488 Ml-. O. Thomas on neio 



3lertones Buryi^ sp. n. 



A tufted-tailed Meriones, with naked feet, superficially 

 reseniblirif^ Gerhillus i^ersicus, Blanf. 



Size fairly large. General characters of Meriones, but 

 with wholly naked soles, which are apparently, as in " Qer- 

 hillus '' persiciis, granulated and quadrituberculate. General 

 colour above deep " clay-colour," strongly grizzled with 

 black ; sides clearer fawn ; belly dull buffy white, some of the 

 hairs slaty based, others white to their roots; lips and chin 

 white; chest with an ill-defined drabby patch. Median line 

 of head like back ; cheeks and ocular area grizzled grey ; 

 ears of medium length, their substance dark, their few fine 

 hairs drabby faun. Rum)) with a number of longer whitish- 

 tipped hairs intermixed with the fur. Upper surface of hands 

 and feet pale fawn. Tail long, dark fawn all round proxi- 

 nially, heavily black-crested above for its terminal half, the 

 longest hairs attaining 15-18 millim. 



Skull stout and less strongly built ; supraorbital region 

 heavily ridged ; palatal foramina long, reaching just to the 

 level of the front of w«' ; bulljB not excessively swollen. 



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



Head and body 148 millim. ; tail 168; hind foot (s. u.) 33; 

 ear 9.]. 



Skull; basilar length 32*5; zygomatic breadth 21-7; 

 interorbital breadth 6"6; palate length 19; diastema 11; 

 palatal foramina 7*7 ; length of bullae 12; length of upper 

 n.olar series (crowns) 5*6. 



JrJab. Zal^d, Haushabi, in the hills north of Aden; 

 altitude 4300 feet. 



Type. Female. Collected 13th September, 1902, by 

 Mr. G. W. Bury, after whom the species is named. Three 

 specimens examined. 



Owing to the fact that worn molars of Meriones are quite 

 indistinguishable from those of Gerbillus, Dipodil/us, &c., and 

 that this species has the Dipodilline character of wholly naked 

 soles, Meriones Buryi might easily be taken for a member of 

 the latter group, in which it would stand near " Gei'hillus " 

 pcrsicus, whose proportions and foot-characters are not dis- 

 similar. Unfortunately no young specimens, showing the 

 true molar structure, of either G. j^^^'sicus or M. Buryi are 

 available, and until that is the case I shall not feel satisfied 

 about the proper allocation of either form. But in general 

 skull-structure M. Buryi resembles some of the most typical 

 species of Aleriones, and 1 therefore now refer it to that 

 genus, within which it may be readily distinguished by the 

 cliaracters above given. 



