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diff --git a/29122-8.txt b/29122-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..236169a --- /dev/null +++ b/29122-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1057 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mammals Obtained by Dr. Curt von Wedel from +the Barrier Beach of Tamaulipas, Mexico, by E. Raymond Hall + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Mammals Obtained by Dr. Curt von Wedel from the Barrier Beach of Tamaulipas, Mexico + +Author: E. Raymond Hall + +Release Date: June 15, 2009 [EBook #29122] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MAMMALS OBTAINED, TAMAULIPAS, MEXICO *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Greg Bergquist +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + + Mammals Obtained by Dr. Curt von Wedel from + the Barrier Beach of Tamaulipas, Mexico + + + BY + + + E. RAYMOND HALL + + + University of Kansas Publications + Museum of Natural History + + + Volume 5, No. 4, pp. 33-47, 1 figure in text + October 1, 1951 + + + University of Kansas + LAWRENCE + 1951 + + UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY + + + Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, A. Byron Leonard, + Edward H. Taylor, Robert W. Wilson + + Volume 5, No. 4, pp. 33-47, 1 figure in text + + October 1, 1951 + + + UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS + LAWRENCE, KANSAS + + + PRINTED BY + FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER + TOPEKA, KANSAS + 1951 + + 23-7414 + + + + +Mammals Obtained by Dr. Curt von Wedel from the Barrier Beach of +Tamaulipas, Mexico + +BY + +E. RAYMOND HALL + + +What species of mammals occur on the "coastal island", barrier beach, of +Tamaulipas? Are the closest relatives of these mammals on Padre and +Mustang islands of Texas, instead of on the mainland of Tamaulipas, or +are the mammals on the barrier beach distinct from all others? These +were questions that Dr. von Wedel of Oklahoma City and I asked ourselves +in March of 1950 when we were in southern Texas. With the aim in mind of +answering these questions, Dr. von Wedel arranged round-trip +transportation, by air, for the two of us between Brownsville, Texas, +and Boca Jesús María. The latter place is a "pass", tidal inlet, through +the long barrier beach. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico and of the +lagoon behind the beach flow back and forth with the changing tides +through the inlet. + +We arrived at Boca Jesús María on March 18, 1950, and left on March 22, +1950. Our headquarters there were in one of the four one-story buildings +immediately north of the inlet. This place is approximately 89-1/2 miles +south, and 10 miles west, of Matamoros, Mexico. Most of our collecting +was done on the sand dunes one and one-half miles north of the buildings +but on the evening of March 20 we made a round-trip, by boat of course, +to the sand dunes on the south side of the inlet to set traps; these +traps, and the _Dipodomys_ that were caught in them, were picked up the +following morning. + +At the time of our visit, the part of the barrier beach south of the +tidal inlet was connected with the mainland. The connection was far to +the southward, according to our pilot, Mr. Kagy of Brownsville, and also +according to the testimony of the Mexicans at the fishing camp where we +stayed on the north side of the inlet. The barrier beach which lay to +the north of the inlet extended sixty-odd miles northward to the delta +of the Río Grande and had, we were told, eight "passes," including Paso +Jesús María. At the time of our visit, however, only three of these +tidal inlets were open, it was said; the five others were thought to be +filled in with sand, which permitted terrestrial animals to move from +one part of the beach to another. Dr. von Wedel and I saw two tidal +inlets that were open when we were being flown back to Brownsville. + +[Illustration: FIG. 1. Diagram of physiographic features of the barrier +beach of Tamaulipas. Top view looking down, as from an airplane, on the +beach. Bottom view is profile.] + +The long, low, sandy island, technically a barrier beach, irrespective +of tide varied in width from a quarter of a mile to as much as a mile +and was separated from the mainland by the Laguna Madre, which was four +miles wide opposite our trapping station. To the northward the width of +the lagoon gradually increased until, at a place thirty miles north of +our trapping station, the lagoon was almost 20 miles wide. + +The island was perhaps four feet above high tide. Superimposed on this, +in places, there were sand dunes, technically barchans, so arranged that +the end of one touched the end of the next. The tops of some were as +much as 20 feet above high tides and the chain of these connected-dunes +on which we trapped was approximately a mile long. Incipient tidal +inlets were frequent; they were where storm-driven waves of high tides +had broken across the island between the adjacent ends of two dunes. The +windward side of a dune was toward the Gulf and the slope of that side +was gentler than that on the leeward side. According to the cycle +described by Davis (Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts and Sciences, 22:303-332, +1896) and recently figured on page 364 by Lobeck (Geomorphology, 1st +ed., xii + 731 pp., 1939, McGraw Hill Book Co., Inc., New York) the +barrier beach concerned was in the early part of the "Middle Youth +Stage". + +Typically, on the center of the area in the lee of a dune there was a +patch of plum brush, almost five feet tall and so dense that a person +could not penetrate it. A belt of grass, 20 to 100 feet wide, surrounded +the plum brush. The grass was approximately 20 inches high. Outside the +area of grass, there were widely-spaced xerophitic shrubs which grew +also on the dunes. The diagram (fig. 1) shows these prominent features +as a person might see them if he looked directly down from an airplane. + +We obtained specimens of the spotted ground squirrel (_Citellus +spilosoma_), Ord kangaroo rat (_Dipodomys ordii_), hispid cotton rat +(_Sigmodon hispidus_) and black-tailed jack rabbit (_Lepus +californicus_). Tracks and other sign of the coyote (_Canis latrans_) +were seen. So far as we could ascertain, by our own investigations and +from our Mexican hosts at the fishing camp, no other kinds of native +mammals lived on the island. The ground squirrel and kangaroo rat were +found by us on only the sandy areas where there were xerophitic shrubs. +The cotton rat was found only in the grass. The jack rabbit and coyote +ranged over the whole of the island excepting the areas of plum brush in +which we saw no sign of any mammal. + +To answer the second of our initial questions: The affinities of the +mammals of the barrier beach of Tamaulipas are approximately equally +divided between those of the mainland and those of Padre Island. The +ground squirrel is indistinguishable from the subspecies which occurs +both on the mainland and Padre Island to the northward; the other three +kinds of mammals of which we obtained specimens prove to be +subspecifically distinct from any previously named kinds and seem to be +confined to the off-shore beach. Accounts of these four mammals and of a +previously unnamed subspecies of kangaroo rat on Mustang Island, Texas, +follow. + + +Citellus spilosoma annectens (Merriam) + +Spotted Ground Squirrel + + 1893. _Spermophilus spilosoma annectens_ Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. + Washington, 8:132, December 28, type from "The Tanks," 12 mi. from + Point Isabel, Padre Island, Texas. + + 1904. [_Citellus spilosoma_] _annectens_, Trouessart, Catalogus + Mammalium ..., p. 340. + +Thirteen specimens (Nos. 35441-35453) were collected. All are from the +north side of the tidal inlet. Although the ground squirrels were easily +trapped, it was difficult to obtain a perfect skin because the gulls +(_Larus_ sp.) pulled the skin off of the distal part of the tail as soon +as a squirrel was secured in a trap. The specimens seem not to differ +from Texan specimens from the type locality and Mustang Island. + + +Dipodomys ordii parvabullatus new subspecies + +Ord Kangaroo Rat + +_Type._--Male, adult, skull and skin, No. 35454, Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. +Kansas, from island, 88 miles south and 10 miles west of Matamoros, +Tamaulipas, Mexico; obtained 19 March 1950 by E.R. Hall and Curt von +Wedel; original No. 6778 E.R. Hall. + +_Range._--Islands along coast of Tamaulipas, Mexico. + +_Diagnosis._--Size small (see measurements). Color pale; entire dorsal +surface Light Ochraceous-Buff (Capitalized color terms according to +Ridgway: Color Standards and Color Nomenclature, Washington, D.C., +1912), purest on sides and flanks, upper parts lightly suffused with +black; cheeks white; plantar surfaces of hind feet, dorsal and ventral +stripe of tail, and anterior face of ear brownish. Skull small; auditory +bullae smaller (actually and relative to remainder of skull) than in any +other known kind of _Dipodomys_, excepting the one from Mustang Island, +Texas (named beyond) in which the breadth is approximately the same; +rostrum and interorbital region narrow. + +_Comparisons._--From _Dipodomys ordii sennetti_ (Allen), of the +mainland of Texas, _D. o. parvabullatus_ differs in: Color paler on +pigmented areas; white areas more extensive; skull smaller, in all parts +measured, except the nasals which are slightly longer. From _Dipodomys +ordii compactus_ of Padre Island, Texas, _D. o. parvabullatus_ differs +in: Tail and hind foot shorter; skull smaller in all parts measured, +especially so in breadth across maxillary processes of zygomatic arches. + +_Remarks._--_D. o. parvabullatus_ resembles _D. o. sennetti_ in external +proportions and _D. o. compactus_ in cranial proportions. + +No difference was detected between specimens from the two sides of the +tidal inlet 89 miles south of Matamoros. Only one of the 14 specimens is +of the light color phase (upper parts Cartridge Buff). This pale +specimen is from the north side of the inlet. The brownish stripe on the +ventral side of the tail is absent on the distal two-fifths of the tail +and the specimens are uniform in this respect. On the occlusal surfaces +of the cheek-teeth, the enamel surrounding the dentine is incomplete on +both the lingual and labial sides of the teeth of five individuals and +is incomplete on the labial side of some of the teeth of a sixth +specimen. + +In the snap traps, all of which were baited with rolled oats, more than +twice as many land crabs as kangaroo rats were taken. Judging from +tracks in the sand, land crabs greatly outnumbered kangaroo rats. The +parietal bones in two of the 13 skulls are much eroded by some parasite +(seemingly nematode worms) and in one of these two specimens the roof of +the left tympanic cavity is perforated. As regards life-zones, the +occurrence of _Dipodomys ordii_ in the lower part of the Lower Sonoran +Life-zone on the off-shore beach 88 and 90 miles south of Matamoros is +low zonally and perhaps is at or near the zonal margin of the range of +the species. The crabs and worms conceivably are two of the +environmental features inhospitable to the rats. + +_Specimens examined._--Total, 14, all from Tamaulipas, Mexico, as +follows: 88 mi. S and 10 mi. W Matamoros, 7; 90 mi. S and 10 mi. W +Matamoros, 7. + +When Setzer (Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 1:473-573, December +27, 1949) reviewed the subspecies of _Dipodomys ordii_ he lacked +specimens of _Dipodomys ordii compactus_ from the type locality or from +anywhere else on Padre Island. He used as representative of _D. o. +compactus_ specimens from Mustang Island, Texas, the island next +northeast of Padre Island. Through the courtesy of Mr. Stanley P. Young, +Dr. Hartley H.T. Jackson and Miss Viola S. Schantz, of the United +States Biological Surveys Collection, I have examined topotypes of _D. +o. compactus_ from Padre Island. This examination discloses that the +kangaroo rats on Padre Island and Mustang Island are significantly +different. Those from Mustang Island may be named and described as +follows: + + +MEASUREMENTS (IN MILLIMETERS) OF ADULT MALES OF FOUR SUBSPECIES OF +DIPODOMYS ORDII + +Key: +A Total length F Breadth across maxillary arches +B Length of tail G Width of rostrum +C Length of hind foot H Length of nasals +D Greatest length of skull I Least interorbital width +E Greatest breadth across bullae J Basilar length +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +_D. o. largus_, type locality (K.U.) + + A B C D E F G H I J +Mean (9) 226 117 35.8 36.3 21.5 19.2 3.6 13.7 12.6 23.2 +Maximum 241 128 37 37.2 22.0 19.9 3.7 14.2 13.9 23.9 +Minimum 212 105 35 35.2 20.7 18.6 3.5 13.5 11.6 22.3 +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +_D. o. compactus_, type locality (U.S.N.M.) + + A B C D E F G H I J +Mean (10) 230 126 37.7 36.6 22.1 20.0 3.8 14.0 12.5 23.8 +Maximum 241 135 40 37.8 23.2 21.4 4.0 14.5 13.1 24.4 +Minimum 208 118 35 35.5 21.6 19.2 3.6 13.1 11.3 23.1 +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +_D. o. parvabullatus_, type locality and 2 mi. S of same (K.U.) + + A B C D E F G H I J +Mean (7) 216 111 35.9 36.4 21.7 19.6 3.6 13.8 12.1 23.0 +Maximum 222 113 37 36.9 22.1 20.7 3.8 14.2 12.5 23.5 +Minimum 210 109 34 35.9 21.3 19.1 3.3 13.4 11.6 22.1 +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +_D. o. sennetti_, 2 mi. S Riviera, Texas (after Setzer, op. cit. :565) + + A B C D E F G H I J +Mean (5) 218 112 35.8 37.2 23.4 20.1 4.0 13.6 13.1 24.2 +Maximum 222 115 38 38.2 24.1 20.7 4.3 14.4 13.2 24.6 +Minimum 208 104 34 36.3 23.0 19.4 3.8 13.0 12.6 23.8 +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +Dipodomys ordii largus new subspecies + +Ord Kangaroo Rat + +_Type._--Female, adult, skull and skin, No. 27234, Mus. Nat. Hist., +Univ. Kansas, from Mustang Island, 14 mi. SW Port Aransas, Aransas +County, Texas; obtained 30 June 1948 by W.K. Clark; original No. 543. + +_Range._--Known from Mustang Island only. + +_Diagnosis._--Size medium (see measurements). Color pale, and as +described for _D. o. parvabullatus_. Skull small; auditory bullae +(actually and relative to remainder of skull) smaller than in any other +known kind of _Dipodomys_, except _D. o. parvabullatus_ in which breadth +across bullae is approximately the same; notably narrow across maxillary +processes of zygomatic arches. + +_Comparisons._--From _Dipodomys ordii sennetti_ (J.A. Allen) of the +mainland, _D. o. largus_ differs in: Color paler on pigmented areas; +white areas more extensive; skull averaging smaller except in basilar +length and length of nasals which are approximately the same as in _D. +o. sennetti_. From _Dipodomys ordii compactus_ True of Padre Island, _D. +o. largus_ differs in: Body longer; tail shorter; skull narrower across +tympanic bullae and across maxillary processes of zygomatic arches; +nasals shorter. From _Dipodomys ordii parvabullatus_ of the coastal +island south of Padre Island, along the gulf coast of Tamaulipas, _D. o. +largus_ differs in: Body and tail longer; basilar length of skull +averaging less; breadth across maxillary processes of zygomatic arches +greater; premaxillae not extending so far behind nasals. + +_Remarks._--_D. o. largus_ resembles _D. o. compactus_ in external +proportions and _D. o. parvabullatus_ in cranial proportions. The degree +of difference between _D. o. compactus_ and _D. o. largus_ is less than +between _D. o. compactus_ and _D. o. parvabullatus_. To me, the three +subspecies mentioned in the preceding sentence are indistinguishable in +color. + +Two of the eleven specimens of _D. o. largus_ are of the light color +phase (upper parts Cartridge Buff) whereas all but two of the eleven +specimens of _D. o. compactus_ are of the light color phase. Each of the +cheek-teeth of the upper jaw of _D. o. largus_ has a complete ring of +enamel around the dentine of the occlusal surface, as described by +Setzer (Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 1:517, December 27, 1949) +for _D. o. compactus_. The upper dentitions of ten specimens of _D. o. +compactus_ examined by me in this respect reveal a total of only five +teeth (in four individual animals) that have the enamel ring incomplete; +one premolar and three molars are incomplete on the lingual side and one +molar is incomplete on the labial side. + +Two specimens from Bagdad, Tamaulipas, in the delta of the Río Grande +(Nos. 116485 and 11487, U.S.N.M., Biol. Surv. Coll.), are referred to +_D. o. compactus_ on basis of long body and long tail. The specimens, +both Light Ochraceous-Buff, are so young that not all of the enamel is +worn off the crowns of the cheek-teeth. Specimens of _D. o. compactus_, +_D. o. parvabullatus_ and _D. o. sennetti_ of comparable age are not +available, and it, therefore, is impossible to know whether size and +shape of the skull in the population at Bagdad are the same as they are +in _D. o. compactus_ of Padre Island. + +_Specimens examined._--Total, 11, all from Texas. Aransas County: +Mustang Island, 14 mi. SW Port Aransas. + + +Sigmodon hispidus solus new subspecies + +Hispid Cotton Rat + +_Type._--Male, adult, skull and skin; No. 35468, Mus. Nat. Hist., Univ. +Kansas; from island, 88 mi. S and 10 mi. W Matamoros, Tamaulipas, +Mexico; 22 March 1950; obtained by E.R. Hall and Curt von Wedel; +original No. 6806 E.R. Hall. + +_Range._--Known from the type locality only but probably occurring on +most of the chain of islands off the coast of Tamaulipas. + +_Diagnosis._--Small; hind foot short; rostrum broad. + +_Comparison._--From its nearest relative, geographically and +morphologically, _Sigmodon hispidus berlandieri_ Baird of the adjacent +mainland, _S. h. solus_ differs in smaller size, and a rostrum that is +broader in relation to the length of the skull. + +_Remarks._--On the last night of our stay on the island, traps set in +grass approximately 20 inches high, yielded one pair of _Sigmodon_. The +color is lighter than in the average of specimens from the mainland (for +instance those from Victoria and Soto la Marina) but can be matched by +selected specimens. In animals of equal age, the hind foot and basilar +length are shorter in _S. h. solus_ than in _berlandieri_. The +broadening of the rostrum, which occurs with advanced age, is attained +in _solus_ when the skull is yet short; the maximum breadth of the +rostrum in the adults is more, instead of less, than a fourth of the +basilar length. + +_Measurements._--The following measurements are of specimens in which +the occlusal face of each molar tooth is worn flat. The first +measurement is of the holotype followed by the corresponding measurement +of a male of _T. b. berlandieri_, No. 116466 from Camargo, Tamaulipas, +in parentheses. The third measurement is that of the female from the +type locality of _S. h. solus_ and it is followed by the corresponding +measurement of a female of _T. b. berlandieri_, No. 116462 from Camargo, +Tamaulipas. Total length, 266 (298),--(293); length of tail, 113 +(135),--(137); length of head and body, 153 (163), 155 (156); length of +hind foot, 30 (35), 30 (33); basilar length of Hensel, 28.2 (28.9); 27.9 +(29.0); zygomatic breadth, 19.5 (--), 19.0 (20.8); mastoidal breadth, +13.9 (14.4), 13.9 (14.8); greatest breadth of rostrum, 7.2 (7.3), 7.8 +(7.2); length of nasals, 14.6 (14.1), 13.4 (14.2); crown length of upper +molar teeth, 6.3 (6.1), 6.3 (5.9). + +_Specimens examined._--Two from the type locality. + + +Lepus californicus curti new subspecies + +Black-tailed Jack Rabbit + +_Type._--Female, adult, skull and skin, No. 35470, Mus. Nat. Hist., +Univ. Kansas; from island, 88 miles south and 10 miles west of +Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico; obtained 19 March 1950 by E.R. Hall; +original No. 6783. + +_Range._--Islands along coast of Tamaulipas, Mexico. + +_Diagnosis._--Color pale; size small; ears short; tympanic bullae small. + +_Comparisons._--From _Lepus californicus merriami_ Mearns (specimens +from Fort Clark, Brownsville and intermediate localities), _L. c. curti_ +differs in paler color, lesser size except ear that is of almost same +length and except interorbital breadth that is approximately same in the +two subspecies; tympanic bullae notably smaller. From _Lepus +californicus altamirae_ Nelson, _L. c. curti_ differs in having the +black patch on the nape less definitely divided by a median, +longitudinal band of buffy color, and lesser size. Exception is to be +made for the ear and tympanic bullae, which are of approximately the +same size in the two subspecies. + +_Remarks._--The subspecific part of the name _Lepus californicus curti_ +is proposed in honor of Dr. Curt von Wedel who shared the pleasure of +collecting on the islands where this handsome hare lives. + +The specimens of _L. c. curti_ are all females, which, in the genus +_Lepus_, average larger than the males. Comparison of the measurements +recorded below with those in the account by Nelson (N. Amer. Fauna, +29:129, 1909) may not reveal the full measure of difference in size +between _L. c. curti_ and other subspecies because Nelson (_op. cit._) +pooled males and females in obtaining the average measurements that he +records. For example, he used three males and two females of _Lepus +altamirae_ in obtaining an average (_op. cit._:117). The specimens of +_L. c. curti_ here recorded are thought to be of full size inasmuch as +the degree of fusion of bones in the skull, and the density of the +cranial bones indicate full adulthood for each specimen. +Reproductive-wise, there is no question as to adulthood; each of the +four females was pregnant. One specimen had two embryos (each 30 +millimeters long in crown-rump measurement) and each of the other +specimens contained one embryo. These three embryos were 55, 60, and 105 +mm. long. + +Three of our specimens, including the holotype, were obtained north of +the eighth pass and the other specimen, No. 35473, was obtained a few +hundred yards south of the pass. Because the part of the barrier beach +south of the pass was connected to the mainland, it is likely that the +newly named subspecies occurs also on the adjacent mainland; however, we +have examined no specimens of _Lepus californicus_ from the opposite +mainland except from Matamoros, ninety miles to the north, and from +Altamira, approximately one hundred and fifty miles south of our +collecting locality. A specimen from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and several +from Brownsville, Texas, in size of auditory bullae, larger overall size +and darker color clearly are _L. c. merriami_ and not _L. c. curti_. + +The small tympanic bullae of the specimens from Padre Island were +commented upon by Nelson (_op. cit._:149) who found smallness of bullae +to characterize many of the specimens from the eastern part of the +geographic range of _L. c. merriami_. In the northeastern part of the +geographic range of _L. c. merriami_, as Nelson pointed out, the small +size of the tympanic bullae was one of several evidences of +intergradation there with _Lepus californicus melanotis_, the subspecies +next adjacent to the north. In the light of present information, it +seems that the smallness of the tympanic bullae in the specimens (3) +from Padre Island may be an independent development--an adaptation to +environmental conditions that reaches its fullest development on the +same chain of islands eighty-odd miles southward of Matamoros. The +specimens from Padre Island, although possessing small bullae, in other +features, for example, larger size of other parts, are _merriami_. + +The four specimens of _L. c. curti_ are in worn winter pelage and the +new pelage is coming in on the thighs. Most of the specimens (6) of the +_L. c. altamirae_ are in the same condition of pelage. In color and +color pattern, the two subspecies are, to me, indistinguishable except +that the black patch on the nape is less widely and less definitely +separated into two parts by a median, longitudinal, band of buffy color. + +_Lepus californicus altamirae_ was named by Nelson (Proc. Biol. Soc. +Washington, 17:109, May 18, 1904) as a black-tailed jack rabbit, _Lepus +merriami altamirae_, but was later transferred by Nelson (N. Amer. +Fauna, 29:124, 1909) to the white-sided section of the genus and +arranged as a full species, _Lepus altamirae_. In making this transfer, +Nelson (_op. cit._:125) wrote that in "This well marked species ... the +lack of a black patch on the posterior half of the ear at the tip and +the white flanks (somewhat obscured in some of the original specimens) +are strong characters which place it in the _callotis_ group." +"Posterior half of ears white without any trace of black at tip", was +the way Nelson (_op. cit._:124) described the ears in _L. altamirae_. My +examination of the original series including the type, reveals that the +ears do have some black at the tip of the posterior half in three of the +specimens, some brown in one other specimen, and only a dusky tinge in +two others. In the four specimens of _L. c. curti_ the tip of the ear is +faintly brownish in one animal and dusky in three. The extent of the +white flanks seems to be identical in the two series. Fortunately they +are in the same pelage and same stage of molt on the hind legs. The one +difference that I can detect is in the coloration of the nape. In each +of the specimens of _L. altamirae_ the coloration is as described by +Nelson (_op. cit._:124): "nape with two lateral black bands extending +back from base of ears, and separated by a median band of buffy." In _L. +c. curti_ the nape is all black in one specimen and the median band of +buffy is present in the other three but is narrower and more dusky than +in _L. altamirae_. Since the characters (color of tip of ear and extent +of white on the flank) relied upon by Nelson for placing _L. altamirae_ +in the _callotis_ group are duplicated in the _californicus_ group, in +_L. c. curti_, there is reason for questioning whether _altamirae_ is +correctly placed, taxonomically, in the _L. callotis_ group. + +Cursory examination of skulls of the _callotis_ group and the +_californicus_ group indicates that the prepalatal spine (the part of +the palate which extends anteriorly toward the vomer) is longer in _L. +californicus_ than in _L. callotis_, _L. gaillardi_ and _L. alleni_. In +this feature, _L. altamirae_ agrees with _Lepus californicus_ and +differs from members of the _Lepus callotis_ group. Furthermore, the +newly named _L. c. curti_, in color of ear and color of nape, is +intermediate between _L. altamirae_ and _L. c. merriami_. Consequently, +_Lepus merriami altamirae_ Nelson, it seems, should stand as _Lepus +californicus altamirae_. + +Mention should be made here of the view of Shamel (Proc. Biol. Soc. +Washington, 55:25-26, May 12, 1942) that the _californicus_ group should +be divided into two groups (each group possibly amounting to something +more than a species and something less than a subgenus) on the basis of +a white rump and complex infolding of the enamel layer of the front of +the first upper incisor _versus_ a dark rump and simple infolding of the +mentioned layer of enamel. He placed _Lepus californicus merriami_ +Mearns, among other subspecies, in a group different from the one in +which he placed several other subspecies of _Lepus californicus_. + +Specimens (skulls with accompanying skins) of the species _Lepus +californicus_ in the Biological Surveys Collection of the United States +National Museum, representative of a gradual transition from the dark +rump and simple fold in the enamel to the white rump and complex fold in +the enamel are as follows: _L. c. deserticola_, No. 29733/41808, +Paharanagat Valley, Nevada; Nos. 117463 and 156744, Beals Spring, +Arizona. _L. c. texianus_, No. 24635/32031, Springerville, Arizona; No. +97453, Roswell, New Mexico; No. 118751, Toyah, Texas; No. 118749, +Valentine, Texas; and No. 108700, Terlingua Creek, Texas. In the +continuously distributed species _Lepus californicus_, along the +northwest to southeast line provided by the localities of occurrence +listed immediately above, there is a gradual transition from one kind of +fold to the other kind and from one color of rump to the other color. +It is clear that Shamel (_op. cit._) was in error in his conclusions; +the kinds of black-tailed jack rabbits to which Shamel (_op. cit._) +applied the name _Macrotolagus_ should stand as given below. + + Correct names: + + _Lepus alleni alleni_ Mearns + _Lepus alleni palitans_ Bangs + _Lepus alleni tiburonensis_ Townsend + _Lepus gaillardi gaillardi_ Mearns + _Lepus gaillardi battyi_ J.A. Allen + _Lepus callotis_ Wagler + _Lepus flavigularis_ Wagner + _Lepus californicus altamirae_ Nelson + _Lepus californicus melanotis_ Mearns + _Lepus californicus merriami_ Mearns + _Lepus californicus asellus_ Miller + _Lepus californicus festinus_ Nelson + _Lepus californicus texianus_ Waterhouse + + +MEASUREMENTS (IN MILLIMETERS) OF ADULTS OF TWO SUBSPECIES OF LEPUS +CALIFORNICUS + + Key: + A Total length G Breadth of rostrum above premolars + B Tail-vertebrae H Depth of rostrum in front of premolars + C Hind foot I Interorbital breadth + D Ear from notch in dried skin J Parietal breadth + E Basilar length K Diameter of bulla + F Length of nasals +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +_L. c. curti_, type locality (K.U.) + + A B C D E F G H I J K +[Female] 35470 565 55 125 115 72.0 37.1 25.9 21.2 27.4 29.8 13.5 +[Female] 35471 566 57 122 122 72.8 39.0 25.5 22.0 26.2 29.2 13.9 +[Female] 35472 520 50 115 105 69.5 38.6 26.0 19.0 24.4 30.2 13.5 +[Female] 35473 587 53 124 118 72.0 40.9 26.7 22.2 27.4 29.0 13.0 +Average 560 54 122 115 71.6 38.9 26.0 21.1 26.4 29.6 13.5 +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- +_L. c. altamirae_, type locality (U.S.N.M., Biol. Surv. Coll.) + + A B C D E F G H I J K +[Male] 93691 605 96 137 112 76.5 44.5 26.6 24.6 .... 32.0 13.0 +[Female] 93692 595 71 137 114 77.1 42.5 26.3 23.1 27.0 29.5 13.4 +[Male] 93693 590 93 137 110 77.8 43.8 27.6 22.5 27.2 30.7 14.2 +[Female] 93694 605 70 142 118 78.0 45.9 26.8 23.4 28.7 32.0 14.3 +[Male] 92982 556 59 136 114 75.9 46.5 26.1 22.3 25.8 .... 14.0 +Average 590 78 138 114 77.1 44.6 26.7 23.2 27.2 31.1 13.8 +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- + + 1. In each specimen of _L. c. curti_ the length of the ear measured + from the notch when the animal was in the flesh was eight + millimeters more than in the dried skin. + +The cranial measurements given above are taken, in so far as possible, +in the same way that the measurements recorded by Nelson in his North +American Fauna (No. 29, 1909) were taken. In that publication he records +mostly average measurements but he records also some measurements of +individual specimens. Two of these specimens are the holotypes of +_Sylvilagus mansuetus_ Nelson and Romerolagus nelsoni Merriam. By +attempting to duplicate Nelson's measurements on these specimens, the +following opinions were formed. + + "Basilar length" is basilar length of Hensel and the anterior + point probably was the posterior border of the alveolus of incisor + two. There is some evidence of lack of consistency with respect to + the anterior control point. + + "Length of nasals" is the overall length, of the two nasal bones, + but in _Romerolagus_ the shorter (right) nasal alone seems to have + been measured. + + "Breadth of rostrum above premolars" is easily duplicated in + _Lepus_ but in _Sylvilagus_ the control points are difficult to + find. Two other persons and I obtained three different + measurements, all different from Nelson's measurements, and we + thought that Nelson would have obtained different measurements by + measuring the same specimen of _Sylvilagus_ at different times. + + "Depth of rostrum in front of premolars" seems to have been taken + perpendicular to the inferior longitudinal line of the rostrum, + approximately one-half millimeter anterior to the alveolus of the + anteriormost cheek tooth. + + "Interorbital breadth" was taken across the supraorbital processes, + at the narrowest place, but _not_ from the notches medial to the + antorbital projections of the supraorbital processes. + + "Parietal breadth" is the breadth, across the braincase, taken + approximately half way between the squamosal root of the zygoma and + the external auditory meatus, where there is a lateral bulge in the + squamosal bone. On each side of the skull, the calipers rest on the + squamosal bone, not on the parietal bone. + + "Diameter of bullae" excludes the paroccipital process and was + taken from the anteriormost part of a tympanic bulla, + posterolaterally to the part of that same bulla, that is exposed at + the lateral side of the base of the paroccipital process. + +_Specimens examined._--Total, four, all from Tamaulipas, Mexico, as +follows: 88 mi. S and 10 mi. W Matamoros, 3; 90 mi. S and 10 mi. W +Matamoros, 1. + +_Transmitted February 20, 1951._ + + +23-7414 + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mammals Obtained by Dr. Curt von Wedel +from the Barrier Beach of Tamaulipas, Mexico, by E. 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