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Show 350 MR. E. R. ALSTON ON THE GENUS DASYPROCTA. [Apr. 4, (1823, descr. orig.) ; Wagner, Suppl. Schreb. Saugeth. iv. p. 38 ; Waterhouse, M a m m . ii. p. 387. Dasyprocta caudata, Lund, K. Dansk. Vidensk. viii. p. 297 (1841, descr. orig.). Fur ringed with black and yellow, nearly uniform throughout, slightly darker on the back and often hoary on the rump ; the long hairs ringed to the base; throat and breast pure yellow. Length 20 inches ; hind foot 3*30. Hab. S. Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia. This is the most southern species of Agouti, replacing the more northern N. aguti in the province of St. Paulo, Brazil, where Natterer found it in great numbers. If Wagner is right, however, in uniting Lund's I). caudata with the present species, its range extends a little further north, into the Province of Minas Geraes. Southwards it is found, according to Dr. Burmeister, throughout southern Brazil and Paraguay, but does not extend beyond the Rio de la Plata*. In Bolivia, Mr. Waterhouse says that it was found by Mr. Bridges, near Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where it is called Hoche Colorado by the inhabitants. As I hope to have another opportunity of figuring the Central- American Agoutis, I have chosen this species, of which I am not acquainted with any good representation, as the subject of the accompanying Plate (Plate XXIX.). 7. D. PUNCTATA. Dasyprocta punctata, Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist. x. p. 264 (1842, descr. orig.), Voy. 'Sulphur,' p. 36, pl. xv. Fur ringed with black, and either bright rufous or yellow, uniform throughout, hairs of rump scarcely elongated, ringed to the base; breast and lower parts also annulated, except a pale median line on the abdomen. Length about 22 inches ; hind foot 4 inches. Hab. Guatemala, Costa Rica. Skins collected by Mr. Salvin in Guatemala differ much in ruddiness, from a bright chestnut to a pale yellow. The latter agree exactly with the types of Gray's D. punctata (from " Tropical America " ) . They so much resemble D. azarce that one might be inclined to follow Wagner and Waterhouse in uniting them, were it not for the vast difference in their geographical positionf. Even the pale examples of D. punctata may be always distinguished from the Brazilian form by the larger size, the still more uniform coloration, and the annulation of the fur on the chest; and I have never seen a specimen of D. azarce which showed a trace of the rich ruddy tints which seem to be normal in the Guatemalan form. The Society has also received this species from Costa Rica. 8. D. AGUTI. Mus aguti, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. i. p. 80 (1766, descr. orig.). * Thiere Brasil. p. 233. t Cf. Mr. Salvin's remarks on some analogous facts in the distribution of birds (Ibis, 1872, pp. 147-152). |