492 On nev) Australian Small Mammals. 



Dimensions of the type (measurerl on the spirit-specimen) : — 



Head and body 96 millim. ; tail 93 ; hind foot (s. u.) 23 7 ; 

 ear 12-5. 



Skull : greatest length 27 ; basilar length 20"6 ; zygo- 

 matic breadth 14'5 ; nasal length 9' 7 ; interorbital breadth 4 ; 

 palatal foramina 5*6 ; diastema 6*4 ; length of upper molar 

 series 5*2. 



An older specimen hasaheadand body length of 103 millim.; 

 tail 93 ; hind foot 24. 



IJab. Barrow Island, N.W. Australia. 



7\jpe, Young adult female. B.M. no. 2. 10. 10. 7. Col- 

 lected by Mr. Tunney, and presented by the Perth Museum, 

 Western Australia. Five specimens examined. 



I owe to the kindness of Mr. B. H. Woodward, Curator of 

 the Perth Museum, the opportunity of describing this Barrow 

 Island rat, which appears to be a pale insular form of Gould's 

 AIus nanus. 



Sminthopsis crassicaudata centralis, subsp, n. 



A pale desert form of S. crassicaudata. 



General colour pale " Isabella," finely grizzled with 

 brown, clearing on sides to " cream-bufF," sharply defined 

 from the snowy white of the underside, where, however, the 

 hairs are as usual all slaty based. Muzzle and sides of face 

 dull creamy white ; median frontal and nuchal area darker, 

 edged on each side, round the bases of the ears, with buffy ; 

 a white spot behind the posterior base of each ear. Hands 

 and feet pure white. Fine hairs of ears and tail white, the 

 greyish skin showing through. Tail apparently rather longer 

 than in typical crassicaudata. 



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



Head and body 79 millim. ; tail 03 ; hind foot (s. u.) 15-5 ; 

 ear 22. 



Skull : basal length 23 ; combined length of three anterior 

 molariform teeth 4*7. 



Hab. Killalpanima, Lake Eyre East, desert region of South 

 Australia. 



Type. Male. B.M. no. 2. 9. 8. 7. Collected 21st June, 

 1902, and presented by H. J. Hillier, Esq. 



Native name in Diari language " chooda-chooda." 



This is the central desert representative of S. crassicaudata^ 

 and siiows the usual desert pallor. Its tail^ as already 

 pointed out by Prof. Spencer *, is rather longer than in 

 ordinary coast specimens. 



* Horn Exp. ii. p. 31 (1896). 



