224 Mr. G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton on the 



which he may have to say, I merely give a description of the 

 subspecies, leaving their relationships to be more exactly 

 determined by Mr. Miller. 



The specimens from Van, Asia Minor, were presented 

 to the British Museum by Major W. H. Williams, R.A. 

 They formed part of a valuable collection of mammals 

 which has yielded two new species in Ellobius lutescens 

 and Alactaqa Wilh'amsi, both of which were described 

 by Mr. Oldtield Thomas in the ' Annals ' for Sept. 1897, 

 ser. 6, vol. xx. pp. 308-310. They belong to a large 

 form allied to M. Musignani, de Selys, of South Europe, 

 but readily distinguishable by the greater thickness of the 

 fur, the colour of which on the upperside is yellowish 

 brown rather plentifully sprinkled with black-tipped hairs, 

 especially on the dorsal line and upper surface of the head. 

 The upperside of the animal has thus a very peculiar grizzled 

 appearance, which I have not observed in any other sub- 

 species. The underside is whiter than in any other Water- 

 Vole with which I am acquainted, Scandinavian, British, and 

 Spanish specimens being very rufous underneath. Of the 

 two males at my disposal, the larger and adult has the under- 

 side quite white, contrasting by a clearly marked line of 

 demarcation with the yellowish- brown colour of the flanks; 

 the smaller and younger specimen has the central portion of 

 the belly slightly washed with yellow. In both the white 

 colour is continued in a modified and less pure form to the 

 upper lips, and also extends higher up on each side of the 

 neck than in other Water- Voles. The tail is slightly bi- 

 coloured. 



The dimensions are given below. I find no distinctive 

 characters in the skull ; the nasals are distinctly compressed 

 posteriorly, but I am not sure if that character will hold 

 good for a series of specimens. 



It seems best to identify the Kurdistan Voles (at least 

 provisionally) with the form which de Filippi found very 

 commonly in Western Persia and to which he gave the name 

 of persicus (Viag. Persia, 1865). His description is not at 

 all lull, and consists mainly in the statement (on page 196) 

 that M. persicus is markedly lighter on the underside than are 

 the Water- Voles of Europe and (on page 344) that it may- 

 be distinguished from the ordinary race of Europe " per il 

 colore che passa al fulvo sui fianchi, ed al bianco nelle parti 

 inferiori. 1 caraterri osteologici sono assolutamente i medi- 

 simi." Yet since, so far as it goes, this description agrees 

 with the specimens collected by Major Williams, I prefer to 



