MAMMAL SURVEY OF INDIA. 1189 



$ 595, 632, 658, 660, 709 ; $ 581, 656, 657, 693 (in al.), 633 to 

 645, 663, 665, 666, 667. Hawsbhavi, S. Dharwar. 

 The Dharwar specimens are topotypes of Gray's booduga, which was 

 based on specimens sent by Elliot. 



[See also Reports Nos. 1, 2 and 4.) 

 Vernacular names. — Budiiga (Kanarese) ; Chlttagand, Chittayelka 

 (Waddars). 



[" Very plentiful everywhere, especially in cultivated country." — 

 G. C. S.] 



Epimys bufescens, Gray. 

 The co7n'mon Indian Rat. 



$ 20, 26, 114, 213 ; $ 113, 115, 121, 272. Dharwar. 



^ 112 ; 9 168, 169, 170. Devikop, Dharwar. 



$ 303, 306, 367 ; 9 300, 301, 304. Gadag, Dharwar. 



^ 460 ; 9 461. Hubli, Dharwar. 



^ 698. Hawsbhavi, S. Dharwar. 



$ 755, 763 ; 9 756, 757, 764. Samasgi, S. Dharwar. 



Variety with white underparts. 

 $ 16, 25, 120, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239 ; 9 24, 111, 283. 



Dharwar. 

 ^ 459. Hubli, Dharwar. 

 $ 576, 621, 622, 689, 691 ; 9 688, 690, 692, 723. Hawsbhavi, 



S. Dharwar. 



(^ 765 ; 9 761, 762. Samasgi, Dharwar. 



i^See also Reports Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4.) 



f 

 Vernacular names. — Hi (all rats, Kanarese) ; Undir (all rats, Marathi) ; 



Intyelka (Waddars) ; Choua (all rats, Dekhani). 



Hitherto all the specimens dealt with in these Reports have been uni- 

 formly characterised by dark underparts, whereas in this collection the 

 majority are white below. 



There has been at one time or another much discussion as to the 

 taxonomic value of the belly colour in this very variable species. 



Capt. Lloyd, I.M.S. (Records Ind. Mus. Vol. Ill, Part 1, page 92, 1909) 

 writes : " White-beHied rats form a pure race in Rangoon ; they are 

 common in Calcutta. Out of 69 villages in the Punjaub it was found 

 that only 3 contained them in small numbers." And again : ''It cannot be 

 doubted that the commonest type of Mus rattus in India is the dark-bel- 

 lied one, and that the white-bellied type occurs sporadically." In the 

 Malay Peninsula, Siam and the islands of the Malay Archipelago the 

 dark-bellied type forms only an insignificant portion of the whole. 



Two parallel forms occur in Egypt, and Mr, L. Bonhote has been car- 

 rying out breeding experiments with these. Some of his recent results 

 11 



