938 MR. I. G, S. MONTAGU ON A COLLECTION OF 



Mus MuscuLUS MUSCULUS Linnseus. 



Material examined and Dimensions. Three (2 c? , 1 5 ) collected 

 by Montagu in June 1922 in May, and one ( d" ) collected by 

 Montagu in June 1922 in Jura. 



IsiAT. KB. T. HF. E. 



10. Adult <?, 18. 6.22 82 82 18 13 



13. „ c?, 20.6.22 78 76* 17 13 



6. „ ?, 18.6.22 75 75 17 10 



Jttea. 



18. Adult (?, 25.6.22 71 71 17-5 13 



* Tail damaged in trap. 



Description. All the specimens, which were trapped in fieldsj 

 are in the yellowish outdoor pelage. 



Eevieiu of the British forms q/Microtus agrestis. 



Definitions of various subspecies of M. agrestis have appeared 

 from time to time (1, 2, 3) describing forms from the Hebrides 

 and from the Scottish mainland. These definitions, however, 

 have been written not by the same person, and often without 

 facilities for surveying the whole material from all these localities ; 

 the existing descriptions accordingly lack comparative value in 

 some respects, such as character of fur ; for such characters are 

 largely incapable of reference to other than subjective standards. 

 The writer therefore gives here, in tabular form, a compai-ison 

 of the various types of fur recognised as peculiar in British 

 M. agrestis forms. 



No. TXPICAL. IsiAT. GiGHA. ElGG. MuCK. 



1. Intermediate. Sleek. Shaggy. Sliagg}'. Shaggy. 



2. Soft. Soft. Harsh. Soft. Soft. 



3. Rufous. Rufous. Rufous. Rufous. Rufous. 



4. 12 10 14 14 14 



5. 2 2 2 2 2 



6. General. General. Abundant. General. General. 



7. 16 16 16 16 16 



8. Irregular yellow. Uniform dark a and h. Uniform More uniform 



grey. white. yellow. 



9. 6 6 6 6 6 



10. Grey, 2 Grey, 2 Grey, 2 White, 2 Grey, 2 



11. 8 8 8 



12. Pale, 2 Bright, 2 Pale, 2 



a, irregular yellow ; h, uniform dark grey. 



Dorsal fur characters : — 



1. Appearance. 



2. Texture. 



3. General colour. 



4. Coloured hair, length grey bases. 



5. „ „ „ coloured tips. 



6. Black hair, distribution. 



7. „ „ length. 



