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Show 414 MR. G. E. H. BARRETT-HAMILTON ON [Apr. ^, north of Kashgar." Further, the types seem to have been lost, being neither in the Museums of St. Petersburg or of Moscow. The usual course would, therefore, have been to have consigned Severtzoff's name to the list of those of unrecognizable species ; and this I should have clone, had not Herr Biichner, who had under his examination a large number of typical Mus wagneri from Turkestan, and who noticed that Severtzoff mentions no sglvaticus-like Mouse in his account of the Mammals of that region, bracketed Mus wagneri major with Mus arianus. I am, therefore, glad to follow Herr Biichner on that point. When, however, we do receive a series of the representative of Mus sglvaticus from Turkestan, I should not be surprised if it prove to be neither the subspecies arianus nor any other known subspecies. Distinguishing Characteristics. Although there is no doubt that it is extremely close to Mus s. intermedins, like some other geographical forms of Mus sylvaticus, 31. s. arianus was originally described as if it were something so distinct in itself as to need no comparison with any other species ; hence no particular characters are laid down in the original description whereby the two may be separated. It agrees with 31 us s. intermedins of England in general appearance and in the number of the mammae, and Mr. Blanford's plate in ' Eastern Persia' would do very well for a specimen from Western Europe; but it appears to differ in the lesser size and length of the hind feet, and is said to be never of so intense a red-brown colour on tbe upper surface. Probably, had we a series from the distant regions where it is found, we should find other points of difference. The colour of the underside of the specimens examined by Herr Biichner was not, as in Mr. Blanford's examples, white, but golden grey (gelblichgrau), with a sprinkling of grey hairs, and there was no breast-spot; but, as has been said above, it is more than likely that several distinct subspecies have been confounded under the name of arianus. I have no series of this Mouse before me, the only specimens at my disposal being no. 74.11.21.22 (1730 a), the skull of a female and one of Mr. Blanford's co-types ; no. 96.11.2.1, a female in alcohol from Gulmerg, Cashmere, 5000 ft. (Dr. E. T. Aitchison); and a third specimen in alcohol, no. 91.93.20.15, with the mamma? as in Mus sylvaticus; so that I am quite unable to give a decided opinion as to the exact appearance of this form, but must follow Mr. Blanford and other naturalists in considering it distinct. Neither can I lay down any characters which will help to distinguish the skull from that of 31. s. typicus. The skull certainly appears to be more massive and stronger than the skulls of Western European examples ; but it is probable that the cranial characters given by Mr. Blanford l would not stand the test of 1 It may perhaps be well to summarize these, as given by Mr. Blanford in the J. A. S. B. xlviii. pt. ii. (1879):-The occipital portion of the skull and the foramen magnum of European specimens is higher in proportion to its breadth tban in M. s. arianus; the opening of the posterior nares is narrower, the breadth being less than that of the anterior upper molar, whereas in a skull |
