252 RODENTIA. 



sides. The muzzle is yellowish, but passing gradually into the colour of the upper 

 parts. The head appears to be large for the size of the animal. The striking feature 

 of this squirrel is the black tufting to the ears ; the backs of these organs are 

 clad with long jet-black hairs which forcibly contrast with the colour of the 

 body, and the hair projects nearly half an inch beyond their margins, so that they 

 are prominently pencilled. I know of no other Asiatic squirrel of the size of 

 this species with similar ears. A beautiful violet-white patch occurs on the 

 side of the neck, behind the black ears. The under parts are a rich orange- 

 red, like S. lokriah, to which, if the ear- tufts and lappets were omitted, the 

 species has a strong resemblance. The tail is concolorous with the back, only 

 the individual rings are broader, as is generally the case on the tails of all 

 squirrels. 



Inches. 

 Length of body . . . ... . . . . . . 6'75 



Tail without hair ........... 575 



„ with hair ........... 7'50 



This species has been found only in the Celebes. 



The series in the Leyden and Paris Museums from the Celebes prove that the 

 white on the side of the neck is not always present, for one specimen shows it dis- 

 appearing and in another there is no trace of it, and others lead from the one to the 

 other extreme, but when this neck spot is fully developed it forms a great violet- 

 white lappet. 



SciURTJS ALSTONi, n. s. Plate XXI. 



This beautiful species, in the colouring of the upper parts and tail, closely 

 resembles S. lokriah, whilst the under parts differ in being dusky chestnut instead 

 of orange. The peculiarity of the species is the beautiful pure white tufting to 

 the ears, which projects a considerable way backwards, in a pointed manner. The 

 external surface of the tip of the ear is covered with short browA hairs which 

 stand out against the white. The sub-apical brown, or rather black band of the 

 hairs of the tail, is broad and rather deeply edged with whitish ; the tip of the 

 tail is blackish, and the remainder more or less obscurely tinged with black and 

 orange. 



The incisors are pale yellow, and narrow : the facial portion of the skull 

 is rather short and moderately pointed, and the nasals are rather broad pos- 

 teriorly. 



Inches. 

 Length, muzzle to tail . . . . . . . . . .7*15 



„ of tail without hair ^ . . . . 6'50 



_,, „ with hair ......... 8'30 



The locality from whence this species was obtained has not been accurately 

 ascertained, but it is probably Borneo. 



