416 MB. G. E. H. BABEETT-HAMILTON ON [Apr. 3, 



and Menetries 31. minutus Pall. (31. messorius, Kerr), in the 

 fauna of the Transcaucasian provinces. The latter probably may 

 extend into Persia, but de Pilippi particularly noticed the 

 absence of 31. musculus iu the north-western part of the country, 

 where he says it is replaced by 31. sylvaticus." l 



Of the Caucasus, Kosikoff states 2 that 31. sylvaticus is very 

 common in the whole of the region ; but in a second publication' he 

 alludes only to 31. aria mis. so that, as Satunin remarks, it is 

 difficult to ascertain which species really occurs in Malkathales. 

 Satunin himself supports Bosikoffs second opiniou. 



As regards the Transcaucasian Field-mouse, Satunin himself 

 states that it is difficult to properly name the specimens, since 

 they present characters of both species, but he thinks that on 

 the whole they agree better with 31. sylvaticus. He finds typical 

 sylvaticus at Tiflis. 



General Remarks. There can be little doubt that there has been 

 a considerable confusion, perhaps of two or three separate forms, 

 amongst the naturalists who have written of 31. s. arianus ; but for 

 the present, and in the absence of an adequate series of specimens, 

 I must follow Mr. Oldfield Thomas, and regard all the small -footed 

 Central Asian individuals of M. sylvaticus as belonging to this form. 



Even Mr. Blanford's belief in his own species seems to have 

 become a little shaky, since he wrote 4 in 1879 that " it is by no 

 means certain that this form may not pass into the Eastern races 

 of 31. sylvaticus ; and it requires comparison with 31. sylvaticus, var. 

 major of Badde ; but ... it appears to be a well-marked type, with 

 a wide distribution iu Central Asia." 



The best remarks on this form are, I think, by Mr. Oldfield 

 Thomas \ who notes the close, almost identical, proportions of 31. 

 arianus and 31. sylvaticus, the shorter foot of M. arianus (as com- 

 pared witli English examples), the failure of Mr. Blanford's skull- 

 characters for 31. arianus, and finally adds that, " on the whole, I 

 think that 31. arianus will be found to represent a short-footed 

 Eastern variety of 31. sylvaticus worthy of a varietal name, but not 

 enough to merit specific separation." 



"De Eilippi's ' 31us sylvaticus L.' is no doubt this short-footed 

 form, and uot the true European 31. sylvaticus." 



15. MUS SYLVATICUS GKISEXJS. 



31us arianus griseus, E. W. True, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. vol. xvii. 

 p. 8 (1894). 



Typical scries (in U.S. .Nat. Museum): — 



20151 Male. Mountains of Central Kashmir, Sept. 13 1891. 



35514' 10,000 feet. 



20139 

 35502' 



Female. Central Kashmir, Oct. 8, 1891. 8500 feet. 



1 East. Pers. pp. 57 & 58. 



2 ' Die Saugethiere des Malkathales,' p. 58. 



:t ' In den Bergen des N.W. Kaucasus.' pp. 20, 31 & 51. 

 4 J. A.S.E. vol. xlviii. pt. ii. p. 07. 

 '' P.Z.S. 1881, pp. 548-550. 



