288 University of Califoniia Puhlicoiions in Zoology. [Vol.7 



peeiiliar, the animal evidently dragging itself heavily, leaving 

 behind it the trail of the body with foot-marks on either side. 



Sylvilagus nuttalli granger! (Allen) (?). 

 Black Hills Cottontail. 



Status.- — The rabbits in our collection are more or less puz- 

 zling for several reasons. In the first place, lack of specimens 

 of Sylvilagus nuttalli grangeri and Sylvilagus nuttalli pinetis 

 in comparable pelage renders determination by direct comparison 

 impossible. Then the localities from which our series come lie 

 on the border line between the ranges of Sylvilagus xutfoUi )iuf- 

 talli anci Sylvilagus )iuttalli grangeri. The nuttalli group (Nel- 

 son, 1909, p. 199) is made up of three "not strongly marked" 

 subspecies, so that the differences between nuttalli and grangeri 

 are not great. As nearly as can be determined, our specimens 

 are nearest grangeri. The measurements of nuttalli as given by 

 Nelson (1909, p. 203) are, total length, 352 mm.; tail vertebrae, 

 44; hind foot, 89.8; ear from notch in dried skin, 55.7. Average 

 measurements of five adults from northwestern Nevada taken 

 by us are, total length, 353.2 mm. (max. 366, min. 348) ; tail ver- 

 tebrae, 52.4 (max. 56, min. 46) ; hind foot, 89.4 (max. 95, min. 

 85) ; ear from notch in dried skin, 60 (max. 62, min. 58). In 

 respect to length of ear and of tail vertebrae the specimens in 

 question are near grangeri. Whereas in total length our speci- 

 mens are nearest nuttalli, in coloraticm they are very detinitely 

 different from examples of that form from IModoc County, Cali- 

 fornia, being of a distinctly lighter shade. There is great varia- 

 tion in total length in the northeastern California examples of 

 nuttalli, so the apparent approximation in this measurement is 

 not as significant as it might seem. 



In the cranium of one specimen (no. 8264) the post-orbital 

 process touches the skull for nearly one-fourth of its length. 

 This is a variation in the direction of pinetis. This same speci- 

 men is an adult brcediiig female and is larger than the average 

 of the series in all characters. It may exemplify sexual variation 

 in size rather than a variation toward the other form. Grangeri 

 is given by Nelson (1909, p. 204) as having the legs much 



