372 SCIUBIJXE. 



the vertex just in front of the ears ; the forehead is chestnut or 

 rufous-brown, or pale brown, frequently more or less grizzled with 

 white. Sides of the head and muzzle yellowish brown or buff, 

 sometimes with a rufous tinge. A chestnut stripe down the side 

 of the neck from in front of the ear. Lower parts buff or yel- 

 lowish brown. Dorsal fur blackish or dark brown near the skin, 

 ventral dusky. In specimens wholly or chiefly red above, the 

 terminal portion of the tail, from a quarter to more than half, is 

 sullied white or buff, and the lower surface of the tail is pale 

 throughout ; in darker skins the lower surface of the tail is dull red 

 or brown. 



Dimensions. Head and body 16 to 18 inches; tail rather less, or, 

 with hair, one or two inches more. In a Malabar specimen, 

 head and body 17 inches, tail 14*5 ; weight 4J- Ibs. Basal length 

 of a skull 2-6 inches, zygomatic breadth 1-8 The Bombay variety, 

 with back and tail entirely red, appears rather smaller than the 

 Malabar and Bengal forms. 



Distribution. Throughout the Peninsula of India, south of the 

 Ganges, Soane, and Nerbudda, in all extensive forests, and also to 

 the eastward in Manipur, so this squirrel should be looked for in 

 Cachar, Chittagong, Tipperah, &c. Hodgson once (P. Z. S. 1855, 

 p. 126) incidentally mentioned S. purpureus amongst the mammals 

 of the Nepal Terai ; but as no such animal is comprised in his lists 

 of Nepal mammals, and no specimen exists in his collections, the 

 name was doubtless inserted in error. S. indicus is common in 

 Orissa, Bastar, and parts of Chutia Nagpur, also in the Western 

 Ghats. 



Varieties. This species was divided into three by Jerdon, and 

 into two by Anderson. I think all the three forms distinguished 

 by the first-named well marked races. They are : 



1. The Bombay Squirrel of Pennant, from which S. indicus and 

 S.purpureus were named, and which was subsequently called 

 S. elphinstonii. All the upper parts are red, no black occur- 

 ring; tail-tip whitish. This appears rather smaller than other 

 varieties, and inhabits the northern part of the Western 

 Ghats, but has been obtained by Sir O. B. St. John as far 

 south as Mysore. 



2. S. maximus of Jerdon, not of Schreber. This is chiefly red 

 above, but there is some black on the shoulders and upper 

 part of the tail, the tip of which is usually yellowish. This 

 race, which has no special name, is found in Orissa, Bastar, 

 Chutia Nagpur, South-western Bengal, and Manipur. 



3. S. malabaricus or S. maximus (both founded on Sonnerat's 

 Great Malabar Squirrel). Shoulders, rump, and tail, with 

 more or less of the back, black. This is found in Southern 

 Malabar and parts of Central India. There is a specimen in 

 the British Museum from the source of the Nerbudda. 



Habits. The large red squirrel inhabits high trees in forests, 



