GREAT AFRICAN CRESTED RAT 

 Lophiomys smithii, Rhoads 



Somali name, Yaidado 



Description. — The general appearance of this animal is not 

 very much like a rat ; the head is rather like that of a guinea-pig, 

 while the body is not unlike a small porcupine's, when viewed 

 from a distance, hence the Somali name. Some Somalis, however, 

 call it " Hor," regarding it as the young of the grey-backed ratel. 

 The general colour appears to be silver grey until the crest is 

 erected, when distinct longitudinal bands of black are seen. The 

 crest is banded black and silver grey for the whole of its length ; 

 at the base of the hairs of the crest on each side in the male is a 

 distinct longitudinal bare patch* stretching from the neck to 

 about the end of the ribs, and immediately below this is a long 

 band of about the same length, of very coarse dull brown hair — 

 this coarse band of hair is very plain even in the young. The 

 crest extends the whole length of the body and along the greater 

 part of the tail — the tip of the latter being white. In the young 

 animal the tail is black with a white tip. The underparts vary 

 from grey to almost black. The four feet are jet black. The 

 forehead, with the exception of a narrow band of black down the 

 middle line, is pure white — this narrow black band is continuous 

 with the nose-band. The remainder of the face is quite black, as 

 also are the chest and throat. The palms of the hands and the 

 soles of the feet are white and hairless. 



Measurements. — The measurements of an adult male 

 specimen, which was alive, were as follows : 



Head and body ii in. 



J. dll • • • • • • • • •Ojj 



* This bare patch was absent in my specimens caught at Burao, both in the 

 female and the young male. 



133 



