402 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI, 



13. Eaitus rattus tathonensis , subsp. n. 



1914. Epimys rufescens, variety with white undei^parts, 

 Wroughton, Report No. 14, J. Bombay Nat. Hist. 

 Soc, vol. xxii,, p. 722 ; Report No. 16, ibid., vol. 

 xxiii., p. 474 ; Report No. 20, ibid., vol. xxiv., p. 

 307 (in part). 



Type:— A male (B.M. No. 15.5.5.224; Original No. 5500) 

 collected at Tatkon near Kindat, on the west bank of the Chindwin, 

 by Mr. G. C. Shortridge and the late Captain S. A. Macniillan, 

 on 26 June 1914, presented to the British Museum by the Bombay 

 Natural History Society. 



Material examined ; — Chindwin River : — Tatkon 2 ( d" ) ; Kin- 

 dat 1 ( c? ) : North Shan States :— Se'en 1 ( $ ) ; Hsipaw 1 ( d ) : 

 Dry Zone :— Kyouk Nyoung 2 ( j and $ ) ; Ngapyiuin 1 ( $ ) ; 

 Mingun 12 (6 s,Q $ )• Total 20 (11 6,9 $ ). 



Description : — This is a rather short tailed, dull coloured rat, 

 chiefly remarkable for the great size of its audital bull» ; by the 

 latter character it is readily distinguishable from all its Burmese 

 relatives. 



The fur is short and thin, intermixed usually with numerous 

 soft spines or bristles. The dorsal colour is always duller than in 

 B. r. khyensis, and ranges from a dull reddish brown at the type 

 locality to a dark greyish brown elsewhere. The bellies are pure 

 white or cream coloured, separated from the flanks by sharp lines 

 of demarcation, and with or without a slaty pectoral spot or 

 stripe. The feet are dirty white above. The tail is unicoloured, 

 dark brown, and averages about 120 °/^ or rather less of the head 

 and body length. The mammary formula is 3-3-1 2 and is apparently 

 constant. 



The specimens from the banks of the Chindwin have the 

 reddest backs ; those from Kyouk Nyoung and Ngapyinin have the 

 backs dark brown, but without much black. Those from Mingun 

 and Hsipaw form a very grey looking series, there being much 

 black on their backs, lightened by numerous whitish spines, which 

 show through the fur, while the reddish and yellowish tints are 

 largely suppressed. 



The dimensions of the principal specimens are — 



Chindwin Valley (B. M. serial No. 15.5.5.) :— 



Tatkon. 



•224 5500 s, 26 June 171-209-34-22 = 100-122-19.9-12-9. 



•225 5501^,26 „ 156-206-36-22=100-l32-23-l-14-l. 



Kindat. 



•229 5527 d,12 „ 153-184-32-24=100-120-20-9-15. 



