238 RODENTIA. 



red in its latter lialf (Garo hills), it is observed, when the hairs are pulled aside, that 

 they are more or less annulated at their bases, and that the red colour is due 

 to the great development of the red tip which hides the underlying annulation. 

 In some specimens, however, the annulation of the hairs entirely disappears in 

 the red area. In squirrels with black tips to their tails, or in which half of 

 the tail is black, the same remarks are applicable as to the red-tailed forms. The 

 Bhutan squirrel has a black tip to its tail not abruptly defined, but merging 

 slowly from the preceding colour, which has a rufous tint about it, with the an- 

 nulation of the hairs not at all well marked. In some squirrels from the Khasia 

 hills the tip is occasionally whitish as in S. ferrugineus, var. herandrenii. In Assam 

 specimens the tail in its latter third is black, and the previous portion is richly 

 annulated with yellow and black, and is pale like the upper parts. In a young 

 animal, a few months old, in which the taU hairs are not yet lengthened, while 

 the terminal half of the tail is red, the distal end of the basal half is jet black, as 

 if nature were in doubt whether the tail should take on the red or black phase ; but 

 it would appear that these varieties in the colour of the tail are distiactive of 

 localities. 



The S. pwnctatissimus. Gray, resembles the type of S. erythrogaster, Blyth, 

 but is more darkly punctulated, the yellow bands being so minute that the general 

 colour of the upper parts is very dark. Its origin was unknown, but the type of 

 S. erythrogaster was from Munipore. 



The skull of S. erytlirceus has considerable breadth between the orbits, and the 

 nasals are rather elongated and narrow posteriorly. It is a much larger skull than 

 8. gordoni from Burma. The species is distributed all over Assam, the Garo and 

 Khasia hills and Munipore, and extends eastwards to Bhutan (Gray). 



SciURUS cASTANEOVENTRis, Gray. 



Sciurw castaneoventris, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. x. 1842, p. 263; Hand- List Mamm. 



B. M. 1843, p. 143; Blyth, Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. Mus. 1863, p. 102; Swinhoe, Proe. Zool. 



Soc. 1870, pp. 631 & 633 ; Hid. 1872, p. 818. 

 Sciurus griseojiectics, Blyth, Joui-n. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xxvi. 1855, p. 873, pi. xxxvii. fig. 3 ; 



Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 634 ; ibid. 1873, p. 818. 

 Sciurus eijthraws, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 257. 

 Sciurus cinnamomeoventris, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 634. 

 Macroxus fjriseopectus, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 282. 

 Macroxus erythrogaster, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 283 (in part). 

 Macroxus castaneoventris, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 283. 

 Sciurus loJcriah, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. p. 634. 

 Sciurus cliinensis, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 818. 



The types of ^S*. castaneoventris in the British Museum are referred by Dr. Gray 

 to both sexes. The female is evidently a young squirrel, and has a dark, chestnut- 

 coloured belly, this colour extending forwards over the throat, but not on to the chin. 

 The upper surface is ohve-brown; the hair annulated as in the previous species, but 



