1, 1 1 



[ M 



II!; 



t' 





7G4 



MONOGUAl'US OV ;5fOUrU AMEUICAN KODENTIA. 



This species, in size, proportuins, and in the color of the dorsal surface, 

 is almost inseparable from var. rufonigcr of S. astuans; it is, however, readily 

 distiugiiisliablc from that species by the generally almost wlioll" gray color of 

 the ventral surface, over which the hairs arc conspicuously dusky at the base, 

 and by the white instead of red edging of the tail. It furthernr.orc has two 

 l)remolars, the first quite large for a Sclurus, while in the large number of 

 specimens of both varieties of S. astuans I have examined I have found uni- 

 formly only one. It is so wiiolly distinct from all the other Sniuri as to require 

 no detailed comparison with any of them. 



The seven specimens of this species before me vary in respect to color- 

 ation as follows: — One (No. 7840, Orizaba, Mexico) is pure gray below through- 

 out, the hairs being tipped with white ond dusky at ba.se; above, olivaceous- 

 dusky, minutely punctulatcd with yellowish-rufous ; middle of the back 

 blackish; car-patch whitish. No. 7206, also from Orizaba, is similar, except 

 that the sides are rather more strongly varied with yellowish-rufous, and the 

 pectoral region is distinctly washed with fulvous. No. 8491, from near Cor- 

 dova, is almost exactly like tlio last, being perhaps rather more fulvous below 

 and a little redder on the flanks. Another (of which the label is lost) is still 

 more rufous above and more fulvous below. No. 8490 (Cordova) is like the 

 last, with, however, distinctly white oar-patches. No. 3922 (Mexico) is more 

 rufous above, and is washed strongly with reddish-fulvous below. No. 3261 

 (Mexico) is bright orange below, but above is wholly like the gray-bellied 

 specimens from Orizaba. No. 8620, from Central Guatemala, is fulvous- 

 washed below, but is strongly ferrugineous above, with reddish-yellow ear- 

 patches, the prevailing color dorsally being ferrugineous, slightly varied with 

 black. In this specimen, the hairs of the dorsal surface arc double-ringed 

 with fulvous, plumbeous at base, then a narrow ring of fulvous, followed by 

 another of black, and tipped with rusty. In all the other specimens, the 

 hairs are wholly blackish, except the tip, which is yellowish, varying more or 

 less in different specimens to rufous. 



or the eight specimens of this species before me, seven are from 

 Southern Mexico and the other from Guatemala. Dr. Gray refers to his 

 M. trphrogaster specimens from "Mexico (Salld), Guatemala (Salvin), Hon- 

 duras (Dyson), and Bogota (11. E. Strickland)"; I also refer to the same 

 species his M. teeniwrus from Guatemala, his M. middellinensis from Antio- 

 giiia. New Granada, and less confidently his M. fraseri from Ecuador. The 

 first three of these namos I think arc unquestionably referable to this species. 



