{ 92 ) 



Mallomys hercules sp. n. 



Larger than J/, rotlischildi, nasal and auteorbital region more swollen. 



Size very large ; one of the largest of the Muridae. Fnr long, ordinary hairs 

 of back abont 35 mm. in length, the longer bristle hairs attaining nearly 70 mm. 

 (leneral colonr dark grey (■' slate colour "), not very dissimilar to that of M. 

 rothscliildi, with the e.\ce])tion that the projecting ends of the long bristle hairs are 

 whitish instead of black. The ordinary fnr is slaty for most of its length, then 

 browner, blackish at tip, but with commonly a glossy whitish subterminal band. 

 Under-snrface cream-bnff, nearly white on throat, inner side of forearms, and in 

 inguinal region ; in M. rothschildi the under-snrface is more or less greyish. Chin 

 brown. Head uniformly brownish, the area ronnd the eyes a little darker. Ears 

 short, naked, brown, the fur of the head round them rather greyer than the rest. 

 Hands and feet brown above, the metapodials well haired, the digits less so, bnt 

 the latter not cons])icnonsly scaly above ; claws whitish, that of the halln.x alone 

 dark brown. Tail long, its basal four inches thickly furry like the body, the 

 remainder practically naked; scales small (about 7 to the cm.), transversely oval, not 

 pointed behind, their posterior edge turned npwards, two or three minnte hairs, 

 about a scale in length, growing from behind each of them. (In Hi/omijs the scales 

 are larger — 4 to the cm. — and pointed posteriorly, the points projecting prominently 

 outwards.) In colonr the tail is black proximally, and rather lighter terminally, 

 but not sharply bicolor as in Ht/onvjs. 



Sknll, as compared with that of M. rothscldldi, considerably larger, and with 

 very much broader muzzle and nasals. Anterior part of supraorbital edges even 

 more inflated than in rothschildi, and the upper part of the ascending process of 

 the maxillary — external to the exceedingly slender premaxillary frontal processes 

 — also inflated. Cranial ridges well developed throughout. Palatal foramina 

 more open. 



Teeth essentially as in J/, rothschildi, but there is a median re-entrant angnlar 

 notch on the hinder side of the middle back cusp of m' and m-' ; the small antero- 

 external cusp of m', found in M. rothschildi, is here absent. 



Dimensions of the type, measured in skin : Head and body, 470 mm. ; tail (c), 

 400; hindfoot, s.u. 68, c.u. "iCr.y; ear, 2(). Skull, occipito-nasal length, 77; 

 condylo-incisive length, ".iy'l; zygomatic breadth, 41; nasals, 2f)'5xl3; least 

 interorbital breadth, 11'7; breadth across braincase above meatus, 24; palatilar 

 length, 3S-3 ; diastema, 22'2 ; palatal foramina, l(i-2 x 7; upper molar series, 18. 



Hub. : Rawliiison Mts., S.E. (iernian New (Jninea. 



Tt/pc : Adult male, B. M. No. 12. 1. 31. 1. Collected by C. Keyser. Presented 

 by the Hon. Walter Rothschild. 



This huge rat, so far as its skull is concerned, is the largest member of tlie 

 subfamily Muri/iae, though Mas armandcillei Jent. has a longer foot ; and of the 

 whole family Muridae it is only exceeded in size by the Philippine Phloconvjs. It 

 is readily distinguishable from its congener JA rothschildi by the characters given 

 above. 



Externally it is curiously similar to llijomijs nieeki, also from New Guinea, but 

 Ilijomys has scaly digits, and the scales of the tail are of somewhat different shape. 

 The dentitions of the two genera are of course widely different. 



