A new Gerbille from eastern Turkestan

VOL. _XIII, PP. 163-164

OCTOBER

31, 1900

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHB

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

A NEW GERBILLE FROM EASTERN TURKESTAN.*

BY GERRIT

8.

MILLER,

^JK.

Three _specimens

of G-erbillnscollected

by ^Dr. W.

L.

Abbott

in

Eastern Turkestan near Aksu and

inthe

jungle

^{east of,}

Maral-

bashi

have

heretofore

been

referred

with some

hesitation to 6r.

przewodskii

Biichner, a species

known from

a

few

localities in the

Tarim _Valley near Lob Nor on

the

opposite

^{side of the}

Desert

of

Gobi. A _paratype

of Biichner's

animal

received in

exchange from

the St.

Petersburg Museum shows

that the iden tification of the

Aksu _specimens

is incorrect

and

that

they rep

resenta distinct

and

_easilyrecognizable species.

Gerbillus arenicolor _sp. nov.

Type ^adult male (skin

and

skull), No. _02,143UnitedStates National

Museum,

^collectedin the jungleon

Yarkand

River, east of Maralbashi, Eastern Turkestan, February^{9, 1894.}

Character*. Insize

and form

similarto Gerbillus przewalxkiiBiichner, butcolor light sandy gray^insteadofpale yellowish^buff.

Color. Dorsal surfaceof

body and

^{heada fine}sandygrizzleproduced by ^a mixture of palebuff, dark brown,

and

pale ecru-drab, the

brown

most conspicuous near

median

line, but never in excess of the paler

*Published here by permission ^of the Secretary^of theSmithsonian Institution.

85 BIOL. Soc.

WASH.

^VOL. XIII,^1900. (163)

164

Miller

A New

Gerbille

from

^{Eastern Turkestan.}

colors,theecru-drabespecially noticeableonsides, cheeks

and

shoulders.

Ears

and

illdefined area immediately surrounding cadi dull white.

A

whitish _spot above

and

_slightly behind _eye. Underparts

and

entire front leg white.

On

hind leg the color of

back

extends _nearlytoankle.

Feet _{white, slightly} gray-tinged.

Fur

of colored areaof pelagegray (Ridgway, No. 6) through ^{a little}

more

than basal _half, that of un- colored areawhitetobase. Tail uniform_{pale buff}throughout.

Skull.

The

skull _closely resemblesthatof Gerbillus przewalskii, but the rostrum appears ^to be

more

slender (particularly

when

viewed

from

_below)

and

the braincase longerⁱⁿproportion^toitsbreadth. In eachof the three specimens^{of O. arenicolor the}mastoid breadth isdis tinctly lessthanthe distance

from

_{posterioredge}of interparietal tonaso- frontal suture, whileintheparatype^of G. przewalskii ^itisequal^{to this} distance. Mandible

and

teeth as in G.przewalxkii.

Measurements. External

measurements

of type: ^total length, 162;

head and

_body, 89; ^tailvertebrte, 73; hind_foot, 26.4_(24)'.

Cranial

measurements

of type: greatest length,^27.4(26)*; basal length, 24_(23); basilar length, 22 (21); nasals, 9_(8.6); diastema, 8^(7); zygomatic breadth, 16(15); least interorbital breadth, ⁶(6); mastoid breadth, 15 (15); distance

from

posterior

margin

^of interparietal ^tonaso frontal suture, ^17.4 (15); mandible, ^14.8 (14); maxillary toothrow (alveoli) 4 (4); mandibular toothrow(alveoli),4_(4).

*Measurements

in parenthesis are those of the paratype ^{of G.}