Preliminary Synopsis of American Bears. 81 



and its allies. The last upper premolar is exceedingly narrow 

 and the postero-internal cusp is greatly reduced, in which re 

 spects it differs from all American bears except the Polar bear, 

 which belongs to another genus. 



The peculiar cranial characters of Mr. 'Brown's bear are very 

 well covered by Eversmann's original description. Eversmann 

 states that the skull is thickly built, comparatively short and 

 high, the frontal is arched above the orbits and then slopes 

 abruptly and forms a step with the nasals, which curve up to 

 meet it. The elliptical orbits stand more vertical than in the 

 other species. Eversmann states further that even in the living 

 animal the species can be distinguished. In the Carrion bear 

 the head is short and the prominent forehead does not slope 

 gradually down to the snout, but with an abrupt step. The 

 skin is generally brown, and is lighter on the neck and shoulders, 

 where it is soiled yellow or yellowish brown. 



In view of the facts that the early history of Mr. Brown's bear 

 is involved in hopeless obscurity ; that the animal differs radi 

 cally and irreconcilably from all known American species and 

 seems to agree perfectly with the Carrion bear of western Rus 

 sia, and that numbers of living bears are shipped from western 

 Russia to America for exhibition purposes, it seems more reason 

 able to regard the specimen in question as an exotic rather than 

 as an American species, of which, up to the year. 1896, only a 

 single specimen has come to the notice of naturalists. 



Ursus floridanus sp. nov. Everglade Bear. 



Type from Key Biscayne, Florida. Skull No. 3484, tf old, U. S. Na 

 tional Museum. 



Geographic distribution. The everglades and probably other parts of 

 peninsular Florida. 



Characters. (Type specimen.) Skull very long, high, and narrow ; 

 frontal region remarkably elevated, highest immediately behind post- 

 orbital processes (more than 100 mm. above hinder part of palate) ; brain 

 case very long and narrow ; interpterygoid fossa very long (71 mm. in 

 type specimen) ; basisphenoid and palate deeply excavated, the latter 

 strongly arched both antero-posteriorly and transversely. 



Measurements of type skull ($ old). Basal length (basion to gnathion), 

 282; basilar length of Hensel (basion to middle incisor), 277; zygoma-tic 

 breadth, 190; occipito-sphenoid length (basioccipital -f- basisphenoid), 

 91 ; basion to hinder edge of palate, 138 ; basion to plane of front of last 

 molar, 186; interorbital breadth, 68; 'distance across postorbital pro 

 cesses, 109 ; occipito-nasal length, 290 ; greatest length of skull, 330 ; 

 ratio of zygomatic breadth to basilar length, 68.5. 



13 BJOI,. Soc. WASH., VOL. X, 1896 



