; , safli BWF*y* f^*i- .k 1i IS w sr THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY FT v,\\ HUH Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. A charge is made on all overdue books. U. of I. Library PUBLICATIONS OF THE FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL 4 - HISTORY * ZOOLOGICAL SERIES VOLUME XI CHICAGO, U. S. A. 1912 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. PUBLICATION 153. ZOOLOGICAL SERIES. VOL. XL THE MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN BY CHARLES B. CORY Curator of Department of Zoology. CHICAGO, U. S. A. IQI2 PREFACE. The present work includes, so far as known, all the living mammals which have been found in Illinois and Wisconsin, and gives descriptions of the various species and subspecies, with more or less of their life histories, together with maps illustrating their supposed geographical distribution. To increase its usefulness, brief synopses of all the known species and subspecies, belonging to our genera, which occur in eastern North America, are given and their distribution is indicated in the maps. While it is hoped it will prove a useful book of reference for the specialist, it has been written with special regard to the needs of the layman, for, without departing from scientific lines, I have endeavored to make it as non-technical and popular in character as a serious con- sideration of the subject would permit. With this object in view, for the purpose of simplifying identifica- tion of the various species belonging to a family, they are, wherever possible, arranged in the keys in groups based upon external characters which may be readily recognized by the lay reader, often regardless of their genera and not serially in their proper order as they are treated in the text. In a few cases, however, positive identification of a species depends upon dental characters which, while usually well-marked, are sometimes (as among the Shrews) too small to be seen with the naked Cj eye. The student should therefore provide himself with a strong lens for the purpose. At the present time 94 species and subspecies of mammals have ^ been recorded from Illinois and Wisconsin, and probably several more . will in time be added to the list. Such species as Dyche's Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys dychei), Little Meadow Mouse (Microtus minor}, Woodland Jumping Mouse (Napceozapus insignis), Prairie Spot- L ted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) , Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus macrotis} and Free-tailed Bat (Nyctinomus depressus), have been taken in ^ such nearby localities that there is little doubt that most of them will ^, ultimately be found to occur within our limits. Those who desire to study our mammals will be interested to learn ejf that a considerable number may still be found in a wild state in % the public parks of Chicago. In Jackson Park alone I have seen the 05 following fifteen species: Northern Gray Squirrel, "Striped Ground 212169 2 PREFACE Squirrel or "Gopher," Northern White-footed Mouse, Meadow Mouse, Muskrat, House Mouse, House Rat or Norway Rat, Cotton-tail Rab- bit, Mink, Common Shrew,* Short-tailed Shrew,* Prairie Mole,* Silver-haired Bat,* Red Bat,* and Hoary Bat.* In addition to these there is a specimen of the Raccoon in this Museum, which was killed in Jackson Park in 1898, and I am informed that Chipmunks, a Skunk and a Weasel have been seen. In preparing the present work the majority of specimens examined are in the collection of the Field Museum of Natural History; but in addition to these a large number were loaned to me by other Museums and private collectors. In this connection I wish especially to express my thanks to Dr. C. Hart Merriam and Mr. H. W. Henshaw, U. S. Biological Survey, Washington; Dr. J. A. Allen and Mr. Roy C. An- drews, American Museum of Natural History, New York; Mr. Outram Bangs, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge; Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., National Museum, Washington; Mr. Witmer Stone, Acad- emy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; Mr. H. L. Ward, Milwaukee Public Museum; Dr. H. V. Ogden, Milwaukee; Dr. B. H. Bailey, Coe College Museum, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Mr. W. E. Snyder, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. In the lists of specimens examined those not contained in the Field Museum collection are indicated as follows: (N. M.) U. S. National Museum; (B. S.) U. S. Biological Survey; (A. M.) American Museum of Natural History; (M. C. Z.) Museum of Comparative Zoology; (I. S. L.) Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, Urbana; (M. P. M.) Milwaukee Public- Museum; (O. C.) Collection of Dr. H. V. Ogden, Milwaukee; (S. C.) Collection of Mr. W. E. Snyder, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin; (O.) from other sources, special mention of which is usually made in the text. In all other cases the names of individuals or in- stitutions from which the specimens were received are given in full. Practically all of the original drawings for the halftones and many of the zinc-etchings are the work of Mr. Leon L. Pray; and the maps and nearly all the cuts of teeth, feet, etc., were carefully drawn by Mr. A. B. Wolcott. In conclusion, it is a pleasure to express- my appreciation of the kind assistance of Mr. William J. Gerhard, Assistant Curator of Entomol- ogy in this Museum, in reading proof, preparing the index and constantly aiding me in many ways which materially lessened my labor. November i, 1911. CHARLES B. CORY. * Found dead or trapped. CONTENTS. PREFACE J CONTENTS - 3 MAPS ILLUSTRATING THE DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES AND SUB- SPECIES BELONGING TO THE GENERA REPRESENTED WITHIN OUR LIMITS IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND SOUTHERN CANADA 7 INTRODUCTION . g THE OSSEUS SYSTEM . 10 Skull, 13; Teeth, 13; Vertebral Column, 15; Pelvis, 15; Ribs, 15; Sternum, 15; Scapula, 16; Clavicle, 16; Limbs and Feet, 16. ANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERS IN GENERAL . 17 Tegumentary Structures 18 Hoofs, Claws and Nails, 18; Hair, 18; Odor-secreting Glands, 19. Circulatory and Digestive Systems IQ Heart, 20; Lungs, 21; Blood, 21; Stomach and Intestinal Canal, 22; Liver, 23. Urinary Organs ; 23 Reproductive Organs 23 Mammary Glands . 24 Nervous System and Organs of Sense . 24 Brain, 24; Spinal Chord, 24; Sense of Touch, 24; Sight, 25; Smell, 26; Hearing, 26; Taste, 26. TAXONOMY AND CLASSIFICATION 27 SUBCLASSES, ORDERS AND SUBORDERS OF LIVING MAMMALS . . 28 CLASSIFIED LIST OF MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN . 30 How TO ESTIMATE THE AGE OF A MAMMAL 37 How TO MEASURE A MAMMAL 37 LIFE ZONES 38 KEY TO THE ORDERS AND FAMILIES REPRESENTED WITHIN OUR LIMITS 41 Key to the Orders . . . . . . . ... . .41 Key to the Families 41 ORDER MARSUPIALIA. MARSUPIALS 49 Family Didelphiidae. Opossums -. . . . 51 3 4 CONTENTS ORDER UNGULATA. HOOFED MAMMALS 57 Family Cervidas. Deer, Moose, Elk, Caribou 58 Key to the Genera 59 Key to the Species ..... . ...... . . 59 Family Bovidae. Bison, Oxen, Sheep, etc 86 ORDER GLIRES. GNAWING MAMMALS 97 Key to the Suborders and Families " . 98 Family Sciuridae. Squirrels, Woodchucks, etc 98 Key to the Genera . . . . . 99 Key to the Species ^.-,. 99 Subfamily Pteromyinae. Flying Squirrels . . . . . .102 Subfamily Sciurinse. Squirrels, Chipmunks, etc 108 Subfamily Marmotinae. Prairie Squirrels, Woodchucks, etc. . 137 Family Castoridae. Beavers 158 Family Muridae. Rats and Mice . . . ., 171 Key to the Genera 171 Key to the Species 173 Subfamily Murinae. Old World Rats and Mice . . . .176 Subfamily Cricetinag. White-footed Mice, Cotton Mice, etc. . 183 Key to the Species ' 183 Subfamily Neotominse. Wood Rats 204 Subfamily Microtinae. Meadow Mice or Voles, Lemming Mice, and Muskrats . . . . t 208 Key to the Subgenera and Species of M icrotus 213 Family Geomyidas. Pocket Gophers . .. . .. . .239 Family Zapodidae. Jumping Mice . . 246 Subfamily Zapodinae. American Jumping Mice .... 246 Family Erethizontidas. American Porcupines 253 Subfamily Erethizontinae. American Porcupines . . . .254 Family Leporidas. Hares and Rabbits . . . ...-*. -259 Key to the Genera 261 Key to the Species . . . 261 ORDER FER.E. FLESH EATERS . . . 275 Key to the Families ' 277 Family Felidas. The Cats . . ..'..'. '..'.-. -277 Subfamily Felinas. Panthers, Lynx, Wild Cat, etc. . . .279 Key to the Genera . .279 Key to the Species , 279 Family Canidae. Wolves and Foxes 296 Key to the Genera . 298 Key to the Species 299 Family Mustelidae. Otters, Minks, Weasels, Skunks, Badgers, etc. 327 CONTENTS 5 Key to the Subfamilies and Genera 328 Subfamily Lutrinae. Otters 330 Subfamily Melinae. Skunks and Badgers 335 Key to the Species of Skunks (Mephitis and Spilogale) . . 336 Subfamily Mustelinae. Minks, Weasels, Martens and Wolverine 352 Key to the Species of Minks and Weasels (Putorius) . . -359 Key to the Species of Martens (Mustela) 381 Family Procyonidae. Raccoons 391 Subfamily Procyoninae. American Raccoons 391 Family Ursidas. Bears 396 ORDER INSECTIVORA. INSECT EATERS 405 Key to the Families . 406 Family Soricidas. Shrews 406 Key to the Genera 407 Key to the Species 409 Subfamily Soricinae. Shrews . . ',- 410 Family Talpidae. Moles 433 Subfamily Talpinae. Moles ..'... 434 Key to the Genera 434 ORDER CHIROPTERA. BATS . 445 Family Vespertilionidae. Typical Bats 451 Key to the Genera ....... 451 Key to the Species 453 Subfamily Vespertilioninae . 455 Family Molossidae. Free-tailed Bats 477 ORDER PRIMATES. MAN, APES, MONKEYS, ETC 478 Family Hominidas. Man 478 APPENDIX. SOME ANIMALS OF THE PAST 480 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 483 GLOSSARY ' 489 INDEX ... .493 MAP OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN 505 MAPS ILLUSTRATING THE DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES, BELONGING TO THE GENERA REPRESENTED WITHIN OUR LIMITS, IN EASTERN UNITED STATES AND SOUTHERN CANADA. Opossums, Didelphis . 56 Deer, Odocoileus 66 Elk or Wapiti, Cervus 73 Moose, Parolees 80 Caribou, Rangifer 84 Bison or Buffalo, Bison ../.... 94 Flying Squirrels, Sciuropterus . . . ... . . . .107 Fox Squirrels, Sciurus (subgenus Parasciurus) . . . ... .114 Gray Squirrels, Sciurus (subgenus Neosciurus) 121 Red Squirrels, Sciurus (subgenus T.amiasciurus) 127 Chipmunks, Tamias . . . . . . 132 Little Chipmunk, Eutamias . . . 136 Striped Prairie Squirrels, Citellus . . ... . . >, * -143 Franklin's Prairie Squirrel, Citellus . . . . / 149 Woodchucks, Marmota . '< . . 1. .155 Beavers, Castor . > . .169 White-footed Mice, Peromyscus leucopus and races . . . : .189 Prairie White-footed Mice, Peromyscus maniculatus and races . -195 Cotton Mice, Peromyscus gossipinus and races 197 Golden Mice, Peromyscus nuttalli and races ... ... 200 Rice Field Mice, Oryzomys polustris and races 203 Wood Rats, Neotoma . .-.' . . 206 Red-backed Mice or Voles, Evotomys .212 Meadow Mice or Voles, Microtus (subgenus Microtus) . . . .217 Prairie Meadow Mice or Voles, Microtus (subgenus Pedomys) . .221 Mole Mouse or Vole, Microtus (subgenus Pitymys) 224 Muskrats, Fiber 232 Lemming Mice, Synaptomys ..... 238 Pocket Gophers, Geomys . 244 Jumping Mice, Zapus . . . . . . . 251 7 8 MAPS Canada Porcupine, Erethizon .258 Varying Hares, Lepus americanus and races .265 Cotton-tail Rabbits, Sylvilagus floridanus and races 270 Swamp and Marsh Rabbits, Sylvilagus (subgenus Tapeti) . . . 273 Cougars or Panthers, Felis 285 Canada Lynxes. Lynx (subgenus Lynx) 290 Wild Cats or Bay Lynxes. Lynx (subgenus Eucervaria] . ~ . .294 Gray Foxes, Urocyon cinereoargentatus and races 304 Red Foxes, Vulpes 312 Gray Wolves or "Big Wolves," Canis 321 Prairie Wolves or Coyotes, Canis . . . . 325 Otters, Lutra 334 Skunks, Mephitis 345 Skunks, Spilogale 347 Badgers, Taxidea . -351 Wolverine, Gulo 357 Minks, Putorins 365 New York Weasel, Putorius noveboracensis - 374 Bonaparte's Weasel, P. cicognanii 377 Least Weasels, Putorius rixosus and P. r. allegheniensis . . -379 Weasels, (subgenus Ictis}. Type localities . . . "... . .380 Martens. Mustela (except M. pennanti) 386 Fisher or Pecan, Mustela pennanti 390 Raccoons, Procyon 395 Black Bears, Ursus . .-.*'. 403 Shrews, Sorex . . . . . 417 Shrews, Microsorex . . - . 420 Shrews, Neosorex >. . . - . . . . . 422 Shrews, Blarina (subgenus Blarina) . . . . . ? . . . 429 Shrews, Blarina (subgenus Cryptotis) . ..432 Moles, Scalopus : 438 Star-nosed Mole, Condylura cristata 442 Little Brown Bat, Myotis lucifugus ....... . 458 Gray Bat, Myotis griscescens ....:. 460 Say's Bat, Myotis subulatus , . .461 Silver-haired Bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans . . . . ' . . . 464 Georgian Bat, Pipistrellus subflavus 466 Brown Bats, Eptesicus fuscus and races . . .... . ' . . 469 Red Bats, Nycteris borealis and races . . 472 Hoary Bat, Nycteris cinereus . . . . . . ... -474 Rafinesque Bat, Nycticeius humeralis - , . . . . 476 INTRODUCTION. A mammal represents the highest development in the animal kingdom and may be broadly denned as a warm-blooded vertebrate animal more or less covered with hair,* which suckles its young. To describe it more fully, it is an air-breathing, warm-blooded vertebrate, differing from all other animals except birds in having a four-chambered heart and a complete double circulation, but unlike birds the red blood corpuscles are non-nucleate. The heart and lungs are separated from the abdominal cavity by a muscular diaphragm. With rare exceptions the jaws are armed with teeth. The skull articu- lates with the first vertebra (atlas) of the vertebral column at two sep- arate points (occipital condyles). Each half of the lower jaw consists of a single bone which articulates directly with the skull. The female is furnished with teats, t and the young are nourished at first by milk secreted in the milk glands (mamma} of the mother, whence the name of the class. The young are born in various stages of development. Some, like those of the Opossum, are rudimentary at birth; while others are developed but hairless, blind and helpless; and still others when born are fully clothed with hair, with eyes open, and are able to stand and move about from the first. Mammals differ strikingly in appearance, habits and size : some are aquatic, fish-like and practically hairless, such as the Whales, Por- poises, etc. ; while others, like the Bats, are provided with wings enabling them to fly about in the air. The majority are terrestrial, but some are semi-aquatic; others arboreal, passing much of their lives in trees, and some live in burrows in the ground. Some are diurnal and others nocturnal, while a considerable number cannot be strictly included in either category. Most of our species are active in winter,J but a * In marine mammals, such as Whales, while hair is absent in the adult or confined to a few bristles about the mouth, it is noticeably present in the young. t The Monotremes of the Australian region furnish the only exception ; the females have mammary glands but no developed teats. t The seeming scarcity or absence of many species in winter is due to their mode of life, as comparatively few of them migrate in the strict sense of the word. Some of them, having stored up food in their homes during the summer, remain indoors during the cold weather and come out but little; while others hibernate in winter. Among the latter are the Ground Squirrels (Citettus), Woodchuck, Chipmunks Jumping Mouse, Badger, Raccoon, Bear and Bats. The phenomenon of hibernation is a strange physiological condition peculiar to certain animals, which enables them to thrive in regions where they would otherwise probably starve in winter, were it not for their ability to remain dormant during such periods of io FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL few hibernate during the cold weather. The majority of mammals are thickly covered with hair, but a few are provided with an armor of hard, scaly plates (Armadillos); and others, with long, sharp quills (Porcupines). In size they vary from the tiny Shrew to the gigantic Sulphur-bottom Whale, having a length of 85 feet or more and a weight of as many tons. THE OSSEUS SYSTEM. Having learned what mammals are, it is essential that the student should know something of their anatomy. To enable him to study them intelligently he must know at least the names and locations of the more important bones of the skeleton. For ordinary purposes this can be learned better from a chart than from detailed descriptions, 8 Skeleton of a Bear. a,- Skull; b, vertebral column or back-bone; c, cervical vertebrae; d, dorsal vertebrae; e, lumbar vertebra; f, sacral vertebras; g, caudal vertebrae; h, ribs; i, humerus; j, ulna; 1, radius; m, meta- carpals; n, carpal bones or carpus; o, phalanges; p, femur; r, tibia; s, fibula; t, metatarsals; u, phalanges; v, tarsal bones; w, scapula; x. pelvic girdle or hip bone food scarcity. The condition varies in duration and intensity in different mammals. Some hibernate for only short periods during the coldest weather, while others remain for months in a comatose condition. In the latter the bodily temperature and action of the respiratory organs are greatly affected. While undoubtedly due originally to climatic conditions, the habit has become hereditary, as illustrated by certain southern species, which continue to hibernate when the occasion for it no longer exists. Further remarks are unnecessary here, as the subject is discussed more fully ater in connection with the habits of the various species. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. n which in any event would require far too much space in a work of this nature. I shall, therefore, discuss briefly only those characters which require explanation, and refer the student to the accompanying charts of skeletons and skulls, the study of which should enable him to learn the names of the most important bones and their relative positions. Scapula and clavicle with upper end of ster- num and ribs of Shrew (Sorex) , much enlarged. (Adapted from Flower's Osteology.) a, Acromion process; b, metacromial process; c, coracoid border; d, "spine" of scapula; e, scapula (includes the entire bone) ; f , clav- icle; g. presternum (upper part of sternum); i -2 = sections of ribs. Sternum of Man (much reduced), showing sections of ribs on one side. (After Flower.) g, Presternum or manubrium sterni; h, mesosternum, body of sternum or gladiolus; i, xiphisternum, xiphoid or ensiform process of sternum; j, point of attachment of clavicle; 1-10 = sections of ribs. Side view of skull of a Wolf. a, Interparietal; b, sagittal crest; c, parietal; d, squamosal; e, occipital condyle; f, meatus audi- torius externus; g, auditory bulla; h, zygoma or zygomatic arch; i. frontal; j, postorbital process of frontal; k, malar or jugal; 1, postglenoid process; m, pterygoid process; n, infraorbital foramen; o, maxilla; p, premaxilla; q, incisors; r, canines; s, premolars; si, carnassiaf or sectorial tooth; t, molars; ti, carnassial or sectorial tooth; u, mental foramina ;v, horizontal ramus of mandible; w, as- cending ramus; x, coronoid process; y, condyle of mandible; z, angular process of mandible. 12 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Upper view of skull of a Wolf. a, Interparietal; b, sagittal crest; c, parietal; d, zygomatic process of squamosal; e, nasal; h, zygoma or zygomatic arch; i, frontal; j, postorbital process of frontal; k, malar or jugal (the post- orbital process of the jugal is shown but not lettered) ; o, maxilla or maxillary bone; p, premaxilla. Under view of skull of a Wolf. a, Supraoccipital ; b, foramen magnum; c, paraoccipital process; d, zygomatic process of squa- mosal; e, occipital condyle; f, mastoid process; g, auditory bulla; h, zygoma or zygomatic arch; i, basi-occipital ; p, postorbital process of the frontal (the corresponding process of the jugal or malar bone opposite to it is known as the postorbital process of the malar) ; k, malar or jugal; 1, postglenoid process; m, pterygoid process; n, presphenoid; o, palatine; p, premaxilla; q, incisors; r, anterior palatine foramina; s, under portions of maxillary bones. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 13 The Skull The skull is composed of a number of bones which, with the exception of the lower jaw, are immovably joined together. In early life they are largely connected by intervening tissue, which in most cases becomes ossified later. The "cracks" seen in a skull where the bones join are called sutures. * Holes and openings are called foramina; and elongated points (processes), ridges, cavi- ties, etc., are all recognized by names (see illustrations, pages 11-12). The Teeth Teeth are hard formations which are present in the jaws of most mammals. They are enderonic structures, which develop from odontoblasts and are chiefly composed of calcium phosphate, f The greater portion of a tooth is made up of what is called dentine, having a cavity in the center containing what is known as "pulp," a soft mass of connective tissue supplied with blood vessels and nerves. The exposed outer surface of the tooth is covered with a thin but extremely hard layer known as the enamel. From a sys- tematic standpoint the teeth are of great importance, inasmuch as their various well defined characters furnish differences upon which many of the genera and species, as well as some of the higher orders, are based. The majority of mammals have two sets of teeth | known respectively as "milk teeth" and permanent teeth. The former are the temporary teeth of the young and are later replaced by permanent teeth. In mammals which have both milk and permanent teeth, the number of the former varies greatly in different species, ranging from a single tooth on the side of each jaw (as in the Marsupials and some Rodents) to the greater portion of the series. In some cases milk teeth are present but are not functional, and do not appear above the gum. Mammals in which the first teeth are permanent are called Monophyodont, while those which have in early life desiduous teeth, which are later replaced by permanent teeth, are called Diphyodont. Teeth are divided into four groups which may be described as follows : Incisors: Teeth with cutting edges and simple roots, which are implanted in the premaxillary bone in the center or front of the jaw. Canines: Usually four in number, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. They are situated (when present) in the maxil- * For further remarks on sutures, see page 37. t The Monotremes furnish an exception, the teeth of the Duck-bill being of horny construction. I The Monotremes, Toothed Whales and most of the Edentates have but one. The Shrews apparently have two canine teeth in the upper jaw, but none in the lower. 14 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL lary bone just behind the premaxillary suture, or what might be described as at the angle of the front of the jaw, one on each side. Premolars: Teeth on side of jaw (maxillary bone), between the canines and the molars. These teeth replace the milk teeth at an early age. Molars: The "back teeth," situated immediately behind the pre- molars on side of jaw. These are permanent teeth which are not represented early in life by milk teeth. Skull of a Carnivore. Skull of a Rodent. (Canines present.) (Canines absent.) n, Incisor teeth or incisors; o, canine teeth; p, premolar teeth; r, molar teeth; s, upper carnassial tooth; t, lower carnassial tooth. Certain forms of teeth are given special names. In carnivorous mammals, for example, the anterior molar in the lower jaw and the posterior premolar in the upper are larger and more prominent than the others and are known as the carnassial (or sectorial) teeth. Those with flattened crowns, from which points or tubercles arise, are called tuberculate teeth, etc. In the Insectivora many of the teeth are of a generalized type, being small, single pointed and showing little or no difference in shape and are known collectively as unicuspid teeth. Further remarks on this subject are unnecessary here, as the more important dental characters are treated under the different families and genera. For convenience in describing the dentition the following formula has been adopted by zoologists : I. =incisors, C. = canines, Pm. =premolars, M. =molars. The dental formula of the Virginia Opossum would, therefore, read as follows : c c I I ? 1 4 4. J -5 r\ TV_- 5 2 TVyT 5 _t = CO, ' 4- 1. C. Pm. 4-4 i-i 3-3 4-4 the numbers above the line indicating the number of teeth on the upper jaw, and those below the line, on the lower. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 15 Some zoologists still further abbreviate the formula, giving only one side of the jaw, as the number of teeth on both sides are supposed to be alike, thus: I- *> C. - Pm. -> M. - X2 = 5 o. 4 i 34 A reference to a single tooth is often written as follows: (Pm. i) and would mean the first upper premolar, or (Pm. 2), which would refer to the second lower premolar. The variation in the number of teeth in different mammals is very great. The Anteaters (Myrmecophagida) have no teeth; the Narwhal, for example, may be said to have but one, although there is another in a rudimentary state imbedded in the upper jaw. Some Rodents have 12, others 20; Sloths have 18; Rabbits 28; Man 32; the Armadillo 98; and the Dolphin more than 100. There is also an extraordinary difference in size and shape as, for example, the tusks of the Elephant and the enormously developed tusk or "horn" of the male Narwhal. The Vertebral Column, Spinal Column or " Back-bone," consists of a number of bones connected by cartilages. It is generally considered as divided into five regions known as the cervical (neck); dorsal (back), which supports the ribs; lumbar (small of the back); sacral (between the lumbar and caudal), consisting of several vertebrae fused together and supported by the pelvic girdles; and the caudal or bones of the tail (see illustration, p. 10.). The number of verte- bra? varies greatly in different mammals. For example, while in Man the caudal vertebras consist of but three more or less rudi- mentary bones, the tail of the African Scaly Anteater (Manis) has 46. The Pelvis is the bony framework formed by the pelvic girdles or hip bones and including the sacral vertebrae. The Ribs The number of ribs varies in different mammals. They are curved bones which are movably articulated with the dorsal vertebrae, and the upper ones are attached to the sternum with a cartilage which becomes ossified in but few forms. The lower ribs, which are not directly attached to the sternum, are called "floating ribs." The Sternum or Breast-bone is a bone, or series of bones (sternebrce) , connected on each side by cartilage with the ribs. In most cases these connections remain cartilaginous during life, ossification occurring in but few cases. The sections of the sternum vary in character and number. The upper part is called the presternum, or manubrium sterni of human anatomy ; the sections below this (except 16 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. the terminal part) are collectively known as mesosternum, while the lower end is called xiphisternum, xiphoid, or ensiform process of the sternum (see chart, p. n). The presternum is often "keeled," having a ridge along the middle line below, noticeably in the Bats, which like the birds require support for a large pectoral muscle as an aid to flight. Scapula, generally a broad, flat bone commonly called the "shoulder blade," which is present in all mammals. It has a median ridge on the outer surface which is called the "spine," the projecting end of which is known as the acromion process. Clavicle or collar bone in Man articulates with the upper border of the sternum and the acromion process of the scapula. It is present and complete in some mammals, such as Primates (Man, Monkeys, Apes, etc.), Bats, Insectivores, and others; and appears in rudi- mentary form in others, such as most of the Carnivores, some Rodents, etc., but it is absent in Whales, Seals, Ungulates, some of the Bears, some Rodents, and others. The Limbs and Feet All mammals, with the exception of some of the aquatic species such as Whales, Manatees, etc., have four limbs and for this reason are often called Quadrupeds. In the fore limbs the bone of the upper arm is called the humerus; the lower part of the arm or "fore arm" has two bones, the radius and ulna. The wrist or carpal joint consists of several bones, usually 5 to 8, known as the bones of the carpus. The bones of the hand are designated as metacarpals and those of the fingers, phalanges. As has already been stated, the hind limbs are lacking in aquatic , species, such as the Whales and Manatees. In the former even the pelvis is rudimentary and is represented by two small detached bones not connected with the skeleton. The bones of the hind limbs are: Thigh, femur; lower leg bones, tibia and fibula; ankle joint, bones of the tarsus; bones of the foot, metatarsals; and toes, phalanges. The variation in the character and shape of the limbs and feet is very great, as illustrated by the "flippers" of a Seal, the feet of a Horse or those of a Lion, Deer, Sloth, Monkey, Mole, etc. In some species practically the whole sole of the foot touches the ground in walking; these are known as plantigrade. Others walk on their toes and are called digitigrade* In the Horse, for example, the true heel is elevated a foot or more from the ground. In nearly all mammals f the terminal extremities of the digits are protected by hard epidermal structures in the form of claws, nails, and * Intermediate types are often termed semi-plantigrade, unguligrade, etc. f Absent in the Whales, but rudiments have been found in the fostus. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 17 Hind foot of Wolf. Hind foot of Rabbit. Bear. Plantigrade type of foot. (Practically whole sole of foot touching the ground.) Fore foot of Horse. Hind foot of Deer. Fore foot of Mole Hind foot of Opossum. Panther. Horse. Digitigrade type of foot. (Only toes touching the ground.) Deer. hoofs, which have been developed by modification and thickening of the cuticle. The number of digits normally vary from i to 5 in different animals. In the Deer the first is absent, the 3d and 4th support functional hoofs, and the 2d and 5th appear as small, eleva- ted lateral hoofs or "false hoofs." In the Horse the foot, structure consists of a single digit (the 3d), the others having been lost.* ANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERS IN GENERAL. Having gained some slight knowledge of the bony framework, it is essential that the student should know something more about their * Palaeontologists have been able to trace the evolution of the foot of the Horse from its four-toed Eocene ancestor, showing the gradual lessening in the number of digits. Prof. Cope believed the five- toed Coryphodon to represent a 'group, from which all Ungulates have sprung. i8 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL external and internal structure before proceeding to take up the study of the living mammals. It is obvious that adequate treatment of such a great subject as mammalian anatomy would be impossible in any such condensed form as would be necessary, if attempted here. I shall, therefore, confine myself to brief remarks (which are intended for the use of beginners only) concerning those pa'rts which will be referred to later in connection with the descriptions of the families and genera included in this work. TEGUMENTARY STRUCTURES. Hoofs, Claws and Nails These are hard, horny modifications of the epidermis,* and with few exceptions (Cete) are present on the. terminal extremities of the digits. They vary greatly in character, but it is unnecessary to discuss them here, as the differences in the various species which occur within our limits are described later. Hair A hair may be considered as an outgrowth of the epidermis, elongated and generally cylindrical in shape, and extends from a papilla at the bottom of a follicle in the true skin,* but in some cases it is flattened and not round, as illustrated in the curly haired races of Men, a few of the Rodents and some others. With few exceptions the outer surface is hard and the inner portion cellular, surrounded by a cortex, the latter containing the color pigment, and is covered by a cuticle which may be smooth or rough and squamate. In some species of Bats (Molossidee) for example, the hair when viewed under a powerful microscope shows rings or zones of verticulate spinules ; while in our species, belonging to the family Vespertilionidce, the spinules are arranged in a continuous spiral, or in imbricated trian- gles and often in various other patterns (see illustration, p. 446). Hairs vary enormously in size and degree of rigidity in different mammals; as take for examples the soft fur of the Mole, the bristles of the Pig, and the spines or quills of the Porcupine, all of which are merely modified forms of the same structural growth; and it is probable that a still further modification has developed the horns of the Rhinoceros. In color the various shades of brown predomi- nate. Bright colors are the exception and when present are mostly confined to orange and red, as illustrated in some South American Squirrels and other exotic forms. Usually animals of the same species are uniformly colored, but occasionally an excess of pig- mentation results in a black (melanistic) individual, or an absence of color pigment produces a white (albinistic) one, which should normally be of some other color. Comparatively few mammals are *For definition see Glossary, p. 489. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 19 naturally white, and these are largely restricted to boreal species, although there are a number of exceptions including a white Bat which occurs in South America. While in some cases, such as the tail of a Horse, the hairs appear to be permanent, as a rule they are periodically shed and replaced by a new growth. In the majority of mammals the color of the new hair differs but little and the change in appearance of the animal is comparatively slight; but in some species, like our Weasels and Varying Hare, there is a complete semiannual change of color in some localities. In some mammals the long bristley hairs or vibrissa (commonly called whiskers) , which extend from the side of the face, are connected with exceedingly sensitive nerves and perform a sensory function. These, however, will be referred to again under the organs of sense. Odor-secreting Glands In many mammals there are present integu- mental glands located in various parts of the body, the secretions of which serve to attract others of their kind, and in a number of cases their functions seem to be two-fold, as they furnish a means of defense against their enemies as well. The Skunk may be cited as one of the best known examples of the latter class, on account of its well-known ability to eject by muscular contraction, a noxious smelling liquid for a considerable distance. In a large number of mammals possessing glands of this character the secretions are characterized by their musky odor and are variable in intensity, many of them being comparatively inoffensive. In some cases these glands are developed in the male only, but in others they are present in both sexes. As illustrating the diversity of location of this group of structures in various species, we may mention the anal glands of various Carnivores, such as the Skunks, Wolverines, etc., the preputial glands of the Musk Deer and Beaver, dorsal glands of the Peccary, foot gland of the Rhinoceros, and those between the toes of many of the Ruminants, the suborbital glands of the Antelope, temporal gland of the Elephant, caudal gland of the Dog, Fox, etc., and the variously situated glands of Bats, Shrews, Mice, and many others. CIRCULATORY AND DIGESTIVE SYSTEMS. The body cavity of a mammal is divided into two sections separated by a muscular diaphragm. The upper or plural cavity contains the heart and lungs, while the lower or peritoneal cavity contains the stomach, intestines, liver, etc. Of these organs I shall briefly discuss those which will be referred to later in connection with the various families included in this work. 20 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Ideal section of a Mammal. a, Olfactory nerves; b, optic nerve; c, brain; d, ear conch or pinna; e, epiglottis; f, oesophagus; g, thyroid glands; h, vertebral column or back-bone; i, spinal cord; j, trachea; k, lungs; 1, heart; m, diaphram; n, liver; o, pancreas; p, stomach; q, spleen; r, kidney; s, intestines; t, bladder; u, scrotum and testes; v, anus. (After Owen.) The Heart The heart in all mammals is divided into four chambers known as auricles and ventricles, but the shape is more or less variable in different forms. Each auricle communicates with the ventricle of the same side, the opening being provided with valves which permit the blood to pass only in the right direction, viz., from the auricle to the ventricle. Briefly stated, the circulation of the blood is accomplished as follows: It enters the right auricle, which is supplied by means of the venae cavae, and thence to the ventricle of the same side, from whence it is forced into the lungs through the pulmonary artery and there absorbs the necessary oxygen and is relieved of carbon dioxide. From the lungs by means of the pulmonary veins it enters the left auricle and passes through the left ventricle into the aorta, passing out again through the large arteries (such as the "carotid" and "brachial"), which arise from it, and thence into the general system, where, after passing through the capillaries, it is conducted by a diversity of veins to the large superior and inferior venae cavas and thence back again to the right auricle. There is considerable variation in mammals in the mode in which different arteries arise from the aorta. In most cases the right brachial and right carotid have a common origin known as the innominate artery in human anatomy. The other two may extend from this, as in the Ungulates, or may arise separately from the aorta, as in Man, or as is common in many species, the left carotid may arise from the "innominate" and the left brachial FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 21 6-.J* 13 3. mOIlHrV VC1I15, O, llgLlb auili~ic, y, ItiL^iii-'i vv^nu v,vc, A cle; 13 aorta; 14, innominate artery. (After Tenney.) directly from the aorta, or again there may be a right and left "innominate," from which arise the respective carotid and brachial arteries, as in some of the Bats and Insectivores. The circulatory system is much further diversified in many other mammals, but enough has been said regarding the subject. The Lungs The lungs of a mammal differ from those of the lower vertebrates by being separated from the abdominal cavity by a diaphragm. They are spongy masses made up of numerous air pass- ages and cells surrounded by a capillary network in which the blood, in passing through the lungs, absorbs oxygen, at the same time giving off carbon dioxide. In terrestrial forms they are more or less extensively lobated in form and are often not symmetrical, the num- ber of lobes differing in the two lungs of the same animal. Blood The blood of mammals is red and warm, varying in tempera- ture in different species under normal conditions from a few degrees below to a few degrees above 100 Fahr. The corpuscles are of two kinds: the colored non-nucleated flattened disks, having a circular outline*; and the less numerous "white corpuscles," which are color- less and nucleated. The size of the red non-nucleating blood cor- puscles varies in different mammals, and this fact is often of im- portance in criminal trials as an aid in identifying human blood ; but in such cases, while it is very often possible to determine that the blood in question is not human, by this test alone, it is not always possible to be absolutely certain that it is. For example, the diam- eters of the circular blood corpuscles in species of Deer range from Woo to i^Sffo of an inch; those of domestic Sheep are Woo; of the Horse T'O o ; while in Man they usually measure from about 3 o'o o to :{ A o , but occasionally they are smaller, cases having been recorded * Exceptions to this are found in the Camels, Llamas, and a few others, in which they are elliptical in outline, as in most of the lower vertebrates. 22 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. where in Man they measured only Wo o and even less. Under such conditions an expert depending upon size alone * could not readily distinguish them from those of a Dog, or an Ape. The following measurements of red corpuscles of various mammals are selected from those given by Prof. G. Gulliver (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1845, p. 96; Ib., 1862, p. 102): Elephant W-IT, Man Woo, Ape Wr?, Beaver Wss, Wolf Woo-, Tiger TsVe, Bat TuW, Horse Woo, Sheep Woo, Red Deer Woo, Musk Deer i^ooo. Stomach and Intestinal Canal The passage through which food passes from the mouth to the stomach is called the cesophagus, and in the majority of mammals the stomach consists of a single chamber, although varying somewhat in shape in different species. Sometimes it is divided into a series of chambers, as in the Ruminants, in which group the stomach contains at least three and usually four sections; or in the Cete, where the number varies from 3 to 8. i, Stomach of Mouse. (After Wiedersheim.) 2, Common type of alimentary canal in many mammals. 1, large intestine; s, small intestine (much abbreviated) ; c, ccecum; r, rectum; o, oesophagus. (After Flower and Lydekker.) 3, Portion of intestine, showing ccecum, of Proboscidion Shrew, c, ccecum. (After Owen.) 4, Common type of ccecum in Man. c, ccecum; v, vermiform appendix. (After Gray.) At the lower end of the stomach is what is called the pylorus, where it joins the small intestine, which in turn continues to the large intestine or colon which ultimately ends at the rectum. At the juncture of the large and small intestines there is usually a blind sac or pouch, known as the caput c&cum coli, but which has popularly been abbreviated into "c&cum" (see illustration). This organ varies greatly in different mammals. In some species it is merely a slight bulge or apparently absent, while in others it is largely developed. Ruminant animals have large csecae, but in the Cat tribe it is but slightly indicated. The Phalanger, Trichosurus vulpecula, has a caecum fully one-fifth as long as the small intestine. In Man the caecum is present in the form of a sac two or three * The serological test (based upon the chemical character of the blood serum) is of value in most diagnoses, but cannot be depended upon to distinguish the blood of Man from that of some of the higher Apes. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 23 Plan of inferior surface of multilobed liver of a mammal. (From Flower and Lydekker.) inches in length and slightly more in breadth, and extending from it is what is -known as the vermiform appendix, a narrow worm-like tube which is, so far as known, found only in Man, the higher Apes and the Wombat. The Liver This organ is situated on the right side of the abdominal cavity, and is usually divided into a right and left half, being again subdivided by deep clefts into lobes in different mammals. As a rule, these divisions are more numerous in carnivorous animals than in vege- table feeders. The gall bladder is present in some species and absent in others. Urinary Organs The kidneys in most mammals are compact, oval-shaped organs, having a depression at the border where the ducts enter; but in a few cases they are lobate, as in the Whales, Seals, Bears, some of the Ungulates, and a few others. They are situated in the back part of the abdominal cavity behind the peritoneum and opposite the upper lumbar vertebrae, and as a rule one of them lies in a more advanced position than the other. The ureters connect the kidneys with the urinary bladder and open directly into it in the higher Mammalia, but lower down into the urino-genital passage in the lower members of the class. Reproductive Organs Lengthy discussion of this group of organs is unnecessary here, and will be confined to a few general statements concerning them. In all mammals a penis is present and almost always completely developed in the male. In the Ferae, Glires, Insectivora, Chiroptera, and all except a few of the higher Primates, an os penis is present, but is lacking in the other orders. The testes of the male in the majority of cases pass out of the abdominal cavity either periodically (as in Insectivora, Chiroptera and Glires), or permanently, as in most other mammals, and in the latter case, are suspended in a pouch or scrotum. In the Marsupials the testes are suspended in front of the penis. In the Whales, Seals, Elephants, Monotremes, most of the Edentates, and several others, they retain their internal position throughout life. In all mammals, except the Monotremes and most of the Mar- supials, a placenta is formed by a union of the ajantois with the\l) 24 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. membranes of the uterus, and through this placenta the embryo is nourished. In all female mammals, except the Monotremes, the intestinal and genital openings are separate, but in the latter they open into the cloaca, as in birds. Mammary Glands These glands secrete milk by which the young are nourished and are present in both sexes in all mammals, but are usually only functional in the female. In all except the Monotremes their orifices are situated upon the end of conical elevations called mammilce, or teats, which are taken into the mouth of the young animal. In the Whales the glands are unusually developed and a quantity of milk is injected into the mouth of the young by muscular contraction. In the Monotremes the teats are lacking, the ducts of the mammary glands opening through pore-like orifices in the skin. In addition to a number of other peculiar characters, these strange mammals are claimed to be oviparous, the eggs resembling in development those of a reptile. NERVOUS SYSTEM AND ORGANS OF SENSE. The Brain The brain is contained in the cavity of the skull. The greater portion is called the cerebrum; a much smaller portion at the back of the skull cavity is known as the cerebellum; and the com- mencement of the spinal marrow, as the medulla oblongata. The brain of a mammal differs from that of other vertebrates in having the two hemispheres of the cerebellum united by a commissure (pons varolii) and the cerebral hemispheres more or less connected by an anterior and a superior transverse commissure, the corpus collosum of anatomical text books. In most mammals the brain is more or less convoluted, highly so in Man, varying in degree in many, or not at all as in some of the Marmosets (Hapale). Spinal Cord The main nerve axis of the body passing through the vertebrae from 'head to tail, but which it is unnecessary to discuss here. The Sense of Touch An increased supply of nerves and blood-vessels to a part of the skin renders it more sensitive and susceptible to what is called the sense of touch. Dermal susceptibility for this reason differs in various parts of the body. For example, in Man the ends of the fingers, from being supplied abundantly with pencil- late plexuses of nerves, are much more sensitive than portions of the arm or back. The lips and tongue are still more so, the latter usually being capable of distinguishing distinct sensations when touched by the points of a pair of dividers when separated only ^V FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 25 of an inch. On the shoulder, however, unless the points are more than % of an inch apart, they cannot be distinguished; and portions of the back are so insensitive as to require the points to be separated as much as 2 inches to give the impression of more than a single point of contact. Many mammals are provided with long hairs or bristles in more or less specialized regions, such as eyebrows, cheeks and lips, which are connected by their basal papillae with sensory nerve filaments and on which the sense of touch is very highly devel- oped. The whiskers (vibHssa) of the common House Cat belong to this category. In Bats the wing membrane is well supplied with nerves and is so sensitive as to enable the animals to avoid objects in their flight. The Sense of Sight While eyes are present in all mammals, in some, like the Moles, they are small and practically rudimentary, in a few cases being covered by the skin; but the sense of sight is highly devel- oped in the majority of the class. There is considerable variation in the color and shape of the eye in different species, and the pupil varies from circular to elliptical. In many mammals there is a modification of the choroid known as the tapetum lucidum, which is a membrane exhibiting green and blue reflections, and which is the cause of the striking appearance of the eyes of many animals in the dark. In some of the smaller Cats the pupil contracts to a vertical slit, while in the larger felines it remains cir- cular. In most of the mammals the eye is protected by an upper and a lower lid which close over the front, meeting in a nearly horizontal slit. In the Sirenia, however, the lids are not distinct and the aperture is circular, drawing together at a central point. In the eyes of all mammals excepting those of the Primates and the Cete, a third eyelid is present called a nictitating membrane, which is placed at the inner corner of the eye and passes horizontally over the eyeball under the true eyelids. This is apparently for the pur- pose of cleaning the cornea and is represented in a rudimentary form in Man and other Primates in the shape of the so-called semi- lunar fold at the inner angle of the eye. In all mammals excepting some of the aquatic species, the eye is kept moist by the secretions of the lachrymal gland situated in the upper lid at the outer side. In Man, in whom the gland is highly developed, this secretion is most susceptible of being secreted to excess and a consequent over- flow in the shape of tears. The eyelids are lubricated by other glands. In some mammals, like the Hares and Jerboas, the eyes are large and prominent, and from their lateral position it is claimed they are susceptible of perceiving the image of a pursuer. 26 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL The Sense of Smell The sense of smell is present in all mammals, with the possible exception of the Toothed Whales. Branches of the olfactory nerves are present in the upper portion of the nasal pass- age, which come in contact with any odorous particles contained in the air and which enter the nose. In many species this sense is developed to a most extraordinary degree, warning them of the approach of other animals at a surprisingly long distance. Trappers have learned by experience that, if a trap is touched with the bare hand, many species will not approach it for at least 24 hours. The Sense of Hearing The organ of hearing is present in all mammals, but, as would be expected, is developed in some much more highly than in others. It is divisible into three parts: i, external ear or pinna arid the auditory canal or meatus; 2, the middle ear or tym- panum; 3, the internal ear or labyrinth. The pinna is present in most mammals and is generally movably articulated to the skull, and by muscular attachment enables the animal to turn it in the proper direction to aid in collecting and directing the vibration of sound into the meatus. While these ear muscles are present in the ear of Man, from long disuse they are no longer functional except in rare cases. The middle ear, drum of the ear, or tympanum, as it is variously called, which forms the outer wall of the cavity, is traversed by a chain of three or four movable small bones, three of which are always present and are known, respectively, as malleus, incus, and stapes. These bones are. variable in size and character in different mammals, especially in aquatic species. The malleus in mammalian anatomy represents the quadrate bone of the lower orders, which there connects the lower jaw with the skull. The internal ear, or labyrinth as it is called, consists of three semi-circular canals, a vestibule and a cochlea. Here again is found, with the exception of the Monotremes, a distinct mammalian character in the spiral convolutions of the cochlea. By the vibrations of the tympanic mem brane (produced by sound waves) and the small bones, the vibrations of sound are transmitted from the exterior to the fluid filling the internal ear and are appreciated by the end filaments of the auditory nerve, thus enabling the animal to hear. The Sense of Taste The sense of taste concerns us little here and will be dismissed with the brief statement that it is chiefly located in the papillae on the dorsal surface of the tongue, although similar papillae are present in other parts of the mouth, such as the soft palate, epiglottis, etc. These papillas are each furnished with a branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 27 TAXONOMY AND CLASSIFICATION. Taxonomy as applied to zoology is the science of arranging animals in what is deduced from study of their morphological characters to be their natural order or sequence and from which a system of classification has been evolved. The necessity of some such an arrangement is suffi- ciently obvious as to hardly require explanation, but I will quote the words of Prof. Huxley in this connection, who says:* "It is possible and conceivable that every animal should have been constructed upon a plan of its own, having no resemblance whatever to the plan of any other animal. For any reason we can discover to the contrary, that combination of natural forces which we term Life might have resulted from, or been manifested by, a series of infinitely diverse structures, nor would anything in the nature of the case lead us to sus- pect a community of organization between animals so different in habit and in appearance as a porpoise and a gazelle, an eagle and a crocodile, or a butterfly and a lobster. Had animals been thus independently organized, each working out its life by a mechanism peculiar to itself, such a classification as that now under contemplation would be obvious- ly impossible; a morphological or structural classification plainly im- plying morphological or structural resemblances in the things classified. As a matter of fact, however, no such mutual independence of animal forms exists in nature. On the contrary, the members of the animal kingdom, from the highest to the lowest, are marvellously connected. Every animal has something in common with all its fellows; much, with many of them; more, with a few, and usually so much with several, that it differs but little from them. " Now a morphological classification is a statement of these grada- tions of likeness which are observable in animal structures, and its objects and uses are manifold. In the first place it strives to throw our knowledge of the facts which underlie, and are the cause of, the similar- ities discerned, into the fewest possible general propositions, subordinate to one another, according to their greater or less degree of generality; and in this way it answers the purpose of a memoria technica, without which the mind would be incompetent to grasp and retain the multi- farious details of anatomical science. But there is a second and even more important aspect of morphological classification. Every group in that classification is such in virtue of certain structural characters, which are not only common to the members of the group, but distinguish it from all others; and the statements of these constitute the definition, of the group." * Huxley, T. H. Introd. Classif. of Animals, London, 1869, pp. 2-3. 28 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. In spite of the continually advancing knowledge, due largely to constant discoveries of new forms both living and extinct, there are a great many links missing in the zoological chain, and it is not surprising that systematists are not entirely in accord in their conclusions and that any system of classification at present evolved, must of necessity be more or less tentative. Nearly all modern zoologists now recognize two subclasses of living mammals: I, Prototheria, comprising a single Order, Monotremata, to which belong the Spiny Anteaters (Echidnida] and Duck-bill (Ornithor- hynchidce) of the Australian region strange egg-laying animals which differ anatomically in many ways from other known forms; and II, Eutheria, which includes the rest of the Orders. The Metatheria, con- taining the Order Marsupialia, or pouched mammals, such as the Kangaroos, Opossums, etc., was at one time given rank as a third sub- class but is now generally included with Eutheria.* The subclasses and orders comprising the living mammals of the world are as follows : KINGDOM ANIMALIA. ANIMALS. SUBKINGDOM VERTEBRATA. BACK-BONED ANIMALS. CLASS MAMMALIA. MAMMALS. SUBCLASS PROTOTHERIA. Order MONOTREMATA. Duck-bill Platypus, Echidnas. SUBCLASS EUTHERIA. Order MARSUPIALIA. Marsupials or Pouched Mammals. Suborder Polyprotodontia. Opossums, Bandicoots, etc. Suborder Diprotodontia. Kangaroos, Wombats, etc. Order EDENTATA. Sloths, Armadillos, etc. Suborder Zenarthra. Armadillos, Sloths, Anteaters, etc. Suborder Nomarthra. Aard-varks and Scaly Anteaters. Order UNGULATA. Hoofed Mammals. Suborder Proboscidea. Elephants. Suborder Hyracoidea. Hyraxes. Suborder Perissodactyla. Horses, Tapirs, Rhinoceros, etc. Suborder Artiodactyla. Pigs, Cattle, Sheep, Antelopes, Deer, Giraffes, Camels, Hippopotami, etc. Order SIRENIA. Manatees, Dugongs. Order CETE. Whales, etc. Suborder Mysticete. Whalebone Whales. Suborder Odontocete. Toothed Whales (Sperm Whales, Porpoises, Dolphins, Narwhal, etc.). *The absence of an allantoic placenta in all Marsupials has been disproved by its discovery in Parameles. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 29 Order GLIRES. Gnawing Mammals. Suborder Simplicidentata. Rats, Porcupines, Squirrels, Beavers, etc. Suborder Duplicidentata. Rabbits, Hares, Picas, etc. Order FER^E. Flesh Eaters. Suborder Fissipedia. Cats, Hyenas, Dogs, Bears, Raccoons, Skunks, Otters, etc. Suborder Pinnipedia. Seals and Walruses. Order INSECTIVORA. Insect Eaters. Suborder Insectivora Vera. Moles, Shrews, Hedgehogs, etc. Suborder Dermoptera. Flying Lemurs. Order CHIROPTERA. Bats. Suborder Megachiroptera. Frugivorous Bats. Suborder Microchiroptera. Insectivorous Bats, etc. Order PRIMATES. Suborder Lemuroidea. Lemurs, etc. Suborder Anthropoidea. Monkeys, Apes, Man. Having separated the mammals into subclasses, orders and sub- orders, the systematist still further divides them into families, sub- families, genera, subgenera, and finally into species and subspecies. While the various families are, as a rule, well marked and may be recognized without difficulty, the student will find that this is not always the case where species and subspecies are concerned, especially among the smaller Mammalia. The positive identification of many species often depends almost entirely upon cranial and dental dif- ferences, and in the case of subspecies the difficulty is increased, because here the cranial characters help us little. The coloration of many mammals is easily affected by climate and environment. The change in the color of the pelage at different seasons of the year is often more or less confusing to the student, as closely allied forms occupying different areas, which may be perfectly distinguishable at certain sea- sons, may not be so at others; furthermore, specimens from intermediate localities may be expected to show inter-gs^dations, which makes the problem still more complex. In this connection it should be borne in mind that the line of demarcation between a species and a subspecies is a purely arbitrary one and is largely a matter of individual opinion. In zoological nomenclature subspecies are distinguished by a third name; for example, Lepus floridanus mearnsii is a race or sub- species of Lepus floridanus. 30 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL CLASSIFIED LIST OF THE MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN. Names in brackets indicate that the species has not been taken within our limits; but occurs in nearby localities within a few miles of our state lines. ORDER MARSUPIALIA. SUBORDER POLYPROTODONTIA. FAMILY DIDELPHIID^. OPOSSUMS, ETC. GENUS DIDELPHIS LINN. Didelphis virginiana KERR. Virginia Opossum. ORDER UNGULATA. SUBORDER ARTIODACTYLA. FAMILY CERVID^E. DEER, MOOSE, ELK, CARIBOU, ETC. SUBFAMILY CERVIN^E. GENUS ODOCOILEUS. Odocoihus virginianus (BoDD.). Virginia Deer, White-tailed Deer. Odocoileus virginianus borealis (MILLER). Northern White-tailed Deer. GENUS CERVDS. Cervus canadensis (ERXLEBEN). American Elk. GENUS PARALCES. Par alces americanus (CLINTON). Moose. GENUS RANGIFER. Rangifer caribou (GMEL.). Woodland Caribou. FAMILY BOVTDJL BISON, OXEN, SHEEP, ETC. SUBFAMILY BOVIN/E. GENUS BISON. Bison bison (LlNN.). American Bison or Buffalo. ORDER GLIRES. SUBORDER SIMPLICIDENTATA. FAMILY SCIURID^E. SQUIRRELS, WOODCHUCKS, ETC. SUBFAMILY PTEROMYIN^. GENUS SCIUROPTERUS. SUBGENUS GLAUCOMYS. Sciuropterus volans (LiNN.). Southern Flying Squirrel. Sciuropterus sabrinus (SHAW). Northern Flying Squirrel. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 31 SUBFAMILY SCIURIN^. GENUS SCIURUS. SUBGENUS PARASCIURUS. Sciurus niger rufiventer (GEOFFROY). Western Fox Squirrel. SUBGENUS NEOSCIURUS. Sciurus carolinensis GMELIN. Southern Gray Squirrel. Sciurus carolinensis leucotis (GAPPER). Northern Gray Squirrel. SUBGENUS TAMIASCIURUS. Sciurus hudsonicus loquax BANGS. Southern Red Squirrel. GENUS TAMIAS. 'Tamias striatus (LiNN.). Chipmunk. 1 Tamias striatus griseus MEARNS. Gray Striped Chipmunk. GENUS EUTAMIAS. Eutamias boreal is neglectus (ALLEN). Little Chipmunk. SUBFAMILY MARMOTIN^E. GENUS CITELLUS. SUBGENUS ICTIDOMYS. Citellus tridecemlineatus (MITCHILL). Striped Ground Squirrel, "Gopher." Citellus franklini (SABINE). Franklin's Ground Squirrel, "Gray Gopher." GENUS MARMOTA. Marmota monax (LiNN.). Woodchuck. Marmota monax canadensis (ERXLEBEN). Canada Woodchuck. FAMILY CASTORID^. BEAVERS. GENUS CASTOR. Castor canadensis KUHL. Beaver. FAMILY MURID.E. RATS AND MICE. SUBFAMILY MURING. GENUS MUS. Mus musculus LINN. House Mouse. GENUS EPIMYS. Epimys noruegicus (ERXLEBEN). Norway Rat, House Rat. [Epimys rattus (LiNN.). Black Rat.] SUBFAMILY CRICETIN^E. GENUS PEROMYSCUS. SUBGENUS PEROMYSCUS. Peromyscus leucopus (RAFIN.). White-footed Mouse. Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis (FISCHER). Northern White-footed Mouse. Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi (HoY AND KENNICOTT). Prairie White-footed Mouse. Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis (LECoNTE). Canadian White-footed Mouse. Peromyscus gossypinus megacephalus (RHOADS). Western Cotton Mouse. 32 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL SUBGENUS OCHROTOMYS. Peromyscus nuttalli aureolus (Auo. AND BACH.). Southern Golden Mouse. GENUS REITHRODONTOMYS. [Reithrodontomys dychei ALLEN. Dyche's Harvest Mouse.] GENUS ORYZOMYS. Oryzomys palustris (HARLAN). Rice Field Mouse. SUBFAMILY NEOTOMIN.E. GENUS NEOTOMA. SUBGENUS NEOTOMA. Neotoma floridana illinoensis HOWELL. Illinois Wood Rat. SUBFAMILY MICROTIN/E. GENUS EVOTOMYS. Evotomys gapperi (VIGORS). Red-backed Mouse or Vole. GENUS MICROTUS. SUBGENUS MICROTUS. Microtus pennsylvanicus (ORD). Meadow Mouse or Vole. SUBGENUS PEDOMYS. Microtus ochrogaster (WAGNER). Prairie Meadow Mouse or Vole. [Microtus minor MERRIAM. Little Meadow Mouse or Vole.] SUBGENUS PITYMYS. Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides (Aun. AND BACH.). Mole Mouse or Mole-like Vole. GENUS FIBER. Fiber zibethicus (LiNN.). Muskrat. GENUS SYNAPTOMYS. SUBGENUS SYNAPTOMYS. Synaptomys cooperi BAIRD. Cooper's Lemming Mouse.]* Synaptomys cooperi gossii (MERRIAM). Goss's Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys cooperi fatuus (BANGS). Bangs's Lemming Mouse. FAMILY GEOMYID.^. POCKET GOPHERS. GENUS GEOMYS. Geomys bursarius (SHAW). Pocket Gopher. FAMILY ZAPODID/E. JUMPING MICE. SUBFAMILY ZAPODIN^E. GENUS ZAPUS. Zapus hudsonius (ZiMM.). Hudson Bay Jumping Mouse. GENUS NAP^EOZAPUS. [Napceozapus insignis (MILLER). Woodland Jumping Mouse.] *I have seen no typical specimens of 5. cooperi from Illinois, but specimens from the east central part of the state are intermediate between cooperi and gossii. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 33 FAMILY ERETHIZONTID^E. AMERICAN PORCUPINES. SUBFAMILY ERETHIZONTIN^E. GENUS ERETHIZON. Erethizon dorsatum (LiNN.). Canada Porcupine. SUBORDER DUPLICIDENTATA. FAMILY LEPORID^E. HARES AND RABBITS. GENUS LEPUS. SUBGENUS LEPUS. Lepus americanus ph&onotus ALLEN. Varying Hare, Snow-shoe Rabbit. [Lepus campestris BACHMAN. Jackass Rabbit, "Jack Rabbit."] GENUS SYLVILAGUS. . SUBGENUS SYLVILAGUS. Sylv ilagus ftoridanus mearnsii (ALLEN). Mearns's Cotton-tail Rabbit, Gray Rabbit SUBGENUS TAPETI. Sylvilagus aquaticus (BACHMAN). Swamp Rabbit. ORDER FER/E. SUBORDER FISSIPEDIA. FAMILY FELID^. THE CATS. SUBFAMILY FELIKLE. GENUS FELIS. Felis couguar KERR. Panther, Cougar. GENUS LYNX. SUBGENUS LYNX. Lynx canadensis KERR. Canada Lynx. SUBGENUS EUCERVARIA. Lynx ruffus (GULDEN.). Wild Cat, Bay Lynx. FAMILY CANID^E. WOLVES AND FOXES. GENUS UROCYON. Urocyon cinereoargenteus (SCHREBER). Gray Fox. Urocyon cinereoargenteus ocythous BANGS. Wisconsin Gray Fox. GENUS VULPES. Vulpesfulvus (DESMAREST). Red Fox. GENUS CANIS. Canis nubilus SAY. Gray Wolf, Timber Wolf. Canis latrans SAY. Prairie Wolf, Coyote. FAMILY MUSTELID^). SUBFAMILY LUTRIN^E. OTTERS. GENUS LUTRA. Lutra canadensis (SCHREBER). Canada Otter. 34 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL SUBFAMILY MELIN7E. SKUNKS AND BADGERS. GENUS MEPHITIS. Mephitis hudsonica (Ricn.). Northern Skunk, Hudsonian Skunk. Mephitis mephitis avia (BANGS). Illinois Skunk. [Mephitis mephitis (SCHREBER). North-eastern Skunk.] GENUS SPILOGALE. Spilogale putorius (LiNN.). Alleghenian Spotted Skunk. [Spilogale interrupta (RAFIN.). Prairie Spotted Skunk.] GENUS TAXIDEA. Taxidea taxus (SCHREBER). American Badger. SUBFAMILY MUSTELINE. WEASELS, MINK, WOLVERINE, ETC. GENUS GULO. Gulo luscus (LiNN.). Wolverine. GENUS PUTORIUS.* SUBGENUS LUTREOLA. Putorius vison lutreocephalus (HARLAN). Mink. SUBGENUS ICTIS. Putorius noveboracensis EMMONS. New York Weasel. t Putorius longicauda spadix BANGS. Minnesota Long-tailed Weasel. Putorius cicognanii (BoNAP.). Bonaparte's Weasel. Putorius rixosus allegheniensis (RHOADs). Alleghenian Least Weasel. GENUS MUSTELA.t MARTENS, ETC. Mustela americana TURTON. Marten, Pine Marten. Mustela pennanti ERXLEBEN. Fisher, Pennant's Marten. FAMILY PROCYONID^E. RACCOONS. SUBFAMILY PROCYONI1SLE. GENUS PROCYON. Procyon lotor (LiNN.). Raccoon. FAMILY URSID^E. BEARS. GENUS URSUS. Ursus americanus PALLAS. Black Bear. *According to Thomas (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1911, p. 139), the name Putorius commonly used for this genus must be changed to Mustela. fSpecimens from Wisconsin are not typical but seem to approach nearer to spadix than to any othe recognized form. ^According to Thomas (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1911, p. 139), the name Mustela commonly used for this genus must give place to Martes. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 35 ORDER INSECTIVORA. SUBORDER INSECTIVORA VERA. FAMILY SORICID^. SHREWS. SUBFAMILY SORICI1SLE. GENUS SOREX. SUBGENUS SOREX. Sorex personatus GEOFFROY ST. HILIARE. Common Shrew. Sorex rifhardsonii BACHMAN. Richardson's Shrew. Sorex fumeus MILLER. Smoky Shrew. Sorex longirostris BACHMAN. Carolina Shrew. GENUS MICRO SOREX. Microsorex hoyi (BAIRD). Hoy's Shrew. GENUS NEOSOREX. Neosorex palustris (RiCH.). Marsh Shrew, Water Shrew. GENUS BLARINA. SUBGENUS BLARINA. Blarina brevicauda (SAY). Short-tailed Shrew, Mole Shrew. Blarina brevicauda carolinensis (BACHMAN). Carolina Short-tailed Shrew. SUBGENUS CRYPTOTIS. Blarina parva (SAY). Small Short-tailed Shrew. FAMILY TALPID^. MOLES. SUBFAMILY TALPIISLE. GENUS SCALOPUS. Scalopus aquaticus machrinus (RAFIN.). Prairie Mole. GENUS CONDYLURA. Condylura cristata (LiNN.). Star-nosed Mole. ORDER CHIROPTERA. SUBORDER MICROCHIROPTERA. FAMILY VESPERTILIONID^E. TYPICAL BATS. SUBFAMILY VESPERTILIONINvE. GENUS MYOTIS. Myotis lucifugus (LECONTE). Little Brown Bat. Myotis grisescens HOWELL. Gray Bat. Myotis subulatus (SAY). Say's Bat. GENUS LASIONYCTERIS. Lasionycleris noctivagans (LfiCoNTE). Silver-haired Bat. 36 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. GENUS PIPISTRELLUS. Pipistrellus subflavus (F. CUVIER). Georgian Bat. GENUS EPTESICUS. Eptesicus fuscus (BEAUVOIS). Brown Bat. GENUS NYCTERIS. Nycteris borealis (MULLER). Red Bat. Nycteris cinereus (BEAUVOIS). Hoary Bat. GENUS NYCTICEIUS. Nycticeius humeralis (RAFIN.). Rafinesque Bat. GENUS CORYNORHINUS. [Corynorhinus macrotis (LECONTE). Big-eared Bat.] FAMILY MOLOSSID^E. FREE-TAILED BATS. GENUS NYCTINOMUS. \Nyctinomus depressus (WARD). Free- tailed Bat.] ORDER PRIMATES. SUBORDER ANTHROPOIDEA. FAMILY HOMINID^. MAN. GENUS HOMO. Homo sapiens americanus (LINN). American Indian. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 37 HOW TO ESTIMATE THE AGE OF A MAMMAL.* For purposes of identification it is often essential for the student to know whether an animal is old or young, as many species vary greatly in appearance at different ages. In some cases he will learn to recognize immature specimens by their smaller size and the difference in the color of their pelage; but in others, where the pelage differs but little, or the young animal has nearly attained its full growth, an approximate idea of its age can best be formed by reference to anatomical characters, such as the degree of ossification and anchylosis of the epiphyses, the condition of the cranial sutures and of the teeth. In the young animal the epiphyses are cartilaginous, but in most cases they gradually ossify and ultimately (usually at the age of matu- rity) become anchylosed to the main part of the bone. The cranial sutures, which in the immature animal have the appearance of "cracks " in the skull, gradually become anchylosed, and in advanced age their line of union is often but faintly indicated and in many cases, by the ossification of the intervening tissue, become entirely obliterated. If the edges of the bones are notched, so as to interlock, the union is called a dental suture; but, if they are bevelled and overlap, the union is a squamous suture. Deciduous teeth, or "milk-teeth," are present in the young in most species; later they are replaced by permanent teeth. At the age of maturity the permanent teeth are usually in perfect condition, but in old specimens they are much worn. HOW TO MEASURE A MAMMAL. Length of tail Length of hind foot LENGTH Distance from end of nose to end of vertebras of tail (not including the hairs which may extend beyond) . * For definitions of terms, see Glossary, p. 489. 38 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL TAIL VERTEBRAE OR TAIL Distance from point where it joins the body to the tip (not including the hairs which may extend beyond) . HIND FOOT Distance from the heel (tarsal joint) to the end of the longest claw. EAR Distance from point where it joins the skull to the tip (this is the method followed in the present work; some persons measure from the notch to the tip) . LIFE ZONES. Naturalists have learned that the surface of the earth is divisible into regions representing the distribution of the various forms of animal and plant life, which, it has been found, is governed by variations in temperature. Dr. C. Hart Merriam says: "Investigations conducted by the Biological Survey have shown that the northward distribution of terrestrial animals and plants is governed by the sum of the positive temperatures of the entire season of growth and reproduction, and that the southward distribution is governed by the mean temperature of a brief period during the hottest part of the year." The North American continent is divided into three great primary regions: (i) The Boreal Region, comprising the Arctic, Hudsonian, and Canadian zones; (2) The Austral Region, which contains the Transition, Upper Austral and Lower Austral zones; and (3) The Tropical Region, the last being represented in the United States only in southern Florida and a portion of Texas. The more humid portions of the Austral zones lying east of the Great Plains (approximately east of the icoth meridian of longitude) are divided into faunal areas, or faunas, known respectively, as the Alleghanian, Carolinian and Austroriparian faunas. The Arctic Zone This zone lies far north, beyond the limit of tree growth, but is also represented in more southern localities on high mountains above the line of timber, where it is designated as Arctic- alpine. Hudsonian Zone This comprises the most northern forested regions of the continent, and is largely covered with firs and spruces. It is represented in more southern localities on the upper wooded slopes of high mountains in the United States, where similar climatic conditions obtain, and is there termed Hudsonian-alpine. Canadian Zone This comprises the more southern portion of the con- iferous forest regions of Canada and the northern parts of Wisconsin, Michigan and New England. Under the name of Canadian-alpine it also includes portions of mountains in the United States and Mexico, situated at an altitude where similar climatic conditions exist. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 39 Transition Zone This zone is characterized by comparatively few distinctive animals and plants, but covers a territory which repre- sents the southern limit of many northern species and the northern limit of many more southern species. Upper Austral, Lower Austral and Tropical Zones In the Upper Austral Zone we find trees such as oaks, hickories, chestnuts, etc., in abundance, which are gradually succeeded by persimmons, mag- nolias, cyprus, etc., in the Lower Austral Zone; and again by palms, bananas, etc., in the Tropical Zone, which in eastern United States is represented only in southern Florida. As with the plant life, there is a corresponding change in the fauna of these different zones, Map showing Life Zones in eastern North America, from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Copied from the U. S. Biological Survey's Fourth Provisional Zone Map of North America prepared by C. Hart Merriam, Vernon Bailey, E. W. Nelson, and E. A. Preble, 1910. 40 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. but the limits of the latter are not so clearly marked as in the former, inasmuch as animals have the power of moving about at will and with few exceptions are not confined to one locality throughout the year. The ranges of many species of mammals are often not restricted to one zone, but may include a portion of two or more. It is important that the student should become familiar with the location of these zones, as reference to them is often made by writers in describing the distribution of species.* * To students, who desire to pursue this important subject further, the following publications are recommended: WALLACE, A. R. Geographical Distribution of Animals, I and II, New York, 1876. ALLEN, J. A. Geographical Distribution of the Mammalia. Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr., IV, No. 2, 1878, pp. 313-377. ALLEN, J. A. Geographical Distribution of N. Amer. Mammals. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., IV, 1892, pp. 199-243. MERRIAM, C. H. Geographical Distribution of Life in N. Amer. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., VII, 1892, pp. 1-64. MERRIAM, C. H. Life Zones and Crop Zones of the U. S. U. S. Dept. Agric., Div. Biol. Surv., Bull. No. 10, 1898. REPRESENTED WITHIN OUR LIMITS. KEY TO THE ORDERS. 1. Fingers greatly elongated, supporting a leathery membrane which serves as a wing. Order CHIROPTERA, p. 445. 2. Fingers not greatly elongated and not supporting a leathery membrane which serves as a wing. A. Feet provided with hoofs. Order UNGULATA, p. 57. B. Feet provided with claws or nails. bi. No canine teeth present; a wide gap betv/een cheek teeth and incisors; front teeth (incisors) large and chisel-shaped, never more than two in lower jaw. Order GLIRES, p. 97. b2. Canine teeth present and prominent, longer and noticeably different from the others. Tail and ears nearly or quite naked (hairless); female with external abdominal pouch. Order MARSUPIALIA, p. 49. Tail and ears not naked; female without abdominal pouch. Order FERffi, p. 275. b3. Canine teeth present but not prominent and but little different from others; teeth continuous, with no wide gap between them; upper lip projecting beyond lower; snout long. Order INSECTIVORA, p. 405 KEY TO THE FAMILIES. GROUP 1. Order MARSUPIALIA. Pouched Mammals. Tail nearly naked; ears naked; general color grayish white; teeth 50; canine teeth present; hind foot with five toes, the innermost one shaped like a thumb and without claw; female with external abdom- inal pouch for carrying young after birth. A single species occurs within our limits, which is about the size of a large Domestic Cat. Family DIDELPHIIDjE. Opossums, p. 51 . 42 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. GROUP 2. Order UNGULATA. Hoofed Mammals. SECTION 1. Horns branched and solid (not hollow) and annually shed. Family CERVID^E. Deer, Moose, Caribou, etc., p. 58. SECTION 2. Horns simple (not branched), permanent (not annually shed), and more or less hollow. Family BOVID^E. American Bison or Buffalo, etc., p. 86. GROUP 3. Order GLIRES. Gnawing Mammals. Squirrels, Rab- bits, Rats, Beavers, etc. Front teeth (incisors) large and chisel- shaped and separated from the molars on side of jaw by a wide gap; canine teeth ab- sent; toes with nails or claws. Skull of a Rodent. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 43 SECTION 1. Upper front teeth (incisors) 2. PART-1. Tail very broad and flat (paddle-shaped) and without hair; hind toes broadly webbed; total length of adult 3 feet or more. Family CASTORID^E. Beavers, p. 158. PART 2. Body more or less covered with sharp, stiff quills; tail not flat and naked; total length of adult 2 feet or more. Family ERETHIZONTID^E. American Porcupines, p. 253. PART 3. Tail not broad, flat and naked, and no sharp quills on body. A. Four or more developed grinding teeth (molars and premolars) on side of each jaw. ai. Tail thickly haired or bushy; cheek pouches (when present) open- ing inside of mouth. Family SCIURIDiE. Squirrels, Woodchucks, etc., p. 98. 44 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL a2. Tail not thickly haired; cheeks with large external pouch open- ing outside of mouth; front of incisors deeply grooved; claws on fore feet very long. Family GEOMYID^. Pocket Gophers, p. 239. B. Not more than 3 well developed grinding teeth on si'de of jaw; tail closely haired, or in some species nearly or quite naked, bi. Hind feet ordinary, not greatly elongated. Family MURID^. Rats and Mice, p. 171. 02. Hind feet much elongated; tail very long; size small (in one species a very small premolar is present in addition to the three well developed molars). Family ZAPODID^E. Jumping Mice, p. 246. SECTION 2. Upper front teeth (incisors) 4; two large incisors and two very small ones directly behind them; ears and hind legs noticeably long. Family LEPORID^E. Hares and Rabbits, p. 259. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 45 GROUP 4. Order FERE. Flesh Eaters. Bears, Cats, Wolves, Skunks, Weasels, etc. Canine teeth present and prominent, longer and noticeably different from the others; front teeth (incisors) comparatively small; toes with claws. Skull of Wild Cat showing canine teeth. SECTION 1. Hind foot with 4 toes. PART 1. Shape, cat-like; toes armed with sharp claws, which are retractile (capable of being extended or drawn back as in a sheath) ; teeth 30 or less. Family FELID^B. Cats, Lynxes, Panthers, etc. p. 277. PART 2. Shape, dog-like; claws not retractile; teeth 42; muzzle long. Family CANID1E. Wolves, Foxes, etc. p. 296. SECTION 2. Hind foot with 5 toes. PART 1. Size large, 200 to 300 Ibs. or more; fur black; teeth 42; practically entire sole of foot touches the ground when walking (plantigrade). Family URSID^E. Bears, p. 396. 46 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. PART 2. Size medium; tail bushy, showing several distinct dark rings (annulated); practically entire sole of foot touches the ground when walking (planti- grade) . Family PROCYONID^E. Raccoons, p. 391. PART 3. Size variable in different species; tail hairy but never show- ing several distinct rings or bars; sole of foot not touching the ground when walking. Family MUSTELID^E. Otters, Skunks, Minks, Weasels, Martens, Wolverine and Badgers. p. 327. GROUP 5. Order INSECTIVORA. Insect Eaters. Size small, the largest (in our species) less than 10 inches long; snout long, upper lip noticeably projecting beyond the lower; canine teeth present but not noticeably prominent, and differing but little from the others ; tooth row practically continuous, with no wide gap as in Glires; eyes very small, often rudimentary; ears concealed except in one genus; toes with claws. SECTION 1. No external ear; front feet very large and wide; claws large; fur thick and soft; length more than 5 inches. Family TALPID.S. Moles, p. 433. SECTION 2. External ear present but small and in some species concealed by fur; feet normal, front ones not conspicu- ously large; somewhat resembles a small Mouse but snout much more elongated and slender. Family SORICID^. Shrews, p. 406. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 47 GROUP 6. Order CHIROPTERA. Bats. Fore limbs modified and fingers greatly elongated, supporting a leathery mem- brane which is attached to the hind limbs and body and forms a wing. Body covered with soft fur; wings more or less bare. Most of our Bats are comparatively small and they are often observed flying about in the evening. Family VESPERTILIONID/E. Bats, p. 445. ORDER MARSUPIALIA. MARSUPIALS. The Marsupials, or so-called Pouched Mammals, comprise a large number of curious animals, including the Kangaroos, Wombats, etc., and are mostly confined to the Australian region. They are represented, however, in the new world by the Opossums (Didelphiida), a number of species of which are found in North and South America; and also in the latter country by Caenolestes,* a representative of the, until lately, supposed extinct family Epanorthidce. As the name marsupial implies, in many cases the female is furnished with an external abdominal pouch in which the young, which are born in a very incomplete stage of development,! are placed by the mother and suckled until they are sufficiently grown to be able to move about by themselves. In Phascologale, however, the pouch is only present in rudiment, and it is apparently entirely absent in Myrmecobius. In the American members of the order the pouch is often absent, sometimes rudimentary, and occasionally well developed Some Marsupials are herbivorous, others insectivorous, and a few are carnivorous. The North American Opossums seem to be practically omnivorous. Members of the family are terrestrial, arboreal or bur- rowing, and one (Chironectes), a small Central and South American species, has webbed hind feet and is semiaquatic. Among members of this order usually only one tooth of the milk set is functional, the fourth premolar; a developed clavicle is always present. There are differences in brain characters which distinguish Marsupials from higher mammals, among which is the. almost total absence of a true corpus callosum. The cloaca is reduced and shallow. A true allantoic placenta is rarely present (so far as known, only in Parameles). The uterus and vagina are double. The mammae vary in number but .are * A number of specimens of this little known Marsupial were taken by Mr. W. H. Osgood in the mountains of western Venezuela and eastern Colombia in the spring of 1911. Study of this material is now under way and will be the subject of a special paper which will appear later in the Publications of this Museum. t Flower and Lydekker say, "In this stage of their existence they are fed by milk injected into their stomach by the contraction of the muscles covering the mammary gland, the respiratory organs being modified temporarily, much as they are permanently in the Cetacea, the elongated upper part of the larynx projecting into the posterior nares, and so maintaining a free communication between the lungs and the external surface independently of the mouth and gullet, thus averting the danger of suffocation while the milk is passing down the latter passage." (Mammals Living and Extinct, 1891, pp. 130-131.) 49 50 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. always abdominal. In the male the usual positions of the external genital organs are transposed; a caecum is present, but small. Marsupials possess a number of characters which have puzzled naturalists as to their origin, as in some ways they resemble Prototherian mammals and in others Eutherian, but the balance of evidence seems to indicate a much nearer relationship to the latter, and it is probable that they are derived from some primitive form of Eutherian mammal, having, in Beddard's opinion, "separated from the Eutherian stock after it had acquired a definite diphyodonty and the allantoic placenta."* * Mammalia, 1902, p. 119 Skull of Opossum (Didelphis virginianai. (About J nat. size.) FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 51 SUBORDER POLYPROTODONTIA. Family DIDELPHI ID^. Opossums. The members of this family are confined to North, Central and South America. They are pentadactylous and the tail is usually long and prehensile. The majority are arboreal and mainly insectivorous, but many of the larger species eat birds, eggs, reptiles, etc., and one tropical species is semiaquatic and is said to subsist largely upon fish. Our species of Opossum seems to be practically omnivorous. The teeth are 50 in number. The single species which occurs within our limits has a well developed abdominal pouch, but, as has been pre- viously stated, in some members of the family it is more or less rudi- mentary, being merely composed of two lateral folds of skin separated at each end, while in others it is entirely absent. Genus DIDELPHIS Linn. Didelphis Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 54. Type (by elimina- tion) Didelphis marsupialis Linn. External abdominal pouch, into which the teats open, well devel- oped; feet with five toes; the hind feet with inner toe thumb-like, without nail and opposable to the others; ears and tail largely naked, the latter prehensile; skull with sagittal and occipital crests strongly developed; incisors small and pointed; premolars with compressed, pointed crowns; canines large; gape of mouth very large; bristles on nostrils and lips, long. Dental formula: i ^, C. -, Pm. ^, M. ^ - =50. 4-4 i-i 3-3 4-4 Didelphis virginiana KERR. VIRGINIA OPOSSUM. Didelphis marsupialis LINN., Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 54 (in part only). Didelphis virginiana KERR, Anim. Kingd., 1792, p. 173. RAYMOND, Kept. Geol. Surv. Ind., 1869, p. 205 (Indiana). GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 7 (Kentucky). ALLEN, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIV, 1901, p. 162 (Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, etc.). JACKSON, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 71 (Missouri). Ib., Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 14 (Wis- consin). McATEE, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 2 (Indiana). HAHN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXXII, 1907, p. 456 (N. W. Indiana). Ib., Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXXV, 1908, p. 568 (S. Indiana). Ib., Ann. Rep. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 448 (Indiana). EVERMANN & CLARK, Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci., XIII, 1911, p. 2 (Indiana). 52 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Didelphus Virginiana LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 337 (Wisconsin). Didelphys Virginianus R. KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (i%55)> p. 580 (Cook Co., Illinois). Didelphys Virginiana THOMAS, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., IV, 1859-60 (1861), p. 656 (Illinois). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I, 1883, p. 440 (Wisconsin). Didelphys virginiana MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., 1860 (1861), p. 220 (Michigan). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 194 (Iowa). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 44 (Iowa). WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 513 (Champaign Co., Illinois). Didelphis Virginiana HOY, Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci., Arts & Letters, V, 1882, p. 256 (Wisconsin). Type locality Virginia. Distribution Eastern United States (except Florida and the coast region of the Gulf states, where a slightly different form occurs), north to Long Island and New York, and west, south of the Great Lakes, to southern Michigan, southern Wisconsin and Iowa, thence southward to eastern Texas. Description Adult: General color grayish white, the under fur with blackish tips and overlaid with long white hairs; legs blackish; feet black, with partly white toes; whole of the head, throat, and sides of the neck white, sometimes tinged with yellowish ; at times a narrow blackish eye ring and usually a small blackish spot in front of the eye; ears black and nearly naked, edged with flesh color; tail nearly naked, dull flesh color becoming blackish at the base; toe nails and soles of feet flesh color; inner toe of hind foot thumb-like and without nail. Female with external abdominal pouch into which the 13 teats open and in which the young are carried and nourished after birth; pouch lined with soft brownish woolly hair. Measurements Length, about 26 to 33 in. (680 to 850 mm.) ; tail, 1 1 to 13.50 in. (280 to 345 mm.). The Virginia Opossum is common in wooded localities in southern Illinois and occurs sparingly in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. In the latter state Moses Strong states it was "found occasionally in the vicinity of Lake Michigan" (I.e., p. 440); Hollister records three speci- mens having been killed in Walworth County during the past fifteen years (/. c., p. 137); Jackson states that three specimens were taken in Green County, one in January, 1902, and two in the autumn of 1906. Dr. Hoy writes, "The Opossum were not uncommon in Racine and Wal- worth counties as late as 1848. They have been caught as far north as Waukesha and one near Madison in 1872, since which time I have not heard of any being taken. I am told that a few are still found in Grant FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 53 County" (/. c., p. 257). Mr. W. E. Snyder has a male specimen in his collection taken near Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin, May 9, Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana). 1907, and he informs me an Opossum was killed near Columbus, Colum- bia County, in the fall of 1905. Kennicott states that the Opossum was at one time not uncommon in Cook County, Illinois (/. c., p. 580). Mr. John F. Ferry procured two specimens alive in the fall of 1907, which were trapped on an 54 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. island in Rock River near Oregon, Ogle County, northwestern Illinois. It has also been taken in the vicinity of Glen Ellyn, Du Page County, Illinois, by Mr. B. T. Gault, who writes, "An Opossum was found dead in our woods February 19, 1910, evidently having been killed by dogs. It was quite badly mutilated and the fur slipped consid- erably, probably having been dead some time. Another one was killed here New Year's day and the man who did it tells me he has taken two others within the past ten years." I have seen a specimen killed near the Kankakee River not far from the Indiana line, and another from the vicinity of Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois. It is also recorded by Dr. J. A. Allen from the latter locality (1. c., p. 162). Farther south it becomes more common and is reported from various places in southern Illinois. The Field Museum collection contains specimens taken near Bogota, Jasper County, and Olive Branch, Alexander County. The Opossum is very prolific; usually two and sometimes three litters are born in a season and the young usually number from 8 to 13 in a litter. When born they are extremely small, considerably less than an inch in length, imperfectly developed, naked and absolutely helpless. They are immediately placed in the pouch by the mother, where they attach themselves to the nipples and remain so for several weeks until sufficiently .grown to be able to move about and help them- selves. When they are able to leave the pouch, they are often carried about on the back of the old Opos- sum, clinging to her fur and with their tails wrapped around that of their mother, which she obligingly holds over her back for the purpose. Opossums are noc- turnal in their habits, although I have occasionally met with one wandering about in the woods in the day time. They move slowly when on the ground and FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 55 when surprised often lie perfectly still and pretend to be dead, "playing possum" as it is called. They will then usually permit themselves to be lifted by the tail and for a short time will hang limp and motionless; but care should be taken not to trust them too far, for their teeth are very sharp, and they can bite viciously when once they have made up their minds to do so. The Opossum usually makes its home in a hollow tree, log or stump, although it occasionally prefers a hole in the ground. It is omnivorous, eating almost anything in the way of food, including birds and eggs, mice, frogs, fish, insects and fruit of various kinds. Audubon and Bachman say: "It enters the corn fields (maize), crawls up the stalks, and sometimes breaks them down in the manner of a raccoon, to feed on the young and tender grains; it picks up chestnuts, acorns, chinquapins and beech nuts, and munches them in the manner of a bear. We have, on dis- section, ascertained that it had devoured blackberries, whortleberries, and wild cherries, and its resort to the persimmon tree is proverbial. It is also insectivorous, and is seen scratching up the leaves in search of worms, and the larvae of insects, of which it is very fond. In early spring it lays the vegetable kingdom under contribution for its support, and we have observed it digging up the roots of the small atamamasco lily (Zepherina atamasco), and the young and tender shoots of the China brier (Smilax rotundifolia) , as they shoot out of the ground like asparagus. It is moreover decidedly carnivorous, eating young birds that it may detect on the ground, sucking the eggs in all the partridge, towhee bunting and other nests, it can find in its persevering search. It destroys mice and other rodentia, and devours whole broods of young rabbits, scratching about the nest and scattering the hair and other materials of which it was composed. . . . We must admit that it sometimes makes a sly visit to the poultry house, killing a few of the hens and playing havoc among the eggs. The annoyances of the farmer, however, from this mischievous propensity, are not as great as those sustained from some of the other species, and cannot for a moment be compared with the destruction caused by the weasel, the mink, or the skunk."* The flesh is esteemed by many people, especially negroes, but it has a peculiar oily flavor which is not always agreeable. The skin when dyed makes a not unattractive fur. Specimens examined from Illinois and Wisconsin: Illinois Olive Branch, Alexander Co., 2; Bogota, Jasper Co., 5; "Illinois" (adult and juv.), 8; (O.) Oregon, Ogle Co., 2; Warsaw, Hancock Co., i ; Kankakee River, 1 = 19. Wisconsin (S. C.) Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., i. *Quadrupeds N. Amer., II, 1854, pp. 112-113. 56 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Map illustrating approximate distribution of Opossums in eastern United States. Stragglers occasionally occur slightly farther north. Didelphis virginiana KERR. Type locality Virginia. Description as previously given. Didelphis v. pigra BANGS. (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1898, p. 172.) Type locality - Oak Lodge, opposite Micco, Brevard Co., Florida. Similar but smaller and somewhat darker than virginiana; tail longer and more slender. ORDER UNGULATA. HOOFED MAMMALS. This order comprises the Hoofed Mammals, such as Deer, Oxen, Horses, Sheep, Swine, Elephants, etc.,* representatives of the various families being widely distributed throughout the world, except in Australia and Madagascar. They are terrestrial, digitigrade, and vege- tarian. The molars are broad, with ridged or tuberculate surfaces; the teeth are heterodont or diphyodont; and the "milk teeth" remain longer than in most mammals; clavicles are not present in living species; the digits vary from one to five, and are usually incased in a horny hoof, although in some cases, such as* the Elephants, there are broad blunt nails. The American Ungulates belong to two suborders: Perissodactyla, those having an uneven number of toes, such as the Horse and Tapir; and Artiodactyla, those possessing an even number of toes, such as Deer, Oxen, Sheep, etc. The latter are characterized by the prom- inence of the third and fourth digits, while the second and fifth are indicated by small lateral hoofs, or "false hoofs," which are rarely, if ever, functional, and in some species are entirely absent. The suborder Artiodactyla is generally divided into two groups or divisions consisting of (i) the Suinea, comprising the families contain- ing the Swine and Hippopottami; and (2) the Selenodontia, or Rum- inantia,f comprising the other rep- resentatives of the suborder, such as Deer, Oxen, Sheep, etc., which rum- inate or "chew their cud." In all "ruminants" the stomach Stomach of Ruminant j s usua lly divided into foUT COm- o, (Esophagus; b, rumen or pouch; h, reticu- * lum or honeycomb bag ; d, psalterium or manyplies; partmentS (in the Tragulid(B there c, abomasum or reed; f, duodenum. (After " are but three), and the operation consists of forcing back the hastily and improperly chewed grass or vegetable matter from the stomach into the mouth, where the food is * See page 28. t The Ruminantia are again subdivided into somewhat natural groups: (i) Tragulina, comprising the Cheyrotains or Deerlets; (2) Tylopoda, Camels, Llamas, Vicunas, etc.; and (3) Pecora, including the families Cermdce, Deer, etc.; Giraffida, Giraffes and Okapi; and Bovidce, Oxen, Sheep, Goats, Old World Antelopes and not unlikely the American Antelope or Pronghorn, although the last is usually placed in a family by itself (A ntilocaprida) . 57 58 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL given a more thorough mastication before it passes into the third and fourth compartments of the stomach where the true digestive process begins. In all Ruminants the incisors or front teeth in the upper jaw are lacking. Most of our domestic animals belong to families in this order; viz., the Horse and Ass are members of the family Equidce; Swine of the Suidce; and Oxen, Sheep and Goats belong to the family Bovidce. All of these animals are descendants of wild ancestors, and the great number of so-called species or "breeds" of to-day are the result of artificial selection and domestication for many centuries. Suborder ARTIODACTYLA. Deer, Oxen, Sheep, etc. Family CERVID^. Deer, Moose, Elk, Caribou, etc. Antlers, when present, solid and branched in adult; upper canines usually present; at least the first molar in upper jaw brachydont; lateral hoofs present in all of our species, and with rare exceptions in all members of the family; lachrymal vacuity large, preventing articulation of the lachrymal bone with the nasal; lachrymal duct with two orifices. There are two subfamilies; Cervince and Moschina, but only the former is represented in America. In the various species belonging to this family, antlers, when present, seem to represent a secondary sexual character, as they occur as a rule in the male only.* The Caribou and Reindeer (Rangifer} are exceptions, however, both sexes usually having well developed antlers. Of the thirty or more recognized species and races of Cervidce which occur in North America, only five are represented within our limits, and of these only the Deer is found in any numbers at the present time. The Elk or Wapiti has long since disappeared ; the Moose and Caribou, if they are to be found at all, are only of rare or accidental occurrence in extreme northern Wisconsin. All the males, and as has already been stated in the case of the Caribou the females as well, are provided with antlers, which are solid, branched and deciduous; that is to say, they are annually dropped and replaced by new and, up to a certain age, by larger ones, more branches appearing year by year. The antlers are usually dropped during March, but are soon replaced * In practically all of our species the female occasionally has antlers, but such cases are rare. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 59 by new ones which grow rapidly; at first they are soft, full of blood vessels, and provided with a fur-like outer covering known as ''velvet." When full growth of the antler is attained, a ring of tubercles appears around the base, which is known as the "burr." This compresses the blood vessels and soon cuts off the supply of blood to the new antler, which quickly hardens and the "velvet" soon wears off. KEY TO GENERA. A. End of nose between nostrils almost, or entirely, covered with hair. End of nose entirely covered with hair; antlers palmate (see cut below). Genus RANGIFER, p. 80. End of nose almost covered with hair (except a narrow slit of bare skin) ; antlers palmate (see cut below). Genus PARALCES, p. 74. B. End of nose between nostrils entirely naked. Antlers not palmate, most of tines or branches extending from front side of horn (see cut). Genus CERVUS, p. 67. Antlers not palmate, most of tines or branches extending from back side of horn (see cut). Genus ODOCOILEUS, p. 60. KEY TO THE SPECIES. Skull less than 12 inches long; antlers (in male) less than 30 inches long, terminal half or more curved forward (in adult), tines extending from back side of antler; female without antlers; general body color, reddish brown or grayish brown. VIRGINIA DEER. WHITE-TAILED DEER. Odocoileus virginianus (Illinois), p. 60. NORTHERN WHITE-TAILED DEER. Odocoileus virginianus borealis (Wisconsin), p. 64. Skull more than 15 inches long (average adult, 1 8 to 19.50); antlers (in adult) more than 36 inches long, bending backward and with tines or branches extending from front side of antler; antlers not decidedly flattened and palmate. AMERICAN ELK. Cervus canadensis, p. 67. Skull more than 15 inches long (average adult, 16 to 17^ inches); antlers large and irregular, most of the numerous branches being flattened and palmate; upper canines usually present; antlers in both sexes; end of nose covered with hair. WOODLAND CARIBOU. Rangifer caribou, p. 81. 60 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Skull more than 15 inches long (average adult, 22 to 23 inches); antlers heavy, broad, much flattened and largely in one piece, without long irregular branches; tines extending in sim- ple points from the edge of the main part of the antler; upper canines absent; female without antlers; general body color, brownish black; end of nose covered with hair (except a narrow slit between nostrils). MOOSE. Parolees americanus, p 74. Subfamily CERVINE. Genus ODOCOILEUS Rafin. Odocoileus Rafinesque, Atlantic Journal, I, No. 3, 1832, p. 109. Type Odocoileus speleus Rafin. = Cervus dama americanus Erxleben. Lateral hoofs developed but comparatively small; terminal half of antlers curved forward, the tines extending from back side of antler; antlers (normally) in male only; upper canines absent; exposed meta- tarsal gland on outer side of leg; lateral metacarpals complete. Dental formula:* I. , C. , Pm. ^, M. ^=32. 3-3 i-i 3-3 3-3 Odocoileus virginianus (BODD.). VIRGINIA DEER. WHITE-TAILED DEER. Cervus virginianus BODD., Elench. Animal, I, 1785, p. 136. ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 186 (Iowa). Cervus Virginianus KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 ^855), p. 580 (Cook Co., Illinois). Cariacus virginianus GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 4 (Kentucky). Odocoileus virginianus ALLEN, Amer. Nat., XXXIV, 1900, p. 318. HAHN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXXII, 1907, p. 456 (Indiana). Ib., Ann. Kept. Dept. Geol. Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 457 (Indiana). Odontoccelus americanus ELLIOT, Field Mus. Pub., Zool. Ser., VI, 1905, p. 43. Odocoileus americanus WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 516 (Illinois). Type locality Virginia. Distribution Formerly middle United States, from north of Florida and the Gulf states to about latitude 43, and west to the plains; beyond these limits slightly different geographical races occur (see map). Now probably extinct in Illinois and in the more settled portions of its former range. * Although having the appearance of an incisor, osteologists consider the fourth lateral incisoform tooth to be really a canine. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 61 62 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Description Adult: Color of sexes similar; antlers of male as illus- trated, rarely exceeding 29 inches in length and usually less; in summer, general color, reddish brown; belly, under surface and tip of tail, inner side of legs and a patch on the throat, white; a whitish band across the nose and a ring around each eye; a blackish spot on each side of the chin; upper surface of tail dusky; in winter, general color grayish or grayish brown. Female normally without horns. Young: Reddish brown or bright bay, spotted with white; the spots gradually fade and disappear when the fawn is between 4 and 5 months old. Measurements Adult male: Length, about 60 to 68 inches; tail, about 10 inches (to end of hairs about 3 inches more) ; height at shoulder variable, about 36 inches. Although formerly Deer were very abundant throughout Illinois, they are now practically exterminated in the state. It is claimed that a very few still linger in the extreme southern counties. Mr. B. T. Gault, in a letter to me, dated January 20, 1910, writes: "In the fall of 1900 there were several Deer in the hill country not far from Thebes, Alexander County (southern Illinois), but I have since been told that they have all been killed off." % He later kindly sent me a letter from Mr. C. J. Boyd of Anna, Illinois, dated April 7, 1910, in which he writes: "There are a few Deer in the hills in this county and in Alexander County. It was reported that a doe and two fawns were seen close to the line of this county and Alexander County last summer" (1909). Butler states (Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1895, p. 83) that a Deer was seen in Newton County,* Indiana, in 1891. Mr. E. J. Chansler of Bicknell, Knox County, Indiana, writes: "The last wild Deer was reported from near Red Cloud by the late N. B. Edwards in 1893." This seems to be the last record for that state. In Wisconsin, where Deer are still abundant in the more northern counties, they are larger and are recognized as a distinct race (0. v. borealis), the difference, however, being mainly one of size. In the southern states two other geographical races are recognized, the Louisiana Deer and the Florida Deer, the latter being decidedly smaller than the Virginia Deer, full grown bucks often weighing not over no pounds. These, however, are smaller than the average, and I have killed at least one specimen in southern Florida which weighed more than 200 pounds. f Deer hunting is a favorite sport for many people, and I plead guilty of having killed a considerable number in my time ; but as we grow older * Newton County, Indiana, borders Illinois in the Kankakee region. t For many years I carried steelyards with me in the field for the purpose of weighing large game. One buck weighed 204 Ibs., and during a dozen years I have killed others which I did not weigh but which were fully as large. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 63 the unnecessary killing of harmless animals becomes repugnant to us, and I am glad to say that during the last dozen years I have killed very few and only when meat was needed in camp. Deer are usually hunted in three ways (fire hunting not included, and being rarely indulged in by true sportsmen), (i) Hunting them with hounds, the hunter stationing himself on a runway. (2) To "slow trail" them, a method which is largely followed in southern countries. A hound is trained to follow a trail slowly and without barking. He must go slowly enough to enable the hunter to keep within a few yards of him. Sooner or later the Deer is "jumped," usually within shooting distance. (3) The method known as still hunting. To be a successful "still hunter" requires keen eye- sight combined with a knowledge of wood craft and the habits and ways of Deer, which few white men possess. In a comparatively open country, where Deer have not been much hunted, one may often approach within a shooting distance by keeping to leeward of the animal and creeping forward while it has its head down feeding, and remaining motionless when it lifts its head, which it does every few minutes. For some reason a Deer usually shakes his tail before lifting his head. By bearing this in mind, on one occasion I approached within 100 yards of a buck feeding in an open prairie where the grass was not over 12 inches high. Once the Deer raised his head and looked directly at me before I had time to lie down in the grass. I remained perfectly still and after gazing at me for a moment he stamped once or twice, advanced a few steps and stamped again; but after ex- amining me for some time he apparently came to the conclusion that I was a part of the scenery, or at least some strange animal which was not dangerous, whereupon he commenced to feed again. Of course this was due to the fact that the wind was blowing from the Deer towards me ; had it been the other way, the sense of smell is so acute in these animals that such a near approach would have been impossible. When fright- ened a Deer will usually utter a startled snort, which is almost invariably given preliminary to flight. When running a Deer usually holds its tail straight up in the air, at least for a short distance, the white under surface showing clearly as it bounds high over the bushes. If it goes off with its tail down, it is a pretty sure indication that it is badly wounded. The antlers of the Virginia Deer are usually dropped in March. The rutting season begins during the latter part of October and usually lasts until late in November and the majority of the young are born in May. For the first few days, until the fawn is strong enough to follow her about, the mother leaves it in some concealed spot while she seeks her food, returning from time to time to learn of its welfare and to suckle it. I have on several occasions found very young fawns in the woods and they always lay perfectly still and permitted themselves to be handled ; 64 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. but upon leaving them and returning to the spot a short time afterwards, they had invariably disappeared. The food of the adult consists largely of grass and the young and tender leaves and buds of shrubs and trees, together with aquatic plants. Albinism occurs occasionally in Deer as in many other mammals, although perfectly white specimens are rare. The Field Museum col- lection contains a fine white buck of the northern race taken in Minne- sota. Odocoileus virginianus borealis (MILLER). NORTHERN WHITE-TAILED DEER. Odocoileus americanus borealis MILLER, Bull. N. Y. State Mus., VIII, 1900, p. 83. JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 4 (Wisconsin); Ib., VIII, 1910, p. 86 (Wisconsin). Odocoileus virginianus borealis ADAMS, Reot. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 128 (Michigan). Odocoileus virginianus SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 126 (Wiscon- sin). Cervus (Cariacus) virginianus HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 281 (Minnesota). Cervus Virginianus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 337 (Wis- consin). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I, 1883? p. 437 (Wisconsin). Cervus virginianus MILES, Geol. Surv. Mich., 1861, p. 222 (Michigan). Type locality Bucksport, Maine. Distribution Northern tier of United States and southern Canada, west at least to the Rocky Mountains. Special characters Similar to O. virginianus but larger, and the general color paler, or grayer. The Northern White-tailed Deer is merely a large and somewhat grayer race of the Virginia Deer. All Deer which occur in Wisconsin at the present time probably belong to this form. The average weight of a full grown buck may be estimated at from 200 to 225 Ibs., although Deer weighing 300 Ibs. are by no means uncommon, and Mr. E. T. Seton records one having the unusual weight of 400 Ibs.* In northern Wisconsin Deer are abundant in many localities and large numbers are killed every season. Mr. W. L. Kinney of Eagle River, Vilas County, informs me that in November, 1906, 300 dead Deer were shipped from that station. Farther south they become less com- mon, and in Jackson, Munroe, and Juneau counties they are compara- tively scarce. Probably the most southern limit of their range in Wis- consin at the present time is Sauk County, where, according to Mr. H. B. Quimby of Reedsburg, they are still to be found. Jackson states that lately Deer have become quite abundant in Sauk County, (/. c., p. 86). * Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 71. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. In the extreme southern portion of the state and in the more thickly settled districts they have long since been exterminated. Mr. N. Hoi- lister states* that Deer were abundant in Wai worth County up to about 1842, but that none was seen in that locality later than 1852. Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Wisconsin Florence Co., 16; (O.) Iron Co., 9; Vilas Co., 6 = 31. Minnesota i (albino) . \. Florence. 2. Forest. S. Vilas. 4. Oneida. 5. Price. 6.. Iron. 7. Ashland. (inc. Apostle Isls 8. Bayfield. 9. Douglas. 10. Burnett. 11. Washburn. 12. Sawyer. 13. Polk. 14. Barren. 15. Rusk or Gates. 16. Taylor. 17. Lincoln, 18. Langlade. 19. Oconto. 20. Marinette. 21. Door. 22. Kewaunee. 23. Brown. 24. Outagamie. .) 25. Shawano. 26. Waupaca. 27. Marathon. 28. Portage. 29. Wood. 30. Clark 31. Chippewa. 82. Eau Claire 33. Dunn. j34, Pepin. ,35. St. Croix. 36 Pierce. 37 Buffalo. 38 Trempealeau 41 La Cross Monroe. 3. Adams. 44. Waushara. Marquette 6. Green Lake. Fond du Lac 48. Wini\ebogo. 49. Calumet. 50. Manitowoc. 51. Sheboygan. 52. Ozaukee. 53. Washington f> 1. Dodge. 55. Columbia. 56. Sauk. 57 Richland. 58. Vernon. 59. Crawford 60. Grant. 61. Iowa. 62. Dane. 63. Jefferson. 64. Waukestu. 65. 'Milwaukee. 66. Racine. 67. Kenosha. 68. Walworth 69. Rock. 70. Green. 71. Lafayette. Map illustrating approximate present range of the Northern White-tailed Deer, O. t. borealis, in Wisconsin. Prepared with the kind cooperation of 63 residents in the different counties. * Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, 142. 66 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Map illustrating approximate distribution of races of the Virginia or White-tailed Deer in eastern North America. The central white area indicates the portion of its former range where it is now practi- cally extinct. Odocoileus virginianus (BoDD.). Type locality Virginia. Description as pre- viously given. Odocoileus v. borealis (MILLER). Type locality Bucksport, Maine. Range and description as previously given. Odocoileus v. macrourus (RAFIN.). (Amer. Month. Mag., I, 1817, p. 436.) Type locality Plains of Kansas River. General color, paler. Odocoileus v. louisiana G. ALLEN. (Amer. Nat., XXXV, 1901, p. 449.) Type locality Mer Rouge, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. Size of virginianus; color in winter, pale; skull, long and slender. Odocoileus osceola (BANGS). (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 26.) Type local- ity Citronelle, Citrus Co., Florida. Decidedly smaller than louisiance, the color darker and horns smaller. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 67 Genus CERVUS Linn. Cervus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 66. Type Cervus elaphus Linn. Size, large; upper canines usually present; antlers, large, turned backward with the tines extending forward; basal tines present and extending over forehead ; antlers normally in male only ; lateral meta- carpals incomplete. Dental formula: I. -> C. -or^-^ Pm. ^ ^> M. 22. = 32 or 34. 4-4 o-o o-o 3-3 3-3 Cervus canadensis (ERXLEBEN). AMERICAN ELK. WAPITI. [Cervus elaphus] canadensis ERXLEBEN, Syst. Regni Anim., I, 1777, p. 305. Elaphus Canadensis LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340. KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), p. 580 (Cook Co., Illinois). Elaphus canadensis DE KAY, Zoology of New York, Pt. I, Mammalia, 1842, p. 119. AUDUBON & BACHMAN, Quadrupeds of N. Amer., II, 1851, p. 83. Cervus canadensis MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., 1860 (1861), p. 222 (Michigan). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 184 (Iowa). CATON, Antelope and Deer of America, 1877, p. 80 (Illinois). OSBORN, Proc, Iowa Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 42 (Iowa). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 278 (Minnesota). GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 4 (Kentucky). RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 180 (Tennessee). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 15 (Wisconsin). HOLLISTER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 137 (Wis- consin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dep. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 454 (Indiana). F. E. WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 515 (Illinois). N. A. WOOD, Mich. Geol. & Biol. Surv. Pub., IV, 1911, p. 309 (Michigan). Cervus Canadensis THOMAS, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., IV, 1859-60 (1861), p. 651 (Illinois). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I, 1883, p. 437 (Wisconsin). HOY, Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. Arts & Letters, V, 1882, p. 256 (Wisconsin). Type locality Eastern Canada. Distribution Formerly throughout the greater portion of middle and northern United States, and in eastern Canada north to about the 'latitude of Montreal; further west its Canadian range extended gradually further north, until in Alberta it reached at least to lati- tude 56. At the present time it is found in a wild state practically only in the Rocky Mountain region* from Colorado to Alberta. A slightly different subspecies, C. c. occidentalis, occurs in Wash- ington, Oregon, and British Columbia, and closely allied species are found in California (C. nannoides) and in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico (C. merriami). * It is claimed that a few of these animals still exist in northern Minnesota. 68 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 69 Description Adult male: Legs very large, much larger than a Virginia Deer; antlers usually more than 40 inches long, turned backward and tines or branches extending from front side of antler; general body color pale tawny brown; head, neck and chest dark brown; legs clove brown; a noticeably large yellowish white patch on rump, surrounding the tail; young with white spots. Measurements Adults: Length, about 7^ to 8 feet; height at shoulder, \% to $% feet; average weight, 500 to 600 Ibs. For many years the Elk has been extinct in Illinois and Wisconsin. Only a few antlers, which are occasionally found, remain to mark the presence within our limits of this noble representative of the Deer family which was at one time so abundant. Elk antlers may readily be distinguished from those of our Deer by the following characters: Elk antlers (adult) Size large, more than 35 inches long, turned backward, with tines or branches extending from front side of antler; basal tines present and extending over forehead. Deer antlers (adult) Size medium, less than 30 inches long, ter- minal half curved forward, the tines or branches extending from back side of the antler. American Elk. Virginia Deer. In the early part of the last century Elk or Wapiti* were common as far east as Virginia and New York, but the march of civilization drove them further and further west with constantly decreasing numbers. Audubon states that there were still a few left in the mountains of northwestern Pennsylvania as late as 1835, and they were known to exist in western Virginia in 1847. They disappeared in New York at even an earlier date, the latest record being given by Dr. De Kay, who * Barton states that Wapiti is the name by which this animal was known to the Shawnee Indians (Phila. Med. & Phys. Journ., March, 1806, p. 37). 70 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL states that Elk were killed on the north branch of the Saranac in New York State as late as 1836 (I.e., p. 119). Nearly all of the early travelers in Illinois refer to the abundance of large game including Elk. Andr Michaux, writing of the country in the vicinity of Kaskaskia, Randolph County, Illinois (1793-96), says, "My guide killed an Elk called Cerf by the Canadians and French of Illinois. This animal is much larger than the dwarf Deer of the United States of which there is an abundance also in the Illinois Country and which the French of those countries call Chevreuil. Its antlers are twice the size of those of the European Stags."* Woods (1822) states, "To the north of us [English Prairie, Illinois] there are buffaloes and elks, also beavers and others on the rivers. "f Caton writes, "The last account I get of their presence in northern Illinois was in the year 1820 or thereabouts. In 1818 they were not observed east of the Illi- nois River and but few were then found on the western bank of that stream. An old settler of high respectability assures me that he saw their tracks in the forest north of Peoria in 1829 but did not see the animals." (I.e., p. 86) Kennicott in his "Animals observed in Cook County, Illinois," says, " Several elks have been shot in the county." (l.c., p. 580) In southern Illinois they are claimed to have been common about 1820. -Mr. E. J. Chansler of Bicknell, Knox County, Indiana, writes: "The last wild Elk killed in Knox County in Indiana, so far as I know was killed by George Yeverbough in 1829, near Pond Creek. Mr. Ammon Stafford saw the Elk and told me about it. Mr. Bradway Thompson told me that he saw an Elk near Bruceville, this county, in 1830. These dates are reliable and so far as I know are the last records for the state, although Mr. I. N. Gilmore says he saw an Elk in 1850. This was perhaps a stray tame Elk." In Wisconsin it was apparently found much later. Dr. Hoy writes (1882), "Elk, Cervus Canadensis, were on Hay River in 1863 and I have but little doubt that a few still linger with us. The next to follow the buffalo, antelope and reindeer" (I.e., p. 256). Strong says (1883), "Occurs very rarely in northern and central Wisconsin. It was for- merly quite numerous, but is now almost extinct" (I.e., p. 437). Brayton states on the authority of B. H. Van Vleck that in 1882 Elk were still found in the vicinity of Green Bay, Wisconsin. J In Michigan, according to Miles, Elk were numerous in the eastern part of the state as late as 1860. He says: "The Elk is found in abun- * Michaux, Andrei Travels into Kentucky, 1795-1796. (Translation in Thwaites's Early Western Travels, III, 1904, p. 73.) t Woods, J. Two Years' Residence in the Settlement on English Prairie in the Illinois Country, 1820-1821 (1822), p. 194. t Rept. Geol. Surv. Ohio, IV, Pt. i, Zool., 1882, p. 80. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 71 dance in the counties of Huron and Sanilac about the head waters of the Cass River. The unrelenting pursuit of hunters by means of the rifle and trap pens will soon exterminate it, unless means are taken to pre- vent an indiscriminate slaughter at all seasons of the year" (I.e., p. 222, foot note). Wood says "Mr. Fittenger informed us that in 1856 the Elk was not uncommonly found on Sand Point (Saginaw Bay) and that he shot a specimen on the shore of Mud Lake (at the base of the Point) in September of that year" (I.e., p. 309). In Minnesota Elk were at one time very numerous and it is claimed that a few individuals still exist in the extreme northern part of the state. Herrick states that as late as 1885 the Indians occa- sionally succeeded in killing one in the region north of Lake Superior, and he was informed that in that year they were found about Red Lake (I.e., p. 280). Even at the present time Elk antlers are occasionally found within our limits, usually in ponds or buried in marshy ground. I am informed that some years ago a good pair was found in Fox Lake, Illinois, and Mr. Paul Hohnheiser of Wausau, Wisconsin, writes me he has a large pair of Elk antlers found in a lake in that vicinity, which measures 45 inches in length. Mr. Jacob Bream of Cream, Buffalo County, Wisconsin, writes me that in 1870 he found a pair of Elk antlers with the skull, in Township 22, Range n, West. The spread of the antlers was about 4 feet. Jackson states he has examined antlers found in Ashland and Iron counties, Wisconsin (I.e., p. 15). Hollister says: "Sections of antlers are still occasionally found in Walworth County, most fre- quently under marshy ground. A fine pair was taken from Delavan Lake some years ago" (I.e., p. 137). Mr. H. L. Ward records a pair of antlers in the Milwaukee Public Museum, which wac found by Mr. Frank Clark in Pewaukee, in 1899.* Elk are gregarious animals, being found in large herds, especially in winter. In summer the herds are much smaller, the animals being scattered in wandering bands over a much larger territory. They prefer a forested country, and in a mountainous region during the warm season they frequent the higher ranges where spruce and pine abound; but at the approach of cold weather, when the snow begins to get deep, they descend to lower levels and pass the winter in the valleys and foot- hills. They are promiscuous vegetable feeders when hungry, but they much prefer the leaves and buds of deciduous trees and shrubs. Elk are polygamous and during the rutting season in September and early October the bulls fight savagely for the possession of the females. In these combats they use their antlers,f sometimes with serious results; * Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 146. t In attacking a dog an Elk will very often attempt to strike him with his feet. 72 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. but generally the vanquished is but slightly injured and goes away in search of other cows which by chance may be husbandless or at least are guarded by a bull less powerful than himself. One old and lusty bull will appropriate for his harem as many cows as he can get and will attack and drive away any presumptuous young bull which has the temerity to approach them. If, however, the battle results disastrously to the reigning lord of the herd, his conqueror will immediately take charge of the family of cows, who accept him as a matter of course. During the rutting season (and occasionally at other times) the bulls utter their "bugle" cry. It begins with a low roaring sound, rising to a shrill, screaming, double-toned whistle and ends with a series of loud grunts. The cry of the cow is penetrating and high, and may be crudely described as a squeal. The majority of the young are born late in May or early in June but occasionally much later. On two occasions I have found newly born young in August. The number at a birth is usually one, sometimes two, and according to some authorities, rarely three. For a few days after birth, or until it has become quite strong and active, the little Elk calf is left concealed under bushes or high grass by the mother, who returns to it from time to time to suckle and care for it. On several occasions I have found young Elk thus hidden, which were certainly not more than a day or two old. Those which I have found would remain perfectly quiet and permit themselves to be stroked, but if lifted from the ground would usually struggle and "bleat " loudly. Young animals are spotted with white, but the spots fade and disappear when they are about 12 weeks old. The size of the antlers and number of points vary more or less in different animals of the same age. One bull born in my Park*, when 8 years old, had a fine pair of antlers having 14 points, while another 9 years old had but 13. According to my notes the annual increase in size and number of points of the antlers of the latter bull were as follows : Summer of birth, o; 2nd year, spikes (not branched); 3rd year, 4 points on each an tier = 8; 4th year, like 3rd year but a small extra point on left antler, 9 points in all; 5th year, 6 points on each antler = 12; 6th year, no record, one horn having been broken; 7th year, 12 points, 6 on each antler; 8th year, 7 points on one antler and 6 on the other; gth year, the same number of points, but horns somewhat larger and heavier and * For many years the writer had a small herd of Elk on his country estate at Great Island near Hyannis, Massachusetts. The animals lived in a semiferal state, being confined in a wooded park having an area of about 175 acres. In 1901 the herd numbered 12 animals, including 3 bulls, 7 cows, and 2 calves, having increased from 2 bulls and 4 cows in 1890. In addition to those living in 1901, 4 bulls, 2 cows, and several calves had died or been killed (2 dead calves were found but there is no doubt there were others). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 73 upper tines differing more or less in shape from those of previous year. This animal was then killed, as he had become very ugly and bold. Antlers measuring from 50 to 55 inches may be considered the average length of a good pair of an old bull, but up to 58 inches is not unusual. The largest known Elk antlers are those recorded by Mr. Seton, measuring 64 and 66 inches long.* The name Elk is used for the European cousin of our Moose which, it is needless to say, is a very different animal from our "Elk." The common use of the name for both species is sometimes confusing, but there appears to be little chance of a new name being accepted for either. Map illustrating the supposed former and the present range of the American Elk or Wapit (Cervus canodensis) in eastern North America. The species probably no longer exists in a wild state east of Minnesota, and in the localities where it is still to be found in the West its numbers are rapidly decreasing. In western Canada its former range extended northward at least to latitude 56. Other slightly different species occur on the Pacific Coast and in Arizona. In 1909 Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton estimated the number of living Elk in North America to be about 45,650, distributed as follows: Yellowstone Park, 20,000; Wyoming (outside the Park). 5,000; Manatoba, 5,000; Idaho, 5,000; Montana, 4.000; Vancouver Island, 2,000; Washington, 1,500; Alberta, 1,000; Saskatchewan, 500; Oregon, 200; California, 200; British Columbia, 200; Minnesota, 50; in various zoos, parks, etc., i.ooo. (Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909. p. 48.) This map is largely copied from that given by Mr. E. T. Seton in his Life Histories of Northern Animals, with some slight changes based upon records and notes of the author. * Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 58. 74 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL The Indian name, Wapiti, for our Elk (Cervus canadensis) , would be distinctive, but there is little likelihood that it will ever be popularly used. Many statements by ancient writers concerning animal biography are amusing, being undoubtedly derived from current popular traditions and tales of hunters and travelers. In their accounts of various species much space is usually devoted to describing the supposed medicinal or curative powers of different parts of the animals. In this connection we are informed that the hoofs of members of the Deer family are of value in the treatment of epilepsy, the left hind foot being especially recommended. Birt says: "Ancient authors relate that the Northern People catch the Elk by watching the Opportunity when it falls down of the Epilepsy, and laying hold of it before it recovers Strength enough to put its left hind Foot in its left Ear, which cures it immediately; and it is that particular Hoof, forsooth, which is the applauded Remedy for the Falling Sickness." (Wonders of Nature and Art, II, 1750, p. 114.) Genus PARALCES Allen. Parolees Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XVI, 1902, p. 160. Type Cervus dices Linn. Size large; antlers broadly palmate; no metatarsal gland; tarsal gland small; tail short; muzzle long, broad and overhanging; end of nose covered with hair except a small triangular bare space between lower portion of nostrils; a pendulous growth of skin and long hair on the throat; main hoofs long and pointed; lateral hoofs comparatively well developed. Dental formula: I -> C. -> Pm. ^-^> M. - - - 4-4 o-o 3-3 3-3 Paralces americanus (CLINTON). MOOSE. Cervus americanus CLINTON,* Letters on Nat. Hist. & Int. Resources of N. Y., 1822, P- 193- Alces americanus JARDIN, in Nat. Library, XXI, 1835, p. 125. MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., 1860 (1861), p. 222 (Michigan). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 270 (Minnesota). Cervus alces LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wis- consin). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I, 1883, p. 437 (Wisconsin). Alee Americanus HOY, Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. Arts & Letters, V, 1882, p. 256 (Wis- consin). Alee americanus HOLLISTER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 138 (Wisconsin). *See Osgood, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XV, 1902, p. 87 FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 75 Moose (Alee) ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 131 (Michigan). Type locality North America. Distribution British America and in Maine, Minnesota, and the Rocky Mountains from Wyoming northward ; casual or accidental elsewhere in extreme northern United States, formerly considerably further south;* replaced in Alaska by another and larger species. Description Adult male in winter: Antlers very large and broadly palmate; general color of hair blackish or blackish brown; under parts blackish brown, except lower belly, which is pale brownish gray; inside and entire lower portion of legs brownish gray; more or less gray on muzzle; tail very short, black, tipped with a few gray hairs; dewlapf (a pendulous "bell" hanging from the neck) black; end of nose between nostrils almost entirely covered with hair except a very narrow triangular bare space. Adult female: Similar but smaller and without antlers; "bell" present but small. In summer: Rather lighter in color and legs tawny gray. The young is reddish brown without spots. Measurements Length, 8^2 to 9 feet; tail 2^ inches; height at shoulder, $%. to 6> feet; average spread of antlers in adult, 52 to 58 inches; length of antlers, 40 to 45 inches. Moose were abundant in Wisconsin up to the middle of the last century, and more or less common in a few localities at a much later date. It is not unlikely that even at the present time one or two in- dividuals may still be found in the extreme northwestern part of the state. In 1 88 1 Dr. Hoy writes, "Moose, Alee Americanus, continue to * There is little doubt that in the early part of the i8th century the range of the Moose extended in New England at least so far south as Massachusetts and possibly northern Pennsylvania. Catesby estimates the southern limit of its range to have been about latitude 40, but his opinion was based upon hearsay evidence and is of little value (Nat. Hist. Carolina, II, 1743, p. xxvii). Several ancient writers state that Moose were common in New England, but with few exceptions they are not specific as to localities. Paul Dudley, however, says, "A few years since a Gentle- man surprised one of these black Moose in his Grounds within two miles of Boston; it proved a Doe or Hind of the fourth year; after she was dead, they measured her upon the Ground, from the Nose to the Tail, between ten and eleven Feet, She wanted an Inch of seven Foot in height." (Phil. Trans., XXXI, No. 386, 1721, p. 166.) Wm. Wood also informs us that "There be not many of these in Massa- chusetts Bay, but forty miles to the northeast there be great store of them" (New England's Prospect, 1634). It is claimed that Moose antlers were found in a salt lick in northern Pennsylvania in the Alleghany Mountains near the New York state line (Doughty's Cabinet Nat. Hist. I, 1830, p. 281). t The bell varies in length but is usually from 8 to 12 inches. Mr. E. T. Seton records a freak specimen having a bell 38 inches long (Life Hist, of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p- 163). 76 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 77 inhabit the northern part of the state, where they still range in spite of persecution. A fine cow moose was shot near the line of the Wis- consin Central Railway in December, 1877" (/. c., p. 256). Strong says, "Found very rarely in hardwood timber in northern Wisconsin. It is rapidly becoming extinct in the state" (/. c., p. 437). In a letter dated January 2, 1910, Mr. N. Lucins, Jr., of Solon Springs, Douglas County, writes, "Three Moose were killed in this county in 1886 and one in 1900, and there are four or five in this county now." Mr. J. M. Sayler, also of Solon Springs, writes, "Three Moose were killed in 1886 in Brulee and one about 1900 on the St. Croix." These were, without doubt, the same Moose referred to by Mr. Lucins. Mr. George W. Zeon of Foxboro, Douglas County, writes, "Moose have been killed in Douglas County, but not for 5 years." Some years ago I was told by an old hunter, whose name I have unfortunately for- gotten, that in 1885 a few Moose were to be found in Burnett, Doug- las and Bayfield counties; this statement is supported as regards the latter by Mr. M. Berg of Cable, who writes, "There was a Moose killed here about 25 years ago." Mr. W. J. Webster, Superintendent of Schools, Park Falls, Wisconsin, writes me that he heard of Moose having been killed in Price County some years ago. Mr. Dan Farn- ham of Manley, Douglas County, writes me that -a Moose was killed at a place called Charlie Brook in the fall of 1909. Mr. John Chaffey of Chaffey, Douglas County, writes, "Several Moose have been killed in Douglas County. About two years ago (1907) one was killed in Township 45, Range 15, that is a Moose." Mr. Edward E. Kingsford of Iron Mountain, Michigan, writes, "I have never known of but one Moose in this part of the country. That was in the fall of 1882 in what is now the northern part of Dick- inson County. We saw his tracks very frequently during the winter along with Deer. A few years later a Moose was killed near Flood- wood on the line of the Milwaukee & Northern Railroad, then being built. Moose were plenty 20 years ago in northern Minnesota, and I think it was in the fall of 1897 that a Moose came into the city of Duluth and, after taking in some of the principal streets, went back to the woods unmolested." The Moose, which is the largest representative of the Deer Family, is a huge animal, an adult bull often weighing twelve or thirteen hun- dred pounds, and occasionally more. It is very shy and its sense of hearing is extremely acute, rendering it a difficult animal to "still- hunt," as it is called. It has been claimed that no one but an Indian is able to do this successfully. This is not strictly true, but it must be admitted that very few white hunters are as capable. A favorite 78 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. method of the Indian and white hunters of the North is known as "Moose calling", and consists of imitating the call of the cow Moose during the rutting season. This may be crudely described as a pro- longed Eeooo-yah, lasting four or five seconds. A cone, usually made of birch bark, is used, resembling a small megaphone. The answer of the male is a short, loud grunt, sometimes several in quick suc- cession. While the bull will come from a considerable distance to the call of what he considers to be a female of .his species, his sense of hear- ing and of smell is so acute that the slightest indiscretion on the part of the hunter will send him crashing away through the bushes, and the hope of killing that particular bull may be abandoned. In lo- calities where these animals are much hunted they are exceedingly wary and difficult to approach. Captain Butler, writing of the Moose in the Peace River region, says, "To hunt the moose requires years of study. Here is the little game which his instinct teaches him. When the early morning has come, he begins to think of lying down for the day. He has been feeding on the gray and golden willow tops as he walked leisurely along. His track is marked in the snow or soft clay; he carefully retraces his footsteps, and breaking off suddenly to the leeward side, lies down a gun shot from his feeding track. He knows he must get the wind of any one following his trail. "In the morning Twa-poos, or the Three Thumbs, sets forth to look for a moose. He hits the trail and follows it; every now and again he examines the broken willow tops or the hoof marks. When experience tells him that the moose has been feeding here during the early night, Twa-poos quits the trail, bending away in a deep circle to leeward; stealthily he returns to the trail, and as stealthily bends away again from it. He makes as it were the semicircles of the letter B, supposing the perpendicular line to indicate the trail of the moose. At each return to it he examines attentively the willows, and judges his proximity to the game. At last he is so near that he knows to an absolute certainty that the moose is lying in a thicket a little distance ahead. Now comes the moment of caution. He divests himself of every article of clothing that might cause the slightest noise in the forest, even his moccasins are laid aside, and then, on a pointed toe which a ballet-girl might envy, he goes forward for the last stalk. Every bush is now scrutinized; every thicket examined. See he stops all at once! You who follow him look, and look in vain; you can see nothing. He laughs to himself, and points to yon willow covert. No, there is nothing there. He noiselessly cocks his gun. You look again and again, but you see nothing. Then Twa-poos stretches out FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 79 A record Head. Alaskan Moose. Collection of Field Museum of Natural History. his hand and breaks a little dry twig from an overhanging branch. In an instant right in front, thirty or forty yards away, an immense dark-haired animal rises up from the willows. He gives one look in your direction and that look is his last. Twa-poos has fired, and the moose is either dead in his thicket or within a hundred yards of it." The so-called Moose yards, made in the deep snow in winter, are simply irregular spaces and pathways trampled down by the animals while seeking their food or resting in some favorable locality. In the summer season their food consists of leaves and young twigs and buds, and occasionally grass when they are hungry. They frequent ponds and rivers, especially during the mosquito season, and are very fond of aquatic plants, preferably lily pads. A full grown bull of this species will stand over 6 feet high at the shoulders and the massive horns will spread from 60 to 65 inches (67 has been recorded). One killed by William L. Roberts of Springfield, Massachusetts, measured 6 feet 10 inches in height;* another killed by Carl Rungius in New Brunswick is stated to have measured 7 feet at the withers,! and a very large animal killed by Dr. Hamilton Vreeland near Mattawa, Quebec, is claimed to have stood 7 feet 4 inches high at the withers. J These animals must be considered unusually large representatives * Forest & Stream, Nov., 1899, p. 426. t Hornaday, Wm. Amer. Nat. Hist., 1904, p. 140. } Recreation Mag., Feb., 1896, p. 65. 8o FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Map showing supposed range of the Moose (Paralces americanus) in eastern North America. In early days its range extended further south. of our eastern species, but the Alaskan Moose is the giant of its kind, specimens having been killed having a height of 7 feet 8 inches at the shoulders and with antlers spreading 75 inches or more. The largest known pair of antlers of an Alaskan Moose is preserved in the Field Museum collection. They measure 78^ inches in spread (it is claimed that when fresh they measured 84^2 inches) and weigh 93^ pounds. Moose when not too old are readily broken to harness and are natural trotters and easily managed. Some years ago I had the pleas- ure of riding behind one on several occasions. Genus RANGIFER Smith. Rangifer H. Smith, Griffith's Cuvier Animal Kingd., V, 1827, p. 304. Type Cervus tarandus Linn. Antlers present in both sexes; muzzle entirely covered with hair; hair on throat long, like a mane ; main hoofs rather slender and deeply cleft; lateral hoofs elevated but well developed; upper canines often present; antlers large and irregular, most of the numerous branches being flattened and palmate; metatarsal gland absent; tarsal gland present; young unspotted or with a few pale spots faintly indicated which disappear at an early age. Species belonging to this genus are known as "Reindeer" in Europe. 3-3 Dental formula: I. > C. or * A A S^ , Pm. 4~4 o o o o M.f-f- 34 or 32. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 81 Rangifer caribou (GMEL.). WOODLAND CARIBOU. [Cervus tarandus] caribou GMELIN, Syst. Nat., I, 1788, p. 177. Rangifer caribou AUDUBON & BACHMAN, Quadrupeds N. Amer., Ill, 1854, p. in. BAIRD, Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 633 (Isle Royale, Michigan). MILES, Kept. Geol. Surv. Mich., 1860 (1861), p. 222 (Michigan). GILLMAN, Amer. Nat., VII, 1873, p. 751 (Isle Royale, Michigan). MILLER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1897, p. 40 (North shore Lake Superior). ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 131 (Michigan). Ib., 1908 (1909), p. 390 (Isle Royale, Michigan). Rangifer tarandus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wisconsin). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 274 (Minnesota). Rangifer Caribou HOY, Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. Arts & Letters, V, 1882, p. 256 (Wis- consin). Type locality Eastern Canada. Distribution Wooded portions of British America and northern portions of Maine, Montana and Minnesota; formerly casual or accidental in extreme northern Michigan and Wisconsin. Description Adult male in summer: Antlers large, irregular and variable, the branches much flattened and palmate; nose entirely covered with hair; hair on throat long; general color dark brown, much paler on the neck; lower part of abdomen, inside of legs and a space above the hoofs white. In winter: General color decidedly more gray and head and neck grayish white. Female has antlers like the male but smaller. Measurements Adult male: Length, 6 to 6^2 feet; height at shoulder, 42 to 48 inches; length of antlers, generally from 32 to 42 inches. There is no reason to doubt the occurrence of the Woodland Caribou in early days in northern Wisconsin, but at the present time, if it occurs at all, it must be considered as an exceedingly rare straggler. Dr. Hoy states: "The Woodland Caribou, Rangifer Caribou, were probably never numerous within the limits of the state, a few, however, were seen near La Point in 1840, none since" (I.e., p. 256). Inaletter to me under date of January 13, 1910, Mr. W. J. Webster, Superintendent of Schools, Park Falls, Price County, Wisconsin, writes, "A Caribou was killed in this county near White River, sometimes called Wide River, by a homesteader whose name I have forgotten. I think that the place was somewhere about ten miles southeast of Ashland." Mr. R. E. Boll of Channing, Dickinson County, Michigan (about 1 8 miles from the Wisconsin state line), writes, "A cow Caribou was 82 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 83 killed near Ralph, Michigan, in November, 1905, about 18 miles from here." Mr. E. G. Kingsford of Iron Mountain, Michigan, writes, "I have a fine pair of horns of a Caribou that was killed near Lake Ver- million, St. Louis County, Minnesota, in 1897, or about that time, so I think there is no reason why it should not have been found in the northwestern part of Wisconsin." Miles includes it in his list of Michigan mammals and there is no question that in early days the species was not uncommon on Isle Royale. Baird and Gillman record it from there and the former figures a pair of antlers found on the Island (I.e., p. 634). It is probable that it still occurs more or less regularly on Isle Royale, as Adams reports four Caribou having been seen by trappers in that locality on March 27, 1904; and on April 16, 1905, nine were seen on the ice near Rock Harbor (I.e., p. 396). These animals had undoubtedly crossed on the ice from the main land, as the species is not uncommon' in parts of northern Minnesota and along the north shore of Lake Superior.* The Woodland Caribou is naturally a forest dweller frequenting the vicinity of water. During the greater part of the year it is usually found in small bands, and even during the semiannual migrations in spring and fall, when most of these animals move north or south, they do not congregate in such great herds as do their northern congeners. It has been claimed by several writers that more than a dozen or fifteen of these animals are rarely found together. This is probably true in many localities where Caribou are comparatively scarce; but the statement can hardly be considered accurate, if applied to the species as a whole. Macfarlane says, "Herds of the woodland species seldom exceed thirty or forty individuals, except in the autumn, when some- times a large number congregate together";! and I have been told by old hunters that in the vicinity of English River (north of Lake Superior) in early days herds of fifty or more were not uncommon. The food of the Woodland Caribou largely consists of "Caribou moss" (Cladonia) and other lichens, in addition to which, in the sum- mer season, they eat aquatic plants and leaves and buds of various kinds. One or two fawns are born late in May or in June. The young when first born are usually unspotted, but occasionally have a few irregular whitish spots on the body, which are but faintly indicated and disappear at an early age. A noticeable peculiarity of these animals is the clicking sound made * Miller states that in 1896 Caribou were abundant on the north shore of Lake Superior; he saw heads, antlers, and jaws of these animals at White River, Peninsular Harbor, Schrerber, and Nepigon (/. c., p. 40). t Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXVIII, 1905, p. 680. 84 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. by their ankle joints when in motion, and which can be distinctly heard at a distance of forty or fifty feet. When several are moving together the crackling sounds are continuous. In the Caribou the secondary hoofs are much larger and more functional than in others of our Deer and play an important part in the economy of the animal. Caton says, * "In traveling through the snows, or soft marshy ground, the Caribou throws his hind feet forward, so as to bring the leg into something of a horizontal position, spreads wide his claws, and broad accessory hoofs, and thus presents an extra- ordinary bearing surface to sustain him on the yielding ground, and so he is enabled to shuffle along with great rapidity, where any other large quadruped would mire in a bog, or become absolutely snow- bound." While, so far as known, no attempt has been made by our native inhabitants to domesticate these animals, the Old World Reindeer Rangifer caribou Map illustrating the approximate range of the Woodland Caribou (Rangifer caribou) in eastern North America. North of about latitude 55 it is replaced by R. arclicus and in New Foundland by R. terraenova. Rangifer caribou (GMEL.). Type locality Eastern Canada. Description as previously given. Rangifer terraenova BANGS. (Prelim. Descript. New Foundland Caribou, Nov. II, 1896, p. i). Type locality Codroy, New Foundland. Paler than caribou, with a whitish ring around the eye; antlers larger and heavier. Rangifer arcticus (RICHARDSON) (Fauna Bor. Amer., I, 1829, p. 241.) Type locality Arctic Coast of America. Smaller than caribou; paler and grayer, becoming whitish in winter; antlers smaller. * Antelope and Deer of America, 1877, p. 90. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 85 (Rangifer tarandus), a species closely allied to our Caribou, are kept in great herds by natives of northern Europe and Asia. In the majority of cases these herds number a few hundred, but it is claimed among the Koreki that herds of thirty and forty thousand are found. Some years ago several thousand domesticated Reindeer from East Siberia were successfully imported into northwest Alaska and distri- buted among the Eskimos, where it is hoped they will prove as useful to the inhabitants of that barren country as they have for hundreds of years to Old World tribes in northern Siberia, Lapland, and else- where. What their value has been to them may be estimated when it is. known that they depend largely upon the flesh of the Reindeer for their food in winter. The skins are used for garments and a variety of other purposes; even the sinews are made into a very serviceable strong thread. The living animal has enabled the nomadic tribes to solve the problem of transportation, as the animals have been trained to carry burdens and to draw sleds. In addition to this the milk of the cow Reindeer, while small in quantity, is very rich and is much used in the manufacture of native cheese. Before closing my remarks concerning the Old World Reindeer, a quotation from the pen of one of the ancient writers may be of interest. In 1607 Edward Topsell wrote: "The King of Swetia had ten of them nourished at Lappa which he caused every day to be driven into the mountains into coldeayer, for they were not able to endure the heat. The mouth of this beast is like the mouth of a cow, they many times come out of Laponia and Swetia, where they are wonderfuly anoied with wolvs, but they gather themselves together in a ring, and so fight against their enemies with their homes. They are also in their owne naturall countrey anoied with Goulons, and generally all beastes that live uppon the spoiles of flesh, are enemies unto them, and desire to destroy and eate them. In their pace, both slow and speedie, the Articles of their legs make a noise like the cracking of Nuts. There was one of these beasts given unto the Duke of Saxony in the year of our Lord 1561. "In Scandinavia they use them for the carriadge of mettels, drawing of Chariots and riding, and the nerves of them when they are dead make bows, and for want of nailes, they do fasten plankes and boords togither."* * Historie of Foure Footed Beastes, Lond., 1607, p. 593. 86 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 4V 87 Family BOVID^E. Bison, Oxen, Sheep, etc. Horns curved and cylindrical, simple (not branched), hollow and permanent (not annually shed), usually present in both sexes; lach- rymal bone almost always articulating with the nasal; no canine teeth or incisors in upper jaw ; canines in lower jaw resembling incisors ; stomach divided into four compartments as in most other Ruminants ; gall bladder present;* lateral digits represented by "false hoofs" or absent. A widely distributed family, including the American Bison or Buffalo, Oxen, Sheep, Goats, etc., as well as the true Antelopes, but not the so-called American Antelope or Pronghorn which is usually placed in a family by itself. f Three subfamilies are represented in North America: Bison (Bovinei); Musk-oxen (Ovibovind); and Moun- tain Sheep and Goats (Caprince). Genus BISON H. Smith. Bison H. Smith, Griffith's Cuvier Animal Kingdom, V, 1827, p. 373. Type Bos bison Linn. Horns curved and cylindrical, hollow and permanent; body covered with woolly hair; head, part of neck and upper fore legs covered with long, shaggy hair; a "hump" on shoulders due to unusually long vertebral spines at that point; horns and hoofs black. Dental formula: I. - C. < Pm. ^. M. = 32. 3-3 i-i 3-3 3-3 The living representatives of this genus are the American Bison and its northern race, the Wood Bison, together with the European Bison (B. bonasus}, which still exists in parts of Lithuania, Roumania, and the Caucasus. Bison bison (LINN.). AMERICAN BISON. BUFFALO. [Bos] bison LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat., X ed., 1758, p. 72. B[i5ow] bison JORDAN, Man. Vert. Anim., 5th ed., 1888, p. 337. Bison bison GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 4 (Kentucky). RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 177 (Tennessee). OSBORK, Annals of Iowa, VI, 1905, p. 563 (Iowa). * Except in Cephalopus. t Dr. M. W. Lyon considers the American Antelope to belong to the family Bovidce. (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXXIV, 1908, p. 398.) 88 inches, always less than 6^2 inches long; total length about 15 inches. Lives in holes in the ground. FRANKLIN'S GROUND SQUIRREL. GRAY GOPHER. Citellus franklini, p. 144. General color black or partly black; total length, including tail vertebrae, less than 20 inches; usually 5 cheek teeth on each side of upper jaw (2 premolars and 3 molars), but front premolar very small and not always present. GRAY SQUIRREL (black phase). Sciurus carolinensis or Sciurus carolinensis leucotis, pp. 115-116. General color black or partly black; total length, including tail vertebrae, 20 or more inches; 4 cheek teeth on each side of upper jaw (i premolar and 3 molars). WESTERN Fox SQUIRREL (black phase). Sciurus niger rufiventer, p. 109. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 101 GROUP 3. Length of body, without tail, (nose to root of tail) less than 8 inches. SECTION 1. Back marked with several distinct stripes. Back with but 2 whitish stripes and 5 black ones; rump rufous chestnut; nose to root of tail, about 5 inches; tail vertebrae, 3 to 3> inches. Occurs within our limits from northern Illinois southward. CHIPMUNK. Tamias strialus, p. 128. Similar to preceding but somewhat larger; general color grayer and rump pale cinnamon brown with only a slight rusty tinge; spaces between black stripes on back distinctly grayish nearly to the rump; nose. to. root of tail, about 5% inches; tail vertebrae, about 3^ inches. Occurs in northern Illinois and northward throughout Wisconsin. GRAY CHIPMUNK. Tamias striatus griseus, p. 130. Back with 4 pale stripes and 5 black ones; face with whitish stripe above and below the eye; size small; nose to root of tail, about 4^ inches; tail, about 3.K inches. Occurs within our limits only in northern Wisconsin. LITTLE CHIPMUNK. Eutamias borealis neglectus, p. 135. Back with alternating pale and dark brown stripes, each dark stripe with row of pale rounded spots down the middle; nose to root of tail, about 1% inches; tail, about 3K inches. STRIPED GROUND SQUIRREL. STRIPED GOPHER. Citellus tridecemlineatus, p. 138. SECTION 2. Back not marked with several distinct stripes. PART 1. Front and hind legs joined together by thickly furred expansion of loose skin extending laterally from sides of the body. Fur on under parts entirely white to the base; nose to root of tail vertebras, about 4 inches; total length, about Q% inches. Occurs throughout whole of Illinois and southern two-thirds of Wisconsin. FLYING SQUIRREL. Sciuropterus volans, p. 102. Similar to preceding but larger and fur on under parts tipped with white, but plumbeous gray at base instead of all white; nose to root of tail, about 6^2 inches; tail vertebrae, about 5 inches; total length, about \\% inches. NORTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL. Sciuropterus sabrinus, p. 106. PART 2. Front and hind legs not joined by an expansion of loose skin extend- ing laterally from the body. Upper parts reddish brown; under parts white or whitish; upper surface of tail reddish brown, the hairs near the end subterminally marked with black; entire length, including tail vertebrae, between 12 and 14 inches. RED SQUIRREL. CHICKAREE. Sciurus hudsonicus loquax, p. 122. 102 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Subfamily PTEROMYIN^. Genus SCIUROPTERUS Cuvier. FLYING SQUIRRELS. Sciuropterus F. Cuvier, Dents du Mammiferes, 1825, p. 255. Type Sciurus volans Linn. Tail flat, thickly haired laterally; legs and body connected by loose skin which, when extended, becomes wing-like, enabling the animal to sail on a downward slant for a considerable distance; fur very soft and thick; occipital region depressed; rostrum short; infra- orbital foramen small and confined to lower part of maxillary; post- orbital process narrow and pointed (spine like); audital bullae large; eyes large. Two species occur within our limits. Dental formula: L- - C. -, Pm. - -> M. ^-^=22. i-i o-o i-i 3-3 KEY TO OUR SPECIES. Total length usually less than 10 inches; fur of belly white to base. SOUTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL. Sciuropterus volans, p. 102. Total length usually more than 10 inches; fur of belly dark at base. NORTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL. Sciuropterus sabrinus, p. 106. Subgenus GLAUCOMYS Thomas. Sciuropterus volans (LINN.). FLYING SQUIRREL. SOUTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL. [Mus] volans LINN., Syst. Nat., X ed, I, 1758, p. 63. Sciuropterus volans JORDAN, Man. Vert. Anim., 1890, p. 324. GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 5 (Kentucky). EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 131 (Indiana). HAHN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXXII, 1907, p. 459 (Illinois). Ib., Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 485 (Indiana). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 197 (Ten- nessee). SNYDER, The Oregon Naturalist, IV, 1897, p. 9 (Wisconsin). Ib., Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 118 (Dodge Co., Wisconsin). JACKSON, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 70 (Missouri). Ib., Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 19 (Wisconsin). WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 533 (Champaign Co., Illinois). Sciuropterus volans volans BANGS, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 162 (Missouri, Indiana, etc.). Sciuropterus volucella HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 159 (Minnesota). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 103 Pteromys volucella AUDUBON & BACHMAN, Quadrupeds N. Amer., I, 1846, p. 216. LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 339 (Wisconsin). KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 69 (Illinois). Ib., Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), p. 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 189 (Iowa). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I, 1883, p. 439 (Wisconsin). Type locality Virginia. Distribution Southern New England to northern Georgia westward (except in the mountains) ; south of the Great Lakes and north of Alabama to Minnesota, Iowa and eastern Kansas; replaced in the South by a slightly different race (S. v. querceti). Special characters Hair on under parts entirely white to the base ; fur very soft. Description In summer: Upper parts grayish brown, more or less washed with russet brown, usually deepest on upper surface of tail ; greater portion of upper surface of flying membrane dark drab brown; under surface of tail tawny or tawny white; rest of under parts white; the hairs entirely white to the bases. In winter: Similar, but the upper parts tinged with grayish brown. Measurements Total length, 9.25 in. (234.5 mm.) ; tail vertebras, 3.90 in. (99.7 mm.); hind foot, 1.22 in. (31.2 mm.). This graceful little animal is common in wooded districts through- out Illinois and the greater part of Wisconsin, but it is seldom seen on account of its nocturnal habits. During the day it sleeps in some hollow tree; but very late in the afternoon it occasionally, though rarely, may be seen sailing through the air on a downward slant, usually from the top of some tree to the trunk or lower branches of another, often at a considerable distance. The nest is in a hollow tree and is composed of leaves and moss. In the majority of cases a hole formerly occupied by a woodpecker is used. The young are from 4 to 6 in number and are generally born in April in this latitude. The young Squirrels make charming pets, being very gentle and affectionate. In a letter to Audubon and Bachman, which is quoted by them, Mr. Gideon B. Smith of Baltimore writes (/. c., p. 220): "They are gre- garious, living together in considerable communities, and do not object to the company of other and even quite different animals. For ex- ample, I once assisted in taking down an old martin-box, which had been for a great number of years on the top of a venerable locust tree near my house, and which had some eight or ten apartments. As the box fell to the ground we were surprised to see great numbers of Fly- 104 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 105 ing Squirrels, screech-owls, and leather-winged Bats running from it. We caught several of each, and one of the Flying Squirrels was kept as a pet in a cage for six months. The various apartments of the box were stored with hickory-nuts, chestnuts, acorns, corn, etc., intended for the winter supply of food. There must have been as many as twenty Flying Squirrels in the box, as many bats, and we know there were six screech-owls. The crevices of the house were always in- habited by Squirrels. The docility of the one we kept as a pet was remarkable; although he was never lively and playful in the day-time, he would permit himself to be handled and spread out at the pleasure of anyone. We frequently took him from the cage, laid him on the table or on one hand, and exposed the .extension of his skin, smoothed his fur, put him in our pocket or bosom, etc., he pretending all the time to be asleep." Kennicott says: "Its habitat being strictly among trees, it cannot, of course, abide on the prairies, nor is it found generally in our smaller prairie groves ; though it is as abundant in the larger woods of Northern Illinois as elsewhere. The Flying Squirrel is as active as the true species, but unlike the rest of the family, it is nocturnal, and does not move about by day, except at times in cloudy weather. It prefers the twilight or darkness, when it leaves its retreat for amusement or in search of food, seldom travelling on the ground, but sailing grace- fully from tree to tree, running up towards the top of one and alighting lower upon the trunk of another. It is gregarious, living in hollow trees in large companies. It usually prevails in greater numbers, wherever found at all, than is generally supposed. If, in passing through the woods, anyone will strike the sides of old hollow trees, he will frequently see a number of these singular and beautiful little animals rush out of a hole and sail off to the neighboring trees" (I. c., p, 70-71)- When a nest is found the old ones are easily taken in box traps, being seemingly very unsuspicious, but without some good reason for so doing it seems a pity to deprive such beautiful little animals of their freedom. Flying Squirrels are practically omnivorous, as among other things they eat nuts, seeds, insects, birds' eggs and often young birds. As to whether the Flying Squirrels hibernate in the strict sense of the word I am somewhat in doubt, although it is generally believed by naturalists that they probably do, to a more or less degree, depending upon the severity of the winter. It is well known that they remain in their nests during very cold weather, but their sleep is apparently not very sound, for if a tree in which they have their winter home be io6 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. struck a few blows with a stick, they will come out and appear to be as lively as usual. In an article in The Oregon Naturalist Mr. W. E. Snyder says, "I recall having found (at Beaver Darn, Wisconsin), in the winter of 1890, what I consider almost a large family. One side of a large bun- oak tree was dead while the other was yet alive. The tree was a hollow one. Breaking in the dead shell, I found twenty-two full-grown Flying Squirrels, Sciuropterus volans. Of course it was several families unjted as one, for protection from the rigors of a Wisconsin winter" (I. c., p. 9). Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Willow Springs, i ; Golconda, Pope Co., i ; Warsaw, Hancock Co., i; Olive Branch, Alexander Co., 1=4. Minnesota Aitkin, Aitkin Co., 2. Indiana La Porte, i ; Kankakee marshes, 1 = 2. Iowa Knoxville, i. Wisconsin (M. P. M.) Maiden Rock, i; Rochester, Racine Co., i; Fountain City, i; Pine Lake, i; Elm Grove, Waukesha Co., 2; Burnett Co., i; Stanley, i; Milwaukee, 2; Milwaukee Co., 3; (O. C.) Nashotah, Waukesha Co., 8; Delafield, i; Pewaukee, i; (O.) Wai- worth Co., 2 = 25. Sciuropterus sabrinus (SHAW). NORTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL. Sciurus sabrinus SHAW, Gen. Zool., I, 1801, p. 157. Pteromys Hudsonicus STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I. 1883, p. 439 (Wisconsin). Sciuropterus sabrinus BANGS, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 162. MILLER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVI, 1897, p. 34 (Nipigon, Ontario). ADAMS, Kept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 129 (Michigan). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 19 (Wisconsin). Pteromys sabrinus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 339 (Wisconsin). Sciuropterus volucella hudsonius MERRIAM, Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, p. 206. Type locality Severn River, Keewatin, Canada. Distribution Extreme northern border of eastern United States northward (see map). Special characters Decidedly larger than S. volans, and white fur on under parts plumbeous gray at base, instead of all white as in that species. Description In summer: Upper parts tawny brown, strongly tinged with drab; cheeks grayish; a narrow dark ring around the eye; flying membrane largely dark drab brown on upper surface; under FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 107 Map illustrating approximate distribution of Flying Squirrels in eastern United States. In the areas indicated by the dotted space between the ranges given for different races, either or both may occur, together with intermediate forms. Sciuropterus volans (LiNN.). Type locality Virginia. Description as previously given. Sciuropterus v. querceti BANGS. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 166.) Type locality Citronelle, Citrus Co., Florida. Similar to volans, but upper parts more uniform russet and under parts washed with russet. Sciuropterus sabrinus (SHAW). Type loc'ality Severn River, Keewatin, Canada. Description given elsewhere. Sciuropterus s. macrotis MEARNS. (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXI, 1898, p. 353.) Type locality Hunter Mountain, Catskill Mountains, Greene Co., New York. Smaller than sabrinus, more reddish in color and with longer ears. Sciuropterus silus BANGS. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 163.) Type locality Katis Mountain, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Somewhat re- sembles sabrinus, but is darker and decidedly smaller. Length of type 214 mm. (about 8^2 inches) as given by Bangs. io8 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL parts white, the hairs plumbeous gray at base; under surface of tail tawny or grayish according to season. In winter: Upper parts tawny brown or pale cinnamon brown. Measurements Total length, about n in. (278.2 mm.); tail vertebras, 1. 12 in. (130.5 mm.); hind foot, 1.45 in. (37.6 mm.). The habits of the Northern Flying Squirrel are apparently similar to its more southern relative (S. volans), with the exception that it is more hardy and does not hibernate in winter. Dr. C. Hart Merriam says: "The mercury may indicate a temperature many degrees below zero, or snow may be falling in quantities sufficient to obstruct the vision, without seeming in any way to dishearten this merry adventurer. The last rays of the departing sun have scarcely disappeared from the western horizon before the sombre shades that mark the approach of winter night commence to gather about the snow clad forest. Whether bright stars sparkle and shine through a frosty atmosphere, or heavy, leaden clouds overhang the scene, makes little difference to the North- ern Flying Squirrel. He emerges from his warm nest, takes a hasty survey of the surroundings lest some wily owl should lurk hard by, glides silently to a neighboring tree, and starts forthwith upon his nightly tour in quest of food and sport." (/. c., p. 206). The young number from 3 to 6 and are usually born late in April.. Specimens examined from Wisconsin and adjoining states: Wisconsin (M. P. M.) Kelly Brook, Oconto Co., i. (O. C.) Gor- don, Douglas Co., i; Langlade Co., 1 = 3. Michigan Champion, 3. Subfamily SCIURIN^E. Genus SCIURUS Linn. Sciurus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 63. Type Sciurus vulgar is Linn. Tail long and thickly haired (bushy); eyes large and ears well developed; skull with elongated, pointed (spine-like), postorbital pro- cesses; infraorbital foramen small and confined to the lower portion of maxillary; toes with claws; front toes 5, four well developed but the fifth rudimentary, very small and hardly noticeable; anterior upper premolar when present very small. , i f T I-I ,-> ~O T-I 2-2 I-I ,, ^-^ Denial formula: I. > C. > Pm. > or > M. * -=22 i-i o-o i-i i-i 3-3 or 20. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 109 KEY TO OUR SPECIES. A. General color largely gray or gray mixed with rusty; under parts white or whitish; hairs on tail broadly tipped with white. Gray of upper parts more or less mixed with rusty. Occurs in about southern two-thirds of Illinois. SOUTHERN GRAY SQUIRREL. Sciurus carolinensis, p. 115. Similar but slightly larger and upper parts clear gray in winter. Occurs in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. NORTHERN GRAY SQUIRREL. Sciurus carolinensis leucotis, p. 116. B. General color largely tawny gray; under parts not white (usually tawny); hairs on tail broadly tipped with tawny or pale rufous. WESTERN Fox SQUIRREL. Sciurus niger rufiventer, p. 109. C. General color reddish brown; under parts white; entire length, including tail, 12 to 14 inches. RED SQUIRREL. Sciurus hudsonicus loquax, p. 122. D. General color black or partly black; color phases of: NORTHERN GRAY SQUIRREL. Sciurus carolinensis leucotis, p. 116. or WESTERN Fox SQUIRREL. Sciurus niger rufiventer, p. 109. Subgenus PARASCIURUS Trouessart. Premolars ; rostrum long and broad; brain case narrow at i-i occiput; nasals relatively broad; molars large. Sciurus niger rufiventer (GEOFFROY). WESTERN Fox SQUIRREL. Sciurus rufiventer GEOFFROY, Cat. Mamm. Mus. d'Hist. Nat., 1803, p. 176. Sciurus occidentalis AUD. & BACH., Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1841, p. 102. Sciurus vulpinus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 339 (Wisconsin). Sciurus magnicaudatus KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), p. 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). Ib., Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, P- 55- Sciurus Sayi STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I. 1883, p. 439 (Wisconsin). Sciurus ludovicianus CUSTIS, Barton's Med. & Phys. Journ., II, 1806, p. 47. ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 188 (Iowa). MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich. I, 1860 (1861), p. 220 (Michigan). VAN HYNING & PELLETT, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., XVII, 1910, p. 214 (Iowa). Sciurus niger GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 6 (Kentucky). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 158 (Minnesota). Sciurus niger rufiventer OSGOOD, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 44. JACKSON, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 71 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 466 (Indiana). no FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Type locality Probably Lower Mississippi Valley. Distribution Mississippi Valley from Louisiana north to South Dakota, southern Minnesota, central Wisconsin and southern Michigan, eastward to western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Description * (Specimens from Fox Lake, Illinois, Oct. 31, 1906.) General color above pale tawny brown finely mixed with darker brown; tail mixed black and rufous brown, the ends of the hairs tawny rufous; ears rufous brown; under parts pale tawny; four cheek teeth (i premolar and 3 molars) on each side of upper and lower jaws. Remarks No description of any one specimen will answer for this species. The individual coloration is very variable,, ranging from black, part black and part tawny, to various mixtures of yellow brown, rufous and tawny. The majority of specimens, however, appear to be tawny gray-brown above and pale rufous or yellow brown or pale orange brown on the under parts, with the hairs of the tail mixed black and tawny rufous. In any pelage its large size, tawny or rufous tipped hairs on tail, together with the presence of but four cheek teeth on each side of both jaws, will generally distinguish it from other Squirrels which occur within our limits. The Gray Squirrel, the only species with which it may be confounded, usually has 5 cheek teeth (2 premolars and 3 molars) on each side of the upper jaw, and the hairs on the tail are tipped with white. Measurements The following are the average measurements of 1 2 specimens: Total length, 21 in. (533.5 mm.); tail vertebras, 9.50 in. (248.2 mm.); hind foot, 2.80 in. (73 mm.). In early days the Fox Squirrel was common in many localities where it is now scarce, and few people at the present time have the opportunities for observing its habits that were accorded the earlier naturalists, therefore I can not do better than to quote Robert Kennicott concerning the habits of the species in Illinois. He says: "The fox- squirrel loves neither the low lands nor deep woods ; and, though found living in the heavily timbered districts of Indiana and Illinois, it is less at home in these than in more open ground. It is properly an inhabitant of the timber of the prairie regions, and its favorite habitat is in the 'oak openings ' of Wisconsin and Michigan, and the groves or edges of the belts of timber that skirt the streams watering the prairies of Illinois. ". . . In the woods, the food of the fox-squirrel consists almost entirely of the nuts and seeds of trees, with the buds of some species including bass-wood, elm and maple. In autumn, it eats the fruit of various thorns (Cralagus) ; various berries are also eaten by it, and it FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. m Western Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger rufiventcr}. ii2 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. is said to be particularly fond of strawberries. In common with other squirrels, it sometimes eats insects; and it has occasionally been observed to gnaw the bark from dead trees, to procure beetles and their larvae. . . . It is a common opinion that this and other squirrels carry large hoards of nuts to hollow trees for consumption in winter. So far as our three species common in Illinois, are concerned, this is entirely erroneous. With the exception of the little 'Chickaree,' no true squirrel that I have observed ever collects food for winter in hollow trees. A few nut-shells are sometimes found in a squirrel's hole, but these are only such as he has taken there to be eaten at the time. The fox-squirrel, with the migratory and Carolina squirrels, also, as well as others prob- ably, buries large quantities of nuts and acorns under the leaves in autumn, for use in winter. These, however, are not collected together, but concealed one in a place. In winter, the squirrels dig them up; and, when the ground is covered with snow, numerous holes will be seen where they have dug down to get them. It is interesting to notice that they seldom dig through the snow and leaves in this way without coming directly upon the buried nut or acorn, and a common idea is that the animal 'remembers' the spot. This is highly improbable. It is more reasonable to suppose that the animal is guided by the sense of smell. Dr. Hoy tells me that he has seen squirrels run about with the nose close to the snow or leaves, and finally dig directly upon a buried nut without hesitation. He gives it as his opinion that they can always smell the food, unless it is buried under very deep snow. . . . "The fox-squirrel is more solitary in its habits than the migratory squirrel*. More than two old ones are rarely, if ever, found living together. In the summer and fall, the old males lead a solitary life, as they sometimes do in winter. As soon as the young are able to take care of themselves, the female usually drives them off, when the old male, which has retired to a summer residence to escape the discomfort attendant upon the rearing of a family, returns to the winter-quarters and society of his chosen mate; for, usually this species is not polygamous. This squirrel often, if not generally, builds several nests, each of which is sometimes a simple pile of twigs and leaves placed in the forks of a tree, but at other times is carefully and ingeniously constructed, being round, with the central cavity quite roofed over, and a small entrance on the side. The more carefully-formed nests are usually on tall trees; but temporary habitations are frequently built on small trees, and within 20 feet of the ground. After being driven off by the mother, the young usually separate and lead a wandering life, for a time at least. They build nests wherever they stop, even for a day or * Gray Squirrel. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 113 two ; and I have several times observed individuals to appear in a grove of young oaks, build a nest, remain a few days, and then disappear, perhaps to return again in a week and build other nests. "The fox-squirrel loves to take up his abode in a hollow tree which stands out alone at a little distance from the surrounding timber, as if desirous of having a clear view of all going on around him. When he once becomes domiciled in a tree, he does not leave it, unless disturbed, pairs being observed to inhabit the same tree for five or six successive years. It is less. prolific than either the migratory or Carolina squirrel. From two to four young are usually brought forth at a birth, the most common being three; but in one instance I have seen five. Two litters are probably produced each season. So far as has been observed, they are always brought forth in the hole, the nest of leaves being used only as summer-houses. Like the young of most rodents, they are ugly, unsymmetrical little beings, at first, with monstrous heads and closed eyes ; and it is some time before they acquire the elegant propor- tions and agile movements of their parents. "These squirrels sometimes leave their holes for food and even for amusement, in very cold and rainy weather, when they are found mov- ing about much more than the migratory species. But, though active at this time and apparently engaged in play, they do not now 'bark' as on warm and pleasant days." (/. c., pp. 56-59, 61.) Regarding the Fox Squirrel's habit of burying nuts in the ground, Mr. E. T. Seton writes, "On the first of August, 1903, I watched for an hour the Fox-squirrels of City Park, Madison, Wis. A large male that seemed master of those near came forward as I offered him some peanuts. The first three he ate, the rest he buried. His pro- cedure was the same each time; seizing the nut in his teeth, then in his paws, he turned it two or three times in his mouth and appeared to be licking it." (Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 325.) Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Wausaw, Hancock Co., i; Lake Forest, Lake Co., 2; Fox Lake, Lake Co., i; Genesee, 1 = 5. Wisconsin Camp Douglas, Juneau Co., i; Milton, i; Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., 6; Delavan, i; (M. P. M.) Wauwatosa, i; Horicon, i; Reeseville, i; Milton, i; Rock Co., i; Rochester, Racine Co., 33; Saukville, i; North Lake, Waukesha Co., i; Honey Creek, Racine Co., i; Brookville, i; Wyalusing, Grant Co., 1 = 52. Minnesota Fillmore Co., i. Iowa Knoxville, 5. Indiana Evansville, i. H4 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Map illustrating approximate distribution of Fox Squirrels in eastern United States. In the areas indicated by the blank spaces between the ranges given for different races, either .or both may occur together with intermediate forms. Sciurus niger LINN. (Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 64.) Type locality Probably South Carolina. Largest of the Fox Squirrels; color variable but ears and nose white. Sciurus n. rufiventer (GEOFFROY). Type locality Probably Lower Mississippi Valley. Somewhat smaller than niger; ears and nose never white. Sciurus n. neglectus (GRAY). (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d ser., XX, 1867, p. 425.) Type locality Wilmington, Delaware. Averaging somewhat larger than rufiventer; belly very pale, often white or whitish. Sciurus n. texianus (BACHMAN). (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1838, p. 86.) Type locality Texas. Similar to rufiventer, but smaller and paler. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 115 Subgenus NEOSCIURUS Trouessart. 2 2 Premolars normally - ; nasals narrowed posteriorly and not extending to posterior end of premaxillaries; zygomata ascending obliquely; molar series relatively large. Sciurus carolinensis GMELIN. SOUTHERN GRAY SQUIRREL. [Sciurus] carolinensis GMEL., Syst. Nat., I, 1788, p. 148. Sciurus carolinensis KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 66 (Illinois). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 188 (Iowa). GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 6 (Kentucky). JACKSON, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 71 (Missouri). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 361 (Indiana). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXII, 1909, p. 58 (Tennessee, Mississippi, etc.). Sciurus carolinensis fuliginosus RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 196 (Tennessee). Type locality Carolina. Distribution Southern half of eastern United States from the edge of the plains, ranging from northern Florida and northern Louisiana north to southern Illinois, southern Indiana and Virginia. Replaced in the North and South by other races. Description General appearance grayish, tinged with pale rusty brown on middle of back, on sides behind the fore legs, on ears and about the face and head; under parts white or whitish; soles of feet usually naked; hairs of tail pale tawny brown at base, banded with black and broadly tipped -with white. Animals of this species usually have two premolars on each side of upper jaw. Measurements Total length, about 18.25 in. (462 mm.); tail verte- brae, 8.50 in. (215 mm.); hind foot, 2.50 in. (64mm.). The Southern Gray Squirrel occurs within our limits in the southern portion of Illinois. The Field Museum collection contains specimens from Olive Branch, Alexander County, but it probably occurs at least as far north as the south central part of the state. As would be ex- pected, specimens from northern Illinois are often more or less inter- mediate between this form and S. c. leucotis, but approach nearer the latter. Its habits are apparently the same as those given for the Northern Gray Squirrel, except that it is less migratory, as would be expected under milder climatic conditions and a consequent less variable food supply. Specimens examined from Illinois : Illinois Olive Branch, Alexander Co., i ; Hancock Co., 1 = 2. u6 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, Sciurus carolinensis leucotis (GAPPER). NORTHERN GRAY SQUIRREL. Sciurus leucotis GAPPER, Zool. Journ., V, 1830, p. 206. SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 119 (Wisconsin). Sciurus migratorius KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), p. 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). Ib., Agr. Kept, for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 62 (Illinois, Wisconsin, etc.). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I. 1883, p. 439 (Wisconsin). Sciurus niger GODMAN, Amer. Nat. Hist., II, 1826, p. 133. Sciurus carolinensis MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., 1, 1860 (1861), p. 220 (Michigan). Sciurus carolinensis leucotis MERRIAM, Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, p. 219. BANGS, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 156 (Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc.). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 15 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Anr. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 364 (Indiana). Sciurus carolinensis hypophaeus JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 15. Ib., VIII, 1910, p. 86 (Wisconsin). Sciurus carolinensis var. leucotis HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 157 (Minnesota). Type locality Region between York and Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. Distribution Northeastern United States and southern Canada, from northern Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania northward to about latitude 46 and west to Minnesota and Iowa. Description In summer: Similar to carolinensis but larger and grayer. In winter: Upper parts silvery gray, the yellowish brown bases of the hairs on the back and head being practically concealed ; color subject to much variation. Entirely black specimens are not uncommon in some localities and various intergradations between the black and gray phases of pelage occur. Measurements Total length about 20 in. (505 mm.) ; tail vertebrae 9 in. (230 mm.); hind foot 2.70 in. (69 mm.). Remarks The series which I have examined from' northern Illinois and Wisconsin seem to confirm Hahn's opinion (1. c., p. 465) that leucotis is not separable by color characters from the form recognized as hypophaeus from Minnesota. There is no doubt that the Min- nesota form averages larger and it is not unlikely that it may con- tinue to be given subspecific recognition by some authorities on that account, but that the difference is merely an average one is shown by the fact that selected specimens from eastern New York and other localities, where typical leucotis occurs, are fully as large as the largest Minnesota specimens. Under the circumstances, therefore, without further discussing the merits of hypophaeus as a subspecies, it would seem best to exclude it from our limits and con- sider all the Gray Squirrels which occur in Wisconsin to be leucotis. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 117 The Northern Gray Squirrel inhabits the more heavily wooded portions of northern Illinois and Wisconsin. Its true home is in groves Black phase. Normal phase. Northern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis leucotis). of hard wood timber, where it makes its nest both in hollow trees and outside among the branches. When the latter kind is constructed, u8 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XT. it is made of twigs, leaves and bark nicely roofed over with an entrance on the side. These houses, when seen from the ground, have much the appearance of old crows' nests. In the majority of cases in this latitude two litters of young are born in a year, the first late in March or early in April, and the second usually in September. The young Squirrels number from three to five, rarely six, and when born are entirely without hair. While this Squirrel cannot be said to hibernate in the strict sense of the word, at least in this latitude, it remains indoors, often for a con- siderable length of time, during stormy or very severe winter weather; but as soon as the weather moderates and becomes clear, it is out run- ning about as lively as ever. In localities where they are comparatively numerous their peculiar barking may often be heard; they also make a whining noise difficult to describe. When not persecuted, as in parks or the vicinity of country houses, they soon become very tame, and I have often had them climb up on the bench beside me and take nuts from my hand; usually, however, they would go away a few yards to eat them and then return for more. Dr. C. Hart Merriam states, "Some winters they became very tame, and while we were at breakfast inside, a few used to bring their nuts to the window and eat them there, perched on their haunches on the sill, with their handsome bushy tails cocked over their backs. When any one went out doors they commonly scampered off or ran up a tree, yet several often remained and would allow a near approach without manifesting alarm. They were extremely fond of music (in the most comprehensive sense of the term), and it affected them in a peculiar manner. Some were not only fascinated, but actually spell- bound, by the music-box or guitar. And one particularly weak-minded individual was so unrefined in his taste that if I advanced slowly, whistling ' Just before the Battle, Mother ', in as pathetic a tone as I could muster for the occasion, he would permit me even to stroke his back, sometimes expressing his pleasure by making a low purring sound.'' (l.-c., pp. 223-224.) But a wild Squirrel in the woods is shy, and when observed has a habit of skillfully shifting its position in a tree to keep itself concealed behind trunk or branch, so that the boy with a gun will often have considerable difficulty in discovering the one which he knows to be in a certain tree. Formerly black Squirrels of this species were much more common in localities where now they are apparently rare. While at present the black form seems to be the exception, Kennicott states, "In a lot of nearly fifty shot near the Rock River in Illinois there was not a single gray one, all being of the black variety." (/. c.. p. 63.) FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 119 The food of the Gray Squirrel is much the same as that of the Fox Squirrel, and both have the same habit of burying nuts in little holes dug in the ground. While many of these are probably not found again and used by the animal, there is no doubt that a majority of them are, if not by the particular Squirrel that concealed them, by others of his race that have buried nuts in that vicinity. I have on several occasions seen Squirrels bury nuts seemingly in a haphazard way and without any particular regard for the location, the spot selected being wherever it happened to be at the time when it had been given or had found more nuts than it desired to eat. I am inclined to believe that, having a general idea of the location, they trust to their keen sense of smell to enable them to discover their buried treasures when times are not so prosperous. In this connection Dr. C. Hart Merriam says, "Those who have observed the habits of this species in summer must have noticed their propensity for burying nuts just beneath the surface in various parts of the woods. They do not, so far as I am aware, make a great accumulation in any one place, but dig a thousand little holes, plant a nut or two in each, scrape a few leaves over the spot and hurry off as if afraid some one would discover the treasure. In winter this habit is almost equally marked, and the first thing a squirrel thinks of after his hunger is satisfied, is to secrete a portion of the food remaining at his disposal. In accomplishing this he tunnels into the snow in various directions, hiding some of the surplus provisions in each excava- tion. Many persons who have observed this habit in summer regard it as an idle pastime, and question if the squirrel ever finds the nuts again, knowing that he could never remember the exact position of so many. But those who have kept tame squirrels must have been struck with the remarkable certainty and quickness with which they detect the whereabouts of nuts that are hidden from sight. A squirrel will often scratch and gnaw at a tight box or drawer that he has never seen before, if a few nuts happen to be in the bottom of it. His sense of smell is very acute, enabling him to detect the presence of a nut at some little distance, hence, though he does not, of course, remember the exact spot where each one is buried under the leaves, he can, by moving carefully over the ground, discover a great many of them." (/. c., pp. 224-225.) While it is probable that Gray Squirrels are migratory at the present time to a more or less extent, their numbers are so greatly reduced as compared with former days that, if they continue the habit, they do not attract attention. Fifty years ago they were known to migrate in vast numbers, not annually but at irregular intervals from some unknown cause, but which may have been governed by food 120 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL conditions. Considering the great abundance of these animals in early days, we may well suppose that in poor "nut years" the scarcity of their favorite food would supply a sufficient cause; and assuming scarcity of food to be the dominant factor governing such concerted movements among these animals, the absence of such migrations at the present day may readily be explained on account of the enormous decrease in numbers of Squirrels and consequent abundance of nuts, even in poor years, for those that remain. Kennicott says, "After one of these grand migrations, very few of the species are found in the localities from which they have moved, and these, as if alarmed at the unusual solitude, are silent and shy. They rapidly increase in numbers, however, and, in a few years, are as abundant as before. I am not aware that they ever migrate except when exceedingly abundant. Of these immense hordes, but few probably survive. No sudden increase in their numbers was heard of in southern Wisconsin after the several migrations from northern Illinois. Many are drowned in attempting to cross streams as has been stated; not a few are destroyed by man; some die from utter exhaustion; and, when forced to travel, in an unnatural manner, upon the ground, they fall an easy prey to rapacious birds and mammals, all of which feast when the squirrels migrate. I learn from Dr. Hoy, that one of these migrations is said to have taken place in southern Wisconsin in 1842; he witnessed another in 1847, and a third in 1852. From these facts, and from observations made in Ohio and elsewhere, he is of the opinion that the migrations, in most cases at least, occur at intervals of five years; and, if he be right, the squirrels, which are now exceedingly abundant again in southern Wisconsin, may be expected to migrate in the autumn of 1857.* He further says that the migra- tions observed by him in southern Wisconsin occurred when the mast was exceedingly abundant and the squirrels in excellent condition. Near Racine, they were observed passing southward in very large numbers for about two weeks, at the end of September and the begin- ning of October; and it was a month before all had passed. They moved along leisurely, stopping to feed in the fields, and upon the * It is interesting to note that Dr. Hoy's prediction that Gray Squirrels would migrate in Wisconsin in 1857 was fulfilled. In a letter to Mr. A. W. Bray ton, written at Racine, April 2, 1878, he says, "Black and Gray Squirrels did migrate in 1857 as predicted. Whether there is a precise interval between these migrations I will not pretend to state, yet they did migrate in this section in 1847, 1852 and 1857, since which they have become so scarce that I could not determine whether there was an attempt to migrate or not, as they are nearly exterminated now in this vicinity. In 1857 I knew one negro who stood by a tree, in an open space on the line of a fence, and shot over twenty in one afternoon. In other years one might stand at the same place six months and not see one individual." (Bray ton, Geol. Surv. Ohio, IV, 1882, p. in, foot note.) FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 121 Map showing approximate distribution of Gray Squirrels in eastern United States. In the areas indicated by the dotted spaces between the ranges given for the different races either or both may occur, together with intermediate forms. Sciurus carolinensis GMEL. Type locality Carolina. Description as previously given. Sciurus c. leucotis (GAPPER). Type locality Region between York and Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. Description as previously given. Sciurus c. hypophaeus MERRIAM. (Science, VII, 1886, p. 351.) Type locality Elk River, Minnesota. Supposed to differ from leucotis in being somewhat darker, and white on under parts restricted to a narrow central streak on the belly. Minnesota Gray Squirrels average somewhat larger, but the color differ- ences are apparently of little value. Sciurus c. fuliginosus (BACHMAN). (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1838, p. 97.) Type locality New Orleans, Louisiana. Larger and darker than carolinensis; under parts never pure white, usually washed with ferrugineous. Sciurus c. extimus BANGS. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 158.) Type lo- cality Miami, Dade Co., Florida. Smallest of our Gray Squirrels; total length (including tail vertebrae) about 17.50 inches; color lighter and more gray than carolinensis. 122 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. abundant nuts and acorns of the forests. So far had they departed from their accustomed habits that they were seen on the prairie, four or five miles from any timber; but even there, as usual, they disliked to travel on the ground, and ran along the fences wherever it was possible." (/. c., pp. 64-65.) Jackson states that in the autumn of 1905 there was a migration of these Squirrels across the Mississippi River from Wisconsin to Minnesota and that later a large number migrated back into Wisconsin. (/. c., p. 87.) Specimens examined from Illinois and Wisconsin: Illinois Lake Forest, Lake Co., 4. Wisconsin Camp Douglas, Juneau Co., i; loc. ?, (albino) i; (M. P. M). Milton, (black) i; Delavan, i; Prescott, Pierce Co., 14; Oconomowoc, 3; Honey Creek, Racine Co., i; Maiden Rock, 18; Pardeeville, 9; Racine Co., 16; Fall River, Columbia Co., 6; East Troy, 6; Fountain City, Buffalo Co., 8; Waukesha Co., 2; Lancas- ter, 2. Eagle, (albino) i; West Bend, (albino) i; Rochester, 2; Auburndale, (nearly black) i; (O. C.) Palmyra, Jefferson Co., 5 = 99. Subgenus TAMIASCIURUS Trouessart. 2 2 I I Premolars 3 or ; skull short, broad, and curved, highest between postorbital processes of the frontal; nasals broad; squamosal process of zygoma projecting outward and with gradual downward curve; molar series moderately large. Sciurus hudsonicus loquax BANGS. SOUTHERN RED SQUIRREL. RED SQUIRREL. CHICKAREE. Sciurus hudsonicus loquax BANGS, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 161. SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 120 (Wisconsin). ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 128 (Michigan). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 16 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 468 (Indiana). VAN HYNING & PELLETT, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., XVII, 1910, p. 214 (Iowa). Sciurus hudsonius KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 67 (Illinois). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 188 (Iowa). Sciurus hudsonicus EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 130 (Indiana). ELLIOT, Field Columb. Mus. Pub., Zool., I, 1898, p. 219 (Iowa). Sciurus Hudsonicus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 339 (Wisconsin). ' KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), p. 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS or ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 123 Sciurus Hudsonius THOMAS, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., IV, 1859-60 (1861), p. 656 (Illinois). MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Michigan). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, 1883, p. 439 (Wisconsin). Sciurus hudsonicus minnesota ALLEN, Amer. Nat., XXXIII, 1899, p. 640. HOL- LISTER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 138. Type locality Liberty Hill, New London Co., Connecticut. Distribution Eastern United States from the edge of the plains to the Atlantic coast, and from southern Maine, northern Michigan and Minnesota southward; northern Illinois, northern Indiana, Pennsylvania, and in the mountains south to North Carolina. Replaced in the North and Northeast by allied races. Special characters General color (in summer) reddish brown ; under parts whitish, or grayish white, the hairs not vermiculated. In winter olive grayish on sides, with wide brownish red or rufous stripe down the back; tail flattened; ears 'with tufts and soles of feet furred in winter. Description In summer: Upper parts reddish brown ; a black stripe on sides separating the red brown color of back from the white on the under parts; under parts white, often tinged in places with rusty; tail largely deep rufous brown; the terminal hairs black near the tip; front of fore legs and upper surface of hind feet clear fer- rugineous. In winter: A broad dorsal band of bright rufous brown ex- tending from between the ears down the middle of the back and along upper surface of tail; sides olive gray; no black stripe on sides or but faintly indicated; under parts grayish white, the hairs plumbeous at the base; under surface of tail olivaceous gray, the hairs on sides and end of tail subterminally marked with black and tipped with tawny. Measurements Total length, about 12.50 in. (318 mm.) ; tail vertebras, 5.15 in. (130 mm.); hind foot, nSy in. (48 mm.). Remarks Judging from the material examined, I am inclined to believe the Minnesota Squirrel, S. h. minnesota, to be inseparable from loquax. The color differences, if any, are inconstant and at most would seem to represent intergradation between true hudsonicus and loquax. Some Minnesota specimens are larger than any I have seen from Wisconsin or Michigan, and Minnesota specimens average larger, but the difference in size alone is apparently not sufficiently constant nor sufficiently great to warrant subspecific recognition. Be that as it may, specimens from Solon Springs, Douglas County, in extreme northwestern Wisconsin are certainly referable to loquax, as are all other Wisconsin and Michigan speci- mens which I have so far examined. 124 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL The following measurements are from specimens in the collection of Field Museum of Natural History: Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., southeastern Wisconsin: Total length, 316 mm.; tail vertebra, 133; hind foot, 50. 331 " ; " " 143; " " si. Camp Douglas, Juneau Co., central Wisconsin: Total length, 325; tail vertebrae, 140; hind foot, 50. " " 320; " " 138; " " 48. Solon Springs, Douglas Co., northwestern Wisconsin: Total length, 315; tail vertebras, 133; hind foot, 50. " 315; " " 128; " " 47- 310; " " 125; " " 48. " " 3io; " " 125; " " 47- 300; " 120; " " 48. " " 318; " " 130; " " 47- Sayner, Vilas Co., northern Wisconsin: Total length, 312; tail vertebras, 122; hind foot, 50. 312; " " 123; " " 46. Fort Snelling, Minnesota, (Topotypes of S. h. minnesota collected by E. A. Mearns.) : Total length, 323; tail vertebrae, 137; hind foot, 47. " " 327; " " 1355 " " 49- " " 327; " " Uo; " " 52. 3355 " 142; " 51. The following average measurements of 20 topotypes of S. h. minnesota are given by Dr. Allen (/. c., p. 641.): "Total length, 334; tail vertebras, 130.2; hind foot, 49.2 mm." The following average measurements of eight adult specimens of S. h. loquax from Liberty Hill, Connecticut (the type locality), are given by Mr. Outram Bangs (1. c., p. 161.): "Total length, 318.3; tail vertebrae, 133.5; hind foot, 47.42 mm." The Red Squirrel is found in the wooded portions of northern Illinois and is common throughout Wisconsin, frequenting hardwood and mixed groves, as well as coniferous forests, where it can procure pine seeds which in such localities form a considerable portion of its food. Its home is usually in a hollow tree, stump, or log, often an apple tree where, in the majority of cases, a deserted woodpecker's hole is chosen. It has also been known occasionally, though rarely, to make its nest in a hole in the ground. While it does not hibernate in winter, at least in this latitude, it dislikes to go out in stormy weather, FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 125 remaining in its snug and well-supplied home; but in clear weather snow and ice have no terrors for it and it may be seen running about Summer. Winter. Southern Red Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus loquax). on a fine winter day seemingly as lively and contented as in summer. This species occasionally builds an outside nest in the forks of large 126 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL branches, which is composed of twigs, leaves and bark; but such nests seem to be the exception in this latitude. I am satisfied that Red Squirrels pair, at least in Massachusetts, where for many years I had somewhat unusual opportunities for ob- serving them. The young are born in April and vary in number from 4 to 6, although in a majority of cases the number is probably 4 or 5. The harsh chattering notes of this species are well known to those who wander in the woods, but it also has several sharp scolding notes, which it usually utters when annoyed by something and thinks itself unobserved. Kennicott says, "Unlike any other of the true squirrels found here, this species sometimes, but not generally, lives in holes in the ground. Unlike the others, too, it collects into its hole in autumn an ample provision of the good things of squirrel life, wherewith to console and sustain itself in the uncomfortable season of frost and snow. It is well known that the Chickaree makes large hoards of nuts, acorns and seeds. These are deposited in hollow trees, and sometimes under fallen logs, and even in holes in the ground. In consequence of his good cheer, this squirrel is seen actively scampering about in cold weather, when his hungry cousins cannot pluck up courage to leave their warm abodes, even in search of food. In the cornfield, his depredations are at times a source of much annoyance to the farmer. Besides eating at the time with others, this provident species is said to carry off corn to its hole for winter use." (/. c., p. 68.) The food of the Red Squirrel is very varied and it is practically omnivorous, especially in winter. It is fond of beechnuts and other nuts, acorns, berries, fruit, insects, mushrooms, birds' eggs, young birds, and a variety of other things too numerous to mention. Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois (O.) Lake Forest, i ; Fox Lake, 1 = 2. Wisconsin Beaver Dam, 2 ; Sayner, 2 ; Solon Springs, 7 ; Tomahawk Lake, i ; Camp Douglas, 3 ; Woodruff, i ; Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co., 3; (M. P. M.) Rhine, Sheboygan Co., i; Cataline, 15; Maiden Rock, 7; Conover, i; Pembine, i; Milwaukee Co., i; Washington Island, Door Co., i; Sheboygan Falls, i; Golden Lake, Waukesha Co., i; Rochester, Racine Co., 2; Milwaukee, i; Merton, i; Jackson- port, Door Co., i ; Burnett Co., i ; Ellison Bay, Door Co., i ; Muskego Lake, 2; Prairie du Sac, 2; Kelly Brook, Oconto Co., i; Wauwatosa, i; (O. C.) Rochester, Racine Co., i; Pewaukee, 4; Fisher Lake, Iron Co., 13; Langlade Co., 6; Fox Point, Milwaukee Co., i; Oak Creek, Milwaukee Co., 2 = 88. Michigan Park Siding, 6; Murphy Lake, 4; Dowagiac, 5=15. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 127 Indiana La Porte, i ; Bluffton, 1 = 2. Iowa Knoxville, i . Minnesota Fort Snelling, 4; Aitken, 1 = 5. Map illustrating approximate distribution of Red Squirrels in eastern United States. In the areas indicated by the dotted spaces between the ranges given for the different races, either or both may occur, together with intermediate forms. Sciurus hudsonicus (ERXLEBEN). (Syst. Regn. Anim., I, 1777, p. 416.) Type locality Hudson Strait. In winter: General color paler than loquax; tail with pale tawny or yellowish fringe; under parts finely vermiculated, having a gray appearance. In summer: Closely approaching loquax but smaller. Sciurus h. loquax BANGS. Type locality Liberty Hill, New London Co., Con- necticut. Description as previously given. Sciurus h. gymnicus BANGS. (Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, I, 1899, p. 28.) Type locality Greenville, Maine. Smallest of eastern races; hind foot short; tail with orange red fringe; under parts grayish in winter. Sciurus h. minnesota ALLEN. (Amer. Nat., XXXIII, 1899, p. 640.) Type lo- cality Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Averaging larger than loquax, but appar- ently not separable from it except, perhaps, by size. 128 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Genus TAMIAS Illiger. Tamias Illiger, Prodr. Syst. Mamm. et Avium, 1811, p. 83. Type Sciurus striatus Linn. Size small for a Squirrel, tail less bushy than in Sciurus; back conspicuously striped; cheeks with pouches which open between the lips and teeth; postorbital processes slender, pointed (spine-like), and directed obliquely backward and downward; infraorbital foramen small and confined to lower part of maxilla. Dental formula: I. - -> C. > Pm. - -, M. 3 -=20. i-i o-o i-i 3-3 KEY TO OUR CHIPMUNKS. A. Back with two pale stripes and several blackish ones; total length (adult) more than 9 inches. Rump rufous chestnut. Animal occurs from northern Illinois southward. CHIPMUNK, Tamias striatus, p. 128. Rump more cinnamon brown, general pelage grayer. Animal occurs in northern Illinois and Wisconsin. GRAY CHIPMUNK. Tamias s. griseus, p. 130. B. Back with four pale stripes and several dark ones; size small, usually less than 9 inches. Animal occurs in northern Wisconsin. LITTLE CHIPMUNK. Eutamias borealis neglectus, p. 135. Tamias striatus (LINN.). CHIPMUNK. STRIPED CHIPMUNK. SOUTHERN CHIPMUNK. [Sciurus] striatus LINN^US, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 64. Tamias striatus KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 70 (Illinois). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 189 (Iowa). GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 6 (Kentucky). EVER- MANN& BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 129 (Indiana). RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 193 (Tennessee). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 471 (Indiana). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXII, 1909, p. 59 (Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, etc.). Ib., XXIII, 1910, p. 25 (Illinois, Missouri, etc.). Tamias striatus lysteri McATEE, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 3 (Indiana). Type locality -Southeastern United States. Distribution On Atlantic coast from southern New York and New Jersey to North Carolina, westward through southern Indiana and southern Illinois to eastern Kansas, southward to northern South Carolina, northern Georgia and Tennessee. Special characters Tail only moderately bushy and rather flat ; back striped; rump rufous chestnut. Its smaller size and rufous chestnut rump will distinguish it from its more northern race, T. s. griseus, but intermediates must be expected in northern Illinois. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 129 130 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Description Back with five black stripes ; the central black stripe bordered by two brownish stripes and a stripe of tawny white on each side of the back separating the two outer black stripes; rest of upper parts rusty brown, with a slight mixture of grayish brown shading into tawny brown on the cheeks and sides, and deep chestnut rufous on the rump and flanks; under parts white or whitish; tail rufous, edged with black. Measurements Total length, about 9.75 in. (245 mm.) ; tail vertebrae, 3.75 in. (95 mm.); hind foot, 1.25 in. (31.8 mm.). The Southern Chipmunk occurs within our limits in southern Illinois. Howell records it from Olive Branch, Wolf Lake, Woodlawn and Olney, and I have seen a specimen taken in Macon County, in the central portion of the state. Its habits are similar to those of the northern race, Tamias striatus griseus. Tamias striatus griseus MEARNS. GRAY CHIPMUNK. GRAY STRIPED CHIPMUNK. Tamias striatus griseus MEARNS, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Ill, 1891, p. 231. SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 115 (Wisconsin). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 17 (Wisconsin). Ib., VIII, 1910, p. 87 (Wisconsin). MILLER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVI, 1897, p. 30 (Nepigon and Peninsular Harbor, Ontario). Tamias lysteri KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 ( l8 55). P- 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). Sciurus striatus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 339 (Wis- consin) . Tamias striatus MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., I, 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Michigan). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 160 (Minne- sota). ELLIOT, Field Columb. Mus. Pub., Zool., I, 1898, p. 219 (Iowa). Tamias striatus lysteri ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), 'p. 128 (Michigan). Type locality Fort Snelling, Hennepin Co., Minnesota. Distribution From northern Illinois and Iowa northward throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, and in Canada to about latitude 49. Specimens from extreme northern Indiana are nearer this form than striatus. Description Similar to T. striatus but larger and more gray; rump more cinnamon brown, not rufous chestnut as in striatus; spaces between black stripes on back distinctly grayish; flanks tawny brown; under surface of tail paler and tail hairs tipped with gray. Measurements Total length, 9.75 to 11.55 m - ( 2 47 to 2 ^8 mm.)'; tail vertebrae, 3.30 to 3.95 in. (84 to 108 mm.); hind foot, 1.42 to 1.50 in. (36.5 to 38 mm.). Average of 30 specimens from northern FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 131 Illinois and Wisconsin: Total length, 271.5; tail vertebrae, 94.5; hind foot, 37.5 mm. Wooded localities, where underbrush abounds, about loose stone walls and old logs, or in the vicinity of outbuildings, where there is sufficient growth for concealment, is the chosen home of the Chipmunk. It passes most of its life on the ground and in climbing about fallen logs, fences and rocks, although it occasionally climbs large trees. It is very active and industrious, and during the summer devotes a great deal of its time to storing up food for winter use in its home, which is usually a hole beneath a wall or old stump or an underground burrow. While I am satisfied that it hibernates in winter, at least in this latitude, its sleep is apparently not very profound and the length of time it remains indoors depends largely upon the severity of the weather. During a warm spell it occasionally ventures forth for an airing even in midwinter, but as a rule it seeks its winter home shortly after the first hard frost and is rarely seen again until late in February or March. If undisturbed in the vicinity of dwellings, it soon becomes tame, and, if watched, may often be seen hurrying away with its cheek pouches distended with nuts or other food which it deposits in its storehouse and shortly returns with empty cheeks ready for another load. When suspicious of possible danger, but not actually frightened, it often sits upright and repeatedly utters its sharp "chip," accompanying each vocal effort by a slight twitch of its tail. While Chipmunks prefer nuts, acorns, seeds and grains for their winter use, they eat almost anything, including small snakes, young mice, birds' eggs and young birds when they can get them, as I know from personal experience, having caught one in the act of attacking a nest containing half fledged young robins. Mr. E. T. Seton quotes a letter from Mr. William Brewster, the well-known Cambridge natural- ist, who says, "While collecting at Crooked Lake, Michigan, in May, 1888, I shot at a wood thrush and broke its wing. As it fluttered over the ground a Chipmunk pursued and caught it. When I reached the spot the Chipmunk had killed the bird and eaten most of its brains. I had to kick at the Chipmunk to make it give up the thrush. Afterward as I held the bird dangling in my hand the Chipmunk approached and jumped up, trying to snatch it from me." * The young are usually 4 or 5, and when born are without hair and the eyes are closed. Kennicott says, "The quantity of nuts, acorns and seeds sometimes collected by these industrious little fellows is astonishing. They are frequently stored temporarily under logs, and in shallow holes under roots of trees, and afterwards removed to the "Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 355. 132 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Map illustrating approximate distribution of Chipmunks (belonging to the genus Tamias) in eastern United States. In the_ dotted areas between the ranges given for the different races either or both may occur, together with intermediate forms. Tamias striatus (LiNN.). Type locality Southeastern United States. Descrip- tion as previously given. Tamias s. griseus MEARNS. Type locality Hennepin Co., Minnesota. Descrip- tion as previously given. Tamias s. lysteri (RICHARDSON). (Fauna Bor. Amer., I, 1829, p. 181.) Type locality Penetanguishene, Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. Paler and somewhat longer than striatus; rump and thighs yellowish red. Tamias s. venustus BANGS. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 137.) Type lo- cality Stilwell, Boston Mountains, Indian Territory. Size about the same as griseus, but colors brighter and back stripes much shortened. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 133 burrow, at a more leisure season. I have known lazy people to watch the chipmunks in nutting time, and finding where they carried their stores, dig them out, saying they could thus get nuts faster than by picking them up themselves. In a burrow dug open in November, I found over half a bushel of hickory-nuts and acorns. These were not all in one place, but in four or five enlarged chambers, in different parts of the burrow, which was complicated, and consisted of several winding and intersecting passages, situated not over a foot below the surface. The entrance to the burrow was under a log, and the passages extended several feet on every side. A large nest of leaves and grass was placed above the surface, under the rotten log. Only one of the inhabitants was found but he was quite active. "This ground squirrel is sociable; and sometimes, though not always, several pairs occupy the same burrow in winter, the store of food being common property. These, like the true squirrels, stand erect on their hind-feet, when eating, using the fore paws as hands. The power of their incisors is wonderful; they cut with apparent ease through the shells of the seeds of the wild plums, which would resist the point of tempered steel. "At times, the note of the chipmunk is a short deep cluck, repeated ly pronounced, without variation; and on a sunny day, he will sometimes utter it for an hour at a time, being meanwhile perched upon a stump or log; but more frequently the note is a shriller chip-chip. When alarmed, he utters a low chatter." * Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Fox Lake, Lake Co., 13. Wisconsin Tomahawk Lake, 4; Camp Douglas, 2; Woodruff, i; Beaver Dam, 14; Spread Eagle, 2; Lac Vieux Desert (Vilas Co.), i; (M. P. M.) Keesus Lake, 2; Sumpter, Sauk Co., i; Milwaukee Co., 2; Newport, Door Co., i; Busseyville, i; Oconomowoc, i; Kelley Brook, Oconto Co., 3; Prescott, 6; Milwaukee Co., 2; Maiden Rock, 10 ; (O. C.) Nashotah, 2; Milwaukee Co., 5; Fisher Lake, Iron Co., i 61. Indiana La Porte, i. Michigan Murphy Lake, i ; Park Siding, 2 = 3. Minnesota Fort Snelling, 4. Iowa Cedar Rapids, Linn Co., i; (Coe College collection) Cedar Rapids, 1 = 2. *Agr. Kept, for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 72. 134 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Little Chipmunk (Eutamias borealis neglectus). Gray Striped Chipmunk (Tamias striafus griseus). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 135 Genus EUTAMIAS Trouessart. Eutamias Trouessart, Catal. Mamm. Viv. et Foss., Bull. Soc. Etudes Angers, X, 1880, p. 86. Type Sciurus striatus asiaticus Gmelin. The members of this genus differ from those belonging to Tamias in being smaller, the back stripes narrower and closer, and the tail relatively longer; there are also two additional premolars. Dental formula: I. , C. , Pm. , M. ^Z3 = 22. i-i o-o i-i 3-3 Eutamias borealis neglectus (ALLEN). LITTLE CHIPMUNK. Tamias quadrivittatus neglectus ALLEN, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Ill, 1890, p. 106. MILLER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1897, p. 31 (North Bay and north shore of Lake Superior, Ontario). Tamias asiaticus var. quadrivittatus HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 162 (Minnesota). Tamias quadrivittatus STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I. 1883, p. 440 (Wis- consin). BARRETT, Amer. Nat., VII, 1873, p. 695. Eutamias quadrivittatus neglectus JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 17 (Wisconsin). ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 128 (Michigan). SETON, Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 364. Eutamias borealis neglectus HOLLISTER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 139 (Wisconsin). Type locality Eastern shore of Lake Superior, Ontario, Canada. Distribution Ranges from northern Wisconsin, northern Michigan and central Minnesota northward into Canada, throughout the greater part of Ontario and Keewatin to about latitude 55; replaced from Manitoba and North Dakota westward by Eutamias borealis. Special characters Smaller than the common Chipmunk, and stripes narrower, tail relatively longer; cheek stripes whitish. Description A whitish stripe above and below the eye; back with five black stripes and four pale stripes, the outer pale stripes being distinctly whitish, the inner pale ones grayish; the middle black stripe extends from between the eyes to base of tail; sides of body orange brown or tawny; hairs on under parts tipped with white but plumbeous at base, giving a grayish white appearance to the fur; tail pale rufous brown, the hairs subterminally marked with black and tipped with pale rufous brown or tawny brown. Measurements Total length, about 8.50 in. (216 mm.); tail vertebrae, 3.75 in. (91 mm.); hind foot, 1.25 in. (31. 8 mm.). Extremes of 20 136 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL specimens: Total length, 208 to 230; tail vertebras, 84 to 96; hind foot, 31 to 32 mm. The Little Chipmunk is common in northern and central Wisconsin at least as far south as Juneau County,* but does not occur in southern Wisconsin or Illinois. It is easily distinguished from the larger Chip- munk by its small size and narrower and more conspicuous stripes. Its most common note is a sharp "chip," somewhat resembling that of the larger species, but higher in pitch and more shrill. When fright- ened it often utters a shrill whistle. Its habits appear to be much the same as those of its larger relative, Tamias striatus griseus. There is no doubt that this species hibernates in winter but it does not retire to its winter home until quite late in the season, and its sleep is not so prolonged as that of some of its relatives. Mr. Ernest T. Seton writes, "In August and September the little Chipmunk emulates its cousin in labouring for the rainy days to come. As late as September 26 at Fort Resolution I saw one carrying home great bulging pouchfuls of skunk-grass seeds. About the end of the month, it finally plugs its doorway against the cold, the wet and the Least Weasel, and curls up for its six months' sleep." (1. c., p. 371.) Mr. Gerrit S. Miller found this species very abundant on the north Map showing approximate range of the Little Chipmunk (Eutamias borealis neglecius) ; replaced from the Dakotas westward by Eutamias borealis; no other representative of this genus occurs in eastern United States. * The Field Museum collection contains 8 specimens of this subspecies from Camp Douglas, Juneau County, Wisconsin. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 137 shore of Lake Superior. He writes, "Although it is universally dis- tributed outside of thick woods at Nepigon and Peninsula, the little chipmunk shows a marked preference for open rocky hillsides, while the big chipmunk prefers the edge of the forests, where stumps and logs furnish it a more congenial shelter. . . . While T. striatus on the north shore of Lake Superior hibernates near the end of September, immediately after the first heavy frosts, T. quadriirittatus remains active much later probably until the snow cuts off its food supply. The small chipmunk was actively running about in the light snow during the second week of October, 1896, although the temperature during the day averaged about 15 F. On October 23, 1 found an adult female in a nest built of feathers and soft vegetable fibers at the end of a tunnel under a clump of bearberry. The tunnel was about two feet long and terminated a foot or more beneath the surface in a chamber about the size of a cocoanut. The chamber was completely filled by the nest, which contained, in addition to its occupant, a small store of seeds of various weeds and wild fruits." (/. c., p. 31.) Specimens examined from Wisconsin and adjoining states : Wisconsin Camp Douglas, Juneau Co., 8; Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co., 7; Conover, i; (M. P. M.) St. Croix Dam, Douglas Co., 5; Pembine, i; Divide, Vilas Co., i; Marinette, 10; Upper St. Croix Lake, 5; Yellow River, Burnett Co., 5; Mouth Namekagan River, i; Cataline, 3; Kelly Brook, Oconto Co., 5; (O. C.) Fisher Lake, Iron Co., 2 = 48. Michigan Park Siding, 12; Sevey, i = 13. SUBFAMILY MARMOTIN^E. Genus CITELLUS Oken. Citellus Oken, Lehrb. der Naturg., Zool., II, 1816, p. 842. Type Mus citellus Linn. Form squirrel-like, but tail less bushy; color pattern variable; cheek pouches developed; hind feet with five developed toes; front feet with four developed toes and a rudimentary thumb. Skull relatively heavier than that of Sciurus; postorbital processes slender and spine- like; upper premolars two, the first much smaller than second; ante- orbital foramen round or oval with tubercle on outer lower edge. Two species belonging to this genus occur in Illinois and Wisconsin. Dental formula: I. , C. - , Pm. - , M. ^= 22. i-i o-o i-i 3-3 138 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Subgenus ICTIDOMYS Allen. "Ears generally small, sometimes rudimentary; tail long, cylindrical, or narrow and flattened, or quite broad, with the hairs one-half to three- fourths the length of the body; skull very long and narrow; first upper premolar usually rather small and the dentition not heavy" (Allen). KEY TO OUR SPECIES. Back with stripes and rounded spots. STRIPED PRAIRIE SQUIRREL. Citellus tr idecem lineatus, p. 138. Back not striped, general color grayish tinged with brown; hairs vermiculated with blackish. FRANKLIN'S PRAIRIE SQUIRREL. Citellus franklini, p. 144. Citellus tridecemlineatus (MITCHILL). STRIPED PRAIRIE SQUIRREL. STRIPED SPERMOPHILE. STRIPED GOPHER. THIRTEEN-LINED GROUND SQUIRREL. STRIPED GROUND SQUIRREL. Sciurus tridecem-lineatus MITCHILL, Med. Repos., N. S., VI, 1821, p. 248. Spermophilus tridecimlineatus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 ( l8 53). P- 339 (Wisconsin). KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), P- 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). Ib., Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 74 (Illinois). Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., I, 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Michigan). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 189 (Iowa). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I, 1883, p. 440 (Wisconsin). Spermophilus tridecemlineatus OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 165 (Minnesota). EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 128 (Indiana). BAILEY, U. S. Dept. Agr., Bull. No. 4, Ornith. & Mamm., 1893, p. 31. HOY, Agr. Rept. for 1853, U. S. Patent Office Rept., II, 1854, p. 68 (Wisconsin and northern Illinois). Citellus tridecemlineatus JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 18 (Wis- consin). Ib., VIII, 1910, p. 87 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 475 (Indiana). WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 524 (Illinois). Type locality Central Minnesota. Distribution From southern Illinois and northern Missouri to north- western Ohio, southern Michigan and central Wisconsin, extending west and northwest to edge of the Great Plains and the Saskatchewan Region; replaced in western Missouri by an allied form, C. /. badius. Description Somewhat squirrel-like in appearance, but tail com- paratively short and not bushy; back with alternating stripes of whitish and dark brown, the latter with central row of rounded whitish spots; under parts very pale tawny brown; middle of tail mixed brown and white, like colors of the back, bordered by an inner FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 139 140 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL stripe of black, the ends of the hairs forming the fringe buffy white; a pale ring around the eye. Measurements Total length, 10.75 in- ( 2 73 mm.); tail vertebrae, 4 in. (101 mm.); hind foot, 1.37 in. (35 mm.). The Striped Prairie Squirrel, Striped Gopher, or Thirteen-lined Spermophile, as it has been variously called, is common in the prairie regions, and large open fields nearly throughout Illinois and in southern Wisconsin, and scattered colonies are occasionally found further north. Jackson records it from the vicinity of Iron River, Bayfield County, in the extreme northern part of the state. It is diurnal and gregarious, and during the summer months its tremulous whistle is often to be heard and the little animal seen sitting upright or running rapidly through the grass, but rarely far from its burrow. It has a bad reputation among farmers, which is not altogether undeserved, on account of the habit of pulling up and eating newly planted corn and other grains and seeds; but, on the other hand, it must be given credit for destroying great quantities of beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers and other injurious insects. It must be admitted, how- ever, that it cannot be considered of benefit to the agriculturist. Mr. Vernon Bailey says, "Undoubtedly the good which the Striped Sper- mophiles do by destroying insects and seeds of noxious weeds is of no small importance ; but it is doubtful if it is sufficient to offset the damage perpetrated by them in the grain fields. In many localities it is im- possible to raise a full field of corn without first killing the spermophiles. As soon as the corn is planted they begin to dig up the seed, but do most mischief after the corn begins to come up and until a week or ten days old, or until all the nutriment is drawn from the grain. They dig down by the side of the stalk and eat the swollen, starchy grain, of which they seem very fond, leaving the stalks to die. As a single spermophile will dig up many hills of corn in a day and continue digging for nearly two weeks, it is not difficult to see that serious damage is done where they are numerous, averaging as they often do four or five to an acre. Large fields of corn are sometimes entirely destroyed by them and have to be planted over several times. A great deal of wheat, oats, barley and rye is taken in the same way, making it neces- sary to sow an extra amount of seed. Even this means is not effectual and frequently fields of sowed grain suffer materially from their attacks. As the small grains begin to fill, soon after blossoming, the spermophiles cut down the stalks and eat the ovules, and in order to find the best heads they cut down a great deal more than they can eat. As the grain becomes hard they carry large stores of it into their burrows to be eaten at leisure, probably when they awake from their winter's sleep. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 141 The amount of damage done depends upon the abundance of the animals and is often serious. If the field is small and isolated, the spermophiles sometimes collect and destroy almost the whole crop." (/. c., p. 42.) Concerning the habits of this species in Illinois, Kennicott says: "Before the production of the young in May or June the old male leaves the female, and appears to lead a solitary and more or less wandering life, digging a temporary burrow, or occupying a deserted one for a few days, wherever he may take up his abode. These summer burrows may often be found, and sometimes are of considerable extent; several of those which were examined were more than 20 feet in length, being simple galleries from six inches to a foot below the surface deeper in sandy soil opening at both ends, with the nest placed in a small side chamber; others were of much less extent, sometimes with but one entrance, and sometimes without nests. The winter burrow, in which the pair hibernate and the female brings forth her young, is deeper and more complicated, having always two entrances, or more. In this, in a side chamber of suitable size, excavated above the level of the rest of the burrow, is a large spherical nest of soft grass, entered by an opening on one side. This nest is sometimes of the size of a half bushel, the interior being generally lined with softer material than the outside. The young are produced at the end of May or early in June. I have observed from five to nine brought forth at a birth and I am informed of two instances in which ten were found in a nest; but the number is variable, the usual number being six or seven. The young at birth are naked, blind and remarkably embryonic. Dr. Hoy, who observed them in confinement, says that they have no hair on the body before they are twenty days old and that the eyes do not open until the thirtieth day. They continue to require the nourish- ment and care of the mother for a much longer period than most rodents. During the summer they begin to dig shallow burrows and leave her before winter, to shift for themselves." (I. c., pp. 76-77.) This species hibernates during the winter. At the approach of cold weather it retires into its burrow and remains there in a torpid state for several months, or until the return of mild weather in the spring. In northern Illinois it generally goes into winter quarters late in October and reappears again about the first of April. On March 27, 1910, I saw two at Burnside near Chicago, and on March 28 and 29, 1911, several were seen running about in the same locality. On both occasions the weather for several days had been unusually warm for the season. Hibernation Hibernation is a term applied by zoologists to express a peculiar condition of torpid sleep in certain animals, which 142 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL is not thoroughly understood. Its marked characteristics are abnor- mally low bodily temperature with nearly suspended respiration; heart action much reduced with consequent slowing of the circulation. Animation is suspended to a degree resembling death and the appar- ently dead animal soon becomes actually so, if taken from its hole and exposed for any length of time to a temperature a few degrees below that of freezing. This strange physiological condition enables certain animals, which without some such provision of nature would otherwise perish from lack of food, to pass the winter sleeping in their holes or burrows in latitudes where the ground is frozen and covered with snow and ice for several months in the year. Regarding the hibernating of the Striped Gopher or Prairie Squirrel, Kennicott writes, "At the approach of severe cold, in autumn, the prairie squirrel retires to its burrow, entrances to which are tightly closed with earth to exclude the frost. In the large nest of grass he curls himself up, with his head against the abdomen, and falls into a state of torpor, out of which he does not awaken until the return of warm weather in spring. In this state, he takes no nourishment whatever, nor does he move. "If cut or bruised he exhibits no signs of feeling; and to all exter- nal appearances seems dead. Respiration and the circulation of the blood are carried on very imperfectly; but slight oxygenation of the blood takes place, and little heat is generated the body being cold. There is no secretion or excretion, and very little waste of tissue occurs, and thus the necessity of food is obviated. From this state he is at once revived to activity by the simple application of heat. Placed in the cold he again becomes torpid. It is to be observed that the species, which passes the winter thus in profound torpor, if removed to a warm climate, or if kept in a warm room, will remain active during winter. Thus we see how, in the perfect laws of Nature, it is or- dained that hibernating animals shall fall into this state of torpor only when they would suffer from cold and want of food, if active."* (/. c., pp. 73-74)- Concerning the condition of this animal during hibernation, the report of Dr. P. R. Hoy is of interest. He writes, "During activity the gopher's pulse is 200, respiration 50, temperature 105. . . . On the 1 5th of December, the gopher being thoroughly torpid, tem- perature of the room 45, gopher rolled up like a ball, no visible evidence of life, I opened the abdomen and inserted the bulb of a thermometer which indicated 58. I next turned back the sternum * In this connection it should be stated that the Florida Black Bear, Ursus floridanus, continues to hibernate without regard to temperature and at a time when "palmetto berries" (Serenoa serrulata), its favorite food, are abundant. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 143 in such a manner as to expose the heart and lungs. The remark- ably congested condition of these organs first attracted my atten- tion; in fact, it would appear as if all the blood had collected within the thorax. The pulsation of the heart was reduced to four each minute; the auricles would slowly and imperfectly contract, followed immediately by the ventricles. These slow pulsations of the heart occupied four seconds, there was no visible respiration, the lungs re- maining almost entirely passive. The heart continued to pulsate, without perceptable change, for fifteen minutes, and then when raised from its position it continued to pulsate for some time, being almost reptilian in this aspect. During hibernation the circulation is so feeble that when a limb is amputated but few drops of blood will slowly ooze from the fresh wound. The stomachs and bowels empty, and the body was enclosed in a thick adipose layer. I was not able to Map illustrating approximate distribution of Striped Prairie Squirrels in eastern United States. Several other forms occur in the West. Citellus tridecemlineatus (MITCHILL). Type locality Central Minnesota. De- scription as previously given. Citellus t. badius (BANGS). (Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, I, 1899, p. I.) Type locality Stotesbury, Vernon Co., Missouri. Similar to tridecemlineatus, but larger and more red brown on the tail. 144 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL excite the least motion or contraction of the muscles in any way, even by pinching or cutting nerves, showing the most perfect condition of anaesthesia possible. During hibernation the gopher is not able to endure more than 6 or 8 of frost. The manifestations of life are so feebly performed that a few degrees below freezing is sufficient to convert apparent death into the reality." (Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Aug., 1875, pp. 148-149.) Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Chicago, 30; Fox Lake, 2 = 32. Wisconsin Beaver Dam, 14; (M. P. M.) Delavan (albino), i; Cata- line, 3; Maiden Rock, 4; Mouth Yellow River, Burnett Co., 3; Milwaukee Co., 4; Muskego Lake, 2; Lindwurm, Niles Co., i; Upper St. Croix Lake, n; Prescott, 16; Fountain City, i; Genoa, Vernon Co., 2 = 52. Iowa Luxemburg, i. Minnesota Fort Snelling, 3. Citellus franklini (SABINE). FRANKLIN'S PRAIRIE SQUIRREL. GRAY PRAIRIE SQUIRREL. GRAY GROUND SQUIRREL. GRAY GOPHER. FRANKLIN'S GROUND SQUIRREL. FRANKLIN'S SPERMOPHILE. A rctomys franklinii SABINE, Trans. Linn. Soc., XIII, 1822, p. 587. Spermophilus grammurus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), P- 339 (Wisconsin). Spermophilus Franklinii KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (^SS), P- 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I. l88 3> P- 44 (Wisconsin). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1871, p. 189 (Iowa). Spermophilus franklinii KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Kept., 1857, P- 79 (Illinois). Spermophilus franklini COUES & ALLEN, Monog. N. Amer. Rodentia, 1877, pp. 884- 885 (Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc.). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa. Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Sur. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 166 (Minnesota). EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 129 (Indiana). BAILEY, U. S. Dept. Agr., Bull. No. 4, Ornith. & Marnm., 1893, p. 48 (Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Dakota, etc.). SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 115 (Wisconsin). Citellus franklini JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 18 (Wisconsin). HOLLISTER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 139 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 478 (Indiana). WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 528 (Illinois). Type locality Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, Canada. Distribution From the Saskatchewan Region southeast over the Red River and Mississippi valleys to eastern Nebraska and Kansas to central Missouri, extending eastward as far as northwestern FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 145 Indiana. Includes within its range the whole of Iowa, northern Missouri, northern two-thirds of Illinois, a small portion of north- western Indiana, southern and western Wisconsin and at least the southern and western half of Minnesota. An isolated colony occurs in the vicinity of Tuckerton, New Jersey, which has descended from a pair introduced there in 1867.* It has also been introduced near Georgian Bay, Ontario. f Description Adult: Upper parts (except head and tail) grayish brown or pale tawny brown, the hairs vermiculated with blackish; a buffy white ring around the eye; top and sides of head blackish, faintly speckled with white ; under parts buffy white or tawny white ; terminal two-thirds of tail grayish, the hairs banded with black and tipped with white. Immature: The tawny tinge much less pronounced and the back with irregular bars of black. Measurements Total length, 15 in. (380 mm.); tail vertebrae, 4.75 in. (120.6 mm.); hind foot, 1.88 in. (47.6 mm.). Remarks This species has a superficial resemblance to a Gray Squirrel and might be mistaken for one by those not familiar with mammals. The tail, however, is much shorter and less bushy (tail always less than 6> inches), the body color is more tinged with tawny, and the ears are much shorter. Franklin's Prairie Squirrel, Franklin's Spermophile or "Gray Gopher", as it is variously called, occurs in various localities through- out southern and western Wisconsin and at least the northern two- thirds of Illinois, although more local in distribution and less common than the preceding species. Jackson considers them quite common in Wisconsin west from Rock County to the Mississippi River and north to Pepin County. He states he has taken specimens in Rock County and has observed the species in Green, Sauk and Jefferson counties (/. c., p. 18). Hollister gives it as common in isolated colonies in various parts of Wai worth County and says, "I have collected many specimens near Delavan. The largest colonies here are located on Ridge Prairie just west of the town, and on the border of Big Marsh, seven miles north of Delavan on the Whitewater road. The Biological Survey has records of this species from Janesville, Kansasville, Madison, Plover, Racine, Ripon and Whitewater" (/. c.,p. 139). It is apparently not uncommon in Dodge County, as Mr. W. E. Snyder has collected a number of specimens near Beaver Dam. In Illinois it is found in scattered communities throughout the greater portion of the central * Allen, Monog. N. Amer. Rodentia, 1877, p. 833. t Seton, Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 374. 146 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 147 and northern portion of the state. There are numerous records for the interior, and in northern Illinois it has been taken in Cook and Carroll counties, and Mr. B. T. Gault writes me he secured a fine albino specimen near Glen Ellyn in the fall of 1909. He considers the species rather rare, however, in that locality. There are specimens in this Museum from western Illinois taken in the vicinity of Warsaw, Han- cock County, and the Northwestern University collection in Evanston contains two specimens from Kane County. The southern limit of its range in Illinois is given by Bailey as St. Clair County ("O'Fallon Depot," /. c., p. 49). He says, "In but few places are they as common as the smaller Striped Spermophile (S. tridecemlineatus) , though the two species range together over a wide area. Their habits are quite similar and it is often difficult to distinguish the voice of one from that of the other. The note of Franklin's Sper- mophile is somewhat heavier and has a slightly different ring, but is the same shrill, rapid chipper or trill. It is .sharp and ringing and may be heard for a considerable distance" (I. c., p. 51). In describing the habits of this species in Illinois, Kennicott says, "It is far less numerous here than the striped spermophile, and appears to be a less abundant species wherever the two exist. It is observed to inhabit the thickets of low bushes, and the edges of the timber, more than the other, but does not occur in the woods. It is fond of digging long burrows in the banks of ditches, and several times I have seen it living in steep river banks, as well as under small wooden cul- verts in roads. It is not so shy as the striped spermophile, and takes up its residence quite near dwellings. It is also less disturbed by the cultivation of land. In this region it is usually found living alone or in pairs, and I have never observed a number of burrows scattered over a small prairie knoll like the semi-villages of the striped spermophile. This is perhaps owing to their small numbers; for the species appears to be naturally gregarious, and, at times, large companies live together, burrowing within a few feet of each other, and several pairs even enter- ing the same hole. "This spermophile exhibits a remarkable disposition to migrate from one field to another. Not only do the males lead a wandering life in summer, but pairs appear frequently to change their quarters, leaving their winter burrow to breed in another, and then, perhaps, hibernating in a third, at some distance from this. In several in- stances, a company of a dozen or more have been observed to appear in a locality where none were seen the previous summer, and then to disappear after remaining there a year, or only a few weeks. In the early part of summer, twenty or thirty of these animals suddenly 148 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL made their appearance, and burrowed in an old embankment, within three or four rods of my father's house. They seemed to have lost the shyness exhibited when leading a solitary life, and were not alarmed at the near approach of man. They even came about the kitchen door to pick up crumbs and disputed with the chickens for their food. Like the striped spermophiles, they glided silently to their burrows when alarmed, uttering, as they entered, a remarkably clear whistle twitter, more musical than the voice of any other mammal I ever listened to, and as clear as that of a bird. The same note was uttered when the animal was hurt or much frightened. They fed upon June- grass, clover, timothy, and the broad-leaved plantain, and seemed particularly fond of the leaves of the common mustard, of which some plants grew near their burrows. Other specimens examined in sum- mer had their stomachs filled with grass alone. In eating they sat bolt upright on the tarsi, and used their fore-feet as hands, to draw the leaves to their mouths, though their paws were used thus with less facility than those of the true squirrels. Though both the vegetable and flower gardens were situated within five rods of their burrows, I do not remember that they were observed to injure either. A num- ber of young chickens disappearing, however, and the eggs being eaten in several hens' nests near the burrows of the spermophiles, suspicion rested upon them probably unjustly and a war of extermination was commenced. Several were shot, while others were killed with clubs, \vhereupon the survivors left in a body, as suddenly as they had come, and were never seen again, nor could they be found upon any part of the farm. I have known this spermophile to take refuge in a hollow tree, crowding up the hole like the grey-rabbit. Mr. F. C. Sherman, of Chicago, informs me that he twice saw one, when pursued, climb five or six feet up the trellis-work and vines at the side of the house. "The burrow of this species is usually deeper than that of the striped spermophile, but otherwise similar to it. The young I have not observed, but Mr. George S. Parker of Pecatonica, Illinois, writes me that he once saw five, and at another time seven young in a nest. They appear to go into winter-quarters in the fall, and re-appear in the spring, at about the same time as the striped spermophile. They have been found hibernating under piles of rails, and in corn-shocks; and I am informed of two instances in which one has been found torpid in a hay-stack, where he had formed a burrow in the hay. I have never heard of its hibernating in such situations. A caged specimen of Franklin's spermophile, kept by Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, was active all winter; and Dr. A. M. P. Hughes, of Payson, FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 149 Illinois, informs me that he found one in a burrow under a corn-shock, active in mild weather, late in November. "This species is carnivorous, though apparently less so than the striped spermophile. The specimen kept by Professor Baird was decidedly carnivorous, but one observed by Dr. Hoy did not eat mice, though it killed them when placed in its cage. Its food is generally similar to that of the striped spermophile, stores being also found in its burrow" (/. c., pp. 79-81). Mr. Vernon Bailey gives the following list of the various kinds of food found in the stomachs of 29 animals of this species: "Beetles, large and small species (Coleoptera) , Larvae of beetles (Coleoptera), Caterpillars (larvae of Lepidoptera) , Grasshoppers and Crickets (Orthop- tera), Ants, Eggs of insects, Chrysalis, Feathers of small bird, Sper- mophile hair (probably their own), Grain (wheat and oats), Seeds of basswood (Tilid), Strawberries, Solanum berries, Herbage (stems and leaves of plants, among which only an Equisetum could be recognized) , Roots" (/. c., p. 55). Specimens examined from Illinois and Wisconsin: Illinois Warsaw, i . Wisconsin (M. P. M.) Delavan, 3; (S. C.) Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., 10= 13. Map illustrating approximate eastern range of Franklin's Prairie Squirrel (Citellus franklini). 150 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Cynomys ludovicianus (ORD), PRAIRIE DOG. Thomas includes this species in his list of Illinois Mammals (1. c., p. 657.) but it is probably an error, as the eastern limits of the range of this species is much farther west, it being rarely found east of the Missouri River.* Genus MARMOTA Blum. Marmota Blumenbach, Handb. der Naturg., I, 1779, p. 79. Size large, weight 8 to 10 pounds, but more often less; general color grizzly brown or grayish brown, without stripes; skull broad and de- pressed; post-orbital processes long and pointed; first premolar nearly as large as second; infraorbital foramen confined to lower part of maxillary; edges of auditory meatus somewhat protruding; tail com- paratively short (5 to 6 inches) and thickly haired; front feet with four developed toes and a rudimentary thumb ; hind feet with five toes. Six species and two subspecies are recognized in North America, but only one species and one subspecies occur within our limits. Dental formula: I. - --> C. > Pm. > M. $^= 22. i-i o-o i-i 3-3 KEY TO OUR SPECIES. A. Larger, with less rusty brown on under parts. Occurs in Illinois and Wisconsin. WOODCHUCK. Marmota monax, p. 150. B. Smaller, with more rusty brown on under parts. Occurs in extreme northern Wisconsin. CANADA WOODCHUCK. Marmota monax canadensis, p. 157. ^ Marmota monax (LINN.). WOODCHUCK. GROUND HOG. [Mtts] monax LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 60. Arctomys monax LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 339 (Wisconsin). KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 ( l8 55)t P- 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). Ib., Agr. Kept, for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 82 (Illinois). MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., I, 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Michigan). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 190 (Iowa). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I. l8 83, p. 440 (Wisconsin). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 168 (Minnesota). GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 6 (Kentucky). RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 193 (Tennessee). MILLER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1897, p. 26 (Milton, Ontario). EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 128 (Indiana). SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 120 (Wisconsin). * Pellett records it from Cass County, southwestern Iowa. (Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., 1910, p. 214.) FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 151 Marmota monax ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 128 (Michigan). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 19 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 480 (In- diana). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 25 (southern Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky). Type locality Maryland. Distribution From the edge of the Plains to the Atlantic, north to about the Canadian border except in northern Maine, northern New Hampshire and northern Vermont; south to Virginia, Ken- tucky, central Missouri and Kansas, and in the Allegheny Mountains in Tennessee. Replaced in Canada by a smaller and browner form, M. m. canadensis . Description Adult: General color grizzly brown, the hairs on the back being largely tawny brown with gray tips and blackish bases; belly and under parts more tawny brown, shading to rusty brown around the fore legs; feet brownish black; cheeks grayish; mouth edged with more or less whitish ; tail dark brown, many of the hairs tipped with gray. The general color is variable, some being luuch darker than others and occasionally black or pure white specimens occur. Two fine examples of the latter are contained in the Field Museum collection. Measurements Total length, 22 to 25 inches; tail vertebrae, 5^25 to 6.15 inches; hind foot, 3.40 to 3.75 inches. Average measurement of eight specimens from various localities : Total length, 23.25 in. (579.8 mm.); tail vertebrae, 5. 60 in. (i42mm.) ; hind foot, 3.60 in. (90.4 mm.). Remarks Specimens from northern Wisconsin are intermediate between monax and canadensis, and those from the extreme northern part of the state, while not typical canadensis, approach much nearer to that form than to monax. The Woodchuck, or Ground Hog as it is often called, is common throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. At the present time in settled districts it frequents open fields in preference to woods (which is its natural habitat), where it lives in burrows in the ground. These burrows vary in form and extent; some are not uncommonly 50 feet in length, while others will not exceed 10 feet or even less. They are rarely more than 5 feet in depth below the surface of the ground at the deepest point. I once found a nest at the end of a burrow which was 5 feet 3 inches below the surface of the ground, but the average depth will probably not exceed 4 feet. Usually each burrow is provided with at least two entrances and often with three, including a "back door." The following sketch illustrates the plan of a burrow of a large Woodchuck in an alfalfa field at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. 152 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 153 Pile of loom Pile of u Entrance i slope o) Ml. 6 in deep. Plan of a Woodchuck Burrow. Mr. W. H. Fisher of Cincinnati, Ohio, has published an interesting paper on the burrows of this animal.* He examined 9 burrows: the longest was 47 feet 11.50 inches (for all the galleries) and the shortest was 6 feet 8.50 inches; the greatest depth (measured from the surface) was 49 inches. Some burrows had three entrances, a few only one, but the majority had two. Each burrow is generally inhabited by a pair of Woodchucks, although occasionally by a single old male. The young are born in their underground home late in April or early in May and usually number from four to six, but occasionally as many as 8 are found in a litter. They are very small and blind at birth and do not come out of the hole until they are four or five weeks old and the weather becomes quite warm. Regarding the habits of this animal Kennicott says, "In this part of Illinois it was exceedingly rare ten years ago, but is now becoming quite common. It is an inhabitant of the woods, where it occupies the place that the spermophiles do on the prairies; and though it burrows in open fields, and in the timber, I am not aware that it ever lives on the prairie, though I have seen it in prairie groves. In the East, it inhabits open fields in preference to deep woods. This love for open ground is probably acquired. Here I have most commonly observed it in the heaviest timber, and it is said to be found most abundantly in Missouri . . . It is very watchful, and, when feeding, will frequently stand erect, with neck stretched as high as possible, and look * Journ. Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist., XVI, 1893, pp. 105-123, pis. 6-10. 154 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY- ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL suspiciously about. . . . Only a single pair of adults occupy the same burrow. The hibernation of the woodchuck is as profound as that of the spermophiles. Naturally this animal is strictly herbivorous. Though living in the woods, it does not eat nuts, nor gnaw bark, nor am I aware that it ever digs roots. It is not a tree climber, though it sometimes crawls up a leaning tree, or into the thick branches of bushes overgrown with vines, on which it is fond of lying in warm sunny days. In this vicinity I have often found a number of them taking refuge in standing hollow trees, entering a hole at the ground, and climbing up the cavity in the manner of the gray rabbit." (1. c., p. 83.) Woodchucks do not store up food in their burrow for winter use, as they hibernate during the cold months. Regarding this strange con- dition of suspended animation Dr. C. Hart Merriam writes,* "In hibernation the temperature of the animal approximates that of the surrounding atmosphere, the heart action slackens and respiration can only be detected by means of delicate instruments devised for the purpose. This fact was known to Spallanzani nearly a hundred years ago, for he wrote to Senebier, 'You will remember about my Marmot which was so exceedingly lethargic in the severe winter of 1795; during that time I held him in carbonic acid gas for four hours, the thermometer marking 1 2 ; he continued to live in this gas which is the most deadly of all . . . at least, a rat and a bird that I placed with him perished in an instant. ' ' The following account of the habits of a tame Woodchuck is given by Audubon and Bachmanf, as related to them by the Hon. Daniel Wadsworth of Hartford, Connecticut. ."'I kept,' said he to us, 'a fine Woodchuck in captivity, in this house for upwards of two years. It was brought to me by a country lad, and was then large, rather wild, and somewhat cross and mischievous; being placed in the kitchen, it soon found a retreat, in which it remained concealed the greater part of the time every day. During several nights it attempted to escape by gnawing the door and window sills; gradually it became more quiet, and suffered itself to be approached by the inmates of the kitchen, these being the cook, a fine dog, and a cat; so that ere many months had elapsed, it would lie on the floor near the fire, in company with the dog and would take food from the hand of the cook. I now began to take a particular interest in its welfare, and had a large box made for its use, and filled with hay, to which it became habituated and always returned when inclined to repose. Winter coming on, the box was placed in a warm corner, and the Woodchuck went into it, arranged its * Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, p. 243. t Quadrupeds N. Amer., I, 1854, PP- 20-21. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 155 bed with care, and became torpid. Some six weeks having passed without its appearing, or having received any food, I had it taken out of the box, and brought into the parlour: it was inanimate and as round as a ball, its nose being buried as it were in the lower part of its abdomen, and covered by its tail; it was rolled over the carpet many times; but A , 1 . i i SJ >4re of intergradan Map illustrating approximate distribution of Woodchucks in eastern United States. Marmota monax (LiNN.). Type locality Maryland. Description as previously given. Marmota m. canadensis (ERXLEBEN). Type locality Hudson Bay. Smaller than monax and general coloration decidedly more reddish brown; brownish black of crown extending below the eye. Marmota m. ignavus (BANGS). (Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, I, 1899, p. 13.) Type locality Black Bay, Straits of Belle Isle, Labrador. Size about like canadensis but general color darker and skull shorter and broader. 156 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. without effecting any apparent change in its lethargic condition; and being desirous to push the experiment as far as in my power, I laid it close to the fire, and having ordered my dog to lie down by it, placed the Woodchuck in the dog's lap. In about half an hour my pet unrolled itself, raised its nose from the carpet, looked around for a few minutes, and then slowly crawled away from the dog, moving about the room as if in search of its own bed ! I took it up and had it carried down stairs and placed again in its box, where it went to sleep, as soundly as ever, until spring made its appearance. That season advancing, and the trees showing their leaves, the Woodchuck became as brisk and gentle as could be desired, and was frequently brought into the parlour. The succeeding winter this animal evinced the same disposition and never appeared to suffer by its long sleep. ' ' Woodchucks are vegetarians. Their food consists principally of grasses and clo t ver, although, when near a garden, they will eat cabbages, beans, pumpkin vines, young corn, etc., and often do considerable damage. They feed regularly morning and evening, but often come out any time during the day and on moonlight nights. While as a rule they are shy and suspicious, they can fight well, when cornered, as many a dog has learned to his cost. The flesh is very palatable when properly prepared; the fur is little used, but the skin, when properly tanned, makes an excellent soft leather. There is a popular superstition that on the second day of February the Woodchuck comes out of his hole and looks about. If he sees his shadow, it is a sign that the weather will continue cold for some time to come and there will be a late spring; but if, on the other hand, he fails to see his shadow, then there will be an early spring and little or no cold weather. The reason for this ridiculous superstition can only be surmised, as its origin is obscure. Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Lake Forest, i; Willow Springs, i; Fox Lake, 3; (O.) Lake Forest, 2 = 7. Wisconsin (M. P. M.) Waukesha, i; Lake Koshkonong, i; Prescott, Pierce Co., 3; Newport, Door Co. (not typical), 2; Maiden Rock, Pierce Co., i; Waukesha Co., i; (O. C.) Turtle Lake, Barron Co. (skulls), 4; Waukesha Co., 4; (O.) Lake Geneva, 4=21. I FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 157 Marmota monax canadensis (ERX.). CANADA WOODCHUCK. [Glis] canadensis ERXLEBEN, Syst. Regni Anim., I, 1777, p. 363. Arctomys monax canadensis ALLEN, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XI, 1898, p. 456. Type locality Hudson Bay. Distribution Ranging from northern Wisconsin and northern New England, northward to Hudson Bay and west in Canada to about longitude 120 and latitude 60. Intergrades in northern Wiscon- sin with monax. Description (Specimen from Murray Bay, Province of Quebec, Canada.) General appearance of M. monax, but smaller and colora- tion of under parts decidedly more rusty brown; whole crown brownish black, brownish black of crown including the eye and extending considerably below it ; rest of upper parts grizzly, the hairs being broadly tipped with gray. The tawny under fur on the back usually has a very slight rufous brown tinge, under parts rusty brown or red brown; muzzle pale; feet black; tail brownish black mixed with brown hairs. Measurements Total length, about 20.25 m - (5 J 5 mm.) ; tail vertebrae, about 4.25 in. (108 mm.); hind foot, 3 in. (74 mm.). Remarks Woodchucks from extreme northern Wisconsin, while not typical canadensis, approach much nearer to that form than to monax. A specimen taken by Mr. W. H. Osgood at Conover, Vilas Co., Wisconsin, August 1 1, 1910, has the whole crown brownish black and the rusty coloration of the under parts closely approach- ing canadensis. Its measurements are as follows: (No. 18392, cJ 1 ) Total length, 526 mm.; tail vertebras, 137 mm.; hind foot, 69 mm. An adult male, killed at Minagua, Vilas Co., measured: Total length, 520 mm.; tail vertebrae, 125 mm.; hind foot, 70 mm. Specimens examined : Wisconsin Conover, Vilas Co., i; (O. C.) Mercer, Iron Co. (skull), i; Langlade Co., (skulls), 2; (O.) Minagua, Vilas Co., 1 = 5. Minnesota Aitken, (melanistic), i. Canada Murray Bay, Province of Quebec, 4. I 58 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Family CASTORID^. Beavers. , Tail broad and flat (paddle shaped) , hairless and covered with scales ; hind feet broadly webbed; skull stout; incisors noticeably large and strong. The general character of the skull is sciurine, but postorbital processes are absent and the infraorbital foramen is nearly concealed by a large nearly vertical ridge of the maxilla; the auditory meatus is Skull of a Beaver. (About % nat. size.) long and tubular and extends upward above level of the zygoma; lower leg bones separate; five toes on both fore and hind feet; second toe of hind foot with double or divided claw. The family consists of but one genus, Castor, represented in North America by one species and five geographical races. They are large, aquatic Rodents, the largest living representatives of the order in North America, often weighing 40 or 50 pounds, and are much hunted and trapped for their skins, which are one of the best known commercial furs. The anal glands of the Beaver contain a strong scented, oily fluid known as "Castoreum," which is much used by trappers as a bait to attract the animal. It is also used more or less in the manufacture of perfumes, and is claimed to possess medicinal properties. The only other living representative of this family is the European Beaver (C. fiber) , which is very similar to our species ; it differs in being somewhat smaller, the skull is comparatively lighter, and the nasal bones are longer. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 159 Genus CASTOR Linn. Castor Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 58. Type Castor fiber Linn. Characters as given for the family. Dental formula: I. - , C. > Pm. ' - - i-i o-o i-i 3-3 Castor canadensis KUHL. BEAVER. CANADIAN BEAVER. Castor canadensis KUHL, Beitr. z. Zool., 1820, p. 64. OSBORN, Annals of Iowa, 3rd sen, VI, No. 8, 1905, p. 566 (Iowa). ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 129 (Michigan). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 19 (Wisconsin). HOLLISTER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 139 (Wisconsin). Castor fiber KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (JSSS), p. 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., 1852 (1853), P- 339 (Wis- consin). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 190 (Iowa). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Min., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 170 (Minnesota). EVER- MANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 128 (Indiana). Castor Canadensis THOMAS, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., IV, 1859-60 (1861), p. 657 (Illinois). MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., I, 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Michigan). HOY, Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. Arts & Letters, V, 1882, p. 256 (Wisconsin). WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 536 (Illinois). Type locality Hudson Bay. Distribution North America, from about latitude 40 northward to Labrador and Hudson Bay region and in the western portion of its range to the Arctic Circle; replaced in the South and extreme West, about longitude 120, by slightly different geographical races. Description General color brown ; the hairs on upper parts dark brown at base, tipped with lighter brown or chestnut; under parts paler than the back ; sides of neck and rump light cinnamon brown ; tail flat and rounded (paddle shaped), black, and covered with scales; claw on second toe of hind foot double or divided. Measurements Total length, about 42 in. (1068 mm.); tail, 16.25 in. (410 mm.); hind foot, 6.75 in. (175 mm.). The bare, scaly part of the tail measures about 9 inches long, 4.50 inches wide, and 1.50 inches in thickness in the middle. Beavers were formerly common throughout Illinois and Wisconsin, but at the present time they are practically exterminated in the former state. Unfortunately we do not know precisely what form occurred in southern Illinois and lack of material for examination ren- i6o FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 161 ders it entirely a matter of conjecture. It would seem likely, however, from geographical reasons that Beaver from southern Illinois would probably show intergradation between canadensis and the southern race, C. c. carolinensis, and, perhaps, approach nearer the latter than to the typical form. Probably no other animal has been more intimately connected with the early history and settlement of this country than the Beaver. This fine animal, the largest of our North American Rodents, possesses a commercially valuable skin with a more or less edible body, the tail at least being considered a delicacy by many people; and it is not surprising that after so many years of persecution both by Indians and white trappers, it has been exterminated throughout a large portion of its former range. It is still common, however, in some parts of the United States and in Canada, and where it has of late years received Governmental protection its numbers are on the increase. The enormous number of these animals which have been trapped and otherwise killed is suggested by the fact that during the years 1860 and 1870 the number of skins received by the American Fur Company and Hudson Bay Company averaged 153,000 per annum* and, of course, an immense number of these animals were killed by white trappers and Indians, the skins of which did not find their way to either of the com- panies mentioned. Later the number decreased somewhat, but even at the present time the number of Beavers annually killed in the United States and Canada will probably exceed 75,000. During the early part of last century Beaver skins were a recognized basis of barter between the trappers (at that time largely Indians) and the fur companies, a blanket or rifle being valued at so many "skins," always meaning Beaver skins. That the rate of exchange was profitable to the fur companies is evident from the statement of Mr. Robert Brown, who says, "When beaver were 30 s. per pound, Rocky Mountain beaver were piled up on each side of a trade gun until they were on a level with the muzzle, and this was the price! The muskets cost in England some 155." (Proc. Linn. Soc. London, Zool., 1868 (1869), pp. 369-70.) In early days Beavers were common along the wooded streams throughout Illinois and Wisconsin, but at the present time they are practically exterminated in Illinois, although it is probable that a very few individuals may exist in the extreme southern portion of the state. Mr. B. T. Gault of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, wrote me that in the year 1900 he saw some Beaver cuttings near Thebes, Alexander County, in southern Illinois and enclosed a letter from Mr. C. J. Boyd of Anna, * Seton, E. T. Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 451. 162 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Illinois, dated April 7, 1910, who writes, "From the best information I can get, there are a few Beaver in Alexander County." There are but few records of even comparatively recent date for Illinois. Thomas records a specimen killed in Jackson Co., in 1851 (/. c., p. 657). Ever- mann and Butler state that a Beaver was seen swimming in the Wabash River about 12 miles above Lafayette, Indiana, in the summer of 1889 (I. c.,p. 1 28) . According to early writers, however, they were common in suitable localities throughout the state in the early part of the last century. Woods (1820-21) says, "To the north of us [English Prairie, Illinois] there are buffalo and elks, also beavers and others on the rivers.'' * We also find in the records of Long's expedition the follow- ing statement, "Deer, turkeys and beaver are still found in plenty in the low grounds along both sides of the Mississippi" f [two miles north of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi]. In 1854 Kennicott writes, "The remains of beaver dams exist in several streams" [Cook Co.]. (1. c., p. 579.) Mr. G. E. Wood states, "The beaver seems to have been practically exterminated in this part of the state [Cham- paign Co.] before the first permanent settlers came. There was an extensive dam on the South Fork a few miles above Urbana, and several others less generally known, on the lower part of the Salt Fork." (/. c., p. 536.) In Wisconsin they are still to be found in more or less numbers in most of the northern counties, although for many years they have been exterminated in the southern part of the state. Lapham states that "The last Beaver killed, in the southern part of Wisconsin, was in 1819, on Sugar Creek, Walworth County, a very large one." (/. c., p. 339, foot note.) Several colonies are known in Marinette, Forest, Iron and a number of other counties in northern Wisconsin. Mr. W. J. Webster of Park Falls writes me (1909) that there are "quite a number of Beaver in Price Co." According to Mr. N. Lucins, Jr., of Solon Springs, in 1909 there was a large family of Beavers on the Moose River in Douglas County. It is reported to occur in Wisconsin at least as far south as Buffalo County. Mr. J. Hobbs of Medford, Taylor Co., informs me that there are a number of Beaver in Taylor Co., and that he knows where there are "a few Beaver dams with Beavers in them." Mr. George F. Erzwein of Athens, who is an experienced trapper, informs me they are still to be found in Marathon Co. In northern Michigan Beaver were at one time very numerous, and it was in the Michigan peninsula south of Lake Superior that Mr. * Woods, J. Two Years' Residence in the Settlement on English Prairie in the Illinois Country, 1820-1821 (1822), p. 290. t James, E. Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, 1819-1820 (1823), p. 42. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 163 164 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Lewis H. Morgan secured a large amount of information upon which his valuable work on the Beaver* was based. A few years ago they were nearly exterminated in that locality, but owing to wise protection their numbers are again increasing. At the present time there are a considerable number of beaver inhabiting the rivers and lakes near Champion, Michigan. Several of their dams and houses may be seen near White Deer Lake, and the presence of the animals is shown by the numerous fresh "cuttings" along the banks. An adult male Beaver of average size will weigh from 30 to 45 pounds, but it is claimed they often grow considerably larger. Audubon and Bachman mention one weighing 61 pounds, and an animal weigh- ing 68 pounds is recorded by Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton.f Quiet streams and ponds bordered by poplars or quaking aspens and willows are the favorite haunts of these animals; often a shallow brook with sufficiently high banks is chosen for the site of their home. The locality being selected, a pair of Beaver at once begin work to build a dam and thereby make a pond of sufficient depth and suitable for the use of themselves and their family; meadows are often flooded in this manner until a pond is made having a depth of at least 3 or 4 feet. The dam is built of branches laid one on top of the other, the several ends pointing up stream and fastened down with mud and rocks ; occasionally a fallen tree or drifting log is made use of, but large logs are the ex- ception. The height of the dam varies, commonly ranging from 4 to 6 feet, but Morgan describes one " about 35 feet long, 12 feet in vertical height, and with a slope of interlaced poles on its lower face upwards of 20 feet in length" (/. c., p. 119). The length of the dam depends, of course, on the location and the size of the stream, or pond; there are numerous records of dams 500 feet or more in length and there is one in Beaver Lake, Yellowstone Park, which is estimated by General S. B. Young to be about 700 feet.J In building the dams and houses the Beaver uses his forepaws, like hands, to carry the mud and stones used in their construction. The branches are dragged to where they are needed, one end being held in the teeth. Occasionally several dams are made one below the other, thus reducing the pressure on the one highest up stream. When the dam is finished to their satisfaction, they decide on a location for their home. In some instances, where the banks are suitable, they dig burrows, but in others they construct dome-shaped houses in the ponds. In all cases the entrance to their houses is under water with * The American Beaver and his Works, Philadelphia, 1868. t Life Histories of Northern Animals, 1909, p. 448. J Seton, E. T. Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 457. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 165 a passage leading to a good-sized chamber, the floor of which is several inches above the level of the water. When houses are built, they are constructed of sticks, brush and mud; the top is rounded and rises three or four feet above the water. Ordinary houses vary in size from 6 to 14 feet in diameter, although some are considerably larger. The living chamber of an ordinary house is often (but not always) nearly circular and has a diameter of from 4 to 5 feet and a height of from 15 to 24 inches; the size varies considerably and there are many smaller and others decidedly larger. These chambers are almost invariably supplied with two entrances. When the house is in a bank, the length of the passageway to the living rooms varies, but is commonly from 10 to 20 feet. In swimming the Beaver propels itself by its broadly webbed hind feet and makes little or no use of the forefeet, which are usually held loosely against the body. They have a habit of striking the water with their tails before diving, making a loud splash, the sound of which on a calm evening can be heard a long distance. While as a rule they strike the water before diving, they do not always do so, as I have, on at least two occasions, seen them dive silently after the manner of a Muskrat. Their work is done chiefly in the evening and at night, although in unsettled districts they may not uncommonly be seen swimming about in the daytime. The young are usually born in May and the average number in a litter is 4 or 5, sometimes 6 and, according to Morgan, very rarely 7 or 8 (/. c., p. 221). The extraordinary number of 10 young Beavers in a litter is recorded by Brown.* The food of the Beaver consists principally of the bark and tender twigs of the poplar or aspen and the willow. It also eats the bark of other trees and bushes and sometimes roots and leaves. To procure its store of winter food it cuts down trees and transports the logs and branches to the vicinity of its house or burrow, where they are stored under water to be used when needed. In many cases a hole in the ice is kept open to enable the animals to come out when they please, and through which an extra supply of food can be taken to the house after the river or pond is frozen over. Numbers of small trees are cut down, but larger ones having a diameter of 12 to 15 inches are by no means unusual. Trees two feet in diameter are occasionally felled by these animals and Lewis and Clark record one measuring nearly three feet.f In places where the trees are separated from the water by a marsh, the Beavers dig canals to enable them to float the trees and larger branches, after they are cut up into sections, to the pond. The larger * Brown, R. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond., Zoology, 1868 (1869), p. 367. t Lewis and Clark, Ex. Longman's ed., p. 146. 166 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Hole in the ice cut and kept open by Beavers near Champion, Michigan. (From photograph by W. H. Osgood.) A Beaver House near Champion, Michigan. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 167 Trees cut down by Beavers near Champion. Michigan. i68 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. pieces are pushed and rolled into these canals often by several Beavers working together and using their shoulders and bodies as well as their teeth and paws in their efforts. Some of the canals are of extraordinary length. Morgan found several more than 500 feet long, one of which was situated on the Carp River, Michigan,* and which he describes as follows: "There is an extensive canal on Carp River a short distance below the bend ... It runs through low, swampy ground, which is covered for one-quarter of its length with a thicket of alder so dense that it was difficult to follow the channel for the purpose of measurement. The river, which at this point is a hundred feet wide, more or less, is bordered with alder and cranberry bushes, and with a forest of tama- racks. Back of these, some six hundred feet, is the first rising ground covered with deciduous trees, to reach which the canal was constructed. At the distance of one hundred and eleven feet from its commencement in the river there was a rise in the surface level of about a foot, which made necessary either a dam or an additional foot of excavation to furnish sufficient depth of water. A dam twenty-five feet long across the canal and the grounds adjacent, was the expedient adopted. The second level of the canal, thus raised a foot above the first, continued one hundred and seventy-eight feet, where a second rise occurred of about the same amount, and where a second dam was constructed thirty feet long. As the ground on both sides of the canal was swampy, with water in pools here and there, it was only necessary to excavate a channel of requisite depth to obtain a sufficient supply of water by filtration from the adjoining lands. Up to the first dam the canal was filled from the river, and consequently varied in depth with the rise and fall of the stream; but above this, where it depended upon the dam and the source of supply before named, it was uniformly about 18 inches deep. From the second dam the canal continued at a foot higher level for the distance of two hundred and ninety feet, where it ter- minated at the base of the hard wood lands at a distance of five hundred and seventy-nine feet from the river. Its average width was about four feet, and it had an unobstructed channel of about eighteen inches deep from one end to the other, with the exception of the dams. The runways of the beavers over these dams were very conspicuous. They were shown, as in the other cases, by a depression in the center formed by travelling over them in going up and down the canal. At the mouth of the canal the river was not deep enough for a beaver to swim below its surface out into the stream. To obviate the difficulty, a * Southwest of Teal Lake, about 15 miles west of Marquette and less than 50 miles from the Wisconsin line. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 169 channel twenty-five feet long and a foot or more wide was excavated in the bed of the river far enough out to carry them into deep water. The materials were thrown up in an embankment on the side below the excavation, apparently lest the currents of the stream should carry them back into the channel. The excavation and the embankment, which were plainly to be seen side by side, the latter in places coming to the surface of the water, presented another striking illustration of Map illustrating approximate former distribution of Beaver in eastern United States. Castor canadensis KUHL. Type locality Hudson Bay. Description as previously given. Castor c. carolinensis RHOADS. (Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., N. Ser., XIX, 1898, p. 420.) Type locality Dan River near Danbury, Stokes Co., North Carolina. Very similar to canadensis, but somewhat larger and the tail broader. Castor c. texensis BAILEY. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 25, 1905, p. 122.) Type locality Cummings Creek, Colorado County, Texas. General coloration paler and tail narrower. 170 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. the industry as well as the intelligence of the beaver" (/. c., pp. 199-200) In felling the larger trees the Beaver first cut two parallel grooves, or furrows, at right angles with the grain and about two or three inches apart and the wood between these furrows is split out with their sharp chisel-like teeth; the operation is then repeated to a greater depth and continued until the tree falls. The cut portion of the tree resembles the middle of an hour-glass and both ends of the severed part are conical. Much has been written of the wonderful sagacity shown by Beaver in their work, and while a great deal which is claimed for them is true, in some cases at least over-zealous and non-scientific observers have been prone to draw somewhat hasty conclusions. It has been claimed, for example, that a Beaver cuts down a tree in a way that will cause it to fall in any desired direction. This may or may not be true, but the facts do not seem to warrant such a statement. In early days I have seen a number of Beaver dams and have examined dozens of trees which had been cut down by the animals; some had fallen in a manner which would encourage such a belief, but on the other hand fully as many had not. The well-known castorum or castor of commerce is a secretion of the castorum glands of the Beaver, which has a peculiar penetrating odor and which is highly attractive to the Beavers themselves, so much so that it is used as a bait by trappers. The usual method of using it is to place a little of the fluid on the end of a twig which extends over the trap, the latter being placed under the water. In trying to smell the stick the Beaver steps on the trap and is caught. While it is probable that medical men of to-day would prefer to avail themselves of other remedies, it is interesting to learn that physicians of three hundred years ago considered the skin of the European Beaver, which is a close relative of ours, to possess decided therapeutic value. In writing of the European species in the early part of the seventeeth century, Edward Topsell* says: "The medicinall vertues of this beast are in the skin. . . A garment made of the skinnes is good for a paralitick person, and the skinnes burned with drie Oynions and liquid pitch, stayeth the bleeding of the nose, and being put into the soles of shoes easeth the gowt." Specimens examined from Wisconsin and adjoining states : Michigan Iron County, 5. Wisconsin (0. C.) Sawyer County (skull), i. * Historie of Foure Footed Beastes, London, 1607, p. 17. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 171 Family MURID^. Rats and Mice. The Muridce is the largest known family of mammals. Its members are practically cosmopolitan and number at least 450 known species, representing nearly 100 genera. They are all animals of small size, the largest being the Muskrat (Fiber). They have no premolars and never more than three cheek teeth (molars), the differences in the latter being often genetically diagnostic. The antorbital foramen is large, the edges forming a nearly perpendicular slit in front of the zygoma in most species; * molars tuberculate or with enamel folds and with or without roots; the tibia and fibula are anchylosed below, and post- orbital processes are wanting. Four subfamilies are represented in North America including the introduced subfamily Murince containing Old World Rats and Mice. KEY TO THE GENERA WHICH OCCUR WITHIN OUR LIMITS. GROUP 1. Grinding teeth (molars) of upper jaw with tubercles or rounded points on crowns extending in three longitudinal rows; tail nearly naked. Total length (including tail) less than 10 inches. Mus Genus MUS, p. 176. Crowns of Molars. Total length (including tail) more than 10 inches. GenusEPIMYS lP .i8o. GROUP 2. Grinding teeth (molars) of upper jaw with tubercles or rounded points on crowns extending in two longitudinal rows. SECTION 1. Skull showing a ridge over the eye socket. Total length over 8.75 inches; hind feet decidedly large; Ptromyscus. incisors not grooved. Genus ORYZOMYS, p. 202. Crowns of Molars. (Enlarged.) SECTION 2. Skull not showing distinct ridge over eye socket. Total length less than 8.75 inches; hind feet not decidedly large; incisors not grooved. Genus PEROMYSCUS, p.i83. Size small, total length less than 5.50 inches; front of upper incisors with longitudinal groove. Genus REITHRODONTOMYS, p. 201. GROUP 3. Crowns of grinding teeth (molars) with loops or irregular triangles clearly shown in upper jaw. SECTION 1. Total length more than 12 inches. Tail covered with hair; ears large; belly whitish. Neotoma Genus NEOTOMA, p. 204. Crowns of Molars. Tail laterally compressed and naked for greater part of its length. Genus FIBER, p. 225. *See fig. 5, p. 96. 172 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Skulls of Murida. (About natural size.) i, Mus musculus; 2, Epimys norvegicus; 3, Peromyscus leucopus; 4, Oryzomys palustris: 5, Neo~ tomaf. illinoiensis; 6, Evotomys gapperi; 7, Microtus pennsylvanicus; 8, Fiber zibethicus; 9, Synapto- mys cooperi. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 173 SECTION 2. Total length less than 12 inches. PART 1. Front of upper incisors (front teeth) not grooved. Grinding teeth without pronged roots in adults; back and sides of body nearly uniform in color. Genus MICROTUS, p. 213. Grinding teeth with pronged roots in adults; back with chestnut dorsal stripe (middle of back) in decided contrast with gray-brown of sides. Genus EVOTOMYS, p. 208. PART 2. Front of upper incisors (front teeth) with distinct groove near outer edge. Genus SYNAPTOMYS, p.233. KEY TO THE SPECIES. This key is largely based on external characters for use in the field and is intended to apply to adult specimens only. GROUP 1. Total length (including tail) more than 10 inches. SECTION 1. Total length more than. 1 8 inches. General color brown ; fur thick and fluffy; tail hairless for the greater part of its length and laterally compressed. MUSKRAT. Fiber zibethicus, p. 225. SECTION 2. Total length less than 18, but more than 10 inches. PART 1. Tail with little or no hair; crowns of molars with tubercles. Length from nose to root of tail less than length of tail; general color blackish; under parts not white or yellowish white. Claimed to have occurred within our limits but no definite records. BLACK RAT. Epimys ratlus, p. 181. Length from nose to root of tail less than length of tail; upper parts brownish; under parts yellowish white or whitish. This species has not been observed within our limits but may occur. ROOF RAT. Epimys alexandrinus, p. 181. Length from nose to root of tail greater than length of tail (never less) ; upper parts brownish; under parts brown- Epimys. ish gray. Common in houses and barns. Crowns of Upper Molars. . T _, _ TT (Enlarged.) NORWAY RAT. BROWN RAT OR HOUSE RAT. Epimys norvegicus, p. 180. PART 2. Tail covered with hair, crowns of molars with irregular triangles or loops. Upper parts brownish; under parts whitish; feet white; ears large; occurs only in southern Illinois. About the size of large House Rat, but readily distinguished from it Crowns cf Upper Molars. by its hair - covered tail . lar g e ears . and white feet - (Enlarged.) ILLINOIS WOOD RAT. Neotoma floridana illinoensis, p. 204. GROUP 2. Total length less than 10 inches; tail more than 2 inches long. A. Species which occur in southern Illinois. SECTION 1. Tail more than 2 inches, but less than 3.75 inches long. PART 1. Under parts white or grayish white; upper parts brown, but not golden brown ; middle of back darker brown that the sides. Total length more than 7 in. (180 mm.); tail vertebra? about 3.12 in. (80 mm.) or more. WESTERN COTTON MOUSE. Peromyscus gossypinus megacephalus, p. 196. 174 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Total length 6.62 to 7 in. (169 to 179 mm.); tail vertebrae 2.75 to 3 in. (70 to 77 mm.). WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus leucopus, p. 184. Total length 5.50 to 6.50 in. (140 to 165 mm.); tail vertebras less than 2.75 in. (70 mm.). PRAIRIE WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi, p. 190. Total length about 5 in. (128 mm.); tail vertebras from 2 to 2.50 in. (50 to 65 mm.); back brown; sides grayish buff; a distinct longitudinal groove on front of upper incisors near outer edge. Not as yet recorded from within our limits but may occur. DYCHE'S HARVEST MOUSE. Reithrodontomys dychei, p. 201. PART 2. Under parts white or grayish white; upper parts including head rich, golden brown. SOUTHERN GOLDEN MOUSE. Peromyscus nuttalli aureolus, p. 198. PART 3. Under parts mouse brown; upper parts darker brown. HOUSE MOUSE. Mus musculus, p. 176. SECTION 2. Tail 4 to 5 inches long. Hair on tail very scanty; feet decidedly larger and broader than Peromyscus; upper parts brown; under parts grayish. The line of de- marcation between color of sides and belly not decidedly abrupt as in Peromyscus. RICE FIELD MOUSE. RICE RAT. Oryzomys palustris, p. 202. B. Species which occur in northern Illinois or Wisconsin. SECTION 1. Tail more than 2, but less than 3.75 inches long. PART 1. Under parts white or grayish white; upper parts brown; middle of back darker brown than the sides. Tail less than 2.75 in. (70 mm. long, usually from 55 to 68 mm.); total length 5.50 to 6.25 in. (140 to 160 mm.). Occurs in Illinois and southern Wisconsin. PRAIRIE WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi, p. 190. Tail more than 2.75 in. (70 mm.) long; total length 6.38 to 7.37 in. (162 to 188 mm.); tail usually 2.87 to 3.25 in. long (72 to 83 mm.); no trace of whitish hairs at anterior base of ears.* Large specimens are often quite similar to small examples of P. m. gracilis but gracilis does not occur in southern Wisconsin or Illinois. NORTHERN WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis , p. 185. * Mr. Wilfred H. Osgood gives the following characters by which P. I, nove- boracensis and P. m. gracilis may be distinguished (Revision of the Mice of the American Genus Peromyscus, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 28, 1909, pp. 35 and 42.): "P. m. gracilis. Tail longer, more distinctly pencillate and more sharply bicolor; pelage slightly softer, with or without white hairs at the anterior base of the ear. P. I. noveboracensis. Tail shorter and less sharply bicolor, slightly or scarcely pencillate; never with white spot at anterior base of the ear." FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 175 Tail more than 2.75 in. (70 mm.) long; total length from 6.87 to 7.50 in. (175 to 190 mm.); tail usually 3.25 to 4 in. (80 to 100 mm.); some specimens show whitish hairs at the anterior base of the ears. Usually distinguished by size and length of tail from P. noveboracensis. CANADIAN WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis, p. 193. PART 2. Under parts mouse brown; upper parts darker brown. HOUSE MOUSE. Mus musculus, p. 176. SECTION 2. Tail more than 4 inches long. Tawny brown on sides of body; back darker brown; sides of belly tinged with pale brownish yellow; front of upper incisors with distinct lon- gitudinal groove. This species belongs to family Zapodidae and does not properly belong here, but might be looked for in this family by those not familiar with mammals. JUMPING MOUSE. Zapus hudsonius, p. 247. GROUP 3. Total length less than 10 inches; tail less than 2 inches long. SECTION 1. Total length more than 5.50 inches; tail more than 1.25 inches long. Tail usually less than 1.60 inches long; dark brown hairs of upper parts tipped with light grayish brown, giving a grizzly effect of mixed light and dark brown hairs; under parts grayish brown; plantar tubercles 5; mammae 6. . PRAIRIE MEADOW MOUSE. Microtus ochrogaster, p. 218. Tail usually more than 1.60 inches long; fur on upper parts softer and darker brown and lacking the grizzly effect of M. ochrogaster; under parts distinctly grayish or plumbeous gray, not brownish gray or gray brown, as in ochrogaster; plantar tubercles 6; mammae 8. MEADOW MOUSE. Microtus pennsylvanicus, p.2i4. SECTION 2. Total length less than 5.50 inches. PART 1. Front of upper incisors (front teeth) with distinct groove near W v/v uter edge ' \ V/X Total length usually more than 4.75 inches; tail less than i inch long. ^jUj Occurs in Illinois and perhaps southern Wisconsin. Front view of COOPER'S LEMMING MOUSE.* Upper Incisors. (Enlarged.) Synaptomys cooperi, AND Goss's LEMMING MOUSE. Synaptomys cooperi gossi, p. 233. Total length less than 4.75 inches; tail less than I inch long; skull smaller and incisors narrower and smaller than S. cooperi. Occurs so far as known within our limits only in northern Wisconsin. BANGS'S LEMMING MOUSE. Synaptomys cooperi fatuus, p. 237. *I have seen no specimens of typical cooperi from Illinois, but intermediates between cooperi and gossi occur in the northeastern part of the state. S. c. gossi occurs in southern Illinois. 176 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL PART 2. Front of upper incisors (front teeth) without distinct groove near outer edge. Upper parts nearly uniform brown in color; tail not exceeding I inch in length and usually less. GREATER PINE MOUSE. Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides, p. 222. Upper parts with wide chestnut dorsal stripe (down middle of back) in decided contrast to gray brown of sides; tail more than I inch long. RED-BACKED MOUSE. Evotomys gapperi, p. 208. Subfamily MURING. An Old World subfamily of which several species have been in- troduced into America. The characters as given for the following genera will answer our purpose here. Genus MUS Linn. Mus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 59. Type Mus musculus Linn. Front teeth (incisors) two in each jaw; no premolars; three molars or grinding teeth in upper jaw having tubercles on crowns arranged in three longitudinal rows ; incisors narrow and without groove ; crown of anterior molar larger than both the others combined ; third molar very small ; edges of anteorbital foramen forming Crowns of Upper Molars. a nearly perpendicular slit in front of zygoma; tail long and usually nearly naked and scaly; hind feet with five developed toes; fore feet with four developed toes and a rudimentary pollex with short nail. Originally this genus included the Old World Rats and Mice, which have been introduced in the United States, but is now restricted to a single species, the House Mouse, the Rats having been separated and placed in the genus Epimys. Dental formula: I. - , C. -, Pm. -, M. ^ ^= 16. i-i o-o o-o 3-3 Mus musculus LINN. HOUSE MOUSE. [Mus] musculus LINN^US, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 62. Type locality Sweden. Distribution Old World species, now generally distributed through- out the settled portions of the United States, about buildings and in cultivated fields and occasionally in unsettled districts. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 177 Special characters Under parts grayish brown, paler than the back but with no abrupt line of demarcation; length, 6 to 7 inches. The grayish brown under parts (not white or whitish), in connection with its size and length of tail, will distinguish it from others of our Mice. Description General color brown, the dark brown shading gradually to lighter brown on the sides of the body and grayish brown on the belly; tail very scantily haired; molars or grinding teeth having tu- bercles on crowns forming three longitudinal rows. Measurements Total length, 6.75 in. (171.4 mm.); tail vertebrae, 3.15 in. (80 mm.); hind foot, .75 in. (19 mm.). The House Mouse is an introduced species which has become distributed practically throughout North America in districts inhabited by man and occasionally away from settled localities. On account of its small size it does not do so much damage as its larger relative, the Rat, but its presence is considered equally undesirable, and its ability to get through very small holes often enables it to gain access to the drawer of a desk, where it immediately begins operations by reducing letters and papers contained therein to a mass of shreds to be used as a soft bed for a litter of young Mice. When present in any numbers the amount of food they consume is considerable, and their depredations in pantries and storerooms is too well known to require comment. They are unfortunately very prolific, several litters being born in a season. From 4 to 9 young are born in a litter, the usual number being 5 or 6. The young ones reach the age of maturity when less than three months old. The ordinary vocal sounds produced by a House Mouse may be described as a shrill squeak, but several writers have given it credit for what they describe as a "song." Mr. Seton says,* "Most persons are surprised to hear of singing Mice. The first I met was in my New York residence. Out of the black darkness of a cupboard at midnight came a prolonged squeaking, thrilling and churring, suggestive of a canary's song but of thinner and weaker quality. There could be no question that it was a 'singing mouse.' Many cases are on record." All efforts to exterminate the House Mouse in the United States have failed and, if anything, their numbers appear to be increasing. In this connection it is interesting to note that three hundred years ago the householder in England was annoyed by these little pests fully as much as are those of the present day; at least in 1607 Edward Topsell devoted several pages to describing various methods whereby they could be trapped or killed. He saysrf * Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 482. t Historic of Foure Footed Beastes, London, 1607, pp. 509-510. 178 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 179 "For these causes have men in vented many devises, snars, and gins, the generall wherof is called by the Latines Muscipula and by the Gre- tians Muspala and Miagra, the divers and severall formes whereof I will not disdaine to set down. For the wise reader must consider that it is as necessary or rather more necessary for most men to know how to take mice, than how to take Elephants. "And although every woman, and silly Rat-ketcher can give instruc- tions enough therein, yet their knowledge cannot excuse my negligence if I should omit the inventions and devices of the auncient, whereby they delivered themselves from the annoiances of these beasts. And therefore first of al to declare the manner of ketching them . "And also it is reported of those which have tryed the same, that if Mice fall into a vessell without water, and remaine there a long time without meate, that then they devoure one another, but if they remaine there so long untill one among them all be left alone, that is to say the strongest of them all, and that he be suffered to go out, wheresoever hee shall finde any mice hee will eate them up, and they shall have much adoe to escape him, because he hath been so long accustomed unto them. I was told also of a certaine frierid of mine, that a man of Senensis did set a purse in a hollow place, and made it to open and shut by some device, so that at length he tooke a mouse, which mouse hee fed onely with the flesh of Mice, and after he had fed it so a long time, he let it go, who killed all the Mice that he did meete, and was not satisfied with them, but went into. every hole that he could find, and eat them up also. Also Mice are taken in vessels, from whence they cannot escape, upon the which vessell let there be put a small staffe, which is so cut in the middle, that she may onely hold her selfe by the meate, and when you have so doone, put the kernell of a Nut upon the middle of the staffe, to the which the Mouse comming, doth fall into the vessell with the staffe, and they will be stifeled if their be any Water: but if there be none she will be killed." After devoting several more pages to methods of destroying Mice both with traps and poisons, he adds: "The Scythians were woont to be clad with the skinnes of mice and Wolves, and it is observed, that when mice cry and screeketh above their ordinary custome, it pressageth an alteration and change of the Weather, and thus much shall suffice for their naturall discourse." Specimens examined from Illinois and Wisconsin: Illinois Chicago, 6; Olive Branch, Alexander Co., 2; (O.) Chicago, 12 = 20. Wisconsin Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., i; (O.) Lake Geneva, 8 = 9. 180 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Genus EPIMYS Trouessart. Epimys Trouessart, Catal. Mamm. Viv. et Foss., Bull. Soc. d'Etudes, Sci. d'Angers, X, 1881, p. 117. Type, by subsequent designation, Mus rattus Linn. Miller, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 58. Front teeth (incisors) 2 in each jaw; no premolars; upper molars or grinding teeth having tubercles on crowns arranged in three lon- gitudinal rows as in Mus; "molars slightly graduated in size from first to third, the anterior tqoth not tending to assume the main function of the toothrow, the posterior tooth not tending to disappear, enamel folding of upper molars directly referable to a simple Q-cusped pattern and its reductions, the outher margin of M 1 and M 2 never with more than three cusps, the inner margin of same teeth never with more than 2 cusps, M 1 usually with 5 roots, its first lamina not distorted by the backward displacement of antero-internal tubercle ; upper incisor moderately compressed, set at such an angle that its outer side is worn smoothly away by action of lower teeth." (Miller.) Epimys norvegicus (ERXLEBEN). NORWAY RAT. BROWN RAT. HOUSE RAT. [MMS] norvegicus ERXLEBEN, Syst. Regni Ani'm., I, 1777, p. 381. JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 20 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Kept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 492 (Indiana). Mus decumanus KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 ( l &55), P- 579 (Illinois). RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 192 (Tennessee). Neotoma floridana WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 550. Type locality Norway. Distribution Nearly cosmopolitan. In America generally distributed throughout the country wherever there are habitations of men. Description Hair coarse; general color brown, darkest on middle of back; under parts pale grayish brown; tail scaly and very scantily haired; tail not longer than head and body, usually less. Measurements Total length, about 15.50 in. (394 mm.) ; tail vertebras, about 7.12 in. (180 mm.); hind foot, 1.75 in. (45. mm). This species was introduced in North America some time during the latter part of the eighteenth century and in spite of all attempts to exterminate it, it has thrived and increased to a remarkable degree. Of its habits little need be said. They are destructive to property and in agricultural districts consume a large amount of grain and food of every kind wherever they can find it. They are also objectionable from an FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 181 hygienic point of view. The spread of the Bubonic Plague has been proved to be due to them* and it can readily be understood how they could easily become a source of contagion for other diseases as well. To those who suffer from their depredations a publication of the U. S. Department of Agriculture entitled "How to destroy Rats," by D. E. Lantz, (Farmers' Bulletin, No. 369, 1909) is recommended. In writing of this species Dr. C. Hart Merriam says,f "He is not content with deriving his sustenance at our expense; but to save himself the trouble of a walk between meals, takes up his abode in or under our dwellings and outhouses. In unsettled regions he often makes long journeys from house to house, but I have never known him to make his home at any great distance from buildings. "Rats are good swimmers, and in their migrations from place to place (which are usually performed at night and thus escape notice) they do not hesitate to swim rivers and ponds that lie in the way. Though chiefly nocturnal, they are often seen in the daytime. They are exceedingly prolific, commonly bringing forth from seven to twelve young at a birth, and having several litters each season. Some idea of the number of Rats inhabiting large cities may be had from the fact that, at Paris, in a fortnight's time, more than six hundred thousand were killed in the sewers. The skins were manufactured into kid gloves." Specimens examined from Illinois and Wisconsin: Illinois Chicago, 2; Fox Lake, 8 (6 in alcohol); (I. S. L.) Havana, i = n. ' Wisconsin- Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., 2; (O.) Lake Geneva, 4 = 6. The following introduced species may occur in Illinois, but I find no satisfactory record of either having actually been taken in the state : Epimys rattus (Linn.). (Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1758, p. 61.) Type locality Sweden. A nearly cosmopolitan species introduced in North America at an early date. It was formerly common in many parts of the United States, but since the advent of the Norway or Brown Rat, has become rare except in scattered localities. It has been recorded from Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Iowa, and is claimed to have occurred in Illinois in early days. It has also been accredited to Wisconsin by Lapham and Strong ; but its occurrence in that state requires further confirmation. Epimys alexandrinus (Geoffrey). (Descr. Egypt, II, 1818, p. 733.) Type locality Egypt, Africa. This species has a much more south- * The Rat is very susceptible to the disease and a large number of the Rat fleas examined in infected houses contained the Bacillus pestis in their stomachs and mouths. t Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, pp. 259-60. 182 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 183 ern distribution than the Norway Rat. Since its introduction into this country it has become well established and is not uncommon in Louisiana and other Southern states. So far as known, it has not been taken in Illinois. The three species may be distinguished by the following characters : Length from nose to root of tail generally greater than length of tail (never less); upper parts brown; under parts brownish gray. A very common species. BROWN RAT OR NORWAY RAT. Epimys norvegicus. Length from nose to root of tail less than length of tail; general color blackish' under parts not white or yellowish white. Doubtful if it occurs within our limits. BLACK RAT. Epimys rattus. Length from nose to root of tail less than length of tail; upper parts brownish; under parts yellowish white or whitish. Not known to occur in Illinois and Wisconsin. ROOF RAT. Epimys alexandrinus. Subfamily CRICETIN^. This subfamily is of almost cosmopolitan distribution. The tubercles on molars of upper jaw are arranged in two longitudinal rows. Genus PEROMYSCUS Gloger. Peromyscus Gloger, Hand. u. Hilfsb. Naturg., I, 1841, p. 95. Type Peromyscus arboreus Gloger = Mus syhaticus nose- boracensis Fischer. Molars or grinding teeth with two rows of tubercles Crowns of Upper , ., , , Molars. on rounded points or crowns; zygoma very slender; tail at least 2 inches long; belly white or whitish; soles of hind feet with 5 or 6 tubercles or wart-like excrescences; size approaching that of the House Mouse. Dental formula: I. , C. , Pm. , M.^=i6. i-i o-o o-o 3-3 FIELD KEY TO OUR SPECIES. GROUP 1. Species which occur in about the northern two-thirds of Illinois and about the southern half of Wisconsin. Tail less than 2.75 inches long. PRAIRIE WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi, p. 190. Tail more than 2.75 inches long. NORTHERN WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis, p. 185. 184 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL GROUP 2. Species which occur in southern Illinois. SECTION 1. General color of upper parts brown but not golden brown. Total length usually more than 7 inches; tail vertebrae more than 3 inches. WESTERN COTTON MOUSE. Peromyscus gossypinus megacephalus, p. 196. Total length less than 7 inches (usually about 6.75 in.) ; tail vertebras not exceeding 3 inches (usually 2.75 to 3 in.). WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus leucopus, p. 184. Total length 5.50 to 6.50 inches; tail vertebras less than 2.75 inches. PRAIRIE WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi, p. 190. SECTION 2. General color of upper parts golden brown. Upper parts, includ- ing head, rich golden brown. SOUTHERN GOLDEN MOUSE. Peromyscus nuttalli aureolus, p. 198. GROUP 3. Species which occur in northern Wisconsin. Tail vertebras usually from 3.25 to 4 inches long. CANADIAN WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis, p. 193. Subgenus PEROMYSCUS Gloger. Plantar tubercles 6; ears dark or dark with whitish edges; dentine spaces of molars mostly confluent. Peromyscus leucopus (RAFINESQUE). WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. DEER MOUSE. WHITE-FOOTED WOOD MOUSE. Musculus leucopus RAFINESQUE, Amer. Monthly Mag., III., 1818, p. 446. Peromyscus leucopus RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 187 (Tennessee). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 496 (Indiana). OSGOOD, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 28, 1909, p. 113 (Kentucky, Tennessee, etc.). Type locality Western Kentucky. Distribution From the Atlantic coast of Virginia and North Carolina westward around the southern end of the Allegheny Mountains, through northern South Carolina and Georgia to Oklahoma, north to southern Illinois and south to southern Louisiana. Description Adult: Upper parts brown, darker on middle of back than on sides; under parts white, the concealed bases of the hairs slaty gray, the tips white; upper surface of tail brown, under surface whitish. Young: Feet white; plumbeous gray all over except the belly where the hairs are tipped with white. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND^WISCONSIN CORY. 185 Measurements Total length, about 7 in. (178 mm.); tail vertebrae, 3 in. (76 mm.); hind foot, .85 in. (21 mm.). This species occurs in southern Illinois. Its habits are similar to those of the Northern White-footed Mouse, Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis. Specimens examined from Illinois: Illinois Reevesville, Johnson Co., 14; Ozark, Johnson Co., 18; Golconda, Pope Co., 8; Olive Branch, Alexander Co., 8 = 48. Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis (FISCHER). NORTHERN WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. NORTHERN WHITE-FOOTED WOOD MOUSE. WOODLAND DEER MOUSE. [Mus sylvaticus] Noveboracensis FISCHER, Synopsis Mamm., 1829, p. 318. Mus leucopus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wiscon- sin). KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, P- 9 (Illinois). SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 117. Vesperimus leucopus HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 178 (Minnesota). Hesperomys leucopus ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 192 (Iowa). Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 21 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 497 (Indiana). OSGOOD, N. A. Fauna, No. 28, 1909, p. 117 (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, etc.). WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 539 (Illinois). Type locality New York. Distribution Northern United States, Nova Scotia and a small portion of southern Ontario, west to Minnesota, south to Missouri, south-central Illinois and Indiana (where it intergrades with P. leucopus), eastern Tennessee and Virginia. (See map.) Description Similar to P. leucopus but averaging slightly larger and somewhat paler; fur somewhat longer and softer. Measurements Total length, about 7 in. (178 mm.); tail vertebrae, about 3 in. (76 mm.); hind foot, .87 (22 mm.). The Northern White-footed Mouse is normally an inhabitant of the woods, although in summer it is often found in pastures where there are bushes and stumps. Old corn shocks are favorite resorts of these Mice, but they are not commonly found at any great distance from timber-land of some sort; although Snyder states that he has "taken them in traps in grassy fields a mile from any timber" (I. c., p. 117). It builds its nest under logs or in an old hollow log or pile of brush, and again in bushes. I have found several of the latter, none of which i86 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 187 was more than three feet from the ground and in most cases an old bird's nest had been altered and made use of. The nest is composed of small twigs, grass and leaves. When in the ground, perhaps under an old stump, it is reached by short underground tunnels. These animals do not hibernate. They are active in winter and store up grain and seeds for their use during the cold weather. The young number from 4 to 6 and two or three litters are born in a season. Concerning the habits of this species in northern Illinois, Kennicott writes, "In this vicinity, the Mus leucopus appears to inhabit the timber, only. I never observed one on the prairie. It is found in wooded farms, where it is more or less injurious to the farmer, carrying off and devouring grain, destroying various young plants, and occasionally doing much mischief by gnawing the bark of fruit-trees. On the whole, however, it cannot be considered very injurious. Though it may inhabit grain-fields in harvest time, it is decidedly a timber lover, and never breeds nor takes up its residence permanently in large fields, clear of trees, stumps and logs. Its home is usually in an old stump or fallen log, under the bark of decayed trees, and sometimes in hollow trees, at a considerable height above the ground. It sometimes takes possession of deserted birds' nests, and occasionally builds in the branches of trees. Dr. Hoy informs me that he has seen several of its nests in southern Wisconsin. They are usually placed among the thick branches of a thorn, at a height of 8 or 10 feet from the ground. The nests were composed of grass, and were of globular form, the entrance being a small hole on one side. I have also found nests on the ground, under logs, and once in August, found a female, about to bring forth young, in a nest of grass under a small block of wood on a low river bottom. . . . This mouse is sometimes gregarious, as many as a dozen having been found together in winter. . . . "The white-footed wood-mouse feeds chiefly upon the leaves and seeds of various grasses and other herbaceous plants, with nuts, acorns r and the seeds of basswood, maple, and other trees; grain is also eaten greedily by it in the fields. It lays up considerable stores of food in winter. "This species is active in winter, like the rest of the genus, moving about a good deal on top of the snow, as well as below it, and sometimes travelling a long distance at this season. Mr. Lawrence Koebelin tells me that, in cold weather, in December, he found one which had collected grass and formed a large nest in a pile of wood within two days after it had been cut. "The female exhibits much affection for her young. These, when small, I have always found attached to her teats, in which way she i88 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. would carry them off, moving, unless chased, with great caution, as though she feared to injure them. A neighbor relates that in turning over a log in the woods, he exposed one of these mice, which, instead of jumping off rapidly, moved slowly away along a small log, and was observed to have several -young attached to her teats. Her movements being watched with interest, one of the young was seen to be brushed off and fall among the grass, the mother passing on out of sight. The young mouse left was quite helpless and continued to utter a low squeak. After a while, the mother returned, to it, and though her movements could no longer be observed, the voice of the young mouse ceased, and upon examination of the spot, it was found to have disappeared with the mother. It is not to be supposed, however, that the young of this mouse are attached to the mammas of the parent like those of the opossum" (I. c., pp. 90-91). "Caged specimens do not eat flesh and are not at all pugnacious" (Kennicott, /. c., pp. 90-91). This last statement by Kennicott does not agree with observations of later writers. I have known a wild one to eat part of a dead bird and in captivity it will readily eat meat. Dr. C. Hart Merriam says,* "The White-footed Mouse is fond of flesh, and, like the flying squirrel, eagerly devours dead birds placed in its way." Mr. W. L. Hahn writes, "A number of white-footed mice were left in captivity at different times, but they could not be kept together. On one occasion six were caught under corn shocks and were divided equally between two cages. Next morning each cage contained two partially eaten carcasses, while of the survivors in each cage one died within a few hours and the other a day later (I. c., p. 499). This Mouse is naturally gentle and rarely attemps to bite even when just caught. When in captivity it soon becomes very tame and makes an amusing pet. Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states': Illinois Fox Lake, 18; Camp Logan, 6; Warsaw, i; Galena, 9 = 34. Wisconsin Delavan Lake, 2; Camp Douglas, 3; Beaver Dam, 14; (M. P. M.) Milwaukee, 4; Prescott, Pierce Co., 98; Maiden Rock, 21 ; Yellow River, Burnett Co., 10; Newport, Door Co., 3; Delavan, 9; Polk Co., i; Prairie du Sac, Sauk Co., 41; Grant Co., 2; (O. C.) Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee Co., 9; Nashotah, Waukesha Co., 10 = 224. Indiana Mitchell, i ; La Porte, 3 = 4. Michigan Dowagiac, Cass Co., 13. * Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, p. 265. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 189 Map illustrating the approximate distribution of the White-footed Mice (Peromyscus leucopus and races) in eastern United States. Peromyscus leucopus (RAFINESQUE). Type locality Western Kentucky. Descrip- tion as previously given. Peromyscus 1. noveboracensis (FISCHER). Type locality New York. Similar to leucopus, but slightly larger and somewhat paler; pelage longer. Peromyscus 1. ammodytes BANGS. (Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, IV, 1905, p. 14.) Type locality Monomoy Island off coast of southeastern Massachusetts. Similar to noveboracensis, but under parts pure white to roots of hairs. Peromyscus I. fusus BANGS. (Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, IV, 1905, p. 13.) Type locality West Tisbury, Island of Martha's Vineyard, off south coast of Massachusetts. Similar but averaging larger than noveboracensis, and rostrum of skull slightly more elongated. igo FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi. (HOY & KENNICOTT). PRAIRIE WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. PRAIRIE DEER MOUSE. BAIRD'S DEER MOUSE. MICHIGAN DEER MOUSE. Mus bairdii HOY & KENNICOTT, in Kennicott, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 92. Peromyscus bairdi SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 116 (Wisconsin). HOLLISTER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 40 (Wisconsin). Peromyscus michiganensis JACKSON, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 72 (Mis- souri). Ib., Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 21 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXXII, 1907, p. 459 (Indiana). Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 502 (Indiana). OSGOOD, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 28, 1909, p. 79 (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin, etc.). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 26 (Illinois, Missouri). WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 544 (Illinois). Type locality Bloomington, McLean Co., Illinois. Distribution Prairie region of the upper Mississippi Valley in "Wis- consin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, eastern Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, and eastern portions of Nebraska, Kansas, South ' Dakota, and North Dakota; north to southern Manitoba. Special characters Resembles P. I. noveboracensis but somewhat smaller, tail shorter, and general color slightly darker (less brownish). Description Upper parts brown, the middle of the back dark brown, much darker than the sides; under parts white or whitish, the bases of the hairs slaty gray, the tips white. When the hair is short and worn, the dark bases are not entirely concealed, giving a gray- ish appearance to the under parts. Upper surface of tail dark; under surface pale. Measurements- Total length, 5.50 to 6.50 in. (140 to 165 mm.); tail vertebrae, 2.25 to 2.75 in. (57 to 69.5 mm.); hind foot, .70 to .75 in. (18 to 19 mm.). The Prairie White-footed Mouse is abundant in suitable localities in the greater portion of Illinois and Wisconsin, and, as its name implies, it inhabits dry, cultivated fields and prairies, but it also is found in open woods where the growth is small and scattered. Regarding its habits, I cannot do better than to quote Robert Kennicott who had unusual opportunities for observing it. He says, "Not having, on the prairies, the shelter found by its timber-loving cousins, in old stumps and trees, this species digs burrows. These are rather simple, with few or no side-passages, and often with but one entrance, the depth and extent being variable, but never great. The nest is small, com- FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 191 V 192 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL posed of soft grass, etc.; it is spherical, and the small internal cavity is entered through a narrow opening on one side. In cultivated fields the burrows are frequently dug at the roots of fruit-trees, the bark of which is often gnawed, sometimes causing great injury. In nurseries, fruit-trees are often taken up and 'heeled in'; that is, laid down close together, with the roots placed in a trench, and then covered in such manner that they are kept safely in a very small space, and can be readily pulled out when desired. The loose earth among the roots of these offers an inviting habitation to the mice; and, in nurseries in- fested by them, they will be found burrowing in almost every lot of trees thus buried, where they feed upon the bark of the roots, and thus cause serious damage. In the fall, they are often found in corn-shocks, making a nest among the stalks, though they do not so often burrow under these as the arvicolas. But, during winter, they may be tracked in corn-fields from their burrows to the neighboring corn-shocks, which they have visited for food. In spring, the young are always produced in burrows. During the summer, however, they occasionally are observed in nests, under bits of wood or bunches of hay, on the surface of the ground. In autumn, I have found nests of the young in small burrows only a few inches below the surface, or under an inverted sod. I have never observed more than one pair of adults occupying the same burrow; and, unlike the Mus leucopus, this species never appears to be gregarious. "This mouse must be very prolific. I have found the young in March and April, and observed two females, each with five young, apparently but a few days old, about the tenth of November, while they are found in every intervening month. In nearly every instance within my observation the number of young produced at a birth has been five. I once found six, and have at times, though rarely, seen three or four. The young are found attached to the teats, as in the species last described; and a female was seen to carry five for several rods in this way, jumping along rapidly despite their weight. As soon as they are able to take care of themselves, the young leave the mother. In summer, I have several times found one apparently but a few weeks old, living alone in a nest made by himself. In spring, I have always found the old male living with the female and young; but during the summer, I have sometimes observed the male leading a solitary life, and the females and young in burrows by themselves. The food of this mouse, on the prairies, appears to be herbaceous plants, with their seeds; but I have been unable to see that it ever digs for roots. It is interesting to observe that this, like the Mus leucopus, seeks its food on the top of the ground, running on the snow in winter FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 193 in search of seeds, and collecting them in autumn instead of roots, when it travels as often by springing over the grass as by running through it. This mouse probably feeds more or less upon insects, as it is carnivorous in captivity; though some specimens are much less so than others. On one occasion, I captured a pair with five young, and placed them all in a cage well supplied with various kinds of vegetables and grain. The next day, several of the young were killed and eaten, and in two or three days, they had all disappeared. Shortly afterwards, the male, which had been slightly injured, was found dead, and partly devoured by his rapacious spouse. After this, I fed my specimens with meat, as well as grain, which they ate; and, as long as they were sup- plied with it, they lived together harmless; but no sooner was this withheld, than the old ones, both male and female, devoured their young." (/. c., pp. 93-94.) Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Olive Branch, 6; Fox Lake, 17; Reevesville, 3 = 26. Wisconsin 1 Beaver Dam, 35; Milton, i; Delavan, i; (M. P. M.) Jefferson Co., 2; Prescott, Pierce Co., 38; Maiden Rock, i; Dela- van, 3; Newport, Door Co., 3 (not typical); Kelly Brook, Oconto Co., i ; Prairie du Sac, Sauk Co., 41 ; Wyalusing, Grant Co., 2 = 128. Indiana La Porte, 2; Denver, 2 = 4. Minnesota Ft. Snelling, 2; Steel County, 4 = 6 Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis (LECONTE). CANADIAN WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE. CANADIAN DEER MOUSE. Hesperomys gracilis LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., VII, 1855, p. 442. Peromyscus canadensis ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 129 (Michigan). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 20 (Wis- consin). Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis OSGOOD, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 28, 1909, p. 42 (Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc.). Type locality Michigan. Distribution "Northeastern United States and. southern Canada, from northern Minnesota east through northern Wisconsin, Michi- gan, Ontario, Quebec, New York and western New England. Can- adian Zone" (Osgood). Special characters Somewhat similar to P. m. bairdi, but total length greater and tail decidedly longer; more likely to be confounded with P. I. noveboracensis, which it often closely resembles. (For distinguishing characters, as compared with that species, see foot- note page 174.) 194 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Description General color of upper parts brown, somewhat variable in shade (usually from dull cinnamon to isabella color) ; middle of back darker brown than sides; ears brown with a faint whitish edging when closely examined, occasionally a few whitish hairs at anterior bases of ears, but often absent; a blackish spot at the base of the whiskers; hairs on under parts of body white at tips, the bases plumbeous gray; the general color of under parts white or grayish white according to the condition of the pelage; feet white; upper surface of tail brown with narrow white edge, under surface white; tip of tail pencillate. Measurements Total length, 6.87 to 7.50 in. (175 to 190 mm.); tail vertebrae, 3.75 to 4 in. (80 to 100 mm.); hind foot, .80 to .87 in. (20 to 22 mm.). The Canadian White-footed Mouse occurs within our limits in the Pine regions of northern Wisconsin, where it is common in deep woods. It may be looked for near water courses, among rocks, and about old logs. A favorite resort of this mouse is in and about old log cabins. So far as known, its habits differ but little from other Wood Mice belonging to the genus. In Wisconsin it not uncommonly makes its nest in a hollow log or stump, or in openings between the logs of old cabins. In such places the nest is in the middle of a rounded mass of grass often mixed with leaves and small pieces of bark. Ernest Thompson Seton in writing of the habits of the closely allied northern form, P. m. arcticus, which undoubtedly differ little if any from that of gracilis, says,* 'When the nest is disturbed so that the mother runs out, she commonly carries off some or even all of her brood attached to her teats. This, however, is not her regular mode of carrying them about, but is rather due to the fact that the young when very small attached themselves firmly to the teat, almost in mar- supial style, and the mother has not time to disengage herself if sud- denly driven forth. Most of the Deermice carry their young in the mouth, one at a time, when they move them, just as a cat does her kittens." Specimens examined from Wisconsin and adjoining states : Wisconsin Solon Springs, 4; Spread Eagle, 4; Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co., ii ; (M. P. M.) Upper St. Croix Lake, Douglas Co., 7; St. Croix Dam, 6; Eagle River, 2; Mercer, i; Namekagan River, Burnett Co., 9; Marinette Co., 2; Cataline, 2; Divide, Vilas Co., 4=52. Michigan Park Siding, 4. * Life Histories of Northern Animals, I, 1909, p. 496. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 195 Map illustrating approximate range of the Prairie White-footed Mouse (P. m. bairdi) and the Canadian White-footed Mouse (P. m. gracilis) , which occur within our limits, together with the south- ern portion of the range of P. maniculatus and type localities of other geographical races of manicidatus, which occur in eastern United States and Canada. Peromyscus maniculatus (WAGNER). (Wieg. Arch. f. Naturg., XI, I, 1845, p. 148.) Type locality Labrador. Upper parts brown, the middle of the back decidedly darker than the sides; under parts white or grayish white (the hairs plumbeous gray at bases with white tips); tail bicolor and pencillate (blackish above, whitish below). Total length, 7 to 7.75 in. (178 to 197 mm.); tail vertebrae, 3 to 3.75 in. (76 to 95 mm.); hind foot, .75 to .87 in. (19 to 22.5 mm.). Peromyscus m. gracilis (LECoNTE). Type locality Michigan. Similar to man- iculatus but tail longer (3.75 to 4 inches), hind foot smaller and skull smaller and narrower; characters and measurements given on page 194. Peromyscus m. bairdi (Hov & KENNICOTT). Type locality Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois. Somewhat darker, tail shorter (less than 2.75 in.); for description and measurements see page 190. Peromyscus m. abietorum (BANGS). (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 49.) Type locality James River, Nova Scotia. Similar to gracilis, but paler and some- what grayer. 196 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Peromyscus m. eremus OSGOOD. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 28, 1909, p. 47.) Type local- ity Pleasant Bay, Grindstone Island, Magdalen Islands. "Similar to P. m. abietorum, but color darker and tail shorter; similar to P. maniculatus, but paler and slightly smaller." (Osgood.) Peromyscus m. argentatus (COPELAND & CHURCH). (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XIX, 1906, p. 122.) Type locality Grand Harbor, Island of Grand Manan, New Brunswick. Color more grayish than either maniculatus or abietorum. Peromyscus m. nubiterrce (RHOADS). (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 187.) Type locality Summit of Roan Mountain, North Carolina, alti- tude 6370 feet. Similar to gracilis, but averaging smaller; tail longer than head and body. Peromyscus gossypinus megacephalus (RHOADS'). WESTERN COTTON MOUSE. Sitomys megacephalus RHOADS, Proc. Ac'ad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1894, p. 254. Peromyscus gossypinus mississippiensis RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 189. Peromyscus gossypinus megacephalus OSGOOD, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 28, 1909, p. 138 (Tennessee, Arkansas, etc.). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 26 (Illinois and Missouri). Type locality Woodville, Alabama. Distribution Southern Illinois, western Kentucky and Tennessee, to northern Alabama, thence through northern Mississippi, eastern and southern Arkansas to Oklahoma, eastern Texas and western Louisiana. Western Cotton Mouse (Peromyscus gossypirus megacephalu FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 197 Special characters Largest species of the genus, which occurs within our limits; very similar to P. leucopus, but may be distinguished by size. Description Middle of back from crown to base of tail dark brown shading to cinnamon brown on the sides; under parts white or Map illustrating approximate distribution of the Cotton Mice (Peromyscus gossypinus and races) in eastern United States. Peromyscus gossypinus (LECoNTE). (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., VI, 1853, p. 411.) Type locality LeConte Plantation near Riceboro, Liberty Co., Georgia. Gen- eral color darker and size smaller than megacephalus. Does not occur within our limits. Peromyscus g. megacephalus (RHOADS). Type locality Woodville, Alabama. Similar to gossypinus, but slightly paler and larger. Description and measure- ments as previously given. Peromyscus g. palmarius BANGS. (Proc. Bi6l. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 124.) Type locality Oak Lodge, east coast of Florida opposite Micco, Brevard Co. Smal- ler and paler than gossypinus. Peromyscusg. anastasce (BANGS). (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1898, p. J 95-) Type locality Point Romo, Anastasia Island, near St. Augustine, Florida. About equal in size to palmarius, but palest of the group. 198 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL whitish, the hairs plumbeous gray at base and tipped with white; feet white; tail rather thinly haired, dark above, pale or whitish below. Measurements Total length, about 7.25 in. (184 mm.); tail vertebrae, 3.20 in. (79 to 83 mm.); hind foot, .96 in. (24 mm.). The Western Cotton Mouse is not uncommon in southern Illinois. The Museum collection contains specimens from Ozark, Golconda, and Olive Branch, but thus far it has only been taken in the extreme south- ern portion of the state. Howell states that it is common in swamps and wooded bluffs of the Lower Austral Zone and that specimens were collected at Olive Branch, Wolf Lake and Golconda, Illinois, and also in Missouri. (1. c., p. 26.) Rhoads, who observed this Mouse in Tennessee, writes, "So far as I have made its acquaintance in Tennes- see, the Cane Mouse is solely a denizen of the. 'bottom lands' of the Mississippi. At Samburg it confined its wanderings very closely to the immediate vicinity of Reelfoot Lake, and was abundant in the dense forest jungle that bordered its margin, seeming to prefer the lowest and wettest parts of the overflowed lands." (I. c., p. 189.) Specimens examined from Illinois : Illinois Ozark, Johnson Co., 7; Golconda, Pope Co., 2; Olive Branch, Alexander Co., i = 10. Subgenus OCHROTOMYS Osgood. "Ears bright ochraceous, same color as body; posterior palatine foramina nearer to interpterygoid fossa than to anterior palatine foramina ; dentine spaces of molars mostly closed ' ' (Osgood) . Peromyscus nuttalli aureolus (AUD. & BACH.). SOUTHERN GOLDEN MOUSE. Mus (Calomys) aureolus AUD. & BACH., Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., I, 1841, p. 98. Hesperomys nuttalli KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1857, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1858, p. 87 (southern Illinois). Peromyscus nuttalli aureolus OSGOOD, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 28, 1909, p. 225 (Mis- souri, Arkansas, etc.). WOOD, Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 549 (Illinois). Type locality Oak forests of South Carolina. Distribution Southeastern United States from northern Florida to North Carolina, west through the more southern portions of Georgia and Alabama, the whole of Mississippi, western Tennessee and western Kentucky, southern Illinois, southeastern Missouri and the greater portion of Arkansas and Louisiana to eastern Texas and Oklahoma. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 199 2oo FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Special characters The golden brown color of the upper parts will readily distinguish it from others of the genus, which occur within our limits. Description Upper parts bright tawny brown or "golden brown," middle of the back tinged with darker brown; under parts cream white, often showing a faint tinge of tawny buff; hairs on under parts (except throat) with concealed bases plumbeous slate color, the tips white; face about the same color as sides, without any blackish marking; feet cream white; tail dark brown above, white beneath. Measurements Total length, 6.25 to 7 in. (158 to 178 mm.); tail verte- brae, 2.80 to 3.25 in. (70 to 82 mm.); hind foot, .75 in. (19 mm.). Map illustrating approximate distribution of the Northern Golden Mouse {Peromyscus nuttalli) and the Southern Golden Mouse (P. n. aureolus). Peromyscus nuttalli (HARLAN). (Month. Amer. Journ. Geol. & Nat. Sci., Phila., 1832, p. 446.) Type locality Norfolk, Virginia. Similar to aureolus, but averaging larger, with somewhat larger skull and molar teeth. Total length, 6.87 to 7.50 in. (175 to 190 mm.); tail vertebrae, 3.25 to 3.65 in. (82 to 93 mm.). Peromyscus n. aureolus (AuD. & BACH.). Type locality Oak forests of South Caro- lina. Averaging smaller than nuttalli. Description as previously given. Total length, 6.25 to 7 in. (158 to 178 mm.); tail vertebrae, 2.80 to 3.25 in. (70 to 82 mm.). Occurs within our limits in southern Illinois. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 201 The Southern Golden Mouse occurs within our limits in southern Illinois, where it is not uncommon in small growths of hard-wood timber bordering the cypress swamps. All the specimens in the Museum were taken near Olive Branch, Alexander Co. Kennicott secured specimens in Marion County, which is probably not very far from its northern limit. He says "In some parts of Southern Illinois I found this species to be well known as distinct from the common deer-mouse, under the name of 'Red Mouse. ' . . . I captured two at Murphys- boro and it is not very uncommon near Salem, in Marion County. It is seldom found, if ever, in the northern part of this State. "The red mouse appears to be strictly an inhabitant of the forest, like the deer-mouse (Hesperomys leucopus), to which it is closely allied in habits as in form. Farmers who had repeatedly observed this, as well as the deer-mouse, in the woods near Salem, inform me that they never heard of the red mouse on the prairie, though it frequented clumps of hazel bushes at the edges of the prairies. . . . The red mouse is more arboreal in its habits than the deer-mouse. I observed one, when driven from its nest, at once take refuge on a tree, instead of run- ning off on the ground, and I am informed that these mice have fre- quently been seen climbing trees and shrubs. From a gentleman, of Salem, I learn that this, like the deer-mouse, builds nests in the branches of small trees, and that several were found in the tops of hazel bushes, and built neatly, somewhat like a bird's nest, but covered at top with a small opening on the side. . . . The only two specimens of this mouse which I have seen alive, were an old female and a half grown young one, found together in the month of May, in a slight nest formed of soft fibres of bark, and placed on the ground under a log. There was no burrow, either beneath or near the log, though the female had evidently reared her young in this nest. The species probably does not generally burrow at all." (7. c., pp. 87-88.) Specimens examined from Illinois : Illinois Olive Branch, Alexander Co., 22. Reithrodontomys dychei ALLEN, DYCHE'S HARVEST MOUSE, while not as yet recorded from within our limits, may be looked for in southern and western Illinois, as it has been taken at St. Louis, Missouri (Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 1895, p. 121), and also at Fairport, Mus- catine Co., Iowa, where Mr. T. Surber secured four specimens during the summer of 1910, which were kindly sent to me for examination. The following characters will readily distinguish this little Mouse from our other species: Middle of back brown, sides grayish bujj; under parts white ; crowns 202 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL of molars tuberculate ; front of incisors with distinct longitudinal groove. Total length, about 5 in. (120 to 130 mm.); tail vertebrae, 2 to 2.50 in. (50 to 65 mm.). Genus ORYZOMYS Baird. Oryzomys Baird, Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 458. Type Mus palus- tris Harlan. Molars or grinding teeth with tubercles on crowns arranged in two rows ; hair on tail scanty ; skull showing a distinct ridge over eye socket ; belly not white; hind feet large. Dental formula: I. - -, C. -, Pm. -, M. - - - i-i o-o o-o 3-3 Oryzomys palustris (HARLAN). RICE FIELD MOUSE. RICE RAT. Mus palustris HARLAN, Silliman's Amer. Jour. Sci. & Arts, XXXI, No. 2, 1837, p. 386. Arvicola oryzivora AUDUBON & BACHMAN, Quadrupeds of N. Amer., Ill, 1854, p. 214. Hesperomys (Oryzomys) palustris BAIRD, Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 459. Oryzomys palustris MERRIAM, Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci., Ill, 1901, p. 276. HAHN, Ann. Kept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 640 (Indiana). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 26 (Illinois and Missouri). Ib., p. 61 (Kentucky, Tennessee, etc.). VAN HYNING & PELLETT, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., XVII, 1910, p. 213 (Iowa). Calomys palustris EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 139 Type locality Fast Land, near Salem, Salem Co., New Jersey. Distribution Southern United States, from southern New Jersey to the northern border of Florida, westward throughout the Gulf states, Tennessee and part of Kentucky, southern Illinois and southern Missouri to Kansas, Oklahoma and eastern Texas. Special characters Readily distinguished from a Peromyscus by its long and more scantily haired tail, its large hind feet and decidedly less abrupt line of demarcation between color of sides and belly, which is gradual and not sharply defined, and from all other Rats or Mice which occur within our limits either by its size or by the arrangement of the tubercles on the crowns of the grinding teeth (two longitudinal rows). It occurs within our limits only in southern Illinois. Description Middle of upper parts from head to base of tail dark brown shading into pale brown tinged with buffy on the sides; under parts grayish, the hairs grayish plumbeous at the base and tipped with white, but the grayish under fur showing through; tail very scantily haired, dark above, pale below; feet whitish (pinkish white in life). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 203 Measurements (Average of 8 specimens from various localities.) Total length, 8.88 in. (225 mm.); tail vertebrae, 4.38 in. (in mm.); hind foot, 1.15 in. (29.6 mm.). The Rice Field Mouse occurs within our limits in southern Illinois, where Mr. Howell secured four specimens taken at Olive Branch, Alex- ander Co. In Louisiana and northwestern Florida, where I have taken it, it inhabits swampy places, hummocks, and old fields, but apparently never far from water, in which it is quite at home, being an expert swimmer. In such localities the nest is in a burrow in the ground, but Audubon and Bachman state that in extensive salt marshes they Map illustrating the approximate distribution of Rice Field Mice or Rice Rats of the genus Oryzomys which occur in eastern United States. Oryzomys palustris (HARLAN). Type locality Fast Land, near Salem, Salem Co., New Jersey. Description as previously given. Oryzomys p. natator CHAPMAN. (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., V, 1893, p. 44.) Type locality Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida. Larger than palustris and tail longer; color more fulvous brown. Oryzomys p. coloratus BANGS. (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1898, p. 189.) Type locality Cape Sable, Monroe Co., Florida. Larger than natator; color more reddish brown. 204 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. have found nests of this species suspended on a branch of interlaced marsh grass. (1. c., p. 215.) According to Howell the species is par- ticularly abundant in the marshes on the coast of Alabama. The young generally number from four to five and the majority are born in April. Subfamily NEOTOMIN^. This is a small subfamily confined to North America. The molars are not tuberculate but the crowns have irregular enamel loops. Genus NEOTOMA Say & Ord. Neotoma Say & Ord., Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., IV, Pt. 2, 1825, p. 345. Type Mus floridanus Ord. Crowns of grinding teeth (molars) with irregular loops; first and second upper molars with middle enamel loops undivided (for illustra- tion see p. 173.)? third lower molar with two transverse enamel loops bullae oblique and tapering anteriorly; eyes and ears large; tail covered with hair; size large for the family. Three subgenera are recognized, but only one of them, represented by a single species, occurs within our limits. Dental formula: I. > C. > M. - -** 16. i-i o-o 3-3 Subgenus NEOTOMA Say & Ord. Tail covered with hair but not bushy; "maxillary toothrow much narrower posteriorly than anteriorly; middle lobe of last upper molar not divided by inner re-entrant angle" (Goldman). Neotoma floridana illinoensis HOWELL. ILLINOIS WOOD RAT. Neotoma floridana illinoensis HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 28 (Union Co., southern Illinois). GOLDMAN, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 31, 1910, p. 23 (southern Illinois to northeastern Kansas). Type locality Wolf Lake, Union County, southern Illinois. Distribution Southern Illinois to northeastern Arkansas ; limits of range not definitely known. Special characters Cranial characters resembling floridana, but with zygomata more abruptly spreading and with posterior border of palate emarginate; approaches N. f. rubida in size but general color grayer and tail more distinctly bicolor. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 20,- Illinois Wood Rat (Neotoma floridana illinoensis) .. Description Upper parts yellowish brown mixed with blackish hairs, darkest on crown; concealed portion of fur on upper parts dusky plumbeous; sides of body tawny brown or brownish buff; face and outer side of legs grayish; under parts white; feet white; tail dusky brown above, paler beneath. Measurements Total length, about 15.50 in. (393 mm.); tail verte- bras, 7.50 in. (190 mm.); hind foot, 1.50 in. (38 mm.); ear, i in. (25mm.). Average measurements of 6 topotypes in Field Museum col- lection: Total length, 377 (363-396); tail vertebras, 176 (167-190); hind foot, 38 (37-40). Average measurements of 8 adults from the type locality as given by Howell in his original description "Total length, 430 (390-435) ; tail vertebrae, 195 (187-205) ; hind foot, 38 (36-40)." 2o6 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Map illustrating approximate distribution of Wood Rats (Neotoma) in eastern United States. Neotoma pennsylvanica* STONE. (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1893, p. 16.) Type locality South Mountain, Cumberland Co., Pennsylvania. Total length about 16.50 in. (418 mm.); ears large; color dull brownish plumbeous, above mixed with black hairs; feet and under parts white; tail bicolor, above brown, under surface white; first upper molar with anterior inner notch or angle, deep, extending more than half way across the lobe. Neotoma floridana (ORD). (Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris, 1818, p. 181.) Type locality St. John's River, Florida. Smaller than pennsylvanica and more plumbeous, tail less thickly haired; skull slighter; first upper molar with anterior inner notch or angle, shallow, extending less than half way across the lobe. Neotoma /. attwateri (MEARNS). (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIX, 1897, p. 721.) Type locality Lacey's Ranch, Turtle Creek, Kerr Co., Texas. Similar to floridana but pelage longer and grayer in summer; tail less than 6^i in. (175 mm.). * Neotoma magister BAIRD, described from lower jaws found in Pleistocene cave deposits near Carlisle, Pennsylvania (Baird, Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 498), is regarded by Goldman as distinct from N. pennsylvanica (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 31, 1910, p. 83). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 207 Neotoma /. rubida BANGS. (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1898, p. 185.) Type locality Gibson, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Larger than floridana, with larger hind feet; color of upper parts tinged with dark russet brown; tail not distinctly bicolor, dusky above, slightly paler beneath. Neotoma f. illinoensis HOWELL. Type locality Wolf Lake, Union Co., southern Illinois. Description as previously given. Differs from rubida in being some- what lighter in color and tail more distinctly bicolor. The Illinois Wood Rat was lately described by Mr. Arthur H. How- ell, who first secured specimens near Wolf Lake, Union Co., southern Illinois, in May, 1909. By those unfamiliar with mammals it might be mistaken for a large House Rat, but it may readily be distinguished from that species (aside from its well-marked dental characters) by its hair covered tail, large ears, pure white under parts and white feet. Regarding the habits of this Wood Rat, Mr. Howell says: "The animals are common at Wolf Lake, inhabiting the high rocky bluffs which border the east side of the lake. They live in crevices and caves into which they carry large quantities of sticks, leaves, and other rubbish. Their habits in this locality are thus like those of N. pennsyl- vanica and unlike those of rubida in the Southern States where this species lives in swamps and builds its nests in hollow logs or trees and in the branches of trees some distance from the ground. The swamp conditions were present at this northern station, but the adjacent cliffs evidently proved more attractive to them, as is usually the case with members of this genus. Three adults and one young, all in worn pelage, were captured at Wolf Lake, May 24, 25, and in January, 1910, eight more adults in full fresh pelage were secured by a local trapper." (/. c., p. 28-29.) Specimens of this Rat have also been taken in northeastern Arkan- sas (Goldman, /. c., p. 23). The specimen identified by Mr. F. E. Wood as Neotoma floridana from Havana, Illinois (Bull. 111. State Lab. Nat. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 550), and preserved in the collection of the Illinois State University at Urbana, was kindly sent to me by Dr. S. A. Forbes for examination. It is an alcoholic specimen and proves to be a small female Epimys norvegicus, somewhat abnormal in color, probably due to its having been kept in alcohol for a considerable time. Specimens examined from Illinois: Illinois Wolf Lake, Union Co., 6; (B. S.) Wolf Lake, Union Co., 2 = 8. 208 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Subfamily MICROTIN^. A subfamily confined to the northern portions of the old and new worlds. The crowns of molars show irregular enamel loops or triangles. Genus EVOTOMYS Coues. Evotomys Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1874, p. 186. Type Mus rutilus Pallas. Skull narrow and slender; front teeth (incisors) without grooves; molars with pronged roots; crowns of molars with irregular triangles; tail comparatively short; middle of back (normally) reddish brown, in decided contrast to the color of the sides of body; mammae 8. Dental formula: I. - > C. - Pm. - M. ^ ^= 16. i-i o-o o-o 3-3 Evotomys gapperi (VIGORS). RED-BACKED MOUSE. RED-BACKED VOLE. Arvicola gapperi VIGORS, Zool. Jour., V, 1830, p. 204. KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1857, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1858, p. 88 (Wisconsin, Minnesota). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I, 1883, p. 439 (Wisconsin). Hypudaus rutilus var. gapperi HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 194 (Minnesota). Evotomys gapperi BAILEY, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XI, 1897, p. 122 (Minnesota, Ontario, etc.). SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 116 (Dodge Co., Wisconsin). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 22 (Wisconsin). Type locality Vicinity of Lake Simcoe, Ontario. Distribution The Atlantic states from Pennsylvania northward and west along the northern border of the United States to Minnesota and in Canada to the Rocky Mountains. Special characters A broad rufous chestnut stripe on middle of back extending from the crown to the rump; sides of body grayish buff, sometimes with a slight olive tinge but always strikingly different from the color of the back; tail comparatively short. Description Normal phase: A broad stripe of rufous chestnut from the back of the head extends down middle of the back to the rump ; sides of body and fore part of head and face grayish buff, sometimes faintly tinged with olive; a dusky mark at base of the whiskers; under parts ashy or whitish, often faintly tinged with buff; the bases FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 209 of the hairs on the under parts are dark plumbeous and the tips white or buffy white, the dark parts being nearly or quite concealed, but occasionally the under fur shows through, giving a gray tinge to the under parts; adults often have a patch of pale, sometimes whitish, fur surrounding the gland on the flank. Dark phase: Occasionally specimens representing a dichromatic or dark phase of pelage are taken ; the reddish brown back is replaced by dusky and the general coloration is darker and grayer. In the large number of specimens examined I have seen only one in this pelage from Wisconsin. Measurements (12 adult specimens from northern Wisconsin.) Total length, 5.10 to 6 in. (130 to 154 mm.); tail vertebrae, about 1.37 in. (30 to 41 mm.) ; hind foot, about .73 in. (18 to 20 mm.). Remarks The Museum series contains 25 apparently not fully adult specimens which are small, several having a total length of 118 to 125 mm., and are very similar in size and coloration to specimens of E, g. loringi from Dakota. Other specimens from the same locality, however, are of normal size. There is considerable varia- tion in size of the adults of this species, as will be seen by the follow- ing measurements of 12 selected specimens from different localities in northern Wisconsin. Total Length. TaU Vertebrae. Hind Foot. Spread Eagle, Florence Co. ... o 71 14701111. 41 mm. 19 mm. Spread Eagle, Florence Co. ... cf 144 ' 39 ' 19 Conover, Vilas Co d" 152 " 38 " 19 " Conover, Vilas Co o* 130 ' 32 ' 18.5 ' Conover, Vilas Co 9 139 ' 32 ' 18.5 ' Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co. .. d" 154 ' 38 ' 20 Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co ... c? 135 ' 32 18 Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co. .. 9 153 39 ' J 9 Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co. .. 9 142 ' 34 ' 18 Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co. .. 9 134 ' 3 ' 18 Upper St. Croix Lake, Doug- las Co C. > Pm. i-i o-o o-o 3~3 Three recognized subgenera are represented within our limits, which may be characterized as follows in our species: A. Plantar tubercles 6. Crown of third upper molar with five or more irregular loops, the middle ones forming three closed triangles; mammae 8 in our species, 4 pectoral and 4 inguinal. Subgenus MICROTUS, p. 214. Crowns of upper molars and sole of foot. Plantar tubercles 5. Crown of third upper molar with 4 irregular loops, the middle ones forming two closed triangles; mammae 6, 4 inguinal, 2 pec- toral; skull narrow and high. Subgenus PEDOMYS, p.2i8. Crown of third upper molar with 4 irregular loops, the middle ones forming two closed triangles; mammae 4, inguinal; skull flat and wide. Subgenus PITYMYS, p. 222. FIELD KEY TO OUR SPECIES. A. Total length more than 5.50 inches; tail more than l.io inches long. Upper parts more or less grizzly brown; under parts buffy gray or pale brownish gray; tail usually less than 1.60 inches long; plantar tubercles 5; mammae 6. PRAIRIE MEADOW MOUSE OR VOLE. Microtus ochrogaster, p. 218. Upper parts brown, but lacking the "grizzly" appearence of M. ochrogaster; under parts slaty plumbeous, often with a slight wash of cinnamon; tail usually more than 1.60 inches long; plantar tubercles 6; mammae 8 (in our species). MEADOW MOUSE or VOLE. Microtus pennsylvanicus, p. 214. 214 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL B. Total length less than 5.50 inches; tail I inch or less long. Upper parts dark chestnut brown; under parts plumbeous gray, more or less tinged with buff; fur soft, suggesting that of a mole; plantar tubercles 5; mammae 4; claws on fore feet longest. MOLE MOUSE or MOLE-LIKE VOLE. Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides , p. 222. Subgenus MICROTUS Schrank. Plantar tubercles 6; crown of third upper molar with 5 or more irregular loops, the middle ones forming three closed triangles ; mammae 8 in our species, 4 pectoral and 4 inguinal. Microtus pennsylvanicus (ORD). MEADOW MOUSE. MEADOW VOLE. Mus pennsylvanica ORD, Guthrie's Geography, 2nd Amer. ed., II, 1815, p. 292. Arvicola riparius, LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wisconsin). KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr., Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), p. 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). Ib., Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 104 (Illinois). MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Michigan). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869. (1871), p. 193 (Iowa). COUES, Monog. N. Amer. Rodentia, 1877, p. 165 (Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, etc.). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci. I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I, 1883, p. 439 (Wisconsin). Microtus pennsylvanicus RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 185 (Tennessee). BAILEY, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 17, 1900, p. 16 (Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, etc.). SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 117 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXXII, 1907, p. 459 (Kankakee Valley, Indiana). LANTZ, U. S. Dept. Agr., Biol. Surv., Bull. No. 31, 1907, p. 15. McAxEE, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 5 (Munroe Co., Indiana). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 22 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 506 (Indiana). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 29 (Kentucky). Type locality Meadows below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Distribution Northeastern United States, from northern border of Quebec and Ontario to Virginia and in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee west to Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota. Occurs throughout about the northern two-thirds of Illinois and the whole of Wisconsin. Description Upper parts dark chestnut brown, at times ochraceous chestnut; the fur on back mixed with blackish hairs; sides of body lighter than back; under parts slaty plumbeous, occasionally with a slight wash of pale cinnamon brown; feet brownish; tail dark above, somewhat paler below; other characters as given for the subgenus. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 215 Measurements Total length, about 6.50 in. (150 to 180 mm.); tail vertebrae, about 1.75 in. (45 mm.); hind foot, .88 in. (22 mm.). Habitat Fields, meadows and swamps. The Meadow Mouse is common throughout northern Illinois and Wisconsin in low meadows, marshes, and wooded swamps; but it is also found in dry pastures and corn fields, especially in the autumn. Its exact southern range in Illinois has not been definitely determined but it probably does not extend much beyond the south central portion of the state. Wood records it from McLean Co., Illinois (7. c., p. 551). Coues mentions specimens from St. Louis, Missouri, and Hahn, from Munroe and Ohio counties, Indiana, which are the most southern records in the western portion of its range that I have been able to find. This Mouse is not uncommonly seen running about in the daytime and it is more diurnal in its habits than most of its kind. Two or three litters are born in a season and the young number from 5 to 8, generally 5 or 6. The nest is usually in burrows in tussocks of grass above the damp ground and is constructed of grass and pieces of weeds, the in- terior being lined with some soft substance, such as the pappus of milk- weed or cat-o'-nine-tails. The entrance is a hole on one side near the Meadow Mouse or Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) . 216 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL bottom. In summer its food mainly consists of the roots of grass and weeds. Lantz states (7. c., p. 17) that it is very fond of the roots of the wild, white morning-glory (Convolvulus septum) . In fall and winter it eats seeds, grain and the bark of trees, and it often does considerable injury to fruit orchards. I have often seen them sit up on their haunches and eat their food, holding it in their fore paws after the manner of a Squirrel. They do not hibernate in winter but pass most of their time in runways beneath the snow, and it is claimed they store up more or less food for use during the cold weather. Lantz says, "The habit of storing food seems to be less common in this country than with Old World species, but it is far from rare. Caches of food are often found, which show that in times of abundance the animals store away more than is needed for immediate use." (I. c., p. 14.) Dr. C. Hart Merriam in describing the habits of this species says:* " In the beginning of winter, when the ground is frozen for some distance below the surface, it abandons its burrows and lives entirely above ground. Its nests of dry grass then lie flat upon the surface, without attempt at concealment, and are soon buried in the snow. As winter advances and the snow becomes deeper, the Meadow Mice regularly betake themselves to their nests for rest. The heat from their bodies soon melts the snow in contact with and immediately adjoining the nests, which, from the contmued operation of the same cause, come to be surrounded by slowly-growing, dome-shaped chambers. These in- crease in size until the spring thaws, in March and April, melt away their roofs, thus admitting the light and cold. They are then deserted. During snow-shoe tramps over fields at this season I have often noticed holes, from a few inches to a foot in diameter, appearing as if sharply cut in the surface. On inspection, they invariably proved to be the summits, of these dome-shaped cavities, and a nest was always found at the bottom of each, surrounded by a zone of bare ground. They ranged from one to two feet (approximately 300 to 600 mm.) in diam- eter, and most of them were two feet in height. From the bottom of each chamber numerous runways and burrows penetrated the snow in all directions. Some followed along directly upon the ground, while others sloped upward at various angles. Many ran horizontally at varying levels, resting upon the dense strata that indicated the surface lines at different times during the winter. Near each nest was one or more burrows that reached the surface and contained considerable accumulations of the animal dejections. These seemed to be watch holes where the Mice came regularly to look at the prospect outside." * Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, p. 272. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 217 H/crofus drummonai Microtus breweri tflcrotus nesophilus M/irofus shatlucki *l;'cro(us tcrraenovae Map illustrating approximate range of the Meadow Mouse (Microtus pennsylvanicus) , together with the type localities of the species and subspecies belonging to the genus. Microtus pennsylvanicus (ORD). Type locality Meadows below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Description as previously given. Microtus p. nigrans RHOADS. (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 307.) Type locality Currituck, North Carolina. Slightly larger and darker than pennsylvanicus; hind feet larger. Microtus p. acadicus BANGS. (Amer. Nat., XXXI, 1897, p. 239.) Type locality Digby, Nova Scotia. Smaller than pennsylvanicus and somewhat paler. Microtus p. fontigenus (BANGS). (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 48.) Type locality Lake Edward, Quebec. Smaller than pennsylvanicus, with skull shorter and wider; bullae large. Microtus drummondi (Auo. & BACH.). (Quadrupeds of N. Amer., Ill, 1854, p. 166.) Type locality Vicinity of Jasper House, Alberta, Canada. Paler, smaller and more slender than pennsylvanicus. Microtus terranova (BANGS). (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., IX, 1894, p. 129.) Type locality Codroy, Newfoundland. Slightly larger than pennsylvanicus, with larger hind feet; color more yellowish; a median line on belly. Microtus breweri (BAIRD). (Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 525.) Type locality Muskeget Island, Massachusetts. Paler and grayer than pennsylvanicus; size somewhat larger. Microtus nesophilus BAILEY. (Science, N. Ser., VIII, 1898, p. 783.) Type locality Great Gull Island, New York. Darker than pennsylvanicus; skull shorter and wider. Microtus shattucki (HOWE). (Proc. Port. Soc. Nat. Hist., II, 1901, p. 201.) Type locality Tumble Down Dick Island, Dark Harbor, Penobscot Bay, Maine. Similar in color to pennsylvanicus but larger. 2i8 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Fox Lake, 19; Camp Logan, 2; Chicago, 2; Galena, 4=27. Wisconsin Sayner, 21; Solon Springs, 7; Beaver Dam, 69; Spread Eagle, 4; Conover, 2; Lake Koshkonong, i; (M. P. M.) Pewaukee, 3; North Milwaukee, 24; Newport, Door Co., i; Mouth of Yellow River, 5; Prescott, 7; Gordon, Douglas Co., i; Nagawicka Lake, 3; Kelley Brook, Oconto Co., 3; Fountain City, i; Maiden Rock, i; Prescott, Pierce Co., 51; Prairie du Sac, Sauk Co., 21; (0. C.) Fisher Lake, Iron Co., n; Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee Co., i; Saxe- ville, Waukesha Co., i; Milwaukee, 4= 242. Indiana La Porte, 4. Iowa Knoxville, 2; Luxemburg, 3 = 5. Michigan Dowagiac, Cass Co., 5. Microtus xanthognathus (LEACH), YELLOW-NOSED VOLE, was re- corded by Lapham from Wisconsin (Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340), but the record was based on Hoy's notes and is undoubtedly an error. The known range of this species extends from Alberta, Canada, north and west to the Arctic coast and Alaska. Subgenus PEDOMYS Baird. Plantar tubercles 5 ; crown of third upper molar showing 4 irregu- lar loops, the middle ones forming 2 closed triangles; mammae 6, 4 inguinal and 2 pectoral; skull narrow and high. For illustrations of teeth and foot, see page 213. Microtus ochrogaster (WAGNER). PRAIRIE MEADOW MOUSE. PRAIRIE VOLE. H[ypudceus] ochrogaster WAGNER, Schreber's Saugthiere, Suppl., Ill, 1843, p. 592. Arvicola hirsutus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wis- consin). Arvicola austerus KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 97 (Illinois). COUES, Monog. N. Amer. Rodentia, 1877, p. 213 (Illinois, Wiscon- sin, Missouri, etc.). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, 1 ^83, p. 439 (Wiscon- sin). EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 127 (Indiana). Microtus austerus BAILEY, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 17, 1900, p. 73 (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, etc.). SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 1 18 (Wisconsin). McATEE, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 6 (Indiana). VAN HYNING & PELLETT, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., XVII, 1910, p. 213 (Iowa). Microtus (Pedomys) ochrogaster ALLEN, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., X, 1898, p. 459. Microtus ochrogaster OSGOOD, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 48. JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 23 (Wisconsin). JACKSON, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 73 (S. W. Missouri). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 509 (Indiana). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 29 (Illinois, Missouri). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 219 Type locality Uncertain, probably Mississippi Valley.* Distribution From, southern Wisconsin southward nearly throughout Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, eastern Nebraska and Kansas, to northeastern Oklahoma. Special characters This species may be distinguished from M . penn- sylvanicus by its "grizzly" upper parts and different color of belly; also characters previously given for the subgenus. Description Upper parts having a grizzly appearance of mixed light and dark brown; sides of body paler; under parts buffy gray or pale brownish gray; feet brown; upper surface of tail dark, under surface pale; more or less dusky or blackish about the nose; plantar tuber- cules 5. Measurements Total length, about 6 in. (152 mm.); tail vertebrae, about 1.30 in. (35 mm.); hind foot, .80 in. (20 mm.). Habitat High prairie land and dry fields ; common in hazel thickets . The Prairie Meadow Mouse is common throughout Illinois and more or less so in southern Wisconsin. I have seen no specimens from Wis- consin, but there are several in the Field Museum collection from ex- treme northern counties in Illinois (Jo Daviess and Lake). Jackson considers it locally common in Wisconsin in the extreme southern and western counties. Snyder records it from Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., and Bailey from Racine. Strong gives it as "quite abundant in the prairie regions of southern and central (sic) Wisconsin" (/. c., p. 439). Unlike the common Meadow Mouse this species prefers the dry fields and overgrown pastures and it is commonly found in culti- vated clover and alfalfa fields. While their food consists principally of roots of grasses and weeds, they eat considerable grain and in late fall and winter they often do serious damage to fruit trees by attacking the roots. In the, fall I have often found them under old corn shocks in corn fields. The nest resembles that of M. pennsyhanicus, but is somewhat smaller. Several litters are born in a year and the young usually number 4 or 5, rarely 6. Robert Kennicott gives an interesting account of the habits of this species in Illinois. He says : "Their winter burrows on the uncultivated prairie are often in old ant-hills, or, if not, the earth thrown out of them forms little hillocks. They are not very deep, seldom over six inches or a foot, but are remarkable for the numerous and complicated cham- bers and side-passages of which they are composed. In one of these chambers, considerably enlarged, is placed the nest, formed of fine, dry grass. It is globular, from four to six inches in diameter, and with but a small cavity in the centre, which is entered by a very narrow * See Osgood, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 48. 220 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Prairie Meadow Mouse or Prairie Vole (Microius ochrogaster) . opening on one side. This burrow and nest are occupied in winter, and in it at least the first litter of young is produced in the spring; but, in the summer and fall, these meadow-mice may be found in similar nests in the grass above ground, in which the young are often, if not usually, brought forth. Nests formed under the snow in winter are also occupied by them. From the burrows, innumerable runways traverse the neighborhood, intersecting those from other burrows, thus forming a complete net-work so that often scarcely a square yard can be found in an acre not crossed by one or more of these tracks. The runways of one pair may sometimes be traced five or ten rods on every side. These roads are not only formed for use in winter, when the ground is covered with snow, but are also employed as highways in summer. They are made above ground by pressing down and gnawing off the grass, and the earth is often worn quite smooth and bare in those most used. The inhabitants can travel easily along them at all times, in search of food, being well concealed by the overarching grass. In winter, these paths are formed on the ground, under the snow, as well as in the grass. The mice do not inhabit prairie pastures, where the grass is eaten close and affords them no cover. "Upon examining, in November, the burrow of a pair of these meadow-mice, situated on the wild prairie, I found the excavation to have been recently enlarged. The nest was placed near the centre of FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 221 Microtus minor Map illustrating approximate distribution of the Prairie Meadow Mouse (Microtus ochrogaster) and allied forms belonging to the subgenus Pedomys. Microtus ochrogaster (WAGNER). Type locality Uncertain "Mississippi Val- ley." Description as previously given. Microtus o. ludovicianus (BAILEY). (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 17, 1900, p. 74.) Type locality Iowa, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. Very slightly different from ochrogaster. It is supposed to differ in having audital bullae larger and rostrum and nasals more slender. Microtus minor (MERRIAM). (Amer. Nat., XXII, 1888, p. 600.) Type locality Bottineau, base of Turtle Mountains, North Dakota. Similar in coloration to ochrogaster, but decidedly smaller, the skull smaller and narrower. Total length, about 5.25 in. (133 mm.); tail vertebrae, 1.37 in. (35 mm.); hind foot, .63 in. (16 mm.). Not as yet recorded from within our limits, but might be looked for in northwestern Wisconsin. 222 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL the burrow; and at one side, and in the deepest part of the excavation, was the store of winter provisions. This consisted of 5 or 6 quarts of roots, chiefly the round tubers of two species of spike-flowers (liatris), which grow abundantly in the vicinity, with a few roots of helianthus, and of various grasses, and several bulbs of wild onions." (I. c., pp. 98-99.) Kennicott also states that in confinement they were practically omnivorous and very pugnaceous ; two males which he placed in a cage fought savagely and one killed and partly devoured the other. Several others, which he had in captivity, ate an astonishing amount of food, including corn, carrots, fresh meat and almost anything offered them. He also says: "They drank a great deal of water, soon perishing when left long without it, or some moist food." (1. c., p. 100.) Specimens examined from Illinois and adjoining states: Illinois Golconda, Pope Co., 7; Rosiclare, Hardin Co., 15; Fox Lake, Lake Co., 6; Galena, Jo Daviess Co., 2; Olive Branch, Alexander Co., 22; Ozark, Johnson Co., i; Reevesville, Johnson Co., 2 = 56. Indiana La Porte, 2. Iowa Knoxville, 3. Microtus minor MERRIAM, LITTLE MEADOW MOUSE OR LITTLE VOLE. It is not unlikely that this form may occur in northwestern Wisconsin, as it has been recorded from eastern Minnesota. It may be distinguished from ochrogaster by its small size and smaller and narrower skull. A sixth tubercle on hind foot is usually present, though small. The Field Museum collection contains specimens from Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Subgenus PITYMYS McMurtrie. Plantar tubercles 5 ; crown of third upper molar showing 4 loops, the middle ones forming 2 closed triangles; mammae 4, inguinal; skull flat and wide. For characters distinguishing other subgenera, see page 213. Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides (Auo. & BACH.). MOLE MOUSE. MOLE PINE MOUSE. MOLE-LIKE VOLE. Arvicola scalopsoides AUD. & BACH., Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., I, 1841, p. 97. KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857, p. 102. Arvicola kennicotti BAIRD, Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 547 (Illinois). Arvicola pinetorum EVERMANN & BUTLER (part), Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 127 (Indiana). Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides BAILEY, N. A. Fauna, No. 17, 1900, p. 64 (Indiana, Illinois, etc.). LANTZ, U. S. Dept. Agr., Biol. Surv., Bull. No. 31, 1907, p. 19. HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 516 (Indiana). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 223 Mole Mouse (Microtus pinetorum scalopsoides) . Type locality Long Island, New York. Distribution From southern New York to North Carolina on the Atlantic coast and to northern Georgia in the interior, west through part of Kentucky and the greater portion of Indiana and Illinois to the Mississippi River. Special characters Total length less than 5.50 inches; tail short, less than one inch long; ears small; fur soft, suggesting that of a Mole; claws on front feet longest. Description Upper parts dark chestnut brown, paling slightly on sides; under parts plumbeous gray, more or less tinged with buff; tail brown above, paler beneath ; feet light brown. Measurements Total length, 4.90 in. (125 mm.); tail vertebrae, .88 in. (22 mm.); hind foot, .67 in. (17 mm.). The Mole Mouse or Mole-like Vole is an inhabitant of the woods, but it also frequents adjacent overgrown fields. It constructs underground tunnels just beneath the surface, which are marked by ridges of loose soil, resembling those made by a Mole but smaller. The nest is gen- erally built on the ground under old logs or piles of brush, although it is sometimes in a burrow which is deeper than the runways. The young are usually 3 or 4 and several litters are born in a season. The food consists principally of roots, both of wild and cultivated plants, 224 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Map illustrating approximate distribution of Pine Mice belonging to the subgenus Pilymys. Microtus pinetorum (LECoNTE). (Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y., Ill, 1830, p. 133.) Type locality Pine forests of Georgia. General color cinnamon or russet brown; belly dusky, more or less tinged with russet brown; tail short; ears very small. Total length, about 4.50 inches; tail vertebrae, .70 inch. Microtus p. scalopsoid.es (Auo. & BACH.). (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., I, 1841, p. 97.) Type locality Long Island, New York. Larger and darker than pine- torum. Description as previously given. Microtus p. auricularis BAILEY. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XII, 1898, p. 90.) Type locality Washington, Adams Co., Mississippi. About equal in size to pine- torum, but color approaching scalopsoides; fur thick and dense. Microtus nemoralis (BAILEY). (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XII, 1898, p. 89.) Type locality Stilwell (Boston Mountains), Indian Territory. Largest of the subgenus and coloration somewhat lighter than scalopsoides. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 225 and it often does considerable damage in the garden, as it is fond of vegetables such as carrots and potatoes. In localities where it is at all common it is destructive to fruit trees. Kennicott states that while their food consists largely of roots of grass and other plants, he has found acorns and hazel-nuts in their burrows. The exact range of the Mole Mouse in Illinois is uncertain. Bailey records it from West Northfield, Cook Co., and from Warsaw, Hancock Co. Kennicott states it was comrnon in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, but the latter statement at least is questionable, as so far as I am aware there is no actual record of its having been taken in Wisconsin. Wood failed to find it in Champaign Co. and doubts that it is found there. The most northern record I have been able to find of its occurrence in Indiana is that given by Evermann and Butler from Wabash Co.* (1. c., p. 127.) It is common, however, in southern Illinois. The Field Museum collection contains specimens from John- son, -Alexander and Hardin counties. Specimens examined from Illinois: Illinois Olive Branch, Alexander Co., n; Rosiclare, Hardin Co.,i; Reeves ville, Johnson Co., 2= 14. Genus FIBER Cuvier. Fiber Cuvier, Tabl. Elem. de Hist. Nat. des Anim., 1798, p. 141. (De- scribed in 1798, but not named until 1800) Ib., Lecons d'Anat. Comp., I, 1800, tab I. Type Castor zibethicus Linn. Body short and thickly furred; tail bare and vertically compressed (width decidedly less than height); toes of hind feet partly webbed; molars or grinding teeth with pronged roots; lower incisors with roots on outside of molars; auditory meatus with protruding edge. Dental formula: I. - > C. - Pm. - M. $^ = 16. i-i o-o o-o 3-3 Fiber zibethicus (LINN.). MUSKRAT. Castor zibethicus LINN/EUS, Syst. Nat., XII ed., I, 1766, p. 79. Fiber zibethicus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wis- consin). KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), p. 579 (Cook Co., Illinois). Ib., Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Kept., 1857, p. 105 (Illinois). MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., I, 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Mich- * Given as pinetorum by Evermann & Butler, but which I assume to be this race. 226 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. igan). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 194 (Iowa). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). BRAYTON, Geol. Surv. Ohio., IV, Pt. i, 1882, p. 153 (Illinois, etc.). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I. 1883, p. 439 (Wisconsin). MERRIAM, Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, p. 275. EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 126 (Indiana). GARMAN, Bull. Essex Inst., XXVI, 1894, p. 6 (Kentucky). RHOADS, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896 (1897), p. 186 (Tennessee). MILLER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1897, p. u (North Shore, Lake Superior). SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 121 (Wisconsin). ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 129 (Michigan). JACKSON, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 73 (S. W. Missouri). McATEE, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, 1907, p. 5 (Munroe Co., Indiana). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 517 (Indiana). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXII, 1909, p. 62 (Tennessee, Mississippi, etc.). Ib., XXIII, 1910, p. 29 (Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky). Type locality Eastern, Canada. Distribution Eastern United States and southeastern Canada, south to northern North Carolina and northern Georgia and west to eastern Nebraska and Kansas. Replaced farther west and in the South by allied forms. Description General color dark chestnut brown above ; under parts brownish white; fur of back and rump mixed with long, blackish brown hairs; throat whitish; chin with brown spot; feet brown, the claws horn color; tail black, nearly bare and flattened, vertically being considerably higher than wide. Freaks of color often occur; black specimens are not uncommon and partly white or entirely white individuals are occasionally taken. Measurements Size somewhat variable, generally 19 to 23 inches long. The following measurements probably represent an average specimen: Total length, 21.50 in. (546 mm.); tail vertebrae, 10.50 in. (266 mm.); hind foot, 3.30 in. (86 mm.). Remarks Cases of albinism, either complete or in part, are not un- common. About three years ago Mr. W. S. McCrea of Chicago, called my attention to a series of seven Muskrat skins from Hayfield, Iowa, all of which were uniformly marked, having a white ring around the neck and the entire under parts, feet and terminal portion of tail white. Such uniform coloration in a series of specimens was perplexing and suggestive, especially as they all came from the same locality; but later two specimens were received from Indiana, which were similarly marked, but with the dark parts much paler. The Field Museum collection contains a pure white example of this species. The Muskrat or "Musquash," as it is sometimes called, is common in the ponds, streams and overflowed marshes throughout Illinois and FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 227 Muskrat (Fiber zibethicus) . 228 FIELD MUSEUM or NAT-URAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Wisconsin. It is a semi-aquatic animal, spending the greater part of its time in the water. Although largely nocturnal in its habits, it is often to be seen in the daytime either swimming about or sunning itself on a log or along the shore. Like the Beaver it constructs a house for itself for winter use, although it not uncommonly uses a hole which it digs in a bank, often doing considerable damage to dams and canal banks in localities where they are numerous. Bray ton says, "Along the line of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, the 'canal walkers' are com- pelled to keep a sharp eye to the Muskrats, lest they burrow through the bank, and trappers, with their boats, are passed through the locks and given the right of way along the tow-path." (1. c., p. 153.) Of the many muskrat houses which I have examined a description of one will suffice. It was built in a marsh on the edge of a shallow pond; and it was constructed of reeds, weed stalks and sticks mixed with mud and was somewhat oblong in shape, although from a dis- tance it appeared to be nearly round. The top of the rounded dome was three feet high measured from the surface of the swamp and slight- ly over four feet where built up from the side under water. The great - A Muskrat House. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 229 est diameter was 6 feet. The inside chamber measured about 20 x 17 inches, the height above the water being about 14 inches at the highest point, the ceiling being irregular. The floor of the chamber was about 7 inches above the water but slanted downward at one side to a large hole or passageway leading out under water into the pond: The size of the houses varies considerably, however, and many are larger. When a hole in a bank is made, it is usually a simple affair, a single entrance under water and a passageway two or three feet long with an enlarged chamber at the end. In some cases the holes are considerably deeper, with two or more entrances and several connecting passageways, but in such cases I believe they were used by several animals. In winter when the ponds and streams are frozen over, these animals find - ' Muskrat burrow in a bank. more or less air in spaces under the ice, but there is generally a regular air hole in the ice, which is kept open by frequent use. The food of the Muskrats consists mainly of vegetable matter, aquatic plants and roots, but they are fond of fresh-water mussels and, when a cultivated field or apple orchard is near by the pond in which they live, they are not averse to an addition to their bill of fare in the way of vegetables and fruit. They also occasionally eat fish and dead birds when they can get them. In this connection, Dr. C. H. Merriam quotes Mr. W. H. Dall as follows: " ' In 1863, 1 visited Kankakee, Illinois, on a collecting tour for river mollusks, in July. You know how the Muskrats throw up mounds of the shells they dig out. I examined many of these for Unios, etc. On several I saw the skeletons of fish (chiefly suckers I believe) partly or wholly denuded of their flesh, and showing the marks of Muskrat (or at least rodent) teeth. I also saw the shell of a common mud turtle, 230 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL so gnawed and in the same situation. I did not see the animal in the act of feasting, which I believe is chiefly done at night, but I have no doubt that the fish and turtle were eaten by the Muskrat, as well as the mollusks associated with them in the same pile.' ' : (7. c., p. 286.) Dr. Merriam also says: "Mr. Charles F. Carr writes me that in Wolf River, Wisconsin, twelve or fifteen years ago, Muskrats were in the habit of eating fish from a gill net set there by a man named Rich." (/. c., p. 287.) Robert Kennicott gives an interesting account of the habits of this animal. He says: "The muskrat is active in winter, seeking its food under the ice, and carrying it into its burrow or house to be eaten. Though roots are sometimes found in a nest in winter, they are only such as have been recently brought in, no considerable stores of food being collected. The food, in winter, appears to consist of roots of aquatic plants. In summer, it also feeds upon the leaves of various plants, as well as upon mussels, (Unios anodonta and U. plicatus, etc.), of which they consume great quantities in some of our rivers. Collecting them at the bottom, it carries them in its teeth to a log, or stone, where, sitting upon its haunches and grasping them in the fore-paws, it opens the shell with the incisors as skillfully as it could be done with an oyster- knife. In this way, large piles of shells are collected around stones and logs, by examining which the conchologist may often find rare species, brought from the mud by these animals which have been more suc- cessful collectors than himself. I have observed that those species with thin shells are most sought for, and have often found large speci- mens of Unio plicatus unopened among the piles of empty shells, the muskrat apparently considering them not worth the trouble of gnawing apart the valves at the back, in which manner the heavy shells are sometimes opened. "This species is pugnacious, and resists courageously when attacked. The males sometimes have fierce battles, and trappers state that the tail is occasionally mutilated, or cut entirely off in these combats. The voice is a sharp squeak, and some hunters will call the males within shooting distance by imitating it. From five to seven young more or less are produced in April or May. In this region, at least, the muskrats' worst enemy is the mink, which, swimming and diving readily, not only enters their burrows and houses, but pursues them in the water. The mink does not find an easy prey, as the muskrats fight savagely; but, emboldened by hunger, he finally kills his victim, when he does not scruple to devour the whole body. Otters probably kill them, also, as they are occasionally found in muskrat houses." (/. c., pp. 106-107.) FEB., 1912. MAMMALS or ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 231 The flesh of the Muskrat is palatable and is more generally eaten than most people suppose; in this connection the following state- ment by Lantz is of interest: "In February, 1907, the Philadelphia Record stated that a single dealer in Dock street in that city sold about 3,000 muskrats a week for food. The chief source of this supply was stated to be in the vicinity of Salem, N. J. The Saginaw (Mich.) Courier-Herald states that in the season of 1907-8 dressed muskrats in that place retailed at from 15 to 20 cents each, and that dealers had ready sale for all they could provide. Muskrat is said to be a favorite dish at dinners given by church societies in Delaware and Maryland, and annual muskrat banquets are a feature with certain gun clubs in the West. Those of the Munroe (Mich.) Marsh Club have been cele- brated for many years." * Kennicott informs us that in early days the Pottawattamie Indians ate the flesh of the muskrat boiled with corn or roasted, and that hunters and trappers "esteem the tail a great delicacy." Immense numbers of these animals are annually trapped for their skins which are in popular demand among the cheaper class of furs. According to Lantz the records of the London importation and sales are as follows: "From 1763 to 1800 (thirty-eight years) the total number of skins imported and sold in that market was 2,831,453, an average of less than 75,000 yearly. During the fifty years from 1801 to 1850 the total was 20,571,428, or an average of 411,000 yearly. From 1851 to 1890, inclusive, the importations were 99,893,591, a yearly average of 2,500,000. The average London sales in recent years have been over 4,000,000 per annum, and the entire output of skins for 1900 was 5,285,000. A large part of the total collection is sold through London, but in the last few years an increasing number are dressed and manufactured in America." (1. c., p. 24) Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Libertyville, i ; Chicago, 4; Warsaw, i = 6. Wisconsin Sayner, i ; Milton, i ; Green Bay, 2 ; Conover, i ; Eagle River, i; Beaver Dam, 3; (M. P. M.) Milwaukee, i; Muskego Lake, Waukesha Co., i; Pewaukee, 5; Delavan, 2; Maiden Rock, i; (O. C.) Mercer, 15 (skulls); Turtle Lake, Barron Co., i; Lake Pewaukee, 4; Cedar Lake, Turtle River, Iron Co., i; Coif ax, Dunn Co., 12 (skulls) = 52. Minnesota Aitken, 3. Iowa Mayfield, 7. Indiana La Porte, 2. *U. S. Dept. Agr., Fanners' Bull. 396, 1910, p. 22. 232 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Map illustrating approximate distribution of Muskrats (Fiber) in eastern United States and Canada. Fiber zibethicus (LiNN.). Type locality Eastern Canada. Description as previous- ly given. Fiber z. hudsonius PREBLE. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 22, 1902, p. 53.) Type locality Fort Churchill, Keewatin, Canada. Smaller and paler than zibethicus, with smaller molars. Fiber z. cinnamominus HOLLISTER. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 126.) Type locality Wakeeney, Trego Co., Kansas. Coloration pale; smaller and more reddish than zibethicus. Fiber z. aquilonius BANGS. (Proc. N. Eng. Zool. Club, I, 1899, p. 1 1.) Type locality Rigoulette, Hamilton Inlet, Labrador. Darker and upper parts more black- ish than zibethicus; hind foot smaller. Fiber z. macrodon (MERRIAM). (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XI, 1897, p. 143.) Type locality Lake Drummond, Dismal Swamp, Norfolk Co., Virginia. Color darker and richer than zibethicus; teeth larger. Fiber z. rivalicius BANGS. (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVI, 1895, p. 541.) Type locality Burbridge, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Smaller than zibethicus and coloration more dull and sooty. Fiber obscurus BANGS. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., IX, 1894, p. 133.) Type locality Codroy, New Foundland. Smaller than zibethicus; upper parts darker, and under oa.rts and sides less ferruginous. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 233 Genus SYNAPTOMYS Baird. Synaptomys Baird, Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 558. Type Synap- tomys cooperi Baird. Front of upper incisors (front teeth) with distinct groove near outer edge; molars without pronged roots; tail short; face of incisors orange brown in color; crowns of molars with transverse loops. A North American genus comprising two subgenera, Synaptomys and Mictomys, but only the former is represented within our limits. The subgenus Synaptomys has the crowns of the lower cheek teeth (molars) with closed enamel triangles, a loop on the outer edge, and the mammas are 6. Dental formula: I. , C. , Pm. , M. ^= 16. i-i o-o o-o 3-3 Subgenus SYNAPTOMYS Baird. Synaptomys cooperi gossii (MERRIAM). Goss's LEMMING MOUSE. Synaptomys helaletes gossii MERRIAM, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 60. Synaptomys gossi HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 30 (Missouri and southern Illinois). Synaptomys cooperi COUES, Monog. N. Amer. Rodentia, 1877, p. 235-236 (part) (southern Illinois). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., I, 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). WOOD, 111. State Lab. Nal. Hist., VIII, 1910, p. 559 (Champaign Co., 111.). Type locality Neosho Falls, Woodson Co., Kansas. Distribution Kansas, Missouri and southern Illinois, northward through at least a considerable portion of Illinois, Iowa and Nebras- ka to South Dakota ; range not satisfactorily determined. Description Adult in summer: General color of upper parts dark rusty brown or reddish brown mixed with black tipped hairs; under parts plumbeous gray, the hairs with white tips but the plumbeous under fur showing through; a dusky mark at base of the whiskers; tail brownish above, paler beneath; skull larger and heavier and brain case actually and relatively longer than in cooperi. Adult in winter: Grayer and decidedly less reddish brown. Im- mature specimens are quite different, the general color of the upper parts being dusky slate or grayish brown according to age. Measurements Total length, about 5 in. (128 mm.); tail vertebrae, .70 in. (17. 5 mm.); hind foot, .75 in. (19 mm.). 234 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL The field measurements of six specimens in this Museum, collected by E. Heller at Rosiclare, Hardin Co., Illinois, are as follows: No 16049, c^ 1 Total Length. . . . . 132 mm. Tail Vertebras. 19 mm. Hind Foot. 19.5 mm. No. 15782, c? . . . . 122 17 ' 19 " No 15784, c? . . 128 " 18 " 19 " No. 16051, cf no " 20 ' 19.15 '' No 16052, 9 IV) " 18 " 2O No. 1 5781. 9 . . 128 " 17 " IQ.5 " The measurements of the smallest and largest of six specimens, which I have examined, from Horseshoe Lake, Missouri, collected by A. H. Howell, in the U. S. Biological Survey collection, are as follows: Total length, 118 and 136 mm.; tail vertebrae, 18 and 21 mm.; hind foot, 18 and 20 mm. The distribution of the various forms of Synaptomys is not definitely known. Specimens which I have examined from Indiana, which have been recorded by various authors as cooperi (or stonei, a supposed form which is probably not separable from it), are apparently intermediate between gossii and cooperi, although perhaps averaging nearer the latter, and the same may be said of specimens from east central Illinois (Champaign Co.), while those I have seen from Ann Arbor, Michigan, seem to be intermediate between cooperi and fatuus. Specimens from southern Illinois agree very well with typical gossii, as do those from Iowa; and Hahn states* he secured examples from the Missouri River, South Dakota, which he considered to be gossii, as they differed "mark- edly from the Indiana specimens in being much larger and clumsier, with larger and heavier skull." So far as I know, no specimens of Synaptomys have been taken in northern Illinois or southern Wiscon- sin, but those from northern Wisconsin are apparently fatuus, as they agree in size and cranial characters (including the small narrow incisors) with examples of that form in this Museum from the type locality, Lake Edward, Quebec. Minnesota specimens which I have seen, while not typical, are near fatuus. While the eastern form of this Mouse, Synaptomys cooperi, is an inhabitant of swamps and sphagnum bogs, in the western part of its range it does not appear to restrict itself to such localities; in fact, in Indiana, where it appears to intergrade with gossii, by far the greater number have been taken in grassy fields and open woods. Hahn states (/. c., p. 523) that he secured but a single specimen in a swamp, and that they seemed to be confined to areas covered with dense blue grass. In describing the habits of Synaptomys in Indiana, Quick and Butler say: * Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 522. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 235 Goss's Lemming Mouse (Synaptomys cooperi gossii) . "This mouse is found on hillsides in high, dry, blue grass pastures, where flat stones are irregularly scattered over the surface; it especial- ly prefers what are known as 'wood pastures' containing little or no undergrowth. . . . Cooper's field mouse has been found breed- ing from February to December. It has never been known by the authors to bring forth more than four young at a time. "... The nest of this species is always under cover, generally in a hollow log or stump, and is composed of fine grass. It is not so securely built as the nests of some of the other species of this family. "Cooper's mice live in winter chiefly upon the stems of blue grass and the more tender portions of the white clover. Stores of these foods may be found near their winter quarters. In November, 1883, a large quantity of the tuberous roots of the plant commonly called 'wild artichoke' (Helianthus doronicoides Lam.) were found in one of the store-houses of a colony of these mice. . . . Cooper's mouse is the most active representative of its family in this locality. It is most frequently found by turning over stones and logs, beneath which it remains concealed, especially in winter. Upon removing their cover- ing, as the light reaches them, they are off like a flash for their sub- terranean paths, leaving the collector to mourn for a valuable speci- men, a glimpse of which he caught as it fled before his hand could grasp the prize." (Amer. Nat., XIX, 1885, pp. 114, 115.) 236 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL So few specimens have been taken in Illinois that we know very little as to its habits in the state. Thus far it has been taken only in Hardin, Champaign, and Marion counties. The specimens recorded by Wood as found dead near Urbana, Champaign Co., were "on a low bluff overlooking a creek, in pasture land where there were stumps and scattered trees." (/. c., p. 56.) In southern Illinois, however, they seem to prefer swampy localities, as do those which have been taken in Missouri. Mr. A. H. Howell found this species common at Horseshoe Lake, St. Charles County, Missouri. He says, "A large colony had occupied a low marshy meadow close to the Mississippi River. At the time of my visit the water in the river was very high, and the meadow was overflowed to the depth of 12 to 1 8 inches. The mice had been driven from their burrows by the high water, and were hiding as well as they could on tussocks and under patches of floating debris. When dis- turbed they ran rather slowly over the submerged vegetation and swam freely, but were easily overtaken. Many had been killed by dogs or other predatory animals, and I was able to get as many speci- mens as I needed by catching them in my hands. The burrows in this meadow were on little hillocks, the entrances near the top. Thus they are probably dry except in times of very high water. The entrances are perfectly open and not concealed under vegetation as is the habit of Synaptomys cooperi in the eastern States. Well beaten runways extended out from the burrows and under the dead vegetation." (I.e., p. 30.) Mr. Howell secured a single specimen of Synaptomys in Illinois, which he provisionally referred to this form. It was taken in an old dry marsh at Odin, Marion Co. He states that it agrees with gossii in color, but the skull is too young to be properly identified (1. c., p. 30). Specimens examined from Illinois and adjoining states : Illinois Rosiclare, Hardin Co., u; (I. S. L.) (intermediate between gossii and cooperi) Urbana, Champaign Co., 2 (only one with skull). Missouri (B. S.) Horseshoe Lake, 6. Iowa (N. M.) Knoxville, i. Indiana (Not typical, intermediate between gossii and cooperi but averaging nearer cooperi) Bascom, 2 ; Mitchell, 2 ; Hebron, i ; Brook- ville, 1 = 6. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS or ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 237 Synaptomys cooperi fatuus (BANGS). BANGS'S LEMMING MOUSE. Synaptomys fatuus BANGS, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 47. MILLER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, No. i, 1897, p. 11 (North Bay and Peninsular Harbor, Ontario). Type locality Lake Edward, Province of Quebec, Canada. Distribution Eastern Canada, south to Maine, New Hampshire and northern Wisconsin and probably northern Michigan and Minne- sota; exact limits of range unknown. Description Similar to S. cooperi, but averaging somewhat smaller and darker, the skull smaller and the upper incisors shorter and narrower. Measurements Total length, about 4.75 in. (120.5 mm.); tail vertebras, .69 in. (17.5 mm.); hind foot, .71 in. (18 mm.). The following are the field measurements of six specimens collected by Mr. W. H. Osgood in northern Wisconsin: Total Length. Tail Vertebrae. Hind Foot . No. 18302, cf, Conover, Vilas Co 128 mm. 18 mm. 18.5 mm. No. 18304, ? , Conover, Vilas Co 122 ' 18 ' 18.5 ' No. 18303, 9 , Conover, Vilas Co 121 ' 17 ' 18 No. 18305, 9 , Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co. 117 ' 17 19 No. 16250, 9 , Sayner, Vilas Co 103 ' 17 19 No. 16249, d", Solon Springs, Douglas Co. 116 ' 17 ' 17.5 " So far as I am aware, Bangs's Lemming Mouse has not been pre- viously recorded from Wisconsin. Specimens in this Museum from northern Wisconsin approach much nearer to this form than to cooperi and agree very well in size and cranial characters with those from the type locality. Bangs's Lemming Mouse is, no doubt, not uncommon in suitable localities throughout at least the northern portion of the state. Its natural habitat is wet bogs and sphagnum swamps both in open places and in woods. Mr. Osgood informs me that in the localities he visited in Vilas County they were quite scarce and were only found in small numbers in isolated colonies in cold sphagnum swamps. Even where occasional specimens were caught, continued trapping often failed to secure others. Mr. Gerrit S. Miller secured specimens of this Mouse at Peninsular Harbor, Ontario, in the northern . shore of Lake Superior, where, he says, it frequently occurs at the bor- ders of clearings especially near boggy places grown up to bushes. He caught one under the foundation of a disused log cabin in low ground near the woods and secured others in pitfalls dug at the edge of a garden. He says, "wherever the animal occurred it lived in cavities among roots covered with moss and sphagnum. Even in places where it was most abundant I could find no beaten runways." (/. c., p. 12). 238 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Specimens examined from Wisconsin and adjoining states: Wisconsin Solon Springs, Douglas Co., i; Sayner, Vilas Co., i; Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co., i; Conover, Vilas Co., 3 = 6. Minnesota (N. M.) Elk River, i ; not typical but approaching fatuus. Michigan (B. S.) Ann Arbor, 2; intermediate between fatuus and cooperi. () Specimens examined O Records. Map illustrating the supposed distribution of Lemming Mice belonging to the subgenus Synap- tomys, which occur in eastern United States. The map is provisional, as the ranges of the various forms have not been determined. No attempt has been made to include all records east of Indiana and Michigan. Synaptomys cooperi BAIRD. (Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 558.) Type locality Unknown; supposed to be New Jersey. Color, sepia to tawny brown (more or less variable) mixed with scattered black hairs on back; hairs on under parts plumbeous, with whitish tips; mammae 6. Total length, about 4.75 in. (120 mm.); tail vertebras, .70 in. (17.5 mm.); hind foot, .72 in. (18 mm.). Synaptomys c. fatuus BANGS. Type locality Lake Edward, Quebec, Canada. Similar to cooperi, but averaging smaller and somewhat darker than cooperi; skull smaller and upper incisors shorter and narrower. Occurs in northern Wisconsin and northward. Synaptomys c. gossii (MERRIAM). Type locality Neosho Falls, Woodson Co., Kansas. Size averaging larger than cooperi and color more reddish brown; skull larger and rostrum narrower; smaller audital bullae. The brain case in adult specimens is both actually and relatively longer than cooperi. Synaptomys c. helaletes (MERRIAM). (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 1896, p. 59.) Type locality Dismal Swamp, Norfolk Co., Virginia. Similar to cooperi, but skull somewhat longer and heavier; tail shorter and feet larger. "Similar to S. cooperi, but with larger head and feet, longer tail, much broader rostrum and mandible, and larger and more massive skull and teeth" (Merriam). FEB. 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 239 Family GEOMYID^E. Pocket Gophers. The Geomyida are a family of fossorial or burrowing Rodents com- monly known as Pocket Gophers, which are restricted, so far as known, to North and Central America. They are characterized by the greatly developed claws of the fore feet, small eyes and ears and external cheek pouches lined with fur, which open on the sides of the face. Nine genera, three of which occur in the United States, and more than 100 species and subspecies are recognized, but only one genus and a single species occur within our limits. Genus GEOMYS Rafinesque.- Geomys Rafinesque, Amer. Monthly Mag., II, 1817, p. 45. Type Geomys pinetis Rafinesque. Upper incisors with two grooves (bisul- cate), a deep one in the middle and much smaller and narrower one near the inner edge; first and second upper molars with posterior enamel plate; infraorbital foramen confined to lower portion of maxilla; auditory meatus much elongated and tubular, opening between the mastoid process of the squamosal and posterior root of zygoma*; crowns of cheek teeth with transverse enamel loops, a single loop on each molar and two on the premolar; claws of fore feet much elongated; external cheek pouches large, opening on sides of face; eyes small; tail thick, much shorter than the body, and the terminal portion scantily haired; ears very small. Front view showing cheek pouches and grooved upper incisors. ^=20. Dental formula: I. C. > Pm. - > M. i-i o-o i-i 3-3 Geomys bursarius (SHAW). POCKET GOPHER. Mus bursarius SHAW, Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond., V, 1800, p. 227. Geomys ? bursarius RICHARDSON, Fauna Bor. Amer., I, 1829, p. 203. Geomys bursarius LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wis- consin). KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. State Agr. Soc., I, 1853-54 (1855), p. 580 (Cook Co., Illinois). /&., Agr. Rept. for 1857, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1858, *See Illustration, p. 96. 240 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. p. 72 (Illinois). BAIRD, Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 377 (Illinois). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 190 (Iowa). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, Hi 1883, p. 440 (Wisconsin). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 223 (Minnesota). MERRIAM, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 8, 1895, p. 120 (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, etc.). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 24 (Wisconsin). Ib., VIII, 1910, p. 88 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 524 (Indiana). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 31 (Illinois). VAN HYNING & PELLETT, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., XVII, 1910, p. 212 (Iowa). Type locality Uncertain, supposed to be upper Mississippi Valley. Distribution From North Dakota and northern Wisconsin south to eastern Kansas and Illinois; occurs sparingly in western Indiana. In Illinois it has been recorded by Howell as far south as Randolph and Jefferson counties; replaced in more southern and western states by other forms. Description Somewhat larger than a House Rat and much more thick set; neck very short; cheeks provided with pockets which open on the outside and are lined with fur; tail stout, the terminal portion nearly bare; eyes and ears small. General color dull chest- nut brown, the under parts paler; concealed bases of the hairs dark plumbeous ; feet whitish ; hair on basal portion of tail like the back, the few scanty hairs on terminal portion white or whitish; front feet greatly developed for digging, the claws noticeably large and long. Average measurements Total length, about n in. (279 mm); tail vertebrae, 3.25 in. (82. 6 mm.); hind foot, 1.45 in. (37mm.). The Pocket Gopher occurs throughout the greater portion of Illi- nois and Wisconsin in localities where there are prairie lands and open places where the soil is loose and sandy. Kennicott states that in 1853, while it was not common in Cook County, Illinois, it was "very abun- dant on the prairies in the middle of the state where the farmers are greatly injured by it." Wood reports it from Mason Co. and states it is reported to be common in the western part of the state (/. c., p. 561). There is a specimen in this Museum from Anderson, Macoupin Co.; Dr. Merriam records it from Cook and St. Clair counties (I. c., 1895, p. 120) ; and Baird mentions specimens from Morgan and Tazewell counties, Illinois (I. c., p. 377). Howell found it in Randolph, Jefferson, Marion, and Richland counties and he considers Coulterville in Ran- dolph County to be about the southern limit of its range in Illinois (/. c., p. 31). In Wisconsin it is locally distributed throughout the greater portion of the state. I have seen specimens from Douglas, Dunn, Burnett FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 241 242 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL and Buffalo counties; Jackson reports them from Pepin, Pierce and Dunn counties (1. c., 1908, p. 24), and in a later paper he states that they are "exceedingly abundant in parts of the sandy country in the southern two-thirds of Bayfield and Douglas counties" (1. c., igio, p. 88). In the southeastern part of the state they are rarely found, although Dr. Merriam records specimens from Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties (I. c., p. 120). The Pocket Gophers live in underground tunnels which they exca- vate in loose alluvial soils. Their food consists mainly of roots of various plants, but they also attack the roots of trees and often do con- siderable damage to orchards. Lantz says,* "Originally they sub- sisted on roots and stems of native plants, but they immediately turned their attention to the cultivated plants introduced by the settler, includ- ing succulent garden vegetables, alfalfa, and clover; they are indebted to the settler also, for the destruction of many of their natural enemies and for loosening the soil by tillage. Thus the gopher's environment is greatly improved, and except where due vigilance has been exercised, these pests have multiplied, and greatly extended their range in culti- vated lands." In writing of its depredations the same author says: "In attacking nursery trees the gopher takes the entire'root, not merely the bark. It does not eat the roots all at once but cuts them into short pieces, packs them into its enormous cheek pouches, and carries them away to its caches, or stores of food. It is these provisions for the future that make its injury to young orchards, nurseries, and gardens so extensive. The animal lays up far more than it ever con- sumes. It is not uncommon to plow up stores of small potatoes or roots of clover, alfalfa, or trees amounting to from a peck to half a bushel at a place. As the stores are usually placed much deeper in the ground, those uncovered by the ploughman are but a small portion of those deposited by the animals" (1. c., p. 213). In writing of this species Kennicott says, "East of the Mississippi it has been found in some parts of Indiana,! Michigan, and Wisconsin; and on the great prairies in Central Illinois; also south and east of the Illinois River it is constantly met with. . . . On the wild prairie, the gopher throws up a mound of earth of considerable size, frequently 10 feet in diameter and from 1^2 to 2 feet in height, being highest on the low ground liable to inundation. In this mound is his nest, in which the young are bred; and from it, endless galleries are excavated in various directions, a foot or two below the surface. These are com- plicated, frequently intersecting and running together, and in short, * Pocket Gophers as Enemies of Trees. Yearbook Dept. Agr., 1909, pp. 210-211. t Its range in Indiana appears to be restricted to the western portion of the state. Hahn records it from Newton and Lake counties (/. c., p. 525). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 243 forming a complete network of underground roads through which these strange animals can travel for miles. In digging them, the gophers run up shafts at irregular intervals from 2 to 10 feet apart, which open to the surface usually a little at one side of the main gallery, and from each of these side cuts they throw out the earth brought from the main gallery below, to the amount of from a quart to one or more bushels, and thus form little piles of earth by which the general course of the burrow may be traced. They have a remarkable antipathy to the light and these side cuts are usually closed again with earth after they have served their first purpose. . . . The main galleries are about 4 inches in diameter and the side cuts from 2 to 3 inches. ... As observed in captivity, when the gopher begins to dig from the surface, he at first loosens the earth with his claws, aided sometimes with his teeth, then scratches it back with his fore-feet, and throws it further off with his hind-feet. As the hole deepens, he does not always carry out the earth in his pouches, but frequently, after throwing it behind him a short distance, turns round and simply pushes it forth with his head and shoulders, sometimes filling his pouches first and pushing before him a quantity of earth besides. In carrying it for some dis- tance within his burrow, however, he appears oftener to convey it all in his pouches. . "The proper food of the gopher consists of roots, which are usually obtained without leaving his underground roads. Though he some- times comes to the surface to feed upon the leaves and seeds of plants, this does not appear to be his principal means of subsistance. The manner in which he naturally procures food is by approaching it from below, without coming above ground at all. He lays up stores, appar- ently, at all seasons. Considerable quantities of the roots of the rosin- weed (Silphium laciniatum), wild artichokes or wild sunflower (Helianthus?), spike flower (Liatris?), and various other plants, are collected in its burrows on the prairies; while, in cultivated fields, I am informed, the roots of the grasses, potatoes, and other vegetables are found in its holes" (I. c., pp. 72-75). The young number from 3 to 6, generally 4 or 5, and the majority are born in April in this latitude. Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Anderson, i. Indiana St. Joseph, i. Minnesota Ft. Snelling, 4. Wisconsin (M. P. M.) Fountain City, 4; Prescott, Pierce Co., 6; St. Croix Dam, i; Mouth of Yellow River, Burnett Co., 2; Rush City Bridge, Burnett Co., i; (S. C.). Meridian, Dunn Co., 2 = 16. 244 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Map illustrating approximate range of the Pocket Gopher (Geomys bursarius), together with the type localities of other species and subspecies of the genus which occur in the United States. Geomys bursarius (SHAW). Type locality Upper Mississippi Valley. Description as previously given. Geomys lutescens (MERRIAM). (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 4, 1890, p. 51.) Type local- ity Sandhills, Birdwood Creek, Lincoln Co., western Nebraska. Paler than bursarius and skull shorter. Geomys breviceps BAIRD. (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., VII, 1855, p. 335). Type locality Prairie Mer Rouge, Morehouse Parish, 'Louisiana. Smaller than bursarius, and much darker above and below. Geomys b. sagittalis MERRIAM. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 8, 1895, p. 134.) Type locality Clear Creek, Galveston Bay, Texas. Similar to brevipes, but smaller and more highly colored. Geomys b. attwateri MERRIAM. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 8, 1895, p. 135.) Type locality Rockport, Aransas Co., Texas. Similar to brevipes, but larger and not so dark. Geomys b. llanensis BAILEY. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 25, 1905, p. 129.) Type local- ity Llano, Llano Co., Texas. Larger and lighter than brevipes; skull more arched. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 245 Geomys texensis MERRIAM. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 8, 1895, p. 137.) Type local- ity Mason, Mason Co., Texas. A small white-bellied species with nasals shorter and broader than brevipes. Geomys arenarius MERRIAM. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 8, 1895, p. 139.) Type local- ity El Paso, El Paso Co., Texas. Upper parts pale drab; somewhat resem- bling lutescens, but smaller and tail longer and more hairy. Geomys personatus TRUE. (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XI, 1888 (1889), p. 159.) Type locality Padre Island, Cameron Co., Texas. Large and pale; several cranial differences, noticeably the zygomatic arches. Geomys p. fallax MERRIAM. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 8, 1895, p. 144.) Type locality South side of Nueces Bay, Cameron Co., Texas. Much smaller than per- sonatus, color darker, tail shorter. Geomys tuza (ORD). (Outline's Geography, 2nd Amer. ed., II, 1815, p. 292.) Type locality Pine barrens near Augusta, Richmond Co., Georgia. Color of upper parts cinnamon brown ; tail longer and more naked and upper premolar relatively much longer than in western forms. Geomys t. mobilensis MERRIAM. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 8, 1895, p. 119.) Type locality Mobile Bay, Baldwin Co., Alabama. Smaller and darker than tuza; audital bullse much smaller than in floridanus. Geomys floridanus (AuD. & BACH.). (Quadrupeds of N. Amer., Ill, 1854, p. 242.) Type locality St. Augustine, St. John Co., Florida. Darker than tuza, and fore feet longer. Geomys f. austrinus BANGS. (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1898, p. 177.) Type locality Belleair, Hillsboro Co., Florida. Similar to floridanus, but paler and more tawny ; with more white on under parts. Geomys colonus BANGS. (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1898, p. 178.) Type locality St. Mary's, Camden Co., Georgia. Darker than floridanus, together with slight cranial differences. Geomys cumberlandius BANGS. (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1898, p. 180.) Type locality "Stafford Place," Cumberland Island, Camden Co., Georgia. Size large; color russet, with a darker dorsal stripe together with cranial differ- ences. 246 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL Family ZAPODID^. Jumping Mice. The Zapodida* or Jumping Mice, are a semi-boreal family com- prising two well marked subfamilies Zapodina and Sminthince; the latter, however, is not represented in North America. The subfamily Zapodince contains three genera, two of which are North American and which include about 20 species and subspecies, but so far only a single species, the Hudson Bay Jumping Mouse, Zapus hudsonius, has been taken within our limits. It is probable, however, that the Woodland Jumping Mouse, Napaozapus in- signis, occurs in northern Wisconsin, as it has been taken in the Michigan peninsular. The two genera may be briefly characterized as follows : A small upper premolar present; tail not tipped with white; teeth 18. Genus Zapus. Upper premolar absent; tail tipped with white; teeth 16. Genus Napaozapus. Zapus. (Much enlarged.) Napaozapus. (Much enlarged.) Subfamily ZAPODIN^E. Genus ZAPUS Coues. Zapus Coues, Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr., 2nd ser., I, 1875, p. 253. Type Dipus hudsonius Zimmermann. Tail very long and slender; hind legs greatly elongated ; antorbital foramen large and oval; upper premolar present but small; crowns of molars with enamel much folded ; upper incisors sulcate (grooved) and brownish orange in color; hind foot with 5 toes, each with separate metatarsal; fore foot with 4 functional toes with perfect claws and a rudimentary thumb with a flat nail; pelage rather coarse; internal cheek pouches present but small. Dental formula: I. i-i , C. , Pm. , M. o-o o-o 3-3 = 18. * For reasons for recognizing the family Zapodidce as distinct from Dipodidce, see Lyon, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXIII, 1901, p. 659. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 247 Zapus hudsonius (ZIMM.). HUDSON BAY JUMPING MOUSE. Dipus hudsonius ZIMMERMANN, Geog. Gesch. Mensch. u. vierfuss. Thiere, II, 1780, P- 358. Jaculus americanus WAGLER, Nat. Syst. Amphib., 1830, p. 23. Meriones Americanus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 339 (Wisconsin). Jaculus hudsonius BAIRD, Mammals N. Amer., 1857, p. 430 (in part). MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., I, 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Michigan). ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1869 (1871), p. 192 (Iowa). STRONG, Geol. Wis. Surv., 1873-79, I. l88 3. P- 43 8 (Wisconsin). Jaculus labradorius KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1856, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1857. P- 95 (Illinois). Zapus hudsonius COUES & ALLEN, Monog. N. Amer. Rodentia, 1877, p. 476 (Cook Co., Illinois). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 218 (Minnesota). OSBORN, Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., 1887-89 (1890), p. 43 (Iowa). EVERMANN & BUTLER, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), p. 125 (Indiana). PREBLE, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 15, 1899, p. 15 (Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario). MILLER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XXVIII, 1897, p. 9 (North Bay and Nepigon, Ontario). SNYDER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 116 (Wisconsin). ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 129 (Michigan). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 24 (Wisconsin). HOLLISTER, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 140 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 528 (Indiana). EVERMANN & CLARK, Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci., XIII, 1911, p. 25 (Indiana). Type locality Hudson Bay. Distribution From Hudson Bay to New Jersey, and in the mountains to North Carolina, west through Ohio, Indiana, and greater portion of Illinois to Missouri and Minnesota. Intergrades with ameri- canus in the southeastern portion of its range, and with campestris near the edge of the Great Plains. Description Body about the size of the Common House Mouse, but hind legs elongated and tail noticeably long and slender; top of head and back dark ochraceous brown; sides of body tawny or yellowish brown mixed with darker hairs; under parts and feet white or whitish, usually a clear yellowish brown line separating the color of the sides of the body from the white of the under parts ; tail dark above, whitish beneath; a dusky mask near nose at base of the whiskers. Measurements Total length, 7.50 to 8.50 in. (190 to 215 mm.); tail vertebrae, 4.50 to 5.25 in. (115 to 133 mm.); hind foot, 1.15 to 1.24 in. (29.5 to 31 mm.). 248 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 249 The Hudson Bay Jumping Mouse is found within our limits from northern Illinois northward throughout Wisconsin. I have examined specimens from Lake and Jo Daviess counties, Illinois, and from Vilas, Burnett, Marinette, Pierce, Dodge and Rock counties, Wisconsin. Hollister records it from Racine and Walworth counties (/. c., p. 140), and Jackson from Oneida County, Wisconsin, and it undoubtedly occurs throughout the state. This curious Mouse inhabits both fields and woodland and I have seen it in bogs, although on the whole it seems to like brush grown places along fences and bordering timber. It is well named, for, when frightened, it makes a series of surprisingly long jumps, a distance of ten feet at a single leap being by no means unusual, and to a person who sees one of these little animals for the first time, its activity is astonishing. Suddenly from almost under his feet it goes flying through the air, barely touching the ground before it is up again with the seem- ing resiliency of a rubber ball, and the next moment it has disappeared in the bushes. It makes a nest in burrows in the ground, under logs, and in hollow trees and stumps. In summer it also constructs a rounded nest which is concealed behind rocks or under bushes and thick grass. These nests are usually about 4 or 5 inches in diameter, the entrance being a hole at one side. The young are from 3 to 6 in number. This species hibernates in winter in this latitude. Preble states that during the cold weather they are generally found singly, although sometimes in pairs, in nests in holes in the ground, which vary from a few inches to three feet below the surface. He says, "They lie rolled up like a ball with the feet close together and the tail curled about them. If removed from the nest and subjected to a moderate degree of heat, they revive and in the course of a few hours move about freely, but generally resume their lethargic state if again exposed to cold. The pulse and respiration are very slow" (I.e., p. 9). He also states that these animals sometimes hibernate in a nest above ground. Kennicott says, "Dr Hoy informs me that when he was a boy, in digging out a rabbit in winter, he found a pair of this species in a state of profound torpor, exhibiting all the phenomena of perfect hibernation. They were in a large nest of leaves situated two or three feet below the surface" (I.e., p. 97). An interesting article on the hibernation of the Jumping Mouse in Indiana is given by Professor Sanborn Tenney.* He says, "On the i8th of January of the present year (1872), I went with Dr. A. Patton of Vincennes, Indiana, to visit a mound situated about a mile or a mile * Amer. Nat., VI, 1872, p. 330. 250 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL and a half in an easterly direction from Vincennes. While digging in a mound in search of relics that might throw light upon its origin and history, we came to a nest about two feet below the surface of the ground, carefully made of bits of grass, and in this nest was a Jumping Mouse (Jaculus Hudsonius Baird) apparently dead. It was coiled up as tightly as it could be, the nose being placed upon the belly, and the long tail coiled around the ball-like form which the animal had assumed. I took the little mouse in my hand. It exhibited no motion or sign of life. Its eyes and mouth were shut tight, and its little fore feet or hands were shut and placed close together. Everything in- dicated that the mouse was perfectly dead, except the fact that it was not as rigid as perhaps a dead mouse would be in the winter. I tied the mouse and nest in my handkerchief and carried them to Vincennes. Arriving at Dr. Patton's office I untied my treasures, and took out the mouse and held it for some time in my hand; it still exhibited no sign of life ; but at length I thought I saw a slight movement in one of the hind legs. Presently there was a very slight movement of the head, yet so feeble that one could hardly be sure it was real. Then there came to be some evidence of breathing, and a slight pressure of my fingers upon the tail near the body was followed by an immediate but feeble movement of one of the hind legs. At length there was unmistak- able evidence that the animal was breathing, but the breathing was a labored action, and seemingly performed with great difficulty. As the mouse became warmer the signs of life became more and more marked; and in the course of the same afternoon on which I brought it into the warm room it became perfectly active, and was as ready to jump about as any other number of its species. "I put this mouse, into a little tin box with holes in the cover, and took him with me in my journeyings, taking care to put in the box a portion of an ear of corn and pieces of paper. It ate the corn by gnawing from the outside of the kernel, and it gnawed the paper into bits with which it made a nest. On the fourth day after its capture I gave it water which it seemed to relish. On the 23d of January I took it with me to Elgin, Illinois, nearly three hundred miles farther north than the region where I found the specimen. The weather was intensely cold. Taking the mouse from the box, I placed it on a news- paper on a table, and covered it with a large glass bell, lifting the edge of the glass so as to admit a supply of air. Under this glass was placed a good supply of waste cotton. Soon after it was fairly established in its new and more commodious quarters, it began to clean every part of its body in the most thorough manner, washing itself very much in the same manner as a cat washes. On coming to the tail it passed FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 251 that long member, for its whole length, through the mouth from side to side, beginning near the body and ending at the tip. At night as soon as the lights were put out the mouse began gnawing the paper, and during the night it gnawed all the newspapers it could reach, and made the fragments and the cotton into a large nest perhaps five or six inches in diameter, and established itself in the centre. Here it spent the succeeding day. The next night it was supplied with more Map illustrating approximate distribution of the Jumping Mice belonging to the genus Zapus in eastern United States. Zapus hudsonius (ZIMMERMANN). Type locality Hudson Bay. Description as previously given. Zapus h. campestris PREBLE. (N. Amer. Fauna, No. 15, 1899, p. 20.) Type lo- cality Bear Lodge Mountains, Wyoming. Similar to hudsonius but slightly larger, brighter in color and brain-case higher. Zapus h. americanus (BARTON). (Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., IV, 1799, p. 115.) Type locality Near Philadelphia, Penn. Smaller than hudsonius, with color of dorsal area less distinctly marked. Zapus h. ladas BANGS. (Proc. N. Eng. Zool. Club, I, 1899, p. 10.) Type locality Rigoulette, Hamilton Inlet, Labrador. Larger and darker than hudsonius-, with longer tail and hind foot. 252 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL paper, and it gnawed all it could reach, and thus spent a large part of the night in work. I could hear the work going on when I was awake. In the morning it appeared to be reposing on the top of its nest; but after watching it for some time, and seeing no motion, I lifted up the glass and took the mouse in my hand. It showed no signs of life. I now felt that perhaps my pet was indeed really dead; but remember- ing what I had previously seen, I resolved to try to restore it again to activity. By holding it in my hand and thus warming it, the mouse soon began to show signs of life, and although it was nearly the whole day in coming back to activity, at last it was as lively as ever, and afterward, on being set free in the room it moved about so swiftly by means of its long leaps, that it required two of us a long time to capture it uninjured." Describing the habits of the Jumping Mouse in northern Illinois, Kennicott says: "It is not very prolific and is nowhere numerous. In northern Illinois it is found in the deepest woods, as well as in cultivated fields, and on the prairie at a distance from any timber. In the woods it is often found nesting in situations similar to those occupied by the Mus leucopus. It cannot climb but crawls up the inside of hollow trees to a considerable height from the ground, and is sometimes found nesting in them; but its nest is often discovered under the bark of rotten trees or stumps and, though not much noticed when inhabiting these situations, it appears frequently, if not generally, to live in burrows in the ground, as it nearly always does in the fields, and on the prairies of course. It digs readily. Its burrow in summer is not deep, and the nest is sometimes found in a tuft of grass above the surface, or under an inverted sod. In cultivated fields, it lives under fences and, like the mice and arvicolas, takes up its abode in grain that has been cut and left standing out. "The food of this species appears to consist chiefly of herbaceous plants, with their seeds, and the seeds and nuts of trees when it inhabits the woods. In cultivated fields, it devours grain, of which it has sometimes been observed to collect stores in its burrows" (1. c., p. 96). Specimens examined from Illinois, Wisconsin and adjoining states: Illinois Fox Lake, 3 ; Galena, Jo Daviess Co., 3 = 6. Wisconsin Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., 5; Conover, Vilas Co., i; (S. C.) Beaver Dam, Dodge Co., 12 = 18. Michigan Dowagiac, Cass Co., 2. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 253 Napaeozapus insignis (MILLER). WOODLAND JUMPING MOUSE. As has been previously stated, the Woodland Jumping Mouse may be looked for in northern Wisconsin, for, although it has not as yet been found within our limits, it has been taken in northwestern Michigan.* The white tipped tail and absence of the small upper premolar will distinguish it from Z. hudsonius. Family ERETHIZONTID^. American Porcupines. The American Porcupines are short legged, slow-moving animals, with a thick body covering of hair mixed with quills or spines. They differ from the Old World Porcupines in having perfect clavicles; the skull somewhat different shaped; tuberculate soles of feet; absence of a pollex, etc.; and the quills are also much smaller. They are large- ly arboreal in habits. The quills or spines are loosely attached and fall out easily, but the animal is not able to forcibly eject them, and the legend of the Porcupine "shooting" its quills is, of course, absurd.f Five species and subspecies belonging to a single genus (Erethizon) are recognized in North America. Other genera belonging to this family occur in Central and South America, and have long prehensile tails. * Porcupine Mountains Adams, Kept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 129. t This fable is of ancient origin, being mentioned by Solinus, Paulus Venetus and others in their accounts of the Old World Porcupine and gravely endorsed by Topsell and other subsequent compilers. Edward Topsell says, "When they are hunted the beast stretcheth his skin, and casteth the off, one or two at a time, according to necessity upon the mouths of the Dogs, or Legs of the Hunters that follow her, with such violence that many times they stick into trees" (Historic of Foure Footed Beastes, 1607, p. 588). We can readily understand how early explorers in America would credit the American Porcupine with equal ability and thus have planted the seeds from which has grown a similar superstition regarding our species. Josselyn did not hesitate in doing so, describing our species as "a very Angry Creature, and dangerous, shoot- ting a whole shower of Quills with a rowfe at their enemies." (New England Rarities, 1672, p. 17.) 254 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. Subfamily ERETHIZONTIN^. Genus ERETHIZON F. Cuvier. Erethizon F. Cuvier, Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, IX, 1822, p. 436. Type Hystrix dorsata Linn. Body covered with hair mixed with quills or spines on back and sides, the spines loosely attached to the skin; tail short, thickly spiny and non-prehensile; toes four in front and five behind, armed with strong curved claws; ears short; mammas 4, all pectoral; cagcum long; * the gall bladder apparently absent; skull with facial portion short; a horizontal process of the maxillary extends outward, joining the zygoma forming a large antorbital vacuity and having the appearance of a second zygoma (see fig. 6, p. 96) ; auditory meatus with protrud- ing edge; crowns of molars with enamel folds and more or less com- pletely rooted; tibia and fibula separate and not anchylosed below. Dental formula: I. -- > C. -, Pm. - -, M. ^ ~= 20. i-i o-o i-i 3-3 Erethizon dorsatum (LINN.). CANADA PORCUPINE. [Hystrix] dorsata LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat., X ed., I, 1858, p. 57. Hystrix Hudsonius LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wisconsin). RAYMOND, Rept. Geol. Surv. Ind., 1869, p. 208 (Indiana). Erethizon dorsatus KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1857, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1858, p. 91 (Illinois, Indiana). MILES, Rept. Geol. Surv. Mich., I, 1860 (1861), p. 221 (Michigan). HERRICK, Geol. & Nat. Hist. Surv. Minn., Bull. No. 7, 1892, p. 246 (Minnesota). EVERMANN & BUTLER. Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1893 (1894), P- I2 5 (Indiana). Hystrix dorsata STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, 1883, p. 440 (Wisconsin). Erethizon dorsatum ADAMS, Rept. State Board Geol. Surv. Mich., 1905 (1906), p. 129 (Michigan). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 24 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 530 (Indiana). EVERMANN & CLARK, Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci., XIII, 1911, p. 2 (Indiana). Type locality Eastern Canada. Distribution At present, northern North America south to Maine, the mountains of Pennsylvania, northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Formerly its range extended south to Indiana. Description Hair on upper parts mixed with quills or spines ; general color dark brown to nearly black, often mixed with yellowish white hairs ; hair of upper parts long, nearly or quite concealing the quills * Beddard gives the length of the caecum in Erethizon as 2 feet 4 inches (Mam- malia, 1902, p. 499). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 255 except on the lower back, hips, and sides of base of tail where they are longest; quills blackish at tip, whitish at base, the largest ones having a length of from 3 to 4 inches, they lie flat but can be erected by muscular contraction; incisors deep orange. Measurements Total length, about 35 in. (890 mm.); tail, 5.50 to 6.50 in. (152 mm.); hind foot, 3.50 in. (90 mm.). At the present time the range of the Porcupine within our limits is restricted to northern Wisconsin, but in early days it probably extended considerably farther south. Porcupines are still common in the forested regions from Marathon County, Wisconsin, northward, and individuals are occasionally seen in Wood, Jackson, Clark and Buffalo counties, which appear to be about the southern limits of their present range in the state. I have been unable to find any satisfactory proof of its occurrence in Illinois, although in early days it is not unlikely that it may have inhabited some of the northern counties. Kennicott writes, "I am not aware that it has been observed in northern Illinois, although it is said to inhabit Whiteside County and the banks of the Illinois River " (/. c., p. 91). I have been informed that years ago it was occasionally found in Jo Daviess County, but upon investigation the evidence proved unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, Mr. Edward Grimm of Galena writes me, he believes it was formerly found in that county. In Indiana, however, its range is known to have extended to the southern portion of the state, and it was apparently not uncommon in several of the extreme western counties in close proximity to Illinois. The Prince of Wied states that it was rare in Posey County at the time of his visit to New Harmony in 1832. Evermann and Butler cite numerous records for Indiana, the latest being a specimen taken in Grant County, in 1892 (/. c., p. 125); but Hahn believes it probably survived along the Kankakee River a few years later (/. c., p. 532). Mr. E. J. Chansler of Bicknell, Indiana, writes me that old men told him Porcupines were common in Knox County in early days, and that Mr. T. F. Chambers saw one near Chambers Pond in that county in 1864. There are two specimens in the State Museum at Indianapolis claimed to have been taken in Laporte County, Indiana, but the date is not given. Dr. John T. Plummer states that several Porcupines were killed in the suburbs of Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, and that he had a fine speci- men in his collection captured near the town (Amer. Journ. Sci. & Arts, XLVI, 1844, p. 248). The Porcupine is an inhabitant of the forests and spends the greater part of its time in trees. When on the ground its movements are slow and clumsy, and it appears to have little fear of man, which often leads to its undoing, as its sharp pointed quills, which are held in great 256 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 257 respect by predatory animals, afford no defense against a rifle or shot gun. While largely nocturnal in habits, it often goes about in the day- time, and I have met with it on several occasions in the north woods, generally perched in a tree, calmly eating a late breakfast and, aside from an occasional glance in my direction, paying no attention to me whatever. If approached too closely, however, it "bristles up," elevating its quills and shaking its tail angrily, a warning which it is well to heed, for, although contrary to a popular superstition, the animal cannot eject its quills, it can strike a hard blow with its armed tail, and the sharp quills, which are loosely held in the skin, are fur- nished with minute barbs near the ends and make a painful wound. Porcupines vary considerably in size, the average weight of a full grown male being probably about 16 or 18 pounds. A large one which I killed weighed 23 pounds, but Rhoads states they occasionally, when fat, reach a weight of 35 or 40 pounds.* Their favorite food seems to be the leaves, twigs and bark of the hemlock, but they also eat the leaves and bark of the maple, bass-wood, birch and other trees when those they prefer are not available. In spring and summer their food is more varied and they eat the leaves of various plants, but show a partiality to lily-pads. Beechnuts are also included in their bill-of- fare, and Dr. Merriam states he has killed several whose stomachs were distended with beechnut meal.f In Canada and in the northern portion of Michigan and Wisconsin they frequent the vicinity of lum- ber camps and show a decided fondness for any substance which has a salty flavor, such as old pork rinds, and they have often been known to gnaw to pieces old butter firkins and boxes which have contained salty food of any kind. The Porcupine makes a variety of noises, the most familiar being a low whine and grunt. Audubon and Bachman state that at night it occasionally utters "a shrill note which might be called a low querulous shriek. "{ The young are born about the first of May and are generally two in number, although a litter often consists of one and sometimes three. At birth they are very large, compared to the relative size of other young animals. Dr. Merriam says, "They are actually larger and relatively more than thirty times larger than the young of the black bear at birth." In early days the quills of the Porcupine were much used by In- dians in ornamenting baskets and embroidering skin garments, moc- * Mamm. Penn., 1903, p. 118. t Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, p. 302. t Aud. & Bach., Quadrupeds of N. Amer., I, 1846, p. 283. Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, p. 305. 258 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL casins, etc. They were split and dyed a variety of colors with roots, barks and berries, some of these garments, especially those worn by chiefs, having been very elaborate and highly prized. Albinistic examples of this animal are occasionally taken. There is an entirely white specimen in the Field Museum collection. Specimens examined from Wisconsin: Sayner, 2; Rummeles (skull), i; (S. C.) Marshfield, Wood Co., i; Clark Co., i; (0.) Woodruff, Vilas Co., 2; Oconto Co., 1 = 8. Map illustrating approximate range of the Canada Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatuni) in eastern United States and Canada. Suborder DUPLICIDENTATA. This suborder comprises two families, the Leporida or true Hares and Rabbits; and the Ochotonidce containing Picas or Tailless Hares sometimes called Chief Hares small animals inhabiting mountain regions, several species of which occur in western North America but not within our limits. The members of the suborder are characterized by having two pairs of permanent upper incisors,* the inner ones very small and placed directly behind the others ; the enamel of the incisors is continuous and not confined to the front of the teeth ; the tibia and fibula are united, being anchylosed below; clavicles are present (com- plete in Ochotonida but incomplete in Leporidai); incisive foramina of the palate large and usually confluent; bony palate short, being reduced to a narrow bridge between the premolars; postorbital proc- esses very large in Leporida but absent in Ochotonidce; testes external. * At birth there are three pairs but the outer one on each side is soon lost. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 259 Family LEPORID^E. Hares and Rabbits. The family is nearly cosmopolitan, various species being found in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, and of late years in Australia where it has been introduced. Representatives of the family thrive equally well in the tropics and in the cold regions of the North, the range of one species extending far beyond the Arctic Circle where few other mammals can exist. In the Hares and Rabbits the skull is large and compressed behind ; the supraorbital prominent, the posterior process (postorbital process) being often more or less fused to the skull; the infra- orbit a foramen small land con- fined to lower por- tion of maxilla; the incisive fora- mina large, and the greater portion of zygoma nearly straight. The max- illary bones curi- ously pitted and perforated; the upper incisors sul- cate; cheek teeth rootless; acromion process of scapula forked; mammae numerous, usually five pairs; uterus completely double; clavicles present but incomplete; and the tibia and fibula united. The wrists cannot be turned as in the Squirrels to enable the animal to hold food to its mouth while eating; cheek pouches absent, but the inside of mouth partly furry. They have unusually long hind legs and ears; the soles of the feet are covered with fur. The tail is short, the eyes large, and the upper lip is deeply cleft, giving rise to the expression "hare lip" to describe a human ailment.* The dental -1 -2 7 7 formula is as follows: Milk dentition, I. - ** Dm. - -=18; per- Skull of a Rabbit. I-I 2-2 * This is of ancient origin. Topsell says, "The lippes continually move sleeping and waking, and from the slit which they have in the middle of their nose, commeth the term of hare-lips" (Historie of Foure Footed Beastes, Lond., 1607, p. 265). 260 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. manent dentition, I. ^' Pm. 2Zl M. ^= 28. i-i 2-2 3-3 While the names, Hares and Rabbits, are often indiscriminately applied to members of the family, the first is properly restricted to those which do not use burrows in the ground and the young of which are born covered with hair and with their eyes open. Rabbits, on the contrary, use burrows and holes in the earth* and the young are born naked, with their eyes closed. Hares and Rabbits are very prolific. In many cases the young animals begin to breed when about six months old. The young number from 4 to 6 and it is claimed that two or more litters are born in a season. In ancient times the Hare was thought to be of great therapeutic value, and Avicenna (1608), Arnoldus, Topsell and others recommend the use of various parts of its body as a cure for a long list of human ailments ranging from tuberculosis to alopecia. Regarding the treat ment of the latter, Topsell says: "The powder of the wooll of a Hare burned, mingled with the oyle of Mirtles, the gal of a Bull, and Allum warmed at the fire and annoint it uppon the heade, fasteneth the haire from falling off. . . . The head of a Hare burned and mingled with fat of Beares and vinegar, causeth haire to come where it is fallen off, and Gallen saith that some have used the whole body of a Hare so burned and mingled, for the foresaid cure, being layed in manner of a plaister." (Historic Foure Footed Beastes, Lond., 1607, p. 274.) The Hare (and Rabbitf) has always played an important part in mythology and folklore. J Even at the present day the animal is popularly associated with paschal eggs as symbolic of the festival of Easter; and there is a wide spread superstition, especially among negroes, that the left hind foot of a Rabbit taken under certain con- ditions is of great value as a talisman. * The European Rabbit digs burrows, as do their domestic descendents in this country, but with rare exceptions indigenous North American species do not. They use holes, however, made by other animals and often enlarge them. t Hares and Rabbits are apparently considered identical in Zoological Mythol- ogy. J See Gubernatis, Zool. Mythol., London, 1872; also Massey, The Natural Gen- esis, London, 1883. There is a curious superstition among negroes in many parts of the United States regarding the efficacy of the "left hind foot of a graveyard rabbit killed in the dark of the moon" in bringing good fortune to its possessor. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 261 KEY TO THE GENERA. A. Interparietal not distinct in adult; postorbital process usually nearly or quite divergent from skull; hind foot, 5 or more inches long; our species turn white in winter. Genus LEPUS, p. 261. B. Interparietal distinct in adult; postorbital process more or less attached to the skull; hind foot, about 4 inches long in our species; do not turn white in winter. Genus SYLVILAGUS, p. 266. (For other characters see descriptions of Genera.) KEY TO THE SPECIES WHICH MAY OCCUR WITHIN OUR LIMITS. GROUP I. Length of ear from skull to tip less than 4 inches. Color changes from brownish in summer to white in winter; tips of ears usually edged with black; nape not rufous or decidedly different in color from the back; total length, about 17.50 to 18.50 inches; hind foot, 5 in. (or more); tail vertebrae, about 1.50 to 1.75 inches. Occurs in northern Wisconsin but not in southern Wisconsin or Illinois. VARYING HARE or SNOW-SHOE RABBIT. Lepus americanus phtzonotus, p. 262. Rump distinctly gray or grayish, noticeably paler than back; nape usually rufous brown, quite different from color of back; tail vertebrae, about 2.25 to 2.75 inches ; hind foot, about 4 inches; does not turn white in winter. MEARNS'S COTTON-TAIL RABBIT. Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsii, p. 266. General color brown mixed with more or less blackish; rump not distinctly gray or grayish; nape often tinged with rufous brown but not pronounced as in mearnsi; hind foot, about 4 inches; tail, about 2.75 inches; does not turn white in winter. Occurs in southern Illinois but not in northern Illinois or Wisconsin. SWAMP RABBIT. Sylvilagus aquaticus, p. 271. GROUP 2. Length of ear from skull to tip more than 4 inches. Ears with black tips; tail entirely white above and below; entire length, in- cluding tail, usually more than 21 inches; tail, more than 3.25 inches long. Not as yet recorded from Illinois or Wisconsin, but stragglers may occur in the extreme western portion of either state. JACK RABBIT. Lepus campestris, p. 265. Genus LEPUS Linn. Lepus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., X ed., 1758, p. 57. Type Lepus timidus Linnaeus. Hind legs very long; ears long; tail well developed; fore feet with five toes ; hind feet with four toes ; soles of feet covered with hair; clavicle imperfect; interparietal not distinct in adult; supraorbitals prom- inent and wing-like*; the posterior process (postorbital process) usually * See Fig. 2, p. 96. 262 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL being entirely separated from the skull but occasionally the posterior end is fused to the skull, leaving an opening or foramen; second to fifth cervical vertebrae longer than broad. This genus contains two North American subgenera, Lepus and Macrotolagus, but only the former is represented within our limits. Dental formula: I. ^^-, C.*^-, Pm. - - I-I O-O 2-2 3-3 Subgenus LEPUS Linn. Lepus americanus phaeonotus ALLEN. VARYING HARE. SNOW-SHOE RABBIT. Lepus americanus phtzonotus ALLEN, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XII, 1899, p. n. JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 25 (Wisconsin). Ib., VIII, 1910, p. 88 (Wisconsin). NELSON, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 29, 1909, p. 95 (Wis- consin, Minnesota, Michigan, etc.). Lepus americanus KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1857, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1858, p. 84 (Wisconsin). Lepus Americanus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wisconsin). STRONG, Geol. Wis., Surv. 1873-79, I. l88 3. P- 44 (Wisconsin). Type locality Hallock, Kittson Co., Minnesota. Distribution Northern Wisconsin and the western portion of the Michigan peninsular, northern Minnesota, southern Manitoba and a small portion of western Ontario. Description In summer: Upper parts brown and ochraceous buff, more or less mixed with dusky and with indications of a blackish line down the middle of the back; upper surface of tail brownish buff or brownish gray mixed with dusky; upper portions of legs tinged with rusty brown; ears narrowly bordered with black, the extreme edge on inner side often whitish; under parts, except throat, white; throat, except extreme upper part and chin, brownish buff; upper portion of hind feet tawny buff. In winter: General color pure white, except tips of ears, bordered with black, and often with the front of the ears more or less tinged with brownish buff. In spring and fall it is a parti- colored animal, showing irregular markings of brown and white during the transition period, when the semi-annual molt of pelage and change in color takes place.* Measurements Total length, about 18 in. (460 mm.); tail vertebrae, about 1.50 in. (38 mm.); hind foot, 5.25 in. (134 mm.). * Dr. J. A. Allen has ably demonstrated that this change of color is due to a new growth of hair each season and not to a change of color in the old pelage (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., VI, 1897, p. 107). FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 263 264 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. The Varying Hare, or Snow-shoe Rabbit as it is often called, is common in northern Wisconsin, its range being restricted to about the northern half of the state. There are specimens in this Museum from Douglas and Vilas counties and I have seen others from Barren, Langlade and Iron counties. Nelson records it from Bayneld and Douglas counties, and Jackson gives it as abundant in Ashland, Bay- field and Douglas counties (L c., 1910, p. 88). Notwithstanding the fact that I have made numerous inquiries of a number of hunters in various parts of southern Wisconsin, I have failed to learn of its occurrence in that portion of the state. In early days, however, its range may have extended farther south, as Kennicott states it was "not uncommon in central and northern Wisconsin and considerable numbers are found in the southern part of the state." He also says: "It has been stated that a number were shot on the present site of the City of Chicago in the winter of 1824" (1. c., p. 85). The Varying Hare prefers a wooded country where there are numer- ous thickets of dense undergrowth. In winter, when the ground is frozen, it seems to be more numerous in swamps where there is a heavy growth of timber. While it may occasionally be seen in the daytime, it feeds chiefly at night and, unlike the Cotton-tail, this species does not seek shelter in holes in the ground. The nest is a mass of grass covered with soft fur supplied by the mother. It is usually well con- cealed under a bush or in a thick growth of weeds, and on one occasion 1 found one in the base of a hollow tree. The young are generally 2 to 4 in number, rarely 5 or 6, and are covered with hair when born, and the eyes are open. The food of the Varying Hare consists largely of grasses, clovers and leaves of various shrubs; they also eat the bark of young trees. In settled districts they eat the bark of fruit trees and grape vines and often do considerable damage to garden crops. The skins of these animals are of comparatively little commercial value, as they are tender and easily torn, but they are made into ex- ceedingly warm blankets and robes by the Indians, who cut the skins into strips which they braid and fasten together. Such blankets are much sought after by hunters and prospectors in the far North. Specimens examined from Wisconsin: Woodruff, Vilas Co., 2; Sayner, Vilas Co., 2; Solon Springs, Douglas Co., 8; Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas Co., i; (M. P. M.) Eagle. River, Vilas Co., i; (O. C.) St. Croix River, Douglas Co., i; Turtle Lake, Barron Co. (skulls), 5; Mercer, Iron Co. (skull), i; Fisher Lake, Iron Co., 2 (i skull); Langlade Co. (skulls), 5=29. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 265 Map illustrating the approximate distribution of Varying Hares (Lepus americanus and races) in eastern United States and Canada. Lepus americanus ERXLEBEN. (Syst. Regni Anim., I, 1777, p. 330.) Type lo- cality Probably in the vicinity of Fort Severn, Keewatin, Canada. In summer, upper parts grayish brown; less ochraceous than virginianus. In winter, white. Total length, about 18.50 inches. Lepus a. struthopus BANGS. (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XII, 1898, p. 81.) Type locality Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada. Size about the same as americanus, but browner in summer and ears longer. Lepus a. virginianus (HARLAN). (Fauna Amer., 1825, p. 196.) Type locality Blue Mountains, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Largest and most richly colored of the americanus group; average length, 20 inches or more. Lepus a. phaonotus ALLEN. Type locality Hallock, Kittson Co., Minnesota. Paler and more buffy brown in summer than americanus, but often showing a slight tinge of rusty; size about the same. Description and measurements as previously given. Lepus campestris BACHMAN, JACK RABBIT, OR JACKASS RABBIT, as it is popularly known, although not as yet recorded from Illinois or Wis- consin, has been taken in the eastern border of Iowa at Muscatine, and in extreme southeastern Minnesota near Laneboro. It may be recognized by its large size; its very long black-tipped ears; and its long, entirely white tail, which has a length of 3.50 or more inches, and 266 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XI. which will distinguish it from the Varying Hare, the only one of our species with which it might be confounded. Genus SYLVILAGUS Gray. Sylvilagus Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 3rd Ser., XX, 1867, p. 221. Type Sylmlagus floridanus mallurus (Thomas) . Interparietal distinct in adults; supraorbital prominent, but the postorbital process slenderer and more pointed, and more fused to the skull than in Lepus; occasionally the opening or foramen, usually separating the middle portion of the process from the skull, is very small or entirely absent; second to fourth cervical vertebras with dorsal surface flattened and shorter than broad; only one annual molt; does not turn white in winter ; also other skeletal differences (described and illustrated by Nelson, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 29, 1909, pp. 39-40). Two subgenera are recognized, Sylmlagus and Tapeti. Dental formula: I. 2 - I A C. ^, Pm. ^^, M. ^= 28. I-I O-O 2-2 3-3 Subgenus SYLVILAGUS Gray. Brain case higher and comparatively broader and whole skull relatively lighter and more slender than in Tapeti; tail and feet more thickly haired ; pelage softer. Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsii (ALLEN). MEARNS'S COTTON TAIL RABBIT. GRAY RABBIT. Lepus sylvaticus mearnsii ALLEN, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., VI, 1894, p. 171 (footnote). ELLIOT, Field Columb. Mus. Pub., Zool., I, 1898, p. 220, (Iowa). Lepus nanus LAPHAM, Trans. Wis. State 'Agr. Soc., II, 1852 (1853), p. 340 (Wis- consin). Lepus sylvaticus KENNICOTT, Agr. Rept. for 1857, U. S. Patent Office Rept., 1858, P- 77- Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsi SNYDER, Bull. Wis". Nat. Hist. Soc., II, 1902, p. 124 (Wisconsin). JACKSON, Bull. Wis. Nat. Hist. Soc., VI, 1908, p. 25 (Wisconsin). Ib., VIII, 1910, p. 89 (Wisconsin). HAHN, Ann. Rept. Dept. Geol. & Nat. Resources Ind., 1908 (1909), p. 534 (Indiana). NELSON, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 29, 1909, p. 169 (Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc.). HOWELL, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XXIII, 1910, p. 32 (Missouri, Illinois). Type locality Ft. Snelling, Minnesota. Distribution From north-central Kentucky, southern Illinois, central Missouri, northeast to Toronto, Canada, and north to northern Wisconsin and central Minnesota, west to Nebraska and Kansas. FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 267 Description General color above pale tawny brown, the hairs tipped with black; sides of body paler; nape distinctly tinged with rufous brown or rusty brown, quite different from the color of the back; rump gray mixed with dusky, caused by the grayish hairs being tip- ped with black; upper surface of tail grayish brown, under surface white; belly white; under side of neck brownish buff; upper sur- face of legs pale rusty brown. Does not turn white in winter. Remarks Nelson states (/. c., p. 174) that S. f. alacer occurs in "ex- treme southern Illinois," but does not include Illinois specimens in his list of material examined. All the specimens in the Field Museum collection from the most southern counties should un- doubtedly be referred to mearnsii. Measurements Total length, about 17.75 in. (451 mm.) ; tail vertebrae, 2.30 in. (60 mm.); hind foot, 4 in. (101 mm.). Field measurements of 6 specimens taken in southern Illinois by E. Heller: No. Place. Date. Total Length. Tail Vertebrae. Hind Foot_ I 543> ? . Olive Branch, 111. . .Nov. 26, 1906 465 mm. 65 mm. 105 mm_ 15282, d\ Golconda, 111 Apr. 12,1907 445 " 61 " 92 " 1 5795. cf, Ozark, 111 Apr. 21,1907 460 " 71 " 95 " 15788, cf, Golconda, 111 .Apr. 11,1907 450 " 60 " 97 " J 5793. 9 , Reevesville, 111 Apr. 18,1907 460 " 68 " 96 " 15790. d", Reevesville, 111 Apr. 17,1907 475 " 60 " 99 " Average measurements of 10 specimens from different localities in Wisconsin: Total length, 455 mm.; tail vertebrae, 61 mm.; hind foot, 103 mm. Mearns's Cotton-tail Rabbit, Cotton-tail or Gray Rabbit as it is variously called, is our most common species. In fact it is the only representative of the family which occurs in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. It is found throughout Illinois and Wisconsin, possibly excepting the extreme northeastern portion of the latter state, but it is not unlikely that its range will be found to include all of the northern counties. Specimens have been examined from a large number of localities throughout both states, ranging from Alexander and Johnson counties in extreme southern Illinois to Douglas and Oconto counties in northern Wisconsin. Although still abundant at the present time in many localities in the vicinity of Chicago, its numbers were evidently much greater thirty years ago. Bray ton (1882) states: "They were worth in the Chicago market from five to fifteen cents apiece, according to the abundance or the state of the weather. I have seen them, when frozen in large boxes, sold by the cubic foot, and shipped from Chicago to New York City."* * Geol. Surv. Ohio, IV, Pt. I, 1882, p. 188. 268 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XL J FEB., 1912. MAMMALS OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN CORY. 269 This Rabbit is most commonly found in woods where there are numerous thickets and in open country where there is plenty of under- brush. It is not a burro