No. I I I .
WILD ANIMALS OF ARABIA AND MESOPOTAMIA.
T h e lion (Felis leo), the leopard (Felis leopardus), in the Amanus and
Taurus ; the panther (Felis pardus), in the Lebanon and Amanus; bears,
brown and black, lynx and black-eared lynx, in the wooded districts; the
wolf (frequent), and black wolf ( Canis lycaon), hyena striped and white;
jackal ( Canis aureus) very common; foxes ( Canis corsac) near the Euphrates,
and (Canis vulpes) in the Taurus ; boar (S u s aper), numerous ; porcupine
(Hystrix cristata), frequent; wild horse (Equus), wild ass ( Onager), stag
(Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Cervus dama), roebuck ( Cervus capreolus),
and several species of antelope; ibex goat (Capra ibex), Caucasian goa.t
( Capra Caucasius), and other varieties; the wild cow (in J d f ) ; the ratel,
sable and genet, in the mountain districts; the otter (Lutra vulgaris), the
common beaver ( Castor fiber), the Siberian jerboa (Dipusjaculus), the common
jerboa (Dipus sagitta), the Sarmatian weasel (Mustela Sarmatica), the
pine martin or martlet (Mustela martes), the mole of the ancients ( Georychus
typhlus and Aspalax typhlus), the polecat, numerous; the Alpine marmot
(Arctomys marmotta), dormice, the great and common mice numerous, and
various squirrels, numerous; monkeys, near Ad en ; hares of two kmds;
rabbits ra r e ; and a new species of Gerbillus from the forest of Amran near
Racca on the Euphrates, of which Mr. Ainsworth gives the following description
:
Class Rodmtia. Order—with perfect clavicles. Family—Murini. Genus
— Gerbillus.
Generic characters.—Molar teeth simple, with transverse tubercles.
Hinder feet longer than the fore feet. The toe and little finger at a short
distance from the others. Tail long, covered with hair without any tuft.
The first grinders with three, the second with two, and the third with one
tubercle. Ears moderately sized. Fore feet short, with four toes and a rudimentary
thumb. The hind legs long, having five toes with nails. Each
foot with a proper metatarsal bone.
Division. Gerbilli, with hind legs moderately elongated and rather thick
body.
Specific description.— Gerbillus.—Dark bluish gray or brown on the back;
beneath, dirty white; at the sides bluish gray and brown on the surface.
The coat is thick. The tail black above and below, with two lateral brown
lines near the point of departure. Cheeks white and forehead black. Ears
open, prominent, but not long. Whiskers long. Upper incisives, with a
longitudinal furrow. Length of the body ten inches, of the tail seven inches.
Under surface of the bones of the hinder extremities alone deprived of hair.
The Gerbillus tamaricinus of Fallus, which this species approaches, is
only six inches in length. The coat is yellowish gray above, and with the
tail has brown rings. The Mus longipes of the same author, Gerbillus meri-
dianus of Desmarest, is only a little more than four inches in length, and is
associated by Cuvier with the Dipus Indicus of General Hardwicke, in which
the tail is longer than the body, and like the meridianus resembles the dormouse
in size, although in point of colour it approximates more than any
other species to the Gerbillus of the Euphrates.
I observed one of these animals that came by its death in a curious manner.
In running along a branch of a bramble bush, its tail had been caught by a
spine and held fast, and having fallen in this position it was unable, from the
great length of the tail, to regain its footing, and thus perished.
This species lives in the marshy woods of the forests of Amran, below Racca,
and on the Mesopotamian side of the Euphrates. The vegetation of these
woods consists of tamarin and poplar, nearly equally distributed. Jasmima,
rubus, rosa and wild mulberry less frequent, and a climbing asparagus.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
The camel, the horse, the ass, the mule, the common buffalo, the common
bull and cow, the bull and cow with hunch, the goat (long-haired), sheep of
two kinds, viz. the Tartarian, with an enormous tail, and the Bedawin sheep
with an ordinary tail, a little larger than that of sheep in Europe. Cats of
three kinds, viz. the common, the mixed breed, and the Persian; the town
dog, the Turcoman dog, and cross breeds including those of the fox and dog,
and the wolf and dog; also the shepherd’s dog, and the Macedonian greyhound.