444 Occurrence of the Edible Dormouse in Sardinia. 



in length ; wool-liaivs about 28 mm. Under surface rich 

 buff instead of cream-buff. Feet cream-buff. Tail bicolor, 

 not sharply defined, the light hairs of the crest yellowish, 

 instead of the usual greyish white. 



Hind foot (fresh) 100 mm. ; length of skull 82. 



Hah. Pampa Aulliaga, Bolivia (G7° W., 19° 30' S.). Alt. 

 3800 ra. 



Ti/pe. Adult male. B.M. no. 2. 2. 2. 89 bis. Collected 

 22nd October, 1901, by P, O. Simons. Two specimens. 



Viscaccia tucumana, sp. n. 



Colour clear grey, with scarcely a trace of drab ; dorsal 

 stripe short, fairly distinct, rather over 100 mm. in length. 

 Hairs of back about 24 mm. in length. Under surface 

 buff and cream-buff; the axillary white spots distinct. Feet 

 creamy. Tail not markedly bicolor ; the crest intermixed 

 black and greyish white, the underside black proximally, 

 greyer distally. 



Hind foot (on skin) 91 mm. ; length of skull 85. 



Uab. Cumbre de Mala-Mala, Sierra de Tucuman. Alt. 

 3000 m. 



Type. Adult female. B.M. no. 5.10.29.6. Collected 

 10th April, 1904, by L. Dinelli. Six specimens. 



LIT. — On the Occurrence of the Edible Dormouse (Genus 

 Glis) in Sardinia. By Oldfield Thomas. 



Up to the present time no trustworthy record has existed of 

 the occurrence of the edible dormouse either in Sardinia or 

 Corsica, such references to " Ghiri " as have been published 

 possibly, indeed probably, referring to Eliomys. 



From the palseontological list Glis is also absent*; but 

 Dr. Forsyth Major has been good enough to inform me that 

 he knows of an undoubted Glis from tiie Pleistocene of 

 Corsica, a fact which has an important bearing on the question 

 as to the really indigenous position of the animal I am about 

 to describe. 



The British Museum owes to Sr. Giuseppe Meloni, of 

 Lanusei, Eastern Sardinia, a number of examples of a 

 dormouse discovered by him in the neighbourhood of that 

 place, and a careful comparison with a series of Glis italicus 

 from various parts of Italy convinces me that the Sardinian 

 form is distinct enough to require a name. I therefore 

 propose to term it 



* With the exception of a reference by Studiati in La Marmora's 

 * Geology of Sardinia,' and this may, again, be very possibly an Eliomys. 



