170 W. T. Blanford— On Golunda Ellioti. [No. 3, 



identification of Mus Mrsutus with Golunda Ellioti ; and as the skin sent 

 from Madras by Mr. Elliot as a specimen of the Gulandi is identical in 

 species with the Ceylon coffee-rat, as well as with the specimen from Sind, 

 there is no choice but to follow Mr. Blyth and consider all a» belonging 

 to one species, until the types can be compared. 



Judging by the description alone, I should have thought the coffee- 

 rat agreed much better with the description of Mus platythrix, Bennett, 

 which is described as having flattened spines, naked ears, and the tail nearly 

 as long as the body. The dimensions are smaller : head and body 3^ inches, 

 tail 3 ; but the proportions and colouration agree, and the type may not 

 have been full grown. This form, however, is, by Elliot, identified with the 

 Leggyade, an animal of very different habits from the Gulandi. 



Tbe question of synonymy must, therefore, be deferred. Meantime, 

 the identification of an Indian rat with the African genus JPelomys is of 

 some importance as adding another to the number of generic forms com- 

 mon to India and Africa, but not known to be represented to the eastward. 



JPelomys fallax resembles Golunda Ellioti in colouration, general 

 form, and dentition, but it differs widely from it in its other characters 

 and in its habits. It is a much larger animal, the adult being about 300 

 millemetres [12 inches] long from nose to end of tail. It has a differently 

 shaped head,* with the ears much smaller in proportion ; the fur of 

 JBelomys fallax is simply described as harsh and finely bristly (hart und 

 feinborstig), so that it probably presents none of the remarkable characters 

 found in Golunda Ellioti. P. fallax is said to be found in marshy places, 

 whilst Golunda Ellioti inhabits bushes on hill-sides.f 



p. g. — Since the above was in print, I have received from Mr. Fair- 

 bank a specimen of the true Gulandi, brought to him at Ahmednagar by 

 men of the Wadari or tank-diggar caste, the very people from whom Sir 

 W. Elliot appears to have procured his specimens. These people hunt and 

 eat rats and necessarily know all the species. The animal sent, an adult 

 female, is specifically identical with the Sind rats and with those from 

 Southern India and Ceylon, so there can no longer be a doubt as to the 

 propriety of referring all to Golunda Ellioti. The face is not so convex 

 as in the figure attached to this paper. The measurements are : — ■ 



* In the accompanying figure taken from the specimen in spirit after the skull 

 had been extracted, the convexity of the face is much exaggerated. This is the 

 form of the young animal only, I think. The head in the adult is very slightly convex. 



t Whilst this paper was passing through the press, I also received from Mr. 

 Fairbank specimens of the mettad, Golunda meltada, Gray, obtained at Ahmedna- 

 gar. They differ so much from G. Ellioti that I doubt if the two forms are con- 

 generic. In G. meltada (potius mettada) the incisors are not sulcated, the molars differ 

 but little from those of Mus, and the palate is much broader than in G. Ellioti. 



