On the " Grouml- lloos " or " Cane- Rats " of Africa. 389 



' rjecords of tlie Indian ]\Iiisenm ' ; and tlie oval (instead of 

 ciicnlar) shape of the papilUe in G . eleijans, to wliiclj Piul. Uao 

 attaches inipoitancf, is due merely to the great contraction of 

 the specimen. 



G. rams and 6^. «a^/-o?ifn5i5 are obviously immature ; tliey 

 lack clitellum and papilla, and have only the faintest tiaceof 

 the prominent "wings" characteristic of mature specimens 

 of the genus. In G. rams I found only doubtful indications 

 of testes and funnels, no spermatlieca", the ovary small on one 

 side and absent on the other, the ovisac absent on the one side, 

 small on the other, and no female funnels. In G. saffron- 

 ensis I could recognize no testes or funnels, no spermatliecro, 

 no ovisacs or female funnels, though the ovaries were of 

 some size. How Prof. Eao can state, as he does, that "all 

 the numerous specimens in the collection are fully mature 

 and the sexual glands well develojied'^ ((?. rams), and that 

 " all the numerous examples in the collection" are ''sexually 

 mature" {G. saffronensis), I am unable to conceive. From 

 the extent of the just-beginning " wings," which corresponds 

 with that of the other worms, I have no doubt that these 

 specimens also are G. annandalei. 



A very moderate degree of care, and an elementary know- 

 ledge of the group with which he is dealing, would luive 

 saved Prof. Kao from most of his mistakes. It is to bo 

 regretted that he has published, in this and his previous 

 papers, such erroneous descriptions of material which he 

 destined for the National Collection. 



XLVIII. — On the Animals known as " Ground- Hoys'' or 

 '•'■Cane-liats" in Africa. By Oi.DFiELD TnOMAS. 



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



The Ground- Hogs or Cane-liats of Africa present a very 

 considerable unitormity throughout the continent, the conjmou 

 liirge species, Thryononiys suinJerianus, extenduig from the 

 Gambia to the Cape with remarkably little local variation. 

 There would, however, seem to be sufficient ditferonees 

 between the extremes to justify the recognition of several 

 subspecies. 



But from these large animals the smaller forms, of which 

 my T. yrejorianus was the hrst to be described, ditfer from 



