42 FIELD COLUMBIAN MUSEUM ZOOLOGY, VOL. III. 



while those from Calhoun Falls are inclined to a rufous brown 

 mixed with black, the former color, however, predominating, and 

 the examples from *Gainesville cannot be separated from those 

 obtained at Calhoun Falls. The trouble with specimens of this 

 rat is that their color varies so much, and this is particularly 

 noticeable according to the way in which the light strikes them 

 (with or against the hair), so that one is easily misled as to what 

 the real hue is. When the light shows with the hair the color is 

 always darkest, and a specimen that is quite dark one way is 

 sometimes comparatively pale the other. It is a curious distri- 

 bution, if we must recognize a species and subspecies, that South 

 Carolina examples should most nearly resemble and be seemingly 

 inseparable from those near Gainesville, while those lower down 

 the west coast of Florida and yet not far removed from the city 

 just named, should be apparently nearer to Micco and Enterprise 

 examples. If there is a race of S. hispidus in Florida, it has in 

 its midst a colony of the specific form, and if color is to be the 

 criterion I cannot connect that colony with the northern animals 

 by my specimens from New Berlin and Anastasia Island, which 

 appear to agree better with Micco and Enterprise examples. 



Sigmodon hispidus littoralis. 



Sigmodon littoralis. Chapman, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 

 1889, p. 118. 



Twenty-seven specimens: 2, New Berlin; 9, Espanita, Ana- 

 stasia Island; 3, E. Penn opposite Micco (type locality); 4, 

 Micco; 4, Enterprise; 3, Citronelle; 2, Tarpon Springs, Florida. 



These examples I refer to Mr. Chapman's subspecies. He 

 says it is similar to S. hispidus, but darker. The skins before 

 me cannot be said to carry out this supposed distinction. The 

 darkest are those from Micco, and the lightest those from E. 

 Penn opposite Micco. The dark ones from Micco are equalled in 

 color and depth of hue by the specimens from Riceboro, Georgia, 

 and I see no way of separating them, while the Citronelle 

 and Tarpon Springs examples match fairly well with those 

 from E. Penn and these agree with some from Anastasia Island. 

 There would seem to be therefore a considerable variation in the 

 depth of color of this rat, and as examples do not always resemble 

 each other from particular localities, when they should do so to 

 enable the race to be satisfactorily established, and specimens 

 from even the same locality vary among themselves, and although 



*" Clearly referable to the northern form." Chapman, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 

 1889, p. 118. 



