Idd8.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 467 



ON THE OCCURRENCE OF ECHINOMYS SEMISPINOSUS, TOMES, 



IN NICARAGUA. 



BY FREDERICK W. TRUE. 



There is, so far as I ain aware, no authentic record of the occurrence 

 of auy member of* the family Octodontidce iu Central America. Alston, 

 in his table of neotropical genera iu Messrs. Godmau and Salviu's Bio- 

 logia CentraliAmericana,* included Myopotamus as an inhabitant of 

 Central America, but on a subsequent page withdrew it with the re- 

 mark : " I very much regret that I have been led into a misstatement." 

 It affords me some degree of pleasure, therefore, to be able to record 

 the occurrence of Echinomys semispinosus in Nicaragua. Iu a collec- 

 tion of mammals recently collected by Dr. Birt iu the vicinity of Grey- 

 town, and presented to the Museum by the Nicaragua Caual Company, 

 are five specimens belonging to the above-mentioned species. 



Tomes' description applies exactly to these specimens, and there can, 

 I think, be no question of their specific identity with the types. Meas- 

 urements of three alcoholic specimens and of the skulls are given below. 



Besides these Nicaraguan specimens of the species, the National 

 Museum possesses three dry skins, Nos. 12900-12902, which were col- 

 lected by Mr. J. C. Zeledon in Pacuare, Costa Bica, in 1876. 



These are smaller than the Nicaraguan individuals, considerably 

 lighter in color, and somewhat less thickly covered with spines, bat 

 otherwise identical. It seems probable that they are young individuals 

 of Echinomys semispinosus. 



In addition to the Echinomys, Dr. Birt's collection includes speci- 

 mens of the following species: 



Mycetes palliatus, Bicotyles labiatus (jr.), Sciurus lujpopyrrlms (melanis- 

 tic), Bradypus castaneiceps, Cyclotunis didactylus, Tatusia novemcincta, 

 and Didelphys opossum. 



Measurements of three alcoholic specimens of Echinomys semispinosus Tomes. 



P. xviii and p. 168. 



