No. i.] Allen on Mexican Mammals. 189 



44. Lepus insnl it us, sp. nov. 



Similar in general appearance externally to Lepus sylvaticus, but much paler 

 in color, much larger, and with much larger ears, but especially different in the 

 structure of the malar bone, which is exceptional in its character. Also gener- 

 ally similar in size and color to L. verce-crucis Thomas, recently described from 

 Vera Cruz, but apparently different. 



Length (of skin), 440 mm. ; tail to end of hairs, 40 ; hind foot to end of 

 claws, 92 ; height of ear from notch, 74, above crown, 78. 



Above sandy buff mixed with black, more grayish on the sides, black prevailing 

 over most of the dorsal region, hairs at base dark plumbeous, ringed with black, 

 then with sandy buff, and tipped with black ; nape patch and fore limbs exter- 

 nally from shoulder to carpus deep rufous ; upper surface of fore feet brownish 

 yellow ; hind limbs posteriorly and externally yellowish brown ; upper surface 

 of hind feet white, continuous with a whitish band running up the front inner 

 edge of the leg ; light area surrounding the eye buffy gray ; upper surface of 

 tail and contiguous portion of rump pale rusty brown, the hairs plumbeous at 

 extreme base and slightly black tipped ; ears sparsely haired, externally rusty 

 brownish gray, blackish along the edge towards and at the tip ; internally ears 

 naked to near the tip, where they are sparsely covered with yellowish brown hairs 

 for the terminal fifth ; ventral surface pure white, the hairs wholly clear white to 

 the base ; a faint wash of yellowish along the sides bordering the white ventral 

 area ; breast pale yellowish brown, plumbeous beneath the surface. Feet not 

 heavily furred. 



Skull, basilar length, 66 mm. ; total length, 83 ; greatest width (opposite 

 anterior end of orbital foramen), 39 ; interorbital breadth, 21 ; intertemporal 

 breadth, 20.5 ; nasals, length, 34, width anteriorly, 12, posteriorly, 18.5 ; length 

 of malar bone, 36 ; length of palatine foramen, 21 ; least length of palatal bridge, 

 8, width, 11.5 ; length of upper molar series at crown surface, 22.5 ; length of 

 lower jaw, 58 ; height at condyle, 40. 



Type, ffff, $ ad., Plains of Colima, Jan. 15, 1890. 



A second specimen ( $ ad., near City of Colima, Jan. 7, 1890), agrees essen- 

 tially in size, but is in thin, very worn pelage, and is less black above, doubtless 

 owing to the wearing away of the long black tips of the hairs. 



While in a general way strongly resembling externally both 

 L. sylvaticus and L. vera-cructs, it differs from the former in much 

 larger size, disproportionately larger ears, the less amount of 

 rufous and greater prevalence of black above ; and from the latter 

 in the whiteness of the ventral surface, and in other minor details 

 of coloration. It differs from all of the species of Lepus known 

 to me in the peculiar structure of the malar bone, which is formed 

 on the general pattern of that of Lepus aquaticus, with, however, 

 its peculiarities greatly exaggerated. Externally for its anterior 



