the Genus Tatcra. \^\ 



warmer ground-colour ; the dark colour of the upper surface 

 of the tail dies away rapidly, leaving the distal half pure 

 white, or, at most, persists as a very narrow dark line to 

 near the tip. The skull, as stated above, is shorter and 

 stouter, the upper molar scries broader and the incisors 

 wider than in afro. The following may be taken as the 

 normal measurements of Bran/si : — 



Head and body 150 mm. ; tail 165 ; hind foot 36 ; ear 20. 



Skull : greatest length 38 ; basilar length 30 ; zygomatic 

 breadth 21 ; length of upper molar series 6 ; bulks 105. 



I place the three specimens from Zoutpansberg here with 

 great hesitation. In coloration they closely resemble miliaria 

 salsa from the same locality, except that there are indications 

 of a white tip to the tail. lu size and skull-characters, 

 however, there is no resemblance. 1196 is slightly older 

 than the other two and is consistently larger in all details of 

 bofly and skull. Except in having a narrower upper molar 

 series, 1171 and 1305 approach closely in skull-characters to 

 Brautsi, but they all have much longer tails than any 

 other S. -African species except Ruddi; there is also an indica- 

 tion of white towards the end of the tail, which also recalls 

 that species. With so little and such conflicting material I 

 caimot venture to give this form a new specific name, and 

 have decided to rank these specimens as Brantsi until more 

 material is available. 



(4) Tut era afra. 



Gerhilhts afra, Gray, Spicil. Zoo), p. 10 (1828). 



Meriones 6'chleffe/i, Smut", Enum. Mamm. Cap. p. 41 (1832). 



3 7. 2. 15-17. DTrbau Road, near Cape Town. (Rudd 

 Exploration.) 



Gray's type is not available and his description is very 

 short and vague. That his type was a specimen of the 

 Tatera found about Cape Town is certain, and the Museum 

 specimens (piotcd above may therefore be confidently accepted 

 as afra. The following may be taken as normal dimensions 

 of afra : — 



Head and body 160 mm.; tail 175; hind foot 34; ear 24. 



Skull: greatest lenscth 41; basilar length 32; zygomatic 

 breadth 21 ; length of upper molar series 6*3 ; bullae 10*5. 



This is a dull-coloured species compared with the more 

 northern forms, and the skull is more slender in all details 

 than that of other forms of its own size, having narrower 

 teeth (both incisors and molars) and smalU-r bulla. 



Smuts's Schleyeli has been unanimously acecpted as a 

 synonym of afra since Cuvier ranked it as such in 1836 ; 



Ann. tt* M'ig. X. Hist. Ser. 7. Vol. .xvii. 33 



