ALLEN: NEW AFRICAN RODENTS. 



441 



21.5; palatal length, 10; nasals, 9.7; zygomatic width, 14.8; inter- 

 orbital constriction, 4.3; width of palate outside premolars, 5.8; 

 upper check teeth (alveoli), 3.5; length of bulla, 8.8. 



Remarks. — Three specimens of this beautiful dormouse were taken 

 in the arid country along the Guaso Nyiro. One was trapped at the 

 foot of a large hollow tree by the stream, a second among some loose 

 stones at the margin of the river, and the third, an immature example, 

 was caught by the Swahili boys in a tree, by the water's edge, whose 

 dead limbs they were breaking for firewood. Since tree growth, 

 except for the scattered thorn trees, is largely confined to the imme- 

 diate banks of streams, it follows that this arboreal species is to be 

 found mainly along the waterways. 



The adult female referred to is slightly albinistic, with a white spot 

 medially between the ears. 



After a careful study of the published descriptions of African dor- 

 mice, I have been unable to refer these specimens to any species 

 hitherto known. It is perhaps best considered a subspecies of G. mi- 

 crotis, but is also apparently allied to G. raptor of which I obtained 

 specimens at timber line on Mt. Kenia. 



Graphiurus schwabi, sp. nov. 



Type.— Skin and skull, M. C. Z., 8607, from Kribi, Cameroon, 

 1911. Collected by Rev. George Schwab and presented by Dr. 

 Thomas Barbour. 



General Characters. — A small dark gray species, with the orbital 

 rings scarcely distinguishable from the general dark slaty color of the 

 head. Feet except the distal portion of the toes entirely dusky. 

 Tall white bordered, ears small. 



Color. — Pelage loose and full. Entire dorsal surface of the head, 

 neck, body, forearms, and fore and hind feet except the terminal one 

 or two phalanges of the toes a uniform "mouse gray" (Ridgway); 

 a slightly darker, blackish ring is faintly to be distinguished around 

 each eye, but there is no darker patch on the muzzle. The tail is 

 similar but slightly tinged with drab; many of the tail hairs on the 

 dorsal surface are provided with long white points that tend to form a 

 border at the sides and tip. The tail is slightly distichous, with the 

 ventral hairs more flattened than those of the dorsal side. The color 

 of the sides fades into the general smoky gray of the ventral surfaces, 

 which, including the upper lips, and sides of the face below the eye 

 and ear, are whitish. All the hairs of these parts are blackish slate 



