AFRICAN SQUIRRELS. ." 



Prof. Peters , Dr. Steindachner and Prof. A. Milne Edwards 

 for their great liberality which simplified my inquiries and 

 for their kind informations. I may here be allowed to 

 express my sincere and special thanks to all those gentle- 

 men for their kindness. 



The African Squirrels offer certain peculiarities which 

 are not or rarely found in other Squirrels; they mostly 

 present an olivaceous or greenish tinge, others a so- 

 called desert-color: the fur, with a few exceptions, is 

 not so soft and less dense than in other Squirrels , in 

 some species the body is even covered with harsh and spiny 

 hairs, a phenomenon not met with in Squirrels of other 

 parts of the world. Pari passu with the harshness of the 

 fur goes the straightness and the increased length of the 

 claws. The ears are generally less developed and covered 

 with very short hairs , which never form a tuft. Finally 

 Africa has its own species of Squirrels , not a single species 

 having hitherto been found in Asia which can be confounded 

 with an African one. 



Only a small number of skeletons of African Squirrels 

 is preserved in the Musea and these skeletons moreover 

 belong to only four species , viz : 



costa- lum- sacra- cauda- 

 les. bares. les. les. 



Sciurus annulatus Desmarest 



{multicolor Rüppell) with . 12 — 7 — 5 — 25 



Sciurus confficus Kuhl [flavi- 



vittis Peters) with . . . 12 — 7 — 3 — 29 



Sciurus getulus C. Gessner . 12 — 7 — 3 — 22 



Xerus erythopus E. Geoffr. 



St. H. {leucoumbrinus Rüppell) 12 — 7 — 4 — 25 , 26 or 27. 



A very great difference in the shape and size of the skull 



obtains in the different species. As it is here however not 



my intention to enter into osteological discussions , the reader 



will find sufficient materials concerning this matter in the 



measures of skulls which I give in the respective descriptions. 



Of the nineteen species which I distinguish , there are 



ten which have four molars in each jaw and nine which 



Notes from the Leyden IMuseum, Vol. IV. 



