436 murid.t:. 



5500 feet around Quetta, where, however, it has not since been 

 found. Specimens were brought by Dr. Aitchison from Northern 

 Afghanistan. 



Habits. This mole-like rodent was said by Hutton to make 

 long horizontal galleries, marked by earth-heaps thrown out at 

 intervals. 



Genus CRICETUS, Cuv. (1800). 



Internal cheek-pouches present. Form stout, head blunt ; tail 

 short, not scaly, sparsely haired. Incisors not 



t grooved. Molars in both jaws with the tubercles 

 arranged longitudinally in pairs, 3 pairs in the 

 anterior molar, 2 in the second and third. The 

 , tubercles are worn down in old animals. Verte- 

 bra' : C. 7, D. 13, L. 6, S. 3, C. 17. 



The hamsters are Palaearctic, but Thomas and 

 a b others have shown (P. Z. S. 1888, p. 133) that 



Fig. 141.— Crowns ^iie American genus Hesperomys must be united, 

 of (a) upper The grey Central Asiatic forms, distinguished 

 and {b) lower by A. Milue-Edwards as Cricetulus, have three 

 molars of C. representatives in Gilgit, but have hitherto not 

 p mis, X . \)QQT[^ found elsewhere within our limits. 



Synopsis of Indian Species. 



A. Head and body 3"-5 to. 4" long C. phmts, p. 4.36. 



B. Head and body about 4"-5 long C.fulvns, p. 437. 



C. Head and body about 5''-3 long C. isahellinus, p. 437. 



309. Cricetus phSBUS. The Utile grey Hamster. 



Mus phjeus, Pallas, Glires, pp. 86, 261, pi. xva (1784). 

 Cricetus (Cricetulus) phteus, Blanford, Yark. Miss., Mam. p. A 

 J. A. S. B. xlviii, pt. 2, p. 96 ; SmUy, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 205. 



Tail cylindrical, about one fourth the head and body in length. 

 Peet short. Planta hairy, with tubercles, all on the distal half. 

 Ears rounded, thinly clad. Fur soft. 



Colour ashy grey above, sometimes with a fulvous tinge, the 

 back with a blackish wash. Lo\\'er parts M'hite. Basal two-thirds 

 of dorsal fur leaden black, tips of some hairs blackish. 



Dimensions. Head and body 3*7 inches, tail 1, ear 0-7"). hind foot 

 0-6 ; basal length of skull 0-95, zygomatic breadth 0-5. 



Distrilmtion. Widely spread in Central Asia ; common in Persia, 

 Turkestan, &c. Found in ({ilgit by Biddulph and Scully from 

 5000 to 9000 feet elevation. 



Ilahits. This hamster fre([uents cultivated lands and pastures 

 and is frequently found in houses. 



