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Show 342 MR. OLDFIELD THOMAS ON [Nov. 28, " Not uncommon; usually found in the embankments that bound the terraced paddy-fields. Often accepting bait of rice or wheat. The stomach contents of those examined was largely of a vegetable character, not mixed with earth as when earthworms are the chief food."-M. P. A. This observation about the food of Urotrichus is of remarkable interest, as it is quite opposed to the general rule in the Talpidse. I can find no previous statement on the subject, either as regards this genus or its American ally Neurotrichus. 15. U r o tr ich u s t a l po id e s p il ir o str is True. Dymecodon pilirostris True, P. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 97 (juv.). <-?. 53, 61, 62, 65, 73, 74, 75. $ . 55. Tsunagi, near Morioka, Iwate Ken, N. Hondo. 3 . 94, 95. Morioka, Iwate Ken, N. Hondo. <S . 142, 144, 145, 162. £ . 143, 152, 161. Nakaomi, near Ohito, Izu, S.E. Hondo. 400'. These specimens, from Hondo, are all of a " slate-black " (grey no. 2), with a slight tinge of " mouse-grey," and are without the distinctly brown tone of the typical talpoides of Kiushiu and Shikoku. They are also very slightly smaller, with shorter tails and shorter hind feet. The following are the measurements (in mm.) of a pair from Izu, near the typical locality of " Dymecodon pilirostris" :- 3 . Head and body 92 ; tail 30; hind foot 14-?». $ . „ 90; „ 26; „ 14-5. A study of Mr. True's description of the genus Dymecodon convinced me that his specimen was a young Urotrichus, and this suggestion has been confirmed by Mr. Gerrit Miller, who tells me that the type, now in the U.S. National Museum, " is young, with the milk-dentition still in place." But Mr. Miller goes on to state that the molars of pilirostris are smaller than those of talpoides, and that there are other slight cranial differences, although, owing to the youth of the specimen, he cannot express an opinion as to their value. " My surmise would be that Dymecodon is the same as Urotrichus, but that the species pilirostris is quite distinct from the ordinary animal." On geographical grounds, however, it appears to me so unlikely that there should be a different species of Urotrichus at Yeno-shima, a place in the Bay of Tokyo quite close to Misaki, where we know the ordinary form occurs, and not far from the Izu peninsula, that I do not at present feel justified in giving the Hondo subspecies any other name than pilirostris. 16. C a n is i io d o p h y la x Temm. c?. 255. Washikaguchi, Nara Ken, Hondo. " The Wolf was purchased in the flesh, and I can learn but little about it. It is rare, some say almost extinct. Japanese name ‘ Okami ' or 1 Aamainu.' "-M. P. A. |
