The specific name _nasutus_ has been applied to this mouse on account of
its elongated and slender muzzle[22], the tip of which extends nearly 4
lines beyond the upper pair of incisors: the rudimentary toe of the fore
foot, instead of having the usual rounded nail, has a short pointed
claw. Its fur is not so soft, nor yet so long as in many of the
preceding species, and there is a greater admixture of yellow in its
colouring. The claws appear to be adapted to burrowing.
The skull (which is not quite perfect) is figured in Plate 33, fig. 7,
_a_, its length is 1 in. 3 lines. Fig. 7, _b_, represents the molars of
the upper jaw, and fig. 7, _c_, those of the under jaw. The lower jaw,
which is of a very slender and elongated form, is figured in Plate 34,
fig. 10, _a_.
“Was caught in a small thicket on an open grassy plain, by a trap baited
with a piece of bird. This mouse when alive possesses a marked character
in the extreme acumination of its nose.”—D.
20. MUS TUMIDUS.
PLATE XVIII.
Mus tumidus, _Waterh._, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of
London for February 1837, p. 15.
_M. brunneus, nigro lavatus; rostro ad apicem, labiis, mento, gulâ,
pectore, abdomineque albis; naso suprà nigrescente; auribus
mediocribus rotundatis; corpore crasso; caudâ capite corporeque
breviore, pilis nigricantibus, subtùs albescentibus prope basin,
vestitâ; artubus pedibusque grisescentibus; vellere longo, molli;
unguibus longis._
DESCRIPTION.—Body stout; head large; tail nearly as long as the head
and body; inner toe of the fore foot with a distinct, pointed
claw; claws rather large, those of the fore feet but slightly
arched. Fur rather long, and moderately soft; general tint of the
upper parts of the body, brown, of the sides of the head and body,
grayish, but with a yellow wash; the lower part of the sides of
the body and of the cheeks, the tip of the muzzle, and the whole
of the under parts, white; feet dirty white; ears densely clothed
with short hairs, those on the inner side chiefly of an ashy-brown
colour, and those on the outer side dusky; the hairs of the back
are of a deep lead colour at the base, black at the tip, and
annulated with yellow near the tip; the longer hairs, which are
thickly interspersed, are totally black; on the under parts of the
body the hairs are gray at the base, and broadly tipped with
white; the upper surface of the muzzle is blackish; the moustaches
are black; the incisors are yellow.
In. Lines.
Length from nose to the root of tail 6 9
of tail 5 4
from nose to ears 1 8
of tarsus (claws included) 1 6
of ear 0 7