The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle [vol. 2 of 5] : $b Mammalia — John Shaqi
The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle [vol. 2 of 5] : $b MammaliaWaterhouse, G. R. (George Robert)
Science
The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle [vol. 2 of 5] : $b Mammalia
Waterhouse, G. R. (George Robert)
Beagle Expedition (1831-1836); Mammals; Zoology
“This animal has a wide range; Prince Maximilian brought specimens from
Brazil; and it is common in La Plata, Chile, the whole of Patagonia,
even to the shores of the Strait of Magellan; and a fox, which lives on
the small islands not far from Cape Horn, probably belongs to this
species. This animal generally frequents desert places; I saw many in
the valley of the Despoblado, a branch of that of Copiapó, where there
is no fresh water, and where, with the exception of some small rodents,
(the constant inhabitants of sterile regions) scarcely any other animal
could exist. I saw also very many of these foxes wandering about by day
(although Azara says they are nocturnal in Paraguay) on the plains of
Santa Cruz, where various kinds of mice are abundant, and likewise
around the Sierra Ventana. In the course of one day’s ride in this
latter neighbourhood, (not far from Bahia Blanca, lat. 39° S.) I should
think I saw between thirty and forty. They generally were wandering at
no great distance from their burrows; but, as they are not very swift
animals, our dogs caught two. Azara states that in Paraguay this fox,
which he calls the Agourá-chay, inhabits thick woods, and that it makes
a great nest or pile of straw, to lie on; but that near Buenos Ayres it
uses the holes of the Bizcacha. Further southward, where the Bizcacha is
not found, it certainly excavates its own burrow.[10] In Chile these
foxes are very destructive to the vineyards, from the quantity of grapes
they consume; so that boys are generally kept in the vintage season with
bells and other means to frighten them away. Azara states, that in
Paraguay they likewise eat fruit and sugarcane. By the same authority it
is said, that the Agourá-chay, when taken young, is easily
domesticated.”—D.
1. FELIS YAGOUAROUNDI.
PLATE VIII.
Felis Yagouaroundi, _Desmarest_, Mammologie, p. 230.
Yagouaroundi, _Azara_, Essais sur l’histoire Naturelle des Quadrupèdes
de la Province du Paraguay, tom. i. p. 171.
Felis Darwinii, _Martin_, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of
London, 1837, p. 3.
_F. vellere brevi, adpresso, purpurascenti-fusco; pilis flavescente
annulatis; pedibus nigro lavatis; caudâ longissimâ; auribus
parvulis._
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