LONNBERG, .MAMMALS. K5 



Carnivora. 



Mrllivora ratel (SPARRMAN). 



Mellivora ratel SPARRMAN, MATSCHIE, Die Saugethiere Ostafrikas p. 88. 



Kill nut ml jaro: 1 native skin from Kibonoto Nov. 1905. - - 1 skull and skin from 

 'the cultivated zone at Kibonoto u /i 1906. 



The latter is much more dirty yellowish grey above, the former ashy grey. The 

 specimen obtained "/4 was caught in a steel-trap and it had chewed of the whole foot 

 inside the trap and swallowed it, fragments of the phalanges being found in its ventricle 

 together with rotten meat from the bait and large larvse of the beetle Dynastes. The 

 body of this animal had only a faint odour of mush. 



Canis rariegatus CRETZSCHMAR. 

 Canis variegatus CRETZSCHM., DE WINTOK, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1899 p. 537. 



Kilimandjaro: 1 ? specimen from the Kibonoto steppe S3 /s 1905. - - Mem: 1 $ 

 specimen from Ngare na nyuki, Jan. 1905. 



The first of these specimens is an old specimen with worn hair, large teats and 

 semi nude underside so that it certainly represents an old female which has had youngs 

 lately. The second is younger, has a finer fur coat and brighter colours. 



The dentition of the latter is abnormal as the third upper premolar is lacking 

 on both sides, thus presenting an unnatural diastema. 



Both these specimens belong to the species called variegatus by CRETZSCHMAR and 

 their skulls agree with DE WINTON'S figure, but the material is not sufficient to decide 

 whether there is any subspecific difference. 



Canis mesomelas SCHREBER. 

 Canis mesomelas SCHREBER, SCLATER, Fauna of South Africa, Mammals I, p. 92. 



Kilimandjaro: 1 specimen from Leitokitok 23 /9 1906. 



This specimen is certainly smaller than South African specimens. The basal length 

 of the skull is 136 mm. and its zygomatic breadth is 86 mm. while the upper carnassial 

 tooth measures 17 mm. in length and the length of the nasals in the mesial line is 51 mm. 

 If such small dimensions were constant in specimens from East Africa they might indi- 

 cate a geographic subspecies in this region. NOACK described 1897 ' a small variety of 

 the C. mesomelas type under the name of Schmidti from the Somali land. But this was 

 still smaller, it had especially very short nasals (42 mm.). To judge from NOACK'S 

 description the Somali form appears to have brighter colours than the present specimen 

 as well. The blackbacked Jackal of Kilimandjaro may therefore not be made identical 

 with the variety from the Somali land but forms perhaps a connecting link between the 

 same and the South African type. 



1 Zool. Anzeiger XX p. 519. 



