E. LÖNNBERG, MAMMALOGY OF ECUADOR. 19 



Since Nelson^ had described his Galictis canaster from 

 Yucatan, Nehring appeared inclined to identify canaster and 

 allamandi, because both were entirely black on the lower 

 side. Bell says^ about his specimen: »all the under parts 

 of the throat and front of the belly are black». In contrast 

 to this Nehring^ points out that the large Grisons from 

 Southern Brazil (Minas Geraes to S:a Catharina), for which 

 he had proposed the name crassidens (in the year 1885), have 

 the lower side of the body not pure black but brown and 

 with numerous white-pointed hairs. When Nehring laid 

 stress upon this characteristic afe especially important he did 

 not observe, that he repeated one of the characteristics of 

 Thunberg's »Ursus brasiliensis». The last mentloned author 

 has namely under this name clearly described a Grison about 

 which he says:^ Pectus et pedes omnes nigri pilis raris inter- 

 sparsis albidis. Äbdomen minus nigrum videtur, itidem pilis 

 pluribus albis intersparsis.» Thunberg had recei ved his spe- 

 cimen from the Consul General Westin probably from Rio 

 Janeiro, but in any case from Southern Brazil and from the 

 same parts of this country as Nehring regarded to be the 

 home of his crassidens. There is thus not theslightest doubt 

 that Galictis crassidens Nehring and Ursus brasiliensis Thun- 

 berg are identical. The latter specific name has of course 

 priority, and it is thus available for the large Grison of 

 Southern Brazil. On specimens from that country, which 

 the present author has seen, the scattered white hairs of the 

 lower side always have been present in accordance with 

 Thunberg's diagnose. If the large Grison of Southern Brazil 

 is a distinct species (or subspecies) it must have the name 

 Grison brasiliensis Thunberg. 



There is, however, a still older name for a large Grison 

 viz. Viverra vittata Schreber, which was based in the first 

 rank on a young specimen from Surinam. The question is 

 thus to decide, whether the Grison of Surinam and that of 

 Southern Brazil are identical, or not. To do this I have no 



material. 



Most probably they are at least very similar, because 

 Nehring has published the measurements of a male skull 



1 Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, Vol. 14, p. 129. 1901. 



2 Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837, p. 47. 



3 Sitz.-Ber. Ges. naturf. Freunde, Berlin 1901, p. 211. 



* Mém. Acad. Imp. Se. St. Pétersbourg T. VII 1820, p. 401. 



