Neotropical Molos?uSj Conepatus, d&c. 585 



lighter colour than in M. obscurus. Belly paler brown, 

 approacliing '^broccoli-brown/^ Muzzle not so high an I 

 not so conspicuously ridged as in M. obscurus. General 

 characters of ear, tragus, &c. as in other members of the 

 group. Hind legs markedly shorter than in M. obscurus. 



Skull, as compared witli that of iM. tropidorhy achus, which 

 it about equals in size, remarkable for its large, rounded, and 

 inflated brain-case; anteriorly the brain-case bulges out over 

 the temporal Ibssa much more than in the allied species, and 

 the upper part projects laterally beyond the lower. In con- 

 sequence the greatest breadth of the brain-case has to be taken 

 high up on the skull, and not at the base of the zygomata, 

 and is equal to the same dimension in the much larger 

 M. obscurus. 



Teeth apparently much as in M. tropidorhynchas ; upper 

 incisors not quite touching canines ; anterior lower premolar 

 little more than half as broad as the posterior. 



Dimensions of the type (measured on the spirit-specimen): — 

 Forearm 33*7 mm. 



Head and body 5o ; tail 31; third finger, metacarpus 35, 

 1st phalanx 16,2nd phalanx 15; fifth finger 33; lower leg 

 and foot (c. u.) 19*5. 



Skull : greatest length 16"2 ; basal length 12 ; zygomatic 

 breadth 10'7; interorbital breadth 3*9; breadth of brain- 

 case 8"y; mastoid breadth 10; front of canine to back of 

 wi^ 6; front of lower canine to buck of m.^ 6'7, 

 Hab. Cayenne. 



Type. Female in spirit. B. M. no. 5. 1. 8. 7. Presented 

 by W. Barnes, Esq. 



This little species is evidently a member of the M. tropido- 

 rhynchus group, but may be distinguished by its short fur 

 and the peculiarly swollen shape of its brain-case. Specimens 

 of the true M. obscurus were also obtained by Mr. Barnes at 

 the same time, and are at once recognizable by their very 

 much larger size (forearm 39—40 mm.). 



The nearest ally of M. Barnesi is probably Miller's 

 M . pygm(je.us* from the Island of Cura^oa, but this has a 

 brain-case breadth of only 8 mm., which indicates a very 

 differently shaped skull. 



Conepatus tropicalis trichurus^ subsp. n. 



Apparently very similar to the Mexican C. tropicalis, 

 Merriam, but with decidedly longer tail, whose black is 



' r. Biol. S.)c. Wasli. xiii. p. 162 (1900). 

 Ann. d: May. N. Hist. Ser. 7. Vo/.xv. 39 



