Miller — Descriptions of Tico New Mole Hats. 163 



Characters. — A medium sized species, not as large as Spalax doJhrogece. 

 Face of incisors without distinct grooves. Enamel pattern essentially 

 as in Spalax kirgisorum; posterior upper molar with no reentrant enamel 

 fold on inner side, posterior lower molar with a deep fold on each side. 

 3kull broad and robust, without special elongation of rostrum. 



Color. — In color the type resembles that of Spalax dolbrogeas so closely 

 as to require no special description. In two half grown young the 

 mouse-gray of the muzzle is extended back over most of head, while in 

 an old, much abraded male the light tips of the hairs are so much worn 

 away that the whole animal is a dirty plumbeous brown. 



Skull. — The skull of an old male with much worn teeth rather closely 

 resembles that of Spalax dolbrogeai, but is not as large. The more notice- 

 able details of form in which it differs from the Dobrudschan animal are 

 as follows: The rostrum is not distinctly swollen at roots of incisors; the 

 anterior zygomatic roots Hare less abruptly: the posterior margin of ant- 

 orbital foramen is extended further backward, so that the foramen 

 appears larger when skull is viewed from above; the anterior outline 

 of the frontals is conspicuously angular-emarginate ; the parietal is 

 rhomboid, its length under lambdoid crest nearly double that of anterior 

 margin; the basioccipital is narrower in proportion to its length; the 

 tubular portion of the audital bulla is better developed. In the type the 

 same characters are apparent, except that the interparietal is wider 

 along anterior suture. 



Teeth. — Enamel pattern of molars similar to that of Spalax kirgisorum 

 as figured and described by Nehring,* but with angles less sharp-pointed. 

 First upper molar with well developed reentrant fold on inner side and 

 two rather deeper folds on the outer side, the inner and the anterior 

 outer almost meeting. Second upper molar with a deep fold on each 

 side and a large enamel island opposite point of inner fold. Third upper 

 molar entire on inner side, cut on outer side by two reentrant folds, of 

 which the anterior is minute and inconspicious, the posterior deep and 

 provided with a short posterior and long anterior curved off-shoot, the 

 two off-shoots together forming a crescent parallel with inner edge of 

 tooth. Each lower molar has a single deep reentrant fold on outer side. 

 The first has two folds on inner side, the outer abruptly bent forward, 

 the posterior slightly curved backward. The second has one reentrant 

 angle on inner side. The third is provided with a deep anterior and a 

 minute posterior fold. A large enamel island lies in posterior loop of 

 second lower molar. Anterior faces of incisors finely roughened by 

 minute, irregular, longitudinal folds. They show no trace of definite 

 grooves, but the folds tend to form barely perceptible longitudinal ridges, 

 three or four in number. 



Measurements. — External measurements of type (from skin): Head and 

 body, 130; hind foot, 24 (21). External measurements of old male from 

 type locality: Head and body, 190; hind foot, 28 (24). 



*Sitz.-Ber. Gesellsch. naturforsch. Freunde zu Berlin, 1897, p. 177, 

 fig. 4 (p. 175). 



