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Show 632 MR. R. SWINHOE ON CHINESE MAMMALS. [June 23, Ear ochreous in front, black behind, with yellowish chestnut at base. Round eye and on space in front bright rufous. Rest ot head light rufous, grizzled with white on the cheeks and crown. Upper parts dingy ochreous, with more or less rufous on the hind neck and shoulders, and brightening into chestnut on the back ; deep rust-colour near the tail, grizzled with white, the white increasing on the sides of the buttocks; under-fur of the back dusky grey at base, rust-colour above. Tail rusty chestnut on the upper surface, with some of the hairs tipped with black ; its sides and under surface light dingy buff, with the apical half of each hair black ; its end with a conspicuous white tip. Anterior surface of fore legs blackish grizzled with white, outer sides rusty grizzled with yellowish, inner sides buff, under surface and hair between toes dingy brown. The white on the chest continuous downward in a line^to the middle of the belly. Belly from behind fore legs, on each side of the white line, chestnut buff. Abdomen whitish buff, with a faint tinge of purple. Anterior surface of hind legs as of fore legs ; their sides and under tarsi bright rusty chestnut. Head 7 inches; neck to root of tail 19 ; tail 13*5, with 3 inches of hair projecting beyond. Length of ear 3. Length of fore foot, from carpal joint to tip of nails 3*76 ; of hind foot 5*5. The cub about six weeks old is covered with thick downy hair, with a few long soft hairs intersprinkled. The rufous patch between the eye and nose is well marked. Upper lip and throat white, blackish on chin. Chest dingy white. Ear yellowish in front, black behind. Paws and toes blackish on upper surface. Crown and upper back dingy rust-colour ; shoulders and sides of the body whitish. Tail light dingy, with a rufous wash on the upper surface. Underparts light dingy rust-colour, with a purplish wash. This Fox is common on the bare granitic hills of Amoy ; and I have seen as many as six together at a time. When pursued they spring with great agility from rock to rock, and soon outrun a Greyhound on such rough ground; but on the plains they are no match for the dog. They descend to the plains at night, and rob the heu-roosts. I°have also seen them in Hongkong island. About Tientsin, in North China, Foxes are also common; but I have never handled a specimen from any northern locality. No Fox has been found in Formosa. 47. V U L P E S L I N E I V E N T E R , sp. nov. (South-China Mountain-fox.) Two Foxes were brought to me at A m o y in 1867, from the higher mountains of Fokien. They are very like the Black-bellied Fox of Europe, V. vulgaris, var. melanogaster, Bp. ; but are remarkable for having a fine line of chestnut on each side of the belly. They are very brightly coloured, and so differ conspicuously from the last-described pale species, though in form and size very similar. Unfortunately the skulls were not saved. Head grizzled with white and chestnut, round and under eye rich chestnut. A broad angular mark of brown from anterior corner of |
