146 Nelson New Squirrels from Mexico and Central America. 



Revisers of tropical American Squirrels have hitherto worked 

 at great disadvantage, owing to scanty and unsatisfactory ma 

 terial. The collections studied in the present connection contain 

 over six hundred and fifty specimens from Mexico and Central 

 America, besides many from the United States and South 

 America. The large number of topotypes in these collections, 

 together with my personal knowledge of the geographical features 

 of the area covered, have rendered it a comparatively simple 

 matter to disentangle the complications of synonymy that have 

 puzzled former workers. It was a surprise to find that while 

 many of the old names apply to perfectly valid species or sub 

 species, a considerable number of forms remain to be described. 

 As it will be some time before my revision of the group can be 

 published, it seems advisable to describe the new species and 

 subspecies in this preliminary paper. 



Sciurus richmondi sp. nov. Richmond's Squirrel. 



Type from Escondido River, Nicaragua. No. Iff IT. 9 ad., U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., Biological Survey Coll. Collected October 4, 1892, by Chas. W. 

 Richmond. Orig. No. 118. 



Distribution. Bluefields and Escondido River region. 



Characters. A small squirrel resembling S. xstuans, but back darker 

 brown, lower surface richer, more reddish-fulvous; tail narrow, black, 

 thinly washed with dull fulvous. 1 upper premolar. 



Color. Upper parts from nose to base of tail, including upper surface 

 of fore and hind feet, finely grizzled black and dark fulvous, the fulvous 

 brightest and inclining to rusty on sides of neck and thighs ; eyes sur 

 rounded by a dull fulvous ring ; cheeks dingy grizzled-fulvous, paler than 

 top of head ; a small patch of dull fulvous fur behind base of ears. Under 

 parts varying from dingy fulvous to bright reddish -buffy, usually bright 

 est on neck and breast. Anal region and base of tail all round like back ; 

 rest of upper surface of tail black, thinly washed with dingy fulvous ; 

 under side of tail with a median band of grizzled black and dull rufous, 

 bordered by a blackish band and edged with fulvous. 



Measurements. Type specimen : Total length 384 ; tail vertebrae 181 ; 

 hind foot 53.5. Average of 5 adults: Total length 368.6; tail vertebrae 

 178 ; hind foot 50.3. 



Remarks. In summer pelage the lower surface is deeper colored than 

 in winter, but there appears to be no other seasonal difference. Individ 

 ual variation is not marked ; the intensity of the fulvous above and below 

 varies from a dingy to a bright reddish-buffy, and there is no trace of 

 whitish or gray on any of the twenty specimens examined. The upper 

 surfaces of the feet are sometimes like the back and sometimes a little 

 brighter fulvous; the ears are scantily covered with short dark hairs. 



