1909.] 



COLOUR CHANGE IN AN AFRICAN RATEL. 



891 



and as the animal is otherwise in good health, I do not think there 

 is any doubt on this point. ^ 



The locality of this specimen is unknown, but from my 

 examination of the skins of Mellivora indica in the Natural 

 History Museum, from Nepal, Rajpootana and Hoshangabad, 

 Central Provinces, I am of opinion that this specimen came from 

 Africa or Arabia, and judging from its appearance twelve years 

 ago it is a Mellivora ratel. The M. indica skins above mentioned 

 have the upper surface of the tail white continuous with the 

 dorsal pale area, whereas this specimen twelve years ago had the 

 tail all black (see description above). 



Also this specimen is much larger than another male Mellivora 

 ratel from S. Arabia living with it, and also adult, a,nd from mea- 

 surements of skulls of M. indica and M. ratel t^k^ew by myself in the 

 Natural History Museum, apparently M. ratel varies considerably 

 in size, much more so than M. indica. 



This specimen, as already stated, is of the large variety of Melli- 

 vora ratel, and according to the living material seen by myself 

 and measurement of skulls as given below, there is in this species 

 considerable range of size, which in my mind raises the question 

 as to whether the skins hitherto regarded as M. ratel may not be 

 divisible into two species differing only in size. However, most 

 of the skulls have no sex stated, so no definite conclusion can 

 be come to on this latter point, as the male w^ould be naturally 

 larger than the female skulls. 



Skidl measurements (from adult skulls). 

 M. ratel. 31. indica. 



Male. Graliarastown... 13'o cin. Female. Kajpootaiia... ll'°|s]ji)ji 



Male. Somali 12-5 No sex. Nepal 127.^ 



Female. Homali 107 No sex. Nepal 127 



Female. Suakiu 10"5 No sex. N.W. Provinces 11'6 



Female. Suakin 117 



No sex. Khartoum 13'1 



Abyssinia 12'0 



Somali ir4 



Suakin 127 



Aden 1V& 



Aden li'S 



Kilimanjaro ... 13" 1 



Measured from central incisor tooth to anterior margin of foramen magnum. 



[So far as can be seen in the living animal, the hairs are either 

 all black throughout or all grey througiiout, and not variegated, 

 i. e. half black and grey. The black hairs are equally dark in 

 their whole length. Recently the animal has lost a large patch 

 of hair off the back of the neck.— F. D. W.] 



