44 ZNVdWIHO NOSa!3 YI07U0H J - a Sz sj a a Pa : rs Nee 's i‘ Era y? es oy i Zc iain eo Coe eth OF THE testing a | — sly Z| ; 2. ‘BASED UPON THE WRITINGS OF CT A sagmoranaida aa 0 Ls s EDITED BY HUGH CRAIG M.A. TRINITY COLLECE CAMBRIDGE : wm SIXTY FOUR FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 4 pocunATEL! AND BEAUTIFULLY Co PaaS j PaCS \>) Lae i & esa A \ } in % . NN Amy \ \ \ sy (6a NEW YORK _ HENRY J. JOHNSON, PUBLISHER 27 BEEKMAN STREET +, 2 . pt = ~ c | ; , | f . oe + Copyright, 1880, by Henry F. Foknson. — THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS | Bae Electrotyped by ; : SMITH & McDOUGAL, ; ae 82 Beekman Street. : Ge . 78 t Do the Youth of Amica, who took uf, fone Cbalutes wots to Malue's God and ace tn al ccalutes the minialet of Sifiuie’ Vesdom, Uhus cocounl off Uke fuendi and setuanls, Ue focr and seoutges of mantind, dé teipeclfully dedicated by Ue Allow ga|T1E work which the publisher now offers to the public || is intended to be instructive as well as entertaining, accurate as well as popular. A knowledge of zoology can be imparted without the use of technical language; in fact, the conventional vocabulary must be in great part discarded by any one who seeks to address the general public rather than a select band of scientific students. And it is to the general public, to our clergymen, our men of business, our workingmen, and especially to our young people, that this Natural History is dedicated. In a work with such an aim, a formal inventory and technical description of the manifold forms of animal existence would be evidently out of place; instead of investigations of the lifeless organism there must be accounts of the living creature ; instead of scientific terminology there must be language plain, clear, and direct; the information which the volume seeks to impart must be conveyed in a manner easy to comprehend, easy to remember, and generally attractive. To the attractiveness of this work the numerous beautifully-colored plates with which it is illustrated con- tribute in no ordinary degree. The designs are original and have been prepared at unusual expense. They represent in a more vivid and striking way than mere words can depict, the shape, the habits and the habitations of the animals, as well as the colors with which Nature has adorned them and the attitudes which most distinctly characterize them. JOHNSON’S HOUSEHOLD Book OF NATURE aims, as has been said, to be interesting. It is hoped, however, that it will be more than a mere readable book of entertainment, and that it will not allay, but stimulate vi PREFACE. curiosity, and invite to a deeper and further study of the wondrous works of Nature. In this hope there have been added the technical names of each order, genus and species. It does not require to be pointed out how fascinating a study Natural History in all its branches must ever be, or what a perpetual source of interest can be found in observing the forms and habits of the living creatures which meet our view whatever portion of the world we visit. Still more interesting and more instructive must be a knowledge of that class of Animated Nature to which man himself belongs, and which contains such friends of man as the dog that guards him, the horse that labors for him, the ox that supplies him food, and the sheep that furnishes him with clothing; till man had brought these under his dominion, how inconceivably helpless he must have been! No less instructive is it to note how the lower animals differ from or resemble Man, the crown of Nature’s work ; how admirably each species is adapted for the loca- tion in which its lot is cast, and for the uses it has to fulfil in the economy of the world; how marvellously they are endowed with power and grace and beauty. Especially in the present day is a knowledge of the elements of Natural History a necessary part of our education. This work claims to minister to the educational wants of all classes, and therefore carefully avoids discussion of unsettled points, and states nothing but incontro- vertible facts. The order in which the various genera of the Mammalia is placed has been adopted in accordance with the most eminent authorities. The first two chapters are devoted to an account of the system of classification of the Animal Kingdom, and therefore may prove less interesting to many readers than the following chapters, in which the different genera and species are described, and in which there is more of living interest and entertaining narrative. HuGH CRAIG. Mount VERNON, N. Y., AZarch I, 1880. GON aie NS: ~-MAMMALIA. CHAPTER I. Inanimate and Animated Nature (1)—The Mineral (1), Vegetable (2), and Animal (3) King- doms—Classification of Animals (4)—The Vertebrates (4)—Classes of Vertebrates (5). CHUNE ARE Ree: The Class Mammalia (6)—General Characteristics (7)—The “ Dental Formula” (8)—Divi- sion into Orders (13). OW AID IR UW) IMO IN ZA, CHAP ATE RS Ti GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. The General Characteristics of Quadrumana (17)—Their Habits in their Native Haunts (18) —Their Gregarious Disposition (20)—Division of the Quadrumana (22). CHAPTER IV. THE ANTHROPOID APES. The African Division (23)—The Genus Troglodytes (23)—The Gorilla (23)—The Chimpanzee (27)—The Asiatic Division (32)—The Genus Simia (32)—Orang-Outan (32)—The Genus Hylo- bates or Gibbon (35). CHAPTER V. THE OLD WORLD MONKEYS. The Long-tailed Monkeys (41)—The Genus Semnopithecus (41)—The Proboscis Monkey (44)—The Douc (45)—The Genus Colobus (45)—The Guereza (45). CHAPTER VI. BABOONS AND MACAQUES. The Family Cynopithecide (47)—The Genus Myiopithecus or Talapoin (47)--The Genus Cercopithecus (47)—The Guenons (51)—The Genus Cercocebus or Mangabeys (52)—The Genus Theropithecus or Gelada (53)—The Genus Cynocephalus or Baboon (§4)—The Baboon Proper (56)—The Chacma (58)—Its Use in Finding Water (58)—The Sphinx (60)—The Hamadryad (61) —Its Pugnacious Disposition (61)—-Disgusting Character of the Mandrill and Drill (62). il CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. BABOONS AND MACAQUES.—Continued. Genus Macacus (63)—The Common Macaque (65)—The Bonnet Ape (67)—The Rhesus or- Bunder (68)—Tne Lapander (103)—The Wanderoo (71)—The Magots (72)—The Gibraltar Mon-- keys (72)—Genus Cynopithecus (74)—The Black Baboon-ape or Celebes (74). CLUAP AE Re valile THE NEW WORLD MONKEYS. The American Monkeys or Cebidz (75)—The Genus Cebus or Sapajou (77)—The Genus: Lagothrix 80)—The Spider Monkeys (81)—The Genera Ateles and Eriodes (87)—The Howling Monkeys (85)—The Sakis (89)—The Night Monkeys (92)—The Tee-tees (94). CHAPTER IX. THE MARMOSETS. The Marmosets or Ouistitis (95)—The Family Hapalide (97)—The Genus Hapale (97)— The Silky Marmoset (98)—The Pinche (98)—The Dwarf Marmoset (98)—The Genus Midas (99). The Sagouins (99). CHAPTER X. THE LEMUROIDEA. The Indris (102)—The Lemurs (104)—The Ruffed Lemur (105)—The Cat Lemur (106)—The Hapalemur (107)—The Cheirogaleus (108)—The Loris (110)—The Tarsier Spectre (114)—The. Aye-aye (115). CIBNB IN OQieswa IR A. CHAPTER I. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. The Order Cheiroptera (121)—Superstitious Dread of Bats (122)—Their Usefulness (122) —Their Flying Apparatus (124)—Their General Characteristics and Habits (124)—The Genera. of the Order (127). CHAPTER II. THE VAMPIRES The Fruit-eating Bats or Flying Foxes (129)—The Kalongs (129)—The Leaf-nosed Bats or Vampires (130)—The Horseshoe Bats (134)—The Rhinopoma (136). CHAPTER III. THE TRUE BATS. The Common Bat (137)—The Taphozous (138)—The Pipistrelle (138)—The Barbastelle (139) —The California Bat (140)—The Great Bat of Britain (140)—The New York Bat (141)—The Carolina Bat (141)—The Hoary Bat (142)—The Long-eared Bat (142)—The Big-eared Bat (142)— The Noctilionide (143)—The Genus Nycticeius (143)—The Genus Nyctinomus (144)—The Genus. Noctilio (144), CONTENTS. ill JUIN S13 CAI W QIN A, CHAPTER I. THE FLYING LEMURS, ELEPHANT SHREWS AND PENTAIL. Characteristics of the Order (147)—Its Division into Nine Families (148)—The Galeopithe- cidz (149)—The Flying Lemurs (149)—The Macroscelidide or Elephant Shrews (151)—The Genus Rhynchocyon (152)—The Genus Petrodromus (153)—The Tupaiadz (153)—The Bangsring (154)—The Press (154)—The Genus Hylomys (155)—The Genus Ptilocercus (155)—The Pen- tail (155) CHAPTER II. THE HEDGEHOGS, MOLES, AND SHREWS. The Erinaceide (157)—The Hedgehogs (158)—The Genus Gymnura (159)—The Centetidz- (159)—The Tenrec and Tendrac (161)—The Genus Solenodon (161)—The Agouti (161)—The Potamogalidz (162)—The Chrysochloride or Golden Moles (163)—The Talpidz (163)—The Moles (163)—The Genus Talpa (163)—Genus Condylura (164)—The Star-nosed Moles (165)— The Genus Scalops or American Mole (165)—The Genus Mygale (166)—The Desmans (166)— The Urotrichus (167)—The Soricidz or Shrews (168). C AIR IN IW OUR A. CHAPTER I. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORDER. The Carnivora or Flesh-eaters (173)—General Characteristics of the Order (173)—Its Func- tion in the Economy of Nature (174)—Its Geographical Distribution (175)—Its Division into Families (175). CHAPTER II. THE LION. The Lion (178)—Their Size and Strength (179)—Their Roar (180)—Their Habits (180\— Different Opinions of their Character (181)—Modes of Destroying (182)—The African Lion, the Cape Lion, the Gambia Lion, the Lion of North Africa (183)—The Asiatic Lion, the Maneless Lion (183)—Tame Lions (186)—Dangerous Pets (187). (CISUAIEMIMBIR JOULE, THE TIGER. The Tiger (188)—Its Favorite Haunts (188)—Its Destructiveness (189 —Tiger Hunting (191) —Modes of Killing the Tiger (192)—Tame Tigers (194)—The Tiger in Ancient Times (195). CHAPTER IV. PANTHERS AND LEOPARDS. The Cougar or American Panther (t96)—The Jaguar (198)—Its Destructiveness (199)—A Tame Jaguar (200)—The African Leopard (201)—The Asiatic Leopard or Panther (202)—The Japanese Panther (202)—The Black Panther (203). 1V CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. THE OCELOTS AND THE CATS. The Marbled Cat (205)—The Tiger Cats (205)—The Common Ocelot (205)—The Painted Ocelot (206)—The Syra (207)—The Chati (207)—The Long-tailed Cat (207)—The Pampas Cat (207)—The Clouded Tiger (208)—The Colocolo (208)—The European Wildcat (209)—The Manul (211)—The Malay Cat (211)—The Dwarf Cat (211)—The Egyptian Cat (212)—Letting the Cat out of the Bag (212)—The Common Cat (214)—The Marten Cat (215)—The Serval (275). CHAPTER VI. THE LYNXES AND CHEETAHS. The Genus Lynx (217)—The Persian Lynx (217)—The Caracal (218)—The European Lynx (219)—The Booted Lynx (220)—The Canadian Lynx (220)—The American Wild-Cats (222)—The Genus Cynzlurus (223)—The Cheetah or Hunting Leopard (224). CHAPTER VII. THE CIVET CATS. The Cryptoproctide (226)—The Galet (226)—The Viverride (227)—The Civet (228)—The Zibeth (228)—The Genets (230)—The Pale Genet (231)—The Linsang (230)—The Hemigale (230)—The Binturong (231)—The Nandinia (231)—The Pougoune (231)—The Musang (231)— The Masked Paguma (232)—The Mampalon (233)—The Ichneumons (233)—The Mungos cr Mangouste (234)—The Egyptian Ichneumon (235)—The Crab-eating Mangouste (237)—The Zebra Mangouste (237)—The Meerkat (238)—The Zenick (238)—The Mangue (239)—The Banded Mungos (239). CHAPTER VIII. THE AARD-WOLF AND THE HYAINAS. The Family Protelide (240)—The Aard-wolf (240)—The Family Hyzenidz (241)—Fables and Superstitions about the Hyzna (241)—The Striped Hyzna (242)—Two Tame Ones (243)—The Brown Hyzna (243)—The Spotted Hyzna or Tiger-Wolf (244)—Rapacity of this Species (244)— Its Horrid Laughter (245). CHAPTER IX. THE WOLVES. General Description of the Genus Canis (246)—The Common European Wolf (247)—The Jackal Wolf (250)—The Kaberoo (250)—The Striped Wolf (250)—The American Wolves (251)— The Gray Wolf (251)—The Red Wolf (252)—The Coyote (253)—The South American Wolves (253)—The Crab-eating Wolf (254)—The Aguarachay (253). CHAPTER X. THE JACKALS AND FOXES. The Jackal (255)—The Landjak (256)—The Common Fox (256)—The Racoon Dog (259)— The Corsac (260)—The Caama (260)—The Fennek (260)—The American Foxes (261)—The Red Fox (261)—The Silver or Black Fox (261)—The Cross Fox (261)—The Kid Fox (262)—The Gray Fox (262)—The Arctic Fox (262)—The Blue Fox (263)—The Large-eared Fox (264)—The Hunt ing Dog (264). CONTENTS. Vv CHAPTER XI. THE DOG. The Wild Dogs (265)—The Dhole (265)—The Alpine Wolf (266)—The Domesticated Dog (266)—Regard in which the Dog is Held (267)—Abhorrence of the Dog by the Orientals (267)— The Dogs of the East (267)—The Dog in Antiquity (268)—The Mental Qualities of the Dog (268) —Its Moral Sense (269)—Its Affection for its Master (270)—Rabies or Hydrophobia (270). CHAPTER XII. THE SPORTING DOGS. Modes of Classification (273)—Sporting Dogs (273)—The Scotch Greyhound (273)—The Irish Greyhound (274)—The African Greyhound (274)—The Common Greyhound (275)—The Hare Indian Dog (276)—The Italian Greyhound (276)—The Stag Hound (277)—Fox Hound (277) Harrier (277)—Beagle (277)—The Otter Hound (277)—The Dachs Hund and Turnspit (278)— The Bloodhound (278)—The Pointers and Setters (279)—The Spaniels (280)—Springers (280)— Cockers (280)— Water Spaniel (280)—Chesapeake Bay Dog (281)—Retriever (281). CHAPTER XIII. SHEPHERD’S DOGS AND HOUSE DOGS. The Shepherd's Dog (282)—The Colley (282)—The Spitz (283)—The Esquimaux Dog (283)— The St. Bernard (284)—The Mastiff (284)—-The Thibet Dog (285)—The Bulldog (2835)—The New- foundland Dog (285)—The Black and Tan Terrier (288)—The Scotch Terrier (288)—The Skye Terrier (288)—The Yorkshire Terrier (288)—The Bull-Terrier (283)—The Fox Terrier (289)— The Coach-Dogs (289)—The Pug (289)—The Poodle (289)—King Charles (290)—Blenheim (290) The Mexican Mopsey (291)—The Dingo, or tne Dog Relapsed into Barbarism (291). CHAPTER XIV. THE WEASELS, OTTERS AND SKUNKS. The Martens (293)—The Sable (294)—The American Sable (295)—The Black Cat (295)—- The Polecat (295)—The Ermine (296)—The Ferrets (296)—The New York Ermine (297)—The Mink (297)—The Weasels (298)—The Wolverene (299)—The Otters (300)—The Canada Otter (301)—The California Otter (302)—The Sea Otter (302)—The Brazilian Otter (303)—The Chinese Otter (303)—The Badgers (303)—The American Badger (304)—The Teledu (305)—The Ratel (306)—The Skunks (307)—The Zorilla (307)—The Suriho (308)—The Common Skunk (308)— The Nyentek (310). CHAPTER XV. THE RACOONS AND PANDAS. The Common Racoon (311)—The Crab-eating Racoon (313)—The California Coon (313)-— The Coati (313)—The Red Coati (314)—The White Coati (314)—The Kinkajou (315)—The American Civet or Mountain Cat (316)—The Panda or Wah (316). CHAPTER XVI. THE BEARS. The Bears (318)—The Polar Bear (318)—The Brown Bear (320)—The Syrian Bear (321)— (he American Bears (322)—The Black Bear (322)—The Grizzly Bear (323)—The Bornean Sun Bear (325)—The Sloth or Lipped Bear (326)—The South American or Spectacled Bear (327). vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVII. THE EARED SEALS AND WALRUSES. The Eared-Seals (328)—The Fur Seals and Hair Seals (328)—The Sea-Lion (329)—The Sea- Bear (329)—Value of its Fur (330)—The Fur Seals (331)—The California Hair Seal (331)—The California or Northern Sea Lion (332)—Manner of Capturing it Alive (333)—The Walrus (334). CHAPTER XVIII. THE TRUE SEALS. The Common Seals (337)—Their Wide Distribution (337)—Their Habits (338)—Their Love of Music (338)—Robbin’s Reef (339)—The Caspian Seal (340)—The Hoe-Rat (340)—The Harp- Seal (340)—Richard’s Seal (341)—The Bearded Seal (341)—The Gray Seal (342)—The White- bellied Seal (342)—The Sea Leopard (342)—The Crab-eating Seal (342)—The False Sea Leopard (343)—The Large-eyed Seal (343)—The. Sea Elephant (344)—The Crested Seal (345)—The West Indian Seal (346). Cid, WIA © IGN, CHAPTER I. THE RiGHT WHALES. The Cetacea (349)—The Family Balznidz (350)—The Greenland Whale (350)—Its Mode of Respiration (351)—Its Blubber (351)—Whalebone (352)—The Young Whale (353)—Enemies of the Whale (354)—The Whale Fishery (355)—American Whalers (355)—Mode of Hunting the Whale (356)—The Harpoon and Bemb-lance (357)—Australian Right Whale (358)-—-Scrag Whale (358)—Biscay Whale (358)—Genus Eubalzena (358)—Genera Hunterius, Caperia, Macleayus (359). CHAPTER I. THE FINNER WHALES AND RORQUALS. The Humpback or Bunched Whales (360)—The Rorquals or Big Finners (362)—Difficulty of Taking them (363)—The Northern Finner (364)—The Sulphur-bottom (364)—Adventute of the Ship ‘‘ Plymouth” (364)—The Great Indian Rorqual (365)—Ancient Accounts of it (365)—The Pike Whale (366)—The Southern Rorqual (367)—The California Gray Whale (367). CHAPTER III. THE SPERM WHALES AND BLACK FISH. The Family Catodontidz (368)—The Sperm Whales (368)—The Spermaceti (369)—Their Speed (370)—Their Fury when Provoked (370)—The Story of the Ship “ Essex (371)—Other Ships Destroyed by this Whale (371)—Ambergris (372)—Speculations as to its Origin (372)— Food of the Sperm Whale (372)—Black Fish (373)—The Genus Cogia (374). CHAPDER IV, THE BEAKED WHALES AND THE NARWHALS. The Family Hyperoodontidz (375)—The Beaked Whales (375)—The Bottle-nosed Whale (375)—The Xiphius (376)—The Family Monodontide (377)—The Narwhal (377)—The Extra- CONTENTS. Vii ordinary Horn (378)—Conjectures as to its Use (378)—Fables Respecting it (379)—Medicinal Properties attributed to it (379)—Value of the Narwhal to the Greenlanders (380)—Ships Struck by it (380). CHAPTER V. THE DOLPHINS. The Delphinidz (381)—The Soosook or Dolphin of the Ganges (382)—The Inia (383)—The Lorelei of the Amazon River (383)—The Tucuxi (384)—The Dolphins Proper (385)—-Legends— Symbols (385)—The Common Dolphin (386)—The White-beaked Dolphin (387)—The Bottle- nosed Dolphin (387). CHAPTER VI. THE PORPOISES AND WHITE WHALES. The Common Porpoise (388)—The Grampus, or Gladiator Dolphin (390)—Its Desttuctive- ness (391)—Its Name “The Thresher” (391)—The Pilot Whale, or Caaing Whale, or Grind (392)—Mode of Capturing (392)—The White Whale (393)—Specimens Exhibited in Shows (394). SOI J NICE. THE SEA COWS. The Order Sirenia (397)—Mermaids (397)—The Family Manatidz (398)—The Manatees of America (399)—Their Voracity and Laziness (399)—Modes of Capture (399)—Tame Specimens (399)—The Florida Manatee (400)—The African Lamantin (400)—The Eastern Dugong (400)— The Australian Dugong (401)—The Northern Sea Cows (401)—Steller’s mae (4o1)— Extinct since 1768 (403). (IN| GeO) JE a WIN CHAPTER I. HOOFED ANIMALS. The Order Ungulata (407)—The Numerous Families (407)—The Ruminants (407)—Their Peculiar Stomach (408)—Horns (408)—Antlers (408)—Extinct Species (408)—TLhe Original Horse Protohippus (409)—Gradual Development (409)—The Family Equidz ((409)—The Genus Equus (409)—The Horse (410)—The Tarpan or Wild Horse of Tartary (410)—The Mustang or Wild Horse of America (411). CHAPTER II. THE ARAB AND THE BARB. Early Domestication of the Horse (416)—The Horse in Egypt (416)—Assyria—J udzea (416)— Greece—Persia (417)—Bits and Stirrups (417)—Chariot Races (417)—The Arab Horse (418)— Exaggerated Pedigrees (419)—The Best Arabs (419)—Their Training (419)—Attachment of the Arab for his Mare (420)—Speed and Endurance (421)—The Barb (422)—The Same Horse as the Arab (422)—Abd-el-Kader on the Horse (422), Vill CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. THE RACE-HORSE AND TROTTING HORSE. The Race-Horse (425)—The English Turf (426)—The American Turf (427)—Imported Horses (427)—The Trotting-Horse (428)—Flora Temple (431)—Steve Maxwell (432)—St, Julien and Maud S (432)—The Narragansett Pacers (432)—Pocahontas (432). CHAPTER IV. EUROPEAN HORSES. The Hunter (434)—The Hackney (434)—The Russian Horse (436)—The Austrian Horse (437) —The Holstein Horse (438)—The French Horse (438)—The Italian Horse (440)—The Races at Rome (440)—The Spanish Horse (440)—The Shetland Pony (441)—The Carriage Horse (443)— The Cart Horse (443)—The Percheron Horse (443), CHAPTER V. THE WILD AND THE COMMON ASS. The Wild Asses (445)—The Kulan or Dziggetai (445)—Their Speed (446)—Domestication (446)—The Wild Ass of the Bible (447)—The African Wild Ass (448)—The Common Ass (448) —Its Patience—Its Intelligence (449)—The Egyptian Ass (450). CisUNAMSIR WAL, THE ZEBRAS. The Zebras or Tiger-Horses (452)—The Quagga (452)—The Dauw, or Burchell’s Zebra (453)— Harris’s Description of it (454)—The Zebra Proper (454)—Hunting the Zebra (455)—Cross- Breeds (456)—The Mule (456)—The Hinny (456)—Instances of their Fertility (457)—Darwinism (457). CHAPTER VII. THE TAPIRS. The Family Tapiridz (458)—The American Tapir (458)—Its Trunk (459)—Its Habits (459,— The Tapir as a Domestic Auimal (460)—A Tapir Hunt (461)—Peculiar Marks of the Young Tapir (461)—The Malay Tapir (462)—Its Trunk (462)—Its Color (462)—Discovery of the Animal (462)—Chinese Account (463)—The Pinchaque (463)—Baird’s Tapir (463). CHAPTER VIII. THE RHINOCEROS. The Family Rhinocerotide (464)—General Description (464)—The Horn—Peculiar Struc-- ture of the Horn (465)—Known to the Ancients (466)—Wood-cut by Albert Durer (466)—Arab Superstitions (466)—Haunts of the Rhinoceros (466)—A Nocturnal Animal (467)—Its Food— Its Habits (467)—1ts Senses (468)—Its Fits of Rage (468)—Maternal Affection (469)—Its Friends the Small Birds (469)—Captive Rhinoceroses (470)—Uses of its Hide (470). (CleUMOIMGR, IDG THE ASIATIC RHINOCEROSES. The One-horned Rhinoceroses (470)—The Indian Rhinoceros (470)—Its Thick Hide (470)— Mode of Hunting (473)—The Wara or Javanese Rhinoceros (473)—The Emperor Baber (474)— CONTENTS. 1X The Two-horned Rhinoceros or Badak of Sumatra (474)—The Fire-eating Rhinoceros (476)—The Rough-eared Rhinoceros (476). CEIARAGE RS THE AFRICAN RHINOCEROS. The Borele or Little Black Rhinoceros (477)—The Sword-Hunters of Abyssinia (479)—The Keitloa (479)—Their Fierceness (480)—The Mohogoo or White Rhinoceros (481)—Hunting Adventure of Mr. Oswell (482)—The Kobaoba (484)—Probability of its Extinction (484). CHAPTER XI. THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. The Hippopotamus or River Horse (485)—Description (486)—Habits (486)—Favorite Haunts (487)—Food (487)—Violence when Provoked (488)—Maternal Affection (488)—Modes of Hunt- ing (489)—Pitfalls and Downfalls (489)—Harpooning (489)—The Hippopotamus in Captivity (49t)—The Small or Liberian Hippopotamus (492). CHAPTER XII. THE PECCARIES. The Swine Family (493)—General Characteristics (493)—The Peccaries (494)—The Collared Peccary (494)—Its Courage and Fierceness (495)—The White-lipped Peccary (495)—Its Habits (495)—Methods of Hunting the Peccary (496)—Flesh of the Peccary (497). CHAPTER XIII. THE TRUE SWINE. The Genus Sus (498)—Religious Prohibitions (498)—The Boar of Valhalla (499)—The Boar’s Head (499)—The Wild Boar of Europe (499)—Hunting the Wild Boar (500)—The Wild Hog of India (50r1)—The Domestic Hog (502)—Anecdotes of the Hog (502)—Breeds of Hogs (504)—The Berkshire (504)—Trichiniasis (504). CHAPTER XIV. THE RIVER-HOGS, BABYROUSSA, AND WART-HOGS. The River Hogs (§06)—The Pencilled Hog (506)—The Bush Hog, or Bosch Vark (507)— Edwards’ River-Hog (508)—The Babyroussa (508)—Its Peculiar Tusks (508)—The Wart-Hogs (509)—Hideous Appearance (510)—The African Wart-Hog, or Vlacke Vark (510)—The Wart- Hog of Alian or Engallo (511). CHAPTER XV. THE CAMEL. The Ruminants (512)—The Camelidze (512)—The Camels of the Old World (513)—The - Arabian Camel, or Dromedary (514)—The Camel in the Bible (515)—The Camel in Europe (515) —The Camel in Africa (515)—Its Food (516)—Its Powers of Resisting Thirst (516)—Its speed (517)—Mode of Riding (517)—Its Behavior when Loading (518)—Its Vices (519)—Anecdote of Latif Pacha (520)—Its Value (521)—The Two-humped Camel of Bactria (522). vill CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. THE RACE-HORSE AND TROTTING HORSE. The Race-Horse (425)—The English Turf (426)—The American Turf (427)—Imported Horses (427)—The Trotting-Horse (428)—Flora Temple (431)—Steve Maxwell (432)—St, Julien and Maud S (432)—The Narragansett Pacers (432)— Pocahontas (432). CHAPTER IV. EUROPEAN HORSES. The Hunter (434)—The Hackney (434)—The Russian Horse (436)—The Austrian Horse (437) —The Holstein Horse (438)—The French Horse (438)—The Italian Horse (440)—The Races at Rome (440)—The Spanish Horse (440)—The Shetland Pony (441)— The Carriage Horse (443)— The Cart Horse (443)—The Percheron Horse (443), CHAPTER V. THE WILD AND THE COMMON ASS. The Wild Asses (445)—The Kulan or Dziggetai (445)—Their Speed (446)—Domestication (446)—The Wild Ass of the Bible (447)—The African Wild Ass (448)—The Common Ass (448) —Its Patience—Its Intelligence (449)—The Egyptian Ass (450). (CISVAIPIMGIN, WAL THE ZEBRAS. The Zebras or Tiger-Horses (452)—The Quagga (452)—The Dauw, or Burchell’s Zebra (453)— Harris’s Description of it (454)—The Zebra Proper (454)—Hunting the Zebra (455)—Cross- Breeds (456)—The Mule (456)—The Hinny (456)—Instances of their Fertility (457)—Darwinism (457). CHAPTER VII. THE TAPIRS: The Family Tapiridz (458)—The American Tapir (458)—Its Trunk (459)—Its Habits (459,— The Tapir as a Domestic Auimal (460)—A Tapir Hunt (461)—Peculiar Marks of the Young Tapir (461)—The Malay Tapir (462)—Its Trunk (462)—Its Color (462)—Discovery of the Animal (462)—Chinese Account (463)—The Pinchaque (463)—Baird’s Tapir (463). CHAPTER VIII. THE RHINOCEROS. The Family Rhinocerotide (464)—General Description (464)—The Horn—Peculiar Struc- - ture of the Horn (465)—Known to the Ancients (466)—Wood-cut by Albert Durer (466)—Arab Superstitions (466)—Haunts of the Rhinoceros (466)—A Nocturnal Animal (467)—Its Food— Its Habits (467)—1ts Senses (468)—Its Fits of Rage (468)—Maternal Affection (469)—Its Friends the Small Birds (469)—Captive Rhinoceroses (470)—Uses of its Hide (470). CHAPTER IX. THE ASIATIC RHINOCEROSES. The One-horned Rhinoceroses (470)—The Indian Rhinoceros (470)—Its Thick Hide (470)— Mode of Hunting (473)—The Wara or Javanese Rhinoceros (473)—The Emperor Baber (474)— CONTENTS. 1X The Two-horned Rhinoceros or Badak of Sumatra (474)—The Fire-eating Rhinoceros (476)—The Rough-eared Rhinoceros (476). CHAPTER X. THE AFRICAN RHINOCEROS. The Borele or Little Black Rhinoceros (477)—The Sword-Hunters of Abyssinia (479)—The Keitloa (479)—Their Fierceness (480)—The Mohogoo or White Rhinoceros (481)—Hunting Adventure of Mr. Oswell (482)—The Kobaoba (484)—Probability of its Extinction (484). CHAPTER XI. THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. The Hippopotamus or River Horse (485)—Description (486)—Habits (486)—Favorite Haunts (487)—Food (487)—Violence when Provoked (488)—Maternal Affection (488)—Modes of Hunt- ing (489)—Pitfalls and Downfalls (489)—Harpooning (489)—The Hippopotamus in Captivity (491)—The Small or Liberian Hippopotamus (492). CHAPTER XII. THE PECCARIES. The Swine Family (493)—General Characteristics (493)—The Peccaries (494)—The Collared Peccary (494)—Its Courage and Fierceness (495)—The White-lipped Peccary (495)—Its Habits (495)—Methods of Hunting the Peccary (496)—Flesh of the Peccary (497). CHAPTER XIII. THE TRUE SWINE. The Genus Sus (498)—Religious Prohibitions (498)—The Boar of Valhalla (499)—The Boar’s Head (499)—The Wild Boar of Europe (499)—Hunting the Wild Boar (500)—The Wild Hog of India (501)—The Domestic Hog (502)—Anecdotes of the Hog (502)—Breeds of Hogs (504)—The Berkshire (504)—Trichiniasis (504). CHAPTER XIV. THE RIVER-HOGS, BABYROUSSA, AND WART-HOGS. The River Hogs (506)—The Pencilled Hog (506)—The Bush Hog, or Bosch Vark (507)— Edwards’ River-Hog (508)—The Babyroussa (508)—Its Peculiar Tusks (508)—The Wart-Hogs (509)—Hideous Appearance (510)—The African Wart-Hog, or Vlacke Vark (510)—The Wart- Hog of Allian or Engallo (511). CHAPTER XV. THE CAMEL. The Ruminants (512)—The Camelidz (512)—The Camels of the Old World (513)—The - Arabian Camel, or Dromedary (514)—The Camel in the Bible (515)—The Camel in Europe (515) —The Camel in Africa (515)—Its Food (516)—Its Powers of Resisting Thirst (516)—Its speed (517)—Mode of Riding (517)—Its Behavior when Loading (518)—Its Vices (§19)—Anecdote of Latif Pacha (520)—Its Value (521)—The Two-humped Camel of Bactria (522). x CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. THE LLAMAS. The American Camelidz (524)—The Genus Auchenia (524)—The Guanaco (525)—Its Habits (526)—The Llama (527)—Its Use as a Beast of Burden (527)—The Alpaca or Paco (528)—Its Wool (528)—The Vicuna (529)—Indian Hunts (530). CHAPTER XVII. THE MOUSE DEER. The Tragulide or Hornless deer (532)—Disputes of Naturalists (532)—The Kanchil (532)— Its Appearance and Habits (533)— Attempts to introduce it to Europe (534). CHAPTER XVIII. THE DEER. The Cervide (535)—Their Antlers (535)—The Process of Growth of the Antler (536)—The Shedding of the Velvet (536)—Habits of the Cervide (538)—The Various Genera (538)—The Elk of the Old World or the Moose of the New World (539)—The Elk of Sweden (539)—The Moose of Canada (541)—Habits—Modes of Hunting (541). CHAPTER XIX. THE REINDEER AND THE CARIBOU. The Reindeer (544)—Its Life in Northern Europe (545)—Its Life in Siberia (545)—Its Life when Domesticated (§47)—Its Value (547)—The Caribou (548)—Modes of Hunting it (548). CHAPTER XxX. THE TRUE DEER. The True Deer (550)—The Wapiti (550)—The Red Deer of Europe (552)—The Virginian Deer or Carcajou (554)—The Persian Deer (556)—The Indian Species (556)—The Barasinga (556)—The Axis Deer (557)—The Sambur (557)—The Maned Stag (557)—The Hog Deer (558)— The South American Species (558)—The Pampas Deer (558)—The Red Deer or Guasupita (559). CHAPTER XXI. THE FALLOW DEER, ROE DEER, AND MUSK DEER. The Genus Dama (560)—Fallow Deer (560)—Genus Capreolus (562)—Roe Deer (562)— Genus Cervulus (564)—Muntjak or Kidang (564)—Genus Moschus (565)—Musk Deer (565)— Its Abode—Habits—The Musk (566). CHAPTER XXII. THE GIRAFFE. The Camelopardalidz or Giraffes (568)—Its Size and Appearance (569)—Its Habitat (570)— Its adaptation to its Location (§70)—Its Movements (570)—Its Food (571)—Its Senses (572) —Giraffes in London and Paris (572)—Modes of Hunting (572)—Meaning of the Word “ Giraffe ” (573). CONTENTS. X1 CHAPTER XXIII. THE HOLLOW-HORNED RUMINANTS. The Bovidz (574)—The Thirteen Sub-families (574)—The Bovine (575)—The Genus Bos (575)—The Domestic Ox (575)—The Wild Cattle (576)—The Cattle of the Pampas (577)— Cattle of Africa (578)—Domestic Cattle (579)—The Highland Cattle (582)—The Durham (582)— The Alderney (582). CHAPTER XXIV. THE BISONS. The Bonassus or European Bison (584)—Called also the Aurochs (584)—The Real Aurcchs Extinct (584)—The Forest or Bialowicz (584)—Description of the Bonassus (585)—The Bison of the Caucasus (586) The American Bison or Buffalo (586)—Enormous Numbers (586)—Terrible Destruction (587)—Estimate of Numbers Killed (588)—The Mountain Buffalo (589)— Death of a Bull (590°. CHAPTER XXV. EASTERN CATTLE. The Domestic Cattle of India (591)—The Zebu (591)—The Wild Cattle of India (592)—Genus Bibos (593)—The Gayal (593)—The Gaur (594)—The Banteng (595)—Genus Poephagos (595)— The Yak (595)—The Plough Yak (596)—Hunting the Yak (597)—Genus Anoa (597)—The Chamois Buffalo or Celebes (597)—Its Fierceness (598). CHAPTER XXVI. THE BUFFALOES. The Genus Bubalus (599)—The Cape Buffalo (599)—Drayson’s Account (600)—Buffalo Shooting (602)—The Indian Buffalo (602)—Buffalo and Tiger Fights (603)—Williamson’s Account (604)—The Kerabau (605)—The Domesticated Buffalo (605)—Its Habits—Its Uses (606). CHAPTER XXVII. THE ANTELOPES. The Antelopes (607)—The Eland (607)—The Koodoo (609)—The Bosch-bok (610)—The Nylghau (611)—The Passan (613)--The Beisa (614)—The Sabre Antelope (614)—The Addax (614)—The Sable Antelope (615)—The Blau Bok (616). CHAPTER XXVIII. THE GAZELLES. The Gazelle (617)—Its Beauty and Grace (617)—The Ariel Gazelle (618)—The Jairou (619)— The Spring-Bok (620)—Its Immense Numbers (620)—The Dseren (622)—The Sasin (623)—The Pallah (624)—The Saiga (624)—The Sub-family Antilocaprinee (625)—The Prong Horn (625). CHAPTER XXIX. THE LESSER ANTELOPES. The Ourebi (627)—The Klippspringer (628)—The Water Buck (628)—The Blue Buck (630) —The Musk Antelope 629)—The Duyker Bok (630)—The Rhoode Bok (63r)—Th2 Chickara X1l CONTENTS. (631)—The Hartebeest (632)—The Sassaby (632)—The Gnu (633)—The Chamois (633)—The Goral (635)—The Mountain Goat of the Rocky Mountains (638). CHAPTER XXX. GOATS AND IBEXES. The Genus Capra (637)—The Goats (637)—The Bezoar Goat or Paseng (639)—The Cash- mere Goat (639)—The Angora Goat (640)—The Mamber Goat (641)—The Markhor and Tahir (641)—The Egyptian Goat (641)—The Ibexes (642)—The Alpine Ibex (642)—The Pyrenean Ibex (643)—The Arabian Ibex (644). CHAPTER XxXXI. THE SHEEP AND THE MUSK-OX. The Aoudad (646)—The Moufflon (647)—The Argali (647)—The Katshkar (648)—The Big Horn (648)—Its Habits (649)—Fat-tailed Sheep (649)—The Cretan Sheep (650)—The Southdown (651)—The Leicester (651)—The Merino (652)—The Highland Sheep (653)—The Genus Ovibos (653}—The Musk-ox of North America (654). 2 IR OJ3 OSC JID, A. CHAPTER I. ELEPHANTS IN GENERAL. The Order Proboscidea—Derivation of Name (657)—The Family Elephantidz (657)—Fossii Elephants—The Mammoth (657)—The Mastodon (658)—The Elephant (659)—Its Trunk—Its Tusks (660)—The Elephant in History (661)—In the East—In Rome—In Modern Times (603). CHAPTER II. THE ASIATIC ELEPHANT. The Asiatic Elephant (665)—Its Use (666)—Mode of Capture in Ceylon (666)—Points of a Good Elephant (669)—White Elephants (670)—Funeral of a White Elephant (670)—The Dwarf Elephant (671). CHAPTER It: THE ELEPHANT. The African Elephant—Difference from the Indian Elephant (672)—Hunting the Elephant (672)—Delegorgue (672)—Gordon Cumming (673)—The Abyssinian ‘“ Hock-cutters” (674)— Captive Elephants (676)—Baby Elephants (676)—Anecdotes of Elephants (677). Jal YOR AVC Qi ID) a ey, THE ROCK RABBITS. The Order Hyracoidea (681)—The Genus Hyrax (681)—Its Characteristics (682). CONTENTS. Xili Vee @© JE) Je INP AE ley CHAPTER I. RATS AND MICE. The Order Rodentia (687)—The Family Muridz (688)—Rats and Mice (688)—The Black Rat (688)—The Brown Rat (688)—The Mouse (689)—The Harvest Mouse (689)—The Barbary Mouse (690)—The Hamster (690)—The Musk Rat (692)—The Water Rat (693)—The Field Mouse (693)—Wilson’s Meadow Mouse (694)—Le Conte’s Mouse (691)—The Cotton Rat (692)—The Lemming (695). CHAPTER II. MOLE RATS, POUCH RATS, AND BEAVERS. The Mole Rat (696)—The Jerboa (697)—The Alactaga (697)—The Cape Leaping Hare (697) —The Hudson Bay Jumping Mouse (698)—The Fat Dormouse (698)—The Common Dormouse (699)—The Pouched Rats (699)—The Beavers (7o1)—The American Beaver (702)—The European Beaver (704). CHAPTER III THE SQUIRRELS AND MARMOTS. The Family Sciuride (707)—The European Squirrel (707)—The Javanese Squirrel (708)— The Hare Squirrel (708)—The Black Squirrel (708)—The Gray Squirrel (708)—The Northern Gray Squirrel (7o9)—The Red Squirrel (709)—The Long-haired Squirrel (710)—The Flying Squirrel (710)—The American Flying Squirrel (711)—The Taguan (711)—The Chipmuck (712)— The Leopard Marmot (713)—The Marmot (714)—The Babac (715)—The Woodchuck (715)—The Prairie Dog (716). : CHAPTER IV. THE SEWELLELS, PORCUPINES, AND CAVIES. The Family Haploodontidz (718)—The Family Chinchillide (718)—The Chinchillas and Visachas (719)—The Octodontide (720)—The Hutia Conga (720)—The Degu (721)—The Tuko- tugo (722)—The Gundy (722)—The Coypu (723—The Ground Pig (723)—The Canadian Porcu- pine (724)—The Tufted-tailed Porcupines (726)—The Agouti (726)—The Sooty Paca (727)—The Capybara (727)—The Guinea Pig (728)—The Mara (728)—The Pikas (7209). CHAPTER V. HARES AND RABBITS. The Family Leporidz (730)—The American Hares (730)—The Polar Hare (730)—The North- ern Hare (731)—The Wood Hare (731)—The Jackass Rabbit (731)—The African Hares (731)— The Sand Hare (732)—The Common Hare (732)—The Alpine Hare (733)—The Rabbit (733)— ‘he Wild Rabbit (734)—The Domestic Rabbit (734). ED IN ATi AS, CHAPTER I: THE SLOTHS AND ARMADILLOS The Edentata (737)—The Sloths (737)—The Two-toed Sloth (738)—The Ai or Three-toed Sloth (738)—The Spotted Sloth (739)—The Scaly Ant-eaters (739)—The Phatagin (739)—The XiV CONTENTS. Pangolin (740)—The Tatouhon (740)—The Giant Armadillo (740)—The Tatouay (741)—The | Armadillo (741)—The Apar (741)—The Picheogo (742). CHAPTER II. THE AARD VARK AND ANT-EATERS. The Aard Vark of the Cape (743)—The Great Ant-eater or Tamanoir (744)—The Tamandua (745)—The Little Ant-eater (746). MOAI SO) JO WN JG LA CHAPTER I. THE OPOSSUMS AND BANDICOOTS. The Marsupials (749)—The True Opossum (749)—The Virginia Opossum (750)—Merrian’s. Opossum (750)—The Crab-eating Opossum (750)—The Yapock (750)—The Pouched Mouse (751) The Tasmanian Devil (751)—The Native Cat (751)—The Zebra Wolf (752)—The Native Ant— eater (752)—The Siriped Bandicoot (752)—The Chzropus (753). CHAPTER Il. THE KANGAROOS, PHALANGERS, AND WOMBATS. The Kangaroo (754)—The Woolly Kangaroo (755)—The Wallabee (755)—The Rock Kan- garoo (755)—The Tree Kangaroo (756)—The Kangaroo Hare (756)—The Jerboa Kangaroo (756) —The Potoroo (757)—The Koala (757)—The Sooty Phalangist (757)—The Valpine Phalangist (758)—The Cuscus (758)—The Taguan (758)—The Great Flying Phalanger (759)—The Sugar Squirrel (759)—Opossum Mouse (759)—The Wombat (760). ILO) IN| © WIR IE, ME an 1 A. THE DUCK MOLE AND AUSTRALIAN HEDGEHOG. The Monotremata '763)—The Family Ornithorhynchidz (763)—The Duck Mole (763)—The Family Echidnide (765)—The Native Hedgehog (766)—The Tasmanian Species (766)—Con- clusion. Lisi OF MEUSTRATIONS. PLATE ORDER lefereiess I. QUADRUMANA............. ahaa neta ee atte he ees Frontispiece. ils eae Ils QNGANDINGNUNSIN, 5-6 oppose oodccd ou obescgonEpadouecdcnOUS To face page 54. IWisn ooo Is QUADRUMANAc occ cpccno0 606600 cocnbocoNGGDO GA DOaDOOND SCD00D00 96: Nees II]. CHEIROPTERA..... BEER NOT ICIS ORR ee ae RECIPE IE Se 128. Weserecris TAT RLS eATON SIE CAV ViO RYAN) reietrs vectsess en crecals cote anit te ees eee ersta Si totaarn eataiiol aiate ee sels fore ebbehesanrciin I50 AV Alia tec V cg oS ATRNIIVORIAR ot eieps ein cvan tevawee scungthaei acto. Niet yceabs Sfaelaneiercte ear asic oeatelen eye 182: AVAL aps LIVE GARINTViOR Acre entre io) te rere a Sissies lestesnn ecto Oi Bos Skee tude Mewss: a Midhapesesehee 188 WHI 36 5 8-0 AWA GA RINIVIOR Ave tacit ice tre ohn = ays eae cies sNemA RE nSraNe ekg vane asucceteuelee evap steneteueneicns 196 OX eae TOW CARIN V O RUAN ts caen herave vero erste x m F ot i = = THE LNUS MIDAS OF = TE BA MARAIS “HE FaAratipm@ or MARNOSSTS are: were Siem dilier Grom thestruce. Cenipd asower ‘as vom Monkayse 7 The thimib-is not at all opposa Migs are Aeped. wie sharp siaws. Che great toe fl lone. wid Ut onetienaiie, The rae tchnee rapae diobtial vakie, They are both dtafined’ tothe Siuth America, hear the equetor. pi ake Some Dataralists regard; thesc atimale as mere ge cxehng division: ovhers"refuse theni 1 place ip the tribe it 36, hOWeter, Duet coatentenat fo titel hen asa Bitsy) . Polina, atl aa CCmeutn an ites ivedinge), por betweet theLemiiras (3 ; ia The dispectiine beeween the fafnilies previously ie Aftes,” is sainecn mae erven ta the Marmoscts, apt ‘bec brute, mt-bessuse they heme claws ate the place: Of nial Tufting f thie Cerner, hey differ from the dther the chhiacs heiow Very largecatd -sieong,. Phe head is” flat the brow Hat addrbroads «The even igre’ small, che often tufted, the, body slender;the limbs shart: abbey it in ‘Brazil, Guiana; aad geek two species ah Mexige: vay ag a ne eke / n 4, 4 ~é bee | ‘ - rd = 4 a “3 ~ 4 ss Z f P eh et ‘ ' han c! ay nek ein aN SY me i tal ree PECTRUM TAR SLOW LEMUR AYE AYE SAK| HOWLING MONKEY MARMOSET SQUIRREL MONKEY Bee i T) OUADRUMANA. HABITS OF THE MARMOSETS. 97 They prefer to live in the densest parts of the forests, where they run up and down the trees and along the branches more like squirrels than apes, often suspending themselves by their claws. Their food is insects, fruits, eggs, and small birds. Their chief enemies are the birds of prey. When disturbed they utter a feeble cry from which they derive their name of OUISTITIS. “ Audouin,”’ writes Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, “has assured himself, by experiments several times repeated, that these monkeys were well able to recognize in a picture not only their own likeness, but that of another animal. Thus, the drawing of a cat, and, what is yet still more remarkable, that of a wasp, caused them manifest dread; while at the sight of any other insect, such as a grasshopper or a May-bug, they threw themselves on the picture as if to seize the object represented. “ Audouin has also remarked that the Ouistitis were very curious; that they had acute vision; that they perfectly recognized the people who looked after them; and, lastly, that their cries varied considerably, according to the passions that animated them.” Another observer writes: “Their graceful tricks were always amus- ing, as they never were mischievous. With my cats and parrots they were on terms of the greatest intimacy, sharing, of their own accord, their food with the latter. They soon learned to drink wine, and, after a short experience, exhibited so marked a lking for the juice of the grape, that, if permitted, they would indulge till perfectly intoxicated. Nothing alarmed them so much as the appearance of a snake, and several times, for the sake of experiment, I had one brought into my residence to observe the effect. On seeing their enemy, instantaneously they became powerless, and the woe-begone expression of their countenance for the time being was the perfect personification of utter helplessness; and even after the object of their dread had been removed, it required the lapse of many hours before they recovered their vivacity.” At present, about thirty-three species of Marmosets are known, grouped into two genera, on very slight foundations. T—GERNUS HAP ALB: This genus has the face and ears bare, a tail as long as the body, thin and tufted at the end, and a mane of greater or less length. The number of species is xzne. > 13 98 QUADRUMANA. The LEonciro MARMOSET, Hapale leonina, was discovered by the great traveler Humboldt on the warm plains which border the eastern slopes. of the Cordilleras. He says: “It is one of the most beautiful creatures I ever saw—lively, merry, and playful, but like all little animals passionate and spiteful. When angry the neck swells, the mane bristles up and it looks like a lion in miniature.” Bates saw a very tame one on the upper Amazon and relates: “It ran to my chair, climbed up to my shoulder, turned about to look into my face, showing its little teeth, and squeaking as if asking my will.” This species attains a length of eight inches in the body, and about the same in the tail. The next species differs from the others by having tufts of hair more or less developed before and above the ears. The MARMOSET, OUISTITI, or SAGOUIN, Hafale lacchus (Plate III), the commonest member of this group, has a body nine to ten inches long, and a tail twelve to fourteen inches. The color of its long silky fur is black, white, and reddish-yellow. The tail is black, with about twenty small white rings around it and a white tip. The PINCHE, Hapale Gedipus, has long hair on the top of its head, which hangs down over the forehead and neck, but the sides are bare. Specimens have been found to measure twenty-eight inches, including sixteen inches of tail. The Pinche is remarkable for the tuft of white and long hair which it bears on its head, and which 1s so distinctly marked that the little creature almost seems to be wearing an artificial head of hair. The throat, chest, abdomen, and arms, are also white, and the edges of the thighs are touched with the same tint. On each shoulder there is a patch of reddish-chestnut, fading imperceptibly into the white fur of the chest, and the grayish-brown hair that covers the remainder of the body. Its eyes are quite black. The tail of the animal is long and moderately full; its color slightly changes from chestnut-brown to brownish-black. Its voice is like the twittering of birds. Unfortunately this pretty creature cannot endure captivity, and soon dies. To the same group belongs the smallest of all the apes, a little crea- ture which measures at the utmost only twelve inches, including fully six inches of tail. Its fur is yellow and black, its paws reddish-yellow. Dark bands run from the back over the sides and thighs. The tail has slight rings. Spix discovered this dwarf species at Tabatinga, on the THE MARIKINA, SAGOUIN, AND TAMARIN. 99 banks of the Solimoen river, in Brazil; Bates saw it near San Pablo, and remarks that on his return to England he was surprised to see a specimen in the British Museum, described as coming from Mexico. The scientific name of this specimen is HAPALE PYGMA. Il1—GENUS MIDAS. The members of this genus are distinguished from the genus Hapale by the circumstance that the mane is less developed, and that the tail is longer. The number of species is ¢wenty-four. The MARIKINA, Midas rosalia, is larger than the animals just de- scribed ; the face is bare and brown; the ear large and fringed with dark- brown hair; on the cheeks and on the pointed brow fine, short, yellowish hair stands out; the long hair of the head, divided in the middle by a streak of short brown hair, falls down like a mane, and has a dark-brown color, while the rest of the head, the throat, the breast, and the arms are dark orange-brown; the remainder of the body is covered with a reddish- yellow fur which glistens like gold. This fur is smooth and silky to the touch, and the creature is hence sometimes designated as the “ SILKY Monkey.” It is very fastidious about having its beautiful coat kept carefully clean, and soon dies if neglected. It is very timid, has a soft and gentle voice when pleased, but hisses when angry. It is described by Buffon under the name of “ Marikina.” The SILVER SAGOUIN, Jidas argentatus, is one of the rarest of the American apes, and, according to Bates, is found only in Cameta, a province of Brazil. It is the most beautiful of all; the long silky hair is silver-white, the tail dull-black, the almost bare face flesh-colored. It reaches the length of only eighteen inches, including ten inches of tail. Many naturalists regard it merely as a variety of the common Midas. The TAMARIN, Midas ursulus, has a pleasing expression, and a face of considerable intelligence. It is black, but the hinder part is mottled with grayish-white. Bates says it never congregates into large flocks, seldom more than three or four being seen together. Like the squirrel it confines itself to the large boughs of trees, whence it peers down on the traveler. It seems, however, to have no fear of man. The Marmosets do not seem to be possessed of a very large share of intelligence, but yet are engaging little creatures if kindly treated. 100 QUADRUMANA. They are very fond of flies and other insects, and will often take a fly- from the hand of the visitor. One of these animals with whom Wood struck up an acquaintance, took great pleasure in making him catch flies for its use, and taking them daintily out of his hand. When it saw his hand sweep over a doomed fly, the bright eyes sparkled with eager anticipation; and when he approached the cage, the little creature thrust its paw through the bars as far as the wires would permit, and opened and closed the tiny fingers with restless impatience. It then insinuated its hand among his closed fingers, and never failed to find and to capture the imprisoned fly. The Marmoset has a strange liking for hair, and is fond of playing with the locks of its owner. One of these little creatures, which was the property of a gentleman adorned with a large bushy beard, was wont to creep to its master’s face, and to nestle among the thick masses. of beard which decorated his chin. Another Marmoset, which belonged to a lady, and which was liable to the little petulances of its race, used to vent its anger by nibbling the end of her ringlets. If the hair were bound round her head, the curious little animal would draw a tress down and bite its extremity, as if it were trying to eat the hair by degrees. The same individual was possessed of an accomplishment which is almost unknown among these little monkeys, namely, standing on its head. Another chapter will complete our account of the Quadrumanous. animals, with a description of the half-apes or LEMURS. SC ClsL AIP TIX OX, T1035, I, 1M Uke © AB) 1s, Ye THE INDRIS—THE LEMURS—THE RUFFED LEMUR—THE CAT LEMUR—THE HAPALEMUR—THE CHEIROGALEUS—THE LORIS—THE TARSIER SPECTRE—THE AYE-AYE. E now have arrived at the second division of the order Quad- \ \ / rumana, and have to describe the very peculiar animals to which Linnzus, the father of Natural History, gave the name of Lemur. The Romans called by this appellation the spirits of the departed, and the restless ghosts that wandered about during the still hours of the night, and the naturalist applied it to these nocturnal animals, which seem indeed to be the ghosts of departed creations. They are the last surviving remains of a race which was once widely diffused ; fossil specimens of numerous forms of LEMUROIDEA occur in various parts of Europe and North America, but the living specimens are found in Madagascar, Ceylon, and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, the Philip- pines, and Celebes, with some scattered genera in the African continent. To explain the occurrence of these strange animals at points so remote, Mr. Sclater has supposed that a continent, now submerged, once extended from Madagascar to Ceylon and Sumatra, in which the Lemuroid type of animals was developed. To this hypothetical continent he gave the name of Lemuria, and it probably represents a zoological region in some long past geological epoch. Older writers have classed the Lemurs with the Apes, and called them Prosimu, “ Half-apes”’ or “False Apes,” but their structure is different from that of the true Simians, and their dental arrangements peculiarly so. It is advisable therefore to keep them apart in a sub- order. The Lemuroidea live in forest lands where fruit and insects furnish them with food; they are nocturnal in their habits, and during the day retire to the darkest part of the forests where they coil themselves up 102 QUADRUMANA. and sleep; they are dead in the day, their life begins with the twilight. They are divided into three families, the first of which, the Lemuride, contains c/even genera, the others only oxe genus each. THE LEMURID&. The animals of this family are characterized by an elongated head, analogous to that of certain carnivorous animals, from whence the name of Fox-headed Monkeys which some of the species have received; by opposable thumbs on the four extremities, and especially by the nail on the index finger of the hind-feet, which is long, compressed, and sharp, and singularly contrasts with those on the other digits. Although their brain is but little developed, they have considerable intelligence, and are sus- ceptible of training. They are in general of small size, and furnished with a short or long tail, though some species are deprived of that appendage. Their eyes are very salient, as befits their nocturnal mode of life. At the approach of twilight they rouse themselves, smooth their fur, utter their unpleasant cries and begin their nightly quest for food. The cry of some of the species is alarming, as it resembles the roar of a beast of prey. In hunting for food, they equal or even surpass the apes in agility in climbing; they seem to have wings, so powerful are their springs from bough to bough, so swift their ascent or descent of the tree- trunks, so restless their ever-changing motions. They eat much, they destroy more. 1—GENUS INDRIS. INDRIS is the name given to this genus by the traveler Sonnerat, and the word is said to be in the Malagasay language not the name of an animal, but an exclamation “See here! Look!” which the stranger misapprehended. The natives of Madagascar call the Indris the “Man of the Woods,” because of its resemblance, though slight, to ourselves. It is the most highly developed of the family. The head is small, the fore-limbs not much shorter than the hind-ones, and its power- ful thumbs, perfectly opposable on all feet to the remaining fingers, are admirable instruments for climbing. The tail is short, the eyes small, the ears hidden in the fur. This fur—thick, almost woolly—covers the NATIVE STORIES OF THE BABAKOTO. 103 whole body, even the fingers and toes down to the nails. Its dental formula is The genus contains five species, all natives of Madagascar. THE BABAKOTO. The BaBakoTo, /udris brevicaudatus, was for a long time the only known species. It attains a length of nearly three feet, including eight and a half inches of tail. Its almost hairless face is of a brownish-black color. The head, including the ears, shoulders, arms and hands, are black, the back is brown, the forehead, temples, throat, breast, tail and flanks are white. The creature is so little known that it is not yet ascer- tained whether these colors change at various ages, or whether they belong to both sexes. The CROWNED INDRIS, /udris mitratus,—perhaps merely a variety —is somewhat smaller; the hair is more silky and the coloring of extra- ordinary beauty. The naked black muzzle and the cheeks thinly covered with gray hairs are set in a broad, gray, black-bordered frame which run- ning down each side of the face unites at the throat, and joins a spot of dazzling white which dies away on the neck into grayish-white streaks. The ears, shoulders, upper part of the back, and the breast are black; a triangular patch, beginning at the lower part of the back and gradually broadening to the rump, is white; the tail is a reddish cream-color, the feet are light gray. Sonnerat describes the Babakoto as active and a good leaper; it eats like a squirrel, holding its foot up to its mouth. Vinson, during his pas- sage through the great Alanamasoatrao forest, was almost deafened by its cries, and inferred that it must collect into large bands. The natives reverence it as a holy animal, and believe the souls of their ancestors pass into it at death; hence they consider that the trees on which the Baba- koto lives is an infallible cure for all diseases, and use its leaves as a remedy in dangerous cases. They say too that it is dangerous to hurl a lance at it, as the Indris can catch the spear in its flight and hurl it back on the aggressor, and that the mother after birth throws her young one to the male who throws it back again, and when this has been repeated 104 | QUADRUMANA. a dozen times without accident, the little one is taken up and carefully nursed. If, however, it fall to the ground it is left lying. Pollen says that in certain parts of Madagascar it is trained to catch birds. But these seem ‘travelers’ tales”; the latter seems especially im- probable, for if the Indris had been thus tamed, living specimens could have been procured. Il.—GENUS LEMUR. The name MAKI by which the natives of Madagascar designate this genus is said to be an imitation of the cry it utters. These animals are, of all the Lemuridz, those whose heads are the most tapering ; and there- fore it is to them that the denomination of Fox-headed Monkeys is appli- cable. Buffon called them False-Monkeys. They stand somewhat high on their feet, and take rank, for size, between the Marten and the Fox. Their fur is soft and thick, and their tail long and bushy. They live in forests, and feed chiefly on fruits. Their movements are light and grace- ful; their voice is a low or a loud growl, according to the nature of their emotions. The female has only one at a birth, and testifies the greatest tenderness for it, keeping it concealed beneath her body, buried in her thick fur, until the period when its hair, having acquired a sufficient length, may efficaciously protect it against external vicissitudes. It is suckled for six months, after which it is left to its own resources. These animals are sociable, and often collect into numerous bands. They select almost inaccessible places to sleep in; are readily tamed, and even reproduce in captivity. Their dental formula is 1 os ee emer pp) Sir ie IN ee ay 2—2 a Sis The number of species is fifteen. Pollen gives a description of the habits of one species, the MAYOTTE, which will serve for them all. They live in bands of six to twelve, and travel about in search of their favorite food, the fruit of the Date palm; they are seen by day descending from trees to pick up fallen fruit. No sooner has the sun set than the whole band set up their lamentable cry. When chased by dogs they take refuge in a tree, where they remain with their eyes fixed on their enemy, moving their tails to and fro, and growl- ing. If wounded they defend themselves stoutly, leaping on the dog’s THE LEMURS. 105 back and biting the ears and neck. The flesh, somewhat resembling that of a rabbit in taste, is considered a great delicacy by the natives. They endure captivity well. Buffon had a male Maki which was quite tame and a great thief. It used to lick his hand; but if its tongue, rough like a cat’s, drew blood, it bit savagely. Another specimen lived in Paris a long time. It was very fond of warmth, and used to go so near the flame as to singe its whiskers; it was cleanly, and careful not to soil its fur, and was very curious and greedy, but kindly to all comers. Every evening it hopped or danced for about half an hour, and then lay down to sleep. THE RUFFED AND THE BLACK-FRONTED LEMURS. The RuFFED LEMUR, Lemur varius, is one of the largest species of the family, equaling in size a moderately grown cat. The texture of the fur is extremely fine, and its color presents bold contrasts between pure white and a jetty blackness, the line of demar- cation being strongly defined. The visage is black, and a fringe of long white hairs stands out like a ruff round the face, giving to the creature its very appropriate title. Its voice is a deep sepulchral roar, peculiarly loud considering the size of the animal, which can be heard at a great distance. The ATUMBA or BLACK-FRONTED LEMUR, Lemur macaco, and the WHITE-FRONTED LEMUR, Lemur leucomystax, are sometimes classed as different species, but Brehm, who has studied them both in captivity, asserts they belong to one and the same species. He says that all the Black-fronted Lemurs he has seen are males, all the White-fronted are females, and that reports from the zoological gardens in London, Cologne, and Rotterdam, and from friends in Zanzibar, state that their experience is the same. A female under his charge brought forth a young one, which showed no sign of blending of color, such as hybrids usually do. It is a gentle and engaging creature, and not at all shy, even to strangers, unless they alarm it by loud voices or hasty gestures. It is possessed of great agility, climbing trees, and running among the branches with perfect ease, and capable of springing through a space of several yards. So gently does it alight on the ground after its leaps, that the sound of its feet can scarcely be heard, nor can the eye follow its motions. When pursued, it displays incredible activity; it will 14 106 QUADRUMANA. suddenly drop from the top of a tree to the underwood and run away before the hunter can realize the fact. THE MONGOOSE AND THE RING-TAILED LEMUR. The MONGOOSE, Lemur mongoz, is one of the commonest varieties; it measures about three feet, including a foot and a half of tail. The color, dark ash-gray on the back, becomes a grayish-black on the head ; a white streak runs from beneath the neck up to the ears; the lower part of the back is light-brown. The RING-TAILED or CAT LEMUR, Lemur catta, is not as large as the Ruffed Lemur, measuring only a foot from nose to tail, the tail being eight inches in length. The grace of its form, the beauty of its color, its large eyes, and its long ringed tail, render it one of the most beautiful of the species. It is found only in the Southwest of Madagascar, and lives like its congeners. Its cry, however, is not loud, but resembles the mew- ing of our “harmless, necessary cat.” In confinement it becomes familiar, and when it chooses to exhibit its powers, is very amusing with its merry pranks. If several individuals are confined in the same cage, they are fond of huddling together, and involving themselves in such a strange entanglement of tails, limbs, and heads, that until they separate, it is almost impossible to decide upon the number of the animals that form the variegated mass. The quartermaster of a French corvette possessed one which recog- nized its master among all the crew; it loved to play with the boys and the ship’s dog. It nursed a little monkey as if it had been its own child, and amused itself by pulling the tails of the chickens till they screamed. The RED LEMuR, Lemur ruber, possesses a fur which has somewhat of a woolly aspect, the hair separating into tufts, each of which is slightly curled. It is a beautifully decorated animal, displaying considerable contrast of coloring. The body, head, and the greater portion of the limbs, are of a fine chestnut, with the exception of a large white patch covering the back of the head and nape of the neck, and a smaller one in the midst of each foot. The face, the tail, and paws, are black, as is all the under side of the body. This latter circumstance is most remarkable, as it is almost a general rule that the under parts of animals are lighter in tint than the upper. Around the sides of the face the hair is of a paler chestnut than that which covers the body. THE DWARF MAKIS. 107 In habits it is similar to the Lemurs which have already been de- scribed. Being naturally a nocturnal animal, it passes the day in a drowsy somnolence, its head pushed between its legs, and the long, bushy tail wrapped round its body, as if to exclude the light and retain the heat. Should it be accustomed to be fed during the daytime, it shakes off its slumber for the purpose of satisfying the calls of hunger ; but even though urged by so strong an inducement, it awakes with lin- gering reluctance, and sinks to sleep again as soon as the demands of its appetite are satisfied. Its entire length is nearly three feet, of which the tail occupies about twenty inches. Its height is about a foot. IlIl—GENUS HAPALEMUR. This genus, containing Zwo species, is distinguished by a slender body and short limbs, but a tail as long as itself. The head is round and sharp- muzzled, the eyes small, the ears broad and short and hidden in the fur. The Gray LEMUR, Hapalemur griseus, called by the natives of the Northwest of Madagascar the BOKAMBUL, chooses for its abode thickets of bamboo. During the day it sleeps on the highest shoots, with its head between its legs and its tail over its back. Like all the tribe, it is lazy during the daytime but busy at night; its cry is like that of a pig grunting. Pollen had a captive which differed in no wise from other Lemurs; he remarks that, like some apes, it acquired the bad habit of gnawing its own tail. IV.— GENUS MICROCEBUS. The Dwarr MAKIs have a compact form, a short head, a roundish muzzle, a tail longer than the body, and the hind limbs not longer than the fore ones. The eyes are large, the ears moderate, thinly covered externally with fine hair, pretty hands and feet, with short fingers but long ¢arsz. The dental formula is Of the four species into which the genus is divided, the best known is the Microcebus myoxinus, which attains a length of six to eight inches 108 QUADRUMANA. in the body. The back is a reddish yellowish-gray, with a golden lustre; the lower surface is white. We know very little of it, as its diminutive size and nocturnal habits enable it easily to escape observation. It lives in almost impassable forests, hiding itself during the day in a nest which ‘it builds of straw and dry leaves; at night it roams like its fellows in quest of food, chiefly insects. V—GENUS CHEIROGALEUS. This genus, like the preceding one, is remarkable for the greater roundness of the head, the shortness of the muzzle, and the great size of its eyes; the latter peculiarity indicating more decided nocturnal habits. It contains five species. The best known is the Chezrogaleus Mili, which measures nearly fourteen inches exclusive of the tail; the fur is tawny on the upper:surface of the body, but white beneath. Its legs are very short when compared with the ordinary Lemur. A speci- men in captivity made a nest for itself out of hay, in which it slept during the daytime. During the night its movements were ceaseless ; it could leap a height of six or eight feet. One of the species, the Chetrogaleus murinus or MADAGASCAR RAT, is the smallest of all the Lemuridz, its body measuring only six inches in length. VI.—GENUS LEPILEMUR. Only ¢wo species are known. It has a slender body, a small, long, sharp-snouted head, short fore-limbs, moderately long hinder-limbs, and a tail longer than the body. The eyes are of moderate size, the ears large and bare; the white fur which thinly covers the face and hands, and is largely developed on the tail, is rather woolly. THE WALAWY. The Watawy, Lepilemur furcifer, is nearly as large as the Hapalemur. A brownish-gray is the dominant tint on the back, a sharply marked-off light-gray on the belly; the head and neck incline to red, black stripes beginning on the cheeks, inclosing the eyes, and leaving a blaze on the forehead, unite on the head, and run down the spine to the tail; this THE SLOW LEMURS. {09 appendage, gray at the roots, is black at the tip. The eyes have the iris black. Both species are found on the West side of Madagascar. The ani- mals prefer as their abodes hollow trees with two openings, especially if also inhabited by bees. They are much more active than the ordinary Lemur, and their cry is a “ kaka kaka ka.” The curious animal, which is known by the name of the DIADEM Lemur, belongs rather to the Indris than to the Lemurs, but it has been placed by Mr. Bennett in a separate genus, which he names PROPITHECUS. The shoulders and upper part of the back are of a sooty tint, the head darker, the hindquarters pale-brown, the belly nearly white, the paws almost black, the tail nearly white at the tip. The thumbs of the hind- limbs are disproportionately developed, and the face is not so long as in the true Lemurs; the round, tipped ears are hidden in bushy hair, which surrounds the head. The species described is called the Propithecus diadema, and seems to be the same as the /udris (or Lechanotus) mitratus. The species of the Lemurid@ already mentioned belong exclusively to that strange African Island, Madagascar. The next sub-family, the Vyctz- cebine, have a more extensive range. VII—GENUS NYCTICEBUS. The Stow Lemurs (Plate III) are found from East Bengal to China, Borneo, and Java. Three speciesare known. These rare denizens of the forests have not been much observed in their life of freedom, but they have been repeatedly brought to Europe. They creep very slowly, and sel- dom take more than two steps erect; even in climbing, their slowness is. remarkable. By day their eyes lose their lustre, but they see admirably by night. Their hearing is very acute; the slightest motion of a beetle wakens them from their sleep. THE KAKANG. The SLOW-PACED LEMUR, Wycticebus tardigradus, called by the natives the KAKANG, has a fur of a woolly texture, and of a chestnut tinge. A dark stripe surrounds the eyes, ears, and back of the head, reaching to the corners of the mouth, and running thence along the entire length 110 QUADRUMANA. of the spine. The color of this dark band is a deep chestnut. The animal is a little more than a foot in length. In the formation of these creatures some very curious structures are found, among which is the singular grouping of arteries and veins in the limbs. Instead of the usual tree-like mode in which the limbs of most ani- mals are supplied with blood—one large trunk-vessel entering the limb, and then branching off into numerous subdivisions—the limbs are fur- nished with blood upon a strangely modified system. The arteries and veins, as they enter and leave the limb, are suddenly divided into a great number of cylindrical vessels, lying close to each other for some dis- tance, and giving off their tubes to the different parts of the limb. It is possible that to this formation may be owing the power of silent move- ment and slow patience which has been mentioned as the property of these lemurs, for a very similar structure is found to exist in the sloth. The tongue is aided in its task by a plate of cartilage, by which it is supported, and which is, indeed, an enlargement of the tendinous band hat is found under the root of the tongue. It is much thicker at its base tian at the extremity, which is so deeply notched that it seems to have oeen slit with a knife. It is so conspicuous an organ that it has been often described as a second tongue. The throat and vocal organs seem to be but little developed, as is consistent with the habits of an animal whose very subsistence depends upon its silence. Excepting when irri- tated, it seldom or never utters a sound; and even then, its vocal powers seem to be limited to a little monotonous plaintive cry. All its motions are exceedingly slow, but it possesses one skillful faculty which no other animal exhibits: it can climb slowly step by step backward up a pole placed nearly perpendicularly. VIUI—GENUS LORIS. There is only one species of this small, tailless, nocturnal Lemur, which inhabits Madras, Malabar, and Ceylon. It is called the BENGAL Lori, Lorts gracilis. Yn Ceylon the natives call it Teivangu, or “the creeper.” The best account of it is given in Tennant’s work on Ceylon. ““T possessed a living Teivangu which lived for some time; it ate rice, fruits, and leaves, but preferred ants and insects. It was very greedy for THE LORIS. III milk and the flesh of birds. It can catch birds more easily than one would suppose from its appearance. The natives affirm that at night it will attack peacocks, choke them, and then suck the brains of its prey. My prisoner slept all day in a most peculiar attitude. He seized his perch with all his hands, gathered himself up into a hairy ball, and hid his head between his legs. The large and brilliant eyes of the Loris have attracted the attention of the Cingalese; they make amulets and love-charms from them, and hold the poor creature in the fire tiil its eyeballs burst.” The Loris is a small animal, measuring only nine inches in length; its limbs are very slender, the muzzle is abruptly sharp and pointed, the color is a rusty-gray, somewhat darker round the eyes, and a white streak runs down the nose. The absence of a tail is strikingly noticeable. Wood gives an animated description of the mode in which it captures its prey. “ The color of its fur is such that the dark back is invisible in the obscurity of night, and the white breast simulates the falling of a broken moonbeam on the bark of a branch. Its movements are so slow and silent that not a sound falls on the ear. “Alas for the doomed bird that has attracted the fiery eyes of the Loris! No Indian on his war-path moves with stealthier step or more deadly purpose than the Loris on its progress toward its sleeping prey. With movements as imperceptible and as silent as the shadow on the dial, paw after paw is lifted from its hold, advanced a step and placed again on the bough, until the destroyer stands by the side of the uncon- scious victim. Then, the hand is raised with equal silence, until the fagers overhang the bird and nearly touch it. Suddenly the slow cau- tion is exchanged for ightning speed, and with a movement so rapid that the eye can hardly follow it, the bird is torn from its perch, and almost before its eyes are opened from slumber, they are closed forever in death.” IX—GENUS PERODICTICUS. This is another genus containing only oxe species, the PoTTo, Pero- dicticus Potto, a small Lemur with almost rudimentary forefinger found at Sierra Leone on the West Coast of Africa. The Potto has a slender body, roundish head, projecting muzzle, moderately large eyes and small ears; the arms and legs are nearly of the same length, the hands and feet large. The short fur is of a reddish-gray mixed with black, redder on 112 QUADRUMANA. the head and limbs, mouse-color on the shoulders, and a grayish-red on the tail; its total length is about fourteen inches, the tail being about three inches. Mr. Sclater writes of two specimens in the Zoological Gardens in London: “Our Pottos never voluntarily appear by daylight, but come out early in the evening for their food; they are then very active and leap about the perches of their cage all night long. Their food is ripe fruit of all kinds, cooked rice, milk and bread sweetened, and cooked meat chopped fine. They catch very cleverly little birds that are put in their cage, and tear them to pieces at once; they seem to be delighted with such a change of diet.” X.—GENUS ARCTOCEBUS. The ANGWANTIBO, Arctocebus Calabarensis, the only species, is a native of Old Calabar. It is remarkable for the total absence of the forefinger, for the possession of a long claw on the first toe, and for an almost rudi- mentary tail. A thick and long woolly fur—somewhat shorter on the. face and the backs of the paws—covers the body. It is of a brownish- gray on the back, but on the lower surface of the body and on the inner side of the limbs it is dark-brown. Although the Angwantibo has been known since the year 1680, little has been ascertained respecting its habits. XI—GENUS GALAGO. This solitary genus of the sub-family GALAGIN& comprehends fourteen species, all found in Africa from Senegal to Zanzibar and Natal. While the Lemuridz hitherto described are remarkable for the development of the power of sight, the Galagos are distinguished by the acuteness of their hearing. The body is slender, but looks stouter from its possession of a thick fur; the comparatively large head is remarkable for the largely developed naked ears, and by the close-placed large eyes. The limbs are of moderate length, the forefinger, the second toe, and in some species the middle finger and toe as well, are furnished with claw-like nails. The tarsus is elongated, the tail bushy. The dental formula is 2—2 I—I 3 6—6 I. —_—, C. ——., P.M. Siento MM. = = 22; 3—3 I—I 2—2 THE GALAGOS. iis The Galagos are strictly nocturnal animals, creatures whose sun is the moon; during the day they lie rolled up in a shady corner, and if by chance they are prevented from finding a spot obscure enough, they hide their head from the hated sunlight, and contract their ears to deaden every sound. If violently awakened from their sleep they stare dreamily about them, and exhibit signs of annoyance at having been disturbed. As soon as twilight spreads over the forest they rouse themselves, open their eyes, unroll their huge ears, and leave their lurking-places. Their life is that of a beast of prey with an insatiable thirst for blood, and a love for slaughter unexampled in the Quadrumana. Endowed with eyes as sharp as the lynx, ears as acute as the bat, with powers of scent like the fox, and the agility of the monkey, they are persevering in their attacks, and a terrible foe to smaller creatures. THE MOHOLI AND THE KOMBA. This species—Galago Moholt, (or Otolicnus)—attains a length of eight inches in the body and ten inches in the tail. Its short, thick, silky fur is dull gray, with a faint tinge of red on the head and back; the beliy and inside of the limbs is yellowish-white, and the same color appears on the cheeks and a stripe running down between the eyes to the end of the nose. It has been found in Senegal and eastward in Kordofan. The natives call it Zendj, and say that it is an ape transformed to a lower shape on account of its sleepiness. It is usually found in pairs, and lives in the forests of mimosa. Startled by the traveler the creatures climb quickly up the trees but do not take flight; they remain there quietly watching and listening. They make long springs from bough to bough and seem not to regard the stiff prickles of the tree. By night their eyes gleam like burning coals. In captivity they display great liveliness. When they go to sleep the ears wrinkle and contract, and then the point turns over and in, till the whole ear is almost invisible. They can con- tract the face into strange grimaces like some of the apes. The Galago agisymbanus is somewhat larger, attaining a length of from eight to twelve inches. The prevailing color is yellowish-gray, darker on the muzzle and the hands, becoming a grayish-white on the chin and cheeks. The tail, a brownish-red at the roots, is dark-brown at the tip. The natives of Senegal capture these animals by taking advantage of their fondness of palm-wine; its sweetness attracts them, the spirit in 15 TVA QUADRUMANA. it intoxicates them, and the little lemur falls down from the tree and lies in a drunken sleep, to awake a prisoner. It is not difficult to tame, and soon learns to eat bread and milk, and to appreciate tea and coffee, well sweetened. But flesh is always its favorite food, and it displays immense energy in hunting mice. If its master visit it at night, it shows great attachment, and allows himself to be handled and stroked. THE GIANT GALAGO. The Galago crassicaudatus is the largest species, being nearly the size of a rabbit. Its hair is thick and woolly, its tail bushy. The top of the head is reddish-brown, the back grayish-russet, the belly gray or yellowish-white, the tail a brownish-red. It extends over a large part of Southern Africa on the Mozambique coast. Its habits differ in no respect from those of its kindred. It sleeps all day, and is active all night. It sleeps rolled up with its head between its fore-legs, its bushy tail is then brought forward and kept in its posi- tion by the hind-legs, which are stretched out as far to the front as they will extend. The head is thus entirely covered. On waking it cleans its coat, and then begins to climb. Its movements are slow and careful, its steps quite inaudible, the fingers are spread out widely, the tail trails on the ground. It casts hungry glances at living birds, but in captivity will eat bread or fruits, which it sometimes takes squirrel-fashion in its hands. It is good-tempered and has a sagacious look in its pretty brown eyes. THE TARSIIDA. This family is represented by only one genus which contains but one species. It derives its name from the great length of the hinder fect, in which the tarsus is elongated. The tail is very long and pos- sesses a tuft at the tip. Its dental formula is that of the genus Lemur, but the lower incisors are oblique. THE SPECTRE TARSIER. This most extraordinary-looking animal, the Zarsius spectrum, (Plate ITI) is a native of Borneo, the Celebes, the Philippine Islands and Banca. The head would be round if a short muzzle did not protrude; the face is THE SPECTRE TARSIER. 115 uncommonly broad, the mouth opens as far back as the eyes, and the lips are thick. The eyes are immense owl-like eyes, quite out of propor- tion to the size of the animal. They literally occupy the greatest part of the face and are close together. The ears are no less peculiar; they are like large broad spoons. The neck is scarcely to be distinguished, the shoulders are high, the breast narrower than the back. The fore-legs are remarkable for their shortness, the hinder ones for their length. The hands are very long in proportion to the arms, the middle finger is almost thrice the length of the thumb, which again is less than the little finger, and the tips of all the fingers have large cushions like balls. The thighs are powerful and thick, the lower leg thin, the tarsi dried up and fleshless. The color is a yellowish-gray, flecked with reddish-brown, the tuft on the tail is yellow, a stripe of deeper hue surrounds the back of the head, and the face and forehead have a warmer tint than the body. It lives in trees and skips about with short leaps like a frog. The natives regard the Spectre tarsier as an enchanted animal, and affirm that it was once as large as a lion; they fly at once from their fields when one of these creatures is seen on a neighboring tree. In captivity it is cleanly, particularly in its food; it never tastes anything half-eaten, or drinks twice from the same water. Propped up on its thin legs and bare tail, with its enormous yellow eyes, it looks like a dark-lantern on a tripod. THE CHEIROMYIDA. This family consists of a species which must be considered the most extraordinary which is known to naturalists. It is a specialized form of the Lemuroid type, and like the Lemurs belongs to that isle of won- ders—Madagascar. THE AYE-AYE. The AYE-AYE, Chetromys Madagascariensis, (Plate III) was first seen about one hundred years ago. It was unknown at that period to the people of Madagascar, and the name of Aye-Aye given to it by Sonnerat, was due to the exclamation of ‘the natives of that island when this traveler showed it to them for the first time. For a long time it was undecided what place to assign to the Aye-Aye among the Mammalia. This indecision arose from ambiguous organic 116 QUADRUMANA. characteristics in this quadruped, some of which pertain to Rodents and others to the Makis. At first sight, the Aye-Aye shows some striking points of resemblance to the Squirrels: it has their general form, the long bushy tail, and especially their dentition. It has, in fact, no canine teeth, but possesses, in front of its Jaws, a pair of strong incisors, isolated from the molars by a vacant space, similar to the gap occur- ring in the Squirrels and all animals belonging to the Order of Ro- dentia. But, on the other hand, the large size and rounded form of its head, indicative of a voluminous brain, the conformation of its limbs, the length of the digits, and the opposable thumb in the posterior mem- bers, the complete state of the bony circle of the orbit, as in the majority of Quadrumana, the existence of only two mamme in the female, are characteristics which assimilate the Aye-Aye to the Makis, and ought definitively to cause it to be ranked in the Quadrumana. But it may be observed as a marked difference between this animal and all the other Quadrumana, that in the Aye-Aye the milk-giving organs are placed on the lower portion of the abdomen, and thus a great distinc- tion is at once made between this creature and the true Quadrumana. Indeed, there are so many points of discrepancy in this strange being, that it is difficult to make it agree with the systematic laws which have hitherto been laid down, and naturalists have placed it in one order or another, according to the stress which they laid on different points of its organization. After its discovery in 1782, so little was heard of the Aye-Aye that many writers described it as extinct. But further news of it was heard in 1844, when De Castelle forwarded the skeleton and hide of one to Paris. This remained the only specimen in Europe, till 1862, when the Zoological Society of London received one alive. Since then several of them have been sent to various collections in Europe. From the time of Cuvier down to Giebel in 1859, most writers classed it among the Rodentia, but Owens and Peters have clearly established its right to: the rank of a family ; according to them its dental formula is 2—2 I—I 2—2 C. M. SOM 2—2’ Oo— 0’ 2—2 Il. for its first set of teeth, but for the permanent set, A= 2 @©—© ie ia, ‘ Nie SY 2 2—2 Oo—O O 3 PM Oo— THE AYE-AYE. 117 The Aye-Aye is characterized by the following marks: The head is large, the neck short, the body powerful, the tail as long as the body. The limbs are of the same length. The eyes are small in comparison with the head, the ears very large. The elongated fingers and toes are remarkable. The thumb is strong and short, the index-finger weaker, the third finger as thick as the thumb, the little finger very strong, while the long middle-finger seems dried up. The tarsus is moderately long, the big-toe like the thumb, the other toes all of the same length. The face is of a reddish-gray with dark rings round the eyes and a light patch over them; the gray color continues on the cheeks and throat ; elsewhere the color is a brownish-black sprinkled with white and with gray reflections. The adults reach the length of twenty-seven inches, of which more than half belongs to the tail. Pollen in 1863 published an account of the creature’s habits. ‘This remarkable beast lives in the bamboo forests of the interior of the island. The natives say it is so rare as to be seen only by accident; it lives alone or in pairs, never in bands, is seen only at night and sleeps by day in the densest thickets. It feeds on the sap of the bamboo and sugar-cane, as well as on beetles and larvae. To get its food, it gnaws, with its strong incisors, an opening into the stem of the plant, and through it inserts its attenuated middle-finger, and brings out the insects or the liquid. At sunset 1t comes out and searches every opening, cleft or hollow in the trees, but at the approach of dawn hides itself in the thickest recesses. Its cry, a loud grunting, is often heard in the night.” The extraordinary character of the whole of the Lemuridz, and their confinement to the island of Madagascar, has excited much attention. Geologists inform us that remains of Lemuroids have been found in the Eocene deposits in France, while in North America Mr. Marsh recognizes no less than twelve genera of extinct Lemuroids. The European forms are most allied to the West African group, the American to the Mar- mosets. Hence even in the Tertiary deposits we have not yet got far enough back to find the primeval type from which al! the Primates spring. Mr. Wallace considers that there is evidence for belief that in early Tertiary times a continuous sea from the Bay of Bengal to the British Islands isolated Southern and Central Africa, which continent extended as far as Southern India and Ceylon. During this period the higher types of Mammalia were absent, and lemurs, edentata, and insectivora 118 QUADRUMANA. took their place. He adds that while there is every reason to negative a union between Africa and America, yet a moderate extension of their shores to each other is not improbable, and this with large islands in the place of the Cape Verd group, St. Paul’s Rocks, and Fernando Noronha, would suffice to explain the amount of similarity that actually exists. x of LY Ome DiE iE Ui Ore RO tr ik A. I.—FRUGIVORA. | PREROPIDA = = = FRUIT-EATING BATS. Il—_INSECTIVORA. . PHYLLOSTOMIDZ - . RHINOLOPHIDA - - . VESPERTILIONID - . NOCTILIONIDA - - LEAF-NOSED Barts. HORSE-SHOE BATS. TRUE BATs. DOG-HEADED BATS. SAIN SNM x eS WY S L Zz WZ = ¢ S Wh ) WAY = 4 4| a >< ~ Wei SRE (Ns 3h QZIIN NZ UENLAIN NZ NG TIN CGistw ie Wal it THE ORDER OF CHEIROPTERA—SUPERSTITIOUS DREAD OF BATS—THEIR USEFULNESS—THEIR FLY- ING APPARATUS—THEIR GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITS—THE GENERA OF THE ORDER. E have hitherto been describing strange creatures which are not native to our country, and of which living specimens are seen by us only as prisoners in the cages of menageries, or as beggars accompanying some itinerant organ-grinder. The order of which we are now about to treat is one of which some of the members are well known to all our readers. In the summer days, as the sun declines, the bats begin to come out from the recesses where they have hidden themselves from the garish light of the sun. As the darkness deepens their numbers increase, and when night has come they are all busy, wheeling in their strange intermittent flight, as they pursue their insect prey. They seem to be half birds and half mammals, and to form a link between these classes. For a long time, indeed, they were re- garded as birds. Moses describes them as “ fowls that creep, going upon all fours,” and adds that they are to be ‘an abomination.” Aristotle defines bats to be birds with wings of skin, and his authority gave cur- rency to this view of their relationship till comparatively modern times. The bats, however, have no other resemblance to birds than that they can fly. But while philosophers agreed in calling the bats birds, the unedu- cated classes, who knew nothing of theory and were guided by their own observations, seem everywhere in Europe to have regarded them in their true light, as a form of mammal. The French name them “the bald shrew mouse’’; the Spaniards, the “blind mouse”; to the German they are ‘“fledermiuse”’; to the English peasant, the “flittermouse,” or the mouse that flits or flutters. 16 122 CHEIROPTERA. The dark dwellings of the bats, the strange, mouse-like body, the leathern wing, the melancholy squeak, the repulsive look, give to them a mysterious character. While good spirits appear with the wings of a dove, evil demons are, in popular superstition, provided with the wings of the bat; and fabulous creatures like dragons or griffons are supposed to bear themselves through the air on bat-like wings. Such views, instilled in childhood on uneducated people, have produced a hatred against a sct of creatures which have claims for our protection, and which certainly do more good than harm, by continuing in the twilight the work of the swallow and keeping down the crowd of insect pests. The wild superstitions connected with the name of Vampire deserve a longer notice. An eloquent writer has remarked: “Of all the crea- tions of superstition a Vampire is perhaps the most horrible. You are lying in your bed at night, thinking of nothing but sleep, when you see by the faint light that is in your chamber, a shape entering at the door and gliding toward you. The thing moves along the air as if by the mere act of volition; it has a human visage and figure. The eyes stare wildly from the head; the hair is bristling; the flesh is livid; the mouth is bloody. “When you awake in the morning you think it is all a dream, until you perceive a small, blue, deadly-looking spot on your chest near the heart. You say nothing of the matter, but you know you are a doomed man. Every night the shape returns, and, with a face horrified at itself, sucks your life-blood in your sleep. You pine and droop and languish till you die. When dead you yourself become a Vampire and create fresh victims, who, dying in turn, add to the phantom stock.” This belief that the dead body is sometimes animated by a demon who caused it to rise from the grave and behave like a musquito, is very prevalent in the Southeast of Europe. Greece seems to have been its cradle, but it is still widely spread and firmly held in the countries bordering on Greece. From about the year 1727 to 1735 there was an epidemic of Vam- pirism in Servia and Hungary. People died by hundreds under the belief that they were killed by phantoms. Commissions were appointed to investigate the matter, and the graves of alleged Vampires opened ; the bodies were found undecomposed, with fresh skin and nails growing, with florid complexions, and blood in the chest. Voltaire tells us that “Vampires can be brought to reason only by being burnt when they THE BLOOD-SUCKING VAMPIRE. 123 are caught; but the precaution must be taken not to resort to this measure till the heart has been torn out.” An old German writer describes the execution of a Vampire: ‘“ When they opened his grave, after he had been long buried, his face was found with a color, and his features made natural movements as if the dead man smiled. He even opened his mouth as if he would inhale air. They held a crucifix before him and called, ‘See, this is Jesus Christ, who redeemed your soul from hell.” Upon this tears began to flow from the dead man’s eyes. Finally, when they proceeded to hack off his head, the corpse uttered a screech and turned and rolled just as if it had been alive.” In fact the super- stition caused the murder of a sufferer from trance. Allusions to the belief are common in Byron: But first on earth as Vampire sent, Thy corse shall from its tomb be rent, Then ghastly haunt thy native place, And suck the blood of all thy race, Yet loathe the banquet, which perforce Must feed thy livid, living corse. He refers for further particulars to Southey’s notes on “ Thalaba,” and adds that the stories told in Hungary and Greece of these foul feeders are most incredibly attested. Undoubtedly the application of this name Vampire to the blood- sucking bats of South America has increased the aversion with which all the order is regarded. The Cheiroptera increase both in number and variety as we approach the tropics. In the torrid zone they come out by thousands. In Central and South America they people the twilight of the primeval forests, they live in hollow trees and in rocks, and wage relentless war on the tribes of insects. The traveler sees them by daylight hanging from the _ trees, by night they are found in the midst of the forests as well as on the banks of the rivers. In Southern Asia the swarms of bats literally darken the sky when evening comes. “The bats,’ writes Tennant, “form a decided feature in the evening landscape in Ceylon. They are found in crowds in every hollow, in every underground passage, in the galleries of fortresses, under the roofs of houses, in the ruins of every temple. When night has come and the lamps are lit they appear, flutter around the table, and catch their prey by lamp-light.” Nor are they much less 124 CHEIROPTERA. numerous in the South of Europe, where the ruined edifices which abound in Italy, Greece, and Spain, send forth whole armies. They are quite as numerous occasionally in our own country. In a building in Maryland nine thousand six hundred and forty bats by actual count were destroyed by new tenants who entered the house after it had remained for some time unoccupied. The scientific name given to this peculiar order of creatures is CHEI- ROPTERA; a word compounded of the Greek word chezr “a hand,’ and pteron “a wing,” and expressive of the fact that they are mammals with winged hands. This winged hand deserves our careful notice. All the fingers of the hand, with the exception of the thumb, which is short, has a nail, and is quite free, are immoderately long, and united by means of a transparent membrane, which is without hair. This membrane covers also the arm and fore-arm, and is nothing else than a prolongation of the skin of the flanks. It is composed of two very thin layers, one a continuation of the integuments of the back, the other that of the abdomen. It also extends between the posterior limbs, where it is more or less developed, accord- ing to the species, and there takes the name of the interfemoral mem- brane; but it never reaches the toes of the feet, which are short, and have nails. It is owing to this membranous sail that Bats direct their course through the air in the same manner as Birds. When they are at rest, they fold their wings around them, enveloping their bodies as if in a mantle, just as we close an umbrella. The short, free thumb takes no part in extending the leathern wings, but it has to supply the place of fore-limbs when the bat is climbing or clinging. The foot has one strik- ing peculiarity; it has a bone which is confined to the Cheiroptera. This spur-bone springs from the heel, and serves to stretch the membrane between the leg and the tail. The nose in all varieties of the Cheiroptera is highly organized. Not merely are the nostrils well opened, and capable of being closed or dis- tended by peculiar muscles, but many families have in addition most extraordinary nasal appendages. The ear too is equally complex; it consists of a very large cochlea, which is susceptible of very easy motion. There exists too a large, movable, variously formed flap, the ¢vagus or ear-cover, which serves to close the auditory canal and exclude sounds which the bat cannot endure, f SENSES OF THE BATS. 125 or enables it to hear the lightest rustle. In fact bats hear the insects flying past them at a considerable distance, and this sense of hearing guides them in their course. Cruel experiments have been made to demonstrate this fact, and it has been found that the bat’s flight becomes wild and uncertain when the ear or tragus is removed. Their powers of sight and taste are less developed. But it is toa very exceptional delicacy of touch that must be attributed the ease with which bats fly about in their dark retreats without striking against the angles, rocky projections, or other objects. Spallanzani instituted experi- ments which were decisive in this respect. The celebrated physiologist destroyed the vision of several specimens, and on leaving them alone he saw them fly around the room without betraying the slightest hesitation, or without striking their heads against the furniture or the ceiling; ina word, without the deprivation of sight having changed in the slightest degree their condition of existence. This fact induced Spallanzani to declare that bats are endowed with a sixth sense, which informs them of the proximity of solid bodies. But such an explanation is unnecessary. When we are aware of the prodi- gious sensibility of the tactile organs in these animals, we may admit that they are affected by certain movements of the air which are imperceptible to us, and that bats can thus be rendered conscious of the proximity of a body by the obstruction to the eddies and currents of air displaced by them in their flight. The hair with which the bat tribe is furnished, is of a very peculiar character; and although closely resembling the fur of a rat or mouse when scen by the unaided eye, is so unique in aspect when seen under a microscope, that a bat’s hair can be detected almost at a glance. Each hair is covered with very minute scales, which are arranged in various modes around a central shaft. As might be expected from their structure, most of the bats walk very badly, all slowly and clumsily. Its mode of progression is as follows: The bat thrusts forward one of the fore-legs or “‘ wings,” and either hooks the claw at its extremity over any convenient projection, or buries it in the ground. By means of this hold, which it thus gains, the animal draws itself forward, raises its body partly off the earth, and advances the hind leg, making at the same time a kind of tumble forward. The process is then repeated on the opposite side, and thus the creature proceeds in ‘a strange and unearthly fashion, tumbling and staggering along as if its 126 CHEIROPTERA. brain were reeling from the effects of disease. It steers a very deviating course, falling first to one side and then to the other, as it employs the limbs of either side. In their general form the Cheiroptera resemble the Quadrumana, and like the latter the female has two teats. Their internal structure is pecu- liar, the skeleton is slightly but strongly built, the bones never have air- cavities as birds have, the vertebrz are broad and short, the ribs long, the legs very slender, the collar-bone and shoulder-blades thick and strong. The extraordinary development of the skin makes these crea- tures look larger than they really are, and in some species its immense growth in the nose and ears gives them their peculiarly repulsive look. All the Cheiroptera sleep by day. They suspend themselves head downwards by the hind feet, frequently clinging to each other in compact masses. In cold and temperate regions bats hibernate. They are then abso- lutely insensible, and may be handled, shaken, and even thrown in the air, without betraying the least movement. But if they are held for some time in the hands, or near a fire, under the influence of the heat they rapidly show signs of animation. During the period of torpidity the vital functions are executed feebly, but they are not altogether abolished. They cannot dispense with nourishment during this portion of their existence, but as they are incapable of taking food, they devour their own substance, the fat that has accumulated in their bodies during the period of activity. In this way is explained their emaciation at the termination of their winter sleep. Professor Owen writes: “The preservation of life in this passive state is due to the irritable property of the fibre of the heart, which is excited to contract by the blood in its carbonized state. The slow cir- culation of venous blood is the only recognizable vital act during hiber- nation, and the material conveyed by the absorbents is sufficient to counterbalance the slight waste. The bat is thus independent of sup- plies from without, but it purchases that independence by a temporary abrogation of its vital functions. Cold, senseless, motionless and asphyxi- ated, its entry into death’s chamber is prevented only by its being brought to his very door.” Bats usually have only one offspring at a time. As soon as brought forth, the mother carefully cleans it, envelops it in her wings as in a FAMILIES OF CHEIROPTERA. 127 cradle, and holds it pressed against her breast to receive its first nourish- ment. After some days, the youngster can hang by the claws of its hind feet to the fur of the mother, and it is not rare to see her flying about with this strange burden. When, exceptionally, the progeny are double, then the winged nurse carries both in her aerial voyages. The bats are a very difficult study, and it is quite uncertain how many distinct species are really known. The genera too are exceedingly numerous, and are in a very unsettled state, while the synonymy is exceedingly confused. We shall commence by dividing them into five families, the PTEROPID&, or fruit-eating bats; the PHYLLOSTOMID&, or leaf-nosed bats, among which the blood-sucking Vampire is found; the RHINOLOPHIDZ, or horse-shoe bats; the VESPERTILIONIDA, or common bats, and the NOCTILIONIDA, or short-headed bats. We will mention their range of distribution under each family. Cre AGP Ian lols THE FRUIT-EATING BATS OR FLYING FOXES—THE KALONGS—THE LEAF-NOSED BATS OR VAMPIRES: —ORIENTAL SUPERSTITIONS—THE HORSESHOE BATS—THE RHINOPOMA, evenly distributed over the tropical regions of the Old World and Australia. They range over all Africa and the East of Asia northward to China and tne South of Japan. They are found also. in Australia and Tasmania, and in the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa ; but do not occur in New Zealand or the Sandwich Islands. Naturalists have divided the Pteropide into mzze genera and szxrty-five species, but an account of them all would be wearisome. We shall therefore confine our notice to a few species of the most characteristic. genus, the PTEROPUS, from which the family derives its name. [os Fruit-eating Bats or FLYING FOXEs, Pteropide, are pretty THE KALONG. This species, the FLYING Fox or KALONG of English travelers, Prero-. pus edulis, is the largest member of the order, and sometimes attains the size of a squirrel, with wings measuring four feet across. It has a muz- zle somewhat like a dog’s, pretty large, naked and pointed ears, and a highly developed flying membrane, which, however, between the hind legs is reduced to a narrow strip. It has no tail. Its dental formula is QD. Ms iy oe Piper a Nomaciees The color of the back is a deep brownish-black, that of the belly reddish-. black, the head and neck of a reddish-brown. It is found chiefly in the islands of the East Indian seas, and frequents the numerous orchards which surround the native villages, especially preferring the trees of the Durian, a fruit which Wallace says it is worth a voyage to the East to eat, so exquisite is its flavor. By day the Kalongs. Seu COMMON BAT VAMPIRE BAT COMMON BAT DOG HEADED BAT Meee Che TROP LE RA THE FLYING FOXES. 129 hang on the branches by hundreds and thousands and millions. By night they fly in bands so large that hours are required for the whole body to pass an observer. Their food is fruit, chiefly the various kinds of figs and the mangoes; but occasionally they have been seen to eat little fishes, which they catch when they leap out of the water. The damage these enormous troops of creatures do is incalculable; but the natives pursue them less to re- strain their depredations than to obtain a dainty for their kitchens. “ At Batchian,” Wallace writes, ‘these ugly creatures are considered a great -delicacy and are much sought after. At about the beginning of the year they come in large flocks to eat fruit, and congregate during the day on some small islands in the bay, hanging by thousands on the trees, espe- cially on the dead ones. They can be easily caught or knocked down with sticks, and are brought home by basketfuls. They require to be «carefully prepared, as the skin and fur have a rank and powerful foxy odor. They are generally cooked with abundance -of spices and condi- ments, and are really very good eating—something like hare.” The Kalongs are not the redoubtable animals represented by early travelers, who had the privilege of becoming first acquainted with them. These explorers allowed themselves to be imposed upon by their extra- ordinary dimensions, and their descriptions of them are ridiculous exag- gerations. The truth is that the Kalongs never attack any animal, even the feeblest. They may, it is true, in the absence of their ordinary ali- ment, eat insects, but this is a rare exception; and-they are only to be dreaded by man for the injury they do his gardens. Divers artifices are therefore resorted to, to prevent such destruction. For this purpose, in Java the fruit-trees are covered with network or wickerwork made with bamboo slips. Another species, the Preropus Edwardst, is found in India and Mada- gascar. It is much less than the Kalong, and differs from it slightly in color, having on the back a broad stripe of yellowish-gray. It has been often brought to Europe, and Brehm has given an account of the be- havior of a pair of them in captivity. They seemed to live in perfect harmony, and allowed themselves to be handled and stroked by those they knew; strangers they did not like, even of their own species. The Berlin Thiergarten was the scene of deadiy combats between the flying foxes; difference of sex made no difference in the ferocity of the combats, in which one or both usually died from the bites 17 130 CHEIROPTERA. inflicted by the enemy. Even with the utmost care they rarely live long in confinement. Flight seems a necessity of their well-being, and, when kept prisoners, they contract ulcers on the wings and soon perish. Yet some specimens lived and produced young in the London Zoological Gardens, and Brehm’s couple lived over two years in a cage. The bats which belong to this genus are remarkable for the fact that they possess fewer vertebrae than any other known mammalian animal. In the entire spinal column, there are but twenty-four of these bones; this paucity of number being caused by the entire absence of a tail. THE LEAF-NOSED BATS. The PHYLLOSTOMIDA, or simple leaf-nosed bats, are found from Mex- ico and the Antilles to the southern limits of the forests east of the Andes and in Chili. One species, closely allied to the Mexican form, is found in California; and the Vampires, of which such terrible tales are told, belong to this family. The family has been divided by various naturalists into five groups; it is sufficient for us to say that it embraces ¢hzrty-one genera and szxty species. We will mention only the genera Phyllostoma, Desmodus, and Macrotus. The members of this family are chiefly characterized by two nasal leaves, one in the form of a horseshoe, situated above the upper lip; the other disposed in the shape of a lance, and placed above the first. They have the mouth widely cleft, the tongue studded with horny papilla, and in each jaw a pair of strong canine teeth, which project beyond the lips. They are of medium size, their hair is short and lustrous, and their inter- femoral membrane is more or less developed, according to the genera; the tail varies in length, or is altogether absent, as the species differ. It is probable that all the leafnosed bats are blood-suckers, but only under certain circumstances. Hence we have very conflicting accounts. ‘ The naturalist Azara, who observed a large number of these American bats, has afforded us valuable information concerning their habits. It is usually on the croup, shoulders, or neck, that they bite beasts of burden, because there they find a secure resting-place. The wounds they inflict are neither extensive nor deep, but are small incisions made by the horny papilla with which their tongue is armed, and which only puncture the ATTACKS OF VAMPIRES. 131 skin. The blood, therefore, with which they gorge themselves comes, not from the veins or arteries, but from the capillary vessels of the skin. They sometimes attack sleeping poultry, and bite them on the crest or the other appendages which decorate their heads. Most frequently gangrene of the wound supervenes in these subjects, and death follows. Azara fully confirms their sanguinary proclivities with regard to man, having himself on several occasions experienced their effects. At four different times this naturalist had his toes bitten when he was obliged to sleep in the open air. But the sensation was so painless that he did not awake, and knew nothing of his mishap until morning. He suffered from the effects of these wounds for some days, although he did not think it necessary to pay any attention to them. The same traveler adds that they do not live on blood except when insects are scarce. He also gives an opinion, but without mentioning it as his own, or expressing his belief in it, but which is credited by the natives, that in order to lessen the sensation of pain in their victims, these animals fan with their wings the part they are about to wound. Humboldt writes: ‘During the cool long night the cattle and horses cannot rest; for monstrous bats suck their blood while they sleep, or fasten themselves to their backs, causing suppurating wounds in which flies and insects settle. The bats which bit our dogs had long tails like the Molossi, but I believe they were the leaf-nosed varieties which possess a tongue that is a real sucking machine. The wounds were small and round; the dog howled from fear rather than pain. Still I have slept many a night under the open sky without being bitten. The bite is not dangerous, and the pain so slight that the bat is off and away before the sleeper awakes.” Rengger states “that the wounds are a quarter of an inch in diameter and about two lines deep, never reaching the muscles, and showing no traces of teeth. The loss of blood is about three ounces from each wound.” Burmeister, however, says that the loss of blood is very slight, and that he never knew of any man being attacked, or any animal dying of the wound. Hensel tells us that in Rio de Janeiro the stables require to be furnished with lamps and punkas to keep the bats from the horses. He does not attribute blood-sucking propensities to all the leaf-nosed bats. ‘“ Most of them have teeth like Carnivora, and pro- duce wounds resembling those inflicted by beasts of prey; but the wounds caused by the blood-suckers are quite different ; they seem to be produced by raising up the skin and then severing it by a horizontal cut. Hence 132 CHEIROPTERA. numerous capillary vessels of the skin are divided, and an abundant, long- continued bleeding results. Such wounds can only be effected by pecu- liar organs such as the genera Desmodus and Diphylla are endowed with.” Waterton, in his travels in South America, writes: “In the morning I heard my friend Tarbot swearing in his hammock. ‘What’s the matter?’ IT asked; ‘Anything wrong?’ ‘The matter!’ he replied; ‘the bats have sucked me to death.’ I found on examination that the bats had attacked his great toe; the wound was less than the bite of a leech. 1 conjecture that my friend lost twelve ounces of blood.” Bates, who lived eleven years in Brazil, was once bitten. His narra- tive of a night in a South American forest is not very cheering: ‘“ To- wards midnight I was awakened by the rustling sound produced by bats flying to and fro. They had put out my lamp, and when I had relit it I noticed that the whole room was black with them. I laid about me with a stick and they disappeared through the roof; next morning I found a wound, evidently inflicted by bats, on my hip. The negroes assert that the Vampire is the only species which attacks man.” GENUS PHYLLOSTOMA., The VAMPIRE, Phyllostoma spectrum (Plate II), is the largest of the South American blood-suckers. The head is thick; the snout project- ing; the ears large; the nose-leaf small for the size of the animal; the tongue is flat, elongated and extensile, covered with papillz so as to form a kind of sucking organ; the upper lip smooth, the lower lip coy- ered with two large, bare, warty excrescences; the soft fur is chestnut- brown on the back, yellowish-brown on the belly. Nothing is more hideous than the front view of this creature. The great, leathern, projecting ears, the protruding spear-like nose, the sparkling black eyes, form a whole which calls up the goblins of legend, and fits well with the Vampire’s bloodthirsty reputation. Our intro- ductory remarks will have shown that there is considerable doubt whether the Spectre Vampire deserves its character as a sucker of blood. Bates expressly states that it is well known to the natives of Brazil for its harmlessness. Still there is no wonder that a superstitious race should find its monstrous appearance an index to its disposition. Both THE CALIFORNIA VAMPIRE. 133 Bates and Waterton affirm that it is mainly frugivorous. The former opened the stomach of several specimens and found that they contained various kinds of seeds mixed with the remains of insects; the guava fruit is an especial object of their attack. The latter observed these bats in a moonlit night fluttering round the tree-tops evidently eating the buds. It is difficult to discover in many cases what species a traveler describes under the name of Vampire, and in ordinary language it designates all the bats that suck blood. GENUS DESMODUS. This genus possesses nasal leaves in the form of the letter V, large ears that stand wide apart, no tail, and a mere strip of femoral membrane. The crowns of the molars form a long cutting-edge. The “tragus,” or inner ear, is long and pointed. The species Desmodus rufus, which is usually regarded as the represen- tative of the genus, is russet-brown on the back, but silver-gray on the under surface. The nasal leaf, ears, arms, and legs are thinly clothed and appear flesh-colored; its length is about two inches and a half, its spread of wing twelve inches. It is abundant in Brazil. Hensel states: ‘In capturing these animals, I have often seen the wounds they inflicted on the noses of my dogs and on my own hands; they bite with lightning speed; even when they appear only to touch the skin, a part is soon felt to be removed. They do not hold on with their teeth like other varie- ICS CEINGS yy VWeAGR@maUIS: The CALIFORNIAN VAMPIRE, Macrotus Californicus, although a quite distinct species, is nearly related to some of the West Indian bats. It has a long head and a face covered with hair, which grows somewhat thinly on the large oblong ears, while the neck behind them is almost bare. The fur is white and fawn-colored, each hair being tipped with white, but that on the face is somewhat inclined to brown. Its dental formula is 134 CHEIROPTERA. THE HORSESHOE BATS. The family Rhinolophide, which embraces seven genera and seventy species, derives its scientific name from a curious crest-like membrane on the nose. They are found most abundant and varied in Eastern Asia, where twelve species are found. Africa and Australia possess five, Europe one genus only. The nasal appendage consists of three portions—the horseshoe, the longitudinal comb, and the lancet. The former begins at the end of the snout, and surrounds the nostrils with a deep fold of skin. The comb rises up inside the horseshoe behind the nostrils. The lancet rises up between the eyes under the posterior end of the horseshoe, and contains three cellular cavities. The ears are simple, without an inner ear; the flying membrane short, and the flight clumsy. The tail is short, and the interfemoral membrane entirely embraces it. At the flanks two glands are found which have the appearance of mamme, and secrete an odoriferous substance. The Rhinolophidze differ but little in size from the Vespertilionidz ; they have a long, abundant fur, generally of a light shade, which is sometimes remarkably handsome. These Cheiroptera are widely spread in the Old World, in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the islands of Sunda; no species are found in America. They live in numerous bands during the greater part of the year. When the females are with young, they separate themselves from the males, to bring forth and rear their progeny. The following genus contains the “Horseshoe Bats” proper: GENUS Xk EINOEOR EUS: The LESSER HORSESHOE Bat, Rhznolophus hipposideros, is not uncom- mon in Europe. During its winter sleep it folds itself so closely in its wings that it seems a fungus rather than an animal. Its chief food is soft- bodied insects, like flies or moths, but it is said to be a blood-sucker, on very inconclusive observations. It attains the size of only two inches, with a spread of eight inches in the wings, and is distinguished from the following species by an additional appendage to the nose, placed in front of the ordinary lancet. THE HORSESHOE BATS. 135 The GREAT HORSESHOE Bat, Rhinolophus ferrum equinum (Plate 11). is much larger, sometimes measuring eighteen inches across the wings. The NOBLE HORSESHOE Bat, Khznolophus nobiles, is the largest of the genus, measuring four inches in length, and twenty inches from tip to tip of the wings. It is a native of Java, and has very fine and long hair, the color being brownish on the back and grayish beneath. The nasal ap- pendage is a broad membrane, stretching transversely across the nose like a shelf. The sides are bounded by parallel folds, and the inferior portion is semicircular, with an obtuse point in the middle. GENUS MEGADERMA. The AFRICAN LEAF Bat, MJegaderma frons, is more properly a mem- ber of the Horseshoe family than of the Vespertilionidz, with which some writers class it. The nose has three leaflets—one horizontal, one vertical, and one of the horseshoe form. The ears are very large, fur- nished with a tragus, and united over the forehead so as to give a heart- shaped appearance to the head. They are blood-suckers. Of the four or five species known, the most important are the Leaf- nosed Megadermes, which inhabit Madagascar, and the Lyre Mega- dermes, found in Senegal. The latter measures fourteen inches across the wings. GENUS NYCTERIS: This genus, with ¢ree species, is found in the Moluccas and Africa. The nose is pierced by a cavity in which the nasal-leaf is concealed; the tail is of medium size, and supports the interfemoral membrane through- out its length. They measure from eight to ten inches across the wings, and possess a contrivance by which they can increase their size without augmenting their weight. Two very small.openings afford a communi- cation between the mouth and the space between the skin and flesh, which are only tied to each other by a few membranous threads at each side of the neck and on the sides of the thumb; when, therefore, the bat desires to inflate its body, it closes its mouth and forces the air througn the cheek-passages into the empty space between the skin and flesh. The result of this operation is that the skin is puffed out, so that the 130 CHEIROPTERA. creature looks like a little ball of fur to which the head and limbs had been artificially attached. GENUS RHINOPOMA. This curious Indian genus, which is sometimes classed with the Noc- tilionidze, has a long tail, a narrow femoral membrane, and a peculiar den- tal formula, ee eC eee 2—2 I—I 5—5 The best known species, Rhinopoma microphyllum, is found in Bengal and Egypt. It is a small, long-haired, light-gray bat, about two inches long. The tail is remarkable for its length, and contains eleven vertebrz. It is found in great numbers in the old ruins on the Nile, and hangs in masses that quite hide the roof. In the evening they are seen skimming” across the waters, especially during the inundation, in quest of insects. Cir Age aia Tle eve eee En i Ss 2AC wh S. THE COMMON BAT—THE TAPHOZOUS—THE PIPISTRELLE—THE BARBASTELLE—THE NEW YORK BAT—THE CAROLINA BAT—THE HOARY BAT—THE CALIFORNIA BAT—THE GREAT BAT OF BRITAIN—THE SHORT-EARED BAT—THE LONG-EARED BAT—THE BIG-EARED BAT—THE NOC- TILIONID4—THE GENUS NYCTICEIUS—THE GENUS NYCTINOMUS—THE GENUS NOCTILIO. F the numerous recognized species of bats, nearly ¢wo hun- dred belong to this family, the VESPERTILIONID&. They are placed undér ezghteen genera, all agreeing in the following characteristics: the nose is simple, with leafy appendages, the ear has always a tragus or cover, the pointed molar teeth have an edge some- what in the shape of a W. The dental arrangements are very varied, and on them the division into genera is founded. The incisors, which are pointed, are two, four, six, or more in the upper jaw; usually four, rarely six, exceptionally two, in the lower. The canines and false molars vary from one to three above, and from two to three below, while the molars are three on each side. Thus the number of teeth varies from twenty-eight to thirty-eight. Equally various are the sizes of these bats. Some measure five inches in the body and two feet across the wings; others attain only a length of one inch and a half and seven inches of wing-spread. They are most numerous in America, but are found everywhere outside of the polar circles. They prefer to live in trees, on the branches, rather than in holes or caverns. Some live in large bands, some are solitary, or at most form very small societies. They live almost exclusively on insects, at times on small animals, but it is not ascertained whether any of them eat fruit. They may be described with justice as the most useful of the Mammalia. Their flight is abrupt and full of sudden turns, thus baffling birds of prey. They climb and run very well; their sense of hearing is highly developed. We will notice only the principal genera of this family. 18 138 CHEIROPTERA. GENUS TAPHOZOUS. The animals belonging to this genus are natives of Africa and the hot parts of Asia. They are characterized by a hollow forehead and a some- what short tail, which is detached and projects downward. Their wings generally have a span of from eight to twelve inches. It contains fen species. GENUS VESPERUGO: This genus is distinguished by short, thick, fleshy ears, set wide apart and rounded in front, the tragus or cover of the ear projects, the wings are pretty long with a thick membrane, and the tail is as long as the body. The NORTHERN Bat, or Vesperugo Nilsoni, attains a length of about ten inches. Its color on the upper surface is dark-brown, on the lower somewhat lighter. It is found in the north of Sweden and Norway, probably extending to the Arctic circle, and in Russia. It does not sus- pend itself by the hind feet during its period of hibernation, but hides in crevices from which only its snout projects. It migrates southwards in the summer, because in the far north the days of June and July are too long to suit nocturnai animals. GENUS VESPER iEl@: This genus is found over the whole of the Northern Hemisphere, and contains many species. The wings are slender and capable of quick movement and great endurance; the covering of the ear is directed inwards, and the tail is included in the flying membrane. THE PIPISTRELLE. The PIPISTRELLE, Vespertilio pipistrellus (Plate IV), is the smallest European bat. It is only two inches and a half long, of which length full one inch is taken up by the tail. The fur is a yellowish red-brown above, inclining below more to yellow. The thick ears and membrane are brownish-black. THE COMMON BAT. 139 It inhabits almost all Europe and North and Central Asia, and extends from Spain to Japan. It is exceedingly common in Germany, where no town, no village, no farm does not harbor them. It is the COMMON BAT of Great Britain. Its flight is marked by great adroitness. In the bright evenings it is seen sometimes skimming over the surface of small pools, but oftener flitting to and fro between the stems of the trees. In villages it seldom rises higher than the second story, and never flies far in the centre of the street, but keeps near the houses. It is fond of entering lighted rooms, but avoids low and small chambers. They can be tamed to a certain extent, and soon become familiar with the people whom the relations of every day have taught them to recog- nize. Dr. Franklin says that he has seen, in several farms in England, bats which were perfectly tame. These little creatures lived in the same room with the farmer’s family. If any one, holding an insect between his lips, imitated the buzzing of a fly, they perched upon his shoulder, sought for the insect around his mouth, and even seized it from between his lips. Its mode of eating is peculiar. According to White’s “ History of Selborne,” if you give it anything to eat, it brings its wings round before the mouth, hiding its head. It is capable of running on the ground, and is an agile climber. They are exposed to many enemies; hawks attack them in summer, weasels and mice invade their hiding-places in winter, but it finds its bitterest enemy in man. The SEROTINE, Vespertilio scrotinus, has the ears pretty large, the fur long and soft, the color reddish-brown passing into dull-yellow beneath the body. Its flight is slow, and it is generally found solitary or in pairs. The MOUSE-COLORED BAT, Vespertilio murinus, measures three inches and a half from the snout to the root of the tail. The head is narrow in front and elongated, the eyes conspicuous, the ears sharply pointed. It is described as a very pugnacious animal. THE BARBASTELLE. The BARBASTELLE or BULLDOG Bat, Vesfertilio barbastellus, (Plate IV), measures three and a half inches, and has a spread of wing of ten inches. The color is blackish-brown, inclining to gray beneath. The 140 CHEIROPTERA. ear is tolerably large and wrinkled, with a sharp-pointed tragus. It is found all through Europe, and has been often observed in captivity. It is of more gentle disposition than most bats, and soon recognizes its keeper; a couple of days render it comparatively tame. It is not very active, and one kept by Bell, the naturalist, preferred lying on the hearth-rug to using its wings; it fed on meat. During hibernation, they hang by their hind legs usually at the entrance of caverns, where they sometimes have been seen perfectly enclosed in icicles. THE CALIFORNIA BAT. The CALIFORNIA BAT, Vespertzlio nitidus, is to be carefully distin- guished from the previously-described California Vampire. The body is small, its spread of wing seven inches, the head and face hairy, the ears longer than the head, the foot small, the tail usually embraced in the interfemoral membrane. The fur is silky, of a brownish tint, becoming lighter in front. As far as known, it has never been found to the east of the Rocky Mountains. THE NOCTULE. The NOocTULE, Vespertilio noctula, is one of the largest species. Its length is sometimes four inches, including one inch of tail. When its wings are expanded they measure fourteen inches. It is found over a great part of the Old World, preferring lowlands and valleys. During the summer days it sleeps in clefts of trees, but during their winter-sleep hundreds are found clinging to each other in old ruins. Its flight is strong and high, and it turns with such dexterity as to escape almost all attacks from birds of prey. The Noctule is com- monly called in Great Britain the GREAT BAT, but it possesses a more popular appellation derived from its sharp and piercing cry, that of the “ Jacky Screamer.” It does not make its appearance till the end of April; - it emits an offensive odor. THE SHORT-EARED BAT. DAUBENTON’S Bat, Vespertilio (or Brachyotus) Daubentoni, has ears which, when pressed down, scarcely reach the top of the nose. It measures an inch and a half in the body, and about one inch in the tail. THE NEW YORK BAT. I4I It is easily distinguished from bats of the same size by its short ears and the absence of wing-claws. In Germany it is called the WATER Bar, as it loves well-watered regions, where it is found occasionally in extra- ordinary numbers. It seems to prefer chalk quarries for the scenes of its hibernation, and it lives in societies. Ponds near houses and gardens are their favorite haunts, and they skim within a hand’s-breadth of the surface; if a bridge comes in their course they always pass under the arches. By day they hang in clusters on branches over the water. The LitrLeE Brown Bats, Vespertilio subulatus, common throughout the Middle States, and the BLUNT-NOSED BAT, Vespertilio lucifugus, ex- tending throughout the United States as far as Mexico, call for no remarks. GdZINUS SCOWO MW SNL Wis: The CAROLINA Bat, Scotophilus Carolinensis, has oblong ears as long as the head and rather velvety. The projecting portion of the ear is heart-shaped. The fur is chestnut-brown above and yellowish below. The GEORGIAN BAT, Scotophilus Georgianus, is of a dark-brown color on the back, brighter in front, and the fur is thick, soft, and long; the head is somewhat flat, and the point of the tail is not involved in the membranous wings. GENUS EASIURUS: The New York Bat, Lasiurus noveboracensis, has short and broad ears, and a rather pointed, short nose. The fur is soft and thick, and there is a white spot at the origin of the wings. It is sometimes called the RED Bart, and is found in New York, Pennsylvania, and on the Missouri. ‘““Godman’s Natural History ” relates: “(In June, 1823, a son of the keeper of a city park in Philadelphia brought home the young one of one of these bats. Three hours afterward its mother made her appear- ance and followed the boy two blocks, finally alighting on his breast. Both were brought to the museum, the young one firmly adhering to the mother’s teat.” 142 CHEIROPTERA. The Hoary Bat, Lasiurus cinereus, is common in the Rocky Moun- tains. The ear is large, but shorter than the head; the tragus obtuse and bow-shaped. The nostrils are wide apart, the canine teeth large, and there is only one incisor on each side. Its fur is long and of a black-brown at the base, then of a brownish-yellow, then blackish, then white, and from the mixture of these tints is derived its name. It is nearly four and a half inches long—that is, it is nearly twice the size of the New York Bat, with which it has much affinity. GENUS) LEB COmUs: The LONG-EARED Bat, Plecotus auritus, derives its name from its highly developed ears. These appendages are nearly as long as the whole body, and are remarkable for their transparency. The wearer has the strange power of contracting and expanding his ears, producing sometimes graceful folds and festoons, at other times a feathery appear- ance. When flying they usually curve them backward, so that merely the long, pointed tragus stands up. When it hangs itself up to sleep, it covers its ears with the arms. The Long-eared Bat bears captivity better than most of his fellows, can be easily tamed, and exhibits a very amiable disposition. The pris- oners soon become bold and familiar; they are very cleanly, not only cleaning themselves after their meals, but occasionally assisting each other. They are playful and pretend to bite one another, but they never harm their companions of the same species. GENUS sYVNO@RUS: This closely allied genus is one of the genera peculiar to the South- eastern and Central States. It is characterized by very large ears, the inner border of which continues as a nasal excrescence, and has no tongue-shaped development, as in the genus Plecotus. The BIG-EARED BAT, Synotus macrotis, is found in the South Atlantic States. It measures ten inches from wing-tip to wing-tip; the hair is long and fine, of a blackish-brown color. A very similar species, the Synotus Townsend, 1s found on the Upper Missouri. THE DOG-HEADED BATS. 143 GENUS ANTROZOUS. This genus possesses a large head, high tapering nose, slender trun- cated snout, large eyes, and ears longer than the head. The PALE Bat, Axtrozous pallidus, is found in the Pacific States and Texas, and exhibits two varieties—one fawn-colored, the other yellowish- brown; in the latter the interfemoral membrane is bare. THE NOCTILIONIDA. The DOG-HEADED BaTs are very unequally distributed. Their head- quarters are in the tropical regions of America, where most of the genera into which the family is divided are to be found. They range from Mexico to Chili on the West Coast, and Buenos Ayres on the East, and one species occurs in California. New Zealand and Norfolk Island each possess one species. The New Zealand species, I/ystacina tuberculata, seems to form a connecting link between the Noctilionide and the Phyllostomide. The Noctilionidz have the ears usually joined, the lips are pendu- lous, the nose sharp, the tragus is broad and square. The tail extends beyond the interfemoral membrane, and the great toes are fringed on the outside. Various classifications of this family have been made; some authorities include in it the R/znopoma, which we have placed with the Rhinolophidz, and the Zaphozous, which we class with the Vespertilionideze. The genera are fourteen in number, but their differences are only interesting to the professed student of natural history. GENUS NYCTICEIUS. This North American genus contains only ove species. The head and ears resemble those of the Vesperugo. The CREEK Bat, Wycticeius crepuscalons, is found from New York to the Rocky Mountains, and southward to New Orleans. The fur is rather short, and brown, with yellow tips to the hair. 144 CHEIROPTERA. GENUS NYCTINOMUS: This genus has pointed ears, thick hanging lips, and a sharp nose. The great toes are separated from the others and fringed on the outside. The Wyctenomus nasutus, called likewise Molossus or Dysopes nasutus, is. found in South Carolina, but most extensively in South America. As befits its name of zasutus, the nose is well defined; the head is large, the lips pendulous; the ears are as broad as they are long, and almost join at the base. The fur is soft and thick, of a yellowish-brown, tipped with white, and covers the lower part of the ears. The tail projects some dis- tance beyond the interfemoral membrane, and the toes are supplied with long hairs. Another species, the Wyctinomus obscurus, is nearly the size of the Bar- bastelle, and measures three inches. The head is short, the muzzle swollen, the ears large. GENUS NOCTIEIO:! The DOG-HEADED BAT, Woctilio Americanus or leporinus, is the best known of the ¢wo species of this genus. The ear is short, narrow, and pointed; the muzzle conical, the nose overhanging the lips; the upper canines very long. The fur is of a reddish-yellow, and does not extend to the flying membrane. The second species, Woctzlio albiventer, is much smaller, and the fur on the belly is yellowish-white. The bats are a very difficult study, and it is quite uncertain how many species are known; the most probable estimate is that of Mr. Murray, who gives a list of four hundred species. For American Bats, the reader who desires to pursue the subject is referred to the exhaustive monograph of Dr. Allen, in the Transactions of the Smithsonian Institute. For the Cheiroptera in general Mr. Dobson’s elaborate Catalogue is the latest authority. ORDER III. Ie NSE CPP VORA . GALEOPITHECID# - . MACROSCELIDID - . TURATAD AS == = = . ERINACEIDA.- - - ; CENTETIDE SS re . POTAMOGALIDA - . CHRYSOCHLORID » AL PID AG = == = = . SORICIDAD §- = - = FLYING LEMURS. ELEPHANT SHREWS. SQUIRREL SHREwe: HEDGEHOGS. TENRECS. OTTER SHREW. GOLDEN MOLES. MOLES. SHREWS. : Clal Ae Ma Ie 1, CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORDER—ITS DIVISION INTO NINE FAMILIES—THE GALEOPITHECIDA—- THE FLYING LEMURS—THE MACROSCELIDID/ OR ELEPHANT SHREWS—THE GENUS RHYN— CHOCYON—THE GENUS PETRODROMUS—THE TUPAIADA—THE BANGSRING—THE PRESS—THE GENUS HYLOMYS—THE GENUS PTILOCERCUS—THE. PENTAIL. HE third order of Mammalia, the INSECTIVORA (from Jysecta “ in-. sect,’ and voro “to devour”’), embraces numerous animals which, like many of the Cheiroptera, feed on insects, for the consumption of which they are specially adapted by the formation of their teeth. The distribution of the INSECTIVORA over the habitable globe is remarkable; they are completely absent from South America and Australia; some genera only found in Madagascar have allies in the West Indian islands; the hedgehogs, so common in Europe, are un- known in North America, and the majority of the species of the order belong to one genus, Sorex. From these facts it is evident that they are the detached fragments of a much more extensive group of animals which are gradually diminishing in number and which are now almost extinct. In the terrible struggle for existence which has gone on since life first made its appearance on the globe, the INSECTIVORA have not held their ground, except in special localities or by the favor of special circumstances. Some have been saved from the severe competition with other mammals by their isolation in regions like Madagascar; the MOLEs have escaped extermination by their habits; the HEDGEHOGS by their prickly armor; and others, like the ELEPHANT SHREWS and SQUIRREL SHREWS, owe their safety to the likeness they present to dominant groups in their own districts. It is only under special conditions that they can maintain themselves against more highly organized forms. 148 INSECTIVORA. The animals of this order exhibit remarkable deficiencies and remark- able developments of particular parts. The body as a rule is compact, the head long, the nose prolonged inte a snout; the limbs, with the exception of the tail, and, in some species, of the hind-leg, are shortened excessively ; the clothing of the body varies from the velvety skin of the mole to the sharp, stiff, erectile spines which defend the hedgehog. Their limbs are adapted for walking, swimming, and digging. They are all plantigrade, that is, in walking they apply the whole sole of the foot to the ground. Their intelligence is very slight; they are dull, shy, and distrustful, loving solitude, yet of violent tempers. Most of them live a subterranean life, but some frequent the waters, some the trees. Their astonishing energy is an essential check on the increase of worms and insects, and even of the smaller rodents. A look at the jaws of an insectivorous animal immediately con- vinces us that the creature is carnivorous to a greater degree than such Carnivora as cats or dogs. The jaws bristle with pointed teeth, daggerlike spears take the place of canines, and sharp pyramids resem. bling a double saw complete their dentition. The whole structure is formed to seize and hold fast even hard-shelled insects like cock- chafers. The jaws of a shrew-mouse enlarged to the size of a lion’s, would be far more terrible and appalling in the ferocity of their appear- ance. In spite of the benefits conferred on us by these creatures in destroy- ing our insect pests, the prejudice of man accuses them of divers imag- inary crimes. In England the shrew is considered venomous, and every village has a mole-catcher. Many of the INSECTIVORA hibernate. As cold approaches thousands upon thousands of the victims destined to feed the members of this order, are removed from their clutches. Hence, as the INSECTIVORA cannot, like the birds, migrate in quest of food, they are providentially given the faculty of hibernation. Of course, those that prey on crea- tures which do not disappear in winter, have no need to pass the cold season in torpid slumber. We follow the latest authorities in classing the animals of this order in zine families, and commence with the family of the FLYING LEMURS or CoLuGos, which present a striking resemblance to the ‘‘ Flying Foxes,” and seem to form an intermediate link of transition. THE FLIGHT OF THE COLUGO. 149 THE FLYING LEMURS. The family GALEOPITHECID contains only one genus, which again contains only two species. For a long time the COLUGO, Galeopithecus volans, (Plate V) was placed among the Lemuroidea. Its food seems to be entirely vegetable, and its flying membrane shows some relationship to the Cheiroptera. Its dental formation settles its place among the In- sectivora, but the fact that the young are born very small, blind and naked, and are closely attached to the wrinkled skin of the mother, indicates some affinity to the Marsupialia. This animal indeed seems to be a lateral offshoot of some low form which has survived during the process of development of the Insectivora, Lemuroidea and Marsupialia from an ancestral type. The Fryinc Lemur is as large as a cat, with a slender body and limbs of moderate length. Attached to the extremities of these limbs is a membrane which envelops the animal from the neck to the extremity of the tail, and which permits it to sustain itself in the air. The fingers of all the feet have retractile claws and the thumbs are not opposable. The head is small, the muzzle prominent, the eyes moderately large, the hairy ears small. The membrane between the limbs is merely a para- chute. When the Colugo desires to make a leap it spreads its limbs so that the membrane may present as large a surface as possible. The membrane is not used as a wing, and the Colugo cannot rise. At every leap the spot it aims at must be lower than that from which it starts ; hence after a few aerial voyages it is compelled to climb a tall tree and begin afresh. At rest the membrane folds so closely as to be almost indistinguishable. The Colugo has two mammz. The lower incisors are set pointing forward, and are notched like the teeth of a saw, and the molars are studded with points like those of all the Insectivora. The Galeopitheci are essentially nocturnal. They are seen at night moving actively through the trees. On the ground they run with agility. Their flight is noiseless. Insects constitute the staple of their food, but they are fond of fruit, and even devour small birds. In order to rest, these animals suspend themselves by their hind paws to the branches of trees, like bats. The people of the regions they inhabit choose this opportunity for capturing them; and _ not- eH SOILD aS INI Nal the MAYHS LNVHd4515 M4YHS NOWWOD J1IOW JSON YVLS AIOW NOWWOD MAYHS TAYYINOS YNWSAT INIATS JOHAIAGSAH M4Y¥HS TIVL Nid THE ELEPHANT SHREWS. ; ISI the still night; the natives drew up around our fires; fear of spirits silenced their merry chatter. But the secret was soon betrayed: the spirit whose voice resembled a distant cry of pain came in sight and hovered slowly over our heads. It was a Flying Lemur.” A female that lived for some time in captivity is described as a harm- less, stupid creature. “It lay on its stomach with all its legs stretched out, and then slowly and awkwardly hopped to the wall of the room, which it tried to ascend. As the wood was planed it could not take good hold of the surface, and after climbing a few feet it fell down again, but the fall was always broken by the expanded membrane with which nature has provided it.” We do not possess much further knowledge respecting the Flying Lemur. THE ELEPHANT SHREWS. The animals of the family MACROSCELIDIDA: are extraordinary little creatures, and are called “elephant” on account of their trunk-like snout, and “long-legged”’ because their hind-legs resemble somewhat those of the Kangaroo. They are almost confined to South Africa, and extend up the East Coast as far as th: Zambezi and Mozambique. They are divided in ¢hree genera and ¢ex species; but two of the genera, PETRO- DROMUS and RHYNCHOCYON, are each represented by a single species. The ELEPHANT SHREWS are essentially leaping animals; the hind- legs are enormously elongated, and they possess usually five, sometimes four short toes, with short, weak claws. The thin, short-haired tail is a Jittle shorter than the body; the fur is thick and soft; the teeth number forty ; the long, proboscis-like nose is perforated at its extremity by the nostrils which are placed obliquely, and it doubtless aids the animal in its. search for food, while the enormous length of its hinder-limbs enables it to catch its prey with wonderful agility. IL—GENUS MACROSCELIDES. The typical ELEPHANT SHREW, Macroscelides proboscideus (Plate V), attains a length of nine inches, of which four and a half belong to the tail. The snout is nearly an inch in length, and reddish-black at the end. The coat is a reddish-brown or mouse-gray, more or less bright, with shades of white on the lower surface of the body; the ears are white 152 INSECTIVORA. inside. They frequent stony mountains; and under stones, in deep and almost inaccessible recesses, in clefts of the rock, and holes of the earth, they find refuge from danger. They love the sunlight, and are most active during the scorching hours of noon; their food consists mainly of insects, which their long legs enable them to catch or their long snout to find in rifts and clefts. They are very timid, and the slightest motion sends them into their hiding-places ; after some time, one after another sallies out, hops about, looking and listening on every side; then they begin to snuffle at the stones or catch, at a spring, some passing insect. Their habitations are made below the surface of the ground, and consist of a deep and tortuous burrow, the entrance to which is a perpen- dicularly sunk shaft of some little depth. The rapidity of their movements and the speed with which they take flight render it a difficult task to capture them; but when captured they endure confinement pretty weil, are gentle and graceful and soon gain the sympathy of man. Seven of the species are found in Southern Africa; one, the TRUNKED Rat, Macroscelides Rozett?, has been found in Algeria. It is said that some ingenious soldiers of the French army, quartered there, have at times been induced to meet the demand for specimens by a manufactured supply. An erudite naturalist was delighted at purchasing from a Zouave a magnificent specimen of the Trunked Rat, till closer examina- tion showed him that it was a common rat with an inch of its own tail grafted by a little incision on the end of its nose. “IL-GENUS RHYNCHOCYON. The RHYNCHOCYONS are also leaping animals, consequently have the hind quarters more elevated than the fore ones, but their bodies are more slim, and they are altogether larger than the Macroscelides. Besides this, they are “tetradactylous”—that is, their limbs are ter- minated by only four toes. The only species known, the Rhynchocyon cirnet, was discovered in Mozambique by the traveler and naturalist Peters. Its muzzle is pro- longed into a very conspicuous proboscis; the eyes are large, the ears moderate, while the tail is considerably developed. The outer toe is widely separated from the others in the fore-feet. It possesses thirty-six teeth. , THE TUPAIAS. 153 The third genus—/etrodromus—is represented by one species which inhabits Mozambique. It has the general characteristics of the family, and, as its name implies, is most frequently found in rocky neighbor- hoods. THE SQUIRREL SHREWS. The family TUPAIAD& embraces ¢/ree genera divided into ¢ez species. They are often called Squirrels, and have a superficial likeness to these denizens of our forest. They are all natives of the Indian Archi- pelago and the adjoining continent. The head is pointed and ends in a snout usually bare at its blunt extremity, the body is slender, the tail long—sometimes very long and bushy, having two rows of hair hanging equally on each side; the fur is thick and soft. They have from thirty-eight to forty-four teeth, which are remarkable from the fact that the canines are shorter than the incisors. The eyes are large, the ears rounded, the limbs regular, the feet have bare soles, and the five toes are separated and armed with short, curved claws. The female has four teats. The development of the eye indicates their diurnal habits, and the curved claws, that they can climb. IL—GENUS TUPAIA. The Tupata TANA, 7upata Tana, is the largest of the seven species of this genus. It has a bushy tail with the hair hanging evenly down on each side, large prominent eyes with a bony ring closing in the orbit behind, and thirty-eight teeth. It is distinguished from other species by the great length of its tail, and it wears a dark-brown blackish fur which displays on the underside a ruddy tinge and appears mixed with gray on the head and muzzle. A gray stripe crosses the back of the head, and a dark-brown line runs down the back. Each hair consists of gray and dark-brown rings alternately. It is very nearly the size of the common squirrel. We know little of its wild habits. It is described as an agile, active, merry creature, which uses its crooked claws excel- lently, and climbs with all the skill of an ape. It is not strictly insec- tivorous—it sometimes eats fruits which it picks from the branches or off the ground. 20 154 INSECTIVORA. DEE PRESS: The PRESS, or SQUIRREL SHREW, 7zpaia ferruginea (Plate V), is a very pretty creature so like the squirrel that, as it runs about, it can be distinguished only by the elongated outline of the head. It measures about thirteen inches, including five inches of tail; the length of the head being twoinches. Its height, as it stands or all-fours, is about three inches. The coloring of its fur is a brownish-maroon, which in some parts, as the spine, is deepened into a rich brownish-black, and in others, as the ribs and flanks, is warmed into a reddish tint. Hence the epithet of ferruginea or “rusty” has been applied to the animal. This change of color is caused by the mode in which the hairs are marked in alter- nate rings of black and maroon. Those which run along the back are black, with a fawn-colored ring in the middle, but those which grow upon the ribs are fawn, with a black ring in the middle. The ears are black. Upon the under surface of the body the fur is of a whitish- yellow, fading into gray. The long and bushy hairs which decorate the tail are so dotted with white that they give a grayish-brown effect. Although the teeth of all the Tupaias are evidently of an insectivorous description, the Press, as well as its congeners, feeds chiefly on coleopter- ous insects, but varies its diet with certain fruits. It is affirmed that the Press partakes so far of the carnivorous propensities of the mole, that it will sometimes pounce upon small birds as they are hopping among the branches, and make a meal upon their bodies. One of these animals that was tamed, and accustomed to roam about the house at will, was very fond of milk and fruits, and used to attend at every meal for the purpose of obtaining these coveted luxuries. THE BANGSRING. The BANGSRING, Tupaia Favanica, abounds in the dense forests of Java. It differs from the preceding species by the length of its tail, which is fully as long as its body, of a uniform thickness and clothed with hairs that spread out like those on the squirrel’s tail. The fur is close and fine, with a few longer and darker hairs interspersed in its prevailing hue of grayish-brown. It is easily tamed. Sir Stamford Raffles describes one which behaved like a pet spaniel, and ate fruits and milk at the table of its owner. THE PENTAIL. 155 I.—GENUS HYLOMYS. This genus is characterized by the shortness and bareness of its tail, and by the absence of the bony ring around the orbit of the eye, which is such a peculiar feature in the genus 7upaza. Two species only are known. The HyLomys, Hylomys suzllus, is a small species which is found in Sumatra and Java, where it lives on the hills, two thousand feet above the sea-level. It is by no means common. The muzzle is developed into a movable proboscis, turning in a downward curve at the tip, where the nostrils are placed laterally. The eyes are not prominent or large, but the ears are of considerable size. It possesses forty-four teeth ; the three central toes in the feet are longer than the rest. IlIl.—GENUS PTILOCERCUS. This genus is known only by onze species, a specimen of which is preserved in the British Museum. THE PENTAIL. The PENTAIL, Pédlocercus Lowii (Plate V), is an extraordinary crea- ture which was first described by Mr. Low, who captured one of them in the house of Sir James Brooke, the Rajah of Sarawak. It derives its name from the resemblance borne by its tail to the old quill pen of our ancestors. It is about the size of a rat, but appears to be of greater dimensions, on account of its extremely long tail with the remarkable appendage at its extremity. As represented in the plate, the tail is of extraordinary length when compared with the size of the body, and is devoid of hair, except at its extremity, where it is furnished with a double row of stiff hairs on each side, which stand boldly out, like the barbs of an arrow. The remainder of the tail is covered with scales, which are square in their form, like those of the long-tailed rats, and of considerable size. The color of the tail is black, and the bristly barbs white, so that this member presents a peculiarly quaint aspect. The fur which covers the body of the Pentail is extremely soft in texture, and is of a blackish-brown tint above, fading into a yellowish- 156 INSECTIVORA. gray beneath. As the tips of the hairs are tinged with a yellow hue, the precise tint of the fur is rather indeterminate, and is changeable, accord- ing to the position of the hairs which are exposed to view. It is presumed that the long tail of the Pentail is used for the pur- pose of balancing itself in its progress among the branches of trees; but this conjecture is only problematical, as the habits of the animal are not yet known. The Tupaiadz are an interesting family of Insectivora in a scientific point of view on account of the presence ot several well marked anatomi- cal peculiarities. As already stated the most important of these is the osseous ring that completes the posterior part of the orbit of the eye. In all other specimens of the order Insectivora a communication exists between the orbits and the spaces occupied by the temporal muscles which act upon the lower jaw. In this peculiar conformation of the Tupaiadz, therefore, we observe an approach to the structure of the insectivorous monkeys. The eyes project sufficiently to enable the ani- mal to see backward almost ina straight line. The small but sharp nails that arm the five toes of the plantigrade feet are sufficiently elevated to be spared from friction against the ground. The name Tupaia is given by the natives of Sumatra both to the members of this family and to the squirrels which they so strongly resemble. The fossil remains of the Omomys have been found in the Pliocene deposits of the United States. Col ARE oT. THE HEDGEHOGS, MOLES AND SHREWS. THE ERINACEIDA—THE HEDGEHOGS—THE GENUS GYMNURA—THE CENTETID/—THE TENREC AND TENDRAC—THE GENUS SOLENODON-—-THE AGOUTA—THE POTAMOGALIDA—THE CHRYSOCHLO- RIDH OR GOLDEN MOLES—THE TALPIDA'—THE MOLES—THE GENUS TALPA—GENUS CONDY- LURA—THE STAR-NOSED MOLES—THE GENUS SCALOPS OR AMERICAN MOLE—THE GENUS MYOGALE-—THE DESMANS—THE UROTRICHUS—THE SORICIDA! OR THE SHREWS. Continent. It consists of ¢wo genera—one comprising the Ble: family ERINACEID is not represented on the American Hedgehogs proper, the other the Gymnura. I—GENUS ERINACEUS. The HEDGEHOGS are scattered somewhat capriciously over the East- ern Hemisphere. Their most remarkable feature is the coat of stiff- pointed spines covering the back; another is the power of rolling them- selves up into a ball, by placing the head on the breast, drawing up the legs, and curling the body round them. When thus rolled up the crea- ture is almost invulnerable, and can with difficulty be unrolled; an enormously developed muscle with a thick margin spreads over the back and sides, and contracts with an immense force, capable of resist- ing the efforts of its enemies while the spines inflict severe wounds. The only method readily available for making the creature unroll, is to fling it into water. The spines, which the animal can erect at will, are confined to the back; the other parts of the body are either, like the face and feet, hair- less, or covered with hair of a more or less dense character, according to the species. The food of the Hedgehogs consists of insects, worms, snails, and the like. 158 INSECTIVORA. The LONG-EARED HEDGEHOG, Erinxaceus auritus, is found in Siberia and the East of Asiatic Russia, and has also been discovered in Egypt. It is smaller than the common European Hedgehog ; the limbs are longer and more slender, the hair on the lower surface of the body is extremely fine. The spines on the back do not extend so far as in the European species, and are of peculiar color—the base being white, the centre brown, the tip yellow. The species derives its name from the large size of its ears, which project in such a manner as to produce a very pig- like look. The HEDGEHOG or URCHIN, Erinaceus Europeus (Plate V), is found in every part of Europe, where it is often kept in gardens to kill snails and insects, and in houses to kill cockroaches. The under surface of the body, together with the limbs, is covered with long bristles and undulating soft hair, which passes rather abruptly into the stiff quills that defend the back, and is so long that it almost conceals the limbs when the animal is walking. The quills cover the entire back and top of the head, and are of a grayish-white color, diver- sified with a blackish-brown ring near the middle. In the young animal the spines are few in number, soft in texture, and nearly white, so that the little creatures look like balls of white hair or young birds. The young are born not only with the eyes, but with the ears closed also—a fact said to be quite unique. The nest in which they are produced and nurtured is most ingenious in its structure, being so admirably woven of moss and similar substances, and so well thatched with leaves, that it will resist the effects of violent showers. The Hedgehog is very fond of milk, and is accused by the ignorant peasantry of sucking cows. But it does not despise strong liquor. There is a widespread belief that the easiest way of taming it is by making it drunk; and Dr. Ball, who tried the experiment, found it per- fectly successful. He gave some sweetened whiskey to one, and writes of the result: “He did not go far before his potation produced all its effects ; he tottered, then fell on his side—he was drunk in the full sense of the word, for he could not even hold by the ground. We could then pull him about, open his mouth, twitch his whiskers, etc.; he was un- resisting. There was a strange expression in his face, of that self- confidence which we see in cowards when inspired by drinking. “We put him away, and in some twelve hours afterward found him running about, and, as was predicted, quite tame, his spines lying so THE MADAGASCAR HEDGEHOGS. 159 smoothly and regularly that he could be stroked down the back and handled freely. We turned him into the kitchen to kili cockroaches, and know nothing further of him.” The Hedgehog is the only animal which can eat Cantharides flies without inconvenience, and it is quite impervious to most kinds of poi- son, including that of venomous snakes. Il.—GENUS GYMNURA. This genus is represented by only one species, the BULAU or TIKUs, Gymnura Raffestt, found in Sumatra, and somewhat like our own opos- sum. All the feet have five toes, the three middle toes being longer than the others. The muzzle is lengthened, but is cut off abruptly at its ter- mination. The eyes are small, and the ears small, rounded, and devoid of hairy covering. One peculiarity of the animal is, that the fur on the body and head is pierced by a number of very long, bristling hairs, which are much longer on the neck and shoulders. The color is a mixture of black and white, as follows: the greater part.of the body, the upper portion of the legs, and the beginning of the tail, are black; while the head, the neck, and flanks, and the remainder of the tail, are white. There is alsoa black stripe over each eye, which forms a bold contrast with the white fur of the head. It emits a musky odor. Nothing is known of its habits. THE TENREGS. The family CENTETID& contains a number of small animals, many of which have a spiny covering. Of the szr genera into which it is divided, ali but one inhabit Madagascar, and the animals are often called Mapa- GASCAR HEDGEHOGS. In general they may be described as having a long head and pretty long muzzle, small eyes, moderate ears, short legs, with five toes and strong claws, while their coat is like that of the Gymnura—half hair, half bristles. The tail is either almost or entirely wanting in five of the genera, while the two species embraced in the genus Solenodon are endowed with a very long, bare, and scaly caudal appendage. 160 INSECTIVORA. I—GENUS CENTETES. This genus is subdivided into wo species, which differ very slightly. The TENREC, Centetes ecaudatus (Plate V), has a slender body, and a long head taking up nearly one-third of the animal’s whole length. The ears are short, the eyes small, the neck short and thinner than the body ; the hind-legs are slightly longer than the fore-legs. The body is cov- ered with spines, bristles and hairs, which clearly show, by the pro- gressive changes in their structure, that the spines are merely hairs transformed. At the back of the head real spines, not very hard and bending, grow to the length of nearly half an inch. Down the flanks these spines become longer, thinner, softer, and more pliant; and on the back, bristles predominate. The under side of the body is covered with hair, and long, sharp hairs project from the muzzle. The spines, bristles or hairs are of a yellowish color; the former are tipped with black. The Tenrec is not adorned with a tail. It attains a length of eight to ten inches. It cannot coil up into a ball like the hedgehog. The Tenrec has been carried from Madagascar to the Mauritius and neighboring islands. It is shy and timid, and only comes out at sun- down, but never ventures far from its burrow. There is some doubt as to its becoming torpid at certain seasons; the best evidence is to the effect that during the dry season the Tenrec retires to the deepest part of its burrow, and there sleeps from April to November. Although this creature exhales a musky odor very offensive to most nostrils, the natives regard it as a great delicacy, and the markets on feast days display numbers of Tenrecs in all stages, alive, slaughtered or ready for the spit. The BANDED TENREC, Centetes variegatus, is also a native of Madagas- car, and has derived its title of Banded, or Varied, from the bold coloring of the quills and hair. The color of the back is a blackish-brown, diversified with three bold stripes of yellowish-white. The centre one of these stripes extends along the entire length of the animal, and the two others commence by the ear and terminate by the flank. The hair that covers the under portion of the body is of a yellowish-white color. The generic name, Centetes, is of Greek origin, and signifies “thorny,” in allusion to the short and thorn-like spines with which the body is- covered. THE TENDRACS. 161 II—GENUS HEMICENTETES. The TENDRAC, Hemicentetes speciosus, is smaller than the Tenrec, attaining a length of little more than five or six inches. The color of this animal is rather rich and varied, owing to the deep tinting of the quills and the soft hues of the long and flexible hairs which stud the body intermixed with the quills. The hair is of pale yellow, and the quills are of a deep red or mahogany tint toward their points, and white toward their bases. The long coarse hairs which cover the abdomen and the legs are annulated. This animal is generally found in the neighborhood of water, whether fresh or salt, and makes deep burrows near the bank. The natives esteem it highly as an article of food. The genera III. ErRIcALus, IV. ECHINUPS, and V. ORYZORYCTES, are based on very slight distinctions, and call for no remarks. V1.—GENUS SOLENODON. This genus is found only in the Antilles, one species occurring :n Cuba, the other in Hayti. We have thus in this genus as compared with the preceding genera, a most remarkable case of discontinuous distribution, two portions of the same family being separated from each other by an extensive continent as well as by a deep ocean. THE AGOUTA. The AGouta, Solenodon cubanus, is one of the few indigenous mam- mals of the West Indian Islands. Its length of body is about twelve inches, of tail about eight inches. The head, neck, and stomach are of a dirty yellow-ochre color, the tail blue-black, the rest of the coat, black. This animal is nocturnal and sleeps during the day. Peters accuses it of being guilty of the piece of folly which is usually attributed to the ostrich. When pursued it hides its head, and then stays so quietly that the hunter can seize it by the tail. In captivity it does not refuse food, but requires its meat cut up fine; perfect cleanliness is indispensable for its existence; it seems to take pleasure in plunging into water. Its voice is a grunt, or a scream. When angry its hair stands up. It 21 e- 102 INSECTIVORA. catches little animals that come within its reach, and tears them to pieces with its powerful claws just as a hawk tears his victim with his talons. THE ALMIQUI. The ALMIQUI, Solenodon paradoxus, is peculiar to Hayti. The fur of the Almiqui ts long, harsh, and coarse, and its color is an undecided red, tinged with yellow. The nose is elongated, and strengthened at its base by a slender bone, so that it appears to be intended for digging in the earth. The nostrils are placed at the extremity, and divided by a furrow. The cheeks and lips have hairs of very great length; the eyes are small; the ears are moderate, rounded, and almost devoid of hair. The feet are terminated with five toes, and the long claws are curved, and evidently fitted for scraping at the soil. The tail is moderately long, measuring about nine inches in length, and is rounded throughout, the head and body being rather more than a foot long. The tail is not covered with hair, but is rather naked, and for the greater part of its length is scaly. The lower jaw is somewhat shorter than the upper. The teeth are very peculiar. The two middle incisors of the lower jaw are small and narrow, placed between two long conical ones, which are hollowed on the inside Py a deep groove; there are no true canines. THE OTTER SHREW. The family POTAMOGALID& consists of oxe genus and one species, and is founded on a curious otterlike animal from West Africa, discovered by Du Chaillu at the Gaboon; it has affinities with several groups of Insec- tivora, but is sufficiently peculiar to require a distinct family for its reception. The OTTER SHREW, Potamogale velox, is thus described: ‘The head is Jong and very flat, the nose sharp, eyes very small, ears small and sparingly covered with hair; whiskers stiff, and white-colored, neck thick, body stout, extremities small, feet five-toed, plantigrade behind, tail stout, compressed laterally. Fur short, dense and soft, with coarser hair mixed with the fine fur on the upper part of the body; three- fourths of the tail is covered with very short, bristly and closely applied hairs forming a crest along the upper edge. Color dark-brown on back, THE GOLDEN MOLES. 163 pale-yellow below, almost white on the throat. Length of body fifteen inches; of tail, nine inches. It is found along the water-courses of clear streams, and hides under rocks waiting for fish. It swims very fast. The great motive-power of the animal seems to be in its tail.” THE GOLDEN MOLES. The family CHRYSOCHLORID& is divided into two genera of very remarkable mole-like animals with a beautiful silky fur of a metallic lustre and changeable golden tints. Their dentition clearly distinguishes them from the true moles. The teeth are separated from each other by an interyal equal to their thickness, so that when the jaws are shut, the teeth of one jaw fall into the interstices between the teeth in the other. This is the only known example of such an arrangement. The skele- ton, too, has nineteen pairs of ribs. The fore-feet have four toes; the fourth is small, the other three have powerful claws fitted for digging, while the claw of the middle toe is of formidable dimensions. The hind feet are small and five-toed. The eye is invisible, being covered with skin. The limbs are very short, the tail rudimentary, and the snout abruptly truncated. These moles are found in South Africa. The two genera differ chiefly in the lustre of their fur. The first, Chrysochloris, has a golden reflection; the second, Calchochloris, has a more coppery tinge. The three species come from the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, and Mozambique. The CHANGEABLE MOLE, Chrysochloris holosericea, is the most common species, and is distinguished by the long silky texture of its fur. THE TALPIDA OR MOLES. We now come to a family which comprises many extraordinary forms of small mammalia, especially characteristic of the temperate regions of _ the Eastern Hemisphere. It is divided into ezght genera. I—GENUS TALPA. This genus is quite unknown in America, but is exceedingly common in Europe. It forms seven species. 164 INSECTIVORA. The Mole is a burrowing animal, and passes its life underground. Digging with head and paws, it makes a system of communicating pas- sages, which can be traced on the surface of the ground by a slight elevation of soil. These passages radiate from a central dome, which is marked by the mole-hill; to reach it, the animal enters a circular gallery on the same level as the numerous radiating passages ; then it passes into one of five conduits, which ascend obliquely toward another circular gal- lery of a smaller circumference than the first, and placed a little higher ; lastly, it enters its dwelling by a passage which opens into the latter gallery. From the floor of this chamber a tunnel runs and connects with some of the radiating galleries. The body of the Mole is a cylinder terminating in a cone; there is no neck, and the nose is a boring instrument. The eyes are nearly imper- ceptible. The sense of hearing is very acute; there is no external ear, but the internal ear is highly developed. Its powers of smell, too, are excellent. The tail is very short, the coat black, thick, and silky. Their food is chiefly insects and earth-worms, and the dead bodies of small mammals or birds. The Mole is essentially carnivorous; it does not experience a mere sense of hunger like other animals, but a craving of the most powerful description—a kind of frenzy. The Common MOLE of Europe, 7alpa Europea, is, as its name implies, found everywhere in that continent, and is the type of the genus. A species called the BLIND MOLE, 7Jalpa ceca, occurs in Italy, and in it the eye is quite invisible, and the snout is somewhat longer than in the common species. Il.—GENUS SCAPTOCHEIRUS. This genus is represented by one species, a recent discovery in North- ern China, and calls for no remark. III—GENUS CONDYLURA. This genus consists of only ove species, which inhabits the Eastern States from Nova Scotia to Pennsylvania. Its most striking character- istic is a peculiar membranous appendage to the snout, which has a star- shaped termination. THE STAR-NOSED MOLES. 165 The STAR-NOSED MOLE, Condylura cristata, (Plate V) is of a dark- brown or blackish color; the tail is long and hairless, and nearly as long as the body without the head. The most remarkable point in this animal is the muzzle, which is pro- duced into a long, slender proboscis, round the extremity of which are arranged a number of soft, fleshy rays, of a bright rose-color, radiating like the petals of a daisy or the tentacles of a sea-anemone. These curious rays, or “caruncles,” as they are more scientifically termed, can be spread or closed at pleasure, and present a strange spectacle when in movement. Their probable object is that they may serve as a delicate organ of touch, to aid the animal in its search for food. The number of these caruncles is about twenty, and the openings of the nostrils are placed in the centre of the star. IV—GENUS SCAPANUS. The ¢wo species of this genus extend from New York to San Fran- cisco, and are mere varieties of the Scalops. V.—GENUS SCALOPS. This genus, which seems to form a link between the MOLES and the SHREWS, is peculiar to North America. East of the Rocky Mountains, it ranges from the Great Lakes to Mexico; but on the Pacific slope it is found only to the north of Oregon. Its characteristics are an elongated nose, invisible eyes, five toes, armed with large claws and somewhat webbed, and a naked tail. The number of species well defined is ¢#ree, but varieties are numerous. The CoMMON MOLE, Scalops aquaticus, (Plate V) has thirty-six teeth, approaching in some points to those of the Rodentia. The eyes are very small, but not covered with skin. The naked tail and webbed feet are white. The body is shapeless; the claws immensely large and strong. The hinder feet and legs are much smaller than the fore ones. The Mole passes the greater portion of its existence below the surface of the ground, and finds a subsistence among the worms and other creatures which it captures during its subterraneous meanderings. The muzzle 166 INSECTIVORA. of the American is even more remarkable than that of the European Mole, being much longer in proportion to the size of the animal, and is cartilaginous at its extremity. The length of the animal is about seven inches. They come to the surface daily at the hour of noon, and can then be caught by thrusting a spade underneath them. Mr. Peale had a tame one which followed his hand by the scent, and fed freely on fresh meat. It would burrow for amusement tao loose earth, and after mak- ing a small circle, return to its keeper. The PRAIRIE MOLE, Scalops argentatus, is very similar to the Com- mon Mole, but it is rather larger, and its fur is lead-colored. The Hatiry-TAILED MOLE, Scalops Breweri, differs by possessing a tail densely covered with hair, a membranous covering over the eye, and large ear openings. In color it resembles the Prairie Mole. Other varieties are the OREGON MOLE, Scalops Townsendiz, and the BROAD- HANDED MOLE, Scalops latimanus. V1I.—GENUS MYOGALE. The ¢wo species of this genus are widely separated, one being found ‘in the Pyrenees, the other in Southeast Russia. The animals compre- hended in them are specially organized for an aquatic existence. The hind-paws are palmated, and their tail is flattened at a certain portion of its length, in such a manner as to play the part of an oar. Their eyes are very small, and their ears scarcely visible. The body is elongated and covered with silky hair of an iridescent hue. At the base of the tail are numerous glands, which exhale an excessively penetrating odor. The nose is terminated by a small, compressed trunk; the paws are formed of five toes, and are furnished with strong claws. The PYRENEAN DESMAN, Myogale pyrenea, which the Spaniards call Almizilero, or the “‘Musky Rat,” attains a length of ten inches, of which one-half belongs to the tail. It is chestnut-brown above, brownish-gray on the sides, silver-gray on the belly, white on the snout, the tail dark- brown, with some white hairs. This creature has been found not only in the Pyrenees, but in the Sierra de Gredos, and is probably common to all North Spain. The Russtan DESMAN, Myogale moschata, (Plate V) is nearly twice as long as its Spanish congener. The eyes are small, the auditory THE DESMANS. 167 passages thickly covered with hair, the nose is elongated into a pro- boscis and the nasal aperture can be closed with a small flap. On account of its aquatic propensities, and the peculiar aspect of its incisor teeth, the Desman was formerly thought to be a rodent animal, and allied to the beavers, among which creatures it was classed under the name of Castor moschatus, or Musky Beaver. Its fur is much esteemed on account of its ricr color, long silky texture, and warm character. The color of the Russian Desman is brown on the upper portions of the body, becoming darker on the flanks, and fading suddenly into silvery-white on the abdomen. The peculiar warmth of the fur is owing to a thick, inner coating of fine hair beneath the long, silken hairs of the exterior. The tail of this animal is shorter than the body, and very remarkable in its shape, for at its base it is compressed, but rapidly becomes rounded and swells with such abruptness that it may almost deserve the term of bulbous. It then decreases in size as rapidly as it had increased, and, in proportion as it becomes smaller, it becomes vertically compressed. The entire member is, like that of the beaver, thickly set with scales, through the intervals of which protrude a number of short and bristly isolated hairs. VIL—GENUS NECTOGALE. Some specimens of Desman-like animals found in Thibet, have been described by the eminent French naturalist Milne-Edwards, and raised to the dignity of a separate genus, to which he has given the name of Nectogale. They are closely allied to the members of the genus Myo- gale. The remoteness of the locality in which they were discovered seems to have had some influence in suggesting the creation of a new genus, just as the wide separation of the two Desmans has led to the division into two species. VIUI—GENUS UROTRICHUS. This genus is represented by a shrew-like mole, which was discovered about twenty years ago in Japan, and a species more recently found in Washington Territory. It seems to form a link, through the Condylura, between the Shrews and the Moles. The JAPANESE MOLE, Urotrichus talpoides, has a muzzle prolonged 168 INSECTIVORA. into a tube which terminates in a naked bulb. The eyes and ears are concealed. The tail is long and hairy; all the feet covered with small plates; the fur is brown. GipBs’ MOLE, Uvotrichus Gibbsiz, is the name given to the species found near the White River, Cascade Mountains. It is of a sooty color, and smaller than the Japanese variety. The skull is broader, and narrows anteriorly more abruptly than in Scalops; but the specimen examined by Professor Baird was injured and not quite mature, so that he could not make out many of its characteristics. THE SORICID4: OR SHREWS. This family contains ove genus, and szxty-five species. We content ourselves with a description of the more important species, especially those belonging to our own country. GENUS SOREX. The SHREWS offer examples of the smallest animals in the class Mam- malia, some species being much smaller than the mouse. Like Moles, they have defective vision; the hair is silky, thick, and varying in color be- tween a gray and a brown; they feed on worms and insects, leading a solitary life in holes, which they seldom leave during the day. They are furnished with glands in the flank which secrete a musky odor. Their bite was for a long time considered poisonous; and our ancestors gave the name to a scolding woman, whom, on account of the venom of her tongue, they called a shrew. The SHREW MOUSE, Sorex vulgaris, has a long head and a long and flexible snout; the incisors are extremely long, the lower ones projecting almost horizontally. It is common in all parts of England. A Natural History published in 1658 gives the following quaint account of it: “Tt is a ravening beast, feigning itself gentle and tame, but, being touched, it biteth deep, and poysoneth deadly. It beareth a cruel minde, desiring to hurt anything, neither is there any creature that it loveth, or that loveth him, because it is feared of all. The cats, as we have said, do hunt it, and kill it, but they eat not them, for if they do, they consume away and die. They annoy vines, and are seldom taken, except in cold; THE SHREW MOUSE. 169 they frequent ox-dung, and in the winter time repair to houses, gardens, and stables, where they are taken and killed. “Tf they fall into a cart-road, they die, and cannot get forth again, as Marcellus, Nicander, and Pliny affirm. And the reason is given by Philes, for being in the same, it is so amazed, and trembleth, as if it were in bands. And for this cause some of the ancients have prescribed the earth of a cart-road to be laid to the biting of this mouse as a remedy thereof. They go very slowly; they are fraudulent, and take their prey by deceit. Many times they gnaw the oxes hoofs in the stable. ‘They love the rotten flesh of ravens; and therefore in france, when they have killed a raven, they keep it till it stinketh, and then cast it in the places where the Shrew-mice haunt, whereunto they gather in so great a number, that you may kill them with shovels. The Egyftzans, upon the former opinion of holiness, do bury them when they die. And thus much for the description of this beast.” The WATER SHREW, Sorex fodiens (or Amphisorex Linneanus), is, as its name implies, found near the banks of streams. It is a good diver, and its ears are admirably adapted to protect it under water, as they are so constructed that the pressure of the water completely closes them. The ETRUSCAN SHREW, Sorex Etruscus, is the smallest of all known mammals. It measures only an inch and a half in length. Its habitat is Italy, but it is said to have been found in Algeria. The HousE SHREW, Sorex arancus, is common in Central Europe, but is not found in England. It frequents barns and often enters houses. THE AMERICAN SHREWS. FORSTER’S SHREW, Sorex Forster1, is a very well-known species, found in all the Eastern States and quite common in New York. De Kay describes it in the following terms: “ Body slender, more elongated and divided at the tip, whiskers long, fur short but fine, feet slender, with five toes ; tail four-sided, with a small pencil of hair at the tip, and nearly as long as the body. The color is dark-gray tipped with brown. Length four inches.” The THICK-TAILED SHREW, Sorex pachyurus, is found in the North- western States. Its fur is longer than that of most Shrews, and gives the creature a stout appearance. The feet and claws are large, the tail 22 170 INSECTIVORA. very thick, and all the teeth are chestnut-colored at the tips, like those of a confirmed tobacco-chewer. The BROAD-NOSED SHREW, Sorex platyrrhinus, is one of the smallest quadrupeds on this continent. It is found in the Northeastern States, and a specimen has been captured in Rockland County, N. Y. The ears are large, the tail is almost bare, the color is dark-brown on the back and gray below. Length two inches. The MASKED SHREW, Sorex personatus, allied to the preceding species, is the one called by Audubon Sorex longirostris. It is smaller even than the Broad-nosed species. THOMPSON’S SHREW, Sorex Thompsoni, is, however, the smallest Shrew yet described. Professor Baird has seen a specimen weighing less than twenty-two grains. Its color is a dark olive-brown, the ears are large, the incisors fewer than usual. The NAVIGATOR SHREW, Sorex navigator, is characterized by the length of the tail, which is one half longer than the body. The fur, too, is long and very soft and thick; the color is a grayish-brown. The CAROLINA SHREW, Sorex talpoides, is a large species, measuring nearly four inches, with a tail not half an inch in length. The nose and feet are flesh-colored ; the rest of the body covered with bright gray fur. It is found in all the Northern States, and as far south as Georgia, being the commonest of all the North American Shrews. The SHORT-TAILED SHREW, Sorex brevicaudus, is the largest of all our Shrews; its fur is leaden in hue, with a slight shade or gloss of pur- ple. The head is broad and obtuse. The tail is about half an inch in length. ; CAROLINA SHREW, Sorex Carolinensis. This species, though usually known by the same name, is smaller than the species just described as Sorex talpoides, and its color is darker; the fore-feet are broader than the hind-feet, and have much longer claws. It is common in the South. BERLANDIER’S SHREW, Sorex Berlandieri, is the most southern spe- cies, not passing the Rio Grande. It is small, with a stout body and small ears. Its fur is soft and thick, resembling long-piled velvet. ORDER TV: CAWN TY O'R A: 2Re 24. 21 26. 27, 28. 29. 30. 31. 22 33: 34- 35: FELIDA - - - CRY PTOPROCTIDE VIVERRIDA - PROTELIDAZ - HY ANID - - CANIDZ - - - MUSTELID - PROCYONID JELURIDA - - URSIDZ - - - OTARIIDA - - TRICHECID& - PHOCID& - - Cats, LIONS, ETC. CRYPTOPROCTA. CIVETS. AARDWOLF. HYANAS. Docs, FOXES, ETC. WEASELS. RACCOONS. PANDAS. BEARS. EARED SEALS. WALRUS. SEALS. ISS Cae