464 



U. 8. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS ZOOLOGY GENERAL REPORT. 



HESPEROMYS TEX AN US, Woodhouse. 



Hesperomys texana, WOODHOUSE, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. VI, Feb. 1853, 242. IB. Sitgreaves' Rep. Exp. Zuili, &c. 



1853, 48; pi. ii. Mammals. 

 .Vrricola (Hesperomyi) ttxana, ACD. & BACH. N. Am. Quad. HI, 1854, 319. 



Sr. Cn Size and proportions about as in //. leucopus. Ears small; tail rather shorter than head and body. Color above, 



reddish brown; brighter than in //. leucopus, and more like //. uunolm,, but darker. No conspicuous wash of dusky on the 

 back. Feet, belly, and under surface of tail pure white. Outside of fore leg like the back? 



I find it very difficult to characterize this species as distinct from H. leucopus, although it is 

 very probable that the two are different. The proportions of the limbs are quite similar, 

 although the posterior tubercle of the sole appears smaller and further back. The sole is 

 densely hairy from the heel to this tubercle. The tail is rather shorter than the head and 

 body. The ears are rather smaller than usual. The general color above and on the sides is a 

 reddish brown, brighter than in H. leucopus, or more like H. aureolus. The tint is quite 

 uniform throughout, there being no indication of darker on the back, as in the other. The 

 under parts and feet are pure snowy white, the tail decidedly bicolor. The young are of much 

 the same general plumbeous above as in H. leucopus. 



From the list of references it will be seen that the species at present is only recorded as found 

 in the lower parts of Texas and along the Rio Grande to El Paso. 



List of specimens. 



HESPEROMYS GAMBELI1, Baird. 



Bp. CH. Very similar to //. leucopus in size and proportions. Feet perhaps shorter. Ears larger. Tail generally less than 

 head and body, sometimes a very little longer. Above, yellowish brown, much mixed with dusky, but without a distinct broad 

 wash of darker on the back. The entire outside of the fore leg below the shoulder, white? 



Body stout, with long fur. Ears very large, thinly coated with short hairs ; the antitragus 

 distinct. Fore feet rather large, hind feet small. Tail shorter than the body, scarcely reaching 

 beyond the ears when bent over ; the hairs only slightly elongated at the tip. One specimen 

 (369) with 24 caudal vertebras. 



