511 



NOTES ON THE GENUS TATERA WITH DESCRIPTIONS 

 OF NEW SPECIES. 



BY 



R. C. Wroughton. 



[Extract from a paper in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Vol. XVII 

 No, \0l,pp. 474-499, with Notes on, and Descriptions of, the African and 

 Asian species of the genus.] 

 Section III. — Asia. 

 Tail dark above and below, with pale bands along the sides ; tufted. 



A. Size large (175 mm.) 



a. Mottled with black ; hind foot 42 mm., 



upper molar series 7. (Syria.) (28) tceniura, Wagn. 



b. Uniform colour ; hind foot 41 mm., upper 



molar series 6'3. (E. Persia.) (29) per sica, sp. n. 



c. Mottled black ; hind foot 39 mm., upper 



molars 6. (C.Persia.).... (30) p. scansa, subsp. n. 



d. Uniform colour ; hind foot 38 mm., 



upper molars 5*5. (U. P. India.)... (31) indica, Hardw. 



B. Size smaller. 



a. Tail (200 mm.) and hiud foot (45 mm.), 



very long. (S.India.) ,. (32) cuvieri, Waterh. 



b. Tail normal. 



a 2 . Hind foot 41 mm., skull breadth 23, 



molars 6'5. (S. W. Persia.) (33) Bailwardi, sp. n. 



b 2 . Hind foot 39 mm., skull breadth 25, 



molars 6'5. (S.W.Persia). (34) B. monticola, subsp. n. 



e 2 . Hind foot 41 mm., skull breadth 22, 



molars 6. (Ceylon) (35) ceylonica, sp. n. 



Section III. — Asia. 

 The colour-pattern of the tail makes this a very compact group. Unfor- 

 tunately it is very badly represented in the collection. A small collection made 

 by Mr. Woosnam quite recently, and presented to the museum by Col. Bail- 

 ward, has enabled me to recognize somewhat confidently the taniura of Wagner 

 and thus to discriminate other Persian forms ; but although we have the type 

 of indica, the material from India is so very poor both in quantity and quality 

 that, beyond identifying Waterhouse's cuvieri, a strongly marked species, I 

 have not ventured to base any conclusions on the specimens available for 



study. 



(28) Tatera tceniura. 



Meriones tceniurus, Wagner, Schreb. Saug., Supple. III., p. 471 (1842). 



5. 10. 4. 28-29. Bund-i-Khel, Karun River, S. W. Persia (Col. Baihoard). 

 Alt. 250'. 



Wagner described Meriones toeniurus from Syria. We have no specimens 

 unfortunately from this locality, but experience in other genera seems to show 



