1909.] R. E. Lloyd : The Races of Indian Rats. 25 



shade of light brown nearly the same in both cases. The ventral 

 surfaces are covered with shorter hairs each of which is gre}" with 

 a fawn-coloured tip. In spite of these similarities the two specimens 

 can be distinguished from one another with the greatest ease by- 

 passing the finger tips through the dorsal fur. In the female speci- 

 men the fur is soft and silky, indistinguishable from that of a Nesokia 

 liardicickei , which almost equals prepared sealskin in softness. 

 The fur of the male is harsh and bristly to the touch, because some of 

 the hairs are of much greater girth than the majority and are pointed 

 and stiff, others again are as long as 6 cm., of a black colour, and 

 project far be3'ond the majority. In technical terms the fur of the 

 male rat should be described as consisting of soft under fur, short 

 spines and long bristles, while the female specimen would be des- 

 cribed as being totally devoid of spines or bristles. Between these two 

 extremes the eightj'-five specimens show every intermediate grade. 

 The difference is to a certain extent a sexual one , for the w^hole col- 

 lection does not show a single adult male specimen of the extreme 

 soft-furred type. But although females are often soft-furred, some 

 of them possess bristles and spines. There is no evidence that 

 there is more than one race among the collection. However, an 

 examination of groups of mole-rats from separate colonies or sets of 

 burrows would doubtless show that the rats of some groups were 

 collectively of the soft- furred t3'pe, while other groups would be 

 more of the opposite type. 



It is generally easy to distinguish a Gunomys of the Punjab 

 from one of Calcutta. The soft sleek-furred type has not been met 

 with in Calcutta. The mole-rats of the latter place always have 

 harsh and bristly fur, soft under fur being scant3\ Although in the 

 Punjab rats bristles and spines are usualh' present, soft under fur 

 is also plentiful in every case. Calcutta mole-rats are generally 

 of a cold dark greyish brown colour, Punjab ones being of a warmer 

 and lighter brown, not infrequently of a reddish tint. 



The skulls of the Gunomys from the Punjab resemble those 

 from Calcutta, except that the molar series (and perhaps the pala- 

 tine foramen) is on the average longer in the Punjab race. This is 

 apparent to the eye as well as capable of being measured. It is, 

 however, easy to find individual exceptions. 



The following are the measurements of five chance-taken 

 skulls from a mixed collection from the Punjab : — 



