430 



elongate lobe. For these species I proposed, in 1881, a subgeneric 

 name Alticola. M. sikimensis and M. melanogaster belong to the 

 subgenus Neodon. 



300. Microtns roylei. Royle's Vole. 



Arvicola roylei, Gray, A. M. N. H. x, p. 265 (1842) ; ? Bli/th, Cat. 

 p. 125 ; ? Jerdon, Mam. p. 216 ; Blanford, J. A. 8. B. 1, pt. 2, 

 p. 102 (1881). 



Ears hairy, not projecting beyond the fur. Thumb with a claw. 

 Tail nearly cylindrical, about one third the length of the head and 

 body and covered with short hair. Last 

 upper molar with 3 inner and 3 outer angles 

 and terminating in an elongate lobe; first 

 lower inolar with 4 external and 5 internal 

 angles. 



Colour rufous-brown on back, becoming 

 yellower and paler on the sides and pale 

 brown below ; tail coloured like the back 

 above, pale beneath. Basal half to two 

 b thirds of the fur leaden black, above and 

 Pig. 135. Crowns of below ; terminal portion on back light brown, 

 iowe^mx^ar^of ^ becoming darker at the end, a few black 

 roylei, x 4. ^P s intermixed. 



Dimensions of dried skin : head and body 



3 inches, tail without hair (vertebrae preserved) 1-1, hind foot 0-8. 

 Distribution. The type was from Kashmir. Jerdon observed 

 voles on the Pir Panjal pass, also on the south side of Bareudo 

 pass N.E. of Simla, and near Chini, in Kunawar, at 12,000 feet 

 elevation, but it is improbable that all belonged to the present 

 species. The locality Pind Dadun Khan, given in Blyth's Cata- 

 logue, is a mistake. What Adams took for Arvicolce in the Punjab 

 Salt Eange (' Wanderings of a Naturalist in India,' p. 152) remains 

 to be ascertained. 



Habits unknown. Jerdon found the Barendo pass species in 

 large numbers, burrowing close to the surface in a meadow, and 

 several were caught in digging a light trench round the tent. 



301. Microtus stoliczkanus. Stoliczka's Vole. 



Arvicola stoliczkanus, Blanford, J. A. S. B. xliv, pt. 2, p. 107 (1875) ; 

 1. pt. 2, p. 97 ; id. Yark. Miss., Mam. p. 42, pi. viii, fig. 1, pi. x b. 

 tg. 2. 



Ears small, completely concealed by the fur, hairy. Thumb 

 rudimentary and clawless. Tail short, about a quarter of the 

 nead and body in length, covered with stiff hairs that extend half 

 an inch beyond the end. Last upper molar with 2 strong inner 

 and 4 weak outer angles, two close together near the front end of 



