278 DR. EINAR LONNBERG ON HYBRID [Apr. 18, 



of which raeasurements are here given have preserved the external 

 gills, — another instance of the neoteny ah-eady observed in Tailed 

 Batrachians living at great altitudes. The altitude of Yunnan fu, 

 where the specimens were obtained, is about 6000 feet. The 

 skull in these branchiferous specimens is fully ossified and has 

 all the features of the mature state. The female is full of ripe 

 spawn. 



In the structure of the skull and the absence of crest or digital 

 web in the male this new species ajopi'oaches the Spanish- 

 Portuguese M. hoscce Lat., and the Chinese- Japanese M. 2^yrrho- 

 gaster Boie, the affinity of which I pointed out many years ago*. 



EXPLANATION OP PLATE XVII. 



Molge toolterstorffi, S]p. n. 



a. Male, natural size, side view. 



h. Male, natural size, lower view. 



c. Female, natural size, side view and lower view. 



6. On Hybrid Hares between Lepus timidus L. and Lepus 

 europceus Pall, from Southern Sweden. By Einar 



LoNNBERG, C.M.Z.S., &C. * 



[Received February 21, 1905.J 



(Text-figures 53 & 54.) 



Among the sportsmen of Southern Sweden it has for several 

 years been regarded as a fact, that hybrids were produced between 

 the native Variable Hare of Scandinavia {Lepus imiidus L.) and 

 the Common Hare of Middle Europe {L. europceus Pall.), intro- 

 duced for sporting purposes from Denmark or Gei^many. This 

 opinion had not, however, been proved by any scientific inves- 

 tigation, and the question therefore remained open. 



Hybrids between mammals living in an entirely wild state are, 

 as is well kiiown, exceedingly rare, although such among domesti- 

 cated mammals, or even those kept only in confinement, are quite 

 common as well as numerous with regard to the combinations. 

 It seemed thus desirable to subject the supposed Hybrid Hares of 

 Scania to a closer examination. For this purpose I tried to obtain 

 fui-ther information about them aiid material for investigation f. 

 Thanks to the kindness especially of Count Tage Thott and Count 

 0. C. Beck-Friis, I have succeeded in getting several specimens, 

 which proved to be hybrids, and. the same and some other gentle- 

 men furnished me with fresh material for compai'ison. 



* Bull. Soc. Zool. Prance, 1880, p. 37. 



t This material is now kept in the Swedish Museum of Natural Historj in 

 Stockholm. 



