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Show 1903.] MAMMALS OF CYPRUS. 345 The type is now No. 3.12.4.23 of the British Museum Collection. The Cypriote Shrew in the colour of its winter coat resembles the browner and less speckled specimens from Western Europe, although the average length of the hairs is very much less, being 3-5 m m . as opposed to 5 m m . In summer the hairs are shorter still, averaging only 2-5 mm.; also at this season the fur of the dorsal region is much lighter and greyer. I have been unable to find any previous record of the occurrence of a Shrew in Cyprus, and it seems likely that it is not very plentiful, for I succeeded in trapping only three specimens, all of them being caught within a hundred yards of the same place. This was close to a stream, flanked by steep banks thickly clothed with grass, brambles, and other plants, not far from Papho in the south-west of the island. 10. VULPES VULPES (Linn.). It was expected that the Cypriote Fox would resemble that of Syria, which is evidently identical with the V.persica of Blanford *. However it is quite distinct, being a small red form very similar both in size and coloration, though somewhat yellower dorsally, to a specimen from Asia Minor in the National Collection, the skull of which was unfortunately not preserved. The Cypriote race probably ought to be included in one of the subspecies of the typical form, and may perhaps be found to be identical with the Fox of Southern Europe {V. melanogaster of Bonaparte) f. Its skull agrees in size with that of V. v. cegyptiaca. Five specimens of. this fox were procured, four in thick winter coats and one in summer, which latter was shot on Troodos at a height of about 6000 feet above sea-level. In this the fur is very thin and scanty, and except on the head and limbs has lost almost all trace of red or tawny colouring, being brown on the back and dull brownish white on the underparts. It is commonly found all over Cyprus, and is the only wild carnivore known to occur in the island at the present day. It is especially plentiful about the cliffs of Cape Pyla, where the natives shoot large numbers in winter, selling the skins to be made into rugs. 11. Mus RATTUS Linn. This species is represented in Cyprus by the brown form with lemon-white underparts {31. tectorum, Savi). In spite of the reward offered by Government for the destruction of these rats in the port-towns (to guard against the introduction of the bubonic plague by their means), they are excessively common, being found everywhere, both in or near buildings and at a distance from any inhabited houses. Mr. Gennadius, Director of Agriculture in * Zool. East. Persia, 1876, p. 39, pi. 11. t Icon. Fauna Ital. 1832, i. pi. i. |