1044 Mil. R. I. POCOCK ON [Nov. 26, 



the contraiy. usually form four distinct, sometimes more or less- 

 interrupted longitudinal stripes along the nape, and these are 

 continued forwards on to the summit of the head in the only 

 specimen in which that region is preserved. There are a few 

 small spots on the front of the fore-leg above the wrist and a few 

 on the hind-leg down to the hock. The back of the hind-leg below 

 the hock is sooty. The tail is longer than the head and body ;. 

 its hair is thicker but only a little longer than that of the 

 body. It is marked with from 12 to 13 black stripes which 

 obviously correspond with the spots of the uppermost row on each 

 side of the body. These stripes are not regularly annuliform, for 

 although they encii'cle the tail, they are much narrower laterally 

 and inferiorly than dorsally ; they are somewhat triangular in 

 shape, the anterior border being produced forwards in the middle 

 line, wdiile the posterior border is correspondingly, though to a 

 lesser extent notched. The median spinal stripe of the body is in 

 some places represented on the tail by a median spot or abbi'eviated 

 line in the middle of the interzonal spaces ; but these spaces are 

 not subdivided by a nar-i'ow secondary ring or ' shadow- stripe ' 

 which is at least traceable in the typical form of P. richardsoni. 

 In the median dorsal line, there is no very great difference in length 

 between the stripes and the interspaces in the proximal half of 

 the tail ; but in its posterior half the stripes become sometimes 

 much, sometimes a little narrower ; the extremity of the tail for 

 about two inches beyond the last stripe is yellowish and clouded 

 with ashy grey, representing an indistinct double stripe above. 



Measurement of type specimen : — From the fore part of the 

 nape to the root of the tail about 275 mm, ( = 11 English inches) ; 

 tail 400 mm. (=16 English inches). 



Mr. Leighton brought back six skins of this interesting new 

 animal, three being apparently those of adult specimens, one sub- 

 adult and two young. The latter are darker in hue than the 

 others, the belly being noticeably yellow. But since the fur of 

 both, and especially of the darker of the two, appears to have 

 been singed, I suspect that the darkness of the pelage in these 

 young specimens is to be attributed to fire-smoke during drying^ 

 \cf. supra., p. 1040). 



Two forms of this genus have been hitherto distinguished, 

 namely Poiana richardsoni Thomps. (Ann. Mag. ISTat. Hist. x. 

 p. 204, 1842), of Avhich the British Museum has one skin, the type, 

 ticketed Fernando Po, two ticketed Benito River {G. L. Bates 

 coll.) and one ticketed Sieri'a Leone ; and P. richardsoni ochracea 

 Thos. (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7) xix. p. 372, 1907), of which 

 the British Museum possesses the only known specimen from. 

 Yambuya, Aruwimi, River Congo {R. B. Woosnam). 



In the typical form of P. richardsoni the colour is a dusky 

 yellowish brown ; the spots are variable in size but mostly large. 

 They do not, however, run into longitudinal lines, except on the 

 neck and shoulders. The under side of the body aiid inner side of 

 the limbs are a much dirtier white than in the Liberian animal, 



