416 MB. Q. B. a. BAEBETT-HAMILTON ON [Apr. 3, 



and Mene'tries M. minutus Pall. (M. messorius, Kerr), in the 

 fauna of the Transcaucasian provinces. The latter probably may 

 extend into Persia, but de Filippi particularly noticed the 

 absence of M. musculus in the north-western part of the country, 

 where he says it is replaced by M. sylvatieus." l 



Of the Caucasus, Ko-dkoff slates- that M. sylvatieus is very 

 common in the whole of the region ; but in a second publication 1 be 

 alludes only to M. arianus, so that, as Satunin remarks, it is 

 difficult to ascertain which species really occurs in Malkathales. 

 Satunin himself supports Kosikoff's second opinion. 



As regards the Transcaucasian Field-mouse, Satunin himself 

 states that it is difficult to properly name the specimens, since 

 they present characters of both species, but he thinks that on 

 the whole they agree better with M. sylvatieus. He finds typical 

 sylvatieus at Tiflis. 



General Remarks. There can be little doubt that there has been 

 a considerable confusion, perhaps of two or three separate forms, 

 amongst the naturalists who have written of M. s. arianus : but for 

 the present, and in the absence of an adequate series of specimens, 

 1 must follow Mr. Oldfield Thomas, and regard all the small-footed 

 Central Asian individuals of M. sylvatieus as belonging to this form. 



Even Mr. Blanford's belief in his own species seems to have 

 become a little shaky, since he wrote 4 in 1879 that " it is by no 

 means certain that this form may not pass into the Eastern races 

 of M. sylvatieus; and it requires comparison with M. sylvatieus, var. 

 major of Eadde ; but ... it appears to be a well-marked type, with 

 a wide distribution in Central Asia." 



The best remarks on this form are, 1 think, by Mr. Oldfield 

 Thomas \ who notes the close, almost identical, proportions of M. 

 arianus and M. sylvatieus, the shorter foot of M, arianus (as com- 

 pared with English examples), the failure of Mr. Blanford's skull- 

 characters for M. arianus. and finally adds that, " on the whole, I 

 think that M. arianus will be found to represent a short-footed 

 Eastern variety of M. sylvatieus worthy of a varietal name, but not 

 enough to merit specific separation." 



"De Filippi's ' Mus sylvatieus L.' is no doubt this short-footed 

 Form, and not the true European M. sylvatieus.'" 



15. MUS SYLVAXICUS GB1SEUS. 



Mus arianus griseus, P. W. True, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. vol. rvii. 

 p. 8 (1894). 



Typical series (in U.S. Nat. Museum): — 



20151 Male. Mountains of Central Kashmir. Sept. 13 1891. 



35514' 10,000 feet. 



20139 



., V)0 :,- Female. Central Kashmir. Oct. 8, 1891. 8500 feet. 



East. Pers. pp. 57 & 58. 



2 ' Die Saugethiere des Malkatbales,' p. 58. 



3 ' In den Bergen des N.W. Kaucasus.' pp. 20, 31 &, 51. 

 i J. A. S. B. vol. xlviii. pt. ii. p. 07. 



' P. Z.S. 1881, pp. 548-550. 



