250 Mr. O. Thomas on the large Flying-Squirrels 



XXXVIII. — On the large Flying- Squirrels referred to 

 Petaurista nitida, Desm. By Oldfield Thomas. 



The members of the Petaurista nitida group of Flying- 

 Squirrels have not hitherto been very exactly determined, 

 partly owing to want of Javan material, representing true 

 nitida, and partly to doubt as to the application of Gray's 

 name melanotus. 



Now, however, thanks to the generosity of Mr. W. E. 

 Balston, the ^Museum has received two good examples of the 

 true Javan nitida, while an examination of Gray's type of 

 " Pteromys melanotus " shows clearly enough to which form 

 that name belongs. 



Comparison of the whole series in the Museum shows that 

 each of the four great Malayan land-areas — the Peninsula, 

 Sumatra, Borneo, and Java — has its own local form. All 

 agree with each other in size and in the general characteristics 

 of rich rufous colour with brown or black nose-tip and chin, 

 hands, feet, tail-tip, and a variable amount of black round 

 the eyes and behind the ears. 



The diagnostic characters of the different forms are as 

 follows : — 



Petaurista nitida melanotus, Gray. 



Pteromys melanotis, Gray, P. Z. S. 1836, p, 83 {nom. tmd.). 



Pterotnys inelanotus, Gray, Charlesw. Mag. Nat. Hist. i. p. 684 (1837). 



General colour bright bay, the head markedly lighter than 

 the body. Ears comparatively long and narrow, coloured 

 like the head, except that the hinder part of their outer 

 surface has generally a certain number of long black hairs 

 upon it. Dark eye-rings inconspicuous. Hands and feet not 

 ■wholly dark, the rufous trespassing more or less upon the 

 metapodials. 



Hah. Malay Peninsula and neighbouring islands. Ex- 

 amples in Museum from Perak, Selangore, Malacca, Johore, 

 Singapore, and Pulo Tioman. 



Type. Young. B.M. no. 116 a. 



It is rather unfortunate that the name melanotus falls on 

 tiie form which is markedly less black-eared than either the 

 Sumatran or Bornean animal, but the light head of the type 

 and its " bright red-bay colour '' (in 1837 — now somewhat 

 dulled by time) indicate that it can only be referred to the 

 present subspecies. 



