curus_,
being forestalled, it is necessary to rename it, which he has done
in honour of that well-known naturalist.

NO. 393. ARVICOLA MANDARINUS.
_The Afghan Vole_.

HABITAT.--Afghanistan; Chinese Mongolia.

DESCRIPTION.--Light greyish rufescent brown above, white beneath;
ears short, hidden by the fur and hairy; feet whitish; tail rufescent
brown.

SIZE.--About 4 inches; tail about 1 inch.

This vole, which is described and figured by Milne-Edwards, is
supposed to have been found in Afghanistan from a specimen in
Griffith's collection. _A. mandarinus_ comes from Chinese Mongolia,
and it is figured in the 'Recherches sur les Mammiferes.'

* * * * *

The next species was made a separate genus, _Neodon_, by Hodgson,
which has been adopted by Jerdon; but there are no good grounds for
continuing this separation. Mr. Blanford is certainly of this
opinion, and in his remarks on it (_see_ his 'Sc. Results Second
Yarkand Mission,' pp. 41-42) he writes: "The genus _Neodon_, appears
to be founded on characters of only specific importance, and the type
_N. Sikimensis_ is, I think, a true _Arvicola_."

NO. 394. ARVICOLA SIKIMENSIS.
_The Sikim Vole_ (_Jerdon's No. 203_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Phalchua_, Nepalese, apparently Hindi; _Cheekyu_,
Kiranti; _Singphuci_, Thibetan.

HABITAT.--Nepal; Sikim; Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur soft and silky. "Deep brownish-black above with
a slight rusty shade, minutely and copiously grizzled with hairs of
a deep ferruginous tint" (_Horsfield_). Or a deep golden brown from
yellow hairs being intermixed; bluish-grey beneath, with a slight
fulvous tint; fur leaden grey for the basal three-fourths, the
terminal fourth being brownish or tawny with some tipped black; the
hairs of the under-parts are dipped with dirty white; ears project
beyond the fur moderately, and are hairy; feet very slender; tail
thinly clad with short brown hair. The female has six mammae.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 4-3/4 inches; tail, 1-1/2 inch.
Horsfield gives 5 inches for head and body.

According to Jerdon this vole has only been procured in Sikim near
Darjeeling, at heights varying from 7000 to 15,000 feet; but I
believe the area it inhabits to be much larger. Hodgson found his
specimens at Darjeeling, and on one occasion got a nest in a hollow
tree in the forest; it was saucer-shaped, of soft grass without any
lining, and contained a male, female, and two young. The latter we