26 Merriam Revision of the Coyotes. 



black ; its lower surface whitish on basal third ; ochraceous on distal two- 

 thirds, the hairs of terminal third moderately tipped with black, tb 

 black increasing toward black end of tail. 



Cranial and dental diameters. Skull and teeth clearly of the pallidm 

 type; premolar and carnassial teeth smaller and less swollen than in 

 latrans. Compared with C. ochropus, the skull and teeth are larger and 

 more massive and the rostrum is much broader. A much closer resem 

 blance exists between C. lestes and the broad-muzzled peninsulse and //.*- 

 tror. Contrasted with peninsulse, the skull is somewhat larger and the 

 eeth heavier; contrasted with frustror, the skull is smaller (decidedly 

 shorter), more massive, the frontals flatter and less elevated posteriorly, 

 and the teeth very much larger. 



Remarks. Externally Canis lestes resembles C. latrans, being much more 

 highly colored than its nearest relative, C. pallidus. On the other hand, 

 it is decidedly paler than either peninsulfe or frustror. Its ears are larger 

 than those of pallidus and frustror, but smaller than those of penimuUe. 



Measurements. Type specimen, $ adult: total length, 1116; tail ver 

 tebrae, 320 ; hind foot, 200. 



Cranial measurements. Type specimen, ^ adult, rather old : basal length, 

 170; basilar length of Hensel, 166; zygomatic breadth, 102;* palatal 

 length, 88; mastoid breadth, 62; length of crown of upper carnassial 

 tooth, 21.5. 



Canis frustror Woodhouse. 

 Canis frustror Woodhouse, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., V, 147, 1851. 



Type locality. Fort Gibson, at junction of Neosho River with the Ar 

 kansas, Indian Territory. 



Characters.^ Similar to C. peninsula, but somewhat larger ; colors paler, 

 ears shorter, rostrum longer. 



Color. Muzzle cinnamon rufous ; space between eyes and reaching half 

 way to ears grizzled gray and fulvous ; top of head, nape, and ears pale 

 fulvous, deepest on the ears ; rest of upper parts buffy-ochraceous, pro 

 fusely mixed with black ; under parts whitish, with a strong buffy-ochra 

 ceous suffusion across middle of belly ; long hairs of throat conspicuously 

 tipped with black, the black hairs running back over breast along median 

 line ; fore and hind legs and feet fulvous all round, deepest on outer side ; 

 upper surface of forearm and feet abundantly mixed with black, which 

 forms an almost continuous stripe ; antero-external face of thigh well 



*The skull of the type is unusually broad across the zygomata. The 

 normal zygomatic breadth in adult male skulls is about 97. 



f The present description is from a specimen from Padre Island, Texas, 

 which is unquestionably paler and less red than the animal of the interior. 

 Audubon describes one from San Antonio, Texas, as having the neck red 

 dish brown, " with bars under the throat and on the chest and belly of a 

 reddish tinge." The type specimen of C. frustror is in the National Mu- 

 suem and, as pointed out by Baird, is hardly half grown. 



