336 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVII. 



allows me to judge. The pattern is quite the same . The general black 

 body colour has rusted to a deep brown, except in the centre of the belly, 

 while the pure white hairs on the mantle of the type are altered in this 

 specimen to a creamy white. The claws are cream coloured. Dimensions of 

 the Baksai specimen : — Head and body,, 741mm ; tail, 191 ; hindfoot, 102. 

 Mdlivora from Aden have the mantle darker grey than M. wilsoni and the 

 grey of the mantle extending only a short way down the upper surface of 

 the tail, this is more characteristic of the African forms. 



The Baksia specimen was caught in open desert, while that from Ram 

 Hormuz was trapped at a hole in a bank among corn lands. 



I have named this species in honour of Lieut. -Col. Sir A. T. Wilson. 

 Owing to the absence of the skull it was found necessary to take Col. 

 Bailward's specimen as type of the species. 



22. LUTRA LTJTRA, L. 



The Common Otter. 



1. Amara. Christy, June 1918. Obtained from an Arab. 



Arabic •'* Keleb-al-mi " 



This proves to be the common otter, Lutra lutra, as predicted by Kin- 

 near. 



Buxton says : — The marsh Arabs spear them by moonlight with a trident. 

 So far otters have been most in evidence in the marshes in the lower 

 reaches, but there is little doubt that they are found throughout the length 

 of the larger rivers. 



Distribution : — Miller gives the range of L/utra lutra as N. Africa, east- 

 ward into Asia, and westward in Europe to Ireland and north to the Arctic 

 Coast. 



23. Jaculus lgfttjsi, Blanf. 



1875. Dipus loftusi, Blanford, A.M.N.H., XVI., p. 312. 

 Loftus Jerboa. Arabic Jerboor. 



1 cJ Busra, Cox-Cheesman, 12-10-18. 



„ „ 21-10-18 skeleton and skull in al. M. 19. 



1 „ „ 28-10-18 in al. M. 1. 



These are the size of a half grown rat. 



The kangaroo like legs and thick fur below the feet, ol three toes, are 

 the chief characteristics noticed here. Colour of back isabelline, darker 

 towards the tail and white below. The tail is isabelline with a tuft of dark 

 hair ending in a white tip. 



These two specimens were kindly given to me alive by Capt. Turner in 

 June 1917 and lived sometime in the collection at Bombay. He obtained 

 them from the line of the Busra-Nasariyeh Railway. During the heat of 

 the day these animals would frequently fight in their cags, make an angry 

 spitting noise like a rabbit when fighting and suddenly fall into a trance 

 like sleep, from which they required a considerable shaking to awaken. 

 They drank frequently, taking small sips in their forepaws. This is remark- 

 able as their earths are often placed where both dew and water would be 

 to all appearances unobtainable. 



They usually remove the sand in front of their burrows by pushing it in 

 front of them with their fore feet. For the excavation they adopt the 

 more usual method, i.e., backwards. -^ 



The Jerboas are considered eatable by Mahommedan law, the other small 

 rodents are ' haraam ' or forbidden. 



