No. 298 Pteromys Cineraceus. — The Ashy Flying Squirrel
Native Name.—Shau-byau in Arakan.
Habitat.—Assam, Burmah, viz. Arakan, Pegu and Tenasserim provinces.
Description.—Very like the last, but with a greyish fur, and almost white tail, with a black tip.
The fur generally is a mixture of pale grey and brownish, the hairs of the head and back having a whitish sub-terminal band; the tail consists almost entirely of the greyish hairs; the parachute is reddish brown; the under-parts white. Blyth, however, mentions a specimen from Tenasserim which is unusually rufous, with the tail concolorous with the upper parts.
Size.—Same as the last.
It is open to question whether this is not identical with Pteromys oral, merely a local variety. Blyth so termed it; and from what Dr. Anderson has written on the subject, I gather that he, too, inclines to the same opinion, as he says: “The dimensions are the same as those of P. oral, Tickell, of which it will probably prove to be a local race.”
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