440 



SPALACIDJE. 



Rhizomys erythrogenys, Anderson, P. A. S. B. 1877, p. 150 ; id. An. 



Zool Res. p. 324, pi. xiii. 

 Pice, Burmese ; Tiktts bulo, Malay. 



Fur short and thin, with numerous coarse whitish hairs scattered 

 through it on the hack. Foot-pads covered with flattish tubercles. 

 Skull thick and massive, muzzle broad. 



. ' 



Fig. 143. Rhizomys sumatrensis (after Anderson). 



Colour varying from dark ashy grey or greyish brown to light 

 brown or brownish buff or isabelline, the middle of the back darker 

 and the lower parts paler. Sides of the head pale, or sometimes 

 bright ferruginous red. There is occasionally a white frontal spot. 

 The bright feruginous coloration of the cheeks, from which the 

 name erythrogenys was derived, and the dark ashy tint of the back 

 are, according to Cantor, signs of immaturity. 



Dimensions. Head and body in a large male 19 inches, tail 5|. 

 Other specimens 15 to 17 inches, tail 5 to 6. A skull measures 

 3'15 in basal length, 2-5 in zygomatic breadth. 



Distribution. The Malay Peninsula and Siam, extending 

 throughout the Tenasserim Provinces as far north as Moulmein, 

 Shwegyeng, and Karennee. 



Habits. Like the other species of the genus, this is doubtless a 

 burrower, but scarcely anything appears recorded of its habits in 

 the wild state. 



The only Asiatic species not found in Burma or the Himalayas 

 are the Chinese R. sinensis and R. vestitus, which Anderson regards 

 as identical. The remaining species of the genus inhabit 

 Abyssinia. 



