SCITJRTJS p h a y r e i , Blyth.
Sciurus phayrei, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng. vol. xxiv. 1855, p. 472 et p. 476; ibid. vol. xxviii.
1859, p. 275; ibid. vol. xliv. (ex.no.) 1875, p. ,86; Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. Mus. 1868, p. 104;
Peters, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1866, p. 429; W. T.'Blanford, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i. 4th
ser. 1868, p. 152. . ...
Sciurus pygerythrus, Blyth, var. Journ. As. Soc. Beng. vol. xvii. ‘1848, p. 845; ibid. vol. xviu. 1849,
p . 6 0 2 . .*
Macroxusphayrei, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 277.
The laterally banded squirrel from Martaban, described by Blyth as S. phayrei,
resembles S. pygerythrus in the colour of its upper parts and in the character of
its tail, which has a well-defined, black tip. The lower parts are rich orange-red,
but of variable intensity, and this colour is continued, more or less, along the under
surface of the tail. The insides of the limbs are of the same colour, and this is
continued on to the front of the thigh and upon the feet; the fore limbs are tinged
with dusky, externally, above the pale rufous or yellowish feet. I t is distinguished
from 8. pygerythrus by a broad, well-defined, blackish band upon the flanks,
separating the colours on the back and belly.
The skull of this species has much the same characters as the skulls of
S. blcmfordii and 8. caniceps, but it is somewhat smaller. A skull, however,
referred by Blyth to this species, but unverified by a skin, is considerably larger
than the skull of these two species, and remarkably resembles the skull of
S. blcmfordii.
This form occurs in Martaban, and extends northwards to Upper Burma,
having been obtained at Tounghu.
* S citjrtjs b l a n f o r d i i , Blyth, Plate XVIII.
Sciurus blmfordii, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Beng, vol. xxxi. 1862, p. 838 e tp . 891; ibid. vol. xxxii.
1863, p. 73; ibid. vol. xliv. (1875 ex. no.), p. 86; Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. Mus. 1868, p. 104;
W. T. Blanford, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 4th ser. vol. i. 1868, p.-l 52.
Macroxus blanfordii, Gray, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1867, vol. xx. p. 284.
This grey, but orange-bellied squirrel, first discovered in Upper Burma, in the
vicinity of Ava, is pale grey above, the fur being finely punctulated with black
and grey, which is also the colour of the tail, which has a well-marked black
tip. The hands and feet are yellow. The under surface is pale orange-yellow
from the chin to the vent. I t is of the same size as 8. ccmiceps and 8. phayrei,
with the same proportions of tail to body, and its ears are alike in shape and
size to those of these two forms; and a female shot by me at Pudeepyoo .in
Upper Burma, in the beginning of January, has a distinct tendency to the formation
of a dusky lateral stripe, and the under parts are much more rich orange than in
the type.
The skeleton of this individual has 12 ribs, and 7 lumbar and 26 caudal
vertebrae. There are five meso-stemal elements in addition to the manubrium. The
under surfaces of the bodies of the cervical vertebrae are marked by a feeble
median ridge, and external to it, on the hinder margin on each side, a small well-
defined nodule is present. The under surfaces of the lumbar vertebrae, with
the exception of the last, are strongly ridged, and the ridge is prolonged forwards
more feebly along the dorsal vertebrae and is almost lost on the second
dorsal.
I have examined a very extensive series of squirrels belonging to the various
forms above described, viz., 8. pygerythrus, 8. caniceps, S. phayrei, and 8. blcmfordii,
and of others, which appear to indicate at least, if not to prove, that all of them
are in some way related to each other.
Out of a large series of specimens referable to 8. caniceps, the males illustrate
three phases of colouring associated with a difference in the character of the
fur. The first is a grey, the second a yellowish, and the third a phase in which the
back becomes brilliant yellowish-red.
In the grey phase,—and the squirrels presenting it are all adults,—the fur of
the upper parts is so identical with that of 8. blanfordii that it is impossible to distinguish
between the two forms, in a series of skins laid out belly downwards.
The fur is grey all over, very finely speckled with black and greyish; and the
tails of the two forms also are identical, being annulated with greyish and black
in such a way that there is a tendency to a ringing of the tail with these colours,
the tip in both being black. The feet also are nearly white or pale yellowish, as in
8. blcmfordii. But on examining the under parts, it is found that in these phases of
8. caniceps they are grey, whereas in 8. blanfordii they are a beautiful rich orange,
and the feet are yellow. I have never observed a specimen with the under parts
similarly coloured to those of 8. blanfordii, but there is one example from Moul-
mein, which has a blush of yellowish all over the under parts, but very pale and of
a different tint from that of 8. blcmfordii.
In the grey phase the fur is rather short and not so soft and long as in the next
phase. A specimen illustrates the transition from the grey to the yellowish phase,
the fur‘becoming longer and the pale bands of the hairs changing to yellowish,
commencing from below upwards and showing itself through the fur, which,
when pulled aside, is seen to be yellowish underneath, although the sub-apical,
pale bands have not yet changed from grey to yellow. I t would appear that
this change may either take place generally over the upper parts or commence
at first in a restricted area, from which it gradually spreads and at last involves
the whole of the upper parts; the change may progress more rapidly in some
localities than in others. This is shown in a specimen in which the underlying,
yellowish tinge is distinctly visible over the upper parts, but in the dorsal line
from the base of the tail to the middle of the back, the change has proceeded more
rapidly, and the fur is long, and distinctly annulated throughout, yellow and black.
Ultimately, the yellow and black annulation involves the whole of the fur, and in
this stage the under parts have changed from grey to dusky yellowish and the feet
are dusky grey. But in those instances in which the fur changes from a dorsal