This species is evidently allied to the two preceding; and perhaps the
“Rat quatrieme, ou Rat oreillard” of Azara, (_Mus auritas_, Desm.) will
form one of this little group. The molar teeth of the upper jaw are
figured in Plate 34, fig. 17, _a_—those of the lower jaw, fig. 17, _b_.
“Inhabits dry stony places.”—D.
26. MUS GALAPAGOENSIS.
PLATE XXIV.
_M. suprà fuscus, flavo-lavatus, ad latera flavescens, subtùs albus:
pedibus pilis sordidè albis tectis: auribus mediocribus; caudâ,
quoad longitudinem, caput corpusque ferè æquante: vellere longo._
DESCRIPTION.—Ears moderate, slightly pointed; tarsi moderate; tail
slender, nearly as long as the head and body; fur long, and not
very soft; upper parts of the body of a brownish hue, a tint
produced by the admixture of black and palish yellow hairs; on the
sides of the body the longer black hairs are less abundant, and
the prevailing colour is yellow; under parts of the body white,
with a very faint yellow tint; feet furnished above with dirty
white hairs; ears rather sparingly clothed with hairs, those on
the inner side of a yellow colour, and those on the outer side
dusky; tail above brown, and beneath whitish; the hairs of the
moustaches black; the incisors deep yellow; the hairs on the back
are deep gray at the base, broadly annulated with palish yellow
near the apex, and blackish at the apex; the longer hairs black;
on the belly the hairs are gray at the base, and broadly tipped
with yellowish white.
In. Lines.
Length from nose to root of tail 6 0
of tail 4 9
from nose to ear 1 3¾
of tarsus (claws included) 1 2
of ear 0 7
Habitat, Chatham Island, Galapagos Archipelago, Pacific Ocean,
(_October_.)
This species is less than _Mus Rattus_. The upper parts of the body have
a slightly variegated appearance.
The skull of _Mus Galapagoensis_ (Plate 33, fig. 8, _a_,) is rather
smaller than that of _M. Rattus_, the nasal portion is proportionately
longer, the cranial shorter, and the interparietal bone is smaller,
especially in antero-posterior extent; its length is 15 lines, and its
breadth is 8⅛ lines. The lower jaw is figured in Plate 34, fig. 14, _a_.
Fig. 8, _b_, of Plate 33, represents the molars of the upper jaw, and
fig. 8, _c_, those of the lower jaw.
“This mouse or rat is abundant in Chatham Island, one of the Galapagos
Archipelago. I could not find it on any other island of the group. It
frequents the bushes, which sparingly cover the rugged streams of
basaltic lava, near the coast, where there is no fresh water, and where
the land is extremely sterile.”—D.
27. MUS FUSCIPES.
PLATE XXV.
_M. suprà fusco-nigrescens, subtùs griseus; pedibus fuscis; auribus
mediocribus, caudâ, quoad longitudinem, caput corpusque ferè
æquante: vellere longissimo, molli._
DESCRIPTION.—Form stout; ears moderate; tail equal to the body in
length; tarsi moderate; fur very long. General tint of the upper
part and sides of the head and body blackish brown with an
admixture of gray; of the under parts grayish white; feet brown,
the hairs grayish at the tip: tail black and but sparingly clothed
with short bristly hairs: ears rather sparingly clothed with
hairs, which are for the most part of a brownish gray colour. The
ordinary fur of the back is about ¾ of an inch in length and very
soft—of a deep gray colour, broadly annulated with brownish yellow
near the tip and blackish at the tip: the longer hairs which are
black, measure upwards of 1¼ inches in length. The upper incisors
are of an orange colour and the lower are black.
In. Lines.
Length from nose to root of tail 6 6
of tail 4 3
from nose to ear 1 6
of ear 0 6½
of tarsus (claws included) 1 1