,35,. STUDY OF MAMMALS DURING 1891. 39 



gazelles and the gerenuk : the horns curving evenly upwards 

 and forwards, with their basal halves running backwards, and the 

 terminal portions nearly vertically upwards, so that the main curva- 

 ture is exactly in the opposite direction to that obtaining in ordinary 

 gazelles and the gerenuk. The horns of this curious creature are, 

 therefore, more like those of a Reed-buck {Cervicapra) than those of 

 a gazelle ; and since the skull presents characters connecting the 

 genus Gazella with Lithocranius, it is clear that we have in the Somali- 

 land Ammodorcas an animal of considerably more interest than the 

 ordinary " new species." 



An unusual, if not an unparalleled event in the annals of recent 

 zoology, is the description of a new genus and species based upon 

 a single specimen which is not forthcoming. Such, however, is the 

 case with the new mammal from Sumatra described by Professor 

 Hubrecht 5 as Trichomanis hoeveni. The animal so named was kept for 

 some time in captivity in Sumatra, in which island it was said to 

 have been captured, but was lost on the voyage to Europe. It is 

 described as of the approximate size of a large cat, having a long 

 snout, and a slender cylindrical tongue, frequently thrust out to 

 catch the ants on which the creature fed. The general colour of the 

 fur is said to be grey, with a black stripe down the back ; while the 

 tail is described as being bushy, and the claws long and powerful. 

 Such a description reminds us more of the South American Ant- 

 eaters than of any other mammal, and it would certainly be a most 

 remarkable and interesting circumstance if this group were repre- 

 sented in the islands of the Malayan region. We venture, however, 

 to think that zoologists will have some hesitation in admitting this 

 new mammal into their lists until further evidence of its existence is 

 obtained. 



R. Lydekker. 

 (To he concluded next month.) 



5 Nature, vol xliv., p. 468, 1891. 



