Annals of the Transvaal Museum 
ii5 
Colouration: base of the hair on the whole of the upper parts dark slaty 
black, the external portion tawny and terminally glossy green; the eyes are 
surrounded by an ill-defined ring of reddish tawny, and the snout is more 
yellowish; below the base of the fur is greyer, the tips whitish, the sides 
merging from the colouration of the back to the paler colour of the under- 
parts. Fore feet greyish white, hind feet greyish tawny, darker on the sides 
and toes, and merging up the limbs to the darker colour of the back. Tail 
dorsally black, laterally and ventrally uniform dull white. Dorsally in general 
effect the colour is darker than in the darkest specimens of Otomys irroratus. 
The skull does not differ materially from that of O. laminatus, but the tooth 
row is very much larger, the upper molars measuring 11 mm. as against 10 in 
laminatus. Dimensions, taken in the flesh: length of the head and body 
172 mm., tail no, hind foot (s.u.) 34, ear 24. Skull: greatest length 44-5; 
zygomatic width 22; width of brain case 16-5; interorbital width 5; nasals, 
length 20, breadth 7-8; length of upper molar series (crowns) 11; diastema 
9-5; length of bullae 7, width (including meatus) 8-5. 
Type, old T. M. no. 2259, taken at Lormarins, Paarl District, 7th 
September, 1917. Specimens of Otomys irrovatus were captured in the same 
marsh 
