216 RODENTIA. 



Zool. 1842, pi. xxxiii. (skull) ; Wag-ner, Schreber, Saugeth. Suppl. vol. iii. 1843, p. 193; 



Gray, Hand-List Mamm. B. M. 1843, p. 136; Schinz, Syn. Mamm. vol. ii. 1845, p. 31; 



Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. vol. xvi. 1847, p. 870. 

 Sciurus hum,eralis, Coulon, Mem. de la Soc. des Sc. Nat. Neufchat. vol. i. 1835, p. 132, pi. viii. 

 Sciurus ephippium, Miiller, Tydschr. Over. Nat. Gesch. 1838-39, p. 147 ; Miiller und Schlegel, 



Verhandl. Nat. Gescli. 1839-44, pp. 86 & 91, pi. xiii. fig. 4 (skull, figs. 2 & 3) ; Waterhouse, 



Proc. Zool. Soc. 1842, p. 116; Wagner, Schreber, Saugeth. Suppl. vol. iii. 1843, p. 193; 



Schinz, Syn. Mamm. vol. ii. 1845, p. 40; Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. vol. xvi. 1847, p. 870; 



Cat. Mamm. Mus. As. Soc. Beng. 1863, p. 100 ; Motley and Dillwyn, Contrib. Fauna, Borneo 



and Labuan, 1855, p. 3. 

 Sciurus rubriventer, Forster, Miiller & Schlegel, Verhandl. Nat. Gesch. 1839-44, p. 86; Gray, 



Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 283. 

 Sciurus {Rukaia) ephippium, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 276. 

 Macroxus {BuJcaia) bicolor, Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 276 (in part). 



A great deal of misunderstanding has for long existed regarding the true 

 nature of S. bicolor, Sparrmann. The type of this species is stated to have been cap- 

 tured alive in Java by the sailors of a Swedish ship, and was stuffed and deposited 

 in the Collection at Gothenburg and afterwards was described by Sparrmann as 

 "iS'. supra niger, infra fulvus, auriculis acutis imherbihus, palmarum ungue pollicari 

 magno rotundato'' Schreber received from Linnaeus a drawing of the animal and 

 reproduced it in his Sdugethiere with the following description, altering the name to 

 S. javensis, because he was of the opinion that the term bicolor was misleading : 

 " Light brown, tending to fox-red (fulvous) on the chin, throat, and breast, the inner 

 side of the fore limb, the belly, and two-thirds of the tail from the tip backwards. 

 The upper portion of the animal from the nose backwards, including the hinder 

 third of the tail, black, besides the eyelids, ears, and exterior of the fore limbs, 

 and the feet. The hind limbs, externally and internally, are black all over. The 

 ears do not much exceed half an inch in length, are somewhat pointed, and clad 

 on both aspects with rather short, black hairs. The bristles of the moustache are 

 black and from two to three inches long. The extreme points of several of the 

 hairs on the head, sides, and back are somewhat reddish, and on a careful examin- 

 ation one finds all the light-brown hairs on the tail wholly black at their bases. 

 The fore feet have four toes and a rudimentary thumb. Length from tip of snout 

 to tail twelve inches, the tail equalling the length of the body, the hairs of the tail 

 scarcely more than an inch long." It is evident that these two descriptions convey 

 entirely different conceptions of the characters of the animal, but as Schreber took 

 the precaution to consult with Linuseus before publishing his description, it is highly 

 probable that the latter in forwarding the drawing of the type to Schreber also com- 

 municated its essential characters, because the foregoing account professes to be a 

 description of the type of S. bicolor. The most important part of Schreber 's de- 

 scription, and that which modifies the idea conveyed by the statement that the upper 

 parts were wholly black, is the reference which he makes to the red-tipped character 

 of both the hairs on the head and sides of the back, the mention of which at once 

 recalls the characters of the common large squirrel of Java. But, at first sight, so 

 inapplicable is Sparrmann's description to the generality of the individuals of the 



