SQUIRRELS OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA 87 



Subgenus TAMIASCIURUS Trouessart (p1. I, fig. 8). 

 SCIURUS DOUGLASI MEARNSI (Townsend). Mearns' Squirrel. 



Sciurus hiidso-niiis mearnsi Townsend, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, xi, p. 



146, June 9, 1897. 

 Sciurus mearnsi h.iA.^-ii, Bull. Am. Mas. Nat. Hist., N. Y., x, pp. 286-287. 

 1898. 

 Type ^oca//f_y. — San Pedro Martir Mountains, Lower California 

 (about 7000 ft. alt.). Type no. \UH- U. S. National Museum. 



Distribution.— V\xi& forest of San Pedro Martir Mountains, Lower 

 California, Mexico. Transition zone. 



Characters. — Generally similar to 5'. dotiglasi albolirnbatus but 

 grayer, with feet pale yellowish, or buffy white. Pelage soft and 

 dense ; under fur long ; tail short and bushy. 



Color. — Entire upperparts, including top of nose, outside of fore- 

 legs and thighs pale dingy gray, with pale yellowish or rusty suffusion 

 extending from nape along back and out on middle of basal half of 

 tail; sides of nose pale buffy whitish; sides of head grizzled gray, 

 paler than back ; ring around eye whitish ; ears, in front, like sides 

 of head, behind like crown, with well marked tuft of black hairs, 

 slightly grizzled with gray or dingy fulvous; line along flanks black, 

 distinctly separating color of back from that of underparts ; feet pale 

 yellowish white ; fore feet inclining to buffy ; underparts dingy white ; 

 under fur plumbeous, showing through white surface; tail above, 

 median line of basal half like middle of rump, but edged and slightly 

 grizzled with white ; rest of upper surface black washed with white 

 tail below, median area of basal two-thirds dingy grizzled gray bor- 

 dered with black (the black also extends over most of outer third) and 

 narrowly edged with white. Dorsal hairs black with broad median 

 and narrow subterminal rings of pale dull grayish or dingy yellowish 

 (the latter mainly along middle of back) . 



Variation.— i:\\c three specimens of this squirrel before me were 

 taken in April and May and show little variation. They are paler 

 than typical specimens of albolimbatus taken at the same season but 

 are not strikingly different. 



Measurements.— KvQxaz'^ of three adults from type locality (from 

 dry skins): total length 305 ; tail vertebrae HI.3; hind foot 50.6. 

 (The total length and tail measurements are, no doubt, too short.) 



Cranial characters.— ?x^vno\ax?, \. Skull (pi. I, fig. 8) much like 

 that of S. d. albolijnbatus. The type measures : basal length 41 ; pa- 

 latal length 35; interorbital breadth 14.5; zygomatic breadth 28; 

 length of upper molar series 8. 



specimens examined.— ThveQ : all from type localit}-. 



