UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas
PRINTED IN THE STATE PRINTING PLANT TOPEKA, KANSAS 1958
27-5660
New Subspecies of the Rodent Baiomys From Central America
BY
ROBERT L. PACKARD
The southern pygmy mouse, Baiomys musculus, is known as far north as the Mexican states of Jalisco, Michoacán, south of the Mesa Central, east to central Veracruz (see Hooper, 1952a:90), and south to western Nicaragua (see Goodwin, 1942:161). Previously, two subspecies have been recognized from the southern part of the known range of this species: B. m. nigrescens, blackish mice from Chiapas, México, and Guatemala, and B. m. grisescens, grayish-brown mice from Honduras and western Nicaragua. Study of recently acquired specimens from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua reveals two additional subspecies.
For the loan of comparative material, I am grateful to the United States National Museum (USNM) and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Unless otherwise indicated, specimens are in the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History. Measurements are as taken by Hooper (1952b:10). Postpalatal length is the distance from the posterior margin of the hard palate to the anterior margin of the foramen magnum. Unless otherwise noted, statistical significance as used in this paper is at the 95 per cent confidence limit or higher.