On the llaces of Dremomys pernyl. 391 



XLV. — The Races of Dremomys pernyi. 

 By Oldfield Thomas. 



(Published by permission of the Trustees of the Britisli Museum.) 



The handsome squirrel Dremomys pernyi is now known to 

 range from the Clan Hills, Upper Burma, eastwards across 

 the whole of China to An-h\vei and Fokien, and it is not 

 unnatural that in this large area a number of local subspecies 

 should Iiave become diffeientiated. 



^Mr. Glover Allen has recently pointed out reasons for 

 g-iving special names to the forms of Ichang and iSouth 

 Yunnan ; and in laying out the Museum series of D. yernyi, 

 about sixty in number, I find that his races both deserve 

 recognition, while four others appear to need description. 



My attention was first attracted to this question about 1896, 

 and as so much depended on the identification of the original 

 Sciurus pernyi, which was said to come from the province of 

 Sze-chwan, Prof. J\lilne-Edwards was good enough to send 

 to us two examples representing the typical form, collected 

 by Pfere Soulie at Tse-kow, in N.W. Yunnan, close to the 

 western border of Sze-chwan. In Mr. Allen's papers quite a 

 different form is taken as the typical pernyi, and I have 

 therefore again consulted Paris as to the characters of the 

 actual type collected by Perny. About this Prof. Trouessart 

 has been so good as to give me such details as to show that 

 it is really tlie same as the N.W. Yunnan form, as I had 

 hitherto supposed. The grey form considered by Mr. Allen 

 as typical pernyi therefore needs a new name. 



The subspecies which I should recognize are as follows, 

 passing from west to east : — . 



1. Diemomys pernyi pernyi, W.-Eidi\\\ 

 Kev. Mag. Zool. (2) xix. p. 230, pi. xix. (1867). 



Size comparatively large, an adult skull measuring 53*5 mm. 

 in greatest length, with a facial length* of 27"6. General 

 colour saturate, rich brownish olivaceous, the postauricular 

 patches strongly contrasted. Middle area of underside of 



* See P. Z. S. 1886, p. 75 (footnote). In these squirrels, where the 

 length of the nose is of importance, and yet the nasal bones are too irre- 

 gular posteriorly to furnish a satisfactory measuring-point, the lengths 

 of " face " and " brain-case,'' as described in the above reference, appear 

 worthy of utilization. 



