PTEEOMYS. 288 



Pteromts pectoralis, Swinhoe. 



Pteromys ^^ectoralis, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1852, p. 61; Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1870, 

 p. 634. 



Swinhoe describes this flying sqnirrel, which I have not seen, as " general rich 

 rufous ; tail lighter with brown at tip ; breast and streak down the centre of the 

 belly white. Length from snout to root of tail 20 inches, tail 15 inches, soft and 

 bushy. The red fur of the body is sparsely sprinkled with white hairs. The fur is 

 soft, moderately long, and much in character with that of P. grandis ; in some 

 lights it shows very brown." 



Confined to the southern mountains of Formosa. 



This form is evidently closely allied to the foregoing species. 



Pteromys melanopterus, a. M.-Edwards. 



Tteromys melanoptems, A. M.-Edwards, Ann. des Sc. Nat. Zool. 5tli ser. 1867, vol. viii. p. 375 ; 



Eech. des Mammif. 1868-74, p. 168, pi. xv«, figs. 2, la, U. 

 Pteromys xanthotis, A. M.-Edwards, Rech. des Mammif. 1868-74, p. 301. 



Tliis is a large species, of the dimensions of P. oral and P. alhiventer, to the 

 latter of which it is allied, as is evinced by the resemblance which the two forms 

 have to each other before maturity. In its general colour it approaches more to 

 P. cineraceus, Blyth, than to any other species. It is distinguished, however, from 

 these and from all the south-eastern Asiatic flying squirrels by its densely clad 

 tarsus— a character which A. M.-Edwards has not noticed in his description of this 

 species nor of P. xanthipes, and which is also a character of P. leucogenys, all of 

 which are northern forms. 



The head in the type, below and anterior to the ears, is greyish tinged with 

 brown, and there is a narrow brownish-yellow ring around the eyes. The back and 

 the top of the head are covered with hairs which are leaden grey towards their 

 bases, passmg into yellowish, washed with brown in their sub-terminal part, then 

 into a brilliant and clear greyish- white, frequently ending in a small black or deep 

 brown point. A. M.-Edwards describes the general colour as " un gris jaune clair, 

 presque argente par plaqiws.sur lequel se detaclient une multitude de petites touches 

 d\m brim noirdtrer The upper surface of the parachute is almost wholly black, 

 but some of the hairs are terminated by brilliant yeUow points, wliilst the border is 

 weU-defined greyish- white ; on the under surface, it is entirely very clear yellow. 

 The limbs are much like the back, and the feet are black. The beUy is a clear 

 greyish-ashy, less tinged with yellow than in P. oral. The tail is very bushy, and 

 less brilliantly coloured than the back. 



In the Paris Museum there is another example of this species which has been 

 received since A. M.-Edwards drew up his description. It is less grey than the 

 type, and has the tail more brilliant yellow, washed with blackish. This specimen, 



