414 



greyer, but never white. TJnderfur dark ashy grey throughout 

 the body ; tips on the back light brown, generally but not always 

 mixed with longer black terminations. Tail the same dark colour 

 throughout. 



Dimensions. Head and body 2*5 to 3 inches, tail 2-5 to 3'5, ear 

 0-4 to 0-5 from orifice, hind foot 0-6 to 07. The above are from 

 fresh specimens. A skull measures 0-92 in extreme length and O43 

 in breadth. 



Distribution. Found in houses everywhere in India except in the 

 Punjab, Sind, Eajputana, and part of the North-West Provinces ; 

 also found throughout Ceylon and Burma. It is difficult to say 

 whether this species is indigenous or introduced. Mus musculus 

 is of almost world-wide distribution. 



Varieties and Synonymy. I have followed Mr. Thomas in re- 

 uniting the Indian with the European house-mouse, for after going 

 over the collections in the British Museum, I can find no constant 

 distinctions between them. The differences mentioned by Blyth 

 and quoted by Jerdou are certainly not constant. The Himalayan 

 form Mus homourus has in general a shorter tail than the common 

 mouse of the plains (M. urbanus), and the fur is longer and softer, 

 in accordance with the colder climate of the Himalayas. It is, I 

 think, probable that M. tytleri should be assigned to M. bactrianus, 

 but as no type is known this question cannot be determined. 



Habits. The common mouse is chiefly found in houses, but 

 sometimes in gardens and fields near villages and towns. It is 

 excessively active, climbing vertical walls of considerable height, 

 and springing farther than most allied species. It is omnivorous, 

 living mainly, however, on grain and the remains of men's food. 

 It breeds from 3 to 5 times in the year and produces at each birth 

 from 4 to 8 young, which are born blind, but attain full growth 

 and are capable of propagation in less than a year. 



283. Mus bactrianus. The Persian House-Mouse. 



Mus bactrianus, Blyth, J. A.S. B.xv, p. 140 (1846), xxxii, p. 347, 

 xxxiv, p. 193 ; Jerdon, Mam. p. 205 ; Blanford, Eastern Persia, 

 ii, p. 56, pi. v, fig. 2 ; Thomas, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 546. 



Mus gerbillmus and theobaldi, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xxii, pp. 410, 583. 



Mus gerbillinus, Blyth, Cat. p. 119. 



Structure similar to that of Mus musculus, except that the tail 

 is generally rather shorter than the head and body, rarely longer 

 in fresh specimens. 



Colour above light sandy brown or fawn-colour, below white, the 

 two colours not sharply separated. Basal three-fourths of dorsal 

 hairs slaty grey, tips light brown ; a varying number of black tips 

 intermixed. On the lower parts the fur is sometimes pale grey 

 at the base. Tail dark above, pale beneath. 



Dimensions. A good-sized male (fresh) measured : head and body 

 3-5 inches, tail 3-3, ear from orifice 0-55, hind foot O7. Extreme 

 length of a skull 0*88. Some specimens are considerably smaller. 



