Vol. 5, p. 149-150. 



May 22, 1925. 



Occasional Papers 



OF THE 



Boston Society of Natural History. 



AN UNDESCRIBED RACE OF PHAINOPEPLA. 



BY JOSSELYN VAN TYNE. 



A SERIES of Phainopeplas from San Luis Potosi recently re- 

 ceived at the Museum of Comparative Zoology is distinctly differ- 

 ent from the form occurring in California, Arizona, and north- 

 western Mexico. The San Luis Potosi birds represent the typi- 

 cal form described by Swainson (Animals in Menag., 1838, p. 285) 

 and by Lesson (Rev. Zoologique, 1839, p. 42). The northern form 

 may be known as: 



Phainopepla nitens lepida, subsp. nov. 



Ty'pe. — Adult male, No. 200,653, Museum of Comparative Zoology, from 

 Riverside, California, 14 May, 1878. Collected by Frank Stephens. 



Characters. — Similar to Phainopepla nitens nitens (Swainson) but decidedly 

 smaller. This is shown best in the wing- and tail-measurements, the former 

 affording the most constant character. Not one of the seventy-three adult 

 males of this race examined has as long a wing as the smallest of the seven males 

 available from San Luis Potosi. As indicated in the following table of measure- 

 ments the wing of the male lepida averages only 92.3 mm. as compared with 

 99.3 in the typical form and similarly the tail measures 93.2 mm. against 100.7 

 in the latter. 



M E ASUREMENTS 



Phainopepla nitens nitens (Swainson) 



No. 

 Locality sped- Wing Tail 



mens 

 Males: 



San Luis Potosi 7 99.3 (98-103) 100.7 (96-105) 



Durango 1 99 98 



Females: 



San Luis Potosi 1 95 . 96 



Vera Cruz (?) 1 97 98 



Phainopepla nitens lepida, subsp. nov. 



California 28 92.6 (88-96) 93.4 (87-100) 



Lower Cahfomia 21 92 . 2 (87-95) 93 . (86-96) 



Arizona 12 92.4(89-95) 93. (87-98) 



Sonora 12 92. 1 (90-95) 93.6 (90-98) 



Females * 



Cahfornia 16 89.7 (87-94) 91.3 (84-92) 



Lower Cahfornia 13 91 . (89-95) 89 . 8 (83-96) 



Arizona 6 89.8 (87-93) 86. 1 (82-93) 



Sonora 5 90.2 (88-93) 88.8 (86-93) 



J(JN -r: i02^ 



