Identifier: calcuttajournalo02mccl (find matches)
Title: Calcutta journal of natural history, and miscellany of the arts and sciences in India
Year: 1840 (1840s)
Authors: McClelland, John, d. 1883
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: Calcutta, Bishop's College Press
Contributing Library: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library

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ey above, silvery grey below; cheeks greyish or reddishyellow. Length about 20 in. from the snout to the extremi-ty of the tail; circumference of the body about 9; inches; bodyentirely clothed with a scanty coarse grey hair. Yellowishgrey on the face ; throat and lower parts of the body silverygrey, back dark grey, which colour is extended over the topand crown of the head to a point between the eyes. Tailnakedj and equal to about half the length of the body. Thelimbs are short, the feet are equal to half the length of thelimbs, the toes long, and armed with strong nails. There arefour toes to each fore-foot, and five to each hind-foot. Mr. Gray gives the following characters of this curiousgenus :—e^Incisors -2 long and exposed, molar ; -;, subcylin-dric, with oblique transverse ridges on the crown, head largewith small eyes and small naked ears, body heavy, with shortlimbs, five toes to each foot, tail naked, of medium size/—Capt. McLeod remarks, that the Pwe is an animal rarely
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On Collections. 457 seen, and is found in the more hilly parts of the country. I donot know whether Heifer had one in his collection. I saw oneat Zummi in 1837, exactly like the present specimen, it wasperfectly tame. There are two species, the other is smaller,its fur like that of a mole; both burrow very rapidly. TheBurmans eat the animal when they can catch it. It spendsthe day time in holes, and lives on the roots of the bamboogenerally, but towards night-fall comes out and amuses itselfby cutting the bamboo down, which it does very expeditious-ly. It does not take to the water at all. Sir Stamford Raffles describes a species of Bamboo Ratfound in Sumatra by Colonel Farquhar as follows :— Thebody is about seventeen inches in length, ten inches in circum-ference, and the height at the shoulder about five. The tailis six inches long, tapering to a blunt point, naked and scaly.The body is covered with rough greyish hair, brownish on theback. The head round and lighter coloured. Inc

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