﻿NO. l6 NEW RODENTS FROM AFRICA HELLER 1 5 



Measurements. — Head and body, 128 mm. ; tail, 72 ; hind foot, 

 21 ; ear, 20. Skull : greatest length, 35 ; condylo-incisive length, 

 33.1 ; basilar length, 28.9; zygomatic breadth, 17.3; interorbital con- 

 striction, 5; nasals, 14.2 x 4.1; post palatal length, 11.3; diastema, 

 10; palatal foramina, 7.8; maxillary toothrow, 6.4; condylo-incisive 

 length of mandible, 23.4; coronoid-angular depth of mandible, 12. 



The series of topotypes varies considerably in the intensity of the 

 dorsal color. 



CRICETOMYS GAMBIANUS RAINEYI, new subspecies 

 Samburr Giant Rat 



Type from Mt. Gargues (Uaragess), altitude 6000 feet, Mathews 

 Range, British East Africa; adult male; number 181804, U. S. Nat. 

 Mus.; collected by Edmund Heller, August 31, 191 1 ; original num- 

 ber, 4187. 



Characters. — Most closely allied to kenyensis, but decidedly grayer 

 and smaller, the gray of upper parts invading belly and produc- 

 ing uniformity in color ; ear black, in contrast to gray dorsal region ; 

 proportion of dark and light portion of tail as in kenyensis, but 

 the dark base quite black ; hind feet extensively white, only a narrow 

 median streak dark ; differs from hiteus in possession of dark tinder- 

 parts, with a tail showing only basal one-half dark, and in being 

 generally much grayer and smaller; skull differs from both keny- 

 ensis and lute us by short palatal foramina and diastema and narrow 

 palate and smaller bullae. 



Coloration. — Dorsal area drab-gray, the median region lined with 

 black ; head purer drab-gray, the orbital region and ears black ; hind 

 feet lighter, the toes and sides white, only the median portion 

 blackish ; fore feet chiefly whitish ; sides of head and body purer 

 drab-gray without any black lining, and merging gradually into 

 the somewhat lighter drab-gray underparts; hairs on throat and 

 midline of belly drab-gray to the roots, those on the sides show 

 plumbeous basally. Basal one-half of tail deep black all around in 

 marked contrast to the pure white terminal half. 



Measurements. — Head and body, 315 mm.; tail, 375; hind foot, 

 65 ; ear, 40. Skull : greatest length, 70.5 ; condylo-incisive length, 

 65 ; basilar length, 57; zygomatic breadth, 33 ; interorbital width, 11 ; 

 nasals, 28 x 9.2 ; palatilar length, 33.5 ; palatal foramina, 6.3 ; dias- 

 tema, 21; maxillary toothrow, 12; condylo-incisive length of man- 

 dible, 48 ; coronoid-angular depth of mandible, 24. 



