178 Messrs. 0. Thomas and M. A. C. Tlinton on the 



XVII. — T/te ^fam^vals of (he 1921 Mount Everest Expedition. 

 By Oldfield Thomas, F.U.tS., and Martin A. C. 



HiNTON. 



(Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) 



The 1921 Expedition lo Mount Everest, under tlie auspices 

 of the Royal Geographical Society and tlie Alpine Chib, was 

 intended to make a reconnaissance of the mountain, and try 

 to liiid a route by which, another year, an attempt might be 

 made to ascend the summit. ]\Ir. A. F. it. Wollaston was 

 appointed naturalist to the Expedition, but, as his duties 

 incUided both the medical care of the climbers and the collec- 

 tion of all classes of zoological and botanical objects, he was 

 naturally not able to devote any very large portion of his 

 time to mammals. Those that he was able to get, however, 

 liave been of very great interest to us, and are the first series 

 of mammals that have ever been received by the Museum 

 from any such heights as 1G,000'-1 7,000'. 



In all they number fifty-two specimens, belonging to ten 

 species, of which we have described two species and one 

 subspecies as new. In addition, six other species were seen 

 at liigh altitudes by Mr. Wollaston, but it was not possible to 

 obtain specimens. Mr. Wollaston's notes upon these forms 

 are incorporated below. 



Of the novelties, the most striking is the new Pika, which 

 we liave named after Mr. Wollaston, and which he found up 

 to so great a height as 20,000'. It is distinguished by not 

 acquiring a fulvous mantle in the late summer, as is done by 

 its nearest ally Ochotona I'oi/lti, the best-known Pdca of the 

 Himalayas. 



"When further expeditions go for the conquest of Mount 

 Everest, we would urge whoever is interested in natural 

 liistory to pay especial regard to the following points con- 

 nected with the mammals of that mighty mountain, so as to 

 supplement 3Ir. Wollaston's observatiotis. 



J^ilas. — How soon are any Pikas met with on the ascent, 

 and what is the highest point to which they attain? 

 Specimens of Pikas from all altitudes should be secured, with 

 the view of finding out if intermediate forms between roylei 

 and wollastoni occur at intermediate elevations. And sets 

 should be obtained at dates as widely separated as j)0ssible, 

 so as to show the very jieculiar seasonal changes of pelage 

 to which these animals are liable, and on which their syste- 

 matic dasrificatiou largely depends. 



