FJKOM THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 389 



as neither Mr. Whitehead's specimen nor one of Steere's co-types in the British 

 Museum has feet anything like so strikingly hlack as is there shown. 



The British Museum possesses examples of three species of middle-sized Squirrels 

 from the Philippines — S. steerei Giinth., of Palawan and Balabac, S. philippinensis 

 Waterh., of which, besides the much-deteriorated type from "Mindanao," Mr. Everett 

 has sent examples from Zamboanga and Basilan, and S. samarensis Steere, of 

 Samar. Whether, as the localities would indicate, S. mindanensis Steere (S. cagsi, 

 Mey.) is synonymous with S. philippinensis , or is most closely allied to S. samarensis, 

 I am not at present able to determine. 



" Met with both in Samar and Leite, but by no means common, being difficult to 

 see or shoot owing to the great height of the forest trees in these islands. 



"The ' Alalaksing' of the Bisayas." — J. W. 



Nannosciurus samakicus sp. n. 1 (Plate XXX. fig. 2.) 



a. ?. Samar, June 30, 1896. Type. 



Allied to N. concinnus Thos., but greyer and less rufous. Two premolars present in 

 the adult. 



Size and general characters very much as in N. concinnus. Fur, however, much 

 shorter and more velvet-like, the hairs about 5 millim. long on the back. General 

 colour of head and body finely grizzled olive-grey, with only a faint tinge of rufous on 

 the back, thus contrasting with the broadly rufous-washed N. concinnus. Under 

 surface rather thinly haired, dirty greyish, not defined on the sides. Limbs dusky, 

 upper sides of hands and feet dusky grizzled grey, a few orange-tipped hairs on the 

 digits. Characters of sole-pads apparently much as in N. concinnus. Tail similar to 

 that of the allied species, but the rufous rings on the hairs are less developed, and the 

 black ones more, su that the general result is darker. 



Skull apparently very similar to that of the allied species, but the nasals are some- 

 what narrower. 



Two upper premolars present, the anterior minute, styliform, circular, the posterior 

 considerably larger, but still much smaller than m. 1 . Molars all much more rounded 

 than in N. concinnus, their transverse scarcely exceeding their longitudinal diameter. 



Dimensions of the type, an adult female, in skin : — 



Head and body 88 millim. ; tail, without hair 69, with hair 94 ; hind foot 

 (moistened) 25-2. 



Skull: greatest breadth 16 2 ; nasals, length 7-7, breadth 3T ; interorbital breadth 10 ; 

 tip to tip of postorbital processes 12-6 ; diastema 6 ; length of cheek, with series (p. 4, 

 to m. 3 ) 4T, of three molars only 3-0. Lower jaw: condyle to incisor tip 18-2; bone 

 only 15-5. 



1 See preliminary diagnosis in Minutes of P. Z. S. for June 15, 1897 (published June 19). 



