ALLEN : mammalia: felid^. 177 



back of last premolar, 113 and 112; interorbital breadth, 49 and 47.3; 

 lower jaw, symphysis to condyle, 150 and 144; length of upper carnas- 

 sial, 27 and 27. The upper molar has a transverse breadth of 8.6, with 

 a length of 4 in one specimen and in the other it measures 11x5; this 

 tooth being two to three times the size of the corresponding tooth in the 

 North American forms of Puma hippolestes, etc. 



Another striking feature of the dentition is the almost complete absence 

 of the inner tubercle or deuterocone of the upper carnassial. 



The dental armature is exceedingly heavy, the upper toothrow having a 

 length of 52 mm. in one specimen and 50 in the other, exclusive of the 

 molar. In the older specimens the canines have a transverse diameter of 

 16 and an antero-posterior diameter of 20.5, measured at the alveolar 

 border. This specimen has the appearance of being a male. A very old 

 male skull from Arizona, in which the sagittal crest is strongly developed, 

 has teeth only half as massive as in the Patagonian skulls, which exceed 

 in size any of the Colorado specimens of hippolestes of which measure- 

 ments are given by Dr. Merriam. 



In most respects these skulls agree with the skull of Puma puma from 

 Santiago, Chili, described by Dr. Merriam (/. c, page 597), except that 

 it is larger, with even heavier dentition, and lacks the inner tubercle of the 

 upper carnassial, which Dr. Merriam describes as "very large " in P. puma. 



Color Phases. — The Pearson Puma presents two strongly marked 

 phases of coloration, w^hich appear to be purely individual and not due to 

 either season or sex. The specimens from which the two phases of color 

 are described above were both taken on the same ranch in Santa Cruz, 

 but obviously at different seasons of the year. Mr. Hatcher informed me, 

 in a letter dated December 28, 1901, that he "frequently saw and exam- 

 ined sets of from six to a dozen skins of these animals killed on the same 

 farm and observed that in each instance there was every shade of color 

 represented from very light brown or gray to dark tawny. This was true 

 alike of individuals taken on the plains or along the mountains. I believe 

 the color of the pelage due very largely to the season, while at the same 

 time depending somewhat on the age and sex of the individual. In no 

 way do I think it of specific importance." 



This wide range of color variation of the Pumas is not restricted to 

 those of Patagonia, but is recorded by Dr. Merriam as occurring in several 

 of the North American forms. He says: "Most of the Cougars present 



