Specimen: sex?, 89040, skull only, Camp 2, July 10.
Dipodomys ordii parvabullatus Hall: Ord Kangaroo Rat.—We found this species uncommon and confined in distribution to dunes, in which it was recorded as follows: an adult female was shot and two other individuals were seen at night on July 6 at Camp 1; three were trapped near Camp 1 on July 7; two were trapped at Camp 2 on July 10.
Specimens (5): ♀, 89041, 2 placental scars, 46 gm., Camp 1, July 6. Male, 89042, testes scrotal, 47 gm.; ♂, 89044, 60 gm.; ♀, 89043, 44 gm.; Camp 1, July 7. Sex?, 89045, skel. only, Camp 2, July 10.
Our material does not differ significantly from specimens obtained by Hall and von Wedel at Boca Jésus María in March, 1950, which formed the basis for Hall's description (1951:41) of D. o. parvabullatus. This subspecies is presumably confined in distribution to the barrier island of Tamaulipas. Two immature specimens from Bagdad, Tamaulipas, were tentatively assigned by Hall (1951:41) to D. o. compactus, a subspecies known otherwise only from Padre Island, Texas.
Neotoma micropus micropus Baird: Southern Plains Woodrat.—This species was noted only near Camp 1, where numerous houses were seen in stands of mesquite and prickly-pear cactus and an adult male (89046, 330 gm.) was taken on July 6. This species has not been reported previously from the barrier island of Tamaulipas. Our specimen is referable to the nominate subspecies and shows no approach to N. m. littoralis, a subspecies known only from the type locality at Altamira, Tamaulipas (see map, Hall and Kelson, 1960:684).
Procyon lotor (Linnaeus): Raccoon.—A weathered skull and a broken humerus were found at Camp 2. The skull is being studied by Dr. E. L. Lundelius, who informs us that it matches a number of raccoon skulls found in archaeological sites along the Balcones Escarpment of Texas. Such skulls are larger than skulls of raccoons occurring today in Texas (P. l. fuscipes) and closely resemble skulls of raccoons (P. l. excelsus) presently confined in distribution to Idaho, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington. Further details of this situation are to be reported elsewhere by Lundelius.
Taxidea taxus (Schreber): Badger.—Two burrows were found in the stabilized dunes near Camp 1, tracks were noted on the alkaline flats, and a weathered skull (89047) was found on the flats west of Camp 1 on July 7. The skull appears to be of an immature animal, for the sutures are not well closed and the teeth show little wear.
Our records require an extension of known range of this species southeasterly by approximately 50 miles. The only previous record in coastal Tamaulipas is based on two skulls from Matamoros (Schantz, 1949:301). The skull from the barrier island cannot be determined to subspecies but on geographic grounds is referable to T. t. littoralis, with type locality at Corpus Christi, Texas.
Canis sp.—Numerous tracks made either by Coyotes (C. latrans Say) or by domestic dogs were seen in dunes and on the beach at both camps. A weathered, posterior part of a canid skull was found in dunes at Camp 2 on July 10, and a partial left mandible was taken on the beach at Camp 1 on July 6. Unfortunately, specific identification of the skull fragments is not possible, but the few reasonably good characters that we can use suggest that our material is of domestic dogs rather than of Coyotes. Hall (1951:37) found tracks and other signs of Coyotes at Eighth Pass but did not take specimens.
Most of the canid scats examined by us contained remains of crabs and fishes.