belonging to the Genus Crocidura. 363 



Colour of upper parts pale slaty grey washed with reddish 

 brown (" neutral grey '•* speckled with " cinnamon-drab "j ; 

 hairs o£ back with slaty bases, reddish-brown tips, and light 

 grey subterminal rings, the reddish tips becoming more 

 dominant iu the worn pelage, but never to such a marked 

 extent as in hirta. Flanks rather greyer^ the colour 

 merging gradually into the purer and lighter grey of the 

 under surface ; belly " neutral grey " wasiied with '■' snuff- 

 brown/' Backs of hands and feet dirt}' white or pale brown. 

 Tail dark brown above, dirty white below ; bristle-hairs 

 not very numerous or conspicuous, evenly distributed over 

 basal two-thirds. 



Skull much smaller than that of luna or electa, rather 

 shorter than in martensi, the junction of the lambdoidal and 

 sagittal sutures fairly far forwards as in the fumosa group, 

 brain-case broad and flat ; interorbital region broad poste- 

 riorly. Tooth-row a little sliorter than in martensi ; second 

 and third upper unicuspids about equal. 



Dimensions of the type (as given by Sundevall) : — 



Head and body 75 mm. ; tail 45 ; hind foot (c. u.) 13'5. 



Dimensions of a series from Deelfontein : — 



Head and body. Tail. Hind foot, 



mm, ■ mm. mm. 



S 85 52 1.3 



S 77 52 12-0 



S 78 48 12-5 



2 73 48 12-5 



y 95 51 12 5 



Skulls :— 



6. 6- 6- 6. $. ?. 

 mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. 



Condylo-incisive leng-th 22'3 22-2 21*4 21-5 21-4 21 



Greatest breadth 9-6 97 93 9-5 95 95 



Least interorbital breadth . . 4-6 47 47 4-5 4-2 4-4 



Length of palate 9-3 9-1 87 87 87 87 



Postpahital length 98 103 94 9-4 9-4 9-2 



Greatest maxillary breadth . . 6 8 6-8 66 6 5 6'4 6"3 



Median depth of brain-ca-e . . 4 8 5 47 4-8 4-8 46 



Length of upper tooth-row . . 9-4 93 9 1 9-1 91 89 



Hab. Roodeval, Karroo. 



The slaty-brown colouring and shorter skull distinguish 

 this shrew from martensi ; both electa and luna, which are 

 rather similar in colour to argentata, are both larger and 

 possess larger and heavier skulls. 



9.-.* 



