737 



(From the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, No. XCII1, 



September 1905.) 



ON A REMARKABLE NEW SQUIRREL FROM BURMA. 



By Oldfield Thomas. 



The British Museum owes to the kindness of Captain H. H. Harington, of 

 the 90th Punjabis, two specimens, from the Upper Chindwin River, of a very 

 remarkable squirrel, quite unlike anything we have seen before. I would 

 propose to call it 



Sciurus Haringtoni , sp. n. 



A pale creamy-buff species with a buffy belly and a whitish tail. 



Size medium. Fur of back rather over 20 mm. in length. General colour 

 of upper surface " cream-buff " along the dorsal area, the buff fading out on 

 the sides, which are dull whitish. Individually the hairs of the back are 

 whitish grey basally, with a broad cream-buff subterminal band and a minute 

 black point. Head creamy whitish, with a slight buffy suffusion on the crown ; 

 the cheeks dull white. Ears whitish, both outside and in. Under surface, 

 from chin to anus, bright sharply contrasted ocbraceous buff (in the type ; the 

 second specimen nearer tawny ochraceous). Lateral line of demarcation very 

 sharply marked in both specimens, and in the type emphasized by a blackish 

 line which runs from the middle of the front of the forearm, across the 

 shoulders, down the sides and legs to the back of the heel. Fore limbs on 

 outer side above this line of demarcation creamy-whitish, like the flanks ; beyond 

 it, including the hands and the whole of the inner aspect, ochraceous buffy 

 like the belly, or slightly paler. Back of upper part of hind leg whitish like 

 body ; inner side, ankles, and feet buffy like belly, rather paler on the digits. 

 Tail above and below creamy-buff proximally (the extreme tips of the hairs 

 blackish), lightening to white terminally. 



Skull of the general proportions of that of S. Finlaysoni, ery throws, &c., but 

 there is only one upper premolar in the single specimen of which the skull has 

 been preserved. This has the milk-premolar still in place, and the large per- 

 manent premolar just coming up below it, but no trace of the small p s , 

 which usually at this stage is readily discernible. 



Dimensions of the type (measured in the flesh) : — 



Head and body 250 mm. ; tail 265 ; hind foot (s. u.) 54 ; ear 22. 



Skull : zygomatic breadth 32 ; back of postorbital process to tip of nasals 

 32*5 ; nasals 16*4 x 7*2 ; interorbital breadth 18 ; palate length 23 ; length of 

 upper tooth-series 10. 



Hah. — Upper Chindwin River, Burma. Type from Moungkan ; a second 

 specimen from Homalin. About 25° N., 95° E. 



Type. — Immature male. B. M. No. 5. 8. 11. 1. Collected 14th December, 

 1904, and presented by Captain H. H. Harington. 



