13G Bangs — New i\J(i,iiimals from Indian Territory. 



My thanks are due to General Nelson A. Miles, who with great 

 kindness secured for me the necessary permit allowing j\Ir. Surber 

 to collect in Indian Territory. I am also indebted to Dr. J. A. 

 Allen for presenting me with specimens of Lepus sylvaticus bach- 

 mani, Peromyscus attwateri, and Scalops texanics for comparison 

 with the Indian Territory forms. 



Lepus sylvaticus alacer subsp. nov. 



2]ipi' from Stilwell, Indian Ter., No. 5480, 9 young adult, collection of 

 E. A. and O. Banjos. Collected by Tliaddeus Surber August 14, 189(5. 

 Original No. 65. 



Two specimens from Stilwell, Indian Ter. ; 2 from Stotesbury, Yernon 

 Co., Mo. 



General diaraders. — About the size of Lejms sijlcalicus hacJimuui, but differ- 

 ing from tliat form in being much darker and richer in color and in hav- 

 ing much smaller audital bullae. 



Color. — Type in summer pelage: upper parts rich reddish brown 

 (about hazel), many of the hairs with black tips ; nuchal patch and ujiper 

 surface of legs and arms cinnamon rufous; sides and rump paler, shading 

 towards wood brown ; band on under side of neck wood brown ; rest of 

 under parts, including chin and throat, white. A specimen from Stotes- 

 bury, Mo., in winter pelage (No. 1677, February 27, 1894) : upper parts 

 cinnamon rufous on back, wood brown on sides, very thickly mixed 

 with l)lack-tip})ed hairs, giving a dark and rich effect; ears wood brown 

 broadly edged with black ; no black mark between ears. 



Cnuiktl churaders. — Skull small, about the size of that of L. sylvaticus 

 bachmani, differing from other members of the sylvaticus series in having 

 extremely small audital bullai. Size of type skull: basilar length, 536; 

 occipitonasal length, 67.2; zygomatic breadth, 34; greatest length of 

 single half of mandible, 51.6. 



^■J2^__Type : total length, 370 ; tail vertebra?, 50 ; hind foot, 95 ; ear, 73. 

 Average measurements of two adult specimens from Stote-sbury, Vernon 

 Co., Mo.: total length, 398; tail vertebree, 30.5; hind foot, 79.35; ear, 



82.6. 



General remarks. — AVhen I was at work on the cotton-tails of eastern 

 North America in 1894 I had the two specimens referred to above, col- 

 lected at Stotesbury, Mo., in the winter of 1894, by Mr. Surber, and on 

 account of their small size, peculiar coloration, and small audital bullae 

 was unable to refer them to any known subspecies. They clearly belong 

 to the same form as the Indian Territory specimens, which appears to 

 be unnamed. The two examples taken at Stilwell were both shot in the 

 low. rich valleys, and Mr. Surber did not find the animal on the moun- 

 tains. This form probably has an extensive range throughout the region 

 where the wooded eastern country meets the great plains. 



Lepus sylvaticus alacer probably merges into L. sylvaticus bachmani of 

 Texas, but its smaller audital buike and dark color at once distinguish it 

 from the gray baclnnani. 



