Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon

The European forms of Arvicolæ have been divided by Blasius into four sub-genera of two divisions—the first division having rooted molars in the adult animal—containing one sub-genus only, Hypudæus of Illiger; the second division consists of three sub-genera with rootless molars, viz. Paludicola, Agricola, and Arvicola, which last has again been subdivided into long-eared and short-eared Voles—Arvicola and Microtus—distinguished by the former having eight and the latter four mammæ, and respectively six and four tubercles on the plantæ, the ears of the latter being almost hidden by the fur.

None of the forms with which we have now to deal belong to the first division, for, as far as the matter has been investigated, the Indian Voles have rootless molars, but the character of the teeth in some differs from the European forms, and therefore Mr. Blanford has proposed a new section, Alticola, for their reception. I have not space here, nor would it accord with the popular character of this work, to go minutely into all the variation of dentition which distinguish the different species. To those who wish to continue to the minutest details the study of the Indian Voles, I recommend a most careful and elaborate paper on them by Mr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. L., pt. ii.; but without entering into the microscopic particulars of each species, I may here give a general idea of the formation of the teeth of the Arvicolæ differing as it does so much from others of the myomorphic or mouse-like group of rodents. In these the general contour of the molar teeth is roundish oblong, the margins being wavy or indented, according to the convolutions of the enamel, but in the Voles there is a sharp angularity about these indentations; the marginal lines, instead of being in well-rounded curves, are sharply zigzag, forming acute angles. If you were to draw two close parallel zigzag lines it would give you some idea of the contour of these teeth. The molars are in fact composed of alternating triangular prisms, with the outer folds of enamel forming deep and acute angles. The other characteristics of this family are: skull, with brain case rhomboidal, frontals much contracted; infra-orbital opening typical; limbs moderate; tail moderate, or short and hairy.

GENUS ARVICOLA

Muzzle blunt; fore-feet small, with short claws; soles naked; tail longer than the hind-foot, clad with short hairs; incisors plain, smooth in front. The fore-feet in some species have but a small wart in place of a thumb; in others there is a small thumb with a minute claw. The hind-feet have five toes.

NO. 387. ARVICOLA STOLICZKANUSThe Yarkand Vole

HABITAT.—Yarkand.

DESCRIPTION.—"Bright ferruginous brown above, pure white beneath; fur soft, rather woolly, 0·5 to 0·6 inch long on the middle of the back, the basal portion throughout both head and body being dark leaden grey; this is the case on the back for about three-quarters of the length of the hairs; the remaining quarter is rufous white, tipped with darker rufous, whilst numerous rather longer hairs are dark rufous-brown at the ends; rather a sharp line divides the rufous of the back from the white belly; upper part of the head the same colour as the back; upper whiskers dark brown, lower, including the longest, white; ears small, rounded, hairy, completely concealed by the fur, with rather short bright rufous hair near the margin inside; and covered outside with longer and paler hair; feet small, the thumb of the fore-foot quite rudimentary and clawless; remaining claws long, compressed, sharply pointed, but much concealed by the long white hairs which cover the upper part of the foot, sales naked; tarsus hairy below, a few hairs between the pads of the toes; tail short, apparently about a quarter the length of the body and head together, covered with stiff fulvescent white hair, which extends about half an inch beyond the end."—W. T. Blanford, 'Sc. Res. of Second Yarkand Mission,' p. 43.

SIZE.—Head and body, about 4 inches; tail, with hair, 1½.

NO. 388. ARVICOLA STRACHEYIThe Kumaon Vole

HABITAT.—Kumaon.

DESCRIPTION.—Light brown above, with a greyish tint and dusky forehead; under-parts, feet, and tail white; ears small, not longer than the fur, and thickly clad with hair; feet of moderate size; thumb as in the last; tail short and covered with white hairs.

SIZE.—Head and body, about 3·7 inches; tail; 0·7.

This vole was procured first by Capt. (now Lieut.-Gen.) R. Strachey at Kumaon.

NO. 389. ARVICOLA WYNNEIThe Murree Vole

NATIVE NAME.—Kannees.

HABITAT.—Northern Himalayas; Murree.

DESCRIPTION.—Dark brown above, with a slight greyish tinge; head rufescent, and under-parts pale brown; tail dark brown; ears short and rounded, hidden by the fur; fore-feet rather large; thumb small, with a short claw; incisors orange.

SIZE.—Head and body, about 4¾ inches; tail 1¼ inch.

NO. 390. ARVICOLA ROYLEIThe Cashmere Vole (Jerdon's No. 202)

HABITAT.—Kashmir; Kunawur near Chini at 12,000 feet.

DESCRIPTION.—Yellowish-brown, with a rufous tint on the back, paler below; tail brown above, whitish underneath; feet concolorous with the under-part; ears small, hairy and nearly hidden by the fur; incisors yellow in front.

SIZE.—Head and body, 3¾ inches; tail, 1-2/12 inch.

Jerdon states he got this vole at Kunawur, near Chini, again on the south side of the Barendo pass, and also in the Pir Punjal.

NO. 391. ARVICOLA BLANFORDIThe Gilgit Vole

HABITAT.—Kashmir territory; Gilgit, at an elevation of 9000 to 10,000 feet.

DESCRIPTION.—Light greyish-brown above, slightly tinged with rufous; greyish-white underneath; fur soft, the basal three-fourths being slaty grey, the rest fawn colour, in some instances with black tips, the hairs of the under-parts being white tipped; ears moderately large, well above the fur, hairy; very long whiskers, chiefly white, a few brown; feet whitish, moderate size; tail cylindrical, not tapering, and well clad with hair, which project about a fifth of an inch beyond the end of the vertebræ.

SIZE.—Head and body, about 4½ inches; tail, 2 inches.

This vole was described by Dr. J. Scully in the 'Annals and Magazine of Natural History,' for November, 1880, vol. vi., and he named it after Mr. W. T. Blanford. It is said to be common on the mountains around Gilgit.

The next two species come under the section Paludicola.

NO. 392. ARVICOLA BLYTHII

HABITAT.—Western Thibet, Leh and Ladakh.

DESCRIPTION.—General colour above yellowish-brown, below pale isabelline; fur soft; basal two-thirds of the upper hairs, and one-half of the lower hairs, dark slaty; the upper hairs are tipped, some isabelline and some, which are coarser and longer, dark brown; ears round, small, equal, with the fur thinly clad with pale brown hairs inside, and more thickly so with longer hairs outside; upper whiskers dark brown, lower whitish; feet pale isabelline; soles naked; tail cylindrical, distinctly ringed, covered with short light brown hair like the under-parts in colour.

SIZE.—Head and body, about 3 to 4 inches; tail, 1 to 1¼ inch.

Mr. Blanford has written fully regarding this species, which was the type of Blyth's genus Phaiomys, in the 'Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission,' page 39, in which he contends, after going through a mass of literature on the subject, that there are no grounds for constituting it the type of a new species; and, if this be conceded, then the specific name given by Blyth, viz. leucurus, being forestalled, it is necessary to rename it, which he has done in honour of that well-known naturalist.

NO. 393. ARVICOLA MANDARINUSThe Afghan Vole

HABITAT.—Afghanistan; Chinese Mongolia.

DESCRIPTION.—Light greyish rufescent brown above, white beneath; ears short, hidden by the fur and hairy; feet whitish; tail rufescent brown.

SIZE.—About 4 inches; tail about 1 inch.

This vole, which is described and figured by Milne-Edwards, is supposed to have been found in Afghanistan from a specimen in Griffith's collection. A. mandarinus comes from Chinese Mongolia, and it is figured in the 'Recherches sur les Mammifères.'

The next species was made a separate genus, Neodon, by Hodgson, which has been adopted by Jerdon; but there are no good grounds for continuing this separation. Mr. Blanford is certainly of this opinion, and in his remarks on it (see his 'Sc. Results Second Yarkand Mission,' pp. 41-42) he writes: "The genus Neodon, appears to be founded on characters of only specific importance, and the type N. Sikimensis is, I think, a true Arvicola."

NO. 394. ARVICOLA SIKIMENSISThe Sikim Vole (Jerdon's No. 203)

NATIVE NAMES.—Phalchua, Nepalese, apparently Hindi; Cheekyu, Kiranti; Singphuci, Thibetan.

HABITAT.—Nepal; Sikim; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.—Fur soft and silky. "Deep brownish-black above with a slight rusty shade, minutely and copiously grizzled with hairs of a deep ferruginous tint" (Horsfield). Or a deep golden brown from yellow hairs being intermixed; bluish-grey beneath, with a slight fulvous tint; fur leaden grey for the basal three-fourths, the terminal fourth being brownish or tawny with some tipped black; the hairs of the under-parts are dipped with dirty white; ears project beyond the fur moderately, and are hairy; feet very slender; tail thinly clad with short brown hair. The female has six mammæ.

SIZE.—Head and body, about 4¾ inches; tail, 1½ inch. Horsfield gives 5 inches for head and body.

According to Jerdon this vole has only been procured in Sikim near Darjeeling, at heights varying from 7000 to 15,000 feet; but I believe the area it inhabits to be much larger. Hodgson found his specimens at Darjeeling, and on one occasion got a nest in a hollow tree in the forest; it was saucer-shaped, of soft grass without any lining, and contained a male, female, and two young. The latter were "2-1/8 inches long, hairy above, nude below, and blind; the ears also closed." Jerdon writes: "Mr. Atkinson found it under fallen trees and stones on the top of Tonglo, near Darjeeling, 10,000 feet, whence also I had a specimen brought me."

The next species is one described and figured by Professor Milne-Edwards, and from Thibet he has two illustrations of it—one of an entire blackish-brown, the other darker above, but with the black belly.

NO. 395. ARVICOLA MELANOGASTER

HABITAT.—Moupin in Tibet.

DESCRIPTION.—"It is characterised by the colour of the lower parts, which are a blackish-grey. The upper parts are sometimes as black as a mole, sometimes grizzled with brown" ('Mammifères,' p. 284). The brown specimen with the dark belly is evidently a rarity.

FAMILY SPALACIDÆ

The members of this family are characterised by very large incisors; some have premolars, as in Bathyergus and two other genera, but not in the Spalacinæ, of which our bamboo-rat (Rhizomys) is the representative in India. "The grinding teeth are rooted, not tuberculate, but with re-entering enamel folds; infra-orbital opening moderate or small, with no perpendicular plate; occipital plane high, often sloped boldly forward; palate narrow; form cylindrical; eye and ear-conch very small, sometimes rudimentary; limbs short and stout; claws large; tail short or absent" (Alston, 'P. Z. S.' 1876, p. 86). There are two subfamilies—Spalacinæ and Bathyerginæ.

GENUS RHIZOMYS—THE BAMBOO-RAT

"Form robust; eyes very small; ears very short, naked; pollex rudimentary; tail rather short, partially haired; skull broad; occipital plane only slightly sloped forward; infra-orbital opening small, sub-triangular; upper incisors arched forward; no premolar; upper molars with one deep internal and two or more external enamel-folds; the lower molars reversed."—Alston.

NO. 396. RHIZOMYS BADIUSThe Chestnut Bamboo-Rat (Jerdon's No. 201)

NATIVE NAME.—Known to the Chingpaws or Kakhyens as the Yewcron.—Anderson.

HABITAT.—The Sikim and Nepal Terai; Burmah; Arakan; Kakhyen Hills.

DESCRIPTION.—Fine fur, of a grey or slaty grey for two-thirds of the basal portion, the remaining upper third being from a deep to a bright chestnut. "Most intense on the head, and dullest on the rump" (Anderson). "Below dark ashy grey" (Jerdon). "The fur of the under-parts in these Eastern examples of the species" (referring to those from the Kakhyen hills) "is paler and more reddish than chestnut, whereas in some Nepal animals it inclines even to slaty grey, washed with reddish. The area immediately around the muzzle and the chin is pale brownish, with a tinge of greyish, and the teeth are brilliant reddish, the nose, ears, feet, and tail being pale flesh-coloured" (Anderson, 'Anat. and Zool. Res.' p. 329).

SIZE.—Head and body, 7 inches; tail, about 2½ inches.

Jerdon says of this species that "it eats the roots of bamboos and other trees, constructing burrows under the roots. It is said to be very bold, and easily taken." "In Burmah it constructs its burrows amongst a rank and tall jungle grass, on the roots of which it is said to live" (Anderson). Blyth, who writes of the Burmese form, says: "it is barely separable from R. badius, from which it seems to differ only in its much brighter colouring."

NO. 397. RHIZOMYS ERYTHROGENYSThe Red-cheeked Bamboo-Rat

HABITAT.—Burmah; the Salween hill tracts; Tenasserim.

DESCRIPTION.—Upper parts dark iron grey; almost black on the top of the head; the upper lip, chin and upper part of the throat are white, also the chest and belly, which are however more or less tinged with grey and reddish; the lower portion of the throat is dark grey; the sides of the head and cheeks are bright golden red; the feet are sparsely clad and leaden coloured, except the toes of the hind feet, which are fleshy white; tail rather thick at the base, quite naked, not scaly, and of a leaden hue; claws rather broad, and moderately strong.

SIZE (of the living female).—Head and body, 14¾ inches; tail, 5·35 inches.

Dr. Anderson, from whose work I have taken the above description, and who was the first to describe and name this animal, says that a female was recently received in the Zoological Gardens from Mr. A. H. Hildebrand.

NO. 398. RHIZOMYS PRUINOSUSThe Hoary Bamboo-Rat

HABITAT.—Assam; very common about Cherrapoonjee; Burmah; Kakhyen hills east of Bhamo.

DESCRIPTION.—Brown above, grizzled with white; the base of the fur being slaty grey, tipped with brown, and intermixed with longer hairs, terminating in white bands; underneath much the same, only the white-tipped hairs are shorter and less numerous; whiskers dark brown; the head is generally more grey; ears, nose, feet and tail of a dusky flesh tint; tail one-third of the body.

SIZE.—Head and-body, about 11 to 13 inches; tail, 3 to 4 inches.

NO. 399. RHIZOMYS MINORThe Small Bamboo-Rat

NATIVE NAME.—Khai, Aracanese.

HABITAT.—Burmah, Upper Martaban, and at Yanageen on the Irrawaddy.—Blyth.

DESCRIPTION.—"Dark sooty brown above, slightly tinged with deep umber, which is most distinct on the sides of the head and neck, and in reflected light; the under parts are like the upper, only the brown tint is almost absent; the whiskers are black, and tail very sparsely haired" (Anderson). "Dusky brown colour, with white muzzle and around the eye, and pale naked feet" (Blyth).

SIZE.—Head and body, 6½ inches; tail, 1¾ inch.

Blyth says he obtained a living specimen in Upper Martaban, and recognised it as the same as what had been obtained in Siam. The Rev. Mr. Mason writes of it: "This animal, which burrows under old bamboo roots, resembles a marmot more than a rat; yet it has much of the rat in its habits. I one night caught a specimen gnawing a cocoa-nut, while camping out in the jungles."

I may here mention a curious little animal, which is apparently a link between the MURIDÆ and the SPALACIDÆ, Myospalax fuscocapillus, named and described by Blyth ('J. A. S. B.' xv. p. 141), found at Quetta, where it is called the "Quetta mole." A full account of it by Mr. W. T. Blanford is to be found in the 'Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal,' (vol. L. pt. ii.).

FAMILY DIPODIDÆ

This family contains a form of rodent similar to, yet more pronounced than, the jerboa rats, of which I have already treated. It includes the true Jerboas (Dipus), the American Jumping Mice (Zapus), the Alactaga, and the Cape Jumping Hare (Pedetes caffer). The characteristics of the family are as follows:—

"Incisors compressed; premolars present or absent; grinding teeth rooted or rootless, not tuberculate, with more or fewer transverse enamel folds; skull with the brain-case short and broad; infra-orbital opening rounded, very large (often as large as the orbit); zygomatic arch slender, curved downwards; the malar ascending in front to the lachrymal in a flattened perpendicular plate; facial surface of maxillaries minutely perforated; mastoid portion of auditory bullæ usually greatly developed; metatarsal bones elongated, often fused into a cannon bone; form gracile; front portion of body and fore-limbs very small; hind limbs long and strong, with from three to five digits; tail long, hairy. Three sub-families" (Alston On the Order GLIRES, 'P. Z. S.' 1876). The three sub-families are Zapodidæ,28 Dipodinæ and Pedetinæ, but we have only to deal with the second.

GENUS DIPUS—THE JERBOAS

Hind feet with three digits; tail cylindrical and tufted; incisors grooved; premolars absent, or, if found, then in the upper jaw and rudimentary; skull with very broad occipital region; greatly developed auditory bullæ; the cervical vertebræ are more or less anchylosed, and the metatarsals are united. They are not found in the plains of India, though one species inhabits Yarkand, and two more are found in Eastern Persia.

NO. 400. DIPUS LAGOPUSThe Yarkand Jerboa

HABITAT.—Koshtak, south of Yarkand; Yarkand; and Yangihissar.—Blanford.

DESCRIPTION.—"Colour above light sandy brown, slightly washed with dusky, below pure white; a white band across the outside of the thigh; tail pale brown above, whitish below, with a tuft of longer hair, altogether about 2½ inches long; at the end the terminal portion pure white, the proximal portion black or dark-brown on the upper part and sides, but brown or white beneath the tail. The fur is very soft and rather long, 0·6 to 0·8 inch in the middle of the back; on the upper parts it is ashy grey at the base and for the greater parts of its length, pale sandy brown near the end; the extreme tip dusky brown; on the lower parts it is white throughout; ears about half the length of the head, oval, naked inside, thinly clothed with short brown hair outside; face sandy; the hairs grey at the base; sides of head whitish; whiskers as usual very long, exceeding three inches; the uppermost brown; the longest white, except at the base; the lower entirely white; the long hairs beneath the hind feet all white, as are the feet throughout."—Blanford, 'Sc. Res. of Sec. Yarkand Mission,' pp. 58,59.

GENUS ALACTAGA

"Hind feet with five digits, of which the first and fifth do not reach the ground; tail cylindrical, tufted; skull with the occipital region less broad, and the auditory bullæ smaller; infra-orbital opening with no separate canal for the nerve; incisors plain. One very small premolar present above only."—Alston.

NO. 401. ALACTAGA INDICA

NATIVE NAME.—Khanee, Afghan.

HABITAT.—Afghanistan; Eastern Persia.

DESCRIPTION.—Fawn colour above; the hair with black tips and ashy grey at the base; under-parts white; upper parts of thigh white; a black spot behind and inside the thigh just below the white; remainder of the outside and lower part of the inside of the thighs brown; a white line running down the front, and extending over the upper portion of the tarsi and feet; proximal portion of tarsus brown at the sides. (See 'Blanford's Eastern Persia,' vol. ii. p. 77.) The tail is brown with a white tip; ears thinly clad with brown hairs; head brown above, whitish around the eyes; whiskers black.

SIZE.—Head and body, 3½ inches; tail, 7 inches.

This animal is unfortunately named, as it is not Indian at all; equally unfortunate, as Mr. Blanford has shown, is Blyth's name Bactrianus, for it does not inhabit that tract, so the original title stands. Hutton, in his 'Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar' ('J. A. S. B.' xv. p. 137), writes of it as follows: "This beautiful little animal is abundant over all the stony plains throughout the country, burrowing deeply, and when unearthed bounding away with most surprising agility after the manner of the kangaroo-rat. It is easily tamed, and lives happily enough in confinement if furnished with plenty of room to leap about. It sleeps all day, and so soundly that it may be taken from its cage and examined without awaking it; or at most it will half open one eye in a drowsy manner for an instant, and immediately close it again in sleep. It retires to its burrows about the end of October, and remains dormant till the following April, when it throws off its lethargy and again comes forth." There is a good engraving of this animal in Cassel's new Natural History.

We have now closed our account of the Myomorpha or Mouse-like Rodents, and will proceed to the next Section, HYSTRICOMORPHA, or Porcupine-like Rodents.

SECTION III.—HYSTRICOMORPHA—PORCUPINE-LIKE RODENTS

This section contains six families, viz.:—

Of these we have to deal with but one, the second family, Hystricidæ, the rest belonging to Africa in part, but the majority to the American continent, chiefly South America.

I give the general characteristics of the section as laid down by Mr. Alston:—

"One premolar above and below (except in Ctenodactylus); grinding teeth rooted or rootless, not tuberculate; frontals with no distinct post-orbital processes (except in Chætomys); infra-orbital opening large, sub-triangular, or oval; zygomatic arch proportionately stout; molar not advancing far forward, (except in Ctenodactylinæ and Chinchillidæ) and not supported below by a continuation of the maxillary zygomatic process; incisive foramina small; foramina in the base of skull proportionally large; an inter-pterygoid fissure; mandible with its angular portion springing from the outer side of the bony covering of the lower incisor, triangular, usually pointed behind; coronoid process small, and condyle low; clavicles perfect or imperfect; fibula persistent as a distinct bone throughout life; upper lip rarely cleft; muffle clad with fine hairs; nostrils pointed above, sigmoid or linear; ears usually emarginate behind; tail hairy, sub-naked, or scaly."—'P. Z. S.,' 1876, p. 90.

As I have said before, we have only to do with the Hystricidæ or Porcupines, but many of the others are familiar by name. Of the Octodontidæ the best known is the coypu of the Andes, one of the largest of the rodents, and the ground-rat or ground-pig of western and southern Africa. The chinchilla, which is the typical form of the third family, is known to all, especially ladies, from its delicate soft fur. The agouti of South America is the representative of the Dasyproctidæ. The family Dinomyidæ consists of one animal only, Dinomys Branickii; the only known example of which was obtained in Peru on the Montana de Vitoc. It was found walking about in a yard at daybreak, and showed so little fear of man that it suffered itself to be killed by the stroke of a sword. It is a pity no one was sensible enough to try and take it alive. As yet nothing is known of its habits. Of the last family, Caviidæ, the cavy and the capybara are well known to travellers in South America, and the common guinea pig is familiar to us all.