﻿344 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. lOo 



SiHcimens examined. — Five. Aruba, the type (Z.M.T.); 3 (C.N. 

 H.M.);Cura9ao, 1 (C.N.H.M.). 



SYLVILAGUS FLORIDANUS CONTINENTIS Osgood 



Sylvilagus nigronuchalis continentis Osgood, Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., zool. 



ser., vol. 10, p. 57, 1912. — Hummelinck, Studies on the fauna of Curasao, 



Aruba, Bonaire and the Venezuelan Islands, vol. 1 (Utrecht), p. 66, 1940; 



vol. 2 (The Hague), p. 100, 1940.— Sanboen, Fieldiana: Zoology, vol. 32, 



p. 230, 1947. 

 Sylvilagus cumanicus, Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 30, p. 249, 1911 



(Tocuyo) . 



Holoiype. — Subadult, sex unknown, skin and skull, C.N.H.M. No. 

 18695; collected January 13, 1911, by W. H. Osgood and S. G. 

 Jewett; original number 4112. 



Type locality. — Near Maracaibo, Lake Maracaibo, northern Zulia, 

 Venezuela. 



Distribution. — Western Venezuela; savannas, swamps, and scrub- 

 lands of the Lake Maracaibo Basin and adjacent coastal plains and 

 highlands of Zulia, Falc6n, and Lara. 



Characters. — The continental dark-naped cottontail: More warmly 

 colored throughout than nigronuchalis. Nuchal patch Tawny to 

 black; back Ochraceous-Buff mLxed or marbled with dark brown; 

 rostral patch Ochraceous-Buff to Ochraceous-Orange ; back of crown 

 buffy gray to ochraceous; side of face buffy to ochraceous with a mix- 

 ture, or with lines, of dark brown, cheek Light Ochraceous-Buff to 

 Warm Buff. 



Measurements. — Those of the type followed by those of four sub- 

 adult topotypes, respectively: Total length, 407, 420, 407, 389, 390; 

 tail, 43, 40, 40, 45, 35; hind foot, 80, 85, 80, 80, 77; ear, dry from notch, 

 53, 52, 52, 53, 50; condylobasal length, 06.0, 62.5, 61.1, 60.6, 59.5; 

 zygomatic breadth, 33.6, 33.3, 32.7, 34.0, 32.2; length of nasals, 30.6, 

 30.0, 28.5, — , 28.0; greatest combined width of nasals across pre- 

 maxillary sutures, 16.7, 13.4, 14.3, 15.4, 13.8; least length of palatal 

 bridge, 6.0, 6.2, 6.1, 5.6, 6.3; greatest width between outer sides of 

 maxillary plates of tooth rows, 20.8, 21.1, 20.2, 21.4, 20.0; alveolar 

 length of maxillary tooth row, 14.0, 13.4, 12.7, 12.9, 12.9. Of one 

 adult male and two adult females from Kio Tocuyo, respectively: Ear, 

 dry from notch, 58, 61, 56; condylobasal length, 65.2, 67.1 64.9; 

 zygomatic breadth, 34.8, 34.6, 34.4; length of nasals, 34.1, 34.3, 32.1; 

 greatest combined width of nasals across premaxillary sutures, 16.1, 

 16.6, 16.6; least length of palatal bridge, 6.3, 5.8, 6.6; distance 

 between outer sides of maxillary plates of tooth rows, 22.2, 22.3, 22.2. 



Remarks. — Only in the holotype is the nuchal patch nearly wholly 

 black. Characters, especially of the more warmly colored head, 

 distinguishing topotypes of continentis from insular nigronuchalis, are 

 sHght but consistent. The Maracaibo specimens were taken from 



