222 SOME CHINESE VERTEBRATES. 



14; interorbital constriction, 4.4; mastoid breadth, 12; greatest width outside 

 last upper molar, 6; length of mandible from condyle to tip of incisor, 19; upper 

 molar row, 5.3; lower molar row, 5. 



An adult female has eight mammae, four pectoral, four inguinal. 



Since the above was written, Mr. Thomas has described as Apodemus 

 speciosus latronum a field mouse from Tatsienlu which seems to be the same as 

 that here referred to A. major. 



APODEMUS CHEVRIERI (Milne Edwards). 



Originally described from the 'principality of Moupin,' this mouse has 

 remained rare in collections, if not practically unknown. At Washan, in western 

 Szechwan, Mr. Zappey obtained a series of thirteen specimens, at altitudes of 

 between 6,000 and 8,000 feet; and at Hsienshanhsien, Hupeh, a single male at 

 4500 feet, which though a trifle grayer than the Washan series is probably 

 identical. Barrett-Hamilton (1905) has considered this form as probably a 

 race of Apodemus sylvaticus, but it undoubtedly is a distinct species. Moreover, 

 it occurs in the same districts with A. s. draco. More recently Thomas (1911, 

 p. 172) made it a race of A. speciosus, but in a later paper (1912) received as this 

 goes to press, recognizes its specific rank. Milne Edwards's figure of ' M us chev- 

 rieri ' is very nearly matched by an adult female in our series, the brightest of 

 the specimens obtained. In general appearance, the majority are rather paler 

 ochraceous buff, everywhere on the back and sides lined with coarse black hairs 

 which are so evenly distributed over the entire upper surfaces of the head and 

 body as to produce an unusually uniform and equal admixture, scarcely darker 

 even in the mid-dorsal region. The lower surfaces of the body are gray, slightly 

 darkened by the dull slaty bases of the hairs showing through. The tail is 

 bicolor, without sharp line of demarcation, and the feet are whitish. The long 

 hair of the back tends to be hispid, which gives a much coarser appearance to 

 the pelage as compared with the full soft fur of A. s. draco for example. In one 

 old female, No. 7657, the hair is practically spiny. As shown in Milne Edwards's 

 figure (Recherches, pi. 40, fig. 2) the ear is short, its base partly concealed in the 

 fur, markedly smaller than in the specimens of the sylvaticus group available for 

 comparison (13 mm. in dried specimens). This fact as well as the shortness of 

 the hind foot are remarked by Milne Edwards. Barrett-Hamilton states that 

 Mr. Oldfield Thomas has examined the typical series in the museum at Paris, 

 and has noted the spiny character of the pelage in certain of the specimens. 



