On a new Species of Pteromys. 407 



They make a large commodious nest of leaves, grass, fibrous 

 roots, &c. in the hollow of a tree. I do not know how long 

 the female goes with young. 



Nomenclature. — The Oral I believe has not before been 

 described, or found its way into our collections. The 

 animal has been seen by, and kept alive in the possession 

 of other gentlemen, but no description of it has, to my 

 knowledge, been given to the public. I have therefore 

 now, I believe, the good fortune of introducing a new and 

 interesting addition to our East Indian Fauna, which in 

 dimensions, if not in beauty, takes the lead of the Pteromes 

 described by Horsfield and others, as inhabitants of this 

 country, and of the adjacent islands. 



In that most difficult part of the business, the choosing 

 a specific name, I have been induced to adopt a vulgar and 

 familiar designation, notwithstanding the objections that 

 exist against such a choice; for in the present subject I 

 really know not what peculiarity or distinguishing trait I 

 can seize upon, on which to coin a name ; and naming an 

 animal from its colour, size, habitat, or manners, unless 

 those should be most striking, singular, or indeed aberrant 

 from those of the rest of the genus, is just as faulty. I there- 

 fore beg leave to name our subject " Oral," as it is so called 

 by the Koles, the only people I have met with, who appear 

 to be acquainted with the animal. The Hindoos have no 

 name for it, calling it either a bat, or a " chiria ,•" though 

 of course those of the upper provinces are acquainted with 

 the two known species of flying squirrel found in the hills 

 there — a large chesnut coloured and a small grey one, (P. 

 petaurista and P. lepidusT) 



The foregoing description I have collated from notes 

 taken at various times, and from observations made on eight 

 specimens, of which two are now alive and in good condi- 

 tion, and will I hope reach the Barrackpore park menagerie 

 in safety after the rains. All these have been procured in 



