Zoological Society. 405 



portion of the dark ring before mentioned ; and on the hinder margin 

 of the ear, at the base, is a fringe of pale yellowish hairs. The upper 

 surface of the head is of a paler hue than the upper parts of the body, 

 which are of a pale ash-colour, slightly tinted with yellowish ; the 

 upper surface of the lateral membrane is blackish, and so is the ante- 

 rior portion of the fore-arm and region of the wrist ; a dusky tint is 

 also observable on the posterior part of the hind-leg. 



Mus penicillatus. Mus griseo-fuscus, vellere fere ut in M. de- 

 cumano ; corpore subtits pedibusque albis flavo lavatis ; auribus 

 mediocribus, postice subemarginatis ; caudd corpore capiteque paulo 

 longiore, gracili, dimidid apicali pilis longis nigris vestitd. 



unc. lin. 

 Longitudo ab apice rostri ad caudae basin .... 7 3 



cauda 7 9 



ab apice rostri ad basin auris .... 1 5^ 



tarsi digitorumque 1 8 



auris 7 J 



Hab. Port Essington. 



This species of Rat is rather less than the Mus decumanus ; in the 

 character of its fur it nearly resembles that animal, but the hairs are 

 rather more adpressed ; the colouring of the upper parts of the body 

 also nearly resembles that of M. decumanus ; there is, however, a 

 rusty tint in the region of the occiput and on the back of the neck. 

 Around the angle of the mouth, the chin, throat, and all the under 

 parts of the body, as well as the feet and inner side of the legs, are 

 white, with a faint yellow tint, which might be described as cream- 

 colour ; and the hairs on these parts are of an uniform colour to the 

 roots, excepting on the chest, where they are grey next the skin. The 

 tail is long and slender, sparingly clothed at the base with minute 

 bristly hairs, as in most species of the genus ; but about the middle of 

 the tail the hairs assume a black colour, and are longer, and towards 

 the apex they soon attain a considerable length, measuring at and 

 near the tip half an inch or more. The ears are narrower than 

 usual, somewhat pointed, and slightly emarginated behind ; they are 

 sparingly clothed with minute hairs. 



Mus hiksutus. Mus vellere hirsuto, corpore suprtl fuscescente 

 pilis nigris creb?'e commixtis, subtus fulvescens, fusco rufoque 

 tincto ; auribus mediocribus ; caudd longd pilis nigris, aliquanto 

 longis, vestitd; dimidid apicali pilis longioribus, his ad apicem 

 cauda rufescentibus . 

 Of this large and curious Rat, Mr. Gould regretted that he did 

 not possess a perfect skin ; the somewhat mutilated skin which he 

 exhibited, together with a perfect skeleton, however, displayed cha- 

 racters very distinct from other species of Mus. Compared with the 

 known species of that genus,- he observed it approached most nearly 

 to the Mus giganteus of Hardwicke ; it is equal in size to that animal, 

 and has the same coarse shaggy fur, but is readily distinguished by 

 its well-clothed tail, the hairs on this part being much longer than 

 usual in the genus, especially on the apical half, where the scales are 

 hidden by them ; those at the point of the tail measure upwards of 

 an inch in length, and at the distance of two inches from the point 



