. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. yATUHAL HISTORY. >qiiirr very cai-efully attended liy lioth parents, and the family remains united until tlr following spi'Lng, when the young go out to lind partnei-s, and settle themselves in the world. The Common Squirrel may sei-ve as an example of the whole genus Scim-us, which includes the ordinary Tree Squirrels, the species of which are very numerous, proVjably more than one hundre<l, and distributed over nearly all parts of the world. The species are most numerous iii the warm Oriental regions, in India, and the countries an
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. yATUHAL HISTORY. >qiiirr very cai-efully attended liy lioth parents, and the family remains united until tlr following spi'Lng, when the young go out to lind partnei-s, and settle themselves in the world. The Common Squirrel may sei-ve as an example of the whole genus Scim-us, which includes the ordinary Tree Squirrels, the species of which are very numerous, proVjably more than one hundre<l, and distributed over nearly all parts of the world. The species are most numerous iii the warm Oriental regions, in India, and the countries and islands lying to the east of it, fi-om which nearly fifty species have been recorded. The northern parts of the Old World only possess half a. dozen species, but Noi-th America has about eighteen, many of which ai-e considerably larger than the European Squirrel. The most striking of the North American species are the Grey Squirrel (Sciurug carolinensis) and the Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger), both of which are abundant in the Atlantic States, and vary considerably in colour, presenting both grey and black BLAfK FOX SUUniREL. Besides the ordinary Squirrels, a considerable number of other species are arboreal in their habits, and, indeed, even more strictly so than the true Squirrels. These are the Flying Squirrels, as they are called, which may be at once distinguished from the others by the presence of a large fold of skin, extending along the sides of the body, and including the limbs as far as the \\Tists and heels (see figure on next page). In the case of the Common Squirrels, it is observed that in performing leaps of any considerable extent the limbs are .stretched out, and the long, bushy tail extended, so as to give the animal as large a surface as possible; but in the Flying Squirrels, as in the Flying I,emur (Vol. I., p. 344), when the limbs are extended laterally the folds of skin {patagia) become tightly stretched, and form a regular parachute, which s
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