On Two African Freslncater Spongeif. 523 



mostly naked, the hairs on their bases behind rufous, passing 

 into a darker postauricular spot, which may be more or less 

 mixed with bhickish rufous. Haiids white, forearms and 

 edges of tlie patagial cartihige mixed rufous and white, as are 

 also the edges of the parachute, the proportions of the rufous 

 and white liairs varying in the two specimens. Hind feet 

 dark rufous proximaliy, more or less grizzled with white 

 terminally. Tail mixed black and rufous, the tip with a 

 black or black-and-white tuft. 



Hkull, as compared with that of P. grandiH. readily distin- 

 guishable by its much longer and narrower nasals, which are 

 far less expanded anteriorly ; the nasal opening is conse- 

 quently much narrower, while of about the same height. 



Dimensions of the type (measured in skin) : — 



Head and body 350 mm.*j tail 440 ; hind foot (wet) 76 ; 

 ear (wet) 40. 



Skull : upper length to hinder edge of parietal 68 ; greatest 

 breadth 47"5; nasals 23*5 x 12*5 ; interorbital breadth 17'2 ; 

 palatilar length 32 ; length of upper tooth-row exclusive of 

 y 16. 



IJah. Tapposha, Central Formosa. 



Type. Adult female. Collected 18th February, 1907, by 

 native hunters for Mr. Alan Owston. Original number 60, 

 Two specimens. 



This striking flying-squirrel is one of the most beautiful 

 species ever described, owing to the wonderful contrast 

 between the rich red body and the pure white head and 

 underparts. The two specimens are practically the same 

 throughout, and the skuU-difterence from P. grandts, also a 

 native of Formosa, shows that P. lena is not a mere colour- 

 ])hase of that animal. 



LXXVIII. — JSotes on Two Species of African Freshicater 

 Sponges. By R. KuiKPATUiCK. 

 Mr. J. Stuart Thomson has sent to the Natural History 

 Museum several small sjiecimens of freshwater sponges which 

 lie collected from a pond at Valkenberg Vlci, near Cape 

 'Jown. The specimens, which are in the form of crusts on 

 the stems of rushes, belong, in my opinion, to a new variety 

 of Ephydatia j/vviati/is, Lmn. This almost cosmopi^litau 

 .'■pecies has been found in Europe, Asia, and America, but, I 

 believe, is now recorded for the first time from Africa. 



A specimen of a second species, viz. of Spongi/la cere/iellata, 

 Bowerbank, from a ) oiid near Cairo, has been presented to 

 the J\luseum by Dr. limes 13ey, through Mr. C. Boulenger. 

 * I'lobaljly sluuiik ; tlio other s-peciiufii is 430 mm. iu length. 



