172 Mr. 0. Thomas o?i 



York, but the colour is rather greyer, especially on the 

 shoulders and flanks, and the belly is more conspicuously 

 white. In the allied species the belly is dull or drabby white, 

 and, owing to the fur being thin and poor, the contrast with 

 the body is less strongly marked. 



Skull apparently not reaching quite the size it does in. 

 macropus, though there is a good deal of variation in this 

 respect. General shape similar, but interorbital region 

 markedly different, for while in maa^opus the edges are 

 developed laterally, overhanging the orbit, and evenly diver- 

 gent backwards, in sherrini they are parallel as far back as 

 the commencement of the cerebral cavity, where they diverge 

 a little and then run backwards across the parietals at a 

 less distance apart than in macropus. The ed^^es themselves 

 are smoothly rounded anteriorly, sharp posteriorly, and with 

 an even concavity between them. 



Other characters about as in macropus^ though the teeth 

 average slightly smaller. 



Dimensions of the type : — 



Head and body 286 mm.; tail 344 ; hind foot 56 ; ear 31. 



Skull: condylo-incisive length 64; zygomatic breadth 

 33'7; nasals 23; frontal, breadth at middle of orbital (not 

 orbito-zygomatic) fossa 10"5, breadth immediately behind 

 rudimentary postorbital projections 10 ; greatest breadth 

 between ridges on parietals 16"6 ; palatilar length 33*5 ; 

 palatine foramina 8'4 ; upper molar series (worn) 11*2. 



Hab. as above. 



Type. Adult female. B.M. no. 22. 12. 18. 9. Original 

 number 41. Collected 5th May, 1922. 



The parallel-sided shape of the interorbital region of the 

 skull will readily distinguish this species from U. macropus, 

 in which the supraorbital edges diverge widely behind, and 

 so alter the whole appearance of the skull. 



I have much pleasure in naming this fine rat in honour 

 of Mr. T. V. Sherrin, in recognition of the enthusiasm and 

 skill he has shown in making the collection now described, 

 and also in remembrance of many years^ able service as 

 taxidermist in the Museum c 



U. sherrini is in all probability the species called U. ma- 

 cropus in Collett^s paper, and recorded from Herbert Vale. 

 The skull in that case was somewhat larger, 69 mm. in length. 



4. Melomys cervinipes, Gould. 



S. 38, 46, 47, 50, 51, 52, 87; ? . 40, 44, 45, 49, 60, 66, 

 80; cT ill spirit. Dinner Creek, Raveushoe. 2900'. 



