h f 



LEl'OKlDiE— LBPUS PALUSTltIS, 



361 



nails generally ex(M)sc(l. Above yellowish-brown, inclining to rufous, strongly 

 shaded with black. Below grayish-white, generally nearly pure white on the 

 middle of the belly, shading through gray into yellowish-brown on the s'des 

 and on the breast and fore neck; chin grayish-white, passing into darker and 

 more brownish-gray on the throat. Sides of the rump, posterior and outer 

 surface of the limbs, and nape-patch rufous. Ears exteriorly grayish-rufous 

 and black. Tail beneath grayish-white, above rufous, varied with black. 

 Fur coarse and bristly, especially in winter. 



In size, general coloration, and proportions, this species is nearer the 

 southern form of the eastern variety of Lepus sylvaticus than any other; but 

 the pelage is more rufous above and less white below; the rufous tint also 

 covers the anterior surface of the hind limbs, which in L. sylvaticus arc 

 whitish. The absence of any light edging to the ears, the very short tail, 

 not conspicuously white or "cottony" below, the rusty instead of gray 

 rump, and the sparsely-clothed feet and exposed nails further serve to readily 

 distinguish it. The black, bristly hairs of the dorsal surface are also more 

 abundant, coarser, and stiifer. The differences in the skulls of the two spe- 

 cies are more marked, that of L. palustris being relatively larger and heavier, 

 with a very much larger lower jaw, broader incisors, and stouter molars, and 

 having the postorbital processes solidly anchylosed with the skull. Its small 

 size, different coloration, etc., serve to at once separate it from Z. aquaticus. 



The variation in coloration in different specimens is very considerable, 

 but I'clates almost wholly to the intensity of the tints. In some, the brownish 

 color of the upper parts, sides of the body, and limbs is much more intense 

 in some specimens than in others. There is also a similar variation in respect 

 to the black of the dorsal surface, which very much more predominates over 

 the brownish ground-color in some individuals than in others, even among 

 those from the same locality. By far the most highly-colored specimen is 

 one from Mirador (near Vera Cruz), Mexico, in which the black is consid- 

 erably more prevalent than in average specimens from the Atlantic States. 

 The grayish area below is also more restricted and more suffused with 

 brownish. 



The skull presents the usual amount of variation in size in different 

 individuals, the extremes in a series of twelve specimens from Saint Simon's 

 Island, Georgia, being as follows : Length, 3.00 to 3.20 ; breadth, 1.40 to 1.57. 



m^'' 



