EAST ATRICAN MAMMALS IN NATIONAL MUSEUM. 31 



with a greatest skull length of 52 mm. These measurements far 

 exceed the dimensions of any specimen in our collection ; the longest 

 skull before me measures 41.5 in greatest length, but this specimen 

 is a female with teeth only moderately worn and might somewhat 

 exceed these measurements if older. No really old male skulls are 

 in the collection, and I am consequently unable to determine to my 

 own satisfaction the status of nigricauda and vicina, but I shall not 

 be surprised if later some Worker with more adult material than seems 

 at present available, combines the two in a single species, which would 

 take the name nigricauda. 



Heller's notes on the type-specimens of Gerhillus nigncaudus Peters, 

 which he examined at Berlin, are as follows: 



Skull No. 5278, Taita (Coll. Hildebrandt). Skin destroyed by insects and thrown 

 away. Skull perfect, except one zygomatic arch gone. 



TATERA NIGRICAUDA NYAMA Dollman. 

 1911. Tafera nigricauda nyama Dollman. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 

 vol. 7, p. 522. May. (Nyama Nyango, Northern Guaso Nyiro, British 

 East Africa; type in British Museum.) 



Specimens. — Nineteen, from localities as follows: 



British East Africa: Archer's Post, 2 (Heller): Lsioia River, 8 

 (Heller); Lakiundu River, 2 (Heller): Mount Gargues, 1 (Heller); 

 Orr Valley, Mount Nyiro, 6 (Percival). 



I find it equally hard to separate satisfactorily specimens of this 

 form from Tatera vicina iconica, as with the case of nigricauda and 

 vicina of eastern British East Africa. There are no very old skulls 

 of males in the series which may account for mj trouble, but I 

 have been unable to find any character other than the rather unsatis- 

 factory one of relative amount of black in the coloration of the tail 

 to distinguish nyama from iconica. 



The specimens from Orr Valley are much paler, more rusty colored 

 than the skins from the Northern Gua,so Nyiro region, but are ap- 

 parently in a different state of pelage and are hardl}^ comparable. 

 They were collected in March a ad early April while the Guaso N3dro 

 skins were taken in Jui}^ and September. Skins taken at the same 

 season might show the animals from the two locaJities to be sliglitW 

 different. A subspecies from a comparatively short distance to the 

 north on the Sagan River, Bodcssa, southern Abyssinia, was recently 

 described by Frick as Tatera nigricauda hodessix.^ 



TATERA NIGRICAUDA PERCIVALI Heller. 



Plate 13. 

 1914. Tatera nigracauda (sic) percivali Heller, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 63, 

 No. 7, p. 8. June 24. (Lorian Swamp, British East Africa; type in 

 U. S. Nat. Mus.) 



Specimen. — One, the type, from — 



British East Africa: Lorian Swamp (Percival). 



1 Ann. Carnegie Muspum, vol. 9, p. 14. June 6, 1914. 



