DASYPROCTA. 173 
gap between their ranges, I should probably have followed their example. Even the , 
palest individuals of the present species, however, may be separated from the Brazilian 
form by their larger size, their still more uniform coloration, and by the hair of the 
throat, breast, and lower parts being annulated like that of the rest of the body; 
while I have never seen an individual of D. azare which showed a trace of the rich 
ruddy tints which appear to be normal in the northern race. 
The range of this Agouti is intermediate between that of the last species and the next, 
both of which it probably overlaps. M. Boucard has shown me specimens from Yucatan ; 
it is common in most parts of Guatemala; and presumably it is found in Nicaragua, 
for the Zoological Society have received examples from Costa Rica, where the species 
appears to have escaped the observation of Dr. v. Frantzius. . 
Messrs. Godman and Salvin inform me that in Guatemala “ the natives hunt these 
Agoutis in the forest with dogs. They are usually run into holes in the ground, or 
amongst rocks, whence they are often started again by being smoked out. The flesh of 
the Cotusa is much esteemed there, being white and tender; but to our mind it is 
rather too rich to be altogether palatable.”’ 
3. Dasyprocta mexicana. (Tab. XVIII. fig. 1.) 
Dasyprocta mexicana, de Saussure, Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1860, p. 53 (descr. orig.)’; Sclater, P. Z. 8. 
1874, p. 683°; Alston, op. cit. 1876, p. 349°. 
Hab. Mexico (de Saussure1; Lichtabbel, Viv. Zool. Soc. ; Liebmann, Mus. Hafn.). 
The Mexican Agouti, the most northern and one of the smallest of the members of 
the genus, has a considerable general resemblance to D. fuliginosa, Wagler, of Northern 
Brazil and Peru, but may be recognized, apart from the great difference in size, by the 
short and uniformly black hair of the rump. 
M. de Saussure, who has given a very detailed description of the species, adds the 
following details as to its habits :—“ This charming little animal inhabits the hot zone of 
Mexico. Its flesh is excellent, and it is hunted as Hares are with us; but it is much 
more difficult to catch, on account of its great agility, and of the prodigious bounds by 
which it surmounts any obstacle. For the rest, its disposition is very gentle. Taken 
young it is easily tamed, and is so cleanly that it may be allowed to run loose about the 
house. I brought one alive with me to Europe; but when alarmed by the entrance of 
a stranger it made such enormous bounds, sweeping the tables and upsetting the furni- 
ture, that I was obliged to get rid of it. I presented it to the Menagerie of the Museum, 
where it died soon after ”’. 
Our illustration is from a specimen which was presented to the Zoological Society in 
1874 by Mr. H. A. Marckmann de Lichtabbel, the skin of which is now preserved in 
the British Museum. 
