58 QUADRUPEDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



2. Lepus Virginianus. Harlan. Prairie Hare. 



Lepus Virginianus, Harlan, Fauna Am., p. 196. Richardson, Fauna Bor. 



Am., p. 224. 

 The Varying Hare, Godman, Nat. Hist., ii. p. 163. 



Specific characters. Color of the summer dress on the upper 

 parts, dark umber-brown, of the winter, white ; ears shorter than 

 the head ; ends and margins mixed with white and blackish-brown ; 

 tail white beneath. 



Description. In winter, the dress consists of a long coat of 

 fine fur, which, when lying smooth, is a pure white ; if it is 

 ruffled, the wood-brown appears beneath. The ears are more or 

 less mottled with oblong, brown, and yellowish-brown spots, which 

 are more numerous on the anterior than on the posterior side, and 

 which extend quite down to the insertion ; they are also bordered 

 with blackish-brown one third of the distance to the base, slightly 

 intermixed with yellow-brown ; the inside is white, with a tinge 

 of yellow ; the mystachial bristles are black at base, and ter- 

 minated with white, or black throughout ; there are four or five 

 stiff, black hairs above the eyelids, and many beneath the chin ; 

 the fur on the back is plumbeous at base, then wood-brown, and 

 lastly snow-white ; there are also interspersed many hairs, which 

 are strong and white their whole length ; on the throat it is paler, 

 while on the head it is darker, but on the belly white ; the arrange- 

 ment of the colors of the tail is the same as on the other parts, 

 but less conspicuous ; upon the outer portion of the extremities 

 it is the same as on the back, while on the inner, it is like that of 

 the belly. Nails narrow, nearly straight, hind one broader and 

 longer than those before. In the summer, the color of the dress 

 on the upper parts is dark umber-brown, which arises partly from 

 an intermixture of black, shining hairs ; the fur at the roots is the 

 same as in winter, but towards the extremity, tinged with yellow- 

 ish-brown and black ; under jaw smoke gray ; a white circle sur- 

 rounds each eye, but the margin of the eyelids is dark-brown as 

 in winter ; the white color commences between the fore legs, and 

 extends over the belly, and predominates on the extremities ; the 

 sides present a dull, pale yellowish-brown, in the midst of which 

 there are scattered black hairs ; the ears are nearly naked in sum- 



