494 Mr. 0. Thomas on Two new 



LXXI. — Two neiv Dormice of the Genus Ellomys. 

 Bj Oldfield Thomas. 



In working out a Saliaran Lerot recently received by the 

 'J'ring Museum I find the two following new forms in the 

 British Museum collection to need description : — 



Eliomys gymnesicus, sp. n. 



A small short-eared form, coloured like the European 

 E. quercinus. 



Size rather less than in the true E. ^'izercun^s*, consequently 

 very much less than in the large E. Amori of Spain, which, 

 on the analogy of other members of tlie fauna, should have 

 been the closest ally of the Balearic Lerot. General colour 

 closely similar to that of ordinary German examples of quer- 

 ci'nus, the bright rufous of the back similarly becoming 

 greyish on the sides, the grey getting slightly darker where 

 it edges the light colour of the belly. Cheeks, shoulder- 

 patch, arms, inner sides of legs, and whole of under surface 

 dull creamy. Facial markings arranged as in quercinus, but 

 less extended, the orbital ring narrower and the black at the 

 roots of the whiskers cut off from the rest by a narrow light- 

 coloured space. Ears decidedly shorter tlian in quercinus. 

 Tail miusually slender, its coloration as in quercinus, but the 

 subterminal black is very narrow and surpassed on each side 

 by the fringing edge of the wiiite, which is conspicuously 

 developed. 



Skull short and broad, the zygomata boldly expanded. 

 Brain-case narrower than in quercinus. Palatal foramina 

 widely open. Bullai short, highly inflated, more spherical 

 than in quercinus. Teeth markedly larger, and especially 

 broader, than in quercinus. In these respects the skull is 

 more like that of E. sardus. 



Dimensions of the type (measured in the flesh by myself) : — ■ 



Head and body 131 millim. (110-131)*; tail 107 (100- 

 107) ; hind foot (s. u.) 26 (25-5-27) ; ear 21 (20-22). 



Skull : greatest length 33*5 ; basilar length 26*1 ; zygo- 

 matic breadth 19-6 ; nasals, length 11*8 ; interorbital breadth 

 4'1 ; palate length 12*1; diastema 7"2 ; palatal foramina 

 4*7 X 2-4 ; lengtli of upper tooth-row 5'6 ; breadth of m" 1-9. 



Bah. San Cristobal, Minorca, Balearic Islands. Alt. 

 100 m. 



* Measurements in brackets show the extremes in a series of five. 



