IV. MYOTALPÆT, or Mole-rats. These have no external ears, very small eyes, and a very short tail or none. They live entirely under ground like the moles.
1. The talpina, or Russian mole-rat, is of a dusky colour; has a very short tail, scarcely appearing beyond the fur; and no external ears: the fore-teeth are long, extended from the mouth, and wedge-shaped: the eyes are very small, and hid in the fur: the feet have five toes; the fore feet are very strong, flat, and formed for digging. It is about four inches long, and in the general form resembles the water-rat. As to colour, the head, back, and sides are dusky, and the belly and limbs white. There is a variety (the nigra), which is entirely black.—This species inhabits the plains of Russia and Western Siberia, scarcely extending beyond the Irtysh, and never beyond the Oby. It is fond of a turfy soil, avoiding sandy or muddy places; and digs holes like those of the hamster, which it lines with soft grass, and fills with bulbous roots, throwing up hillocks of earth all along the tracks; each individual has its separate burrow: It works only in the night, and seldom comes out except in the season of love. Its fight is very weak in the day-time. It feeds chiefly on the roots of tulips, tuberose lathyrus, and tuberose phloris. It procreates about the beginning of April, at which time it smells strongly of musk; and the females produce three or four young at a litter.
2. The capensis, or Cape mole-rat, is of a dark brown colour tinged yellowish, with the fore-part of the face, orbits, and regions of the ears, white: It has a very short tail, and no external ears; and is about five inches and a half long. It inhabits the Cape of Good Hope, where it infests the gardens.
3. The maritima, or African mole-rat, is of a pale brownish ash-colour mixed with yellowish on the upper parts, the sides and under parts paler: the tail is very short; and there are no external ears. It inhabits the sand hills adjacent to the sea at the Cape of Good Hope; and resembles the former species, but is much larger, measuring 12 or 13 inches long, and the head is more lengthened. It forms burrows in the sand like those of rabbits; and digs with surprising celerity. It runs slowly; but is very fierce, and bites severely. It feeds chiefly on the roots of ixie, antholyzæ, gladioli, and irides; and is reckoned good eating.
4. The aspalax, or Daurian mole-rat, is of a dirty yellowish ash-colour on the upper parts, and whitish ash on the lower: has a very short tail, and no external ears; the eyes are very small, and deep-seated; the feet have each five toes, the claws of the fore feet being very long.—This species inhabits Dauria, and Siberia beyond the Irtysh, between the Alei and Tscharysch rivers.
Mos. rivers. It digs very long burrows in the black turfey soil or firm sand, throwing up numerous hillocks, which extend over a considerable surface; it works both with its feet and nose, and sometimes with its teeth. It feeds chiefly on the roots of bulbous plants. This species varies in size, those of Dauria being near nine inches long, while those farther east are scarcely six.
5. The typhius, or blind mole-rat, is of a reddish ash colour; and has no tail, external ears, or apparent eyes; the feet have each five toes; and the fore-teeth are broad. The body and head measure between seven and eight inches: the mouth is continually gaping, with short wrinkled fore-teeth above, and very long ones below, likewise furrowed or wrinkled, none of them being hid by the lips; the body is covered with short, soft, and close set fur, which is of a dusky colour at the bottom, with the ends of a rusty brown mixed with ash-colour; the legs are very short, having five toes on each foot armed with short claws, and slightly connected by a short membrane at their bases. This species inhabits the southern parts of Russia, from Poland to the Volga. Each individual forms burrows under the turfey soil of very considerable extent, with many lateral passages, and throws out the earth at different distances, in large hillocks sometimes two yards in circumference, and proportionally high. It works with its snout, feet, rump, and even with its teeth; and digs with great celerity, especially when frightened, in which case it digs directly downwards. When irritated, it snorts, gnashes its teeth, raises its head in a menacing posture, and bites with great ferocity. It feeds on roots, especially those of the bulbous chærophillum. It is entirely blind, though it has the rudiments of very small eyes, which are covered over with a continuation of the skin; but it possesses the senses of touch and hearing in a very eminent degree, to make up for the loss of sight. It breeds in spring and summer; and the female, which has two teats, brings from two to four young ones at a birth.