Mr. 0. Thomas on African Rodents. 221 



scutellum, and corium thickly finely punctate, apical area of 

 scutellum and disk of corium more or less rugulose. 



Long. 13^ to 144 mm. ; max. breadth 8? to 9^ mm. 



Hab. Abyssinia;" Didessa River, 1400 ft., Gamu, 2800 ft., 

 Nono, 3600 ft. (Zaphiro, Brit. Mus.). 



Closely allied to the West African C. funebris, Fabr., but 

 differing in the colour of the legs and the shorter antennae, 

 of which the second joint is twice as long as the third. 



Genus Asfongopus. 

 Aspongopus, Lap. (part) Ess. H<5m. p. 58 (1832). 



Type, A. j anus, Fabr. 



Aspongopus circumcinctus, s,). n. 



Black ; lateral margins of pronotum, basal lateral margins 

 to corium, connexivum, and body beneath ochraceous ; legs 

 fuscous brown ; antennae black, the basal joint testaceous, 

 second joint slightly longer than third ; third and fourth 

 joints subequal in length, fifth longest, cylindrical and 

 pilose ; head about as broad as long, the apex broadly 

 truncate, irregularly punctate ; pronotum about two-thirds 

 as long as broad at base, the lateral margius moderately 

 ampliate and rounded, very finely and thickly punctate and 

 slightly transversely wrinkled ; scutellum about as long as 

 broad at base, very finely and thickly punctate and slightly 

 transversely wrinkled ; corium about as long as membrane, 

 wrinkled, but not apparently punctate ; body beneath more 

 or less finely darkly speckled or punctate, the central disk of 

 sternum more prominently so. 



Long. 12 mm. 



Hab. Congo Free State, Kambove, Katanga, 4000-5000 ft. 

 (Neave, Brit. Mus.). 



XXIII. — Notes on African Rodents. 

 By Oldfield Thomas. 



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



I. A new Genus of Gerbils. 



Further study shows that the group of small Gerbils 

 which contains '* Gerbillus" emini and its allies, of recent 



