MAMMALS FROM MKNTAWKI 671 



muzzle and upper lips are also black, rndei'siu-faco throughout 

 white to the bases of the hairs, but in all the specimens the 

 centre of the chest and belly is much soiled with a glandular 

 secretion of some sort, so that in some cases, as for instance in 

 specimen c, the whole of the chest, throat, and anterior half 

 of the belly is wdiolly dirty rufous brown; but the natural colour 

 is clearly white, and young or female specimens would no doubt 

 be pure white below. Line of demarcation on sides very sharply 

 marked. Shoulders and hips grizzled rufous, like the sides. Arms 

 from elbows blackish brown, which colour runs on to the me- 

 tacarpals, but the digits are whitish and the edges of the meta- 

 carpus and the whole inner side of the arm are white in con- 

 tinuation with the white of the chest. Behind however, although 

 the lower leg and upper side of foot are similarly bhick, the 

 white of the belly sharply ends half way down the tibiae, the 

 black passing the wdiole way round the limb below this point. 

 Level with this same point the white of the belly ends abruptly 

 in the middle line, such hairs as there are on the enormously 

 swollen testicles being black. Hair at bases of posterior, as of 

 anterior, claws white. Soles naked, with the usual six large 

 rounded pads; fifth hind toe, without claw, reaching to the 

 middle of the first phalanx of the fourth. Ears of medium size, 

 rounded, laid forward in a spirit specimen they reach just to 

 the middle of the eye; practically naked, their few fine scat- 

 tered hairs brown. Tail very long, thick, coarsely ringed, the 

 scales averaging only about 7 or 8 to the centimetre ; proximal 

 half black, terminal half white all round, the middle portion 

 much mottled with the two colours; fine hairs of tail following 

 the colouration of the scales. 



Skull broad and rounded ; zygomatic plate less projected 

 forwards than in M. macleari; supraorbital ridges of average 

 development for the size of the animal, not specially overhanging; 

 interparietal large. Anterior palatine foramina short ; posterior 

 palate ending opposite the back of m '• ; posterior nares widely 

 open ; buUse low and small. Teeth normal. 



This handsome species is })erhaps less closely allied to Mus 



