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Show 542 MR. O. THOMAS ON T H E [May 3, is based on both specimens, and ought therefore to be fairly complete :- Fur long and soft, above slate-coloured for seven eighths of its length, the terminal eighth being greyish fawn. The greater part of the belly is pure white in both specimens; but it is probably sometimes dark, as there is an indication of this colour on the centre of the chest in each case, as in certain specimens of M. alexandrinus. The tail is very much longer than the head and body; for half its length it is above and below dark-coloured and short-haired, as in other Rats ; but then its colour abruptly changes to white all round, and the hairs gradually lengthen from this point and form a white brush at the tip. Dr. Scully's Gilgit specimens of M. alexandrinus have their tails much more hairy than is usual in that species; but in their other characters they in no way resemble Mus Blanfordi. The feet are entirely white in the adult male ; but in the female there is a distinct brown tinge on the upper surface of both fore and hind feet; this, therefore, is no doubt variable. The hind foot (Plate LI. fig. 6) is of somewhat different proportions from those which obtain in the other Indian Rats, the tarsus being somewhat long, while the phalanges are particularly short. The proportional lengths of the toes are much as in Mus alexandrinus, except in the case of the fifth digit on both fore and hind feet, which is rather longer as compared with the fourth. The pads are large and rounded, and, in the hind feet, somewhat crowded together, as shown in the figure. The ears are large and dark-coloured. On their outer side the anterior half is thickly covered with short brown hairs, the posterior half being very nearly naked. On the inner side the hairs are much fewer and shorter than on the outer, and are mostly confined to the posterior half. In the original description the ears were said to be " nearly naked ;" but this condition in the type was probably owing to the rubbing the ears had received in the taking-out of the skull. As far as I can discover, there are only six mammae in the female - o n e pair almost in the axillae, and two pairs close together in the inguinal region. The intestines nave unfortunately been removed from both specimens, so that I have not been able to examine the caecum. Measurements. Ad. <$. Head and body 6*0 Tail * 8*0 Hind foot P33 Forearm and hand 1*6 Ear-conch, length Muzzle to ear P5 It will thus be seen that, by its external characters only, M. blanfordi is a most distinct species, its whole appearance being quite different from that of any other Rat that I have seen. Its large 2 (type). 4*1 6*1 1*2 1*3 •7 |
