66 



SECOND YARKAND MISSION. 



and the points are pale buff, almost cream colour, but some of the hairs have blackish tips, which 

 are in some specimens sufficiently numerous to produce a distinctly dark wash. The length 

 of the fur on the middle of the back is about lj inches. On the sides and rump the hair is 

 darker grey at the base, and the dusky ring near the tip is wanting. The hairs on the nape 

 are pale rufous throughout, on the breast pale rufous to almost white, with the basal portion 

 ashy. Hair of the face rather long, ashy at the base, then brown, becoming darker near the 

 tip, which is generally very pale ; some hairs, however, have black tips. Round the eye the 

 fur is paler. Whiskers very few and inconspicuous, the upper black, the lower brown or 

 white. Anterior external surface of ears the same colour as the face, posterior portion light 

 isabelline or whitish. The apex in some is dusky, but in two specimens out of the four this 

 is scarcely perceptible, and it is not black in any. Long hairs on anterior edge of ear white, 

 those inside the ear of the same colour, but becoming buff towards the margin ; the dark 

 band near the posterior edge very faint. Fore-legs very pale brown in front ; hind-legs still 

 paler brown outside ; pads rather darker, but variable as usual. Tail white below and at the 

 sides, with a broad dark brown band above, the hairs of which are dusky grey at the base. 



One striking peculiarity of this very pale coloured hare is the absence of any black 

 patches and of all grey colouration throughout. All the specimens were shot in winter. The 

 animal is very small, the following dimensions being from one of Dr. Stoliczka's labels to a 

 Yarkand skin : — 



Inches. 



Length 17 ' 



Tail from vent. . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 



Length of ear from base .......... 5*25 



Greatest width of do. ......... 2 - 8 



Length of head ........... 3 6 



Length of fore-foot. . . . . . . . . . 2*15 



Do. hind-foot 4'25 



In the skin the length from nose to rump of this specimen is 18 inches ; ears from head 

 between the ears 4'3 ; width of ear laid flat 225 ; tarsus 4 to 4*25. In the skeleton the skull 

 measures 3*2 inches, vertebrae of neck and body 115, tail, consisting of 12 vertebras, 3*25. 



The following are the dimensions of a skull, (PI. IV», fig. 2.) It is very small, though 

 fully adult, with peculiar short nasals, which are somewhat irregularly truncated behind near 

 their outer margins, but slope away from the posterior end of the suture, where the frontals 

 project forward in a point ; each nasal is convex in front, the suture occupying a depression. 

 The breadth behind the postorbital processes is greater than in the allied species, and the 

 supraorbital expansion of the processes is smaller than usual in the genus : — 





Metre. 



Inches. 



Length from occiput to front of incisors .... 



. -078 



3-1 



Breadth across zygomatic arches ..... 



. -037 



1-45 



Width between orbits across middle of postorbital processes 



. -021 



0-82 



Do. of frontal bones behind do. . 



. -014 



055 



Length of nasal bones ....... 



. -0285 



1-13 



Width of do. behind 



. -0155 



0-61 





•01 



0-4 



Length of six upper molars taken together 



. -014 



0-55 



1 This, I think, does not include the tail. 



2 Evidently the hair at the end is included. 



i 



