30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VOL. 97 
a dark median dorsal band. Smaller and paler than zuliae, and with- 
out contrasting shoulder regions, pelage longer and softer. 
Coloration.—Dorsum, sides of body and hind legs ticked with 
black and orange-buff to capucine yellow, a darker median dorsal 
band when present, weakly to moderately well-defined; sides of arms 
with more red; fore and hind feet orangeous lightly mixed with black 
to evenly agouti or nearly black. Underparts cadmium orange to 
orange-rufous. Basal portion of tail like back, tip black, middle 
portion orange above, below uniformly orange to more or less defined 
tricolor (orange, black, grizzled yellow, and black). 
Remarks.—In referring klagesi to griseogena, Allen is followed. <Ac- 
cording to the original description, klagesi is a long-haired highland 
form paler than either griseogena or meridensis. Possibly it could be 
assigned to either race, and, in the light of present material, klagesi 
would seem to be an annectant population. 
The most immediate affinities of griseogena are with chapmani and 
the Andean meridensis rather than with the coastal maracaibensis. 
It appears to be well isolated geographically from that coastal 
neighbor, and differs from it notably. At present, gradation between 
the two can be shown only through the intermediacy of zuliae. 
Specimens examined.—Twenty. San Julid4n, 18 (U.S.N.M.); 
“Venezuela,” 2 (U.S.N.M.). . 
SCIURUS GRANATENSIS MERIDENSIS Thomas 
Sciurus griseogena meridensis THomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, vol. 7, 
p. 192, 1901. 
Sciurus griseogena tamae Oscoop, Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., zool. ser., vol. 10, 
p. 48, 1912 (Péramo de Tamé4). 
Holotype —Adult male, skin and skull, B.M. No. 98. 7. 1. 33; 
collected November 16, 1896, by Bricefio. 
Type locality.—Escorial, Sierra de Mérida, near Mérida, Venezuela; 
altitude approximately 2,500 meters. 
Distribution.—Middle and upper levels of the Sierra de Mérida. 
Characters.—Pelage longer and thicker, underparts redder than 
griseogena; ventral surface with or without patches of white, dorsum 
with tendency to contrasting shoulder regions, tip of tail black. 
Remarks.—The specimens from Péramo de Tamé, described as 
tamae, average paler than the topotype series. They also tend to 
show a slightly sharper contrast in the shoulder regions, thus indi- 
cating more clearly integradation with zuliae. 
The characters of meridensis are representative of the species as 
found in the higher levels of the Andes. These squirrels are com- 
paratively small, thickly furred and olivaceous in appearance. Their 
underparts are usually uniformly red or orange but in individuals, 
patches of white may show. Local populations have been described 
