530 MR. o. THOMAS ON THE [May 3, 



To Dr. Anderson belongs the credit of having perceived that there 

 are two species of Bandicoot in India, all previous authors having 

 confused this form with the true M. bandicota, Bechst. Hodgson's 

 description of M. nemorivagus, however, was such that Dr. Anderson 

 naturally could not tell that his M. (iV.) elliotanus was identical 

 with it. There can, however, be no doubt that it is the same, as 

 the skull of the type of Hodgson's species exactly matches that of 

 one of the Khasi-Hill specimens mentioned by Dr. Anderson, and 

 since presented to us by Mr. Blanford, and also quite agrees with 

 the figure which accompanies the description of M. (iV.) elliotanus^. 



Formosan individuals of this species received from Mr. Swinhoe 

 are quite similar to our specimens from the typical locality We 

 thus get another instance of the affinity of the fauna of Formosa 

 to that of the Himalayan region^. 



The specimen described as Nesokia hydrophila by Dr. Gray, in 

 his Catalogue of Hodgson's collection, is the actual type of Mus ma- 

 cropus, Hodgs. The cause of the mistake was that Hodgson's two 

 species M. hydrophiliis and M. macropus are figured side by side in 

 Hodgson's drawings, and that in the British Museum duplicate copy 

 the plate was accidentally marked as " Mus hydrophilus et junior," 

 Gray therefore describing the specimen representing the adult form. 

 In the original drawings, belonging to the Zoological Society, how- 

 ever, the two figures are named in accordance with Hodgson's pub- 

 lished descriptions. This type specimen of M. macropus is most 

 undoubtedly a Nesokia, and, I believe, will turn out to be a young 

 specimen of the present species, the skull agreeing very fairly, though 

 it is considerably smaller. 



I am quite unable to say what the true M. hydrophilus, Hodgs.\ 

 is. It is said to be a small species, only 3| inches long, with a tail 

 only 2| in length. We have received no specimens of it from Mr. 

 Hodgson ; but I would suggest that it might be some species of 

 Arvicola, as the proportions are similar to those found in that genus, 

 and Hodgson on his drawing calls it Arvicola ? hydrophilus, though 

 he afterwards described it as a Mus. 



It seems possible, as Mr. Blanford has suggested^, that M. (Neso- 

 Tcia) nemorivagus will yet turn out to be identical with the true Mus 

 setifer, Horsf. Judging from the distribution of certain other species, 

 it is quite probable that the Bandicoot of Java should be the same 

 as that found in Nepal and Formosa; but merely from Horsfield's 

 description, and without seeing Javan specimens, it is impossible to 

 decide this question at present. 



Subgenus Mus (restricted). 



Mus, Linn. Syst. Nat. (12) i. p. 79 (1/66). 



Incisors narrow, smooth in front. Molars tubercular, not divided 



^ Dr. Anderson has sent us an immature specimen of his N. elliotanus, which 

 quite confirms my identification. 



2 See below, under M.jerdoni, p. 539. 

 ' Ann. & Mag. N. H. xv. p. 267, 1845. 

 * Zool. Yark. Exp. Mamm. p. 47, 1879. 



