726 On new African Carnivores. 



by him at Afgo, Webi River, Italian Somaliland. But un- 

 fortunately its skull has been lost, and I therefore take as 

 type Mr. Zaphiro's specimen from Lake Rudolf. Allowing 

 for the difference of age, the two specimens appear to agree 

 closely with each other, and equally to differ from the grey- 

 backed //. hirtula. 



Lutra maculicollis nilotica, subsp. n. 



Larger tiian in the other subspecies, the throat white- 

 spotted. 



Size, as gauged by skull, larger than in true macuJicoUis 

 and in L. m. matschiei. General colour as usual. Lips 

 white-edged, throat profusely spotted with white, a few 

 white spots also in the inguinal region. 



Skull, both of male and female, decidedly larger than in 

 the corresponding sexes of maculicoUis and matschiei, the 

 difference most pronounced in the male. Brain-case high 

 and vaulted. Teeth comparatively large. 



Skull-measurements of adult male and female specimens : — 



Condylo-basal length 113'5 mm., 105 ; basal length 103-5, 

 96*8 ; zygomatic breadth 69, 63 ; interorbital breadth 20*5, 

 18'5 ; mastoid breadth 59, 54 ; height of brain-case from 

 between bullae 41, 40'5 ; front of canine to back of w} 34'5, 

 32'2 ; p'^, length on outer edge 12'4, 11*3; greatest diameter 

 of m^ 12-8, l6-6. 



JIah. Malek, just south of Bor, Upper Nile. 



Type. Adult male. Original number 2. Two skulls and 

 three skins, obtained from the Dinkas by the Rev. Archibald 

 Sliaw, of the Church Missionary Society, by whom they were 

 sent to Mr. A. L. Butler, of Khartoum. 



While there is no question that this otter may be readily 

 distinguished from the true L. viaculicolUs of South and 

 Central Africa and L. m. matschiei of the Congo and Gulf 

 of Guinea by its greater size, there is some doubt about the 

 Abyssinian otter described by 0. Neumann as L. concolor^. 

 But Prof. Neumann expressly states that of many skins of 

 L. concolor examined, none Jiad any light throat-markings 

 (these being present in all three of Mr. Butler's skins) and 

 that the animal inhabited the Ha wash river- basin on the 

 eastern side of the watershed, and not the Nilotic river- 

 system at all. 



* SB. Ges. nat. Fr. Berl. 190i>, p. 55. 



