1878.] W. T. Blanford — On some Mammals from Tenassenvi. 159 



Sciurus atridorsalis. 



Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H., 1842, Ser. 1, Vol. X, p. 263; 1867, Scr. 3, Vol. XX, 

 p. 284 ;— Blji;h, J. A. S. B. XXIV, p. 477 ; XXVIII, p. 276; XLIV, Pt. 2. Extra 

 number, p. 36 ;— Beavan, P. Z. S. 1866, p. 428. 



This is certainly the most variable of the Burmese squirrels. The back 

 varies in colour from dark speckled grey, with scarcely a tinge of fulvous, 

 to grizzled rufous tawny, the head being in the former case the same colour 

 as the back, or slightly rufescent, in the latter distinctly ferruginous, the 

 ears being usually even deeper rufous than the forehead. Occasionally the 

 whole back from the nape to the insertion of the tail, is black ; more com- 

 monly there is a black patch from between the shoulders to the rump, but 

 frequently the area of black is shorter and narrower, and occasionally, 

 especially in the more rufous specimens, not a trace remains. The whiskers 

 are sometimes entirely white, sometimes all black, occasionally mixed white 

 and black. The tail is normally grey like the sides, with more or less dis- 

 tinct transverse bands, due to the hairs being ringed greyish white and 

 black, but in some specimens all the hairs are black except at their extreme 

 tip, and in others, they are entirely pale rufous, save at the extreme base, 

 and even this amount of dark colouration disappears towards the tip of the 

 tail. The lower surface, including the breast, abdomen and inside of the 

 limbs is normally rich bay, but sometimes chesnut, pale ferruginous or even 

 pale rufescent, in the dark rufous form the red sometimes extends to the 

 throat, in other cases the lower neck is grey, or the whole central portion is 

 pale rufous, and only the lateral parts bay, especially on the breast. I have 

 two specimens also in which the middle of the breast and abdomen is grizzled 

 like the sides and throat, the lateral j^ortions of the lower parts alone being 

 bay. This shews a complete passage into S. gordoni^ : it is true that in 

 the latter, so far as I know, there is no black on the back, but as this pecu- 

 liarity is not constant is true S. atridorsalis, the distinction is evidently 

 insufficient. The paler under parts may possibly be due to immaturity ; with 

 this exception however I cannot find that the variations I have mentioned 

 are due to either sex or age. All specimens from Myawadi appear to have 

 black whiskers, and all from Moulmain white, but from Kaukaryit, on the 

 Houngdarau river, south of Myawadi, I have both forms, I am indebted to 

 Mr. Hume for a superb series of this species and of S. caniccps, and I have 

 also a considerable number of both from the collections made by Mr. Lim- 

 borg. These two are in fact the commonest squirrels of Tenasserim. 

 The following are measurements by Mr. Davison : 



* Anderson, P. Z. S., 1871, p. 140. 



