MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 679 



" I have not been able to ascertain whether this species or M. aurita inhabits the 

 hills South of Assam." It is not very clear what hills he refers to since he 

 includes within the area of the distribution of Manis javanica, Sylhet, which is 

 the most Southern part of Assam, and Tipperah which is immediately further 

 South. Again he gives Assam as within the range of Manis aurita. It appears 

 to me he was in doubt which species inhabited the Assam Hills South of the 

 Brahmaputra, and if I am correct in thinking so, it will be of interest to know 

 that I have just seen, and examined a very fine skin of the Chinese pangolin 

 .1/. aurita from the base of the Naga Hills. 



The specimen is typical. The rows of scales at midbody are 17, the last four 

 rows are strongly keeled and the next obtusely but very distinctly keeled. 

 There are 17 median vertebral caudal scales. The median fore claw is twice 

 the length of the corresponding hind claw. 



Mr. B. R. Prichard, who owns the skin, tells me the animal was dug out of 

 a white ant's nest between Moriani and Titabar at the base of the Naga Hills 

 The Assamese call it "keotai pohoo" and his Indian coolies "Suruj mookee." 



The skin is 23| inches from the snout to the end of the body and the tail 

 l'dh inches. 



F. WALL, C. M. Z. S, 



Major, i.m.s. 



DlBRUGARH, 



As*am, 13th February 1908. 



No. XL— NOTE ON THE MALABAR SPINY MOUSE 



(PLATACANTHOMYS LAS1URUS). 



I see that in the Fauna of British India (Mammalia), page 394, Blanford 

 doubts the correctness of " locality " in a specimen labelled Ootacamund. I 

 had the good fortune to have brought to me by my son recently a pair of these 

 mice from near my house—elevation 6,100 feet. As this is very little below 

 Ootacamund, it is therefore possible the British Museum specimen is correctly 

 labelled. The pair I have are male and female and were iound in a nest in a hole 

 in a tree — the male was unfortunately killed, but the female I have in a cage and 

 she had two young the night of the day she was caught and two more the 

 following night and all are in good health. The mother is very tame, and not 

 at all fierce and I should imagine this mouse is of a very gentle disposition. I 

 may mention a strange fact about the young of this mouse- — each pair keeps in a 

 different corner of the cage — the four are not together. 



CHAS. GRAY. 



Orchard Dene, Coonoor, 29th April 1908. 



[Our Society received aflat skin of this interesting mouse some few years ago from Mr. 

 H. Wapshare, who at the time wrote that he obtained it in South-East Wynaad, 30 miles 

 west of Ootacamund, at an elevation of 3,300 feet. The skin, though a bad specimen, is 

 s ill in our Museum. — Editors.] 



