600 MERRIAM 



Cranial measureineiits. — Type specimen ( 9 yg-ad.) from base of 

 Andes : Basal length 168 ; occipito-nasal length 177 ; zygomatic breadth 

 135 ; postpalatal length 86 ; interorbital breadth 36 ; upper carnassial 

 24.3. 



FELIS PUMA PEARSONI (Thomas). Santa Cruz Coast Puma. 



Felis concolor pearsoni Thomas, Annals & Mag. Nat. Hist., 7th Ser., Vol. 

 VIII., pp. 188-189, September, 1901. 



Type locality. — Santa Cruz, Patagonia (about 70 miles from coast). 



Characters. — Distinguished from F. puma " not only by its different 

 general color, but also by its shorter tail, light colored ear-backs, and 

 the absence of the dark markings round the digital pads." — Thomas. 



Color. — " General colour nearest to Ridgway's ' clay-colour,' there- 

 fore exceedingly different from the nearly ' drab-grey ' of F. c. puvia. 

 This colour is most vivid along the back, paler laterally on the sides, 

 but there is nothing that can be called a distinct dorsal dark line. 

 Under surface whitish fawn, the hairs sandy at their bases, whiter ter- 

 minally. Face very much like back, darker markings practically ob- 

 solete ; the usual lighter markings near the eye present but not conspic- 

 uous. Ears of normal length, their backs imiformly whitish fawn, 

 without darker markings. Outer sides of limbs like back, inner side 

 like belly ; ends of fingers and toes whitish, without any darker mark- 

 ings round the pads. Tail proportionally very short, brownish clay- 

 colour above, whitish below, the tip not or scarcely darker." 



Cranial characters. — In describing this form Mr. Thomas had no 

 skull. The U. S. National Museum and Biological Survey, however, 

 have two skulls, evidently male and female, from the coast region of 

 Santa Cruz, near the type locality of Mr. Thomas' skin. The male 

 is from Coy Inlet (lat. 51° S., collected by Hatcher) ; the exact locality 

 of the female is unknown. These skulls agree among themselves, and 

 differ from F. puma from Chile and F. puma patagonica from the 

 base of the Andes, in having the frontal region more elevated, the in- 

 terorbital breadth greater, the nasals very much broader posteriorly and 

 abruptly truncate instead of angular, and the anterior base of the coro- 

 noid process of under jaw much less broadly expanded. 



Re?narks. — From Thomas' description it appears that the coast 

 animal (^pearsotzi) is very much yellower than the animal from the 

 Andes (^patagonica^., and that it lacks the dark ear patches and distinct 

 face markings of patagonica. The tail appears to be short. 



Measurements. — (Type specimen, "tanned and stretched, so that 

 the measurements are merely approximate"). Head and body 1370 

 mm. ; tail 530 ; ear 80. 



