342 Mr. G. E. II. Barrett-Hamilton on the 



1. Mus minutus messorius *. 

 Mus messorius, Kerr, Animal Kingdom, p. 230 (1792). 



Type locality. Hampshire, England. 



Summer pelage orange-red above, brightest on the rump 

 and lighter on the sides, and always marked off by a clear 

 line of demarcation from the pure white of the under surface. 

 Winter pelage not so bright as that of summer. Colour of 

 underside and line of demarcation as in summer. 



The following are the maximum, mean, and minimum 

 dimensions of fifteen males and nine females, all of which 

 were measured in the flesh, and which form part either of my 

 own or of the British Museum collection : — 



Head and 



body. Tail. Hind foot. Ear. 



mm. mm. mm. mm. 



i Maximum.. 65 67 15 9 



15 males \ Mean 59-1 57'1 14-2 81 



(Minimum.. 56 50 12 7 



I Maximum.. 60 57 14-5 95 



9 females \ Mean 56-8 53 13-9 8-3 



j Minimum . . 51 49 13 7 



It will be noted that the length of the tail is usually, 

 but by no means always, less than that of the head and 

 body. 



Of the young, it is stated by Mr. J. E. Harting, from 

 observations on individuals born and kept in captivity 

 (' Zoologist,' Nov. 1895, pp. 420, 421), "that even when 

 almost as large as the old ones they were not nearly so red. 

 Indeed, until the beginning of December they resembled a 

 house-mouse in colour. About that time, however, they 

 began to change visibly, the hinder quarters from the root of 

 the tail upwards becoming rufous before any other portion of 

 the body." A family of young harvest-mice set up in the 

 Tring Museum are, however, as bright as their parents in the 

 same case. 



French specimens seem to agree in colour with those of 

 England, judging by the descriptions and figures of French 



* This form, though not the typical one, is here put first because the 

 information at my disposal relating to it is fuller than in the case of 

 M. minutus, so that instead of comparing M. messorius with M. minutus, 

 as I should strictly do, I am forced to reverse the comparison. 



As shown by Mr. Oldfield Thomas (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (5) iv. 

 p. 347, 1879), Kerr's use of the name messorius for the harvest-mouse of 

 England clearly antedates that of Shaw (Gen. Zool. vol. ii. pt. 1, p. 62, 

 1801), to whom the first use of the name is generally attributed in 

 books. 



