Merriam — Nineteen New Bears from Western America 147 



Range. — Prince William Sound easterly to Mt. St. Elias; limits un- 

 known. 



Characters. — Size large; external characters unknown ; skull long, nar- 

 row, and moderately high ; molars peculiar. 



Cranial characters. — Skull of adult male (the type): Large, elongate; 

 frontal shield relatively narrow, flattish, moderately depressed between 

 orbits; orbital rims thickened ; postorbital processes broad and flattish, 

 moderately outstanding; posterior part of shield broad, ending about 

 two-thirds distance from plane of postorbitals to fronto-parietal suture; 

 sagittal crest rather long, straight, high posteriorly; rostrum long, high, 

 rather narrow; fronto-nasal region sloping in facial plane; nasals slightly 

 elevated anteriorly; zygomata moderately spreading, subtriangular, not 

 much expanded vertically ; postpalatal shelf moderate, its sides rounded; 

 notch long and narrow ; anterior nares small ; meatus tube short and 

 large. Lower jaw massive ; coronoid blade narrow and falcate. Teeth 

 of medium size; molars broad (more massive than in dalli); last upper 

 molar exceptionally short, broadest in middle, heel short and obliquely 

 truncate on outer side ; M^ large, much broader posteriorly than anteriorly ; 

 middle lower molar peculiar: twin cusps of entoconid very small, low, 

 and close together; main cusp of inner side large and high, reducing the 

 posterior moiety of the tooth to about one-third length of crown instead 

 of about one-half as usual. 



Skull of yg-ad. female (No. 44049) from Chaix Hills near Mt. St. Elias, 

 Alaska, killed July 4, 1891, by the late Prof. I. C. Russell. Skull long, 

 narrow, rather low, with narrow frontals, narrow rostrum, and moder- 

 ately outstanding subtriangular zygomata. Frontal shield flattish, 

 medially depressed interorbitally, sloping gradually into rostrum, rather 

 short-pointed posteriorly (ending about 15 mm. in front of parietals ; in 

 fully adult and old females it would be still shorter) ; postorbital processes 

 moderate, horizontally outstanding, the tips rounded (not fully grown); 

 palate concave, postpalatal shelf rather long and broad ; notch rather 

 narrow; basisphenoid strongly concave anteroposteriorly and trans- 

 versely ; lower jaw long and slender. Canines long and slender ; molars 

 and large premolars with rather high cusps ; last upper molar short, 

 much broader in middle than anteriorly, heel short and obliquely truncate 

 on outer side. 



Cranial comparisons. — Ursus nuchek evidently overlaps the range of 

 dalli and may come in contact with cressonus, necessitating comparisons 

 with both. 



Adult male nuchek (the type) compared with adult and old male dalli 

 (Nos. 75047 and 210293): Size about same ; basal length essentially same, 

 but occipito-nasal length decidedly greater; skull appearing longer and 

 narrower; more elevated behind orbits and much more strongly sloping 

 posteriorly; frontal shield narrower, the point broader posteriorly; vault 

 of cranium higher and less horizontal; postorbitals less outstanding; 

 fronto-nasal region less dished; rostrum longer and not depressed (ap- 

 pearing narrower); zygomata less outbowed (more triangular); palate 

 somewhat longer; postpalatal notch longer and narrower; mastoids less 



