122 Merriam American Wood Rats. 



Color. Upper parts dull fulvous becoming almost dusky along the mid 

 dle of the back ; under parts pale fulvous ; fore and hind feet white ; tail 

 bicolor, blackish above, soiled whitish below. 



Cranial characters. Skull similar in general to that of tenuicauda, but 

 larger; nasals slightly longer (cutting plane of orbits) and rounded instead 

 of truncate behind ; jugal very short ;' anterior spine of basisphenoid longer ; 

 distance across molar series posteriorly greater than length of series on 

 crowns [in tenuicauda less] ; incisive foramina falling considerably short of 

 plane of in 1 [in tenuicauda reaching or nearly reaching this plane]. Con 

 trasted with N. orizabw the skull of fulviventer is lighter, the nasals truncate 

 anteriorly [instead of projecting acutely], and the molars narrower. 



Dental characters. M x with 3 well developed salient angles and two ver 

 tical slits on inner side as in tenuicauda and pinctorum; in - also as those 

 species. 



Neotoma orizabae sp. nov. 



Type from Mr. ORIZABA, PUKBLA, MEXICO. No. 53,653 $ ad. U. S. Nat. 

 Museum, Department of Agriculture Collection. Collected April 20, 1893, 

 by E. W. Nelson (Original number 4674). 



Measurements (taken in flesh). Type: Total length 356 ; tail vertebrae 

 163 ; hind foot 33. Ear from anterior base 28 (in dry skin). 



General characters. Similar to Neotoma fulviventer but upper 

 parts more buffy ochraceons instead of fulvous ; belly white in 

 stead of dull fulvous ; hind feet shorter; pelage coarser; skull 

 and teeth different. 



Color. Upper parts bright ochraceous buff, brightest and purest on the 

 the sides, obscured on the back by black hairs, and becoming grayish on 

 the head ; under parts and feet white, the chin and sides of the belly clouded 

 by the plumbeous under fur which shows through ; a salmon spot on each 

 side of the breast ; tail sharply bicolor, dusky above, whitish below. 



Cranial cJiaracters. Skull similar to N. fulviventer in general form and 

 tooth characters but heavier ; frontal narrower interorbitally with edges 

 more upturned; postpalatal notch broader ; nasals projecting much further 

 anteriorly and narrowly rounded off in front [instead of truncate anteriorly]. 

 The ascending branches of the premaxilla3 extend only a short distance be 

 yond the nasals. 



Dental characters. The molars are broader and heavier than in fulviventer 

 and have larger dentine islands. M i has 3 salient angles and 2 vertical 

 slits on the inner side. 



General remarks. Specimens of this general type, differing 

 more or less in minor particulars, have been examined from Chal- 

 chicomula, Puebla, Mt. Malinche, Tlaxcala, and Cofre de Perote, 

 Vera Cruz. 



Neotoma mexicana bullata subsp. nov. 

 Type from SANTA CATALINA MTS., ARIZONA. No. 16,863 $ ad. U. S. Nat 



