121 



The above series, which are all old animals, contirms the state- 

 ment already made elsewhere, that with the exception of examples 

 fi'om the extreme south of Johore and from Singapore Island no 

 constant diiference" exists between specimens of this genus from the 

 extreme north of its range and from the remainder of the Malay 

 Peninsula. 



(For measurements see p. 124.) 



•2i;. MENETES BERDMOREI, Blyth. 

 cf. Thomas, Jotirn. Nat. Hist. Soc. Bombay, xxiii, p. 23 (1914). 



5 (?, 5 $, 3 imm. Bau Kok Klap, Bandou, N.E. Malay Peninsula. June, 

 July, 1913. 



The first examples of this species which have been received fi'om 

 the Malay Peninsula, south of Tenasserim. 



Mr. Oldfield Thomas has recently (loc. cit. sujjra) revised the 

 races of this squirrel, has defined five sub-species of this animal, two 

 of them from the neighbourhood of the Malay Peninsula — viz., M. 

 berdmorei berdmorei, from Martaban to Mergui and the other M. b. 

 niouhoti, Gray, from Southern Siam. These forms only differ in that 

 the former is sti'ongl}' washed with bulfy below while the latter has 

 the under surface white or whitish ; they agree with each other in 

 having the median dorsal and upper lateral blackish lines present but 

 inconspicuous. 



The series from Bandon, all collected at the same place and within 

 a period of a few days, are very variable in this last respect, the 

 variability not depending on age. In one or two the upper black 

 markings are relatively inconspicuous but in the greater number are 

 most clearly and strongly marked. Disregarding extremes the series 

 closely resembles above the four specimens from Martaban and 

 Mei-gui in the Indian Museum, Calcutta (Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus. 1891). 

 As regards the lower parts, however, they are much less yellow but 

 it is possible that the Indian Museum specimens, of which none are 

 less than 40 years old, have undergone deterioration due to age and 

 exposure. 



The undersurface of some of the peninsular specimens is pale 

 ivory white, in others it is suffused on the abdomen and thighs with 

 ochraceous or orange buff. They thus appear to be intermediate 

 between animals of the two adjacent races, but since the majority of 

 the specimens possess the moi-e richly coloured undersurface the 

 series had for the present, better stand under the name of the 

 parent race. 



Strictly a ground species and only met with in the villages and in 

 the scrub immediately surrounding the village rice-fields. 



(For measurements see p. 124.) 



