1 88 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. Ill, 

 43. Lepus sylvaticus aztecus, subsp. nov. 



Smaller than L. sylvaticus of the Eastern States, with much longer ears (in 

 this respect resembling L. arizonce), and lighter in coloration. 



Length (measurements from skins) of head and body, 300 mm. ; tail to end 

 of hairs, 37 ; length of hind foot, 82 ; height of ear from notch, 64. 



Top of head and middle of back buffy cinnamon varied with black, the hairs 

 light plumbeous at base, subterminally ringed with pale buffy cinnamon and 

 tipped with black ; sides gray, the hairs ashy at base, broadly ringed with white 

 and tipped with black ; sides of neck brownish, nearly like the middle of the 

 back ; large nape spot and outer surface of limbs bright yellowish rufous ; upper 

 surface of fore feet yellowish white, of hind feet pure white, which extends 

 upward in a narrow band along the inner anterior edge of the Jeg to the inner 

 side of the thigh ; lower surface pure white, nearly to the base of the hairs ; 

 breast band yellowish white, the hairs brownish beneath the surface ; a well 

 defined supra- and subocular grayish white stripe, meeting in front and behind 

 the eye, giving the effect of a broad grayish white band through the eye, from 

 near the nose to the base of the ear ; cheeks gray, with a small spot of rusty 

 brown below the eye ; upper surface of the tail light cinnamon rufous, the same 

 color extending forward on to the rump, the hairs plumbeous (in some specimens 

 dusky plumbeous) at the base broadly tipped with light rufous. Ears very large, 

 scantily haired, dark brownish gray, darkening to blackish towards the tip and 

 along the anterior border externally ; anterior border towards the base fringed 

 externally with white. 



Cranial Characters. Skull, basilar length, 56 mm. ; total length, 72 ; breadth 

 at middle of zygomatic arch, 35 ; at base of occiput, 23, at postorbital constric- 

 tion, 12 ; nasals, length, 33, breadth at anterior border, 10, at posterior border, 

 17 ; length of malar bone, 31 ; length of upper molar series along the crowns, 

 12, at alveolar border, 14 ; lower jaw, length from front to angle, 53, height at 

 condyle, 36. 



The posterior end of the postorbital process is in contact with the brain-case, 

 but not fused with it. In general features the skull is similar to that of L. sylvati- 

 cus, differing from it merely in being rather smaller than average northern skulls. 



Type, f^if, $ ad., Tehuantepec City, Feb. 19, 1890. 



Three adult males, skins and skulls, and one additional skull, as follows : 

 Salina Cruz, Feb. 17, Sta. Maria Petapa, April 29, Santo Domingo, April 30, 

 1890, Isthmus of Tehuantepec ; Tehuantepec City, Feb. 19, 1890. 



This form differs from L. sylvaticus in having the middle of the 

 dorsal surface much paler, the sides grayer, and the upper surface 

 of tail and rump cinnamon rufous instead of dusky gray, and in the 

 very much larger size of the ears. In respect to the size of the ears 

 it closely resembles L. arizona, but differs from it in much larger 

 size, and greatly in coloration, through the almost entire absence 

 in the latter of any rufous in the coloration of the upper surface. 



