MAMMALS OF LIBERIA 599 
small wounds on the tail as if they had been bitten in fighting. Snakes doubtless 
get a good many, for in a green viper and in a Gaboon viper brought in, we found 
a rat of this species. Apparently they avoid the forest. 
Praomys tullbergi rostratus (Miller). Short-haired Ground Rat 
Mus tullbergi rostratus Miller, Proc. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 2, p. 637, 1900: Mount Coffee, 
Liberia. 
In size and general appearance resembling the last, total length about 277 mm., tail 144, foot 
26; but fur fine in texture, soft and rather short, lacking the conspicuous longer guard hairs; young 
are gray above and paler gray below, but adults become dull ochraceous above, clearer on the sides; 
below whitish, the hairs with conspicuous gray bases; tail naked. 
The dense even texture of the fur is characteristic, and the foot is elongate 
like that of ground-living mammals, in contrast with the next genus, in which 
it is shortened for climbing. Thomas has pointed out other matters of difference 
in the number of roots in the molars and regards the species as representing a 
distinct genus (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, vol. 17, p. 178, 1926). Miller 
separated this form of the West African forest area from the typical race of the 
Cameroons chiefly on the basis of cranial characters, the skull having a heavier 
rostrum and mandible. His specimens, nine in all, were from Mount Coffee and 
we obtained others on the Du River, and at Gbanga and Paiata. An adult 
female had 1-2 =6 mammae. 
Hylomyscus alleni simus, new subspecies. Short-haired Bush Mouse 
Type, adult male, skin and skull, No. 24028, Museum of Comparative Zoology, from Merikay, 
interior of Liberia, September 13, 1926. G. M. Allen and H. J. Coolidge, Jr., collectors. 
Description. — Similar to H. a. stella of the Cameroons, but with much shorter rostrum and 
smaller teeth; the backs of the feet are dark brownish or dusky instead of dull whitish. 
Fur very fine, soft, and close; dorsal surface of head, body, and limbs dark ochraceous tawny, 
brighter, nearly cinnamon or tawny on crown, cheeks and shoulders; backs of hind feet ochraceous 
tawny, tips of toes whitish; ears and tail nearly naked, dull brown with minute scattered hairs; 
lower surface of body and limbs gray, the hairs with dull gray bases and minute whitish tips. 
Skull. — The skull, compared with that of H. a. stella from the Cameroons, differs chiefly in 
its obviously shortened rostrum and smaller teeth. The supraorbital edge is sharp, forming a short 
beading, though according to Thomas this is not so pronounced in stella as it is in H. aeta, a second 
Cameroon species, which apparently does not reach Liberia. Thomas has also pointed out that the 
mice of this group are distinguished from Praomys by the presence of but one internal and two 
external roots to the first upper molar. The rostrum of simus measured from the anterior base of 
the zygomatic plate to the tip of the nasals is about 1.5 mm. shorter than in stella (6.4 instead of 
7.8 mm.), and the tooth row is only 3.8 instead of 4.8 mm. 
Measurements. — The type measured in the flesh: total length 231 mm., tail 137, hind foot 
19, ear from meatus 16. 
Skull: greatest length 24 mm., basal length 21, palatal length 11.5, diastema 6.5, nasals 
8, orbit to tip of nasals 7.7, anterior base of zygomatic plate to tip of nasals 6.4, zygomatic 
width 12.4, width of braincase 11.4, across anterior molars 4.7, upper tooth row 3.8, lower 
tooth row 4. 
The short but broadly spread hind foot of these handsome mice is correlated 
with climbing habits. While we were stopping at the little village of Merikay 
(‘‘America”’), three specimens, a pair of adults and an immature, were brought 
to us, caught by a native apparently in the thatch of his hut. A Cameroons 
specimen was secured by Bates in a similar situation. At Paiata we obtained 
