730 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HJST, SOCIETY, Vol. XXVl. 



FUNAMBULUS GOSSEI, Sp, nOV. 



A Funambulus of the tristricdus growp, niai'kedly smaller than 

 F. tristriaius and numarius, and slightly smaller than F. thomasi. 



Fur 5 — 6 mm. long, as fine and silky as in tristriatus. General 

 colour of body, apart from the dorsal area, freely sprinkled with 

 bnffy, the resulting appearance grizzle drab, lighter than in thomasi 

 and noticeably lighter than in tristriatus and nur)iarius. Saddle 

 patch in very dark " summer " colouring centrally, rich "chestnut 

 brown " tending to deep buint limber on its borders. Thi-ee 

 longitudinal dorsal stripes, white or cream, continued but only faintly 

 visible on the nape, the central one very slightly narrower. Under- 

 surface buffy white. Face reddish, but not so brightly coloured as 

 in t7-istriatiis, numarius and ivrouglitoni. Thighs, above coloured like 

 the body ; below, white. Tarsus occasionally with faint buffy 

 tinge. General tint of hind-feet somewhat paler than ground 

 colour of body ; fine fringe of hairs edging the soles greyish or 

 silvery white, as in thomasi, not buff"y or ochraceous as in tristriatus 

 and numarius. Tail above, buffy, with whitish edges, darkly 

 grizzled and tipped, the darkest grizzling appearing so regularly as to 

 give a suggestion of faint rings ; below, with orange midrib less vivid 

 than in numarius and wroughtoni, more as in tristriatus and thmnasi. 



Skull conspicuously smaller than in tristriatus, but of similar, 

 though perhaps rather slenderer, build. Incisors vertical or very 

 slightly opisthodont, not proodont as in tristriatus. Upper tooth- 

 row proportionately longer than in monarius. 



Dimensions of tii'pe (as recorded by the Collector) : — 



Head and body, 138 ; tail, 147 ; hind-foot, 36 ; ear, 16. 



Skull : greatest length, 38 ; condylo-incisive length, 35 ; zygo- 

 matic breadth, 21-5; length of nasals diagonally. 11-2; breadth 

 of braincase above meatus, 17; interorbital breadth, 12; palatilar 

 length, 16-5; breadth of palate between molars, 4*7; diastema, 

 8-5; length ofbullee on an antero-posterior line, 7*1 ; upper tooth- 

 row, 7-9. 



Hah. Kotagiri, Nilgiri Hills. Alt. 4,100—4,500 feet. 



Tyjje. Adult male. B.M. No. 19.6.2.30. Original No. 201. Col- 

 lected 20th June 1918, and presented to the National Museum by 

 Captain Philip Gosse, R.A.IM.C. 



Eight specimens were collected by Captain Gosse, four males 

 (two immature), three females, and one of unrecorded sex imma- 

 ture. The species is readily distinguishable by its small size. All 

 specimens are in the " summer " phase, including two of the 

 immature examples which are less than half grown. 



We have named the species in honour of Captain Gosse, in 

 token of his interest in mammalogy, which has resulted in the 

 determining of the two new forms here described. 



