continued along the side of the back to the base of the tail. When below the eye it
embraces the orbit. This lateral line is sometimes not very distinct on the head and
sides of the neck, and in specimens from Tingchow (China) it is interrupted on the
shoulder. Its upper margin, in the types, has a dusky line which is darkest in
S. barbei, running parallel to it from the nose to the anterior margin of the eye, and
from the hinder angle of that organ along the side of the neck and back; the area,
below its lower margin on the back, being also more or less dusky. A narrow black
dorsal line runs from between the shoulders oyer the vertebrae to the root of the tail.
These bands, in some, are not prolonged on to the sacral region, and in Chinese specimens
this is the case, and the bands are only feebly developed; but these slight differences
cannot be regarded as more than instances of local variation. The ears are
moderately large and pointed; and their internal surfaces are clad with short,
adpressed hairs, and their backs with soft black broadly white-tipped hairs
which project beyond the margin of the ears, as a distinct white pencil. The
under parts of the type are dusky yellowish-white, whereas in Chinese specimens
these parts are more greyish, and washed with pale yellow especially along the mesial
line: in some Nepal examples they are pale orange-yellowish, a colour which is
much more intense in S. barbei. In the type, the tail shows a tendency to pencilla-
tion, but this seems to be due to a change of fur, as the other hairs are short, whereas
in other specimens the tail is bushy without any trace whatever of a pencil. The
tail shows a distinct tendency to yellow and blackish annulations, the hairs being
tipped with yellow, giving the appearance as if the tail were washed with this colour.
The annulation is due to the presence of four alternate yellowish-orange and
black bands; the basal yellow and penultimate black bands are generally narrow,
and the two terminal bands of orange-yellow and of black being broad, it is to
these last that the ringed character of the tail is attributable. The whiskers are
black, and the limbs are concolorous with the upper parts. The tail is shorter
than the body, the latter being 5 inches long, and the tail, without the hair,
4 inches.
This species has a wide distribution, ranging from Nepal and Tibet to the east of
China and Eormosa, and through Assam and Cachar south-eastward to Tenasserim
and Siam.
I obtained it at Ponsee, at an elevation of 3,500 feet.
I have examined all the specimens which have given rise to the above synonymy,
and although they differ among themselves, the divergence is so slight that
it cannot in any instance be regarded as entitling them to specific rank. The
Malayan form described by Blyth as S. barbei is only more brightly coloured than
the Himalayan race, and was also named by Temminck Tamias leucotis, and
by A. M.-Edwards, who obtained it from Cochin China, S. rodolphii; whereas
the Eormosan animals are duller in their colouring than S. maclellandi. The
best-defined race is that which occurs in Tibet, S. maclellandi, var. siomhoei, and
which A. M.-Edwards has indicated in his work on the animals of that region.
The fur is longer and denser than in the more southern animals, and the longitudinal
black and yellow bands are faint, especially the latter, and the most external line is
almost obsolete.
In all their external characters these races appear to be one, and the general
structure of the animal shows clearly that it is not a Tamias.
SciURus soricinus, Waterhouse.
Sciunto soricinus, Waterhouse, Cat. Mamm. Zool. Soo. Lond. 1888, p. 46, No 488
Sciuma mdamtto, Müller und Sohlegel, Verhandl. 1889-44, p. 87 and p.. 98, pi xiv. % . 5 . Wagner
Schieber, Säugeth. Suppl. vol. iii. 1846, p. 207 ; Sehinz, Syn. Mamm. vol. ii, 1846 ». 41 ■ Grav’
Ann, and Mag. Nat. Hiah vol. ax. 1867, p. 274, ~ 1
This speoies is the smallest of all the squirrels of Southern Asia. The head is
rather broad, thick, and blunt for the size of the animal, while the muzzle is short,
and very broad at its origin. The ears are slightly pointed at thbir tips, and have a
somewhat elongated form, being one-third longer than broad ; they are clad with
short yellowish hairs on the inside, and on the back with long black hairs which
extend beyond their margins.
The colour is subject to considerable variation. In Java, the species is a dull
pale yellow-brown, passing into bright olive, variegated with black, which is produced
by the black annulation of the fur. A moderately broad white stripe runs
along both sides of the head, below the eyes and ears, suddenly ceasing at thè
shoulders. I t is bordered above to the ear, and along its lower margin till just below
the ear, by a narrow black hand. In some specimens, the whole of the hinder
portion of the head and neck is occupied by a large spot, which is paler than the
ground colour ; hnt it is obsolete in other Sumatran examples, and those from
Borneo are nearly alike, and differ only in the following details from the Javan
animals. The colour of the upper parts is brighter, and merges, principally on the
head, into a red-brown. The under parts are pale yellow with a reddish tint, while in
those from Java they are greyish-white, passing into yellow. The hairs of the ears
are longer than in the Javan animals, and the spot on the neck is more clearly
defined, and is generally of a pale yellow tint.
The skull resembles that of S. exilis, but the nasal bones are more forwardly
arched, and, as a consequence, the muzzle is deeper and broader. This is essentially
an arboreal squirrel, but the species is not numerically abundant in Java. In that
island it is found up to 1,100 feet above the sea. I t appears to be more numerous
in Borneo, especially in the low-lying land. In Sumatra it is also not very common,
and is found in similar situations to those in which it occurs in Borneo, especially on
the west coast.
Inches.
The body measures . . . . . . . . . . g-go
Tail, without the hair . , . . . . . . . . 3*60
The specimen referred by Waterhouse to S. sorioinm is in the British Museum,
and agrees with fig. 4 of Miiller and Schlegel’s plate. I t is a Javan specimen.
k 2