EAST AFRICAN MAMMALS IN NATIONAL MUSEUM. 43 



TACHYORYCTES AUDAX Thomas. 



1910. Tachyoryctes audax Thomas, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, vol. 5, p. 421. 

 May. (Aberdare Range, British East Africa, 10,000 feet; type in 

 British Museum.) 



Specimens. — Twenty-two, as follows: 



British East Africa: Aberdare Mountains, summit, 11,000 feet, 

 15 (Heller); Aberdare Mountains, 9,100 feet and 10,500 feet, 3, includ- 

 ing one in alcohol (Heller); Changongorra, Aberdare Range, 1 

 (Heller); Mayo River, 3 (Heller). 



This large, pale mole-rat looks much like Tachyoryctes rex of Mount 

 Kenia, but is smaller. In the series of 21 skins there are only two 

 blackish specimens, both of which are young. 



TACHYORYCTES NAIVASH^ Thomas. 



1909. Tachyoryctes nnivashse Thomas, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. S, vol. 4, 



p. 547. December. (Lake Naivasha, British East Africa; type in 

 British Museum.) 



1910. Tachyoryctes annectens Roosevelt, African Game Trails, Amer. ed., p. 473; 



London ed., p. 485. (Not of Thomas.) 

 1910. Tachyoryctes splendens ibeanus Roosevelt, African Game Trails, Amer. ed.j 

 p. 485; London, ed., p. 496. (Not of Thomas.) 



Specimens. — Eighty, from the following localities: 



British East Africa: Deep Dale, Loita Plains, 1 (Heller); 

 Kabalolot Hill, 1 (Heller); Kijabe, 9, including eight odd skulls 

 (Heller, Mearns); Lake Naivasha, 32, including 3 in alcohol (Loring, 

 Mearns, Pleller); Loita Plains, 4 in alcohol (Heller); Naivasha Sta- 

 tion, 17 (Loring, Mearns); Oljoro O Nyon, 7 (Loring); Salt Marsh, 

 Sotik, 1 skull (Heller) ; Sibi River, Southern Guaso Nyiro, 1 (Heller) ; 

 Suswa Plains, 7 (HeUer). 



Specimens from Sotik and the Southern Guaso Nyiro do not differ 

 appreciably from specimens collected around Lake Naivasha. jMr. 

 Dollman has recorded naivasJise from Lemek Valley.^ 



No example from this large series approaches in size the type of 

 Tachyoryctes annectens (Thomas).^ No definite type locality for 

 annectens has ever been fixed so far as I can discover. In the original 

 diagnosis the habitat is given as "either Masai-land or inland British 

 East Africa." Specimens accompanyijig the type were labelled as 

 collected at Mianzini, just east of Lake Naivasha, and this place has 

 evidently been considered the type region by Thomas in later sub- 

 division of the genus,^ but I do not find that any later specimens 

 have been referred to annectens. In all the United States National 

 Museum collection of Tachyoryctes the only specimens which approach 

 in size the type of annectens are the larger males of T. rex from 

 Mount Kenia. There is an extraordinary difference in size of skulls 



1 Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1914, p. 317. June, 1914. 



2 Rhizomys annectens Thomas, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., snr. 6, vol. 7, p. 304, March, 1S91; Tree. Zool. 

 Soc. London, 1S91, p. 186. 



» Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, vol. 4, p. 547. December, 1909. 



