Mr. O. Thomas on a new Species o/Smintlius. 185 



Fur long and soft. General colour rufous grej, becoming 

 clearer rufous on sides ; no trace of a darker dorsal stripe. 

 Belly white from chin to anus, but the hairs slate-coloured 

 for their basal three fourths. Ears short, rounded, their 

 visible parts when folded (/. e. the posterior two thirds of 

 their inner and the anterior third of their outer surfaces) 

 thickly clothed with short chocolate-brown hairs. Arms and 

 legs whitish ; hands and feet silvery white on their upper 

 surfaces; palms and soles naked; hallux reaching to the base 

 of the second toe, fifth toe to the middle of the second joint of 

 the fourth. Tail elongated, conspicuously bicolor, brown 

 above, both hairs and scales, white below. 



Skull decidedly larger than that of S. suhtilis, narrower 

 and more elongated anteriorly, and with a longer and 

 more oval brain-case ; interparietal bone decidedly broader 

 than that of S. subtilis, its antero-posterior only about a third 

 of its transverse diameter. Anterior palatine foramina 

 shorter, extending backwards only to the level of the middle 

 of the premolar ; palate posteriorly ending close behind tiie 

 posterior molars, while in the allied species it is continued 

 backwards for a distance equal to the combined lengths of Pii 

 and Ell. 



Teeth apparently quite as in S. suhtilis, except that "^ is 

 longer, as long as broad, instead of being transversely oval ; 

 J^ is also correspondingly slightly longer in proportion to the 

 other teeth. 



Dimensions of the type (a male) : — 



Head and body (measured in the flesh by Major Leathern) 

 66 millim. ; tail (ditto) 112; hind foot (from skin) 19; ear 

 (from skin, approximate) 8"3. 



Skull : greatest length (occiput to nasal tip) 20*7 ; nasals, 

 length 7*7, greatest breadth 2*7 ; interorbital breadth 4*2 ; 

 greatest breadth across brain-case 9'6; interparietal, length 2"3, 

 breadth 7*0 ; palate, length 8*2 ; diastema 5*0 ; length of 

 palatine foramina 4*0; length of upper tooth-series 3*1. 



Hab. Krishnye Valley, Wardwan, Kashmir. Altitude 

 10,000 feet. Type obtained June 24, 1892. 



As may be seen from the above description, this new species 

 is widely removed from JS. subtilis and approaches in many 

 characters the Chinese 8. concolor. From this it is distin- 

 guished externally by its conspicuously bicolor tail, by its 

 brighter coloration, and shorter ears. In the skull it agrees 

 closely with the same animal as regards the general measure- 

 ments and in the " starker verschm alert und schlanker aus- 

 gezogenvordere Partie" (both being compared with /S'.sM^^tYis); 

 but it is impossible to believe that so careful an observer as 



Ann. & Mag. N. Hisf. Ser. 6. Vol xi. 13 



