This species is of a darker colour than the last, its ears are much larger and
the tarsi are shorter. It has the same rabbit-like appearance. The molar teeth
of the lower jaw are figured in Plate 33, fig. 4, a.
“ This mouse, when alive, from its very large eyes and ears, had a singular
appearance, somewhat resembling that of a little rabbit. It frequents small
thickets in the open grassy savannahs near Maldonado, and was caught with
facility by means of traps baited with cheese. ’—D.
3 . R e it h r o d o n c h in c h il l o id e s .
P l a t e X X V II.
R . vellere longissimo et mollissimo; corpore suprà et ad latera cinereo,fiavescenti-fusco
lavato, subtiis Jiavescenti-albo ; caudâ corpore breviore, suprà fuscâ, subtùs albâ :
auribus parvulis : tarsis mediocribus.
D e s c r ip t io n .— Ears small; tail shorter than the body; tarsus moderate; fur
long and extremely soft. General hue of the upper parts of the head and
body ashy-brown ; the lower part of the cheeks and sides of the body are
of a delicate yellow colour ; the under parts of the head and body and the
rump are cream colour. The ears are blackish ; * the tail is tolerably well
clothed with longish hairs, which are, however, not so thickly set as to hide
the scales —on the upper side they are blackish brown ; on the sides and
beneath they are white. The feet are white. All the fur is of a deep gray
colour at the base ; the hairs of the back are of a very pale yellow colour
(almost white) near the tip, and brown at the tip ; the longer hairs are black
at the apex. The incisors are yellow ; the hairs of the moustaches are
numerous and very long—some of them are whitish, and others are black at
the root, and gray at the apex.
Leno^th from nose to root of tail
of tail
from nose to ear
In. Lines.
5. 0
2 4
Length of tarsus (claws included)
of ear . . .
In. Lines. 1 0
0 54
Habitat, South shore of the Strait of Magellan, near the Eastern entrance.
This little animal was preserved in spirit, and has since been mounted, it is
* They are naked, but I suspect the hair has been rubbed off.