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Show 312 MR. OLDFIELD THOMAS OX [Nov. 4, 1 have much pleasure in naming this distinct species after Mr. Degen, the collector of the present interesting series. 15. Mus a l b ip e s Rupp. 2 c? , 1 2 • Addis Ababa. March, April. This species is readily distinguished by its long tail from the other members of the group. Mr. Pease also obtained two specimens of it at Lake Zuai. 16. Mus spp. 3 c? , 3 $ . Addis Ababa. February to March. 2 S • Ha wash R. March. <3. Gubre, God jam, 6000 feet. 9 May. 3 . Abulie, Kutai. June. Besides the long-tailed, long-skulled M. albipes, there appear to be more than one species of the difficult macrolepis-lateralis group in the collection, but without further material, with flesh-measurements, it is impossible to distinguish them or make out what names they should bear. Several of Heuglin's names appear to belong to this group. 17. L eggada mahomet Rhoads. <S . Addis Ababa. 5 April. 18. A rvicanthis abyssinicus Riipp. 3 2 ■ Addis Ababa. March. d 2 • Yah-Yah, Shoa. April. 4 S . Lake Tsana. May and June. 3 5 . Ha wash R. February and March. 5 . Lake Zuai. March. For all these Abyssinian Arvicanthes I provisionally use Riippell's name of abyssinicus, with typical specimens of which some of them entirely agree. But on the one hand there may be more than one definable form among them, and on the other identification has to be made of quite a number of other names which have been given to members of the group. Thus Meriones lacernatus Riipp. and Mus ochropus and M. rujidorsalis Heugl. are all evidently forms of Arvicanthis, and will have to be identified when further material is available. But the North Somali Arvicanthis, which has been identified with the East-African A. neumanni Matsch., is clearly distinct and is now described ' . 1 A r v i c a n t h i s s o m a l i c u s , sp. n . A small pale species allied to A. neumanni. Size markedly less than in the other members of the group. General colour pale sandy buff lined with brown, becoming more " pinkish buff" on the rump. No trace of a spinal dark line. Head paler, almost whitish, eye-rings and ears sandy fulvous. Under surface dull whitish, the hairs dark basalty. Upper surface of hands and feet buffv white. Tail blackish above, dull fulvous on the sides and below. Skull small, strongly built, with strongly-ridged supraorbital region. |