A new flying squirrel from the island of Terutau, west coast of Malay peninsula

Vol. XX, ^pp. 17-18 February _23, 1907

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

A NEW FLYING SQUIRREL FROM THE ISLAND OF TERUTAU, WEST COAST OF MALAY PENINSULA.

BY MARCUS W. LYON,

^JR.

Bypermission of the Secretary^ofthe SmithsonianInstitution.

Among ^a

^{collection of}

^{mammals from the Island}

^{of Terii-}

tau,

made _by Dr. W.

L.

Abbott,

ⁱⁿ

1904,

^{there is}

an _appar-

ently

undescribed

_species of

Flying

Squirrel ^of the

genus

^Pet- aurista.

Pulo Terutau

(also written

Trotau and

_Trotto), is

a small

island lying

about

fifteen

geographic miles

^{off the}

west

coast of the

Malay Peninsula, about

five

and a

half degrees

north

of the equator.

The

species

may ^{be known}

^as

Petaurista terutaus sp.nov.

Type—

^Skin

^and

^{skull of}adult male, ^Cat. No. _123,934, United States National

Museum,

^collectedon Pulo Terutau, April9,1904,

by

^Dr.

W.

L.

Abbott. Originalnumber,^3219.

Diagnosticcharacters.

— A member

oftheso-called nitidusgroup, similar to Petaurista nitidula (Thomas) ^ofthe

Natuna

Islands, but _{top of}

head

with_{a grayish} wash,^aslighthuffy

wash

oversidesofbody,

and

the black on the endofthetailof greater extent.

Color.

— _Top

of neck, back,sides, upper^surface of parachute, outer ^sur- facesoffore

and

hindlimbs

and

base oftail have the general ^effect of a brightcinnamon-rufousora bright hazel ofRidgway,^clearest

and

_purest on_{top of}neck

and

_along the upper ^surface of parachute.

Most

of the hairshaveblackishterminal_rings,which appear^toa considerable extent along themiddleofback. Along^{the sides}

many

^{hairs have} wide,light buffy subterminalrings.

Top

^{of head a mixture of whitish}

and

^cinna- mon-rufous. Sides of

head and

_neck, a color l)etween buff-pink

and

pinkish ^buff. Underparts generally, salmon-buff tending toward ^dull orange-rufous on the parachute. Tail, dull orange-rufous, considerably blackenedtowardthe base

and

with a blackish apex, 70 ^to 80

mm.

_long.

Feet, ring about _eye,

and

small area about mouth, ^{blackish. Posterior} half of ear blackish; anterior_half,dullorange-rufous.

2—

^Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XX, 1907. (17)

18 Lyon — _{A New Flying}

_Squirrel

_from

the Island_ofTerutau.

Skull

and

^teeth.

—

These

show

noessential differences from those ofPet- aurista nitidula.

^/ramreynm/s.— External measurements ^of the type: head

and

_body, 385

mm.;

^tailvertebrae,450; hind _foot, with claws, 75; weight, 2} ^lbs.

(1134 grams). Cranialmeasurements^ofthe type: ^total length, ^64.3

mm.;

basal length, 57; ^basilar length, 53.5;. palatal length, 34.2; zygomatic breadth, 43.2; interorbital constriction, 12.4; constriction behind _post orbital processes, 16.6; maxillary toothrow ^(alveoli), 14.2; mandibular toothrow (alveoli), 15.

Specimens examined.

—

_{One,the type.}