318 Description of a 



than, 8, townsendi; total length (measured in the flesh), 29^ 

 mm.; tail, 89 mm.; hind foot (measured from the dry skin 

 after moistening sufficiently to straighten the toes), 45 mm.* 

 height of ears above crown (in dry skin), 6 mm. Claws long 

 and powerful, nearly straight. Hind foot with posterior third 

 of sole well haired. Tail sub-cylindrical, not bushy. Ear large 

 for a member of the 8. richardsoni group ; well clothed with 

 hair on both sides; auricle strongly convex anteriorly, slightly 

 emarginate posteriorly; antero-posterior diameter considerably^ 

 exceeding the vertical. Pelage rather coarse. 



Color, — The most conspicuous color character is a broad dor- 

 sal band of bright rufous, which extends from the nape to the- 

 root of the tail, and is sharply separated from the dull, grizzled 

 yellowish-gray of the sides and under parts. This rufous band, 

 in passing over the rump, tapers rapidly to the root of the tail, 

 where it becomes continuous with the broad median stripe of 

 the upper surface of the tail, which is bordered with yellowish. 

 The tail is bright chestnut underneath, and has a subterminal 

 black band which is more sharply defined below than above. 

 The top of the head, from nose to occiput, is rufous like the dor- 

 sal band, from which it is indistinctly separated along the nape. 

 There is a white streak on each eyelid. The back and sides 

 show a slight admixture of black-tipped hairs, producing a faint 

 suggestion of vermiculation. These black hairs are most numer- 

 ous on the upper surface of the tail, particularly along its sides, 

 between the yellowish border and the rufous median stripe, 

 where on each side they form an indistinct narrow black band, 

 which is continuous with the broad, subterminal band of the 

 same color. The cheeks and ears are dark-grayish, slightly griz- 

 zled. The chin and throat are whitish. The upper surfaces of 

 both fore and hind feet are light yellowish-gray. 



Kemarks on other Specimens. — My series of 8, heldingi 

 consists of 20 skins and 26 skulls from the neighborhood of 

 Donner, Placer Co., California, and one young from Bear Valley, 

 Mariposa Co. Many of the specimens are nursing females; the 

 normal number of teats is |. Measured in the flesh, the total 

 length varies from 275 to 300 mm., and the tail from 76 to 89' 

 mm. In the adult there is very little color variation. Some- 

 times the rufous of the head is continuous over the nape with 



