the same colour as in _M. (N.)
Blythianus_; paler on the sides, and passing into greyish on the
under-parts; nose and feet flesh-coloured; ears dark brown; tail
blackish" ('J. A. S. B.' 1878, vol. xlvii; pt. ii. p. 231).

NO. 329. MUS (NESOKIA) GIGANTEUS.
_The Bandicoot_ (_Jerdon's No. 174_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Indur_, Sanscrit; _Ghunse_, Hindi; _Ikria_,
Bengali; _Heggin_, Canarese; _Pandi-koku_, i.e. pig-rat, Telegu;
_Oora-meyoo_, Singhalese.

HABITAT.--Throughout India; also in Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur coarse, consisting of the three kinds, of which
the coarser piles are very long, and almost hide the general pelage
on the lumbar and dorsal regions. These piles are almost absent on
the head, neck, and sides; general colour earthy brown, with
yellowish hairs intermixed; the piles blackish-brown; under-parts
dusky brown, mixed with grey; limbs brownish; nose, inside of ear
and feet flesh-coloured; tail black, ringed, and sparsely haired.
The female has twelve mammae.

SIZE.--Head and body, from 12 to 15 inches; tail, from 11 to 13.
Weight, about 3 lbs.

This is a well known rat, but it is not common in Calcutta, although
supposed to be so. People frequently mistake very large specimens
of the common brown house-rat (_Mus decumanus_) for this animal,
which, Blyth remarks, is rare here. Jerdon states that it is common
in the fort of Madras, where he killed many, some of large size. When
assailed it grunts like a pig, hence its Telegu name _Pandi-koku_,
from which the word bandicoot is derived. McMaster states that the
bandicoot, though so formidable in appearance, does not show so good
a fight as an ordinary English rat, being a sluggish and cowardly
animal; and though, from its size and weight, it takes a good deal
of worrying, it seldom does much in self defence, and any moderately
good dog can kill it with ease. It is however a most destructive
animal, doing much damage to granaries, gardens, and even
poultry-yards. In some parts of the country, as for instance Fort
St. George in Madras, Government used to pay a reward of one anna
for every bandicoot killed within the walls.

SUB-FAMILY CRICETINAE.

CHARACTER.--Molars tuberculate; infra-orbital opening sub-typical,
not much narrowed below, and the perpendicular plate little
developed; large internal cheek pouches.--_Alston_.

_GENUS CRICETUS--THE HAMSTERS_.

Form thick-set, with short limbs and tail, the latter sparsely haired,
not scaly. "Skull w