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Show 810 MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON [Nov. 3, Indian Rats and Mice given by Mr. Oldfield Thomas, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 525 :- 6- 2- inches. incbes. Head and body 3*4 35 Tail from anus 2*9 3 Hind foot 0*72 0*7 Fore arm and hand 0*88 0 87 Ear-conch, length (outside) .... 0*58 0*63 Muzzle to auditory meatus - 1 Both skulls are much broken ; that of the male has been extracted, and measures an inch in length from the occiput to the anterior termination of the premaxillaries, 0*15 across the frontals where narrowest between the orbits ; the length of the row of upper molars is 0*2, of the lower molars 0*17. The skull closely approaches in form to that of Mus mettada, except that it is more convex above. The dentition of the two species appears to me quite similar except in size. Mus gleadowi is indeed in many respects a miniature of Mus mettada. It has the same form of hind foot, with the hinder footpads wanting, though the deficiency appears carried further in the new species, judging by the specimens sent, in which only four pads are present, than it usually is in M. mettada, in which five is the usual number, though but four are often found. The small number of pads on the hind feet distinguish these two forms from all other Indian species of Mus, which have six, all well developed. From M. mettada the present species is distinguished by its much smaller size, and especially by its very small feet and tarsi-the latter being much longer in proportion to their diameter than in M. mettada-by the colour being very much lighter, sandy brown with a slight greyish tinge above, and pure white below, and by having only six mammae instead of eight. The eyes, too, appear proportionally much larger in M. gleadowi. 6. O n the Specific Characters and Structure of certain N e w - Zealand Earthworms. By F R A N K E. BEDDARD, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S., Prosector to the Society. [Received October 1, 1885.] (Plates LII. & LIII.) 1 have lately received through the kindness of Prof. T. J. Parker, ofOtago University, Dunedin, New Zealand, a number of excellently preserved Earthworms collected in the neighbourhood of that town. The specimens proved to belongto three distinct species, all apparently referable to Perrier's genus Acanthodrilus. I have been able to study |