SINO MONGOLIAN FRONTIER 



asiaticus intercessor and E. a. ordinalis. Of these 

 the latter is a pale desert form found on the borders 

 of the Ordos, the former being intermediate in 

 colour between E. a. ordinalis and E. a. senescens 

 from Chihli. The chipmunks are beautiful little 

 creatures, making lively and entertaining pets. 

 They are to be found all over the hilly and moun- 

 tainous districts of North China, in some places 

 being extremely abundant. 



The sulphur-bellied rat (Epimys confucianus 

 luticolor), secured near Yen-an Fu in Shensi, 

 turned out to be a new subspecies. These rats 

 are inhabitants of the rocky valley sides and ravines 

 in the loess country. They are characterized 

 by the pale sulphur yellow colour of their belly 

 fur, their long white-tipped hairy tails and large 

 ears. The chief subspecific characteristics of the 

 Shensi form are its pale colour and delicate build, 

 differing from true confucianus in the first respect 

 and from the Shantung from E. c. sacer in the 

 second. 



The next new subspecies is the giant hamster 

 (Cricetulus triton incanus), which differs from the 

 Chihli and Shantung species in being of a paler 

 colour and of a less heavy build. This rodent 

 is very common in certain districts. It lives in 

 burrows, which go down into the earth in a straight, 

 perpendicular, smooth, round shaft. Like all ham- 

 sters, this animal has a predilection for storing 

 grain, w^hich it steals from the farmers' fields. 



177 N 



