1898.] FROM TIBET AND KASHMIE. 359 



I will proceed to give the evidence on which I founded my 

 statement that the type or types of Hodgson's L. oiostolus were 

 immature. 



The only original specimen in the British Museum, marked as 

 the type, is a skin about 8 inches in length, and consequently of 

 an animal not nearly half-grown. But 1 am of opinion that this 

 cannot be the origmal type of Hodgson's description, for not only is 

 the size very much less than that of L. ruficaudatus, but moreover 

 the colour is not slaty-grey blue, and the fur is not distinctly 

 woolly. It is of com-se possible that the fur may have been originally 

 slaty-grey blue and that it has faded, but this is not very probable. 

 At the same time it is quite possible, and even probable, that this 

 young Hare is a very young L. pallipes. A skin of an older but 

 still immature L. pallipes from JSTorthern Sikhim, received from 

 the late Mr. Mandelli and now in the British Museum, does, how- 

 ever, agree admirably with Hodgson's description of L. oiostolus, so 

 much so that I beUeve the description to have beeu drawn, as 

 Hodgson says, from " some wretched remains " of a skin or skins 

 resembhng that procured by Mandelli. 



This view is confirmed by Hodgson's MS. notes. As is well 

 known, the drawings presented by Hodgson to the British Museum 

 were copies of his original figures ; these figures were subsequently 

 given by him to the Zoological Society, and they are invaluable on 

 account of the MS. notes written on them by Hodgson himself. 

 Amongst these origiual drawings there is one of L. oiostolus, in a 

 crouching position. This drawing is small (about 3| inches long) 

 and shows scarcely any characters except a greyish colour and 

 woolly fur. Ivo notes are attached. This drawing does not 

 resemble the specimen said to be the type in the British Museum, 

 There are two drawings of L. 2Mllij}es — one of these the original 

 of the excellent plate in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of 

 Bengal, vol. xi. p. 289, and on the back of the sheet with these 

 drawings are the following notes in Hodgson's handwriting : — 

 " 1, 2, 3 [the numbers evidently refer to different skins]. Various 

 skins from Tibet ; animal on the whole not larger than ruficaudatus, 

 but seems to have a larger head and shorter ears, but perhaps not 

 so. Size cannot be greater, for teeth smaller, nails of same size, 

 and legs, of which bones entire, quite equal. Comparing oiostolus 

 and 'pallijies, apprehend they are the same. Specimen 1 of latter 

 last described (see Journal 124 ^ of 42), sp. 2 doubtful, sp. 3 got in 

 Sikkim from [illegible] April." " It is moulting and shows new fur 

 coming on back. This new fur in the hairy piles is 1| inch long, 



curved and interspersed rarely witli very soft hairs. Slaty grey blue for the 

 most part and internally, but externally fawn-tinted above, and whitish below 

 and on the limbs ; some hairs on the back tipt with black beneath a sub-rufous 

 ring. Tail white with a grey-blue strip towards the back. Apparent size of 

 the last (L. macrotus—ruficciudatus). Habitat, the snowy region of the 

 Himalaya and perhaps also Tibet." 



^ That is No. 124, the number of the part of Jour. As. Soe. Beng. in which 

 the description of L. palUpes appeared in the year 1842. 



