408 MICROTIN^ 



Ig. Arvicola terrestris persicus cle Filippi. 



1865. Arvicola amphibius var. persicus cle Filippi, Viaggio in Persia, 



1865, p. 344. 

 1876. Arvicola amphibius'! Blanford, Eastern Persia, 2, Zoology and 



Geology, p. 61. 

 1907. Microtus terrestris persicus Thomas, Ann. Mag. N.H., [7] 20, 



p. 200. 



1907. Microtus terrestris armenius Thomas, Ann. Mag. N.H., [7], 20, 

 p. 201 ; type B.M., No. 97.6.4.10 adult male, from Van, Asia Minor. 



1908. Microtus terrestris persicus Satunin, Mitt. Kauk. Mus., 4, pp. 90, 

 134. 



Co-types. — Turin Museum. 



Type locality. — Sultanieh, on the plateau south of the Elburz 

 Mountains; or possibly, according to Thomas, the shores of the 

 Caspian Sea to the north of the Elburz Mountains. 



Range. — N.W. Persia and Armenia ; known from the mountains 

 about Van (altitude 5000 feet), from Dorfe Miizaret, Kars Gebiet 

 (altitude 6000 feet), and from the low-lying southern shores of the 

 Caspian. 



Characters. — Size large, hind-foot 33 mm., condylo-basal 

 length 41-5 mm. Colour of upper parts dark greyish brown, 

 with a strong mixture of black, especially along the spine, and 

 with a paler rusty shading which becomes more distinct upon 

 the sides. Flanks considerably lighter. Under surface, including 

 the inner surfaces of the limbs, whitish. Hands and feet clad 

 with closely adpressed silvery-white hairs. Tail with a narrow 

 streak of brownish hairs along the dorsum, clothed laterally and 

 below with scanty white hairs. 



Skull large, scarcely to be distinguished from middle-sized 

 specimens of A . amphibius ; the occiput a little more oblique, the 

 nasals slightly more expanded anteriorly in adults, and the 

 anterior palatal foramina slightly larger. Cheek-teeth of normal 

 pattern. 



For external and cranial dimensions, see tables at end of 

 volume. 



Remarks. — De Filippi's description although very terse is 

 almost full enough ; he says A. persicus differs from the European 

 Water- Vole " per il colore che passa al fulvo sui fianchi, ed al 

 bianco nelle parti inferiori. I caratteri osteologici sono assolu- 

 tamente medesimi." A fuller description of the colour has been 

 given by Satunin. Thomas, studying specimens brought from 

 Van on the Elburz Mountains and from the shores of the Caspian, 

 noticed that in the mountain forms the salient angles of the teeth 

 are remarkably rounded, whereas in those from the low-lying shore 

 the angles are sharp as in normal skulls of Arvicola. An ex- 

 amination of the skull of one of de Filippi's types led Thomas to 

 believe that though de Filippi first observed Water- Voles on the 

 high plateau south of the Elburz, he did not obtain his specimen 

 until he had crossed the mountains and descended to the coastal 



