LITTLE- CHIEF HARE. 
245 
SYNONYMES. 
Lepus (Lagomys Princeps). Rich. Fauna B. Am. p. 227. 
« “ “ Fischer’s Mamalium. p. 503. 
DESCRIPTION. 
“On comparing the skull of this animal with that of a true Hare, 
there appears a larger cavity in proportion to its size, for the reception of 
the brain. The breadth of the skull, too, behind, is increased by very large 
and spongy processes. The bone anterior to the orbit is not cribriform 
as in the Hares, although it is thin, and there is no depression of the frontal 
bone between the orbits. 
The upper anterior incisors are marked with a deep furrow near their 
anterior margins, and have cutting edges which present conjointly three 
well marked points, the middle one of which is common to both teeth, and 
is shorter than the exterior one. These incisiors are much thinner than 
the incisors of the Hare, and are scooped out like a gouge behind. The 
small round posterior or accessary upper incisors, have flat summits. The 
lower incisors are thinner than those of the Hares, and are chamfered away 
toward their summits, more in the form of a gouge than like the chisel-shap- 
ed-edge of the incisors of a Hare. 
Grinders. — The upper grinders are not very dissimilar to those of the 
Hare, on the crowns, but the transverse plates of enamel are more distinct. 
They differ in each tooth having a very deep furrow on its inner side, 
which separates the folds of enamel. This furrow is nearly obsolete in the 
Hares, whilst in the lagomys it is as conspicuous as the separation betwixt 
the teeth. The small posterior grinder which exists in the upper jaw of 
the adult Hare is entirely wanting in the different specimens of the Little- 
Chief Hare which I have examined. The lower grinders, from the depths of 
their lateral grooves, have at first sight a greater resemblance to the grind- 
ers of some animal belonging to the genus Arvicola than those of a Hare ; 
their crowns exhibit a single series of acute-triangles with hollow areas. 
The first grinder has three not very deep grooves on a side, and is not so 
unlike the corresponding tooth of a Hare as those which succeed it. The 
second, third, and fourth, have each a groove in both sides so deep as nearly 
to divide the tooth, and each of the crowns exhibits two triangular folds of 
enamel. The posterior grinder forms only one triangle.” — (Richardson). 
In size this species is a little smaller than the &\^mepika of Siberia. The 
body is thick ; the head broad and short, and the forehead arched. The 
ears are ovate, and do not appear to have any incurvations on their inner 
margins. The eyes are small, resembling those of the arvicoles ; there is a 
marked prominent tubercle at the root of each claw. 
