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Show 416 MR. G. E. tt. BARRETT-HAMLLTON ON [Apr. 3» and Menetries M. minutus Pall. (M. messorius, Kerr), in the fauna of the Transcaucasian provinces. The latter probably m ay extend into Persia, but de Filippi particularly noticed the absence of M. musculus in the north-western part of the country, where he says it is replaced by 31. sylvaticus." 1 Of the Caucasus, Bosikoff states" that M. sylvaticus is very c o m m o n in the whole of the region ; but in a second, publication3 he alludes only to 31. arianus, so that, as Satunin remarks, it is difficult to ascertain which species really occurs in Malkathales. Satunin himself supports Bosikoff's second opinion. A s regards the Transcaucasian Field-mouse, Satunin himself states that it is difficult to properly name the specimens, since they present characters of both species, but he thinks that # on the whole they agree better with 31. sylvaticus. He finds typical sylvaticus at Tifiis. General Remarks. There can be little doubt that there has been a considerable confusion, perhaps of two or three separate forms, amongst the naturalists who have written of M. s. arianus; but for the present, and in the absence of an adequate series of specimens, I must follow M r . Oldfield Thomas, and regard all the small-footed Central Asian individuals of M. sylvaticus as belonging to this form. Even Mr. Blanford's belief in his own species seems to have become a little shaky, since he wrote4 in 1879 that " it is by no means certain that this form may not pass into the Eastern races of 31. sylvaticus; and it requires comparison with 31. sylvaticus. var. major of Badde ; but... it appears to be a well-marked type, with a wide distribution in Central Asia." The best remarks on this form are, I think, by Mr. Oldfield Thomas 5, who notes the close, almost identical, proportions of M. arianus and M. sylvaticus, the shorter foot of M. arianus (as compared with English examples), the failure of Mr. Blanford's skull-characters for M. arianus, and finally adds that, " on the whole, I think that 31. arianus will be found to represent a short-footed Eastern variety of M. sylvaticus worthy of a varietal name, but not enough to merit specific separation." "De Filippi's ' Mus sylvaticus L." is no doubt this short-footed form, and not the true European 31. sylvaticus." 15. MUS SYLVATICUS GRISEUS. Mus arianus griseus, F. W . True, Proc. U.S. Nat. M u s . vol. xvii. p. 8 (1894). Typical series (in U.S. Nat. M u s e u m ) : - 20151 Male. Mountains of Central Kashmir, Sept. 13 1891. 35514" 10,000 feet. 20139 35502" ^emale- Central Kashmir, Oct. 8, 1891. 8500 feet. 1 East. Pers. pp. 57 & 58. 2 ' Die Saugethiere des Malkathales,' p. 58. 3 ' In den Bergen des N.W. Kaucasus,' pp. 20, 31 & 51 4 5 JP.. ZA..S S.. 1B8.8 1v,ol p.p x.l v5i4i8i.- 5p5t0,. ii. p. 97. |
