Harvest-Mice of the Palccarctic Region. 343 



writers (see Trouessart, l Les Petits Mammiferes de la 

 France/ with a coloured plate of this species). 



2. Mus minutus typicus. 

 Mus minutus, Pallas, Nov. Spec. pp. 96 & 345 (1779). 



This name antedates all other names applied to European 

 harvest-mice, and of which I have given a list at the end of 

 this paper. They are therefore synonyms of it as applied to 

 the whole of Europe. Should it be found, however, that 

 more than one subspecies of harvest-mouse exists in Europe, 

 this name must be restricted to that of the North, while the 

 other and later names must be applied to the various other 

 species according to the localities in which they occur. 



Six examples from Western Hungary, collected in 

 August, 1893, are singularly unlike British specimens, as 

 they entirely lack the orange-red of the latter except on the 

 rump, and are instead of a light sepia-brown on the upper 

 surface, lighter on the sides, and shading to orange-red on 

 the rump. The under surface is, like that of the British 

 specimens, pure white, with a clearly marked line of demar- 

 cation separating the colours of the upper and lower surfaces. 



The proportionate lengths of the feet and tail, so far as can 

 be ascertained from the dried skins, are similar to those of 

 M. messorius. 



A specimen from Holstein (British Museum Collection, 

 no. 47. 4. 5. 2) appears to be intermediate in character 

 between those of Hungary and England, the whole of the 

 upper surface being rusty red ; but the skin is an old one, 

 badly preserved and untrustworthy for comparison. 



3. Mus minutus pygmceus. 



Mus pygmceus, Milne-Edwards, Recherches Mamm. p. 291 & pi. xliii. 



(1874). 



Three specimens of this form from North-west Fokien 

 have recently been added to the British Museum collec- 

 tion through the kindness of the collector, Mr. J. de La 

 Touche. In the colour of the upperside these mice cannot be 

 distinguished from the Hungarian specimens, but the tail is 

 very much longer, the underside dirty white, and the line of 

 demarcation between the colours of the upper and under sides 

 not very clearly marked. These specimens have only a 

 trace of the red rump of M. minutus. They were collected 

 at Kuatun, N.W. Fokien, in April 1898. 



The dimensions, given in inches on two of the labels, and 

 converted into millimetres, are as follows :— 



