748 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVIII. 



In all three specimens examined the yellow suffusion on the belly 

 is well marked. 



III. Bandicota. 



1873. Bandicota, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. xii. p. 418. 

 Type species, Bandicota gigantea, Hardw. 



This genus, which contains the real " Bandicoots " (from Tel. 

 "pandi koku " = pig-rat, on account of the grunting note made by 

 them when attacked), is unfortunately still worse represented in the 

 Museum Collection than the other two — so meagrely, indeed, that I 

 put forward the following as merely a tentative arrangement pend- 

 ing the receipt of more and better material. The most northerly 

 locality from which, to my knowledge, the genus has been obtained 

 is Delhi, i.e. say 33° N. lat. South of that it is represented 

 throughout the Peninsula and Ceylon, it crosses into Burma, and has 

 been taken in Java and Formosa. 



In most of the species the scattered long hairs present in Nesokia 

 and Gunomys are so multiplied that they form a sort of " mantle *' 

 on the lower back and rump completely hiding the underfur. 

 Usually the colour-pattern is a buffy grey, modified to a greater or 

 less extent by the " mantle " of long hairs. 



The following key to the known species of Bandicota is the best 

 I have been able to arrange from the material at my disposal : — 



A. Size large : hind foot more than 60 mm. 



(Hurdwar.) (1) gigantea, Hardw. 



B. Size medium : hind foot 54-55 mm. 



a. Tail proportionally longer ; colour of 



underfur brown ; skull stouter. (East 



Coast, Madras.) (2) malabarica, Shaw. 



b. Tail proportionally shorter ; colour of 



underfur greyish white ; skull slimmer. 



(Java.) (3) setifera, Horsf. 



C. Size small : hind foot 48-51 mm, 



a. Colour almost black. 



a 1 . Skull stouter, coarser. (Calcutta.) ... (4) elliotana, Anders. 

 b 1 . Skull more delicately made. (East 



Coast, Madras.) (5) indica, Bechst. 



b. Colour brown. (Nepal.) ... (6) nemorivaga, Hodgs. 



(1) Bandicota gigantea, Hardw. 

 1804. Mus giganteus, Hard wicke, Trans. Linn. Soc. vii. p. 306. 



