. The popular natural history . Zoology. MYRMECOBIUS. tender young are defended from danger by the long hairs which clothe the under portions of the body. It is a bvautiful liitle animal, the fur being of agreeable tints and diversified by several bold stripes across the back. The general colour of the fur is a bright fawn on the shoulders, which deepens into blackish-brown from the shoulders to the tail, the fur of the hinder portions being nearly black. Across the back are drawn six or seven white bands, broad on the back and tapering off towards their extremities. The under parts of the bod
. The popular natural history . Zoology. MYRMECOBIUS. tender young are defended from danger by the long hairs which clothe the under portions of the body. It is a bvautiful liitle animal, the fur being of agreeable tints and diversified by several bold stripes across the back. The general colour of the fur is a bright fawn on the shoulders, which deepens into blackish-brown from the shoulders to the tail, the fur of the hinder portions being nearly black. Across the back are drawn six or seven white bands, broad on the back and tapering off towards their extremities. The under parts of the body are of a yellowish- white. The tail is thickly covered with long bushy hair, and has a grizzled aspect, owing to the manner in which the black and white hairs of which it is composed are mingled together. Some hairs are annulated with white, red- rust, and black, so that the tints are rather variable, and never precisely the same in two individuals. The length of the body is about ten inches, and the tail measures about seven inches, so that the dimensions of the animal are similar to those of the common water vole of Europe. It is an active afiimal, and when running, its move- ments are very similar to those of the common squirreL When hurried it proceeds by a series of small jumps, the tail being elevated over its back after the usual custom of squirrels, and at short in- tervals it pauses, sits upright, and casts an anxious look in all directions before it again takes to flight. Although not a particularly swift animal, it is not an easy one to capture, as it immediately makes for some place of refuge, under a hollow tree or a cleft in rocky ground, and when it has fairly placed itself beyond the reach of its pursuers, it bids defiance to their efforts to drive it from its haven of safety. Not even smoke—the usual resort of a hunter when his prey has gone to "earth" and refuses to come out agam—has the least effect on the Myrmecobius, wliich is either possess
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
