720 MONOGRAPHS OF NOItTIT AMERICAN RODENTIA. 



distinguished by its white or whitish nose and ears. Of the dozen or more 

 specimens before me, each differs widely from any of the others. 



Habitat. — South Atlantic and Gulf States, from Maryland to Louisiana. 



Var. LUDOVICIANUS. 



Western Fox Squirrel. 



Varietal chars. — Smaller than the preceding, about equaling in size var. 

 cinereus; length of body 12 to 13, ranging from 11 to 14 or more; tail-vertebrae 

 9.75, ranging from 8.50 to 10.50; tail to end of hairs 12.50, ranging from 11 

 to 13.50. Color less variable than in vars. cinereus and niger. Above, dusky- 

 gray, with a strong rufous suffusion ; ears, feet, and ventral surface fulvous, 

 varying to bright ferrugineous. The whole under parts are occasionally black 

 or mixed black and rufous, the hairs being annulated with these colors. 

 Never apparently wholly black, nor with the under surface pure white. 



This variety is much more constant in its coloration than either of the 

 two preceding, the principal variations being to dusky, annulated with rusty 

 beneath, or with the whole ventral surface black. The ears are generally 

 rufous, in strong contrast with the color of the dorsal surface; the feet and 

 whole lower parts are generally rufous, varying somewhat in intensity in dif- 

 ferent individuals from the same locality. The upper parts vary from a dusky 

 ferrugineous-gray to a lighter gray, scarcely distinguishable from that of the 

 reddish-gray type of var. cinereus from Pennsylvania. There is, however, a 

 considerable amount of geographical variation in color, mainly through a 

 great increase in the intensity of the rufous coloring of the ventral surface 

 southward. 



The palest specimens are from the eastern edge of the Plains, — Fort 

 Randall, Dak. Ter. ; Kiowa Agency, Ind. Ter. ; Guadeloupe and Fort Chad- 

 bourne, Tex., — some of which are nearly white below and much lighter above 

 than examples from other localities. The most rufous come from the Missis- 

 sippi Valley, particularly from the southern portion. The specimens from Ohio 

 are rather lighter than those from Illinois, while the series from Fort Des 

 Moines, Iowa, inclines strongly toward the more southern type of coloration. 



No. 7768, from the Republican Fork, is white below, with merely a faint 

 tinge of fulvous, which becomes somewhat stronger on the chin and throat. 

 The upper parts are about as in specimens from the upper part of the Missis- 

 sippi Valley. No. 11348, from Fort Randall, is also nearly white over the 



