1897.] MAMliALS PROM MOEOCCO. 



959 



These Mice do not seem to cliflFer in any way from those of Egypt 

 or Asia, and I see no cause to separate them. 



In 'The Zoologist' for 1896, p. 178, Mr. G. E. H._ Barrett- 

 Hamilton gives an account of the forms of this Mouse which occur 

 in several countries. I have chosen the present subspecific name 

 in preference to bactricmus, as being the earliest given to this form 

 from Egypt, for which ideatiflcation I have to thank Mr. Oldfleld 

 Thomas, who had examined Brants's type in the Berlin Museum. 



There seems to be no doubt that Mus spretus, Lataste, from 

 Algeria, is simply one of these white-bellied House-Mice which 

 are found always outside houses. The cusp or claw spoken of by 

 Lataste may be found in the front of the tirst upper molar of many 

 examples of Mi(,s musculus, and has no value as a specific character. 



14, Mus STLVATICTJS, L. 



(4) Schaf el Kab (March). 



Cannot be separated from the common "Wood-Mouse" of 

 Europe. 



15. Mus PEBBGEINUS, sp. n. 



Colour above grey washed with brownish yellow, less grizzled 

 on the cheeks and sides ; underparts white, not very sharply defined ; 

 tail very slightly darker above than below, practically naked. 



The general" colour of this Mouse is rather like the yellow 

 M. gentilis, only the grizzling of the hairs is coarser, more resembling 

 that of M. sijlvaticus. Compared with the latter it is rather larger 

 in size, the tail is very much less hairy, and the scales finer, in less 

 regular rings. 



Type, $> . Eas el Ain, Haha, 24th June 1897. 



Collector's measurements :— Head and body 97 millim.; tail 103 ; 

 hind-foot 22 ; ear 18. 



/S^-^t^^.— Nasals 10-6 x 3-3; postorb. constr. 4-4; breadth of 

 zygomata at junction with malar 12-3; length of palate 12-1, 

 pal. foramina 6-5, upper molar series 4-5, diastema 7*3, outside 

 '^!ii5-5, inside E!J: 3. ^ 



The single specimen, a young female, shows no sign of mammae, 

 but I feel little doubt that it will prove to be a northern repre- 

 sentative of the well-known Ethiopian mice haviug more than 12 

 mammae. As regards colour, its nearest ally is found in Matabele- 

 land, but in size they differ, as also in the amount of hair on the 

 tail; in fact this Morocco mouse has less hair on its tail than any 

 of the smaller known mice that could be compared with it. 



The skull, unfortunately very imperfect, shows undoubtedly 

 close affinity with the " multimammate " group : the pattern of the 

 molars is the same ; the incisors above and below are unusually 

 strong ; the mandible is also rather stronger than most of its allies, 

 with very short angular processes not extending so far back as the 

 condylar processes. 



The discovery of this animal adds another to the list of 

 Ethiopian forms found in the Mediterranean Sub-Eegion. 



