A new hare from Greece

Vol.

XVI, ^pp.145-146

November

12, 1903

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

A NEW HARE FROM GREECE, BY GERRIT

^S.

MILLER,

Ju.

[By permission^ofthe Secretary^oftheSmithsonianInstitution.]

A hare from Mount

_Parnassus, Greece, recently

procured by the United

States

National Museum,

^differs

conspicuously from

all of the

forms

related to Lejnis europceus that

have been

recognized

during

the past

few

_years.

As no name

has as yet

been

_appliedtothe

Grecian hare

the

animal may

^be

^known

^as:

Lepus

parnassius, sp.

now

Type.

—

Adult

male

(skin

and

skull),Xo. 122,093,UnitedStatesNational

Museum.

Collected at Agorianni, north ^{side of}

Lyakura

(Parnassus) Mts., Greece,

September

^{10, 1895. Received} from "Wilhelm _Schliiter, of Halle, ontheSaale,

Germany.

Characters.

—

Intermediatein size between Britishspecimens^ofLepus occidentalix,

and

Swiss examples ^{of L.} europceus, but nearer the latter.

Generalcolor lessyellow thanⁱⁿthe related forms: ears grayish instead of yellowish,

and

with

much more

extensive black area at _tip;

rump

scarcely^different

from

back. Skullwith rostrum

much

less heavily builtthanthatofLepuseuropceus.

Color.

—

Hairsofdorsalsurface, with fourcolor bands. Beginning ^at the base there are(1) whitish smoke-gray. ¹²

mm.,

(2)black, 7

mm.,

(3)

pinkish-buff, ⁵

mm.,

(4); black, 5

mm. The

general effect is a coarse grizzle ofblackandpinkish-buff, thelatterveryslightly in excess,

much

37— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. Vol. XVI. 1903. (145)

146

MxXter

— A New _{Hare from}

Greece.

less so than the _light, clear buff of the correspondingregion in Lepin- europceus. Sidesand neck not noticeably ^different from _back, but the grizzle ^lessdistinct,

owing

^tothereplacement^of the sub-baselblack

by

hair-brown.

Rump

essentially likeback, but witha slightgrayish ^cast duetothe_lightgray^{basesofthehairs.}

The

exactshade of this

under

colorisabout Ridgway's gray No. ^{10 atbaseof hairs,} darkening ^togray No. 7 near surface.

Cheeks

like sides, but

more

_{finelygrizzled,}

and

withafaintblackish

wash

below ear.

An

indistinct grayish-buff eye ring

and

loral stripe.

Crown and

facelikeback but

more

_{finelygrizzled,}

and

the bases of the hairs wood-brown. Ears _light silvery-gray (the exact colornot given

by Ridgway)

except^forthe followingmarkings: ^a veryfinelygrizzled stripe essentiallyconcolorwith top ^of

head

extend- ing

up

^{anterior outer surface almost to}tip,

and

about 20

mm.

wideat middle: a similar area 45

mm.

_long by ¹²

mm.

wide near middle of posterior inner surface; a black _apical patch ⁴⁰

mm.

_long by ³⁰

mm.

wide on posterior outer surface, extending

downward

_{along posterior}

outerrimasa

band

4

mm.

inwidthtoabout middleofear, and _spread- ing overbothsurfacesat tip

and

_alongupperfourthofanterior margin, the black apical area on inner surface about 10

mm.

wide; a clear ochraceous-buff area10

mm.

inwidth between_apicalblackand _general gray^ofinner surface; awhitish line3

mm.

inwidthalong inner anterior margin from ^{base to} above middle. Feet, outer surfaceof _legs, flank patches,

and

throat, dull ochraceous-buff. Underparts

and

innersur- face _{of legs} white, this color

much

suffused with ochraceous-buff on front_legs. Tail missing.

Skull

and

teeth.

— _The

skull differs

from

that of Lepus europceus in smallersizeand

much

lessrobust form. Thisisparticularly noticeable intherostralportion of the skull, both depth and width ^of

which

are reduced, butisalsovery evidentⁱⁿthe

form

of the braincase. Supra- orbital processes smaller than in Lepus europceus. Teeth as inthere- lated species.

Measurements —

External

measurements

oftype (from well

made

_skin), head and_body, 600; hindfoot, 150(140); earfrom crown,^130. Cranial

measurements

of type: greatest length, 96 (99)*; occipito nasal length:

94; diastema, ^32.6 (30); greatest (oblique) length ^of nasals, 44 _(45);

length ^of nasals along

median

suture, ^37.6(40); breadthof both nasals together ^at middle, ^16.6(20); greatest breadth of both nasals together posteriorly, 21 (23.6); leastinterorbital breadth behindsupraorbital pro- cesses, 14.4 _(12); zygomatic breadth, 44 _(48); breadth of braincase below roots of zygomata, ³¹ (34); palatal depth ^24.6 {28); mandible, 75 _(76); maxillary molar ^series (alveoli), 15.4 _(18.6); mandibular molar series (alveoli), 18.4 _(20.4).

Specimens examined.

—

_{One, thetype.}

*Cranial

measurements

ⁱⁿ parenthesis ^are those of an adult female Lepus europmus from Werdenberg, Switzerland (No. 105,831).