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U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 75 



Figure 31. — Distribution of Pachyuromys duprasi natronensis. 



Diagnosis. Body noticeably compact and almost wedge-shaped in 

 outline; pelage of dorsum long, silky and lustrous, ranging in color 

 from Cinnamon-Buff to light Pinkish Cinnamon, a few more brilliantly 

 colored specimens approaching orangish-buff; all parts of dorsum with 

 medium to strong suffusions of brown and black hairs, being particu- 

 larly concentrated on the rump; pelage of sides and scapular areas 

 paler in color than the dorsum and less uniformly suffused with 

 darker hairs; postauricular patches indistinct or absent; ears sparsely 

 haired, about same color as the dorsum, and with prominent tufts 

 of Cinnamon-Buff hairs on anteroventral margins; eye rings dark 

 brown; area between eye and base of the ear strongly suffused with 

 dark brown hairs and in some specimens, present as a distinct dark 

 band extending from the eye to the ear; vibrissae soft, silky, and 

 composed of both light and dark hairs; palmar and plantar surfaces 

 sparsely haired, the latter with bare area in region of calcaneus; 

 fore and hind feet each with five digits bearing pale colored claws; 

 circumoral areas, chin, dorsal surfaces of forelegs, hindlegs, feet, and 

 entire underparts pure white; tail extremely short, markedly enlarged 

 in girth owing to its function as a storage depot for fat, approaching 



