Re: Not dinosaurs

[Stan Friesen <swf@ElSegundoCA.ATTGIS.COM>]

From: JCMcL <darwincr@laplaza.taos.nm.us>
 >
 > Some have said that these hairless tails may assist in temperature 
 > regulation in hot regions, by serving as radiators of excess heat

The probelm with this is that the hairless tail feature doesn't correlate
with climate.  It is a taxonomic character.  The Old-World rats and
mice (family Muscidae, I think) tend to have "hairless" tails. Thus
the black and Norway rats (genus Rattus) and the house mouse (genus
Mus), both from Europe, have naked tails. On the other hand the New-
World rats and mice pretty much all have hairy tails - as in the
American deermice (Peromyscus), and packrats (Neotoma).


swf@elsegundoca.attgis.com              sarima@netcom.com

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