16. 
SPORT AND SCIENCE ON THE 
from Tabool are topotypes, the subspecies 
having been described by Mr. Thomas from 
specimens taken by Anderson in this district. 
One of the four specimens taken 20 miles 
west of Lama Miao, inside the ruins of Sui-lang- 
ch’éng, is remarkable in having a much greyer 
and softer pelt than any of the others. At 
first sight I took it to be a totally different 
animal, but from an examination of its skull 
and its other characteristics it seems to belong 
to the same species. , 
The Chinese name is “ Sha hsu,” meaning 
‘““Sand rat’? (Sha = sand; hsu = rat). 
Meriones auceps, Thos. 
Five specimens, 1 3, 4 99. Wu-tsai, 20 
miles W. of Ning-wu Fu, Shansi. 6,000 
ft. (?) 
Originally described from the T’ai-yiian 
' Fu district, Mr. Thomas says of it: “ Of 
the other Chinese Meriones described, this 
very pretty species may be distinguished from 
M. unguiculatus by its whitish claws, buffy 
ears, whiter bullze, and less blackened tail ; 
from M. psammophilus by its larger size 
and buffy ears; and from both by its enor- 
mously large bulle, which indicate that it 
is not really closely allied to either of them.” 
This species is purely nocturnal in its 
habits, which may account for the “ enor- 
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