146 SCIUROPTERUS PLATYURUS. 



between setosus and pearsonii; at least, in the P. Z. S. L., 

 1886, p. 60, he says concerning the localities where Sciu- 

 ropterus pearsonii has been found: »this rare species would 

 »be naturally expected to occur in Manipur. It has pre- 

 »viously been recorded from Sikkim, Assam and Yunnan". 

 As we see , no word about Sumatra , a locality that Thomas 

 otherwise certainly not would have omitted to record. 



Let us now return to Anderson and look how he de- 

 fended his view ; on p. 294 of his book we read : » I have 

 » examined the type of Pteromys setosus , which agrees with 

 »P. pearsonii in the absence of the cheek-bristles and in 

 »its general characters , but the specimen is not fully grown , 

 » measuring only, along the back to the root of the tail, 

 »4.75, and the tail 3.75. It is less rufescent than the 

 » adult, and the underparts are whiter, as are also the 

 »cheeks". If we now consider that, according to Anderson, 

 in pearsonii the tail is half the length of the body , which 

 attains to about 8 inches (also body ± 8 and tail zfc 4 

 inches , meanwhile the same measurements in setosus are 4.75 

 and 3.75), that moreover the color of the upperparts 

 in pearsonii is a rich glossy reddish-brown , finely grizzled 

 with black (apud Anderson , p. 293) , meanwhile in setosus 

 »toutes les parties supérieures ont une teinte brune noiratre 

 nuancee de eendre roussatre , vu que la pointe de tons les 

 poils porte cette dernière teinte" (apud Temminck , p. 49), 

 and finally that the skull of setosus clearly presents the worn 

 state of the molars, I think that it need not to demonstrate 

 on other grounds the specific difference between the two 

 species in consideration. 



It is perhaps not superfluous to add , that in pearsonii 

 »the tail is very bushy but slightly distichous and is half 

 »the length of the body" (Anderson), meanwhile in setosus 

 »la queue, qui est longue et a poil distique , atteint par 

 »le bout a I'origine des oreilles" (Temminck). 



By the kindness of Oldfield Thomas , who presented to 

 our Museum a specimen of Sciuroptertis pearsonii with its 

 skull, I am at present in the opportunity to compare the 



r>4otes from the Leyden MiuseuEa , Vol. XJLL, 



