﻿Mr. 
  O. 
  Thomas 
  on 
  Tree- 
  Shrews. 
  243 
  

  

  XXI. 
  — 
  The 
  Tree-Shrew.i 
  of 
  the 
  Ttipaia 
  belangeri-cliiiiensis 
  

   Group. 
  By 
  Oldfield 
  Thomas. 
  

  

  (Publislied 
  by 
  permission 
  of 
  the 
  Trustees 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  jNEuseum.) 
  

  

  In 
  Dr. 
  M. 
  W. 
  Lyon's 
  recently 
  issued 
  Monograph 
  of 
  the 
  

   Tupaiidse, 
  tile 
  Tree-SIirews 
  o£ 
  Burma 
  and 
  the 
  neighbouring 
  

   countries 
  are 
  all 
  placed 
  provisionally 
  under 
  the 
  heading 
  of 
  

   Tupai'a 
  chinensis, 
  with 
  the 
  admission, 
  however, 
  that 
  they 
  

   " 
  constitute 
  a 
  somewhat 
  heterogeneous 
  collection." 
  Dr. 
  Lyon 
  

   also 
  *' 
  strongly 
  suspects 
  that 
  future 
  collections 
  will 
  show 
  that 
  

   Ttipaia- 
  chinensis 
  is 
  a 
  subspecies 
  of 
  T. 
  helangeri.'''' 
  

  

  In 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  receipt 
  of 
  three 
  specimens 
  of 
  this 
  

   group 
  from 
  Tengyueh 
  ( 
  = 
  Momeiii), 
  Yunnan, 
  nearly 
  topo- 
  

   types 
  of 
  T. 
  chinensis, 
  presented 
  by 
  Mr. 
  E. 
  B. 
  Howell, 
  I 
  have 
  

   taken 
  the 
  opportunity 
  o£ 
  examining 
  all 
  the 
  specimens 
  in 
  the 
  

   Museum, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  try 
  and 
  clear 
  up 
  the 
  one 
  group 
  of 
  

   Tupaiidse 
  left 
  unworked 
  in 
  Dr. 
  Lyon's 
  most 
  valuable 
  Mono- 
  

   graph. 
  Except 
  a 
  few 
  recent 
  additions, 
  the 
  specimens 
  have 
  

   all 
  been 
  examined 
  and 
  enumerated 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Lyon, 
  and 
  their 
  

   localities 
  inserted 
  in 
  the 
  map 
  on 
  p. 
  75 
  of 
  his 
  Monograph. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  first 
  place, 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  Dr. 
  Lyon^s 
  suspicion 
  as 
  to 
  

   the 
  specific 
  distinction 
  of 
  T. 
  chinensis, 
  I 
  may 
  express 
  my 
  

   opinion 
  that 
  no 
  satisfactory 
  dividing-line 
  betvveen 
  T. 
  helangeri 
  

   and 
  chinensis, 
  as 
  species, 
  can 
  be 
  found. 
  Tenasserim 
  speci- 
  

   mens 
  of 
  helangeri 
  grade 
  imperceptibly 
  through 
  those 
  of 
  

   Chiengmai, 
  Siam, 
  into 
  tlie 
  typical 
  chinensis 
  of 
  the 
  8hau 
  

   States 
  and 
  Yunnan; 
  and 
  I 
  therefore 
  propose 
  to 
  treat 
  all 
  the 
  

   members 
  of 
  the 
  group 
  as 
  subspecies 
  of 
  T'. 
  helangeri. 
  

  

  The 
  specimens 
  from 
  Nepal, 
  Sikhim, 
  Cachar, 
  Manipur, 
  

   Paheng, 
  and 
  Chiengmai 
  — 
  some 
  of 
  Avhich 
  are 
  referred 
  by 
  

   Dr. 
  Lyon 
  to 
  T. 
  chinensis 
  — 
  I 
  should 
  call 
  T. 
  helangeri 
  helangeri, 
  

   as 
  they 
  have 
  some 
  fulvous 
  suffusion 
  on 
  the 
  hinder 
  back, 
  

   while 
  true 
  chinensis 
  is 
  pale 
  olive, 
  quite 
  without 
  warmer 
  

   suffusion 
  posteriorly. 
  

  

  To 
  T. 
  helangeri 
  chinensis 
  I 
  should 
  refer 
  the 
  specimens 
  

   from 
  Tengyueh 
  and 
  Meechee, 
  Yunnan, 
  and 
  a 
  small 
  series 
  — 
  

   mostly 
  immature 
  — 
  from 
  the 
  Northern 
  Shan 
  States. 
  

  

  Then, 
  from 
  an 
  intermediate 
  locality 
  in 
  the 
  "dry 
  area" 
  of 
  

   Burma, 
  we 
  get 
  a 
  form 
  with 
  all 
  the 
  characteristics 
  produced 
  

   by 
  such 
  dry 
  areas, 
  and 
  distinct 
  enough 
  to 
  form 
  a 
  special 
  

   subspecies. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  

  

  Tupaia 
  helangeri 
  siccata, 
  subsp. 
  n. 
  

   General 
  colour 
  rather 
  darker 
  than 
  '' 
  tawny 
  olive," 
  the 
  head 
  

  

  