372 DOUGLASS' SQUIRREL. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



Douglass obtained his specimens of this Squirrel on the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and TowNSEND found it on the Columbia River. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



This species was found by Douglass and by Townsend about the same 

 time. These gentlemen, if we have been rightly informed, met together 

 in the Far West. We drew^ up a description from specimens sent us by 

 Mr. Townsend, and used the grateful privilege of a describer, in naming 

 it {S. Totvnsendii) after the individual who we supposed had been the 

 first discoverer. Under this name we sent our description to the Acad. 

 of Nat. Sciences of Philadelphia, which was read Aug. 7th, 1838. After 

 arriving in England, however, the same year, we saw a similar specimen 

 in the Museum of the Zool. Society, and heard that it had been named 

 by Gray, on the 11th October, 1836, who had called it after Douglass, 

 (S. Douglassii.) He had not, as far as we have been able to ascertain, 

 published any description of it. All that we can find in reference to this 

 species is the following : " Mr. Gray gave a description of two foxes, a 

 squirrel (Scivrus Douglassii), and three hares." The foxes and hares 

 were described by him in the Magazine of Nat. Hist., (new series,) Nov., 

 1837, vol. i., p. 578, but for some reason he appears never to have pub- 

 lished a description of this species. 



We, however, supposing that he had described it, immediately changed 

 our name to that proposed by Gray, and in our monograph of the genus 

 assigned to him the credit of having been the first describer, although he 

 had, it appears, only named the animal. 



