MOLAR TEETH OF LONCHERES.
The HUTIA CONGA (Capromys pilorides) is another large Rodent, measuring from twenty to twenty-two inches in length, with a stout rat-like tail about half as long as the head and body. It is an inhabitant of Cuba. The incisors are considerably smaller and weaker than in the Coypu; the upper molars have one internal and two external folds; the lower ones are similar but reversed. The fur, which is long, is very harsh, and consists of a mixture of black and yellow hairs, becoming rusty on the hinder part of the body. The belly is rusty yellow. This animal lives in the dense forests of Cuba, where it resides either upon the trees or in the thick underwood. It is a nocturnal or crepuscular animal, and is tolerably active when going about on the branches of trees, but is less at home on the ground. Its food consists of fruits, leaves, and the bark of trees, but, according to M. Ramon de la Sagra, it does not disdain animal food, and is especially fond of a species of Lizard belonging to the genus Anolis. On the other hand, the negroes are very partial to the flesh of the Hutia, and they capture the animal either by snaring it on the branches of trees, or by sending Dogs after it. Like the Coypu, it is said to fight courageously against its pursuers. Another Cuban species, the HUTIA CARABALI (C. prehensilis), has a slightly longer tail, which is prehensile at the tip. It is described as keeping chiefly to the highest branches of the trees. In St. Domingo there is an allied form, Plagiodon ædium, in which the enamel folds of the molars are singularly complex (see figure on p. 132). This animal frequents the neighbourhood of human habitations, and approaches them at night in search of its food, which consists of fruit and roots. In most of the other members of this sub-family, which appear to be terrestrial in their habits, the intermixture of spines with the fur of the back is a striking character. In the genus Echinomys itself, and in Loncheres, which together include about a dozen species found chiefly in Guiana and Brazil, the spines frequently form the principal outer covering of the back. Side by side with these hedgehog-like species, however, others occur in which the fur is soft.
SKULL OF LONCHERES.
The GROUND RAT (Aulacodus Swinderianus), of Western and Southern Africa, is remarkable as being the sole representative of this group outside the South American province. It has very broad incisors, and those of the upper jaw exhibit three deep grooves; the molars show the same arrangement of folds as in Capromys; the fur is harsh and bristly, and of a general brown tint; and the tail is of moderate length, sparingly haired, dusky above, and whitish below. The fore feet have the thumb rudimentary and the outer toe very short; and the hind feet have only four toes, of which the outer one is rudimentary. This curious animal, which is nearly two feet long, is known to be an inhabitant of Sierra Leone and the Gambia, and also of South Africa (Port Natal); in all probability it occurs at many intermediate localities. In Sierra Leone it is known as the Ground Rat, or Ground Pig, and is said to feed upon ground nuts, and cassada and other roots in search of which it digs into the ground, where it also forms large burrows for its residence.
CHAPTER IV.
PORCUPINES—CHINCHILLAS—AGOUTIS—CAVIES—HARES AND RABBITS—PIKAS.
[HYSTRICIDÆ, THE PORCUPINES]—Conversion of Hairs into Spines—Skull—Dentition—Tail—Sub-families—The True Porcupines—The Tree Porcupines—[THE COMMON PORCUPINE]—Distribution—Description—The Crest of Bristles—Nature of the Spines—Habits—Young—Flesh—On the Defensive—Other Species—Species of Tree Porcupines—[THE COUENDOU]—[THE COUIY]—Description—Habits—THE URSON, OR CANADA PORCUPINE—Description—Habits—Food—[CHINCHILLIDÆ, THE CHINCHILLAS]—Characteristics—[THE VISCACHA]—Description—Life on the Pampas—Their Burrows—Habits—The Chinchillas of the Andes—[THE CHINCHILLA]—[THE SHORT-TAILED CHINCHILLA]—[CUVIER’S CHINCHILLA]—[THE PALE-FOOTED CHINCHILLA]—[DASYPROCTIDÆ, THE AGOUTIS]—Characters—[THE AGOUTI]—Distribution—Appearance—Habits—[AZARA’S AGOUTI]—[THE ACOUCHY]—[THE PACA]—Appearance—Distribution—Habits—[DINOMYIDÆ]—Founded for a Single Species—Description—Rarity—[CAVIIDÆ, THE CAVIES]—Characteristics—[THE RESTLESS CAVY]—Appearance—Habits—The Guinea-Pig Controversy—[THE BOLIVIAN CAVY]—[THE ROCK CAVY]—[THE SOUTHERN CAVY]—[THE PATAGONIAN CAVY, OR MARA]—Peculiar Features—Its Burrows—Mode of Running—[THE CAPYBARA]—Its Teeth—Where Found—Habits—[THE DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS]—Characteristics—[LEPORIDÆ, THE HARES AND RABBITS]—Structural Peculiarities—Distribution—Disposition—[THE COMMON HARE]—Hind Legs—Speed—Its “Doubles”—Other Artifices—Its “Form”—Habits—Food—Pet Hares—[THE RABBIT]—Distribution—Habits—Domesticated—[THE MOUNTAIN HARE]—[LAGOMYIDÆ, THE PIKAS]—Characteristics—Distribution—[THE ALPINE PIKA]—[THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIKA].
FAMILY XII.—HYSTRICIDÆ (PORCUPINES).
THIS second family of the section Hystricomorpha exhibits the conversion of the hairs into spines in perfection, the whole upper part of the body being in several instances completely covered with long, hollow, pointed quills, whilst in all cases great numbers of spines and stiff bristles are mixed with the hair. The form of the skull in these animals is distinctive. It is ovate, the cranial portion being more or less inflated by air-cavities in the bones, and the facial portion short, but the occipital or hinder surface is usually nearly perpendicular; the malar portion of the zygoma has no angular process as in the preceding family; the molar teeth are four in number on each side in each jaw; and the limbs are about equal in development. The incisor teeth are large and powerful. With regard to the development of the tail there are considerable differences, some species having that organ quite short, while in others it is of moderate length, or long and sometimes prehensile.