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3G MONOCJUAPIIS OF XOKTII AMIMJICAN UODENTIA. 



SIGMODON IIISPIDUS, Say & Ord. . • ■ .i^ff- 



Cotton Rat. :^v'. :, 



Sigmmloii Uhpidum, Say & Oim.. .I..iiri.. Xvm\. Nut. Sci. PUiln. iv, IHiS, :J54, i.l. x, f. 5, 6, 7, 8; Zool. Jonrn. 



ii, IHiS, ifflfi, pi. X, f. 5, «, 7, 8 — Wacinkh, Snppl. Sclirob. iii, 1M4S, 556.— AuD. & Bach., Q. N. A, 



i, lri41», 829, pi. XXX.— Bamid, M. N. A. 18,-)7, 502.— Allkn, Bull. Mob. Coinp. Zoiil. ii, 1871, 



183.— CouF.s, Pioc. Acad. Nuf. Sci. Pliilu. 1874, 170. 

 ArrlcoU hhpidiiii, OoDMAN, Ain. Nut. Hint, ii, 182(i, fi8. 

 Arricola horlensia, Haiilan, Fn. Amcr. 1825, 138 ; Med. & Pliya. Kes. 18.35, 43, pi. — , f. 5, 0, 7, 8.— GWKFITH, 



Aiiiin. KiiiKd. v, 1827, sp. 547. ■ 



Arvicota femiqineut, Haiilan, Am. .loiirn. .Sci. x, 182i5, 285 (rusty var.). '■ ■ ■. .' ' 



An-kula Imaua, Aui>. & Bach., Q. N. A. iil, 1853, 229, pi. cxlvii, f. 2 (not Arvicola lexarni, AuD. & Bach., 



iHd. p. 319, wliicb is /fcn/xromy* leiicopue). 

 Sigmodoii berlaHdUri,.)i\mit, Proc. Acud. Nat. Sci. Phila. vii, 1855, 333; M. N. A. 1857, 504; U. S. & Mox. 



Bound. Siirv. ii, 18,')9, tlainuials, p. 44, pi. vi, f. 2, 2" (Texas; Mexico).— ToiiKS, Proc. Zool. 



Soe. 18G1, 2H1 (Guatemala). 

 Ilenperomijii (/(ci/omi/s) (o/(ccu«, Dk Sal'ssuhe, Rev. & Mag. Zool. 18fiO, p. — , pi. ix, fig 3« (Cordilleras of 



Vera Cruz). 



Diagnosis. — S. caudd suhnuM truncum sine capite subcequante ; pedihiis 

 validis, digito b^ vix l"""' superante, nee valde ultra arliculum proximum 4" par- 

 recto ; plantis nudls, tesselatis. 6-tuberculatis ; auriculis m/ignis orhiculatis, intus 

 liirsutis extus subnudk ; rostro obtuso, piloso (septo narium excepto); mystaceis 

 spnrsis brevhsimis ; vellere Ivspido ; supra nigra budloque inlime limbaius ; infra 

 ex griseo albidus, pedihus dorso concoloribus, caudd sub-bicolore. 



Habitat. — Soutliern United States and Mexico, especially coastwise. 

 North to the Carolinas. South to Vera Cruz and Guatemala. 



A sigiiiodont rat, vvitii a nearly naked tail about equaling the trunk with- 

 out the head (from a little less tlian the trunk alone to about the length of the 

 trunk and head together) ; large hind feet, of which the 1st and 5th toes are 

 but little unequal in length, the latter reaching but little beyond the base of 

 the 4th (never to tiie penultimate joint of the 4th) ; entirely naked granulated 

 soles, with six small tubercles; largi; rounded ears, hairy inside, nearly naked 

 outside; l)luiit muzzle, furry except at the septum, and very few whiskers 

 hardly reaching to the ears; the pelage long and hispid, from admixture of 

 much bristly hair, finely lined above with black and brownish-yellow, below 

 grayish-wiiite ; feet not white above, and black below ; tail very indistinctly 

 bicolor. 



It will probably l)c admitted that the foregoing diagnosis is tolerably 

 stringent and reasonably specific; yet we propose to prove it comprehensive 

 enougli to include several nominal species. 



It is unnecessary to go into any elaborate descripfion of this familiar ani- 

 mal, viewing the several excellent accounts already in print, and especially 

 since the essential characters have been fully elucidated in our notice of the 



