Habitat, Maldonado, La Plata, (June.)
This species is rather larger than the common mouse; its head is proportionately larger, the ears are smaller, the tail considerably shorter, and the fur longer, and in colouring it is a little darker. In size and colour it resembles M. Magellanicus, but the shorter tail and tarsi, and the smaller size of the ears will serve to distinguish it.
The skull of Mus arenicola, Plate 34. fig. 7, a, is rather larger than that of Mus Musculus, the nasal portion is broader, the interparietal bone is much smaller, especially in antero-posterior extent; the zygomatic arches are more slender, and the incisive foramina are broader. The horizontal ramus of the lower jaw (Pl. 34. fig. 7, d.) is rather less curved, the coronoid process is more elongated, and the condyloid is narrower and also larger. The length of the skull is 11 lines and a half; the width is 6½ lines. The molars of the upper jaw are figured in plate 34 fig. 7, b. and those of the under jaw, fig. 7, c.
“This specimen was caught on the open grassy plain, by a trap baited with a piece of bird; it is, however, very abundant in the sand hillocks near the coast of the Plata.”—D.
13. Mus brachiotis.
Plate XIV.
Mus brachiotis, Waterh., Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for February 1837, p. 17.
M. suprà obscurè fuscus, subtùs obscurè griseo tinctus; pedibus griseo-fuscis; auribus parvulis; caudâ quoad longitudinem, corpus ferè æquante: vellere longo et molli.
Description.—Fur soft, very long, and dense; ears very small; general colour brown: the hairs of the upper parts, and sides of the head and body are of a deep gray at the base, black at the apex, and narrowly annulated with deep yellow near the apex; on the throat and belly they are of a paler gray at the base, and grayish white at the apex. The ears are well clothed with brown hairs both within and without, and are for the most part hidden by the long fur of the head. The hairs covering the upper side of the feet are of a palish ashy-brown colour, and the fleshy portion appears to have been brown. The tail is well clothed with hairs, so that the scales are scarcely visible; on the upper side of the tail the hairs are brownish black, and on the under side, they are dirty white. The incisors are very slender; those of the upper jaw are of a very pale yellow colour, and those of the lower are white, or nearly so. The muzzle is slender, and pointed.
| In. | Lines. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | from nose to root of tail | 4 | 9 |
| of tail | 2 | 8 | |
| from nose to base of ears | 1 | 2 | |
| of tarsus (claws included) | 0 | 11 | |
| of ear | 0 | 3 |
Habitat, Chonos Archipelago, (December.)