Preliminary Synopsis of American Bears. 73 



cisors and the length of the top of the sknll (oceipito-nasal 

 length) are both slightly greater in Ursus dalli. Adult skulls 

 may be distinguished at a glance by the general form, the frontal 

 region of dalli being flattened, while that of middendorjfj is highly 

 arched, and young skulls by the dental characters above men- 

 tioned. I have examined five skulls from Yakutat bay. 



It gives me pleasure to name this splendid bear in honor of 

 Dr. Wm. H. Dall, whose name must ever be associated with the 

 natural history of Alaska. 



Ursus sitkensis sp. nov. Sitka Bear, 

 n. IV, Fig. 1 ; pi. V, fig. 3. 



Type from coast near Sitka, Alaska, No. 6543, Merriam coll. Collected 

 by an Indian ; purchased at Sitka and i>resented to me by Mr. J. Stanley- 

 Brown. 



Characters. — Size large, but smaller than Ursus daUi ; claws long; skull 

 long and heavy, similar to that of dalli, but less massive ; frontals flat ; 

 postorbital processes well developed, but shorter and less decurved than 

 in dalli; paroccipital processes much longer and more slender than in 

 dalli; incisors, canines, and last premolai- large; molars relatively small ; 

 pm * normal (trituberculate) and very much longer than broad ; m j with 

 an open interspace on inner side between anterior and posterior cusps 

 (fig. 6 ^), much as in subgenus Euarctos, thus dififerhig widely from all other 

 big bears of America ; m '^ decidedly smaller than in dalli ; pm ^ with nor- 

 mally a distinct and rather large cusp on cingulum in front and slightly 

 on inner side of main cusp. 



Measnremrnts of skull of type. — Greatest length of cranium (front of pi-e- 

 maxillary to end of occipital crest), 39.1; greatest basal length (gnathion 

 to occipital condyles), 345; basal length (gnathion to basion), 329; basilar 

 length of Hensel, 322; zygomatic breadth, 243 ; occipito-sphenoid length 

 (basion to suture between basi- and presphenoid), 73; postpalatal length, 

 129 ; basion to plane of front of last upper molar, 211 ; interorbital breadth, 

 85 ; distance between postorbital processes, 123 ; occipito-nasal length, 340 ; 

 height of brain case above pterygoids, 140 ; height of brain case above 

 basisphenoid, 105. , 



Remarks. — The Sitka bear resembles the Yakutat bear in gen- 

 eral appearance, but is decidedly smaller and differs widely in 

 dental characters. It lacks the excessive development of the 

 last upper premolar which characterizes Ursus dcdli, and the first 

 lower molar is unique among the large bears, lacking the tu- 

 bercles that are present in all the others between the anterior 

 and posterior parts of the tooth. In this respect the tooth ap- 

 proaches, though it does not really resemble, that of the Black 

 bears. 



12— Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. X, 1896 



