NO. 17 NEW SPECIES OE EAST AFRICAN RODENTS — HELLER 9 



^ ,1 : 



Measurements. — Head and body, 64 mm.; tail, 46; hind foot, 13. 



Skull: occipito-nasal (greatest) length, 18; condylo-incisive length, 

 16.5 ; length of nasals, 6.2 ; zygomatic breadth, 9.2 ; palatal foramina, 

 4.3; length of upper toothrow, 3.1. 



This is a dark form of the widespread belliis. A series of thir- 

 teen from Rhino Camp show very little variation in the dark upper 

 parts and are readily distinguishable from the light sided bellus, 

 with its sharply defined dark dorsal area. 



ARVICANTHIS PULCHELLUS MICROPUS, new subspecies 



Lado Striped Grass Rat 



Type from Rhino Camp, Lado Enclave; adult female, number 

 164825, U. S. Nat. Mus. ; collected by J. Alden Loring, January 24, 

 1910; original number, 8861. 



Characters. — Closely allied to massaicus, but feet smaller and 

 skull narrower. 



Coloration. — General dorsal coloration bistre brown; the back 

 marked by ten parallel lines of ochraceous spots, the central pair 

 enclosing a median black dorsal line ; sides Hghter and more grayish, 

 the spots light buffy. Feet and ears ochraceous. Tail blackish 

 above, buffy on sides and below. Under parts cream buff, the hair 

 uniform to the roots. 



Measurements. — Head and body, 114 mm.; tail, 125; hind foot, 

 23. Skull: condylo-incisive length, 25; zygomatic breadth, 23.5; 

 nasals, 11x3; diastema, 7 ; length of upper toothrow, 5.2 ; length of 

 bullae, 5 ; condylo-incisive length of mandible, 18. 



There are eleven topotypes in the collection. In color these range 

 from the grayish color of massaicus to a buffy tint similar to ardeus. 

 A series from Uganda, taken along the route from Kampala to 

 Butiaba, agree in the small size of their feet and in color with the 

 types series. One specimen from Gondokoro has the spots so 

 coalesced as to form lines as in barbarus, from which it is not dis- 

 tinguished except in the flatter skull and darker olivaceous body 

 color. 



ARVICANTHIS JEBEL^, new species 



White-bellidd Grass Rat 



Type from Rhino Camp, Lado Enclave; number 164826, U. S. 

 Nat. Mus. : collected by J. Alden Loring, January 16, 1910; original 

 number, 8762. 



