152 On a new African Squirrel. 



XXT. — A new African Squirrel ptesenfed to the British 

 M'lspum hi/ Capt. the Hon. R. 0. B. JJihlgeinan, R.N. 

 By Guy Dollmax. 



(Piiblishod by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) 



Paraxerus hi'idgeinani, sp. n. 



Allied to Paraxerus sponsns, Thos. & Wrouglit., but 

 di.stiii^uished at ouce by its paler colour and orange bordered 

 tail. 



General body-dimensions as in uponms. Colour of dor.^al 

 surface o£ body speckled grey washed with pale yellow, 

 without the rufous tint so dominant in sponsus. Hairs of 

 back with slate-black bases, pale L-mou-yellDW middles, 

 wliire subterminal rings, and dark tips; in sponsus the 

 middle ])ortio-ns of the hairs are rufous-orange and the tips 

 dai-lcer and considerably longer. Nasal region, sides of 

 face, and backs of hands and feet yellowish orange, near 

 " ochraceous-bufF " (liidgway, 1912). Entire ventral sur- 

 face of body yellowish orange, considerably paler than the 

 underparts of sponsus, which are almost rufous. Tail con- 

 spicuously different from that of the Inhambune species, the 

 orange colour being much more restricted in its distribution, 

 forming a kind of margin or border to the tail, the median 

 portion, both above and below, coloured like the back ; the 

 orange colour is much the same as that of the belly, and 

 paler than in sponsus, where the rufous hair-tips give the 

 tail a general rufous appearance rather than a richly coloured 

 b jrder. 



Skull shorter and with smaller cranium; nasals more 

 parallel-sided, the anterior breadth not conspicuously greater 

 than that of the median constricted area. 



Dimensions of the type (measured in the flesh) : — 



Head and body l&O mm.; tail 190; hind foot 42; 

 ear 22. 



Skull : greatest length 46 ; condylo-incisive length 39"8 ; 

 basilar length 34'6 ; length of nasals 14"3; greatest widtli 

 across nasals ; zygomatic breadth 2(j'l ; squamosal breadth 

 across brain-case 19*5 ; palatilar length 17*5 ; length of 

 upper diet k-teeth 8 2. 



Hub. Indook, I'anda, Portuguese East Africa. Altitude 

 700 feet. 



Tgpe. Adult female. B.M. no. 14. 7. 18. 1. Original 



