﻿NO. 1 6 NEW RODENTS FROM AFRICA HELLER 9 



EPIMYS COUCHA DURUMiE, new subspecies 



SWAHILI MULTIMAMMATE MOUSE 



Type from Mazeras, British East Africa ; adult male ; number 

 181796, U. S. Nat. Mus.; collected December 23, 191 1, by Edmund 

 Heller; original number, 5002. 



Characters. — Closely allied to hildebrandti; differs in much 

 grayer and lighter coloration, in narrower and more attenuate mes- 

 opterygoid fossa and smaller bullae. 



Coloration.— Dorsal color hair-brown, with slight black lining to 

 mid dorsal region ; sides of head and body drab gray, the lower sides 

 bordered by a buffy streak ; ears and tail broccoli-brown ; feet 

 white ; underparts pearl-gray, with a faint buffy suffusion medially ; 

 hair plumbeous at base, except on chin, where it is uniform white. 



Measurements. — Head and body, 135 mm.; tail, 118; hind foot, 

 24; ear, 19. Skull: greatest length, 32; condylo-incisive length, 31 ; 

 basilar length, 27; zygomatic breadth, 15.5 ; interorbital constriction, 

 45; nasals, 13.3 x 3.5; palatilar length, 15; palatal foramina, y.y, 

 diastema, 8.5; maxillary toothrow, 5.4; condylo-incisive length of 

 mandible, 22 ; coronoid-angular depth of mandible, 10. 



A large series are in the collection from Mazeras, Mariakani and 

 Maji-ya-chumvi. They are readily distinguished by their gray tone 

 from a series of hildebrandti from the Taita district. 



EPIMYS TAXT^, new species 



Taita Forest Mouse 



Type from Mt. Mbololo, Taita Mountains, British East Africa, 

 5000 feet altitude; adult male; number 181797, U. S. Nat. Mus.; 

 collected by Edmund Heller, November 5, 191 1; original number, 

 461 1. 



Characters. — Allied most closely to peromyscus, but much smaller 

 in size, with shorter ears ; skull differs decidedly in lacking beads 

 to interorbital edges, which are rounded, and in the shorter palatal 

 foramina, which reach only anterior edge of first molar. 



Coloration. — Dorsal area russet, darkest medially ; sides lighter 

 cinnamon, and sharply contrasted with light underparts ; ears and 

 tail broccoli-brown ; feet white ; underparts whitish, with a cream- 

 buff suffusion; the hair plumbeous basally. 



Measurements. — Head and body, 105 mm.; tail, 138; hind foot, 

 23 ; ear, 19. Skull : greatest length, 29 ; condylo-basal length. 26 ; 

 basilar length, 12.4; zygomatic breadth, 13.8; interorbital constric- 

 tion, 4.3; nasals, length, 11.9; post palatal length, 10; palatal for- 



