140 Rough Notes on the Zoology of Candahar. [No. 170. 



this is A. indica of Hardwicke or not. It occurs south of Bhawulpore, 

 and is abundant in Afghanistan from Quettah to Girishk, throwing up 

 the mould after the manner of the mole. It feeds on herbs and seed, 

 and burrows in the ground beneath hedge-rows and bushes, as well as 

 along the banks of ditches. Its nest is deep-seated, and it constructs so 

 many false galleries immediately below the surface, that it is diffi- 

 cult to find the true passage to its retreat, which dips down suddenly 

 from about the middle of the labyrinth above. In the gardens and along 

 the sides of water- courses in the fields at Candahar, their earth- heaps 

 are abundant. 



No. 27. Mus [bactrianus, Blyth, n. s.] 30 This is the common house 

 mouse of Candahar, but the house rat is I believe unknown there; at 

 least so all my informants agreed in stating, and I certainly never saw 

 one, although for two years I was in charge of extensive grain godowns, 

 which would naturally have attracted them had any existed. 



No. 28. Lagomys [rufescens, Gray, An. and Mag. Nat. Hist. X, 

 266.] 31 



these two species bear a very close resemblance. Length, minus the tail, about six 

 inches: the tail (vertebrae) four: tarsus, with toes and claws, an inch and three- 

 eighths: ears posteriorly half an inch; to anteal base three-quarters of an inch. 

 Fur soft and fine, blackish for the larger basal half of the piles, the surface pale ru- 

 fescent-brown, deepest along the crown and back, pale below, and whitish on the 

 throat: whiskers small and fine, and chiefly black: tail naked: feet light brown: 

 incisive tusks buff-coloured, the enamel of this hue partially worn away on those of the 

 upper jaw. — Cur. As. Soc. 



30. This little animal presents a very close approximation to M. musculus in size, 

 proportions, and structure, inclusive of the conformation of the skull; but the fur is 

 much denser and longer, and its colouring absolutely resembles that of a pale specimen 

 of Gerbillus indicus, except that there is no whitish about the eyes, nor is the crown of 

 a deeper hue, and the tail is thinly clad with short pale hairs to the end. Comparison 

 of recent specimens would probably elicit some further distinctions from M. musculus, 

 especially in the larger eye, and somewhat more produced muzzle ; but 1 cannot ven- 

 ture upon describing such differences from a single skin. The entire under-parts and 

 feet are white; and the upper parts light isabelline, with dusky extreme tips to the 

 hairs, and their basal two-thirds deep ashy. — Cur. As. Soc. 



31. Length about six inches : tarsus to end of claws an inch and three-eighths. The 

 skull exhibits good specifical differences from that of L. Hodgsoni, nobis, J. A. S. 

 X, 816; being in particular much narrower between the orbits. Mr. Gray, in his 

 • Catalogue of Mammalia in the British Museum,' refers L. Hodgsoni to L. Roylei 

 with a mark of doubt; and afterwards seems to identify it with L. nipalensis, Hodgson 

 — a very different species; but the plates to accompany the descriptions ofZ.. Hodg- 

 soni and L. nipalensis were unfortunately transposed. L. rufescens exhibits the same 

 sandy colouring so prevalent among the animals of Scinde and Afghanistan, and also 

 those of Egypt.— Cur. As. Soc. 



