1 893.] Allen on Mexican Mammals and Birds. 29 



ii. Sciurus apache, sp. nov. 



Upper premolars \. Size large ; tail long, full and bushy, the vertebrae alone 

 nearly equal to head and body. Above pale yellowish gray, varied with black, 

 darkest on the head ; dorsal pelage at base pale plumbeous, the coarser hairs 

 pale buff, with a broad subterminal ring of black and a whitish tip ; below uni- 

 form pale orange yellow, as are also the limbs and feet ; tail above black, 

 broadly fringed with yellowish white, below with a broad central band of dull 

 ferrugineous orange, bordered on either side with a broad band of black, and a 

 broad fringe of yellowish white, the basal half of the hairs being dull orange, 

 the next fourth black, and the apical fourth yellowish white. A pale yellow 

 eye-ring. Ears moderate, rounded, yellowish, mixed with gray, both externally 

 and within. 



Measurements. (Approximate, from skin.) Head and body, 320 mm. ; 

 tail vertebrae, 265 ; tail to end of hairs, 360 ; hind foot, 72 ; ear, from 

 crown, 20. 



Skull. Rostral portion short and broad, the nasals but little narrowed pos- 

 teriorly. Total length, 64 ; basilar length, 58 ; greatest breadth, 36 ; least 

 interorbital breadth, 22 ; length of nasals, 20 ; width of nasals at posterior 

 border, 12. 



Type, No. fff , Northern Chihuahua, Lumholtz Expedition. 



This species is based on two skins and skull taken in Northern 

 Chihuahua by the Lumholtz Expedition, probably in November 

 or December, the specimens being evidently in late fall or winter 

 pelage. ' They were unfortunately without labels when received. 



The skull presents a general resemblance in size and form to 

 skulls of other species of the subgenus Parasciurtis, or 'the group 

 with the premolars \. It appears to most resemble the skull of 

 S. arizonensis Coues, but has the rostral portion shorter and 

 broader than in average specimens of this species. The skull 

 differs in a similar way from that of S. nayaritensis Allen. 



In coloration S. apache, as the above description shows, pre- 

 sents no suggestion of close affinity with either S. arizonensis or 

 S. nayaritensis, but strongly recalls that of pale examples S. niger 

 ludovicianus ; and it is undoubtedly related to the S. niger group. 

 At first it seemed probable that the specimens above described 

 would prove referable to Sciurus limitis Baird, based on a speci- 

 men from " Devil's River, or the San Pedro of the Rio Grande, 

 Texas," but reference to Baird's description of S. limitis shows 

 the latter to be very different from the form here described as 

 S. apache. 



