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



LEPUS BACHMANI, Waterhouse. 



Bachman's Hare. 



Ltjnts bachmani, WATEBIIOI-SE, Pr. Zool. Soc. Lond. VI, 1838, 103. 

 BACHMAN, J. A. N. Sc. Phila. VIII, i, 1839, 96. 

 WATERHOUSE, N. H. Mamm. II, 1848, 124. 



AUD. & BACU. N. Am. Quad. Ill, 1853, 35 ; pi. cviii, (description and plate from Waterhouse' s 

 specimen.) 



SP. CH. Size less than that of L. sylvaiims. Ears, tail, and tarsi shorter in proportion. Ears dusky along the anterior 

 edge ; above very sparingly clothed with hair. Above yellowish brown mixed with black ; the fur on the posterior half of 

 the back lead color at base, then dark sooty brown, yellowish brown, and black, there being only one bar of rusty or 

 yellowish brown on the hair ; fur everywhere gray at base Sides and fore feet much paler, and with less brown. Sides of 

 rump gray. Back of neck, fore legs, and hind legs in part dull brownish rusty. Under parts dull white. 



This species is somewhat less in size than L. sylvaticus, and seems remarkable for its small 

 head and ears compared with the size of the body. The orbit is equally small in its propor 

 tions. The ears are a little shorter than the head, and are very scantily furnished with hair. 

 That on the external band is very short and close ; the internal scarcely perceptible, while the 

 rest of the two surfaces appear almost naked, although a close examination shows short scattered 

 hairs. The fur over the body generally is rather short, especially on the abdomen. The legs, 

 too, are scantily furred ; in this respect somewhat like L. palustris. The hair, however, is not 

 so stiff anywhere, especially on the feet. The tail is short. 



The general color of the upper parts is a yellowish brown, lined and banded with black. On 

 the sides and throat this brownish turns to yellowish gray ; lower down, or along the color of the 

 belly, there is a very light rusty tint.^ The fore legs and the back of neck, from the occiput to 

 between the shoulders, are rusty chestnut ; this color extending further than usual down the back, 

 quite broad, and the hairs very short. The color is lighter on the sides of the neck above. The 

 neck beneath is colored like the sides ; the belly and under part of the head brownish white ; 

 the anterior edge of the hind legs dull whitish ; the posterior dull rusty. There is a general 

 dark effect on the sides of the head produced by the black hair ; this not arranged so clearly in 

 crescentic bands. The edge of the orbits is black, especially above ; around the eye a rather 

 distinct circle of rusty whitish. The ears are very plainly colored ; dull yellowish white at the 

 base interiorly ; the short scattered hairs blackish ; the external band like the back, with a 

 crowding of black along the anterior margin, and a narrow dusky margin to the superior half 

 of the ear, and passing a short distance round to the posterior edge. On the external edge of 

 the ear the internal band is very pale uniform yellowish ; the hairs on the remaining surface, 

 with the anterior fringe, grayish white. 



The fur is everywhere lead color at the base ; on the back it gradually passes into black, then 

 yellowish brown, and slightly tipped with black. 



Compared with L. sylvaticus, the head, feet, tail, and ears are shorter in their proportions. 

 The rusty on the back of the neck and legs is less bright. Tho ears are much more scantily 

 haired. A striking distinction is observable in the fur of the lower part of the back. This is 

 lead color at the base, then dark sooty brown to black, then yellowish brown, &c. In 

 L. sylvaticus, on the contrary, the lead color passes through pale rusty to brown before reaching 



