Vol. XIX, pp. 51-56 May 1,1906 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



THE PIGMY SQUIRRELS OF THE NANNOSCIURUS 

 MELANOTIS GROUP. \^ 



BY MARCUS W. LYON, JR. 



By permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



The material on whicli this paper is based comprises twenty- 

 nine skins with skulls in the collection of the United States Na- 

 tional INIuseum, three from Java, eleven from western Borneo, 

 one from Sumatra, three from Sinkep and eleven from Banka. 

 All except those from Java were collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott, 

 and made up as dry skins in the field. The Javan specimens 

 were obtained from Wilhelm Schliiter, Halle a. S. They were 

 sent to him from Java in a preser\dng fluid, but were taken out 

 and dried immediately on reaching his establishment. I have 

 also had at my disposal manuscript notes on the original speci- 

 mens of Nannosciurus melanotls in the Leyden Museum made by 

 Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, Jr. 



Two species have hitherto been recognized, melanotis * re- 

 corded from Java, Sumatra and Borneo, and pidcher known 

 only from Sinkep. The Svimatran and Bornean animals are 

 here described as distinct as well as the one from Banka. 



Key to the species of Pigmy Squirrels of the Nannosciurus melanotis group. 



a. Nape slightly grayer than crown, no distinct patch, melanotis. 

 a^. Nape with distinct whitish patch. 



b. Yellowish brown, upperparts finely and evenly grizzled with black, 

 c. Upperparts most Uke Ridgway's Isabella color with black griz- 



zHng. borneanus. 



(■}. Upperparts most like Ridgway's tawny olive with black griz- 

 zling, bancanus. 



* Here restricted to the Javan form. There were two specimens from Java in the 

 original series and one each from Borneo and Sumatra. Mr. Miller thinks the descrip. 

 tion was based mainly on the Javan specimens. 



11— Pkoc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol.. XIX, 1906. (51) 



