur is dark brown above, dirty yellowish beneath. This animal inhabits grassy places near mountain streams, where the ground is sometimes so undermined by its burrows as to render travelling on horseback very uncomfortable. It is a nocturnal animal, and passes most of its life underground. The valleys it inhabits are covered with snow for at least four months in the year.

In the TUKOTUKO (Ctenomys brasiliensis) and its congeners, about four of which are known from different parts of South America, one of them extending as far south as the Strait of Magellan, the eyes and ears are very small, and the animal seems to be still more specially adapted to a subterranean mode of life. In these animals the claws are longer than the toes, and those of the hind feet are fringed with a sort of comb formed of bristles. The incisor teeth are very broad. The Tukotuko is about the size of a large Rat, namely, from eight and a half to nine and a half inches long, with the tail from two and a half to three and a half inches. Its name is in imitation of the sound which it constantly emits—a sound which rather surprises a stranger when he first hears it, seeing that the animal uttering it is concealed underground. In many places, as in the Argentine Republic, this animal is exceedingly numerous, living generally in sandy soil, but sometimes in damp situations. It makes long burrows not far from the surface, and thus in some places completely undermines the ground. In making these galleries the Tukotuko is engaged in the search for its food, which consists chiefly of the roots of plants. According to Azara, it lays up stores of food in its burrows. Its activity is nocturnal.

The CURURO (Spalacopus Pöppigii) has the ears quite rudimentary, and is also organised for a subterranean existence. This and another species inhabit Chili, where they make extensive burrows in the ground, and feed upon the bulbous and tuberous roots of various plants, large stores of which they collect in their subterranean abodes. These magazines are sought out by the poorer people, and their contents used as food.

DENTITION OF THE ROCK RAT.

The ROCK RAT (Petromys typicus), although most nearly allied to the preceding species, lives on the opposite side of the Atlantic in the rocky hills of South Africa, especially towards the mouth of the Orange River. It differs from the preceding forms in the harshness of its fur, in which it resembles another sub-family of Octodontidæ, in the shortness of its thumbs, which are furnished with a small nail, and in its rather bushy tail. The molars are semi-rooted, with the enamel folds nearly meeting in the middle. The whiskers are of great length, and entirely black. The general colour is reddish-brown, with the head and fore parts greyish, the throat whitish, and the belly pale yellow. The tail is of the colour of the body at the root, with the remainder black. The length of the animal is about seven and a half inches, of the tail from five to five and a half inches. It feeds upon various vegetable substances, and appears to be very fond of the flowers of syngenesious plants, especially a species of groundsel, which it eagerly devours. It forms its retreat among loose stones, or in crevices of the rocks.

TEETH OF THE SPINY RAT.

While the Octodontinæ may be regarded as specially characteristic of the region of the Andes, the other great group of this family is almost exclusively confined to the country east of that great chain, and to some of the West Indian islands. Curiously enough this sub-family also has a single[Pg 131] representative in Africa. Its members are distinguished at once by the complicated enamel folds of their molar teeth in both jaws, by these teeth being generally rooted, and by the texture of the fur, which is harsh and frequently mixed with fine spines. Hence the name of Echinomys (Spiny, or rather Hedgehog, Rat), applied to the typical genus, from which the sub-family is named ECHINOMYINÆ. The tail in these animals is usually long.

The Rodents belonging to this sub-family are generally of considerable size, as large as Rats, or larger, stoutly built, with the hinder part of the body larger than the fore-quarters, with limbs of moderate length, the hinder larger than the anterior, the former furnished with five toes, the latter with four complete digits and a rudimentary thumb, and the toes armed with strong curved claws. The tail is scaly, with scattered hairs. In their habits these animals appear to be strictly vegetable-feeders, but in other respects they present some variety. The majority live in and upon the ground; but one or two are arboreal, and one aquatic, in their mode of life.

The last species alluded to is the well-known COYPU (Myopotamus Coypus), one of the largest of Rodents, which occurs in nearly all parts of South America and on both sides of the Andes, from the tropic of Capricorn to about 15° N. lat. It is usually about twenty inches long, but often attains still greater dimensions. The tail, which is about two-thirds the length of the head and body, is scaly, with hairs about as thickly scattered as in the common Rat. The ears are of moderate size; the incisor teeth very large and powerful; the molars, the hindmost of which are the largest, have two internal and two external enamel-folds in the upper, and three internal folds and one external in the lower, jaw; the hind feet are webbed. The general colour of the upper surface is brown, produced by dusky and brownish-yellow pencilling; the sides and under parts are brownish-yellow, and the front of the muzzle and the chin white.

COYPU.

The Coypus live upon the shores of the rivers and lakes of South America, generally, according to Rengger, in pairs, each pair digging for themselves a burrow in the bank, which extends to a depth of three or four feet, and widens out into a cavity eighteen inches or two feet in diameter. Here they pass the night, and take refuge when necessary during the day. They select for their dwelling-places the stiller parts of the water, where the aquatic plants on which they chiefly feed grow freely. They are said to swim well, but not to be expert in diving. On land they are slow and awkward in their movements. They feed chiefly on the roots of plants, but in the Chonos Archipelago, where the Coypus frequent the sea and make their burrows at some little distance from the beach, they are said[Pg 132] occasionally to eat shell-fish. The female produces from four to five young once in the year. The little animals very early accompany their mother into the water, when she swims with them on her back, until they have acquired the art of swimming. Mr. Waterhouse thinks that this habit may “explain the singular position of the nipples noticed in the female Coypu. Of these four were found by Mr. Lereboullet on each side of the body, and situated rather above the mesial line of the flanks, the foremost being placed behind the shoulder, and the hindermost in front of the thigh.” The Coypu is hunted for the sake of its flesh, which is described as white and of good flavour, and of its skin, which is well known in the fur trade under the name of “Nutria,” signifying Otter. Great quantities of these skins are annually exported from Buenos Ayres. It is said to be a courageous animal, fighting bravely with the dogs engaged in chasing it.

HUTIA CONGA.

TEETH OF PLAGIODON.

MOLAR TEETH OF LONCHERES.

The HUTIA CONGA (Capromys pilorides) is another large Rodent, measuring from twenty to twenty-two inches in length, with a stout rat-like tail about half as long as the head and body. It is an inhabitant of Cuba. The incisors are considerably smaller and weaker than in the Coypu; the upper molars have one internal and two external folds; the lower ones are similar but reversed. The fur, which is long, is very harsh, and consists of a mixture of black and yellow hairs, becoming rusty on the hinder part of the body. The belly is rusty yellow. This animal lives in the dense[Pg 133] forests of Cuba, where it resides either upon the trees or in the thick underwood. It is a nocturnal or crepuscular animal, and is tolerably active when going about on the branches of trees, but is less at home on the ground. Its food consists of fruits, leaves, and the bark of trees, but, according to M. Ramon de la Sagra, it does not disdain animal food, and is especially fond of a species of Lizard belonging to the genus Anolis. On the other hand, the negroes are very partial to the flesh of the Hutia, and they capture the animal either by snaring it on the branches of trees, or by sending Dogs after it. Like the Coypu, it is said to fight courageously against its pursuers. Another Cuban species, the HUTIA CARABALI (C. prehensilis), has a slightly longer tail, which is prehensile at the tip. It is described as keeping chiefly to the highest branches of the trees. In St. Domingo there is an allied form, Plagiodon ædium, in which the enamel folds of the molars are singularly complex (see figure on p. 132). This animal frequents the neighbourhood of human habitations, and approaches them at night in search of its food, which consists of fruit and roots. In most of the other members of this sub-family, which appear to be terrestrial in their habits, the intermixture of spines with the fur of the back is a striking character. In the genus Echinomys itself, and in Loncheres, which together include about a dozen species found chiefly in Guiana and Brazil, the spines frequently form the principal outer covering of the back. Side by side with these hedgehog-like species, however, others occur in which the fur is soft.

SKULL OF LONCHERES.

The GROUND RAT (Aulacodus Swinderianus), of Western and Southern Africa, is remarkable as being the sole representative of this group outside the South American province. It has very broad incisors, and those of the upper jaw exhibit three deep grooves; the molars show the same arrangement of folds as in Capromys; the fur is harsh and bristly, and of a general brown tint; and the tail is of moderate length, sparingly haired, dusky above, and whitish below. The fore feet have the thumb rudimentary and the outer toe very short; and the hind feet have only four toes, of which the outer one is rudimentary. This curious animal, which is nearly two feet long, is known to be an inhabitant of Sierra Leone and the Gambia, and also of South Africa (Port Natal); in all probability it occurs at many intermediate localities. In Sierra Leone it is known as the Ground Rat, or Ground Pig, and is said to feed upon ground nuts, and cassada and other roots in search of which it digs into the ground, where it also forms large burrows for its residence.

FAMILY XII.—HYSTRICIDÆ (PORCUPINES).

THIS second family of the section Hystricomorpha exhibits the conversion of the hairs into spines in perfection, the whole upper part of the body being in several instances completely[Pg 134] covered with long, hollow, pointed quills, whilst in all cases great numbers of spines and stiff bristles are mixed with the hair. The form of the skull in these animals is distinctive. It is ovate, the cranial portion being more or less inflated by air-cavities in the bones, and the facial portion short, but the occipital or hinder surface is usually nearly perpendicular; the malar portion of the zygoma has no angular process as in the preceding family; the molar teeth are four in number on each side in each jaw; and the limbs are about equal in development. The incisor teeth are large and powerful. With regard to the development of the tail there are considerable differences, some species having that organ quite short, while in others it is of moderate length, or long and sometimes prehensile.

SKULL OF THE PORCUPINE.

The Porcupines fall readily into two distinct groups (sub-families) characterised by structure, habits, and geographical distribution. In the strictly terrestrial species, or True Porcupines (HYSTRICINÆ), which inhabit the warmer parts of the eastern hemisphere, the skull is rather more elongated than in the others; the front margin of the orbit is over the third molar; the molars are rootless when young, but become closed after a time, and the clavicles are imperfect. The upper lip is furrowed; the tail, which may be either long or short, is never prehensile; the soles of the feet are smooth; and the female has six teats.

COMMON PORCUPINE.

The arboreal species (SPHINGURINÆ), which are all American, have the skull peculiarly short, the front margin of the orbit over the first molar, the molars always rooted, and the clavicles perfect. The upper lip is not furrowed; the tail is moderate or long, and generally prehensile; the soles of the feet are covered with wart-like tubercles; and the female has only four teats.

The COMMON PORCUPINE (Hystrix cristata) may serve as a characteristic and well-known example of the first of these two groups. It is an inhabitant of the Mediterranean region, occurring in most parts of North Africa, and extending as far southwards as the Gambia and Soudan; in Southern Europe it is abundant in Italy, Sicily, and Greece. It measures about twenty-seven or twenty-eight inches in length to the root of the tail, which is about four inches long. The head, shoulders, limbs, and under parts are clothed with short spines intermixed with hairs usually of a dusky or brownish[Pg 135]-black hue; the neck is marked with a whitish collar; from the back of the head and neck there rises a great crest of long bristles, many of them fifteen or sixteen inches in length, which can be elevated and depressed at the pleasure of the animal, are gently curved backwards, and are either dusky with the extremities white, or whitish throughout; the hinder portion of the body is entirely covered by a great number of long, sharp spines, ringed with black and white, but always having the extremities white. These spines vary considerably in size, some of them being very long (fifteen or sixteen inches), comparatively slender and flexible; others shorter (from six to twelve inches), but much stouter. They are all hollow, or filled only with a sort of spongy tissue, but from their structure are exceedingly resistant, and when the animal erects them, which he is able to do by contracting the muscles of the skin in which their roots are imbedded, they constitute a most formidable armature. They appear to be but loosely attached to the skin, and readily fall out, a circumstance which no doubt gave rise to the belief prevalent among the ancients (and many moderns) that the Porcupine was able to shoot his spines at an approaching enemy, or even to project them behind him at a pursuer when he was rushing away in search of a place of safety. The tail of the animal bears at its tip about twenty spines of very curious construction; they are about two inches long, hollow, open, and cut off square at the end, and about a quarter of an inch in diameter for the greater part of their length, but they are inserted into the skin by the extremity of a thin stalk half an inch long.

The Porcupine lives in holes among the rocks, or in a burrow, which he makes for himself in ordinary ground. In this retreat he passes the day in sleep, coming forth in the evening in search of food, which consists of herbage of various kinds, fruits, roots, and the bark and leaves of trees and bushes. He is slow in his movements, and does not even display much activity in burrowing. His habits are solitary except during the pairing season; and during the winter he passes most of his time in his habitation, without, however, falling into a torpid state. The pairing takes place early in the year, but varies in this respect according to the climate of the locality; and in the spring or early summer the female produces from two to four young, in a nest carefully lined with leaves, grasses, roots, and other vegetable substances. The young Porcupines are born with their eyes open, and their bodies are covered with short, soft spines, which are pressed closely to the body. These speedily harden and grow longer, and the young do not appear to remain very long with their mother. The flesh of the Porcupine, like that of most purely vegetable-feeding Rodents, is very good, and is eaten in the countries where the animal occurs. When pursued or irritated, he stands on the defensive, erects his formidable quills and crest, stamps on the ground with his hind feet after the manner of a Hare, jerks himself towards the object of his dread, as if to wound it with his spines, and at the same time produces a curious noise by rattling the open quills of the tip of his tail. But all these manœuvres are generally in vain, and the Porcupine, in spite of his defensive armour, is pretty easily captured by those who know how to set about it. The Leopard is said to manage the business at once by a single blow of his paw on the head.

A very similar Porcupine (Hystrix hirsutirostris) takes the place of this species in Syria and Asia Minor, and extends thence eastward to India; another (H. javanica) inhabits the Sunda Islands; and the district of Nepaul has a peculiar species of its own. In Siam and Malacca, and on the west coast of Africa, we find two species of an allied genus, in which the spines of the body are comparatively short and depressed, and the tail is elongated, scaly, with a few scattered bristles in the middle, and with a large tuft of long flat bristles at the tip. The Malayan species (Atherura fasciculata) is about eighteen inches long, the African one (A. africana) about fourteen inches. Both are somewhat rat-like in their form.

The Tree Porcupines, forming the second sub-family, several species with prehensile tails, range over the continent of South America, east of the Andes, and one of them, the Mexican Tree Porcupine (Sphingurus mexicanus), is found as far north as Guatemala and Southern Mexico. The most abundant and widely-distributed species in the Brazilian region are the COUENDOU (Sphingurus prehensilis) and the COUIY (S. villosus), inhabiting Guiana, Brazil, and Bolivia, the latter being found throughout the forest region of Brazil and as far south as Paraguay.

These animals are of considerable size, usually measuring from sixteen to twenty inches in length without the tail, which is about one-third the length of the head and body. By the aid of the prehensile tip of this organ they climb with great facility and security upon the branches of the trees, but[Pg 136] their feet are also specially adapted for this particular mode of activity, and they are said even to climb the palm-trees in order to feed upon their fruit. They are nocturnal in their habits, passing the day in sleep concealed in the fork of a branch, and going abroad at night in search of their food, which consists of fruits of various kinds, and the buds, leaves, and even flowers, of the trees on which they live. Roots also form a part of their nourishment, probably when they reside rather among thickets than in the high forest. Their spines, although short when compared with those of the Common Porcupine, are formidable defensive weapons when the animal erects them; in some species, as especially in the Couiy, they are concealed, when depressed, by the long hair, and, according to Hensel, this serves as a protection to the animal from rapacious birds, for, when it sits in a heap, sleeping away the daylight, these soft grey hairs give it a most deceptive resemblance to a mass of the beard-moss which so commonly grows on the trees in the Brazilian forests.

TREE PORCUPINE.

The URSON, or CANADA PORCUPINE (Erythizon dorsatus), the only North American species of the family, according to Mr. Allen, although other writers distinguish two or three such forms, is about two feet or more in length when full grown, and is covered with woolly hair, and with long coarse hair of a dark brown colour, with the points white or yellowish, this difference in the colour of the tips of the hairs being the chief distinction between the two varieties which Mr. Allen recognises. The spines in both forms are white, with the points usually dusky or brown. The Canada Porcupine is distributed through the whole of the Eastern United States, except on the seaboard, from New York to Virginia, and north of the States through Canada, as far as the limit of trees. The Western Porcupine, which has the tips of the long hairs yellowish (whence it has received the name E. epixanthus), occurs west of the Missouri river, extending to the Pacific shores and going southward along the mountains to Arizona and New Mexico, and northwards at least as far as Alaska and Sitka.

MEXICAN TREE PORCUPINES.

Although a heavy and clumsy-looking beast, and destitute of the prehensile tail of its South American cousins, this Porcupine is a good climber, and passes nearly the whole of its life upon trees; nevertheless, according to Mr. Allen, it may be met with travelling upon the prairies, probably on its way from one suitable residence to another. On the ground it moves slowly, but its armature of spines is a protection against most of its enemies, and it has the art of striking very forcible and judicious blows with its spiny tail. Audubon and Bachmann mention many cases in which Dogs, Wolves, and even a Puma were found dead or dying in consequence of the severe inflammation caused by the spines of this animal sticking about their mouths; and the former gives an interesting account of a lesson in[Pg 137] urbanity given by a captive Urson to a Mastiff that attacked him. The food of the Urson consists of various vegetable substances, fruits, buds, and the young shoots and leaves of trees. In the winter it subsists chiefly upon the bark, which it strips off the upper branches of the trees, and when it has taken up its abode upon a tree it stays there until the suitable bark has been consumed. As it prefers young trees this operation is generally effected pretty quickly, and in this way it is estimated that a single[Pg 138] Porcupine may destroy hundreds of trees in the course of a winter. The Urson resides in the holes of trees, and in such situations, or in crevices among the rocks, the female prepares her nest, in which she brings forth usually two, but occasionally three or four, young in April or May.

In the Chinchillas, which form a small family peculiar to South America, the incisor teeth are short; the molars are rootless, divided by continuous folds of enamel into transverse plates, and the two series in each jaw converge towards the front; the zygomatic arch has no angular process on the lower margin; the clavicles are slender but perfect; the fore limbs are small, the hind limbs long; the tail of moderate length or long, and turned up at the end; and the fur is very fine and soft. They are Rodents of moderate size and more or less of Rabbit-like appearance, except that the tail is always elongated and bushy. Of the five known species, four are inhabitants of the mountain regions, and one lives in the plains of the region of La Plata.

The latter, the VISCACHA (Lagostomus trichodactylus), is a stout-built and almost Marmot-like creature, from eighteen inches to two feet long, exclusive of the tail, which measures from six to eight inches. It has four toes on the fore limbs, and three on the hind feet, the latter furnished with long, compressed, and pointed nails; the muffle is broad and covered with a velvet-like coat of brown hair; the fur, which is soft and moderately long, is of a mottled grey colour above, and white or yellowish-white beneath; on each cheek there is a dark band; a white band crosses the muzzle and runs back on each side almost as far as the eye; the tail is dusky-brown or black.

The Viscacha lives on the Pampas from Buenos Ayres to the borders of Patagonia, and where it occurs is generally to be found in great numbers, residing in extensive burrows which it digs for itself in the ground, generally in the neighbourhood of copses, and, if possible, near cultivated fields. Each burrow has a great number of passages leading down to several chambers, in which the Viscachas live in family parties to the number of eight or ten. The Burrowing Owl already mentioned as an associate of the Prairie Dogs of North America, is found about the settlements of the Viscachas, living in their burrows, but it is said that the intrusion of these birds immediately drives out the real owners of the dwelling, as the Owls will not observe those rules of cleanliness which are characteristic of their unwilling hosts. Of course the expelled family has to make itself a new residence, and in this way great stretches of country come to be so undermined that they are dangerous to ride over. According to Mr. Darwin, the most favourite resort of the Viscachas in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres are those parts of the plain which, during half the year, are covered with great thistles.

They are nocturnal in their habits, passing the day sleeping in the recesses of their burrows, and coming forth in the twilight one by one, until a large and lively company is to be seen playing about the neighbourhood of their holes. When all is quiet they go in search of their food, which consists of grasses and other herbage and roots, and sometimes of the bark of trees and shrubs. In cultivated fields they may do considerable damage. While engaged in feeding, one or other of the party is perpetually on the watch, and the moment anything occurs to cause alarm, the whole of them scamper away with their tails elevated, to take refuge in their holes. In their movements they are very like Rabbits, but less active.

The Viscacha has the very singular habit of dragging all sorts of hard objects to the mouth of its burrow, where bones, stones, thistle-stalks, hard lumps of earth, dry cow-dung, and other chance articles may be found collected into a heap, frequently, according to Mr. Darwin, amounting to as much as a wheelbarrow would contain. Mr. Darwin says that he was informed that “a gentleman riding on a dark night dropped his watch; he returned in the morning, and by searching in the neighbourhood of every Viscacha hole on the line of road, as he expected, soon found it.” The purpose of this accumulation of apparently useless articles by the Viscacha has never been ascertained. It has been compared to the habit of some of the Australian Bower-birds, which adorn their playing-places with bright and glittering objects.

VISCACHAS.

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

The Chinchillas of the Andes, or Alpine Chinchillas, are much lighter and more elegant animals than their cousins of the plains; in form they more resemble Squirrels or large Dormice. Their fur is excessively soft, perhaps the softest that clothes any animal, and in all the species it is of a grey[Pg 139] colour, mottled or clouded with darker and lighter tints. The ears are of large size. They are confined to the Andes of Chili, Bolivia, and Peru, where they live among the bare rocks at a considerable elevation, seeking refuge in natural clefts and cavities, sleeping in their holes during the day, and coming forth at twilight in search of food. They are exceedingly lively and active in their movements, and very shy.

MOLAR TEETH TEETH OF THE CHINCHILLA.

The COMMON CHINCHILLA (Chinchilla lanigera), the skins of which are well known as furs, is a squirrel-like animal, nine or ten inches long, with a tail more than half this length. It has large rounded ears; its fore feet have five, and its hind four, toes. Its fur on the upper part is grey, elegantly marbled with dusky or black, on the lower surface yellowish-white; the tail is black above, and dirty white at the sides and beneath. The incisors are of a bright orange colour in front. The SHORT-TAILED CHINCHILLA (C. brevicaudata), a larger species, has the tail only three inches long. Its fur is of a general silvery-grey hue, tinged with black, especially along the back, and the tail has two dark bands on its upper surface. Both these animals inhabit Peru, and the former is also found in Bolivia and Chili. They are exceedingly abundant, notwithstanding the constant persecution to which they are subjected for the sake of their skins. They come out of their holes even in the daytime, but then always keep on the shady side of the rocks. Their activity is described as wonderful, and they will run with great rapidity up perpendicular walls of rock which seem to offer no hold for their feet. On the ground they are said to run very much after the fashion of our common Mice. The Chinchilla seems to breed nearly all the year round, and the female is said to produce from four to six young at a birth.

CHINCHILLA.

The other two species of Alpine Chinchillas are placed in a separate genus, characterised by a more hare-like form, longer ears, and the presence of only four toes on both fore and hind feet. CUVIER’S CHINCHILLA (Lagidium Cuvieri) is about eighteen or twenty inches long, of an ashy-grey colour with a yellowish tinge above, and pale yellow beneath; the tail, which, with the hair, is nearly as long as the body is clothed beneath with short black hairs, and above with much longer bushy hairs, gradually increasing in length towards the tip, where they are black; a black line passes down the middle of the tail, and its sides are dirty white. The PALE-FOOTED CHINCHILLA (Lagidium pallipes), which is about the same size as the preceding, but has a shorter tail, is ashy grey, with a brownish tinge, becoming yellowish fawn colour beneath. The range of these animals seems to be the same as that[Pg 140] of the true Chinchilla, but the second of them passes northwards into the mountains of Ecuador. In their habits they agree with the Chinchillas.

In the Agoutis we have the first of three more or less pig-like families, furnished with hoof-like nails on the toes, all the members of which are inhabitants of South America. The Agoutis especially may be compared to small slender-limbed Pigs, but they bear a still closer resemblance in external form to the little Musk Deer. The Dasyproctidæ have the incisors long; the molars, which are at first rootless, and afterwards close up, have enamel folds from both surfaces; the clavicles are rudimentary; the upper lip entire; the ears short; the tail short and naked, or quite rudimentary; and the fore feet have five toes.

Of these animals eight or nine species are known. They inhabit South America, from Mexico southwards to Paraguay and Bolivia, and some of them also occur in the larger West Indian Islands. They frequent the forest region, and especially haunt the banks of rivers.

MOLAR TEETH OF THE AGOUTI.

The AGOUTI (Dasyprocta aguti), the most abundant and best-known species, is found chiefly in Guiana, Brazil, and eastern Peru, where it is to be found plentifully in the primeval forests. Like the other true Agoutis, it has only three toes on the hind foot; its ears are of moderate size and rounded; its form compact, and supported upon slender limbs; its tail rudimentary; and the hair of its back is coarse and harsh, and longer towards the hinder parts, which thus obtain a somewhat truncated appearance. Its general colour is olive brown, produced by a mixture of black and yellow; but the long hairs covering the hinder portion of the back are usually of an orange colour, and the middle line of the abdomen is whitish or yellow. This animal is from eighteen to twenty inches long.

AZARA’S AGOUTI. (From the Proceedings of the Zoological Society.)

Although inhabiting the forests, the Agouti is not unfrequently seen on the neighbouring grassy plains, but its residence is among the trees, in the hollows of which, or in cavities at their roots, it takes up its abode, generally lying concealed in its retreat during the day. It is very quick in its movements, runs well, and springs with almost the agility of an Antelope. The food of the Agouti consists of almost any vegetable substances that come in its way. It will eat grass and herbage, the roots of plants, their flowers and fruit, and when it lives in the neighbourhood of sugar plantations[Pg 141] and gardens its inroads may give rise to considerable injury. The animal is, however, rather solitary in its habits, living by itself in its cell, in its departure from and return to which it appears generally to follow exactly the same roads, by which means a narrow but very distinct footpath is in course of time produced. This naturally often leads to the discovery and capture of the little recluse.

The Agouti appears to breed all the year round, usually producing two young ones at a birth. The female prepares her dwelling for the reception of her family by lining it comfortably with leaves, fine roots, and hair.

In the southern parts of Brazil, in Paraguay and Bolivia, the place of this species is taken by AZARA’S AGOUTI (Dasyprocta Azaræ). A smaller species, the ACOUCHY (D. acouchy), is found not only in Guiana and the north of Brazil, but also in several of the West India Islands. The last-named species has a well-developed tail about two inches long.

SKULL OF THE PACA.

Besides the Agoutis, this family includes an allied animal, the PACA (Cœlogenys paca), which differs generically from the Agoutis by having five toes on the hind feet. It has a broader head and a blunter muzzle, and is altogether a rather stouter animal than the Agoutis; but, like most of them, it has a mere tubercle instead of a tail. One of the most remarkable characters presented by this animal, however, is the enormous development of the zygomatic arches, which are enlarged and inflated in the most extraordinary manner, the maxillary portion, which occupies the anterior two-thirds being hollowed out beneath into a great chamber, lined with mucous membrane, and opening into the mouth by a rather small aperture. The function of these remarkable cavities is at present quite unknown. Food is not to be found in them, and, indeed, as they are enclosed by solid bone, it would seem impossible that they could act as cheek-pouches.

PACA.

The Paca, which inhabits Central and South America from Guatemala to Paraguay, is about two feet long, and is clothed with short rather coarse hair of a brown or yellowish-brown colour above, white beneath, with from three to five bands of white streaks and spots upon each side[Pg 142] of the body. In its habits the Paca very much resembles the Agouti. It usually lives singly, or sometimes in pairs, on the borders of the forests, or near the banks of rivers, taking up its abode during the day either in a hole at the root of some tree, or in a burrow excavated by its own labour, which is generally carried to a depth of four or five feet. Its food consists of the leaves, fruits, and flowers of various plants, and, like the Agouti, it occasionally does mischief in the corn-fields and gardens. The female produces only one, or at most two, young at a birth. The Paca swims well, and can cross even a broad river in this way. Its flesh, like that of the Agouti, is very well flavoured, and is consumed both by natives and Europeans.

FAMILY XV.—DINOMYIDÆ.

This family has been founded for the reception of a single species, of which only a single specimen has hitherto been obtained. It is described by Professor Peters under the name of Dinomys Branickii. In its external appearance it closely resembles the Paca (Cœlogenys paca), but may at once be distinguished from that animal by its possession of only four toes both before and behind. The ears are short and rounded; the upper lip deeply cleft; the incisors very broad; the molars four on each side, and divided into transverse plates by folds of enamel; the clavicles are imperfect; and the tail of moderate length and well clothed with hair. The animal, which inhabits the high mountain regions of Peru, is of the size of the Paca, or about two feet long, exclusive of the tail, which measures rather more than nine inches. Its general colour is grey, produced by the sprinkling of white among nearly black hairs; and on each side of the body are numerous large white spots, of which the upper ones nearly run together, so as to form two longitudinal bands. The extremity of the tail is black.

The only known example of this Rodent was obtained by M. Constantin Jelski at the Colonie Amable Maria, on the Montaña de Vitoc, in Peru, having been found at daybreak walking about the yard. It showed no fear of man, and was easily killed by a sword cut or two on the head. The species would appear to be rare, as the inhabitants of the neighbourhood were not acquainted with it. Of course nothing is known of its habits.

THE DINOMYS. (After Peters.)

The chief interest at present attaching to this animal, therefore, consists in its peculiar combination of characters. Externally, as already stated, it resembles the Paca, with which it also agrees in the S-like form of the nostrils, and in the structure of the limbs (except the number of toes). In the lamellar structure of the molar teeth, in the structure of the skull, and of the skeleton generally, and especially in the flattened form of the front of the sternum and the development of clavicles, it differs from the Paca and all other Rodents with hoof-like nails. In some minor particulars it resembles the Capybara. By the structure of the molar teeth and certain osteological characters, it is most nearly allied to the Chinchillas; while it approaches the genus Capromys among the Octodontidæ in[Pg 143] the structure of the limbs and of some other parts of the skeleton. Professor Peters is evidently inclined to regard it as most nearly related to the Chinchillidæ, but as constituting a group establishing a closer union than previously existed between the families Chinchillidæ, Octodontidæ, Dasyproctidæ, and Caviidæ.

This family, the last of the simple-toothed Rodents, includes a small number of species, of which the Common Guinea-pig may serve as a sort of type. The Guinea-pig is, however, one of the smaller species of the family, and is shorter in the limbs than most of its relatives. They have the incisor teeth short, that is to say, not extending far back in the jaw; the molars are rootless, variously divided by folds of enamel into lobes, the angles of which are acute; the palate is narrow in front, so that the upper series of molars approach each other rather closely in front; the clavicles are rudimentary or wanting; the fore limbs have four and the hind feet only three toes, all armed with hoof-like nails; the upper lip is not cleft; and the tail is rudimentary or wanting. They are stout, more or less rabbit-like animals, with a soft coat, and the ears variable in length; and they are confined to the continent of South America, where they chiefly inhabit the plains.

The RESTLESS CAVY (Cavia aperea), which is commonly regarded as the wild original of the so-called Guinea-pig (Cavia cobaya of some authors), is abundant on the banks of the Rio de la Plata, and extends thence northwards through Paraguay into Bolivia and Brazil. It is usually about nine inches long, with the fur of the upper part and sides of the body composed of a mixture of black and dingy yellow hairs, the chest greyish-brown, and the throat and belly pale dingy-yellow or brownish-grey. The incisor teeth are white. The genus to which this animal belongs may be at once distinguished from the other two genera constituting the family by the shortness of the limbs; the ears also are short; the feet are naked beneath; the hind toes are not webbed; and the molar teeth are nearly equal in size, and each composed of two angular lobes.

The specific name of the Restless Cavy seems to be derived from its popular name in the country where it occurs. According to Mr. Darwin, it is very common about the banks of the La Plata, sometimes frequenting sandy hillocks, and the hedge-rows formed of the agave and the prickly pear, but apparently preferring marshy places covered with aquatic plants. In dry places it makes a burrow; but when it frequents wet localities contents itself with the concealment afforded to it by the herbage. Rengger describes it also as generally haunting moist situations in Paraguay, and he adds that it keeps near the borders of forests, but is never found either in the forests or in the open fields. It lives in small societies of from six to fifteen individuals, in the impenetrable thickets of Bromelias, where its presence is revealed by the numerous beaten paths which it produces by going to and fro. In Bolivia, according to Mr. Bridges, it is peculiar to the low lands, and there takes shelter among the loose stones of the walls enclosing the fields. It is active in search of food early in the morning and in the evening, but will also come forth on gloomy days. Rengger and Azara both agree in the statement that the female produces only one or two young at a time; but the former says that this takes place only once in the year, whilst the latter describes the animal as breeding all the year round, and, indeed, in this way accounts for its abundance, notwithstanding its being preyed upon so extensively by rapacious birds and quadrupeds.

The question whether our common Guinea-pig is really the domesticated descendant of the animal just described can hardly be regarded as finally settled, and, indeed, independently of colour, there are sufficient differences between them to justify some doubt on the subject. The name Guinea-pig may, as Mr. Waterhouse suggests, be a mistake for Guiana-pig, and the first specimens may very probably have come from that part of America. Its prevalent colours, as is well known, are combinations of white, black, and yellow, and as these colours are shown in the drawings of Aldrovandus, dating back to within fifty years of the discovery of South America, there seems every reason to believe that the animal must have been long domesticated in America prior to its introduction into Europe. On the other hand, Dr. Rengger says that he saw fourteen Apereas representing the fifth or sixth generation from a single couple domesticated about seven years before, and that these exhibited no[Pg 144] difference of colouring from the wild animal. Several allied species inhabit the great plains of South America.

The BOLIVIAN CAVY (Cavia boliviensis), which is grey in colour, with a faint yellowish tinge, with the throat and belly white, the feet whitish, and the incisor teeth orange yellow, inhabits the elevated parts of Bolivia, generally at a height of 10,000 or 12,000 feet. The ROCK CAVY (Cavia rupestris) is found in rocky districts in Brazil, where it shelters itself in holes and crevices. It is always found near the upper waters of rivers, and is a large species, measuring thirteen or fourteen inches in length. The SOUTHERN CAVY (Cavia australis), on the other hand, is a small species which inhabits Patagonia, where it ranges from 39° S. lat. to the Strait of Magellan.

This part of the world is also the abode of another and much larger species of the family, the PATAGONIAN CAVY or MARA (Dolichotis patachonica), an animal which somewhat resembles the Agouti in the length and comparative slenderness of its legs, and differs from all other Cavies in having tolerably long, pointed ears. It also possesses a very short tail. The molar teeth are rather small, and resemble those of the Guinea-pig in being formed of two nearly equal angular lobes, but the last molar in the upper jaw, and the first in the lower jaw, have three such lobes. The animal is somewhat Hare-like in its appearance, and has been mistaken for a Hare by superficial observers. It is, however, a much larger animal, measuring from thirty to thirty-six inches in length, and weighing from twenty to thirty-six pounds.

PATAGONIAN CAVY.

The Patagonian Cavy is clothed with a dense crisp fur of a grey colour on the upper part of the head and body, rusty yellow on the flanks, and white on the chin, throat, and belly; the rump is black, with a broad white band crossing it immediately above the tail. It inhabits Patagonia about as far south as 48°, and extends northwards into the La Plata territory as far as Mendoza. It is found only in the sterile desert part of the country, where the gravelly plains are thinly covered with a few stunted thorny bushes and a scanty herbage. The northern limit of the species, according to Mr. Darwin, is at the point where the vegetation of the plains becomes rather more luxuriant. The Patagonian Cavy usually burrows in the ground, but where it lives in the same region as the Viscacha, it will take advantage of the excavations made by that animal. It wanders to considerable distances from its home, and on these excursions two or three are usually seen together. Mr. Darwin says:—“It is a common feature in the landscape of Patagonia to see in the distance two or three of these Cavies hopping one after the other over the gravelly plains.” Their mode of running, on the same authority, more nearly resembles that of the Rabbit than of the Hare; though their limbs are long, they do not run very fast. They rarely squat like a Hare, but are very shy and watchful, and feed by day, in connection with which it is to be observed that the eyes are defended from the direct rays of the sun by well-developed eyelashes, which do not occur in the other Cavies. The female produces generally two young at a birth, which are brought forth and suckled in the burrow.

The CAPYBARA (Hydrochœrus capybara), the only other member of the present family, is the largest of all existing Rodents, large specimens measuring over four feet in length. It is a stout-built and massive animal, with limbs of moderate length, a large head with a very blunt muzzle, small[Pg 145] eyes and ears, no tail, and both the fore and hind feet webbed. The upper incisor teeth have a broad and shallow groove down the front, and the molars present very remarkable characters. In the upper jaw the first three molars are each composed of two lobes united by cement, and on the outside of each of these lobes there is a fold of enamel which passes deeply into the tooth. The last molar consists of one lobe similar to those of the preceding teeth, but in place of the second there are ten or a dozen transverse plates. The first two molars of the lower jaw exhibit complex lobes and folds of enamel; the third and fourth a combination of folded lobes and transverse plates.

In its general form the Capybara is more pig-like than any of its relatives, and, indeed, its generic name, Hydrochœrus, Water-pig, recalls this resemblance, and at the same time intimates its aquatic habits. Its coat is composed of long and coarse hairs, often five or six inches long on the hinder parts, of a reddish-brown colour above, and a dirty brownish-yellow beneath. It is distributed over the whole eastern part of South America, from Guiana southwards to the Rio de la Plata, and ranges westwards into the lower parts of Peru and Bolivia.

MOLARS OF THE CAPYBARA.

The Capybaras frequent the borders of the lakes and rivers, with which all this part of the South American continent abounds, and, according to Mr. Darwin, they used to frequent the islands in the mouth of the La Plata, where the water is quite salt. In this part of America they are called “Carpinchos.” They never wander far from the water-side, and show a marked preference for the larger rivers, among the reeds and other plants fringing which they take up their abode. In populous districts they seem to pass the day in concealment, coming forth in search of food only at morning and evening, but where they are less in danger of pursuit they come out freely in the day-time. Seen from a little distance when walking they have much the appearance of Pigs, but they lose this when they sit, like the other Cavies, on their haunches. When danger threatens they emit a short, sharp bark, and immediately plunge into the water, where they swim about with little more than the nostrils above the surface; but under pressing circumstances they can dive and swim for a considerable distance under water. When swimming, the female is said to take her young ones on her back. About Maldonado Mr. Darwin observed that the Capybaras were usually to be seen only three or four together, but they are more numerous and go in larger companies more in the interior of the country. They constitute the ordinary food of the Jaguar, and are also eaten by the Indians, although their flesh is said not to be very good. The female produces five or six young at a birth, but has only one litter in the year. The young follow their mother about at a very early age.

With the Cavies concludes the long series of simple-toothed Rodents, and some of them, as we have seen, present no small resemblance to the Hares and Rabbits which constitute the greater part of the second great group into which we have divided the order. The chief peculiarity of this section, as has been already stated, consists in the presence in the upper jaw of a pair of minute incisor teeth, placed immediately behind the large effective incisors; and in the newly-born animal the number of these teeth is even greater, there being six incisors in the upper jaw, two of which fall[Pg 146] out at an early period. Though the number of species included in this section is very considerable (about fifty, according to Mr. Wallace’s estimate), it includes only two families, and each of these contains only a single genus. We will commence with that which includes the best-known forms, the Hares and Rabbits.

CAPYBARA.

FAMILY XVII.—LEPORIDÆ (HARES AND RABBITS).

The general appearance of these animals hardly needs to be described, and we may, therefore, indicate merely the structural peculiarities which serve to define the family. These consist in the presence of six rootless molars on each side in the upper, and five in the lower jaw (see figure on p. 82), each molar being divided into lobes by transverse folds of enamel; in the compressed form of the skull and the presence of wing-like post-orbital processes of the frontal bones; in the imperfect condition of the clavicles; the greater development of the hind limbs; and the presence of a short, bushy, upturned tail. The ears are long; the inner surface of the cheeks is more or less clothed with short hairs; the fore-limbs have five, and the hind-limbs only four toes; and the soles of the feet are hairy throughout. In all these characters, however they may differ in some respects, all the true Hares and Rabbits agree. The representatives of this family occur in nearly all parts of the world, but chiefly in the northern hemisphere, and the few species which pass down within the tropics are generally found only in mountainous regions. In the north they reach the Arctic regions in both continents. In the Old World a few species are scattered over India and Further India, and four or five occur in Africa, but chiefly in the southern part of the continent. In North America the species are numerous, and some of them range southward into Central America; but South America has only a single species, which occurs in the mountains of Brazil and upon the Andes.

[Pg 147]

As the whole of the family consists of animals to which in common parlance the names of Hares and Rabbits are given, we may take as examples of it the Hares and Rabbits which are so abundant in Great Britain, the other species agreeing generally with one or other of them in character and habits.

They may all be characterised as animals destitute of any means of defence against their enemies, except the rapidity of their movements, and as exceedingly shy and timid. Their general colour is a mixture of grey and brown, sometimes quite tawny, sometimes almost pure grey, and, as Mr. Bell remarks, “The admirable wisdom which has assigned such colours to a group of defenceless animals which conceal themselves amidst the brown sombre vegetation of woods and heaths, will appear more striking when it is recollected that certain species inhabiting the snowy regions of the north become wholly white in winter. All the members of the genus,” he adds, “are remarkable for their timidity, and their whole structure is such as at once to announce to them the presence of danger, and to enable them to escape from it. The eyes and ears are so formed and situate as to become instantly cognisant of even distant warnings of peril, and the limbs are admirably adapted for the most rapid flight.”

This last statement applies in a special manner to the COMMON HARE (Lepus europæus), which is singularly well adapted for getting over the ground rapidly by the great length and powerful development of its hind legs. These organs are nearly twice as long as the fore limbs, and, as most of us are well aware, the bones composing them are set in motion by an enormous mass of solid muscle. Owing to their great preponderance the Hare, when moving slowly in search of food, goes with a sort of lolloping gait; but the moment there is occasion for him to move with rapidity, the disproportionate hind limbs stand him in good stead, and he shoots along over the ground by a series of long leaps, and with great swiftness. At the same time, it is observed that the length of its hind legs causes the Hare to run with much greater facility up hill than down, and, in fact, it is said that in descending steep inclines the animal is obliged to run obliquely in order to escape over-balancing itself. When pursued, the Hare has the art of making sudden turns in its course, known as “doubles” or “wrenches,” by which the Dogs in chase of it are thrown out, for although most Greyhounds are swifter of foot than a Hare, they are incapable of changing their course so sharply, and thus, while they are carried some distance onwards by their own impetus, their intended victim is making off in a different direction. They adopt other cunning artifices in order to escape from their pursuers, and some of these indicate a considerable amount of intelligence. Under such circumstances, and also in search of a more plentiful supply of food, the Hare will take to the water readily, and swim across rivers. Mr. Yarrell observed a Hare even swimming across an arm of the sea about a mile broad.

The Hare lives chiefly in cultivated fields, where it resides in a small depression of the surface, which is called its “form.” It shifts the situation of this simple residence according to the season, selecting a shady spot in summer, and a sunny one in winter, and going into cover in wet weather. It is rather a nocturnal or crepuscular than a day-feeding animal, although it may not unfrequently be seen abroad in the day. In the evening and early in the morning it is most active, passing the brighter hours at rest in its form. When out in the field in search of food it goes hopping along among the herbage and cultivated plants, every now and then sitting upright on its haunches and listening with erected ears for the slightest sound indicative of approaching danger. Its food is exclusively of a vegetable nature, but it seems to embrace pretty nearly the whole round of cultivated plants. Cruciferous plants appear to be amongst its favourite articles of diet, but it also does much damage to fields of young wheat. In the winter, when the open fields are covered with snow frozen hard, and, indeed, sometimes in the summer, the Hare will make his way into gardens in search of food, or, if this resource is not at hand, into plantations of young trees, where it will gnaw off and feed upon the bark, thus destroying great numbers of the trees. Mr. S. Mawson has recorded finding the stomach of a Hare killed in winter filled with hawthorn berries. After its wanderings the Hare always returns to its own form.

Hares pair when they are about a year old, and from that time produce several broods every year, each consisting of from two to five young, which are born covered with hair and with their eyes open. From Mr. Bell’s statement, these animals would appear to breed almost all the year[Pg 148] round; he says that in mild winters young Hares have been found in January, and that he has known breeding continue till the middle of November. When captured young, the Hare may be easily tamed, and become an amusing pet, as, indeed, will be familiar to almost every one, through Cowper’s account of his Hares. Formerly the Hare used to be trained by jugglers to perform various tricks, one of which was the beating of a tambourine with its fore-feet, with which the animal will of its own accord drum upon the back of an offending companion. A relic of this practice is to be recognised in a common toy, which shows a small Hare sitting and beating a tambourine, its fore limbs being set in motion by the turning of the wheels of its stand.

The Common Hare is found spread over the greater part of Europe, from the south of Sweden and northern Russia to the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. It does not occur in Ireland. It varies somewhat in colour in different localities, and although it does not become white in winter, the northern forms show a tendency in that direction, and the others acquire a greyish tint at the approach of the cold weather.

COMMON HARE.

THE RABBIT, or CONY (Lepus cuniculus), differs from the Hare in various characters; its colour is a tawny brownish-grey, the disproportion between the fore and hind limbs is not so great, and the ears are shorter, not exceeding the head in length. Although the Wild Rabbit is so plentiful in England as to become a pest to the farmers in many places, it is supposed not to be a native of north-western and central Europe, but to have been naturalised in Britain, its original home being in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. It is, and always was, very abundant in Spain, the name of which country (Hispania) has been supposed to mean the “country of Conies,” from the Phœnician and Hebrew word Schaphan, the name of the Hyrax or Cony of the Bible. Even in the present[Pg 149] day it is very local in its distribution north of the Alps, and is not found at all in eastern and northern Europe. In Australia it has proved to be a veritable scourge.

In its habits the Rabbit differs from the Hare more than in its form and structure. Instead of contenting itself with a shallow depression as a resting-place on the surface of the ground, it digs deep holes in the ground, into which it may retire to sleep or at the approach of danger. It prefers light sandy soils for its residence, as these present great facilities for burrowing, and wherever particularly favourable conditions exist the Rabbits are to be found living together in very large societies. Furzy heaths are favourite places with them, as the ground is easily worked, and the furze bushes not only serve as a protection to the burrows, but furnish the Rabbit with an abundant supply of food, the young shoots being eaten off as high as the animals can reach when standing on their hind feet. In wet moors the Rabbits avoid burrowing, and live in runs and galleries formed in the matted heather and long herbage. Mr. Bell says that in more than one instance he has known a family to take possession of a hollow tree, ascending its inclined and decayed trunk for some distance.

Like the Hare, the Rabbit is generally quiet during the day, although it will not unfrequently be abroad at all hours. The evening, however, is its principal time for activity, and then the inhabitants of the warren may be seen playing about near their abodes, or wandering to greater distances in search of the green vegetables on which they feed. The moment there is the smallest suspicion of danger, the whole company scamper off at once to seek safety in their burrows. As they go, their white tails are the most conspicuous objects to be seen, and the spectacle of some hundreds of them rushing along at full speed, vanishing one after the other down the burrows, is lively and amusing enough.

The Rabbit begins breeding at six months old, and has several litters in each year. The young are usually from five to eight in number, sometimes even more; they are born blind and naked, and are produced in a separate burrow which the female digs for their reception, and lines with fur pulled from her own body. This brood-chamber has usually only a single entrance, and this the mother closes with earth after visiting and suckling her young family, which she is said to do only at night.

When domesticated, the Rabbit, as is well known, differs materially from its wild state. It is larger, and its colours are usually white, black, brown, or fawn colour, sometimes alone, sometimes mixed in patches. Albinoes are common, and form a permanent race. The Angora Rabbit, which is usually albino, has the hairs very long; and the so-called “fancy Rabbits” have the ears more or less pendent at the sides of the head, and often so long as to touch the ground.

A third British species is the MOUNTAIN HARE (Lepus variabilis), or Northern Hare, an inhabitant of all the northern parts of both hemispheres, which occurs in most parts of Scotland, and in Ireland, where, indeed, it takes the place of the common Hare. In its summer coat it is of a light fulvous grey colour, and is further distinguished from the common Hare by the shortness of the ears and tail, the former being shorter than the head, and the latter little more than half its length. In cold climates this animal becomes pure white in the winter. This Hare is absent from Central Europe, but reappears on the chain of the Alps.

It will be unnecessary to enter into details with regard to the other species of this family, all of which more or less resemble those just described, both in appearance and habits. They are distributed over nearly the whole world except the Australian region, but they are most numerous in North America, where a great many species have been described, which are reduced by Mr. Allen to twelve. Four of these, however, present well-marked local races, which double the number of recognised permanent forms.

In many respects the Pikas closely resemble the Hares, but they are distinguished by having only five molars on each side in each jaw, a depressed skull, with contracted frontal bones destitute of the wing-like process seen in the Hares, complete clavicles, short ears, limbs nearly equal in length, and no tail visible externally. They are much smaller than any of the Leporidæ, the largest being no larger than a Guinea-pig, to which the animals have some resemblance; while in their habits they somewhat resemble the Marmots. When feeding they often produce a chirping or whistling noise, whence the name of Piping Hares, or Calling Hares, has been applied to them. Ten or a dozen supposed species of these animals have been described, most of them[Pg 150] inhabiting the northern and mountainous parts of Asia, and one of these is also found in Europe, about the southern part of the Volga. In Asia species have been found as far south as the Himalayas and Nepaul. In North America a single species (Lagomys princeps) inhabits the Rocky Mountains, where it was first discovered by Sir John Richardson.

The ALPINE PIKA (Lagomys alpinus), which inhabits Siberia from the Irtish eastwards into Kamtchatka, is a little animal from nine to nine and a half inches long, of a greyish-brown colour above, yellowish-grey beneath; the feet are pale, and the ears dirty yellowish-white within, becoming dusky towards the margin, which is white. This animal occurs in considerable numbers in the Alpine and sub-Alpine parts of Siberia, where it either burrows in the ground, or shelters itself in crevices of rocks or among loose stones. The Pikas generally come out only at night, although they sometimes venture forth on a cloudy day. Their food consists of the scanty herbage to be found in their elevated abode, and as this would be impossible to procure during the winter when the ground is thickly covered with snow, the Pikas take care in the autumn to collect a large supply of dried grasses and other herbage, which they pile up near their habitations like little haystacks. They are, however, sometimes deprived of the fruits of their labour by the Sable-hunters, who plunder the Pikas’ stacks to feed their Horses. The female produces about six naked young early in the summer.

ALPINE PIKA.

The ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIKA (Lagomys princeps) is a small species from six inches to seven and a half inches long, of a greyish-brown colour above, yellowish-brown on the sides, and greyish below. It received its specific name from its discoverer, Sir J. Richardson, in allusion to the name of “Little Chief Hare” given to it by the Indians. It inhabits the summits of the Rocky Mountains from Colorado northwards far within British America, and also occurs in the mountains of Utah, California, and Oregon. Mr. Allen describes its habits as follows:—“The animals are everywhere found in communities, living among the loose rocks from a little below timber-line nearly up to the snow-line. They appear to rarely wander many yards from their homes; are timid, yet easily become familiar. Though retreating to their homes when first alarmed, they soon come cautiously out one after another, till one may hear their sharp little cries in every direction. Their colour so nearly resembles that of the rocks they live among, that they are not easily seen, and their cry is of such a character as easily to mislead one in respect to the point from which it proceeds, seeming to be far away when only a few feet distant. They sit erect, like little Marmots.... They carry into fissures of the rocks large quantities of grass, which they lay up for winter consumption.”

THE majority of the preceding families are more or less clearly represented by fossil remains, either in the younger strata of the earth’s crust, or in those cave-deposits of comparatively recent date which have furnished so many interesting relics of the Mammals of former days. It must be remarked, however, that while a considerable number of fossil Rodents have been named and described by palæontologists, the materials upon which many of them have been established are very imperfect; in a great number of cases isolated molar or even incisor teeth furnish the sole evidence of the existence of creatures which were manifestly Rodents, but of which the other characters are rather difficult to divine from such scanty material. Still, imperfect as may be “the record of the rocks” in this as in other instances, it is in some parts sufficiently complete to enable us to trace back the existence of many forms of gnawing Mammals through a long period of geological time.

Of the SCIURIDÆ a considerable number of fossil species have been recorded. Species of the genera Sciurus, Arctomys, and Spermophilus, some of them identical with those still existing, have left their remains in Post-Tertiary deposits and in bone-caves in various parts of Europe; while species belonging to the first two genera, and to the American genus Tamias, have been detected in similar situations in North America. A few forms referred to the same genera go down still lower in the series of geological formations. True Squirrels are recorded from Miocene and Upper Eocene deposits in France, and a single species from the Tertiaries (probably Miocene) of Colorado; Marmots from Pliocene and Miocene beds in the South of France, and from a Pliocene deposit in Nebraska; and a Spermophile from the Miocene of Weisenau in Germany.

Besides these examples of known types, several fossils have been obtained both in Europe and America, which are regarded as indicating genera distinct from any now living. Plesiarctomys Gervaisii is founded on a fragment of jaw with four molars, obtained from Upper Eocene beds near Apt, Vaucluse. In its characters it appears to be intermediate between Squirrels and Marmots. Pseudosciurus suevicus, from the Upper Eocene (Bohnerz) of Würtemberg, seems to differ from all other Sciuridæ in the form of the molar teeth of the lower jaw, which are somewhat elongated, and have four tubercles arranged in two pairs, each pair being connected by a ridge. From the Tertiary deposits of the western territories of the United States, Professors Cope, Marsh, and Leidy have described several Sciurine Rodents as belonging to genera now extinct: thus Paramys has five species; Sciuravus (perhaps identical with the preceding), three; Heliscomys, Mysops, Colonymys, Taxymys, and Tillomys, one or two species each.

Of the ANOMALURIDÆ and HAPLODONTIDÆ no fossil remains are known. On the other hand, a North American fossil Rodent, described by Dr. Leidy under the name of Ischyromys typus, is regarded by Mr. Alston as the type of a distinct family, the Ischyromyidæ, nearly allied to the Sciuridæ, but also showing an affinity to the Beaver in some of its characters. The specimen described and figured by Dr. Leidy was obtained by Dr. Hayden from Miocene deposits in the “Bad Lands” of Wyoming. It was originally referred to the Sciuridæ, with which it agrees in its dentition, but is distinguished by its large infra-orbital opening, the presence of a sagittal crest, and the absence of post-orbital processes. The parietal region of the skull is much narrowed, and in this, as in the large size of the infra-orbital opening, Ischyromys resembles the Musk Rat.

Two other forms must be referred to here. Under the name of Pseudotomus hians, Professor Cope has described the remains of an animal which he believed to have been about the size of an Agouti, and originally thought to belong to the order Edentata. Subsequently he referred it to the Sciuridæ; but both Mr. Alston and Mr. Allen think that it may belong to the family Ischyromyidæ. In some[Pg 152] respects the skull resembles that of Arctomys, but it has the same contraction between the orbits as Ischyromys and Fiber. The incisor teeth are separated, and Professor Cope believes that the animal had only three molars on each side in each jaw. A still more doubtful member of the family is Professor Cope’s genus Gymnoptychus, which includes four species, all said to be from the “Tertiary of the Plains.” In this genus there are five molars above and four below on each side, as in Ischyromys and the Sciuridæ; but these teeth show two crescents on the inner side in the upper, on the outer side in the lower jaw, and each crescent gives origin to a cross-ridge running to the opposite margin of the tooth.

The CASTORIDÆ, including at present only a single species common to the northern parts of both hemispheres, are represented by several peculiar fossil forms. Remains of the Common Beaver (Castor fiber) are not uncommon in peat bogs and other late superficial deposits both in Europe and America; and, according to Sir R. Owen, in association with those of the Rhinoceros, Mammoth, and Mastodon, even in the Fluvio-marine Crag (Newer Pliocene) of Norfolk. In Belgium its bones have been found in caves. Among the Mammals from the Upper Tertiaries of the Sivalik Hills, Messrs. Falconer and Cautley record a Beaver distinct from the existing species, although nearly allied to it. The skull of a great Beaver, one-fifth larger than that of the living species, was obtained many years ago by M. Fischer from sandy deposits on the shores of the Sea of Azov, and, as it differed in some peculiarities of the teeth from Castor fiber, was described by him as constituting a distinct genus under the name of Trogontherium Cuvieri. It is now regarded as a true Beaver, and named Castor Trogontherium. The British species, described and figured by Sir R. Owen from the Norfolk Forest bed under the name of Trogontherium Cuvieri, is, however, quite distinct, and belongs to the genus Diobroticus, characterised by having the third upper and first lower molar teeth with four enamel folds, and the rest only with two, most of the folds soon becoming isolated as the teeth wear down. This animal must have been nearly twice the size of the European Beaver.

At a still earlier period—namely, in the Miocene—the family Castoridæ was represented, both in Europe and America, by some small species, nearly agreeing with the Beavers in dentition, but differing in the characters of certain bones of the skull. These form the genus Steneofiber. The largest (S. viciacensis), from the Miocene of the Allier, was about half the size of the Beaver; another (S. sansaniensis), from the fresh-water limestone of Sansan, was about as large as a Rat; an American species (S. nebrascensis), from the “Bad Lands” of Dakota, was rather smaller than a Marmot, and presented some resemblance to the Agoutis in the characters of the teeth; and a fourth species (S. pansus) occurs in the Santa Fé marls. Eucastor tortus, a species rather smaller than a Marmot, is described by Dr. Leidy as very nearly related to the Beaver. Its remains were found in loose sands of the Niobrara River, Wyoming. Chalicomys and Palæomys are genera doubtfully placed here. Their species occur in the Miocene and Pliocene of Europe.

Some bones of a gigantic Rodent, indicating an animal as large as a full-grown Black Bear, obtained from Quaternary and Alluvial deposits of various parts of the United States, have been described under the name of Castoroides ohioensis, Mr. J. W. Foster, its first describer, having an idea that it was a great Beaver. It has generally been known as the “Fossil Beaver” of North America, but several authors have entertained doubts of the correctness of this designation, and Mr. Allen has lately made it the type of a special family, CASTOROIDIDÆ, which he regards as most nearly related to the Chinchillidæ. In the general aspect of the skull it resembles the Beaver, but in several details of structure approaches the Viscacha; while the structure of the molar teeth, which consist of a series of plates of dentine, completely enclosed by enamel, and held together by a thin coating of cement, occurs elsewhere only in the Chinchillidæ, and in the last molar of the Capybara.

Dormice as well as Squirrels disported themselves in the Tertiary woods and thickets of Europe, and remains of several species of MYOXIDÆ occur in various deposits in France, Switzerland, and elsewhere, from the Upper Eocene onwards. Myoxus glis, the Garden Dormouse, has been identified with some doubt from the caves of Lunel Viel; and this is also probably the species occurring in the Belgian bone-caves, and described as Myoxus priscus by Dr. Schmerling. A species a little larger than the Dormouse occurs in Russian caves, and has received the name of Myoxus fossilis from M. Fischer; and the most striking species of all is also a Post-Pliocene form, namely, the gigantic Dormouse of Malta (M. melitensis). This animal, which seems to have been about the size of a[Pg 153] Guinea-pig, must have been excessively abundant in Malta, for its describer, Professor Leith Adams, says that “its remains are met with in abundance throughout the cavern and fissure deposits, up even to the superficial alluvium now in course of formation.” From older times we have evidence of the existence of a Dormouse, about the size of the common species, at the time of the deposition of the gypsum of Montmartre (Upper Eocene), in which a well-preserved skeleton of the animal has been found. The same deposit has furnished traces of a second rather larger species. The Miocene of Switzerland and of Sansan has also yielded species of Myoxus; and Professor Hermann von Meyer has recorded a Dormouse from the Miocene of Weisenau, under the name of Brachymys ornatus.

No fossil LOPHIOMYIDÆ have yet been detected, but the great family MURIDÆ has left abundant evidence of its former existence. Species of the genera Mus, Arvicola, Myodes, and Cricetus, identical in many cases with those now living, have been obtained frequently in Post-Pliocene deposits and in bone-caves in Europe. Lemmings (Myodes lemmus and torquatus) are recorded from English caves. The genus Mus is also represented by several species in the Miocene deposits of France, and in the Sivalik beds investigated by Falconer and Cautley. The Miocene of Sansan has furnished a form which has been doubtfully regarded as a Gerbille, and named Meriones Laurillardi. In the same and other deposits of the same age in South-eastern France several species of an extinct genus (Cricetodon) have been obtained. Their dentition resembles that of the Hamster, but the first molars in both jaws have a tubercle less; the largest species (C. sansaniensis) rather exceeded the Hamster in size, while the smallest was less than a Mouse. Associated with some of these are two doubtful forms, Decticus and Elomys, the latter considered by M. Aymard, its describer, to be allied to Hydromys. The American fossil Muridæ are for the most part either species of the genus Hesperomys, or nearly related to it. Twelve species of that genus were obtained by Dr. Lund from the Brazilian bone-caves, but of these eight were identified by him with species still existing. In North America two species of a nearly-allied genus (Eumys) have been obtained from Miocene deposits; and the bone-caves of Pennsylvania furnish the remains of a species of Neotoma (N. magister), hardly distinguishable from the Florida Rat.

A Rhizomys from the Sivalik deposits of North-western India is the only recorded fossil representative of the SPALACIDÆ; and of the GEOMYIDÆ the only known species are a Geomys from the Pliocene of Nebraska, nearly allied to, if not identical with, the living G. bursarius; and one from the “Tertiaries of the Plains,” described by Professor Cope as Colotaxis cristatus, which, however, has only three molars in the lower jaw.

The DIPODIDÆ are still more scantily represented. A Jerboa described by M. Fischer from Post-Pliocene deposits, probably of Tartary, is very nearly allied to the living Dipus platurus, but has shorter toes and broader cannon-bones. The genus Dipoïdes, from the “Bohnerz” of Würtemberg, is founded on a single tooth, and its position in this family is very doubtful.

On the other hand, some fossil allies of the Dipodidæ and Geomyidæ constitute a distinct family, for which Mr. Alston proposed the name of THERIDOMYIDÆ, from that of one of its genera, Theridomys. In this genus, of which six species are recorded from the Eocene and Miocene deposits of France, there are four rooted molars in each series, and each of these has several enamel folds, some of which are converted into isolated loops as the crown is worn away. The best known species is Theridomys platiceps, from the Miocene of Caylus. In Archæomys chinchilloides there are still four molars, but these present a very different structure; they are rootless, and have the enamel folds extending diagonally across the crown, so that they are composed of a series of plates, thus presenting a certain amount of resemblance to the Chinchillas, which American family Archæomys was at one time supposed to represent in Europe. In fact, in the structure of their molar teeth, both the above genera approach American types; but in other characters, especially the form of the lower jaw, they appear to have been decidedly Mouse-like, and Mr. Alston regards them as most nearly related to the Dipodidæ, with which they are joined by a third form referred to the family Issiodoromys, a genus sometimes placed with the Jerboas. The teeth in this genus are of the same number as in the preceding, but the molars are much simpler, each of them exhibiting one large re-entering fold of enamel, which causes the surface of the tooth to present two heart-shaped lobes. This structure is not dissimilar to that prevailing in some Dipodidæ, and especially in Pedetes, but it was formerly thought to indicate a relationship to the Cavies, and accordingly the best-known species has received the name of Issiodoromys pseudanæma (Anæma being a sub-genus of Cavies).[Pg 154] This species occurs abundantly in the Miocene lacustrine limestone near Issoire. A second species (I. minor) has been detected in the Upper Eocene of Lamandine-haute.

Of the OCTODONTIDÆ, an essentially American family at the present day, nearly all the recorded fossil forms are also American. Species of Echinomys, Loncheres, and Phyllomys were obtained by Dr. Lund from the Brazilian bone-caves, which also furnished him with the remains of a Coypu (Myopotamus antiquus), and of an allied form, Carterodon sulcidens, distinguished by its having broad incisors with longitudinal furrows and raised ridges. The latter has since been found living in South America. Another species, allied to Echinomys, is named by Lund Lonchophorus fossilis. The superficial deposits of South America have yielded the remains of two species of Ctenomys, one of which is believed to be identical with a recent species. As several species of this family now live in Africa, the occurrence in the eastern hemisphere of fossil forms belonging to it would not be surprising, but the few that have been referred to it are of very doubtful nature. M. Lartet obtained some isolated teeth from the Miocene of Sansan, which he described under the name of Myopotamus sansaniensis; and one or two other types (Aulacodon, Adelomys), from Upper Eocene and Miocene beds, are of very uncertain position.

Of the HYSTRICIDÆ, or Porcupines, remains have been obtained in both hemispheres. In the Old World traces of true Porcupines (Hystrix) are recorded from the Valley of the Arno, from the Sivaliks, the Pliocene deposits of the Auvergne, from Pikermi, and, on very doubtful evidence, from the Upper Eocene of Lamandine-basse; whilst Dr. Leidy has described two teeth from the Pliocene deposits of Dakota, as belonging to a species (Hystrix venustus) allied to the European Porcupine. This determination, if confirmed, would be of great interest, as no true Porcupine now occurs in America. Of the American type, two species of Sphingurus have been obtained from the Brazilian bone-caves; and Professor Cope records a species of the North American genus Erythizon from a similar cave in Pennsylvania.

The CHINCHILLIDÆ have left but scanty traces of their former existence. Lagostomus brasiliensis is from the Brazilian bone-caves; and Megamys patagoniensis from the Eocene sandstone of Patagonia. The latter species is founded upon a tibia and rotula, which on comparison seemed to approach most nearly to those of the Rodents of this family, and if the determination be correct it was probably one of the largest species of the order, as the tibia measures about a foot long. Amblyrhiza and Loxomylus, are two genera described by Professor Cope from bone-caves in Anguilla Island, West Indies.

The DASYPROCTIDÆ have but few fossil representatives, and the undoubted ones are all from the bone-caves of Brazil, which furnished Dr. Lund with two Agoutis and two Pacas. Of the former, one is described as Dasyprocta capreolus; the second is allied to the living D. caudata. The two species of Cœlogenys are extinct. Some teeth, found in Tertiary deposits of the Puy-de-Dôme, have been referred to Dasyprocta, but this determination is excessively doubtful. Diobroticus schmerlingi from Belgian caves has been placed with the Castoridæ.

Of the CAVIIDÆ, Dr. Lund obtained three species of the genus Cavia, and two of Hydrochœrus, from Brazilian bone-caves. Of the latter, one was allied to the existing Capybara; the other was a gigantic species, measuring about five feet in length. Dr. Leidy has described a species (Hydrochœrus æsopi) from teeth found in Post-Pliocene deposits in South Carolina; and the Pampean deposits of the same age furnished M. D’Orbigny with the remains of a Cavy (Cavia antiqua) which, however, is doubtfully distinct from the Patagonian species.

The remains of species of the family LEPORIDÆ are very abundant in some Post-Pliocene cave deposits on both sides of the Atlantic, and in several cases the species are evidently identical with those now living. Besides these, species of the genus Lepus have been found in Pliocene and Miocene beds in France. In North America three extinct Leporine genera have been recognised, differing from Lepus in certain peculiarities of the molar teeth:—Palæolagus, with three species, from the Miocene of Dakota and Colorado; Panolax, from the Pliocene marls of Santa Fé; and Praotherium, from a bone-cave in Pennsylvania. The last-named genus has the crowns of the molars transversely oval, and without the enamel-band or crest which is seen on the surface of the teeth of other Hares.

The LAGOMYIDÆ are known in a fossil state chiefly from Post-Pliocene deposits, and the bone breccias of caves in various parts of Europe. In Post-Pliocene times the genus Lagomys seems to have been very generally distributed over the South of Europe; and the earliest appearance of the genus[Pg 155] is in the Pliocene, three species having been described from deposits of that age at Œningen and Montpellier. The family is, however, carried further back in time by the genus Titanomys, in which the molars differ but slightly in structure from those of Lagomys, but there are only four of them in each series, both above and below. Two species of this genus have been recorded from Miocene deposits in France and Germany.

SIDE VIEW OF SKULL AND LOWER JAW OF MESOTHERIUM CRISTATUM.

DENTITION OF MESOTHERIUM CRISTATUM.
(A) Upper Jaw; (B) Lower Jaw; (C) Incisors.

We have thus passed very briefly in review the fossil Rodents belonging to the two great sections of the order to which all its living species are to be referred; and it will be seen that while a knowledge of their existence is necessary to complete the history of the order, they present none of those peculiar characters which lend such interest to the fossil members of many other orders. There is, however, one fossil South American type to which we have yet to refer, as, by the curious combination of characters which it presents, it has long been somewhat of a puzzle to palæontologists, and although generally placed among the Rodents, its peculiarities are such that Mr. Alston found himself compelled to establish a third primary section of the order for its reception. According to M. Bravard, the first discoverer of this peculiar type, the Pliocene deposits of the Pampas of La Plata contain the remains of three species belonging to it; but the bones which have been sent to Europe, and which represent most parts of the skeleton, seem all to belong to a single species, which has been very fully described by M. Serres under the name of Mesotherium cristatum.[55] What distinguishes it at once from all other known Rodents is the presence in the lower jaw of four incisor teeth, the second pair being very small and placed immediately behind the outer edge of the broad middle pair. The latter are peculiarly widened and compressed from front to back in both jaws, and their summits, instead of being worn to a sharp chisel-like edge as in ordinary Rodents, show an elongated ring of enamel surrounding a slightly depressed surface. Hence Mr. Alston denominated this section HEBETIDENTATA, or BLUNT-TOOTHED RODENTS. The enamel in all the incisors is continuous round the tooth. The molar teeth are rootless and curved, the convex side being directed outwards, contrary to what occurs in other Rodents. They are surrounded by enamel, and show re-entering folds which differ in the two jaws. Their number on each side is five in the upper and four in the lower jaw. The skull is massive, with enormously-developed sagittal and occipital crests, the latter of which run forward so far as to join the zygomatic arches; and these crests rise so high that the upper surface of the actual brain-case is entirely concealed by them[Pg 156] when the skull is looked at from the side. The lower jaw in its characters presents some resemblance to the same part in the Leporidæ; but it has the condyle for its articulation with the skull transverse, and fitting into a cavity of corresponding direction, a character which occurs in no other Rodent. Of the remainder of the skeleton we need only state that the animal possessed perfect clavicles; that the shoulder-blade and humerus somewhat resemble those of the Beaver; that the fibula articulated with the heel-bone; and that both front and hind limbs possessed five toes, some of which, judging from the form of the terminal joint, were probably furnished with hoof-like claws.

Thus, as regards its affinities in the order Rodentia, Mesotherium presents resemblances in its lower jaw (as also in some peculiarities of the skull), and in the articulation of the heel with the shank, to the Hares; while in the shortness of the incisors and some other cranial peculiarities, the form of the shoulder-blades, and the probably hoof-like character of the claws, we may notice an approach to the Cavies, which are also South American forms, and especially to the Capybara, which it probably resembled in its habits, although, if the evidence of the Beaver-like shoulder-blade and humerus be taken into account, it would appear to have been still more aquatic.

On the other hand, the resemblance to certain other Mammalia, and especially to some aberrant Ungulates, is unmistakable. The number of incisor teeth is the same as in Hyrax, and in these teeth there is also a certain amount of resemblance to the curious genus Toxodon, in which the incisors are four in the upper and six in the lower jaw, and worn away in somewhat the same fashion. In Toxodon also, the convexity of the curve of the molars is turned outwards. Certain other characters of Mesotherium—such as the mode of articulation of the lower jaw, and the peculiar connection of some of the caudal vertebræ with the ischiatic bones—present resemblances to the Edentata. As Mr. Alston says, “It appears to have been a survivor, to Pliocene times, of a much earlier type, which represented an era at which the Rodents were not yet clearly marked off from their allies. In fact, Mesotherium seems to continue into the order Glires that line of affinity which Professor Flower has pointed out as extending from the typical Ungulates through Hyracodon, Homalodontotherium, Nesodon, and Toxodon.”

The general relationships of Mesotherium to the other Rodents, and of these among themselves, are represented by Mr. Alston in a diagrammatic form, from which the following scheme, which will serve also as a table of the families, is derived:—

⇒
LARGER IMAGE

It seems quite clear, even from the above brief sketch of the history of the Rodentia in time, that, except in the case of Mesotherium, the fossil remains of animals belonging to this order furnish us with no important information bearing upon their alliances and possible origin. They make their earliest appearances, so far as we know, in deposits of Eocene age; and the earliest forms the remains of which are sufficient to give us a clear insight into their nature, are manifestly members of families, and often nearly allied to species still extant in the regions where their traces are now found. Thus in Eocene and Miocene deposits, we have representatives of the families Sciuridæ, Castoridæ, Myoxidæ, Muridæ, Geomyidæ, Chinchillidæ, and Leporidæ, already differen[Pg 157]tiated as at the present day, so far as the evidence goes; and it is clear that we must go much further back in time to seek the earliest appearance of the Rodent type, whether it branched off directly from the Marsupial series, or passed, as would seem to be indicated by Mesotherium, through a sequence of forms more or less related to the Ungulates.

Nor does the geographical distribution of the animals lead to any more definite conclusions. Certain families and even sub-families are of very wide range, the Muridæ and Sciuridæ especially being represented nearly all over the world, while the Hystricidæ and Leporidæ are also spread over very large areas, occurring in both hemispheres. Certain groups, such as the Sciuridæ of both sub-families, the Castoridæ, the Murine, and Arvicoline sub-families of Muridæ, the Leporidæ, and the Lagomyidæ, may be said to have a circumpolar distribution in the northern hemisphere, nearly allied and sometimes identical species being found in the more northern parts of both the Old and the New World, but mixed with other forms peculiar to the regions, especially as we advance southwards. On the other hand, the Myoxidæ are peculiar to the eastern hemisphere, as are also the Spalacidæ and the Dipodidæ (with the exception of Zapus, which is considered by Dr. Coues to form a distinct family), and all the sub-families of Muridæ, except those above mentioned as having a circumpolar range. The Myomorpha may in fact be looked upon as an Old World group, the Geomyidæ being the only exclusively American family; while the Hystricomorpha as a whole may be regarded as American, certain aberrant forms of the Octodontidæ inhabiting various parts of Africa and the Old World Porcupines being the sole representatives of that great section outside the western continent. Considering these facts, we may regard the Sciuromorpha and the Duplicidentata as originally polar types, or at all events as having an equal claim to an origin in the northern regions of either continent; while the Myomorpha, with their multitudinous forms spreading over all parts of the Old World, and having a much scantier representation in America, probably originated in the eastern hemisphere, and spread by a northern passage into the New World; and the Hystricomorpha would seem to have originated in South America, where they display the greatest variety of forms.

W. S. DALLAS.

[Pg 158]

GROUP OF SLOTHS (Arctopithecus griseus).

ORDER EDENTATA, OR BRUTA (ANIMALS WITHOUT FRONT TEETH).

CHAPTER I.
TARDIGRADA, OR SLOTHS.

WHEN the dense forests of the northern parts of South America were first explored by Europeans, it was observed that active Spider Monkeys, Howlers, and their Quadrumanous allies, were not the only climbing animals which frequented the trees. For every now and then, hunters came in sight of creatures about the size of a large Monkey, but whose sluggish movements, long hair, short heads, small ears and tail, and very long claws, enabled them to be distinguished at once from their very lively companions. It was noticed that these new creatures, instead of climbing quickly and swinging from branch to branch and running along the boughs, moved very slowly, by hanging head and body downwards and grasping the branches with their long claws. During the daytime, these quiet animals were constantly found asleep, huddled up in the fork of a branch, and looking like great balls of tow, or else hanging by two legs, the rest of the body being curled up. Now and then, one was seen at the foot of a tree, and it appeared to run along the ground with great difficulty; for the arms were so long that it walked on the elbows, and the hind feet were turned in, so[Pg 159] that it supported itself on the sides of its great hind claws. Naturally, the animal took its time in moving, and as it was never seen to be lively, it received the name of Sloth. Interesting from being so different in its habits from other arboreal animals, it became much more so, to naturalists, when its remarkable construction was ascertained; but still the hairy creature with a short face, small head, long neck, hardly any tail, and very long front limbs, retained its popular name.

A very slight examination of one of the Sloths showed that it had no front teeth, that is to say, neither incisors nor true canine teeth, and that the hinder teeth—the false and true molars—were not like those of any other mammal. The back teeth, few in number, have since been ascertained to be exceptionally simple in their structure, and evidently the masticating process is very simple. But when it was noticed that the Sloth fed upon leaves and young twigs, the absence of the necessity for more elaborate teeth was acknowledged. Then it was observed that they had very long arms, or rather fore limbs, for the fore-arm bones and the humerus are all unusually long, and also that they had great power of movement. Moreover, it was seen that the fingers were reduced to three in number in some kinds, and to two in others, and that they were furnished with long and strong claws, which did not interfere with a great amount of mobility in the wrist. The length of limb, the mobility of the wrist, and the great claws, enable the Sloth to bring the leaves to its mouth, to hang on, and to walk, as it were, beneath the branches. An examination of the hind limbs showed that they were shorter than the others, and always furnished, in all kinds of Sloths, with three great claws. But the ankle seemed to be turned in, as if there was a state of “club-foot.” This condition would enable the toes to clasp a bough without effort, but it would prevent the sole from being placed flat on the ground. As the knowledge of the anatomy of these constant tree-livers progressed, other modifications of structure, equally important in relation to the peculiar arboreal life and food, were gradually discovered. For instance, a remarkable flexibility of the neck, produced by the peculiar arrangement of the vertebræ; a rete mirabile, to a certain extent, in the limbs, resembling somewhat that in the Lemurs (Vol. I., pages 213, 245), and a complicated stomach suited for the digestion of leaves, and foreshadowing that of the Ruminants.

Two different kinds of Sloths were described in the first instance, and subsequently, several others. The first kinds known were the Ai, a Sloth with three claws on the fore limb, and the Two-toed Sloth, with two claws on the fore limb. The Ai was called Bradypus tridactylus, and the other the Unau, or Bradypus didactylus, names which have been changed somewhat, as will be seen further on.

Sloths are caught without much difficulty, and their habits, in captivity, have been observed in South America, and also after their removal to Europe. Waterton writes[56] on the subject:—

“Some years ago I kept a Sloth for several months. I often took him out of the house and placed him on the ground, in order to have an opportunity of observing his motions. If the ground were rough he would pull himself forward by means of his fore-legs, at a pretty good pace, and he invariably shaped his course towards the nearest tree; but if I put him upon a smooth and well-trodden part of the road, he appeared to be in trouble and distress. His favourite abode was the back of a chair, and often getting all his legs in a line upon the topmost part of it, he would hang there for hours together. The Sloth, in its wild state, spends its whole life upon trees, not upon the branches, but under them; he moves suspended from the branch, he rests suspended from it, and he sleeps suspended from it; hence his seemingly bungled conformation is at once accounted for. One day, crossing the Essequibo, I saw a large Two-toed Sloth on the ground upon the bank, and although the trees were not twenty yards from him, he could not make his way through the sand in time enough to make his escape before we landed. He threw himself on his back and defended himself with his fore-legs. I took a long stick and held it for him to hook on, and then conveyed him to a high and stately Mora. He ascended with wonderful rapidity, and in about a minute he was almost at the top of the tree. He now went off in a side direction, and caught hold of the branch of a neighbouring tree, and then proceeded towards the heart of the forest.”

At Santos, in Brazil, in 1826, Mr. Burchell kept a tame Sloth, a Bradypus tridactylus, which at the end of two months pined and died. It fed exclusively on the buds and leaves of a species of Cecropia, a tree having a slender stem of thirty or forty feet long, with horizontal branches, hollow internally,[Pg 160] and naked, except at the extremities. It ate only the young shoots and terminal buds of the unexpanded leaves, rejecting the old leaves on the boughs, which were brought to it daily. It was always perfectly silent, and its countenance and manners were most expressive of melancholy. It fed by day, and slept much; being kept in a room, it sat upright upon its short tail, embracing the legs of a chair with its arms and legs.

When resident at Para, near the mouth of the Amazons, Mr. Burchell also kept two full-grown Sloths, and a young one of a three-toed species (not Bradypus tridactylus, but of nearly similar form and habits), in a garden enclosed with strong stockades. They were kept tied up to the pillars of a verandah, to prevent their escape. Against these pillars they always placed themselves in an erect position, embracing the pillar with all four legs; when not tied to the verandah, they got up into trees in the garden. They slept both by day and night, always fixing their arms round something or other. Their food, consisting of branches, was brought to them in the verandah. They appeared extremely stupid, and would never come to the food. They would eat no leaves but those of the Cecropia.

They did not mount very large trees, and they ascended with their breasts pressing the trunk of the tree, advancing the hind-leg beyond the fore-leg. On the ground, they could neither stand nor walk, but lay sprawling on their belly, and dragged, or rather warped, themselves along, laying hold of a bunch of grass or stone with their three claws, which operated like grappling-irons, or, rather, pincers. All these died in a month or two. In their wild state they are seldom seen, from their colour mingling with the grey foliage of the trees, and from their being so extremely quiet and slow. The tame Sloths never willingly remained on the ground, except to pass from one tree to another. All the movements of the animal are slow. It moves its claws slowly. In eating it chews slowly; it also climbs slowly. The moisture of the leaves it eats suffices it for drink, without descending to obtain water. None of those kept by Mr. Burchell were ever seen to drink. The full-grown animals were never heard to utter any sound, but the young one occasionally, though rarely, gave a short cry or whistling squeak, of a single note.

They showed no indication of fear, and seemed to give attention only with their eyes. They took no notice of the boy who often carried them across the garden to their place in the verandah, with their long arms sprawling; the only objects of their regard were trees. They fight on their backs, and grapple their enemy to strangulation. The use of the long wool that covers the body, and even the face, seems to be to guard them from the annoyance of insects. Possibly it may preserve them from the attacks of Snakes, which are, doubtless, their greatest enemies.

The Sloth spends nearly the whole of its life in the trees, and travels along the branches body downwards. It rarely comes to the ground, on which it walks with difficulty, and it occasionally takes to the water and swims. It looks slothful enough when asleep, for it then resembles a bunch of rough hair, and a jumble of limbs close together, hanging to a branch; but when awake, it is industrious in its search for nice twigs and leaves, and moves along the under side of the branches of the trees with some activity. It seizes the ends of adjoining branches, clinging to the leafy mass, and moves from tree to tree quickly enough, when it is requisite, and it has a very singular power of moving the head and neck backwards in seeking food. When the atmosphere is still, the Sloth keeps to its tree, feeding on the leaves and twigs, but when there is wind, and the branches of neighbouring trees come in contact, the opportunity is seized, and the animal moves along the forest, under the shady cover of the boughs. The Indians have a saying that “when the wind blows the Sloths begin to crawl,” and the reason is thus evident enough—the animal cannot jump, but it can hang, swing, and crawl suspended. Mr. Waterton states, however, that “the Sloth travels at a good round pace, and were you to see him passing from tree to tree you would never think of calling him a Sloth. Being born up in a tree, living amongst the branches, feeding on leaves, and finally dying amidst the foliage, and enjoying life as much as any other animal, its structure and conformation are, of course, admirably suited for this arboreal existence. Its power of grasp is great, and is assisted by the great bent claws as it hangs by its feet when asleep, and also often when it is dead. One which was much frightened by being taken from the forest had a pole placed near it at a little distance from the ground, on two supports. It clung directly to the pole and hung on. A Dog was then made to attack the Sloth, which seized it in its long claws, and did not let go until the enemy died.”

[Pg 161]

Leading thus a very unusual kind of life, up amongst the dense foliage, and having some very unusual peculiarities of construction, much debate occurred many years since regarding the general conformation as well as the special anatomy of the Sloths. One school of anatomists considered the Sloths incomplete and abnormal animals, moving with “pain” on the ground, and another regarded their unusual and peculiar anatomy as singularly beneficent.

But whilst it is perfectly evident that the long limbs and their joints, and the peculiar turning in of the ankles, and the structure of the clawed hands and feet, are all admirably adapted for the peculiar life which the animal leads, it appears to be consistent with anatomical reasoning to believe that the Sloth is an instance of retrograde development; that, in fact, the peculiar formation of the skull, neck, wrists, and ankles, is the result of the laws of disuse and adaptation operating on ancestral animals, which once had their anatomy more consistent with a perfect mammalian type.

SKELETON OF THE SLOTH.

When the Sloths were first carefully watched and studied, their length of neck and their ability to turn the head, so as to look at a person standing directly behind or beneath them, without swerving the body, struck Mr. Burchell especially. This curious peculiarity led to a careful examination of the skeleton of the different kinds, and much discussion followed, for it was found that in the Sloth examined (the Three-clawed Ai) there were more neck bones (vertebræ of the cervical region) than in other Mammalia. Instead of the common number of seven neck bones, there were nine. This elongation of the neck of course permitted a greater amount of twisting than could occur in an animal with fewer neck bones. But there are other reasons why the head can be so much twisted round, for the spines on the neck bones are small, and the joint between the skull and the first vertebra is so fashioned that this remarkable motion is possible. There was a great deal of discussion about the extra neck bones, and as the last two had rib-like projections from their sides, some anatomists considered them to belong to the true rib-bearing vertebræ, or those of the back (the dorsal). But when the other Sloths were examined it was found that the number of the bones of the neck in all the two-fingered kinds was not as great as in other animals. There are only six neck vertebra in one well-known species (Cholœpus Hoffmanni, for instance), whilst there are seven in another two-toed Sloth.

Eating largely and of bulky substances, the Sloths require a large digestive cavity, and the ribs are numerous, and the body is long and broad. There is much variation, however, in the number of the back bones in the dorsal and lumbar regions. Thus in the Ai there are sixteen dorsal and three lumbar vertebræ, whilst in the Two-fingered Sloth there may be twenty-three or twenty-four dorsal bones, and two, three, or four lumbar vertebræ. The ribs are close together and are broad. As the hind limbs require strong muscles, for the animal hangs on by them whilst it is feeding itself with the fore hands, the pelvis is large and is strengthened by having the hip and haunch bones (ilia and ischia) united to the conjoined sacral vertebræ, which may be six, seven, or eight in number. Moreover, all the strength of the pelvis is behind, the fore part or pubic bones being slender and united in front.

[Pg 162]

Some small tail bones exist, for that organ is rudimentary in all the Sloths, there being a stump in the Ai, and eleven very small bones; but in the Two-fingered Sloths the tail is not visible, and there are four little ossicles. There are no long and very prominent spines to any of the back bones, and the whole bony column of the spine is readily curved and bent. The animals so constantly bring the hands and feet close together, when hanging, that a ready bending of the spine is absolutely necessary. Moreover, in sleeping they often rest in the fork of a tree, or on a branch, and place the head between the hind legs, rolling the body up as it were in a ball, and this is facilitated by the peculiar construction of the long chain of back bones with small spines.

The most distinctive character of the skeleton of the Sloth is the excess of length of the fore limb over the hind one. An examination of the slender bones of the arm shows that they are more solid than those of most Mammals. The arm bone (humerus) has a hole through it in the inner expanded part, just above the elbow (inner condyle), in the Ai; but this is not found in the two-toed kinds. The wrist and hand are long and narrow, and this is produced by the union of some bones which are separate in other Mammalia, and the slight development of others. Thus there are six bones in the wrist instead of eight (the scaphoid and trapezium, and the os magnum and trapezoid have coalesced). In the Ai there are three clawed fingers, and the bones of the thumb and of the little finger are absent, and their corresponding hand bones (metacarpals) are very small, and are joined on to the next, that is, to the metacarpal of the index and third finger.

The three fingers are, moreover, strengthened for their peculiar uses, the first two joints being united, and the tip or last joint being very long, and supporting the claw. Moreover, as the long claws are constantly half closed in the hand, and they are never required to be widely open, the tip of the finger is so made that flexion is possible, but not unclasping widely. The skin comes up to the base of the claws, and encloses the fingers, and the base of each claw is protected by a bony sheath. They form capital hooks; they grasp, and although there is no opposable thumb, they hold the food; and a tame Sloth may be seen holding a carrot very firmly between them and the wrist. In the case of the Unau Sloth, the outer claw is the longer.

BONES OF HAND OF THREE-TOED SLOTH.

The Sloths walk on the outside of the extremities of the fore and hind limbs, and their claws are always curved in, and, as it were, retracted. Consequently, the animal cannot place the soles flat on the ground, and it cannot open its foot-claws to a great extent. This fixing of the claws assists in the clasping and hanging, which are the usual and commonest attitudes. The claws surpass the foot in length, and are so sharp and crooked that they readily seize upon the smallest inequalities in the bark of the trees and branches upon which the animals habitually reside. They and those of the fore limb are no mean weapons of offence and defence, for, situated at the end of long and muscular arms, they can drag, cling, and hold with great tenacity. The thigh bone (femur) of the Sloth is straight, and is thicker and shorter than the arm bone (humerus); it has no ligament to unite it to the joint (no ligamentum teres). On examining the lower bones of the leg (the tibia and fibula), they will be found to be bent, so as to leave a space between them, and they are shorter than the bones of the fore arm. The bones of the ankle joint, are united together immovably—that is to say, the usual bones seen in other Mammalia are there, but are united by bone. Moreover, this union includes the complete and ill-developed feet bones (metatarsals), and the first bones of the second, third, and fourth fingers. One bone is not included in this strange union. It is the astragalus, or the bone immediately jointed with the ends of the bones of the legs. The outer or small bone of the leg (fibula) fits into a pit in the outer part of the upper surface of this bone, and thus prevents any movement of the foot like a twisting outwards, and favours, but does not produce, the usual position of twisting inwards. Moreover, there are two powerful muscles in the front of the leg which are not opposed by others as strong, and they, by their contraction, keep the foot twisted inwards, as in club-foot (the anterior tibial and the long extensor of the great toe).

In the Unau, or Two-fingered Sloth, there is the same general arrangement of the bones and[Pg 163] muscles, with some important differences, which result in there being a greater amount of bending and extending of the foot, although the foot rests on its outer edge.

A Sloth’s face is short, and there is a broad snub nose, with round nostrils, which are widely open. The cheeks become wide suddenly, and the forehead slopes rapidly backwards, the eyes being wide apart and small, but looking forwards. The head is small and round, and as it is covered with hair behind, it cannot be distinguished well from the upper part of the back of the neck. The expression of the face is always the same, and the method of masticating and eating is disagreeable to observe. The animal having no front teeth, and moving its jaws usually only upwards and downwards, and not from side to side, places the morsel, such as lettuce leaf or carrot, well into its mouth, and chews at it, dragging out the food every now and then, when it is covered with moisture. On examining the skull, the short cut off or truncated appearance of the face is very evident, and it will be observed that the teeth are wanting in the front bones of the face (the pre-maxillaries), and that only the palatal part of these bones exists. The lower jaw is strongly jointed to the upper, and the back part is large: there are teeth at the sides, but there are none in the front part of it. A very singular-looking cheek bone (zygoma) exists on either side. It is not attached behind to the ear bone, so as to cover the jaw muscles, but it has two processes behind—an upper and a lower—which differ in shape and size according to the species. The central bone of the nose does not reach to the nasal outlet, and there is a system of air-cavities which is continued from the nose into the forehead bone. In some kinds, the lower jaw ends abruptly in front, as in the Ai; but in the Unau Sloths it is slightly angular, and projects.

The back teeth of the Sloths are very simple, and consist of three structures, called vaso-dentine, hard dentine, and cement, there being no proper enamel. The vaso-dentine is a kind of bony substance in the centre of the tooth, in which there are the passages and tubes of blood-vessels. The dentine is outside this, and consists of more earthy particles than the vaso-dentine, and of fewer tubes; it is all the denser and more resistant. Wearing away more slowly than the vaso-dentine, it forms a ridge which grinds easily. The cement is a kind of bony structure on the outside of the tooth. The teeth of the Sloth continue to grow from below as they are worn above, and there is no entire milk set which are replaced by those of a permanent kind.

SKULL OF SLOTH.[57]
(From the Proceedings of the Zoological Society.)

The term Sloth is commonly applied to all the kinds of animals whose general shape and habits have just been noticed. It is evident, however, that this union of several species under one term is not correct in zoology, and it is necessary to distinguish them by peculiarities which are permanent. A very ready method of distinction is to separate the Sloths into two families, one containing those which have three claws on the fore limbs and the same number on the hind limbs, and the second including those which have only two claws on the fore feet and three on the hinder.

The first family is called the BRADYPODIDÆ, from βραδύς (slow), and πούς (foot), and the second CHOLŒPODIDÆ, from χωλός (halting, lame), and πούς (foot), and both are included in the group TARDIGRADA, or slow-moving Edentata.

The BRADYPODIDÆ include two genera, but many naturalists only acknowledge one. The first is Bradypus. This includes the Sloths with three-clawed fingers on the fore limbs, whose males and females are alike in their fur, and which have the cheek bone (malar bone) with two processes. The upper one is long and dilated at the end, and the lower is long and triangular, and neither of the processes reaches the ear bone. There are in these Sloths, when full grown, five molar teeth on each side in both jaws, and the first is very short. There are two mammæ on the chest.

[Pg 164]

The second genus is Arctopithecus (Gray), and it contains species which have the males and females dissimilar in their colour and ornamentation, and the malar bone has a thin and narrow upper process.

The second family of the Sloths (the CHOLŒPODIDÆ) contains but one genus, Cholœpus (the Unau), whose species have two claws on the fore limbs and three on the hind ones. The front of the lower jaw is stuck out, and not cut short, and the first molar teeth are long.

The genus Bradypus probably contains several species, but it is only necessary to mention one, which is called

THE COLLARED SLOTH, OR THE HAIRY SLOTH.[58]

This Sloth lives in the densest forests of Brazil, Peru, and Para, and is found not far from Rio Janeiro.

It is a kind of the Three-clawed Sloths, in which there is little or no difference between the fur of the males and females. The neck is surrounded by a large collar of long black hair, and underneath this is a fur of a dark-brown colour. The face is naked, and is of a black colour, and the hair of the body is not very flattened, but is withered-looking to a certain extent. The forehead, temples, chin, throat, and breast are covered with reddish or rust-coloured hair, slightly grizzled. On the crown of the head it is long and yellow, and pale orange on the rest of the body. This Sloth produces one at a birth.

The lower jaw has a kind of blunted lobe in front, and the angle of this jaw is broad, triangular, with a rounded lower edge, and it projects backwards beyond the joint which connects the bone with the skull. The cheek bone has those peculiarities which have already been mentioned. The teeth are peculiar, for the first or foremost grinders are smaller than the others, and the second upper grinder is the largest of all. The first grinder on the lower jaw is broader than the rest, and the hinder are the largest, being also cylindrical.

COLLARED SLOTH. (From Prince Maximilian of Neuwied’s Animals of Brazil.)

It has the general method of living of the Sloths, being perhaps not quite so lively or active as the Unau, and feeds mainly on Cecropia leaves, finishing those of one tree as far as it can before commencing those of another. Like all the Sloths, it has the power of long and sustained muscular action, and can cling on, or grasp, for a very long time without perceptible fatigue, and this gift is associated with a structure of the blood-vessels which supply the muscles, resembling, as we have said, that noticed in some of the Lemurs. The main artery which supplies each of the fore limbs is the axillary, so called from its being found in the armpit or[Pg 165] axilla. In quickly-moving animals this vessel reaches into the upper arm, and divides into a few rather large ones lower down, and these give off others, so that a certain quantity of blood is supplied and removed quickly. But in the Sloths the axillary artery divides at once into a number of cylindrical vessels nearly as large as it is, and they are united here and there. These unusual arteries are found in contact with the surface of the muscles, and their branches go in and amongst the muscular bundles. As many as forty-two of these large vessels were counted by Sir A. Carlisle, on the surface of the muscles on the front of the arm, and probably about twenty were inside. These arteries thus carry an immense supply of blood to the muscles, but blood which, although it is finally removed by the veins, does not move very rapidly. In fact, the muscles are turgid with blood. The same arterial structure is seen in the hinder limbs, and the arteries of the thigh form as numerous a set as those of the arm.

AI. (From the Proceedings of the Zoological Society.)

It seems to be in accordance with careful investigation, to state that the species of Sloth called Bradypus tridactylus (the Three-toed Sloth, or Ai) has too large a meaning, and that it really refers to the Collared Sloth, as well as to others which have been placed in the next genus. It is as well to remark here, that although there are three clawed fingers to the fore limb, there are vestiges of two other ones by their side in the form of two rudimentary metacarpal bones.

GENUS ARCTOPITHECUS.—THE AI.[59]

Several kinds of three-clawed Sloths have been called Ai; for instance, the Yellow-throated Ai, and De Blainville’s Ai, and all have been named Bradypus tridactylus. Dr. Gray, however, satisfied himself that the kind which was first described by Cuvier as the Ai, and which is figured in Prince Maximilian of Neuwied’s “Animals of Brazil,” is the same as one which has since been called Arctopithecus Ai, or Arctopithecus flaccidus. The word Ai is taken from the noise made by the animal, and the term flaccidus relates to its long hair. The true Ai inhabits Venezuela and Peru, and has very long flaccid grey hair mottled with white. There is an abundant under-fur of a blackish-brown colour, which has white and black in spots and blotches.

[Pg 166]

There is a small spot between the shoulders on the back, where the fur is soft and woolly, and a broad, short, blackish streak there, with a white or orange ring around it. The claws are coloured brown. The head has a curiously-cut short and turned-up nose appearance, and is furnished with coarse shaggy hair, disposed on the crown in a diverging manner. The short hair of the face contrasts with the long, shaggy, shrivelled, dry, hay-looking hair of the body. This hair is coarse and flattened at the ends, but it is exceptionally fine at the roots, and it greatly resembles in colour and texture some of the vegetation of the trees on which it lives. The eyes are bright, and are surrounded by a dark ring. Several species of the genus Arctopithecus have been described which live in Guiana, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela.

SKULL OF AI.

The next genus of the Sloths is represented by

THE TWO-FINGERED SLOTH (THE UNAU).[60]

There are several kinds of Sloths with two “toes,” or rather with two fingers ending in claws on the fore limb, but the differences between the species are not very readily appreciated. They are differences which can be recognised, but it is doubtful whether the possession of dark brown or pale brown hair is sufficient to decide that there are more than one species.

The common Unau Sloth is usually of a darker tint than the others, but there is no doubt that the specimens in museums of all these Sloths vary much in the colour and length of the hair. Thus the hair may be generally dark, and the hairs of the crest on the back of the head may be white, and more or less tinted with bright green; or the hair may be short, of a dark brown colour, paler on the rump, much paler on the head, cheeks, and chin; a band may be across the nose, and the orbits dark brown. Others of the same species have very long hair, of an uniform dark tint, paler on the head and redder beneath, whilst one from Juan de Fuca has short hair, without any indication of a crest. From Brazil there are specimens with long paler hair and a crest. All these specimens, however, have pale whitish claws.

A Unau from Columbia is of a pale and whitey-brown paper colour, darker at the root of the hairs, and it has pale fawn-coloured claws.

In all these animals with different kinds of furs, the two-clawed condition is peculiar to the fore limbs only, for on the hinder there are three claws, and it is to be remarked that the hair and skin unite the fingers and toes close up to the base of the claws. The skull of the Unau is rather projecting in front, and not, as it were, quite cut off close; and there is a great gap in the upper and lower gums in front, the incisor teeth being absent, of course. But at the side of the mouth there is a longish tooth above and below, looking like a canine, but really it is the front molar, which in both jaws and on both sides is longer and larger than the others. The under teeth belonging to the lower molar set are placed behind the corresponding upper ones when the mouth is shut.

The cheek or malar bone is seen, on looking at the skull, to be separated from the ear bone, and to have a forked end posteriorly, the lower part of the fork extending downwards and backwards.

The lower jaw is very straight: it projects a little, in front and behind, where it is jointed with the upper jaw, there is no upright portion or branch, or ascending ramus. The last back tooth is just in front of a curved piece of bone called the coronoid process, the base of which is on a level with the line of the teeth.

This Sloth has seven neck bones (cervical vertebræ), and the last one has a very small and rudimentary rib attached to it on either side. There are no less than twenty-three dorsal vertebræ found to be with ribs. The Unau has a clavicle which is much smaller in the other group. It has no tail. The structure of the ankle joint enables it to turn in, even more than that of the Three-clawed Sloth. As the habits of the Unau Sloth are the same as those with three claws, and all live in the same[Pg 167] great district, these anatomical distinctions are very interesting, and relate to their remote ancestors, being hereditary legacies, which are of little or no importance in assisting the creature merely to live. One of the differences between the Sloths is singular. The Unaus have a very remarkably formed stomach, which may be said to be double. The first stomach is large and rounded, but it is contracted behind, and then formed into a kind of conical appendix. This appendix is doubled from left to right, and its cavity has a fold at its opening into the stomach. It forms a special part of the first stomach. Then it is to be noticed, that where the food enters the stomach, or at the opening, which is called the cardia, there is a pouch, looking like a bag at the end of the tube which runs down from the gullet to the stomach. This is the second part of the first stomach: and the third is a tube-like space which connects the cardia with the stomach far away to the left. These three cavities form the first stomach. The second stomach is of a slender form, and is very much smaller than the other. Its walls are thin for the first half of its length, but towards the spot where the gut commences (the pylorus) they are thick and muscular. A small fold occurs midway. There is a fold in the body of the smaller or second stomach, and there is a little hollow there with glands in it, and it is called the appendix to the second stomach.

STOMACH OF SLOTH.

The stomach is thus rather complicated, and its internal mucous membrane is so thrown into folds, and made into hollow spaces, that it occupies much more space than if it were a simple bag. This plan is also well seen in those ruminating animals which, like the Ox, live entirely upon vegetable substances; and it is evident that the diet of the Sloth bears some relation to the complicated stomach.

In the Ai, the appendix to the second stomach is larger than that of the Unau Sloth, and is more complicated.

HOFFMANN’S SLOTH.[61]

This is a Sloth with two clawed fingers on the fore, and with three claws on the hinder extremities. Living specimens are occasionally brought to Europe, especially from Porto Rico, so that its general appearance may now and then be studied at the Zoological Gardens, in the Regent’s Park. If it be looked at there in the day-time, it certainly merits the name of Sloth, for it resembles a bundle of long, light, brown hair, fixed on the top of a bar of wood close to an upright branch, or huddled up in a corner on the ground; but in the morning, and also late in the evening, the creature begins to move slowly, and to look out for the food put for its use on the floor of the den. All the Hoffmann’s Sloths have pale brown hair, whiter at the tips, and a white face, showing a brown band across the nose, extending to a ring round each eye. They have also a long and full crest of hair on the neck, and the hair on the limbs is darker than that of the rest of the animal. Dr. Peters, who discovered this Sloth, examined the skeleton, and found only six vertebræ in the neck, and in this it differs from the Cholœpus just noticed.

When its food, consisting of carrots and lettuce, and bread-and-milk, is put down in the morning it is soon in movement, and enjoys its meal hanging down from a bar with its hind legs, and resting its back on the floor of the cage. It seizes the food between the claws and the long straight palm of the fore-foot, and passes it into its mouth, chewing actively with the molar teeth, especially with the first, which are sharp. It cares little for the spectators, and when it has finished, slowly mounts up into a corner of its little den and settles down to sleep. In the evening it becomes lively, for it is, and, indeed, all Sloths are, nocturnal in habit. The hairless snout, of a light red tint, the absence of “smellers,” the little eyes with a few hairs around them, and the broad forehead, give the animal a curious appearance. The hair is brushed back on the forehead, and comes around the very small ears on to the cheeks, and is whitey-brown, and this same tint is seen over the whole of the back in long slender hairs. But the under hair is light red or red-brown. The long and[Pg 168] slender hand, with its two claws, contrasts with the rather bulky upper part of the limbs, and the flesh-coloured palms are very remarkable.

HOFFMANN’S SLOTH.

The whole of the Sloths lead very monotonous lives; their food is ever within their reach, and it is abundant, and they do not appear to have to compete much or at all in the struggle for existence with other animals. Their enemies are Snakes and the Carnivora, but it is evident that they are much more readily preserved by their habits from the latter than from the former. Leading such an uneventful existence, there is no great call upon their nervous energies or intelligence, and these are at a low pitch. The brain consequently is very simple in regard to convolutions, which are few in number and shallow.

THE CAPE ANT-EATER.[62]—THE AARD-VARK.

IN one of the cages in the house, close to where the Kangaroos are kept, in the Zoological Gardens of London, there is usually a heap of straw to be seen and an empty dish. Outside the cage is placed the name of an animal, “The Cape Ant-eater.” People look and wait, and as neither the animal nor the Ants it eats are to be seen, they go away, supposing that the absence of the last-named insects has caused the destruction of the animal, whose straw alone remains.

But in the evening, and sometimes in the morning, when the food is placed in the cage—not Ants, however—a long pair of stuck-up ears, looking like those of a gigantic Hare with a white skin and little fur, may be seen poked up above the straw; and, soon after, a long white muzzle, with small sharp eyes between it and the long ears, comes into view.

Then a very fat and rather short-bodied animal with a long head and short neck, low fore and large hind quarters, with a bowed back, comes forth, and finally a moderately long fleshy tail is seen. It is very pig-like in the look of its skin, which is light-coloured and has a few hairs on it. Moreover, the snout is somewhat like that of a Pig, but the mouth has a small opening only, and to make the difference between the animals decided, out comes a worm-shaped long tongue covered with mucus. The animal has to content itself with other fare than Ants in England, but it seems to thrive, and as it walks slowly on the flat of its feet and hands to its food, they are seen to be armed with very powerful claws.

In Southern Africa, whence this animal came, it is as rarely seen by ordinary observers as in England, for there it burrows into the earth with its claws, and makes an underground place to live in, and is nocturnal in its habits, sleeping by day.

The Orycteropus, which means digging-up foot, from ὀρύσσω (to dig up), and πούς (foot), is the deadly foe of the Ants of all kinds, and especially of those which, like the White Ants, live in large colonies and build nests.

These nest-building Ants abound in certain districts, but not in the region of the downs or karoos, nor where it is very dry and woody. They choose the country which is covered with a poor and so-called “sour” grass, and there they dig galleries in the ground, fetch earth from far and wide, and erect large rounded mounds of an elliptical figure, and often from three to seven feet in height. Apparently fond of company, the Ants congregate, and these gigantic hills of theirs are often crowded together and occupy the plains, as far as the eye can reach. The nests, or hills, are solidly built, and contain innumerable ants. This is the favourite resort of the Orycteropus, and the insects are his sole food then. Wherever ant-hills are found, there is a good chance of finding one of these Aard-varks, or Innagus, or Ant-Bears, as the Dutch and natives call them, leading a sort of mole-like life. But he is not easy to catch if the stories told be true. It is stated that the long strong flattened claws and short extremities, worked by their strong muscles, enable the animal to burrow in the soft soil as quickly as the hunters can dig, and that in a few minutes it will get out of the way; moreover, its strength is sufficient to resist the efforts of two or three men to drag it out of the hole. But when fairly caught, the Ant-eater does not resist much; it has no front teeth or eye teeth to do any harm with, and[Pg 170] it can be killed easily by a blow on the head. The Ant-eater runs slowly, and never moves far from the entrance of its burrow, being seen to do so only at night-time. The burrows are often two feet in diameter and three or four feet deep before they branch off. Night is the time for Ant-eating, for the active and industrious insects are then all at home and within their solid nests. Then the Orycteropus sallies forth, finds a fresh nest, sprawls over it, and scratches a hole in its side, using his strong claws, and then introduces his long snout. Having satisfied himself that there is no danger at hand, the animal protrudes its long slimy tongue into the galleries and body of the nest, and it is at once covered with enraged Ants, which stick to it, and are finally returned with it into the mouth. This goes on over and over again, until the appetite is satisfied; and apparently the diet is excellent, for the Ant-eater is generally fat, and indeed his hams are appreciated as a delicacy for their peculiar flavour, into which that of formic acid is said to enter.

CAPE ANT-EATER.

Although without an armour to its body, and provided with only a thick skin and bristles, the Orycteropus has a great resemblance in many points of its anatomy to the Armadillos of America. It is more closely allied to them than to the other Edentata. It is one of the order of Edentata, for there are no front teeth in the jaws, the incisors and canines being absent. The teeth are found in the back part of the mouth, and there are five on each side and in the upper and lower jaws, or twenty in all; there are also some small teeth which fall out during the growth of the animal. As might be expected from the very simple nature of the diet, the teeth are not at all complicated in their structure. They increase in size from before backwards, the last tooth but one being the largest, and all are peculiar in their minute construction. The first permanent tooth, which may be called a molar, is cylindrical in shape, and consists of a centre of very remarkable substance, for the body of the tooth is composed of a great number of vertical canals placed side by side, and running up the tooth. It was this interesting structure, so different to that of other animals, which led Cuvier to compare the teeth to pieces of cane. Outside this part of the tooth is a hard and more solid substance. When[Pg 171] the teeth are unworn, this outer covering covers their top, but as it wears off the tubular appearance is seen, and the ends of the tubes become exposed. The teeth have no fangs like those of such orders of Mammalia as the Carnivora and Insectivora, and they increase in length by growth from below, so that the wear above is continually compensated for. The second tooth resembles the first in its minute construction, but appears like two cylinders fixed together, a longitudinal groove indicating the junction, and this is the appearance presented by most of the others. The hindermost teeth resemble the first molars. The dental number varies according to age, and the presence or absence of the teeth which are not permanent. The jaws, in which the teeth are fixed, are long, and the lower one is low, but there is an ascending back part, or ramus; consequently, the face is long and low. The eye is placed far from the ear, and is small. Its bony case, or orbit, and its surrounding bones, are somewhat remarkable for an Edentate, for there is a lachrymal bone, and the tear canal is open on the bony face. Moreover, the malar bone is united to the ear bone by a complete arch, the zygoma, and the deficiency so remarkable in some other Edentates is thus not observed. The pre-maxillary bones are also to be seen, in front of the face. In this completeness of the bones of the face this animal is a true mammal, but in the nature and extent of the ear bones, the Orycteropus has some resemblance to reptiles and birds.

SKULL OF THE CAPE ANT-EATER.

The tongue is long, narrow, and flat, and can be protruded considerably beyond the mouth, but not so far as those of the other insect-eating Edentata; and in order to keep up a supply of thick mucus, the glands under and at its side, or the sub-maxillary, are very large and active in their functions. The stomach is moderately bulky and not simple, for the portion towards the right has very thick muscular walls, and the rest is thin. The intestine has a blind gut, or cæcum.[63] In fact, the stomach and blind gut might belong to an animal which eats something more bulky and less nutritious than Ants, and would be of use to the creature, did it eat vegetable matters. All these structures, the simple teeth, the tear bones, the size of the ear bones, the Sloth-like teeth, with tubes, however, and the peculiarities about the intestinal canal are, it must be remembered, associated with the life of a purely insectivorous animal. Why has it not the kind of teeth of the Insectivora and their stomach? and why should it combine high and low characters in its skull? These are questions which, when attempted to be answered, show that in the great philosophy of nature causes and effects are not everything, and that the same definite methods of life may be followed by animals very differently constituted.

The claws of the Orycteropus and the limbs are admirably suited for its kind of life. There are five claws on the hind limbs and four on the front, and they are long, slightly curved, flat, and scooped out below. The burrowing is facilitated by the arrangement of the claws as regards length, and they diminish in size from within outwards. There is a collar bone. The foot rests evenly on the ground and not on its outside, and the body is supported either by the whole foot or by the palm surface of the claws. The fore arm can be rotated more or less, and the pronator quadratus[64] muscle enables this necessary action to be carried out. The Orycteropus capensis lives over a wide extent of country in South Africa, in Caffraria, and in the western districts. A closely-allied species lives in Senegal (Orycteropus senegalensis, Less.); and a third is found in Southern Nubia, near the White Nile (Orycteropus æthiopicus, Sund.).

THE AFRICAN SCALY ANT-EATERS.

An animal living in the same country, on the same kind of food, and having many of the habits of the Cape Ant-eater, especially as it belongs to the same order of the animal kingdom, might be expected to resemble it in shape and in most of the important parts of its construction. But the comparison between the Ant-eater, just described, and the Scaly Ant-eater, shows that these animals have some very remarkable differences. The Scaly Ant-eater is toothless, and covered with scales.

TEMMINCK’S PANGOLIN.

Formerly, the Scaly Ant-eaters roamed far south in Africa, but now they are rare animals in South Africa, in the west of the continent, and across to Sennaar. They are found in Zanzibar, and as far south as the latitude of Mozambique. They are small animals, of from two to nearly five feet in length, with long tails; and their body, limbs, and tail are covered with numerous large, somewhat angular, and sharp-edged scales, as with armour. The scales overlap each other like tiles, and the free part pointing backwards is bluntly angular or rounded at the tip. When the animal is on its feet walking, they form a very close and impenetrable covering, being doubtless of great use to the creature, for it must trust entirely to its defences, having no weapon of offence. But when the Scaly Ant-eater is alarmed or threatened with danger, or positively attacked, it rolls itself up like a ball, places the snout between the legs, and the tail underneath, and then sticks up its scales, offering their sharp edges to the enemy. There are several kinds of them, and one in particular was noticed by Dr. Smith, the African traveller, and was named after the zoologist Temminck, MANIS TEMMINCKII. He observed that it was rarely seen, but that when it was discovered, instead of burrowing, it did not attempt to escape, but rolled itself up instantly in the shape of a ball, taking especial care of its head, which is the only part unarmoured and likely to be injured. He states that Ants form its chief and favourite food, and that it secures them by extending its projectable tongue into holes which may exist in the habitations of those insects, or which it may itself form. The tongue having made an entry, it is soon covered with a multitude of insects, and as it is well lubricated with saliva, they are held fast, and when a full load is ready, the retracting muscles act on the tongue and the whole is carried back into the mouth, after which the Ants are swallowed. The same traveller accounts for the scarcity of the Scaly Ant-eaters, partly from the disinclination of the natives to discover them for strangers, and partly because they are environed with supernatural[Pg 173] gifts in their eyes. They are carefully sought for, by the natives, for their own use and supposed advantage, for they believe the animal to have some influence on cattle, and that certain treatment to which they are exposed produces this. Whenever a specimen is secured by the natives, it is submitted to fire in some cattle-pen, apparently as a burnt offering for the increase of the health and fertility of all cattle which may henceforward enter the fold. “Here,” writes Dr. Smith, “we have another cause for the obliteration of a species. Intolerance of their aggression has wrought up the shepherd or agriculturist to the destruction of some; but in this case, a species is probably dying out under the influence of a superstition.”

FOUR-FINGERED PANGOLIN.

They burrow even in rather hard ground, and feed at night time. It has been noticed that the mother sits upright when enticing the young to suckle.

This Manis has rather a short head, and a wide body, and the tail is as long as the trunk: it is rather less in width near the body, and does not diminish much near the end. In a specimen which is twenty-five inches and a half long, the back of the animal is eight inches across, and the tail at its root is five inches broad. The scales are large, and are in about eleven rows. The body is of a pale yellowish-brown colour, the scales being lightest in tint near their points, and they are often streaked with yellow. Where the scales are wanting the skin is dusky brown. The eyes are reddish-brown, and the muzzle is black. The nails of the fore feet are bent under, so that the animal walks on their upper part. The scales are composed of hairs placed side by side and agglutinated together, and when first formed, and for some little time after, they are soft. They cover the upper part of the fore and hind extremities besides the body, and are striated. This kind lives in Eastern Africa, Sennaar, Caffraria, Kordofan, and Latakoo.

[Pg 174]

THE LONG-TAILED, OR FOUR-FINGERED PANGOLIN.[66]

This Ant-eater is from two to three feet in length, and the tail is twice as long as the body. It inhabits the Guinea Coast and the Gaboon, and probably Senegal. It is a dark brown animal, with the hair of the face and under sides black in tint. There are eleven series of scales, with the end rounded, and a central prominence.

Buffon described a pale brown or horn-coloured, very scaly, long-tailed Ant-eater as a Phatagin, but it is correctly called Manis tricuspis, from the scales having three projections on them. It lives in Western Africa, Fernando Po, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

THE GREAT MANIS.[67]

This scaled Ant-eater is thirty inches long in the body, and its tail measures twenty-five inches in length. The great tail lessens to the end, and the scales are striated at the base, the whole colour being pale brown. It is an interesting animal from its likeness to one of the Asiatic species, the Manis pentadactyla (Linn.); but the difference in the length of tail is remarkable. It has been found in West Africa, Guinea, and in the Cape Coast Castle district.

THE ASIATIC SCALY ANT-EATERS.

There is one point of great interest about the genus Manis, and it is that it is not restricted to Africa, for some species are found over a wide extent of country in India. They live there in a region from the Himalayan Mountains to Ceylon, and eastward to Sumatra and Java, and in Southern China as far as Amoy, Hainan, and Formosa. They afford an instance of closely-allied animals now living in large districts which are separated by seas, deserts, mountains, and rivers, and other impassable barriers. The Javanese are said to have called the animal, from the fact of its rolling itself up, Pangolin, and the Bengalese termed it the Reptile of Stone. The first to be noticed is—

THE SHORT-TAILED, OR FIVE-FINGERED PANGOLIN.[68]

This is supposed to be the Phattage of Ælian, and much resembles Temminck’s Manis from South Africa. It has a small head, which is pointed and long at the muzzle; the body is rather stout, and the tail is short, broad at the root. The back scales are in longitudinal rows, eleven in number, and they are smaller than those of the African kind. It has the under part of the body, head, and feet naked, and more or less hairy, and some long, fair-coloured hairs spring from between the scales. The middle claw of the fore-foot exceeds the others in size. They feed on white Ants especially. They are found in Bengal, Madras, and Assam.

A Manis with a tail as long as the body, and with the scales of the hind feet acutely pointed, and the front and hind claws nearly equal in size, is found in Sumatra and in Java. Finally, the other Asiatic kind, Manis Dalmannii, is found in the Himalayas, China, and possibly in Java.

All the species of the genus Manis, whether from Africa or Asia, are absolutely toothless, and the Edentate peculiarity is perfect, for there are no back teeth. The tongue is worm-like, round, very long, and can be stuck out far from the mouth, and it supplies the want of the teeth, but from having this long organ and no back teeth, the palate and the skull are very long and conical. Being without masticating teeth, the lower jaw is very flat and simple, and there is no ascending ramus. The muscles of the lower jaw being of secondary importance, the arch (zygoma) of bone between the face and the ear is incomplete, and the outside ear is very small. But the organ of hearing is somewhat complicated, and there is a large space in the temporal bone which communicates with the internal ear, so that one tympanum is in communication with the other.

Much saliva is required to moisten the tongue, and the sub-maxillary glands are therefore very large, and reach down under the skin of the neck on to the chest. The stomach is usually, if not always, found to contain stones which the creature has swallowed. Of course it can hardly tell what may be on its tongue in the dark Ants’ nest, and earth and stones are likely to rest on it and be swallowed, but the constant presence of these hard things may have something to do with the absence[Pg 175] of the teeth, and the necessity of having a crushing material somewhere or other. The walls of the stomach are thin near the entry of the gullet tube, but towards the pylorus, or the right side end, the muscles are well developed, and the mucous membrane is very dense.

These animals use their claws for the purpose of digging holes in the ground, or in the Ants’ nests, for the sake of food, and the position in walking is with the front claws bent under, so that the whole weight of the front of the body is felt on the back (or upper part) of the claws. The hind feet are placed flat, and the sole and under part of the claws sustain the hinder quarters. The joints of the five fingers of the fore feet are so arranged that they can bend downwards only, and indeed they are more or less permanently bent, being kept in that position by strong ligaments. This assists the digging powers of the claws, which are, moreover, forked at their points in some species, and the wrist is rendered very strong by having the joints between two of its bones abolished, and they are united by bone, as in the carnivorous animals. The bones thus united are the scaphoid and semi-lunar bones. Every structure in the creature’s fore limbs tends to the promotion of easy and powerful digging, and as the motion of scratching the ground is directly downwards and backwards, the power of moving the wrist half round, and presenting the palm more or less upwards, as in the Sloths and in man, does not exist. In order to prevent this pronation and supination, the part of the fore-arm bone, the radius, next to the elbow, is not rounded, but forms part of a hinge joint. Finally, it is necessary to observe, that the middle claw is the longest of the five on all the extremities, and that as the animal does not require to reach over its head, there is no collar bone.

FIVE-FINGERED PANGOLIN.

The long tail of the Pangolins, stumpy at the end in some kinds, has a considerable number of bones, usually twenty-six; and the first of them joins on to the last of the back bones of the pelvis. This last, or sacral vertebra, unites on each side with the haunch bones (ischium), and there is no notch in the bone for the passages of the great nerves of the back of the leg, but a hole.

The thigh bone is flattened from before backwards, and the bones of the leg are wide apart, and all this gives extra powers to the muscles which have to direct the scraping and digging by the hind feet. The feet are solid and strong, and have not any of the inside turning and club-foot appearance of the Sloths, and the heel bone projects backwards.

There is an interesting peculiarity about the chest of the Pangolins, for the breast bone is very long, and the cartilage at its end is large, and has two long projections resembling those of the Lizards. The neck consists of seven vertebræ, and the back of thirteen, and there are three or four in the sacrum.

[Pg 176]

THE AMERICAN ANT-EATERS.

The adjective “long” may be applied to nearly all the structures of these animals. The tail, body, neck, head, snout, and tongue, and the hair are all very long, and the only things which are short are the ears. The observer is immediately struck with the curiously-shaped head, so narrow, low, and ending in a flexible and very slender snout, especially if the round tongue happens to be projecting out of the mouth, for it is longer even than the head, and is like a gigantic worm. The snout appears bent, and is made to look all the longer, by the eye being placed not far from the small ear. Then the huge bushy tail, flattened from side to side, as long as the body, has a fringe of very long and strong hair. The body itself moves on four powerful limbs, well clawed, and looks bulky from the quantity of hair on it, but usually it is thin. The animal, when it stands still, is higher at the shoulders than behind, and it rests on the sides of the fore-feet, where there is a callous pad, the claws being bent inwards and under, and not touching the ground with their tips. The under part of the hind feet bears the weight of the hind limbs. It is about four feet and a half in length from the snout to the tail, the tail being rather more than three feet in length, and the height is about three feet and a half. So long is the head, that it measures thirteen inches and a half from the ear to the snout, and the tongue can be projected for sixteen or eighteen inches, and is, when brought back into the mouth, bent so that its tip looks backwards towards the throat.

The animal belongs to a group of the Edentata (for it is toothless) which has the following genera:—One genus, which is now being considered, is Myrmecophaga—μύρμης (an Ant), and φαγεῖν (to eat)—a second is Tamandua, and the third is Cyclothurus, from κυκλωτός (rounded). The animals of this group represent in South America the Pangolins and Cape Ant-eaters of the Old World.

The species of the genus Myrmecophaga, which has been thus slightly alluded to, is called the Maned Ant-eater.

THE GREAT ANT-BEAR.[69]

The habits of this animal, which has been named Great Ant-Bear by the English and Spaniards, have been described as follows:—“The habits of the Great Ant-Bear are slothful and solitary; the greater part of his life is consumed in sleeping, notwithstanding which he is never fat, and rarely even in good condition. When about to sleep he lies on one side, conceals his long snout in the fur of the breast, locks the hind and fore claws into one another, so as to cover the head and belly, and turns his long, bushy tail over the whole body in such a manner as to protect it from the too powerful rays of the sun. The female bears but a single young one at a birth, which attaches itself to her back, and is carried about with her wherever she goes, rarely quitting her, even for a year after it has acquired sufficient strength to walk and provide for itself. This unprolific constitution, and the tardy growth of the young, account for the comparative rarity of these animals, which are said to be seldom seen, even in their native regions. The female has only two mammæ, situated on the breast, like those of Monkeys, Apes, and Bats. In his natural state the Ant-Bear lives exclusively upon Ants, to procure which he opens their hills with his powerful crooked claws, and at the moment that the insects, according to their nature, flock from all quarters to defend their dwellings, draws over them his long, flexible tongue covered with glutinous saliva, to which they consequently adhere; and so quickly does he repeat this operation, that we are assured he will thus exsert his tongue and draw it in again covered with insects twice in a second. He never actually introduces it into the holes or breaches which he makes in the hills themselves, but only draws it lightly over the swarms of insects which will issue forth, alarmed by his attack. ‘It seems almost incredible,’ says D’Azara, ‘that so robust and powerful an animal can procure sufficient sustenance from Ants alone; but this circumstance has nothing strange in it to those who are acquainted with the tropical parts of America, and who have seen the enormous multitudes of these insects, which swarm in all parts of the country to that degree that their hills often almost touch one another for miles together.’ The same author informs us that domestic Ant-Bears were occasionally kept by different persons in Paraguay, and that they had even been sent alive to Spain, being fed upon bread-and-milk mixed with morsels of flesh minced very small. Like all animals which[Pg 177] live upon insects, they are capable of sustaining a total deprivation of nourishment for an almost incredible time.”

GREAT ANT-BEAR.

The Great Ant-Bear is found in all the warm and tropical parts of South America, from Colombia to Paraguay, and from the shores of the Atlantic to the foot of the Andes. His favourite resorts are the low, swampy savannahs, along the banks of rivers and stagnant ponds. He is found also frequenting the humid forests, but never climbing trees, as falsely reported by Buffon, on the authority of La Borde. His pace is slow, heavy, and hesitating; his head is carried low, as if he smelled the ground at every step, whilst his long, shaggy tail, drooping behind him, sweeps the ground on each side, and readily indicates his path to the hunter; though, when hard pressed, he increases his pace to a slow gallop, yet his greatest velocity never half equals the ordinary running of a man. So great is his stupidity, that those who encounter him in the woods or plains may drive him before them by merely pushing him with a stick, so long, at least, as he is not compelled to proceed beyond a moderate gallop; but if pressed too hard, or urged to extremity, he turns obstinate, sits up on his hind quarters like a Bear, and defends himself with his powerful claws. Like that animal, his usual, and indeed only, mode of assault is by seizing his adversary with his fore paws, wrapping his arms round him, and endeavouring by this means to squeeze him to death. His great strength and powerful muscles would easily enable him to accomplish his purpose in this respect, even against the largest animals of his native forests, were it but guided by ordinary intelligence, or accompanied with a common degree of activity. But in these qualities there are few animals, indeed, which do not greatly surpass the Ant-Bear, so that the different stories handed down by writers on natural history from one to another, and copied, without question, into the histories and descriptions of this animal, may be regarded as pure fiction. For this statement we have the express authority of Don Felix d’Azara, an excellent observer and credible writer, from whose “Natural[Pg 178] History of the Quadrupeds of Paraguay” we have derived the greater portion of the preceding account of the habits and economy of this extraordinary animal. “It is supposed,” says Don Felix, “that the Jaguar himself dares not attack the Ant-Bear, and that if, pressed by hunger, or under some other excitement, he does so, the Ant-Bear hugs him and embraces him so tightly, as very soon to deprive him of life, not even relaxing his hold for hours after life has been extinguished by his assailant. It is very certain that such is the manner in which the Ant-eater defends himself; but it is not to be believed that his utmost efforts could prevail against the Jaguar, which, by a single bite or blow of his paw, could kill the Ant-eater before he was prepared for resistance; for even in so extreme a case, his motions are so slow and so heavy, that he takes some time to get himself ready, and besides being unable to leap, or to turn with even ordinary rapidity, he is necessarily forced to act solely on the defensive.” The flesh of the Ant-eater is esteemed a delicacy by the Indians and negro slaves, and, though black, and of a strong musky flavour, is sometimes even met with at the tables of Europeans.

This large Ant-eater, grey in colour, with a black-coloured throat and a triangular spot, black in tint, ascending obliquely over each shoulder, has four claws on the fore limb and five on the hinder extremity. The claws are grooved underneath, and are not split or forked as in the Manis, and they, and especially the great middle claw, are protected by an expansion of bone from the last joint of the digits, or toes. This envelopes the base of the claw, except quite underneath, leaving the tip free to perform its office without endangering the tender base. The tips are protected, moreover, in the fore limbs by the position assumed during standing and walking, for they are then turned in and do not touch the ground; but this is not the case in the feet, for the Great Ant-Bears rest on their soles. Without teeth, and having an incomplete arch of bone between the cheek and ear bones, they possess a long palate, so long, indeed, that when the long nose cavity opens into the throat in the skeleton certain bones called pterygoid, or wing-shaped, form part of its boundary. This is unusual amongst the Mammalia, and Huxley observes that it is only found in some of the Whale tribe (Cetacea). Moreover, it is not noticed in any other vertebrate animals except the Crocodiles. The skull is very low and long, and the framework of the tongue is as important as that of the jaws. This kind of Ant-eater has imperfect collar bones. As in the other Ant-eaters there is in this one a very muscular condition of the right side of the stomach.[70]

THE TAMANDUA.[71]

The Tamandua is much smaller than the Great Ant-eater, and is, were it not for its long snout and tail, somewhat like a Sloth. It is nearly as large as one of these animals, and has a long head, small rounded ears, and small mouth. The body, some two feet in length, is rather short, and is covered with short, silky, or woolly shining hair, of almost uniform length. The fore limbs are very stout, especially above the elbow, and the hind ones rest on the rather long sole. The tail is about a foot and a half in length; it is stout at its root, and round and tapering to the blunt end, is minutely scaled, and covered in some places with short hairs. The fore claws are bent on the hand, and the animal walks on their outer and upper surface, using them also to clasp and to hang on in climbing. The tail is more or less prehensile. The colour of the hair and the markings varies much in the species, and in captivity the rusty straw-colour of the body becomes whiter; but there is a line of black on the upper part of the chest reaching over the shoulders and between them and the neck on to the back, and also several black patches over the tail and on the flanks.

The Tamandua is an inhabitant of the thick primeval forests of tropical America, and lives in Brazil and Paraguay. It is rarely found on the ground, but resides almost exclusively on trees, where it lives upon termites, honey, and even, according to the report of D’Azara, bees, which in those countries form their hives among the loftiest branches of the forest, and, having no sting, are more readily despoiled of their honey than their congeners of Great Britain. When about to sleep, it hides its muzzle in the fur of its breast, falls on its belly, letting its fore feet hang down on each side, and wrapping the whole tightly round with its tail. The female, as in the case of the Great Ant-eater, has but two pectoral mammæ, and produces but a single cub at a birth, which she carries about with[Pg 179] her on her shoulders for the first three or four months. The young are at first exceedingly deformed and ugly, and of an uniform straw-colour.

The animal is called Cagouaré by the Guaranis, on account of the noxious and infected vapours of the forests in which alone it is found, the word literally signifying, in the language of those Indians, “the inhabitants of a stinking wood or marsh.” Such at least is D’Azara’s interpretation of the term, though it appears more probable that it may refer to the strong disagreeable odour of the animal itself, which, this very author informs us, is so powerful that it may be perceived at a very great distance, particularly when the animal is irritated. Tamandua is the name by which it is known to the Portuguese of Brazil; the French and the English call it Fourmilier and Little Ant-Bear.

THE TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.[72]

These little animals appear, at first sight, to resemble Sloths with tails; and their round heads, furry bodies, and two claws on the fore limb, add to the resemblance. They are essentially arboreal animals also, but they have long and useful tails, and live on insects. They hunt their insect prey in the forests of Costa Rica, Honduras, and Brazil. Their two-clawed hands are remarkable, for the rudiments of the thumb and little finger are hidden beneath the skin, and the claws are placed on the first and second digits. The third digit has no claw. There are four claws on the feet, so that in this arrangement the animal is peculiar amongst the Ant-eaters. It is not larger than a common Squirrel, and the general shape of the body is like that of a Tamandua on a small scale. Its whole length, from the snout to the origin of the tail, is but six inches, and of the tail, seven inches and a quarter. This is consequently rather longer than the body; it is thick at the root, and covered with short fur, but tapers suddenly towards the point, where it is naked and strongly prehensile. The muzzle is not so long, in proportion, as in the other two species; the tongue also is shorter, and has a flatter form; the mouth opens further back in the jaws, and has a much larger gape, the eye being situated close to its posterior angle; the ears are short, rather drooping, and concealed among the long fur which covers the head and cheeks; the legs are short and stout; and the hair, very soft and fine to the touch, is three-quarters of an inch in length on the body, but much shorter on the head, legs, and tail. The general colour is that of straw, more or less tinged with maroon on the shoulders, and particularly along the median line of the back, which usually exhibits a deep line of this shade. The feet and tail are grey.

This species is said to have four mammæ, two pectoral, as in those already described, and two others on the abdomen. It is reported, nevertheless, to have but a single cub at birth, which it conceals in the hollow of some decayed tree. The habits and manners of this little animal, hitherto very imperfectly known to naturalists, are well described by Von Sach, in his “Narrative of a Voyage to Surinam.”

“I have had two little Ant-eaters, or Fourmiliers, which were not larger than a Squirrel. One was of a bright-yellow colour, with a brown stripe on the back, the other was a silvery-grey, and darker on the back. The hair of each was very soft and silky, a little crisped; the head was small and round, the nose long, gradually bending downwards to a point; it had no teeth, but a very long round tongue; the eyes were very small, round, and black; the legs rather short; the fore-feet had only two claws on each, the exterior being much larger and stronger than the interior, which exactly filled the curve or hollow of the large one; the hind feet had four claws of a moderate size; the tail was prehensile, longer than the body, thick at the base and tapering to the end, which, for some inches on the under side, was bare. This little animal is called in Surinam ‘Kissing-hand,’ as the inhabitants pretend that it will never eat, at least when caught, but that it only licks its paws, in the same manner as the Bear; that all trials to make it eat have proved in vain, and that it soon dies in confinement. When I got the first, I sent to the forest for a nest of Ants, and during the interim I put into its cage some eggs, honey, milk, and meat; but it refused to touch any of them. At length the Ants’ nest arrived, but the animal did not pay the slightest attention to it either. By the shape of its fore-paws, which resemble nippers, and differ very much from those of all the other different species of Ant-eaters, I thought that this little creature might perhaps live on the nymphæ of Wasps, &c. I therefore brought it a Wasps’ nest, and[Pg 180] then it pulled out, with its nippers, the nymphæ from the nest, and began to eat them with the greatest eagerness, sitting in the posture of a Squirrel. I showed this phenomenon to many of the inhabitants, who all assured me that it was the first time they had ever known that species of animal take any nourishment. The Ants which I tried it with were the large white termites upon which fowls are fed here. As the natural history of this pretty little animal is not much known, I thought of trying if they would breed in a cage; but when I returned from my excursion into the country I found them both dead, perhaps occasioned by the trouble given to procure the Wasps’ nest for them, though they are here very plentiful; wherefore I can give no further description of them, than that they slept all the day long, curled together, and fastened by their prehensile tails to one of the perches of the cage. When touched they erected themselves on their hind legs, and struck with the fore-paws at the object which disturbed them, like the hammer of a clock striking the bell, with both paws at the same time, and with a great deal of strength. They never attempted to run away, but were always ready for defence when attacked. As soon as evening came, they awoke, and with the greatest activity walked on the wire of the cage, though they never jumped, nor did I ever hear their voice.”

TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.

All these Ant-eaters have great glands (sub-maxillary) for the purpose of secreting the sticky saliva, and the tongue is most movable, and wriggles like an eel in feeding on milk. The Little Ant-eater has a rete mirabile of blood-vessels.