ALLEN: MAMMALS OF THE PHILLIPS PALESTINE EXPEDITION. 
PSAMMOMYS OBESUS Cretzschmar. 
Sand Mouse. 
Psammomys obesus Cretzschmar, 
5 
Riippell’s Atlas reise nordl. Afrika. 
Saugeth., 1826, p. 58, pl. 22, 23. 
At Ain Abu Heran, to the north of Akaba, Dr. Phillips shot a sub- 
adult male which seems referable to this species. The type locality 
is Alexandria, so that this record extends its range well to the eastward. 
The Museum has also a skin from Palestine, without definite locality, 
but probably from near the southwest coast. The long-tailed P. 
terraesanctae of the Dead Sea region seems to be a species distinct from 
the shorter-tailed obesus and algiricus. 
MERIONES TRISTRAMI Thomas. 
Tristram’s Gerbil. 
Meriones tristrami Thomas, Ann. mag. nat. hist., 1892, ser. 6, 9, p. 148. 
| 
_ This species was first described on the basis of specimens from the 
‘Dead Sea region and Mt. Carmel collected by Canon Tristram, 
who referred it to M. tamaricinus. Nehring (Sitzb. Ges. naturf. 
‘reunde Berlin, 1901, p. 171) records a specimen from the south of 
Jaffa on the coast, west of the Dead Sea. 
On his way north from Akaba, Dr. Phillips first met with this 
serbil at Shobek, and on successive days, trapped it at Ain Gleidat 
nd Tafileh. The locality first-named, probably represents nearly 
ts southern limit, as it was not found on the high plateau country 
{ 
othesouth. Three individuals, not quite fully grown, lack the bright 
andy color of the adults, and are decidedly grayer. A young one 
‘om Beir el Doleh, Syria, is more fulvous. 
| 
| 
| 
MERIONES CRASSUS Sundevall. 
Le Silky Gerbil. 
eriones crassus Sundevall, K. Vet. akad. Handl. for 1842, 1843, p. 233, pl. 2, 
fig. 4,a-d. 
} LJ . . 
A single specimen sent by the Swedish traveller Hedenborg, served 
‘ Sundevall’s type of this remarkable species. Hedenborg’s note 
} 
) 
| 
