160 PKOOEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1894. 



Specimens of a small white-footed mouse, which are at present re- 

 ferred provisionally to this race, were received from Tarpon Springs 

 a few days before the issue of Mr. Chapman's paper on subgrisens. 

 These were sent to Mr. Chapman for comparison and he pronounced 

 them intermediate between niveiventris and subgriseus. Additional 

 specimens, making in all seventeen, have since been received. A 

 comparison of these with Mr. Chapman'srather brief diagnosis shows 

 them to differ from niveiventris in their smaller size ; from .•subgriseus 

 in the uniform whiteness of the belly hairs to their roots, and from 

 both forms in their uni-colored and nearly naked tails, which strik- 

 ingly resemble those of Geoniys tuza. Owing to my inability to 

 secure a loan of the type series in the possession of the American 

 Museum, a critical comparison of these differences cannot now be 

 made. They appear, however, to represent at least a sub- specific 

 variation, and a study of the cranial measurements strongly supports 

 this view. 



Mr. Dickinson writes me that these mice "were taken in a culti- 

 vated field near the head of Anclote River, in Pasco County. They 

 make a burrow from two to three feet long and ten to eighteen inches 

 deep, at the bottom of which is found the nest. They also have a 

 second passage through which to escape from their enemies in case of 

 pursuit; the outlet of this is hidden, apparently lacking three-quar- 

 ters of an inch of penetrating the surface of the ground. When a 

 switch is inserted they push through this secret outlet and often escape. 

 In captivity they are cannibals." 



20. Oryzomys palustris natator Chapman. Florida Rice-field Mouse. 

 One specimen sent. A series of this form from the Gulf Coast 



would be of interest to compare with those of northern Florida and 

 Texas, but I have been unable to secure them. 



21. Sigmodon hispidus littoralis^ (?) Chapman. Florida Cotton Rat. 



Of the five specimens of Cotton Rat (three adults, two young) 

 sent from Tarpon Springs, two very old individuals are strikingly 

 different from typical hispidus and are evidently similar to the ' ' No. 

 1,460" from Pine Island, mentioned by Mr. Chapman in his 

 description of littoralis as being much grayer than the Gainesville 



SBull. Amer. Mus. N. Hist., II, June, 1889, ^Art X. 



