NESociA. 4'23 



Dimensions. Head and body 5-5 inches to 8'5, tail 3'5 to 5, ear 

 outside 0-5, hind foot 1'25 to 1*5. The above dimensions in an 

 average-sized male were 6-6, 4*4, 0-5, and VS. Basal length ot* 

 skull 1'65, zygomatic breadth 1"15. 



Distribution. North-western India (North-West Provinces, 

 Eajputcina, Sind, and the Punjab), Afghanistan and Baluchistan, 

 up to 4000 or 5000 feet elevation. A specimen has been obtained 

 as far east as Purneah, Bengal. 



Varieties. N. h uttoni is distinguished by softer fur, often bright 

 rufous or yellowish brown in colour. The hind feet are longer, 1'4 

 to 1-5 inches without claws. This form is found at higher eleva- 

 tions in Baluchistan and Afghanistan. 



Typical X hardwicl-cihViS. harsher fur and is duller and browner 

 in colour, the hind foot measuring 1-2 to 1-3. This is found in 

 N.W. India. The two pass into eacli other. 



Habits. The short-tailed mole-rat is found both in cultivated and 

 in waste ground. I have often seen their holes about irrigated 

 wheat-fields, but usually drier situations are preferred. The 

 burrows run irregularly, ramifying frequently, at a depth of 6 

 inches to 2 feet below the surface. In one series of burrows that I 

 explored I found a nest lined with grass at a depth of Ig to 2 feet, and 

 I captured 4 Nesol-ice, 2 males and 2 females. The entrances to the 

 burrows are covered by small heaps of earth, like mole-hills, 

 thrown out by the rats. This animal feeds on grass, roots, and 

 grain. 



N. sculJifi from near Tarkand, and iV. braclujura from Lob-nor, 

 are Central Asiatic forms allied to N. liardwickei. 



295. Nesocia bengalensis. The Indian Mole-Rat. 



Arvicola bengalensis, Gray ^- Hardio. III. Ind. Zool. ii, pi. 21 



(1833-34). 

 Mus kok, Gray, Ckarleswortli s Mag. N. H. i, p. 585 (1837). 

 Mus (Neotoma) providens, Elliot, Mad. Jour. L. S. x, p. 209 (1839). 

 Nesokia hardwickii, Kdaart, Prod. p. 65, nee Gray. 

 Nesokia kok, Kelaart, ibid. p. 66. 



Mus daccaensis, Tytler, A. 31. N. H. (2) xiv, p. 173 (1854). 

 Mus tarayensis, plurimammis, and morungensis, Hodyson, Horsfield, 



A. M. N. H. (2) xvi, p. 112 (1856). 

 Nesokia indica, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xxxii, p. 328 ; Jerdon, Mam. p. 187 ; 



Theobald, P. A. S. B. 1866, p. 239 ; Bhjth, Mam. Birds Burma, 



p. 38. 

 Mus (Nesokia) iudicus, Blyth, Cat. p. 112, partim. 

 Mus (Nesokia) blythianus, barclayauus, and providens, Anderson, 



J. A. S. B. xlvii, pt. 2, pp. 225-231, pi. xiii. 

 Nesokia barclayana, Blanford, Yark. Miss., Mam. p. 46, pi. xa, 



fig. 1 (skull). 

 Mus (Nesokia) bengalensis, Thomas, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 526 ; Anderson, 



Fauna Meryui Archip. i, p. 341. 



Yenkrai, Beng. ; Jio^, Can. ; Golatta koku, Tek of Yanadis; ? i2e= 

 kytoek, Burmese. 



Fur coarse, sometimes with long black-tipped piles throughout 



