2 ARKIV FÖR ZOOLOGI. BAND 3. N:0 3. 



in which kind of earth the animal has been digging. The 

 specimen of O. erikssoni before me has burrowed in brick-red 

 earth and the skin is quite impregnated with this. The ge- 

 nera] appearance of the animal was therefore, when it was 

 just killed, reddish brown, as Lieutenant Eriksson informs 

 me. A thorough washing with soap and water could not 

 take away the reddish hue of the skin itself but the hairs be- 

 came clean and their colour may be discerned. The pieces of 

 skin at my disposal do not allow a complete description. 

 The hair on the sides of the face below the eyes are partly 

 brown or blackish brown with light tips, partly unpigmented 

 thus yellowish white On the forehead and in front of 

 the eyes dark hair dominate. Above the eyes, except on the 

 lids, all hairs are dark. Behind the ears on the neck black- 

 ish brown and light hairs are mixed. The shoulders are very 

 dark, the hairs being black with short light tips. Behind 

 the shoulders the colour seems to fade away gradually as 

 the light tips to the hairs get longer and light hairs appear. 

 On the flanks the hairs are all of them light brown to yel- 

 lowish white. The sacral region of the back and the whole 

 tail are covered by yellowish white hair. The colour of the 

 hair of otlier parts cannot be ascertained on the present 

 material, but it is probable that the feet have been dark, 

 because al] the hair of the toes left are blackish or dark 

 brown. 



As far as might be concluded from the present material 

 and as far as this Orycteropus in a clean state has such a 

 colour as its hair indicate it might be described as very 

 light-coloured, sandy brown to yellowish white behind and 

 on the tail, with dark feet and a broad dark belt över the 

 shoulders and partly darker head. The colour of the living 

 animal is probably aiways somewhat darker as the skin na- 

 turally enough is impregnated with earth. 



If we compare with this the descriptions of other spe- 

 cies we may begin in quoting from a recent work viz. Scla- 

 ter's »Fauna of South Africa» (II p. 221 — 222) how the 

 oldest known O. afer (Pallas) looks. It is said to be »påle 



sandy or straw». »external aspect of legs with thick, 



long, dark brown hair». 



O. cethiopicus Sundevall is described by the author as 

 being clothed by: »Pih pallide flavescentes sed in 



