382 



U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS ZOOLOGY GENERAL REPORT. 



Since the preceding description was written, several specimens have been received from Geor 

 gia and Florida, agreeing in the main with the preceding description. The large outer groove 

 is very shallow ; its deepest part in the exterior half. Most of the inner half of the surface is 

 plane, with a faint though perfectly appreciable groove near the inner edge. In Missouri spe 

 cimens the groove is narrower, deeper, more central, and with the plane portion of the inner 

 surface much less. The tail is perfectly naked nearly to the base. I have no means of referring 

 to the-specimen of the Academy just now, and cannot say whether a fine groove may not have 

 been overlooked. I shall, however, for the present, range these specimens under G. pinetis. 

 The case is the same with the specimen in alcohol from Jacksonville. In all these the inner 

 groove is distinctly visible, but the inner plane portion of the plane surface of the upper incisor 

 is greater than in Missouri specimens. These are all light reddish brown, lighter than in Mis 

 souri specimens ; one in alcohol has the tail flesh colored ; the skin very loose. 



A small skin (1500) from Florida is much smaller, and plumbago colored. The large groove 

 is more central, and the general appearance more that of G. breviceps. The tail is thinly coated 

 with scattered hairs. It is quite possible that there may be two species in Florida and Georgia, 

 but I am inclined to believe that young specimens of the G. pinetis have the small inner groove 

 of the upper incisor, and that this, with increasing age, becomes more shallow and obsolete, 

 until finally it disappears entirely, leaving the large groove more external than in those Texan 

 and Mexican species having one large median groove. The color, too, seems to vary from lead 

 color to reddish with the age of the animal, as in the other species. 



Should there be two species, the name G. pinetis may be retained for the one with two grooves 

 on the upper incisors, while that with but one may be called G. floridana. There is no question 

 of the difference of the former from G. bursarius. 



List of specimens. 



