SQUIRRELS OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA 73 



readily distinguished from the latter by the ferruginous ear patches and 

 blackish dorsal surface, the top of head not being paler than back. 

 Although specimens of both S. tho?jiasi and S. dorsalls are before 

 me from the same locality, La Carpintera, where their ranges meet, 

 there are no intergrades. I take great pleasure in naming this hand- 

 some species in honor of Mr. Oldfield Thomas, Curator of Mammals 

 in the British Museum. 



Specimens examined. — Five : from Talamanca, La Carpintera and 

 Santa Clara, Costa Rica. 



SCIURUS ADOLPHEI (Lesson). Nicaragua Squirrel. 



Macroxus adolphci Lesson, Rev. ZooL, v, p. 130, 1842 (nomen nudum); 



Nouv. Tabl. Regne Animal, Mamm., pp. 112-113, 1842 ; Gray, Ann. 



& Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser., xx, p. 433, 1867. 

 Sciurus boothice Allen, Mon. N. Am. Rodentia, pp. 741-746, 1877 (part: 



Nicaragua). 

 Sciurics hvpopyrrhus kxJiTO^, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1878, pp. 662-664 ; 



Allen, Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey Terr., iv, pp. 881-882, 1878 (part); 



Alston, Biol. Cent.-Am., Mamm., pp. 128-131, 1880 (part). 



Type locality. — Realejo, Nicaragua. Type in Paris Museum. 



Distribution. — Tropical lowlands on west coast of Nicaragua. 



Characters. — Top of head and nape iron gray, paler than back ; 

 rest of upperparts and base of tail dark grayish brown ; underparts 

 and outside of fore and hind legs reddish chestnut brown, sometimes 

 with patches of white. Pelage thin ; hairs of back coarse, stiff, and 

 shining ; under fur short. 



Cc/or.— Top of nose and crown dull iron gray ; nape grayish 

 brown ; rest of back and upper part of thighs darker brown, with a 

 shade of grayish, slightly paler on flanks ; sides of nose, cheeks and 

 sides of neck grayish brown ; ears like crown and with well marked 

 white basal patches; feet dark chestnut grizzled with blackish; fore- 

 legs all around (except axillar area), adjacent part of shoulders, 

 lower border of costal area and outer border and inside of thighs 

 (except inguinal area) dark reddish chestnut ; underparts (except 

 white chin, throat, axillar and inguinal region), of same reddish chest- 

 nut as legs; tail at base dark grizzled brown; tail above black heavily 

 washed with white ; below, with broad median area of rusty brown, a 

 narrow black border and white edge. Hairs on back black, with 

 broad median ring of dull yeUowish or slightly reddish brown. 



A/casurejnents. — Adult, No. 8495 U. S. Nat. Museum (from dry 

 skin) : total length 440; tail vertebrie 199 (tail imperfect) ; hind foot 

 65. In the flesh the total length of this species must exceed 500 mm. 



