LEMMUS 617 



form a dense pencil ; annulations irregular but rather well 

 defined, about 0'5 mm. wide. Fur full and soft, the hairs of 

 general body-covering about 10 mm. in length, those of back 

 and rump increasing rather abruptly to 20 or 30 mm. Mammse : 

 p2-2, j 2-2 =8. 



Colour. — Underparts and sides buff, paler (in some specimens 

 whitish) on throat and chin, yellower on cheeks and sides of 

 neck, darker and more ochraceous on belly ; upper parts black 

 anteriorly, ochraceous posteriorly, the exact tint of the latter 

 varying between the ochraceous, raw-sienna, and tawny of 

 Ridgway, the slate-grey under colour appearing irregularly at 

 surface, especially at sides of longer haired area, where there is 

 usually an ill-defined blackish stripe, especially noticeable in 

 summer ; a narrow ill-defined black median stripe may usually 

 be traced backward from posterior border of black area to middle 

 of back or to rump ; black area everywhere sharply defined, its 

 posterior border a short distance behind shoulders, its lateral 

 border extending almost horizontallv along a line beginning at 

 nostril and passing just below eye and ear (leaving entire upper 

 lip buff) to side of shoulder, where it curves upward ; an 

 ochraceous buffy line, about 3 mm. wide, extends backward from 

 eye to region between ears where it abruptly widens to a 

 squarish patch, the two patches frequently uniting in median 

 line to form a conspicuous occipital area 20 mm. wide by 

 10 mm. long; extreme point of muzzle above naked pad pale 

 buff; some trace of a buffy median line usually present along 

 middle of face ; ear blackish, the hairs immediately surrounding 

 it mostly tipped or annulated with buffy ; feet light buffy with 

 a silvery gloss, the digits tinged with hair-brown ; claws light 

 horn-colour ; tail light buff, the upper surface usually sprinkled 

 with blackish hairs. There is not much seasonal change in 

 colour. Winter specimens tend to be more yellowish, summer 

 specimens more brown ; in the latter the median dark stripe on 

 middle of back reaches its extreme of distinctness, and the dark 

 border to ochraceous dorsal area is often rather conspicuous. 

 Newly born young are essentially similar to the adults, though 

 the buff and ochraceous are dull ; owing to the shortness of the 

 fur the colour pattern is very sharply defined. ' 



Skull. — In general form the skull is broad and depressed, 

 with rather slender rostrum and unusually heavy, abruptly 

 spreading zygomata. Dorsal profile essentially horizontal from 

 lambdoid region to anterior base of zygomata, the rostrum bent 

 abruptly downward at an angle of about 35° ; ventral profile 

 concave immediately behind incisors, then essentially parallel to 

 dorsal surface, but curving abruptly upward posteriorly from 

 middle of bulla to base of paroccipital process. Brain-case 

 broadly lyrate in outline when viewed from above, owing to 

 the noticeable constriction just in front of mastoid region, and 

 the abrupt posterior expansion over widest portion of bullse ; 



