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Show 404 MR. G. E. H. BARRETT-HAMILTON ON [Apr. 3, This gentleman, to whose kindness I am indebted for permission to examine the whole of his interesting series of 14 specimens of this subspecies, has drawn m y attention to the curious fact that the young males appear to lose the dull hues of immaturity of the upperside, and to don the reddish colour of maturity, at an earlier age than do the females, so that young males and females of the same age are actually distinguishable by their colour alone. If this be so, it would seem to be a quite unique case in the Bodentia, an order among the species of which, as I am informed by m y friend Mr. Oldfield Thomas, sexual differences are excessively rare. 4. MUS SYLVATICUS HIRTENSIS. Mus hirtensis, Barrett-Hamilton, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1899, p. 81. Type. No. 94.7.16.1 (British Museum collection), a young male collected by Mr. J. Steele Elliott at St. Kilda. Distinguishing Characteristics. Closely allied to M. s. hebridensis, from which, however, it differs in its slightly larger size, and also in the greater amount of buff or yellowish-brown coloration on the underside. Like Mus s. hebridensis, it differs from M. s. intermedins, apart from its greater size, in the more uniform coloration of the upper surface of the body, in the absence of the clearly defined white underside, and in the longer feet and shorter ears. The skull is similar to that of 31. s. hebridensis, but appears to be slightly larger, reaching a length of 29 mm., and equalling in size that of the largest specimen of 31. s. wintoni. Distribution. Known only from the island of St. Kilda. General Remarks. This is another interesting insular development of Mus sylvaticus, the status of which has been already discussed (op. cit.). Like M. s. hebridensis, it seems to have been first obtained by Mr. J. Steele Elliott, who presented the type specimen •* to the British Museum in 1894. This was supplemented by a series procured for m e by m y friend Mr. Henry Evans, of Jura, Scotland, in 1898. I have already suggested the possibility that this Mouse may be indigenous to St. Kilda, a suggestion which is heightened by the fact that, as Mr. Steele Elliott informs me, "there is no landing-place at St. Kilda, so rats and mice stand a poor chance of getting on the islands from any boats that call, especially as provisions taken on are also very limited " a. 5. Mus SYLVATICUS TYPICUS, Linnaous, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 1758 p. 62. Mus fiavicollis, H . B. Melchior, Den danske Stats og Norges 1 Trapped in a hole in a loose stone wall at a height of about 6 feet from the ground. 2 Mr. E. M . Barrington writes m e that when he was at St. Kilda in 1881 he found a dead and dried specimen on the headland opposite the Doon, but, unfortunately, did not preserve it. |
