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Mammals from Tamaulipas, Mexico


BY

ROLLIN H. BAKER


University of Kansas Publications
Museum of Natural History

Volume 5, No. 12, pp. 207-218
December 15, 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. 12, pp. 207-218
December 15, 1951


UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Lawrence, Kansas


PRINTED BY
FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER
TOPEKA, KANSAS
1951

23-8338




Mammals from Tamaulipas, Mexico

By

ROLLIN H. BAKER


Forming the northeastern border of Mexico, Tamaulipas extends in an
elongated, north-south direction from the Temperate into the Torrid
Zone and contains faunal elements from both the Nearctic and
Neotropical regions. The mammals are less known than those from some of
the bordering states; for the most part collecting has been limited to
a few localities, chiefly along the Pan-American Highway. Accordingly,
as a step towards a long-range study of the mammals of Tamaulipas, the
Museum of Natural History of the University of Kansas acquired from
William J. Schaldach, Jr., a small, but significant, collection of
mammals taken in the last month of 1949 and the first four months of
1950.

Collections were made at several places in the vicinity of Ciudad
Victoria, including localities along the humid, eastern face of the
Sierra Madre Oriental. Many of these specimens were obtained near camps
made west of the village of El Carrizo. This small community is on the
Pan-American highway, 70 kilometers (by highway) south of Ciudad
Victoria. The resulting collections, which are reported upon here,
disclose that several tropical mammals range farther northward than
previously reported. Funds for financing the field work were made
available by a grant from the Kansas University Endowment Association.


ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES

~Didelphis mesamericana mesamericana~ Oken


Central American Opossum

     _Did[elphys] mes-americana_ Oken, Lehrbuch d. Naturgesch.,
     pt. 3, vol. 2:1152, 1816. (Type from Northern Mexico.)

     _Didelphis mes-americana_ Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
     Hist., 16:256, August 18, 1902.


     _Specimens examined_, 2 as follows: 36 km. N and 10 km. W
     Ciudad Victoria, 1 km. E El Barretal, on Río Purificacíon,
     1; 12 km. N and 4 km. W Ciudad Victoria, 1.


~Philander opossum pallidus~ (Allen)

Four-eyed Opossum

     _Metachirus fuscogriseus pallidus_ Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus.
     Nat. Hist., 14:215, July 3, 1901. (Type from Orizaba,
     Veracruz, Mexico.)

     _Philander opossum pallidus_ Dalquest, Occ. Papers Mus.
     Zool., Louisiana State Univ., No. 23:2, July 10, 1950.


     _Specimens examined_, 3 from 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo.

_Remarks._--These three specimens have proportionately longer tails
than typical _P. o. pallidus_ from central Veracruz; total length and
length of tail of two adult males are 575, 295, and 568, 290
respectively.

This marsupial has been previously unrecorded from Tamaulipas or from
so northward a locality. The four-eyed opossum evidently ranges
northward along the east face of the Sierra Madre Oriental within the
humid division of the Upper Tropical Life-zone. These animals, all
males, were taken in steel traps baited with the bodies of skinned mice
or birds. Sets were made along well-used trails leading from a densely
vegetated arroyo into a corn field through openings in a fence of
roughly piled logs. The elevation of this locality is approximately
2500 feet.


~Desmodus rotundus murinus~ Wagner

Vampire Bat

     _D[esmodus] murinus_ Wagner, Schreber's Säugthiere, Suppl.,
     1:377, 1840. (Type from Mexico.)

     _Desmodus rotundus murinus_ Osgood, Field Mus. Nat. Hist.,
     publ. 155, zool. ser., 10:63, January 10, 1912.

     _Specimens examined_, 9 as follows: 12 km. W and 8 km. N
     Ciudad Victoria, 2500 ft., 3; 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 6 km. W of the [Pan-American] highway [at El
     Carrizo], 6.

_Remarks._--Vampire bats were taken at two caves. At the cave called
"Los Troncones", 12 kilometers west and 8 kilometers north of Ciudad
Victoria, seven bats were shot down; three were saved. The second cave,
south of Ciudad Victoria, was considerably damper than the first.
Vampires were found in a small side chamber; nine bats were knocked
down. No other kinds of bats were present in either cave.


~Sylvilagus floridanus connectens~ (Nelson)

Florida Cottontail

     _Lepus floridanus connectens_ Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc.
     Washington, 17:105, May 18, 1904. (Type from Chichicaxtle,
     Veracruz, Mexico.)

     _Sylvilagus floridanus connectens_ Lyon and Osgood, Catal.
     Type spec. Mamm. U. S. Nat. Mus., Bull. 62:32, January 28,
     1909.

     _Specimens examined_, 2 from 70 km. [by highway] S. Ciudad
     Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo.


~Sciurus aureogaster aureogaster~ F. Cuvier

Red-bellied Squirrel

     [_Sciurus_, by implication] _aureogaster_ F. Cuvier, Hist.
     nat. mammifères, vol. 6, livr. 59, pl. with text, September,
     1829. Binomial published at end of work only, vol. 7, tabl.
     generale et méthodique, p. 4, 1842. (Type from "California"
     = eastern Mexico.)

     _Specimens examined_, 13 as follows: 43 km. S Ciudad
     Victoria, 1; 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad Victoria, and 6
     km. W of [Pan-American] highway [at El Carrizo], 3; 70 km.
     [by hwy.] S Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo, 9.

_Remarks._--These colorful squirrels were taken in thick timber and
brush, and locally are referred to as "ardilla pinta" or "ardilla
colorada." One female obtained on January 22 is black. Local hunters
state that these squirrels are most active early in the morning and
late in the afternoon. Two squirrels were seen in copulation on January
19.


~Sciurus negligens~ Nelson

Little Gray Squirrel

     _Sciurus negligens_ Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
     12:147, June 3, 1898. (Type from Alta Mira, Tamaulipas,
     Mexico.)

     _Specimens examined_, 17 as follows: 70 km. [by highway] S
     of Ciudad Victoria and 6 km. W of the [Pan-American] highway
     [at El Carrizo], 5; 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad Victoria
     and 2 km. W El Carrizo, 12.

_Remarks._--Referred to as "ardilla chica" locally, these squirrels
were most frequently seen in the dense forest of the lower, elevations.
Active both in trees and on the ground, these animals were reported as
being destructive to corn crops. Females taken in January were
lactating.


~Heterogeomys hispidus concavus~ Nelson and Goldman

Hispid Pocket Gopher

     _Heterogeomys hispidus concavus_ Nelson and Goldman, Proc.
     Biol. Soc. Washington, 42:148, March 30, 1929. (Type from
     Pinal de Amoles, Queretaro, Mexico.)

     _Specimens examined_, 5 as follows: 70 km. [by highway] S
     Ciudad Victoria and 5 km. W El Carrizo, 4; 70 km. [by
     highway] S Ciudad Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo, 1.

_Remarks._--These gophers have been compared with specimens of _H. h.
hispidus_ from Veracruz (5 km. N Jalapa and 4 km. WNW Fortin) and with
specimens of _H. h. concavus_ from San Luis Potosí (Xilitla and
vicinity and 3 mi. NW Pujal); the latter were examined through the
courtesy of Dr. George H. Lowery, Jr., of the Museum of Zoology at
Louisiana State University. These five specimens are assigned to _H. h.
concavus_ and resemble in every way this subspecies except: slightly
smaller, somewhat darker, and skull with lambdoidal crest less inclined
forward. In the latter feature, the single skull available seems to
resemble most closely that of _H. h. hispidus_. Unfortunately, all but
one skull, that of a subadult female, were destroyed in the field.

This is the first known record of this genus in Tamaulipas and the most
northern locality from which specimens have been taken. At this
latitude, the gopher appears to be restricted to the humid belt on the
east face of the Sierra Madre Oriental. These large gophers were
difficult to trap by ordinary means; Schaldach got two by using
large-sized Macabee traps but the others were taken at night either
with the aid of a dog or by natives with slingshots.


~Liomys irroratus texensis~ Merriam

Spiny Pocket Mouse

     _Liomys texensis_ Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
     15:44, March 5, 1902. (Type from Brownsville, Cameron
     County, Texas.)

     _Liomys irroratus texensis_ Goldman, N. Amer. Fauna, 34:59,
     September 7, 1911.

     _Specimens examined_, 15 as follows: 7 km. S and 2 km. W San
     Fernando, 8; 36 km. N and 10 km. W Ciudad Victoria, 1 km. E
     El Barretal, on Río Purificacíon, 1; 70 km. [by highway] S
     Ciudad Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo, 6.

_Remarks._--Most of these mice were taken in densely vegetated fallow
fields, where both grass and brush were found. Many of the mice were
captured at their burrow openings, some of which were found to be
plugged and others not plugged.


~Reithrodontomys fulvescens intermedius~ Allen

Fulvous Harvest Mouse

     _Reithrodontomys mexicanus intermedius_ Allen, Bull. Amer.
     Mus. Nat. Hist., 7:136, May 21, 1895. (Type from
     Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas.)

     _Reithrodontomys fulvescens intermedius_ Howell, N. Amer.
     Fauna, 36:47, June 5, 1914.

     _Specimen examined_, 1 from 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo.


~Baiomys taylori taylori~ (Thomas)

Pygmy Mouse

     _Hesperomys (Vesperimus) taylori_ Thomas, Ann. and Mag. Nat.
     Hist, ser. 5, 19:66, January, 1887. (Type from San Diego,
     Duval County, Texas.)

     _Baiomys taylori_ Mearns, Mamm. Mex. Bound., Bull. 56:381,
     April 13, 1907.


     _Specimens examined_, 2 from 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo.

_Remarks._--Specimens were captured in runways in dense grass and weeds
at the edge of a corn field.


~Peromyscus leucopus texanus~ (Woodhouse)

White-footed Mouse

     _Hesperomys texana_ Woodhouse, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
     Philadelphia, 6:242, 1853. (Type probably from the vicinity
     of Mason, Mason County, Texas.)

     _Peromyscus leucopus texanus_ Osgood, N. Amer. Fauna,
     28:127, April 17, 1909.

     _Specimens examined_, 8 as follows: 7 km. S and 2 km. W San
     Fernando, 1; 12 km. N and 4 km. W Ciudad Victoria, 2; 70 km.
     [by highway] S Ciudad Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo, 4.


~Peromyscus ochraventer~ new species

Brown-bellied Wood Mouse

     _Type._--Female, adult, skin and skull; no. 36958, Univ.
     Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist.; 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 6 km. W of the [Pan-American] highway [at El
     Carrizo], Tamaulipas, Mexico; 12 January 1950; obtained by
     William J. Schaldach, Jr., original no. 566.

     _Range._--Known only from the type locality; probably found
     in other localities along the humid, east face of the Sierra
     Madre Oriental in Tamaulipas.

     _Diagnosis._--Size medium (see measurements); upper parts
     near Ochraceous Tawny (capitalized color terms after
     Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomenclature, Washington,
     D. C., 1912), brighter on sides and duller on back; cheeks,
     sides of neck, shoulders and upper forelegs lighter, between
     Ochraceous Buff and Ochraceous Orange; eye ring dark;
     underparts light Cinnamon Buff, breast patch brighter; ears
     dusky, sparsely covered with hairs colored like back; feet
     white; tail scaly in appearance, indistinctly bicolored with
     short dark hairs above and short pale hairs below; skull
     without beaded or ridged supraorbital border; rostrum
     expanded anteriorly with sides almost parallel; teeth with
     strongly developed outer accessory cusps on the first and
     second upper molar teeth; anteriormost loph
     (parastyle-protoconule of Goldman, N. Amer. Fauna, 43:11,
     September 23, 1918) of the first upper molar large, almost
     as broad as greatest breadth of tooth.

     _Comparisons._--_Peromyscus ochraventer_ has been compared
     with _P. difficilis_ (specimens from Veracruz), _P. boylei_
     (Veracruz), _P. banderanus_ (Guerrero), _P. mexicanus_
     (Veracruz), _P. furvus_ (Veracruz), and _P. latirostris_
     (San Luis Potosí). From _P. difficilis_, _P. ochraventer_
     differs in having underparts distinctively brownish, rostrum
     expanded anteriorly with sides almost parallel, anteriormost
     loph of the first upper molar larger, and auditory bulla
     smaller. From _P. boylei_, _P. ochraventer_ differs in
     having underparts distinctively brownish, tail less
     distinctly bicolored, rostrum expanded anteriorly with sides
     almost parallel, and anteriormost loph of the first upper
     molar larger. From _P. banderanus_, _P. ochraventer_ differs
     in having underparts distinctively brownish, tail less
     distinctly bicolored, rostrum expanded anteriorly with sides
     almost parallel, anteriormost loph of the first upper molar
     larger, auditory bulla smaller, and in lacking a beaded or
     ridged supraorbital border. From _P. mexicanus_, _P.
     ochraventer_ differs in having underparts distinctively
     brownish, tail not irregularly blotched with dusky, rostrum
     expanded anteriorly with sides almost parallel, anteriormost
     loph of the first upper molar larger, and in lacking a
     beaded or ridged supraorbital border. From _P. furvus_ and
     _P. latirostris_, _P. ochraventer_ differs in being smaller,
     having underparts distinctively brownish, tail not
     irregularly blotched with dusky, rostrum proportionately
     shorter, and interpterygoid space relatively narrower.

_Remarks._--_Peromyscus ochraventer_ is considered to be a distinct
species showing little evident relationship with other Mexican
_Peromyscus_. In the shape of the skull, especially the anterior
expansion of the rostrum, _P. ochraventer_ seems to be related to _P.
furvus_ and _P. latirostris_, a series of the latter being made
available for examination by Dr. George G. Lowery, Jr., of the Museum
of Zoology at Louisiana State University. However, the rostrum of these
two larger species is proportionately longer than the rostrum of _P.
ochraventer_. In size, coloration and most cranial features, _P.
ochraventer_ resembles _P. mexicanus_, although the absence, instead of
presence, of a supraorbital bead or ridge, the almost parallel-sided,
instead of more pointed, rostrum and the larger, instead of smaller,
interiormost loph of the first upper molar in _P. ochraventer_ are
well-marked differences. The baculum of _P. ochraventer_ is much
shorter with a proportionately heavier base and shaft than the baculum
of _P. mexicanus mexicanus_ (from Veracruz) and _P. m. saxatilis_ (from
Costa Rica). The geographic range of _Peromyscus ochraventer_ is not
known to meet that of _P. mexicanus_; the nearest place to the type
locality of _P. ochraventer_ from which _P. mexicanus_ has been taken
is at Xilitla approximately 225 kilometers to the southward in San Luis
Potosí (Dalquest, Occ. Papers Mus. Zool., Louisiana State Univ., No.
28:8, July 10, 1950).

The brown coloring on the underparts is a distinctive feature of _P.
ochraventer_; in adults this color differs in shade. In some specimens
patches of whitish hair give the tail a splotched appearance. Eleven of
the twenty-eight skulls and lower jaws examined have bone eroded away
from around the cheek-teeth exposing part of the roots. Most of the
fully adult animals have this condition. One adult female, no. 36959,
has the upper third molar on the right side missing, possibly as a
result of bone erosion.

These mice were taken in junglelike forest, in rocks and adjacent to
logs. Schaldach writes that "Their burrows go back under the large
limestone blocks, and each burrow where I caught a mouse has a pile of
excavated earth, like a tiny gopher mound." The trapping area was at an
elevation of approximately 2800 feet on the steep sides of a small hill
on top of which the field camp was situated. Schaldach indicated that
this locality was transitional between arid tropical and humid tropical
conditions. On January 13, 1950, a female taken was lactating and had
five recent placental scars; another taken the same day also had five
placental scars.

     _Measurements._--Average and extreme measurements of seven
     adult males and six adult females of _P. ochraventer_ from
     the type locality are, respectively, as follows: Total
     length, 238.0 (227-249), 236.5 (226-248); length of tail,
     124.4 (117-127), 122.2 (116-128); length of hind foot, 25.6
     (24-26), 25.5 (25-26); length of ear from notch, 20.9
     (20-21), 20.7 (20-21); greatest length of skull, 31.0
     (30.6-31.9), 30.8 (30.5-31.0); basilar length, 23.3
     (22.7-23.8), 23.4 (23.0-23.9); zygomatic breadth, 15.1
     (14.6-15.7), 15.0 (14.9-15.2); post palatal length, 10.6
     (10.5-10.9), 10.9 (10.5-11.2); interorbital breadth, 4.7
     (4.5-4.9), 4.7 (4.6-4.8); mastoidal breadth, 12.8
     (12.4-13.2), 12.8 (12.6-12.9); length of nasals, 11.6
     (10.8-12.0), 11.6 (11.2-11.7); length of shelf of bony
     palate, 4.7 (4.5-4.8), 4.6 (4.5-4.7); length of palatine
     slits, 6.3 (6.0-6.5), 6.2 (6.0-6.4); length of diastema, 8.2
     (8.0-8.5), 8.2 (8.1-8.4); alveolar length of upper
     molariform tooth-row, 4.4 (4.3-4.6), 4.4 (4.3-4.5).

     _Specimens examined_, 28, from the type locality.


~Oryzomys couesi aquaticus~ Allen

Coues Rice Rat

     _Oryzomys aquaticus_ Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
     3:289, June 30, 1891. (Type from Brownsville, Cameron
     County, Texas.)

     _Oryzomys couesi aquaticus_ Goldman, N. Amer. Fauna, 43:39,
     September 23, 1918.

     _Specimens examined_, 2 as follows: 36 km. N and 10 km. W
     Ciudad Victoria, 1 km. E El Barretal, on Río Purificacíon,
     1; 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad Victoria and 6 km. W of the
     [Pan-American] highway [at El Carrizo], 1.

_Remarks._--The specimens, all immatures, are slightly darker than
topotypes of _O. c. aquaticus_, seemingly tending toward the darker _O.
c. peragrus_ Merriam to the southward. These records of occurrence
extend the known range of this subspecies approximately 210 miles to
the southward and increase the possibility of continuous distribution
between _O. c. aquaticus_ and _O. c. peragrus_.

The male obtained south of Ciudad Victoria was taken on January 12, by
William J. Shaldach, Jr., 200 yards within the tunnel of a mine at an
elevation of approximately 2600 feet. This was in the Sierra Gorda,
which is a part of the Sierra Madre Oriental.


~Oryzomys rostratus rostratus~ Merriam

Rice Rat

     _Oryzomys rostratus_ Merriam, Proc. Washington Acad. Sci.,
     3:293, July 26, 1901. (Type from Metlaltoyuca, Pueblo,
     Mexico.)

     _Specimen examined_, 1 from 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo.

_Remarks._--This immature male is paler than specimens of _O. r.
rostratus_ from the state of Veracruz. This locality extends the known
range of this species northward a distance of approximately 100 miles.
Previously it had been recorded from only as far north as Alta Mira,
Tamaulipas (Goldman, N. Amer. Fauna, 43:54, September 23, 1918). This
specimen was trapped on February 16 in a rodent runway in dense grass
in a fallow cane field.


~Oryzomys fulvescens engraciae~ Osgood

Fulvous Rice Rat

     _Oryzomys fulvescens engraciae_ Osgood, Jour. Mamm., 26:300,
     November 14, 1945. (Type from Hacienda Santa Engracia,
     northwest of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico.)

     _Specimens examined_, 5 from 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 2 km. E El Carrizo.

_Remarks._--These specimens are referred to _O. f. engraciae_ on the
basis of their pale color and narrow interorbital space. They were
taken in runways in dense grass in fallow cane fields.


~Sigmodon hispidus toltecus~ (Saussure)

Hispid Cotton Rat

     [_Hesperomys_] _toltecus_ Saussure, Revue et magasin de
     zoologie, _ser._ 2, 12:98, 1860. (Type from mountains of
     Veracruz, Mexico.)

     _Sigmodon hispidus toltecus_ Bailey, Proc. Biol. Soc.
     Washington, 15:110, June 2, 1902.

     _Specimens examined_, 23 as follows: 36 km. N and 10 km. W
     Ciudad Victoria, 1 km. E El Barretal, on Río Purificacíon,
     1; 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad Victoria and 2 km. W El
     Carrizo, 22.

_Remarks._--Among named kinds of _Sigmodon_ this series most closely
approaches _S. h. toltecus_ to the southward. The specimens are
slightly lighter in color of the upper parts than are examples of this
same subspecies from 8 km. NW of Potrero, Veracruz, but in other ways
are similar. The single specimen from 36 km. N and 10 km. W Ciudad
Victoria is a skull only, but seems closest to _S. h. toltecus_. As is
often the case with collections of _Sigmodon_, this series contains
mostly immatures.

Cotton rats were found abundantly in cultivated areas. Local farmers
stated that these rats were destructive to sugar cane by girdling the
stems one and one-half inches above the ground.


~Neotoma micropus micropus~ Baird

Baird Wood Rat

     _Neotoma micropus_ Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
     Philadelphia, p. 333, April, 1855. (Type from Charco
     Escondido, Tamaulipas, Mexico.)

     _Specimens examined_, 2 from 7 km. S and 2 km. W San
     Fernando.


~Neotoma angustapalata~ new species

Tamaulipan Wood Rat

     _Type._--Male, subadult, skin and skull; No. 36976, Univ.
     Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist.; 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 6 km. W of the [Pan-American] highway [at El
     Carrizo], Tamaulipas, Mexico; 14 January 1950; obtained by
     William J. Schaldach, Jr., original no. 578.

     _Range._--Known only from the type locality; probably found
     in other localities along the humid, east face of the Sierra
     Madre Oriental in Tamaulipas.

     _Diagnosis._--Size large (see measurements); upper parts
     dusky brown, paler on sides, individual hairs on middle of
     back tipped with black or with Light Pinkish Cinnamon
     (capitalized color term after Ridgway, Color Standards and
     Color Nomenclature, Washington, D. C., 1912); head grayer
     especially on cheeks; underparts dusky (dark bases of
     white-tipped hairs exposed), hairs on throat and inguinal
     region of adult specimen white to base; outside of legs
     dusky gray; tail scaly in appearance and sparsely covered
     with short, blackish hairs above and short, whitish hairs
     below; skull with auditory bulla large; external auditory
     meatus large; palatine region narrow; sides of
     interpterygoid fossa concave and broadly excavated near
     posterior end of molariform tooth-rows.

     _Comparison._--_Neotoma angustapalata_ has been compared
     with _N. torquata_ (specimens from Veracruz and Puebla), _N.
     navus_ (Coahuila), _N. mexicana_ (New Mexico), _N. micropus_
     (Tamaulipas), _N. albigula_ (Coahuila), _N. ferruginea_
     (Jalisco), and _N. distincta_ (from published description in
     Goldman, N. Amer. Fauna, 31:64, October 19, 1910). _Neotoma
     angustapalata_ differs from _N. micropus_ and _N. albigula_
     in having a deep, instead of a shallow, anterointernal
     reentrant angle on the first upper molar and seems to belong
     to the _N. mexicana_ group of wood rats. _Neotoma
     angustapalata_ differs from _N. navus_, _N. mexicana_, _N.
     torquata_, and _N. ferruginea_ in larger size, darker
     underparts, tail with sparse, short hairs and scaly
     appearance, more broadly concave sides of interpterygoid
     fossa at posterior end of molariform tooth-rows, larger
     external auditory meatus, and narrower palatine breadth.
     _Neotoma angustapalata_ differs from the description of _N.
     distincta_ in having a faintly bicolored tail, no ochraceous
     pectoral band, broadly concave sides to interpterygoid
     fossa, and narrower palatine breadth.

_Remarks._--_Neotoma angustapalata_ is represented by two specimens;
the type and another specimen, an adult male, no. 37062, with skin and
broken skull. The description takes into account both of these
specimens. The most significant characteristics of _N. angustapalata_
are its scaly-appearing tail with short, sparse hairs, dusky
underparts, broadly concave sides of the interpterygoid fossa at the
posterior end of molariform tooth-rows, and the narrow palatine
breadth. Among named kinds of _Neotoma_, the newly named species most
closely resembles _N. torquata_ and _N. distincta_; however, it is
geographically widely separated from these two species. _Neotoma navus_
of southeastern Coahuila is the only other member of the _N. mexicana_
group in northeastern Mexico.

These wood rats were taken in rocks and crevices at the base of a small
hill in thick vegetation growing in deep humus. Schaldach termed the
trapping site as "arid tropical tending toward humid tropical".

     _Measurements._--The subadult, male holotype measures as
     follows: Total length, 325; length of tail, 154; length of
     hind foot, 36; length of ear from notch, 29; basilar length
     (of skull), 33.9; zygomatic breadth, 22.1; interorbital
     breadth, 5.7; length of nasals, 15.2; length of incisive
     foramina, 8.7; length of palatal bridge, 8.5; least breadth
     of palate between first upper molars, 2.7; greatest breadth
     of interpterygoid space, 4.1; alveolar length of upper
     molariform tooth-row, 9.6. The adult, male, no. 37062,
     measures as follows: Total length, 380; tail vertebrae, 195;
     hind foot, 42; ear from notch, 31; interorbital breadth (of
     skull), 6.4.

     _Specimens examined_, 2, from the type locality.


~Rattus rattus~ subsp.

Black Rat

     _Specimens taken_, 2 from 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 6 km. W of the [Pan-American] highway [at El
     Carrizo].


~Mus musculus~ subsp.

House Mouse

     _Specimen examined_, 1 from 12 km. N and 4 km. W Ciudad
     Victoria.


~Nasua narica tamaulipensis~ Goldman

Coati

     _Nasua narica tamaulipensis_ Goldman, Proc. Biol. Soc.
     Washington, 55:80, June 25, 1942. (Type from Cerro de la
     Silla, near Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.)

     _Specimen examined_, 1 from 70 km. [by highway] S Ciudad
     Victoria and 2 km. W El Carrizo.

_Remarks._--Several bands of coatis were observed in the vicinity of
the village of El Carrizo. One skull of a male was obtained.


_Transmitted June 8, 1951_.


23-8338




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Transcriber's Notes

Italicized text is shown within _underscores_.

Bold text is shown within ~tildes~.

Page 210: Säugthiere may be a typo for Säugethiere.








End of Project Gutenberg's Mammals from Tamaulipas, Mexico, by Rollin H. Baker