LEGGADA PLATYTHRIX. 207 



less rufescent ; under parts white, abruptly separated from the hue of 

 the upper parts. 



Length of one, head and body 2J inches ; tail 2J ; ears Jth ; hind- 

 foot T 9 g-ths. Much resembles M. lepidus of Elliot, but the fur is short, 

 soft, and not spinous in the least degree. Those from the alluvium of 

 the Ganges are darker than specimens from the ferruginous soil to the 

 westward. 



" This," says Blyth, " is the most common field and garden-mouse in 

 lower Bengal." It has been also found in Midnapore, and in southern 

 India, a specimen having been sent to Mr. Blyth by Walter Elliot, 

 along with a lot of Mus lepidus, from which he did not distinguish it. 



The following species are a group of field-mice, the fur of which is 

 mixed with spines. They have been placed in a distinct genus by Gray, 

 which is practically adopted by Blyth in his Memoir. 



Gen. LEGGADA, Gray. 



Char. Molars high, with somewhat convex crowns, the cross ridges 

 of the crown of the upper grinders deeply three-lobed ; the front one 

 with an additional lunate lobe at the base of its front edge ; fur fine, 

 mixed with numerous spines, somewhat flattened. 



This group was founded on a mouse first described by Colonel Sykes. 







194. Leggada platythrix. 



Mus apud SYKES. BLYTH, Cat. p. 121. ELLIOT, Cat. 40. Legyade 

 and Kdl yelka of Waddurs. Gijeli-gadu, Tel. of Yanadees. Kal ilei, 

 Can. 



THE BROWN SPINY MOUSE. 



Descr.- Above light sandy-brown or light brown mixed with fawn ; 

 beneath pure white, the white separated from the brown by a well-defined 

 pale-fawn line. The flattened spines are transparent on the back, beneath 

 smaller, and form with the fur a thick close covering. The head is long, 

 the muzzle pointed, the ears rather large, oblong, rounded. 



Length, head and body 3 J inches ; tail 2 J ; hind-foot f ths ; ear J. 



This mouse is found only in southern India, and Mr.W. Elliot has given 

 a full account of its habits. " The Leggyade lives entirely in the red 

 gravelly soil in a burrow of moderate depth, generally on the side of a 



