
No. 428.] MARSH OR RICE-FIELD MICE. 663 
was taken is 20 mm. longer than average palustris. This illustrates the 
tendency of the southern animal to elongate in body without corresponding 
3. Bangs' marsh mouse, Oryzomys palustris coloratus Bangs. 
1898 Oryzomys palustris coloratus Bangs. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 
Vol. xxviii, p. 189. 
1901 Oryzomys natator Jforidanus Merriam. Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci. 
Vol. iii, p. 277. (Monroe County, Fla.) 
Type locality : Cape Sable, Florida. 
Geographic distribution : Tropical life zone of southern F lorida, south 
of Caloosahatchee River and Lake Worth. 
Habitat : Not given; probably similar to that of its allies, 
Description of Species: From Bangs: “ Upper parts rich, reddish 
brown, about between hazel and ferruginous. . . . Under parts white, 
often suffused with cinnamon. . . . kull similar to that of O. palustris 
natator, but slightly larger." 
r. Bangs gives much stress to cranial differences between coloratus and 
“natator” = oryzivorus and palustris, some of which are rather exaggerated, 
and that of the greater size of the supraorbital bead in oryzivorus is not held 
out by my New Jersey series. He admits the greater slenderness of the 
skull in southern examples. Consonant with this I find the supraorbital 
bead to be no more pronounced in these, if anything less heavy than in 
Georgia examples. Measurements (fide Bangs) : total length of three adult 
males, 301 mm.; tail vertebra, 142 mm. ; hind foot, 34.93 mm. 
No cranial measurements are given by Mr. Bangs. I include 
Dr. Merriam’s O. natator Jlortdanus as a synonym. He seems 
to have omitted coloratus entirely in his recent synopsis. The 
small size of foridanus given by Merriam is puzzling. 
In conclusion I may acknowledge my indebtedness to 
Mr. Outram Bangs for loan of specimens of Oryzomys from 
South Carolina and Georgia. 
AUDUBON, CAMDEN County, N. J., 
pril r4, 1902. 
