1 9 o 6 .] A lien , Mammals from Western Mexico . 257 



(58-63.5); interorbital breadth,- 27.6 (26-29); postorbital breadth, 

 31.2 (27-34); mastoid breadth, 44.4 (42.5-47); audital bulla, 10.8 

 X 13-3 ( J X 12.5-11.5 x i4 and 12 x Mo); pm 4 -rn 2 , 21.4 

 (19.6-22). 



38. Mephitis macroura macroura Lichtenstein. 



Twenty-three specimens: Arroyo de Gavalan, i specimen, Dec. 

 19; Arroyo de Plantanar, i specimen, Feb. 19; Estancia, 4 specimens, 

 Feb. 24, March 13; Rio Ameca, i specimen, March 18; Garabatos, 

 i specimen, March 23; Llano e Casco, 2 specimens, March 28, 29; 

 La Cienega, i specimen, April 23; La Laja, 5 specimens, May 16-19; 

 Las Canoas, 2 specimens, Aug. 15, 23; La Joya, i specimen, Sept. 

 21 ; Artenkiki, 2 specimens (nurslings), Sept. 16; Los Masos, 2 

 specimens. 



Collector's measurements: 7 adult males, total length, 658 (578- 

 666); head and body, 291 (279-317); tail vertebrae, 367 (317-387); 

 hind foot without claws, 58 (57-60); ear from notch, 30 (25-35): 10 

 adult females, 598 (540-654); head and body, 277 (261-305); tail 

 vertebras, 335 (305-362); hind foot without claws, 54 (51-56); ear 

 from notch, 28 (25-33). 



Skulls : Adult male skulls measure, total length, 70; basal length, 

 57; zygomatic breadth, 42; mastoid breadth, 35 : adult female skulls, 



67, 55, 39, 3 2 -5- 



This series presents the usual wide range of variation in color 

 characteristic of the species. One specimen is almost wholly black, 

 the only white being a few white hairs on the right side near the shoul- 

 der, a very narrow white line on the left side behind the shoulder, 

 and a little white at the extreme base of the tail hairs. Even the 

 white line so constantly present on the head is lacking in this specimen, 

 and also in one other of the series. In the other extreme the dorsal 

 surface and the tail are more than half white. In two young examples 

 (nurslings), said by the collector to be both from the same litter, 

 one is all black except for the usual narrow white head stripe, and a 

 narrow lateral white band on each side, running from the ear to the base 

 of the tail, widening on the thighs, and continued on the basal three- 

 fourths of the lower surface of the tail. The other has the whole 

 of the dorsal area, from the crown to the rump, white an outer 

 band of clear white enclosing a central area of mixed black and white 

 (giving the effect of black veiled with white) the whole upper surface 

 of the tail white, and a broad lateral line of white on each side, from 

 the ear to the posterior border of the thigh. 



