174 Merriam — .1 JVeiv Rahhit frorii Mexico. 



General characlcrs. — Size small ; eav8 and liiiul feet very short ; no ex- 

 ternal tail ; coloration dark. 



Color. — Upper parts, sides, and pectoral collar grizzled grayish brown, 

 with a yellowish suffusion, and strongly mixed with black-tipped hairs 

 (the yellowish due to a broad subapical zone of this color on each hair) ; 

 belly and chin smoky grayish washed with buffy ; upper surfaces of feet 

 buffy yellowish, much lighter than rest of upper parts; ears without 

 markings. 



Cranial characters. — Skull similar in a general way to that of Lepnn .vjl- 

 vaticus, but much smaller ; supraorbital processes small, slender, divergent, 

 and not approaching frontals posteriorly ; jugals much elongated and 

 incurved posteriorly, not defined anteriorly (supraorbital notch absent) ; 

 braincase less decurved and more depressed posteriorly than in Lepns sijl- 

 r'a/(cus and its allies ; zygomata standing far out from sides of cranium; 

 palatal bridge relatively broad ; audital bullae moderately inflated. 



Measurements. — Type specimen : total length, 311 ; tail vertebrte, ; hind 

 foot, 53 ; ear from notch in dry skin, 36. Average of 6 adults from type 

 locality : total length, 295; hind foot, 52. The type is the largest of the 

 seven specimens. 



Remarks.— ^Iv. Nelson's account of the habits of this rabbit, as observed 

 by him on Mt. Popocatepetl, has been given at the beginning of the ])res- 

 ent article. Mr. Nelson saw runways which he believes were those of the 

 same species, at an altitude of 3,050 to 3,350 meters (10,000 te 11,000 feet) 

 on the southeast side of Mt. Iztaccihuatl. 



