1892.] MR. O. THOMAS ON MAMMALS FROM NYASSALAND. 547 



Mr. Whyte, the actual collector, also deserves special meation 

 for the energy with which he has carried out the work entrusted to 

 him and for the care and attention which he has devoted to the 

 preservation of the specimens. 



The region from which the present collection is derived is what 

 is called the " Shire Highlands," some of the specimens coming 

 from Zoniba, where the British Consulate is, some 20 miles to the 

 west of Lake Shirwa, at an elevation of 2971 feet above the sea- 

 level ; and others, in fact the majority, from the jNIilanji range 

 of mountains, about the same distance to the south of the lake, 

 and some *40 or 50 miles from Zomba. To this range Mr. Whyte 

 made a special exploring expedition in October and November 

 1891, and he has given a general account of the physical features 

 of the range, and its fauna and flora, m the Parliamentary report 

 quoted below \ 



As might be expected from a collector of Mr. Whyte's experience, 

 all the skins are carefully labelled with the exact locality, date, and 

 altitude, and the same was the case with the spirit-specimens; but 

 by an unfortunate accident, before these latter came into my hands, 

 the labels became separated from the bottles, so that the exact 

 details about them were lost. All, however, are either from Mt. 

 Zomba or Mt. Milanji. 



The species are of course, as a whole, very similar to those obtained 

 by Prof. Peters in his famous exploration of Mozambique, and 

 desci'ibed by him on his return to Berlin ^. They are, however, by 

 no means of less value on this account, for the more our knowledge 

 of local variation extends, the more we need to have specimens 

 obtained at or near the localities explored by the earlier collectors. 

 Of actually new species there are none in the present instalment, 

 but there is little doubt that, as Mr. Whyte's knowledge of 

 the locality increases, he will be able to obtain the rarer and 

 more local species, and among these there are certain to be some 

 novelties. One animal, however, in the present collection, the 

 Pallah, is so different from the ordinary specimens as to need a new 

 subspecific name, and the same may prove to be the case with some 

 of the other antelopes of the highlands of Nyassaland. 



1. Felis pardtjs, L. 



fl. Ad. sk. and skull, d- Milanji, 4/11/91. 

 i. Ad. sk. and skull. $. Milanji. 4/11/91. 



c. Young skull. Milanji. • 1/92. "Young leopard-cub about 

 2 mouths old." 



a. " Male Leopard, full-grown adult, shot at the base of Milanji 

 mountain, B.C. A., 4 days' march from Zomba, on 4th November, 

 1891. Dimensions : 6 ft. 10 in. long in flesh, not stretched, and 

 2 ft. 7 in. at shoulder, and weighing 140 lbs. Colour normal-fulvous 

 with black rosettes and spots. The occipital ridge for attachment 



^ Africa No. 5. Papers relative to the suppression of Slave-raiding in Nyassa- 

 land, p. 15 (1892). See also 'Nature,' vol. xlvi. p. 482 (15th Sept. 1892). 

 ^ Eeise nach Mossambique, Saugethiere, 1852. 



