386 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XX, 



founded the name Myrmecophaga sellata on a skin brought 

 from Honduras to the World's Exposition at New Orleans. 

 As will be shown later, neither of these names is at present 

 entitled to serious consideration. 



A series of nearly 60 specimens from the Santa Marta dis- 

 trict of Colombia (nearly all taken at Bonda) affords ample 

 material for the study of individual variation, not only in 

 coloration but in size and cranial characters. The results of 

 an 'examination of this material will be first recounted, and 

 afterwards material from other localities will be considered. 



An average Santa Marta specimen of the T. tetradactyla 

 group is dark brown and yellowish white, the two colors gen- 

 erally arranged in sharply defined areas. A dark band 

 (sometimes quite distinct) encloses the eye and extends for- 

 ward to the side of the nose. A second very large dark area 

 completely encircles the body, covering the ventral surface 

 from the posterior border of the pectoral region to the base 

 of the tail, the sides of the body, and the back from the 

 shoulders to the lumbar region. It is usually divided for 

 some distance down the middle of the back by a line of yellow- 

 ish white extending from the shoulders posteriorly. From 

 the dark area of the back a broad band of the same color runs 

 forward and downward over the shoulders to the front border 

 of the axillae. The light-colored parts form two distinct 

 areas wholly separated by the black of the body. The first 

 covers the head and neck all around, the top of the shoulders, 

 from which a V-shaped line extends down the middle of the 

 back, and the whole of the fore limbs. The second light area 

 includes the haired portion of the tail and the hind limbs, 

 except the inside of the thighs, and extends forward more or 

 less upon the rump and lower back. 



This general type is endlessly modified, in specimens from 

 the Santa Marta district, through individual variation, it 

 being exceptional to find two specimens closely similar. 

 These modifications affect the pattern of markings as well as 

 the general tone of the coloration. The following are some 

 of the principal variations. 



