small Mammals from North-western Rioja, 419 



a different animal, for it lias elongated claws, a purely grey — ■ 

 not rufous or buffy — colour, and is decidedly larger, the hind 

 foot measuring 23 mm., while in the largest of the consider- 

 able series of gossei now available this measurement is only 

 21 mm., and is generally less. Nor do light ear-patches 

 appear to be present. 



I therefore now describe the reddish species as new, and 

 have particular pleasure in connecting with it the name of its 

 captor, now Capt. Philip G-osse, late of the R.A.M.C., to 

 whom in recent years we have been indebted both for a series 

 of the small mammals of the war-front at Armentieres and 

 also for a number of interesting Poona and Nilgiri mammals. 



Akodon gossei is readily distinguishable from most species 

 of Akodon by its warm Evotomj/s -like colour and the whitish 

 patches on and round its ears. It is, however, somewhat 

 similar to the A. jucundus of Jujuy, but has markedly larger 

 teeth. 



6. Abrocoma famatina, sp. n. 



c? . 951, 956, 960 ; $ . 972, 981. La Invernada. 



" Lives under rocks and in their clefts and fissures/' — E. B. 



Rather smaller than the other species ; tail shorter than in 

 A. budini, longer than in cinerea. General colour ashy grey, 

 much as in cinerea, but one specimen is more drabby, about 

 as in the type of budini ; in any case, however, the colour- 

 range in the genus is very slight and of but little importance. 

 Under surface paler grey, the tips of the hairs white or pale 

 drabby ; throat darker drabby ; a well-marked whitish sternal 

 gland present in all the specimens,- male and female. Ears 

 rather smaller than in other species ; flesh-coloured basally, 

 blackish terminally. Hands and feet white, the latter of 

 normal length, not specially shortened as in A. cinerea*. 



Skull smaller and with shorter muzzle than in A. budini 

 and cinerea, the distance from the tip of the incisors to the 

 alveolus of jt> 4 about 13*8 mm. as compared with about 15"3 

 in the other two. Nasals slender, narrowed behind, but not 

 so markedly so as in budini. Plane of jugals almost as much 

 slanted as in budini. Posterior palatal foramina as in the 

 other Argentine species. Bulla? about as in cinerea, rather 



* The feet of the type of A. cinerea were measured hy Sr. Budin and 

 published by me as 27"5 mm. iu length, but this is certainly longer than 

 they really are. In the dry state they now measure 24'6 mm., and would 

 not have exceeded 25 mm. when fresh. Comment was made on the 

 peculiar shortness of the feet, a comment which would have been 

 unjustified had they measured 27 mm. 



28* 



