red in its latter half (Garo hills), it is observed, when the hairs are pulled aside, that
they are more or less amralated at their bases, and that the red colour is due
to the great development of the red tip which hides the underlying annulation.
In some specimens, however, the annulation of the hairs entirely disappears in
the red area. In squirrels with black t i p to their tails, or in which half of
the tail is black, the same remarks are applicable as to the red-tailed forms. The
Bhutan squirrel has a black tip to its tail not abruptly defined, but merging
slowly from the preceding colour, which has a rufous tint about it, with the annulation
of the hairs not at all well marked. In some squirrels from the Khasia
hills the tip is occasionally whitish as in S. ferrugmeus, var. keraudrenii. In Assam
specimens the tail in its latter third is black, and the previous portion is richly
annulated with yellow and black, and is pale like the upper parts. In a young
animal, a few months old, in which the tail hairs are not yet lengthened, while
the terminal half of the tail is red, the distal end of the basal half is jet black, as
if nature were in doubt whether the tail should take on the red or black phase; but
it would appear that these varieties in the colour of the tail are distinctive of
localities.
The S. pwictatissimus, Gray, resembles the type of S. erythrogaster, Blyth,
but is more darkly punctulated, the yellow bands being so minute that the general
colour of the upper parts is very dark. Its origin was unknown, but the type of
S. erythrogaster was from Munipore.
The skull of 8. erythraus has considerable breadth between the orbits, and the
Tiasflls are rather elongated and narrow posteriorly. I t is a much larger skull than
S. gordoni from Burma. The species is distributed all over Assam, the Garo and
'K'hasia, bilk and Munipore, and extends eastwards to Bhutan (Gray).
ScruRtrs c a s t a n e o v e n t r i s , Gray.
Sciurus castaneoventris, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. x. 1842, p. 268; Hand-List Mamm.
B. M. 1843, p. 148; Blyth, Cat. Mamm. As. Soc.Mas. 1868, p. 102; Swinhoe, Proc. Zool.
Soc. 1870, pp. 681 & 633; ibid. 1872, p. 818.
Sciurus griseopectus, Blyth, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xxvi. 1855, p. 878, pi. xxxvii. fig. 3;
Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 634; ibid. 1878, p. 818.
Sciurus erythraus, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 257.
Sciurus cmiumomeoventris, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 684.
Macroxus griseopectus, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 282.
Macrotzus erythrogaster, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p. 283 (in part).
Macroxus castaneoventris, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xx. 1867, p .*288.
Sciurus lokriah, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. p. 634.
Sciurus chinensis, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 818.
The types of 8. castaneoventris in the British Museum are referred by Dr. Gray
to both sexes. The female is evidently a young squirrel, and has a dark, chestnut-
coloured belly, this colour extending forwards over the throat, but not on to the chin.
The upper surface is olive-brown; the hair annulated as in the previous species, but
the yellow bands are rather pale. The feet are dark brown. The tail is bushy,
especially at its extremity, and is much the same colour as the upper parts, but in
its latter third the annuli disappear and the hairs become wholly blackish-brown,
tipped with yellowish. The ears are moderately-sized and rounded, and clad with
short hairs externally, while the back of the posterior margin has a fringe of short,
soft hairs. The tail is slightly shorter than the body and head.
In the male referred to this species, the colour of the upper parts is much the
same as in the female, but the under parts are much paler, being light reddish.
The tail is so denuded of hair that I can say nothing regarding its appearance.
Besides these two specimens, there are in the National Collection two squirrels
from China referred by Dr. Gray to 8. griseopectus of Blyth, and which are undoubtedly
that species, as there is another squirrel agreeing with them named by
Blyth himself as 8. griseopectus. Of the first mentioned, one is young and the other
adult, and both are distinguished by the throat and chest being greyish, while the
under parts are rufous. In the young specimen the under parts are pale, yellowish
red, while in the adult they are rich, reddish chestnut, as in the adult male S. castaneoventris,
but much paler than in the female. The upper fur in both is exactly
annulated as in the foregoing types, but the young is greyer, owing to the pale nature
of the yellow bands, especially on the head, where they are nearly white, imparting
a greyish oliVe tint to that part and an iron-grey to the sides of the face: in the
adult, on the other hand, the yellow bands are richly coloured all over. The fa.ik
are more clearly annulated than in the types, but their black tips have yellowish
ends to the hairs. There can be no doubt of the specific identity of these forms
with 8. castaneoventris, even although their throats and chests are greyish and
coloured nearly as the upper parts.
The squirrel from China, referred by Blyth to 8. griseopectus, in the distribution
of the red of the under surface is intermediate between these typical examples
of S. griseopectus and S. castaneoventris, the rufous extending up over the chest
and throat nearly to the chin; the rufous having the same intensity as in the
male type : thus presenting such a close similarity to each other that it is impossible
to avoid the conclusion that they are one and the same.
There is an interesting series of five squirrels from Eormosa, collected by
Swinhoe, and which seem to me to be referable to this species. They are especially
interesting in this respect, that while there can be little doubt they are all examples
of a single species, they exhibit the most remarkable variation of the
colouring of the under parts, while they agree in the colouring of the upper surfaces
and of the ta il.. A male obtained in North-West Formosa in the month
of April has the upper parts rich olive-brown, with almost a rufous tint on the
sides, so brilliant are the yellow sub-apical bands of the hairs, while the under
parts are dark red-chestnut of exactly the same colour' as in the female type of
the species, the tail being as in that specimen. The posterior half of the belly
is marked by a mesial, dark, almost black line, and the rufous extends forwards
pn to the neck. Another specimen from the same island, but the date on which it