40 
SECOND YAKKAND MISSION. 
These measurements would of course he for the most part rather more in fresh speci¬ 
mens. 
The following are the dimensions of a skull:— 
Metre. 
Inches. 
Length from occipital plane to end of premaxillaries . 
. -026 
1-03 
Breadth across zygomatic arches .... 
. -017 
0-67 
Do. between orbits ...... 
. -004 
0-15 
Length of nasal bones ...... 
. -008 
0-3 
Breadth of ditto in front ...... 
. -0035 
0-13 
Length of upper molars taken together 
. -007 
0-28 
Distance from incisors to upper molars 
. -0095 
0*38 
Length of lower jaw from condyle to symphysis 
. -019 
0-75 
The nasal hones are suddenly constricted at rather less than half their length from the 
front; thence they continue nearly the same width to the posterior extremity, where they are 
rounded. The incisors are orange in front, the upper pair sometimes with a very shallow 
groove down the middle. The anterior molar in the upper jaw consists of five prismatic lobes, 
and has three salient angles inside and three outside; the second consists of four lobes with 
two angles inside and three outside; the third of four lobes, the last being irregularly shaped 
and turned round at the end so as almost to form a fifth, and with three salient angles, the 
hindmost less prominent, inside, and three outside. In the lower jaw the anterior molar has 
four salient angles externally, five internally. The second tooth consisting of five prisms has 
three angles on each side, the third tooth consists of three lobes, and has three projections 
inside and two very small on the outside. 
On one of the labels it is stated that this species lives in holes in grassy places and 
fields. Stoliczka in Ins diary mentions finding it in the range north of Kashmir as well as 
on the Pankong lake. Mr. Theobald’s original specimens were from the Tso-moriri, 1 between 
Spiti and the Pankong lake, and he noticed its abundance on the shores of the lake where he 
frequently found that its holes “ were ranged in a long line against a hank, and usually ex¬ 
tended so far, that all attempts to capture an animal by digging or flooding the holes with water 
proved fruitless.” He adds : “ After infinite trouble, however, I managed to dig out an adult 
female, which on examination I found to contain six young ones, the size of horse-beans, 
three in each horn of the uterus. The total length of this specimen was 6T5 inches, of 
which the head was 1*3, and the tail 1-25 inches. I subsequently got several more, mostly 
half grown, by watching near their holes with a gun.” 
Of the types procured by Mr. Theobald, one, in spirit, was presented to the Asiatic 
Society’s Museum. This, after some search, has been refound by Mr. Theobald himself, and, 
although the label had been lost, satisfactorily and unmistakably identified. The specimen, 
although considerably smaller than the female mentioned above, proves to be an adult male. 
It is precisely similar to the specimens brought by Dr. Stoliczka from the Pankong lake. 
Dr. Stolickza, too, in his account (J. A. S. B., 1865, xxxiv, p. 110,) of the Lagomys , 
which he identified with L. curzonice , 2 mentions this species as inhabiting the borders of the 
Tso-moriri with the Lagomys and an Arctomys 3 . He says that the Armcola (Phaiomys) 
never frequents a great elevation above the bottom of the valleys, and is especially numer¬ 
ous in the neighbourhood of streams. He adds that it is found in Spiti and Lahoul, and 
even in Kulu. 
1 Tso, lake in Tibetan, sometimes written Cko, but I believe incorrectly. 
2 L. ladacensis. q. v. 
3 Probably A. caudatus, Jacquemont, q. v. 
