A NEW GOLDEN MOLE. 547 



" The skull of Smith's type is well figured by Dobson, and 

 though barely mature is sufliciently near full size for purposes of 

 comparison. 



" JDobson described and figured a second specimen which he 

 believ'ed to be Chri/soc/doris villosa, but he recognised difierences 

 which he thought might be specific. When working at the 

 Golden Moles some years ago, I thought it well to keep the 

 varieties of B. villosus under the one species, though I called 

 attention to the fact of one of the specimens in the Maritzburg 

 Museum having a dark slaty, almost black fur. The specimens 

 are so few in number — there being, so far as I am aware, only 

 five skins in the museums of the world — that one hesitates to split 

 up the Natal supposed B. villosus specimens into two species, but 

 it seems likely that when more specimens are obtained at least 

 two subspecies and possibly even species will be recognised. 



" Whatever be the case with the Natal specimens, there is no 

 doubt that the present Transvaal specimen is not fSmith's C'hryso- 

 chloris villosa, and almost as certainly it is not the same as 

 Dobson's ty]3e. 



" The Transvaal specimen, for which I propose the name 



Bematisous transvaalensts, 



Abstract P. Z. S. 1913, p. 25 (May 13), 



has a thick soft fur very unlike that of Smith's B. villosus. The 

 underfur is much shorter and less woolly, and the terminal 

 flattened portion of the hair is less bristly and very much shorter, 

 being only about 7 or 8 mm. in length, instead of 10 to 15 mm. as 

 in B. villosus. The terminal portion of the hair is a rich reddish- 

 brown, becoming very dark towards the tip. The whole dorsal 

 side of the animal has thus a reddish-brown tint. On the 

 abdominal su,rface the i-eddish tinge has almost disappeared and 

 the fur has a slaty tint. The fur from the sides of the head 

 and nose has been destroyed. 



" The claws of the manus of B. transvaalensis measure : 

 1st, 3-7 mm.; 2nd, 16-5; 3rd, 10; 4th, 1-5. The hind foot 

 measures 16 mm., and the length of the body is about 155 mm. 

 The type is a female. 



" The skull difiers from that of B. villosus in a number of 

 characters. The huge crest which rises up from the zygomatic 

 arch is even better developed than in B. trevelyani, and a plane laid 

 across the tops of the crests is 2 mm. above the cranial wall. In 

 B. villosus the crests pass forwards and outwards, and at a distance 

 of 7 mm. in front of the top of the occiput are 10'5 mm. apai-t 

 in Smith's type. In Dobson's type they are 10 mm. apart. In 

 B. transvaalensis the crest runs forward for some distance nearly 

 parallel, and at a point 7 mm. in front of the occiput are only 

 6*5 mm. apart. Another important point in the skull is the very 

 much larger temporal bulla. In B. villosus the bulla is about 

 7 mm. in diameter, in B. transvaalensis it is 10 mm. in diameter. 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1913, No, XXXYII. 37 



