KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAB. BAND 48. N:0 5. 49 



Macroscelidae. 



Elephantulus pulcher rendilis n. sp. 



The specimens of ^Jumping Shrews » collected north of Guaso Nyiri in the 

 thornbush appear to be closely related to E. pulcher Thomas.^ The small differences 

 will be discussed further below. 



To judge from the locality and considering other components of the fauna of 

 the thornbush I almost expected to meet there some of the somewhat more northern 

 forms, but the following comparison with the descriptions prove this to be excluded, 

 even if there is a great affinity to some of them. E. boranus^ Thomas differs in 

 having » basal halves of belly -hairs dark slaty; line of demarcation indistinct*. In 

 the present specimens the hairs of the lower side of the body are entirely white, 

 although towards the sides near the line of demarcation grey, and finally slaty, basal 

 parts appear, but even there not by far extending half way up the hair ; the line of 

 demarcation is sharp. E. boranus is also apparently more richly coloured above as 

 Thomas speaks about its back being »a deeper chestnut* . 



The Abyssinian E. peasei Thomas' is larger than the present specimens (»hind 

 foot s. u. 35»; »Greatest length of skull 38 ») and »the bases of the hair everywhere 

 slaty grey», and the white of the lower surface not sharply defined. 



E. somalicus Thomas* is said to be similar to E. peasei but paler in colour. 

 In this respect as well as in the somewhat smaller dimensions it appears to approach 

 my specimens, but the slaty bases of the belly-hairs give a distinguishing characte- 

 ristic. 



E. dundasi Dollman ^ from Lake Baringo has also slate grey bases to the belly- 

 hairs, rather longer nasals and longer upper tooth-row. 



E. pTicBus Heller® from Sotik has »hair every where dark slate at base». Its 

 skull appears to be longer but its upper tooth-row comparatively shorter than in my 

 specimens. 



E. revoili Huet' from Somaliland appears to have larger hind foot (40 mm.), 

 and longer tooth-row (20 mm) in addition to its different colour. 



E. delicatus Dollman^ quite recently described from »Orr Valley, Mt. Nyiro», 

 is said te have »underparts white, hairs almost white to roots, the extreme bases of 

 the hairs alone being greyish*. In this respect the race mentioned resembles my spe- 

 cimens more than the others do. But E. delicatus has a longer skull (37 mm.), longer 

 nasals (15 mm.), longer palate etc. 



1 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 6. Vol. XIII p. 69. 



= Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1900. p. 802. 



3 Ann. & Mag. Ser. 7 Vol. VIII. p. 154. 



* L. c. p. 255. 



!■' Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 8 Vol. V. 



" Smithson. Misc. Coll. Washington 1910. Vol. 56 n:o 15 p. 8. 



' Mission Eevoil aux Pays Qomalis, Fauna et Flore. Mamm. 1882 p. 5. 



8 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 8. Vol. VIII. 



K. 8v. Vet. Akad. Handl. Band. 48. N:o 5. '' 



