4-68 MR. OLDFIELD THOMAS ON [May 1, 



pital portion of back of the head, the measurements show that 

 most of the bones of the skull are differently proportioned. The 

 width of the face in /S. vellerosus, moreover, is very much greater 

 than in /S. v./uUginosiis. 



2. On Mammals collected in South-west Australia for 

 Mr. W. E. Balston. By Oldfield Thomas, F.R.S.* 



[Received March 7, 1906.] 



Following the generous example of our President and Mr, 0. D. 

 Rudd, Mr. W. E. Balston has been good enough to defray the 

 expenses of a zoological collector, working for the benefit of our 

 JSTational Museum. The country chosen is Western Australia, 

 where Mr. Balston has many personal interests, and where few 

 Mammals have been collected since Mr. Gilbert, about 1842, made 

 a collection for Mr. Gould, who was then preparing his great 

 work on the Mammals of Australia. 



For his exploration of Western Australia Mr. Balston has 

 secured the services of Mr. Guy C. Shortridge, who had already 

 had experience in Pondola,nd, South Afr-ica, where he had collected 

 Mammals and Birds for the South African Museum. 



The collections worked out in the present paper were obtained 

 during the end of 1904 and the course of 1905 from the following 

 localities: — 



King River, on Mr. Balston's estate near Albany, King 

 George's Sound, where Mr. Shortridge had the assistance 

 of Mr. Balston's sons. 

 Wagin, on the railway halfway towards Perth. 

 Beverley, just south of York, about 70 miles east of Perth. 

 York, Northam, Toodyay, and the Wongan Hills, all near 

 together, are the localities which most frequently occur on 

 Mr. Gilbert's labels. 

 Sovithern Cross, on the Eastern Railway, abotit 220 miles 



east of Perth. 

 Kalgurli, the gold-mining town, 140 miles further east, and 



about 200 miles from the south coast. 

 Laverton, 150 miles N.E. of Kalgurli, and about 470 miles 

 inland from the west coast at Geraldston. 



While the collections made at the first four places are full of 

 interest and value, it has been a great disappointment to find 

 that the gold-field country, at the two last-named localities, does 

 not contain any desert mammal fauna, Mr. Shortridge having 

 found that practically all mammals were absent except Bats. 

 This seems to be due to the fact that the whole area is saline, 

 without fresh water of any sort. Still fm^ther east, on the 

 Spinifex flats, Mr. Shortridge has hopes of finding a desert fauna 



* [The complete account of the new species described in this comrauuieation 

 appears here ; but since the names and preliminary diagnoses were published in the 

 •'Abstract/ such species are distinguished bj-- the name being underlined. — Editoe.1 



