2. Mus (DECUMANUS var. ?) MAURUS.
Mus maurus, Waterh. in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, for February, 1837, p. 20.
M. pilis suprà purpurescenti-nigris; subtùs plumbeis; auribus parvulis, pallidè fuscis: caudâ corpus ferè æquante.
Description.—The character of the fur of this animal nearly resembles that of Mus decumanus; it is, however, of a harsher nature: the general colour of the upper parts and sides of the body is purple-black, arising from the longest hairs being of this colour, and likewise the tips of those which are next in length; the latter, however, excepting at the tip, are white, and this white is not entirely hidden, even when the hairs are in their ordinary position: on the head the hairs assume a brownish hue, and are tolerably uniform: the limbs, and under parts of the body, are of a deep gray colour, with a faint purple-brown wash: the under fur is gray: the ears are small, of a brown-white, or very pale brown colour, and furnished with minute brown hairs: the small, scattered, bristly hairs of the tail are of an uniform brownish black colour. The hairs of the moustaches are black at the base, and grayish at the apex.
| In. | Lines. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | from nose to root of tail | 11 | 3 |
| of tail | 7 | 6 | |
| of tarsus | 1 | 8 | |
| of ear | 0 | 6¼ | |
| from nose to ear | 2 | 2 |
Habitat, Maldonado, La Plata, (June.)
This rat is very closely allied to Mus decumanus, and I think may possibly prove an extraordinary local variety of that animal. Having but one skin, and no skull, I am unable to satisfy myself on this point. Its size, as will be seen by the admeasurements, exceeds that of the common rat, or, rather, it exceeds ordinary specimens of that animal, for I have seen some which were equal to it.
“It was killed near Maldonado, where it frequented holes in the sand hillocks near the shore. It is likewise found on the island of Guritti. If ships are ever infested with these monstrous rats, the above-mentioned localities are very likely places to have received colonies by such means. An old male weighed fifteen ounces and three quarters. The ears of this rat, when alive, were of a pale colour, which made a singular contrast with the black fur of its body.”—D.
3. Mus Jacobiæ.
Mus decumanoïdes,[[15]] Waterh. in “Catalogue of the Mammalia preserved in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London.”