RODENTIA, Bowdich, 1821

Pearch, Malcolm J., 2011, A review of the biological diversity and distribution of small mammal taxa in the terrestrial ecoregions and protected areas of Nepal 3072, Zootaxa 3072 (1), pp. 1-286 : 92-134

ORDER RODENTIA

FAMILY SCIURIDAE

Ratufa bicolor ( Sparrman, 1778) MAP No. 79

Black Giant squirrel

Malayan Giant squirrel

Sciurus bicolor Sparrman, 1778: 70 . Anjer, western Java.

Sciurus giganteus M'Clelland, 1839: 150 . Assam.

Sciurus macruroïdes Hodgson, 1849a: 775 . "the lower, central, and northern hilly regions [of Nepal]". [Not "Bengal". (See note 1)].

Records.—F.M.N.H. (all as R. b. gigantea (McClelland, 1839) : 9 miles S. of Ilam (FMNH 94105); Arun R., below Sedua (FMNH 114363).—M.S.U.M. (as R. b. gigantea ): 17 miles N.N.W. of Bhadrapur (MR.12535).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966): "the montane forests of Nepal, [eastward through Sikkim ...]".— Blanford (1888 –91): "The Eastern Himalayas of Nipal".— Hinton & Fry (1923) (as R. gigantea gigantea (McClelland, 1839)) : "the Lower region and deep valleys of Central Nepal " (see note 2).— Thorington & Hoffmann (2005): E. Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as R. b. gigantea ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Investigation of Hodgson's published papers evinces considerable uncertainty in respect of his initial introduction of the taxon macruroïdes . Hodgson referred first to Sciurus macruroides as a new species in his 1841 catalogue of Nepalese mammalia ( Hodgson, 1841b: 220) but without qualification, while in his 1842 catalogue ( Hodgson, 1842: 915), he offered only the barest information on the species' distribution in Nepal ("lower, central, and northern hilly regions"). The citation "Hodgson, 1849: 775. Bengal", which is embedded in the literature (see, for example, Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951, Corbet & Hill, 1992), is founded on no more than a clause in Hodgson's 1849 paper "On the physical geography of the Himálaya" ( Hodgson, 1849a). The clause reads: "Among the squirrels, the great thick-tailed and purple species (Macruroïdes and Purpureus) belong solely to the lower region [of the Himalayan mountains]". The restricted habitat described in the 1849 work seems to contradict the broader range across the three regions of Nepal, with which Hodgson credits the taxon in his 1842 catalogue. In 1849, Hodgson was residing in Darjeeling (in [West] Bengal) but there is no indication in his abovementioned paper of the same year that "Bengal" should be accepted as the type locality of macruroïdes ; indeed, Hodgson's 1842 paper had already placed the taxon in Nepal. If the 1849 publication is accepted as offering the first description of macruroïdes , the type locality cannot be defined more precisely than "the lower region of the Himalayan mountains". Hodgson (1849: 772) prescribes the elevation range of the lower region as "Level of the plains to 4000 feet above the sea." It is felt that the 1849 reference may be saved from the status of a nomen nudum (which Corbet & Hill, 1992 deem it probably to be) only by reason of the briefest of descriptions accorded macruroïdes therein. It is considered that the type locality, however, should reflect Hodgson's earlier record of the taxon from Nepal and should read accordingly: "the lower, central, and northern hilly regions [of Nepal]".

2 Hinton & Fry (1923), draw their information on distribution from Hodgson's manuscript and printed catalogue, referring to the date of the latter, however, as 1841 (the imprinted date) rather than 1842 (the date of publication).

I.U.C.N. status.—Near threatened (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Belomys pearsonii ( Gray, 1842) MAP No. 80 Hairy-footed Flying squirrel

Sciuropterus pearsonii Gray, 1842: 263 . Darjeeling, India.

Records.—F.M.N.H.: Num (near) (3) (FMNH 114640); Num (near) (4) (FMNH 114641).— Mitchell (1979) (as B. p. pearsoni ) (see note 1): Kasuwa Khola (2).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Corbet & Hill (1992): "[Himalayas from] E. Nepal [east to N. Burma...]" (as Trogopterus pearsonii —see note 2). — Mitchell (1975) (as B. pearsoni pearsoni ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Mitchell (1979) gives details of dental patterns and coloration and states that the species inhabits "the lower mixed temperate, broadleaved forests of the eastern Midlands [of Nepal]; 1,500 to 2,400 m ", the range in elevation being repeated by Corbet & Hill (1992: 307). The elevation at which the Kasuwa Khola and Num specimens listed above were collected ranges from 2,120 to 2,438 m. Mitchell adds that specimens are not numerous in collections with the result that information on the species' ecology and breeding biology remains sparse.

2 Corbet & Hill (1992: 306) synonymise Belomys with Trogopterus , writing "there seems little doubt that these two species [by which they mean Pteromys xanthipes Milne-Edwards, 1867 (the type species of Trogopterus ) and Sciuropterus pearsonii Gray, 1842 (the type species of Belomys )] are very closely related". Thorington & Hoffman (2005) regard Belomys as a distinct genus.

I.U.C.N. status.—Data deficient (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Hylopetes alboniger (Hodgson, 1836) MAP No. 81 Particoloured Flying squirrel

Sciuropterus alboniger Hodgson, 1836a: 231 . "Central and Northern regions of Nipál".

Records.— Ellerman (1961) (see note 1): Sipuri (as H. a. alboniger ).—F.M.N.H. (all as H. a. alboniger ) (see note 2): Kaldapeh (FMNH 105547, FMNH 105548, FMNH 112561).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Blanford (1888 –91): "The Himalayas from Nepal eastward, at an elevation of 3,000 to 5,000 feet ".— Hinton & Fry (1923): Sipari [= Sipuri] (as Pteromys (Hylopetes) alboniger ).— Mitchell (1975) (as H. a. alboniger ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Ellerman (1961) mentions "Specimens seen from NEPAL, Sipuri and no exact locality, including type ...".

2 Kaldapeh is also listed as a collection locality in Mitchell (1979), that author having collected specimens FMNH 105547, FMNH 105548, and FMNH 112561. Mitchell (1979) comments on the species' coloration and states that " Hylopetes and Petaurista were equally abundant in numbers in oak-rhododendron forests near Kaldepeh, Central Midlands".

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Petaurista elegans ( Temminck, 1837) MAP No. 82 Lesser Giant Flying squirrel

Spotted Giant Flying squirrel

Pteromys elegans Temminck, 1837 : XII. Nusa Kimbangan Island, off southern Java. [Not Müller, 1839 /1840]. See note 1. Sciuropterus caniceps Gray, 1842: 262 . Nepal. See note 2.

Sciuropterus senex Hodgson, 1844a: 68 . "Hills generally, but chiefly the central and northern regions " (of Nepal). See note 2. Sciuropterus gorkhali Lindsay, 1929: 566 . Apoon, Gorkha [District], 12,000 ft., Nepal. See notes 2,3.

Records.—F.M.N.H. (all as P. e. caniceps Gray, 1846 (see note 4), except where stated): Thodung, 10 miles E. of Jiri (FMNH 105541, FMNH 105542, FMNH 112557, FMNH 112558); 15 km. E.N.E. of Chainpur (FMNH 114373—as P. elegans ); Num (near) (4) (FMNH 114372, FMNH 114644); Num (near) (5) (FMNH 114369— FMNH 114371); Phulung Ghyang (3) (FMNH 104203—FMNH 104206).— Fry (1925): Apoon; Barpak (as Petaurista caniceps Gray, 1846 —see notes 3,4).— Mitchell (1979) (as P. e. caniceps ) (see note 5): Kasuwa Khola (4).—P.S.M.: Phulung Ghyang (4) (PSM 14767, PSM 14768—as P. e. caniceps ).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966): " Nepal and Sikkim (1300-2000 m)".— Blanford (1888 –91): " Nepal and Sikhim ... at a lower elevation than P [teromys] magnificus , about 4000 to 6000 feet " (as Pteromys caniceps Gray, 1846 —see note 4) (see Gray 1847a: 21).— Hinton & Fry (1923): "Central region of Nepal (as Petaurista caniceps —see note 6).—Mitchell (1975) (as P. e. caniceps and P. e. gorkhali ): Nepal.— Thorington & Hoffmann (2005): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) consider the species authority of Pteromys elegans to be Müller, 1839 and cite Temminck's "Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Overzeesche Bezittingen door de leden natuurkundige commissie in Indie andere Schrijvers. Zoologie." ( Temminck, 1839 –44(– 45)) as the work in which the first description of the species appeared. Thorington & Hoffmann (2005) agree on Temminck's "Verhandelingen" as the root work but apply the date 1840 to Müller's species authority. Thorington and Hoffmann (2005) comment that the taxon was "described in greater detail by Schlegel and Müller, in Temminck [op. cit.] pp. 107, 112", and give the date of that description as 1845. Corbet & Hill (1992) disregard Müller and state that the authority is " Temminck, 1836: xii." and that the initial publication of the name occurred in Temminck's "Coup d'oeil sur la faune des Iles de la Sonde et du Japon ". Müller does refer to Pteromys elegans on pages 35 and 56 of Temminck's "Verhandelingen" but the earliest description of the taxon, which is by Temminck, himself, appears on page XII of the "Coup d'oeil sur la faune des Iles de la Sonde et du Japon ". The publication date of the last mentioned work, however, is the subject of some disagreement. Corbet & Hill (1992) give the date as 1836 whilst the date recognised by librarians in the Natural History Museum in London is 1838, the latter based on a manuscript note attached to the inside cover of the Museum's copy of the "Coup d'oeil". The note, which bears three initials that cannot be deciphered and the date 31/8/49, reads as follows:

"Date of publication. According to Stejneger (Science 22 1905 p. 402) the Coup d'oeil was published in 1837. No evidence is given to support this date except that it was published with the fourth fascicule of the work which also contained the snakes. According to Sherborn & Jentink (P.Z.S.) [= Proceedings of the Zoological Society] 1895 p. 149, the part containing the snakes appeared in January 1838 and this would appear to be the more correct date".

The following passage, which clarifies the chronology of the genesis of the "Coup d'oeil", is taken from The

Zoological Nomenclature Resource website (www.zoonomen.net/cif/jourf.html):

"Stejneger in Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Territory. United States Museum Bulletin 58. 1907 p.542-543 discusses at length the dates of publication for the herpetological part of this work [= " Fauna Japonica ", of which Temminck's "Coup d'oeil" forms part]. He presents considerable evidence from various secondary sources. His discussion is as follows:

The second part of the Reptilia (third of the Fauna Japonica) is thus quoted by A. Wagner, in the München Geleherte Anziger, V, NO. 134, July 7, 1837, p.41. This part, according to him, contained two different memoirs, the first one by Schlegel, treating of the Japanese snakes (pp.81-93 + pls. I-X); the other by Temminck, giving a review of the fauna of the Sunda Islands and Japan (pp. I-XXX).

The latter, which is dated November, 1835, but first distributed through the book trade during the Easter "Messe" [= fair] at Leipzig in 1837, is evidently Temminck's "Coup d'oeil" [NOTE].

[NOTE] I have seen only two copies of this memoir, the full title of which is as follows: Coup d'oeil [sur la Faune des iles de la Sonde] et de [l'empire du Japon. | Discours préliminaire | destiné à servir d'introduction à la Faune du Japon.

It is a folio of XXX pp., with Temminck's name at the end only."

It is concluded that as scientific publications are cited by the publication date and not by the imprinted date, the most appropriate date to apply to Temminck's "Coup d'oeil" is that of its initial distribution, which occurred seemingly in 1837, and it is this date that has been employed in the species citation, above. Corbet & Hill (1992) do not explain their application of the year 1836 to the "Coup d'oeil" and there remains, therefore, some uncertainty as to the precise year in which Temminck's work was released. For comparative purposes, see note 1 to Niviventer fulvescens (p. 123) concerning the imprinted date and the publication date of J. E. and G. R. Gray's "Catalogue of the Specimens and Drawings of Mammalia and Birds of Nepal and Thibet presented by B. H. Hodgson, Esq. to the British Museum".

2 Corbet & Hill (1992) regard senex and gorkhali as synonyms of caniceps , which last taxon they treat as a distinct species on the basis that its pelage pattern (unspotted) differs from that of P. elegans (spotted).

3 Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) and Corbet & Hill (1992) give the type locality of Sciuropterus gorkhali as "Apoon Sottidanda". Lindsay (1929) bases her description of gorkhali on eight specimens listed as Petaurista caniceps Gray in Fry (1923). Fry refers to the principal collection locality only as "Apoon" and this has been followed in the above synonymy.

4 In his 1846 [1847] paper ( Gray, 1847a: 21), J. E. Gray described a specimen of Sciuropterus senex remitted to the British Museum (Natural History) by Hodgson, which taxon he placed in the synonymy of (Pteromys) caniceps . Gray described (Sciuropterus) caniceps first, however, in 1842 ( Gray, 1842: 262).

5 Mitchell (1979) records P. e. caniceps also from Thodung and Phulung Ghyang but it is likely that this material is represented by one or more of the F.M.N.H. specimens from those two localities listed above under "Records". Much of the material collected by R. M. Mitchell or his colleague, C. O. Maser, as part of the Nepal Ectoparasite Program (1966–1970)—together with specimens secured by the Arun Valley Wildlife Expedition (1970–1973), to which Mitchell had access—is deposited either in F.M.N.H. or R.O.M.

6 Hinton & Fry (1923) refer to Hodgson's record of Pteromys senex , which taxon they synonymise with Petaurista caniceps . Hodgson, however ( Hodgson, 1844a: 68), places senex in the genus Sciuropterus .

7 Biswas & Khajuria (1957) refer to a "newly born" specimen collected at "Base Camp" [half way between Namche Bazar and Pangboche] at c. 12,000 ft. in the Dudh Kosi valley but qualify this record by stating that: "The specimen cannot be satisfactorily placed, since the diagnostic characters are imperfectly developed."

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Petaurista magnificus (Hodgson, 1836) MAP No. 83 Hodgson's Flying squirrel

Hodgson's Giant Flying squirrel

Sciuropterus magnificus Hodgson, 1836a: 231 . Central and Northern regions of Nipál.

Records.— Ellerman (1961): Satthar Hill; Gorkha; Naivacot.—F.M.N.H. (all as P. m. magnificus ) (see note 1): Dil Mare (Delmara) (FMNH 114367); Kaldapeh (FMNH 105543—FMNH 105545); Kasua Khola (1) (FMNH 114368); Lumdumsa (FMNH 114642); Mahendranagar (1) (FMNH 112560); Mani Gayru (FMNH 105546); Num (near) (3) (FMNH 114364, FMNH 114365, FMNH 114643); Suki Patyl Forest (FMNH 114366); Tarro Bir (FMNH 82833).— Fry (1925): Satthar.— Johnson et al. (1980): Mangalbare (USNM 290079).— Mitchell (1979) (see note 1): Belumchi; Kasuwa Khola (3); Num [= Num (near) (3)]; Nangetanti.— Weigel (1969): Bigu (5).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Blanford (1888 –91): "The Himalayas from Nepal eastwards ... at elevations from 6000 to 9000 feet." (as Pteromys magnificus ).—Mitchell (1975): Nepal.

1 The specimens from Kaldapeh (FMNH 105543—FMNH 105545), Mahendranagar (FMNH 112560), and Mani Gayru (FMNH 105546) were collected by R. M. Mitchell, in whose 1979 publication these localities are also mentioned.

I.U.C.N. status.—Near threatened (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Petaurista nobilis ( Gray, 1842)

Bhutan Giant Flying squirrel

Sciuropterus nobilis Gray, 1842: 263 . Darjeeling.

Sciuropterus chrysotrix Hodgson, 1844a: 67 . "Hills generally, but chiefly the central and northern regions" (of Nepal). (See note 1).

Records.— Fry (1925): Tarro Bir (see note 2).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Corbet & Hill (1992): "C. Nepal to Bhutan ".— Hinton & Fry (1923): Central region of Nepal (see note 3).—I.U.C.N. (2008) (see note 4).—Thorington & Hoffmann (2005): C. Nepal.

Note.— 1 Hodgson identified Sciuropterus chrysotrix as a new species, but without a description, two years before his 1844 publication (see Hodgson, 1842: 915). It is the date of his 1844 work, however, that is applied invariably to the taxon (see, for example, Corbet & Hill, 1992: 313 and Thorington & Hoffmann, 2005: 771). Were the earlier date to be used, the citation would be: Sciuropterus chrysotrix Hodgson, 1842: 915 . " Tarai and all three regions of the hills".

2 The locality "Tarro Bir" cannot be identified. Fry (1925) gives no indication of its position other than stating that the collections, of which the Tarro Bir record of P. nobilis forms part, were made in "districts lying to the west of Kathmandu" ( Fry, 1925: 525). As Tarro Bir is the only apparent specific locality record of the species in Nepal, it is a consequence that no meaningful map of the distribution of Petaurista nobilis in that country can be prepared. Hodgson's remarks ( Hodgson, 1842) would indicate that the species is, however, wide-ranging in Nepal. Fry (1925) indicates that a single male specimen was collected at Tarro Bir by the Bombay Natural History Society's Mammal Survey.

3 Hinton & Fry (1923) refer to Hodgson's record of the species.

4 I.U.C.N. (2008) map the distribution of P. nobilis in eastern Nepal but provide no evidence to support the area delineated.

I.U.C.N. status.—Vulnerable A4c (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Petaurista petaurista ( Pallas, 1766) MAP No. 84 Red Flying squirrel

Red Giant Flying squirrel

Common Giant Flying squirrel

Sciurus petaurista Pallas, 1766: 54 . Western Java? See note 1.

Pteromys nitidus Desmarest, 1818: 403 . Java.

Pteromys albiventer Gray, 1834 (in 1830-1835): pl. 18. Nepal.

Pteromys inornatus Geoffroy, 1844: 62 . N. India.

Records.— Blanford (1888 –91) (as Pteromys inornatus Geoffroy, 1844 ): Katmandu.— Hinton & Fry (1923) (as P. albiventer Gray, 1834 ): Katmandu.— Mitchell (1979) (as P. p. albiventer (Gray, 1834)) : Mahendranagar (see note 2).

Non-specific records.— Hodgson (1834) (as Sciuropterus nitidus ): "the central region" (of Nepal).—Mitchell (1975) (as P. p. albiventer ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Corbet & Hill (1992) state that the type locality is "restricted to Preanger Regencies by Robinson & Kloss (1918: 221) ". Thorington & Hoffmann (2005) repeat the restricted locality but assert that no type locality is given in Pallas (1766).

2 Mitchell (1979) gives details of the species' coloration and states that he has observed P. petaurista "in sal forests of the western Terai ... between 150 [and] 300 m. ". The locality "Mahendranagar", however, cannot be located at the co-ordinates (28º06'N, 81º49'E) that Mitchell gives. The principal town of Mahendranagar lies in the Terai approximately 177 km. west of the position indicated by Mitchell, whose co-ordinates do not always correspond with the collection localites stated (see, for example, note 8 to Ochotona roylei , p. 75). Mitchell (1979) does, however, give the correct co-ordinates for a position 8 km. to the west of Mahendranagar (28º58'N, 80º13'E) within his account of Funambulus pennantii but these co-ordinates cannot be assumed to be those at which the Nepal Ectoparasite Programme (of which Mitchell was the field leader) secured the two specimens of P. petaurista mentioned in Mitchell's 1979 paper. The position 28º06'N, 81º49'E is indicated by a white dot on Map No. 84 to reflect the conflicting information.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Callosciurus pygerythrus (I. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1831) MAP No. 85 Irrawady squirrel

Sciurus pygerythrus Geoffroy, 1831 [1831–1834]: 145; pl. 7. Pegu, Burma [ Myanmar]. See note 1.

Sciurus lokroides, Hodgson, 1836a: 232 . Nepal.

Records.— Abe (1982): Trisuli (2).—F.M.N.H.: ½ mile W. of Hitaura (see note 2) (FMNH 104185—FMNH 104187, FMNH 104189—FMNH 104194); 1 km. N. of Tumlingtar airfield (FMNH 114355); 1 mile E. of Bharabise (FMNH 114356, FMNH 114357, FMNH 114637); 1 mile N.E. of Trisuli (FMNH 104198—FMNH 104201); 1 mile W. of Hitaura (see note 2) (FMNH 104188); 4 miles S.E. of Trisuli (FMNH 57775, FMNH 57779—FMNH 57783, FMNH 104195—FMNH 104197); 5 miles N. of Dholalghat (FMNH 94107—as C. p. lokroides ); 12 km. N.N.W. of Chainpur (FMNH 114353, FMNH 114354); Bharabise (FMNH 114638); "Kankai Mulch" (FMNH 94108—as C. p. lokroides : see note 3); Num (near) (1) (FMNH114352); Riri Bazaar (FMNH 67300—as C. p. lokroides ); Tama Khose, Kapti, above Veri (FMNH 94106—as C. p. lokroides ); Wana (FMNH 114639).— Fry (1925) (as Tomeutes lokroides ): Chengli; Hathiban; Kuwapani (note 4).— Green (1981): Langtang N. P. (3).— Hinton & Fry (1923): Bankalwa; Chalna-Khel; Hathiban; Hazaria (1); Hetwada; Katmandu; Loharipavda; Nowakot; Sunachir (all as T. lokroides ).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as C. p. lokroides ) (see note 5): Chatra (USNM 290077, USNM 290078); Dharan Bazar (USNM 290074); Dhankuta (USNM 290075, USNM 290076).— Mitchell (1979) (as C. p. lokroides ) (see note 6): Chainpur (see note 7); Hitaura (2); Trisuli (1).—P.S.M.: 4 miles S.E. of Trisuli (PSM 15541, PSM 15542, PSM 15852, PSM 27419); Hitaura (1) (PSM 14775—PSM 14780); Phulung Ghyang (4) (PSM 16608).— Weigel (1969) (as C. p. lokroides ) Rapti Valley (1).—Y.P.M. (as C. p. lokroides - see note 8): Nuwakot; Pokharia.

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as C. p. lokroides ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Thorington & Hoffmann (2005) suggest that, following a revision by Moore & Tate (1965), the species authority should be: "(I. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1833)"; and the type locality should read: "from forest of Syriam, near Pegu, Burma ". The 1831 date is followed here on chronological grounds.

2 The co-ordinates given in the F.M.N.H. collections catalogue for the localities "½ mile W. of Hitaura" and " 1 mile W. of Hitaura" indicate positions approximately 6 and 6.5 km. N.N.E. of Hitaura, respectively. As the co-ordinates are precise, these have been followed in plotting the positions of the two localities on map 85.

3 The locality "Kankai Mulch" is considered to be erroneous as the only reference that can be found to "Kankai" in Nepal is to the Kankai River, which traverses Ilam and Jhapa Districts in the south-east of the country. The locality record of FMNH 94108 cannot, therefore, satisfactorily be refined further than Jhapa District and it is the latter locality for which approximate co-ordinates (based on the town of Jhapa) are given in the Gazetteer.

4 The only reference that can be found to Kuwapani is to a village of the same name lying approximately 15 km. south of Num in Sankhuwasabha District, eastern Nepal. Fry (1925) states, however, that collection of the specimens of which the Callosciurus pygerythrus material forms part, were secured "in the districts lying to the west of Kathmandu". The position of Kuwapani cannot, therefore, be plotted with certainty and the locality is excluded from map 85.

5 Measurements of USNM specimens are given in Appendix II.

6 Mitchell (1979) comments on coloration, cranial morphology, distribution, and diet.

7 The co-ordinates given in Mitchell (1979) indicate a position 10 km. E.N.E. of Chainpur and it is the latter position that has been plotted on map 85.

8 The Y.P.M. collections catalogue lists two specimens from Nuwakot and one from Pokharia but accession numbers are not given.

9 The collections catalogue of the American Museum of Natural History lists a single specimen of Callosciurus sp. from Dingla, Bhojpur District ( Nepal).

10 Biswas & Tiwari (1966) state that the species is "found ... in westcentral Nepal, ...". The authors base their distribution on "records available in literature and on collections present in the Zoological Survey of India " but do not give details of particular specimens examined.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Dremomys lokriah (Hodgson, 1836) MAP No. 86 Orange-bellied Himalayan squirrel

Sciurus lokriah Hodgson, 1836a: 232 . Central and Northern regions of Nipál. See note 1.

Records.— Abe (1982): Dunche; West of Syng Gomba; Khurumsan.—F.M.N.H. (all as D. l. lokriah ): 1 km. N. of Lumdumsa (FMNH 114359, FMNH 114360); 3 miles above Bigu (FMNH 94110); 5 miles E. of Jamnagaon (FMNH 94111); 6 km. E.N.E. of Chainpur (FMNH 114361, FMNH 114362); Kapti (1) (FMNH 94114); Kapti (3) (FMNH 94109); Kasua Khola (2) (FMNH 114358); Melumche (1) (FMNH 112549—FMNH 112551: see note 2); Num (near) (3) (FMNH 114635, FMNH 114636); Phulung Ghyang (2) (FMNH 104202); Sathar (FMNH 82880* – see note 3).— Fry (1925) (as D. l. lokriah ): Satthar; Sipuri.— Green (1981): Langtang N. P. (4).— Hinton & Fry (1923) (see note 4): Chalna-Khel; Hathiban; "Sheopari Ridge in the Nepal Valley"; Sisagutu.— Johnson et al. (1980) (as D. l. lokriah ): Chandragiri Pass (USNM 290069—USNM 290071, USNM 290073); Godaveri (3) (USNM 290072).— Lewis (1971): Namsangsang (2) (see note 5).— Mitchell (1979) (see note 6): Kaldapeh; Kasuwa Khola (1); Melumche (1); Phulung Ghyang (1); Syabru; Thodung (1).—M.C.Z. (as D. l. lokriah ): Pokhar (MCZ 57905— see note 7).— Weigel (1969) (as D. l. lokriah ): Bigu (4); Thingsang La.

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.—Mitchell (1975): Nepal (see note 2).

Note.— 1 The new species of Sciurus to which Hodgson (1834) makes reference was identified as Sciurus locria by Gray (1847a).

2 FMNH 112549—FMNH 112551 were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

3 For an explanation of the asterisked specimen, see note 5 to Hipposideros armiger (p. 32).

4 Hinton & Fry (1923) state that the specimens from Sheopari Ridge and Sisagutu were collected by J. Scully. It is likely that the specimens are retained in the collections of the Indian Museum, Kolkata (Calcutta) as it is apparent that the authors derived their information on the specimens from that museum's catalogue ("Cat. Calc. Mus . n., 20."). The locality "Sisagutu", however, cannot be identified.

5 The specimen from Namsangsang was collected by R. M. Mitchell.

6 Mitchell (1979) comments on the distribution of D. lokriah in Nepal, the characteristics of the species' call, and its diet.

7 No co-ordinates are given in the M.C.Z. catalogue for "Pokhar". The locality may be unmapped or it may be referable either to Pokhara or to Pokharia, as the collector of MCZ 57905, R. Paynter, is known to have worked at both localities.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

* Funambulus palmarum (Linneaus, 1766)

Indian Palm squirrel

Sciurus palmarum Linneaus, 1766: 86 . Madras, India.

Records.—None.

Non-specific records.— Hodgson (1834) (as Sciurus palmarum ): "Southern region" (of Nepal) (see note).

Note.—Reporting on the Mammalia of Nepal, Hodgson (1834) states that the species is: "Abundant in the southern region". Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) give the northernmost distribution of palmarum as the Indian state of Bihar, which borders Nepal's south-eastern frontier, whilst Corbet & Hill (1992), although including Bihar in the species' range, indicate that it extends no further north than the southermost area of that district. No skin of Hodgson's palmarum appears to have been received by the British Museum, as the species is not recorded by J. E. Gray in either his 1847 or his 1863 catalogue of Hodgson's material from the region. Sciurus palmarum is listed in the catalogue of Mammalia in the East India Company's museum (Horsfield, 1851) but the material is not Hodgson's (the specimens originate from Dukhun [= Deccan] in India). Hodgson's assertion of the presence of palmarum in southern Nepal may be correct or it may be the case, despite his being an acute observer, that Hodgson misidentified the species. In the absence both of actual material from Nepal and of corroborative reports, it is felt unsafe to include Funambulus palmarum in Nepal's faunal list.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Funambulus pennantii Wroughton, 1905 MAP No. 87 Northern Palm squirrel

Funambulus pennantii Wroughton, 1905: 411 . Mandvi Taluka, Surat District, Bombay Presidency, India.

? Funambulus pennanti gangutrianus Ghose, Mandal, & Ghose, 2004: 94 . Banaras Cant., Uttar Pradesh [ India]. See note 1

Records.— Abe (1982): Adhabar.— Hinton & Fry (1923): Tribinia.—F.M.N.H.: 1½ miles E. of Hitaura (FMNH 104184); Bahwanipur (FMNH 112547—see note 2); Kaneri, 8 miles E. of Bhangadi [Dhangadhi] (FMNH 94112); Madhuban (2) (FMNH 112548—see note 2); Simra Airport, 10 miles N. of Birganj (FMNH 94113).— Mitchell (1979) (as F. pennanti pennanti ) (see note 3): Bahwanipur; Dumkhauli; Hitaura (2); Madhuban (1); Mahendranagar (2); Sisaiya.—R.O.M.: Madhuban (2) (ROM 74607 and ROM 74608).— Worth & Shah (1969): "Chandranighar Par." (see note 4).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as F. p. pennanti ): Nepal (see note 2).

Note.— 1 Ghose et al. (2004) refer to two male F. p. gangutrianus, the same named by the authors as a new subspecies, from an unknown locality in Nepal. The two specimens are reported to be part of the collections of the Zoological Society of India. No other published reference to this subspecies can be found.

2 FMNH 112547 and FMNH 112548 were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

3 Mitchell (1979) comments on the habitat of F. pennantii in Nepal and on the species' coloration and diet.

4 The locality "Chandranighar Par." cannot be identified. It may represent a variation of Chandragiri Pass, which lies 12 km. from the collection locality of the preceding specimen number in the Siphonaptera host list given in Worth & Shah (1969), or it may apply to "Chandranagar", a small settlement approximately 6 km. south-east of Rampur, which lies north of Royal Chitwan National Park.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Tamiops mcclellandii ( Horsfield, 1840)

Himalayan Striped squirrel

Sciurus mcclellandii Horsfield, 1840: 152 . Assam.

Records.—None (see note 1).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996) (as Tamiops macclellandi ): Nepal.— Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) (as Tamiops macclellandi macclellandi ): Nepal.—Thorington & Hoffmann (2005): E. Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as Callosciurus macclellandi macclellandi ( Horsfield, 1839) —see notes 2,3): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Owing to the lack of specific locality data, it is not possible to produce a meaningful distribution map of T. mcclellandii in Nepal.

2 Tamiops was included in Callosciurus by, inter alia, Ellerman (1940) but was separated from that genus by Moore & Tate (1965) (see Corbet & Hill, 1992: 294).

3 The accepted authority for mcclellandii [ macclellandi in Mitchell, 1975] is Horsfield, 1840. Although the journal citation for that paper is "Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (1839)", the publication date is 1840. The correct spelling of the specific name is " mcclellandii " (see Horsfield, 1840: 152).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001) (as Tamiops macclellandii )

Year of assessment: 2008.

Marmota himalayana (Hodgson, 1841)

Himalayan marmot

Arctomys himalayanus Hodgson, 1841c: 777 . "the Himalaya, the Kachar ..., and ... the sandy plains of Tibet ". (See note 1).

Arctomys hemachalanus Hodgson, 1843: 410 . "Himalaya with the Bhote pergannahs or Cachâr in the immediate vicinity of the snows". (See note 2).

Arctomys tibetanus Gray, 1847a: 24 . (No locality given).

Arctomys hodgsoni Blanford, 1879: 35 . Nepal.

Records.—see note 3.

Non-specific records (see note 4).— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Blanford (1875b): "the Kachar of Nepal ".— Corbet (1978): " type locality Nepal " (as M. bobak himalayana (Hodgson, 1841)) .— Hinton & Fry (1923) (see note 5): "Northern Region of Nepal and Tibet" (as M. himalayanus Hodgson ).—Mitchell (1975) (as M. bobak himalayana ): Nepal.—Thorington & Hoffmann (2005): "Montane regions of ... Nepal...".

Note.— 1 Hodgson made an earlier reference in 1841 to " Arctomys himalayanus " ( Hodgson, 1841b: 220) but without comment. Hodgson described the taxon for the first time in the 1841 publication listed in the above synonymy and, for a second time, in the 1843 paper ( Hodgson, 1843) in which he described A. hemachalanus . The specific name himalayanus appeared undoubtedly well before 1841, however, as Hodgson (1841c: 777) writes: "... the Marmot, which I long ago named in my Catalogue, Arctomys Himalayanus. "

2 Hodgson (1843) does not clarify the collection locality of Arctomys hemachalanus other than in the title of his 1843 publication, where he refers to "Two marmots inhabiting respectively the plains of Tibet [ Arctomys himalayanus ] and the Himalayan slopes near to the snows [ A. hemachalanus ] ...". In the case of the latter, it is uncertain whether he means the northern (Tibetan) or the southern (Nepalese) slopes of the Himalayan range. The habitat description "Himalaya with the Bhote pergannahs or Cachâr in the immediate vicinity of the snows" is inconclusive. The "Bhote pergannahs" may pertain to the northern part of Gorkha District as "Bhote" is the language of the Larke people, who inhabit that area and "pergannah" (or "parganah" in Hindi) is a division of a "zillah", which is an administrative district (in India, but probably used equally to apply to such districts in Nepal by the Indian Civil Service, of which organisation Hodgson was a member). Alternatively, as "Bhote" is derived from "Bhot", which is a former name for the region of Tibet ( Converse, 2000), the "Bhote pergannahs" may refer simply to administrative districts of Tibet.

It is more likely that the Bhote pergannahs are within Nepal, however, as Hodgson (1849a: 773), himself, states: "the upper region" (of the Himalayas) [which Hodgson defines as " 10,000 to 16,000 feet above the sea"] "is the exclusive habit of the Bhótias, who extend along the whole line of the gháts" (mountain passes) [ Hodgson, 1849a makes reference to the "Bhote perganahs of Kúmaon" (in north-western India)] "and who, with the name, have retained the lingual and physical characteristics of their tramontane" (presumably Tibetan) "brethren". The supposition that Hodgson is referring to Nepal rather than Tibet is lent support by a report of the meeting of the Zoological Society of London held on 26 th August, 1834 (see Hodgson, 1834). Referring to a paper written by Hodgson on, inter alia, the physical geography of Nepal and published (the year is unspecified) in the journal of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, the report states that "the juxta-Himalayan region, or Kachâr, consists of high mountains, the summits of which are buried for half the year in snow". It would seem probable that the Kachâr is used inclusively to refer to the high Himalayan mountains delineating the border between Nepal and Tibet and that the "Kachâr of Nepal " corresponds simply with those mountainous areas on the Nepalese side. This view would appear credible in light of the definition of "Bhote" ( Mayhew et al., 2003) as "high altitude desert valleys north of the Himalaya bordering Tibet".

Blanford (1875b: 113 et seq.) provides a useful analysis of the early (1841-1870) nomenclature of the Himalayan and Tibetan marmots.

3 Nikolskii & Ulak (2005) conclude that the alpine and subalpine areas of Nepal lying between 27º and 28ºN are probably the southernmost limit of the distribution of Marmota himalayana and of the genus Marmota , itself. The distribution of himalayana in Nepal is mapped by the authors but a translation of their 2005 paper, which, other than a brief English abstract, is wholly in Russian, has not been seen.

4 Owing to the lack of specific locality data in western literature, it is not possible to produce a meaningful distribution map of M. himalayana in Nepal. See, however, note 3, above.

5 Hinton & Fry (1923) draw their locality information from Hodgson (1841c).

6 Biswas & Tiwari (1966) state that "The Himalayan Marmot ... occurs between 4000 and 5000 metres in the Himalaya from Kashmir, east to Sikkim, and in Yunnan ": the authors refer to the species as M. bobak ( Müller, 1776) , in which himalayana was placed by Corbet (1978).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

FAMILY SPALACIDAE

Cannomys badius (Hodgson, 1841) MAP No. 88 Lesser Bamboo rat

Bay Bamboo rat

Rhizomys badius Hodgson, 1841a: 60 . "in the mountains some miles north of the great valley" ( Nepal). (See note 1).

Records.— Chesemore (1970): Singaul.—F.M.N.H.: ½ mile W. of Hitaura (see note 2) (FMNH 104208—FMNH 104212: both as C. b. badius ); 1½ miles W.S.W. of Hitaura (FMNH 104207—as C. b. badius ); 2 miles W. of Hitaura (FMNH 57589); Madhuban (2) (FMNH 112552, FMNH 112553).— Hinton & Fry (1923): Hazaria (1); Sunachir.—P.S.M.: ½ mile W. of Hitaura (see note 2) (PSM 13685, PSM 14746, PSM 14747).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Corbet & Hill (1992): Nepal (Terai) (see note 3). — Mitchell (1975) (as C. badius badius ): Nepal.—Thorington & Hoffmann (2005): E. Nepal.

Note.— 1 Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) give the date of Hodgson's publication erroneously as 1842. The "great valley" is the Kathmandu Valley.

2 The records in F.M.N.H. and P.S.M. from the locality "½ mile W. of Hitaura" are both based on material collected in February, 1967 by C. O. Maser.

3 Corbet & Hill (1992) base their non-specific distribution of C. badius in Nepal on Kock & Posamentier (1983), who provide details of the Indo-Burmese distribution of the species founded principally on literature records. In the northernmost part of the Indian subcontinent covered by Kock & Posamentier (1983), those authors state that C. badius ranges from the "Sikkim Terai ... west to to the Duars [= the Terai] in eastern Nepal ".

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

FAMILY CRICETIDAE

Alticola stoliczkanus (Blanford, 1875) MAP No. 89 Stoliczka’s Mountain vole

Stoliczka’s High Mountain vole

Arvicola stoliczkanus Blanford, 1875a: 107 . Kuenlun Mountains, northern Ladak.

Arvicola stracheyi Thomas, 1880: 332 . Ladak. See note 1.

Alticola bhatnagari Biswas & Khajuria, 1955: 29 . Mingbo (ca. 14,500 ft.), Langmoche Valley, Khumbu, Nepal.

Records.—A.M.N.H.: Shey Gompa (AMNH 235537—AMNH 235541).— Biswas & Khajuria (1955) (as A. bhatnagari sp. n. —see note 2): Mingbo; Pheriche; Thugla.— Biswas & Khajuria (1957) (as A. s. stracheyi ): Nah; Phalong Karpo.— Daniel & Hanzák (1985): Barun Valley.— Gregori & Petrov (1976) (as A. s. bhatnagari ): Mt. Makulu base camp.— Khajuria (1961) (as A. s. stracheyi ): "on [the] way to Gorasham" (see note 3).—M.V.Z.: 3 miles S.W. of Makalu (MVZ 119405—MVZ 119408).—R.O.M.: Khangjung, Langtang Valley (3) (ROM 74706, ROM 74708, and ROM 74709) (see notes 4,5).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996) (as A. stracheyi and A. stoliczkanus ): Nepal (see note 1).—Mitchell (1975) (as A. stracheyi and A. stoliczkanus ): Nepal (see note 1).

Note.— 1 The I.U.C.N. Red List of Threatened Species ( Baillie, 1996), Mitchell (1975), and Feng et al. (1986) (see Musser & Carleton, 2005: 961) regard stoliczkanus and stracheyi as separate species. Lim & Ross (1992) draw attention to the complexity of the relationship between the two taxa and imply that material from Nepal that Mitchell may have regarded as exemplifying stracheyi belongs, in fact, to stoliczkanus . Ellerman & Morrison- Scott (1951), Corbet (1978), Hutterer (2005b) (who cites other authorities), and I.U.C.N. (2008) all treat stracheyi as a synonym of stoliczkanus and, as it preponderates in the literature, that view is followed here.

2 Musser & Carleton (2005) indicate that bhatnagari may be a geographical variant inhabiting the southern slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal and Sikkim ( India).

3 Khajuria (1961) states that the elevation of the locality "on [the] way to Gorasham" is 334 m. This is likely to be a misprint as the elevation of Gorashan [Gorasham] given in the same publication is 5,334 m., a height more in keeping with the mountainous Khumbu region, in which Gorasham, which cannot be located with precision, is situated.

4 Lim & Ross (1992) give external, cranial, and dental measurements of a single Nepalese specimen of A. stoliczkanus . The authors base their research on three specimens in the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum and these are probably the R.O.M. specimens mentioned above, there being only three specimens from Nepal (with precise localities) recorded in the R.O.M. collections. Lim & Ross (1992) refer also to the locality "Rasuwa" but this is simply the district in which Khangjung is located.

5 The specimens from Khanjung (ROM 74706, ROM 74708, and ROM 74709) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Neodon sikimensis Hodgson [ Horsfield, 1849] MAP No. 90 Sikkim vole

Sikkim Mountain vole

Neodon sikimensis Hodgson [ Horsfield,1849: 203]. India, Sikkim (see note 1).

Arvicola thricolis Gray 1863: 10 . Darjeeling.

Records.— Abe (1982): Ghora Tabela; Gorapani (1); Gosainkund (1); Kyangjin Gompa; Syng Gomba; Thare Pati (all as Pitymys sikimensis Hodgson, 1849b —see note 1).—A.M.N.H. (as Microtus irene —see note 2): Shey Gompa (AMNH 238055—AMNH 238058, AMNH 238060—AMNH 238063).— Biswas & Khajuria (1957): Pangboche (4) (as P. sikimensis ).— Daniel & Hanzák (1985): Barun Valley (as Pitymys sikimensis sikimensis Hodgson, 1849b —see note 1).—F.M.N.H. (all as Pitymys sikimensis ) (see note 3): 10 miles N.E. of Jumla (FMNH 142085, FMNH 412086); 15 km. E.N.E. of Chainpur (FMNH 114618); Balutar (FMNH 114320, FMNH 114321, FMNH 114619—FMNH 114629); Dhorpatan (1) (FMNH 142079—FMNH 142084); Dhukphu (FMNH 142104); Gosenkunde (FMNH 104377, FMNH 104378); Kasua Khola (2) (FMNH 114318); Kasua Khola (3) (FMNH 114185); Khumjung (1) (FMNH 142092—FMNH 142094); Langtang village (FMNH 142090); Lukla, airport (FMNH 142095—FMNH 142100, FMNH142102); Num (near) (1) (FMNH 114340); Num (near) (3) (FMNH 114601—FMNH 114609); Num (near) (4) (FMNH 114319, FMNH 114322, FMNH 114323, FMNH 114595— FMNH 114600); Num (near) (5) (FMNH 114324, FMNH 114327, FMNH 114328, FMNH 114331—FMNH 114339, FMNH 114610—FMNH 114617); Num (near) (6) (FMNH 114325, FMNH 114326, FMNH 114329, FMNH 114330); Phulung Ghyang (3) (FMNH 57741—FMNH 57750, FMNH 57757, FMNH 57764, FMNH 57766, FMNH 104292—FMNH104356, FMNH 104358—FMNH 104376); Rara Lake (2) (FMNH 142087— FMNH 142089, FMNH 142103); Thodung (1) (FMNH 142091); Tserping (FMNH 94161—FMNH 94170); Uring Ghyang (FMNH 142101).— Fry (1925): Apoon Hill.— Green (1981): Langtang N. P. (10) (as P. sikimensis ).— Gregori & Petrov (1976): Ne (Barun Valley) (2) (as P. s. sikimensis ).—H.N.H.M. (as Microtus sikimensis ): Somtang, Ganesh Himal (HNHM 98.7.2).—M.V.Z. (as Microtus sikimensis ): Barun River Valley (MVZ 119409— MVZ 119414: see note 4).— Mekada et al. (2001) (as Microtus sikimensis ) (see note 5): Ghorepani.—P.S.M. (as Microtus sikimensis ): Phulung Ghyang (4) (PSM 14869, PSM 15500, PSM 15551—PSM 15560, PSM 16347, PSM 16348, PSM 16610—PSM 16617).—R.O.M. (all as Microtus sikimensis —see note 6): Dhorpatan (1) (ROM 74690); Gosainkund Lakes (ROM 74661), Khumjung (4) (ROM 74670); Lukla, airport (ROM 74674).— U.M.M.Z. (as Pitymys sikamensis [sic]): Kashua Khola (UMMZ 122886, UMMZ 122887).— Weigel (1969) (as Pitymys sikimensis sikimensis ): Bigu (3,4,6,7); Giddeh; Junbesi (5,9–11); Pangboche (1-3); Pike; Ringmo (Solukhumbu District) (2,4,5–7,8); Sirantschok; Taboche.

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal (as Microtus sikimensis Hodgson, 1849b ).—Mitchell (1975) (as P. sikimensis ): Nepal (see notes 3,6).—M.C.Z.: Nepal (MCZ 17855, MCZ 18737—both as Microtus sikimensis ).

Note.— 1 Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) cite the species' authority of Neodon sikimensis as "Hodgson, 1849" whilst Musser & Carleton (2005: 1032) state: "(Horsfield, 1841). A Catalogue of the Mammalia in the Museum of the Hon. East-India Company: 145-146 (as corrected by Kaneko and Smeenk, 1996; not Hodgson, 1849, as entrenched in the literature)." Horsfield provides a brief description of the species in the work mentioned, although the date of the Catalogue is 1851 and not 1841. An earlier and briefer account of the species, however, is given in Horsfield (1849), wherein the author refers to " Neodon sikimensis, Hodgs. " It is not clear, however, whether the brief descriptive notes that Horsfield communicates in his 1849 publication are his own or those of Hodgson. It is apparent that Horsfield intended the authorship of the species to remain with Hodgson as he requests the editor of the journal in which his 1849 publication appeared to enter therein the species of Mammalia and birds, which he proceeds to list, "in his [Hodgson's] name". Horsfield (1849) states also that "other distingishing characters of this type [ N. sikimensis ] will be pointed out in Mr. Hodgson's detailed description", although no evidence can be found that Hodgson provided a subsequent description of the species. Doubt remains about the source of the first descriptive account of N. sikimensis but it is suggested that the spirit of Horsfield's 1849 publication should be upheld and that the species authority accordingly should read: "Hodgson [ Horsfield,1849]". This is contrary to the view of Kaneko & Smeenk (1996), who, in a considered argument, regard the correct authority as “Horsfield, 1851”.

2 Several commentators have included irene as a synonym of sikimensis (e.g. Weigel, 1969; Corbet, 1978; Honacki et al., 1982), whilst the taxon has been regarded as a separate species by others (e.g. Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951; Gromov & Polyakov, 1977). Musser & Carleton (2005) treat irene as a distinct species based on the differences in size and dentition emphasised by Ellerman (1947b, 1961). The eight A.M.N.H. records from Shey Gompa are included here under sikimensis as the range of irene is now restricted to China ( Musser & Carleton, 2005: 1031). The specimens were collected in November, 1973 by George Schaller and there is no obvious evidence that they have been re-examined since their accession to the A.M.N.H. collection.

3 The specimens from 10 miles N.E. of Jumla, Dhorpatan, Dhukphu, Khumjung, Langtang Village, Lukla, Rara Lake, Thodung, and Uring Ghyang (FMNH 142073—FMNH 142104) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

4 See note 9 to Ochotona roylei (p. 75) concerning the position within the Barun River valley of the collection locality, at which specimens MVZ 119401 ( O. roylei ) and MVZ 119409—MVZ 119414 ( Microtus sikimensis ) were secured.

5 Mekada et al. (2001) give external measurements of specimens, which are deposited in the mammal collection of the Laboratory of Animal Management and Resources, Graduate School of Bio-Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Japan.

6 The specimens from Dhorpatan, Gosainkund Lakes, Khumjung, and Lukla (ROM 74690, ROM 74661, ROM 74670, and ROM 74674) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Phaiomys leucurus Blyth, 1863 (see note 1) MAP No. 91 Blyth’s Mountain vole

Phaiomys leucurus Blyth, 1863: 89 . Near Lake Chomoriri (Tsomoriri), Ladak.

Records.— Mitchell & Derksen (1976) (as Pitymys leucurus leucurus ) (see notes 1,2,3): Charang; Lho Chhoga (2); Mustang.—R.O.M. (all as Microtus leucurus ( Blyth, 1863) —see notes 1,4): Lho Mustang (ROM 74750, ROM 74753); Maharang Pass (ROM 74758, ROM 74759).

Non-specific records.—Mitchell (1975) (as Pitymys leucurus leucurus ): Nepal (see note 1).

Note.— 1 Phaiomys was regarded formerly as a subgenus both of Microtus and of Pitymys ( Musser & Carleton, 2005: 1034) .

2 Mitchell & Derksen (1976) report that this is the first record of leucurus from Nepal, although it is likely that the same specimens enabled Mitchell to include the species in his checklist of Nepalese mammals (Mitchell, 1975).

3 Mitchell & Derksen (1976) state that specimens were collected "along stream beds and river banks in the arid, alpine desert biotope of Mustang District". The authors give an account of the species' coloration and provide details of selected external and cranial characteristics and measurements. They add that leucurus "is colonial and makes its burrows in patches of short grasses" and that it "feeds on grass and flower seeds as well as fresh vegetation".

4 The specimens from Lho Mustang (ROM 74750 and ROM 74753) and Maharang Pass (ROM 74758 and ROM 74759) were collected by R. M. Mitchell, although that author refers leucurus to the genus Pitymys rather than Microtus . It is probable that ROM 74750 and ROM 74753 are two of the 16 specimens from Mustang mentioned in Mitchell & Derksen (1976).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Cricetulus alticola Thomas, 1917 MAP No. 92 Ladak Dwarf hamster

Short-tailed Tibetan hamster

Cricetulus alticola Thomas, 1917b: 455 . Shushal, 13,500 ft., Ladak. (See note 1).

Records.—R.O.M. (see note 2): Lho Mustang (see note 3) (ROM 74745, ROM 74747, ROM 74748, and ROM 74751); Zethi, Gayling (ROM 74755 and ROM 74756).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Thomas (1917b) comments on coloration and skull morphology and gives external and cranial measurements of the type specimen ( BM.6.10.3.13) from Shushal , Ladak ( India) .

2 The ROM specimens listed are discussed by Lim & Ross (1992), who give external, cranial, and dental measurements thereof.

3 For an explanation of the term "Lho", see note 4 to Sorex minutus (p. 90).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

FAMILY MURIDAE

Tatera indica ( Hardwicke, 1807) MAP No. 93 Indian gerbil

Antelope rat

Dipus indicus Hardwicke, 1807: 279 . Between Benares and Hardwar, United Provinces, northern India.

Records.— Bates (1987) (as T. i. indica ): Tribeni (1) (B.M.1937.3.4.23).— Hinton & Fry (1923): Bairia; Hazaria (1).— Johnson et al. (1980): Tikapur (USNM 290081) (see note 1).—R.O.M. (see note 2): Bahwanipur (ROM 74632); Darakhuti (ROM 74635).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as T. i. indica ): Nepal (see note 2).— Musser & Carleton (2005): "the Terai region of S. Nepal ".

Note.— 1 Johnson et al. (1980) refer to a second specimen of T. indica collected at "Kauriala Ghat, U.P." The catalogue of the N.M.N.H., in which institution the specimen is located (USNM 290080), records the country of collection as Nepal rather than India, the latter being the actual location of Kauriala Ghat. [U.P. = "United Provinces"—now Uttar Pradesh].

2 The specimens from Bahwanipur and Darakhuti (ROM 74632 and ROM 74635) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

* Apodemus flavicollis ( Melchior, 1834)

Yellow-necked Field mouse

Mus flavicollis Melchior, 1834: 99 . Sielland, Denmark.

Records.—see note 1.

Non-specific records.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966): "in palaearctic Asia, including ... Nepal " (see note 2).

Note.— 1 Musser & Carleton (2005) limit the eastern range of A. flavicollis to the "Urals" and the "Zagros Mtns. of W. Iran ".

2 The general geographical distribution provided by Biswas & Tiwari (1966) is superseded by the more detailed analysis of Musser & Carleton, 2005 (see note 1, above).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Apodemus gurkha Thomas, 1924 MAP No. 94 Nepalese Field mouse

Apodemus gurkha Thomas, 1924: 888 . Laprak, about 11,500 ft., Gorkha, Nepal.

Records.— Abe (1982): Chitare; Gorapani (1); Larjung; Tukuche; Ulleri.— Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971): Maharigaon (2) (as A. flavicollis gurkha Thomas, 1924 ) (see notes 1,2).—F.M.N.H.: Dhorpatan (1) (FMNH 142105); Maharigaon (2) (FMNH 142106—see note 2): Sathar Hill (FMNH 82938*—see note 3): Sottidanda (FMNH 82939*—see note 3).— Fry (1925): Apoon Hill; Apoon Sottidanda; Barpak; Laprak; Satthar.—H.N.H.M.: 2 km. E. of Ghorepani (HNHM 98.8.20); 2 km. S. of Ghorepani (HNHM 98.8.12—HNHM 98.8.14); 2 km. S.E. of Nangethanti (HNHM 98.8.23); Ghorepani (& Deorali, half way between) (HNHM 98.8.16—HNHM 98.8.19).— Martens & Niethammer (1972) (see note 4): Pass von Gorapani [Gorapani Pass]; Ringmo/Phoksumdo-See [Phoksumdo Lake (1)] (Dolpa District); Tal der Gustung Khola [Gustung River valley]; Thakkhola, verschiedene Orte [various localities] (see note 5); Umgebung von Dhorpatan und südlich davon bei Bobang [the environs of Dhorpatan (3) and southwards from there to Bobang].— Mekada et al. (2001) (see note 6): Ghorepani.— Musser et al. (1996): Barbung Khola, Gompa near Tarakot (ZFMK 84.1160—ZFMK 84.1163); Bobang (ZFMK 84.1102 — 84.1109); Chhyul-Wang Valley, Meme Kharka (ZFMK 84.1112); Dhorpatan (3) (ZFMK 84.1092—ZFMK 84.1099); Dhorpatan, Uttar-Ganga Valley (ZFMK 84.1100, ZFMK 84.1101, ZFMK 84.1113—ZFMK 84.115, ZFMK 92.138—ZFMK 92.146, ZFMK 92.152); Ghustung Khola, trail from Dhorpatan to Tarakot (ZFMK 84.1110 and ZFMK 84.1111); Gorapani pass (ZFMK 84.1089—ZFMK 84.1091); Marpha, above (ZFMK 84.1176); Thakkola (Chadziou Khola: ZFMK 84.1069—ZFMK 84.1072, ZFMK 84.1074—ZFMK84.1076; Lake Titi: ZFMK 84.1079; Lethe: ZFMK 84.1080 and ZFMK 92.151; Meristi Khola: ZFMK 84.1073; Phoksumdo Lake (2) (ZFMK 84.1112); Purano Marpha: ZFMK 84.1175); Thaksang: ZFMK 84.1077, ZFMK 84.1078, ZFMK 84.1081—ZFMK 84.1088, ZFMK 84.1164—ZFMK 84.1172); Thankur (ZFMK 84.1156—ZFMK 84.1159, ZFMK 92.147).—Thimang, Marsyandi valley (ZFMK 84.1173 and ZFMK 84.1174)— Thomas (1924): Laprak [type locality] (BM.23.11.5.44— holotype] (see note 7).—R.O.M.: Dhorpatan (1) (ROM 74686 and ROM 74691); Kalapani (ROM 74740).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal. — Mitchell (1975) (as A. f. gurkha ): Nepal.— Musser et al. (1996): Nepal (ZFMK 92.148 and ZFMK 92.149).

Note.— 1 Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) give measurements of a single male specimen and comment briefly on coloration.

2 The records from Maharigaon ( Agrawal & Chakraborty, 1971 and FMNH 142106) are based on two different specimens collected by R. M. Mitchell.

3 For an explanation of the asterisked specimens, see note 5 to Hipposideros armiger (p. 32).

4 Martens & Niethammer (1972) comment that the habitat of A. gurkha includes subtropical mixed forest (at Bobang), Rhododendron arboreum woodland, Abies-Pinus-Cupressus woodland (at Dhorpatan), and Pinus excelsa woodland (in Palaearctic regions of the main range). A. gurkha was noted to share these habitats with Rattus [ Niviventer ] fulvescens , Mus musculus , locally with Apodemus sylvaticus [= A. pallipes ], Soriculus nigrescens, (Epi) soriculus caudatus, (Epi) soriculus leucops , and, exceptionally, with Suncus murinus and Microtus [ Phaiomys ] leucurus .

5 The Thakkhola region is not apparent on modern maps of Nepal and Martens & Niethammer do not plot it, referring to it only in the text. Geological field expeditions to Thakkhola in 1988 and 1991 were carried out in a region delineated by the villages of Jomsom, Tangbe, Chukkgaon, and Muktinath ( Nagy et al., 1995). The locality for Thakkhola given in the Gazetteer, however, is centred further south on Tukche, as this is more central to the collection area worked by Jochen Martens during the period (October to December, 1969 and July 1970 ( Martens & Niethammer, 1972)) in which the specimens from various localities in Thakkhola were collected. The range of elevation in which specimens were secured is given in the Gazetteer under Thakkhola, itself.

6 Mekada et al. (2001) give external measurements of specimens, which are deposited in the mammal collection of the Laboratory of Animal Management and Resources, Graduate School of Bio-Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Japan.

7 Thomas (1924) provides a good description, with external and cranial measurements, of the type specimen, which was one of 16 specimens of the species collected by N. A. Baptista during the Bombay Natural History Society's Mammal Survey of India, Burma, and Ceylon.

8 Apodemus gurkha is endemic to Nepal. Musser & Carleton (2005) (citing Martens & Niethammer, 1972) state that the species' distribution is restricted to "coniferous forest in C. Nepal between 2,200 and 3,000 m.". The distribution of A. gurkha shown on map 94 indicates that the range of the species may extend marginally into Nepal's temperate western broadleaf forests (in the vicinity of Kalapani [2,469 m.] and Larjung [2,530 m.]) and the country's western alpine meadow region (near Dhorpatan [2,728 m. and 2,450 —3,000 m.] and Phoksumdo Lake [3,600 m.]). A single specimen of A. gurkha (ZFMK 84.1177) was collected in the Chhyul-Wang Valley in the alpine shrub and meadows of eastern Nepal ( Musser et al., 1996). The lowest range of elevation in which A gurkha has been collected is 2,180 —2,290 m. at Ulleri ( Abe, 1982) whilst the greatest elevation is 3,656 m. at Apoon Hill ( Fry, 1925).

I.U.C.N. status.—Endangered B1ab(iii) (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Apodemus pallipes ( Barrett-Hamilton, 1900) MAP No. 95 Himalayan Field mouse

Mus sylvaticus pallipes Barrett-Hamilton, 1900: 417 . Surhad Wahkan, Pamir Altai, E. Tajikstan.

Micromys sylvaticus wardi Wroughton, 1908: 282 . Saspul, Ladak.

Micromys sylvaticus pentax Wroughton, 1908: 283 . Thandiani, Punjab.

Records.— Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971): Rara Lake (1) (as Apodemus sylvaticus pentax —see notes 1,2).— F.M.N.H. (see notes 2,3): Gayling (FMNH 142108, FMNH 142109); Jomosom (FMNH 142107, FMNH 142113, FMNH 142114); Maharigaon (2) (FMNH 142110); Muktinath (2) (FMNH 142115, FMNH 142116); Mustang (FMNH 142117); Rara Lake (2) (FMNH 101730; FMNH 142112).— Martens & Niethammer (1972) (as Apodemus sylvaticus wardi — see note 4): Dapa Col (on the ascent to); Mukut; Ringmo/Phoksumdo-See [Phoksumdo Lake (1)] (Dolpa District); Suli-Gad-Tal [Suli Gad Valley]; Tal der Barbung Khola [Barbung R. valley]; Tarang; Thaksang, Tukche (2).

Non-specific records.—Mitchell (1975) (as A. s. wardi ): Nepal (see note 2).

Note.— 1 Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) give measurements of a single female specimen and remark on ventral colour and palatal length.

2 The localities identified in Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) and the F.M.N.H. catalogue are based on specimens collected by R. M. Mitchell. That author, however, makes no reference to A. s. pentax in his 1975 checklist of Nepalese mammals, referring therein only to A. s. wardi .

3 The catalogue of the F.M.N.H. records an additional specimen of A. pallipes from Rara Lake (FMNH 142111) but the collection co-ordinates given indicate a point approximately 470 km. E.S.E. of Rara Lake, the same lying 15 km. east of Jiri. The record is not included here under Rara Lake nor from the position indicated by the co- -ordinates owing to the conflicting information.

4 This is the first record of wardi from Nepal. Martens & Niethammer (1972) comment that the species had colonised dense Picea smithiana woodland near rivers in the Suli Gad Valley, where it was found with Rattus rattoides ; groups of bushes in a clearing in Pinus excelsa woodland at Thaksang, where it was found with Apodemus gurkha , Microtus [ Phaiomys ] leucurus , Mus musculus , Soriculus nigrescens , and (Epi) soriculus caudatus ; bushes and piles of stones on the fringes of woodland at Ringmo/Phoksumdo Lake, where it was found with Microtus [ Phaiomys ] leucurus and Ochotona roylei ; open bushy ground supporting Rosa , Salix , and Contoneaster at Makut, where it was found with Microtus [ Phaiomys ] leucurus ; and pasture with Juniperus bushes on the ascent to Dapa Col, where it was found with Microtus [ Phaiomys ] leucurus .

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

* Apodemus rusiges Miller, 1913

Kashmir Field mouse

Apodemus flavicollis rusiges Miller, 1913: 81 . Central Kashmir.

Records.—None.

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.

Note.—The species is noted as occurring in Nepal by Baillie (1996) but without detail. Musser & Carleton (2005) state that rusiges is "Endemic to the Himalayas of N. Pakistan (east of the Indus Valley) and N.W. India." The latter commentators write further that the distribution they give of rusiges "derives from the large series in U.S. N.M. [N.M.N.H]." They add: "Other smaller collections examined do not have specimens from beyond that range. Ellerman (1961) identified rusiges from the Kumaun region of N. India, which is farther east than the Jammu-Kashmir area and adjacent to Nepal, but without studying the specimens we cannot determine if they are A. rusiges or A. pallipes ." It is considered that Apodemus rusiges cannot be included safely in Nepal’s faunal list owing to the absence of substantive evidence of the species’ presence in that country.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

* Apodemus sylvaticus ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Long-tailed Field mouse

Wood mouse

Common Field mouse

Mus sylvaticus Linnaeus, 1758: 62 . Upsala, Sweden.

Records.—see note 1.

Non-specific records.— Corbet (1978): "... east [from the western Palaearctic] to the ... Pamirs [in Tajikistan] and to central Nepal ". (See note 2).

Note.— 1 The Royal Ontario Museum holds six specimens from Nepal assigned to A. sylvaticus but they are not included here owing to the views expressed by Musser & Carleton (1993) (see note 2, below).

2 Corbet (1978) states that the range of A. sylvaticus extends "to central Nepal ". Musser & Carleton (1993) state that the occurrence of A. sylvaticus "as mapped by Corbet [1978] east of Byelorussia and W. Ukraine reflects ranges of other species (uralensis, fulvipectus, arianus, wardi , rusiges ) once included within A. sylvaticus ." Of the five species mentioned by Musser & Carleton, only wardi (now included in A. pallipes ) occurs in Nepal ( Musser & Carleton, 2005) and it is likely that it is to this species that Corbet's record should be attributed. The I.U.C.N. Red List (2007) ( Baillie, 1996) does indicate the presence of rusiges in Nepal but without detail. See the note to Apodemus rusiges , above (p. 109).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Bandicota bengalensis (Gray, 1835, in 1830-1835) MAP No. 96 Lesser Bandicoot rat

Arvicola bengalensis Gray, 1835 , in 1830-1835: pl. 21. Bengal.

Mus tarayensis Horsfield, 1855: 112 .?Darjeeling [not Nepal]. (See note 1).

Mus plurimammis Horsfield, 1855: 112 .?Darjeeling [not Nepal].

Mus morungensis Horsfield, 1855: 112 .?Darjeeling [not Nepal].

Records.— Abe (1982): Adhabar.—A.M.N.H.: Hetaura (AMNH 251668—AMNH 251670).— Chesemore (1970): Singaul.— Fry (1925) (as Gunomys bengalensis ) (see note 2): Chengli; Mircourt; Syartang.— Hinton & Fry (1923): Bairia; Bankalwa Morang; Hazaria (1) (all as G. bengalensis ).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as B. b. bengalensis (Gray, 1833)) : Katmandu (USNM 290082).—R.O.M. (see note 3): Darakhuti (ROM 74640).

Non-specific records.—A.M.N.H.: Kathmandu (District) (AMNH 251666, AMNH 251667).— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966): "parts of Nepal ".— Gray & Gray (1846): "Inhab. Nepal " (see note 4).—Mitchell (1975) (as B. b. bengalensis (Gray and Hardwicke, 1835) [=Gray, 1835]): Nepal (see note 3).— Worth & Shah (1969): Nepal.

Note.— 1 The brief notices of Mus tarayensis , M. plurimammis , and M. morungensis given by Horsfield (1855) are based on specimens secured by B. H. Hodgson after he left Nepal. The likeliest provenance of the taxa mentioned is Darjeeling, where Hodgson settled upon his return to the Indian subcontinent in 1845 and where he resided until 1858. See note 1 to Episoriculus leucops (p. 85) for Horsfield's similarly erroneous treatment of the type locality of that taxon.

2 The positions of "Chengli", "Mircourt", and "Syartang" cannot be ascertained but these localities lie in one of the districts west of Kathmandu ( Fry, 1925).

3 The specimen from Darakhuti (ROM 74640) was collected by R. M. Mitchell.

4 The specimen to which Gray & Gray (1846) refer is cited as " Nesokia Kok. Mus Kok, Gray, Mag. N. H. 1836 ". Other authors (e.g. Corbet & Hill, 1992: 353; Musser & Carleton, 2005: 1293) refer in their synonymies to Mus kok Gray, 1837 . As it appears that the first volume of the Magazine of Natural History (= Mag. N. H) was published in 1837 (see Corbet & Hill, 1992: 440 and N.H.M. library records), it is possible that Gray & Gray's citation of the year 1836 is erroneous. For a limitation of the non-specific locality " Nepal " in Gray & Gray (1846), see note 10 to Mus musculus (p. 117).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Bandicota indica (Bechstein, 1800) MAP No. 97 Greater Bandicoot rat

Large Bandicoot rat

Mus indicus Bechstein, 1800: 497 . Pondicherry, India.

Mus (Rattus) nemorivagus Hodgson, 1836a: 234 . "The central region of Nepál ".

Mus ? macropus Hodgson, 1845: 268 . The central region of Nepal.

Records.— Abe (1982): Kathmandu.—A.M.N.H.: Kathmandu (AMNH 251671—AMNH 251676).—F.M.N.H.: Balaju (FMNH 104379—as B. i. nemorivaga Hodgson, 1836 ; FMNH 104383); Kathmandu (FMNH 57708; FMNH 104380 and FMNH 104381, both as B. i. nemorivaga ; FMNH 104382).— Fry (1925) (as B. nemorivaga ): Manglopani (see note 1).—P.S.M.: Balaju (PSM 14748—as B. i. nemorivaga ); Kathmandu (PSM 13695; PSM 14749, PSM 14750—both as B. i. nemorivaga ).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966): Nepal.— Hinton & Fry (1923) (as B. nemorivaga ): "Inhabits the Central and Northern Regions of Nepal so far as known" (see note 2).—Mitchell (1975) (as B. i. nemorivaga ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 The position of "Manglopani" cannot be ascertained but the locality lies in one of the districts west of Kathmandu ( Fry, 1925).

2 Hinton & Fry (1923) cite Hodgson (1842).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Dacnomys millardi Thomas, 1916 MAP No. 98 Millard's Dacnomys

Millard's rat

Large-toothed rat

Dacnomys millardi Thomas, 1916a: 405 . Gopaldhara, 3,440 ft., near Darjeeling, India.

Records.—F.M.N.H.: Iswa Khola (1) (FMNH 114175).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Musser & Carleton (2005): E. Nepal (see note 1).

Note.— 1 Musser & Carleton (2005) base their distribution of the species in E. Nepal on "specimens in F.M.N.H." The only specimen listed in the F.M.N.H. catalogue is FMNH 114175 (see "Records", above).

I.U.C.N. status.—Data deficient (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Diomys crumpi Thomas, 1917 MAP No. 99 Crump's mouse

Crump's Diomys

Diomys crumpi Thomas, 1917a: 204 . Paresnath, Hazaribagh, Bihar, India.

Records.— Ingles et al. (1980): 3 km. E. of Pathalaya (see note).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.

Note.—This represents the first published record of the species in Nepal. The four specimens, on which the record is founded, were collected in tall grass and tangled undergrowth in sal forest in the eastern Terai by the 1978–79 University of East Anglia expedition ( Newton et al., 1990).

I.U.C.N. status.—Data deficient (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Golunda ellioti Gray, 1837 MAP No. 100 Indian Bush rat

Golunda ellioti Gray, 1837: 586 . Dharwar, India.

Mus ? myothrix Hodgson, 1845: 267 . The central region of Nepal. (See note 1).

Records.— Ellerman (1961) (as G. e. myothrix ): Kahulia Powa, Nepal (see note 2).—R.O.M. (see note 3): Bahwanipur (ROM 74624); Kakani (3) (ROM 74643).

Non-specific records.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966): Nepal.— Ellerman (1961): "Kangra [Himachal Pradesh, India] eastwards to Nepal, 2,000 -6,700 ft. " (as G. e. myothrix ).— Gray & Gray (1846): "Central and Northern hilly region" (as Mus ? myothrix Hodgson, 1845 ).—Mitchell (1975) (as G. e. myothrix ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Hodgson (1841b) includes Arvicola mythrix in a list of Nepalese mammalia but he used the specific name myothrix first in 1842, when he referred, without comment, to a new species of Nepalese murid as " Arvicola ? Neotoma myothrix " ( Hodgson, 1842: 915) . No evidence can be found to indicate that Arvicola ? Neotoma myothrix is the later Mus ? myothrix described by Hodgson in 1845 but this is not incontrovertible given the lack of comparative material available to Hodgson at the time.

2 Ellerman (1961) states that Kahulia Powa is the type locality of myothrix , although Hodgson (1845) goes no farther than stating that the species is found in "the central region of Nepal ". The position of Kahulia Powa, itself, cannot be ascertained.

3 The specimens from Bahwanipur and Kakani (ROM 74624 and ROM 74643) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Millardia meltada ( Gray, 1837) MAP No. 101 Common Metad

Soft-furred Field rat

Golunda meltada Gray, 1837: 586 . Dharwar, India.

Millardia meltada pallidor Ryley, 1914: 659 . Lunwa, Palanpur, Gujerat, 150 ft., India.

Records.— Abe (1982): Adhabar.—F.M.N.H. (as M. m. pallidior) (see note 1): Bahwanipur (FMNH 142118, FMNH 142119); Darakhuti (FMNH 142120, FMNH 14212).— Hinton & Fry (1923): Bairia.— Newton et al. (1990) (as M. m. pallidor): 4 km. W. of Damak.—R.O.M.: Bahwanipur (ROM 74629, ROM 74630, and ROM 74631).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966) (as Rattus meltada ): Nepal Tarai [= Terai]. — Mitchell (1975) (as M. m. pallidor): Nepal (see note 1).

Note.— 1 The Bahwanipur and Darakhuti specimens in F.M.N.H. were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Mus booduga ( Gray, 1837) MAP No. 102 Little Indian Field mouse

Leggada booduga Gray, 1837: 586 . Southern Mahratta country, India.

Records.— Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971): Bhojbhawanpur (as M. b. booduga ) (see note 1).— Chesemore (1970): Singaul (see note 2).—F.M.N.H. (all as M. b. booduga ) (see note 3): Madhuban (1) (FMNH 142125); Madhuban (2) (FMNH 142122—FMNH 142124).— Greenwood et al. (1985): Chakrapur (see note 4).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as M. b. booduga —see note 5): Biratnagar (USNM 290132—skin only; USNM 290133); Chisapani (USNM 290127— skin only); Tikapur (USNM 290130).— Newton et al. (1990): 3 km. S. of Chakrapur; 4 km. W. of Damak; 14 km. W. of Chandranigahpur.—R.O.M.: Kakani (3) (ROM 74645); Madhuban (2) (ROM 74612); Melumche (1) (ROM 74596, ROM 74598, and ROM 74602); Sisaiya, 3 miles E. of Mahendranagar (ROM 74619, ROM 74620); Tamaspur (2) (ROM 74617); Tarkhe Ghyang (ROM 74594).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as M. b. booduga ): Nepal (see note 3).

Note.— 1 Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) give measurements of a single male specimen.

2 Chesemore (1970) gives external measurements and the mass of two specimens.

3 The specimens from Madhuban (FMNH 142122—FMNH 142125) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

4 Greenwood et al. (1985) state that the species was collected together with Crocidura attenuata . The authors comment that the collection locality was "south of Chakrapur village on stubble and amongst tall riverine grassland close to River Kosi. Flooded annually, alluvial and flat". This is the same locality as " 3 km. S. of Chakrapur", to which Newton et al. (1990) refer, the record being based on the collection of a single female M. booduga on 23 rd January, 1979 by members of the 1978–79 University of East Anglia expedition to eastern Nepal. Newton et al. (1990) add that the locality is on the "W. bank of the R. Kosi, bordering jute fields, grazed by water buffalo". M. booduga was noted to be a host of the rare flea, Acropsylla traubi Lewis 1973 (see Greenwood et al., 1985).

5 The specimens from Biratnagar (USNM 290132–3), Chisapani (USNM 290127), and Tikapur (USNM 290130) are listed as Mus terricolor in the collections catalogue of N.M.N.H. They are included here under M. booduga as it is deemed that the identifications given in the published paper by Johnson et al. (1980) preponderate. However, Musser & Carleton (2005: 1410), draw attention to the close (chromosomal) relationship between the two species.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Mus cervicolor Hodgson, 1845 MAP No. 103 Fawn-coloured mouse

Mus cervicolor Hodgson, 1845: 268 . Central region of Nepal. (See note 1).

Mus strophiatus Hodgson, 1845: 268 . Central region of Nepal.

Records.— Abe (1982) (see note 2): Adhabar; Betrawate; Bhainse; Biratanti; Dunche; Ghasa; Ghora Tabela; Godavari; Kathmandu; Khurumsan; Kuinibisona; Mt. Phulchauki (1,2); Pati Bhanjyang; Pokhara; Ramche; Sheopuri (3); Syabru; Syng Gomba; Tatopani. - Hinton & Fry (1923): Bouzini; Sipari (both as Leggada cervicolor ).— Marshall (1977): Kathmandu (see note 3) (AMNH 237554—as M. c. cervicolor ).— Newton et al. (1990): 3 km. E. of Pathalaya; 6 km. N. of Kalitar; 11 km. N. of Charali; 14 km. W. of Chandranigahpur; Karanga; Lamosangu.

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Blanford (1888 –91): " Nepal..." (see note 4).— Gray & Gray (1846): "Central and northern hilly regions".— Marshall (1977): Nepal (BM 45.1.8.383 [lectotype of cervicolor ], BM 45.1.8.384, BM 45.1.8.385 [lectotype of strophiatus ], BM 45.1.8.391, BMNH 45.1.8.392—see note 5).— Mitchell (1975) (as M. c. cervicolor ): Nepal.— Worth & Shah (1969): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Hodgson used the specific name cervicolor first in 1841, when he referred to a new species of Nepalese murid as Musculus cervicolor (see Hodgson, 1841b: 220). Hodgson provided the first description of the taxon in his 1845 paper listed in the above synonymy.

2 Abe (1977) assigns specimens from Adhabar, Betrawate, Bhainse, and Pokhara to M. c. phillipsi Wroughton, 1912 but allies the characteristics of the third upper molar (M 3) of the specimens examined to Mus booduga ( Gray, 1837) and "the overall features of the skulls of old individuals ... to those of M. platythrix ". Neither M. phillipsi nor M. platythrix Bennett, 1832 is known to occur in Nepal with both species being regarded as Indian endemics ( Agrawal, 2000). If not cervicolor , it is possible that the specimens examined by Abe were M. saxicola , as the two species have a close relationship ( Musser & Carleton, 2005). The localities mentioned above are retained in the species' distribution, as Abe (1982) does not refer to subspecies.

Abe (1977) assigns specimens from Biratanti, Dunche, Ghasa, Ghora Tabela, Godavari, Kathmandu, Khurumsan, Mt. Phulchauki, Pati Bhanjyang, Ramche, Sheopuri, Syabru, Syng Gomba, and Tatopani to M. c. cervicolor based on ventral coloration and dental lamination.

Abe separates those forms found at localities below an elevation of 1000 m. (which he assigns to M. c. phillipsi ) from those at localities above 1000 m. (to which he designates the subspecific form M. c. cervicolor ) ( Abe, 1977). 3 The catalogue of the A.M.N.H. lists the collection locality of AMNH 237554 as Patan [District]. Patan, which is also known as Lalitpur (and, less often, as Yala) is the district that borders Kathmandu District to the south. Patan is also the District capital. Marshall (1977), however, records that the author trapped two specimens of M. cervicolor "at the edge of a ricefield at Kathmandu".

4 For a limitation of the non-specific locality " Nepal " in Blanford (1888 –91), see note 10 to Mus musculus (p. 117).

5 The B.M.(N.H.) specimens listed were "collected by B. H. Hodgson and labeled simply 'Nepal'" ( Marshall, 1977). Marshall identifies BMNH 45.1.8.392 as M. c. cervicolor .

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Mus cookii Ryley, 1914 MAP No. 104 Cook's mouse

Mus cooki Ryley, 1914: 664 . Gokteik, Shan States, 2,133 ft., Burma.

Leggada nagarum Thomas, 1921: 597 . Gologhat, Naga Hills, Assam, 300 ft.

Records.—F.M.N.H. (all as M. cookii nagarum ): 3 miles S.E. of Ilam (FMNH 94184—FMNH 94186); 16 km. N. of Chainpur (FMNH 114199); Ilam (FMNH 94181).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as M. nagarum —see note 1): Godaveri (3) (USNM 290126); Rekcha (USNM 290128, USNM 290129); Richavas (USNM 290134—see note 2) (as M. nagarum ( Thomas, 1921)) .— Marshall (1977) (as M. c. nagarum ): Hazaria (2) (BMNH 22.5.16.35); Tiger Tops (Royal Chitwan N.P.) (AMNH 237575; USNM 533866—see note 3).—M.V.Z. (as M. c. nagarum ): 1 mile N. of Num (MVZ 119416).—R.O.M.: Jumla Airport (ROM 74702 and ROM 74704); Madhuban (2) (ROM 74613); Rara Lake (2) (ROM 74693).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Musser & Carleton (2005): Nepal.

Note.— 1 USNM 290128 is listed as Mus musculus domesticus Schwarz and Schwarz, 1943 in the collections catalogue of N.M.N.H. It is included here under M. cookii as it is deemed that the identification given in the published paper by Johnson et al. (where it is identified as M. nagarum ) preponderates. See also note 6 to Mus musculus (p. 117) and the note to Mus terricolor (p. 122).

2 USNM 290134 is contained within the collections of N.M.N.H., whose catalogue records the precise collection locality of the specimen as "Richiuns". Richavas is retained here as Johnson et al. (1980) provide an exact identification of the location.

3 The catalogue of specimens held in N.M.N.H. records that USNM 533866 was collected in "tall dense forest". Measurements of the specimen are given in Appendix II.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 MAP No. 105 House mouse

Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758: 62 . Upsala, Sweden.

Musculus nipalensis Hodgson, 1841b: 220 . Nepal. [ Nomen nudum ].

Mus castaneus Waterhouse, 1843: 134 . Philippine Islands.

Mus dubius Hodgson, 1845: 268 . Nepal. (See note 1).

Mus homoourus [ homourus ] Hodgson, 1845: 268. The central region of Nepal (see note 2).

Mus urbanus Hodgson, 1845: 269 . The central region of Nepal (see note 3).

Records.—A.M.N.H. (all as M. m. homourus , except where stated): Hetaura (AMNH 250011—as M. m. castaneus ); Jomosom (AMNH 250006); Kathmandu (AMNH 251677—as M. m. castaneus ); Lapche [Zom Khola] (see Caveat) (AMNH 240751, AMNH 240752); Nauche (Namche Bazar) (AMNH 250005); Zom Khola (see Caveat) (AMNH 240750, AMNH 240753).— Ellerman (1961): "Laprak, Satthar and Apoon Sottidanda, all Gorkha".—F.M.N.H. (all as M. m. homourus , except where stated) (see note 4): 1 mile N. of Lete (FMNH 101736— FMNH 101738); 3 miles S.E. of Ilam (FMNH 94187 and FMNH 94188); 5 miles E. of Jamnagaon (FMNH 94182 and FMNH 95183); 7 miles N. of Those (FMNH 94173); 7 miles W. of Bigu (FMNH 94176 and FMNH 94177); 16 km. N. of Chainpur (FMNH 114198, FMNH 114294); 32 miles E. of Dhangadi (FMNH 94179 and FMNH 94180); Balaju (FMNH 57712, FMNH 104275); Chyamtang (FMNH 114202, FMNH 114590—FMNH 114593); Darakhuti (FMNH 142137); Dhorpatan (1) (FMNH 142138—FMNH 142140); Dhukphu (FMNH 142159— FMNH 142165, FMNH 142209, FMNH 142210); Jomosom (FMNH 101731—FMNH 101734, FMNH 142213); Jumla (FMNH 142141, FMNH 142142); Kakani (3) (FMNH 142145—FMNH 142148); Kaldapeh (FMNH 142212); Khumjung (1) (FMNH 142194—FMNH 142198); Kimatanga (FMNH 114203); Kasua Khola (1) (FMNH 114588); Kathmandu (FMNH 57674, FMNH 57718, FMNH 57719, FMNH 94178, FMNH 104280); Kerabari (FMNH 114574, FMNH 114575, FMNH 114579—FMNH 114582); Kimatanga (FMNH 114594); Langtang Village (FMNH 142154—FMNH 142158, FMNH 142207); Leucopani (FMNH 94174 and FMNH 94175); Lukla, airport (FMNH 142199—FMNH 142201); Maharigaon (2) (FMNH 142143, FMNH 142206); Melumche (1) (FMNH 142167—FMNH 142187, FMNH 142202—FMNH 142204, FMNH 142208); Muktinath (2) (FMNH 142214); Mustang (FMNH 142215); Num (near) (1) (FMNH 114295, FMNH 114583); Num (near) (2) (FMNH 114589); Num (near) (3) (FMNH 114576—FMNH 114578); Patherghatta (FMNH 82999 and FMNH 83000); Phulung Ghyang (3) (FMNH 104281, FMNH 104283—FMNH 104285, FMNH 104287, FMNH 104289, FMNH 104290); Rara Lake (2) (FMNH 142144, FMNH 142205); Sabhaya Khola (FMNH 114189, FMNH 114587); Suki Patyl Forest (FMNH 114297—FMNH 114302, FMNH 114573, FMNH 114584—FMNH 114586); Tarke Ghyang (FMNH 142126—FMNH 142136, FMNH 142188—FMNH 142193); Thamel, Kathmandu (FMNH 104271, FMNH 104273—both as M. m. castaneus ; FMNH 104272); Thimi (FMNH 104277); Thodung (1) (FMNH 142149—FMNH 142153); Thodung (2) (FMNH 142211).— Fry (1925) (as M. homourus , except where indicated): Apoon Hill; Barkek; Bouzini (as M. urbanus ); Laprak; Satthar; Syartang.— Green (1981): Langtang N. P. (9) (as M. m. homourus ).—H.N.H.M.: Kathmandu (HNHM 98.8.1).—H.Z.M.: Daman (1) (HZM 289.7360 and HZM 290.7361—see note 5).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as M. m. homourus — see note 6): Chitre (USNM 290124); Mangalbare (USNM 290125).—P.S.M.: Kathmandu (PSM 13692).— Marshall (1977) (as M. m. castaneus —see note 7): Kathmandu (AMNH 250014—AMNH 250016).— Mekada et al. (2001) (see note 8): Dilli Bazar, Kathmandu.— Newton et al. (1990) (as M. m. homourus ): Godaveri (2).—R.O.M. (all as M. m. homourus —see note 9): Khumjung (ROM 74665); Melumche (1) (ROM 74597, ROM 74603, ROM 74606, ROM 64647, ROM 74714, and ROM 74717).— Weigel (1969) (as M. m. homourus ): Bigu (1,2); Darapani; Junbesi (1,3,5,7,9); Lamjura; Pike; Ringmo (Solukhumbu District) (2,4,5); Taboche; Thiangboche [= Thangmoche].

Non-specific records.—A.M.N.H.: Kathmandu [District] (AMNH 250007—AMNH 250010: all as M. m. castaneus ; AMNH 250012—AMNH 250023: all as M. m. urbanus ).— Gray & Gray (1846): "Central and northern hilly regions" (as M. nipalensis ); "Central and northern hilly regions, in houses and gardens" (as M. dubius ).— Gray (1863): "Valley of Nepal. Caught in the city ..." (as M. urbanus ) (see note 10).— Hodgson (1834): Nepal.— Marshall (1977): " Nepal (high elevations, mostly above 2000 m.)" (as M. m. homourus ): (ISU 1767, ISU 1860, ISU 2106, ISU 2161, ISU 2228, ISU 2415, ISU 2487, ISU 2543, ISU 2588, ISU 2700, ISU 2769, ISU 2794, ISU 2943, ISU 2945, ISU 2958, ISU 2968, ISU 2975, ISU 2979, ISU 2987, ISU 3325, ISU 3499, ISU 3547, ISU 3548, ISU 3558, ISU 3643, ISU 3655, ISU 3691); Nepal (as M. m. castaneus ) (BM 45.1.8.398 [lectotype of urbanus —see note 3], BM 45.1.8.399, BM 45.1.8.400).—Mitchell (1975) (as M. m. homourus and M. m. urbanus ): Nepal (see note 4).— Worth & Shah (1969) (as M. musculus and M. m. castaneus ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Hodgson used the specific name dubius first in 1841, when he referred to a new species of Nepalese murid as Musculus dubius ( Hodgson, 1841b: 220) . Hodgson's primary description of the taxon, however, was given in his 1845 paper listed in the above synonymy. Marshall (1977) identifies the lectotype of Hodgson's dubius (BM 79.11.21.405) as Mus musculus castaneus and cautions that the name dubius became a "catch-all for difficult specimens".

2 Marshall (1977) identifies the specimen designated as the lectotype of homourus (BM 79.11.21.406) as "a darkbellied Mus musculus castaneus " and states that he "can find no Hodgson specimen of homourus ".

3 Marshall (1977) identifies the specimen designated as the lectotype of urbanus (BM 45.1.8.398) as Mus musculus castaneus . See also note 7, below

4 The specimens from 1 mile N. of Lete, Darakhuti, Dhorpatan, Dhukphu, Jomosom, Jumla, Kakani, Kaldapeh, Khumjung, Langtang Village, Lukla, Maharigaon, Melumche (1), Muktinath, Mustang, Rara Lake, Tarke Ghyang, and Thodung (FMNH 101731—FMNH 101734, FMNH 101736—FMNH 101738, FMNH 142126—FMNH 142165, and FMNH 142167—FMNH 142215) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

5 Measurements of HZM specimens are given in Appendix III.

6 The collections catalogue of N.M.N.H. lists specimen nos. USNM 290124 and USNM 290125 as Mus cookii Ryley, 1914 but both specimens are regarded here as examples of M. musculus based on the identification given in

Johnson et al. (1980), whose published paper, it is considered, supersedes the N.M.N.H. catalogue. See also note 1 to Mus cookii (p. 115).

7 Specimen nos. AMNH 250014—AMNH 250016 are listed in the collections catalogue of the A.M.N.H. as Mus musculus urbanus . They are included here as M. m. castaneus as it is deemed that the identification given in Marshall's published paper ( Marshall, 1977) preponderates.

8 Mekada et al. (2001) give external measurements of specimens, which are deposited in the mammal collection of the Laboratory of Animal Management and Resources, Graduate School of Bio-Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Japan.

9 The spelling, in the R.O.M. catalogue, of specimen nos. ROM 74597 and ROM 74606 (" humourus ") differs from the accepted form " homourus ". This is evidently no more than a typographical error.

10 The "Valley of Nepal " of Gray (1863) is synonymous with the Kathmandu Valley. Scully (1887) states: "The Nepal Valley, the true Nepal of the natives, is a small tract, some 20 miles in length by 15 in breadth, at an elevation of from 4050 to 4500 feet above sea-level, in which is situated the capital of the state, Kathmandu". Of relevance to other contemporary accounts, where " Nepal " is given as a non-specific locality, Scully continues: "But the Nepal Valley is the only part of the state which has been efficiently explored zoologically, and, consequently, we may be pretty certain that, when the term Nepal only is used to denote the station of a species, the Nepal Valley is what is really meant". [See, for example, Blanford, 1888 –91 ( Mus cervicolor and Niviventer fulvescens (as Mus fulvescens ); and Gray & Gray, 1846 ( Bandicota bengalensis , Niviventer fulvescens (as Mus fulvescens ), and Rattus nitidus (as Mus nitidus )].

Caveat.—Bewteen 19 th February and 19 th March, 1972, George Schaller collected 32 specimens of Soricidae and Muridae from a locality named in the collections catalogue of the A.M.N.H. as "Zom Khola", which is not locatable on modern maps of Nepal or in gazetteers. In only eight of the individual specimen records is Zom Khola defined more precisely and these are: AMNH 240752 (M. m. homourus ) & AMNH 240722—AMNH 740724 (all Niviventer eha eha ), where the specific locality is given as "Lapche" (also known as "Lepcha"—from the eponymous race of people of that area (see Hodgson, 1849a: 773)); and AMNH 240725 (N. e. eha ) & AMNH 240728—AMNH 240730 (all as Soriculus sacratus ( Thomas, 1911b) [now Episoriculus caudatus (Horsfield, 1851]), where the specific locality is given as "Near Lamnang". Further, the records of AMNH 240731 and AMNH 240732 (both as Soriculus sacratus ) state that Zom Khola is "also known as Kung Chu". Neither Lamnang nor Kung Chu is readily locatable but the Lapche [Lepcha] Valley runs south from Lapchegau on the Tibetan border (c. 28º08'N, 86º11'E) (source: H.M. Government of Nepal 1:50,000 Topographic Survey Map, Sheet no. 2886-13). A linguistic comparison may, perhaps, be drawn between the Nepalese locality "Zom Khola" and the Bhutanese locality "Chhuzom", the latter a compound of the two Dzongkha [the principal language of Bhutan] words "chhu" (meaning "river") and "zom" (meaning "to join") (Brown, Armington, & Whitecross, 2007). "Zom" is not recognised, as far as one can tell, as a Nepali word but "khola" means "river", "stream" or "tributary" in that language. For want of a more precise set of co-ordinates to establish the collection locality "Zom Khola", it is assumed that "zom" may have a similar meaning (perhaps in the Lapche dialect) to the Dzongkha meaning and that "Zom Khola" refers, therefore, to a confluence of two rivers. The northernmost confluence of note in the Lapche Valley can be found some 17 km. south of Lapchegau at c. 27º58'N, 86º12'E and it is this approximate position that is recorded in the Gazetteer for Zom Khola.

Marshall (1977) describes the collection locality of AMNH 240750 as "boulder and shrub near river".

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Mus pahari Thomas, 1916 MAP No. 106 Sikkim mouse

Indochinese Shrewlike mouse

Mus pahari Thomas, 1916a 415. Batasia, Sikkim, 6,000 ft., India.

Records.—F.M.N.H. (as M. p. pahari ): 1 mile E. of Bharabise (FMNH 114259) (see note).

Non-specific records.—None.

Note. - In order to confirm or revise otherwise the taxonomic identity of the material from 1 mile E. of Bharabise, specimen no. FMNH 114259 (a male specimen in spirit with skull extracted) was received on loan from The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. The specimen was compared with the type description by Thomas (1916a) and examined against the holotype in the Natural History Museum in London.

The fur of FMNH 114259 is firm and bristly with ordinary hairs being interspersed abundantly with spines. This accords closely with the description of the holotype by Thomas (1916a). To the touch, the pelage of FMNH 114259 feels stiff rather than sharp, in line with the observations of Marshall (1977) on the holotype. The hairs on the dorsal surface are about 8.25 to 8.50 mm. in length; the spines are pale brown for approximately 80% of their length with dark brown tips; the ordinary hairs, which are rather fine, are buffy brown with paler tips. The dorsal surface is mid- to light brown in general appearance; the ventral surface is much paler with individual hairs a pale, creamy brown with very pale tips.

The ears are a pale chestnut brown. The hands and feet are a dullish off-white. The tail is mid- to pale brown above and slightly paler below; it is marginally shorter than the head and body and is finely haired with serried scales (17 rings to the cm. in the proximal section increasing to 21 rings in the distal section) (see Caveat).

The skull is incomplete: the rear section, including the condyles, is missing and the tips of the nasals are absent. As such, it is not possible to measure the condylo-incisive length, the condylo-basal length, or the length of the nasals (Table 4).

The interorbital region is broad; ridges are present but these are indistinct anteriorly although somewhat more distinct posteriorly. The braincase is unridged. The palatal foramina do not extend as far as the front line of the first upper molars; the back of the palate extends fractionally beyond the back line of the third upper molars ( Fig. 7 (view b)).

The teeth of the FMNH 114259 are worn heavily, indicting that the specimen is likely to be an old adult.

The fur of the holotype is smoother than that of FMNH 114259 whereas the holotypes of the subspecific forms gairdneri ( Kloss, 1920) and jacksoniae ( Thomas, 1921) have a more bristled pelage, jacksoniae in particular.

The holotype shares similar characters with FMNH 114259, notably a dorsal pelage that comprises dense spines and fine hair; short palatal foramina, which do not extend as far as the first upper molars; and a braincase that is without ridges. The fur of the holotype is a lightly mottled dark to pale brown but this may be due to the fading of the specimen ( Marshall, 1977: 194). The zygomata of the skull of the holotype are broken.

Thomas (1916a) writes of the holotype that it "is readily distinguished by its comparatively large size, crisp fur, large unridged braincase with broad interorbital space, and shortened palatal foramina". As the distinguishing characters of FMNH 114259 correspond closely with those of the holotype and do not depart from Thomas's observations thereon, it can be stated with confidence that FMNH is representative of Mus pahari Thomas, 1916 .

External, cranial, and dental measurements both of FMNH 114259 and of the holotype of Mus pahari ( BM

15.9.1.199) are given in Table 4. All measurements of FMNH 114259 other than the lengths of the palatal foramina (PFL), the mandible (M), and the palate (PL) are lower than the respective measurements of the holotype but they are not so far removed from the latter values as to be inconsistent therewith. It is likely that the lesser measurements can be explained by shrinkage of the Nepali specimen owing to its lengthy retention in alcohol. (Note: manuscript measurements written on the specimen label, which presumably were taken either in the field or at the point of initial curation, indicate a total length of 192.00 mm, a hind foot length of 21.00 mm., a tail length of 91.00 mm., and an ear length of 16.00 mm.).

No information on the habitat at the collection site accompanies the specimen.

This is the first published record of Mus pahari from Nepal. The westernmost collection locality of the species hitherto was Tonglu in Sikkim ( India) ( Thomas, 1916a). The current record extends the known range of the species 214 km to the west.

Caveat: although the above description of the specimen's coloration reflects the current appearance of FMNH 114259, it should be emphasised that the material has lain in preserving spirit for a long time and, accordingly, the description given may not reflect the coloration of the specimen at the time of collection.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Mus saxicola Elliot, 1839 MAP No. 107 Saxicolous mouse

Mus saxicola Elliot, 1839: 215 . Madras.

Leggadilla gurkha Thomas, 1914b: 200 . Jerna, Ramnagar, Kumaon, 1,500 ft., northern India.

Mus musculus pygmaeus Biswas & Khajuria, 1955: 28 . Pangboche, Imje Valley, Khumbu, E. Nepal.

= Mus musculus khumbuensis Biswas & Khajuria, 1968: 218 (See note 1).

Records.— Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) (see notes 2,3): Darakhuti-Dang (as M. platythrix gurkha (Thomas)) .— Biswas & Khajuria (1955): Pangboche (4) (as M. musculus pygmaeus ).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as M. s. gurkha ): Chisapani (USNM 290121—USNM 290123).— Mitchell & Derksen (1976) (as M. platythrix gurkha ) (see note 4): Darakhuti.—R.O.M. (as M. s. gurkha ) (see note 5): Darakhuti (ROM 74636 and ROM 74639).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as M. p. gurkha ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Weigel (1969) and Corbet & Hill (1992) treat pygmaeus as a subspecies of M. musculus but Musser & Carleton (2005) state that the holotype of pygmaeus was examined by J. T. Marshall, Jnr. ( Marshall, 1998), who "identified it as a nestling M. saxicola ". Biswas & Khajuria (1968) replace the subspecific name pygmaeus with khumbuensis on the basis that, at the time of their naming pygmaeus in 1955, it was preoccupied by Mus pygmaeus Milne-Edwards (1872b) . Corbet & Hill (1992) comment that pygmaeus was preoccupied also by M. citellus var. pygmaeus Pallas, 1779 (= Spermophilus pygmaeus Pallas, 1779 [not 1778 as stated by Thorington & Hoffmann, 2005—see Corbet & Hill, 1992: 455 for publication dates]) and M. jaculus var. pygmaea Pallas, 1779 [ Corbet & Hill (1992) state "1792" in error] (a synonym of Pygeretmus pumilio ( Kerr, 1792)) —see Ellerman & Morrison- Scott, 1951: 534).

2 Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) give measurements of a single male specimen, noting its soft pelage. Corbet & Hill (1992) state: "Although the pelage is usually spiny, in the northwestern form gurkha and in individuals elsewhere it not only lacks spines but is particularly soft". They add: "Although Marshall [1977] considered these conspecific with M. saxicola this needs confirmation". Musser & Carleton (2005) place gurkha in the synonymy of saxicola but refer to Corbet's & Hill's comments. See also note 2 to Suncus stoliczkanus (p. 83) concerning the station of Mus platythrix .

3 The specimen giving rise to the locality record "Darakhuti-Dang" cited in Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) is one of the five specimens from Darakhuti discussed by Mitchell & Derksen (1976).

4 Mitchell & Derksen (1976) provide brief details of head, body, and tail length and describe the species' pelage characteristics and coloration.

5 The specimens from Darakhuti ( ROM 74636 and ROM 74639) were collected by R. M. Mitchell and are most likely part of the series of five specimens from that locality mentioned in Mitchell & Derksen (1976) .

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Mus terricolor Blyth, 1851 MAP No. 108 Earth-coloured mouse

Mus terricolor Blyth, 1851a: 172 . Southern India

Leggada dunni Wroughton, 1912: 339 . Ambala, 900 ft., Punjab.

Records.—R.O.M.: Bahwanipur (ROM 74625 and ROM 74627); Kakani (3) (ROM 74644); Madhuban (2) (ROM 74611 and ROM 74660).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as M. dunni ): Tikapur (USNM 290131—see note).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.

Note.—USNM 290131 is listed as Mus cookii Ryley, 1914 in the collections catalogue of N.M.N.H. It is included here under M. terricolor as it is considered that the identification given in the published paper by Johnson et al. (1980) (where it is identified as Mus dunni ) preponderates. See also note 5 to Mus booduga (p. 114).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Nesokia indica ( Gray, 1830, in 1830–1835) MAP No. 109 Short-tailed Bandicoot rat

Short-tailed Nesokia

Arvicola indica Gray, 1830 (in 1830–1835): pl. xi. " India ".

Records.— Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) (see note 1): "Tamispur-Nawalpur, Parsi" (as N. i. indica ).—F.M.N.H.: 32 miles E. of Dhangadi (FMNH 94226).—R.O.M. (see note 2): Tamaspur (2) (ROM 74616 and ROM 74618).— Weigel (1969) (as N. i. indica ): Rapti Valley (2).

Non-specific records.—Mitchell (1975) (as N. i. indica ( Gray and Hardwicke, 1832) [= Gray, 1830 –1835]): Nepal (see note 2).

Note.— 1 Agrawal & Chakraborty (1971) give measurements of a single subadult female specimen.

2 The specimens from Tamaspur (ROM 74616 and ROM 74618) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Niviventer eha ( Wroughton, 1916) MAP No. 110 Smoke-bellied rat

Little Himalayan rat

Epimys eha Wroughton, 1916: 428 . Lachen, Sikkim, 8,800 ft., India.

Records.— Abe (1982): Ghora Tabela; Kyangjin Gompa; Gorapani (1); Syng Gomba; Thare Pati.—A.M.N.H. (see the caveat to Mus musculus , p. 117): Lamnang (near) [Zom Khola] (AMNH 240725); Lapche [Zom Khola] (AMNH 240722—AMNH 240724); Zom Khola (AMNH 240726, AMNH 240727).— Daniel & Hanzák (1985): Barun Valley.—F.M.N.H. (see note 1): 3 miles above Bigu (FMNH 94200—FMNH 94202, FMNH 94221); 5 miles E. of Jamnagaon (FMNH 94203—FMNH 94205); 15 km. E.N.E. of Chainpur (FMNH 114193); Balutar (FMNH 114274, FMNH 114545); Dhukphu (FMNH 142219); Iswa Khola (2) (FMNH 114176, FMNH 114271, FMNH 114272); Kasua Khola (1) (FMNH 114546, FMNH 114547); Kasua Khola (2) (FMNH 114178); Khumjung (1) (FMNH 142221—FMNH 142225); Kyangchin (FMNH 142217); Langtang Village (FMNH 142218); Melumche (1) (FMNH 142220); Num (near) (1) (FMNH 114177, FMNH 114186, FMNH 114273); Num (near) (3) (FMNH 114180, FMNH 114519—FMNH 114534); Num (near) (4) (FMNH 114169—FMNH 114174, FMNH 114181, FMNH 114182, FMNH 114276—FMNH 114287, FMNH 114510—FMNH 114518, FMNH 114535—FMNH 114542); Num (near) (5) (FMNH 114543, FMNH 114544); Phulung Ghyang (3) (FMNH 57765, FMNH 104250— FMNH 104268, FMNH 104282); Thodung (1) (FMNH 142216); Tserping (FMNH 94199, FMNH 94215).— Fry (1925): Apoon Hill (as Rattus eha ).— Green (1981): Langtang N. P. (8) (as Rattus eha eha ( Wroughton, 1916)) .— Gregori & Petrov (1976): Ne (Barun Valley) (4) (as R. e. eha ).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as R. e. eha ): Dur (USNM 290109); Mangalbare (USNM 290110—USNM 290120).—M.C.Z.: Kalapokni, Sikkam [= Sikkim] Frontier.— Mekada et al. (2001) (see note 2): Ghorepani; Shikha.— Niethammer & Martens (1975) (as Maxomys eha ): [Mount] Chordung; Khumjung (2); Lughla; Paré (1); Phunki; Thodung (2).—P.S.M.: Phulung Ghyang (4) (PSM 15228— PSM 15232, PSM 15501, PSM 15561, PSM 15853, PSM 15854).—R.O.M.: Khangjung, Langtang Valley (ROM 74705); Lukla, airport (ROM 74673 and ROM 74675).—U.M.M.Z.: Kashua Khola (UMMZ 122884, UMMZ 122885).— Weigel (1969) (as Rattus eha eha ): Bigu (3); Deorali (2,3); Gideh; Junbesi (3–9); Lamjura; Paphlu; Ringmo (Solukhumbu District) (2–7).— Worth & Shah (1969) (as R. e. eha ): Langtang Valley (2).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as R. e. eha ): Nepal (see note 1).

Note.— 1 The specimens from Dhukphu, Khumjung, Kyangchin, Langtang Village, Melumche, and Thodung (FMNH 142216—142225) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

2 Mekada et al. (2001) give external measurements of specimens, which are deposited in the mammal collection of the Laboratory of Animal Management and Resources, Graduate School of Bio-Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Japan.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Niviventer fulvescens (Gray, 1847) MAP No. 111 Chestnut rat

Indomalayan Niviventer

Mus fulvescens Gray, 1847a [= Gray & Gray, 1846 —see note 1]: 18. Nepal.

Mus caudatior Hodgson [in Horsfield, 1849]: 203. Nepal.

Records.— Abe (1982) (as Rattus fulvescens ): Biratanti; Chitare; Dunche; Ghasa; Khurumsan; Kuinibisona; Mt. Phulchauki (1,2); Sheopuri (1); Ulleri.— Fry (1925) (as Rattus fulvescens ): Apoon Hill; Bouzini; Satthar.— F.M.N.H. (see note 2): 5 miles E. of Jamnagaon (FMNH 94191—FMNH 94198); 6 km. E.N.E. of Chainpur (FMNH 114190, FMNH 114567); 7 miles N. of Ilam (FMNH 94190); 13 km. N.N.E. of Chainpur (FMNH 114194, FMNH 114290, FMNH 114568); Delmara (FMNH 114200, FMNH 114201, FMNH 114288); Kakani (3) (FMNH 142226); Kerabari (FMNH 114548, FMNH 114549); Mauom (FMNH 114192); Melumche (1) (FMNH 142227— FMNH 142229); Num (near) (2) (FMNH 114553, FMNH 114554); Num (near) (3) (FMNH 114179, FMNH 114550—FMNH 114552); Num (near) (4) (FMNH 114555, FMNH 114556); Suki Patyl Forest (FMNH 114256, FMNH 114257, FMNH 114296, FMNH 114557—FMNH 114566, FMNH 114569—FMNH 114571); Tarke Ghyang (FMNH 142230—FMNH 142236); Trasheigong (FMNH 114167, FMNH 114168) (see note 3); Wangkhim (FMNH 114289).— Hinton & Fry (1923): Bouzini; Chalna-Khel; Changoo; Hathiban (all as Rattus fulvescens Gray ). M.V.Z.: 1 mile N. of Num (MVZ 119415—as N. f. fulvescens ).— Newton et al. (1990) (as Rattus fulvescens ): Godaveri (2).—R.O.M.: Melumche (1) (ROM 74601); Tarke Ghyang (ROM 74591, ROM 74592 and ROM 74593) (as N. f. fulvescens ).—U.M.M.Z.: Kashua Khola (UMMZ 122883).— Worth & Shah (1969) (as Rattus fulvescens ): Bokaikunde.

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Blanford (1888 –91): " Nepal..." (as Mus fulvescens ) (see note 4).— Gray & Gray (1846): "Inhab. Nepal " (as M. fulvescens ) (see note 1).—Mitchell (1975) (as R. f. fulvescens ): Nepal (see note 2).

Note.— 1 The imprinted date on J. E. and G. R. Gray's "Catalogue of the Specimens and Drawings of Mammalia and Birds of Nepal and Thibet presented by B. H. Hodgson, Esq. to the British Museum" is 1846, whereas it has been shown that the earliest date that the Catalogue existed as a published work was 22 nd January, 1847 (see Dickinson & Walters, 2006 for a useful analysis of the Catalogue and its publication date).

2 The specimens from Kakani, Melumche, and Tarke Ghyang (FMNH 142226—142236) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

3 The position of the locality "Trasheigong" cannot be ascertained. It may be in the vicinity of Num, in the northeastern district of Sankhuwasabha, as the collector of FMNH 114167 and FMNH 114168, J. A. McNeely, secured specimens of Niviventer eha near Num the following day (23 rd November, 1972).

4 For a limitation of the non-specific locality " Nepal " in Blanford (1888 –91) and Gray & Gray (1846), see note 10 to Mus musculus (p. 117).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Niviventer niviventer (Hodgson, 1836) MAP No. 112 White-bellied rat

Himalayan Niviventer

Mus (Rattus) niviventer Hodgson, 1836a: 234 . "The central region of Nepál ". See note 1.

Records.— Abe (1977) (as Rattus niviventer ): Syng Gomba.— Abe (1982) (as R. niviventer ): Ghora Tabela; Mt. Phulchauki (1,2); Sheopuri (2,3) (as R. n. niviventer ).—F.M.N.H. (see note 2): Gosainkund Lakes (FMNH 142237); Melumche (1) (FMNH 142238); Num Bridge (FMNH 114310); Phulung Ghyang (3) (FMNH 104266—FMNH 104268); Suki Patyl Forest (FMNH 114311—FMNH 114315).— Fry (1925) (as R. niveiventer Hodgson ): Satthar.— Green (1981): Langtang N. P. (2) (as R. n. niviventer ).— Greenwood et al. (1985) (as R. niviventer ): Godaveri (2) (see note 3).— Hinton & Fry (1923): Chalna-Khel; Thankot (both as Rattus niveiventer ).—H.Z.M.: Daman (1) (HZM 1.7346, HZM 2.7347, and HZM 3.7348) (all as R. (Maxomys) niviventer —see note 4).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as R. n. niviventer ): Chitre (USNM 290104—USNM 290108).— Newton et al. (1990) (as Rattus niviventer ): Godaveri (2).— Niethammer & Martens (1975) (as Maxomys niviventer ): Apoon Hill; Biratanti; Bokajhunda; Chadziou Khola; Bobang; Daman (2); Dhorpatan (3); Dhunche; Godavari; Gorapani Pass; Gorkha; Khurumsan; Kuinibisona; Mt. Phulchauki (2); Muri (2); Shikha (see note 5); Tukche (2); Ulleri.—R.O.M. (as N. n. niviventer ): Gosainkund Lakes (ROM 74664); Melumche (1) (ROM 74604); Thankot; Thare Pati, Uring Ghyang (ROM 74712).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Blanford (1888 –91): "Himalayas from Simla to Katmandu in Nepal." (as Mus niveiventer ).—Mitchell (1975) (as R. n. niviventer ): Nepal (see note 2).

Note.— 1 Some commentators (for example, Corbet & Hill, 1992 and Musser & Carleton, 2005) give the type locality of niviventer as "Katmandu". Whilst Hodgson undertook much of his collecting in the Kathmandu Valley, he does not offer any more precise identification of the type locality than is contained in his observation: "In the central region of Nepál, there are four species of Rat, Decumanus, Rattus , Niviventer , and Nemorivagus" ( Hodgson, 1836a: 234 - footnote).

2 The specimens from Gosainkund Lakes and Melumche (1) (FMNH 142237 and FMNH 142238) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

3 Greenwood et al. (1985) comment that specimens were collected at the "edge of mixed deciduous woodland in [a] dense herb layer of grasses and ferns".

4 Measurements of HZM specimens are given in Appendix III.

5 Niethammer & Martens (1975) indicate that the skin and skull of the Shikha specimen are retained in the collections of B.M.(N.H.).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Rattus andamanensis ( Blyth, 1860)

Indochinese Forest rat

Mus (Leggada) andamanensis Blyth, 1860: 103 . Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal.

Epimys remotus Robinson & Kloss, 1914: 231 . Samui Island, eastern peninsular Thailand.

Rattus rattus sikkimensis Hinton, 1919: 394 . Pashok , Sikkim, India, 3,500 ft.

Records.—None.

Non-specific records (see note 1).— Baillie (1996): Nepal (as R. sikkimensis ).— Corbet & Hill (1992): "Central Nepal to S. China..." (as R. remotus —see note 2).— Musser & Carleton (2005): "E. Nepal " (see notes 3,4,5).

Note.— 1 Owing to the lack of specific locality data, it is not possible to produce a meaningful distribution map of R. andamanensis in Nepal (see note 4, below).

2 Corbet & Hill (1992) place sikkimensis in the synonymy of R. remotus , regarding the latter as the older name. Musser & Carleton (2005) treat both species as synonyms of R. andamanensis , which, they state, is the most senior name for the species.

3 Musser & Carleton (2005) state that the distribution of R. andamanensis is "based on specimens examined by Musser". The authors indicate that the extent of the species' range in N. E. India and Nepal is uncertain (see note 4, below).

4 Musser & Heaney (1985: 28) present a map showing the geographic distribution of Rattus sikkimensis (= R. andamanensis ) in Nepal and elsewhere in South-East Asia. Five collection sites in Nepal are indicated by numbered dots but no geographic information is given in the text to identify the localities.

5 G. Musser (pers. comm.) has indicated that he is satisfied that some specimens held in the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago (FMNH 94208—FMNH 94210, FMNH 94213, FMNH 94214, FMNH 114183, FMNH 114184, and FMNH 114191) are representative of R. andamanensis . Until evidence of the reidentification of these specimens is published, they are listed herein under Rattus tanezumi on account of their identification as Rattus rattus brunneusculus (= R. tanezumi ) in the F.M.N.H. collections database. If the identity of the specimens as R. andamanensis is confirmed, the distribution of that species in Nepal will correspond to the white dots on map 116 (see note 2 to Rattus tanezumi , p. 130).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Rattus nitidus ( Hodgson, 1845) MAP No. 113

Himalayan rat

White-footed Indochinese rat

Mus nitidus Hodgson, 1845: 267 . The central region of Nepal. (See note 1).

Mus horeites Hodgson, 1845: 268 . The central region of Nepal.

Mus aequicaudalis Hodgson [in Horsfield, 1849: 203]. "The neighbourhood of Sikim and Darjeling" [ India]. [Not Nepal (see note 2)].

Records.— Abe (1982): Betrawate; Bhainse; Godavari; Kuinibisona; Sheopuri (3).—A.M.N.H.: Kathmandu (AMNH 251648—AMNH 251652).—F.M.N.H.: 4 miles W. of Those (FMNH 94212); 7 miles N. of Ilam (FMNH 94227); 16 km. N. of Chainpur (FMNH 114195); Balaju (FMNH 104218, FMNH 104219); Chebua (FMNH 114264); Kathmandu (FMNH 57599, FMNH 57600, FMNH 57707, FMNH 104226, FMNH 104228, FMNH 104245); Phulung Ghyang (3) (FMNH 104269, FMNH 104291); Saksila (FMNH 114291); Tokha Sanatorium, Kathmandu Valley (FMNH 94206).— Hinton & Fry (1923): Changoo; Ferping; Thankot.—H.Z.M. (as R. n.

nitidus — see note 3): Daman (1) (HZM 1.7352).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as R. n. nitidus ): Godaveri (3) (USNM 290083).— Worth & Shah (1969): Bokaikunde; Langtang Valley (1,2); Syabrudens; Tbara.

Non-specific records.—A.M.N.H.: Kathmandu [District] (AMNH 250033, AMNH 250034).— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Gray & Gray (1846): "Inhab. Nepal, in houses" (as Mus nitidus ) (see note 4).—Mitchell (1975) (as R. n. nitidus ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Hodgson made an earlier reference to Mus nitidus in his 1842 catalogue of Nepalese mammalia ( Hodgson, 1842: 915), describing the species' habitat as "the central and northern hilly regions" (of Nepal). Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) indicate that the type specimen is retained in the collections of B.M.(N.H.).

2 Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) and Corbet & Hill (1992) state that the type locality of aequicaudalis is Nepal. The first published reference to aequicaudalis occurs in Horsfield (1849), who indicates clearly that the specimens on which the naming of the taxon is based were collected by Hodgson "from the neighbourhood of Sikim and Darjeling" and it is the latter description of the type locality that is employed in the above synonymy.

3 Measurements of HZM specimens are given in Appendix III.

4 For a limitation of the non-specific locality " Nepal " in Gray & Gray (1846), see note 10 to Mus musculus (p. 117).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

* Rattus norvegicus ( Berkenhout, 1769)

Norway rat

Brown rat

Mus norvegicus Berkenhout, 1769: 5 . Great Britain.

Mus decumanus Pallas, 1779: 91 . Europe.

Mus decumanoides Hodgson, 1841b: 220 . Nepal. [ Nomen nudum ]. See note 1.

Records.—None.

Non-specific records.— Hodgson (1834) (as " Mus decumanus, Linn. "—see note 2): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Hodgson lists M. decumanoides as a new species in his catalogue of Nepalese mammalia ( Hodgson, 1841b) but without comment. He writes subsequently of the species, that its habitat in Nepal is the "central and hilly northern region[s] so far as known" ( Hodgson, 1842). It is of note, however, that Hodgson makes no reference to decumanoides in his more detailed publication "On the Rats, Mice, and Shrews of the Central Region of Nepal " (= Hodgson, 1845). The unqualified mention of decumanoides by Hodgson in his 1841 catalogue cannot, per se, permit the species' inclusion in Nepal's faunal list, although, given the wide distribution of Rattus norvegicus , it would seem improbable for it not to occupy at least the cooler, north-central areas of Nepal, to which the species naturally would be suited ( Musser & Carleton, 2005).

2 Hodgson (1834: 98) includes decumanus in a list of mammalia known by him to be present in Nepal. He refers decumanus , however, to Linnaeus (without giving a date) and not to Pallas, 1779. On account of this conflict, the identification of Hodgson's decumanus cannot be determined and the record, upon which Hodgson in no way elaborates, cannot be used to substantiate the presence of the species in Nepal.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Rattus pyctoris ( Hodgson, 1845) MAP No. 114 Himalayan rat

Mus ? pyctoris Hodgson, 1845: 267 . The central region of Nepal. (See note 1).

Mus rattoides Hodgson, 1845: 267 . The central region of Nepal. (See note 1).

Mus turkestanicus Satunin, 1903: 588 . Assam-bob, Ferghana, Kyrgyzstan. (See note 2).

Mus vicerex Bonhote, 1903: 473 . Simla, northern India.

Rattus rattus khumbuensis Biswas & Khajuria, 1955: 27 . Phorcha (ca. 14,000 ft.), Dudh Kosi Valley, Khumbu, Nepal.

Records.—A.M.N.H. (all as R. turkestanicus vicerex ): Nauche (AMNH 250027, AMNH 251660—AMNH 251665).— Biswas & Khajuria (1957): Namche Bazar (as R. rattoides rattoides ).—F.M.N.H. (all as R. turkestanicus ) (see note 3): 1 mile E. of Lete (FMNH 142258, FMNH 142259); 7 miles N. of Those (FMNH 94217); 16 km. N. of Chainpur (FMNH 114196); Bharabise (FMNH 114258); Chebua (FMNH 114270); Gurkha (FMNH 82970); Kapti (2) (FMNH 94216); Khumjung (1) (FMNH 142266); Kimatanga (FMNH 114263); Langtang village (FMNH 142260); Lumdumsa (FMNH 114255); Melumche (1) (FMNH 142261—FMNH 142263); Nagarcot (FMNH 82971*—see note 4); Num (near) (2) (FMNH 114266, FMNH 114503); Num (near) (3) (FMNH 114265); Num Bridge (FMNH 114260, FMNH 114261, FMNH 114267, FMNH 114268); Phulung Ghyang (3) (FMNH 104247—FMNH 104249); Rara Lake (2) (FMNH 142255—FMNH 142257); Suki Patyl Forest (FMNH 114262, FMNH 114269); Tarke Ghyang (FMNH 142264, FMNH 142265).— Fry (1925): Satthar (as R. r. rattoides ).— Hinton & Fry (1923) (as R. rattoides Hodgson, 1845 ): Changoo; Ferping; Hathiban; Katmandu; Nagarkot (2); Ramchie; Sipari; Thankot.— Niethammer & Martens (1975) (as R. rattoides ): Dhorpatan (3); Jomosom; Karikhola; Khumjung (2); Lughla; Lumsum; Phortse; Rupshesara; Suli Gad Tal [Suli Gad valley]; Syng Gomba (based on Abe, 1971); Tarakot; Titi; Tukche (1).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as R. turkestanicus vicerex ): Rekcha (USNM 290102, USNM 290103).—R.O.M. (all as R. turkestanicus ): Dhorpatan (1) (ROM 74689); Khumjung (1) (ROM 74668); Lho Mustang (ROM 74749) (see note 5); Lukla, airport (ROM 74679); Maharigaon (2) (ROM 74699); Muktinath (2) (ROM 74743); Tarke Ghyang (ROM 74589).— Weigel (1969) (as R. rattoides rattoides ): Bigu (1,2); Jiri (1); Junbesi (3).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal (as R. turkestanicus ).—Corbett & Hill (1992): "Montane, at altitudes of 1200–4250m in Nepal " (as R. turkestanicus ).— Gray & Gray (1846): "Central and Northern Hilly region" (as Mus pyctoris ).—Mitchell (1975) (as R. turkestanicus ): Nepal (see note 3).

Note.— 1 Mus pyctoris Hodgson, 1845 was included as a synonym of Rattus nitidus Hodgson, 1845 by Ellerman & Morrison-Scott (1951) and of Rattus turkestanicus Satunin, 1903 by Corbet & Hill (1992). Musser & Carleton (2005) regard Hodgson's M. pyctoris as the type of R. pyctoris and state that pyctoris should supersede the formerly-used rattoides [ Hodgson, 1845] and turkestanicus as the specific name for the reason, firstly, that rattoides Hodgson, 1845 is preoccupied by rattoides Pictet & Pictet, 1844 (the latter is a synonym of Rattus rattus ) and, secondly, that pyctoris is an older name than turkestanicus . Musser & Carleton (2005) comment that the first- -named author examined the holotype of Hodgson's Mus pyctoris (BM.45.1.8.381) and found it "to be inseparable from B.M.N.H. Nepalese specimens usually identified as either rattoides or turkestanicus ". Hodgson used pyctoris first in 1841 ( Hodgson, 1841b: 220), when he referred to a new species of rodent from Nepal as Arvicola pyctoris , a taxon whose status remains unclear. Hodgson made prior reference to rattoides in his 1842 publication ( Hodgson, 1842: 915), but without comment, and to the specific name " rottoides ", also without comment, in his 1844 catalogue ( Hodgson, 1844b: 292), although the latter is probably a straightforward type-setting error. Hodgson offered the first substantive descriptions of pyctoris and rattoides in his 1845 paper listed in the above synonymy.

2 Corbet & Hill (1992) indicate that the type locality of turkestanicus is in Uzbekistan whilst Musser & Carleton (1993, 2005) state that the type locality is found in Kyrgyzstan. The locality the latter authors give is " Kyrgyzstan, Oshskaya Obl., Lenniskii p-h, Arslanbob" and equate "Arslanbob" with "Assam-bob" ( Musser & Carleton, 1993). Ferghana [= Fergana], which is in Uzbekistan, lies approximately 150 km. south-west of Arslanbob and at a much lower elevation. The Fergana Mountains, however, are found a short distance to the north-east of Arslanbob in Kyrgyzstan and it is to these mountains, it is assumed, that the term "Ferghana" applies.

3 The specimens from 1 mile E. of Lete, Khumjung, Langtang village, Melumche, Rara Lake, and Tarke Ghyang (FMNH 142255—FMNH 142266) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

4 For an explanation of the asterisked specimen, see note 5 to Hipposideros armiger , above (p. 32).

5 "Lho" is the name given to the northern part of Mustang District.

6 See note 6 to R. rattus (p. 129) concerning the record of R. rattoides from Langtang N. P. cited in Green (1981).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Rattus rattus ( Linnaeus, 1758) MAP No. 115 Black rat

House rat

Roof rat

Ship rat

Mus rattus Linnaeus, 1758: 61 . Sweden.

Mus indicus Geoffroy, 1803: 191 . L'Inde [= India].

Mus rufescens Gray, 1837: 585 . Dharwar, India.

Mus rattoides Pictet & Pictet, 1844: 45 . Bahia [State], Brazil.

Mus arboreus [Buchanan-Hamilton] Horsfield, 1851: 141. Bengal.

Records.— Abe (1982): Adhabar; Betrawate; Biratanti; Dunche; Ghasa; Ghora Tabela; Godavari; Kathmandu; Khurumsan; Mt. Phulchauki (1,2); Pati Bhanjyang; Pokhara; Ramche; Sheopuri (2); Swingket; Syabru; Syng Gomba; Tatopani; Tukuche.—A.M.N.H.: Birganj (AMNH 251658, AMNH 251659); Hetaura (AMNH 251654— AMNH 251657); Kathmandu (AMNH 251648—AMNH 251652).—F.M.N.H.: Kathmandu (FMNH 57709); Madhuban (2) (FMNH 142239 and FMNH 142240—both as R. r. arboreus Buch-Hamilton [Horsfield, 1851]); Num (near) (1) (FMNH 114292); Tamaspur (1) (FMNH 142241—as R. r. arboreus ).— Greenwood et al. (1985): Pathalaya (see note 1).— Hinton (1922b) (as R. r. arboreus ): Bairia; Hazaria.— Hinton & Fry (1923) (as R. r. rufescens ): Bairia; Hazaria (3).— Mekada et al. (2001) (see note 2): Shikha.— Newton et al. (1990): 3 km. E. of Pathalaya; 4 km. W. of Damak; 6 km. N. of Kalitar; 11 km. N. of Charali; 14 km. W. of Chandranigahpur; Karanga; Lamosangu.— Niethammer & Martens (1975): Batula Chaur [= Batule Chour (1)]; Muri (1); Nagarkot (1); Pati Bhanjyang; Tribeni (2) (see note 3).—R.O.M.: " 54 miles S. of Katmandu, on India road" (ROM 31230) (see note 4); Bahwanipur (ROM 74628) (as R. r. arboreus ); Kakani (3) (ROM 74642); Madhuban (2) (ROM 74610) (as R. r. arboreus ).— Worth & Shah (1969): Syabrudens.

Non-specific records.— Hinton & Fry (1923): "the Nepal Tarai" (as R. r. arboreus ).— Hodgson (1834) (as Mus rattus ): Nepal.— Hodgson (1841b) (as Mus indicus ): Nepal.—N.M.N.H.: Nepal (USNM 290101—see note 5).

Note.— 1 Greenwood et al. (1985) record that the specimen of R. rattus was collected along with specimens of Diomys crumpi in "thick mixed deciduous woodland in central Terai; many saplings but little herb layer with much of ground bare sandy soil". This record is based on the same specimens that give rise to the locality " 3 km. E. of Pathalaya" in Newton et al. (1990).

2 Mekada et al. (2001) give external measurements of specimens, which are deposited in the mammal collection of the Laboratory of Animal Management and Resources, Graduate School of Bio-Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Japan.

3 Niethammer & Martens (1975) indicate that the skins and skulls of the single specimens from Anghu, Nagarkot, and Tribeni are contained in the collections of B.M.(N.H.).

4 The co-ordinates entered in the R.O.M. catalogue for the collection locality of ROM 31230 indicate a position 7 km. N.E. of central Kathmandu. Owing to the precision of the locality's description, which, it would seem reasonable to assume, preponderates, the co-ordinates shown in the Gazetteer represent a position 54 miles from Kathmandu on the main motor route to India, such locality lying just north of the town of Birganj.

5 The identification of USNM 290101 as R. rattus may be questionable for the reasons given in note 5 of Rattus tanezumi (p. 130). The catalogue of N.M.N.H. contains no supporting information. The specimen formed part of a collection made by R. Mack and H. Weaver in Nepal in 1948–49: Johnson et al. (1980) discussed that collection but did not mention USNM 290101.

6 It is not clear whether the record of R. rattoides from Langtang N.P. (see Green, 1981) refers to R. rattoides ( Hodgson, 1845) (now R. pyctoris ) or R. rattoides ( Pictet & Pictet, 1844) (now R. rattus ). The lack of certainty in this respect applies also to the record of Rattus rattoides from an unspecified locality in Nepal given in Worth & Shah (1969).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Rattus tanezumi ( Temminck, 1844) MAP No. 116 Oriental House rat

Mus tanezumi Temminck, 1844: 51 . Japan.

Mus brunneus Hodgson, 1845: 266 . The central region of Nepal.

Mus brunneusculus Hodgson, 1845: 267 . The central region of Nepal.

Rattus tistae Hinton, 1918: 68 . Pashok, Sikkim, India.

Rattus rattus gangutrianus Hinton, 1919: 389 . Ranibagh, Naini Tal, Kumaon, 2,500 ft., India.

Records.—A.M.N.H. (all as R. brunneus ): Kathmandu (AMNH 251625—AMNH 251647, AMNH 251653).— F.M.N.H. (all as R. r. brunneus , except where stated) (see note 1): 1 km. below Sedua (FMNH 114187); 4 miles S.E. of Trisuli (FMNH 57776—as R. t. brunneus ); 5 miles E. of Charikot (FMNH 94208—FMNH 94210: all as R. r. brunneusculus ) (see note 2); 5 miles W. of Those (FMNH 94213, FMNH 94214—both as R. r. brunneusculus ) (see note 2); 6 km. E.N.E. of Chainpur (FMNH 114191—as R. r. brunneusculus ) (see note 2); 6 miles E. of Dhangadi (FMNH 94222—as R. r. gangutrianus ); 8 miles E. of Dhangadi (FMNH 94223 and FMNH 94224—both as R. r. gangutrianus ); 16 km. N. of Chainpur (FMNH 114197—as R. r. brunneusculus ); 32 miles E. of Dhangadi (FMNH 94225—as R. r. gangutrianus ); Bahwanipur (FMNH 142250—FMNH 142253: both as R. r. gangutrianus ); Balaju (FMNH 57676, FMNH 57682, FMNH 57684, FMNH 104213, FMNH 104215, FMNH 104216, FMNH 104231— FMNH 104234, FMNH 104236, FMNH 104237, FMNH 104241); Darakhuti (FMNH 142254—as R. r. gangutrianus ); Deorali (1) (FMNH 94171); Hathiban (FMNH 82950*—see note 3); Ferping (FMNH 82951*—see note 3); Gokarna, King's Forest (FMNH 142242—FMNH 142245); Jamnagaon (FMNH 94228—as R. r. brunneusculus ); Kathmandu (FMNH 57769—as R. t. brunneus ; FMNH 104244, FMNH 104246); Lumdumsa (FMNH 114183, FMNH 114184—both as R. r. brunneusculus ) (see note 2); Melumche (1) (FMNH 142246, FMNH 142247—both as R. r. brunneusculus ); Sowoyambhy Temple, Kathmandu Valley (FMNH 57678—FMNH 57680); Suki Patyl Forest (FMNH 114316); Syaksila (FMNH 114293—as R. r. brunneusculus ); Tarke Ghyang (FMNH 142248 and FMNH 142249—both as R. r. brunneusculus ); Tokha Sanatorium, Kathmandu Valley (FMNH 94207).— Fry (1925): Chengli; Deorali (1); Gorkha; Manglopani; Syartang (all as R. rattus brunneusculus ).— Hinton (1922b) (as R. r. brunneusculus , except where stated): Bouzini; Chalna-Khel; Changoo (as R. r. brunneus ); Sipari; Thankot.— Hinton & Fry (1923): Chalna-Khel; Ferping; Godaveru; Hatiban; Katmandu (all as R. r. brunneus ); Kakani (2); Nagarkot (2); Pattibhagan; Ramchie; Sunachir (all as R. r. brunneusculus —see note 4).— Johnson et al. (1980) (as R. r. brunneusculus , except where indicated—see note 5): Chatra (USNM 290100); Chisapani (as R. r. gangutrianus ) (USNM 290084—USNM 290086); Mangalbare (USNM 290092—USNM 290099); Rekcha (as R. r. gangutrianus ) (USNM 290087—USNM 290090); Tikapur (USNM 290091—see note 6) (as R. r. gangutrianus ).—N.M.N.H.: Kathmandu, Royal Hotel (USNM 533485—see note 7).—R.O.M.: Gokarna, King's Forest (ROM 74728, ROM 74729 and ROM 74730); Kakani (3) (ROM 74641); Madhuban (2) (ROM 74614); Melumche (1) (ROM 74605 and ROM 74713); Tarke Ghyang (ROM 74585, ROM 74586, and ROM 74590) (all as R. r. brunneusculus ).— Worth & Shah (1969): Dhunche (as R. r. brunneus [n. 4] and R. r. brunneusculus [n. 2]); Gokarna Game Reserve (as R. r. brunneus ) (see note 8); Kathmandu (as R. r. brunneus ); Langtang Valley (1) (as R. r. brunneusculus [n. 1] and R. r. tistae [n. 2]); Pokhara (as R. r. brunneus [n. 25] and R. r. brunneusculus [n. 3]); Syabrudens (as R. r. brunneus [n. 2] and R. r. brunneusculus [n. 12]).

Non-specific records—A.M.N.H. (all as R. brunneus ): Kathmandu [District] (AMNH 239614—AMNH 239617, AMNH 250030—AMNH 250032).— Baillie (1996): Nepal.—Mitchell (1975) (as R. r. brunneus and R. r. brunneusculus ): Nepal (see note 1).— Musser & Carleton (2005): "through C. and S. Nepal (below about 2000m)".

Note.— 1 The specimens from Bahwanipur, Darakhuti, Gokarna, Melumche, and Tarke Ghyang (FMNH 142242— FMNH 142254) were collected by R. M. Mitchell.

2 The identity of specimens FMNH 94208—FMNH 94210, FMNH 94213, FMNH 94214, FMNH 114183, FMNH 114184, and FMNH 114191 is questionable. The material may be referable to Rattus andamanensis rather than to R. tanezumi (G. Musser, pers. comm). On map 116, the collection localities of the specimens mentioned are indicated by a white dot to reflect the indeterminate status of the material. See note 5 to Rattus andamanensis (p. 125).

3 For an explanation of the asterisked specimens, please see note 5 to Hipposideros armiger (p. 32).

4 Hinton & Fry (1923) comment that brunneusculus is "confined to the elevated central valley of Nepal and the slopes of the surrounding mountains".

5 The specimens from Chatra, Chisapani, Mangalbare, Rekcha, and Tikapur are identified in the catalogue of N.M.N.H. as Rattus rattus , although they are referred by Johnson et al. (1980) variously to the subspecies brunneusculus and gangutrianus. They are included here as representing R. tanezumi for the reason that gangutrianus and brunneusculus are accepted synonyms of that species ( Musser & Carleton, 2005: 1490).

6 Johnson et al. (1980) indicate that the specimen from Tikapur is immature. The authors remark also that the specimens they collected were of the "white-bellied type ", which they refer to the western race, gangutrianus, rather than the "dark-bellied" rats of eastern Nepal ( brunneusculus ). They add, however, that this division is likely to be over-simplistic. Musser & Carleton (2005: 1490) indicate that (in India) sympatric populations of dark- and white-bellied Rattus rattus should not be treated as separate species as the dark-bellied form "is simply a phenotypic morph ... found in the same populations containing the white-bellied morph". The same authors, referring to breeding experiments carried out on three subspecies of R. rattus by de L'Isle (1865), infer that colour polymorphism in a single species is not attributable to (intraspecific) geographic variation.

7 The measurements of USNM 533485 are given in Appendix II.

8 The current status of Gokarna Game Reserve is unclear. It appears that the area has undergone some development for the purposes of tourism and that the former reserve is inaccessible other than to hotel guests and to visitors using the golfing facilities now present on the land (www.planetware.com). For this reason, Gokarna Game Reserve is not treated here as one of Nepal's protected areas.

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Vandeleuria oleracea ( Bennett, 1832) MAP No. 117 Indian Long-tailed Tree mouse

Palm mouse

Indomalayan Vandeleuria

Mus oleraceus Bennett, 1832: 121 . Dukhun, (Deccan), India.

Mus dumecolus Hodgson, 1842: 915 . "Central and northern hilly regions" (of Nepal). [ Nomen nudum ]. (See note 1).

Mus (Vandeleuria) dumeticola Hodgson, 1845: 268 . Central region of Nepal.

Mus povensis Hodgson, 1845: 269 . Central region of Nepal.

Vandeleuria oleracea modesta Thomas, 1914b: 202 . Ramnagar, Kumaon, northern India, 1,100 ft.

Records.— Mitchell & Derksen (1976) (as V. o. modesta) (see notes 2,3): Melumche (1).—P.S.M.: Gharang (near) (PSM 13033).—R.O.M. (as V. o. dumeticola ): Bahwanipur (ROM 74622 and ROM 74623); Melumche (1) (ROM 74653—see note 3).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966): "from Kumaon [the eastern section of Uttarakhand State, India] east through Nepal ".— Hinton & Fry (1923) (as V. dumeticola ): "Central and Northern Nepal " (see note 4).—Mitchell (1975) (as V. o. dumeticola and V. o. modesta): Nepal.— Musser & Carleton (2005): S. Nepal.

Note.— 1 The citation is " dumecolus Hodgson, 1842 " and not " domecolus Hodgson, 1841" as given in Musser & Carleton (2005: 1518). The publication date of Hodgson's 1842 catalogue is treated often as 1841 as it is the latter date that is imprinted on the work.

2 Mitchell & Derksen (1976) state that "this mouse inhabits scrub bush and bamboo thickets, and constructs an arboreal nest of grass and leaves". The authors give brief details of head and body length, cranial characters, and coloration.

3 The specimen from Melumche ( ROM 74653) is likely to be one of the nine specimens from that locality mentioned by Mitchell & Derksen (1976), as the collector is the first-named author .

4 Hinton & Fry (1923) cite Hodgson (no date is given for Hodgson's comments on distribution but it may be the 1842 paper listed in the synonymy above).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

FAMILY HYSTRICIDAE

Hystrix brachyura Linnaeus, 1758 MAP No. 118 Malayan porcupine

Hystrix brachyura Linnaeus, 1758: 57 . Malacca.

Acanthion hodgsoni Gray, 1847b: 101 . Nepal.

Records.— Hinton & Fry (1923): Hathiban (as Acanthion hodgsoni —see notes 1,2).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Biswas & Tiwari (1966): "occurs in Nepal, eastward to Assam" (as H. hodgsoni ).—Mitchell (1975) (as H. hodgsoni hodgsoni ): Nepal.— Woods & Kilpatrick (2005): Nepal.

Note.— 1 N. A. Baptista reports that he secured a single specimen of Acanthion hodgsoni during the course of his Nepalese collections for the Bombay Natural History Society's Mammal Survey and this is likely to be the specimen from Hathiban, which, it would seem, is retained in the collections of the Indian Museum (in Calcutta) ( Hinton & Fry, 1923).

2 Hinton & Fry (1923) affirm that Acanthion hodgsoni was described by Gray based on two porcupines remitted to England from Nepal by B. H. Hodgson. Hinton & Fry state that Hodgson referred all specimens of Hystrix that he collected in Nepal to H. nipalensis , although the names of both Nepalese forms ( nipalensis and leucurus , the latter being regarded now as a synonym of H. indica Kerr, 1792 ( Woods & Kilpatrick, 2005)), appear in Hodgson's Classified Catalogue of Mammals of Nepal ( Hodgson, 1841b: 220). Hodgson referred to the presence of Hystrix leucurus in Nepal as early as 1834 ( Hodgson, 1834: 97). See "Non-specific records" under Hystrix indica , below (p. 132).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Hystrix indica Kerr, 1792 MAP No. 119 Indian Crested porcupine

Hystrix cristata var. indica Kerr, 1792: 213 . India.

Hystrix leucurus Sykes, 1831: 103 . Deccan, India.

Records.— Green (1981): Langtang N. P. (6) (see Caveat).

Non-specific records.— Baillie (1996): Nepal.— Hinton & Fry (1923): Nepal (as Acanthion leucurus —see note 1).— Hodgson (1834) (as H. leucurus ): "In the central and lower regions" (of Nepal) (see note 2).—Mitchell (1975) (as H. indica indica ): Nepal.

Note.— 1 Hinton & Fry (1923) refer to an adult female specimen, a drawing of which Hodgson sent back to England in 1837. See also note 1 to Hystrix brachyura (p. 132).

2 In his catalogue of Hodgson's material from Nepal and Tibet, Gray (1847a) makes the following entry in relation to specimens of Hystrix leucurus remitted to the British Museum (Natural History) by B. H. Hodgson, who had noted the occurrence of the species "in the central and lower regions" (of Nepal) ( Hodgson, 1834).: "a–c. Three specimens of different ages. d. A very young flat skin, brown. e, f. Two skulls. g. Bones of the body (without limbs) ...". As Gray cites Hodgson's 1834 paper in respect of the material before him, it is probable that the specimens were secured in Nepal rather than Tibet and this is borne out by the presence of a label bearing the words " Nepal, B.H.Hodgson" attached to one of the skins of H. leucurus (BM 43.1.12.78) in the N.H.M. collections.

The only material of H. leucurus that was remitted by B. H. Hodgson to the B. M. (N. H) and that remains in that institution's collections is the skin abovementioned (BM 43.1.12.78), its attendant skull (BM 47.7.22.8), and two further skulls, one evidently from a juvenile and one from a more mature animal (BM 46.11.8.11).

In order to confirm the taxonomic identity of the specimens and, moreover, to establish that the material is representative of H. leucurus (= H. indica ) and not H. brachyura , the above specimens were examined against the holotype of H. leucurus Sykes, 1831 (BM 42.8.6.6—skin and skull). External, cranial, and dental measurements were taken of the material mentioned and these are presented in Table 5. Harrison & Bates (1991) list measurements of a number of H. indica from some of the more westerly parts of the species' range ( Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and Yemen) and these measurements are replicated in Table 5 for the purposes of comparison.

From Table 5, it can be seen that the measurements of Hodgson's specimen (BM 43.1.12.78) are notably inferior to those of the holotype and well beneath the range of external measurements listed in Harrison & Bates (1991). Other than the lengths of the palatal foramen and the upper toothrow, and the greatest width of the palate, the cranial and dental measurements of the accompanying skull (BM 47.7.22.8) are lower than those of the holotype but not inconsistent with the range of measurements of specimens from the Middle East and Arabia. Owing to the absence of comparative material of H. indica from Nepal, it cannot be ascertained whether the species averages smaller in the more elevated, north-eastern part of its range. It is likely that BM. 43.1.12.78 is simply an immature specimen and a junior member of the three specimens to which Gray (1847a) refers.

M: mandible length; PL: palatal length.

Note—a. both incisors broken; b. left zygoma missing, right zygoma detached; c. left zygoma broken; d. ends of nasal bones partly eroded.

Apart from the condylo-basal length and the width of the interorbital constriction, the measurements of BM 46.11.8.11 fall within the range of measurements of the more westerly specimens given in Harrison & Bates (1991) although they occupy, for the most part, the lower end of these values.

Other than the difference in size mentioned above, Hodgson's skin of H. leucurus (BM 43.1.12.78) conforms closely with the type of the species (BM 42.8.6.6). Both specimens possess a strong crest of bristles: in BM 43.1.12.78 the crest commences on the forehead (where the length of bristles is some 70 mm.) and extends almost as far as the mid-point of the back (where the bristles are approximately 220 mm. in length). The presence of the long crest distinguishes the species from H. brachyura , in which a boldly defined crest of bristles is absent ( Corbet & Hill, 1992). The recorded presence of H. indica "In the central and lower regions" of Nepal is confirmed accordingly.

Caveat.—The record of H. indica from Langtang National Park cited in Green (1981) is based on visual observation. In the absence of the collection of actual specimens, some doubt must be cast on whether the animal observed was, in fact, H. indica and not H. brachyura , as the range of brachyura is more consistent with the occurrence of that species in northern Nepal. Woods & Kilpatrick (2005) include Nepal in the distribution of H. brachyura but not in that of H. indica .

Langtang N. P. is indicated by a white dot on map 119 to highlight the uncertainty in the specific identification of the porcupine observed there but the species entry is retained in Table 6 to reflect the presence of the genus Hystrix in ecoregion PA1003 (Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows).

I.U.C.N. status.—Least concern (ver. 3.1, 2001)

Year of assessment: 2008.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Dorsal (a) and ventral (b) views of the skull and lateral views of the skull (c) and mandible (d) of FMNH 114259.