MAMMALS. 



17 



For a full description of the skin and skull of tliis fox I would refer to the report on the 

 mammals of the Pacific Railroad Survey. 



201. Lower Rio Grande, Texas. Skin. Arthur Sjhott.— 130. Eagle Pass? Skin. Arthur 

 Schott. 



** The grey fox, or zorro as it is called by the Mexicans, is not a very uncommon animil in Toxa=3 and Now Mexico. In tho3e 

 regions it is generally found along tlie valleys of tiie streams wlierc the till coarss gras3 or busliea affjrd it a place of 

 concealment, or in the rocky and solitary places on the hill side.. In these spots it will frequently He Btill while you may pass 

 within a few yards of it, closely watching your muvements, but as soon as it fiadd tliat it is discovered it makes a hasty retreat, 

 passing rapidly through tlie grasps or bushes, occasionally makinir a bound. 



**1 have never heard it utter any cry lAhatever, and em much inclined to doubt, as lias been said bv some, that it either builds 

 its nest m the tops of the trees, among the branches, or even climbs them at all. (See translation of Beriandiore M33., Art, 

 F. cinereo argcnteus.) I have seen this animal several times in or near groves of larire trees on which the m'slletoo ^tgw in 

 great abundance, but never saw in them a nest of any kind that would accommodate a fox, nor did 1 ever sec the animal on a 

 tree or take to one when frightened. 



" Although this animal h is been found on the Pacific coast in California and Oregon, yet in our route we did not observe it 

 west of the Sierra Madre.** — (C B. Kennorly ) 



*' Grey fox ; zorro of the Mexican ; CollbhJ of the ^^pnches- — According to my observations this animil was more frequently 

 met with in the valley of the Rio Bravo than anywhure else, lu the list uf the quadrupeds of L^wer Calilornia a fox is 

 also m mtioncd, but no description given. Whilst at Fort Yuma I learned from Major G H. Tliomig, then corn-nanding officer 

 there, that two apparently differeni epecies of the fox are known in thut vicinity. The country forming the head of the 



« 



California gulf differs so materially from any other in these latitudes that one or two different species of the genus may be 

 expected there. 



" Tlie note of the grey fox, which we heard occasionally, resembles somewhat the bark of the coyoti, but is far less abrupt, 

 so that it would be inappropriate to call it haik. 



*' Though this iinimal seems to be chiefly nocturnal, it is often met with sporting in broad daylight, 



** Tlie rocky clifty banks of the cretaceous formation, t jgether with a more developed vegetation along the middle and lower 

 Rio Bravo, seem especially to favor the haunts of this desert thief more than any otlior country. 



"The natives consit'er the grey fox a much weaker animal than the common one, a3 he is easily run down. The specimen 



of our collection was surprised in a Mexican house at * Pietras negras,' run down, and killed with a stick, 



BASSARIS, Licht. 



The species of the genus Bossoris look much like a cross between the fox and raccoon, havin"^ 



T 



the cunning look and much of the form of the one, with the ringed tail of the other. The body is 

 more slender than in the foses^ but btouter than in the common weasels ; in fact, havln*'- much 

 the proportions of the minks, Fulorhts vison. The hair is nearly as long as in the foxes, mode- 

 rately soft and furry, with longer hairs interspersed. The cars are well developed and erect, 

 pointed and naked on the outer side, but coated on the inner with short hairs. Their jmsterior 

 edge is split, as in other carnivora. The head is sharp pointed ; the nuked muzzle quite large ; 

 the w^iiskers very bristly and long. The eyes are rather large. The tail is about as long as 

 the body, quite bu^hy, though depressed and ringel alternately with black and white. The 

 feet are all five-toed j their under surfaces hairy, except on the pads and balls of the toes, which 

 are naked, and seem to possess a high degree of tactile sensibility. The claws are short and 

 partially retractile. 



The number of vertebrae in No. -^-^^ is as follows: Cervical^ 7; dorsal, 13; lumbar, 7; 

 sacral, 3 ; caudal, 24, with one, perhaps two, lost at the end. 



3— m 



