SCIJENTIIIC RESULTS FROM THE MAMMAL SURVEY. COl 



about the same, Stemdale alone adds Assam. From the measure- 

 ments given Blanford's species seems to be undoubtedly leucotis. 



Mr. Mills is to be congratulated on the discovery of this well marked 

 new species and I have much pleasure in naming it in his honour. 

 (C). AN ASSAM REPRESENTATIVE OF THE C. CASTAN- 

 EOVENTRIS GROUP OF SQUIRRELS. 



Anderson in his " Anatomical and Zoological Researches " 

 (p. 240), 1878, described a form of the castaneoventris group under the 

 name of gordoni. This form, like the rest of the group, is charac- 

 terised by a grizzled band extending from the breast to the vent, con- 

 trasting strongly with the otherwise uniform colour (rangmg from 

 orange to maroon) of the underside. He goes on to write : " There 



is a race in Assam in which the mesial grizzled line is 



occasionally absent it may be indicated as the Assam variety, 



S. gordoni, and for reference stand as var. " intermedia ". It will 

 be noted that Anderson selects no .type and that his locality is so 

 vagre as ' Assam '. In any case however the name was preoccupied 

 by Gray more than 10 years earUer. In the Survey collection from 

 Upper Assam is a series of squirrels numbering eleven specimens in 

 two cases only among which can any, and that the very faintest, 

 trace of the streak be detected. Elsewhere in Assam there may be 

 local races which better fill Anderson's description, but for this series 

 in which the grizzled baud on the lower surface is, to all intents 

 and purposes, obsolete a name seems to be requured and I therefore 

 propose to describe it as : — 



Callosciurus castaneoventris aquilo, subsp. nov. 



A chestnut-bellied squirrel of the castaneoventris group, but differ- 

 ina from others by the complete absence of the grizzled Ime down 

 the chest and abdomen which usually characterises this group 



Size fahrly large. Fur close but rather short (15-20mm.). Gene- 

 ral colour a bright grizzle, the individual hairs slate at the base 

 for 1 their length, followed by two rings and a tip (each about 2mm.) 

 'tawny ochraceous '. The grizzhng finer on the head, limbs, and 

 flanks. Below uniform chestnut. Tail like the back but more 

 coarselv grizzled, with a short pale tip. 



Skull normal for the group. 



Dimensions of the type (measured by the collector) :-Head and 



bodv 23mm. ; tail 210 ; hindfoot 45 ; ear 20. 



lLiI:-Greatest length 56mm.; b-"- '-S'^ «,;, XTn 

 breadth U ; braincase breadth 25 ; palatilar length 2,. , diastema 



''if J'" aZ'a' Tsim. ' Tvpe from the Dibong River, COO'^ 

 fte'^MM o B M. No^O. 6. 7. 19. Original nnmber 89 

 CoUected byHrW. Wells and presented by tl,e Bon,bay Natural 



History Society. 

 24 



