ACOMYS 883 



Genus ACOMYS I. Geoffroy. 



1838. Acomys I. Geoffroy, Ann. des Sci. Nat., Paris, 2cl ser., x, Zool., 

 p. 126, August, 1838. 



1841. Acosminthus Gloger, Gemeinn. Hand- u. Hilfsbucb der Naturgesch., 



I, p. 95 (dimidiatus). 



1842. Acanthomys Lesson, Nouv. Tab!. Kegne Anim., Mamm., p. 135 



{hispidus). 



Type species. — Mus cahirinus E. Geoffroy. 



Geographical distribution. — Africa and south-western Asia ; 

 islands of Cyprus and Crete. Not known from any part of the 

 mainland of Europe. 



Characters. — In general essentially like Epimys, but fur 

 conspicuously spinous, and tail with unusually large scales, its 

 appearance in most species suggesting that of a lizard ; skull 

 with anterior half of mesopterygoid fossa closed by plate-like 

 outgrowth from the palatines, which meet and form a distinct 

 longitudinal ridge in median line, the open part of fossa thus 

 reduced to a small triangular space bounded chiefly by the 

 hamulars ; enamel pattern and relative sizes of molar crowns 

 about as in Epimys, but m^ three-rooted, its anterior lamina with 

 inner tubercle somewhat displaced backward, though less so 

 than in Mus. 



Beinarks. — The genus Acomys contains about fifteen species, 

 one of which occurs within the limits of western Europe as here 

 defined. 



ACOMYS MINOUS Bate. 



1906. Acomys dimidiatiis minous Bate, Proc. Zool. Soc, Loudon, 1905, ii, 



p. .321, April 5, 1906. 

 1910. Acomys dimidiatus minous Trouessart, Faune Mamm. d'Europe, 



p. 158. 



Type locality. — Kanea, Crete. 



Geographical distribution. — Island of Crete. 



Diagnosis. — Like Acomys dimidiatus of Asia Minor, but 

 smaller in size and darker in colour ; skull noticeably smaller 

 than in dimidiatus. 



External characters. — Tail decidedly longer than head and 

 body, the scales large and coarse, forming about ten rings to the 

 centimeter at middle, the boundaries between the rings sharply 

 defined, but those between the scales in each ring obsolete. 

 Posterior border of each scale bearing two slender but distinctly 

 flattened, closely appressed bristles, the length of which equals 

 the width of about one and a half rings. These bristles are of 

 a peculiar silvery horn-colour, and are so arranged as to form 

 continuous longitudinal stria', which, in connection with the 

 conspicuous rings, impart to the tail a j^eculiar lizard-like appear- 

 ance. Among the bristles occur numerous longer terete hairs so 



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