Chapter 29

However, the system that most commends itself is that of Mr. E. R. Alston, proposed in the 'Proceedings' of the Zoological Society, and founded on the original scheme of Professor Gervais, by which the order is subdivided into two on the character of the incisor teeth. Those which have never more than two incisors, coated only in front with enamel are termed SIMPLICIDENTATA, or _Simple-toothed Rodents_. The other sub-order, the genera of which have rudimentary incisors, as in the case of hares, rabbits, &c., and in which the enamel is spread more or less over all the surface, is termed DUPLICIDENTATA or _Double-toothed Rodents_, and this is the system I propose to follow.

SUB-ORDER SIMPLICIDENTATA. SIMPLE-TOOTHED RODENTS.

These, as I before observed, are those of the order which never have more than two incisors in the upper jaw, and the enamel on these is restricted to the front of the tooth. They have also a well-developed bony palate, which in the Duplicidentata is imperfect, forming in fact but a narrow bridge from one jaw to the other. In the latter also the fibula, which is anchylosed to the end of the tibia, articulates with the calcaneum or heel-bone, which is not the case with the simple-toothed rodents.

We now come to the subdivisions of the Simplicidentata. The order GLIRES has always been a puzzling one to naturalists, from the immense variety of forms, with their intricate affinities, and there is not much help to be gained from extinct forms, for such as have been found are mostly referable to existing families. The classification which I have adopted is, as I said before, that elaborated by Mr. E. R. Alston, F.G.S., F.Z.S., and reported in the 'Proceedings' of the Zoological Society for 1876. I said that he had founded it on Professor Gervais' scheme, but I see that the groundwork of the system was laid down in 1839 by Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, then curator of the Zoological Society, and it was afterwards, in 1848, taken up by Professor Gervais, and subsequently added to by Professor Brandt in 1855, and Lilljeborg in 1866. About ten years later Mr. Alston, working on the data supplied by the above, and also by Milne-Edwards, Gray, Gunther, Leidy, Coues, and Dr. Peters, produced a complete system of classification, which seems to be all that is to be desired.

We have already divided the rodents into two sub-orders, to which, however, Mr. Alston adds a third, viz., _Hebetidentati_, or Blunt-toothed Rodents, which contains only the _Mesotherium_, a fossil form. We have now to subdivide the two. The Double-toothed Rodents are easily disposed of in two families--_Leporidae_ and _Lagomyidae_. The Simple-toothed Rodents are more numerous, and consist of about eighteen families arranged under three sections, which are _Sciuromorpha_, or Squirrel-like Rodents, _Myomorpha_ or Rat-like Rodents, and _Hystricomorpha_, or Porcupine-like Rodents. It would perhaps render it clear to the reader were I to tabulate the differences chiefly noticeable in these three sections:--

SECTION I.--SCIUROMORPHA, OR SQUIRREL-LIKE RODENTS.

Molar dentition 4--4/4--4 or 5--5/4--4. In the latter case the foremost upper molar is small; the fibula is distinct, and never united, except in some cases where it is attached to the extremity of the tibia; the zygomatic arch is formed chiefly by the malar, which is not supported beneath by a continuation of the zygomatic process of the maxillary; collar-bones perfect; upper lip cleft; the muffle small and naked; tail cylindrical and hairy (except in _Castoridae_). Five families.

SECTION II.--MYOMORPHA, OR RAT-LIKE RODENTS.

Molar dentition from 3--3/3--3 to 6--6/6--6, the former being the usual number; the tibia and fibula are united for at least a third of their length. The zygomatic arch is slender, and the malar process rarely extends so far forward as in the preceding section, and is generally supported below by a continuation of the maxillary zygomatic process; collar bones are perfect (except in _Lophiomyidae_); upper lip and muffle as in the last; tail cylindrical, sometimes hairy, but commonly covered with scales arranged in rings. Seven families.

SECTION III.--HYSTRICOMORPHA, OR PORCUPINE-LIKE RODENTS.

With one exception (_Ctenodactylus_) have four molars in each upper and lower jaw; the tibia and fibula are distinct in young and old; the zygomatic arch is stout, and the malar does not advance far forward, nor is it supported by the maxillary zygomatic process; collar-bones perfect in some; the upper lip is rarely cleft; the muffle clad with fine hair; tail hairy, sub-naked or scaly.

SECTION I.--SCIUROMORPHA.

Contains the following families, those that are not Indian being in italics;--

(1) _Anomaluridae_; (2) Sciuridae; (3) _Ischyromyidae_, a fossil genus; (4) _Haplodontidae_; (5) _Castoridae_.

The Anomalures are African animals resembling our flying squirrels, to which they were at first thought to belong, but were separated and named by Mr. Waterhouse, the chief peculiarity being the tail, which is long and well covered with hair, though not bushy as in the squirrels, and which has, at its basal portion, a double series of projecting horny scales, which probably help it in climbing trees. There are several other peculiarities, which I need not dwell on here, which have justified its separation from the true squirrels. The flying membrane, which is quite as large as that of the flying squirrels, extends from the elbow to the heel instead of from the wrist, and it is held out by a strong cartilaginous spur starting from the elbow.

Of the Sciuridae we have many examples in India, which will be noticed further on.

The _Ischyromyidae_ is founded on a single North American fossil genus (_Ischyromys typus_), which is nearly allied to the Sciuridae, but also shows some affinity to the beavers.

The _Haplodontidae_ is also an American family, founded on one genus, but an existing and not a fossil animal. The _Haplodon rufus_ is a small burrowing rodent, valued by the Indians both for its flesh and its skin, of which from twenty to thirty are sewn together to form a robe; the teeth are rootless, simple, and prismatic, the surface of each being surrounded by a mere border of enamel.

The _Castoridae_ is the beaver family, which is also unknown in India. Unlike as this animal is externally to the squirrels, its anatomy warrants its position in the Sciuromorpha, otherwise one would feel inclined to include it in the next section.

We see that of the five families, of which this section is composed, only the second has its representatives in India.

SCIURIDAE--THE SQUIRRELS.

This family contains the true squirrels, including the flying ones, and the marmots. The distinctive characteristics of the former are as follows: The gnawing teeth are smooth, compressed. The grinding teeth are 5--5/4--4 or 4--4/4--4; in the former case the first upper premolar is small, and sometimes deciduous; they are tubercular, at least in youth, and rooted. Skull with distinct post-orbital processes; infra-orbital opening small, usually placed in front of the maxillary zygomatic process; palate broad and flat; twelve or thirteen pairs of ribs; tail cylindrical and bushy; feet either pentadactylous or with a tubercle in place of a thumb on the fore-feet. Mostly quite arboreal.

_GENUS SCIURUS_.

Premolars, 2--2/1--1; molars, 3--3/3--3; gnawing teeth smooth, orange-coloured, or brown; no cheek pouches; mammae three or four pairs; first upper premolar soon lost in many cases; limbs free; form agile; tail long and very bushy.

Jerdon states that "there are three well marked groups in India distinguished by size, coloration and habits," by which he means the large forest squirrels, the medium size grizzled ones, and the little striped squirrels, to which however I must add one more form, which is found out of the geographical limits assigned to his work--the _Rhinosciurus_, or long-snouted squirrel, an animal singularly like a Tupaia. The squirrels, as a whole, form a natural and well-defined group, with a remarkable uniformity of dentition and skull, but of infinite variation in colour. In fact, it is most puzzling and misleading to find so great a diversity of pelage as is exhibited by a single species. I was shown by a friend a few months ago a fine range of colours in skins of a single species from Burmah--_S. caniceps_. I cannot attempt to describe them from memory, but the diversity was so marked that I believe they would have been taken by unscientific observers for so many different species. Now in domesticated animals there is great variation in colouring, but not in the majority of wild species. What the causes are that operate in the painting of the skin of an animal no one can say, any more than one can say how particular spots are arranged on the petal of a flower or the wing of a butterfly. That specific liveries have been designed by an all-wise Creator for purposes of recognition I have no doubt, as well as for purposes of deception and protection--in the former case to keep certain breeds pure, and in the latter to protect animals from attack by enabling them better to hide themselves, as we see in the case of those birds and quadrupeds which inhabit exposed cold countries turning white in winter, and in the mottled skin of the Galeopithicus, which is hardly discernible from the rough bark of the tree to which it clings. I have hardly ever noticed such varied hues in any wild animals, although the _Viverridae_ are somewhat erratic in colouring, as in the Indian squirrels, and it is doubtful whether several recorded species are not so nearly allied as to be in fact properly but one and the same. There is much in common in at least five species of Burmese squirrels, and it is open to question whether _S. caniceps_ and _S. Blanfordii_ are not the same. Dr. Anderson writes: "I have examined a very extensive series of squirrels belonging to the various forms above described, viz., _S. pygerythrus_, _S. caniceps_, _S. Phayrei_ and _S. Blanfordii_, and of others which appears to indicate at least, if not to prove, that all of them are in some way related to each other." In another place he says: "The skull of an adult male, _S. caniceps_, which had the bright red golden colour of the back well developed, presents so strong a resemblance to the skull of _S. Blanfordii_, that it is extremely difficult to seize on any point wherein they differ." After comparison of the above with skulls of _S. griseimanus_ and _S. Phayrei_, he adds: "such facts taken in conjunction with those mentioned under _S. Blanfordii_, suggest that there is a very intimate connection between all of these forms, if they do not ultimately prove to be identical" ('Anat. and Zool. Researches,' pp. 229, 231).

Blyth also, speaking of the larger squirrels, says: "It is difficult to conceive of the whole series as other than permanent varieties of one species; and the same remark applies to the races of _Pteromys_, and at least to some of those of _Sciuropterus_, as also to various named _Sciuri_" ('Cat. Mam.,' p. 98).

The large forest squirrels come first on our list. They inhabit lofty tree jungle, making their nests on the tops of the tallest trees. They are most active in their habits, and are strictly arboreal, being awkward on the ground. When kept as pets they become very tame, though some are crotchety tempered, and bite severely.

NO. 273. SCIURUS INDICUS. _The Bombay Squirrel of Pennant_ (_Sciurus Malabaricus and S. Elphinstonei in Jerdon, Nos. 148 and 150_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Jangli-gilheri_, Hindi; _Shekra_, Mahrathi; _Kesannalu_, Canarese of the Halapyks.

HABITAT.--The dense forests of the Western Ghats, but extending easterly as far as Midnapore and Cuttack.

DESCRIPTION.--Upper surface of body dark maroon red, lower part of back and rump and upper portions of limbs and the whole of the tail black, the latter ending in a broad brownish-yellow tip; the outside of the hind-legs and half-way down the outside of the fore-legs a uniform rich maroon red; the under parts from chin to vent, inside of limbs, lower part of fore-legs, the inter-aural region and the cheeks bright orange yellow; forehead and nose reddish-brown, with white hairs interspersed; ears small and tufted; a narrow maroon line from the anterior angle of the ear extends downwards to the side of the neck, with a yellow line behind it; whiskers and bristles black.

Dr. Anderson also remarks on the skull of this species that it is considerably smaller than that of _S. maximus_, and has a narrower and less concave inter-orbital space; the nasals are also broader posteriorly, and less dilated anteriorly, the upper dental line being also shorter.

SIZE.--Head and body, 20 inches; tail, 15-1/4 inches.

Jerdon's description of this animal is taken _verbatim_ from Sykes, who named it after the Honourable Mountstuart Elphinstone, under the impression that it was a new species, but it is apparently the same as _S. Indicus_ of Erxleben and _S. Malabaricus_ of Schinz.

NO. 274. SCIURUS MAXIMUS. _The Central Indian Red Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 149_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Kat-berral_, Bengali; _Karat_, Hindi; _Rasu_ and _Ratuphar_ at Monghyr, according to Hamilton; _Kondeng_ of the Coles; _Per-warsti_, Gondi; _Bet-udata_, Telegu; _Shekra_, Mahrathi.

HABITAT.--Malabar coast, Central India, and, according to Dr. F. B. Hamilton, the hills about Monghyr, whence doubtless the Calcutta market is supplied. Hodgson records it from the Himalayan Terai.

DESCRIPTION.--"The upper surface and the sides of the neck, the shoulders, and the outside of the fore-limbs, the lumbar and sacral regions, the outside of the thighs and the tail are black, the black of the hind-quarters being prolonged forwards along the mesial line towards the black of the shoulders; a large dark maroon spot on the vertex, separated from the maroon of the nape by yellowish inter-aural area, which extends downwards and forwards to the cheeks; a maroon-coloured line passes downward from the front of the ear, with a yellow area behind it. The sides of the face and muzzle are pale yellowish, the latter being flesh-coloured; the other portions of the trunk and the lower half of the tibial portion of the hind limbs are maroon. The tail is either black or maroon black, sometimes tipped with yellowish brown. The whole of the under-parts and inside of the limbs and the hands and feet are rich yellowish; the ears strongly maroon and tufted" (_Dr. Anderson_). Jerdon's description of this animal is very meagre and doubtful.

SIZE.--About the same as the last.

This squirrel was tolerably common in the forests of Seonee, and we had one or two in confinement. One belonging to my brother-in-law was so tame as to allow of any amount of bullying by his children, who used to pull it about as though it were a puppy or kitten, but I have known others to bite severely and resent any freedom.

NO. 275. SCIURUS MACROURUS. _The Long-tailed Forest Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 152_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Rookeeah_ or _Dandoleyna_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Ceylon, Southern India, i.e. Malabar, Travancore, Mysore, Neilgherries.

DESCRIPTION.--"Fur of the upper parts coarse and slightly waved; above, the colour varies from maroon-black to rufous brown; hairs sometimes grizzled and tipped white or pale yellow, particularly on the croup, sides, and upper parts of limbs; crown of the head darker in most specimens than other parts; cheeks, under-parts, and lower two-thirds of limbs of a fulvous white; occiput of a deeper fulvous, sometimes yellow or ferruginous brown; an indistinct dark spot on the cheek, which is sometimes absent; two-thirds or more of the basal portion of the tail black or brown; the rest grizzled grey or fulvous. In some the hairs of the whole tail are tipped white, and in others grizzled white throughout. In the young there is very little of brown or black; the whole tail is more or less formed of grey hairs, and the terminal third is nearly white. Grey is also the prevailing colour on the posterior half of the body; toes in all black or blackish brown; ears hairy, only slightly tufted in adults."--_Kellaart_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 13-1/2 inches; tail, 11 inches.

This squirrel also varies greatly in colouring, and has led several naturalists astray. Kellaart, in his 'Prodromus Faunae Zeylanicae,' says he has seen them in a transition state from dark brown to grizzled grey.

NO. 276. SCIURUS GIGANTEUS. _The Black Hill Squirrel_ (_Sciurus macrouroides in Jerdon, No. 151_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Shingsham_, Bhotia; _Le-hyuk_, Lepcha; _Jelarang_, Javanese; _Chingkrawah-etam_, Malay; _Leng-thet_, in Arakan; _Sheu_, in Tenasserim.

HABITAT.--North-west Himalayas to Assam, the Garo hills, Sylhet, and Cachar, spreading from Northern Assam across to Yunnan, and through Arakan and Tenasserim on to the Malayan peninsula and Borneo.

DESCRIPTION.--"This species has well-tufted ears; the upper surface is either wholly black or reddish-brown, without any trace of white; the tail is generally jet black, also the outside of the fore and hind limbs, and the upper surface of the feet; an elongated black spot is almost invariably found below the eye from beyond the moustache, and the eye is encircled with black. There are generally two black spots on the under surface of the chin; the under parts and the inside of the limbs vary from pale yellowish-white to a rich rufous orange; the basal portion of the hairs of the under-parts is dark brown or black, and the ventral area has frequently a dull hue where the yellow tips are sparse; the coats of these squirrels are generally sleek, glossy and deep black, and while in this condition the under surface is most brilliant, especially at its line of junction with the black, along the sides of the body and limbs, tending to form a kind of bright band.

"In some the upper parts have a brownish hue, but this is not characteristic of any particular locality, as two individuals, one from Nepal and the other from Borneo, are equally brown. While the fur is of this colour it is long and coarse, and the under-parts are less brilliant. These phases are probably seasonal, and connected with the breeding period."--_Anderson_.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 15 inches; tail, about 16 inches.

* * * * *

The next group consists of squirrels of medium size with grizzled fur, as Jerdon remarks of the two species he mentions; but with the rich fields of Burmah and Assam we can swell our list to over a dozen. It is doubtful whether one or two of the named species are not varieties of one and the same, so nearly are they allied, but this remains to be proved.

NO. 277. SCIURUS LOKRIAH. _The Orange-bellied Grey Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 153_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Lokriah_, Nepalese; _Zhamo_, Bhotia, _Killi_, or _Kalli-tingdong_, Lepcha (_Jerdon_).

HABITAT.--Nepal, Sikim, Assam (Khasia Hills), and Burmah (Arakan).

DESCRIPTION.--A deep ferruginous olive-brown, the hairs tipped with orange, soft and silky; the under-parts from chin to vent and the outside of the thighs a rich orange; the tail is shorter than that of the next species, concolorous with the body above, but the banding of the hair is coarser, the apical black band being very broad, tipped with orange or white, generally the latter, the general hue being blackish washed with orange or white. In some the general hue is orange brown with obscure annuli; the arrangement of the hair is distichous or in two rows.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 8 inches; tail, 6-1/2 to 8 inches, including hair.

There is some confusion between this and the next species, _S. lokroides_, and the distinctive characteristics quoted by Jerdon and others, founded on colouring alone, are not to be depended upon, for colouring varies, but there is considerable difference in the skulls of the two, _S. lokriah_ having a smaller skull, with distinct peculiarities. The inter-orbital portion of the skull is narrower anteriorly and posteriorly, and the muzzle is narrow at the base, and of nearly equal breadth throughout. The nasals are long and narrow, and reach further back than in _S. lokroides_. These points, which are brought forward by Dr. Anderson, are sufficient to indicate that they are quite distinct species. As regards colouring _S. lokriah_ has normally red thighs, but even this is absent at times. Dr. Anderson says: "It is much more richly coloured than _S. lokroides_, with no rufous even on the thighs, and with generally a tuft of pure white hair behind the ear, by which it can be recognised, as it occurs in twenty instances out of twenty-five, and even when absent the hairs in that locality have a paler colour. As this whitish tuft lies backwards, it is only seen when the ear is carefully examined."

NO. 278. SCIURUS LOKROIDES. _The Hoary-bellied Grey Squirrel_ (_Jerdon's No. 154_).

HABITAT.--In the lower ranges of the South-eastern Himalayas, Nepal, Sikim, Assam, Tipperah and Arakan.

DESCRIPTION.--This is a most difficult species to describe. Dr. Anderson writes: "I have before me sixty-two examples of various squirrels which have been referred to _S. lokroides_, _S. Assamensis_ and _S. Blythii_ by Hodgson, M'Clelland and Tytler, also the types of _S. similis_ (Gray), which were forwarded to the British Museum as _S. lokroides_ by Hodgson. After a careful consideration of these materials, they appear to me to be referable to one species. Hodgson, who first described it, referred to it all those Himalayan squirrels slightly larger than _S. lokriah_, and which had the ventral surface either pale whitish or slightly washed with rufous, the sides also being sometimes suffused with this tinge especially on the anterior half of the thigh, which in many is bright orange red; but this colour is variable, and many squirrels have this portion of the body white, of which _S. Blythii_ is an example; and others similar to it are before me from Bhutan and Assam which do not differ from _S. lokroides_ except in the presence of this white area, which is evidently only a variation on the red area, and probably a seasonal change, as many show merely a faint rufous tinge in the inguinal region, that colour being entirely absent on the outside of the thigh.

"It is, however, worthy of note that those squirrels which have a rufous tinge in the inguinal region rarely, if ever, have the outside of the thigh bright red, and that the squirrels distinguished by white on their thighs are from Bhutan, Assam, and the Garo hills. But I do not see that these latter differ in any other respect from the squirrels sent by Hodgson as specimens of _S. lokroides_, with and without red thighs. Moreover, one of Hodgson's specimens of _S. lokroides_ shows a tendency in the thigh to become white" ('Anat. and Zool. Researches,' pp. 247, 248).

The difficulty in laying down precise rules for colouring is here evident, but in general I may say that the upper parts are rufescent olive brown, the hair being grizzled or banded black and yellow, commencing with greyish-black at the base, then yellow, black, yellow with a dark brown or black tip; the lower parts are rufous hoary or grey, tinged with rufous, or the latter shade may be restricted to the groin or inguinal parts. The fur is coarser and more broadly ringed than in _S. lokriah_, and the ventral surface is never tinged with orange, as in that species; the tail is concolorous with the back; the hair more coarsely annulated; there is no white tuft behind the ears, as in the last species.