590 MERRIAM 



FELIS HIPPOLESTES OLYMPUS Merriam. Pacific 

 Coast Cougar. 



} Felix oregonensis Rafinesque, Atlantic Journal, Vol. I, No. 2, p. 62, 1832. 

 Felis hippolesies olympus Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, Vol. xi, 



p. 220, July, 1897. [The type specimen proves to be a 9. not a ,? , as 



marked by collector.] 

 Felis oregonensis Stone, Science, NS., Vol. ix, pp. 34-35, Jan. 6, 1889. 



Tyfe locality. — Olympic Mountains, State of Washington. 



Geographic distribution. — Coast region of British Cohimbia, 

 Washington, Oregon and California. 



Characters. — vSimilar to hippolestes^ but color much darlvcr ; whitish 

 areas of underparts more restricted and less white ; tail decidedly 

 darker (dark all round, not grayish white below), the black tip 

 longer ; nose and face very much darker. 



Cranial characters. — Skull large and massive ; frontals enor- 

 mously swollen, elevated, narrow, and highly arched transversely, 

 with tendency to the development (especially in young-adults) of a 

 median longitudinal sulcus ; frontals much swollen over postorbital 

 processes and anterior part of orbits. Skull similar in size, massive- 

 ness, and general characters to that of hippolestes, from which it 

 differs in having the facial and frontal regions more abruptly elevated ; 

 the frontals narrower, more swollen, and more highly arched trans- 

 versely, with usually a median longitudinal depression or groove ; 

 nasals with more decided angle or ' hump ' at junction of upper and 

 middle thirds (upper third horizontal, then bent abruptly downward) ; 

 basal part of skull longer, giving greater length to the occipito-sphenoid 

 and postpalatal measurements; pm. y slightly longer; pni. ^ thinner 

 (especially posteriorly) ; pm. ^ thinner. 



Measuretnents. — Type specimen, 9 ad. (from well made dry skin) : 

 total length 2095 ; tail 775 ; hind foot 260. 



Cranial ^neasuremeftts. — S yg. ad. from Vancouver Id., B. C, and 

 $ ad. (type specimen) from Olympic Mts., Washington (measure- 

 ments of 9 in parentheses) : Basal length 192 (161. 5); zygomatic 

 breadth 153.5 (^27) ; occipito-sphenoid length 70.'' (60) ; postpalatal 

 length 120.? (97) ; interorbital breadth 45.5 (39) ; upper carnassial 



23-5 (22.5)- 



Respecting the technical name of the Pacific Coast Cougar, a few 



words may not be out of place : Witmer Stone, in Science of Jan. 

 6, 1899 (Vol. IX, pp. 34-35), announced that he had recently un- 

 earthed an old name, given by Rafinesque in the Atlantic Journal in 

 the summer of 1832, to a Cougar from western America. This name 

 Mr. Stone adopts for the northwest coast animal in place of the name 



