140 
PROCEEDINOS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 
6. PROECHIMYS GUAIR^E Thomas. 
LA (iUAIUA 8PINY RAT. 
1901. ProecJiimys guair.v TuoM AH, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XIV, j). 27. 
Mr. Oldfield Thomas kindly described this rat from specimens sub- 
mitted to him. In his description he says that it is ch)sely relat(^d to 
I*ro('<'hiinys niin<-(C Allen, from the Santa Marta region of Colombia. 
As he had no specimens from that locality with which to make the 
actual comparison, the following comparison made with topotypes 
of 1\ iniitae in the American Museum of Natural History will be of 
interest in proving the distinctness of the Venezuelan species. 
Proecli/hiys iiiincm is much brighter in coloration throughout, the 
bright ochraceous color of the hairs is retained all over the upper 
parts, sides, legs, and cheeks. In P. gnairm the back alone is a 
rather dull ochraceous which bleaches out along the sides, legs, and 
cheeks so that viewed from the side P. guairm is clay color instead of 
the ochi'aceous seen in P. mincm. The tail of P. giminM is slightly 
lighter above, has slightly longer hairs, a few of which are whitish in 
color, while the hairs on the dorsal surface of the tail in P*. minccB 
are invariably dark. The skulls are quite similar, but in P. guairce 
the anterior palatine foramina are much wider than they are in P. 
riiincw^ and the outer edges more concave and scooped out. The con- 
dyloid process of the mandible in P. guairca is wider by from 1 to 2 
millimeters than it is in P. niinece., and the distance between the 
coronoid process and the condyle is greater than the corresponding 
distance in the Santa Marta animal. 
Six were taken around the edges of a small clearing about two miles 
up the ravine east of La Guaira. All were caught in rat-killers 
baited with bananas and set under bowlders on the precipitous hill- 
sides. Three were taken in a similar locality at San Julian. An 
adult female taken at San Julian on July 17 had 6 mamma?, 2 ingui- 
nal and 4 latero-pectoral. These last 4 are readily overlooked, as 
they are not at all on the under surface of the animal, but well up on 
the tlanks among the coarse hair of the upper parts. The skin of 
these rats is of extreme tenderness, especially around the root of the 
tail and the back of the neck, tearing at the slightest touch. 
Measurements. ' 
No. 
Locality. 
Date. 
Sex. 
Length. 
Tail. 
Foot. 
WR 1476 
1 102731 
WR 1484 
102732 
102733 
2102734 
WR 1509 
WR 1516 
WR 1633 
La Guaira 
do.. 
July 8 
. ..do... 
Male 
... do 
455 
430 
387 
209 
361 
203 
190 
180 
No tail. 
148 
52 
48- 
47 
48 
45 
do 
do 
do 
do 
San JuliiVn 
do 
July 9 
July 11 
July 12 
July 13 
July 17 
do ... 
Female 
Male 
Female 
Male 
Female 
Male 
Young male 
435 
450 
351 
210 
195 
170 
50 
51 
46 
do 
Aug. 4 
1 Type. 
■ Presented to British Museum. 
