148 Mr. O. Thomas on 



Somaliland. Compared with a scries from Shendy, the 

 ground-colour is warmer, being near " warm buff" in py- 

 gargus, while it is "pinkish cinnamon" in acticola; but the 

 variation in the colour of these desert-animals is so great that 

 not much stress can be laid upon it. Sides lighter, line of 

 demarcation high up. Postorbital and postauiicular white 

 patches well marked. Fore limbs wholly, hind limbs mostly 

 white. Hind soles with a nearly naked stripe running along 

 the inner side almost to the base of the hallux. Tail buffy 

 above, white below ; the terminal crest inconspicuous, 

 brown. 



Skull of the same stoutly built elongated form as in 

 pygargus, the supraorbital I nilarly strongly developed. 



Bullae of similar shape, but decidedly larger than in any of 

 the considerable series available of pygargus and pyramidum. 



Dimensions of the type (measured in the flesh) : — 



Head and body 118 mm.; tail 144; hind foot 29; 

 ear 15. 



Skull: greatest median length 32*5; greatest diagonal 

 length 32 ; condylo-incisive length 28*5 ; zygomatic breadth 

 17-4: nasals 12-7; interorbital breadth 6S ; breadth of 

 brain-case 14\5 ; breadth between meatal edges 16*3 ; zygo- 

 matic plate 4*7; palatal foramina, anterior 5"4, posterior 3 ; 

 bulla?, horizontal diagonal length 12 ; breadth at right angles 

 to last, excluding meatus, 7 ; greatest diameter in any 

 direction 12*7; upper molar series 4*1. 



Hab. Coast region of N. Somali. Type from Berbera, 

 other specimens from Bulbar. 



Type. Adult female. B.M. no. 7. 11. 5. 4. Original 

 number 32. Collected 30th July, 1905, and presented by 

 Dr. R. E. Drake Brockman. Nine specimens. 



This Somali representative of G. pygargus, distinguished 

 by its larger bulla?, is the spech s mentioned on p. 119 of 

 Dr. Drake Brockinan's ' Mammals of Somaliland ' (1910) as 

 the Coast Grerbil, a title I have Latinized as above. 



Gerhillus vattinus, sp. n. 



A Gerbillus with an unusual amount of the soles naked and 

 with very large bulla?. 



Size about as in G. pceba. Fur long and loose. General 

 colour strong sandy buffy, near " cinnamon-buff," not so 

 inclined to russet as in G. pceba. Line of demarcation on 

 sides not very sharply defined. Lighter postorbital and post- 

 auricular markings scarcely perceptible. Ears short, their 



