Contribution to the Knowledge of the Cape Golden Moles. 303 



while immediately in front of it the dark hairs again preponderate 

 so greatly as to make the region behind the nose pad almost as dark 

 as the back of the head. The dark band behind the nose pad is from 

 2 to 3 mm. wide. Along the upper lip is a narrow band of yellowish- 

 brown fur, 2 mm. in width, which passes backwards and ends 

 abruptly below the white eye spot. 



It is possible that this may be same as C. albirostris, Wagner, 

 from ** Kaffraria." The figure given is very crude and the white 

 patch much greater and more marked than in the Natal form. Most 

 probably Wagner's animal will prove to be another sub-species of 

 C. hottentota. 



Chrysochloris OBTUSiROSTiiis, Peters. 

 Chrysochloris chrysilla, Thos. and Schwann. 



Chrysochloris ohtiisirostris was the name given, in 1852, by Peters 

 to a small mole from Inhambane, South-East Africa. The type is 

 well figured and described, but apparently has not been seen by 

 later workers, Dobson taking his description from Peters'. It is 

 characterised by : " Fur dark brown, with greenish golden or coppery 

 metallic gloss ; the lips, the sides of the head, the chin, and the 

 whole neck yellowish white. . . . The fur in the dried, and even 

 spirit-preserved specimens, is much paler and less metallic." The 

 dentition in C. obtusirostris differs so markedly from that in all the 

 other species that it seems advisable to place it in at least a distinct 

 sub-genus, which may be called Chrysotricha. 



Recently Thomas and Schwann have described two specimens 

 from Delagoa Bay under the name Aviblysomus chrysillus. They 

 say " this interesting little species has been hitherto confused with 

 A. obtusirostris, but differs by its smaller size and whitish fur." 



I have had an opportunity of examining four specimens of 

 C. obtusirostris or C. chrysilla — one from Delagoa Bay and three 

 from Zululand. The four specimens differ considerably in fur. One 

 Zululand specimen which had not been in spirit has the inner part 

 of the hair light greyish yellow, and the tips dark greyish brown, so 

 that the general appearance of the mole is dark greyish brown, quite 

 as dark as in Peters' figure of the type. A second Zululand specimen 

 has the middle portion of the hair a bright reddish brown, and the 

 tips a dark greyish brown as in the other. The third Zululand 

 specimen which is in spirit agrees fairly closely with the first. The 

 Delagoa Bay specimen is also a spirit specimen. It differs from the 

 others in having the tips of the dorsal hairs dark reddish brown. 



In the type of 0. chrysilla the fur is described as follows : 

 ''General colour pale, much paler than in any other species; the 



