TUPAIA. 201) 



Synopsis of Indian and Burmese Species. 



A. Colour above speckled througliout ; a more or 



less distinct shoulder-stripe. 



a. Throat aud breast nearly white ; dorsal fur 



uniformly coarse T. ellioti, p. 209. 



b. Throat aud breast buff ; coarser glossy hairs 



intermixed in dorsal fur . . T. femujinea, p. 210. 



B, Colour of lower back uniformly blackish ; no 



shoulder-stripe T. nicoharica, p. 213. 



101. Tupaia ellioti. The Madras Tree- Shrew. 



Tupaia ellioti, Waferhome, P. Z. S. 1819, p. 107 ; Bh/th, Cat. p. 82 ; 

 Jer(7on, Mam. p. 64 ; Ball, P. A. S. B. 1874, p. 95, 1877, p. 168 ; 

 G'dnther, P. Z. S. 187G, p. 426 ; Anderson, An. Zool. Bes. p. 124 ; 

 id. Cat. p. 153. 



Mdnghil anathan (bamboo-sr[uirrel), Tarn. 



Hair liarsh, of uniform length and thickness, without coarser or 

 longer piles. 



A small and oval perforation in the malar bone. A well- 

 developed inner lobe to the second upper premolar, forming half 

 the breadth of the tooth. ■ Inner lobe of third upper premolar 

 nearly as wide (from front to back of tooth) as outer lobe. Inner 

 lobe of first and second upper molars as wide as the outer lobe, 

 and with a small cusp at both of the inner angles of each tooth. 



Colour. Above yellowish-brown speckled, the middle of the back, 

 the rump, and sometimes the upper surface of the tail, tinged to a 

 variable extent with rusty red. Tail generally the same colour as 

 the back. Lower surface of body nearly white, and a distinct pale 

 stripe from the throat below the ear passing obliquely up in front 

 of the shoulder. Hairs on the upper surface blackish at the base, 

 then pale rufous or dirty white, with a black ring near the end, 

 and the tip black. Hairs of tail with about three pale and three 

 black rings, the basal ring being pale. 



Dimensions. Head and body 7 to 8 inches, tail without the hair 

 about half an inch less, with hair 8 to 9 inches, hind foot without 

 claws 1*7 ; extreme length of skull 1*7, basal length 1"55, zygo- 

 matic breadth 'So. 



Distribution. Throughout a large part of the Indian Peninsula 

 south of the Indo-Grangetic plain, in forest. This species has been 

 recorded from the Karakpur hills, near Monghyr, the Satpura 

 hills south of the Nerbudda, Matheran near Bombay, Maunbhiin'i, 

 8ambulpur, A^izagapatam, the Godavary, and the hills between 

 Cuddapah and Nellore (the original locality). I have just received 

 a specimen obtained by Mr. AV". M. Daly on the Shevroy hills, but 

 I have not heard of any tree-shrew being found in the forests, 

 either of hills or plains, near the Malabar coast in the Madras 

 presidency, nor in Ceylon. 



Habits. This Tupaia, like other species, is found in trees in 

 forests, and closely resembles squin-els in its movements. Its food 

 consists of insects aud, probably, of fruits. It is easily tamed. 



p 



