128 Mil. OLBFIELD THOMAS ON THE [Feb. 5, 



3. On the Loug-lost Putorius africanus, Desrn., and its 

 Occurrence in Malta. By Oldfield Thomas. 



[ReceiTed January 15, 1895.] 



In 1875 Mr. C. A. Wright, to whom ornithologists are indebted 

 for several additions to the fauna of Europe, due to his study of 

 the birds of Malta, read a paper before this Society ^ on the large 

 Weasel or " Ballottra " of that island. This animal he compared 

 with various species which had been described from the Mediter- 

 ranean area, but owing to want of material he was unable 

 definitely to determine it. His specimen he was good enough to 

 present to the National Museum, where it has remained unique 

 until recently, when the same gentleman contributed to the 

 Collection a young male and an immature female, and the examin- 

 ation of these fresh examples has given rise to the present 

 remarks. 



As stated by Mr. Wright in his paper, the adult male is as large 

 as a large Stoat, with an equally long tail, while it has the uni- 

 form coloration of the latter organ characteristic of the Weasel. 



On looking up the British Museum material bearing on the 

 subject, happily considerably increased since the time of Mr. 

 Wright's paper, I find a couple of skins, male and female, from 

 Egj^pt % presented and collected by Dr. John Anderson in 1892 ; 

 and the same energetic collector has also placed at my disposal 

 a tine alcohoHc male obtained at Cairo during his last season's 

 explorations. 



These Egyptian Weasels, so far as can be judged b^ external 

 proportions and coloration, appear to me to be clearly conspecific 

 with the Mahese form, and the question therefore arises as to what 

 name should be applied to them. 



In the invaluable work ' on the Mammals of Barbary published 

 in 1885 by M. Fernand Lataste, we find an important discussion 

 on the Weasels of X. Africa, continued and revised by him in his 

 ' Mammals of Tunis ' (1887), and supplemented in both places by 

 some notes by Dr. Trouessart, so that we have here the last 

 opinions pronounced on the subject by the two ablest and most 

 modern French students of the Mediterranean fauna. 



Briefly epitomized, then- opinions are :— (1) that there is only a 

 single form of Weasel in North Africa, closely aUied to P. vulgaris 

 and P. hoccamela ; (2) that if distinct from both of these, which is 

 doubtful, it should bear the name of P. sub^HiImatus, Hempr. & 

 Ehr. (syn, P. numiclicm, Puch.) ; and (3) that Patofim afnmnus, 

 Desm., must have been based on a specimen not really fi-om Africa 

 at all, and perhaps belonging to a Japanese species. 



Not a word could be said against these conclusions as based on 



I P. Z. S. 1875, p. 312. 



- From the Pyramids of Ghizeii, and Abu-Eoash. W. of Cairo. 



' Act. Linn. Soc. Bord. xxsix. p. 129 et scqq. (1885). 



