214 MURING. 



Kelaart has a Golunda newera, which he considers allied to this last 

 species, and found in the black soil of Newera-ellia, where it is a great 

 destroyer of peas and potatoes. 



It appears to me that Hodgson's Mus myothrix has some affinities 

 for Golunda Elliotti. It is described as, " fur yellow -brown, minutely 

 black varied, hair rather short and rigid, lead-coloured with yellow tips, 

 and with scattered narrow black bristles ; beneath yellowish-white, tail 

 slightly hairy, yellow. Length of one 6 inches, tail 3| ; head 1J. 

 Tenants the woods only, dwelling in burrows under the roots of trees, 

 but cot gregariously." 



Blyth has described a Hapalomys longicaudatus from Burmah. 



The next animal has been referred by Gray to another group, the 

 Aspalacidce, but this is not agreed to by Blyth and Waterhouse, who 

 consider it as a murine type. 



Gen. RHIZOMYS, Gray. 

 Syn. Nyctocleptes, Temminck. 

 Char. Incisors very large, long, somewhat triangular, sharp ; molars 



o q 



, rooted, subcylindric, the crown with somewhat parallel cross 



3 3 



ridges ; upper molars with a lobe internally j head large ; body massive ; 

 eyes small ; ears naked, conspicuous ; feet short, strong ; tail short, 

 thick, naked. Chiefly from the Indo-Chinese region and Malayana. 

 One species extends into our north-eastern limits. 



201. Rhizomys badius. 



HODGSON. BLYTH, Cat. p. 122. E. minor, GRAY. 

 THE BAY BAMBOO-RAT. 



Descr. Above of a bay or chestnut colour, the fur being slaty-gray 

 with rufous-brown tips ; below dark ashy-gray ; feet dark. 



Length 9 inches. 



This small bamboo-rat has been taken only in the Terai of Sikim, 

 and the adjoining parts of the Nepal Terai. It eats the roots of 

 bamboos and other trees, constructing burrows under the roots. It is 

 said to be very bold and easily taken. 



Rhizomys pruinosuSj Blyth, is from the Khasia hills ; R. caxtaneus, 

 Blyth, from Burmah ; and R. suniatrensis, from the Malayan peninsula 



