462 Mr. Hi L. Jameson on 



frequenting the native " Lands " * and the scrub country of 

 the busli-veld, 



The following table shows at a glance tlie distinctive 

 characters of the five races of AJus namaquensis which are 

 represented in the British Museum : — 



A. Ventral hairs white to the base, or with 



but shglit traces of grey. 

 {a) Bright golden brown above, belly pitre 



white. (Mashoualand and Matabele- [^comus de Wifit. 



land.) , M. namatiueiisis auri- 



{b) Colour browner, with less gold. Some 



examples have a trace of g:rey at bases [G. Sm. 



of ventral hairs. (Kuruman.) M. yiamaquensis lehocla 



B. Ventral hairs with grey bases. 



(a) Bases of ventral hairs pale grey, ground- 

 colour above golden-yellow. (Nama- 



qUaland.) M. namaquensis Sm. 



{b) Bases of yentral hairs dark slate- 

 colour, 

 (i.) Colour golden brown. (South [ciilaris, subsp. n. 



Transvaal.) M. namaquensis monti- 



(ii.) Colour browner, with less gold. [Schw. 



(DeeLfontein, Cape Colony.) M. namaquensis centralis 



[^Mus granti Wroughton (Ann. & Mag* Nat. Hist. (8) i. 

 19U8, p. 257) appears to me to be a variety (or perhaps the 

 young) of Mus namaquensis centralis, from the type-localitj 

 of which species it is described.] 



Apart from the size and skulUcharacters, rats belonging to 

 this group may readily be distinguished at a glance from the 

 southern members ot the Mus chrysophilus group by their 

 mucli more hairy tails* 



(24) Mus coucha A. Smith. 



Wonderfontein Caves, Potchefstroom District, Transvaal, 



$ (unnumbered). 

 Kopjes near Johannesburg. 



<J. 201,391; ? (unnumbered). 



(25) Mus microdon zuluensis Thos. & Schw, 



Malvern, Natal. 

 ? . 4ia, 414. 

 Tzaneen. 

 Series. 



* I. e. cultivated ground, as dietinguished from " Veld ' or unculti- 

 vated ground. 



