390 



SCIURID^. 



261. Arctomys caudatus. The red or long-tailed Marmot. 



Arctomys caudatus, Jacquemont, Voyage dans tlnde, iv, p. 66 ; Atlas, 

 ii, pi. 5 (1844) ; Blanford, J. A. 8. B. xliv, pt. 2, p. 122 ; id. 

 Yarkand Miss., Mam. p. 37, pis. xiii, xiii a ; Lydekfor, J. A. S. B. 

 xlix, pt. 2, p. 7 ; Scully, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 204 ; id. A. M. N. H. (5) 

 viii, p. 98. 

 Arctomys bobac, Adams, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 521 ; Blyth, Cat. p. 108, 



partim, nee Schrcbei. 



Arctomys hemachalanus,^4nrfersow, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 561, nee Hodgson. 

 Drun, Kashmir. 



Tail about balf the length of the head and body. 

 Colour yellowish tawny to orange, the back chiefly black, some- 

 times wholly black, in the middle, the hairs being black throughout ; 

 usually the dorsal fur is blackish at the base, then tawny and with 

 long black tips. Face brown, blackish round the eye ; tail black at 

 the tip and usually for a considerable portion of the length, tawny 

 towards the base. Lower parts and limbs brownish rufous, deeper 

 in some examples than in others. The general tint is more rufous 

 than in the other Himalayan species and the back is blacker. 



Dimensions. Head and body about 2 feet, tail with hair 12 

 to 13 inches, hind foot 3-4 ; basal length of skull 4 % I , extreme 

 length 4-2, zygomatic breadth 2-6. Specimens from Astor appear 

 smaller. 



Fig. 124. Arctomys caudatus. 



Distribution. The ranges immediately north of Kashmir proper 

 from Wardwan to Deosai and Astor, at elevations between 8000 

 and 14,000 feet. I can find no account of this marmot's occurrence 

 east of Kashmir, nor is it found in Ladak except on the southern 

 border. 



