MURID^— SIGMODONTE8— NEOTOMA FERRUGINEA. 



23 



the liiiirs white to the roots in the middle, but along the sides with ashy roots, 

 somewhat obscuring the purity of tlie white. Tail nearly as long as the head 

 and body together, at least exceeding the body alone, and i)lackish throughout, 

 or so nearly unicolor that the under side is merely a shade paler than the 

 upper. Whiskers very long, all jet-black at base, paler at ends. Soles very 

 scant-haired back of the posterior tubercle; ears likewise nearly naked (both 

 much as m fuscipes). General form and proportion of parts as in the other 

 scaly-tailed Neotomas. Size averaging somewhat less than in Neotoma Jhri- 

 dana (see table of measurements). 



The fine series collected by Professor Sumichrast enables us to ciiarac- 

 terizc this animal with precision. The five specimens vary but little, the 

 difference being mainly in the purity and intensity of the colors ; the meta- 

 tarsus, however, in one specimen at least (9435), is white, whereas in all the 

 others it is clouded with dusky. The animal is related to N. fuscipes in this 

 respect, as also in the length and blackness of tail, but is smaller than that 

 species, and otherwise distinguished at a glance by its rich rusty-red color, 

 by which, furthermore, it is separated from any other of the rat-colored 

 United States Neotomas. 



The skull of No. 9507 has no structural peculiarities, but is smaller than 

 any adult United States skulls examined; it measures 1.80 in length by 0.95 

 across the zygomata. The post-palatal notch may be rather n; w, but is 

 not conspicuously so. The dentition affords us nothing diagnostic, as, in fact, 

 is the case with all the rest of the genus ; and we suspect that any peculiarity 

 Mr. Tomes may have noticed in his types of ferruginea will prove only an 

 individual feature, to be matched in other species. 



We have not seen the young of this species, and do not know how gray it 

 may be in youth ; but we should expect that the dark gray or slate color 

 oi floridana and other northern species would not be perfectly exhibited in 

 this case. 



Tablk Vf.—Meaturtmmtt of five apeoimetu of Nkotoma vkriiugikba. 



