1906.] Allen, Mammals from Hainan, China. 469 



without indication of sex or definite locality; a young female, skin 

 and skull, Liudon, May 18,^1903. 



A species of Lepus was described by Swinhoe from a single specimen 

 taken in the neighborhood of the capital city of Hainan. The descrip- 

 tion is detailed, and there is a colored plate of the animal and four text 

 figures illustrating the skull. The colored plate agrees rather poorly 

 with the description and with the present specimens, being much too 

 rufous. The description of the coloration and external characters 

 agrees satisfactorily, except as to size, the measurements being too 

 small. The total length is given as 14 inches, while the collector's 

 labels on the present specimens give the length in each as "i6f" 

 inches. The length of the skull as given by Swinhoe is 10 mm. less 

 than in the older of the specimens, with the other measurements 

 proportionally less. Judging by the distinctness of the sutures in 

 Swinhoe 's figures of the skull, his specimen was probably rather young, 

 which may in part account for the difference in size. But there are 

 other discrepancies, not so easily explained, in respect to the characters 

 of the skull. Swinhoe says: "Incisive opening above palate narrower 

 at base." This is hard to interpret, as a palatal view of the skull is 

 not included in the four text figures. " Posterior edge of palate with 

 rounded nasal spine, the same part being smoothly convex in L. 

 sinensis." In the present specimens the posterior border of the 

 palate is smoothly transverse, with a short, pointed spine on the 

 anterior border. "Anterior upper incisors without the deep groove 

 which characterizes these teeth in the genus Lepus, but marked by 

 several narrow indistinct ridges." Fig. 2 in the text appears to 

 represent the incisors as evenly convex, with several slight striae. 

 In the older of my specimens the upper incisors are strongly ridged or 

 ribbed on the inner edge, with the rest of the surface smooth. The 

 antero-posterior thickness of the tooth at the cutting edge is thus 

 about one third greater on the inner border than elsewhere. In the 

 younger specimen, in which the teeth are much less worn, the inner 

 third of each tooth is occupied by a deep sulcus, divided in the middle 

 by a slight, very narrow ridge. The incisors are thus very unlike 

 those described and figured by Swinhoe. 



Swinhoe's measurements (his "breadth from molar to molar" 

 should read, of course, malar to malar) of the skull are intermediate 

 between those of the two before me, one of which is very old and the 

 other not fully adult, showing Swinhoe's specimen to have been middle- 

 aged. Reducing his measurements to millimeters, the two skulls 

 (Am. Mus. No. 26640, old, and Swinhoe's) compare as follows: Total 



