482 Mr. 0. Thomas on 



accompanying the specimens he says : — " When the nest was 

 opened up tliey retreated into the galleries, moving along 

 fairly rapidly with a slug-like gliding motion." 



The following is a key to the known species of Termito- 

 desmus : — 



a. Scales of tergites circular or subcircuLir in shape. 



a' . A transverse series of granules on the tergites. T.Jletcheri, sp. n. 

 b'. No granules on the tergites T. lifrui/i, Hirst. 



b. Scales of tergites not circular. 



«'. Body scarcely twice as long- as wide. Scales 



setiform and bifurcated at the end or ending 



in 4-5 little prougs T. escherichii, Silv. 



h^. Body considerably more than twice as long 



as wide. Scales broader, squamate T. ceylonicus, Silv, 



LVII. — I^eio African E|)im3's o??(? Jaculus. 

 By Oldfield Thomas. 



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



Epimys stannarius, sp. n. 



A small rat with the appearance of JS. Innclei and its allies, 

 hut much smaller and with smaller bullae. Mammse 1 — 2 = 6. 



Size medium, decidedly smaller than in the hindei group, 

 but much larger than any species that would be called 

 *' mice." Form rat-like. Fur long and loose, about as in 

 the hindet ^Yowyi. General colour above wood-brown heavily 

 lined with blackish, the posterior back more buffy. Under 

 surface dull whitish, the bases of the hairs slaty; line of 

 demarcation not very sharply defined. Ears of medium size, 

 uniformly browm. Hands and feet dull white; fifth hind 

 toe, without claw, reaching only to the base of the fourth toe ; 

 sole-pads 6, the last one elongated. Tail rather longer than 

 head and body, closely scaled, the scales averaging ten to the 

 centimetre, its hairs minute *, barely one scale in length ; 

 dark brown above and below. Mammai 1 — 2 = 6. 



Skull, as compared with that of E. hindei, smaller and 

 more delicate throughout. Upper profile rather more convex 

 in the parietal region. Supraorbital edges with distinct but 

 not strongly developed ridges. Palatal foramina to the level 



* The hairs may be longer and more numerous terminally; where the 

 skin has been lost off the vertebrae. 



I 



