86 Mcrriam Rediscovery of the Mexican Kangaroo Rat 



" On the other hand, the city of Tlalpam was the capital of the state of 

 Mexico from 1828 to 1830, and from a much earlier period has "been one 

 of the important towns of the Valley of Mexico. This being the case, 

 the abundance of JMpodomys in the sandy land at the. very border of the 

 town suggests the probability that a specimen taken there by an early 

 traveler ma)' have been the one brought to London by Mr. Phillips of 

 Real del Monte, the erroneous reference arising from the notorious care- 

 lessness of the early collectors in labeling specimens."* 



It should be added that Tlalpam is only about 60 miles from 

 Real del Monte, and should be remembered that Gray did not 

 say that his specimen came from Real del Monte, but merely 

 that it was sent to the British Museum by u Mr. John Phillips, 

 who has lately returned from Real del Monte" quite another 

 matter. The probability is exceedingly great that the specimen 

 was not labeled at all before it entered the British Museum. 



Geo graph ic Disti -ib i it ion. 



Mr. Nelson first found Dipodomys phillipsi at the- extreme 

 southern end of the Valley of Mexico and on the adjacent 

 mountain slopes, where 28 specimens were obtained. Concern- 

 ing its occurrence in this region he writes : 



"These kangaroo rats occur in the bottom of the valley -near Tlalpam, 

 D. F., at an altitude of 7,500 feet, and at the eastern base of the main 

 peak of Ajusco, near the village of the same name, at an altitude of some- 

 thing over 10,000 feet. Still further to the south, on the extreme border 

 of the state of Mexico, adjoining Morelos, they were noted close to the 

 peak of Huitzilac, near the Cruz del Marquez, at an altitude of 9,000 feet. 

 They were also taken at the western base of Mt. Popocatepetl, near the 

 village of Amecameca, at an altitude of about 8,300 feet. The peak of 

 Huitzilac lies about 20 miles south of Tlalpam, and Amecameca is 28 

 miles east of the peak of Ajusco, thus giving the species a known range 

 of less than 20 by 30 miles in this district. 



"The animals were far more numerous near Tlalpam than elsewhere. 

 This place is 9 miles south of the City of Mexico, at the extreme south- 

 ern border of the valley, just where the first slopes of the Siena <!e 



*ln continuing my work to the eastward 1 found it necessary to visit 

 the city of Puebla. There 1 learned that the State College had a small 

 museum, which 1 visited. One of the first things that met my eye was 

 a Dlpodomys phttlipgi labeled an coming from Ojo <tr Aytm, PncMa. Leav- 

 ing the city, my route took me first into Tlaxcala and thence to eastern 

 Puebla, in both of which districts I found the species abundant, as de- 

 tailed elsewhere in this paper. 



