1. Abrocoma Bennettii.
Plate XVIII.
Abrocoma Bennettii, Waterh., Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, for February 1837, p. 31.
A. corpore suprà griseo, ad latera pallidiore et pallidè cervino lavato, subtùs albescenti-cervino; gulâ albescenti-griseâ; pedibus sordidè albis: auribus amplis, ad marginem posticum rectis, extùs ad bases vellere, sicùt in corpore, obsitis: caudâ corpore breviore, ad basin crassiusculâ, pilis brevibus incumbentibus vestitâ.
Description.—Form stout; ears large, with the posterior margin straight; fore feet rather small, tarsus short; tail rather shorter than the body, thick at the base; fur long and extremely soft, and silk-like. General colour pale grayish brown, with a slight yellow wash; the upper part of the head and the back dusky brown; under parts of the body very pale yellowish brown, inclining to white; chin and throat whitish; feet dirty white; tail well clothed with hairs, which are closely adpressed, brown above, and of a very pale brown beneath at the base, darker towards the apex. The hairs of the moustaches are numerous, long, rather slender, and of a brownish colour. The ears are brown, furnished externally at the base with fur resembling that of the body; the remaining parts (both external and internal) are beset with long and extremely slender brown hairs, which project considerably beyond the margin of the ear. The ordinary fur on the back is about ten lines in length, but thickly interspersed with this fur, are longer hairs which are so delicate that they may almost be compared to the spiders’ thread. Both on the upper and under side of the body the fur is deep gray at the base. The incisors are yellow.
| In. | Lines. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | from nose to root of tail | 9 | 9 |
| of tail | 5 | 0 | |
| from nose to ear | 1 | 11 | |
| of tarsus (claws included) | 1 | 4 | |
| of ear | 0 | 10 | |
| Width | of ear | 1 | 0½ |
Habitat, Chile, (August.)
“This animal was caught amongst some thickets in a valley on the flanks of the Cordillera, near Aconcagua. On the elevated plain, near the town of Santa Rosa, in front of the same part of the Andes, I saw two others, which were crawling up an acacia tree, with so much facility, that this practice must be, I should think, habitual with them.”—D.
2. Abrocoma Cuvieri.
Plate XXIX.
Abrocoma Cuvieri, Waterh., Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for February 1837, p. 32.
Ab. suprà grisea, levitèr ochraceo lavata; abdomine gulâque albescenti-griseis; pedibus sordidè albis; auribus amplis, ad marginem posticum distinctè emarginatis; caudâ corpore multò breviore, et nigrescente.