African Bats and Rodents. 299 



croaiii-l)iifl'. Siilcs lighter. l^clly wliitc, with a slight 

 creamy tiii;;e, the hairs ahmg its s'uh'.n slaty at base, those on 

 the thiMat, chest, and niichlh; area of belly white to the roots. 

 Ears ahiiost nakeil, their substance greyish brown. Upper 

 yiu-f'ace of hands and feet i)ure white ; fifth hind toe witliout 

 claw reaching to the end of the basal phalanx of the fourth. 

 Tail very long, finely scaled (15-16 rings to the cm.), thinly 

 haired basally, the hairs lengthening on the terminal half of 

 the tail to form a distinct pencil, of which the individual 

 hairs are about 2^ nun. long; in colour the tail is sharply 

 b.color, brown above and white beneath for its whole length. 

 Skull, as compared with other African medium-sized 

 species, characterized by a rather flatter brain-case than 

 usual, the ])arietals being less markedly convex ; supra- 

 orbital edges TDunded anteriorly, square, not ridged, poste- 

 riorly. Palatal foramina widely open, their posterior end not 

 narrowed. Mastoid portion of bulla, as usual in this group, 

 well defined from the sides of the supraoccipital, with a fair- 

 sized vacuity at its up{)er end. 



Teeth as in the allied species, tlie antero-internal cusp 

 of ni^ large and well defined, the antero-external minute. 

 J/' with \\\c usual trieusj)id interior edge. 

 Dimensions in the flesli : — 



Head and body 108 mm. ; tail 161 ; hind foot 22 ; ear 18. 

 Skull : greatest length 2\)'D ; basilar length 23 ; zygomatic 

 breadth 14 ; interorbital breadth 4'2 ; height of brain-case 

 from basilar suture 7 6 ; palatilar length 12*6 ; diastema 7*6; 

 j)alatal foramina 6'2 x 2*2; length of upper molar series 4*5. 

 Iluk Upper Sheikh, British Somaliland. Alt. 4500'. 

 Tt/pe. Adult male. B.M. no. 6.3.4.8. Collected 2ord 

 Kovember, 1905. Presented by Dr. R. E. Drake-Brockman. 

 This mouse is readily distinguishable from all other 

 members of the gnius by its pale colour above, whiter belly, 

 and long feathered bicolor tail. 



Of other hairy tailed species which may have a relationship 

 to it, 31. Verreau.vi and M. albipes have grey bellies, besides 

 being darker above, while J/, auriconis, which has a white 

 belly, has its general body-colour fulvous. 



Dr. Drake-Brockman has contributed a considerable 

 number of interesting Somali animals to the National 

 Collection, and 1 have much pleasure in connecting his name 

 with this very pretty little species. 



