GERBILLUS INDICUS. Blyth. Jerboa rat. G. liardwickii, Gray. G. Cirrieri, waterhozae. Jhenku Indur, . . BENG. Yeri yellca of WADDARs. Mita ilei, . . . . CAN. Tel yellca of . . YSVADI. Hurna Mus, . . Hum.
The India jerboa rat of all India and Ceylon is of the family Murida3. The jerboa rue field rats of Asia and Africa, witla small fore limbs and well developed hinder limbs, with slender form and large eyes. The colour is always of uniform bright fawn. The incisors aro always of A deep yellow colour, the eyes very large and full, the tail longer than the body. A large adult male nteasured,—length of body, 7 inches ; of tail, ; of head, 2T3tr ; of ear, ily; of fore foot, y'rj; of hind foot, 2. Weight, 6+ oz. They are said to be very prolific, bringing forth 16 to 20 at a birth, but this seems an exaggeration, and the litter probably seldom exceeds 12. It is tho common prey of foxes, owls, snakes. Lives in ntunerous societies, making extensive burrows in the red,, gravelly soil of the Mnlnaad, generally in or near the root of shrubs or bushes. The entrances, which are numerous, are small, from which the passage descends vvith a rapid slope for two or three fe'et, then runs along horizontally, and sends off branches in different directions. These galleries generally terminate
in chambers from half a foot to a foot in width, containing a bed of dried grass. Sometimes one chamber communicates with another, furnished in like manner, whilst others appear to be deserted, and the entrances closed with clay. The centre chamber in one burrow that was opened was very large, which the Waddars attributed to its being the cotninon apartment, and said that the females occupy the smaller ones with their young. They do not hoard their food, but issue from their burrows in the evening, and run and hop about, sitting on their hind legs to look round, making astonishing leaps, and on the slightest alarm flying into their holes. The Waddars eat this species. Another species, G. erythrourus, Jerdon, inhabits the Indian desert "west of the Jumna, Hurriana, and adjacent districts.—.Terdon.