1888.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 469 



ON THE MAMMALS COLLECTED IN EASTERN HONDURAS IN 1887 

 BY MR. CHARLES H. TOWNSEND, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A 

 NEW SUBSPECIES OF CAPROMYS FROM LITTLE SWAN ISLAND. 



BY FREDERICK W. TRUE. 



1. Description of Capromys braehyurus thoracatus, subsp. nor. 



Before considering the tnauiraals collected by Mr. Townseud in Hon- 

 duras, I will proceed to describe an apparently new subspecies of Cap- 

 romys, of which this explorer obtained two specimens while journey- 

 ing thither. These were caught on Little Swan Island, one of two 

 small islands lying at the entrance of the Gulf of Honduras. The 

 genus Capromys has hitherto been considered as peculiar to Cuba and 

 Jamaica, and it is of much interest to learn that its range extends to 

 the Swan Islands, which are distant only about 110 miles from the 

 nearest point in Honduras, but fully 3G5 miles from the western end 

 of Jamaica. 



It is also noteworthy that the new form is specifically identical with 

 the Capromys of the latter island, C. braehyurus Hill.* If the original 

 description of that species is correct, however, the Swan Island form 

 would appear to present certain differences in coloration which would 

 entitle it to be ranked as a separate geographical race or subspecies. 

 As the description of C. braehyurus is brief and is, furthermore, con- 

 tained in a work not generally accessible, I wdl quote it in full, point- 

 ing out at the same time, in a parallel column, the differences of color 

 presented by the two specimens obtained by Mr. Townsend. 



Comparison of Capromys braehyurus Hill, and C. braehyurus thoracatus subsp. nov. 



Capromys braehyurus Hill (original de- 

 scription). 



Tail very short, about one-eighth of the 

 total length. 



Fur dense and harsh, generally from 

 three-fourths to 1 inch in length, with a 

 few longer hairs intermixed, but all of 

 one kind. 



Each hair is black, with a ring of bright 

 hay or golden brown near the tip, impart- 

 ing a brindled appearance to the fur, like 

 that of a dark specimen of the Brown 

 Rat, 



On the throat, breast, and bell}-, the fur 

 is yellowish, becoming white along the 

 mesial line. 



Capromys b. thoracatus, subsp. nov. 

 The same. 

 The same. 



Hairs dull, plumbeous brown at the 

 base, with a subterminal ring of dull 

 Naples yellow ; tips blackish-brown. A 

 few hairs entirely white, and others en- 

 tirely dark, intermixed. 



Fur of the throat pale gray, with yel- 

 lowish tips. A hand of nearly pure white 

 hairs on the breast, between th< for, legs; 

 followed on the belly by hair which is 

 tinged with pale yellowish gray, dark- 

 est along the median line. 



1 Gosse, Naturalist in Jamaica, 18r>7, p. 471. 



