Chapter XV: Appendix: IV

* * * * *

NOTES on certain MAMMALIA, BIRDS, SNAKES, and LANDSHELLS collected on CAMAROONS MOUNTAINS, by Captain BURTON, H.M. Consul, Fernando Po. By Dr. G. R. GRAY, and Dr. WM. BAIRD.

(Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1862, p. 180.)

_Crocidura Morio_, sp. nov.

Uniform rather brownish black, rather paler and browner beneath. Teeth
white. Feet very slender, weak. Tail nearly as long as the body and
head, very slender, annulated, covered with very short closely
adpressed hair.

Length of body and head, dry, 2¾ inches; tail, dry, 2 inches.

‘_Mole_ from Camaroons Mountains, 7000 feet above the level of the
sea, January 1862.’

_Sciurus Isabella_, sp. nov.

Yellowish brown, minutely grizzled, with four broad dorsal streaks—the
two central from the crown of the head to the base of the tail, the
side ones from the shoulder only; the underside whitish grey. Tail
slightly annulated.

Length of body and head 7 inches; tail 5 inches.

‘_Squirrel_ from the Camaroons Mountains, 7000 feet above the level of
the sea, January 1862.’

I have great pleasure in naming this beautiful new species after Mrs.
Isabel Burton,—her husband, the discoverer of it, having requested
that any novelty that might be in the list should be so named.

_Anomalurus Beecroftii_, Fraser.

‘A _Flying Squirrel_, shot in the Camaroons Mountains, 7000 feet above
the level of the sea. Colour of the eyes dark grey. January 18, 1862.’

_Mus Maura_, sp. nov.

Fur very soft and silky; above black, slightly marked with brown from
the minute brown tips of the hairs; beneath whitish—the hair of the
underside black, white-tipped. Teeth very narrow, orange. Ears
rounded, moderate. Sides of the nose and edge of the orbits black.
Eyes covered with very short close-pressed hairs. Tail very long,
slender, closely annulated with very slender, very short adpressed
hair.

Length of body and head 4½ inches; tail 5 inches; hind foot very
nearly 1 inch.

‘Camaroons Mountains, 7000 feet above the level of the sea.’

_Euryotis Irrorata_, sp. nov.

‘Rat from the Camaroons Mountains, 7000 feet above the level of the
sea. January 1862.’

I am not certain about this species until I can compare the skull with
those of the other species of the genus from Africa, as they are all
very similar externally.

With these animals was sent the skin of a Chimpanzee without its skull, but with the bones of the hand and feet enclosed in the skin. This skin differs from all the other specimens of this species which I have seen, in being covered with much more abundant and softer fur, and in the fur of the back being of a brown colour from the large brown tips to the blackish hair. It would seem to indicate a distinct variety or species, which may be designated, until we receive better specimens and more particulars, _Troglodytes vellerosus_.

DESCRIPTIONS OF A FEW WEST-AFRICAN BIRDS.

BY DR. G. R. GRAY.

(From the ‘Annals and Magazine of Natural History’ for Dec. 1862.)

* * * * *

_To the Editors of the ‘Annals of Natural History.’_

GENTLEMEN,

The following descriptions of a few birds, which appear new to the fauna of West Africa, may interest some of your readers. They were collected on the Camaroons Mountains, at an elevation of 7000 feet above the level of the sea. They were sent to Mrs. Isabel Burton, the estimable lady of the distinguished traveller and Consul, Capt. Burton, and kindly presented by her to the British Museum.

_Pratincola Salax_.

_Pratincola salax_, Verr., Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1851, p. 307.

_Cossypha Isabellæ_.

Head black, with a shining white mark between the nostril and the
middle above the eye; back olivaceous-black; wings black, each feather
margined with olivaceous; beneath the body rufous-buff, deeper on the
breast; rump and outer tail-feathers deep rufous, with the tips of the
second, third, and fourth feathers, and tip and outer margin of the
first feather, black; the four middle feathers black, with the outer
margin of the fifth near the base deep rufous.

Total length, 6″; wings 2″ 11‴; tarsi, 13‴; bill from gape, 9‴.

This bird is named in compliment to Mrs. Isabel Burton.

_Zosterops (Speirops) melanocephalus_.

Mouse-colour, washed with olivaceous; head sooty black, with a spot on
each side between the nostril and eye; mentum and under wing-coverts
white; beneath the body pale obscure grey, tinged with olivaceous;
quills and tail fuscous-black, the former margined outwardly with
grey. Bill and feet whitish horn-colour.

Total length, 4″ 9‴; wings, 2″ 5‴; tarsi, 9‴; bill from gape, 7‴.

_Trichophorus tephrolæmus_.

Yellowish-olive; head and throat slate-colour, darker on the head;
abdomen yellow; breast, sides, and under tail-coverts olivaceous-
yellow; quills fuscous-black, with outer webs olivaceous, the inner
web margined near the base with buff; tail dull olivaceous, the end of
the outer feather slightly tipped with yellow; bill black; feet
plumbeous.

Total length, 7″ 6‴; wings, 3″ 3‴; tarsi, 10‴; bill from gape, 10‴.

Closely allied to _Trichophorus canicapillus_, Hartl.; but the throat
is pale ash-colour.

_Euplectes phœnicomerus_.

Black; rump and wing-coverts pale clear yellow; under wing-coverts
pale rufous-white; thighs pale brown.

Like _E. xanthomelas_; but the yellow on the rump and wings is paler,
and the thighs are pale brown instead of black.

Total length, 5″ 3‴; wings, 2″ 10‴; tarsi, 11‴; bill from gape, 7½‴.

_Ligurnus[151] olivaceus_, Hartl.

_Coccothraustes olivaceus_, Fras., Proc. Z. S. 1842, p. 144.

Adult male yellowish-olivaceous; head and throat deep black; sides and
a narrow band round the neck, rump, and beneath the body bright
orange-yellow; quills black, with the tertials and larger wing-coverts
margined outwardly with bright yellow, and the quills inwardly with
white; tail olivaceous-green, with each feather margined on the sides
and tip with bright yellow; bill orange; feet pale.

The _female_ agrees with Mr. Fraser’s typical specimen, said to have
been obtained at Fernando Po, and which is now deposited in the
British Museum. It is figured in the ‘Zoologica Typica,’ pl. 47, by
Mr. Fraser.

_Young._—Dull olivaceous-green; beneath the body dull olivaceous-
yellow; bill and feet blackish lead-colour.

_Strobilophaga Burtoni_.

Fuscous, varied with pale olivaceous on the sides of the plumes; wing-
coverts fuscous-black, tipped with white; quills and tail fuscous-
black, margined narrowly with yellow; abdomen obscure white, spotted
with fuscous-black down the shaft of some of the feathers; upper
mandible horn-colour, lower mandible white; feet plumbeous.

Total length, 7″; wings, 3″ 6‴; tarsi, 9‴; bill from gape, 8‴.

The formation of this bird agrees in every respect with the genus
_Pinicola_ or _Strobilophaga_. A species of this genus has not
hitherto been recorded as found in Africa.

To these may be added the

_Cosmetornis Burtoni_.

It is very similar to the _Cosmetornis vexillarius_ (Gould), G. R.
Gr., but differs in the white spot at the base of each quill being
narrower, while the white at the tip of the second, third, fourth, and
fifth quills is more prominent and slightly mottled with rufous on the
outer web; the first quill longer than the second, fuscous-black, and
partly margined with rufous on the outer webs; the sixth feather is
rather longer than the fifth, the seventh rather longer than the
latter; both are fuscous-black, slightly mottled with pale rufous,
having the bases of the inner webs white; the eighth is much longer
than the first quill, and fuscous-black, slightly mottled with pale
rufous, the base of the inner web white or pale rufous; the ninth
feather (or, as it has been termed, ‘standard feather’) is the longest
of all, measuring more than 17 in.; it is white at the base of both
inner and outer webs, but passing into pale rufous, or rufous-white
mottled with black, on the outer web, while the inner is only rufous-
white for its entire length from the basal white.

The specimen is in an imperfect state, and only sufficient to afford
the above description so as to distinguish it from the previously
known species. The British Museum is indebted to the liberality of
Capt. Burton, H.M. Consul, who has just sent it with other zoological
specimens, all marked as from Fernando Po, and after whom I have the
pleasure of naming this interesting bird.

Major Burton has also sent to the British Museum a new kind of viper (_viperidæ_). It is probably scarce, as only a single specimen was sent in the collection.

Dr. Gunther has thus described it in the _An. and Mag. N. Hist._ 1863, 25, and intends to give a figure of it in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society.

_Pœcilostolus_.

Head thick, broad, covered with strongly keeled scales; body
compressed; tail prehensile, subcaudal shields. Entire.

This genus differs from _Echis_ in its compressed body, prehensile
tail, and bright colours. While _Echis_ is confined to dry sandy
plains, _Pœcilostolus_ inhabits trees and bushes. _Vipera chlorœchis
Schegel_ probably belongs to the same genus.

_Pœcilostolus Burtoni_.

Scales strongly keeled, in nineteen rows; upper row nine, none of
which enter the orbit; rostral shield very low, linear, with other
scale-like shields above. Entirely bright yellow, single scales green.

_Inhab._ Camaroons country.

* * * * *

DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO SPECIES OF SHELLS FROM CAMAROONS MOUNTAINS. BY WM.
BAIRD.

1. _Achatina Isabel_, Baird, sp. nov.

Testa cylindracea, fulva, minute undulato-striata et parum decussata,
anfractibus octo, ultima tumida, dimidiam totæ testæ æquante, suturis
impressis, apertura semilunari, parva.

Longitudo, 1⅓ unc.—Latitudo maxima, ½ unc.

Habitat, Montes Camaroons dictæ, in Africa Occidentali.

This shell is covered with an epidermis of a dark fulvous colour, and
its surface is marked by numerous fine longitudinal striæ, which are
most distinct near the suture, are waved and impressed, while at the
same time several indistinct transverse lines run across them, giving
a somewhat decussated appearance. The whirls are eight in number, the
apical ones blunt, the last tumid and about half the length of the
whole shell. The outer lip is thin, and the interior of the semilunar
aperture somewhat purplish. The sutures are distinct, and rather
deeply impressed.

2. _Achatina montana_, Baird, sp. nov.

Testa parva, cylindracea, gracili, olivacea, nitida, prope suturas
undulato-striata, anfractibus octo, ultimo tertiam partem testæ
æquante, suturis impressis, apertura semilunari, parva.

Longitudo, lin. 13.—Lat. max. lin. 3½.

Habitat, Montes Camaroons dictæ, in Africa Occidentali.

This species of Achatina is much more slender and smoother than the
preceding, and is of a darker colour. The apex is blunt, and the last
whirl is much less tumid than the corresponding whirl of _A. Isabel_,
and is shorter, being only about one-third the length of the shell.
The surface is striated, but the striæ are scarcely perceptible except
near the sutures, which are well marked and impressed.

[Footnote 151: _Ligurnus rufobrunneus_.—Rufous-brown, slightly darker along the shaft of each feather; wings and tail dull brown, margined with rufous-brown; beneath the body much paler, varied in some places with darker; bill and feet horn-colour.

Length, 6″; wings, 3″ 5‴; tarsi, 9‴; bill, from gape, 7‴.

This bird has been many years in the collection of the British Museum. It was brought to this country from Western Africa by Capt. (now Major- General) Sabine, R.A., and was presented by him to that institution.]