SCIURUS ZEYLANICUS. 113 



Sciurus zeylanicus. 



1693. Sciurus zei/lanicus Ray. Synopsis Quadrupedum. jd. 265. 

 1878. Sciurus macrourus Anderson. Yunnan Expedit. p. 224. 

 Upperparts , base of tail , occiput , cheeks , eartufts , 

 outside of upperhalf of legs , and toes blackish brown or 

 black. All the other parts and a large spot between the 

 ears yellowish white. All the hairs of the tail , excluding 

 its base, have pure white tips. The above given distribu- 

 tion of colors is so constant and so peculiar to this spe- 

 cies, that this alone suffices to characterize it But the 

 skull presents some very striking differences , which dis- 

 tinguish it from all the other large sized Asiatic Squir- 

 rels and which are hitherto unrecorded , as far as I know ; 

 I cite the following : the bony palate is ending posteriorly 

 behind the molars and not before these organs, the skull 

 is less broad and more elongate , the nasalia less curved , 

 and finally there are two upper premolars of which the 

 first is a very stout one, meanwhile all the other large- sized 

 Squirrels possess only a single upper premolar. The shape 

 of the molars also is quite different from that of the same 

 parts in other Squirrels. 



Hab. Ceylon. 



Mounted specimens in the Leyden Museum: 



1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Adult specimens, Ceylon, Co- 

 lombo, Diard, 1859. — 7. Adult male, Ceylon, Frank, 1880. 



8. Skull of N^ 1. — 9. Skull of N« 2. 



N" 1 — 7 represent phases of the blackish brown form; 

 N'^ 7 is the black phase (Sciurus tennantii Layard). 



II. Squirrels a few larger, as large as or smaller than our 

 common Squirrel. Tail as long as or shorter than head 

 and body. 



oi. Ears tufted or not. 



Notes from the Leyden Museuin, Vol. "V. 



