aah EM Nyy iia sh AN Le Sohoee hi arn ct ‘ Medel! 3 sr oe SS rts in ‘ hy Wi eon oe a oe . ee eee un eee Bets 4 + ily Ne ae 1 i ae esi as Sy ays sec ahtee eee yy ae PATER WARDS 4 Mere te ens th ry cnt ve ontece Aa ee tes irk ia a me pen ihe pr kab pe Seas FF Me eS De SS itr "ou, ~ pa Selacoal tie coh iy ee Wien Hs ior zy x 4 = baci a a sees rns 3 : chemin ae ‘ om. ae Be Ty wi io a iewasae eke Saaan at rents hs Daye Sie bclh eA, eee ° Th jotbar ribet te ae AEA > ss oh peak Ma CS ty Sea Hd stone fh lente vhs % et " eather Sete irels hed bana’ "s Sam Cd bhi Pe Pe AR a eH too et tp Meu: 3 eae [iy me 2 BS EST mt ak uae Ay SVenen ened sehele Heer hy shat = Ake we aby te tec ken Dons bays SE sien Pate Meri Hels rite Seteeaieen rho Tests Aa betes AY hy ths he DledaaiLid ek Ain moet es "3 etiam Paceaaar hh MPT SPORE Donate n eee 4 Ye Sie aN meee A crenaeente cece TOY he ae he TPS then We Ree! Sabian SS ye see Pheu ‘ i ak! aie ar ith oS bea: iporheernes Rais Kido Dk ahi dey. By oe een ten ac aes Sane as a ie oy a i Gyan o Woy } iets ies ie A an hou ie Sean Meat) atte yi i Sen Maa me oo Rh ee Merits clad A, ‘4 Tie jhe “tes ie oes i: cel J sh i Se it 4 ie Smead tbr 4 sete Seats Spree pen iy whan {ie Wes ¥ La Teb ts weer si we pacniciecton Ss ec ace ae Ss —— ~e = ek Ashe ear a Sewers eatin 8 ta, i es ate eee Se ty rhe ca — Ss eS stort Shas te metas mss Ley STvld oe any testes Soe Satis) ee Asa Portree Pha Stace O33 ene yet % a ee Dee THN ene | Sd set ad peta Ah. ae oh. Ss Naat wt Cae ithe > Peary AY Ta rioaiomes be Te ire ts ae si =) es Perens eka wey le Bids Sarit ong poets ah bie ey acura * Scars at TERE ROM, Duca Ae Ae (aan Pera eois igoke mabe atah tate mee + teh ete es aN Steck ee Reederubasit RST ney ee ASV Ae ts 3 erph- th te ASA ects Wp Fy wt hs eas shsfik > * ene rou idan yom es Cs oe ~s sae eit SST meee be hehe bebchee rere Re Bik eS oe Seah =e a in ths hae eal cae Neigh FORA ci ie est “ete Bs RD te dike iy airte Nes ri Rat : iad achat oes ra BRR ep eital MBE Lipis aut ee “Twines ne Koc aieah toes ch vb Se ieee SNE — ai fe Ten tm SR Fw H ae SETS cece se ae tea yceetr es: paetrereole? he Do ee setae tm Agee ee Abed 2 G pia BOs Pr re apnea i Map ea ir eae See oes, {) PROCEEDINGS OF THE biological Society of Washington VOLUME IX 1894-1895 WASHINGTON : =qennt PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY, Hs cea. 1894-95, VAAL Shere COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS THEODORE GILL, Chairman T. H. BEAN L. O. HOWARD F. H. KNOWLTON T. W. STANTON © EA ea le fy [J ae ; CMS; AAV Gr J t oy EE, upp & DrrwEILER, Printers CONTENTS ; Page. Officers and committees for 1894........... ete ue CK G Seiya ee iv Officers and: committees for L600. 250 oes pc cosas 8 easton anaes Vv Proceeding. in oss Owe Se acl eA Os bees fae he ees vii-xvi Social Insects from Psychical and Evolutional points of view, by CON ALLO Sh ite tw a ae geen ee oa gkangiye 1-74 Fossil Gycadean Trunks of North America, with a Revision of the genus Cycadeoidea. Buckland, by Lester F. Ward......... 75-88 Note on some Appendages of the Trilobites, by Chas. D. Walcott. 89-97 Synaptomys cooperi in Eastern Massachusetts, with note on S. stones, by Outram: Banga ss ie ost eects oe eed os we ae 99-104 A new Rabbit from Western Florida, by Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., and Outram: Bawa o05 Sa eee mayer 105-108 Preliminary descriptions of eleven new Kangaroo Rats of the ' genera Dipodomys and Perodipus, by C. Hart Merriam........ 109-116 Abstract of a study of the American Wood Rats, with descriptions of fourteen new species and subspecies of the genus Neotoma, by G. Blart Meriter sss ee ecrs ote Sees bs wh oe eee Gre oe 117-128 Description of a new Field Mouse (Arvicola terreneve) from Codroy, Newfoundland, by Outram Bangs................... 129-132 Description of a new Muskrat from Codroy, Newfoundland, by _ vee PRTG. 5 ee SG vas ea ea Cee a EP eS Wes 133-188 (iii) LIST’ OF THE OFFICERS AND COUNCIL OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON FOR 1894 (ELECTED DECEMBER 30, 1893) OFFICERS President C. V. RILEY Vice-Presidents FRANK BAKER RICHARD RATHBUN B. E. FERNOW C. D. WALCOTT Recording Secretary F. V. COVILLE Corresponding Secretary F, A. LUCAS Treasurer . F. H. KNOWLTON COUNCIL TARLETON H. BEAN C. HART MERRIAM * WILLIAM H. DALL* T. S. PALMER THEODORE GILL* THEOBALD SMITH G. BROWN GOODE * FREDERICK W. TRUE L. O. HOWARD LESTER F. WARD* STANDING COMMITTEES—1894 ‘Committee on Communications B. E. Fernow, Chairman T. H. Bean CHARLES SCHUCHERT . F A. Lucas. Erwin F. Suirie Committee on Publications THEODORE GILL, Chairman L. O. Howarp T. W. Sranton F. H. Kxnowrron T. H. Bean Delegates to the Joint Commission of Scientific Societies of Washington Ricuarpd RarnBun ©. V. Rinry Lester F. Warp * Ex-Presidents of the Society. (iv) LIST OF THE OFFICERS. AND COUNCIL OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON HOR 1895 (ELECTED DECEMBER 29, 1894) OFFICERS President GEO. M. STERNBERG Vice-Presidents RICHARD RATHBUN B. E. FERNOW C. D. WALCOTT ee L. O. HOWARD Recording Secretary M. B. WAITE Corresponding Secretary F. A. LUCAS Treasurer F. H. KNOWLTON | COUNCIL WM. H. ASHMEAD | C. HART MERRIAM* TARLETON H. BEAN C. V. RILEY * WILLIAM H. DALL* THEOBALD SMITH THEODORE GILL* — CH. WARDELL STJLES G. BROWN GOODE* FREDERICK W. TRUE LESTER IF. WARD * STANDING COMMITTEES—1895 Committee on Communications B. EK. Fernow, Chairman F. A. Lucas L. O. Howarp Committee on Publications THEODORE GILL, Chairman L. O. Howarp : os We STANTON F. H. Knowniron T. H. Bran - Delegates to the Joint Commission GEO. M. STERNBERG RicHarp RatraBpun Lesrer F. Warp * Ex-Presidents of the Society. (v) LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES Page i. Appetidages of Triiobites. 3. oe ei. en ee eS Sek 98 II. Skull and teeth of Arvicola terrenovx........0 ccc cece ce cceeeess 132 TEXT FIGURES . Figure 1. Modifications of the hind legs of different Bees........ 13 2. Modifications of the hind legs of different Bees........ 15 3. Wak Wins of Soma! Bees es 16 AS PENNANT CIR HE EMORY 6G Sleep Eee a enh et wea oe 17 D;) MPC PANO es iss Sa Sic adc aw Belge « dpioa eck vee 18 6: Tevelepieens OF POrmniCe TUG. 6S Ee i eed evens 27 7. Honey Ants (Myrmecocistus mexicanus).......0.0.0.0. eves 28 8. Sensory Organs in Insects. . ie are Sarda, Seas aereuge 37 9. Sensory Organs in Insects......... Ree Fk ee «SS A Se 40 10. Some Antennze of Coleoptera.................. Paes ah 41 -11. Antenna of male Phengodes with portion of ray........ 42 12, Some Antenne of neeets: 5.0 025 kes ak. eG ela ce sss > 44 (vi) VOL. IX, PP. I-xvi; 139-145 FEBRUARY 8, 1896 SPROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. PROCEEDINGS. January 13, 1894—220th Meeting. The President in the chair and twenty-three persons present. The following communications were presented : R. T. Hill: A New Fauna from the Cretaceous Formation of Texas.* Ch. Wardell Stiles: The Teaching of Biology in Colleges. January 27, 1894—22I1st Meeting. The President in the chair and twenty-two persons present. The following communications were presented : J. N. Rose: A Botanical Trip to Northwestern Wyoming. . T. Galloway: A Rust of Pine Leaves and the Effect of the Parasite on the Host. Theodore Gill: The Segregation of the Osteophysial Fishes as Fresh Water Forms.t February 10, 1894—222d Meeting. The President in the chair and twenty-three persons present. The following communications were presented : M. B. Waite: The Treatment of Pear Leaf-Blight.t * Abstract in Am. Journ. Sci., 3d ser., xlvii,.141, Feb., 1894. t The Early Segregation of Presk Water Fishes, ediciones, NS., d. Su ae 679, Nov. 22, 1895. Be Abatracti in Science, March 15, 1895, 305-806. Full paper: Treatment of Pear Leaf- Blight (ntomosporium maculatum) in the Orchard. G0 tet eS Dw 1 — mm BS RO BOD > 99 Gr OS _ PS SIN n @ © | Minn., Elk River, Aug. So 00 & moo | tS 1886-7" No. 3230t — CO N.C., Roan Mt., Sept. 1892 2 No. 47858* 30, bo bo o> = sed — Ind., Brookville, Feb. 17, 1887 2 No. 3771+ N. C., Magnetic City, May 11,’93-/\ No. 53811* _ KE ho ho GE ~1.00 09 HBS SS? SD 6.8 a kX bo bo : C9 NIAID SBS | Mass., Wareham, June 1's He he bD D © CO bv tee bo be 16.4 = ce 1893 Q No. 215¢ g, No. 567§ N. J. May’s Landin Dec. 2, 1892 Q | me bo bo “pe SSN. J. May’s Landing, ae aS SaNeoe® Fey 16, 1893-/' No. 168] eee ee ee SORE Ce _ rR Ge i OO — i — i He 17. & a *Skull No. collection of U. S. Department of Agriculture. Skull No. collection of Dr. C. Hart Merriam. tCollection of E. A. & O. Bangs. @Collection of S. N. Rhoads [type of S. stonei]. Collection of Whitmer Stone [topotype of S. stonei]. {This measurement is a little too short, as the bone is broken slightly. From the above measurements, it will be seen that there are no differences of proportion in the skulls of S. cooperii and S. stonei more than a mere individual variation of the very slightest degree. — I shall now quote from Mr. Rhoads’ original description* the specific characters claimed for S. stonei. *American Naturalist, Vol. 27, pp. 53 and 54, January, 1893, And Synaptomys Stoner. 103 Mr. Rhoads suys: * “ Special characters, outward appearance and proportions as in S. Cooperu. Above blackish-brown, with black hairs moré predominant over the shorter brown hairs than in Cooperti. ‘The same color reaching around sides of belly instead of being confined to dorsal area as in Cooperii. Hoary, gray belly and neck of Cvoperii replaced by dark plumbeous gray. Feet, in- cluding soles, plumbeous, without brown shade, .'I'wo middle toes of fore feet, and four inner toes of hind feet, including nails, white. ‘Tail unicolor plumbeous gray, Lips encircled with narrow white edgings.” The color of the type and a topotype of S. stonei can be ex-; actly matched by specimens from Massachusetts, Minnesota, : Towa, and North Carolina, of S. cooperti. : “Skull narrower,” [not so,] “shallower, and viewed from above, less angular than that of Cooperii,” [not so,| “but of same length. Lower jaws viewed from below, ditto” [exactly like specimens of Cooperii]. “Incisors shorter, broader, and less cylindrical, with sulcation of upper pair much more distinct” [charaeters entirely inconstant]. “Zygomatic foramen longer and narrower ” [not so]. ‘Sagittal suture and parietals relatively much longer; interparietal tranversely narrower, longitudinally. longer” [characters not constant]. “Supraoccipital in cooperii twice as wide as deep, in stone? thrice as wide as deep.” In the type of stonei, the only specimen Mr. Rhoads had at the time he described the species, this bone is so broken that its shape cannot be seen. In a topotype of stonei I have examined, I can find no difference from cooperit. «“Molars one-third wider and. one-eighth longer in stonei” [width and length vary with age]. ‘In cooperti the length of the symphysis mandibuli just equals the distance from its posterior end to the angle formed by the antero-inferior border of the masseteric fossa; in stonei the symphysis is one-third longer” [inconstant]. “Posterior face of angle of lower jaw in stone: very stout, abruptly rounded, and recurved outward; in cooperii it is slender, spatulate, elongated posteriorly in a nearly vertical plane, and the margin below the condyle not thickened as in the former species.” 104 == Synaptomys Cooperii and Synaptomys Stoner. It is hard to understand just what Mr Rhoads means. I can find no differences whatever between the lower jaws of S. stonei and cooperii. Let us now look at the geographical distribution of Synaptomys cooperii, and bearing in mind the powerful effect of well defined . faunal areas on a species, see what we should expect the Synaptomys of south central New Jersey to be. We have Synaptomys cooperti from Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Maryland and Massachusetts; would it not seem extremely improbable that we should find anything but cooperit in New Jersey ? Prof. Baird, in his original description of shite ys coopert, says the specimen was “received from Mr. William Cooper of Hoboken. No locality was assigned, but the animal is undoubt- edly North American, probably from the New England States or New York; possibly from Iowa or Minnesota.” Why not even more probably from New Jersey, as Mr. Cooper lived there ? Since writing this article I have taken two more Synaptomys cooperti in Plymouth County, Mass.; one at Plymouth, January 15, 1894 [ad. 9 ], and one at Wareham, March 31, 1894 [ad. ¢ ]. Both were caught in old cranberry bogs, associated with Arvicola "iparius and using their run-ways. VoL. IX, pp. 105-108 JUNE 9, 1894 PROCEEDINGS: OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON A NEW RABBIT FROM: WESTERN FLORIDA. BY GERRIT 8S. MILLER, JR. AND OUTRAM BANGS. In a small collection of mammals made in Western Florida during the winter of 1893-1894, by F. L. Small are four speci- mens of.a marsh rabbit that seems.to be specifically distinct from Lepus palustris Bachman. - Dr. Bachman in his description of L. palustris* gives no defi- nite type locality, but states that the animal is common in east- ern South Carolina and from thence south to southern Florida (on the east side). His description was probably based on South Carolina specimens as it evidently refers to the animal found in that region. The form from western Florida may be defined as follows: Lepus paludicola, sp. nov. agnosis. About the size of L. palustris with the hind foot shorter, the ear much shorter, and color generally darker and less yellow, especially about the head and on the under parts. Skull throughout slightly broader and flatter than that of L. palustris, the rostral part in particular being disproportion- ately short and broad. 106 Miller-Bangs—A new Rabbit from Western Florida. Description. Type specimen No. 1451 @Q ad. Coll. E. A. and O. Bangs, Boston. From Fort Island, near Crystal River, Florida, Jan. 28, 1894. F. L. Small collector. Total length 438 mm ; tail vertebree 34 mm; hind foot 84 mm ; (taken in flesh by collector); ear 45 mm; (taken from dried skin). Color of upper parts russet* with black hairs thickly intermixed ; the black hairs predominating on the middle of the back and sides of the head and neck and gradually becoming less conspicuous on the sides, rump and legs. The patch running from between the ears back over the nape is a little brighter than the rest of the upper parts, being a clear bright russet,* with- out inter mixture of black-tipped hairs. ; Color of the under parts dirty smoke grayt becoming pale cinnamon rufous? on the under side of the flanks. Band on the under side of the neck wood brownt. Upper side of feet pale russet* with the lower side of the hind feet much darker, almost seal brown||; ears dark russet* bordered on the outer edge by an indistinct line of blackish, and outside this an almost white line running half way up the ear. The feet are very thinly haired and the nails very conspicuous. Lepus palustris and L. paludicola show no differences in color that might not readily intergrade; but the skulls and ears of the two are so different as to lead to the opinion that they are two distinct species, rather than local races of the same species. In all the specimens examined, no sign of inter grad- uation can be found. ‘Therefore it seems best to accord L. paludicola full specific rank for the present, or until intergrades do turn up. *Journal Acad. Nat. Sciences of Phila., Vol. vii, Pt. II, p. 194, 336. *Nomenclature of Colors, Ridgway, Plate IIT, No. 16. fNomenclature of Colors, Ridgway, Pl. II, No. 12. ZNomenclature of Colors, Ridgway, Pl. LV, No. 16. tNomenclature of Colors, Ridgway, Pl. III, No. 10. Nomenclature of Colors, Ridgway, Pl. 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CS'9G 69°6S Shs LG°L9 60°6¢ YIpPvaiq ORIUIOBAZ Jo : —Y}Sue] ARpISRq 0} sony ooT ay ae PST FCT CT cI b°¢l (TJOOATR) SELLS LEPOUT LRTNGIPUr 91 2k Geer eae eg b°91 9°¢T Sh 9°cT GI (TOoaye) rRfOUT 0} TOSToUT :o]qIpuR 9ST Sh Gene aieyrame aes val PAT ZI eT ZI avjout ro11aysod ye yydap :e[qipuryy ge © Beene 1 Be P98 F'Og Rages Pierre sess Iejnoyae YSnoigqy ydep se[qrpuryq cg OO ey TE | rg ie 9°FG a Rea eR aoe Yyousy :e|qipueyy OFT oT ST gl SFI SFI CT GT (1JOAATR) SAIIOS LROT 8°9 8 Lis l 8 8°2 ¢'8 8°8 TAMU RLOF BATSHUT JO UPI SLT FSI 8°8T 61 LI Z°9T LT LT WOUIRAOJ PATSTOUL JO YSUe'T 61 FST 8°61 61 8T 9 LT Z°SI F'61 yjdep eyeped-oyuory S'S &% ¥Z FZ 8% Gz b'1 Go yidap ediooo1syq-OJLIB GG 91% &6 ZIG GZ GIG 0G (OATH) AR[OUT 04 TOSI] ST ST Zl eT 91 CT CT CT S[PSRU YIPLM JSdyVa14) gs F°2E PSE PS 1s 0g 0g 9°63 S[RSVU YOU] JS} VoIy) 81 8T LI ST 8ST 8' 8ST WOTOLSUOD [RUQIOLOFUT 68 LE 9°8 6& 88S LE 88 6H YIpBerq o1yBUIOsAZ, 19 os, I ea 8°89 09 09 19 09 Jasuey] JO YSU aPpIseg 89 99 ae ees 69 eg £9 a9 99 Sug] Avy Ise fe) 5 e 2 } 2 6 = XAG 10022 46241 xGPbL xPPL xPOFI x8SFT xI SFT xGGP 1 JoquinN ‘seusngod snda'y ‘ppooypnyod sndaT ‘suusnjod T pue njoovpnjod sndaT Jo sowl pUB SJUSTHOINSBEUT [BIURID VoL, IX, pp. 109-116 JUNE 21, 1894 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON PRELIMINARY DESCRIPTIONS OF ELEVEN NEW KAN- GAROO RATS OF THE GENERA DIPODOMYS AND PERODIPUS. BY DR. C. HART MERRIAM. The following brief descriptions are here published in advance of a monographic revision of the group which will appear shortly. Of the eleven new forms here defined, Dipodomys elator from- northern Texas; D. ornatus from the state of Zacatecas, Mexico; D.m. nitratus from Owens Lake, California; Perodipus streatort from the west slope of the Sierra Nevada, and P. panamintinus from the Panamints Mts. in California require no comparison with previously described species. ‘The others are less sharply differentiated. Dipodomys elator sp. nov. Type from Henreierra, Cuay Co., Texas. No. 64,802 ‘ es ‘sSuvgq vacua DjousP Jo suowtoads 4[Npv Ue} JO syUSWecusBaTT ~ Bangs—New Field Mouse from Newfoundland. 132 ‘Sse ‘loysog ‘sstleg ‘O pue “vy “A Jo WorpaT[ODs io) F9 7) 3"9 9 7) £9 39 9°9 7) SUMOIO SUOTR SETS IV[OU JAMO] JO YISUIT Fil | COE SA PLE POT | Blt | O'et | LE | SOE FT st ts ss afqrpuBur Jo 49SU9T JsoqveTD 6 z°8 3'8 8"8 P'S Z'6 9°g |-9°8 B°g 6 SeLIos Te[OU JO aTpprtu ye yydep pejorred-ozUOAT wa ee 7 oe re (88 26" | ee fT ee FST 98 So * -[eqarred jo aTpprur 0} [epdooorseg 9°9 #9 99 9°9 9'9 her J 9 «| 99 9°9 99 " * * + * SUMOIO SOT SolIes repout raddQ 20t+. Gt) POL | FOL OF | S01 |. “OL | “OL SOT] SOL * * yoqou yeyyed-qsod 07 vunusem weurR10y Srl | St | “Sl | PHL | “FT| PST | ‘HE | OE | SST | HFT sot rs ss qojou peyejed-qsod. 04 1ostouy 2°8 8 ‘68 Se P26 PSS ree ee St Ss 5 ONTARIO ES | ORT OR Remy ee ee" | S| Fe ¢ | P'S eee gee ae een ae " ' + + * g[esBm JO PIpRaiq sewer a ‘L SO ee Ri CL e Lh el ee sof of ss 8 8 + STesBU JO SUIT 4807 B9.14) + | 96 y 'P e er | 8s so ‘pr | 8's sos ot tt ss * UOTPPSUOD [BIGIO10}U] » ‘91 | SST | ‘9T| ‘9T | SET | SOT | MST | FET | SET} ZT sot of ff ss yypRedq onemOs47, S42 | ‘S| 86S | “SS | “$3 | F9S) ZFS] “83 | SH] HSS sof ot ffs 8 pesmePT JO YISUOy apse wo, | S8c “22 | 88S | ES] *8c.| 8'SS | S9S | “OS. 2 SSeS RS SE A> ae Se ee Fs) } 5 } Pp P LP re + 2 . . . . ° . . . . . . . . . . X99 CFIL | SPIT | OPIT | 6SIT | ZEIT | Si! | GOTT | 9O1T | GOTT | FOTT CEE USES Ros 8 CRE ee agg aoe oon So nae 3 o 4 o o eee o Ej “5 Ko] 3 uo] uo) uo) ij Ko} uo} uo} a $ ¢ 5 8 9 9 9 ? 3 A 2 oi g ¢ a = Sane 2 g es fe ee SS ‘ssuBg VA0UaL/a) DIONALP Jo suotMtoeds J[NpB U9} JO S}JUSTAINSKOM [VIUBID ALPHABETICAL INDEX Names of new species and subspecies are printed in heavy type A. Agapostemon, 67. Amphion fischeri, 91. Andremide, 67. Annual meeting, xi, xvi. Anoplotermes, 33. Anthophora, 66, 67. Ant economy, 24, 68-71. fallow, 6. sauba, 29. wars, 24-25. Ants, 23-36, 47, 53, 54, 68-71. Apidee, 16, 67. Aphides, 26. Apis, 14. species and varieties, 63-65. Apus, 95. Araucaria pictaviensis, 82. Army worm, 14. Arvicola chrotorrhinus, 129, 130. riparius, 99, 100, 104, 129, 130. Arvicola terrzenove, 129-132. xanthognathus, 129, 130. Asaphus, 93. Atta cephalotes, 70. _ fervens, 69. mexicana, 70. tardigrada, 69, 70. B. Bailey, L. H., The Plant Individual in the Light of Evolution, xi. _ Bailey, Vernon, Bones from a Cave in Arizona, viii. Baker, Frank, Nomenclature of Nerve Cells, xvi. Vertebree, xiii, # , Some Peculiarities of Lumbar Bangs, Outram, New Field Mouse from Newfoundland, 129-132. —., New Musk Rat from Newfound- land, 133-138. ‘——, Synaptomys cooperii in Eastern Mass., with notes on Synaptomys stonei Rhoads, 99-104. Bangs, Outram, and Miller, G. S., Jr., A New Rabbit from Western Florida, 105-108. Beal, F. E. L., Food Habits of Wood- peckers, xii. Bees, 4-18, 47-48, 61-68, division of labor among, 9. polleniferous organs in, 65-67. social organization of, 9. Bennettites, 79, 86. dacotensis, 86. gibsonianus, 80. gibsoni, 80. maranianus, 84. maximus, 81. mirabilis, 86. peachianus, 81. peachii, 81. portlandicus, 81. saxbyanus, 80. saxbyi, 80. schachti, 85. Benton, F., Species of Bees, 64-65. Blattidee, 40. Blister beetles, 55. Bolbopodium, 79. mamertinum, 82. micromerum, 82. pictaviense, $2. Bombus, 18, 49, 66. Bombycidee, 44. Bottle bees, 18, ‘ (139) 140 Burial grounds of ants, 26. Bumble bee, 18. Cc. Calotermes, 33, 35. Calymene, 92, 93, 95. senaria, 90. Camponotus inflatus, 69. Carleton, M.-A., Artificial Infection with redospores, x. Cell, Discussion of living, ix. Ceraurus, 91, 93, 95. Chartergus nidulans, 21. Chironomus, 45. Clathraria schachti, 85. Clathropodium foratum, 82. megalophyllum, 79. microphyllum, 80. mirabile, 86. ; morieri, 81. sarlatense, 82. trigeri, 82. Claviger, 30. Clisiocampa sp., 3. Coville, F. V., Botanical Explorations of Thomas Coulter in Mexico and Cali- fornia, xv. —, Remarks on the New Botanical Check List, xiii. Cremastochilus, 30. Cremastogaster, 29, 70. arboreus, 70. lineolata, 70. Cycadean Trunks of North America, 75-87. Cycadeoidea, 79-87. abequidensis, 87. bianconiana, 83. bucklandi, 81. capelliniana, 84. carruthersi, 81. cocchiana, 84. dacotensis, 86. emmonsi, 86. etrusca, 84. ferretiana, 84. Alphabetical Index. Cycadeoidea forata, 82. gibsoni, 79, 80. imolensis, 84. inclusa, 81. intermedia, 81, 83. jenneyana, 77, 87. mamertina, 82. maraniana, 84. marylandica, 86. masseiana, 84. maxima, 81. megalophylla, 79. . micromera, 82. microphylla, 80. mirabilis, 75, 78, 86. montana, 82. morieri, 81. munita, 86. peachii,. 81. pictaviensis, 82. pirazzoliana, 83. portlandica, 81. pygmeea, 79, 80. reichenbachiana, 85. sarlatensis, 82. saxbyana, 80. scarabellii, 83. schachti, 85. schulziana, 85. trigeri, 82. veronensis, 83. zamiostrobus, 86. Cycadites megalophyllus, 79. microphyllus, 80. saxbyanus,,. 80. schachti, 85. trigeri, 82. Cycas, 86. Cynips quercus-mellaria, 69. D. | Dall, W. H., Exhibition of Remains of Mammoth, xv. | Dipodomys, 109-113. Dipodomys elator, 109-110. merriami, 112, 113, Alphabetical Index. Dipodomys metrriami atronasus, 113. exilis, 113. nevadensis, 111-112. -nitratoides, 112-113. nitratus, 112. ornatus, 109, 110-111. perotensis, 111. phillipsi, 110, 111. spectabilis, 109. Dolichoderus, 70. Dorilidee, 24. Dragon flies, 38. E. Echinostipes, 82. microphyllus, 80. nidiformis, 79. ~ pygmeeus, 80. Economy of Hive, 9. Election of Officers, xi, xvi. Encephlartos bucklandii, 79. Eucheira socialis, 4. Eutermes, 33, 35, 74. morio, 74. rippertii, 72, 74. Evermann, B. W., Fishes of Missouri River Basin, xv. —., Red Fish of the Idaho Lakes, xi. Evotomys gapperi, 99, 100. . Fall web-worm, 3. Fiber obscurus, 133-138. Fiber zibethicus, 183, 184, 135, 137. Field mouse, new, from Newfoundland, 129-132. Food habits of ants, 26. Formica, 29. exsecta, 25, 68. exsectoides, 68. fusca, 26, 29. pratensis, 25. subpolita, 26. Pormicary, Division of individuals in, 29. Formicide, 24. 141 G, Galloway, B., T., Effect of Spraying with Fungicides on Growth of Nursery Stock, ix. ———, A Hexenbesen of Rubus, viii. ——, Physiological Significance of Trans- piration of Plants, x. , Rust of Pine Leaves and Effects of Parasite on Host, vii. —., Size and Weight of Seed in Rela- tion to Size and Weight of Plant, ix. Winter Coloration of Evergreen Leaves, viii. Gigantostraca, 93. Gill, Theodore, The Belone and Sarginas of Aristotle, xv. —, Relation of Ancient and Modern Ceratodontidee, xiv. | ——, On the Torpedoes, xiii. ——, Pithecanthropus, xii. —, Remarkable New Bassalian Family of Crabas ¥ —, Segregation of Ssteophesial Fishes as Fresh Water Forms, vii. Goode, G. Brown, Horizontal and Ver- tical Distribution of Deep Sea Fishes, xiv. —, Location and Record of Natural Phenomena by a Method of Reference to Geographical Coordinates, xiv. Greene, Edward L., Some Fundamen- tals of Nomenclature, xvi. H. Hemiaspide, 93. Hepialus, 39. ; behrensi, 40. “hectus, 40. Heredity in insects, 51-58. Hill, Robert T., A New Fauna from the Cretaceous Formations of Texas, vii. Histeridz, 30. Hive, Economy of, 9. Holm, Theodor, Anatomy of a Leaf Gall of Pins virginiana, xii. 142 Holm, Theodor, Contributions to Flora of District of Columbia, xvi. ——, (Edema of Violet Leaves, xiii. Hornet, baldfaced, 20. Howard, L. O., An Enemy of the Hell- gramite Fly, xv. ——, New Cotton Enemy from Mexico, xi. ——, Notes on Spider Bites, viii. Hyphantria cunea, 3. Hyponomeutidee, 4 I. Insect societies, organized, 3. Insects, color sense in, 38-39. heredity in, 51-58. intelligence in, 46-51. senses in, 36-46. social, 1-74. generalizations on, 36. Invertebrates vs. vertebrates, 58-60. J. James, Joseph F., Remarks on Daimo- nelix and allied Fossils, xiii. Judd, 8. D., Food of the Catbird, Brown Thrasher, and Wrens, xv. K. Kine-keeping, etc., by ants, 26-27. Knowlton, F. H., Amount of Water Transpired by Plants, xi. L. Lasius, 25, 29. Lepus paludicola, 105-108. palustris, 105-108. Libellulidee, 38. Limulus, 93. Lucas, F. A., Abnormal Feet of Mam- mals, xii. ——, Extinct Gigantic Birds of Pata- gonia, xv. Alphabetical Indec. M. Mantellia, 79. inclusa, 81. intermedia, 81. megalophylla, 79. microphylla, 80. nidiformis, 79. pygmeea, 80. scarabellii, 83. Mearns, Edgar A., The Hares (genus Lepus) of the Mexican Border, xiv. Megachilus keempferi, 59. Melipona, 65, 66, 67. Meloide, 55. Melissodes, 66, 67. Merriam, C. Hart, A Remarkable new Rabbit from Mexico, viii. ——, American Wood Rats (Neotoma), with Descriptions of 14 new Species, 117-128. ienenes). 4 1x, —, Mammals of Pribilof Islands, xv. a North American Shrews, xiv. —., Descriptions of 11 new Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys and _ Perodipus), 109-116. ——, Short-tailed Shrews of America, Xiv. Miller, G. S., Jr., and Bangs Outram, A new Rabbit from Western Florida, 105-108. Monomorium pharaonis, 24. Musk Rat, new, from Newfoundland, 133-138. Myrmicide, 24. Myrmecocystus melliger, 69. mexicanus, 69. Myrmicophilee, 29-31. N. Nelumbium, 86. Neotoma, 117-128. albigula, 126, 127. arizonee, 120. Alphabetical. Index. Neotoma baileyi, 123. cinerea drummondi, 127, 128. desertorum, 119, 125-126. sola, 126. fallax, 123-124. floridana, 117, 118. fulviventer, 121-122. fuscipes dispar, 124-125. streatori, 124. intermedia angusticeps, © 127. melanurea, |. 126-127. latifrons, 121. leucodon, 118, 120, 121. mexicana, 118. mexicana bullata, 122, 123. orizabe, 122. orolestes, 128. tenuicauda, 121. Nomada, 67. O. Oecodoma cephalotes, 29. (£cophylla, 24. Organs, important special, of bees, 11. sense, 42. wax-producing, 12. te Palmer, Wm., Albinistic Birds’ Feet, xv. , Nesting Sites of Blue Gray Gnat Catcher, x. ——,, Rare Birds in District of Columbia, viii. Parorgyda, 39. ~ Perdita, 66. Perodipus, 109, 113-115. agilis, 114. ordi, 115. Perodipus ordi columbianus, 115. panamintinus, 109, 114. streatori, 109, 113-114. Plant lice, 26. Polistes, 20, 23. gallica, 21, 22. 148 Pollard, Charles L., Genus Cassia in America, x. Polleniferous organs in bees, 16, 65 67. Polyergus rufescens, 25. Polyrhacis, 70. Poneride, 24. Powell, J. W., Classification of Subject- matter of Biology, xiii. Prosopis, 67. Proetus bohemicus, 91. - R. Rabbit, New, from Western Florida, 105-108. Raumeria cocchiana, 84. masseiana, 84. reichenbachiana, 85. schulziana, 85. Riley, C. V., Social Insects from Psy- chical and Evolutional Points of View 1-74. : ——j;Some Interesting Results of In- juries to Trees, xi. ——., Transmission of Acquired Char- acters, viii. Romanes on instinct in neuter insects, 49, Rose, J. N., A Botanical Trip to North- western Wyoming, vii. ? S. Salpa, 94. Samia cynthia, 44. Sao hirsuta, 91. Sciara, 4. Simpson, Charles T., Geographical Dis- tribution of Fresh-water Mussels, xiv. ——., Geographical Distribution of Land Shells in Jamaica, x. ——, Respective Values of Shell and Soft Parts in Naiad Classification, xiii. ——, Validity of genus Margaritana, xi. Slave-making among ants, 25-26. Smith, Erwin F., Biology of Bacillus tracheiphilus, xiv. 144 Smith, Edwin F., Last Phase of the Root Tubercle Question, xi. —, Length of Vessels in Higher Plants, ix. ——, The Other Side of the Nomenclat- ure Question, xiv. Smith, Theobald, Infectious Entero- Hepatitis of Fowls due to Protozoa, xiii. —, Significance of Variation among Species of Pathogenic Bacteria, viii. Snake worms, 4. Stejneger, Leonhard, Exhibition of Spade-Foot Toad (Spea), viii. Sternberg, George M., Explanation of Acquired Immunity, xiii. —, Explanation of Immunity from Infectious Diseases, xii. ——, Practical Results of Bacteriological Researches, xvi. Stiles, Ch. Wardell, Adult Cestodes of Herbivorous Animals, ix. ——, Distoma westermanniin the Lungs | of a Cat, viii. ——, Double-pored Cestode with Occa- sional Single Pores, xii. ——, Experimental Trichinosis ina New Host, x. ——, Presence of Adult Cestodes in | Hogs, xiii. ——, The Rudolph Leuckhart Memorial, | XV. ——, The Third International Zodlog- ical Congress, xv. —,, Teaching of Biology in Colleges, vii. Stylopidee, 36. Swarming of bees, 10. Synaptomys cooperii, 99-104. stonei, 99-104. ps Telepathy in insects, 43-46. Tent caterpillars, 3. Teonoma, 127. Termes, 74. Alphabetical Index. Termes bellicosus, 34. colony, forms in, 33. composition of colony, 73-74. flavipes, 32, 35. lucifugus, 31, 33, 35. Termite economy, 71-74. Termites, 31-86, 42, 47, 56, 57. influence of food and _treat- ment on, 72-73. supplementary kings and queens of, 71-72. true royal pairs of, 71-72. Tetramorium, 25, 29. | Thompson, Ernest. E., Means of Inter- communication among Wolves, xiv. Townsend, C. H., Ornithology of Cocos Island in Relation to that of the Gala- pagos Archipelago, viii. Triarthus, 92, 93, 98. becki, 96. Trigona, 17, 65, 66, 67. Trilobites, appendages of, 89-97. Tysonia marylandica, 86. Vv. Vespa, 22. maculata, 20, 70. Vespide, 19, 25. Ww. Waite, M. B., Hexenbesens of Wash- ington and Vicinity, viii. —-, Flora of Washington and Vicinity, xii. ——., Structure and Method of Opening of Anthers of the Pomee, viii. ——, Treatment of the Pear Leaf-Blight, vii. Walcott, Charles D., Appendages of Trilobites, ix, 89-97. —, Occurrence of Fossil Medusze in the Middle Cambrian Terrane, ix. Ward, Lester F., Fossil Cycads from Potomac Formation of Maryland, ix. -— +, Fossil Cycadean Trunks with Re- vision of genus Cycadeoidea, 75-87. Alphabetical Index. . 145 Ward, Lester F., Mesozoic Flora of Por- tugal compared with that of United States, xil. ——, Remarks on the genus Caulinites Brongn., xv. 5 Wasps, 19, 47, 48, 53, 54. Life history of, 21. Paper, 20. Social, 19-23. Wax discs, 16. glands, 12. pincers, 13. producing organsin bees, 12, 67-68. Webber, H. J., Dissemination of the Yucca, x. Weismann’s theory of heredity, 51-52. Woods, A. F., Calorific Effect of Light upon Plants, ix. Woods, A. F., Some Effects of Spraying Mixtures on growth of Plants, x. x. Xiphosura, 93. ie Yellow jackets, 20. Z. Zamites bucklandi, 81. megalophyllus, 79. microphyllus, 80. pygmeeus, 80. Zamiostrobus emmonsi, 86. mirabilis, 75, 86. Zapus hudsonius, 99, 100. VoL IX, Pp. 133-138 SEPTEMBER 15, 1894 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON DESCRIPTION OF A NEW MUSK RAT FROM CODROY, NEWFOUNDLAND. BY OUTRAM BANGS. A fine series of musk rats lately received from Codroy, New- foundland, shows such differences from Fiber zibethicus (Linn.) of Eastern North America that I think it must be regarded as representing a distinct species. This Fiber may be defined as follows: Fiber obscurus sp. nov. Diagnosis. Smaller than J. zibethicus (Linn.), with the under parts and sides less ferruginous and the upper parts much darker. The lips and the hairs about the under side of the nose are much lighter (pure white). The fringe of long hair around the toes of the hind feet is decidedly lighter than the feet, while in F zibethicus this fringe is generally of about the same shade as the feet. The under fur is darker than in zibethicus. Skull smaller and smoother, not rising into such pronounced bong ridges with age, with the rostrum relatively larger and the audital bulle rela- tively smaller, while the interorbital constriction is actually broader. 134 Bangs—A New Musk Rat from Newfoundland. Description. Type.—No. 1155 Collection of E. A. and O. Bangs, Boston, Mass. From Codroy, Newfoundland, May 14, 1894, Ernest Doane, collector. Total length, 476 mm.; tail, 200 mm., hind foot, 70 mm.; ear from notch, 22 mm. (Measurements taken in flesh by the collector). Upper parts: General color Prout’s brown,* shaded a little with Vandyke brown,* darkening on the top of the head to almost black. The long shin- ing hairs are black all over the back, but on the sides they shade off a little to a very dark reddish brown. Under parts and sides of the head of a shade between Prout’s brown,* and broccoli brown,* paling off on the under side of the neck and legs to almost fawn color.* Lips and hair under the nose white. Under fur slate grey everywhere. Feet blackish slate,* with the fringe of long hair around the toes of the hind feet Isabella color.* Cranial characters: Skull small and smooth, and broad between the orbits, with large rostrum and small audital bullee. Specimens taken later in the season than the type are rather more reddish (ferruginous) in general color, but compared with specimens of F. zibethicus of corresponding dates from Massa- chusetts, Nova Scotia, etc., the difference is quite as great as be- tween the type and examples of F/. zibethicus of the same date as the type from those localities. I have carefully compared musk rats from our Eastern Coast from Connecticut to Cape Breton and can find no difference in specimens of the same age and season and no tendency towards a ‘small dark northern race,t and therefore incline to the belief that F. obscurus is an insular form peculiar to Newfoundland. I have however never seen any musk rats from Labrador, and it is possible that there the animal may be more like the one found in Newfoundland. *Ridgway’s Nomenclature of colors. +The largest musk rat I have examined is from Shenacadie (Cape Breton) Nova Scotia. It is a very old adult male. No. 2007, Collection of E. A. and O. 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KNOWLTON Jupp & DerwetLer, Printers (ii) CONTENTS Page Officers and. committees for 1806. od. jon ce iene Se cea reas v PTOCOGGINGS, 3 oi Genes oniis Saas es bE Les Hau a Rules eo vii-xvi A Review of the Weasels of Eastern North America, by Outram DONQGS Seas er hae eh ga Oe bl ee SI ee hese datecee s 1-24 The Florida Deer, by Outram Bangs..............0...e0ceeee 25-28 Fourth List of Additions to the Flora of Washington, Dd. C., ‘by TARO. TOMBS Uc EUs eee Wael cee ay as SEs wae sae ce een oo Siete 29-43 On a Small Collection of Mammals from Lake Edward, Quebec, by Outram Banoo cag cede k eke cow ecies h cas oss eee eas 45-52 Description of a New Species of Plover from the East Coast of Madagascar, by Charles W. Richmond....................2.. 53-54 Revision of the Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys, with De- _ seriptions of New Species, by Dr. C. Hart Merriam........... 55- 64 Preliminary Synopsis of the American Bears, by Dr. C. Hart Moertininas 55 2 ea ee Say nk Sad kd Vie 65-83 The Purple-Flowered, Stemless Violets of the Atlantic Coast, by Charles Louis POmgra ss osha bos ss bos See RO ROS ERE Pete Fe 85-92 List of Mammals of the District of Columbia, by Vernon Bailey. 93-101 The Earliest Record of Arctic Plants, by Theo. Holm........... 103-107 The Central American Thyroptera, by Gerrit S. Miller, Jr....... 109-112 Note on the Milk Dentition of Desmodus, by Gerrit S. Miller, Jr. 113-114 A New Fir from Arizona, Abies arizonica, by Dr. C. Hart Mer- PURI, Seis a ek as Faw EW Oa Oe Whe DEEN Oe Ad UO eee eS 115-118 The Cotton Mouse, Peromyscus gossypinus, by Outram Bangs.... 119-125 Juncus confusus, a New Rush from the Rocky Mountain Region, by Frederick V. Covitle:..c: 5G. Sate ey be ae 127-130 Ribes erythrocarpum, a New Currant from the Vicinity of Crater Lake, Oregon, by Frederick V. Coville................... ... 131-132 An Undescribed Shrew of the Genus Sorex, by Charles F. Batch- QEGOR Pe la Oe enn ek eS aa een a 133-1384 Some New Mammals from Indian Territory and Missouri, by Outen Bares cas Sica as hee nes Sn Nas Seale gly se. 135-188 The Skunks of the Genus Mephitis of Eastern North America, by Orntram Barge acs ev howe ee cme ees See cid Ok vos eee bs 139-144 A Review of the Squirrels of Eastern North ‘keiedek: by Outram BAN kc: a CUR OREN aa RSA ea kG ES pe bead bos 145-167 Romerolagus nelsoni, a New Genus and Species of Rabbit from Mexico, by Or CU. Mart Mermiai 5 eli. as Gs 169-174 (iii) Figure LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES I-III. Skulls of Weasels. IV-VI. Skulls of Bears. VII. Bat, Thyroptera discifera. VIII-X. Skulls of American Squirrels. TEXT FIGURES . Enamel pattern of lower molars of Synaptomys and Mictomys. . Enamel pattern of molars of Synagtomys. . Skull of Synaptomys helaletes. . Enamel pattern of molars of Mictomys. . Skull of Mictomys wrangeli. Lower carnassial and last premolar teeth in different Bears. . Skull of Kadiak Bear. . Teeth of Yakutat Bear. . Skull of Yakutat Bear. . Skull of Grizzly Bear. . Skull of Sonora Grizzly. . Skull of Rocky Mountain Grizzly. . Skull of Sonora Grizzly from the Coppermines. . Skull of Sonora Grizzly from Nogales . Skull of California Grizzly. . Skull of Barren Ground Bear. . Teeth of Thyroptera discifera. . Head of Thyroptera discifera. . Foot and uropatagium of Thyroptera discifera. . Right foot of Thyroptera discifera. . Maxillary teeth of Desmodus rufus. . Mandibular teeth of Desmodus rufus. . Bark of Abies arizonica. . Scales of cones of Abies arizonica. . Skull of Sorea macrurus. . Left side of upper jaw, showing teeth of Sorex macrurus. . Upper jaw, seen from below, of Sorex macrurus. . Rostrum of Sciuropterus silus. . Rostrum of Sciwropterus volans. . Audital bulla of Sciwropterus volans. . Audital bulla of Sciwropterus v. querceti. . Sternum of Romerolagus nelsoni. . Sternum of Lepus timidus. (iv) OFFICERS AND COUNCIL OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON FOR 1896 (ELECTED DECEMBER 27, 1495) OFFICERS President GEO. M. STERNBERG Vice- Presidents RICHARD RATHBUN L. O. HOWARD C. D. WALCOTT B. E. FERNOW Recording Secretary M. B. WAITE Corresponding Secretary F. A. LUCAS Treasurer F. H. KNOWLTON COUNCIL WM. H. ASHMEAD C. HART MERRIAM* ‘F. V. COVILLE C. L. POLLARD WILLIAM H. DALL* CON. weld * F THEODORE GILL * CH. WARDELL STILES G. BROWN GOODE*t FREDERICK W. TRUE LESTER F. WARD * STANDING COMMITTEES—1896 Committee on Communications ; B. E. Fernow, Chairman F. V. CoviLtLEe M. B. Warre Committee on Publications C. Harr Merriam, Chairman T. 8. PALMER F. H. Knowitron Delegates to the Joint Commission GEO. M. STERNBERG RicuHarp RatTnBuN Lester F. Warp * Ex-Presidents of the Society. } Deceased. (v) VOL. X, PP. VII-XII DECEMBER 31, 1896 , PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON | PROCEEDINGS. The Society meets in the Assembly Hall of the Cosmos Club on alternate Saturdays at 8 p.m. Brief notices of the meetings are published in ‘Science.’ January 11, 1896—253d Meeting. Vice-President B. E. Fernow in the chair and one hundred and thirteen persons present. The following communications were presented : Gerrit S. Miller, Jr.: The Subgenera of Voles (Microtinz).* T.S. Palmer: Rabbit Drives in the West.f (Illustrated by lantern slides.) V. A. Moore: The Flagella of Motile Bacteria with special Reference to their Value in Differentiating Species.{ (Illustrated by lantern slides.) January 25, 1896-—254th Meeting. Vice-President B. E. Fernow in the chair and twenty-three persons present. The following communications were presented : Charles F. Simpson: On the Extra-limital Mississippi Unios.§ M. B. Waite: The Life History of the Pear Blight Microbe.|| *Genera and Subgenera of Voles and Lemmings. ) © silSea|'2 | Ss re (eerasy) g Name. Locality. @ia2?8|—218 18 1|20|/,e1 8 o Ms zt | B of Sar feb ae fe a fe | oa ) cae oO ~ a I -“ tel oa) Za | o>) Oo Oo | Qa o P. longicauda..........| Alberta, Sask., and N. Dak.....|\fad.| 6 | 47.4 | 46.8 | 29.6 | 25.8 | 14.0] 3.7 | 29.0 *f seseveeree] Alberta, Mont., and N. Dak....;Q ad.}| 6 | 42.8 | 42.4 | 25.7 22.9] 12.0] 3.9 | 25.4 ES USSDORG teccoee kd Fort Snelling and Elk river, |#fad.| 5 | 48.2 | 47.6 | 29.5 | 25.8 | 14.4] 3.3 | 30.4 Minn. 9 ad Se Bee ee tad tn ne oe 2| 44.1 | 42.3 | 25.1 | 22.5] 11.9] 3.6 | 26.5 He FR ONGUUS... | oe N ee oye b ae ae = = Sle Br eet Se oe a Oe = se ae a Be i BW = o aS ea ey ST ST a ct — oe — ' @ oO . OS Se Saar le ee ee an pe Pel ale ey = ore Be Seg ee ee hd SEb Re gl Rep e Pee ae ae ee o Ql ke “AYI[BIO'T ‘o8v pus xag = Q = 6 =§ "@] $ ie miss Sf aks Oe =] RS Nae 5 : ? Me) S =< < ° @ beac) ‘snuabyuof snjououpy pun “wadooa “gy ‘snot shuojidnulig fo sruawainsnayy pound VOL. X, pp. 53-54 MaRCH 14, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF PLOVER FROM THE EAST COAST OF MADAGASCAR. BY CHARLES W. RICHMOND. The apparently new species of plover here described is repre- sented in the United States National Museum series by five specimens. Three of these were in a collection of birds lately received from Dr. W. L. Abbott; the other two were obtained by exchange some years ago from the Paris Museum.. 4Bgialitis thoracica sp. nov. Type No. 151,174, U. 8. National Museum, 9 adult, Loholoka, east coast of Madagascar, June 3, 1895. Dr. W. L. Abbott, collector. Crown, back, scapulars, tertials, and wing-coverts hair brown, the feathers edged with pale or deep buff, those of the greater wing-coverts edged and tipped with white; primaries, secondaries, rump, median upper tail-coverts, and middle rectrices dark clove brown; shafts of primaries (including the third) with white on terminal half; primary coverts brownish black, tipped with white; lateral upper tail-coverts white; inner primaries narrowly bordered on inner web and tipped with white; base of outer webs white ; secondaries tipped with white, which become broader toward the innermost. Forehead, lores, cheeks, throat, axillars, under wing-coverts, sides of body, and flanks white ; a line from upper mandible to lower anterior border of eye, continued posteriorly through and including ear-coverts black, connecting with a narrower black band extending across lower border of nape, and with a broad black pectoral band, the latter more extensive on sides of chest; an interocular crescent-shaped black band borders the white forehead and separates it from a white line over eyes, ear-coverts, and passing across nape as a con- spicuous ruchal band (leaving the black crown patch entirely surrounded by a white band and the latter isolated from other white markings); a white band below the black pectoral band passes abruptly into cinnamon buff on the abdomen and under tail-coverts, that of the abdomen extends up on sides of body to the black band across breast, intercepting the white. Three outer tail feathers white, with more or less dusky markings, 8—Bron. Soc. Wasu., Von. X, 1896 (53) 54. Richmond—A New Species of Plover from Madagascar. especially on the two inner ones; nextinner pair (4th) dusky, with white tips; 5th pair hair brown, becoming black subterminally, with a deep buff tip. Bill, legs, and feet black in dried skin. Wing, 4.00; tail, 1.72; tarsus, 1.20; culmen (exposed), .69 inches. In another female (No. 151,169) the wing measures 4.20 inches; the other measurements of the five specimens are very much the same. This species seems to be most nearly related to Agialitis varia (Vieillot) of Africa, and also found in Madagascar, but differs from it mainly in the presence of the black pectoral band and the absence of a wholly black shaft in the third primary ; the white line posterior to the black crescent between eyes is more pronounced and the lesser wing-coverts and primary coverts are not decidedly blackish. There is also a slight difference in size, particularly noticeable in the bills. The two specimens received from the Paris Museum are sexed as males, and are precisely similar to those collected by Dr. Abbott. They were collected by M. Lantz, in 1882, on the southeast coast of Madagascar.’ In addition to this information the labels bear the names ‘Charadrius tenellus,’ and, in a later handwriting, ‘ pecuarius’ [= varia]. From an examination of the specimens in the National Museum and a careful comparison of descriptions, it appears that no described plumages of either Agialitis tenella or AL. varia possess black pectoral bands. I was rather loth to consider the species unnamed after examining the two specimens from the Paris Museum, as the bird must be well known to the French authors, particularly Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, whose great work on Madagascar birds I have had no opportunity to consult. Thinking there might be some reference to the black pectoral band in the account of 4’. varia in this work, I wrote to Mr. Witmer Stone, of the Philadelphia Academy, who has access to it, and he has very kindly fur- nished me with the following extract * under Charadrius pecuarius Temm. (as they prefer to write it): ‘¢Ce Pluvier africain se trouve aussi ’ Madagascar, sur ies cétes de l’est comme sur celles de ’ouest. Il est en dessus d’un brun roussatre clair avec une couronne blanche autour de la téte qu’un diademe noiratre separe du front, qui est également blanc ainsi que les joues; la gorge, la poitrine, que traverse, chez les adultes, une large bande noire, et les sous-caudales, sont blanches; le ventre est roussdtre. Cette bande noire qui traverse la poitrine chez les adultes n’a pas encore été signalée chez les individus Africains.” : It is very remarkable that the black pectoral band should be present in adults from Madagascar and absent in those from Africa, where the species is said to be common in many places and breeds and from whence it was originally described. The two species, varia and thoracica, are apparently found together on the east coast of Madagascar, where Dr. Abbott collected a specimen of each at Loholoka on June 3. It was probably this association of the species that led the authors of the above-mentioned work to consider them adult and young of one species. * Hist. Phys. Nat. et Polit. de Madagascar, XII, Ois. tome I, pp. 511-512. OPTS og aN 18 1895 ° VoL. X, pp. 55-64 “ MARCH 19, 1896 Speen Epos PROCEE OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON REVISION OF THE LEMMINGS OF THE GENUS SYNAP- TOM YS, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIKS. BY DR. C. HART MERRIAM. The genus Synaptomys has an interesting history. It was de- scribed by Professor Baird about forty years ago from a speci- men received from William Cooper, of Hoboken, New Jersey, for whom the species was named Synaptomys cooperi.' The locality at which it was collected is unknown. For many years the species continued to elude the notice of naturalists, and it was not until 1874 that additional information was published con- cerning it. In this year Coues recorded specimens from Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Kansas. He also mentioned specimens from Oregon [= Washington] and Alaska; but these, as will be shown later, do not belong to the present species.’ ' In 1881 Dr. F. W. Langdon recorded its occurrence “in num- bers ” at Brookville, Indiana, and described the locality at which it had been found by E. R. Quick.* In 1885 Edgar R. Quick and Amos W. Butler described its habits as observed at Brookville, Indiana.’ In December, 1892, | published a notice of the occurrence of the species on Roan Mountain, North Carolina, and of the dis- covery of its remains in ‘ pellets’ of the long-eared owl found in Virginia, near Washington, D. C., by Dr. A. K. Fisher, and of others taken from the stomachs of hawks and owls killed at Sandy Spring, Maryland, and Alfred Center, New York.’ At the close of this paper I suggested that mammal collectors would “do well to keep a sharp lookout for a spedve:? in the cooler parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.” In January, 1893, S. N. Rhoads recorded the species from May 'The numeral references in the present paper refer to titles in the bib- liography at the end of the article. 9—Bron. Soc. Wasu., Vor. X, 1896 (55) 56. Merriam—The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. Landing, New Jersey, but unfortunately gave it a new name, Synaptomys stonei.** In the same year (1893) J. B. Steere re- corded it from Ann Arbor, Michigan.* In April, 1894, Outram Bangs recorded specimens from Ware- ham and Plymouth, Massachusetts, and showed that S. stone? is the same as S. coopert Baird. In December, 1894, J. A. Allen recorded the northward exten- sion of Synaptomys to Andover and Gulquac Lake, New Bruns- wick.” | Karly in January, 1895,S. N. Rhoads published a record of the capture of a specimen of S. coopert on Big Bushkill creek, Monroe county, Pennsylvania.” This completes, so far as I am aware, the published records of the type species. Although remains of the species had been found both in ‘ pel- lets’ and stomachs of hawks and owls from the vicinity of Wash- ington, D. C., and although the species had been persistently trapped for by a number of experienced mammal collectors, still no specimen ‘in the flesh’ was actually obtained until February of the present year (1896), when Vernon Bailey captured several ina sphagnum bog at Hyattsville, Maryland, only seven miles from Washington. Mr. Bailey has also secured a number at Elk River, Minnesota, and I have a specimen from Knoxville, Iowa. During recent explorations in the great Dismal Swamp in southern Virginia, Dr. A..K. Fisher secured specimens of a new Synaptomys, which is here described under the name S. helaletes. Specimens collected at Neosho, Kansas, many years ago by the late Captain B. F. Goss, and labeled S. gossiz by Baird, are here described as a. subspecies under that name. A few months ago Napoleon A. Comeau, of Godbout, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, near the Gulf, sent me a speci- men of Synaptomys which differs materially from S. cooperi. This animal has just been described by Outram Bangs under the name S. fatuus, from specimens collected by him at Lake Edward, Quebec.“ Dr. Allen’s New Brunswick specimens, which he has kindly loaned me for examination, also belong to this northern form. It is notimprobable that all of the four forms here recog- nized will be found to intergrade. In 1894 F, W. True described a new lemming mouse collected by Lucien M. Turner at Fort Chimo, Ungava, and named it Mic- *In the same paper Mr. Rhoads stated that the species ‘‘ had previously been detected by the U. 8S. Department of Agriculture in the rejects of a barn owl living in the tower of the Smithsonian Institution” (Am. Nat., Jan., 1893, 53). This statement was unauthorized and incorrect. The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. 57 tomys innuitus.” The characters that separate it from Synaptomys proper seem of subgeneric rather than generic weight, and in the present paper Mictomys is treated as a subgenus of Synaptomys. In 1874,’ and again in 1877,> Coues referred to Synaptomys coopert, a specimen from Skagit valley, Washington, collected in 1859 by C. B. Kennerly, and one from Nulato, Alaska, collected in 1867 by William H. Dall. These specimens are still in the U.S. National Museum, and through the courtesy of Mr. True I have been enabled to compare them with his type of Mictomys imnuitus, which they closely resemble. Both belong to the sub- genus Mictomys, but differ sufficiently from innuitus and from each other to warrant separation. They are here described under the names truet and dalli. | In September, 1895, Clark P. Streator collected, at Wrangel, Alaska, still another member of the same group, which is here named wrangelt. Summary.—The material now available shows that the genus Synaptomys, instead of being monotypic, as until recently sup- posed, comprises 2 well marked subgeneric groups—Synaptomys proper and Mictomys ; that Synaptomys proper inhabits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States from Minnesota to New Brunswick and New England, and contains 4 fairly well defined forms; that Mictomys has a transcontinental distribution from Labrador to Alaska, and contains at least 4 species. Synaptomys, like the other genera of lemmings, is a distinctly boreal group. Of the two subgenera, Mictomys is decidedly the more boreal, being strictly confined, in the east at least, to the Hudsonian zone. The subgenus Synaptomys pushes southward to the northern edge of the Austroriparian zone, but after it leaves the Boreal zone it occurs only, so far as known. in cool swamps. Genus SYNAPTOMYS Baird. Subgenus Synaptomys Baird, 1857. Inferior molars with well defined closed enamel loops on outer side ; upper incisors very broad and heavy, with enamel face deep orange throughout; posterior end of palate without median azygos ridge or projection. Subgenus Mictomys True, 1894. Inferior molars with no closed enamel loops on outer side; upper incisors relatively narrow and weak, with en- amel face pale yellow and part on outer side of sulcus At \ JX y WMWYD nearly white; posteriorend * of palate with a strongly marked median azygos Fic. 1.—Enamel pattern of lower molars. ridge and projection. 1. Synaptomys 2. Mictomys. 58 Merriam—The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. Subgenus SYNAPTOMYS Baird. Synaptomys cooperi Baird. Synaptomys cooperi Baird, Mammals N. Am., pp. 556-558, 1857. Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila. , p. 194, 1874; Monog. N. zeke Rodentia, pp. 235-236, 1877 Quick and Butler, Am. Netaralist. XTX, 113-115, Feb., 1885. Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., VII, 175-177, Dec., 1892. Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soe. Wash., [X, 99-104, April, 1894. Synaptomys stonei Rhoads, Am. Naturalist, XX VII, pp. 53-54,Jan. 11, 1893. Type locality unknown; probably northern New Jersey or southern New York. Geographic distribution.—Boreal and parts of Transition zones from Min- nesota eastward to eastern Massachusetts and south to Iowa, Indiana, and Maryland, and in the mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee. South of the Boreal zone it appears to be confined to cold sphagnum swamps, which give it a boreal atmosphere. General characters.—Similar in size and general appearance to Microtus pennsylvanicus, but tail very much shorter. Contrasted with Synaptomys helaletes the feet are smaller and the rostrum, mandible, and upper incisors are much narrower and less massive. Color.—Upper parts grizzled gray and yellowish brown abundantly mixed with black-tipped hairs ; under parts soiled whitish, the plumbeous under fur showing through; tail bicolor; brownish above, whitish below. In the adult the color of the back varies from pale yellowish brown to almost rusty, always ‘ grizzled’ by a bountiful admixture of black-tipped hairs. In the young the color is at first very dark, almost blackish slate ; it then becomes grayish brown and approaches sepia before taking on the yellowish brown of the adult. . Cranial and dental characters. —Contrasted with S. helaletes from Dismal Swamp, the skull and teeth of S. cooperi are smaller and weaker, the zygomata more bowed outward, the rostrum and mandible very much narrower, the nasals nar- rower posteriorly, and the brain case shorter. Fic. 2,-Enamel patternof Measwrements.—Average of 4 specimens from upper and lower molars Ann Arbor, Michigan: total length, 118; tail in Synaptomys cooper. — Vortebree, 17.5; hind foot, 18. Average of 2 from Roan Mountain, North Carolina: Total length, 121; tail vertebree, 20; hind foot, 19.5. Synaptomys fatuus Bangs. Synaptomys fatuus Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, 47-48, March 7, 1896. Type locality.—Lake Edward, Quebec. Geographic distribution Hudsonian zone from Lake Edward, Quebec (and probably much farther west), to Victoria county, New Brunswick, and Godbout, Quebec. Limits of range unknown. General characters.—Similar to S. cooperi, but slightly smaller; skull de- cidedly smaller, with much narrower upper incisors. The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. 59 Color.—Upper parts grizzled yellowish brown, abundantly mixed with black-tipped hairs; under parts varying from slate gray to whitish, washed with buff on the belly; tail nearly concolor, only slightly paler below than above. Cranial and dental characters.—Skull similar to that of S. cooperi, but smaller and weaker ; rostrum narrower ; basisphenoid broader posteriorly. Upper incisors very much narrower than in cooperi. Measurements.— Average of 2 adults from type locality (measured in flesh by O. Bangs): total length, 124; tail vertebrae, 18; hind foot, 18.7. Measurements of an alcoholic specimen (2) from Godbout, Quebec: total length, 106; tail vertebre, 19; hind foot, 18. Synaptomys helaletes sp. nov. Type from Dismal Swamp, Virginia, No. 75172, 2 adult, U. S. National Museum, Department of Agriculture collection. Collected October 14, 1895, by Dr. A. K. Fisher. Original number 1818. General characters.—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. Color.—Upper parts grizzled gray and yellowish brown, abundantly mixed with black-tipped hairs; under parts plumbeous, waabied with white; tail bicolor, brown- . ish above, whitish below; toes usually partly white. Cranial and dental char- acters.— Contrasted with S. coopert, the skull and teeth are larger, heavier, and more massive; the zygomata less strongly bowed outward; the na- sals broader posteriorly, and the brain case longer. The rostrum, upper in- cisors, and under jaw are remarkable for breadth Fic. 3.—Skull of Synaptomys helaletes 3 and massiveness. (type) X 1%. Measurements.—Type specimen: total length, 125; tail vertebrae, 22; hind foot, 20. Average of four adults from type locality: total length, 118.5; tail vertebrae, 21; hind foot, 20.2. General remarks.-——Synaptomys helaletes, while of essentially the same size as S. cooperi, has very much larger fore and hind feet and a longer tail. The difference in the breadth and massiveness of the rostrum, mandible, and upper incisors is so great that skulls of the two require no compari- son. Still, specimens recently collected by Vernon Bailey in a sphagnum swamp near Washington, D. C., are somewhat intermediate and indicate that intergradation may exist. 60 Merriam—The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. Synaptomys helaletes gossii subsp. nov. Arvicola (Synaptomys) gossti Baird MS., Coues, Monog. N. Am. Rodentia, p. 235, 1877 (nomen nudum). Type locality.— Neosho Falls, Kansas, No. 6915, ¢ old, U. S. National Museum. Collected by B. F. Goss, 1866. General characters.—Similar to S. helaletes, but color probably redder ; rostrum longer; audital bullze smaller. Color.—Not positively known; probably more reddish brown than in coopert or helaletes. The mounted specimen in the National Museum has been skinned out of alcohol, and the skins originally collected by Captain Goss cannot be found. Cranial and dental characters.—Skull as a whole similar to that of S. hela- letes, but even larger, with rostrum and nasals longer; zygomata more bowed outward in the middle; orbital fossee larger; audital builee smaller; postpalatal pits deeper, defining a distinct median ridge between them, which ridge projects slightly into the postpalatal notch. Viewed from below, the rostrum and incisive foramina are conspicuously longer. Owing to the small size of the audital bulle, the sides of the basioccipital are less deeply excavated, and the vacuity on each side of the basisphenoid is much larger than in /elaletes; the incisors are very broad and heavy, as in helaletes, and the molars nearly as large (the upper series measuring 7 mm.). Measurements.—A verage of 6 specimens from type locality : total length, 120; tail vertebree, 20.5; hind foot, 19.* Subgenus MICTOMYS True. A new and exceedingly interesting lemming-vole from Ungava, Labrador, was described by Mr. F. W. True, in 1894, under the name Mictomys innuitus. On comparing the type specimen of this species and specimens of the two related species here de- scribed, with Synaptomys cooperi, it appears that the most im- portant character separating Mictomys from Synaptomys is the absence of closed triangles or enamel loops on the outer side of the lower molars (Fig. 1). In addition, the upper incisors in Mictomys are more slender and much paler in color, and the part exterior to the sulcus is nearly white, while in Synaptomys the whole enamel face is deep orange. The chief cranial differences are in the post-palatal region. In Miclomys there is a distinct median azygos ridge not present in Synaptomys,t where the * Hind foot from alcoholics; the other measurements taken in flesh by Captain Goss and converted from Coues’ table, N. Am. Rodentia, p. 236, 1877. + Except in 8. gossii in which the post-palatal pits are so deep that the median part of the palate between them is left as a nearly vertical pro- jection comparable to, but much shorter than, that of Mictomys. . The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. 61 palate breaks down to the interpterygoid notch. This ridge separates the post-palatal pits and projects backward into the post-palatal notch. In Mictomys the supraorbital ridges unite in a single median ridge; in Synaptomys they are normally sep- arated by a sulcus. The differences in enamel pattern of the molar teeth in the four species of Mictomys now known are shown in the accom- panying illustration (Fig. 4). The teeth are large and broad in M. innuitus and dalli; smaller and much narrower in wrangeli and truet. The reéntrant angles on the outer side of the lower molars are deepest in truei (d’); shallowest in wrangeli (b’). IMAM API WY Walnagiag APMANUE ANIL Fic. 4.—Enamel pattern of molar teeth in type specimens of Mictomys. X 5. a, 6, c,d, upper series; a’, 0’, c’, d’, lower series. a. Mictomys innuttus, Ft. Chimo, Ungava. b. Mictomys wrangeli, Wrangel, Alaska. c. Mictomys dalli, Nulato, Alaska. ad, Mictomys truez, Skagit Valley, Washington. Synaptomys (Mictomys) innuitus True. Mictomys innuitus True, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., X VII, 248, April 26, 1894. Type locality.— Fort Chimo, Ungava, Labrador. General characters.—Size and general appearance similar to Synaptomys cooperi,; ear slightly longer than in Synaptomys; tail shortest of the four known species of Mictomys. Color (of aleoholic).—‘‘ Upper surfaces grayish brown, as in Synaptomys ; under surfaces gray; face pale brown; lips, end of nose, and chin white ; feet pale brown; tail bicolored, pale brown above, white below.” From continued immersion in alcohol the color of the upper parts has now changed to reddish brown. Cranial and dental characters.—Skull as a whole very broad and flat; brain case strongly depressed; zygomata broadly spreading and standing out squarely from rostrum; audital bullee strongly inflated anteriorly, the anterior border strongly convex forward. Contrasted with M. wrangeli, 62 Merriam—The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. the posterior loop of the last upper molar is longer transversely, and the reentrant angles of the middle and last lower molars are deeper. Measurements of type specimen (alcoholic, measured by C. H. M.).—Total length, 115; tail vertebrae, 17; hind foot, 17.5. Synaptomys (Mictomys) dalli sp. nov. Type locality.—Nulato, Alaska, No. 10957, 3 adult [skeleton from alco- hol], U. S. National Museum. Collected February, 1867, by Wm. H. Dall. General characters.—Similar to M. wrangeli, but differing in cranial char- acters. Color.—Unknown. Cranial and dental characters. —Skull similar to that of wrangeli, but differ- ing in the following particulars: nasals emarginate instead of truncate posteriorly ; interparietal much narrower anteroposteriorly and acute at both ends; brain case broader; interorbital constriction broader; zygo- matic expansion slightly larger; audital bulle much larger and more fully inflated, with corresponding reduction in breadth of basioccipital and basisphenoid ; mandible conspicuously larger, broader, and heavier, particu- larly as seen from below ; upper and lower molars conspicuously larger ; middle and last lower molars with reentrant angle on outer side decidedly ‘deeper than in wrangeli, and thus resembling truei ; posterior loop of last upper molar as in wrangelt. Measurements (estimated from skeleton).—Total length, 115; tail verte- bree, 22; hind foot, 19. General remarks.—In looking at the skull of M. dulli from above and comparing it with the type of M. wrangeli, the only conspicuous differ- ences are the greater breadth of the brain case and interorbital constric- tion. Looked at from below, the large size of the audital bulle and molar teeth is striking. On comparing the under jaws, one is also impressed by the disproportionally large size of the mandible and molars of dalli. I have named the species in honor of Dr. William H. Dall, who collected it at Nulato, Alaska, nearly thirty years ago. Synaptomys (Mictomys) truei sp. nov. Type from Skagit Valley, Washington, No. ,°,7°3,, yg. ad., U. S. Na- tional Museum. Collected August 6, 1859, by Dr. C. B. Kennerly (prob- ably in mountains bordering Skagit valley). — General characters.—Size and general appearance as in S. wrangeli, but ears slightly longer and color of upper parts more reddish brown. Last lower molar with a deep reéntrant angle on outer side. Color.—Upper parts dull umber brown fading gradually to plumbeous of under’ parts; belly hairs tipped with whitish. Tail bicolor, dark above, whitish below. The type and only known specimen is in the molt and in very poor condition; hence the colors may not be as in the living animal. Cranial and dental characters.—The skull of the type is nearly destroyed: leaving only the teeth in the broken jaws. The molar loops, both above and below, are much fuller and more bluntly rounded than in innuitus and The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. 63 wrangeli, and the reéntrant angle on the outer side of the last lower molar is much deeper and nearly forms a closed loop on the outer side of that tooth. The upper incisor is narrower and the sulcus shallower than in the other known species. Measurements (from dry skin).—Total length, about 112; tail vertebrae: 22; hind foot, 18. Gidnannd remarks.—Mictomys -truei differs markedly from the two other species now known in the fullness of the molar loops and the depth of the reéntrant angle on the outer side of the last lower molar. I have named the species in honor of Mr. F. W. True, curator of mammals in the U. S. National Museum. Synaptomys (Mictomys) wrangeli sp. nov. Type from Wrangel, Alaska, No. 74720, J ad., U. S. National Museum, Department of Agriculture collection. Collected September 6, 1895, by Clark P. Streator. Original number 4871. General characters. —Similar to S. innuitus, but larger; tailand hind foot longer ; skull narrower. Color.—Upper parts grizzled grayish brown, with a yellowish cast; under parts plumbeous, tippid with whitish ; tail bicolor, brownish above, whitish below, darker at tip. Cranial and dental characters. —The skull of Mictomys wrangeli, contrasted with that of M. innuitus, is nar- rower and higher; the zygomata narrower and less spreading ante- riorly; brain case narrower and less depressed; audital bullee less inflated anteriorly. The posterior loop of the last upper molar is much shorter; the reéntrant angle on outer side of last lower molar shallower, and the enamel folds of all the teeth more loosely spaced. Measurements (taken in flesh).— Type specimen: total length, 122; ie. 5.—Skull of Mictomys wrangeli 3 tail vertebre, 23; hind foot, 19. (type) X 1% Average of two specimens from type locality: total length, 119.5; tail vertebree, 22.5; hind foot, 19. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Titles of Papers Containing Original Matter Relating to the Genus Synaptomys. 1. 1857. Baird, Spencer F.—Mammals of North America, 1857. Orig- inal description of genus Synaptomys and species S. cooperi (pp. 556-558). 2. 1874. Coues, Elliott.—Synopsis of Muridee. < Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., pp. 173-196, 1874. Description and record of localf- ties Ne 192-194). 10—Bton. Soc. Wasu., Von. X, 1896 64 Merriam—The Lemmings of the Genus Synaptomys. 3. 1877. Coues, Elliott.—Monographs of North American Rodentia, 1877. General description of genus Synaptomys and species coopert (pp. 228-236). . 4. 1881. Langdon, Frank W.—The Mammalia of the vicinity of Cincin- nati. re) .e) D a o a 3) 12) a a. ‘ik ees ‘plo P snM1A410Y4 'Q 9 ‘pe PP 21U0SPADYIIA wo 2 foe) = x; BIOL. SOC. WASH., PROC PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH., X, 1896 5 U. dalla dS horri@us l ~ s ~ 8 4 > oe ~ 8 a ~) = ~ y ait. middendor. . ded & 1 Ursus horrtbilis & » wa ay ¢ VoL. X, PP. 85-92 May 26, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON THE PURPLE-FLOWERED, STEMLESS VIOLETS OF THE ATLANTIC COAST.* BY CHARLES LOUIS POLLARD, The acaulescent species of the genus Viola constitute a most perplexing natural group, and are very baffling to one who at- tempts, as I have attempted during the last five years, to discover satisfactory and constant characters on which to base a specific arrangement. While herbarium specimens of these plants are quite adequate for morphological study, it has been found that habit and habitat are of the utmost importance in respect to specific relationship, as is also the degree of variation under changed conditions of environment. I have therefore supple- mented a close and searching series of field observations during the past few seasons by a study of many different forms under cultivation, noting the behavior, for example, of two plants from the same patch; one grown in sandy soil, with full exposure to the sun, and the other in damp, rich soil in a shaded situation. A residence of several successive seasons in one neighborhood afforded an opportunity of observing whether a given specimen set out in one summer presented marked leaf variation in the next. The result of these investigations proves, I think, conclusively, that while several of these violets are extremely polymorphous, the species themselves do not intergrade to the extent generally believed. The difficulty has arisen in some cases by a confusion of the earlier types by writers at the beginning of this century ; * Read before a meeting of the Society held May 2, 1896. 14—Brorn, Soc, Wasu., Von, X, 1896 (85) 86 Pollard— Violets of the Atlantic Coast. in other instances it is due to an over-conservative view of what constitutes a species. It is a well-known fact in botany, and I presume also in other branches of biology, that the species of one genus differ inter se to a much less extent than those of an- other genus. In Lechea, for example, we are forced to depend almost solely on the appearance and structure of the radical shoots springing up after the close of the flowering season, while in the nearly allied genus Polygala, we have usually not only well-marked floral characters, but habit and leaf arrangment to guide us in making determinations. I believe that wholesale reduction to a single species of a number of so-called polymor- phous types is a most unphilosophical and evasive method of treatment and productive of immense difficulty to the critical monographer. As an illustration of the simple solution pre- sented when one of these aggregate types is reduced to its com- ponent forms, I may refer to the two Eastern species of Sanicula, which for many years were sources of despair to most botanists, since they presented remarkable variability in habit and phyllo- taxy. Mr. E. P. Bicknell, after an extended series of field ob- servations, discovered that there were altogether four very distinct species confused under the two originals, affording not only con- stant characters with respect to habit of growth and geographical range, but also in the fruit, which is of paramount importance in the study of all Umbelliferse.* The same author has recently shed light on the Eastern forms of Sisyrinchium, no satisfactory disposal of which has heretofore been accomplished.} A similar condition exists among the violets of the Atlantic coast, and, while I by no means wish to imply that we can obtain an abso- lutely correct systematic treatment of this or any other genus, | do contend that it is possible to so arrange the species that any given plant may be determined with comparative ease. ‘The con- spectus of the group, which will be found at the close of this paper, is merely tentative, and is offered simply as the outgrowth of the field and herbarium study already referred to. In taking up the discussion of individual species I wish to embrace the opportunity of extending thanks to Dr. N. L. Brit- ton, of New York, for the loan of numerous specimens from the Columbia University herbarium, and also to Messrs. H. W. Olds and D. Leroy Topping, of Washington, for abundant field-notes and living plants. * Bull. Torr. Club, 22, 351-361, 1895. t Ibid., 23, 180-137, 1896. Violets of the Atlantic Coast. 87 Passing over for the present the consideration of the Linnzean species, Viola pedata, which differs in root-structure from the other members of the group, we shall find that V. palmata, also de- scribed by Linnzeus, may be fairly regarded as the type of its class, since it is the aggregate from which most of the remaining species have been separated. With sagittata and possibly dentata, V. palmata constitutes what we may call the heterophyllous type of stemless violets, or those in which the earliest leaves differ in shape from the later appearing ones. In palmata only the first two or three leaves, which are cordate in outline and rather small, are entire, the remainder being usually lobed to a greater or less extent. In the majority of forms there are three main divisions, of which the central one is the largest, the lateral lobes being occasionally cut-toothed or still more deeply divided. The general contour of the leaf is ovate or oblong, the length some- what exceeding the breadth, the base never cucullate or inrolled as in obliqua, our common round-leaved violet. With a view to ascertaining how closely these two species might approach each other in leaf-forms, I set out several specimens in close proxim- ity one fall. The following summer the leaves of palmata were scarcely at all lobed, but they preserved their characteristic outline, and were quite clearly distinguishable from the allied species. Similar observations have been made by others who have had the plants under cultivation. But this is not the only distinguishing character of V. palmata; it grows almost invari- ably in rich. snaded woodlands, and, as Schweinitz has cbserved,* never occurs in swamps or bogs, where obliqua is most common. Dr. Gray once reduced palmata to varietal rank in the fifth ed1- tion of the Manual,t but he afterward restored it to its former place,f a conclusion in which every other botanist of the century has concurred. Thespecies of Muhlenberg and Schweinitz here referred to palmata are merely forms exhibiting slightly unusual degrees of lobation. Le Conte’s V. septemloba, however, belongs to a different category. It is apparently confined to brackish meadows along the coast from Staten Island to the Gulf States, and I had always considered it a good illustration of varietal dif- ferences induced by local influences, but on a recent excursion with Dr. Britton to the home of the plant I became thoroughly convinced as to its specific validity. The leaves are quite gla- *Am. Journ. Sci., 5, 54, 1822. t Gray, Man. Ed., 5, 78, 1867. t Coult., Bot. Gaz., 11, 254, 1886. 88 Pollard— Violets of the Atlantic Coast. brous and succulent, chiefly remarkable for the constancy exhib- ited in the shape of their lobes, which in every one of the numer- ous plants examined consisted of a large central lobe and three lateral pairs, having a pinnate instead of a palmate arrangement, the large lobe serving asarachis. Minor characters are presented also in the shape of the rootstock. . Our commonest violet has passed under a very varied assort- ment of names. In Hill’s Hortus Kewensis Viola obliqua is first described and so well figured as to leave not the slightest doubt concerning the plant to which it refers.* Twenty years later Aiton in a similar work describes V. obliqua and V. cucullata, as- signing the former name to a plant with pale flowers (“ petala straminea”), which may have been an albino of the same species, or else something quite distinct.f At all events, Aiton’s cucul- lata is Hill’s obliqua, and the former name, though promulgated twenty years later, has been accepted by all our botanists up to the present time, obliqua, if retained at all, being based on Aiton’s and noton Hill’s plant. Dr. Gray admits the applicability of the name obliqua to our common violet in his revision of the genus published in the Botanical Gazette for 1886, where he says “ The name cucullata would have to give way to the much earlier- published V. obliqua Hill, well figured and unmistakable in his Hortus Kewensis.” The calamity that would attend the taking up of an older name Dr. Gray averted. by retaining the plant in question as a variety of palmata. The characters have been chiefly pointed out in connection with the latter; it only re- mains to say that obliqua has the earlier leaves reniform, the later ones cordate and cucullate, usually glabrate or subpubes- cent, and grows in wet or damp situations. The history of Walter’s V. villosa affords a further illustration of the differences in opinion between early and late botanists. Before 1850 it was recognized as a good species in nearly every published work, including the monographs of Schweinitz and Le Conte, Nuttall’s Genera, and Torrey and Gray’s Flora. It is not mentioned in the first edition of Gray’s Manual, but is treated as a species in the second and third editions of the same work, and depressed to varietal rank in the fifth, under the name of cordata. In the first fascicle of the Synoptical Flora of North America, part I, Dr. Robinson transfers this variety to palmata, * Hill, Hort. Kew., 316, t. 12,1769. — ¢ Aiton, Hort. Kew., 3, 288, 1789. t Coult. Bot. Gaz., l. ¢. Violets of the Atlantic Coast. 89 applying to it the original neerne name villosa, to which he ap- pends the abbreviation “n. var.” It is certainly one of the mar- vels of systematic botany that a plant described by Walter in 1788 as Viola villosa should be able to reappear, first as V. cucul- cae ea cordata in 1867, and then as V. palmata var. villosa, ‘n. var.” in 1895! The species has an early blooming period, and may be found on dry hillsides, usually in rich soil, always distinguishable on account of its leaves, which are round-cordate, almost orbicular in outline, and lie closely impressed on the ground; they are variegated with purple veins beneath, and exhibit a delicate, silvery pubescence. The flowers are rather small, reddish-purple in hue, and the plant sends up but few leaves and flowers from a simple rootstock. Viola sagittata, another of Aiton’s species, has received uni- versal acceptance, but it has also been made to include some forms for which we can find no warrant in the original descrip- tion. The leaves are there referred to as “unequally and re- motely serrate, incised-sinuate below the middle, subpubescent, cordate-sagittate, oblong.” * This seems sufficiently clear for all practical purposes, and yet in one of our botanical text-books V. sagittata is described as follows: ‘‘Smoothish or hairy; leaves on short and margined, or the later often on long and naked petioles, varying from oblong-heart-shaped to halberd-shaped, arrow-shaped, oblong-lanceolate or ovate, denticulate, sometimes cut-toothed near the base.” Such a description is not merely faulty but false. The author of the species states distinctly that the leaves are “ incised-sinuate below the middle;” yet when a student learns that they are ‘““sometimes cut-toothed near the base,” as stated above, he is apt to mistake type for variation, gaining, accordingly, an incor- rect conception of the species; and this is precisely what has happened in the case of V. sagittata. The plant which Aiton had in mind is far less common than is generally supposed. It has rather obtuse sagittate or hastate glabrous leaves, which although at first borne on petioles scarcely exceeding the scapes, soon become greatly elongated, the petiole attaining a length of twice or thrice that of the blade, the base of which is always sharply dentate or deeply incised. Even at the early vernal stage the smooth leaf with its peculiar base serves to differentiate *A literal translation. See Aiton, l. e. 90 Pollard— Violets of the Atlantic Coast. the plant from V. ovata Nutt., with which it is always confounded. Both species have the first three or four leaves oval and entire or merely crenate, but before flowering, V. ovata puts forth its characteristic strongly pubescent or even villous foliage, the regu- larly shaped, almost entire, ovate-elliptical leaves never becom- ing so elongated as to exceed either flowering or fruiting scape. Viola ovata Nuttall is V. ciliata of Muhlenberg’s Catalogue, * well described and differentiated afterward by Darlington and other writers and retained by Torrey and Gray as a variety of sagittata. The plant which I last year described as another va- riety of sagittata, under the name of Hicksti, + is much closer to ovata than to the true sagittata as now understood, and I take this opportunity of indicating its transfer, retaining it under the varietal name. Dr. Robinson, in the Synoptical Flora above quoted, { remarks in connection with this form that the recurved fruiting peduncles and distinctly mottled seeds “ are not infre- quently associated with quite different foliage.” However this may be, specimens have been sent to Prof. C. F. Wheeler, of Michigan, and to Dr. T. J. W. Burgess, of Canada, both of whom have admitted it to be distinct from what they are accustomed to regard as typical sagittata. We have it in the National Her- barium from Pennsylvania and from Sussex county, New Jer- sey, in addition to the original locality near Pierce’s Mill,in the District of Columbia. Pursh’s Viola dentata, here reinstated, is a plant to which my attention was called by Dr. Britton some time ago as a species of marked validity. The leaves in this plant are glabrous and somewhat flaccid, deltoid-cordate, or even panduriform in out- line, irregularly crenate, and in general so unlike those of the ordinary violets with which it is associated that it has been con- sidered a hybrid. Le Conte pointed out these characters, under his name of emarginata, sixteen years after Pursh’s original pub- lication. The plant is mainly of southern range. A typical specimen of it, collected by Dr. John K. Small in northern Geor- gia in 1895, is to be found in the herbarium of Columbia Uni- versity. In the National Herbarium the species is represented by a plant found in the District of Columbia by Dr. Vasey. It will be observed that eight species of the eastern acaulescent * Muhl. Cat., 26, 1813, without synonymy or description. t Coult. Bot. Gaz., 20 : 326, 1895. tI, 1: 197, foot-note. Violets of the Atlantic Coast. 91 purple-flowered violets are here maintained as distinct. Pursh and Schweinitz, two of the earliest authorities in this century, recognized each ten species, Nuttall accepted six, Le Conte thir- teen, and Torrey and Gray six. In the first edition of the Man- ual, Gray admits but four species, in the second five, and in the fifth and sixth editions three only. In the most recently pub- lished work, the Synoptical Flora, above referred to, there are included three species and four varieties. Itseems obvious that the most logical course of procedure for a conservative botanist is the reduction of all possible forms to the Linnean species palmata, for the differences between palmata and sagittata, the validity of both of which is everywhere admitted, are scarcely more than those between any others of this group selected for comparison. SYNOPSIS OF SPECIEs. * Leaves all pedately divided ; rootstock short and abruptly perpendicelar iF so ece ia Fee bee eee oe ce ate V. pedata. Leaves broadly lobed or undivided ; rootstock ascending or ~ horizontal. Plants glabrous or with very slight pubescence : Leaves somewhat pinnately 7-lobed.......... V. septemloba. Leaves deltoid-cordate or panduriform....... V. dentata. Leaves hastate or sagittate, basally incised... V. sagittata. Leaves cordate-cucullate.: 2.0.60 .6.5.. ce snc. V. obliqua. Plants pubescent or villous : Leaves palinately lobed ..................... V. palmata. Leaves ovate Gr oval. ooo 220k Se. Ait Ste ee ae V. ovata. Leaves cordate-orbiculat.: 05 ue eb ok V. villosa. Viola pedata L., Sp. Pl. 933, 1753.¢ Not of subsequent authors. V. pedata bicolor Parsh, fide Raf. in D. C., Prodr. 1: 291, 1824. Viola pedata inornata Greene, Pitt. 3 : 35, 1896. V. pedata of authors, not of L. *In this connection it should be stated that V: pedatifida Don, which is closely related to V. pedata, is omitted as not belonging strictly to our coast. t Prof. E. L. Greene has proved that the type of the Linnzean pedata must have been a plant of the bicolor variety rather than the mono- colored form which we are accustomed to regard as pedata. This is con- clusively shown by an examination of the plate of Plukenet to which Linneeus refers. 92 Pollard— Violets of the Atlantic Coast. Viola palmata L., Sp. Pl. 933, 1753. Viola heterophylla Muhl., Cat. 25, 1813. Viola palmata var. d. heterophylla Ell., Bot. S. C. and Ga., 1: 300, 1817. Viola triloba Schwein., Am. Journ. Sci., 5:57, 1822, in part. Viola cucullata var. palmata A. Gray, Man. Ed., 5:78, 1867. Viola septemloba Le Conte, Ann. N. Y. Lyc., 2: 141, 1828. Viola obliqua Hill, Hort. Kew., 316, t. 12, 1769. Not Pursh, 1812. Viola cucullata Ait., Hort. Kew., 3: 288, 1789, in part. Viola asarifolia Pursh, Fl. Am., Sept. Suppl., 732, 1812, in part. Viola papilionacea Pursh, Fl. Am., Sept., 1: 173, 1812, in part. — Viola affinis Le Conte, Ann. N. Y. Lyc., 2: 138, 1828, in part. Viola congener Le Conte, Ann. N. Y. Lyc., 2: 140, 1828, in part. Viola palmata var. cucullata A. Gray, Coult. Bot. Gaz., 11: 254, 1886. Viola palmata var. obliqua A. 8. Hitche., Trans. St. Louis Acad., 5: 487, 1891. Viola villosa Walt., Fl. Car., 219, 1788. Viola sororia Willd., Hort. Berol., 1 : 72, 1809. Viola villosa var. b. cordifolia Nutt., Gen. 148, 1818, in part. Viola cucullata var. cordata A. Gray, Man. Ed., 5:78, 1867. Viola palmata villosa Robinson, Syn. Fl. N. Am., I, 1: 196, 1895. Viola dentata Pursh, Fl. Am., Sept., 1: 172, 1812. Viola sagittata var. b. emarginata Nutt., Gen. 148, 1818. Viola emarginata Le Conte, Ann. N. Y. Lyc., 2: 142, 1828. Viola sagittata Ait., Hort. Kew., 3: 287, 1789. Viola ovata Nutt., Gen. 148, 1818. Viola primulifolia Pursh, Fl. Am., Sept., 1: 1738, 1812, not V. primu- _ lefolia L., 1753. Viola ciliata Muhl., Cat. 26, 1813, without description or synonymy. Viola sagittata var. b. ovata T. and G., Fl. N. Am., 1: 138, 1838. Viola ovata Hicksii Pollard. Viola sagittata Hicksit Pollard, Coult. Bot. Gaz., 20 : 326, 1895. VoL. X, pp. 93-101 ; May 28, 1896 PROCEEDINGS BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON LIST OF MAMMALS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. BY VERNON BAILEY. Useful lists of the plants and birds of the District of Columbia have long since been published, but no list of the mammals of the District has as yet appeared. Some species are known to have become locally extinct, and it is probable that others, of which we have no record, have vanished since the settlement of the country. The present list, imperfect as it is, may serve as a nucleus around which to gather additional data, and may prove useful as a guide in determining the changes that are constantly taking place in the relative abundance of species. Corrections and additional notes, with as exact data as possible, are re- quested. To limit the list to species occurring within the present bound- ary of the District would throw out some that a few years ago were common where the city of Washington now stands; but by following the botanists and ornithologists in the use of a circu- lar area with a radius of 20 miles and the Capitol as a center, all of the local species may be included. Probably this circle could be narrowed to half its diameter without leaving out a species. In preparing this list my own observations have been supple- mented by field-notes kindly placed at my disposal by several mammalogists who have done more or less field-work in the vicinity of Washington, mainly during the past 10 years. Each note is referred in the text to its proper authority ; but I wish to express my thanks to Mr. Morris M. Green, Dr. C. Hart Mer- riam, Dr. A. K. Fisher, and Mr. E. A. Preble for assistance. During the years 1888 and 1889 Mr. Green collected 18 species 15—Bron. Soc. Wasn., Von. X, 1896 : (93) 94 Bailey—Mammals of the District of Columbia. of mammals within a mile or two of the city. I do not know of a larger list of species taken in the District by one person. As my own acquaintance with the bats of the District has been limited to early spring and late fall, most of the notes on this group are borrowed. Through the kindness of Mr. F. W. True I am able to include 2 species of bats from National Mu- seum specimens collected in the, prescribed area. In regard to the larger mammals known to have once inhab- ited the region, but at present locally extinct, much valuable data is available; but for the present paper a brief list of extinct species will suffice. The following 7 species have disappeared from the region since the coming of white men: Ursus ameri- canus, Canis nubilis, Felis concolor, Castor canadensis, Cervus can- adensis, Bison bison, Mus rattus. The last-named species was introduced and then disappeared before its rival, Mus deeumanus. The following 38 species are known to occur at the present time within 20 miles from the Capitol and most of them within the District limits: Didelphis virginianus. Opossums are common in the woods around Washington, where their tracks may be seen on the banks of every creek and pond. Thestupid animals even wander into the city. In the spring of 1894 I found one sleeping on the branch of a tree near Connecticut Avenue, on the hill east of Rock Creek. Sciuropterus volans. Flying Squirrels have been found in the woods on all sides of the city. Though strictly nocturnal and rarely seen, ex- cept when driven from their nests in hollow trees or caught in traps set over night on logs or stumps in the woods, they are not rare. In 1888 and 1889 Mr. Green found several pairs living in woodpecker holes in the trees along Rock Creek and others in the woods near the Soldiers’ Home and along the Eastern Branch. Mr. Preble found them rather common at Mt. Vernon, where he secured 8 specimens one day by pounding on hol low trees and shooting the squirrels as they ran out of the holes.. One was caught in a trap I had set for wood rats near the west end of Chain Bridge. But for the numerous cats that run wild in the woods, and to which flying squirrels fall an easy prey, these soft-furred, big-eyed, gentle little beauties would be much more common. | Sciurus hudsonicus. Red Squirrels are frequently seen among the trees in the Zodlogical Park, where they show their appreciation of the protection there offered by becoming unusually tame and unsuspicious. They cross Rock Creek and follow the trees to the top of the hill above High Bridge. In Woodley Park they are less frequently seen ; in fact, the only one I saw there during the past winter had been shot and then shaken by a dog and left lying in the path with his bright winter coat torn and soiled. On the west side of the Potomac red squirrels live along the steep, wooded bluffs, but are so shy that lately while running a line Mammals of the District of Columbia. 95 of traps among the rocks I did not see a live one. A few low chr-r-r-r-s were heard, chestnut shells were found on logs and rocks, and one unfor- tunate squirrel got his neck in a trap I had set under the rocks for a Neotoma. Mr. Preble tells me they are common at Marshall Hall, and I have several times heard them in the swamps near Hyattsville. Sciurus carolinensis. Gray Squirrels range up to the edge of the city wherever there is timber, and sometimes wander into the city parks. Mr. Preble saw one in the Smithsonian grounds in 1894. I have seen them: back of Mt. Pleasant and on the east side of Rock Creek, just above Con- necticut Avenue bridge. They are not uncommon throughout the exten- sive forest area of the Zoological, Rock Creek, and Woodley parks. In the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home they are abundant and unusually tame. They are common at Mt. Vernon and Marshall Hall and along the Vir- ginia side of the Potomac above Georgetown, but except in the parks where protected from hunters they are exceedingly shy and rarely seen. The extensive areas of native forest, with old hollow walnut, butternut, hickory, chestnut, beech, and oak trees, offer a paradise of safe retreats and abundant food for squirrels, and as long as these forest areas remain, so will the furry-coats. Sciurus cinereus. Fox Squirrels are not common in the immediate vicinity of Washington, but many are shipped to Center Market from points in Virginia 30 or 40 miles west of the city, and in Dr. Merriam’s collection are several specimens from Laurel, Md. Tamias striatus. Chipmunks are scarce in the immediate vicinity of the city, probably owing to the cats, dogs, and boys. I have seen a few in the Zodlogical Park and the Soldiers’ Home grounds, and lately caught one and heard others on the west side of the Potomac, above Chain Bridge. Mr. Preble has found them rather common at Mt. Vernon. Dr. Fisher reports them from Munson Hill and Arlington, Va.; Sligo, Piney Branch, Silver Springs, and Sandy Springs, Md. Arctomys monax. Woodchucks are still common on both sides of the Potomac River above Chain Bridge and on High Island and the little island just above, to which Dr. Merriam has given the appropriate name ‘Woodchuck Island.’ Six or seven years ago Dr. Fisher found them a couple of miles lower down on the cliffs on the west side of the river be- low Chain Bridge and on the flats on the east side between the river and canal. I have lately taken several on High Island and on the west side of the river opposite. Most of the burrows are located among rocks on the islands and on the steep slopes and cliffs of the river hills. On High Island there are several old breeding dens, regular strongholds, between and under the rocks. Woodchucks are said to be more common farther up the river, and I was told of a place where one lives near the east end of Chain Bridge. Mus musculus, House Mice are numerous throughout the city and about buildings in the surrounding country. Some have taken up their residence in the woods and fields and along old fences and stone walls. 96 Bailey—Mammals of the District of Columbia. I have frequently caught them along Rock Creek in traps set for white- footed mice, and Mr. Preble has caught a number on the Potomac flats below the city. That they are common outside of buildings is further proved by the presence of their skulls in owl pellets. In 675 pellets of barn owls taken in the Smithsonian tower Dr. Fisher found 452 skulls of Mus musculus.* Mus decumanus. Thecommon Brown Rats are numerous in the city and in the scattered buildings of the surrounding country. .They show less inclination to take to the woods than do the house mice, M. musculus. I have not found them at any considerable distance from buildings, but in the previously mentioned 675 pellets of barn owls taken from the Smithsonian tower were 134 skulls of this species.* Peromyscus leucopus. The White-footed Mice are common through- out the woods in every part of the District. They are abundant along Rock Creek near the Massachusetts Avenue and Connecticut Avenue bridges, and on the west side of the Potomac and east side of Anacostia River. I caught one inatrap ata hole ina stone wall near Rock Creek, and the next night caught a house mouse at thesame hole. I havealso taken them at the same holes where Blarina brevicauda, Microtus pennsylvanicus, and M. pinetorum were caught on the preceding or following nights, and many of my specimens have been eaten in the traps by blarinas that visited the traps before me. Neotoma pennsylvanica. Wood Rats are fairly common among the rocks on the west side of the Potomac River a mile above Chain Bridge, . and it is probable that they occur all along the river cliffs up to the Blue Ridge. No doubt they extend down to the end of the rocky bluff oppo- site Georgetown, or did before extensive quarrying disturbed their homes. They are rock-dwellers, and will probably not be found near the District away from the river cliffs. None have been taken on the east side of the Potomac. Fiber zibethicus. Muskratsare common in all suitable localities near Washington. They are especially numerous along Rock Creek, where they have increased rapidly since receiving the protection of the Zoologi- cal Park. In favorite places the creek banks are perforated with their burrows, plants cut for food are strewn along the shores, and the animals may be seen swimming about in broad daylight. It will be interesting to see how far this increase will go and by what circumstances it will be limited. On the big marsh extending along both sides of Anacostia River muskrat houses are common, and a few may be seen in the ponds and marshes on the west side of the Potomac. Tracks and burrows are com- mon along Beaver Dam Branch, on the east side of Anacostia River, and still more common along the arm of the Potomac that flows around the east side of High Island. Large numbers of skins are brought to market by negro trappers from lower down the river. *Science, N. S., III, p. 623, April 24, 1896. Mammals of the District of Columbia. OF; Microtus pennsylvanicus. Meadow Mice are probably the most abundant mammals of the District. They press into the edge of the city on all sides and even into the parks and grassy vacant lots. Several have been caught in the Department of Agriculture grounds. Mr. Preble has caught a large number on the Potomac flats, and I have myself taken fully 100 close to the edges of the city. They are numerous along the Rock Creek flats from Massachusetts Avenue bridge up through the Zoological Park and fairly swarm along the Potomac and Anacostia marshes. They also range to the tops of the highest hills wherever a heavy growth of grass furnishes a good supply of food and sufficient cover for their runways. A feware found in the woods, especially along the edges of creeks, but open country, marshes, and grassy bottom lands are their favorite haunts. Microtus pinetorum. Pine Mice are common, but less so and less frequently taken than the meadow mice, which often occupy the same ‘ground. The generalization may be made (but it will not always hold) that the meadow mice live in the fields, meadows, and open country, while the pine mice live in the woods and brush. The pine mice are frequently caught in old fields and on open bottom land, but are found in greatest abundance in brushy bottoms along creek flats. The narrow flats along Rock Creek in the lower part of the Zodlogical Park are thickly marked with their ridges and the little round holes that lead into the burrows. Most of the traps that I set on this flat for moles caught only pine mice, a large number of which were also caught in traps set along the little creek in Woodley Park. A few were caught along Piney Branch and Broad Branch, and one near Fort Marcy, on the west side of the Potomac. Mr. Green caught them on the flats between the canal and Potomac, about a mile above Georgetown, and on a wooded knoll a quarter of a mile below the west end of Long Bridge. Synaptomys cooperi. Cooper’s Lemming-mouse. In 1888 Dr. Fisher examined some pellets of long-eared owls from Munson Hill, Virginia, and among 176 small mammal skulls in these pellets were 3 skulls of Synaptomys. Another skull was found in the stomach of a red-tailed hawk killed at Sandy Springs, Maryland, March 24, 1890.* It was, of course, impossible to know the exact localities where the hawks and owls pro- cured these rare specimens. In February, 1896, I caught 4 Synaptomys in a sphagnum swamp near Hyattsville, 5 miles northeast of the Capitol, where their nests and runways are common in the damp, cool sphag- num. No doubt more careful trapping would have resulted in a greater number of specimens. As the animals have been so long suspected and so thoroughly trapped for in various places about the District, it is rea- sonable to infer that they are restricted to these cold swamps. Zapus hudsonius. Jumping Mice have been taken on the west side of the Potomac close to the city. Morris M. Green caught several at a point a quarter of a mile below the west end of Long Bridge and about *A. K. Fisher: Hawks and Owls of the United States. Bulletin 3, Div. of Ornithology and Mammalogy, 1893, pp. 59 and 141. 98 Bailey—Mammals of the District of Columbia. 50 yards from the river. He writes me that they were found in brush heaps and beds of weeds and were caught in his hands in the daytime. Dr. Merriam caught one in 1886 at a point a short distance up the river from the west end of Aqueduct Bridge. Mr. Miller saw one near Forest Glen, Md., on May 10, 1896. Lepus sylvaticus. The Cotton-tail Rabbit is the principal game mam- mal of the District and vicinity, and, in spite of the abundance of hunters and dogs, they are still fairly common. I have frequently seen them on both sides of Rock Creek near the Connecticut Avenue bridge and in the Rock Creek Park near Broad Branch. Every fresh snow shows a lot of rabbit tracks among the spruces in the Department of Agriculture grounds, and the rabbits are frequently seen running from bush to bush. They are common in the tall grass and among the brush on the river hills along the west side of the Potomac, where the rough country and rocks offer the best of protection. Part of the immense number of these rabbits exhibited for sale in the markets during fall and winter months are shipped in from beyond the 20-mile circle, but many are taken within a few miles of Washington. A negro hunter is frequently met coming in from the country with an old shotgun and a back-load of rabbits; but when questioned he usually avoids telling where his game was procured. Last February I watched a negro trapper from Westmoreland county, Virginia, selling his stock of furs to a dealer in Center Market, and among other skins 130 rabbits were sold at 1 cent each. Felis domesticus. I am sorry to have to include the House Cat as an introduced species, but it seems thoroughly naturalized and of too great importance to be omitted. Its tracks are common in dusty wood paths and on every fresh snow in the wildest parts of the surrounding country. Lynx rufus. Wildcats still inhabit the Blue Ridge Mountains, and it would be strange if they did not sometimes follow down the river cliffs on the west side of the Potomac to near the city. There is much wild country within a few miles of Washington where they could find plenty of small game and be fairly safe from enemies. Dr. Fisher caught one in October, 1895, at Lake Drummond, Virginia, where he reports them as very common. Vulpes pennsylvanicus. The Red Fox is now fairly common in the country around Washington, though a century ago it was not known here- Dr. Fisher gives me the following interesting note: ‘‘ Through the kind- ness of H. H. Miller we learn that the red fox first appeared in Mont- gomery County, Maryland, between the years 1798 and 1802. He obtained the facts from Mr. George E. Brooke, a gentleman of 80 years of age, who, like his father and grandfather, was an enthusiastic fox-hunter.” __ D. B. Warden, in writing of the District of Columbia in 1816, says: ‘‘The gray and red fox frequent this region, and sometimes carry off pigs, lambs, and poultry.” * Urocyon cinereoargenteus. Gray Fox. This species is still found in the vicinity of Washington, though not in abundance. = Chorographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia, p. 159, Paris, 1816. Mammals of the District of Columbia. 99 Procyon lotor. The Raccoon is not rare, even in the immediate vicinity of Washington. I have seen their tracks along Rock Creek in the lower end of the Zodlogical Park, on the bank of the Potomac near High Island, and along Beaver Dam Branch on the east side of Anacostia River. Skins are brought into the market by negro trappers from across the Potomac. Mephitis mephitica. Skunk. In 1894a skunk was found under a house in the middle of Georgetown. It was treated with carbon bisul- phide, and its skin is now in the Department of Agriculture collection in the National Museum. They are fairly common along the Potomac River above Georgetown, where their tracks may be found in the dusty road along the canal almost every morning, and I have found both tracks and holes on the west side of the Potomac, above Chain Bridge. Tracks are less frequently seen in other localities near the city, and occasionally an unmistakable skunky odor blows into town. Lutra hudsonica. Otters are scarce, but probably less so than is generally supposed. Dr. Coues mentions one brought into the National Museum in the flesh in 1874.* A man living near High Island tells me that an otter has been on the island during the past winter, and that one was caught near Great Falls. I cannot vouch for the truth of these re- ports, but see no reason to doubt them. The rapids of the Potomac and . the rocky shores, with numerous drift-heaps and overhanging banks, offer the favorite environment for otter. Lutreola vison. Mink are common along the Potomac, along Rock Creek, Anacostia River, Beaver Dam Branch, and probably on every small stream in the District. I have seen their tracks in allof the places mentioned, and the freshly killed animals have been brought to the De- partment of Agriculture from several points near Washington. One was brought in last February from College Station, Maryland, 8 miles north- east of the city. Putorius noveboracensis. Weasels, while not plentiful, are by no means rare. ' Tracks are occasionally seen on the banks of streams. The National Museum contains a number of skins labeled Washington, and in the Department of Agriculture collection are two skins of weasels caught near the city. One of these I caught in April, 1896, a short dis- tance above the west end of Chain Bridge. The spot was close to the old District line, but I could not tell on which side. Mr. C. W. Richmond tells me that a small weasel was caught a few yearsago near the Central High School. Sorex personatus. This tiny Long-tailed Shrew is one of the rarest mammals of the region. It has not yet been taken within the District of Columbia, though no doubt it occurs in very limited numbers in some of the swamps. In the mammal collection of Dr. Merriam there is a much- damaged specimen, picked up ina path near Sandy Springs, Maryland, some years ago. During February of the present year (1896) I sueceeded in catching three of these shrews in a sphagnum swamp near Hyattsville, * Fur-bearing Animals, p. 311, 1877. 100 Bailey—Mammals of the District of Columbia. 5 miles northeast of the Capitol, but even in this semi-boreal swamp they seem to be scarce and are difficult to secure. Thorough and unsuccessful trapping for them in various localities about Washington proves to my own satisfaction that they do not inhabit the uplands. Blarina brevicauda. Next to the meadow mouse, the Short-tailed Shrews are probably the most abundant mammals in the District of Co- lumbia. They may be found anywhere in woodsand brush and old fields and along creek banks and ditches. Under the cover of fallen leaves and grass and in burrows and covered runways they work their way safely into the very edges of the city. I have taken at least a hundred from traps set for more desirable species along the east side of Rock Creek near the Connecticut Avenue bridge and on the west side near the Massachu- setts Avenue bridge, besides others along Piney Branch, Broad Branch, above Georgetown on the west side of the Potomac, and on the east side of Anacostia River near the mouth of Beaver Dam Branch and near Bladensburg. Other mammal collectors have had the same experience of catching more of these shrews than were wanted. Blarina parva. The Little Short-tailed Shrew is common at Sandy Springs, Maryland, from which point Dr. Merriam has a large ‘series of specimens, but there is not to my knowledge any record of specimens that have been taken nearer Washington. My own traps have not been set in the right kind of localities for this shrew, and probably for the same reason other trappers have not caught it. No doubt it will yet be found common within the limits of the District. Dr. Fisher took 21 skulls from pellets:of barn owls found in the Smithsonian tower. Scalops aquaticus. Molesarecommon about Washington, and some- times their ridges are seen on unpaved ground in the city. The only visible sign of their presence is a little ridge pushed up along the surface of the ground and often extended in an interminable network. These ridges, however, are not always a sure sign of the presence of moles, for the pine mouse either makes similar ridges or occupies those abandoned by the moles, but enough moles have been caught in the near vicinity of the city to establish the fact that they are common. Morris M. Green ° caught them along Rock Creek and the Potomac; E. A. Preble caught one at Arlington ; G. S. Miller, Jr., secured one at Forest Glen, Md., and Dr. Mearns tells me that half a dozen specimens have been brought to him at Fort Myer, Va. Condylura cristata. Star-nosed Moles are either very rare or else their peculiar underground mode of life keeps them well out of the hands of collectors. The only record for the District of which Iam aware is that of a family of five young found by Morris M. Green in a nest under an old log on the flats between the canal and river about a mile above Georgetown. As the animal has a general boreal range, it might be ex- pected to occur in the vicinity of cold swamps. I have no doubt that thorough trapping may prove them to be common in certain localities. Vesperugo georgianus. Morris M. Green, Dr. Fisher, and Dr. Mer- riam agree that this is the commonest bat in and around Washington. Mammals of the District of Columbia. 101 In June and July of 1888 Mr. Green shot a large number of bats of this species in Rock Creek valley on the present site of the Zoo. In Dr. Mer- riam’s collection are 16 specimens, taken May 14, 1887, under the roof of a barn near the Soldiers’ Home, and also a nursing female, shot July 3, 1888. Vesperugo fuscus. Brown Bat. This is the common large bat seen on summer evenings ‘flying about the streets of Washington. It fre- quently enters houses through open windows. Specimens have been secured as early as March 8 and as late as December 25. Vespertilio lucifugus. This is one of the common bats of the city. Mr. Green and Mr. Richmond have captured large numbers of them in the crevices between the timbers under Long Bridge. In Dr. Merriam’s collection are 10 adults and 15 young taken June 16, 1889, and a nursing female taken July 3, 1888. Three specimens in the National Museum were collected in May, June, and August. - Vespertilio subulatus. Mr. Gerrit S. Miller, Jr., killed one of these bats at Forest Glen, Maryland, only 8 miles from Washington, May 10, 1896, and found another dead on May 26, 1896. Inthe National Museum there is one specimen collected at Alexandria, Va., in August, 1875, by P. L. Jouy. These dates may indicate that the bat is a summer resident, but if the species were not rare more specimens would certainly have found their way into collections. Atalapha borealis. Dr. Fisher considers this next to Vesperugo geor- gianus, the commonest bat in the city. Mr. Green reports it as common in the country and in the city streets, and says he hasseen it flying about in November. Ihave examined Washington specimens collected in May, June, September, and November. In the collection of Dr. Merriam there is a female taken June 22, 1889, with two young clinging to her. Atalapha cinerea. Hoary Bat. Asingle skin in the National Museum collected at Laurel, Maryland, brings the species within the 20-mile circle. This specimen was taken October 2, 1892, and was probably a migrant. Other records from Baltimore, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania bring the range of the species on all sides of Washington. Lasionycteris noctivagans. Dr. Fisher shot one of these bats No- vember 12, 1885, between Arlington and Rosslyn, Va. In the National Museum collection are two skins, one labeled Washington, D. C., January, 1893, the other Smith Island, Va., September 3, 1893. These dates indi- cate that the species is a migrant or winter visitor. 16—Btorn. Soc. Wasn., Vor. X, 1896 = .. fre i fp ORe Ei e Sa % ay BS ia tes AO eRe gta? sed Cie ee are : 2: en ve Sas a f ing MN Sete ieee a es e , ; ; G ee ae ’ VOL. X, PP. 103-107 JUNE 15, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON THE EARLIEST RECORD OF ARCTIC PLANTS. BY THEO. HOLM. Through the courtesy of Dr. Edw. L. Greene my attention has been called to the fact that our knowledge of the Arctic flora is not of recent date. The invaluable botanical library which Dr. Greene has accumulated, and which is now located in the Catholic University in Washington, D. C., contains a vast number of old books, which are truly a great boon to the working botanist. It was in this library that Dr. Greene showed me a short chapter in Ray’s Historia Plantarum,* wherein is enumerated and de- scribed some plants collected in Spitzbergen more than two hun- dred years ago. The chapter referred to is headed “ Plante Spitzbergenses a | Frederico Martens Hamburgensi in itinerario suo observate de- lineatee et descriptee.”” When I examined the names *‘Aloefolia florum capitulis rotundis,” etc., and the accompanying descriptions, which latter might just as well have represented almost any plant outside the Arctic, I felt discouraged. The title of the chapter, however, gave the clue—~. ¢., the original record by Martens, who was said to have not only described these plants, but even to have figured them. This is the work which Ray. mentions in a letter to Dr. Hans Sloane,t where he expresses his great admiration of the careful observations made by Martens. Martens’ own account appeared * John Ray, vol. III, London, 1704, p. 226, Appendix. _ t Correspondence of John Ray, edited by Edwin Lankester, London, 1848, p. 474. 17—Bron. Soc. Wasu., Von. X, 1896 (103) 104 Holm—The Earliest Record of Arctic Plants. in his famous little book “Spitzbergische oder Groenlandische Reisebeschreibung gethan im Jahr 1671.”* Martens was the sur- geon of the ship “‘ Jonas im Wallfisch,” which got as far north as the 81st degree of latitude. From here he visited the north- western part of Spitzbergen, from whence he brought home several specimens of animals and plants. _ Many of the observations in Martens’ book show that he was possessed of unusual energy and skill as a scientific traveler. His voyage was made during a period when Spitzbergen was annually visited by a large number of whalers from various countries in Europe. So great was the traffic that from 1670 to 1710 not less than 2,289 ships visited this island, killing the vast number of nearly ten thousand whales. I have not been able to find any record of the Arctic flora prior to the period named, so that Martens is believed to have been the first writer on the Arctic flora. His descriptions of Arctic plants are given in the third part of his book (page 41) “Von den Pflanzen so ich in Spitzbergen gefunden.” The descriptions are accompanied by four plates, illustrating in all fourteen species. Although the diagnoses are somewhat puzzling, they certainly are much more accurate than those given by the learned English botanist, and his drawings, as a supplement, will enable the reader to identify the phanero- gams and one of the two alge. The first plant which Martens describes is ‘‘ Kraut mit Aloe- blaittern ” (Table G, Fig. a), which Ray named “ Aloefolia florum capitulis rotundis.” ‘This plant, judging from the illustration, is undoubtedly Saxifraga stellaris L., forma comosa Poir. The state- ment that the flowers form small, flesh-colored heads (‘‘ nudo oculo vix discernendi”) would seem to indicate that this plant is the Arctic forma comosa, the flowers of which are transformed into small bulblets. Besides this, the basal leaves of the draw- ing agree better with this than with S. nivalis L. “ Hingekerbtes Kleinhauswurtz” (Table F, Fig. a) is well drawn and represents Sazifraga nivalis L. The “ Hauswurz” of the Germans is now the popular name for Sempervivum tectorum, so that the identification is not sofar wrong. Ray has described this plant under the name “Sedum minus dentatum, capitulis squamosis.” The flowers are described in this species as having five petals, so that Martens would surely have seen the single * Friderich Martens, Hamburg, 1675. The Earliest Record of Arctic Plants. 105 flowers of the foregoing species, if there had been any, instead of simply speaking about their forming small heads, a fact which seems to favor the supposition that he meant the bulblets, as I have mentioned above. Four species of “ Hanen-Fiissen ” (“‘ Crowfoot’) are also fully described and accurately figured. One of these, however, is Saxifraga rivularis L. (Table H, Fig. C). The others are: Ra- nunculus hyperboreus Rottb. (Table H, Fig. c), R. pygmeus Wahlbg. (Table G, Fig. e), and R. sulphureus Soland (Table. I, Fig. d). The Saxifraga he describes as having white petals, and the figure given is a good illustration of this species.. Ray has named these “Ranunculs Spitzbergenses.” “ Loffel-Kraut” is a species of Cochlearia, and this name is still the popular one for the plant. It was undoubtedly C. jenestrata R. Br., which is so far the only known species from Spitzbergen. Ray, it appears, accepted Martens’ identification, but, although he did not find any difference between this and C. Britanica, he nevertheless called it C. Spitzbergensis. The “ Kraut als Mauerpfeffer” (Table F, Fig. ¢) is Saxifraga oppositifolia L. ‘* Mauerpfeffer” is now the German name for some Sedum, to which the plant shows great resemblance. The flowers are described as purple, which agrees well with this species of Saxifraga. Bey called it “Sedum minimum vermiculatum purpureum Spitzbergense.” “ Natter-wurtz” (Table I, Fig. a) agrees well with Polygonum -viparum L., according to the description and illustration. This plant is very closely related to Polygonum bistorta, which is the proper “ Natterwurz” of the Germans. Ray came to the same conclusion as Martens and named it ‘“Bistorta minor Spitzber- gensis,” “Kraut als Matise-Oehrlein” (Table G, Fig. d) is exceedingly well illustrated and described and represents Cerastiwm alpinum L., of which the German name is at present “Alpen-Hornkraut.” “ Mauseoehrchen ” is now used for Hieraciwm Pilosella L., while ‘“ Mausoehrlein,” according to Leselius,* is the name for some species of Gnaphalium and Myosotis. Myosotis is, so far as the name itself is concerned, the only plant to which this name ‘‘ Mouse- ear” could be applied, as it was by Dioscorides, from the Greek pos, a mouse, and vds, étés, an ear. The leaves of Cerastium alpinum very closely resemble those of a Myosotis, so that it can * Johannes Leeselius: Flora Prussica, Regensburg, 1703. 106 Holm—The Earliest Record of Arctic Plants. easily be seen how the mistake occurred. “Auricule muris affinis herba Spitzbergensis”’ is the name given by Ray to this plant, but his diagnosis, ‘‘Supremo cauliculo Flos innascitur albus,” is the only feature which is characteristic of this Cerastium. Martens has, indeed, pointed out the characteristics in a much clearer way. ; “ Kraut als Singriin ” (Table G, Fig. b) represents Salix polaris Wahlbg. If it were not that the illustration is so good, it would hardly have been possible to identify this plant. ‘“Singriin ” is now the name for Vinca. The stem is described as knotted and woody and the leaves as occurring in pairs. The flowers were not seen, and Martens is therefore not certain that the plant belongs to Pyrola minima. It is called “Vinca pervince similis herba Spitzbergensis” by Ray. The leaves of this willow are very small and coriaceous, brilliant green. They occur in about two alternately on each: branch, and to a certain extent resemble those of some species of Pyrola. “ Erdbeer-Kraut” (Table H, Fig. b) is Potentilla fragiformis Willd. The description is very good, and the statement that the leaves only had three leaflets shows that we have this species before us and not P. maculata Pourr., the leaves of which are quinate. The same statement is also given by Ray, “ foliis tri- partitis divisis . . . ,” who has called. it “Fragariz affinis Spitzbergensis.” Two Alge are enumerated under the name “ Klippen-Kraiti- tern,” of which the figure ) in Plate F represents Fucus vesicu- losus. The vesicles are described very accurately, and Martens states that he did not observe whether these contained any seeds. His sailors informed him, however, that the small sea snails (Pteropoda), upon which the whales feed, originate from the seeds of this Alga. Martens does not seem to have shared this opinion, however, and says that he is inclined to believe that these snails have, like others, originated from eggs! The large Alga (Fig. ¢ in Plate 1) is undoubtedly a species of Laminaria, Several other plants were observed, but were not collected. Only two of these have been described, but these have not been figured. One of these, “der weisse Mahn,’ is evidently Dryas octopetala L. “ Mahn” is undoubtedly a misprint for ‘“ Mohn,” the common poppy (Papaver dubium or Rheas), Since the only poppy that grows on Spitzbergen, P. nudicaule L., has yellow The Earliest Record of Arctic Plants. 107 flowers, it is not likely that Martens meant this plant, but rather the common white Dryas, which is not so very unlike a poppy. The other plant is “ der rothe Sauerampffer,” which probably was Oxyria digyna Campd., now called ‘“Satierling” by the Germans. If the list of plants collected by Martens be compared with the most recent publication on the flora of Spitzbergen,* it will be seen that all the species named in the list have actually been rediscovered by later expeditions. As to the locality where they were collected, it appears that they were found in the neighbor- hood of Smeerenberg, on the northwestern shore of Spitzbergen, designated by Martens as “ Harlinger Kocherey.” * Nathorst, A. G., Nya Bidrag till Kannedomen om Spetsbergens Kirl- vaxter, Stockholm, 1883, Kgl. Sv. Vet. Akad. Hdlgr., vol. 20, No. 6, 88 pp. A a SAP 2a a PL. VII PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH., X, 1896 (pasiejus ATVYSYIS) ‘pe & (sisjaq puv ulaysuayyoVy) vsaf/zasip vsazGorsnyL VoL. X, pp. 109-112, pL. VII JULY 22, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON THE CENTRAL AMERICAN THYROPTERA. BY GERRIT S. MILLER, Jr. Three specimens of Thyroptera, collected by G. E. Mitchell on the Escondido River at a point about fifty miles from Bluefields, Nicaragua, and now in the collection of the United States De- partment of Agriculture, are clearly referable to the species de- scribed by Lichtenstein and Peters in 1855 as Hyonycteris dis- cifera.* This bat was recognized as a distinct species by Tomes in a paper published in the Proceedings of the Zodlogical Society of London for 1856 (p. 179), but Dobson, in 1878,f placed the name Hyonycteris discifera, together with Hyonycteris albiventer Tomes f and Thyroptera bicolor Cantraine § among the synonyms of the Brazilian Thyroptera tricolor Spix. While no specimens of the three nominal and probably valid South American species || are available for comparison with the Nicaraguan bat, there can be no doubt that the latter differs widely from any of these. It may be redeseribed as follows: Thyroptera discifera (Lichtenstein and Peters). - Hyonycteris discifera Lichtenstein and Peters, Monatsber. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss., Berlin (1854), p. 335, 1855. Tomes, Proc. Zoél. Soc. London, 1856, p. 179. * Monatsber. K. Preuss. Akademie Wiss., Berlin (1854), p. 335, 1855. t Catalogue of the Chiroptera in the British Museum., p. 245, 1878. t Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1856, p. i79. 2 Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles, VII, p. 489, 1845. || The type localities of these are :. Thyroptera tricolor, Brazil; T. dicolor, Surinam; T. albiventer, Napo River, near Quito, Ecuador. 18—Bron. Soc. Wasn., Von. X, 1896 (109) 110 Miller—The Central American Thyroptera. Thyroptera tricolor Dobson, Catalogue of the Chiroptera in the British useum, p. 345, 1878 (in synonymy only; the description refers strictly to South American specimens). Type locality.— Puerto Caballos, Honduras. Geographic distribution.—Central America from Puerto Caballos, Hon- duras, south to Bluefields, Nicaragua. General characters.—Size small; length about 45 mm.; tail, 26; forearm, 31. Calear slender, distinct, slightly longer than free border of interfemoral membrane, terminating in an ill-defined lobule; the posterior edge with a well- formed keel supported by one strong cartilaginous process. Terminal 2 mm. of tail free. Free border of uropatagium with a few scattered hairs. Ears short, : funnel-shaped, acutely pointed, when laid OS <> = 3 GU Gene forward reaching barely to tip of nose. Wings from middle of claws. Third and fourth toes closely approximated and firmly bound together. = : Be Bare Bs 3-3 eeth.—Dental formula as usual in the genus: i Gr Cp PM ss» a 38. The teeth (Fig. 1) are small and weak for the size of the Fic. 1.—Teeth of Thyropiera dis- cifera ; a, upper ; 4, lower (X 5). skull. Upper incisors bifid,* in pairs, the outer tooth half as large as the inner and separated from the canine by a space about as wide as the crown of the larger incisor. Premolars all in the tooth row, not separated by spaces from each other or from the adjoining molar and canine, first slightly smaller than second, third slightly more than half as large as first molar. Crown of first molar broadest, crown of second longest. Lower incisors trifid, the crown of the outer as broad as that of the first and half of the second. First lower pre- molar smajler than second, but larger than 3 canine. Middle lower molar largest. g Ears.—The ears are short, acutely pointed, funnel-shaped, and directed forward. The tips do not reach tip of nose when the ears are laid forward. The anterior border is strongly con- vex from base to small concavity just below very narrowly rounded off tip. Posterior border concave immediately below tip, then convex to basal notch. The basal notch is strongly developed and isolates a very large lobe which joins side of head below line of lips (Fig. 2). Tragus short and broad, the tip thickened and bent abruptly forward ; a large thickened basal lobe directed forward and outward, and a minute process directed backward just above posterior base. Fic. 2.—Head of Thyroptera discifera (X 3). * Dobson states that in Thyroptera tricolor the outer incisor is unicuspi- date. The Central American Thyroptera. g Bi Membranes.—The membranes are thin and semitransparent, broad and ample. Wings attached at middle of claws, sparsely hairy from sides of body to line connecting elbow and knee. The free edge has also a narrow hairy border. y Antebrachial membrane hairy near base and along humerus and fleshy part of forearm, which in turn are covered with hair. Uropatagium sparsely haired throughout on dorsal surface, otherwise naked, except at extreme base and along veins on ventral surface. Feet.—The feet are small, weak, and so turned outward as to be nearly in line with calcar (Fig. 3). Toes with two phalanges, of which the second is very small and serves merely to support the long claw. All the fingers are bound together by membrane to about the middle of the claws, while the third and fourth digits — are firmly united, so that the two claws, although really separate, form what is apparently one strong nail, shorter and more abruptly > curved than the others (Fig. 4). Calcar strong, distinct, longer than free border of uropatagium, termi-. ees LES nating in a small lobule and bear- Ceti cae ae ahire ctor ing a wellformed keel, enpported third and Sourth digiia: by one strong cartilaginous pro- cess. Sucking disk circular, the margin next the phalanges distinct, that toward the keel not sharply marked off from sole. Fur and color.—In distribution, the fur is peculiar in its extension on the wings and dorsal surface of the interfemoral membrane. Color dull yellowish brown throughout, scarcely paler ventrally, the hairs without darker bases. Ears and membranes dusky brownish. Measurements.—No. 51538, 9 ad., Escondido River, Nicaragua; total length, 66 mm.; head and body, 37.6; tail, 26; free tip of tail, 2; femur, 13; tibia, 13.4; foot, 4; forearm, 31; third finger—metacarp., 29.8 ; first ph., 14; second ph., 7.8; fourth finger—metacarp., 28.6; first ph., 10; second ph., 4.6; fifth finger—metacarp., 26; first ph., 8; second ph., 5.6; ear, 11.6; width of ear, 12; tragus, 4; diameter of disk on thumb, 3; diam- eter of disk on foot, 2. No. 51539, Q ad., same locality and date; total length, 65; head and body, 38; tail, 26; free tip of tail, 1.8; femur, 14; tibia, 14.8; foot, 4.8; forearm, 31.6; third finger—metacarp., 29; first ph., 13.4; second ph., 8.4; fourth finger—metacarp., 29; first ph., 9; second ph., 5.4; fifth finger—metacarp., 25.6; first ph., 7.4; second ph., 6; ear, 12; width of ear, 12; tragus, 3.6; diameter of disk on thumb, 3.4; diameter of disk on foot, 2. Thyroptera discifera (X 2). 112 Miller—The Central American Thyroptera. General remarks.—Of the three South American species of Thy- roptera, two (T. bicolor and T. albiventer) are described as sharply bicolor, brownish above and white beneath, while the third (7. tricolor) is said by Dobson to be reddish brown on the back and pale yellowish white on the abdomen, and also to have dental characters not found in the Nicaraguan animal. In Thyroptera tricolor and T. bicolor the free part of the tail equals one-fourth or one-third of its whole length. In 7. discifera, on the other hand, only the terminal joint and part of the penultimate joint project beyond the edge of the interfemoral membrane. 7. albi- venter is said to have the terminal joint only of the tail free, but the type specimen of this species was so mutilated that no de- pendence can be placed on this character. In size the four forms apparently agree very closely—at least it is impossible to find any important differences in the meastrements given in the original descriptions. The characters of Thyroptera discifera and of the South Ameri- can species as described may be thus contrasted : Both upper incisors bifid.................... Lg hath ins pow discifera Oniy the miner upper incisor binds 6s. Ska rk. oes ene Scie eis oe cas tricolor Sharply bicolor, or color of back distinctly dif- ferent from that of belly... ides ees albiventer, bicolor, tricolor MAMGTIAIAILY UUTIGOION, <0 fo cepa be os a ba es 6 5 da Noe oe kk OS discifera One-fourth to one-third of tail free from inter-femoral TEITOTRT FROINOTSERG oo ctic oe uk eee ed g 8 8 aoe ais tricolor, bicolor Only tip-of tail ee. ca Wien aces Gees oy Bowes ...-albiventer (?) discifera The syndactylism of the third and fourth digits of the foot may prove to be peculiar to Thyroptera discifera. Itis mentioned by Lichtenstein and Peters in the original description of the species, but none of the authors who have described South American specimens make any allusion to such a condition, al- though in most cases they have mentioned the form of the feet and claws with considerable detail. Another character of Thyroptera discifera not mentioned in descriptions of the South American species, but probably com- mon to all, is the large and conspicuous clitoris (see pl. VII). In the adult female this measures 1.6 mm.in length and is about half as long as the penis of anearly full grown male. The vulva opens longitudinally with the anterior commissure encroaching on the basal third of the clitoris. VoL. X, pp. 113-114 : JULY 22, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON NOTE ON THE MILK DENTITION OF DESMODUS. BY GERRIT 8. MILLER, Jr. Some immature specimens of Desmodus rufus, taken by Mr. E. W. Nelson, at Etzatlan, Ja- liseco, Mexico, in June, 1892, and now in the collection of the United States Department of Agriculture, retain the greater part of the milk dentition, though it is probable that none are young enough to present a complete set of deciduous mo- lars. The extraordinary special- ization of the teeth of this bat correlated with the animal’s strictly sanguivorous habits make any facts relating to the early development of the teeth of special interest. In the adult (Fig. 1, e, and 2, c) po ibe kee the dental formula is @ 9-5 1-1 2-2 : ee € 7 pmz—y = 20. The milk z.- dentition, so far as it can be de- ; : . 2-2 termined, is as follows: di 5-5 1-1 1-1 de et. dm 9-5 = 18. fae The largest of the deciduous oe Ye Yomi pm 2 teeth are the upper incisors Fie. 1.-Maxillary teeth of Desmodus (Fig. 1. di land di 283 These cut rufus, showing milk dentition and gradual c change in form of permanent teeth from 19—Bron. Soc. Wasu., Vor. X, 1896 (118) 114 Miller—Note on the Milk Dentition of Desmodus. permanent incisors (Fig. 1, i), and even after the appearance of the tips of the latter remain for a considerable period tne most conspicuous teeth in either jaw. ‘Their strongly recurved tips are probably of great service to the young when clinging to the nipple of the female during flight. At first the anterior decidu- ous incisor lies on the outer side of the permanent incisor, while the posterior deciduous incisor occupies the space between the permanent incisor and canine (Fig. 1, a). As the permanent incisor increases in size, it gradually extends backward until both milk incisors appear closely appressed to its outer face. In this condition (Fig. 1, c) the teeth re- main until the animal acquires a. large size, while the second milk te aes incisor often persists in nearly full- ns. ee grown individuals (Fig. 1,d). The deciduous canine (Fig. 1, a, de) lies imbedded in the gum on the outer side of the prominence caused by the growing permanent canine. It is shed at an early age, and never becomes in any way functional. A deciduous molar (Fig. 1, 6, dm) was found occupying a position near the posterior outer border of the Fic. 2.— Mandibular teeth of Desmo- dus rufus, showing part of milk den- : tition (a) and gradual change in form first permanent upper premolar in ba aduit. (6) 2S). two specimens. This tooth lacks the recurved tip and must be wholly functionless. In the lower jaw (Fig. 2) the deciduous teeth are smaller and less conspicuous than those in the upper jaw. They are also shed at a much earlier period. On opening the mouth of one specimen (No. 52130) I found two deciduous molars lying loose on the gum over the permanent premolars. The exact position of these milk teeth could not be determined, and I failed to detect any trace of them in other individuals. The deciduous mandibular canine closely resembles its counterpart in the upper jaw, both in size, position, and history. Its tip is, however, less strongly hooked (Fig. 2, dc). The deciduous lower incisors (Fig. 2, di) are very small and loosely attached to the gum through which they scarcely pierce before they are shed. In form they are totally different from the corresponding upper teeth. Their tips are somewhat widened and faintly notched, thus suggesting the form presented by the permanent lower incisors of many bats. VoL. X, pp. 115-118 3 NovemBer 3, 1896 PROCEEDINGS | OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON A NEW FIR FROM ARIZONA, ABIES ARIZONICA. BY C. HART MERRIAM. In the summer of 1889, when making a biological survey of the San Francisco Mountain region in Arizona, I discovered a. new fir with whitish corky bark. The scales of the cones were shed before the end of September, and no perfect cones were brought back. In my report on the ‘ Forest Trees of the San Francisco Mountain Region’ I described this ‘ white cork-bark fir’ under the head of Abies subalpina Engelm. [= Abies lasiocarpa Hooker ],.with the following explanation: ‘I believe this tree to be distinct from true A. subalpina, but in the absence of material for direct comparison I am unwilling to separate it.” My original — account of the species is as follows: “ This beautiful fir, unique in the color and character of its bark, is one of the most con- spicuous trees on San Francisco Mountain between the altitudes of 2,725 and 2,900 meters (8,950 to 9,500 feet). On the north side of a large butte, just south of Walker Lake crater, it de- scends to 2,600 meters (8,500 feet). The bark is a fine elastic — cork of uniform texture, and free from hard particles. It aver- | ages about 6 millimeters in thickness and is very durable, fre- | quently remaining intact while the wood rots away. Large pieces of it, still retaining their elasticity, may be stripped from dead . trees and from logs upon the ground. Itis sculptured by irregu- , larly interrupted longitudinal depressions or grooves, and is | ornamented by fine, parallel, wavy lines. Its color varies from ; creamy white to gray, and the surface has a velvety texture. The leaves are short, and the scales of the large cones are deciduous while still on the tree. In fact, it-was almost impossible to secure a perfect cone as early as the latter part of September. * * *% 20—Brou. Soc. Wasu., Vou. X, 1896 Ree (115) 116 Merriam—A New Fir from Arizona. “On Kendrick Peak it grows from the south rim of the crater (altitude about 2,800 meters, or 9,200 feet) to the summit (a little above 8,050 meters, or 10,000 feet).” * Fic. 24.—Bark of Abies arizonica (natural size). Karly in July of the present year (1896) I again visited San Francisco Mountain and,in company with Dr. B. E. Fernow, had the satisfaction of ob- taining upper and lower branches, fresh cones, and bark of the new tree, which may be defined as follows: Abies arizonica sp. nov. Type from west slope of San Francisco Mountain, Arizona. Altitude, about 3,000 meters (approxi- mately 10,000 feet). Col- lected July 2, 1896. No. 270,604. U.S. National Herbarium. Range.—Hudsonian Zone of San Francisco and Kendrick Mountains, Arizona; not reaching timber line. Characters.—Size of tree, medium or rather small, averaging about 15 meters in height and rarely 300 millimeters in diameter at base; bark a highly elastic fine-grained cork, whitish or grayish in color, usually creamy white, with irregularly sinuous grayish ridges (Fig. 24); leaves of cone- bearing branches thick, subtriangular in transverse section, and sharp-pointed at apex (about 20 millimeters in length); leaves of lower branches much longer, flatter, * North American Fauna, No. 3, pp. 120-121, September, 1890, A New Fir from Arizona. | 117 blunt, and notched at apex (about 25-30 millimeters in length) ; cones dark purple, slender, medium, or rather small, those of type specimen (not full grown) measuring about 50 x 20 millimeters ; scales much broader than long, strongly convex laterally (Fig. 25, ¢), purple on both sides ; bract (without awn) reaching to or past middle of scale; body of bract much broader than long. . Remarks.—The only tree with which the white cork-bark fir needs comparison is the subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa Hooker = A. subalpina Engelm.), from which it differs in leaves, bark, and cones. In Abdves lasiocarpa the leaves of the lower branches aver- age much shorter than in A. arizonica; the bark is hard instead of elastic-corky, and is variable in color, usually dark grayish brown blotched with whitish; the cones are larger, and the scales and bracts differ widely in shape and proportions. In A. lastocarpa (Fig. 25, a and b) the scales are longer than broad, the body of the bract is less than one-third the length of the body of the scale, and the seed wings are about twice as long as broad ; in A. arizonica (Fig. 25, c) the scales are much broader than long, the body of the bract is more than half the length of the scale, and the seed wings are about as broad as long. FIG. 25.—Scales of cones (natural size). The form of thescaleand relative % 42%s #sicara, mature, ° b. Abies lastocarpa, young. size of the bract probably change c. Adies arizonica, young. somewhat with age, but in the ac- % b, c. Upper side, showing seed wings. ‘ 7 2 a’, b', c’. Under side, showing bracts. companying figures the immature scale of Abies arizonica (Fig. 25, ¢) is contrasted with a still younger scale of A. lasiocarpa (6), as well as with the mature scale of the latter (a). The young cone of A. lasiocarpa, from which the scale figured (6) is taken, is decidedly smaller than the cone of A. arizonica, from which figure ¢ is taken, while the adult cone of A. lasiocarpa is more than twice as large. Both of the specimens figured of A. lasiocarpa came from Mount Hood, at the north end of the Cascade Range in Oregon, which is prob- ably near the type locality of the species. I am indebted to Mr. F. V. Coville for the opportunity of figuring the young cone 118 | Merriam—A New Fir from Arizona. of lasiocarpa. Abies arizonica is a much smaller tree than A. lasiocarpa. Both are highly boreal species, belonging to the Hudsonian Zone, though A. arizonica fails to reach the upper or timber-line belt of this zone. Abies lasiocarpa ranges from southern Alaska and British Columbia southward, over the Rocky Mountains into Utah and Colorado, and over the Cascade Range to southern Oregon. Abies arizonica, on the other hand, is restricted, so far as known, to San Francisco Mountain and neighboring peaks on the summit of the plateau in northern Arizona. VOL. X, pp. 119-125 NovemBer 5, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON _THE COTTON MOUSE, PEROMYSCUS GOSSYPINUS. BY OUTRAM BANGS. The present revision of the subspecies of Peromyscus gossypinus is based on the study of several hundred specimens in the col- lection of KE. A. and O. Bangs and the type and five topotypes of Peromyscus gossypinus mississippiensis kindly lent me by Mr. Samuel N. Rhoads. LeConte, in 1858, bestowed the name Hesperomys gossypinus upon the large dark-colored, white-footed mouse of Georgia. Two years later the same author named what he supposed to be another species from the same general region, calling it Hesper- omys cognatus. This last name has troubled subsequent mam- malogists not a little, until Mr. Rhoads, in his ‘Mammals of Tennessee,’* in 1896, relegated it to its proper place, and it became a synonym of P. gossypinus, based on the young in the pelage assumed after the plumbeous first coat has disappeared. There is, however, a name earlier than LeConte’s H. gossypinus that must be considered. It is Hesperomys polionotus of Wag- ner, described in 1848.+ This animal is said to have come .* Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1896, p. 189. t Archiv fir Naturgeschichte von Wiegmann, 1848, 2ter. Bd., pp. 51-52. ‘‘Aus eben diesem Staate [Georgia] herriihrend liess mir Prof. Schinz zwei Miuse zur Ansicht zukommen, unter denen die eine mit M. Lecontii tibereinstimmt. Der andern, die mir unbeschrieben scheint, habe ich den Namen Mus polionotus beigelegt: M. supra flavido-plumbeus subtus pedibusque albidus; auriculis mediocribus, dent. prim. integris, cauda pilosa abbreviata. Korper 2/’ 4’”’, Schwanz 1// 2’’”, Ohren 4/’’, Hinter- fuss 7/7. Wie schon erwihnt, werden beide nicht zu Mus gehoren, doch ist mir ihr Gebiss unbekannt.”’ 21— Bron. Soc. Wasu., Vor. X, 1896 (119) 120 Bangs—The Cotton Mouse, Peromyscus Gossypinus. from Georgia. The measurements and description of the colors of Wagner’s specimen show it to have been a very young indi- vidual, and now impossible to identify. Wagner gives no defi- nite locality in the State of Georgia, and as P. awreolus is found generally distributed throughout that State and as P. leucopus undoubtedly occurs in the mountains, it would be unwise to assume that the specimen in question was certainly the young of P. gossypinus, and thus allow Wagner’s name to stand for that species. Two names have been given lately to subspecies of gossypinus by Mr. Samuel N. Rhoads. One of these, the so-called Sitomys megacephalus, from Woodville, Alabama,* becomes a synonym of P. gossypinus. I have not seen the type, which is in alcohol, but there are no characters attributed to it that can in any way separate it from true gossypinus of Georgia, an animal Mr. Rhoads was wholly unfamiliar with, he making his comparisons with the Florida form, which is subspecifically distinct. The cranial characters claimed for megacephalus are individual.and in nowise diagnostic. The other is the Peromyscus gossypinus mississippien- sis of the bottom lands of the Mississippi in Tennessee, and is a well-marked race. I now describe two more races, one from the peninsula of Florida, the other from the bayou region of Louis- iana, thus dividing 2. gossypinus into four subspecies. Peromyscus gossypinus has been given by authors in recent years as a subspecies of P. leucopus, not because any intermedi- ates were forthcoming, but on general principles, until Rhoads, in his ‘Mammals of Tennessee,’ in 1896, gave it full specific rank. Mr. Rhoads, in the summer of 1895, found gossypinus and leucopus in the Mississippi bottoms in Tennessee, where, he says, it was possible to catch both species in the same trap, and yet the two kept perfectly distinct. This undoubtedly will prove to be the case wherever the ranges of P. leucopus and P. gossypinus overlap. Most of the closely related forms of white-footed mice look very different from each other when one is trapping and hand- ling them in the flesh. This ‘aspect difference,’ as Professor Shaler aptly calls it, is subtle and hard to define, and may dis- appear almost entirely when the animals are made into the con- ventional museum skins or preserved in spirits, thus leaving the characters on which species and subspecies are based very * Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1894, p. 254. The Cotton Mouse, Peromyscus Gossypinus. 121 slight in comparison with what they were in life. This is strik- ingly true of P. gossypinus, and I well remember, when I first trapped this beautiful mouse, being astonished to see a creature so wholly different from P. leucopus, of which I had previously supposed it merely a subspecies., Since the cranial characters presented by the members of the genus Peromyscus are so slight that it is often difficult to tell apart the skulls of very different species, they are naturally of little help in distinguishing closely related forms. Peromyscus gossypinus has a wide range in the lower Austral Zone, extending north along the Atlantic coast to North Carolina, up the Mississippi Valley to Tennessee, and west along the Gulf coast to Louisiana; but it is not found on the higher land between the most northern, eastern, and western points of its range.* Peromyscus gossypinus inhabits a variety of situations, but my experience with the typical form in Georgia has been that it is rare. About St. Marys, Georgia, they lived in the hammocks and margins and around the edges of some of the cleared fields, but were not numerous anywhere. I could not find them in the pine woods at all, but their absence there may be due to the annual firing of these woods to make pasture. The Florida form is very abundant in many parts of peninsular Florida. At Oak Lodge, on the east peninsula opposite Micco, I trapped them by the hundred. Their favorite abodes there were the edges of the salt savannah, the piles of brush and rubbish around the cleared fields, and along the edge of the beach in the saw palmetto thickets. In these dense thickets and among the plants and grasses of the upper beach Peromyscus gossypinus palmarius and the exquisite little Peromyscus niveiventris occurred together in great numbers, feeding largly on the seeds of the sea oats, Uniola paniculata. Peromyscus gossypimus meets or overlaps the ranges of at least four and probably five other white-footed mice. All along its northern limits it must come in contact with Peromyscus leucopus, and judging from Mr. Rhoads’ experience in Tennessee the two species overlap, but keep distinct. P. gossypinus can always be told from P. leucopus by its much larger size, stouter build, bigger hind foot, shorter tail, browner and less fulvous coloration of the upper parts, and the gray (not white) under parts. Major LeConte states in his description of P. gossypinus that it has * Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, and Bertie County, North Carolina. 122 Bangs—The Cotton Mouse, Peromyscus Gossypinus. longer front legs than leucopus, and consequently a different gait, progressing in an even run, while leucopus goes by little leaps. I regret to say that while I had the opportunity I never studied the movements of P. gossypinus in life. Major LeConte undoubt- edly did, and I see no reason to doubt his statement. The skull of P. gossypinus averages larger than that of P. leucopus when in- dividuals of the same age are compared, but apart from this difference in size the two are indistinguishable. Peromyscus aureolus overlaps the greater part of the range of P. gossypinus, but reaches farther north and probably not so far south, the southernmost examples, so far as I know, coming from Enterprise, Florida. It can always be told from gossypinus by the bright ochraceous of the upper parts, the under parts being also extensively washed with this color, and its smaller size about that of P. leucopus. In Florida two white-footed mice, very different from each other and equally different from gossypinus, occur in many places associated with gossypinus. 'The commoner of these is the most beautiful of all white-footed mice, the little, ghost-like Peromys- cus niveiventris. This species is about half the size of gossypinus, with pale gray and fawn-colored upper parts and snowy white under parts. The other is Peromyscus floridanus, an animal very unlike P. gossypinus and belonging to a different group of the genus. It isa large mouse, with big, nearly naked ears, short tail, and very large hind foot. _ The sides are a bright ochraceous buff and the under parts white. The fur is very soft and silky. In the west Peromyscus gossypinus may meet the range of P. mearnsi of the lower Rio Grande and coast of Texas. P. mearnsi is about the size and proportions of P. lewcopus, and is dark gray (purplish gray in fresh pelage) above, without a marked darker dorsal band, and white below. Peromyscus gossypinus (LeConte). 1831. Hyp[udxus] gossipinus LeConte, M’Murtrie’s Cuvier’s Animal Kingdom, I, 1831, app., p. 484 (nomen nudum). 1853. Hesperomys gossypinus LeConte, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853, . 411. 1855. Hesperomys cognatus LeConte, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855, . 442. 1874. Hesperomys ( Vesperimus) a i gossypinus Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1874, p. 179. 1877. Hesperomys leucopus gossypinus Coues, Monog. N. American Mu- ridze, p. 76 ; The Cotton Mouse, Peromyscus Gossypinus. 123° 1894. Sitomys megacephalus Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1894, 254 p. 254. 1896. Peromyscus gossypinus Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896, p. 189. Type locality.—The LeConte plantation a few miles above Riceboro, Liberty County, Georgia. Geographic distribution.—From northern Florida north along the coast at least to Bertie County, N. C.; west through the non- “mountainous parts of Georgia to Alabama and pathend Mississippi. Subspecific characters.—A large heavily built mouse; hind foot large ; tail shorter than head and body, bicolored ; ears aie. nearly naked, of moderate size; general color of upper parts dark brown, with broad darker dorsal band ; under parts gray ; feet and hands grayish white. Color.—Adult: Upper parts dark brown, varying from Prouts brown to sepia, darkening along middle of back into a broad dorsal band, which ranges from clove brown to black; a black orbital ring. —Under parts smoke gray, the hairs plumbeous at base ; feet grayish white ; ears dusky ; tail bicolored, dusky above, grayish white below. Nursing young: Black- ish slate above, slate gray below; tail and feet as in adult. Young in second pelage: General color of upper parts duller, more hair brown, often with a sooty cast ; otherwise likeadult, dorsal stripe well marked.* Size.—Average measurements of twelve adult specimens from St. M arys, Ga.: total length, 177.66; tail vertebree, 70.25; hind foot, 22.35. Max- imum size (of largest old adult in above average): total length, 197; tail vertebrae, 82.5; hind foot, 22. Specimens examined, 37, from the following localities : Georgia: St. Marys, 35. North Carolina: Bertie County, 2. Peromyscus gossypinus mississippiensis Rhoads. 1896. Peromyscus gossypinus mississippiensis Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896, p. 189. Type locality.—_Samburg, Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee. Geographic distribution.—The Mississippi bottoms in Tennessee; limits of range unknown. Subspecific characters. —Size about that of typical gossypinus ; tail a little longer; hind foot larger; colors paler and more yellowish; dorsal band less well defined, without black orbital ring. Color.—Adult: Upper parts varying from cinnamon brown to russet, darkening on middle of back into an ill-defined dorsal band about mummy brown; no dark orbital ring; under parts grayish white, the hairs plumbeous at base; ears dusky; tail bicolored, dusky above, white below ; feet grayish white. *The young in this pelage are much smaller than the adults, but as they frequently breed they have the appearance of full-grown animals, and gave rise to LeConte’s species Hesperomys cognatus. 124 Bangs—The Cotton Mouse, Peromyscus Gossypinus. Size-—Average measurements of six adult specimens from type locality : total length, 183; tail vertebree, 79.5; hind foot, 24.45. Maximum size (of largest old adult in above average): total length, 196; tail vertebrie, 84; hind foot, 25. Specimens examined, 6, all from the type locality. Peromyscus gossypinus palmarius subsp. nov. Type from Oak Lodge, on east peninsula opposite Mieco, Brevard County, Florida. No. 3224, 2 old adult, collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. Collected by O. Bangs February 23, 1895. Total length, 183; tail verte- bree, 74; hind foot, 21. Geographic distribution.—Peninsular Florida, north at least to Brevard County on the east and Citrus County on the west. Subspecific characters.—About the size of typical P. gossypinus ; hind foot shorter; colors much paler and more yellowish; no decided darker dorsal band ; a black orbital ring. Color. —Adult: Upper parts varying, according to freshness of pelage, from bright russet to wood brown, pagal ty a few darker hairs scattered along middle of back, but not enough to form a dorsal band; a black orbital ring; under parts grayish white, the hairs plumbeous at base; ears dusky ; tail bicolored, dusky above, white below ; feet grayish white. Size.—Average measurements of twenty adult specimens from type locality: total length, 181; tail vertebree, 71.88; hind foot, 21.55. Maxi- mum size (of largest old adult in above average): total length, 206; tail vertebrie, 83; hind foot, 22. Remarks.— Peromyscus gossypinus palmarius often shows a pectoral spot of yellowish brown, sometimes of large size. It is often difficult to tell the young in the second pelage of palmarius from the young of typical gossypinus, but as a rule they are lighter in color, more grayish, less sooty, and have the dorsal stripe much less well defined. Specimens examined, 166, from the following localities in Florida: Oak Lodge, east peninsula opposite Micco, Brevard County, 111; Micco, 3; Flamingo, 19; Miami, 2; Jupiter Inlet,3; Crystal River, 4; Gitronsils, 3; Blitches Ferry, Citrus County, 21. Peromyscus gossypinus nigriculus subsp. nov. Type from Burbridge, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. No. 2731, 2 adult, collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. Collected by F. L. Small January 30, 1895. Total length, 174; tail vertebrae, 79; hind foot, 24. Geographic distribution.—Bayou region of the coast of Louisiana. Subspecific characters.—Size smallest of the gossypinus series; hind foot about as in typical gossypinus ; tail proportionally longer ; colors very dark ; a broad dorsal band nearly black; ears and upper surface of tail black ; a black orbital ring. Color.—Adult: upper parts varying from vandyke brown to sepia, often with a sooty cast; darkening along middle of back into a broad dorsal The Cotton Mouse, Peromyscus Gossypinus. 125 band of nearly black; a black orbital ring; under parts grayish white ; the hairs plumbeous at base; ears black; tail bicolored, black above, grayish white below ; feet and hands grayish white. Size.—Average measurements of three adult specimens from the type locality: total length, 168.33; tail vertebree, 76.66; hind foot, 23.66. Average measurements of twenty adult specimens from Gibson, Terre Bonne Parish, Louisiana: total length, 169.85; tail vertebree, 77.85; hind foot, 22. Maximum size (of largest old adult in above average): total length, 184; tail vertebre, 86; hind foot, 22. Remarks.—The young of Peromyscus gossypinus nigriculus are very dark colored, both in the nursing and the second pelage, and can usually be separated, both by their dark color and their smaller size, from the young of corresponding age of gossypinus or of palmarius. This form appears to be confined to the heavy swamps of the bayou region, and probably does not occur farther from the coast than the limits of these swamps. Although Mr. Small trapped persistently in several localities in the prairie and pine regions of central Louisiana, he failed to get a single specimen of any Peromyscus in such places and concluded that none occur north of the bayous. Specimens examined, 89, from the following localities in Louisiana: Bur- bridge, Plaquemines Parish, 5; Gibson, Terre Bonne Parish, 56; Pow- hatan Plantation (near Gibson), 28. VoL. X, pp. 127-130 NOVEMBER 14, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON JUNCUS CONFUSUS, A NEW RUSH FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. BY FREDERICK V. COVILLE. In a collection of Juncaceae from Idaho, recently received for identification from Mr, A. A. Heller, were two specimens of an undescribed Juncus, which had long been confounded, even by Engelmann himself, with Juncus tenwis congestus Engelm. A de- scription of the species, which was already well represented in the National Herbarium by specimens from other collectors, is given herewith. Juncus confusus Coville, sp. nov. Plant perennial, densely tufted, 15 to 60 cm. high, erect; stem 0.5 to 1.5 mm. thick at base, narrower above, striate, nearly terete; leaves all basal, the sheaths with well developed auricles, the blades erect, one- third to one-half or more the height of the stem, flat, usually involute in drying, narrow, 0.5 to 1 mm. in breadth; inflorescence congested into a turbinate cluster 2.cm. or less in height, much exceeded by its lowest bract; perianth 3 to 4 mm. long, its parts equal, ovate-lanceolate, acute, with green or at maturity stramineous midrib and a brown stripe on either side; stamens 6, about one-half as long as the perianth, the anthers shorter than their filaments; capsule oblong, equaling the perianth, re- tuse, completely 3-celled; seed light brown, obovoid or oblong, .45 to .6 mm. in length, with oblique white apiculations connected by a usually evident white raphe, finely reticulated in about 16 longitudinal rows, the areole smooth and 2 to 4 times broader than long. Type specimen in the U. 8. National Herbarium, collected September 6, 1890, in an irrigated meadow, North Park, Colorado, by C. S. Crandall. 22—Bron. Soc. Wasu., Von. X, 1896 (127) 128 Coville—Junctus Confusus, a New Rush. Other specimens beside the type have been examined as fol- lows: | Colorado: Grand Lake, George Vasey, 1868, No. 576. Wyoming: Sherman, altitude 8,000 feet, G. W. Letterman, July 28, 1884. Big Horn Mountains, B. C. Buffum, August 6, 1892. Clarks Fork Valley, J. N. Rose, September 3, 1893, No. 530. Steamboat Point, Yellowstone Lake, Robert Adams, August 19, 1871. Montana: Spanish Creek, P. A. Rydberg, July 11, 1896, No. 3058. In a meadow, Spanish Basin, altitude 1,800 meters, P. A. Ryd- berg, July 17, 1896, No. 3116. In a wet meadow, Blackhawk, P. A. Rydberg, August 5, 1896, No. 3282. Idaho: In the vicinity of Forest and about Lake Waha, Nez Perces County, Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Heller, June 25, 1896, No. 3319, and July 16, 1896, No. 3446. Washington: Near Spangle, Spokane County, W. N. Suksdorf, June 30, 1884, No. 1042. Juncus confusus is one of seven closely related species, all of which with the exception of J. tenuis occur only in America and with the additional exception of J. dichotomus only in North America. Juncus tenuis was formerly a very rare plant in Eu- rope, but is now becoming widely disseminated there and in nearly all parts of the world, apparently by introduction from America. The following synopsis will be useful in distinguish- ing the species of the group: SYNOPSIS OF Juncus TENUIS AND ITs ALLIES. Leaf blade flat, but sometimes involute in drying. Anthers much longer than their filaments....... J. georgianus Coville. A densely tufted plant, with long leaves, reaching the unusually large inflorescence ; brown-striped perianth 4to 6mm. long; and narrowly oblong-lanceolate completely 3-celled capsule. This species is known only from Georgia, where it occurs on Stone Mountain and adjacent knobs of similar geological structure. For full description see Bull. Torr. Club, 22:44. 1895. - Anthers not exceeding their filaments. Perianth 2.5 to 4 mm. long, usually with some reddish or brownish coloration, equaling the completely 3-celled capsule; apex of the capsule distinctly triquetrous, truncate or retuse. Junctus Confusus, a New Rush. 129 Inflorescence somewhat congested, much exceeded by its lowest involucral bract....... dene en olin J. confusus Coville. A plant of the Rocky Mountain region from Colorado northward to Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Inflorescence not congested, the flowers secund on the some- what incurved branches, seldom exceeded by the lowest * Mavolieral Brac, i355 eres ee ack es J. secundus Beauv. A species of common occurrence in the coastal plain from New Jersey to North Carolina and occasional in Illinois and Missouri. Perianth 3.5 to 5.5 mm. long, green or stramineous, without brown stripes along either side of the midrib (except in the variety) ; capsule obovate, broadly rounded, though sometimes retuse, incompletely 3-celled........ ......... J. tenuis Willd. Occurring almost throughout North America, especially as a weed along roadsides and paths, and now migrating to all parts of the world. Along the Pacific coast from middle California to Vancouver Island occurs a robust variety with congested inflorescence much exceeded, as is usually the case also in the type form of the species, by the lowest in- volucral bract; the perianth 4 to 5.5 mm. in length, about one-half longer than the capsule; its parts with a reddish brown stripe along either side of the midrib. This plant is here named Junctus tenuis occidentalis (J. tenwis con- gestus Engelm. Trans. St. Louis Acad. 2: 450. 1866. Not J. congestus Thuill. 1799). Leaf blade terete, channeled along the upper side. Seed not caudate. Perianth 3.5 to 5 mm. long, not exceeded by the capsule. J. dichotomus Ell. A species common to North and South America, occurring abundantly in the United States along the coast from Texas to New Jersey, and more rarely as far northward as Maine. The plant is often confounded with J. tenuis when not crit- ically examined, but in addition to its leaf character it may be distinguished also by its darker green color and its fewer-ribbed (about 14 instead of 20 to 24) seeds. Perianth 2.5 to 3 mm. long, conspicuously exceeded by the cap- PGs a5 Cow kB een at aed ogo Sa J. greenei Oakes & Tuckerm. Occurring néar the coast from New Jersey northward to New Brunswick ; in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota; and in the Canadian province of Ontario. The inflorescence is usually short, much exceeded by the lowest involucral bract, and the exposed portions of the completely 3-celled ovoid-lanceolate capsule are commonly brownish. The seeds are commonly but erroneously described as caudate. 130 Coville—Junctus Confusus, a New Rush. Seed distinctly candate:. os J. vaseyi Engelm. Occurring from Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa northward to the plains of middle Canada; at Orono, Maine; in the Black Hills of South Dakota; and, on the authority of a label in the Canby Herbarium, in Middle Park, Colorado. J. vaseyi differs from the last, in addition to its important seed and perianth characters, in its inflorescence usually exceeding the lowest involucral bract, and the green, or, at maturity, stramineous capsule being little or not at all contracted toward the apex. VoL. X, pp. 131-132 NoveMBER 14, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON RIBES ERYTHROCARPUM, A NEW. CURRANT FROM THE VICINITY OF CRATER LAKE, OREGON. BY FREDERICK VY. COVILLE. Crater Lake is a remarkable body of the purest water, nearly circular in form, about ten kilometers (6 miles) in diameter and 600 meters (2,000 feet) in depth, without a visible outlet, occupy- ing the bowl of an extinct volcano in the southern part of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, situated about latitude 43° and longitude 122°. The surface of the water has an altitude of 1,902 meters (6,239 feet) and the surrounding cliffs rise 300 to 450 meters (1,000 to 1,500 feet) higher, some of the neighboring peaks reaching 2,400 and 2,700 meters (8,000 and 9,000 feet). The mountain slopes are densely forested, except where the trees have been burned off by sheep herders, and no settlements occur nearer than the plains below. It was the writer’s good fortune to visit the place in August of the present year, at the time of the excursion of the Mazamas to that point. The Mazamas are an organization of mountain climbers, which originated in Port- land, Oregon, and are doing a great deal to popularize the natural - sciences, to make known the wonderful scenery of the Northwest coast, and especially to create and maintain a public sentiment toward the preservation of the magnificent forests of that region. Nothing seems to have been published on the botany of this part of the Cascades, and indeed no botanist appears heretofore to have made a collection of the plants of the Crater Lake region. The collection made by the writer and Mr. John B. Leiberg from August 13th to 20th of the present year is therefore of unusual 23—Bron, Soc. Wasu., Vor. X, 1896 (131) 182 Coville—Ribes Erythrocarpum, a New Currant. interest. Only a partial examination of the specimens has been made thus far, and a full report must be deferred, but an inter- esting species, apparently undescribed, is here presented to the public. : Ribes erythrocarpum Coville & Leiberg, sp. nov. Shrub trailing upon the ground, devoid of prickles, the stems rooting and giving rise to ascending branches commonly 10 to 20 cm. in height, the herbage and inflorescence clothed with short glandular hairs; leaves angulate-orbicular in outline, rugose, commonly 2 to 3.5 cm. in diameter, on petioles nearly as long, 3 to 5-lobed, the sinuses extending one-half or two-thirds the way to the base, the lobes coarsely crenate and the crena- tures unevenly but finely dentate-serrate ; racemes erect, commonly 10 to 20-flowered, the bracts herbaceous, lanceolate to obovate, commonly 2 to 4mm. long, persistent; flowers erect, contiguous, when expanded 6 to 8 mm. in diameter, on pedicels equaling the bracts; ovary beset with short glandular hairs; calyx not produced into a tube, the spreading lobes oblong, obtuse or broadly acute, yellow, minutely dotted with red, there- fore appearing salmon-colored, sparingly and minutely pubescent without, glabrous within; petals broadly spatulate, glabrous, one-third to one-half the length of the calyx lobes and similar in color; filaments glabrous; style glabrous, 2-parted; fruiting racemes erect or sometimes declined by the weight of the berries; fruit on erect pedicels, scarlet, subpyriform to spherical, commonly 8 to 10 mm. in length, provided with short glandular hairs, the flesh white or translucent, insipid. Type specimen in the United States National Herbarium, collected August 12, 1896, at an altitude of about 1,675 meters, in the canyon of Pole Bridge Creek, about 10 kilometers south of Crater Lake, Cascade Moun- tains, Oregon, by Frederick V. Coville and John B. Leiberg. The plant appears from the structure of its flowers to be most nearly related to the Ribes laxiflorum of Pursh and the Ribes howellii of Greene (R. acerifolium Howell), from both of which it is at once distinguishable by its creeping habit and its glandular pubescence, in the latter of these characters and in its general appearance closely resembling Pursh’s Rives viscosissimum. Its herbage, however, possesses the rank odor of Ribes prostratum and &. hudsonianum, quite distinct from the citronella-like smell of viscosissimum. That species, too, has blue fruit and an elon- gated calyx tube. Ribes erythrocarpum grows in abundance about Crater Lake, in the forests of Tsuga pattoniana, to an alti- tude of. at least 2,400 meters. VOL. X, PP. 133-134 DECEMBER 8, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON AN UNDESCRIBED SHREW OF THE GENUS SOREX. BY CHARLES F. BATCHELDER. On September 9, 1895, at Beede’s, Essex county, New York, I obtained a Shrew unlike any species known to me. It was caught in one of several ‘cyclone’ traps, baited with rolled oat- meal, that were set among some large, angular rocks at the head of a wooded talus of loose rock. Just above, shading the spot and keeping it moist and cool, rise the low cliffs from whose frag- ments the talus has been formed. Nearly a year later, on August 1, 1896, I caught a second speci- men of this Shrew on Mount Marcy, the highest of the Adiron- dack Mountains. It, too, was caught with oatmeal ina ‘ cyclone’ trap. Itwas taken in a crevice between some rocks, on the bare, open summit of the mountain, about 5300 feet above sea-level. The locality where the first one was captured is about eight miles distant, in an air line, and lies at an elevation of only 1300 feet above the sea. I have compared this Shrew with other species of the genus Sorex (the material for comparison I owe in some cases to the unfailing kindness of Dr. C. Hart Merriam), and find it so dif- ferent from them all that I am led to describe it as follows: Sorex macrurus sp. nov. Type from Beede’s [sometimes called Keene Heights], in the township of Keene, Essex county, New York; taken September 9, 1895. The type is a young adult male, No, 1384, collection of C. F. Batchelder. General characters. —Size large; tail long; body stout. 24—Bron. Soc. Wasu., Vor. X, 1896 (133) 134 Batchelder—An Undescribed Shrew. Colors (of type, noted in the flesh).— Upper parts between ‘slate-color’! and ‘blackish slate’; under parts dark ‘smoke gray’? or brownish ‘mouse-gray’;* tail, above, browner than back; edge of lips and under side of tail, brownish flesh color; upper side of both hind and fore feet between ‘fawn-color’* and ‘ecru drab.’ + . The specimen from Mt. Marcy (3, ad. Aug. 1, 1896, No. 1386, coll. C. F. B.) differs in color from the type only in having a slightly more plumbeous tint, a difference due, apparently, merely to its FIG. 26,—Skull of Sorex macrsirugs eae et opbboateeps pre 20) peraree Type (X 2). weeks less wear. Cranial and dental characters.—Skull long and slender; brain-case low, narrow, and little inflated ; rostrum long, narrow, and low; palate rather narrow. Posterior border of infraorbital foramen ly- ing over a point consider- ably behind the interspace between the first and sec- ond molars. Unicuspidate teeth slender; the first and second about equal in size; bie thind and afer rig Fic. 27.—Left side of upper jaw showing teeth. er, and subequal—if any- | Type (X 6). thing, the third slightly shorter than the fourth. Molariform teeth deeply excavated posteriorly. Measurements (of type, ; taken in the flesh).—Total FIG. 28.—Same tooth row, seen from below. length, 130 mm.; tail vertebree, 60 mm.; hind foot, 15 mm. ; fore foot, 8 mm.; heightofear, 10mm. The Mount Marcy specimen measured: total length, 189 mm. ; tail vertebree, 61 mm.; hind foot,15 mm.; ear, 10 mm, The extreme tip of its tail appears to have been lost by some accident. This Shrew differs so widely from all others with which I am ac- quainted that comparisons with any other species are quite unnecessary. In color and size it bears a slight superficial resemblance to Sorex fumeus and to S. trowbridgii, but it is at once distinguishable from them by its long tail, even without reference to its cranial and dental characters, in which it is totally unlike these species. In the general shape of the skull there is a suggestion of Sorex personatus, but in this respect macrurus is even more remote from such species as trowbridgii or fumeus than is personatus itself. 1 Ridgway: A nomenclature of colors for naturalists, etc., 1886, plate II, Figs. 4-3. *Ibid., Fig. 12. *Ibid., Fig. 11. ‘Ibid., pl. III, Figs. 22-21. VOL. X, PP. 135-138 DECEMBER 28, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON SOME NEW MAMMALS FROM INDIAN TERRITORY AND MISSOURI. BY OUTRAM BANGS, In the summer of 1896 Mr. Thaddeus Surber undertook a col- lecting trip to Indian Territory in the interests of the Bangs collection. After spending a short time in Missouri he went to Stilwell, in the Cherokee Nation, at the northwest part of the Boston Mountains. ‘The country was suffering from an un- precedented drought and all mammals were extremely hard to find. Mr. Surber was also handicapped by the unfriendliness of the Indians, who absolutely refused to help him in any way. He had collected but a few days when he was taken ill with an ‘extremely malignant form of malaria, which compelled him to abandon the work. The Boston Mountains about Stilwell rise to a height of 2,500 feet (estimated), and are closed in by ranges of low lying hills, some 250 or 300 feet higher than the intervening narrow valleys of rich land. Beyond the hills west of Stilwell stretches a barren prairie that is said to have been formerly forest-covered. On the sides of the mountains are found black walnut, white oak, ‘red oak, black jack, etc., but no pines. The mountains all top off in cliffs from five to fifty feet high, composed of sandstone or bastard limestone, in which there are many caves. The material collected at Stilwell, while small in number of specimens, is of great interest. Besides the new forms here de- scribed, Mr. Surber got only three species of mammals—the raccoon, Procyon lotor; the southern gray squirrel, Sciwrus caro- linensis, and the plains wood rat, Neotoma bailey. 25—Brion. Soc. Wasu., Von. X, 1896 (135) 136 Bangs—New Mammals from Indian Territory. My thanks are due to General Nelson A. Miles, who with great kindness secured for me the necessary permit allowing Mr. Surber to collect in Indian Territory. I am also indebted to Dr. J. A. Allen for presenting me with specimens of Lepus sylvaticus bach- mani, Peromyscus attwatert, and Scalops texanus for comparison with the Indian Territory forms. Lepus sylvaticus alacer subsp. nov. Type from Stilwell, Indian Ter., No. 5480, 2 young adult, collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. Collected by Thaddeus Surber August 14, 1896. Original No. 65. Two specimens from Stilwell, Indian Ter.; 2 from Stotesbury, Vernon Co., Mo. General characters.—A bout the size of Lepus sylvaticus bachmani, but differ- ing from that form in being much darker and richer in color and in hay- ing much smaller audital bulle. Color.—Type in summer pelage: upper parts rich reddish brown (about hazel), many of the hairs with black tips ; nuchal patch and upper surface of legs and arms cinnamon rufous; sides and rump paler, shading towards wood brown; band on under side of neck wood brown; rest of under parts, including chin and throat, white. A specimen from Stotes- bury, Mo., in winter pelage (No. 1677, February 27, 1894): upper parts cinnamon rufous on back, wood brown on sides, very thickly mixed with black-tipped hairs, giving a dark and rich effect; ears wood brown broadly edged with black ; no black mark between ears. Cranial characters.—Skull small, about the size of that of L. sylvaticus bachmani, differing from other members of the sylvaticus series in having extremely small audital bulle. Size of type skull: basilar length, 536; occipitonasal length, 67.2; zygomatic breadth, 34; greatest length of single half of mandible, 51.6. Size.—Type: total length, 370; tail vertebree, 50; hind foot, 95; ear, 73. Average measurements of two adult specimens from Stotesbury, Vernon Co., Mo.: total length, 398; tail vertebree, 30.5; hind foot, 79.35; ear, 82.6. General remarks.—W hen I was at work on the cotton-tails of eastern North America in 1894 I had the two specimens referred to above, col- lected at Stotesbury, Mo., in the winter of 1894, by Mr. Surber, and on account of their small size, peculiar coloration, and small audital bulle was unable to refer them to any known subspecies. They clearly belong to the same form as the Indian Territory specimens, which appears to be unnamed. The two examples taken at Stilwell were both shot in the low. rich valleys, and Mr. Surber did not find the animal on the moun- tains. This form probably has an extensive range throughout the region where the wooded eastern country meets the great plains. Lepus sylvaticus alacer probably merges into L. sylvaticus bachmani of Texas, but its smaller audital bullee and dark color at once distinguish it from the gray bachmani. “New Mammals from Indian Territory. 137 Peromyscus bellus sp. nov. Type from Stilwell, I. T. No. 5483, 9 adult, collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. Collected by Thaddeus Surber August 15, 1896. Original No. 67. Two specimens from Stilwell, I. T. General characters. —Compared with P. attwateri (apparently its nearest geographical ally) P. bellus differs in being much darker and browner; in having a larger hind foot, a pectoral band of fawn color, and a fawn- colored nose patch (white in attwateri). It belongs to the group of so- called brush mice. Color.—Upper parts broccoli-brown much mixed with black along back, becoming fawn color on lower sides; patch at root of whiskers fawn color ; ears large, nearly naked, dusky; tail large and long, bicolored, black above, white below, well haired and with a decided pencil; feet and hands white; under parts white, the hairs plumbeous at base; a band of fawn color extending across under side of neck in front of arms. Cranial characters. —Skull of the same general appearance as that of P. attwateri, but larger and with deeper, broader brain case. Size of the type skull: basilar length, 24.2; occipitonasal length, 28; zygomatic breadth, 14; greatest length of single half of mandible, 15. Size.—Type: total length, 190; tail vertebree, 90; hind foot, 24; ear, 17. Average measurements of two adult specimens from Stilwell, I. T.: total length, 192.5; tail vertebree, 93.5; hind foot, 24; ear, 16. General remarks. —The two examples of this brush mouse were taken on one of the rocky hillsides at Stilwell. P. bellus differs from P. attwateri very materially, but P. attwatert seems very close, perhaps too close, to P. rowleyi, as I must confess I can hardly distinguish skins of the two species. Tamias striatus venustus subsp. nov. Type from Stilwell, I. T. No. 5478, ¥ old adult, collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. Collected by Thaddeus Surber August 13, 1896. Original No. 63. Two specimens from Stilwell, I. T.; 1 from Noel, Mo. General characters.—Size and proportions about as in T. striatus griseus ; colors very bright, especially on rump; all the black dorsal and lateral bands much shortened; hair, especially on rump, hispid, but this char- acter may be seasonal. ‘ Color.—Rump and upper surface of legs deep, rich, lustrous chestnut rufous, this color extending up back and sides, narrowly bordering the black bands; sides yellowish gray; back (between the black bands) and upper neck and shoulders dark gray; ears and face much suffused with chestnut rufous; facial markings not conspicuous; hairs of upper surface of tail yellowish at base, then black and slightly tipped with white; under parts yellowish white, somewhat washed on belly and under side of legs with cinnamon rufous; under side of tail cinnamon rufous. Cranial characters.—The skull is large, about as in 7. striatus griseus. Size of type skull: basilar length, 38.6; occipitonasal length, 43.6; zygo- matic breadth, 24.4; greatest length of single half of mandible, 26.2, 138 Bangs—New Mammals from Indian Territory. Size.—The type: total length, 260; tail vertebrae, 100; hind foot, 37. Size of No. 5605, ¢ adult from Noel, Mo.: total length, 255; tail vertebree, 105; hind foot, 36.5. General remarks.—The two specimens of this fine chipmunk that Mr. Surber got at Stilwell were shot at the edge of an old field well up ona hillside. The specimen from Noel, Mo., was taken in a similar place. Tamias striatus venustus is by far the handsomest of the striatus series and is easily distinguished from any of the other subspecies. Its large size and big hind foot place it nearest to griseus, but its bright, rich coloration will at once separate it from that form. With the pale yellow lysteri of the northeast it needs no comparison, and from the small, dull, dark- colored true striatus of the southeast it can always be told by its larger size, bigger hind foot, longer tail, and much brighter coloration. Scalops texanus zreus subsp. nov. Type from Stilwell, I. T. No. 5475, Q old adult, collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. Collected by Thaddeus Surber, August 13, 1896. One specimen from Stilwell, I. T. General characters.— Size larger than typical S. texvanus; hind foot larger ; colors darker, without orange markings about nose and chest; skull slightly different. Color. —Rich coppery chestnut all over, without golden or orange suf- fusions; slightly duller below than above, and grayer on chin and throat. Cranial characters. —The skull of S. texanus xreus as compared with that of true tevanus is larger and of a slightly different shape. The skull of tecanus has a short rostrum and is much bulged between the orbits. The skull of xreus has a ionger rostrum and does not present the bulged ap- pearance between the orbits. Size of type skull: basilar length, 28.4; occipitonasal length, 33.4; zygomatic breadth, 15.2; greatest length of single half of mandible, 21.8. Size.—The type: total length, 154; tail vertebree, 24; hind foot, 19. General remarks.—Mr. Surber caught the type specimen of Scalops texanus zreus while it was engaged in tunneling on a black-jack ridge at Stilwell. Dr. J. A. Allen* gives the following measurements for Sculops texanus from Rockport, Texas: Average of twelve adult males, total length, 141; tail vertebree, 25; hind foot, 17.8; and of eight adult females, total length, 137; tail vertebree, 23; hind foot, 16.5. The largest male measured: total length, 147; tail vertebrae, 27; hind foot, 19; and the largest female: total length, 146; tail vertebree, 25.5; hind foot, 18. Although Dr. Allen gives no cranial characters for the species, the two skulls of fexanus that I have examined can be easily told from either the skulls of typical Scalops aquaticus or S. aquaticus argentatus, apart from the smaller size, by the much shorter rostrum and bulging interorbital region. The skull of wreus is much more like that of aquaticus. Mr. Surber took a fine series of Scalops aquaticus argentatus at Stotes- ‘bury, Vernon County, Mo., which brings the range of that subspecies very near the range of S. texanus xreus. Atreus, however, does not ap- proach argentatus in any way, its affinities lying wholly with texanus. * Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. vi, 1894, p. 186. VOL. X, PP. 199-144 DECEMBER 28, 1896 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON THE SKUNKS OF THE GENUS MEPHITIS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. BY OUTRAM BANGS. In 1895* I described a new skunk from Florida as a sub- species of the northern Mephitis mephitica (Shaw), and at the same time reviewed, in rather an informal way, the eastern mem- bers of the genus Mephitis. Since then I have learned more about the distribution of the eastern skunks and have seen many additional specimens, so that some of my former views have changed. I now consider the Florida elongata entitled to specific rank, and still another form from the Mississippi Valley entitled to recognition. The latter form, which I shall call Mephitis me- phitica scrutator, is common in the pine and prairie region of central Louisiana, and extends northward up the Mississippi Valley and eastward through the Alleghany Mountains, grad- ually shading into true mephitica. Specimens from the central region from Virginia to Maine are typical of neither form. M. mephitica typica occurs only in high Canadian and Hudsonian regions. M. elongata is abundant, though locally distributed, over the greater part of peninsular Florida and extends up the Atlantic coast at least to southern South Carolina or northern Georgia, where it gradually ceases, and no skunk is found through- out eastern North Carolina,f thus leaving elongata and mephitica *Notes on North American Mammals, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. xxvi, author’s edition, July 31, 1895. f Necsars: H. H. and C. 8. Brimley, in fourteen years of constant col- lecting about Raleigh, N. C., have never seen a skunk there, and have only known one to be capomed as having been killed. I have made many inquiries of farmers throughout eastern North Carolina and have always got the same answer, that there are no skunks there. Of course, elongata or mephitica might be expected to occur occasionally as stragglers. 26—Bror, Soc, Wasu., Vor, X, 1896 (139) 140 Bangs—Skunks of Eastern North America. separated by a wide area in the east. Just what forms the western limit of the range of M. elongata Iam unable to say, but probably it is the heavy swamps of the lower Mississippi. MEPHITIS MEPHITICA (Shaw). 1792. Viverra mephitica Shaw, Museum Leverianum, 1792, p. 172. 1857. Mephitis mephitica Baird, Mamm. N. Am., 1857, p. 195. Geographic distribution.—W hole of eastern North America from Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia to Louisiana, except Florida and the coast belt from thence to Virginia. Its range may overlap that of M. elongata in the lower Mississippi Valley, and undoubtedly does overlap the range of M. hudsonica* in the upper Mississippi Valley. Description.—Size small to medium; tail short to medium, tapering to a pencil; color pattern variable, but usually black all over except frontal stripe, nuchal patch, two strips extending from nuchal patch to and down sides of tail, tip of tail and some scattered hairs in black part of tail, all of which are white. Fully adult males vary in size according to locality: total length, 595- 682; tail vertebree, 171-241; hind foot, 64-83. M. mephitica is distinguished from M. hudsonica by smaller size, shorter tail, tapering to a pencil, and smaller and less elongated skull. It is sepa- rated from M. elongata by heavier build, much shorter tail, and propor- tionally shorter and broader hind foot. This species may be divided into two well-marked subspecies, Mephitis mephitica mephitica and M. mephitica scrutator. _ Mephitis mephitica mephitica (Shaw). 1792. Viverra mephitica Shaw, Museum Leverianum, 1792, p. 172. 1895. Mephitis mephitica Bangs, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XX VI. Author’s edition, July 31, 1895. (Name restricted to the Hud- sonian form. ) Type locality.— North America. ~ Geographic distribution.—Boreal eastern North America; Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario south to about the northern limits of the United States. Western limit of range unknown. General characters. —Size large; tail short, tapering off to a pencil; feet very broad and long; heel usually covered with hair, rest of sole naked ; * Mephitis hudsonica (Richardson) extends eastward to Minnesota and probably to western Ontario. It is a very big skunk, fully adult males measuring: total length, 690; tail vertebree, 255; hind foot, 83, and larger. The skull is large and long and the dentition heavy. The palate ends in an even curve, without median spine. The color pattern varies but little. The tail is long, very heavily haired, and has a blunt brush-like end, around which the long hairs of the sides of the tail fall, Skunks of Eastern North America. 141 markings very constant, varying only in a trifling difference of length and width of the two lateral white stripes. Color.—A. narrow frontal stripe, nuchal patch, and two lateral bands extending from nuchal patch to and down sides of tail, white; tip of tail often white; many white or half white hairs mixed in tail; rest of head, body, tail, arms, and legs, black. Varies in a slight degree only. Occa- sionally the white stripes reach only to the middle of sides of back; the stripes vary in width but little. Cranial characters. —Skull large and massive, the palate ending in an even curve, without median spine. Size of an old adult male skull (No. 3805, Bangs collection from Lake Edward, Quebec): basilar length, 71.6; occipitonasal length, 74.6; zygomatic breadth, 52; mastoid breadth, 43.8; greatest length of single half of mandible, 52.8. Size of an old adult female skull (No. 3802, Bangs coll. from Lake Edward, Quebec) : basilar length, 65.2; occipitonasal length, 67.2; zygomatic breadth, 47.6; mastoid breadth, 40.8; greatest length of single half of mandible, 50. Size.— Old adult ¢' (No. 2022, Bangs coll. from Digby, Nova Scotia): total length, 682; tail vertebrae, 171; hind foot, 88. Old adult 92 (No. 3802, Bangs coll. from Lake Edward, Quebec): total length, 565; tail vertebree, 159; hind foot, 75. General remarks.—The constancy of the markings of Mephitis mephitica typica and the absence of the median spine of the palate are both char- acters it possesses in common with the big-tailed western species of the hudsonica group, from which it differs, however, in its shorter tail, taper- ing to a pencil, and its smaller size. Its range is very restricted. In its extreme form it occurs only in a narrow belt, including the upper edge of the Canadian and lower edge of the Hudsonian zones. Its exact northern limit is unknown to me, but the evidence seems to indicate that it does not reach very far north. A long line of intermediates extends south- ward from northern Maine until the other extreme, M. m. scrutator, is reached in the lower Mississippi Valley. Mephitis mephitica scrutator subsp. noy. Type from Cartville, Acadia Parish, Louisiana. No. 2889, 5 old adult, collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. Collected by F. L. Small May 25, 1895. Original No. 1842. Geographic distribution. —Pine and prairie regions of central Louisiana, extending up the Mississippi Valley to Indiana and eastward across the Alleghanies to Virginia, and thence northward, gradually bécoming less typical, until it merges into true mephitica. General characters.—Size small; tail medium (actually longer than in mephitica typica), tapering off to a pencil; feet very small; markings very variable. Color. -Color and markings as in true mephitica, but much more vari- able. The two lateral white stripes are often so wide as to meet on the oack for nearly their whole length, forming the predominating color of the upper parts, In other specimens the lateral stripes are reduced to 142 Bangs—Skunks of Eastern North America. two small points of white projecting backward from the nuchal patch, the rest of the upper parts, except the frontal stripe and nuchal patch, being black. Oranial characters.—Skull much smaller and lighter than that of M. me- phitica typica; palate ending in a median spine, not always large, but even when much reduced giving a very different outline to end of palate from that of mephitica typica. Size of the type skull (an old adult ¢): basilar length, 60; occipitonasal length, 63.2; zygomatic breadth, 44; mastoid breadth, 35; greatest length of single half of mandible, 45.6. An old adult 2 (No. 2886, Bangs collection from Point aux Loups Springs, Acadia Parish, La.): basilar length, 57.4; occipitonasal length, 62.2; Riiiaie breadth, 38.8; mastoid breadth, 35; greatest length of single yi of mandible, 43. ize.—Old adult ¢' type: total length, 580; tail vertebrae, 208; hind foot, 64. Old adult 2 (No. 2886, Bangs coll., from Point aux Loups Springs, Acadia Parish, La.) : total length, 594; tail vertebree, 233; hind foot, 67. General remarks.—Among the intergrades between this form and me- phitica typica that occur through the New England and Middle States, but especially northward, examples can be found both with and without the median spine at the end of the palate. No specimen that I have ever seen of Mephitis mephitica typica, however, has shown any approach to such a spine, not even the very young examples, while it is present, in a varying degree, in every skull of scrutator examined. MEPHITIS ELONGATA Bangs. Ave Mephitis mephitica elongata Bangs, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XXVI. Author’s edition, July | 31, 1895, p.3. Type locality.—Micco, Brevard Co., Florida. Geographic distribution.—Peninsular Florida, north along the coast to southern South Carolina; western limit of range unknown. Rare inthe northern part of its range; locally distributed everywhere. General characters.—Size large, but of lighter build than M. mephitica ; tail very long, tapering to a pencil; feet very long and slender; color and markings very variable. Color.—Color and markings as in Mephitis mephitica scrutator and subject to the same range of individual variation. One specimen is all black ex- cept the tip of the tail and the nuchal patch, even the usual white frontal stripe being entirely wanting. Another has most of the tail and the whole back, except a narrow median line on the rump, white. Cranial characters.—Skull large, about the size of that of Mephitis me- phitica typica, always with a large median spine at end of palate. Size of an old adult < skull (No. 3052, Bangs coll., topotype): basilar length, 66.4; occipitonasal length, 71; zygomatic breadth, 49.2; mastoid breadth, 40; greatest length of single half of mandible, 50.8. An old adult 2 skull (No, 2484, Bangs coll., from Blitches Ferry, Citrus Co., Skunks of Eastern North America. 148 Fla.) : basilar length, 59.6; occipitonasal length, 62.2 ; zygomatic breadth, 45.4; mastoid breadth, 35.8; greatest length of single half of mandible, 46.4. Size. —Old adult ' (topotype, No. 3052, Bangs coll.) : total length, 719. tail vertebrae, 321; hind foot, 76. An old adult 2 (No. 2483, Bangs coll., from Blitches Ferry, Citrus Co., Fla.): total length, 673 ; tail vertebree, 330; hind foot, 70. ‘ General remarks.—Mephitis elongata is very different from M. mephitica, and its characters are constant throughout its range. Since I can find no indication of intergradation and the ranges of the two forms are sepa- rated, at least in the east, by a strip of neutral ground, where no skunk occurs, M. elongata seems entitled to rank as a full species. (Measurements on next page. ) 144 Bangs—Skunks of Eastern North America. Individual Measurements of a Series of Eastern Skunks (genus Mephitis). a & | 12/5 i | Locality. & 5 s Measured by— 2 | ria BN . 4 2 ae Ss 3 4 a 2) 94-8 Z| D = Sa |e |e Mephitis mephitica mephitica (Shaw). e 3801*} Quebec, Lake Edward.......:../...........02000 | of | Old adult...... 585.0 | 193.0} 750] O. Bangs 3803 | -. ““ ERE Vane ey rere eo) ROUIG ee 617.0 | 182.0|79.0| * « 3804 oe ile veh Sed den epee AGN s Sih me AG EO | Py AGU G es oe 592.0 | 182.0 | 76.0} “ 4 3802 & & Me TL Neniee deksieb don geeedadne uty | 2 | Old adult...... 565.0 | 159.0 | 750} “ § 2022 | Nova Scotia, Digby............... Eee ee uty: | & | Old adult...... 682.0 | 171.0 | 83.0} * as 2249 | Nova Scotia, Annapolis............ 00.00. cee eeeeee et TUNG ects cesesks 635.0 | 226.0 | 78.0} * ri 3942} Ontario, North B Bay Rint iasehi dewie cbgecme amy eee eeace Jo | Old adult...... 600.0 | 170.0 | 80.0} G. S. Miller, Jr AR Ser Ure eR Res ey Ooh Str yuascaacsdws aot tacked ee cpas eosaee 2 |} Old adult......) 590.0 | 170.0 | 65.0 * : 3945 | Ontario, Little PICk RiV6r aia a | 3 | Old adult...... | 580.0 | 190.0 | 75.0 s “s Intermediates. i Pee DERI, AT LIGO Nios carves vecie cas santzcassghotetcunaae g | Old adult......) 660.0 | 280.0 | 70.0 | James Bernie 2683 EET Ea Seatyash i tots tigiukwivers CMRI Teen 3 | Old adult......| | 612.0 | 217.0 | 68.0 = 2685 dg Oe es Week US Uae hac gtx carMlk can «puma auc ¢ | Young adult... 595.0 | 206.0 | 65.0 ¥ s 2686 ie Wer Nie Sethian dace Lets gh Smee SON Ue COIS 2? | Young adult... 6250 | 209.0 | 76.0 ih se E59.) MANS, BUCKRDONE..6.0<:....: