Journal of the Federated Malay States museums - Sabrizain.org

1917O H. C. Robinson: Rats from Western Java. 95
9. Epimys fraternus, Robinson & Kloss, Journ. Straits
Soc. No. 73, p. 27j (1916).
Korinchi, West Sumatra.
.
In dealing with Oriental rats it has been the fashion to
regard thi ml specific character,
almost ol though as Thomas has pointed
out this is /alue in South American 1
1 be
true of the series
listed above, which are essentially mountain rats: R. Upturns
and R.brahma are ver) W00II5 rats without a trace of spines.
j spiny rat. In all however
lly underfur is well devi loped. R. fraternus is spiny at
low elf vatioi progressively more
woolly as the altitude of its habit: ;
bly additional wool ha loped at the
expense of spines in those localities where in addition to the
fall in temperature there is a verj - in humidity.
though 11 is fail to admit that the spiniest local rat, R. inas
is exclusively an inhabitant of high levels where the
precipitation is presumably high.
Ratti (Jent.).
um XXXIII,
1
[>. 69 (1910) (Pangerango, W. Java, 6,000'.)
Of th from
what is lity. It is an inhabitant of
intermedi re above 7.000' or below 4.500'.
Jentink's description of this form is quite
except that he states that the ear is short, whereas it is
decidedly long for the size of the animal.
Fur of one element only fairly long and exti
and soft dark grey at the base tipped with buffy or hazel in
ffect very
from almost liver brow n tocinnamomeous. Underparts
which are sharply defined from the upper surface equally variable
1 from almost white 10 dark silvery grey.
brown, sides of the n
Head more gn h
Feetand hands yellowish white without dark metap
Ears Ion n finely ringed.
bicolor, the distal third yellowish white above and below.
Skull:— Witl features; nasals
decidedly spatulate, palatal f< rter and broader than
in Upturns; mesopterygoid space narrow. Bullae small,
slightly flattened and verj narrow; ridges in old spi
fairly pronounced. Teeth very small. Anteorbital (date sloping
: Specimens examined — Sixty-five, of all i
Me:-
Remarks:— I am unable for the present to rel
its iiit 1 1 - spines.
ts ci ept foi