| OCR Text |
Show 40 ON MAMMALS FROM SIAM. [Jan. 14, 8. LEPUS SIAMENSIS, sp. n. Lepus sp. inc. Flower, P. Z. S. 1900, p. 365; Bonh. P. Z. S. 1901, p. 56. General colour above fulvous and dark brown, the latter colour becoming absent on the hind-quarters and flanks, where the fulvous is slightly tinged with rufous. The whole of the under-parts except the lower neck and chest pure white, the line of demarcation being sharply defined. The neck, chest, and limbs are fulvous of varying shades, the colour being deepest on the fore legs, where it is tinged with rufous, and palest on the inner sides of the hind limbs, where it becomes nearly white. Each hair is dull white or greyish at the base, shading into dark brown (seal-brown, Ridgw.1) and having a broad subterminal fulvous (buff, Ridgw.) annulation. On the head the fulvous becomes deeper in colour, and there is an ill-defined whitish stripe running from the nostril to the front of the eye on either side. The ears, which are but scantily clothed with hair on their outer posterior surface, resemble on the anterior surface the general colour of the back, although the darker tint predominates. The outer anterior and posterior margins are white. At the tip the inner surface is clothed with pure fulvous hairs, while on the external surface the hairs are dark brown. The tail is dark brown above throughout its length and white underneath, with a slight tinge of buff on the sides. The skull resembles most nearly that of L. peguensis, from which it differs chiefly in the muzzle being slightly broader at its base. The basioccipital bulges outwards and downwards on either side instead of having its sides parallel, thus causing the bullae to appear at first sight somewhat smaller. The skull as a whole is, moreover, rather larger. Comparing the grooves on the upper incisors with those figured in Dr. Forsyth Major's paper (Trans. Linn. Soc, 2nd ser. Zool. vol. vii. p. 468,1899), it appears to be most nearly allied to L. hainanus, although somewhat intermediate between it and L. day anus. The groove in the species under consideration is moderately broad and nearly rectangular, with a small rounded process jutting out at about the centre of the outer margin. Dimensions of type (in flesh). Head and body 435 mm.; tail 66 ; hind foot 95 ; ear 82. Skull. Greatest length 86; breadth of palate at 1st molar 13; length 1st premolar to outer edge of incisors 27 ; greatest breadth of brain-case 30. Hab. Siam. Type. B.M. 1.7.7.13. <$ ad. Chiengmai, 16th Feb., 1901. This fine species is most nearly allied to L. hainanus Swinhoe, from which it is easily distinguished by its greater size and the 1 Ridgway, 'Nomenclature of Colours,' Boston, 1886. |
