268 MESSRS. O. THOMAS AND H. SCHWANN ON [Apv. 18, 



28. Mus CHRYSOPHiLus cle Wint. 



J. 577, 593, 596, 661,670. $.592,575,591,658. Sibudeni. 



c?. 620. $.617,627. Jnsusie Valley. 



c? . 808, 812, 820, 858. $ . 797, 821, 835, 868. Umvolosi. 



c?. 885, 919. d. 918. Ngoye Hills. 



"Zulu name ' Gwenca.' 



" Inhabits the clumps of rocks on the hill-sides and krantzes, 

 as in other parts of the country ; it occasionally invades houses, 

 where it is a perfect nuisance. Mainly a vegetable feeder and 

 nocturnal."— C. H. B. G. 



29. Mus DOLiCHURUS Smuts. 

 6. 878. Ngoye Hills. 



30. Mus coucHA zuLUENSis, subsp. n. 



6 . 576, 579, 582, 644. $ . 574. Sibudeni. 



6. 513. $. 571, 572. Eshowe. 



cJ. 621, 628. Jususie Valley. 



S . 789, 807. $ . 786, 788. Umvolosi. 



A long- tailed, fulvous-sufFused form of the coucha gi'oup. 



General colour of the upper surface " bistre," with a distinct 

 fulvous suffusion, which is much more marked in some specimens 

 than others. Posterior half of the back strongly pencilled with 

 black. Fur very soft and fine, the hairs of the back about 

 10 mm. in length. Underfur slaty-grey basally, fulvous at tip. 

 Flanks lighter than back, bufiy yellow fading into the greyish 

 white of the under surface. Fur of belly grey basally, dii-ty white 

 terminally, except on interramia, where it is entirely white. Head 

 coloured like back. Ears covered with minute very dark brown 

 hairs. Hands and feet dirty white or cream-colour, very diflerent 

 from the snowy white feet of true coucha. Tail considerably 

 longer than in coucha, brown above, lighter below ; scales about 

 1 3 to the centimetre. 



Skull slightly larger than in the typical subspecies and with 

 longer palatine foramina. 



Dimensions of the type (measured in the flesh) : — Head and 

 body 123 mm. ; tail 123 ; hind foot 23 ; ear 19. 



Skull — greatest length 30*5 ; basilar length 25'0 ; brain-case 

 breadth 12*0 ; zygomatic breadth 34*5; length of palatine foramina 

 7*3 ; length of upper molar series 4"5. 



Hah. Umvolosi Station, Zululand. Alt. 70 m. 



Type. Female. B.M. no. 4.12.3.62. Original number 786. 

 Collected 25 June, 1904. 



An examination of the type specimen of Smith's coucha, and of 

 other modern specimens from the same region, shows that that 

 animal is a shorter-tailed, smaller, whiter-footed, and greyer form 

 than its representative in Zululand, to which we have therefore 

 decided to give a special name. 



The only other South African form in this group is M. silaceus 

 Wagn., of which Thomas has examined the type in the Munich 



