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Show 1880.] MR. O. THOMAS ON A NEW MUS. 11 a glistening snow-white and of silky consistency. The use of the fringe surrounding the shield is, in m y opinion, solely to prevent the introduction of sand beneath it during excavation. The light fine sand in which the Chlamydophorus truncatus burrows proclaims unmistakably its presence, as well as that of even the minutest animals, by the tracks left; the fox, the beetle and the spider are thus equally betrayed. The natives are apt observers of these, and even from the saddle will decipher and distinguish at a glance the various foot-prints, and unerringly detail the animals that have passed any assigned spot during the night. With regard to our elegant little friend there is no mistake; besides the impressions of the four feet, the inclined stiff tail leaves its deep central indented line. Of course, after rain, which falls but seldom, the track is accentuated ; and the only sure way of effecting a capture is to follow it, as it leads directly to a small hillock of sand, by removing which, the entrance to the tunnel is exposed to view ; and if the tracks were numerous, the animal would no longer be rare; but it is a fact that a year or more sometimes elapses without any trace of its existence. In a few instances specimens have been unhoused by the plough. I could not succeed in discovering the nature of the food from the solitary live specimens I obtained; but I fed it on milk, which it lapped like a cat. I then endeavoured unsuccessfully to entice it with chopped meat, and only by artifice introduced some pieces into its mouth, which it swallowed. There are authentic cases of the Chlamydophorus being preyed upon by other animals, especially by Foxes and Cats. 3. Description of a n e w Species of Mus from the Fiji Islands. B y O L D F I E L D T H O M A S , F.Z.S. Assistant in the Zoological Department, British M u s e u m. The subject of this description was obtained in October 1878, near the village of Waitovu in the island of Ovalau, by Baron A. vonHfigel, who resided for some years in the Fiji Islands, and who has presented his small collection of Fijian Mammalia to the British Museum. This collection consists of specimens of Pteropus samoensis, Peale, Notopteris macdonaldi, Gray, Emballonura semicaudata, Peale, Mus decumanus, Pall., Mus exulans, Peale, and the specimen here described. The most noticeable point about this species is the character of the fur, which is extremely long, soft, and silky. The only other Rodent at all resembling it in this respect is the Hesperomys pana-mensis of Gray1, which has a similar character of the fur, though in a lesser degree. 1 Neomys panamcnsis, Gray, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 1873, xii. p. 417. |
