some neio Forms o/()cliotona. I'Jl 



Ochotona si'kimaria, sp. ii. 



A small Pika closi-ly allied to 0. ihibetaiia *, but with 

 smaller bullae. 



Size small, much smaller than in the other Himalayan 

 species, 0. roylei, of which 0. hodtisoni is a synonym. 

 General colour in winter a quite uniform lined brown more or 

 less similar to that of a large water-vole or a Sigmodon, the 

 general tone ranging from " Prout's brown " to '' ciiniamon- 

 brown.^' In summer there is a slight indication of lighter 

 shoulder- or neck-patches, but the material is not sufficient 

 to indicate this satisfactorily. Under surface mixed brownish 

 and grey, very much as in thibetana. Ears with proectote 

 and outer half of metentote black ; metectote with light- 

 coloured flulFy hairs ; inner half of metentote whitish ; ex- 

 treme edge of ear contrasted wiiite. Hands and feet brownish ; 

 sole-tufts blackish brown. 



Skull closely like that of tliibetana, and consequently far 

 smaller than in roylei. The interorbital constriction is of 

 about the same breadth, but the brain-case averages a little 

 narrower. The chief difference, however, is in the bullse, 

 which are uniformly much smaller than in thibetana, being 

 barely over 8 mm. in antero-posterior length, as compared 

 with 9 or upwards in tliibetaria, and they are also less inflated. 



Dimensions of tiie type (measured in flesh) : — 



Heatl and body 165 mm. ; hind foot 28 ; ear 19. 



Skull: u})per length 36'2 ; condylo-basal lengtli S-l'S ; 

 zygoniatic breadth 16*G ; nasals 11 x 1*6 ; interorbital 

 breadth 4*1 ; breadth at back of frontals 11*5 ; breadth of 

 brain-case 13'7 ; palatal foramina 9; p;datal bridge 1'8 ; 

 antero-j)osterior length of bulla 8*-4 ; uj)per molar series 

 (alveoli) 7-4. 



JJab. Sikkim. Type from Lachen, 8,800' ; other speci- 

 mens from Ciiola Range, 12,000' {Blat,ford) , Jongri (Blan- 

 ford), and Gnatong, 12,300' {Crump). One specimen from 

 B. H. Hodgson's collection, no doubt obtained when he was 

 jit Darjiling. 



Type. Adult mtde. B.M. no. 15. 9. 1. 231. Original num- 

 brr G131. Collected 31st December, 1914, by C. A. Crump. 

 Presented by the Bombay Natural History Society. 



'1 his is evidently the common Pika of Sikkim, and has 

 been obtained there ever since Hodgson's time. But for one 



* Although spelt tihetanam the ' Eecherches,' this name was published 

 as abuve in the ori^rinal description in the ' Xouvelles Archives.' The 

 same invalid chaniio was made in the case of Macncus (/tiln-lanits. 



