109 



May 22, 1832. 

 Richard Owen, Esq., in the Cliair. 



Mr. Yarrell exhibited skeletons and stuffed specimens of several 

 Mammalia, in illustration of the distinctive characlers of two species 

 of that ciass, which he had recently ascertained to be inhabitants of 

 Britain. 



Thefirstof theseadditions to the British Fauna is iheoared Skreiv, 

 Sorex remifer, GeofF., distinguishable from the more common tvater 

 Shrev) by its greater size and its uniforni colour. The vvhole of the 

 upper part of the head, the body, and sides, are velvet black ; the 

 situation of the ear is marked by a tuft of white hairs, niore con- 

 spicuous than in the luater Sltretu, from the greater contrast of co- 

 lour; there isa sinall patch of light brovvn underthe iosver jaw ; the 

 under surface of the body is rūsty black ; and the tail is black, witli 

 a line of pendent greyish vvhite hairs along its under surface. 



Mr. Yarrell reraarked, that although the individual exhibited (the 

 only indigenous specimen which he had yetseen,) was smaller than 

 that described by M. Desmarest in his 'Mammalogie' (the length of 

 the head and body being 3 inches 4 lines, and that of the tail 1 inch 

 9 lines), he had determined its identity vvith the species to which he 

 referred it, by comparison with a specimen of Sor. remifer, trans- 

 mitted by M. Baillon of Abbeville to the British Museum; the tvvo 

 specimens being perfectly similar in everyparticular of colour, mark- 

 ings, and measurement. He further observed, that the Sor. ciliata 

 of Sowerby's ' British Miscellany,' pi. 49, is probably referable to 

 the šame species. 



The second animal to which Mr. Yarrell more particularly directed 

 the attention of the Coramittee, vvas a species o^ Arvicolu, new, not 

 only to Britain, but also apparently to science. It is so nearly re- 

 lated to Arv. agrestis (the Mus agrestis of Ray, and probably also 

 of Linnaeus, and apparently the Mm5 arvalis of Palias), as to require 

 that the characters of the latter, the common short-tailed^cW Cam- 

 pagnol, should be modified. Mr. Yarrell accordingly thus charac- 

 terized the two species : — 



Arvicola agrestis. Arv.iupra rųfescenti-Jiisca,suhtus cinerea ; 

 auriculis vix prominulis ; cauda tertiam partem corpoiis longitu- 

 dine vix cequante. 



Arvicola riparia. Arv. supra satu?-ate castauco-rufescens, sub- 

 ttis c'merea ; auriculis pauUb prominulis ; cauda dimidium cor- 

 poris longitudine ceguante, apicis pilis subelongatis. 



Mr. Yarrell pointed out, on the specimens exhibited by him, the 

 external difFerences between these species, consisting chiefly in the 

 size and colour of the body, and the relative length of the tail. He 



[No. XIX.] ZooL, Soc. Proceedings of the Cojim. of Sciknce. 



