OCR Text |
Show 1877.] ON RODENTS ETC. FROM DUKE-OF-YORK ISLAND. 743 9. Supplementary Note on Rodents and Marsupials from Duke-of-York Island and New Ireland. By EDWARD R. ALSTON, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. [Received October 6, 1877.] In tbe first part of our ' Proceedings' for this year1 I described the Rodents and Marsupials sent by the Rev. G. Brown from Duke-of- York Island and the vicinity. Mr. E. Pierson-Ramsay, F.L.S., Curator of the Australian Museum at Sydney, has, it appears, described the same species in the ' Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales ;' and, as our works have thus clashed, it seems advisable to prevent any future confusion as to synonymy. The parts of the N e w South Wales ' Proceedings' "bear no date; but ' vol. i. pt. 4' reached England early in June, and therefore has clearly priority of our first part, published on the first of that mouth. Here Mr. Pierson-Ramsay describes the Kangaroo and Perameles of N e w Ireland under the names Halmaturus brownii and Perameles cockerelli. The former is, of course, m y Macropus lugens; and I unhesitatingly withdraw the specific title in favour of Mr. Ramsay's name. The latter is the species which I identified with P. doreyanus, an opinion which I see no reason to change. The third of M r. Pierson-Ramsay's papers appears in "vol. ii. pt. 1" of the same periodical, which is clearly subsequent in date of publication to our first part; for it contains papers read at a meeting of the Society on the 25th June. Consequently Mr. Ramsay's Mus 1 echimyoides and Mus musavora must be regarded as synonyms of m y Mus browni and Uromys rufescens respectively. The following, therefore, is the synonymy of the new species described by both Mr. Pierson-Ramsay and myself, with the more exact information as to locality &c. which is afforded by his papers. 1. Mus BROWNI. Mus browni, Alston, P.Z. S. 1877, p. 123. Mus? echimyoides, Piersou-Ramsay, P. Linn. Soc. N. S. W., ii. p. 15. Hab. Duke-of-York Island. " The young do not differ in coloration from the adults ; sexes are alike in colour." 2. UROMYS RUFESCENS. Uromys rufescens, Alston, torn. cit. p. 124, pl. xviii. Mus musavora, Pierson-Ramsay, torn. cit. p. 16. Hab. Duke-of-York Island, where it is found plentifully, feeding on the plantain. " It is known to the missionaries as the Banana Rat." 3. MACROPUS BROWNI. Halmaturus brownii, Pierson-Ramsay, op. cit. i. p. 307. Macropus lugens, Alston, torn. cit. p. 126, pl. xix. Hab. New Ireland. Unfortunately Mr. Ramsay's specimen, like • Antea, pp. 123-126. |