Vol. XIV, pp. 35-37 April 25, 1901 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



A NEW DEER FROM COSTA RICA.* ^* 



BY GERRIT S. MILLER, Jr. ' ^ ^ 



In the original description of his Cariactis clavatvs,\ the 

 Odocoileus truei of Merriam, from the Segovia River J, eastern 

 Hondui-as, Dr. F. W. True recorded seven Costa Rican deer 

 in the National Museum collection, which though of unusually 

 large size, he regarded as not separable from the Honduras ani- 

 mal. The differences between the deer of the two regions are 

 so constant, however, that it now seems preferable to recognize 

 the Costa Rican form as distinct. It may be known as: 



Odocoileus costaricensis sp. nov. 



Type. — Young adult male (skin and skull) No. y^fff United States 

 National Museum. § Collected in Talamanca, on the eastern side of Costa 

 Rica, between the coast and the foot of the Cordilleras, by .Tose C. Zele- 

 don, durinjj the latter part of 1872 or early in 1873. 



Characters. — Considerably larger than Odocoileus truei Merriam, and 

 general color lighter and more grizzled, particularly on sides of body. 

 Skull and teeth vmiformly larger and more robust than in the Honduras 

 animal. Antlers heavier and more rugose. 



*Published here by permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian 

 Institution. 



fProc. U. S. Nat, Mus., XI, pp. 417-424. 1888. 



|Mr. Chas. H. Townsend who collected the original specimens informs 

 me that they were taken in the open pine lands about .50 miles above 

 the mouth of the river. 



^Permanent dentition in place, but teeth practically unworn. 



7— Biol. Soc. Wash. Vol. XIV, 1901. (35) 



