58 



MR. C. BODE>f KLOSS ON 



Characters. ^K large form of Mus herdmorei, with smaller ears 

 and tail considerably shorter than head and body, bicoloured with 

 dark tip. Pelage of two elements : — slender, very flexible spines, 

 with light bases and dark brown tips, and soft under-fur with 

 neutral grey bases and dirty-white or drab tips. Mamma? 

 3-2 = 10. 



Colour. — Genej'al colour of the upper pelage, which is harsh 

 but not stiff', clove-brown on the median dorsal area, lightening 

 to mouse-grey on the cheeks, sides, and limbs ; everywhere 

 grizzled with the pale tips of the under-fur, and on the sides 

 by the exposed pale portions of the spines a:lso. When dis- 

 turbed the neuti-al-gi'ey basal colour contrasts sharply with the 

 browner external tone. In certain lights a brilliant green sheen 

 is visible from nape to i-ump. Under surface of body and limbs 

 and the upper surface of the hands and feet white to the bases of 



Text-figure 1, 



Skull of Epii)ii/s herdmorei magnua. 



the hairs ; the white area extends to the extremities and the 

 upper lip, but does not include the bases of the vibrissse. Ears 

 I'ounded and almost naked, a small white patch below the ear- 

 opening. Tail bicoloured, only the basal three-fourths white 

 beneath, the distal fourth entirely dark ; somewhat thickly clad 

 with short hairs, black on the dark, white on the white area, but 

 no pencil ; in the centre eleven rings of scutes to the centimetre. 

 Shull and Teeth. — I have been privileged to examine the skull 

 of Blyth's Mv,s herd^morei, all that I'emains of the type which 

 came from Mergui, Tenasserim ; it lacks the bullae and the 

 posterior half of the cranium, while the teeth are only just 

 beginning to show signs of wear. The Klong Menao individual, 

 while otherwise resembling it, is considerably larger with ap- 

 parently a relatively longer rostrum. The zygomatic plate is, 

 however, actually narrower, as is also the anterior root of the 

 zygoma, while the posterior root is more robust ; the fronto- 



