1897.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 323 



Specimens examined. — Alaska, 1 ; British Columbia, 8 ; Washing- 

 ton, 4. 



3. Sciuropterus alpinus californicus subsp. nov. Sierra Madre Flying Squirrel. 



Type No. 3,487, ad. 9 , Col. of S. N. Rhoads. Collected by R. 

 B. Herron on the San Bernardino Mountains (near Squirrel Inn), 

 San Bernardino County, California, at an elevation of 5,200 feet, 

 June 5, 1896. 



Geographic distribution. — Sierra Madre Mountains, California. 



Habitat. — Mixed pine and oak belt of the mountains, living in 

 deserted woodpecker burrows in dead pine stubs 10 to 30 feet from 

 the ground. 



General characters. — Proportions much as in alpinus, but some- 

 what smaller and with a relatively shorter hind foot and tail. Color 

 palest (?) of the American flying squirrels. 



Color (of type). — Above, including whole upper surface, except 

 nose, forehead, flying membrane, fore and hind legs and terminal f 

 of tail, between drab-gray and wood-brown ; bases of upper body 

 hairs slate color, this shade predominating on upper surfaces of fly- 

 ing membrane and the fore and hind legs. Hind and fore feet 

 brownish smoke-gray, fading on the toes to whitish smoke-gray. 

 Upper basal third of tail like back, remainder of tail becoming dark 

 smoke-gray. Sides of face and neck and across rostrum pale ashen 

 smoke-gray. Black whiskers fading to smoke gray along the termi- 

 nal half. Ears drab-gray within and without. Mouse-gray orbital 

 ring scarcely appreciable. Whole underside of body, head and 

 limbs nearly uniform pale, buffy or yellowish-gray, with a French 

 gray cast caused by the darkening of the exposed basal portions of 

 the hairs and becoming nearly pure white on throat, lower fore legs 

 and inner margins of thighs. Furred soles of hind feet and whole 

 underside of tail pale drab. 17 



Cranial characters. — Smaller, but otherwise similar to those of 

 fiiliginosus. The incisors are but slightly darker than those of 

 sabrinus. 



Dimensions (of type taken in the flesh). — Total length, 286 milli- 

 meters ; tail vertebra?, 127 ; hind foot, 38 ; ear, from crown (when 

 dry), 16 ; length of carpal fascia, 24. Average of four suckling 

 adult female topotypes (in above order): 292, 133, 38, — ,23. 

 Skull, of type : occipito-nasal length, 39 ; greatest breadth, 23.8 ; 



17 This color name is not used by Ridgway ; in fact, nearly all the colors of 

 this subspecies are not to be matched in the Nomenclature of Colors. 



