KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 48. N:o 5. 109 
Hystrix galeata somalensis n. subsp. 
Vv 
A couple of years ago I had the opportunity of studying with the kind per- 
mission of my friend OLDFIELD THOMAS the material of Porcupines in British Museum 
Nat. Hist. I found then among other things that in Somaliland is to be found a 
Porcupine which is much smaller than H. galeata of the surrounding countries, Bri- 
tish East Africa, Abyssinia, and Eritrea. This small Somali Porcupine is represented 
in British Museum by two specimens both of which are old viz. a male (n:o 6, 5 
45 I)rand a female, (n:0:-6; 5, 4,10) from: Burao. 
The measurements of these specimens are as follows: 
, 
Aa O 
mm. mm. 
| Baseramaltlen gta stolfasle ts fa skor ars dafsree ss SR 125 132 
Distance from oceipital crest to tip of premaxillary, . = «= s .« sm cs « er: & 138 149 
IINECERIGUSIRLO HO tIÄRTTOST IN Ye r ss Eee rs felen Slas EN sees Weller ser, så de, SLÄT. soker se 33 | 32 
Frontal =» » SUR JER SAST EE GER LIES USESSIG ESP REA EN SSE SKEN 24 32 
Nasal » » NERE TYPES än ERE AN SID ST ISIISIEIUSE or vs) av dyk 85 | 87 
| Combined breadth of nasals at posterior end of nasopremaxillary suture . . - 56 63 
| » » » » » anterior » >» » » MA SOh 35 38 
[WG dthRaerosskpostorbitaliprocessest.ii« «islj:lsten os sie Ad co sk RNE : 61 | 68 
These measurements prove that, taken as a whole, the skull of the Somali Por- 
cupine even when fullgrown and old is smaller than the smallest male and semiadult 
skulls of H. galeata, and it thus deserves to be regarded as a separate race. 
In the thornbush country north of Guaso Nyiri where the fauna also in many 
other respects resembles that of Somaliland proper, I was fortunate enough to obtain 
a Porcupine which our native guide speared not far from the waterplace called 
Njoro, situated about 1” N. lat. This was an adult but not old female in which 
the last molar is in use but not much worn. The premolar has not yet been changed. 
Although the posterior portion of the skull has been broken by the spear itis quite 
clear that this specimen belongs to the same race as those from Burao in British 
museum, as the following measurements indicate. 
enotikoftnasalsmesially > bese nera dis mr bas Di ARE yen 83kmn. 
Combined breadth of nasals at posterior end of Dasopremasillary sutare . 54 
» » » » » anterior » » » » 34,5 
The length of the nasals is thus in all these three specimens measured shorter 
than the minimum in any adult H. galeata. The combined posterior width of the 
nasals lies within the limits of variation for H. galeata, but the combined breadth ot 
the same bones anteriorly is smaller than in the species mentioned. It approaches 
by this H. africe-australis to some degree without, however, reaching the same but 
