Vol. XII, pp. 69-71 March 24, 1898 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



V; s 



DESCRIPTIONS OF SIX NEW GROUND SQUIRRELS 

 FROM THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 



BY C. HART MERRIAM. 



Of the six new Spermophiles here described, one (pregonus) 

 belongs to the armatus-beldingi group, three are subspecies of 

 mollis, and two subspecies of tridecemlineatus. 



Spermophilus oregonus sp. nov. 



Tijjir from Swan Lake Valley, Klamath Basin, Oregon. No. 89177, 9 

 ad., U. IS. Nat. Mus., Biological Survey Coll., June 12, 1897. Collected by 

 Vernon Bailey. Orig. No. 0005. 



Characters. — Similar to S. beldingi in size and general characters but 

 grayer and lacking the red dorsal area and head patch. Similar to S. ar- 

 matus in color of upper parts, but under side of tail chestnut instead of 

 grizzled gray and black. 



Color. — Upper parts buffy-gray, grizzled with black hairs, sometimes 

 becoming pale dull burly-fulvous on middle of back; under parts buffy 

 or burly-yellowish, the dark basal fur showing through ; nose sometimes 

 pale buffy-fulvous ; feet bufFy-whitish ; tail above: basal ly like back, dis- 

 tal I y becoming grizzled black and fulvous, with black tip and edged all 

 round with hoary; tail below: deep chestnut bordered with black and 

 edged with hoary, the black border forming a broad band across end. 



Cranial characters. — Skull like that of S. beldingi but rostrum more slen- 

 der, ascending arms of premaxillse narrower, palate longer behind molars, 

 palatine bones shorter anteriorly, reaching only to plane of middle of 2d 

 molars [in beldingi they reach plane of interspace between 1st and 2d 

 molars]. 



Measurements.— Type specimen: Total length 205; tail vertebra? 57; 

 hind foot 42. 



Spermophilus mollis stephensi subsp. nov. 



Type from Queen Station, near head of OwensValley, Nevada. No. ffff f , 

 C? ad., July 12, 1891. Collected by F. Stephens. Orig. No. 718. (Alt. 

 about 6000 ft.) 



15— Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XII, 1898 (69) 



