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GEOMYS BURSARIUS
[POCKET GOPHER]
ee aks
74
M6HSG
| QGpoLosicar AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY OF MINNESOTA.
‘ 4 N. H. WINCHELL, State Geologist.
Mamm |
BULLETIN No. 7.
THE
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.
A SCIENTIFIC AND POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THEIR
FEATURES AND HABITS, COWES
ait ate? 12 a
UN 0s
WITH
23 FIGURES AND 8 PLATES.
BY Cb HERRICK.
MINNEAPOLIS:
HARRISON & sue STATE PRINTERS,
: e
THE MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER III.—ORDER INSECTIVORA (MOLES AND
SMR daa: ey were k cin so Ad wo Pig UR italien ROME sw Aba ature
General account and geographical distribution ...
MMP ICIO Gs 2 tale aos Shae es pS ahs 2s
pra PeteETUNE o-—) Jeo cele tats doe Ohl dicl et sea lene SR
PPM MAAN, Ws 5 Sa ec ey xm BLM tues ekeaeey Fa a
rare OAM os ce Sy at ox Siar y bc Ante eee els
PREMIER GQIODS > Situs oie wis onl ew SAN a ot econ
Page.
RRR OM SS ol. so ciele ce lad De 0 6 ash ode eb e deel aipeme 7
Smet Miatramions..- 2... 05... .- i. da sesaesnteeaees 8
eT ee oe 9
CHAPTER I.—VERTEBRATA—MammMatta......... 13-18
SUBCLASS MONODELPHIA.................... 17
CHAPTER II —Orper CHIROPTERA (pats). .....19-87
General account of the order.................... 19
Synopsis of important families and genera....... 24
Peer rapmedl dishtiOULION .i i... i... 22. s kee e eae 25
PeUERNCTIGG TUS: cde ts ks esse oe ee 27
RR MMCMIETNIME WSS. 2 ¢-2 sos vei sana goo Fs awa ae TOE 28
Peer UNEUIUS 02°, 4 Wha co wars 3 oe nts Skee eee 33
Cem Mem MIaLONYVCLOLIS. . eo. us kl. Lee sa ee et es 34
Re UCTS B IO <2. yn 2 SMB Pd ate Rote a em OE ese 36
4 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.—ORDER CARNIVORA (FLESH EATERS)57-150
General iaccountvn<.8 oe). olsen eee
Suborder Atluroideak 3... eos 6 eS eee eee
Family ‘Felidae. occ Yo we Feds at eine ee
Genus ‘Melisii. 25/03 25 sss pesos le ie meee ee
Genus ‘Lynxw,'s 3) eel oe BAe ne
Bamily Canidae ys), 5k fe ae ae ee Py
Gonus!Canise c.tanince Steuer en tweet ea a eie eee
Geis Val pesi okey eee See cence aac
Genus Uroeyon .'.. 7. Ve. aokncee Lele ae are
Family Mustelida: > v.30. eee nice oa eee
Genus Taxidea (Badger). 202. ee sae ee
Genus: Mephitis... 32s. . <4). eee eee ere
Genus ‘Gulo.) cee ton le ee
eubfamily Lutrinss (Otters) ..3.. 22050 se eee
Mamiily: Ursidiee oo. 3%. 3.) iis plete ate ie ee
Genus Procyon (Raccoons)........
Genus’ Ursus (Bears); 2.23.4. t ee eee ee
CHAPTER V.—ORDER RODENTIA (GNAWERS)....151-253
General. account... 2... 2. .05 en bee Oe
Mamily: Sciuridae. . 605i. 0.00. see
Genus Sciurus. 2... os. .52 48 sea kets
Gonus “Tamias.. ....i4.0.50% 20. smectic eee eee
Genus opermophilus. . ...\:... 023 Sagas eee eee
GOnUsmATCLOMIYS. 5... 0 c5.5/0s = vee eee
Wamiuly Wastorided. : ...< 2.1 ve ke ee See
Genus Castor isc ic... dais ost ao ee
Family: Muridge:.:,; (foo... cd op oa
Genus Vesperimus eid) 0: y/). 6
Genus Hypudesus:.; 5.0 6's 2 ee
Genus ‘Arvicola 05055 00. 0 es cae eras
Genus Synaptomys (issn). ce eee tore a eee
Genus .Onychomiys, si. vaso25 an ee ee ee
Genus Fiber. 0.02. viens eee ue ae. lh eee
CONTENTS. 3D
eT aMeN en ELON ice eta, ah tees seo: aid wie, FR of Hal iene 3 2k 217
emer NY LEED In orc shin. Sta eNOS Oa a ahs hamlet a iehaan 3's wee 218
Pecibueatarr Greta vad eee) arte tk Ota ed eaial!s Sle: ME ete 220
Re eN ENED ers CRIN Salsas oc Peete ot. 4 ons KAN Sr ajeians 2 setae ee Pies 222
Marmite enorida, (EMATOS)ac hcoce Abe ae he te 230
Family Hystricidz (Porcupines)............. .... 248
CoM LOUMPZOR.”, Sis oine Ss oak SADR see eee ens wee 246
Distiiontion, Of Hodentiainc. ic). cae gee eee ee 252
CHAPTER VI.—ORDER ARTIODACTYLA (HOOFED
SOMES EMER DEEDS) nx) atn a ecaptealbiaate Ware ein ta Nw >. « ayece el Oe 254-290
ee Gt, SC COMM yc. spas aS I ae we oo sk Sang aol «a halle 254
Family Bovidee—Genus Bison.................... 258
RRO ESP VIGGO Ce es na eae ln Sela Pee 270
ME SMT UC ANG ai cpdage Foe u's (ona 'wite aM Pein ae 270
PRR beaP APIO US : 5 65 1210 5 co) acetate eta « oa 2 ibys (pelea min er OE
Meoreonrcamagensis, o. ouesolh ss td ee Pd Ye cee 278
Cervus. (Cariacus) Virginianus’.........25....e.. 281
POE ara TAMETICANA, ... 2... Y. hoe oboe cw oe a ee eps 282
LIST OF PLATES.
Geomys bursarius.(p.cazd ) x. 1. wee Hatee. wee eeee Frontispiece
Plate I. Antilocapra americana, Pronghorn antelope... 282
Pilate Il.’ Pelis‘concolor: Puma Ye eke irc torte ee 66
Plate III. Taxidea-americana, Badger... >....00)i05.-.08 86
Plate IV. Bison americanus, American bison... SON os: 260
Plate V. ..Alceés americanus, Moose deer ...2....0.7...... 28
Plate VI. Cervus canadensis, American elk ............: 278
Plate VII. Erethizon dorsatus, Canada porcupine......... 246
ISl OF WIG URES,
Page
Fig. 1. Heads of various bats. sh Raa 21
Fig. 2. Macroscelides typicus, Te umping aie ew ra Merion 38
Fig. 8. Blarina brevicaudata, Short-tailed shrew......... 45
fic »-Scalops aquaticus,, Mole.s22 >). ca eee aia
Fig. 5 and 6. Upper surface of hand and snout of Scalops
PVCU UEEUBUICTES 55 'chw pm wince nhs F ne hap eeee the aoe te eee 52
Mice .oroup of Mustelidas: i.) 35. Sieaeee See 83
Fig. 8. Putorius vulgaris and Putorius erminea, Common
ind-irmine weasels... {0 so oe ek ee 107
Hig. 9.-Group.of Subursing, . . \-.. si, ok ete eles ele
hig, 10/4 Ene Raccoon at Bay ..\s; 0.08 oan eee 140
Bios 14. ¢ "The: Raccoon at Dinner ”,..2. 0.52.2 ea ee 141
Mio 12. Section of Muskrat hut... .?5. 5.2059 eee 214
Bics13. Muskrat MOuUSeS -. 66 hch cs 5 gp lalate cmt eee 215
Figs. 14, 15 and 16. Sketches of Geomys bursarius, com-
mon pocket gopher, showing different attitudes. ...223-227
Fig. 17. Bones of Lepus campestris, Prairie hare........ 235
Fig. 18. Sphingurus-villosus, South American porcupine. 243
Fig. 19. Bison europeus, European bison................ 259
Fig. 20. Head of unusually large caribou................ 275
Mig: 21. , Buropean ‘reindeer... 3: }. uci eet eee gee 277
Fig. 22. Indian sketch of running antelope.............. 290
Fig. 23... Burial post of Waubojeeg....ii0..¢. 05 sne ene 290
ry oe ce fe
+ "* —
CORRIGHNDA.
Page 17, ninth line from bottom, for “Monotremata” read Mono-
delphia.
“Page 18, seventh line, for “Monotremata” read Monodelphia.
Page 48, preceding Sorex cooperi, insert
GENUS SOREX.
Smallest mammals with soft and short pelage. Both feet with five
digits. Teeth free. Body mouse-like, with elongated head and pro-
jecting snout, closely appresed valve-like ears concealed beneath
the fur, and cylindrical or four-angled tail (covered with annular
scales and hairs), which is longer than the body. Soles naked.
Claws not retractile. Special glands near the fore legs. Eyes small.
Dentary formula: I.3, C. 9-0, P. M. 3:5, M. 4-4,—-32. The incisors have
toothed edges and an accessory basal hook. All the teeth are white
with brownish tips.
Page 48, sixth line from the bottom, insert
Color, above grayish brown; entire under parts including tail sil-
very. Easily distinguished from other Minnesota species by the
size and length of tail.
Page 78, sixteenth line, dele “PLATE VI.”
Page 102, nineteenth line, for “Putoris” read Putorius.
Page 108, under Ermine or White Weasel, for “Plate XV” read
Bio. 8 A, p. 107.
Page 158, under Fox Squirrel, dele “Plate VIII,” and at the bot-
tom of the page the note referring to the same.
Page 159, under Sciuropterus volucella, dele “Plate VII.”
Page 162, under Rocky Mountain Chipmunk, dele “Plate IX.”
Page 223, after COMMON POCKET GOPHER, insert
Frontispiece.
NOTE.—As originally prepared it was intended that the following
work should be illustrated by a number of other plates, the greater
part of them colored lithographs. On account of the cost of such
plates many of them were rejected at once, and more recently again
the Printing Commission decided to publish, with the exception of
Geomys bursarius, only those which were suitable for reproduc-
tion by the photo-engraving and half-tone processes. Unfortu-
nately the proof-reader failed to notice, until over half the pages had
been printed, that the corresponding changes had not been made in
the manuscript by erasing the references to omitted plates, and to
this oversight is due the irregular numbering of the plates and the
fact that some of the descriptions call for plates that are not in-
cluded. Nv Ey We
PREFACE.
The manuscript and plates for a final report upon the mam-
mals of Minnesota were turned over to the Survey in 1885, with
the expectation that the work would be speedily issued as part
of a quarto volume of the series of final reports. Circum-
stances with which the writer is unacquainted have delayed the
publication over six years and in the meantime much work has
been done in all branches of biology, and the state has been
carefully surveyed by the United States agents. Much of
whatever may have had any value as an original contribution
to science has lapsed and much of the remainder has been
rendered unnecessary by recent publication. This is especially
true of bibliographical material. When, however, the publica-
tion was finally ordered and no opportunity was afforded for
further field work, it seemed best to adapt the manuscript for
the purpose by the omission of much which could not be edited
satisfactorily under the circumstances, and, separating the
more general from the technical portions, to issue these in the
form of two bulletins, uniform with the series already estab-
lished by the Survey. :
The present installment, therefore, contains the descriptive
and popular portion, with such illustrations as may serve to
assist the amateur. The second part will be devoted to the
materials collected upon the anatomy, especially the myology
and osteology of the mammals of Minnesota.
July, 1891. C. L. HERRICK,
Univ. of Cincinnati.
ser
INTRODUCTION
The present volume is intended to serve a double purpose.
_ The comprehensive nature of the law authorizing the Natural
History Survey of the state might lead the reader to expect
much more than the limited time and means at our disposal
made possible. This report, therefore, while putting in per-
gt manent form such data as came to hand during the few months
oss
occupied in its preparation, will best serve its purpose if it in-
- dicates in a general way the kind of observations and records,
Ai
}
A eo
the nature of the problems and the method of investigation
: ie desirable for the future work in this department within the
ye
v0 4
eye icp
state. The greatest barrier in the way of the preparation of
_ this report was the almost absolute absence of anything like
’ ‘scientific interest in zoology in the state. There were no re-
liable data available, nor were there persons prepared to collect
- such data intelligently. It is a matter of congratulation that a
-- permanent bureau has been established in connection with the
University for the prosecution of such studies as naturally fall
to the lot of a Natural History Survey, and the general dissemi-
et nation of the scientific spirit and attainments may yet make it
at
;
‘possible to preserve the records of the natural biological
phenomena of Minnesota, now rapidly being obliterated by
the changed conditions accompanying the encroachments of
- civilization.
ante 3
ae
at
As a compensation for this loss, however, a not less inter-
esting set of problems growing out of the adjustment of the
native population to the incoming one presents itself, and these
questions have a theoretical as well as practical significance
difficult to over-estimate.
Of course the collection and description of all the species of
mammajlia still existing in the state is an obvious duty in con-
nection with the preparation of such a report. The omissions
_and errors which of necessity exist in the present essay will
Radeon
soon doubtless be made good by the activity of the Mammalian
Branch of the Agricultural Department, U. S. A., under the
direction of Dr. C. Hart Merriam.
10 | BULLETIN NO, VIL. —
Any clear understanding of the present fauna implies a study .
of the record of its development as supplied by paleontology. — ‘ &
It is also desirable to learn what influences have acted to cause, | reye,
the extinction of some animals, to change the habitats of oth-
ers, and to modify the form and habits of still others. An 4
obvious duty is the study of the habits of our mammals, such ©
especially as relate to the food and economic relations. Some
animals rank among the most important enemies of the farmer
and poultryman, while others are either indifferent or are — oh
worthy of preservation for the contributions they make to the —
resources of parts of the state. There are regions which nature ip s
seems to have designed as natural game preserves and suitable
legislation might long continue to us the opportunity for health- — hy
ful sport, and pleasant variety in the food supply. The facts —
relating to the fur trade are also legitimate to this work and | 4
some account of the methods pursued in collecting the furs, so- : ¥
necessary an adjunct to winter clothing, would certainly not be —
out of place. If any incidents could be intermingled which >
would either reflect light on the habits or excite popular4aweeil :
est in a-neglected branch of science these certainly are admis-
sible. A scientific study of our mammals would involve much
more than this. Aside from intricate questions which arise as é
to the actual limits of species and relative value of varietal
characters the anatomy and physiology of each mammal fur- ~
nishes a field for exhaustive study. An adequate knowledge of
the relationships existing between the various living as well as —
fossil animals, must be founded upon an intimate familiarity —
with the points of similarity and dissimilarity in their internal A
structure. The complete study of the anatomy of a single ani- Py
mal is the work of years, so that here is a field which one per- Me
gs aie
son would scarcely hope to cursorily examine, much less to ~_
exhaust. a s
In a state as large as Minnesota there are abundant oppor-
tunities for the study of the influence of environment upon the oF
anatomical and physiological peculiarities of thefauna. Prob- hs ee
ably no other state in the Union is so favorably situated for ie
this study. In the northeastern part of the state is an area 4
with an annual rainfall almost as large as anywhere in the _
Union. The western portion borders upon the great prairie ~
region of the interior. The northern portion of the state con- — Br
tains a large invasion of the boreal fauna, while the southern — a
.
Ke
7
Bhs iN
ans t
receives waifs from the south-central states. Moreover, the —
distribution of forest and plain is such as to introduce diversity —
as
a
ies
a " aah
Ais
ie
\
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. _— 11
surface and soil is considerable. The vast number of glacial
_ pools carries the habitat of the musk rat far into the prairie belt.
Fi The prevalence of coniferous trees in the northern part of the
state exerts a very pronounced influence upon its fauna. The
opportunity to study the gradual changes in the same species
as it crosses the imperceptible but most real boundary separat-
- ing these several habitats is of the greatest value for a compre-
hension of the bearing of evolution and the proper definition of
a ‘‘ species.”
_ Another field for investigation is not less interesting than the
above mentioned. The language of a people, and especially of
-arude people, is influenced to a high degree by the external
objects which furnish the mind with the earliest conceptions
aN o and the tongue with the first-framed words. Animated nature,
‘e and especially those animals whose large size and close rela-
tions with the individual naturally excite interest, have a large
share of influence. The psychologist is interested to know
what phases of animal-life have made the most vivid impress-
ion upon different tribes and to thus read the temperament and
“mental endowment of aboriginal people in their language.
_ The philologist studies with no less interest, although from a
different stand-point, the effect of animals upon the various
i languages. If the prominent beasts of prey have identical or
_ Similar names in distant tribes, he seeks to discover whether
consanguinity or previous accidental propinquity was the
-_ oceasion. |
ee Archeology has by similar means succeeded in forming a
vivid picture of the domestic life of early European times,
_ while in this country little attention has as yet been directed to
_ the subject.
The effects of external objects upon the human mind are seen
yi) in pictorial representations almost as soon as in vocal imitations
Mh __ of properties possessed by them or verbal signs for them. The |
picture writing of the savage is most highly interesting not
_ only as furnishing information regarding his own method of
_ life but of the previous range of extinct animals or such as
have since migrated. In this way the contemporaneous exist-
ence of man and the mammoth has been proven in Europe, and
genuine and well authenticated aboriginal carvings should be
aaa carefully collected and studied, as well by the biologist as the
_ archeologist. Among the ancients various animal as well as
=
oe oe
z
: RunAe : mr wanes
y a i herr pie or : b
We: nih. ee f CAI Nil “i i aw
tea gt ist it
is considered permissible at the aa time. “While the em- er
ployment of animal figures for decorative and architectural ems ;
’ purposes must be under the constant and rigid surveillance of Pe :
_asensitive and cultivated taste, it is yet true that the tasteful a “i
employment of such forms would enhance the power and widen | ea
the field of decorative art among us many fold. The legitimate n> ot
employment of fancy in combining native, animal and vege-— Ai a
table forms in designs suited to external and internal decora- we ‘Z
tion would do much to produce that novelty and variety which — a
at present is achieved at the expense of all ideas of suitability, —
by patching together fragments of designs from every clime —
and age. rr,
Such was the field as it outlined itself before the writer up- —
on assuming the responsibility of preparing a final report on “im a
the mammals of Minnesota. About six months ae bie! 4 :
first were Bread otatoa but to restrict others to the prieteeen
possible time. It was obvious from the first that little or noth; ree
ing could be added to the systematic part of the subject, which =
has had elaborate attention at the hands of specialists, who —
- have access to the vast collections secured by the government.
Few contributions relating to the habits of North American —
mammals could be nos which would not be akon fore- — |
Audubon and Mishntdein: Even the collection of synonomy
is impossible apart from the libraries of the east. ;
Mek P
; resen
j oe f the Dein There i are no ial ence
ee complicated spiral cochlea. The young are brot eh:
an advanced stage of development, not requiring to k
fed by the mother. The corpus callosum is Jarge an
- angle of the mandible is not inflexed.
- The sub-class Monotremata includes the orders Ware )
~ Rodentia, Insectivora, Edentata, Chiroptera, Primates, Pinniped
Cetacea, Sirenia, Proboscidea and Ungulata, or in other wor
in a all the cats, dogs, bears and weasels, all the squirrels,
rabbits, shrews and moles, ics and ant- "eaters, bats a
rig te sh nape, ©
and dugongs, elephants and seid and all the Be and: | hors pe
as well as all races of mankind.
As being most highly specialized and departing most {
class is considered the highest of the three. Medea nae
i that the lower sub-classes were once propostonniy more
_-——s merous, especially the marsupials. ,
Me eee
2 ;
bce shes
‘x
ES
as
eee
+4 Sn ee
eae!
Se
eee Sar
et
pz
PRs
x
a
CHAPTER IT.
ORDER CHIROPTERA
THE BATS.
This remarkable group of animals is at once the least under-
stood and most interesting of the mammalia. The order is a
large one, including over four hundred species which are very
artificially arranged in from fifty to sixty genera. North
_ America is quite poor in species as compared with the tropical
regions of both hemispheres. The number of species in the
sae United States does not exceed twenty, only five of which are
as yet known to enter the limits of-our state. |
The bats are very abruptly separated from all other animals
; i whatever, and even the paleontological records reveal no inti-
_ mate relationship with other mammals. The oldest known
oy bats, remains of which have been found in the rocks, are as
distinctly bat-like and as little like other mammals as those
_ which now flit about upon moon-lit evenings.
_ Bats are primarily distinguished from all other mammals by
the possession of true wings. There are, indeed, flying squir-
-rels, flying marsupials and flying lemurs, but in none of these
cases is flight occasioned by true wings formed by the modifica-
‘ _ tion of the anterior extremities. Sharing this peculiarity as
_ they do with birds alone among vertebrates, there are vastly
_-fewer points of similarity than of difference between the two
groups. The wing of a bird is produced, it is true, from the
‘ hand and arm, but in a farless perfect manner, or anatomically
considered, at a great sacrifice of the pentadactyl plan on
__ which the hands of most vertebrates are framed. That the less
bee
perfect instrument is able to effect more vigorous and longer
sustained flight in many cases is due to other reasons, such as
the superior lightness of the frame of birds. There are but
two evident fingers in birds and only three are represented by
bones. Bats commonly possess five more or less perfect digits,
: ae four of which constitute the ribs for the support of the delicate
pir!
; and sensitive web which is the chief instrument of support
species the leg is armed with long spurs homologous with the
; P aii
ey @ vy ‘ h
Ka rsh 3,4
PL ae ica g BULLETIN NO. vit CoE, Sa Cea Uh
during flight. The first finger may be reduced oe a aineiele $
phalanx and the other digits may also be somewhat reduced —
but they never coalesce as in birds. The thumb is commonly ~
furnished with a nail which frequently serves as a support
during the day-time or period of winter repose. The other
fingers are greatly elongated and are very strong and elastic,
Usually if a bat is brought down by a blow it willbe found that |
the humerus, or short bone of the arm, is broken while thie: Da oh
more slender phalanges are intact.
The volatory apparatus, however, consists, besides the wing *3
of various other membranes, or rather continuations, of the ct
web above mentioned. The humeral portion is a triangular he
gib-like membrane passing from the wrist to the sides of the
neck or shoulder, and is, in some species, pocket-like. There — ee
or
wk
ied
i
if
web corresponds to that expansion of the skin which Peas ‘a
a parachute by which flying squirrels ‘‘fly.” Another portion, =
the interfemoral membrane, connects the feet with each other. -
The tail is ordinarily included in this membrane, butits apex —
may extend beyond, or it may be entirely wanting. In some
cartilage upon the wrist of the flying squirrel which serve as
supports to the web.
The form is various, but is uniformly plump with a short ah
neck and thick body. i)
When not in motion the ensemble is bizarre and formless.
(See Fig. 1, heads of various bats.) The smaller bats resemble | I;
mice in their pelage and general appearance and are retaliative 4 ,
and fierce when caught. ie
The head is rendered remarkable by enormously expanded —
ears, often provided with a large simple or lobed tragus which —
serves as a sort of valve for closing the ear. In many species”
the nose is also ornamented with extraordinary folds of skin,
which seem 1o be the seat of the delicate tactile sense for which _
bats are distinguished. The eyes of bats are very small,andseem _
adapted to the peculiar nocturnal habits of the animal, but are
supplemented by the senses of touch and hearing. Inaroom,
across which wires have been stretched in all directions, a bat —
will fly freely without dashing against them even when the ~
eyes are destroyed or blindfolded.
The volar membrane is itself very sensitive, being richly
supplied with nerves as well as bloodvessels. In the eye of |
nocturnal animals, generally the spindle-shaped bodies in the 4
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 21
~ retina, which seem to be the seat of the color sense, are absent,
and it is supposed that all variations of color are translated
into shades of black and white, so that the world seems to a
‘bat like a charcoal drawing or steel engraving. The sense of
hearing is highly, but peculiarly developed. The reader may
have noticed that the vocal powers of bats are not great, and
_ that the voice is pitched very high, so high indeed, that, to
many ears, the tones are indistinguishable. The sense of hear-
ing is similarly keyed, so that the bat can readily distinguish
tones which the human ear is not adapted to perceive. Thus
the hum of an insect which will startle a bat could only be ap-
preciated by us as weobserve the motion of the wings causing it.
EXPLANATION OF FIG. 1.
1. Epomophorus. 3. Cheronycteris.
2. Pteropus. 4. Phyllorhina.
V5 5. Megaderma. 6. Chilonycteris.
The bats of temperate regions pass the winter in caverns and
deserted buildings, where, collected in vast numbers, they sleep
during the cold season. The winter’s sleep varies in length
and soundness with different species. A sort of classification
may be observed in the myriads of animals which congregate
in such places, those which ‘are least susceptible to cold being
found in the more exposed portions, while the more sensitive
ones are found in securer retreats. Bats congregate in such
rendezvous from great distances and the period during which
the scattered tribes are gathering is one of commotion, quar-
reling and screaming. The sleepy animalsare in a petulant hu-
‘mor and struggle for the best places so as to be mostaptly com-
pared to a covey of chickens settling themselves upon their ,
eye Lee Ores eae
WM sy > ¢ Bh ke
Ny er ini Sie tl)
. ae ze BSA
bint asa Se gg th ak ' 2
Ge aint ites. ‘BULLETIN: NO. VII. Hed CROLL en re
: , hi ‘ au Way re) 7 i
roosts at night. In such resorts: which are Srainanity used
during summer as sleeping places during the day, immense ©
quantities of guano are deposited which become valuable. as
nitre supplies. Thus the insignificant bat plays no insignifi- —
cant part in the warlike preparations of militant nations, as
the nitre so secured is an essential factor in gunpowder. —
During hibernation and daily sleep, bats are in danger from ~
prowling animals which creep upon them when at rest; while —
during their hawking excursions after insects they frequently is
fall victim to the nocturnal birds of prey. Sth
Bats may be reckoned among the beneficial animals, as their _
food consists almost exclusively of insects in temperate regions. es
They are aptly compared to swallows, as their benevolent in- _
tent and their graceful motions are both similar. The bats of
the tropics are larger and do not content themselves with in- — ie
sects and other small arthropods. Various fruits form a wel-
come contingent, if not the staple of the diet, while still others f J i -
are bloodthirsty enemies of large animals which they attack —
stealthily, sucking the blood painlessly and escape unperceived. © it
The hair of bats may be distinguished from that of other
mammals by its peculiar microscopical structure. Thefine fur —
is a refuge for many parasites of various sorts. It remains to
mention the anatomical peculiarities of the group.
The dentition is extremely variable, but in general resembles :
that of the Insectivora. The greatest diversities are found a
between the frugivorous and insectivorous bats. The number —
of teeth varies from 24 to 38. The statements of various auth- —
ors vary greatly as tothe number of teeth—a fact caused by
their deciduous character, particularly of the incisors and pre-
molars. The molars have two or three points which are vari- ty
ously arranged and those of opposite teeth fit between each
other. The incisors are small and above are often arranged
in oblique series not meeting in the median line. The milk
dentition is quite different from the permanent.
Most species produce but a single young at a birth or at most
two. The mother hangs by the thumbs, it is said, and the
young are dropped into a pocket formed by the incurved tail with
the membranes attached. Here they remain clinging for a day
to peculiar processes between the thighs,or at once clamber up
to the two pectoral mammz. Although northern species mate —
ordinarily in Autumn, eggs are not fertilized until Spring,
when impregnation takes place. The placenta is disc-like any
, the uterus has two cornua. The penis is pendulous.
-
a gig
_. The form of the skull is extremely variable and affords a
safe guide to the habits of the various species. Compare, for
instance, the skulls of Cheronycteris and Chilonycteris. Most of
the true bats have no post orbital frontal processes. The nasals
are generally short and vary much in form: The most re-
- markable differences are found in the form of the pre-maxillary
bones. In Rhinolophide, they are rudimentary. The zygo-
mas are well developed in the flying foxes, but are wanting in
several species of true bats. The auditory bulle are usually
large and well developed. The vertebral column is short. The
dorsal vertebreenumber twelve or thirteen. The caudal verte-
bre are cylindrical, without processes. There are also no
_ spinous processes upon the cervicals and dorsals. The clavi-
cles are strong and curved. The scapula is large, the post
scapular fossa being much the larger, the spine is large, as are
the. acromium and the coracoid. Although the humerus is
long, it is greatly exceeded by the bones of the forearm and
all these bones have large medullary cavities. The ulnar is
rudimentary; the scaphoid, lunar and cuneiform bones are
united.
The thumb terminates in a claw as does the index in many
3 forms. The pelvis is weak. The pubic bones are widely sep-
arated in the females. The fibula is often rudimentary. The
calcaneum forms a long cartilaginous process or spur which
supports the interfemoral web. The sensory apparatus, al-
ready referred to, consists of several peculiar foliaceous expan-
sions about the nose and ears as well as the ordinary organs.
Aside from these are glandular appendages near the muzzle
covered with fine tactile hairs like the vibrissze of other ani-
mals. The ears are also greatly developed, with membranous
expansions and. fringing appendages in many species. Each
_ ear is movable independently. The lips are often curiously
‘modified and are very sensitive. The alimentary canal is quite
complicated in the frugivorous bats but has the ordinary car-
- nivorous structure in entomophaga. The liver isalways large.
For farther details regarding the anatomy the reader is re-
_ ferred to the discussion of our native species.
_ Here it may not be amiss to pass in review a few of the more
3 _ important families and genera.
It is common, first of all, to divide the Chiroptera into two
sub-orders. Sub-order Carpophaga or the fruit-feeding bats
_ embraces the flying foxes and includes but the single family
__ Pteropodide.
Ae
ae
D4 ; . BULLETIN NO. VII.
\
The family Pteropodide is characterized by a relatively large size and the
peculiar dentition. ‘The head is fox-like or dog-like and there is no re- ~ Ub:
markably developed tragus, the ear being of ordinary form. The first —
finger has usually a curved claw and is very short. The middle finger has
but two phalanges. The skull is elongated. The molars have blunt —
tubercles, nevertheless the dentition is to be considered as a modified in-
sectivorous rather than a vegetarian type, as is indicated by the sharp and
well developed canines. The peculiar form may be construed as the
result of long continued vegetarian habit. The digestive tract also indi-
cates a vegetable diet, a well developed cecum being present. None of
the species suck blood although they do feed upon small animals.
The principal genus is Pteropus which includes the largest of bats, some —
of which measure nearly two yards in expanse of wings. Over fifty species
or over half the family are included in this genus. The genus is at home
in Australia and adjacent lands. Some species furnish a relished food.
The other genera are as follows: Oynonycteris Peters, occurs in Africa —
and the species are characterized by short tails and the following denti-
tion: $:3444 3:3 Cynopterus Geoff., and Ptenochirus Peters, both have’a — i) cf
formula 3:34 44 3:3, the latter having the tail distinct. In Megerops
Peters, the tail is absent and the formula is 3:3 4 $4 3:3—the only species
inhabiting Sumatra. Harpyia Illiger, has a still more peculiar dentition,
3:3 } 42:3 and is found represented by one species in the Celebes, etc.
Epomophorus Bennett, has a short tail, the dental formula being 4:3 } #4
3:1. The eight or more species inhabit Africa including the Hypsigna-
thus of Allen. The dentition of Cephalotes Geoff., is $:34374%:3% The —
tail is short, the volar membrane springs from the spinal region, and the
index hasa nail. Macroglossus Cuv., contains two species found in Siam
and Australia. The tongue is long and protrusible, the dentition is
8:3 1412:3. The genus Pterocyon is represented by a single African
species.
The suborder Entomophaga contains all other bats. The dentition is
like that of the Insectivora with pointed cusps upon the molars. The
thumb only has a claw and the muzzle is short.
The first group, Phyllostomata, contains families which have large
membranous processes on the nose. .
The family Megadermata has well developed nasal appendages and large
tragior ear valves. Thesingle phalanx of the index is short. The Genus
Rhinopoma is represented by a single Egyptian species. The nose is but
slightly appendaged, the tail long and mouse like, while the dental for-
mula is 4143. The warmer regions of Asia and Africa furnishf our spe-
cies of the genus Megaderma. The tail is absent, the interfemoral web
extensive. Dentition varying from $+ 3:§ to $44:% Closely related is
Nycteris Geoff., which has a membrane connecting the ears. Ten species
mostly from Africa with dentition } } 3:3.
Nyctophylus and Antrozous are given as generic names under this family.
The Rhinolophide constitute the second family of leaf-nosed bats. These
horse-shoe nosed bats have large appendages upon the nose. The index
digit is reduced, the second digit has two phalanges. The tragus is
wanting. The skull is remarkable for a prominent excrescence of the
nasals and the peculiar form of the intermaxillary, the horizontal part
alone being developed, forming a movable plate. The family is found in
se
x
-~
—
a 5
ae” G hn See ae
at aT %
ae RP etn ee ESS
pe =e aig ts
yi £ Pe eM
x
vs
a ee
Pree AG oat
Tad
er ce
a a oy
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 25
all parts of the world except America. Many of the species are very
widely distributed. E. Geoff. St. Hilaire distinguished the family: under
the generic name Rhinolophus which is now restricted to include about
thirty species of this large family. Dentition 4 + #:%. Upper nasal ap-
pendage lance-shaped, pointed. First toe two-jointed, others three-
jointed, spurs well developed.
Genus Phyllorhina, Bonaparte. Dentition 44 3:3. All the toes two-
jointed, tail long, spurs well developed. Over twenty-five species from
Africa and eastward. Thegenus Celops, Blyth, has the some formula.
The nasal appendage is two-lobed with a heart-shaped prominence. Toes
all two-jointed. Interfemoral membrane angularly excised. Only one
species found in Bengal.
The third family is the Phyllostomide.
This very extensive family of Vampire bats is confined to South America.
In most genera only two small but broad incisors are found above. The
canines are very large, particularly below. The tall is often absent. The
vampire bats, although insectivorus ordinarily, sometimes inflict damage
by sucking the blood of domestic animals and particularly of horses, kine
being nearly exempt from their attacks. In the snb-family Vampyri are
nine genera only two of which, Phyllostoma and Vampyrus, are rich in
species. The formula for the dentition of the vampires is $1 3:8 The
tail is frequently absent.
The second sub-family Glossophage differs from the Vamppyri in lacking
the horse-shoe appendage of the lip and in having the lower lip cleft.
The tongue is protrusible. Asin the above the middle finger has three
phalanges, and the tragus is present. Genus Glossophaga with the inner
upper incisor more highly developed than the outer. The crowns or the
molar have a W-shaped figure, The zygoma isentire. Dentition 3 4 3:3.
Upper and lower incisors forming a connected series.
The genus Monophyllus, Leach, differs in having the incisors in pairs, the
lower being small. The interfemoral membrane is small, the short tail
extending beyond it.
The genus Ischnoglossa, Sauss, has a single doubtful species with no tail.
Phyllonycteris, Gundlach, has the formula 3 + 3:3. The zygoma is absent.
One or two species inhabit the Antilles. Peltorhinus contains a species
from Jamaica Lonchoglossa, Peters, has the formula 3 + 3:3. Inner upper
incisor smalier than the outer. Lower ones deciduous, zygoma present.
One species in Brazil. Glossonycteris, Peters, has the inner upper incisor
smaller than the outer. Zygoma absent. Formula as in the above.
Cheronycteris, Lichtenstein, also has the same formula. Lower incisors
and first upper premolar deciduous. Anterior molars very small; only
provided with an anterior prominence. Two species inhabit Mexico and
Surinam.
The geographical distribution of bats furnishes a number of
interesting facts. The order is represented in almost all parts
of the globe and the species are most numerous in the warmer
1. Fitzinger in 1869-70 gave acompiled account ofthis family which, although entitled
a “‘critical review of the Rhinolophi” in the Sitzenb. d. Wiener Akademie der Wissen-
schaft seems to include many synonyms and to omit some modern species. The most
reliable account seems to be that of W. Peters, June, 1871, in the Monats bericht der
Kenigl. Akad, zu Berlin, from which our statements are taken.
x
26 BULLETIN NO. VII.
zones. The few isolated regions where they do not occur, as
Iceland, St. Helena, Galapagos Islands and Kerguelan Islands
are mostly such as have few flying insects. The faunas of the
eastern and western hemispheres are very distinct. But one
species and three genera and two families are represented in
both.
The Vespertilionide have the widest range of any of the
families of bats, the Hmballonuride being next in order of ex-
tent. The Pteropodide are found in the Ethiopian, Oriental
and Australian regions, the Malay Archipelago being, perhaps, .
the central point.
The Rhinolophide are restricted to the eastern and the Phyl-
lostomidce to the western hemisphere. There are many instan-
ces of apparently arbitrary restriction of species and genera
to limited stations, but more of unusually wide distribution. Of
the origin of the group we have no knowledge. The oldest
fossil bat is from the Eocene of Montmartre and differs very
little from the modern genus Vespertilio. It can not be doubted
that the type is a very old one and in spite of several apparent
links with the Insectivora, it is not impossible that the bats
are derived from a primitive and perhaps an aquatic vertebrate
allied with Amphibia.
Linnzeus knew seven species of bats while the present enu-
meration includes above four hundred species.
Dr. Harrison Allen in his monograph of the bats of North
America, published by the Smithsonian Institution in the Mis-
cellaneous Collections, 1867, enumerates twenty species, sev-
eral of which must be regarded as synonyms.
Mr. J. A. Allen mentions six species from New England in
his catalogue of the mammals of Massachusetts published in
the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology.
This number is naturally greater than can be expected from
a single inland state. Only three species have been collected
during the progess of this survey, which are described to-
gether with the notices of the species otherwise known to occur
in our limits.
Only one leaf-nosed bat occurs in the United States, the Mac-
yotus californicus of Baird, which occurs in California, south-
ward. The Noctilionide are represented by a Mexican species,
Nyctinomus nasutus.
Several genera of the Family Vespertilionide occur as
follows:
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 27
GEeNuS NYCTICEJUS, Rar.
This genus is defined as follows by Dr. Harrison Allen:
Head short, broad, flat; ears small, simple, widely separated;
upper incisors two; membranes naked.
Skull intermediate between that of Scotophilus and Lasiurus,
fiat, but not to the extent seen in the former; cranium inflated,
but not so much as in the latter. It is not elevated; the occip-
ital elevation is not abrupt compared with that of L. novebora-
censis, a bat of nearly the same size, it is longer, and the face
more pointed. The palate is more level and does not slope so
much as its posterior part. The infra-orbital foramen is larger,
with a slight tendency toward the formation of a groove. The
lower jaw is less abrupt; the incisors are placed more ante-
riorly to the canines in a larger arc.
Dentition—incisors 4, canines }, molars 4x 2=30. Upper jaw:
Incisors small, contiguous to canines, and slightly converging;
canines large, simple. Molars not peculiar. The first more
slender and longer than the others, but not so broad, destitute
of the W-shaped crown.
Lower jaw: Incisors not crowded, bifid. Canine simple.
turned markedly backward; basal ridge anteriorly well devel-
oped; first premolar larger than the same tooth in Lasiurus,
but in comparison with the second is of itself small. The sec-
ond premolar, if produced, would touch an extended line from
the canine. The basal ridges of both these teeth are large.
Molars not peculiar.
Nycticejus ecrepuscularis LEC., sp.
TWILIGHT BAT:
Vespertilio crepuscularis LECONTE. Cuv. An. King., 1831; Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci. vii, 1855.
Vespertilio creeks FR. CUVIER. Nouv. Ann. du Mus., 1832.
Nycticejus humeralis RAFINESQUE. Journ. du Phys., 1819.
Nycticejus crepuscularis H. ALLEN. Smith. Misc. Coll. vol. vii, 1864.
Nycticejus crepuscularis DoBSON. Catalogue Chiroptera, 1878.
Atalapha ( Nycticejus) erepuscularis COUES: SuRY. 100th Mer. Rep. Zool., 1875.
Color somewhat variable, face black, membranes blackish
brown, back dark fawn to brown, below lighter, brownish ears
small, ‘‘internal basal lobe small and curved, external basal
lobe also rather inconspicuous, between the latter and the angle
of the mouth a small wart is present,” tragus straight on the
internal and irregularly convex on outer border. Sides of face
swollen, chin with a naked space, eyes small with a wart above
28 BULLETIN NO. VII.
each. Interfemoral web moderate, calcaneal small, tip of tail
exserted.
Fur scanty, rather woolly, membranes naked.
Length 2, tail 1.5, fore-arm 1.4, tibia 0.6, thumb 0.4, ear 0.4,
tragus 0.25, expanse of wings 9.6.
Although not reported, this species may be found in Minne-
sota.
Genus LASIURUS, Rar.
(= Atalapha. )
. I have not the necessary advantages for deciding which name
should be employed for this genus and hence follow American
usage. Some ten nominal species are known from North and
South America. Three species occur in the United States two
of which are known from Minnesota.
Skull massive, broad, high posteriorly; facial portion rather
high, passing with little flexure into the cranial, nasal portion
very broad, hiatus between the upper incisors of either side
wide, quadrately excavated. Zygoma complete. Distance be-
tween the orbital space and the front of skull very short.
Pterygoids projecting inferiorly. Dentition, 7. $ c. }m. 2 (#)
x 2=32 (30). Last upper molar greatly compressed from be-
fore backward. Scapulaelongated with very long metacromial
and caracoid processes. This genus differs from Nycticejus in
the fact that the anterior premolar, although small, is present
Lasiurus noveboracensis ERXL., SP.
RED BAT.
Vespertilio noveboracensis ERXLEBEN. Syst. Reg. Anim., 1777.
HARLAN. Fauna Americana, 1825.
GODMAN. Amer. Nat. Hist., 1826.
CooPER, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1837.
LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Sci., 1855.
Nycticejus noveboracensis LECONTE. Cuv. Regn. Annual, 1831.
TEMMINCK. Monog. ii, 1835-1841.
WAGNER. Suppl. Schreb. Sauget., 1840.
ScHINZ. Synopsis Mam., 1844.
Max. WIED. Archiv. Naturg., 1861.
Lasiurus noveborucensis TOMES. Proc. Zool. Soc., 1857.
H. ALLEN. Monogr. N. A. Bats, 1864.
BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
J. A. ALLEN. Catalogue Mam. Mass., 1869.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 29
. Vespertilio lasiurus GMELIN. Syst. Nat., 1788.
: SCHREBER. Siiug., 1826.
GEOFFROY. Ann. du Mus. viii, 1806.
DESMAREST. Mammals, 1820.
FISCHER. Synopsis Mam., 1829.
Nycticejus lasiurus WAGNER. Schreb. Siug., 1840.
Vespertilio rubellus BEAUVOIS. Cat. Peale’s Mus., 1796.
Vespertiho rillosissimus GEOFFROY. Ann. du Mus. viii, 1806.
DESMAREST. Mam., 1830.
FISCHER. Synop. Mam., 1829.
Vespertilio monachus RAFINESQUE. sl Monthly Mag., 1817.
Vespertilio tessalatus -d Pe bp <
Taphyzous rufus HARLAN. Fauna Americana, 1825.
Lasiurus rufus GRAY. List Mam. Brit. Mus., 1843.
GossE. Naturalist in Jamaica, 1851.
Vespertilio blossevilii LESS ET GARN. Bull. des Sci. Nat. viii.
FISCHER. Synopsis Mam., 1829.
LA SAGRA. Hist. de l’Ile de Cuka, 1840.
Vespertilio bonariensis LESSING. Voyage de la Coquille, 1829.
Nycticejus varius POEPP. Reise Chili. i, 1835.
WAGNER. Suppl. Schreb. Siug., 1840.
Gay. Hist. de Chili, 1848.
Atalapha (Lasiurus) noveboracensis COUES. Surv. 100th Mer. Zoology, 1875.
This species is exceedingly variable and is regarded by many
authors as including the following. A point upon which the
writer can express no opinion on account of the poverty of the
material at command. I shall quote Allen’s description and
add such other points as are available:
‘‘Head and face hairy; nose blunt, rounded, slightly emargi-
nated, nostrils opening semilaterally. The sides of the face
slightly inflated and set with stiff hairs. A similar row of
longer hairs surrounds the eyes. The upper lip, especially at
the sides of the face, is more massive than the lower, and is
somewhat produced. The ears are sub-rounded—the inner
border straight until near the tip when it suddenly turns out-
ward; at its base is a well developed lobe which is close to, but
slightly behind the tragus. The outer border is slightly con-
vex, and terminates at the angle of the mouth. On a line with
the outer border of the ear a sharply defined lobe is noticed,
which at first appears to be the termination of the border, but
upon close examination it is found to continue on to the angle
of the mouth. Between this lobe and the mouth there is placed
a small wart covered with setz. The tragus is half the height
of the ear, is straight on the inner edge, except at the point,
where it turns abruptly inwards. The outer border has a very
irregular outline. The basal portion is indentated. This in-
dentation, which in comparison with other species of Vesper-
80 BULLETIN NO. VII.
tilionidz is considerable, is of itself not very deep, and ends in
the most convex point of the tragus, whence the border runs
upward and inward to the tip. The lower jaw is covered with
short hairs, and has at its symphysis a small naked space
which is gradually lost along the sides of the mouth. The pos-
terior surface of the ear is covered with hair one-half its length,
which extends upon the anterior production of the external
border down to the angle of the mouth.
The fur of the body is everywhere long and silky. Anteri-
orly it is rather denser though not quite so long as that pos-
teriorly. It is of a light russet red, tinged with yellow, being
tipped with gray toward the neck, and varying to fawn color,
in some specimens, toward the pubis. Fur of the same gen-
eral hue extends from the body upon the alar membranes up
to the base of the third finger of either side and blends with
that upon the anterior surface of the interfemoral membrane
at about the region of the tibiofemoral articulation. The hair
upon the latter membrane runs down fully one-half its length
in most specimens. The interbrachial expansion also possesses
a sparse growth of yellowish fur. Posteriorly the fur is very
long, and presents a richer appearance than anteriorly. The
russet red color is here predominant in the majority of indi-
viduals, though we meet with a great variety of hues of fawn,
fawn-red, and yellowish cinereous. At each shoulder a con-
spicuous white tuft of hair is seen; this is not elevated above
the surrounding fur of the neck with which its whitish color
gradually blends.
The posterior surface of the alar membranesis less extensively
furred along the brachial and digital regions than the anterior
surface, being here almost altogether confined to longitudinal
bands extending from the neck downwards across the inter-
brachial membrane midway from the shoulder to the elbow,
and thence continued along the sides of the body and external
border of the tibia to the ankle and tarsus of either side. The
dorsum of the fifth finger, for about one-third of its length, is
covered with fine scattering hair. The basal joint of the
thumb is decorated with a whitish tuft. 'The posterior surface
of the interfemoral is very thickly covered over its whole area
with fur of the same color as that of the body. The difference
in hue of various individuals is owing chiefly to the colora-
tion of the tips of the hair. Each hair is tinged as follows:
The base dark plumbeous in color verging to black; the
middle, a delicate yellowish-brown, passing outwards toward
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. aL
the tip to a darkish-red, in some instances to a brighter red,
more rarely to a beautiful chocolate. The point is generally
white. The color of the membranes is a rich brown, border-
ing on a yellowish-brown, above the head. The ears and lips
are marked with yellow in the same manner as in the next
species (L. cinereus) they are marked with black.”
Dr. Allen notices a tendency on the part of northern speci-
mens to be constantly darker, the chocolate or dark red pre-
dominating, while toward the south the pelage is generally of
a brighter hue.
Mr. J. A. Allen affirms that there isa well marked sexual
distinction, males being uniformely lighter in color. ‘‘Ina
series of about twenty Massachusetts skins, nearly all marked
for sex by the collector, all the males are of a beautiful light,
bright, yellowish red, with scarcely a trace of the apical white;
the females, though somewhat more variable, «re universally
darker, the light 1ed of the males being replaced in these by
dark russet, which is more or less obscured by tne whitish tips
of the fur.”
Mr. Allen inclines to the belief that the following species is
merely a variety of the present one. At least, they are very
similar and extremely variable.
I regret that no opportunity has been afforded to compare
the osteology of the two species, but probably the description
given will apply with very slight exception to this form.
Length 1.§9-2.0, tail 1.9-2.0, fore arm 1.6, tibia 0.9, longest
finger 3.5, thumb, 0.45, ear 0.5, tragus 0.3, expanse of wings
12.0. 7
This is a widely distributed species not very common in Min-
nesota.
Lasiurus cinereus BEAUVOIS, SP.
HOARY BAT.
Vespertilio cinereus PALISOT DE BEAUVOIS. Cat. Peale’s Mus. 1796.
LECONTE. Proc. Phila. Acad. Sci., 1855.
Vespertilio pruinosus SAY. Long’s Exped. to Rocky Mts., 1823.
HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825; Med. and Phys. Researches,
1831.
GODMAN. Amer. Nat. Hist., 1826.
RICHARDSON. Fauna Bor. Am., 1829.
CooPpER. Ann. Lyc. N. Y. iv, 1837.
DEKAy. Nat. Hist., N. Y. (Zool.), 1842.
Scotuphilus pruinosus GRAY. Mag. Zool. and Bot. ii,, 1838.
a BULLETIN NO. VII.
Nycticejus pruinosus TEMMINCK. Monogr. Mam. 1835.
ScHINZ. Synop. Mam. Mass., 1845.
Max V. WiepD. Arch. Naturg., 1861.
Lasiurus Pruinosus TomgEs. Proc. Zool. Soc., 1857.
Lasiurus cinereus H. ALLEN. Monog. Bats N. A., 1864.
J. A. ALLEN. Cat. Mam. Mass., 1869.
Atalapha cinerea Dopson. Cat. Chiropt., Brit. Mus., 1878.
BAIRD. Mam. U.S.
Atalapha (Lasiurus) cinereus COUES, Surv. 100th Mer. Zool., 1875.
In form and general appearance much like the last with
which it is sparingly distributed. It may at once be disting-
uished in ordinary cases by the black upon the face and mar-
gins of the ears. The head is large, blunt, and moderately in-
flated at the cheeks. Nose emarginate, nostrils being widely
separated, lateral. Ears large, sub-quadrate, strongly lobed
at the base in front, margins revolute, black. Tragus rather
small, anterior border nearly straight, hairy without.
Fur long, soft and thick. General color above yellowish
brown with a hoary admixture; interfemoral membrane dark
brown, with a heavy superficial grizzle of gray; top of head
creamy yellow, with some mixture of darker and white hairs.
There are a few yellowish hairs upon the humeral membrane,
while the shoulders and the edge of the interfemoral membrane
are strongly suffused with rufous. There is a broad collar of
creamy yellow, while the breast and belly are olive brown over-
laid with much yellowish white. The muzzle, lower jaw, a
band including the eyes and extending upward near the fore-
head, and the rim of the ears are black.
The inside of the ears and upper anterior part yellow. The
under parts of the wings are clothed near the humerus with
woolly yellow hair; the base of the interfemoral membrane be-
low is densely covered with dirty yellow hairs. The mem-
branes are black, except near the fingers and bones of arm,
where they are yellowish. The hairs on the back have four
colors, beginning with a base of dark olive brown, nearly black,
then follows a baud of creamy yellow, more or less inclined to
rufous outwardly, then a black band and a short white terminal
portion.
Total length, 4.8; nose to anus, 2.5; nose to eye, 0.3; tail, 2:2;
nose to anterior edge of ear, 0.4; height of ear (medianly), 0.6;
total vertical extent of ear, 0.7; width, 0.5; expanse, 14-15;
radial part of wing, 21; thumb, 0.4; proximal phalanx of second
digit, 2.25; distal, 0.8; third digit, proximal phalanx, 2, 10, II,
0.5, III, 0.6, also bearing a curved nail giving the wing a lobate
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 33
termination, fourth digit, I, 2.10; II, 0.5; III, 0 6; also a curved
nail curved in the reverse direction, fifth digit, I, 1.7; I, 0.35;
III, 0.35; femur, 0.8; tibia, 0.9; interfemoral spur, 0.75.
The facial portion of the skull is much higher in the speci-
men figured than represented by Allen. Conspicuous is the
sharp downward spur of the molar process of the temporal, and
the downward inclination of the pterygoid.
The last molar above is greatly compressed and the anterior
premolar may be absent.
GENUS SCOTOPHILUS.
(=Vesperus, Coues.)
Dental formula 7%. 3, c. 1, m. #x2=82.
The dental formula must alone be relied upon to distinguish
this and the next two following genera or sections for though
other characters exist they are not susceptible of exact formu-
lation, but consist rather in a peculiar habitus which must be
seen to be appreciated.
Scotophilus fuscus BEAUVOIS.
BROWN BAT.
Vespertilio fuscus BEAUVOIS. Cat. Peale’s Mus., 1796.
LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1855.
Vespertilio arcuatus SAY. Long’s Exp. Rocky Mts., 1823.
Vespertilio phaiops RAFINESQUE. Am. Month. Mag., 1818.
LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1855.
WAGNER. Schreb. Siiug., 1855.
Vespertilio wrsinus. TEMMINCK. Monog. Mam., 1835.
Max. V. WieD. Archiv. Naturg. 1861.
Vespertilio gryphus Fr. CUVIER. Ann. Mus. 1837.
WAGNER, Schreber’s Siiug., 1875.
Vespertilio caroli LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Sci., 1855.
Scotophilus fuscus H. ALLEN. Monogr. N. Am. Bats.., 1864.
J. A. ALLEN. Cat. Mam. Mass., 1869.
Scotophilus carolinensis GEOFFROY, HARLAN, GODMAN, LECONTE, CoOPER,
DEKAY, TEMMINCK, H. ALLEN, ETC.
Vespertilio (Vesperus) fuscus CouES. Surv. 100th Mer., Zool., 1875.
Head flat, nostrils large, separated by an emargination; ear
less than head, broad at the base, obtuse at tip; tragus about
one-half as high as the auricle, notched externally at base.
Interfemoral membrane ample, basal portion furred; terminal
segment of tail exserted. Wing membrane attached to base of
toes; spur well developed. Color on the back dusky brown,
34 BULLETIN NO. VII.
the pelage being plumbeous at the base. Below, either grayish
white or as above. On the head the hair is more lanuginous,
extending nearly to the nose. The wing membrane is not
furred. The skull is large, with a slight occipital crest; the
orbital space is large. Dentition 7. 3, c. 4, m. 4x2—82.
The first incisors above are much larger than the second and
are irregularly bifid, the internal cusp being longest; canines
large, with a minute basal cusp; first molar narrow. The six
incisors of the lower jaw are crowded, tricuspidate. 'The two
anterior molars (premolars) simple.
I have no notes as to the abundance of this species.
The following description will apply to a male captured early
in June, and will illustrate the typical condition of the species
in Minnesota:
Total length, 4.1; tail to anus, 17.4; expanse, 12.70; radius,
1.70; thumb, 0.25; first finger, 1.62; first phalanx second fin-
ger, 1.69; first phalanx third finger, 1.58; first phalanx fourth
finger, 1.50; tibia, 0.71; hight of ear medianly, 0.47; tragus,
0.80; hight of ear externally from base of opening, 0.65; ear
from nose, 0.70; eye from nose, 0.38; distance between nostrils,
0.15; tail beyond web, 0.20.
General color yellowish brown, inclining to chestnut; below
lighter and more olivaceous; face, ears and web black, chin
and throat dark. Webs scarcely at all hairy. Cheeks tumid,
slightly warty; barbe fine, short; ears high, somewhat acute,
convex on the front margin; tragus over one-third the height
of ear, curved forward; basal lobe of ear of moderate size.
Thumbs small. Tail exserted; soles with a callous at the heel.
GENus LASIONYCTERIS.
(=Vesperides, Coues. )
This genus is characterized by the dental formula 7. 4, ¢. },
m. +x2—86. Central upper incisors bicuspid. Skull rather
flat, not crested. Thumb rather small.
Lasionycteris noctivagans LECONTE, SP.
SILVER-HAIRED BAT.
Vespertilio noctivagans LECONTE. Cuvy. An. King., 1831.
CooPER. Ann. Lye. N. Y., 1837.
DEKAY. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1842.
WAGNER. Schreb. Siiug. 1855.
Vespertilio auduboni HARLAN. Month. Am. Journ., 1831.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 35
Vespertilio pulverulentus TEMMINCK. Monog. Man., 1835.
LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Sci., Phila., 1855.
Max. Vv. WIED. Archiv. Naturg., 1861.
Scotophilus noctivagans H. ALLEN. Monog. N. A. Bats., 1864.
J.A. ALLEN. Cat. Chir., 1869.
Vespertilio ( Vesperides) noctivagans COUES. Surv. 100th Mer. Zool., 1875,
Lasionycteris noctivagans DoBSON. Cat. Mam., Mass., 1878.
Never having seen a specimen of the silvery-haired bat from
Minnesota, I simply quote the description given in Allen’s
monograph:
‘‘Head flat, broad and moderately haired; snoutnaked; nos-
trils wide apart, and opening sublaterally; space between
emarginate. Sides of face slightly swollen. The auricleisan
irregular oval. The inner border extends upwards and in-
wards to a level with the top of the head, and then turns up-
wards and outwards, ending in an obtuse point. The outer
border is smooth, and terminates inferiorly and internally in a
thin ridge near the angle of the mouth. The lower half of this
border folds irregularly upon itself, and bends so markedly
inwards as to touch the tragus. The tragus is straight inter-
nally, strongly and abruptly convex externally, narrow at its
base. Itis but one-third the hight of the auricle, and nearly
as broad as high. Skin of face and ears blackish, with the ex-
ception of the internal basal lobe of the latter, which is whitish.
_Fur long and silky, with a marked tendency to become black,
and in many specimens the extreme tip of each hair is the only
part possessing a different hue—it being pale gray or white.
The fur is thicker on the back than in front, but the coloration
is very similar. The posterior part of the interfemoral mem-
brane is thinly covered with short dark colored hairs; the an-
terior surface has upon it numerous minute tufts arranged
linearly. Thumb small, foot moderate.
Dentition 7%. 2, c. +, m. 2x 2—36.
Upper incisors closely approximate to but not touching ca-
nines, nearly of the same length; median pair bifid, twisted on
their axes so that the two cusps have a somewhat antero-pos-
terior arrangement; internal cusp slightly longer. Lateral
pair unicuspid with a basal cusp. Canines simple and moderate.
First premolar very small, unicuspid, second premolar with a
very long external and short internal cusp.
In the lower jaw the incisors are not crowded, trifid. Three
premolars, of which the second is smallest.
36 BULLETIN NO. VII.
GENUS VESPERTILIO
The generic term as thus restricted includes such bats as,
having four upper and six lower incisors, have also six molars
above and below on either side, or 38 teeth in all, thus: i. 4,
c. 1, m. §x2—88. Wings and ears thinner than in the preced-
ing; skull less heavy, cranial portion inflated, upper outline
concave.
Vespertilio subulatus Say.
LITTLE BROWN BAT.
Vespertilio subulatus SAY. Long’s Exped. Rocky Mts., 1832.
HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825.
RICHARDSON. Fauna Bor. Amer., 1829.
GopMAN. Am. Nat. Hist., 1831.
Cooper. Ann. Lyc. N. Y., 1837.
DEKay. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1842.
WAGNER. Schreb., Siiug., 1855.
LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila., 1855.
H. ALLEN. Monog. Bats N. A., 1864.
J.A. ALLEN. Cat. Mam. Mass., 1869.
BAIRD. Mam. N.A.
CoUES AND YARROW. Surv. 100th Mer. Zool., 1875.
Dogson. Cat. Chir. B. M., 1878.
Vespertilio californicus BACHMAN. Journ. Phila. Acad., 1842.
PEALE. U.S. Expl. Exped., 1858.
Vespertilio caroli TEMMINCK. Monogr. Mam., 1835.
WAGNER. Schreb. Siug., 1855.
Vespertilio domesticus GREEN. Cab. Nat. Hist.
Vespertilio evotis H. ALLEN. Monogr. Bats N. A., 1864.
Vespertilio lucifugus LECONTE. Cuv. An. King., 1831.
Max V. WIED. Verzeich. Beobach. Siiug. N. A. 1860.
H. ALLEN. Monog. N. A. Bats, 1864.
This is our commonest species and is familar to every one.
The body is very compact and the fur dense and soft. The
head is mouse-like, and expression hightened by the long,
rather acute ears.
Color above, dark olive brown, tips of hairs being yellowish:
below, olive gray, vared with whitish and yellowish. Lips,
muzzle and top of nose nearly naked, vibrissee abundant,
cheeks warty. The membranes are black, the interfemoral
portions being slightly hairy. Ear elongated, sub acute; tra-
gus one-half its hight. The point of the tail is exserted.
Dentition 7. 3, c. 1, m. $x2=—88. Incisors of upper jaw in
pairs projecting inward, small, bifid. Two anterior premolars
minute, the second being smaller.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 37
Incisors of the lower jaw, trifid;two anterior premolars very
small, the third slender.
Length to anus, 1.8; tail, 1.5;head, nearly 0.7; ear (measured
from base of opening) 0.6; (from base behind), 0.45; tragus,
0.3; nose to eye, 0.3; width of gape, 0.3; distance between nares,
0.1; humeral part of arm, 0.9; radius, 1.5; thumb, 0.3; first
finger, 1.4; second finger, 2.4; third finger, 2.0; fourth finger,
1.9; expanse, over 8.0; thigh, 0.5; tibia, 0.75.
Toes nearly equal, with short claws, slightly webbed,
sparsely hairy on the back.
38 BULLETIN NO. VII.
CHAPTER III.
ORDER INSHCTIV OLA.
MOLES AND SHREWS.
Fia. 2. Macroscelides typicus, an insectivorous animal from Africa.
In this group we have not only the smallest but the oldest of
placental mammals and those, for many reasons, particularly
interesting to naturalists. Our most familiar representatives
of the Insectivora are very mouse-like in appearance and to the
natural association so brought about is due the persistent and
reasonless persecution which they suffer at the hands of the
farmer. The external resemblance is in this case, as so often,
quite misleading. In habits and structure the Insectivora are
more like bats than the mice.
In the words of Carl Vogt, ‘‘One may, indeed, say with truth
that they continue on and under the earth, yes, and even in the
water, the persistent hunt for insects, snails, and all possible
vermin begun by the bats in the air.” The largest animal of
the group is little larger than a squirrel while the external
form varies greatly. Some species are adapted solely to a sub-
terranean existence, and by the great development of the ante-
rior extremities and the reduction of the sense of vision are
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 39
unfitted for any other life; others climb freely like squirrels;
again others pass much of their time in the water, and exhibit
consequent changes in structure; while still other species have
the elongated hind legs of the deer mice, and are truly terres-
trial. Organs of sense vary in accordance with the require-
ments of these various situations. The brain indicates a lower
condition of the nervous system than in any other group of
placental mammals. The hemispheres do not cover the cere-
bellum nor even the corpus bigeminum. The simple structure
of the brain corresponds to an incompletely developed brain-
case, for not only is the zygoma often entirely absent, but the
orbit is never closed, and the whole configuration of the skull
is upon a primitive type.
The dentition corresponds to no other group, neither do the
different genera conform to any common formula. The canines
are absent (Save in one case) or are replaced by teeth which
have no resemblance to the canines of other animals. Their
place is frequently taken by a pair of the incisors. Anatomists
are not agreed as to the homologies of the various teeth. Fol-
lowing the incisors are premolars with pointed crowns, and
following them square crowned molars, which are also armed
with from three to four saliences. The dentition is well adap-
ted to the catching and comminution of insects and crustacea.
The oldest known fossil mammals (from the Triassic) had a
dentition resembling the Insectivora and, although they may
have been insectivorous marsupials, the suggestion lies near
that our present Insectivora are descendants, very little altered,
of a very numerous group which early separated from the
common mammalian stem. Undoubted remains of insectivor-
ous animals occur in the Eocene of America and France, and
thence onward continue to appear with more and more definite
affinities tc existing forms.
The geographical distribution confirms the indications of
paleontology. The group is widely distributed, but is never-
theless absent from South America (or nearly so) and also from
Australia. Hach principal continent has its endemic types
(families or genera), and even Madagascar has its peculiar
forms. The Antilles also have their own family of Insectivora.
Again Europe and Asia support the hedge-hog family, which
is entirely excluded from America. In the two continents rich
in marsupials (Australia and South America), there are as yet
no Insectivora. In places which have been long isolated (Mad-
agascar and the Antilles), special types have grown up, while
40 BULLETIN NO. VII.
upon the larger continents the differentiation has been less one-
sided. Paleontology also shows that the various families of
Insectivora early became distinct.
The families are at present, therefore, remarkably compact
and sharply defined. Some of the largest species are found in
the Indian family Tupaiide. These animals resemble squirrels
in outward form and size and climb well, searching for insects
in their leafy retreats. The snout is long and shrew like, but
the eyes are more highly developed than in most Insectivora.
The Macroscelide (see fig. 2) are deceptively like the kanga-
roo mice. These jumping shrews inhabit sandy and rocky
wastes of Africa, and not only root among the rocks for larvee
but even spring after flying sorts with great accuracy.
The Myogalide are aquatic Insectivora. The various species
live in the rivers of eastern Europe, of Asia and parts of
Africa. Leeches, fresh water mollusks, and larve as well as
possibly the fry of fishes, serve Myogale for food. Anal
glands give to these animals a most offensive odor.
The Soricide (shrews) include mouse-like species which may
be considered as the type of the Insectivora. Their geographi-
cal distribution is most extensive among the families of this
group and together with the moles (Zalpide) form the only
families found in North America.
Madagascar furnishes a family of Insectivora somewhat like
the hedge-hogs but uniting with this habitus characters of the
shrews and jumping shrews. Centetide, as the family is called,
contains two genera of similar character. The true hedge-
hogs (Erinaceide) occupy parts of the old world. It is very
common to hear our rodent porcupines called hedge-hogs.
The two animals have nothing in common but the spiny
armature. The hedge-hog is very useful to the European
farmer on account of the constant war he wages with rats and
mice, which, in spite of seeming awkwardness he skillfully
captures. Birds’ nests and fruit trees form a secondary re-
course. They may be easily domesticated to a certain extent
and yet could hardly be considered desirable pets.
The subterranean Insectivora fall into two related families,
the one represented by the blind mole (Chrysochloris) of South
Africa, the other by our familiar moles. The Talpide of Am-
erica belong to different genera from the European but are
nevertheless very familiar.
The present state of our knowledge of the Insectivora is
very low, for the attempts to distinguish species upon variable
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 41
superficial characters with no reference to tangible anatomical
distinctions has multiplied synonyms to such an extent that no
person can ever disentangle the synonomy. At present we can
form only very vague ideas as to the actual number of species
in several genera. As far as the systematic study is concerned,
all that has thus far been written is so much profitless lumber
and might best be ignored. Facts regarding the habits, anat-
-my and geographical distribution, on the other hand, are of
permanent and immediate value.
In November, 1883, the writer lay encamped under the canopy
of the sky in Pine Co., Minnesota, endeavoring to escape the
chill of the frosty air by drawing the blanket close and hover-
ing nearer the camp fire. To a person alone in the woods for
the first time after a long interval every sound is novel and
more or less charged with mystery. The wind stirred the tree
tops and impinging boughs clattered and the trunks groaned
under the tortion, each tree with its own doleful note. The
few remaining pines added their sighing to the many melan-
choly sounds belonging to an autumn forest at night. But
amid all the sounds nothing could be identified as coming from
anything living, even the distant howling of wolves was
silenced, and I began to feel that the attempt to gain personal
knowledge of the ways of woodsy mammals by night study
would prove futile, and composed myself to sleep. The half-
‘ssomnolent revery which forms the prelude to slumber, was
broken by faint melodious sounds on an excessively high key—
so high that it seemed that I might be simply hearing the
lower notes of an elfin symphony the upper registers in which
were beyond the powers of human ears to distinguish. The
sounds were distinctly musical and reminded me of the con-
tented twitter of birds finding resting places among the boughs
at night. Without moving I turned my eyes upon the fire-lit
circle, about which the darkness formed an apparently impen-
trable wall. Only the most careful scrutiny enabled me to dis-
cover the tiny musicians. Within a few feet of my head, upon
a decayed log, raced a pair of shrews (8S. cooperi), so minute as
to escape my observation at first. Up and down with the most
sprightly imaginable motions they ran, twittering incessantly.
Hither and thither they scampered over my clothing and almost
into my pockets, like veritable lilliputians, siezing now a
crumb of cheese, with which my traps were baited, and now a
bit of fish fallen from my improvised supper table. During
_ the eating the conversation was not interrupted. The little
42 BULLETIN NO. VII.
visitors were not bashful about criticising the housekeeping of
their host, if their apparent amusement can thus be interpreted,
but it was a most good humored little party nevertheless which
thus unceremoniously ransacked my larder. The party in-
creased in numbers and merriment, until I was almost forced
to believe myself an uninvited guest within the magic circle
of Queen Mab’s domain. I watched with interest the result
of their intrusion into the traps which stood about for the
capture of any red-backed mouse that might invade my camp,
but Sorex passed entirely within, and daintily arching his back
contentedly nibbled the cheese, and when the spring rose
usually suffered but a short fright, and returned to finish the
interrupted meal. Canned fish seemed to be more acceptable
than any other food I had to offer. Tiring of the watching, I
again lay down to sleep, during which time elfin voices sounded
in my dreams. About midnight one of the little imps sprang
across my face in so violent a way as to partially waken me,
and thus, as good fortune had it, | was awake sufficiently to
recognize the meaning of a sharp crack overhead and sprang
out of my bed in time to see it occupied by a massive tree-trunk
which the fire had burned off not far from the ground.
The short-tailed shrew was seen during the progress of these
investigations but seldom. While riding through a densely
wooded portion of northwestern Hennepin county, near lake
Independence, a small animal was seen running in an uncertain
way across the road; a hasty pursuit resulted in its capture,
although in an imperfect condition. It thus seems certain that
this shrew is not strictly nocturnal. The same is true of the
smaller shrews. They seem to rely more largely upon the
sense of smell than that of vision, and are measurably inde-
pendent of light in carrying on their search for insects. The
smaller shrews were formerly abundant about Minneapolis,
and their runways under the slight crust of a new snow, were
everywhere encountered. It is certain that they endure the
rigors of our severe winters well. Of late we have been unable
to secure many specimens, perhaps owing to the abundance of
cats, which, I dare say, do not make any fine zoological distine-
tions before dinner.
In the American Naturalist (vol. vii, p. 483), Mr. G. Linceum
gives a graphic account of the habits of a species of Sorex
from Long Point, Texas, a part of which I quote:
‘‘They dwell in warm nests made of grass, about the fences
or edges ‘of the prairie. They do not come about houses, and
yw Oy
~~
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 43
are purely nocturnal. I have found only three nests of them.
They have four young at a time, which they nurse and care for
most affectionately. I had a family of them and fed them a
week where I could observe all their actions. I had a father
and mother and their half grown offspring. The male made
his escape, and finding a newly married pair—they do marry,
and as far as I can learn, stick together as long ss they live—
I put them in a box with my half civilized family. The male
instantly caught a young one and was aiming to kill it, when I
put him and his companion into an empty oyster can, and set-
ting it back in the box, went to supper. When I returned I
found that the ferocious, rascally male had made shift to get
out of the can, and had murdered all the young ones.”’
*Ramity SORICID.
Animals intermediate betweens the moles and hedge-hogs,
and characterized by attenuated movable snout, plantigrade,
hairless soles, abscence of zygoma, and imperfect auditory cap-
*The following brief review of the described species may assist the student in
securing a fuller knowledge of the groups than can be given here.
1. Genus Gymnura. A single species (G. reffesii) is as large as a large squirrel, and has
a long snout, short tail and small ears, retractile claws and wooly hair. This
interesting species inhabits the Sunda and adjacent islands.
. Genus Pardoxodon is represented by a pigmy. not two inches long, from Bengal.
. Genus Pachyura. A large genus of shrew-like animals, some of which are over ten
inches long, others less than two, living in India, southern Europe, Madagascar
and Egypt. Specimens of the Egyptian species have been found mummied in the
tombs. Nearly thirty species have been described, many of which are synonyms,
. Genus Crocidura. Some twenty-five nominal species are distributed from the cape
of Good Hope to India, Ceylon and Japan. C. aranea is a common species in
Europe, often entering houses, and having much the aspect of a small mouse.
. Genus Diplomesodon. A single species of minute size and peculiar coloration, inhab-
its the sandy steppes of Kirgisen.
6. Genus Feroculus. A somewhat doubtful genus, founded on a single collection made
in Ceylon, and intermediate between Crocidura and Myosorex,
7. Genus Mysorex. Small shrews, with the ears entirely concealed, living in South
Africa. ;
8. Genus Sorex. The type or the family is found in Europe and America, though it is
customary to separate the species into subgenera, or even different genera, to
correspond with the difference in habitat. The genus seems, however, to be
circumpolar.
9. Genus Blarina. North American, with but one well authenticated species, though
many have been found.
10. Genus Soriculus. A single Indian species, with but thirty teeth.
11 Genus Crossopus. This genus of aquatic shrews is circumpolar, although the North
American species has been separated as a distinct genus, Neosorex. Two or more
extremely variable species are rather common in Europe, and others in Asia to
Japan.
2. Genus Solenodon contains the curious rat-like S. paradoxus of Cuba.
13. Genus Myogale contains aquatic forms, with vertically flattened tails. Some species
are upwards of ten inches long, with a tail nearly as long again. Europe and
Asia are the habitat of these musk-shrews.
Since writing the above a new genus and species of shrew has been brought to our
notice by CU. Hart Merriam: Genus atophyrax. A. bendirii Mer. is from Klamath
co)
w
we’
on
*
a
44 ‘ BULLETIN NO. VII.
suli. A peculiar musky fluid is secreted especially during the
rut. The eyes are small but functional, and the other senses
acute. The voice is pitched upon a high key, but musical.
GENUS BLARINA.
Shrews of a dark color and mole-like pelage, the tail being
short and hairy.
Dentition: i, +, ¢ %, pm. §, m. 4x2—32, (adult), or i, },
c. $, pm. 4, m. 4x2—830 (immature.)
Blarina brevicaudata Say.
THE SHORT-TAILED SHREW.
Sorex brevicaudatus SAY. Long’s Expedition, I, p. 164, 1823.
HHRLAN. Fauna Amer.,, p. 29, 1825.
Isip. GEOFFROY. Dict. Class. V, XI, p. 320.
GODMAN. Am. Nat. Hist., I, 1831.
FIscHER. Synopsis Mam., p. 255.
BACHMAN. Jour. Phil. Acad., VII, 1837.
Emmons. Quad. Mass., p. 13, 1840.
AupD. and BacH. Quad. N. A., V. III, p. 335.
DEKaAy. Zool. N. York, V, I, p. 18. 1842.
WAGNER. Schreber Siiugethiere, Suppl.
LINSLEY. Am. Journ. Sci., XLIII, 1842.
THomMpPSON. Hist. Vermont, 1842.
PLUMBER. Am.Journ. Sci., XLVI.
Blarina brevicaudata BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1837.
SAMUELS. Agr. Mass., 1861.
Brachyosorex brevicaudatus DUVERN. GUERM. Mag. d. Zool., 1842.
WAGNER. Schreb. Siiuget., Suppl.
FITZINGER. Kritische Untersuchungen, Sitzb. d. k. Akad.,
1868.
Sorex talpoides GAPPER. Zool. Journ. V, 1830.
REICHENB. Natury. Raubth.
GIEBEL. Siugethiere.
WAGNER. Schreber Siiugeth., Suppl. II.
Corsira tulpoides GRAY. Proc Zool. Soc. Lond., 1837.
Blarina talpoides BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
GRAY. Proc. Zool. Soc Lond., 1837.
SAMUELS. Agr. Mass., 1861.
VERRILL. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1863.
Amphisorex talpoides GIEBEL, Siiugethiere, p. 901.
Basin Ore., and seems to be paludial in habit. It possesses characters allying it with
Neosorex, but it agrees with Sorex in the number of teeth. The only known species is
one of the largest of the true American shrews. (See Trans. Linnean Society of N. Y.,
vol. ii, 1884.)
:
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Se ee ee ee a a ee a eS see a ee eee ee eS
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ee
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 45
Sorex parvus SAY. Long's Expedition, I.
HARLAN. Fauna Amer.
BACHMAN. Journ. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., VII.
LINSLEY. Am. Journ. Sci, XLIII.
FIiscHER. Synopsis Mam.
RICHARDS. Fauna Bor. Amer.
WAGNER. Schreber Siugeth.
REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.
Dr Kay. Fauna, N. Y.
AuD. aud BAcH. Quad. N. A.
Brachyosorex parvus WA@NER. Schreb, Siiugeth.
FITZINGER. Kritische Untersuch.
Sores: dekayt BACHMAN. Journ. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., VII.
DEKay. Fauna, N. Y.
LInsLEY. Am. Journ. Sci. XXXIX. :
REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.
AUD. and BAcH., Quad. N. A.
WAGNER. Schreber Siiugeth.
Brachyosorex dekayi WAGNER. Schreber Saiugeth.
FITZINGER. Kritische Untersuch.
Sorex cinereus BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Phila. VII.
REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.
DEKAyY. Zool. of N. Y.
WAGNER. Schreb. Siiugeth.
Crocidura cinerea REICHENR, Naturg. Raubth.
Blarina cinerea BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
blarina carolinensis BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
Blarina angusticeps BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
Blarina exilipes BAIRD. Mam.N. A.
Blarina berlandiert BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
Fia. 3. BLARINA BREVICAUDATA.
It will be seen from the above table of synonymy that the
writer fully coincides with the opinion, expressed by Mr. J. A.
Allen, in his paper on the Mammalia of Massachusetts (Bul.
No. 8. Mus. Comp. Zool., Cambridge), that there is no evidence
46 . BULLETIN NO. VIL.
of the existence of more than a single species of Blarina It
seems, on the other hand, very probable that there is but one
somewhat variable species, extending from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, and from Mexico to northern Canada and Behring’s
straits. This species is moderately abundant about Minneapolis.
The following measurements may be taken as indicating the
average size : Body and head, 3.50; tail, .85—1.00; hind foot, —
.64; fore foot, .44. A male, somewhat larger, had a tail meas-
uring 1.08; the hind foot, .65 ; nose to eye, .50; nose to tip of ~ |
incisors, .380.
The short-tailed shrews are more mole-like in appearance
than the smaller species, both on account of their low form and
short tail, and the dark mole-like pelage. The color is dark
plumbeous above, with a somewhat glossy reflection. The hairs
are fine. The lower parts are lighter and with rusty or rufous
gloss. The whiskers are numerous, fine and light-colored.
The head is rather stout and short, and in this respect diifers
to a marked degree from the smaller shrews. The head is
also much depressed, and the eyes lie nearly half way between
the muzzle and the back of the head. The muzzle is not nearly
as long as in Sorex, and is truncated and naked with the nostrils
opening onthesides. The ear is not seen in life, although it is
large, because the meatus is closed by the auricle. The anti-
tragus and antihelix are well developed and valvular. The
palm has five callosities, the sole six. The tail is constricted
at the base, and expands suddenly, after which it is of uniform
size until near the end; it is but moderately hairy, although
bearing a considerable pencil at the tip. The upper surface of
the feet is minutely hairy. ‘The third toe is longest.
It would perhaps be expected that the size of southern speci-
mens would be less than those farther north, and this may
explain ‘‘ B. carolinensis” of authors. in the specific characters
of which the only tangible point seems to be the inferior size.
B. angusticeps must be regarded, until farther information is
obtained, as an illustration of an extreme instance of individual
variation, such as may be occasionally met with in any species.
The specimen figured above was obtained in Ohio, March 4th,
and is one of several seen at about the same time. The meas-
urements are as follows:
Length of body, 3.1; tail, 0.9; total, 4.0 ; hind foot, 0.48 ; fore
foot, 0.89; nose to eye, 0.41; nose to ear, 0.80; vibrissze, 0.70.
Color uniform plumbeous black, without gloss, but perfectly
dead and homogeneous everywhere except upon the feet, which
:
’
.
a a a ke “ * ad -
ee ey OR ee
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 47
are reddish brown. Tail nearly glabrous at the base, but ter-
minating in a considerable pencil of hairs. First and fifth toes
of fore foot as are the second and fourth, these being much
longer than the former, third toe longest. Claws of the fore
foot much longer than those of hind foot. Hind foot broad,
fifth toe somewhat longer than first; second, third and fourth
toes subequal.
When captured the shrews are very likely to be devoured by
their companions, and it is frequently very difficult to secure
unmutilated specimens on this account. Dr. Merriam gives
the results of experiments upon the present species, as follows:
‘‘Having caught a vigorous though undersized shrew, I put
him in a large wooden box, and provided him with an ample
supply of beechnuts, which he ate greedily. He was also fur-
nished with a saucer of water, from which he frequently drank.
After he had remained two days in these quarters, I placed in
the box with him an uninjured and very active white-footed
mouse. The shrew at the time weighed 10.20 grammes, while
the mouse, which was a large adult male, weighed just 17
grammes. No sooner did the shrew become aware of the pres-
ence of the mouse than he gave chase. The mouse, though
much larger than the shrew, showed no disposition to fight,
and his superior agility enabled him, for a long time, easily to
evade his pursuer, for at a single leap he would pass over the
latter’s head and to a considerable distance beyond. Theshrew
labored under a great disadvantage, not only from his inability
to keep pace with the mouse, but also to a still greater extent,
from his defective eyesight. He frequently passed within two
inches (81 mm.) of the mouse without knowing his where-
abouts. But he was persistent, and explored over and over
again every part of the box, constantly putting the mouse
to flight. Indeed, it was by sheer perseverance that he so
harassed the mouse that the latter, fatigued by almost con-
tinuous exertion, and also probably weakened by fright, was
no longer able to escape. He was first caught by the tail ; this
proved a temporary stimulant, and he bounded several times
across the box, dragging his adversary with him. The shrew
did not seem in the least disconcerted at thus being harshly
jerked about his domicile, but continued his pursuit with great
determination. He next seized the mouse in its side, which
resulted in a rough and tumble, the two rolling over and over
and biting each other with much energy. The mouse freed
himself, but was so exhausted that the shrew had no difficulty
48 BULLETIN NO. VII.
in keeping alongside, and soon had him by theear. The mouse
rolled and kicked and scratched and bit, but to no avail. The
shrew was evidently much pleased, and forthwith began to
devour the ear. When he had it about half eaten off the mouse
again tore himself free; but his inveterate little foe did not
suffer him to escape. This time the shrew clambered up over
his back, and was soon at work consuming the remainder of
the ear. This being satisfactorily accomplished, he continued
to push on in the same direction, till he had cut through the
skull, and eaten the brains, together with the whole side of the
head and part of the shoulder. This completed his first meal.
As soon as he had finished eating I placed him upon the scales,
and found that he weighed exactly 12 grammes—an increase of
.80 gramme.”
Sorex cooperi BACHMAN.
COQPER’S SHREW.
Sorex cooperi BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Sci., Phila. VII.
REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.
DEKay. Zool. of N. Y.
Aup.and Bacw. Quad. N. A.
WAGNER. SchreberSiiugeth. B. V. Suppl.
BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
FITZINGER. Kritische Untersuch.
ALLEN. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., No. 8.
Orocidura cooperi REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.
Amphisorex lesueri DUVERNOY. Mag. de Zool., 1842.
Sorex lesueri WAGNER. Suppl. Schreber. Siugeth. V.
Although the synonyms quoted above, refer to the western
form, which constitutes the species in its strictest sense, as
understood by Prof. Baird, the author is greatly inclined to
believe that at least S. haydeni, and probably several other
species given in the mammals of North America, are really
varieties of the present species. Not having material for com-
parison of this with the other species of the genus, we must
content ourselves with a brief description of the only Sorex yet
encountered in Minnesota. The specimens examined in Minne-
sota were remarkably uniform in size. Average measurements
are as follows: Length, 3.50; tail, 1.72; head and body, 1.78 ;
hind foot, about 0.50.
Sorex platyrhinus, the common eastern species, has not been
detected in Minnesota.
d
a
4
j
“
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 49
_ Neosorex palustris is an aquatic species found rarely in New
England, which may be expected here. I have noticed on sev-
eral occasions burrows and tracks leading to the water’s edge,
with small gasteropod mollusk shells scattered about in sucha
way as to lead one to suspect the presence of an aquatic insec-
tivorous animal, but all efforts failed to secure specimens.
Fammny TALPIDA, Motes.
The moles proper are easily distinguished, and constitute a
natural and compact group. The genera are few and widely
distributed, and although a rather large number of nominal
species have been formed on superficial characters, the vari-
ability is sufficient to reduce them to very few distinct specific
types. It is strange that naturalists should be surprised to find
in animals only rarely seen, and then under exceptional condi-
tions, the same variation which is everywhere observed in our
familiar species, and yet every slight variation in color and
proportions, has been seized as a reason for creating a new
species in this family.
In appearance the moles resemble the shrews in several
respects, but there could hardly be found a more striking
diversity of habit than that furnished by the active, vivacious,
social and terrestrial shrew, and the clumsy fossorial hermit
whose disposition seems as crabbed as any one’s should be,
immured by caprice in damp, endless labyrinths.
. The head is very large and elongated, terminating in a slen-
der, generally flattened proboscis, in which the nostrils open
upward. The eyes are minute, and are either concealed in the
pelage or are entirely covered by the skin. The shoulder is
enormously developed, while the arm is greatly shortened and
bears an enormous shovel-shaped, five-toed manus, set at right
angles to the axis of the body, so as to play laterally in pushing
the earth aside. The posterior part of the body is compara-
tively weak, and the hind feet and tail small, the latter usually
naked. Moles are entirely insectivorous, and, except for the
unsightly mounds sometimes made, and the persistency with
which they at times mine in cultivated ground, should rank as
true aids to the gardener. A deep seated prejudice against
them existed from early times, and in the early days of Europe
an official mole catcher formed one of the stipendiaries of a
well equipped manor. Moles were thought to have something
50 BULLETIN NO. VII.
uncanny about them, and figured to a greater or less extent in
the witchcraft of the time.
The moles are solitary, except during the breeding season,
which is a period of unrest and ceaseless quarrels.
The fact that the genera are restricted to the respective con-
tinents where they are found, would seem to indicate that the
fossorial habit is a preventive of ready distribution, and that
the forms are endemic. South America is without moles, as
well as other Insectivora.
The geographical distribution may be gathered from the
brief systematic outline given below.*
In the moles the skull is flattened pyriform and shrew-like,
but differs obviously in the possession of perfect zygomatic
arches and enclosed bony tympanic bulla. There is no distinct
post-glenoid process ; the cervical vertebree have no hypaph-
ophyses; sternum with a strongly keeled manubrium ; scapula
narrow, longer than whole arm; clavicle very short; humerus
enormously enlarged; carpus with an os intermedium, and
(usually) a sickle-shaped osseous support to hand. The hind
limb is weak.
*1, GENUS UROTRICHUS.
Asingle Japanese and Asian species. U. talpoides, represents a genus having the
general characters of the moles, except a slender terete snout and a slender
bristled tail. The dentition is 2,9, 3, 4x2—36, This is thought to form a trans-
ition toward Myogale.
GENUS CONDYLURA.
See above. Fitzinger in the face of the unanimous authority of recent American
writers, recognizes four species on the basis of seasonal and sexual modification.
3. GENUS SCALOPS.
Also see above. A North American genus, with perhaps two closely allied species.
outof which Fitzinger forms nine. Thecalm indifference with which a European
author settles a question of specific validity upon the evidence of fragmentary,
conflicting descriptioas by hasty European travelers, with the ppeenG help of
mouldy, ill-stuffed skins of doubtful authenticity, in the face of American stu-
dents, with large accumulations of material, would be amusing if not more.
4. GENUS TALPA.
Fitzinger recognizes seven species of this genus, whose type is the common mole
of Europe. Talpa europea.
Five named varieties of the common mole indicate how variable such a species
may be, end affords a suggestive commentary on the numerous species of Scalops
recognized.
Talpa coca differs from T. europe@a simply in the size of the eye orifice, and is
usually considered identical with it. Two species of this genus are accredited to
America almost certainly erroneously, they are T. nigrofusca and T. reposta, A
Japanese species, T. wogura, was secured by Temminck, and an East Indian,
T. micrura, by Hodgson, while a very doubtful species, T leucura Blyth, was described
by Blyth from farther India. It is probably simply T. micrura.
GENUS CHRYSOCHLORIS.
The golden moles of Africa differ from the above in having but four toes on the
fore foot, and lacking the tail.
Of this genus there seems to be three or more species; Fitzinger enumerates nine.
ae es Are (or C capensis, as it is perhaps properly called) occurs at the cape of
ood Hope.
C. obtusirostris is from near Mosambique. :
C. villosa from Port Natal, was first described by A. Smith in 1833, and specimens
are in the British Museum.
5, GENUS SCAPHANUS.
This genus is closely related with Scalops, differing in dentition and the possess-
ion or a Dalry tail. The single species, Scapanus breweri. is found in the eastern
nited States.
29
or
]
ee
~~
SS
% MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. ol
GENUS SCALOPS. Cuv.
This genus includes American moles, in which the nostrils
are on the upper surface of the nose, and are not surrounded
by fringing tentacles, and the teeth are 36 in number, the two
upper anterior ones being very large.
Fig. 4. SCALOPS AQUATICUS.
Scalops aquaticus Linn. sp.
Sorex aquaticus LINN. Syst. Nat., 1758.
ERXLEBEN. Syst. Reg. Anim., 1771.
SCHREBER. Siuget., iii.
BODDAERT. Elenchus Anim, 1784.
GMELIN. Syst. Nat., 1788.
Talpa ewropea flavescens ERXLEBEN. Syst. Reg. Anin., 1777.
ZIMMERMAN. Geogr. Geschicte d. Menschen u. d. Thiere.
SCHREBER. Siugethiere.
52 BULLETIN NO VII
Talpa virginianus niger. SEBA. Thesaur.
Tulpa virginiana BRIssoN. Régne anim.
Talpa rubra ERXLEBEN. Syst. regn. anim.
Talpa fusca SHAW. Gen. Zool.
Talpa purpurascens SHAW. Gen. Zool.
Talpa vulgaris var B. BODDAERT. Elencn. Anim.
Talpa pennuntii LECONTE. Proc. Acad Phila., V.
‘ Figs. 5 and 6.
A Upper surface of hand. B Upper surface of snout.
Talpa latimanus LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila.
(?) Tlapa townsendii LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila.
Talpa aquatica LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila.
Talpa enea LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila.
Scalops aquaticus Cuv.
ILLIGER. Prodrom.
FISCHER. Synops. Mam.
WAGNER. Syst. d. Amph.
BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Phila.
WAGNER. Schreber Siiugethiere.
GRAY. Mam. Brit. Mus.
REICHENBACH. Naturgeschicte Raubthiere.
BLAINVILLE. Osteograph, Insectiv.
DEKAyY. Zool. N. Y.
AUDUBON and BACHMAN. Quadr. N. A.
GIEBEL. Siugethiere.
BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
FITzINGER. Naturliche Fam. d. Maulwiirfe.
ALLEN. Mam. Mass.
BRAYTON. Mam. Obio.
aS
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. De
Scalops canadensis F. Cuv. Dict. des Sc. Nat.
DESMAREST. Nouv. Dict. Nat. Hist.
HARLAN. Fauna Americana.
GRIFFITH. Anim. King.
RICHARDS. Fauna Bor. Am.
Emmons. Zool. N. Y.
Scalops latimanus BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Phila.
REICHENBACH. Naturg. Raubt.
AUDUBON and BACHMAN. Quad. N. A.
WAGNER. Schreber’s Siiugeth.
Scalops pennsylvanica HARLAN. Fauna Amer.
FISCHER. Synopsis Mam.
WAGNER. Schreber’s Siugeth.
? Scalops eneus CASSIN. Proc. Acad. Phila.
WAGNER. Schreber’s Siiugeth.
The above synonymy is not vouched for entirely, much of it
being collected from various works. It serves to show how
numerous have been the notices of this animal, and yet how
little has been added to our knowledge of its habits, variations
and anatomy.
The following measurements indicate the average size:
Nose to anus, 4.6; tail, 1.4; total length, 6; nose to incisors,
0.5; nose to ear, 1.85; nose to occiput, 2.0; length of fore
foot, 0.9; width, 0.85; length of hind foct, 0.9. Additional
measurements of the same specimen may be taken from the
figure of the skeleton. Color deep brown to plumbeous, with
a yellowish reflection; fur moderately long and fine. Tail
almost naked. Snout long, flattened, obliquely truncate, bear-
ing the nostrils on the upper and outer surface, inclined toward
each other. Fore foot greatly enlarged, both by the lateral
separation of the fingers, which are fully webbed, and by the
addition of a wide blade supported by a specially developed
sickle-shaped bone of the wrist. (See fig. 4 and figs. 6 A and
B.) The ear is very minute and entirely without an external
appendage,; the eye is concealed under the skin, and lies but
little back of the angle of the mouth.
The mole may be almost said to swim through the earth, its
feet not being beneath the body, but on either side, and so
armed with broad spade-like claws, and so highly provided
with muscles as to glide rapidly through the soft earth. Dur-
ing the passage through the earth, the back and shoulders
wedge the earth upward, so that the course of the animal can
be followed by the observer above. During its passage the
highly sensitive and vibratile snout is constantly in motion,
searching for such insects, worms, etc., as may come in its
\
: sit be y
54 BULLETIN NO. VII.
way. It seems hardly likely that this organ really assists
materially in loosening or removing the soil, as some have
thought. Advantage is taken of the upward thrust of the
earth to place dead-falls over their runways, in such a way
that the passage of the animal shall cause a weighted and
armed board to descend and transfix the animal. Little is
known of the domestic economy of the mole. It rarely leaves
the earth on dark days, though it has been seen in the streets
of a large city, wandering aimlessly. The males are said to
be very pugnacious, and live apart during most of the year.
Two litters of from five to nine young may be produced annu-
ally. The nest is found in sheltered situations, and is com-
posed of grass and leaves. The complicated system of galleries
produced by Talpa is not ascribed to our species.
Sealops (aquaticus VAR.) argentatus AUD. and BacuH.
Scalops argentatus BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Phila.
AUDUBON and BACHMAN. Quad. N. A.
REICHENBACH. Naturg. Raubt.
WAGNER. Schreber’s Siugeth.
BAIRD. Nam. N. A.
FirzincEer. Naturlich. Fam. Waulwiirfe.
JORDAN. Mam. Vertebrates.
KENNICOTT. Pat. Of. Rep. Agr., 1857.
Scalops aquaticus GIEBEL. Siugeth.
Scalops aquaticus var. argentatus COUES. [?]
BRAYTON. Mam. Ohio.
Although this is the common form in Minnesota, the writer
has had no opportunity to compare the anatomy with S. aqua-
ticus. In all probability it should stand as a well marked geo-
graphical variety, conspicuous for its light colored silvery fur,
which is very long, fluffy and soft. It averages somewhat
larger than the common mole; other differences seem to be
intangible. It is difficult to conceive of a more beautiful pelage
than that of this mole, the individual hairs being as fine and so
peculiarly formed as to give rise to a gorgeous play of colors,
due to interference of the rays of light reflected. This species
occurs in Ohio, and extends westward, throughout the prairie
region.
Mr. Weber says: ‘‘Two moles in nine days ate 341 white
worms, 193 earth worms, 25 caterpillars, and a mouse, both the
bones and skin of which they swallowed.” An idea that the
mole is possessed of an unusually keen sense of hearing seems
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 5D
to be indicated by the expression in Shakespeare: ‘‘Pray you
tread softly, that the blind mole may not hear a foot-fall.”’
GENUS SCAPHANUS.
Dentition: i. 3. c. 4, pm. 4, m. 3x2—44. The teeth forward
of the last premolar are nearly equal in size above and below.
Nostrils lateral or superior. Tail hairy.
Scaphanus breweri is not known to occur in Minnesota, but
since another closely allied form, S. townsendi, occurs in Oregon,
it is not unnatural to expect that some representative of the
genus will ultimately be found. ~
Condylura cristata L. (DEsmM. )
STAR-NOSED MOLE.
Sorex cristatus LINNZUS. Sys. Nat. (Hd. X), 1758.
ERXLEBEN. Syst. Reg. Animal, 1777.
SCHREBER. Siugeth, 1784.
BoppzRT. Elenchus Anim., 1784.
GMELIN. Syst. Nat., 1788.
Condylura cristata DESMAREST. Journ. de Physique, 1819.
HARLAN. Fauna Am., 1825.
GODMAN. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1825.
GRIFFITH. Cuv. An. King, 1827.
Dricsy, Zool. or N.Y... 1842.
BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1357.
MERRIAM. Mam. Adirondacks.
. Rhinaster cristatus WAGNER. Suppl. Shreb. Siiuget., 1841.
Talpa longicaudata ERXL. Syst. Reg. Anim., 1777.
SHAW. Gen. Zool., 1800.
Talpa radiata SHAW. Gen. Zool., 1800.
Sorex radiatus SHAW. Gen. Zool., 1800.
Condylura longicaudata DESMAREST. Mamm., 1820.
HARLAN. Fauna Am., 1825.
GRIFFITH. Cuv., 1827.
RICHARDSON. Fauna Bor. Am., 1829.
FiscHER. Synopsis, 1829.
GIEBEL. Siiugeth., 1855.
Rhinaster longicaudata WAGNER. Suppl. Schreb., 1841.
Talpa longicaudata Bopp. Elench. Anim., 1784.
Condylura macroura HARLAN. Fauna Am., 1825.
RICHARDS. Fauna bor. Amer.
FISCHER. Synop. Mam.
GIEBEL. Siiugethiere.
REICHENBACH. Naturg. Raubth.
Rhinaster macrurus FITZINGER. Naturl. Fam. Maulw.
Condylura prasinata HARRIs, GODMAN, LESSON, WAGNER.
Astromycetes cristatus GRAY. Etce., etc.
56 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Only a partial synonomy is given, but enough to indicate the
attention which this strange species has received at the hands
of naturalists. Although probably measurably common, this
species is very rarely seen. Only one specimen was secured
during the progress of the survey, and the Indian who secured
it stated that it was the first one he had seen, although he
evinced great familiarity with even the smaller animals.
The specimen, a male with thickened tall, measured as fol-
lows: Length to tail, 4,5,; tail,3,,; nose to base of fore foot,
12; palm, #; longest fore claw, ,°;; hind foot, 1,4. The color
above was black with a shade os vandyke brown, below a just
perceptible tinge of reddish brown, with a ferrugineous suffu-
sion. Here and there are rusty splotches, especially under the
throat and thighs, tail and feet reddish flesh color; former fusi-
form, constricted at the base. Claws straw-yellow.
In general form this species closely resembles the common
mole, being clumsy, neckless, and with enlarged palms. The
snout is thicker than in the mole, and its smooth terminal por-
tion extends into a fimbriated margin; the radiating cartilag-
inous processes numbering from 20 to 22. These processes are
about a quarter of an inchlong. The nostrils are terminal and
circular and the muzzle is furrowed below. The eyes are small,
but distinctly visible, and are midway between the muzzle and
the ear. The external ear is limited to two small valve-like
flaps. The tail is fusiform, and covered with scales which have
an annular arrangement between which are sparse hairs.
The palms are fringed with stiff hair, and the outer edges
of the front toes are produced into horny processes. ~
The star-nosed mole is distributed from the Atlantic to the
Pacific in suitable situations, but seems to be most at home
between 40° to 45° N. latitude. Moist meadows furnish the con-
ditions best suited to this species, and there it may sometimes
be found in considerable numbers in company with Scalops
aquaticus, in the habits of which it shares, feeding on grubs
and the like. The breeding chamber is placed beneath the
protection of a stump, but little is known of the habits.
Osteology: The skull is more slender than in Scalops, and
the auditory openings and bulle# resemble the shrews. Denti-
tion #, 4, 4, $x2—44. The upper incisors project horizontally
and are approximate; these are followed by a filiform tooth,
and this by a canine-like tooth with a small spur posteriorly.
After a hiatus comes a small canine.
CHAPTER FOUR.
ORDER CARNIVORA.
FLESH EATERS.
This order is represented within our limits by—species of—
genera contained in—distinct families. It deserves to rank as
one of the highest, if not the highest order, if specialized differ-
entiation in one direction and within narrow limits are points
sufficient to justify the claim. Although actually as a group,
of little economic interest, except it be on account of inroads
upon domestic animals, no order secures more popular atten- -
tion and interest than this. Lions and tigers, bears and wolves,
these and others are familiar and dreaded names from the nur-
sery. Besides this, the constant and household companions
which man has selected from the ranks of the lower animals
belong to this order. Domestic cats and dogs introduce to us
the larger and more intractible cousins of the wilderness.
In spite of the considerable variation in external appearance
exhibited by different members of the order, it is very homo-
—4
58 BULLETIN NO. yII.
geneous in essential characters. From the weasel, to the bear
or lion, we may look without finding any animal so peculiar
that there is any difficulty in recognizing affinities with its fel-
lows.
The typical carnivore has a more or less triangular head
with pointed muzzle, armed with long vibrisse. The ears are
pointed and movable, while the eyes are large, or at least of
fair size, (the bears do not conform to this type), and are di-
rected forward. The body is powerful, if not graceful and
lithe, as in most cases. Limbs are of moderate length and
adapted for progression, (but rarely useful for prehension).
The claws are powerful, and in the highest groups retractile,
so that the keen points and edges are not worn dull by walk-
ing. This is accomplished by the peculiar position of the last
bone of the toe. There are usually five toes on each foot and
the reduction never affects more than one toe on a foot.
Though the bones of the fore arm are not united, they are nev-
ertheless not adapted for rotary motions of pronation, etc., in
most groups.
The bears touch the ground with the whole sole of each foot,
or are, in other words, plantigrade. Between this condition,
and that of the cat, where only the toes touch the ground in
walking, or when progression is entirely digitigrade, there is
a complete series of intermediate links. The former method is
held to be the primitive one for the order and permits of great
freedom in the use of the extremities, but it is also accompa-
nied with a certain heaviness and even clumsiness, which is
avoided by the digitigrate foot. An animal which must run
swiftly, or spring upon its prey from a distance, requires the
additional leverage furnished by a long heel.
The brain is well developed, having several convolutions and
a large corpus callosum. The cerebral hemispheres do not
overlap the cerebellum, however. The development of the
organs of sense reaches the maximum in this order. The eyes
* are usually specially adapted to nocturnal vision, so that, al-
though the contractile iris adjusts the eye to strong daylight,
the darkness of night is no obstacle to the chase of prey. The
following anatomical characters may be added. The digestive
tract is comparatively simple, the stomach never being com-
posed of more than one chamber, and the ccecum, if present,
is small. The clavicles are absent or very rudimentary, being
most highly developed in the cats. Theatlas vertebra has two
large transverse processes. The zygomatic arches are usu-
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 59
ally very wide and curve upward. The orbit is never set off
from the temporal fossa, by the union of the post frontal pro-
cesses of the temporal and zygomatic bones. There is in al-
most every case a deciduate, zonary placenta. The dentition
is especially characteristic and also difficult to reduce to the
same general formula. The dentition of the forepart of the
mouth is, indeed, remarkably uniform throughout the group.
There are always six incisors in each jaw (except in the single
case of the sea otter) and two canines. The incisors are usually
chisel-shaped, and are weil adapted to gnaw the flesh from
bones of their prey. The canines serve an entirely different
purpose. They are frequently so long that they lock the jaws
when they are closed, aud enable the animal to seize its prey
with a grip which no efforts will suffice to shake off. The size
and form of the canines constitute, to a certain extent, an in-
dex of the habits of the animal. The molars and premolars
constitute a more or less continuous series of variable number.
The crowns are usually furnished either with sharp cutting
edges or conical prominences. As the canines indicate the
habits of the animal especially with reference to the way in
which they secure their prey, so the molars and premolars
furnish good evidence of the sort of food constituting the ord-
inary diet. The lateral extension of both the condyles and
glenoid surfaces, for the lower jaw prevents that lateral mo-
tion of the jaws characteristic of herbivorous animals, and in
harmony with this fact, the molars do not oppose each other,
but the teeth of the lower jaw fit between those above, and, in
many cases, their knife-like edges constitute the blades of ver-
itable shears. There are never more than four premolars in
one half of the jaw in any living carnivore, and the number
may be considerably reduced. One of the premolars above and
below is remarkably developed and furnished with two knife-
like lobes, and is especially adapted to the cutting of flesh into
morsels. These sectorials are frequently the iargest teeth and
are situated so far toward the back of the mouth, that they are
very effective on accountof the superior leverage their position
in the jaw occasions.
The operation of these teeth can be seen when, for instance,
a cat in biting off a tough bit turns the head to one side and
closing her eyes, gnashes with a sort of fury, cracking even
thick bones. Back of these teeth are the true molars which
have flatter or tuberculated crowns. In the typical carnivores
these are slightly developed, but they keep pace with the de-
velopment of omnivorous propensities.
60 BULLETIN NO. VII.
According to the dentition, all living and fossil carnivorous
animals might be grouped under two types, the one represented
by the fossil family Arctocyonide, and the other by the likewise
extinct family Hyenodontide. The former have the characteris-
tic dentition of omnivorous animals and the latter of carnivo-
res. Both had 44 teeth while the latter had five premolars,
the last two of which were sectorial.
The sectorial of the upper jaw is always one of the milk
teeth while that of the lower jaw belongs to the permanent
series. The variations from the original type which are ob-
served in modern carnivorous animals consist in reduction in
the number and various modifications in the form and use of
individual teeth. No living carnivore has more than the origi-
nal number, 44. In the dogs and bears the number is reduced
to 42 while the Subursidz have two less. The badgers have
36; in all these cases, however, the molars exhibit the true
omnivorous characters.
The true carnivores, as represented typically by the cats,
have only 30 teeth. The animal in this order which possesses
the fewest teeth is the Patagonian Lyncodon which has 28,
i. e., one premolar less than the cats on either side. Among
the fossil cats is an instance of still greater reduction in the
Machzrodus with its monstrous walrus-like upper canines.
Although, as above said, the dentition affords a basis for
sub-dividing the order into two groups it is found convenient
to form three sub-orders as follows:
I. Sub-order #luroidea containing the families Viverride or
civet cats, Hyenide or hyzenas, Cryptoproctide including the
Foussa of Madagascar, and Felide, the cats.
II. Sub-order Arctoidea embracing the families Urside or
bears, and Mustelide or martins.
III. Sub-order Cynoidea embracing the Canide or dog
family.
Susorper AVTLUROIDEA.
The characters upon which this suborder is founded are
technical and the real basis for the subdivision is found in simi-
larities of structure and habits which connect the different
members of this group more closely with each other than with
members of the other suborders. The points usually selected
as distinctive are the following: Teeth without tuberculate
crowned molars, reduced in number. Auditory bullze inflated,
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. . 61
rounded and usually septate, the external meatus being short.
Paroccipital and mastoid processes not prominent, the latter
being sometimes indistinguishable. ’
The czecum is small orabsent. There are both cowper’s and
prostrate glands. Of the four families of this sub-order only
one, the Felidze, is represented in Minnesota, and we may here
simply pass in review the typical members of the others as
introductory to a study of our own Carnivora.
The family Viverride is restricted to the warmer portions of
the old world, one species only occurring in southern Europe.
The legs are short and the body usually is almost weasel-like
in its slenderness. There may be four or five toes on the feet.
Both plantigrade and digitigrate forms occur. In the one case
the claws are not retractile, while in the other they are cat-
like.
The head is small and narrow on account of the slight arch
of the zygoma. The orbit is sometimes closed. The teeth are
more or less carnivorous but vary greatly in form. The num-
ber of incisors and canines is constant and normal. There are
also constantly two molars in each ramus of both jaws. The
number of premolars may be three or four and the conforma-
tion of the teeth differs in the milk set from that in the perma-
nent dentition. Of the numerous species most are noctui ual and
-all have a musky smell.
Exceptionally, fruit forms the staple diet but the gieater
number are entirely carnivorous. Some species, like the ich-
neumon have been domesticated and prove useful in ridding
buildings of vermin.
The genet represents the family in Europe and is a slender
yellowish gray animal with black-spotted pelt and long, ringed
taii. The Asiatic zibet and the African civet are worthy of
note on account of the peculiar secretion of the anal glands
known as zibet and which, when mixed with oil, constitutes a
perfume-like musk. It is said that both in India and parts of
Africa numbers of these animals are kept in confinement and
well fed with birds and periodically relieved of the waxy se-
cretion by scraping the sack-like mouth of the glands with a
spoon. The two animals resemble each other, the African be-
ing larger and reaching the size of a fox.
Prionodon gracilis is a graceful little animal with a spotted
coat found upon Java and neighboring islands and feeds en-
tirely upon birds. The coffee cat, Paradoxurus, inhabiting
eastern India is more omnivorous than the above and feeds
62 BULLETIN NO. VII.
upon sweet vegetables like bananas as well as birds. It is
beautifully marbled with black upon a yellow ground. The
mampalon which dwells near the fresh waters of Borneo and
Sumatra is an abberant form resembling the otter greatly and
like it is aquatic, having webbed feet and is partially planti-
grade.
The ichneumons have already been referred to and many
species are known.
The suricate is asmall animal something over a foot long,
inhabiting South Africa and remarkable for having but four toes
and teeth of an insectivorous type. The food consists of small
mammals, birds and insects and the animal is used by the
natives, as is the ichneumon elsewhere, to destroy vermin in
spite of a strong and to Europeans exceedingly offensive odor.
In addition to the above we may mention the mangue, Cynictis,
the binturong, and Arctitis.
The Hycenide, or hyzna family area rather small group
although it was in the last geological age of relatively greater
importance. The living animals of this group are confined to
the warm portions of the Eastern Continent and are nocturnal
in habit.
The external form is somewhat like that of a wolf but dif-
fers especially in the great and disproportionate development
of the fore legs. The head is large and the muzzle is short.
The pupil is round and the ears pointed. The feet have four
toes except in the Aard Varkor Earth Wolf of South Africa
which has five on the fore feet. Progression is plantigrade
and the claws not retractile. All hyznas have anal glands
which emit an unpleasant smell and prevent the domestication
of the animal. The lower jaw is very powerful and armed with
strong crushing teeth. Their milk and permanent dentition
are very different, the following being the formule; milk denti-
tion 3.1:4:9—82, permanent detition 31.4} The dorsal vertebre
number 14 or 15. The Proteles, or Aard Vark, differs con-
spicuously from the true hyaenas especially in possessing
small weak teeth. This animal is little known but is very
retiring, burrowing with facility and possibly living largely
upon insects and reptiles. The milk dentition is of a more
carnivorous sort than the permanent set and furnishes evidence
that the present anomalous nature of the teeth is due to retro-
grade development.
A third family the Cryptoproctide, contains only the genus,
Cryptoprocta formed to include the Foussa of Madagascar
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 63
This animal is interesting not only because it is the sole car-
nivore of any size found upon Madagascar but because it
unites with the form of a civet the dentition found in no living
cat, but characteristic of tertiary Felidze. ‘The body and head
are slender, the tail long, and while the claws are retractile,
the whole sole is applied to the ground. There are anal glands
such as characterize the civets to which and the Felidz they
form alink. The last of the families of the AXluroidea is that
containing the cats proper to which we now pass.
FELID.
THE CAT FAMILY.
This family may be considered the typical and the highest
member of the Carnivora. We find in this group only graceful
and well-formed animals combining with wonderful strength
and agility such variations in form as are best adapted to the
special habitat in which the animal is found. The psychical
characters agree with the physical and we find in the catsa
fine combination of courage and affection. In addition to
highly developed senses and mental powers, the cats have a
certain spirit of independence which makes them less adapted
than the dogs to be the slavesof man. The cat always retains
her self esteem, at least so long as she keeps her pelt and feet
dry, and wishes to be treated with consideration, in which case
she will exhibit all the affection with none of the servility of
the dog, as though conscious of royal blood and princely con-
nections. The personal pride which makes the cat so careful
not to soil her beautiful fur is seen in all her relations with
man. She does not hesitate to take possession of the best
place and exacts attention to her kittens with motherly pride,
and in return for care and caresses often lays her booty of mice
or birds at the feet of the master, perhaps rather as an evidence
of service than in the real expectation of their being used.
The toes only touch the ground in walking and the hallux is
absent, while the thumb is elevated above the other toes.
Nearly all the family are furnished with retractile claws which
are preserved from dulling by being withdrawn into sheaths
during walking. In the living species there is very slight
variation from one type of dentition. The formula for the milk
dentition is as follows: #:4:3:5—26 for the permanent set
$:4:3:1—30. The incisors are small, irregularly chisel-shaped
64 BULLETIN NO. VII.
and adapted for gnawing. The canines are long and curved.
The first upper pre-molar is smali while the third is the sec-
torial and is the largest tooth, being trenchant with three ex-
ternal cusps and an internal tubercle. The molar is small.
The lower molar is the sectorial which has two nearly equal
cusps and a posterior talon or tubercle.
The zygomas are widely arched laterally. The skull is short
and usually arched, the orbits being large and the longitudinal
crest less powerfully developed than in Canide. There is no
ali-sphenoid canal. The bull are divided into two chambers.
There are but thirteen dorsal vertebre.
The Felide live almost exclusively upon fiesh and prefer
living prey, upon which most species creep with remarkable
patience and skill, and rarely pursue an animal which they
have failed to secure at the first spring. A remarkable habit
which prevails among the cats is that of prolonging the excite-
ment of the chase by trifling with the prey after it is partially
disabled.
The Felide do not hunt in packs but singly, or, during the
youth of the kittens, in pairs. The cats have a most interest-
ing and pathetic affection for the young, which are cared for
with unwearying devotion and protected with unreserved self-
sacrifice. There are ordinarily two or three young, although
domestic races become more prolific. The maternal instinct is
so great that the young of other animals are often adopted
when the mother is deprived of her kittens.
The living members of the family may be grouped in three
genera, the principal one Felis containing the cats proper, the
second, Lynx, the short-tailed northern cats, and the third,
Cynelurus, the cheetah, or hunting leopard.
The last named genus contains three species, or more proba-
bly. three varieties of a single species. These are C. jubatus.
C. guttatus and C. lanea. The head is cat-like but the body is
more like that of a dog, the legs being long and the claws not
retractile. The pupil is round instead of linear, and various
osteological peculiarities distinguish this genus quite fully
from the cats proper. The several forms are found from India
to southern Africa.
GENUS FELIS.
Although numerically the largest genus of the Felide it is
represented in the United States by a single species, the pan-
ther or cougar. There are between forty and forty-five species
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 65
‘of this genus, of which brief descriptions may be found in
Mivart’s ‘‘The Cat,” and in general works on natural history.
It will be sufficient to give the names of these and their habitat.
GN O Ot Bm CO DD Fe
1) (CD. WS COCO eg Cs) (C5: HD) ROP DO ROnROM ES DOURS) DOshose ee Se Se
SSS SRR ONOE SOON OTRONWEOOCDIAMAREWOHNHOL
Felis leo, Lion—Africa, Arabia and formerly Europe and India.
Felis tigris, Tiger—Asia, Java.
Felis pardis, Leopard—Africa and Southern Asia.
Felis uncia, Ounce—Highlands of Central Asia.
FELIS CONCOLOR, Puma—America.
Felis onca, Jaguar—South America, N. to U. S.
Felis macrocelis, Clouded Tiger—South Eastern Asia.
Felis scripta, Thibet Tiger—Thibet.
Felis tristis, Fontaneir’s Cat—China.
Felis aurata, Bay Cat—Nepal, Sumatra, Borneo.
Felis viverrina, Fishing Cat—Bengal.
Felis bengalensis, Leopard—Eastern Asia.
Felis wagati, Wagati—India.
Felis marmorata, Marbled Tiger—Nepal to Borneo.
Felis serval, Serval—Africa.
Felis rutila, Golden-haired Cat—Sierra Leone and Gambia.
Felis neglecta, Grey African Cat—Gambia.
Felis servalina, Servaline Cat—Sierra Leone.
Felis pardalis, Ocelot—South America.
Felis tigrina, Margay—South America.
Felis guigna, Guigna—South America.
Felis pardinoides, Ocelot-like Cat—South America.
Felis yaguarondi, Yaguarondi—South America.
Felis eyra, Eyra—South America.
Felis colocollo, Colocollo—South America.
Felis rubiginosa, Rusty-spotted Cat—Madras, Ceylon.
Felis chinensis, Chinese Cat—China.
Felis minuta, Little Cat—Phillippine Islands.
Felis jerdoni, Jerdon’s Cat—(?)
Felis planiceps, Flat-headed Cat—Malacca, Borneo.
Felis badia, Bornean Bay Cat—Borneo.
Felis caligata, Egyptian Cat—Egypt.
Felis catus, Common Wild Cat—Europe.
Felis torquata, Indian Wild Cat—India.
Felis chaus, Jungle Cat—India.
Felis ornata, Ornamented Jungle Cat—India.
Felis caudatus, Steppe Cat—Bokara.
Felis shawiana, Shaw's Cat—Turkestan.
Felis manul, Manul—Siberia, Thibet.
Felis pajeros, Pampas Cat—South America
66 BULLETIN NO. VII.
The most obvious external peculiarity of the genus Felis is
the long and, frequently, tufted tail, the comparatively short
legs, the lack of ear tufts and the (commonly) circular pupil.
The dentition is 3, +, 3,4. The milk dentition is 3, }, 3, there
being no distinction into molars and premolars.
Felis concolor L.
THE PUMA. See Plate II.)
Felis concolor LINNEUS. Mantissa, 1771, p. 522.
ERXLEBEN. Syst. Anim., 1777, p. 511.
SCHREBER. Saeugethiere, vol. III, 1778, p. 394.
BoDDOERT. El. Anim., I. 1784, p. 90.
CUVIER. Recherches sur. esp. viv. d. grandchats, 1809.
GRIFFITH. Class Quadrim., order Carniy., 1821.
HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825, p. 94.
TEMMINCK. Monog. de Mammif., I, 1827, p. 139.
GRIFFITH, etal. Cuvier’s Animal King., V., 1827, p. 163.
FISHER. Synopsis Mammalium, 1829, p. 197.
DouGuty. Cabinet Nat. Hist., 1830, p. 190.
FULLER. Period of gestation, Proc. Comm.
Zool. Soc., Lond.,II, 1832, p. 62.
MARTIN. Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond., I, 1833, p. 120.
WAGNER. Sup.Schreb. Saeugth., 184, p. 461.
DEKAY. N. Y. Zoology, 1842, p. 47.
AUDUBON AND BACHMAN. Quad. N. A. II, 1851.
BURMEISTER. Thiere Braziliens, I, 1854.
BAIRD. Mammals, 1857, p. 83.
GIEBEL. Saeugethiere, 1859, p. 876.
Felis discolor SCHREBER. Saeugeth., III, 1778.
Felis puma SHAW. Gen. Zool., I, 1830, p. 358.
TRAIL. Remarks on Genus Felis.
Mem. Werner Nat. Hist. Soc., 1823.
BARTLETT. Breeding of larger Felide, etc., Proc.
Zool. Soc. London, 1861, p. 140.
FITzINGER. Revision der zur natuerlich. Familie der
Katzen gehoerig. Formen. Sitz. math.—nat. Cl.
Kk. Akad, Wiss. Wien, 1868-1869.
Putnam. American Panther. Am. Nat., 1871, p. 692.
CovEs. Specimen of a cougar, Am. Sportsman, Jan. 1874.
Batry. Felis concolor, Am. Sportsman, Apr. 1874.
OsER. Florida panther, Forest and Stream, Dec. 1874.—
Standard Natural History.
Few of our native animals have excited the imagination, not
to say fears, of the early settler of America to the same ex-
tent as this largest truly North American cat. To this fact
must be due the great variety of names by which it is com-
Plate II.
COLOR. PUMA.
FELIS CO
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 67
‘monly called. Following the universal fashion among the
colonists of applying familiar names to natural objects en-
countered, this large wild cat was early denominated ‘‘the
panther,” although it bears no resemblance to the leopard,
which is the true panther. More natural was it to suppose
that the animals brought in at first were all females of the
lion species. This presumption was given probability by the
uniform tawny color and penciled tail of the puma. The
name ‘‘American lion” has clung to the animal ever since and
served to exaggerate the prowess of the rather cowardly
beast. The native names cougar and puma are most appro-
priately employed. The jaguar is the only feline in America
which exceeds the puma in size. The length of a full grown
male of the latter exceeds five feet to the root of the tail,
which is about three feetlong. A female may measure slightly
less. When in good condition the weight reaches 150 pounds.
The body is long and slender, the head small, slender with
large ears which have rounded conchs. The legs are short and
stout and the feet are large. The tail is cylindrical and taper-
ing and at times is furnished with a terminal brush.
The fur is short and soft but rather dull. The color of the
body and legs is a uniform fulvous or reddish tint; the under
surface is reddish white; lighter and yellowish about the eyes.
Black is found only upon the muzzle and the tips of the ears.
The general color is described as like that of the Virginia
deer. The young are beautifully and variously mottled and
barred with dark brown. The tail is ringed and there is a
dusky patch upon the neck.
The puma ranges over the whole of South America and in
North America north to latitude 50°-60°. It is never really
abundant and conforms in its habits and dwelling places to the
exigencies of its habitat. In Florida it inhabits the depths of
the impassable everglades, in mountainous regions it makes its
lair in the rocky fastnesses of rugged peaks. In Texas it is
sometimes found in open prairies.
The puma is nocturnal by necessity, rather than choice, and
sees quite well in day light. It preys upon small or feeble
cattle, or such as are mired or otherwise disabled. Fawns,
raccoons, skunks, birds and all small animals are eaten.
When provisions are plentiful the animal is said to only
drink the blood of its victims as has been demonstrated by
autopsies. As many as fifty sheep may be destroyed in
one night by a single puma. In case of scarcity, on the
other hand, even carrion is not discarded.
68 BULLETIN NO VII
The courage is not great and, unless impelled by hunger or
despair, it never attacks dogs or horses—much less man.
During severe winters the puma may be driven to eat the por-
cupine and there are well authenticated instances where the
animal has fallen a victim to his temerity. The prey seems
not to be carried to the den which is in contrast with the habit
of other beasts. It is said to kill its prey instantly by drawing
back the head with the paw until the neck is broken. The
ordinary cry of the puma is a sort of ‘‘mew” on a larger scale
and more prolonged than that of the domestic cat. The male
growls when disturbed and, especially in the pairing season,
gives vent to wild and unearthly cries which have wrought
upon the superstitions of the frontiersman.
It is stated that the puma or ‘‘painter,” utters wailing human
cries in order to lure the belated traveler to destruction. All
such stories can easily be understood if one will take the pains
to conceive of the result if the caterwauling of a domestic cat
were magnified four or five times in power and singularity.
The female makes an affectionate mother. The young are
carried 96—97 days and are suckled until half grown.
The young are born in the spring in northern regions, but
farther south considerably later. Audubon found half-grown
pumas in Texas in February.
Pumas do not hunt in packs as do the various species of the
dog family, but until the kittens are grown they sometimes
hunt in pairs. :
No opportunity has been afforded for gathering anatomical
details and the reader is referred to Audubon for additional
information as to the habits of this species.
The most recent occurrence of the puma in Minnesota was
in 1875 when a single individual was killed in Sunrise, Chisago
Co. The following extracts contain all notices of this animal
which I have been able to gather from the earlier writings:.
In ‘“‘Carver’s Travels” p. 413, is the following account of
the puma which seems by the context to be credited to the
‘“Chipeway River.” ‘‘The TYGER. The tyger of America
resembles those of Africa and Asia, but is considerably smaller.
Nor does it appear to be so fierce and ravenous as they are.
The color of itis a darkish sallow, and it is entirely free from
spots.” ‘It is very seldom met within this part of the world.”
Mr. Merriam! gives the following statement concerning the
panther:
1 “41 The mammals of the Adirondack regions of Northeastern New York. C. Hart Merriam,
M.D. Cari as the Transactions of the Linnean Society of New York, 1884, under the
same title
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 69
“The distance that a panther can pass over in a single leap
is almost incredible. On level a Single spring of twenty feetis
by no means uncommon, and on one occasion Mr. Sheppard
measured a leap over snow of nearly forty feet. In this in-
stance there were three preliminary springs, and the panther
struck his deer on the fourth. The longest leap measured by
Mr. Sheppard was one of sixty feet, but here the panther
jumped from a ledge of rocks about twenty feet above the level
upon which the deer was standing. He struck it with such
force as to knock it nearly a rod farther off.
Under certain conditions of the deep snows the deer cut in
so deeply that the poor animals can make but slow progress.
At such times a panther, by spreading the toes of his great
broad paws, simulates a man on snow-shoes and sinks but a
short distance in the snow. He thus gains a vital advantage
over his prey, and will now give chase to and capture one that
he missed on his first spring. Under no other circumstances
will a panther pursue a deer, for he is too well aware of the
uselessness of an attempt to overtake so fleet an animal. Im-
mediately upon killing one he drags it bodily into some dense
thicket or windfall, where he will not be likely to be observed.
He has thus been known to drag a full-grown deer consider-
ably over a hundred feet before reaching a satisfactory covert.
Unlike the wolf, he makes the most of his prey and devours
it all before killing another. One deer generally lasts a
panther a week or ten days, and during that time he may usu-
ally be found within a mile of the carcass, hidden under some
log or uprooted tree. Sometimes, but very rarely, does he
partially bury it, after each meal, by scraping leaves and
brush over it. When all but enough for one or two meals has
been eaten, the panther, especially if a female with young,
will often make another hunt, but, if unsuccessful, returns to
the remains of the old carcass.”’
At the risk of repeating the substance of a previous part of
this chapter we quote from Merriam’s above mentioned work
remarks upon |
Some Common Fallacies Concerning Panthers.
1st. Concerning the alleged fierceness of the panther.
. “Hiven many very respectable works upon Natural History
contain the most detailed and heart-rending accounts of the
loss of human life by the brutal attacks of these ferocious
beasts. * * * The illustrious Audubon, in his great work
70 BULLETIN NO. VII.
upon the Quadrupeds of North America, cautions the reader
not to credit the legends of the vulgar in regard to the ferocity
of this animal, and its propensity to attack man, and then goes
on to picture midnight encounters and hair-breadth escapes
almost as thrilling as the story above quoted. Oh, the incon-
sistency of man! It is now so well known that the panther is
one of the most cowardly of beasts, never attacking man unless
wounded and cornered, that it is unnecessary to do more than
contradict the popular impression to the contrary.
2d. Concerning the method of capturing its prey.
It is commonly and widely believed, and boldly asserted in
print, that the panther lurks in ambush for its prey; that it
lies in wait beside the runways of the wary deer, hidden by
some rock or thicket, or crouching upon an overhanging limb,
and falls, like a thunderbolt from heaven, upon the back of its
hapless and unsuspecting victim. Such romances, however
gratifying to the narrator, and entertaining to the community,
are without foundation in fact. * * *
3d. Concerning the screams of the panther.
Who has not heard of the piercing cries and startling screams
of the panther? Who has listened, about the evening camp-
fire, to the tales of hunters and woodsmen, but has felt his
blood run cold, and his hat tighten on his head, as the earnest
speaker, perhaps in a whisper, and uninterrupted save by the
sputtering of the fire, told of the time when, alone in the soli-
tudes of the deep forest, and at the dead of night, he was sud-
denly awakened by a piercing scream that burst upon his weary
ears. It seemed like the shriek of a woman in distress, or the
pitiful wail of a lost child. Half asleep, quite bewildered, he
starts to his feet to render assistance, when the glaring eye
balls of a fierce cougar met his horrified gaze and acquainted
him with the nature of his unwelcome guest!
An attack of indigestion, the cry of a loon, or the screech of
an owl, a piece phosphorescent wood and a very moderate im
agination, are all that are necessary, in the way of material
and connctions, to build up a thrilling tale of this description.
Indeed, the writer once had a bitof personal experience in this
line that is not yet forgotten.
In conversing with honest hunters upon this point, it has
been my uniform experience to find that those who have had
most to do with panthers are most skeptical in regard to their
cries.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 71
4th. Concerning the size of the panther.
In talking with border hunters of a certain type, and in per-
using the literature, one is every now and then confronted with
the most fabulous statements concerning the size of the beast
now under consideration. Some would have us believe that
panthers have been killed and measured with a ‘‘two foot rule”
that were eleven, twelve, and even thirteen feet in length
Formidable beasts indeed! No less an authority than James
DeKay tells us, in apparent good faith, that one was killed on
an island in Fourth Lake (of the Fulton chain) in Herkimer
county, that, when recently killed, ‘‘had a total length of eleven
feet three inches”. ‘To those who are inclined to credit such
statements I have only to say, measure off eleven feet on your
floor; place the largest panther you ever saw on this measured
line, and then tell me on what part of the beast you would
‘‘annex” or ‘‘splice on” the three or more additional feet.
5th. Concerning the way a panther carries its prey.
We often see statements to the effect that a panther has kill-
ed a deer or a young bullock, slung it over his back and
marched off (perhaps up an embankment, or even climbed a
tree) with it. A panther drags adeer along the ground just as
a dog drags a sheep, or a cat a big piece of meat, and, if he is
a large one, he may be able to lift the deer so high that only
the hinder parts drag.
Felis domestica Linn.
DOMESTIC CAT.
The common domestic cat stands, as regards size, at nearly
the other end of the series of true cats inaugurated in America
by the jaguar and puma. At the time America was discoverd
all civilized nations had adopted this animal and it had become
a part of man’s family wherever homes were known. With
most of us there is something lacking in the cheer of the
chimney corner without the contented purr of a favorite cat,
and tabby has come to be associated with the innocent pleas-
ures of childhood and with home comforts in maturer life.
A very full account of all that is known about pussy and her
family may be found in St. George Mivart’s ‘‘The Cat,” Lon-
don, 1881. As in the case of most of our domestic animals,
the proper combination of qualities for permanent domestica-
72 BULLETIN NO. VII.
tion seems to have been obtained by the union of several dif-
ferent races or species. Our cat seems to be the result of a
union of the common wild cat of Europe, Felis catus, and the
Egyptian cat, Felis maniculata. The cat was certainly domes-
ticated in Egypt at a very early date and was an object of ven-
eration. In Herodotus’ time the cats of a house constituted in
some sort the Penates or household gods. Both cats and dogs
were early introduced into Italy, both being indicated in fres-
coes of Pompeii. The variation in coloration and form is con-
siderable, although far less than in some other domestic ani-
mals. What is called the tabby variety is thought to have re-
sulted from the admixture of wild cat blood. In the case of
the tortoiseshell cat, we have an instance of a difference in
coloration between the sexes, males being all but universally
grey. The blue cats, or Carthusian breed, are of a bluish
grey color and have fine, long, soft pelage. The Angora cat,
too, is especially remarkable for its fine, long hair as well as
its large size. The tailless manx cat is an interesting variety
with a tendency toward the reduction of the size of the fore
legs. Malay cats also have short tails. The habits of the do-
mestic cat are sufficiently well known and appreciated. In
America there is, of course, some change in the diet, but, in
general, the cat may be said to travel with her own commissariat
as the army of European pests usually keep pace with the
cat’s emigrations. In our state the field mice form no consid-
erable part of pussy’s diet at times, but the staple is always
Mus domestica. Many cats capture the gopher, Spermophilus,
habitually, although it seems not to be relished as well as
murine food. The cat at times hecomes nartially insectivorous
and feeds upon crickets or g? ‘shovp‘rs, out it appears that
these serve as a relish or ccndiment simply. No cases have
fallen under my notice of cats capturing rabbits, except when
the latter are still very young. Darwin has given us an inter-
esting example of the coherence of nature in the dependence
of the price of clover seed upon cats, via. field mice and bumble
bees.
GENUS LYNX.
See remarks under Felide.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. ta
Lynx rufus (GM.) Rar.
WILD CAT.
Felis rufa GMELIN, SCHREBER, DESMAREST, F. CUVIER.
BLAINVILLE,. GULDENSTEIN, TEMMINCK.
LESSING. GEOFFROY ST. HILLAIRE, FISCHER.
GERVAIS. BLYTH.
Lyn floridiana RAFINESQUE. Am. Month. Mag., 1817.
Tyncus rufus GRAY. P. Z.S., 1867.
DEKAyY. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1842.
Felix montana DESMAREST, LESSING, HARLAN.
LEContTE. P. A. N,S., Phila., 1856.
Felis maculata Vic. AND HorsF. Zool. Journ., 1829.
LEssING. Comp. Buff., 1839, etc.
Lyne rufus RAFINESQUE. Am Month. Mag., 1817.
AUD. AND BACH. Quad., N. A.
Marcy. Expl. Red R., 1852.
NEWBERRY. Pacif. R. R., Rep. VI, 1857.
BArRD. Mam., N. A.
ALLEN. Bull. M. C. Z., 1871.
CouES AND YARROW. Surv. 100th Mer., 1875.
MERRIAM. Mam. Adiron,, 1874.
Out of over a dozen specimens of wild cat examined, none
presented the characters attributed to LZ. canadensis. It would
not therefore be competent for me to discuss the validity of the
two species or their relations, but it may be confidently stat-
ed that if there are two species in Minnesota, our sportsmen
are much at fault. I was repeatedly shown specimens of
‘Liynx” which uniformly proved to be L. rufus, but all hunters
claim that two species exist, though distinctive characters
apart from difference in size could never be found.
It is preferable, however, to proceed with the description of
the one known variable species.
The earliest account of the wild cat from Minnesota, seems
to be this from Carver’s travels, p. 416. ‘‘The cat of the mount-
ains. This creature is in shape like a cat, only much larger.
The hair or fur resembles also the skin of that domestic ani-
mal; the color, however, differs, for the former is of a reddish
or orange cast, but grows lighter near the belly. The whole
skin is beautified with black spots of different figures, of which
those on the back are long, and those on the lower parts
round. On the ears are black stripes. The creature is nearly
as fierce as a leopard, but will seldom attack man.’’
Sy)
74 BULLETIN NO. VII.
The adult female is about three feet long. The following
measurements may be accepted as characteristic:
Length, 3 ft.; head and body, 2 ft. 6 in.; tail, 6 in.; fore foot
to callosity, 3.75; hind foot, 6.75; nose to corner of eye, 1.50;
nose to ear opening, 4.50; nose to occiput,5.37; breadth of head,
25.
The base of the fur is tawny black, the middle buffy yellow,
terminal portion white, or white followed by longer or shorter
black band. Ear tips black, pencil welldeveloped. Below the
terminal white portion is long, concealing the others. Thighs
externally spotted and lighter, obscurely barred within. The
upper arm is slightly barred externally, while internally there
are several wide black bars. In the middle of the back the
whole base of fur is black, the tips only being white. The tail
is tipped with white. The ruff is moderately long and is com-
posed of rather stiff harsh hairs. The above description ap-
plies to the winter pelage. As early as February the whole
skin takes on the rufous tint before nearly confined to the
flanks. In spring specimens, the base of the fur was pale Van-
dyke brown. In the yearling the head is of nearly the same
size as the adult. The color seems independent of sex.
During severe weather the wild cat is often forced to feed
upon the porcupine, and it is of no infrequent occurrence that
she pays for her timerity with her life. I have several times
secured them with the head and throat filled with the spines,
rendering the animals helpless. Such specimens were invari-
ably very poor and emaciated.
Fammy CANID.
The dog family, although brought into closer relations with
the cat group, through the hyenas, is remarkable for rigid ad-
herence to one type of structure and general habitus. The
group, although a closed one, shows the most intimate connec-
tion between most, if not all, of its species.
Six genera are recognized, of which the largest is Canis or
that containing the dogs and wolves, the latter forming the
subgenus Lupus, while the foxes constitute the genus Vulpes
The domestic dog furnishes a familiar and sufficient illustration
of the external characters of the family.
The body varies in form, but is neither adapted to aquatic
nor arboreal life, and the rather long, straight legs show the
method of progression to be running simply. The head is
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 75
_rather long and has a pointed muzzle and pointed erect ears.
The claws are not retractile but are worn off by contact
with the earth. Few species are strictly fossorial though
many dig rapidly upon occasion. The tail is of moder-
ate length and is most frequently covered by bushy hairs and
is less flexible than in most of the Felide. The color is usually
rather uniform, and only in a few cases vivid, and although the
fur is thick is rarely of any commercial value. The teeth are
strong and less specialized than in the cats. The general
formula is as follows:—milk teeth 3. }. 4=382; permanent teeth
3,1,4,3=42. The incisors are small and three lobed above and
two-lobed below. The canines are long and curved and some-
what flattened laterally. The fourth upper premolar is the
sectorial tooth, being composed of two trenchant blades or
cones; from the base of the anterior blade springs a tubercle.
The lower sectorial is formed by the first molar.
In the genus Cyon, found in India, there is one molar less be-
low on either side making the whole number 40. The genus
Otocyon, represented by a small fox-like dog in South Africa,
has 46 to 48 teeth by the addition of one molar below and one
or two above on either side. In some instances there are but
four claws upon the fore feet but usually the thumb, although
elevated above the other digits, has a perfect claw while the
hind feet are four-toed. Most species secure their prey through
their superior speed and endurance but, as they hunt in packs,
what speed is unable to accomplish is brought about by con-
certed pursuit. In like manner, although individually very
cowardly, the wild dogs are formidable enemies of the largest
wild beasts and are much dreaded by man himself. It is that
social instinct so foreign to the cat family which makes the dog
dependent upon other members of his race or, when domesti-
cated, upon the will of his master to a larger extent than in
most animals, which makes him so well adapted for the com-
panionship of overbearing man. Although carnivorous, many
species seem to prefer carrion and not a few will adapt them-
selves to a partly vegetable diet. The sense of smell is the
most highly developed of the senses and is more acute in this
family than in any other. The ear is also well developed but
the eye, even in nocturnal species, is not particularly keen. The
bark of the domestic dog seems to be a result of association
with man, all wild dogs indulging their mood and venting their
feelings in demoniacal howls.
76 BULLETIN NO. VII.
The Canide possess anal glands affording an odor of more
or less power. As has been said, the dogs are found over the
entire surface of the globe where carnivorous mammals occur.
Even in Australia which has no other endemic placental mam-
mal, the Dingo or native dog represents this family, although
it may be taken for granted that this species was simply in-
troduced in an early period. As regards their origin we know
that while no clearly marked representative of the Canidz
lived during the Eocene period, there were nevertheless ani-
mals which possessed similar characters, more or less masked
by inter-relationships with the other carnivorous families.
In the Miocene true representatives of the group are found.
It would appear that the various families of Carnivora have in
the main remained in the geographical regions where they
were first brought to special development. Thus hyenas are
now, as then, restricted to the old world and the raccoons to
the western hemisphere. The views of naturalists are as yet
by no means identical as to the probable origin of Carnivora in
general, most assuming a Marsupial or Marsupial-like if non-
Marsupial progenitor.*
The origin of the domestic dog from one or more species of
wild dogs cannot be denied. But it is not possible to place the
*We add a list of the more important species of the genera of the
Canidae.
Genus Canis.
C. lupus. Europe, Asia and North America.
C. latrans. Prairies of Central N. America.
OC. cancrivorus. Guiana.
CO. jubatus. Brazil.
C. antarcticus. Falkland Ids.
CU. lupaster, C. (lupus?) N. Africa.
C. familiaris. Domestic dog.
C. hodopylax. Japan.
CO. aureus (Jackal). Africa and S. Asia.
C. mesomelas. S. Africa.
C. dingo. Australia.
Genus Vulpes.
V. vulpes. Europe, Asia, N. America and N. Africa.
V. corsac. India, central Asia, Asia minor.
V. zerdu. N. Africa.
V. lagopus. (Polar fox.)
(?) V. velow. Central North America.
V. virginianus. Southern United States.
V. azare. South America.
V. magellanicus. Extreme 8. America.
Genus Nyctereutes.
(?) NV. procyonoides. China and Japan.
N. viverrinus. Japan.
Genus Otocyon.
O. megalotis. South Africa.
Genus Lucaon,
L. pictus.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. ree
- finger on any one species of wolf and say this is the stock from
which the dog sprang. It has been observed that the domestic
dog in countries where only partially domesticated resembles
very closely its wild neighbors, while in more civilized lands
where the dog has become the companion of ran, it is more
difficult to detect the resemblance to any wild race. The mon-
uments of Egypt contain drawings of various species of do
mestic dogs and there is no doubt that in every period and in
all countries man has brought this willing servant under his
yoke. Careful investigations therefore seem to have proved
that our various races of dogs have been derived from various
species of wild dogs with round pupils which different peoples
have independently domesticated and finally caused to in
terbreed. The influences of civilization have constantly in-
creased the natural tendency to variation until different breeds
of dogs differ from each other more than the most widely
diverse species of the wild representatives of the genus Canis.
In Minnesota we have representatives of two genera, and but
three species.
GENUS CANIS. LINN.
This genus contains the larger species with long limbs and
round pupils; the post-orbital process of the frontal bone is very
convex, curving strongly downward. The fox-like wolves of
South America furnish the transition between the genera Canis
and Vulpes.
Canis lupus L.
The evidence that our timber-wolf, socalled, is identical with
the wolf of Europe, has been very complete, even since the
days of Richardson, and, although Prof. Baird cast the great
weight of his opinion against such identity, the greater number
of modern authors in Europe as well as America, now consider
them the same. Dr. J. A. Allen in his list of the ‘‘Mammalia
of Massachusetts” has summarized the evidence in a way quite
satisfactory to the writer, and we shall enter into no discussion
of the subject.
The following tabulation of the varieties found is extracted
from the Zoology of the 100th Meridian Reports.
a. WHITE WoLves—Canis lupus, albus SABINE, etc.
White, pure or washed with yellowish, with or without
black-tipped tail. Among the largest. Northerly or
Alpine.
78 BULLETIN NO. VII.
b. GRIZZLED WOLVES—C. variabilis MAXIM., etc. White,
more or less extensively grizzled with gray. Large,
and rather northerly.
c. GRAY AND BRINDLED WOLVES—C. lupus (Auct). Gray,
of variable shade and pattern, generally brindled,
darker dorsally, paler or white below, little or no
rufous, Medium size. Most general distribution.
d. RebD WOLVES—C. lupus, var. rufus AUD. AND BaAcH.
Mixed, reddish and black, paler below, small. South-
erly, especially Texas.
é. Dusky WOLVES—C. nubilus: Say. Dusky or plumbe-
ous brown, with or without darker muzzle bands and
leg stripe. Small, chiefiy southerly.
f. Buack WOLVES—C. lupus, ater RICHARDSON. Black.
Small, southerly, Florida.
The wolf drawn on Plate VI measured over four feet in length,
tail, 19 in.; nose to eye, 5; nose to ear, nearly 9; nose to tip of
ear, 12; eye toeye, 34. The lower canine was 1} long. Weight
85 lbs.
The following incidents were furnished me by Mr. Upham
and illustrate certain traits of wolf character:
“Mr. John D. Wilcox, of Pine City, Superintendent of Schools for Pine
county, told me that about the year 1860, when he lived at Sunrise in
Chisago county, having worked through a winter day in the woods, mak-
ing sugar-troughs, one and a half miles from home, which was at Sunrise,
he was chased by a half dozen or more wolves, which he saw bounding up
and down in their pursuit on his track, and heard their yelping; with the
greatest haste possible he got across the open land where he then was and
climbed up into a tree, but only barely in time to save himself, for the
wolves were immediately at the tree, jumping up, yelping, and making
the evening hideous. This continued two hours or more, the wolves ail
the time howling and leaping up, their eyes glowing like coals of fire.
Finally they got into a fight among themselves and turned off into a
neighboring swamp. This fight with much crashing of the alders, snarl-
ing and yelping of the wolves, and joy of Mr. W. to hear his foes waging
war on each other, lasted an hour or so; then all became as still as death,
he finally got down and escaped home. His axe, left at the foot of the
tree, had its handle so gnawed and split that it was spoiled. Woodsmen
have a saying that when a pack of wolves thus are foiled and lose their
expected prey, they turn on the wolf that first led them into the pursuit
and slay him.
The same winter (or rather, spring,) a Swede a few miles from Sunrise,
making maple sugar at night and going out to gather sap, was attacked
by wolves, and is said to have been wholly eaten up, not a bone being left,
except his feet, which were gnawed as far down as the wolvescould reach
into his boots;—only shreds and small scraps of his clothing were found.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 79
In the winter of 1877 or 1878, Mr. Wilcox had been to do some surveying
on the upper part of Sand creek, east of Kettle river. Returning to Pine
City through the woods with no roads, he heard a wolf cry behind him as
early as nine o’clock in the forenoon; and, looking back, he saw him with-
in a distance of twenty rods. On being shouted at this wolf turned back;
but within a half hour others, hearing his howls, had joined him, and
about the middle of the forenoon, looking back across a little swamp that
he had crossed, Mr. W. saw three wolves coming along on his track, every
now and then putting down their noses to the scent and uttering short
yelps. This was at a distance of twenty-five miles or more from his home,
and he would probably see no human being till reaching his own door, at
the south end of Cross lake, a half mile southeast of Pine City. To be
pursued and treed would be to starve to death. An expedient never before
heard of by Mr. W., saved his life. Passing through a piece of birch
woods, he stripped off a large amount of the bark and made a fire of it
exactly in his path. Then he hurried on,—and soon, in about a quarter
of an hour, when the wolves came up to this fire, they made all the woods
ring with their howls of astonishment, rage, and disappointment. Their
cries continued to be heard for an hour, or to the distance of fully two
miles; but as he heard no more of them later, he supposes none of them
ventured beyond this barrier of fire.
This danger from wolves is only in the last part of winter and spring;
and their chasing lone travelers at other seasons has never been heard of.
During the winter of 1884-85, wolves became very abundant
and insolent in Wright county, and were seen about the out-
skirts of Monticello in broad daylight almost daily, though
they were sufficiently wary to escape capture.
Canis latrans Say.
COYOTE.
Canis latrans SAY, HARLAN, AUDUBON, BAIRD, COUES, etc.
Canis frustror WOODHOUSE.
Canis ochropus EScHSCH, etc.
The occurrence of the prairie wolf in Minnesota must rest
on other than personal information. I presume it is still not
infrequent in the south-western counties.
Color dingy white, suffused above with tawny or grey.
The light ground color is marked by obscure streaks of black,
especially on the back and hips. The top of the muzzle, ears,
and outsides of legs is tan color.
Entire length, 54 inches, of which the tail measures 18, nose
to eye, 4; nose to ear, 8; nose to occiput, 8-9; hight at should-
er, 24. In general the size and proportions are those of a fair
sized pointer dog.
80 BULLETIIN NO. VII.
The coyote is a familiar pest upon the plains of the central
United States, and is a very persistent, if cowardly neighbor.
Its food varies with the exigencies of its situation. While it
prefers live game, and shows much endurance in its pursuit, it
will not reject offal and the refuse from the campers meals. It
will follow a party long distances subsisting on what is thrown
away. When hard pressed, however, it has recourse to vege-
table substances, such as the fruit of the prickly pear, juniper
and other berries. The howl is remarkably melancholy, and
does not tend to enliven the solitude of its domain It consists
of a short quick bark, followed by others in quick succession
in ascending gamut, until they are combined in one long drawn
wail. The clamor is greatest at night-fall and continues
through the night at intervals, breaking up with a noisy de-
monstration at daybreak.
Dr. Coues insists on the close similarity between the coyote
and the ancestor of the domestic dog. The Indian dog inter-
breeds freely, it is asserted, with the wild animal and the
crosses are perfectly fertile.
The female after a period gestation similar to that of the
dog brings forth five or six puppies in secluded spots, caverns
or recesses in the rocks. The only available means of des-
troying these wolves seems to be poison, as they avoid traps
sedulously.
GENUS VULPES.
The foxes differ from wolves and dogs in their elliptical
pupil, bushy tail, more slender form, unlobed upper incisors
and form of the postorbital process. South America furnishes
a perfect transition in its wolf-like foxes with circular pupils.
Aside from the Arctic fox which is circumpolar this genus con-
tains V. velox and V. macrus of the plains (neither of which is
known from Minnesota) and the red fox.
Vulpes vulgaris L.
This familiar animal is distributed over the whole north tem-
perate region and is everywhere very variable. There is some
little reason to suppose that the red fox has been introduced into
this country, if not by man, at least later than the gray fox,
the bones of which are found abundantly in bone caverns.
The red fox is about 40 inches long, the tail occupying 18
inches. Hight 12-14 inches. In the ordinary variety the
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 81
. general color is tawny red, rather darker on the shoulders
and flanks. The tail hairs are dark tipped; the outside of the
legs and back of ears are also black. The under parts includ-
ing the chin and a space about the muzzle and also the tip of
the tail, are white.
The variations from this pattern are now generally consid-
ered to be due to melanism for which no satisfactory cause can
be assigned. Complete melanism gives us the Black or Silver-
Gray Fox (V. argentatus). In high latitudes often quite black
save the tip of the tail. Elsewhere this phase consists in a
silvery gray coloration of the upper parts.
Intermediate conditions give rise to the Cross—Fox (VJ.
decussatus) in which the ventral line, muzzle and legs are
blackish, with two cross bars on the inside of the legs. The
median line above is also dark and is crossed by a dark shoulder
band. The head is gray and the sides are marked with fulvous.
It is authoritatively stated that these so-called varieties may
be found in the same litter, though to what extent the varia-
tions are inherited, is not known. Audubon gives an interest-
ing case of this sort. The usual food of foxes seems to be field
and wood mice and rabbits, and it is probable that their efforts
in this direction deserve to palliate their occasional forays on
the poultry yard. Weare fortunately exempt in this country
from the mania for fox hunting prevalent in Europe, though it
might be well if some other, if less exciting inducement to
equestrian exercise, could be secured. The fox hunts alone or
in families, and is thus unlike the wolves. The young are five
to seven in number and are tenderly nurtured, it being during
the rearing of this growing family that the fox becomes most
audacious and destructive. It would be idle to recount tales
of the acumen of the fox, though one is tempted to revert to
the folk lore of the south as illustrating a tendency to present
another view of Reynard.
Anyone, who like the writer has watched unobserved the
playful gambols of a family of young foxes, will have a weak-
ness for the gay pests ever after.
GENUS UROCYON.
This genus is distinguished from the foxes, of the genus Vul-
pes, by the fact that the crests for the insertion of the temporal
muscles are widely separate, by the presence of a supplementary
tubercle on the lower sectorial and a mane of rigid hairs on the
tail.
82 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Urocyon cinero-argentatus SCHREB,
Vulpes virginianus AUCT.
It is questionable whether the frequent accounts of gray
foxes in Minnesota do not rest on mistaken identification., At
any rate, this species is rather a southern animal, being the
most abundant form in Virginia, westward to Arizona and Cali-
fornia.
The size is that of the red fox, though the proportions are
more robust. The prevailing color is a clear gray, darkest
dorsally. The sides are more or less tawny or fulvous, muzzle
with black band, under surface of head, white. The tip of the
ailis blackish. The most remarkable character is that already
referred to by which this genus has been called that of mane-
tailed foxes.
The gray fox is a woodland animal and does. not form ex-
tended burrows. It is said to climb with some degree of agil-
ity. It, therefore, is first to be driven out by the advance of
civilization. Indeed it is more easily eradicated from its fail-
ure to take to the earth.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 83
Famny MUSTELID.
EXPLANATION OF FIG. 7.
No.1. Meles tawus- European Badger. No.5. Lyncodon patagonicus
No. 2. Conepatus suffocans —Brazilian sp. No. 6. Galictis barbata—South America.
No. 3. Gulo luscus—Glutton. No. 7. Ratelus capensis— African Honey
N». 4. Mydaus telagon of Java. Badger.
Carnivorous mammals of various form and habits chiefly in-
teresting on account of the dense pelt which frequently becomes
an article of great commercial value.
The following technical characters may be first given:
Skull with paroccipital processes distant from bulla; mastoid processes
prominent, the various sutures usually closing very completely. Clavicles
rudimentary or absent; scaphoid and lunar carpals coalescent; digits
clawed. Limbs and tail free and perfect, the former adapted for terres-
trial progression. Placenta zonary, deciduous. Intestine without a cex-
84 BULLETIN NO. VII.
cum. Cowper’s glands absent. Dentition consisting of twelve incisors
(except in the Sea Otter) of similar form, four canines which are not furn-
ished with a sharp angle or ridges behind, a variable number of premolars,
and one pair of molars above and two below (except in the Honey Badgers.)
Anal glands secreting a strong odor always present.
As will be seen beyond, this family contains a number of
quite unlike groups. Some of the Mustelide are highly aquatic,
others dwell almost exclusively in trees, while many are strictly
terrestrial. 'The economic importance of the family is derived
from the large number of fur bearing animals it includes. The
ermine, sable, marten, otter, mink, etc. all are members of the
group. The northern hemisphere is the home of the family,
although there are representatives in Africa and South Amer-
ica. We append Dr. Gill’s synopsis of the sub-families and
add a brief review of the group before taking up our native
species.
Famity MUSTELID.
I. Skull with the cerebral portion comparatively compressed backwards;
and with the rostral portion comparatively produced, attenuated,
and transversely convex above; anteorbital foramen small and opening
forwards. Feet with little developed or no interdigital membrane.
A. Auditory bulla much inflated, undivided, bulging, and conyex for-
wards; periotic region extending little outwards or backwards. Palate
moderately emarginated.
1. Last molar of upper jaw transverse (with the inner ledge inflated
at its inner angle); sectorial tooth with a single inner cusp.
a. Molars 4; first true molar(sectorial) of lower jaw followed by a
second (tubercular) one. Toes short regularly arched, and with the
last phalanges bent up, withdrawing the claws into sheaths.
[ Weasels]—M USTELIN &.
b. Molars }; first true molar (sectorial) of lower jaw only developed.
Toes straight, with the last phalanges and claws extended; the
latter non-retractile. [Honey Badgers]—MELLIVORIN2.
2, Molars 4; last molar of upper jaw enlarged and more or less ex-
tended longitudinally. Toes straight with the last phalanges and
claws extended; the latter non-retractile. [Badgers]—MELIN&.
B. Auditory bulla elongated and extending backward close to the par-
occipital process. Palate moderately emarginated.
1. Last molar of upper jaw transverse; (with the inner ledge nar-
rowed inwards); sectorial tooth with two inner cusps. [Helictis]—
HELICTIDIN#%.
C. Auditory bulla inflated, undivided, with the anterior inferior ex-
tremity pointed and commonly united to the prolonged hamular pro-
cess of the pterygoid. Palate moderately emarginated.
1. Last molar of upper jaw transverse; with the inner ledge com-
pressed. [Zorilla]J—ZORILLINZ.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 85
_D. Auditory bulla little inflated, transversely constricted behin d the
meatus auditorius externus and thence inwards; in front flattened
forwards; periotic region expanded outwards and backwards. Palate
deeply emarginated.
1, Last molar of upperjaw quadrangular, wide, but with an extended
outer incisorial ledge. [Skunks]—MEPHITIN #&.
II. Skull with the cerebral portion swollen backwards and outwards,
and with the rostral portion abbreviated, high and truncated for-
wards, and widened and depressed above; anteorbital foramen en-
larged and produced downwards and backwards. Feet with well-
developed interdigital membrane, and adapted for swimming.
A. Teeth normal, 36 (m 3, pm j,c4, i § x 2): sectorial tooth (p m #)
normal efficient, with an expanded inner ledge; the other molars
submustline. Posterior feet with normally long digits. [Otters]—
LUTRINZ.
B. Teeth very aberrant, 32 (m4, p m 3, c +. i §—the lower inner incisors
being lost—x 2); sectorial tooth (p m+) defunctionalized as such,
compressed from before backwards; the other molars also with
blunted cusps. Posterior feet with elongated digits. [Sea Otters]—
ENHYDRIN2#.
Recognizing the taxonomic value of these sub-families as
diagnosed by Dr. Gill, we may yet admit that for practical
purposes the more artificial and older arrangement has many
practical advantages. According to this, the sub-divisions of
the family are three, founded upon the structure of the foot:
a, plantigrade species—the badgers; b, digitigrade species—
the weasels; c, oar-footed species—the otters.
Among the badgers we may mention, aside from our own
familiar Taxidea, described beyond, the European badger, Meles
taxus, Which inhabits the whole temperate region of the Asiato
-European continent as far as Japan. In form and habits it
resembles its American relative while the East Indian badger
has a longer tail and is different in color, forming the genus
Arctonyx. Mydaus telagon is an animal which seems rather to
connect the badgers with the skunks, both in appearance and
in habits. It is smaller than the badger and has a white dorsal
stripe. It also discharges a foetid fluid from the anal glands
when attacked. Africa possesses several representatives of
the group which likewise are intermediate between the
badgers and skunks. The honey badgers (WMellivora) have
well developed anal glands and the peaceful disposition which
characterizes the skunks, but in form resemble the badger.
For a further discussion of the relations of the two groups,
see the chapter on the Mephitide.
86 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Sus-Fammy MELIN 2.
THE BADGERS.
We have already given the diagnosis of the sub-family with
sufficient detail for our present purpose and may pass to an ac-
count of the only species of the American genus Taxidea.
GrENuS TAXIDEA, WATERHOUSE.
Dentition 3.1. 3.4=84. Skull expanded behind, the inter-
mastoid diameter nearly equaling the inter-zygomatic. Audi-
tory bulle very much inflated, impinging behind upon the
paroccipitals. Palatals extending half way to the ends of the
pterygoids. Coronoid process of jaw erect, pointed. Anterior
molar below rather small, posterior lower molar bi-tuberculate.
Back upper molar forming a right-angled triangle, with the
hypothenuse directed backward and outward. Limbs short,
fossorial. Body depressed. ‘Tail short, flat. Pelage long
flaccid covering the back like a thatch.
Taxidea americana BAIRD.
PuatE III.
BADGER.
One specimen only of the badger has been seen during the
survey and from its comparative rarity no additional informa-
tion has been gathered. I am therefore forced to draw wholly
from Coues’ N. A. Mustelidze, a work so generally accessible
as to render synonomy and exhaustive descriptive matter un-
necessary. The species is distributed throughout the United
States west of Wisconsin, extending farther east in British
America. In Mexicoasub-species 7. berlandieri takes its place.
“The badger varies greatly in color, as a fortuitous matter of
age, season, or condition of pelage, aside from certain geogra-
phical differences. The variation, however, is mainly in the
relative amounts of the blackish tawny-gray and white which
produce the general grizzle, the pattern of coloration being well
preserved, especially as to the markings of the head. The top
of the head is dark brown or blackish, generally increasing in
ntensity and purity from the nape to the snout. This dark
area is divided lengthwise by a sharp white or whitish median
stripe, which runs from the snout, or just back of it, to the
nape, where it is generally lost in the grizzle of that part. The
Plate IIT.
TAXIDEA AMERICANA. BADGER.
F Atv an oad
» - , ® 5
ee td ote ae
, uw o¢ ay a de
A me a a
ghe' A + ae ae ©
a WU = L-
esa te! ey
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 87
sides of the extreme muzzle are dark, like the top of the head,
from about opposite the canines the sides of the head and ears
are white, continuous with the white of the chin and throat,
but interrupted by a large dusky patch in front of theear. The
whole body and tail above are an intimately blended mixture
of blackish with white, hoary gray, and tawny. Owing to the
length and coarseness of the pelage, the museum specimens
present a patchy or streaky appearance. The feet are dark
brown or blackish; the claws are generally light colored, es-
pecially those of the fore feet.”
The badger is preeminently fossorial and extremely shy,
being almost as difficult to observe above ground as the pouch-
ed gophers. The true home of the animal is the prairie region
of the upper Missouri, where its holes are said to honey-
comb the earth.
The badger is the determined enemy of the spermophiles
and field mice and feeds on all animal matter afforded. It pos-
sesses itself almost perfect immunity from all enemies but man.
In spite of its retiring habit the badger is no coward, as the
old amusement of badger baiting testifies. Endurance and
great strength are combined with marvelous vitality. The
habits during the breeding season are unknown, there being
three or four young ata birth. Badgers may be trapped by
placing a fox trap at the mouth of the burrow, or by flooding
in early spring.
The animal is, like its European relative, fond of honey
which it is adept in securing. The European species breeds in
October, when the sexes are associated in the same burrow, but
at other times they live the life of hermits. The young, three
to five in number, are born in March and are carefully cared
for by the mother. In northern regions the animal hibernates,
but further south adapts itself to the warmer climate.
Sus-Fammty MEPHITIN A.
THE SKUNKS.
This is a comparatively small group confined to America,
where it is represented by two genera, one of which only is
North American while the other is nearly confined to the south-
ern division of the new world. Although seemingly so well
entitled to an exclusive position by the peculiarity through
which they are notorious, the skunks are in many respects
88 ‘ BULLETIN NO, VII.
nearly related with the badgers. This does not appear con-
spicuously upon a comparison of the only American species of
that group with Mephitis, but is clear upon examination of cer-
tain intermediate genera of the old world. Suchan exampie is
afforded by the Teiagon (Mydaus telagon) of Java, etc. This
animal, although of a brown color, has the peculiar white
marking upon the back characteristic of the skunks. The tail
is, however, even shorter than in the badger’s, and is white
tipped. The resemblance to the skunks is farther enhanced
by the fact that they discharge at pleasure a stream of the of-
fensive fiuid secreted by the anal glands. This fluid, to judge
from the accounts of observers, must be about as subtile and
powerfully pungent as that of the well known native animal.
Curiously enough the next nearest relatives of the skunk are
found in Africa and India, in the honey badgers (Ratelus).
Two species are known, one of which is native to south and
central Africa (R. capensis), the other occurs in Hast India.
(The occurrence of members of the same genus in so far dis-
tant and isolated stations, may be incidentally noticed as con-
firmatory evidence of the previous more intimate connection of
the two continents, and the consequent submergence of large
land areas in what is now the Indian ocean.) In Ratelus the
outward appearance (figure 7, No. 7) is badger-like even to the
mantle like covering of long hair on the back. The tail is per-
haps more bushy than in the badger, while the powerful odor
constitutes a remarkable reminder of the skunks proper. The
habits of the entire group, including all the above mentioned
types, seem to be in close conformity, save in so far as the pos-
session of the effective defensive weapon in certain of the ge-
nera renders the animals careless and even adventurous while
the others are among the most reclusive of Carnivora. Of the
anatomy of the exotic species above mentioned, little is known
to substantiate the suggestions made upon the basis of exter-
nal resemblances and physiological similarities. The dentition
of 1, the Zorilline, also African, is said to be closely allied
to Mephitis. Mydaus, however, accords with that of the true
skunks, while the honey badgers have but 32 teeth, a reduc-
tion of one molar above.
Of the two genera of the Mephitine proper Conepatus, as
represented by a single very variable species widely distrib-
uted in South America, (if indeed several species are not con-
founded under one name) bears the greatest resemblance to the
badgers. Dr. Coues says (N. A. Mustelide p. 188): ‘The
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 89
‘skunks and badgers agree in many points of external conform-
ation; in fact Conepatus mapurito, one of the skunks is almost
as much of a badger, to all outward appearance.”
As regards the one peculiarity of this sub-family without
which a skunk would be no skunk, it may be interesting to
quote again from Dr. Coues (1. c. p. 191): ‘In contemplating
this singular provision of nature for the protection of an other-
wise inoffensive and almost defenseless creature, we can but
admire the simplicity of the means employed. Some little
further development of glands common to the Mustelide and
some inscrutable modification of the operations in the secretory
follicles, which gives a peculiar character to the fluid elabor-
ated, results in means of self-preservation as singular as it is
efficacious, habitual reliance upon which changes the economy
of the animal and impresses its whole nature.” For a descrip-
tion of the glands see beyond.
The account given by Chatin inthe Annalesdes Sciences Natur-
elles, 1874, furnishes us with the following facts regarding the
anatomy of these parts in the South American genus Conepatus:
The glandular part, beginning 33 mm. from the prostrate gland, is
nearly trapezoidal and lies beneath the urethra. It is enveloped in a
thick muscular tunic constituted chiefly by fibres from the ischio-caver-
nous and bulbo-cavernous muscles and about 3 mm. thick. Within these
muscular layers is the-glandular portion proper occupying but a limited
part of the surface of the reservoir. The ceca of the follicles, 0.55 mm in
diameter, are of various shapes. The reservoir itself is very large and
covered by a thick tunic of dense, white, laminated tissue and elastic
fibres. Toward the anterior part of the cavity is the inner opening of the
duct. The ducts open outwardly in two papille situated on either side
the anus, about 9 mm. from the median line. These papille together
with the anus itself, are hidden by flaps of skin covering the entire de-
pression in which both are found.
The account of Dr. J. S. Parker of the anatomy of the anal
glands of Mephitis being the only one which touches upon the
physical characters of the secretion itself, we transcribe a por-
tion of the article. American Naturalist, 1871, p. 246.
“JT examined the cavity of the pelvic bones, without any peculiar result,
and at last detached all except the hard, muscular pouches and the commen
fundamental aperture. TheseI carefully cut loose, and thus reduced
the formidable animal to the last and least parts possible, and they
seemed totally inadequate to explain the well-known effect which this
animal produces. I next boldly severed, longitudinally, the rectum and
anus; nothing was to be seen worthy of remark, except two teat-like pro-
jections in two volcanic or crater-like cavities that seemed suggestive of
what might happen. SoI cut away all the remaining superfluous parts
—&
90 BULLETIN NO VII.
and at last had the anal lips, two muscular pouches and the small glands
connected with them. My fortitude here giving out, and it growing
dark, I adjourned the matter to the next day.
When I resumed operations, on the parts now weighing only about two
ounces out of a Mephitis of nine pounds, I had a strip of skin with the
anal lips, the suspicious calices or cones in their cup-like cavities and the
pouches. * * * JT began by severing the two muscular pouches and
found no connection between them. Books say ‘the animal gives its
peculiarand penetrating odor from two glands situated external to pelvis.’
I found the ‘glands’ to be clear muscular fibre, with not a particle of
smell, ora traceof any glandular structure. Further to test the matter, I
cut slowly to the middle of the mass of muscular, not glandular, fibres
and came upon a thick, white leathery capsule like the crop of a chicken,
with the source for the contents provided by the little glands about it.
Now, putting on old clothes and sitting to the windward, I cut through
this white capsule; a bright yellow fluid came out and I instantly felt that
‘distance would lend enchantment to the view.’ But I was not to be
baftied. So I dipped the point of my scalpel in the yellow fluid, put the
tenth or twentieth part of a drop on a glass and covered it with another
strip of glass, and placed it under a power of forty diameters in my
microscope. The appearance was peculiar. It looked like meulten gold,
or like quicksilver of the finest golden color. Pressure on the strips of
glass made it flow like globules of melted gold.
By a power of sixty diameters the same color still appeared, but seemed
as if it would by a higher power resolve itself into globules, with peculiar
markings. * * * To the eye, the peculiar and odoriferous secretion of
this animal is of a pale bright glistening yellow, with specks floating in
it. By the microscope it looks like a clear fluid, as water with masses of
gold in it, and the specks like bubbles of air covered with gold, or rather
air in golden sacs. The air I take to be the gas nascent from the golden
fluid. * * * Another thing was a matter of interest. If I correctly
made out the capsule of fluid, the commonly called ‘glands’ are the mus-
cular tunic enveloping and capable of compressing the reservoir, and their
sole use is to eject the liquid. The teat like projections have one large
orifice for a distant jet of the substance, and also a strainer, with num-
erous holes—like the holes in the cones of the human kidney—for a near
but diffusive jetting of the matter. The substance is secreted by small
dark glands, of small callibre, connected with the capsule by narrow
ducts.”
The technical peculiarities characteristic of the skunks are
here collated.
Skull. Dental formula: i. #:§,¢. 3:1, pm. $:8,(#:8), mM. 3:3 —18(1 $= 34(32)-
The variation indicated in the premolar formula occurs in
the genus Conepatus, where the number is usually (but,
according to Coues, not always as once supposed) 3:3. A
comparison of the inferior aspect of the skull of Mephitis with
that of Putorius shows that there is no anterior extension of
the orbital space and consequent elongation of the zygomatic
arch. The encroachment on the palatal part of the maxillary
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 91
: thus brought about in the weasel causes the great reduction of
the last molar and the apparent revolution of the axis through
90 degrees, so that it stands at right angles to the remainder of
the series. It is this condition of the orbits and zygoma and
the abbreviation of the facial region which finds its extreme in
the weasels which produces, in part at least, the great exten-
sion of the palate in that group; and the converse condition
in Mephitis produces the effect of a deep emargination of the
palate extending frequently as far as the molars. In most of
the other Mustelide the palatal bridge extends more than half
way to the pterygoids.
The form of the teeth, as well as their position, differs from
that of the types of the family. The upper incisors are chisel-
shaped and bent backward near the end, while those of the
lower jaw are straight and squarely truncate apically, opposing
the surface thus formed to the oblique edge of the upper teeth. *
The lower premolars are small and conical, while the third
upper one isthe sectorial. Ithas, however, avery considerable
development of the salient anterior lobe found even in Putorius
but so highly developed in the badgers that the tooth is as
much a grinder as asectorial. The upper molar is quadrate,
but wider than long. The lower jaw as a whole differs very
little from that of the Musteline. The foramina incisiva are
narrow. The posterior nares are separated by a bony septum
almost to the posterior edge of the palate. The pterygoids
are hooked and of moderate size. The zygomatic arch is not
compressed laterally, nor as strongly curved upward as in
the Musteline. The glenoid fossa is of considerable size and is
well arched behind, yet looks more downward than in the
weasels, although never locked. The auditory bulla lies close
to the post-glenoid prominence, and the meatus opens just
posterior to the zygomatic process of the temporal, in contrast to
that of the Musteline. The bulle are very little inflated, in this
respect differing greatly from the badgers. The mastoid pro-
cesses are produced and directed forward.
Generic characters of Mephitis.
Teeth, 34; formulas: i. $:3. ¢, [:4, pm. #3, m. 3:4. Frontal region
tumid, dorsal outline of skullirregular. Palate not extending
beyond the molar series. Condyle of mandible projecting later-
ally, coronoid process with both margins convex, angle slightly
flaring outward. Soles quite narrow. Tail very long and
bushy. Color black with white dorsal markings.
It is now accepted that there are but two valid species of
92 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Mephitis. The first is the widely distributed and variable
M. mephitica, the second a smaller form made by Coues the
type of a distinct subgenus (Spilogale) with the following
additional characters: ‘‘Skull depressed, the dorsal outline
approaching straightness, particularly over the orbits. Zygo-
mata strongly arched upward, highest in the middle. Post-
orbital processes well developed. Mastoid processes slight,
scarcely produced beyond orifice of meatus. Periotic region
peculiarly inflated by development of mastoid sinuses, the
under surface swollen, and giving a quasi appearance of a
second bulla auditoria behind the real one.” The characters
of subgenus Mephitis of Coues are the converse of these.
From the Mustelinw, as represented by Putorius, Mephitis is
sharply distinguished by the following additional osteological
characters: The bones of the limbs are short, heavy and straight.
The scapula is quadrangular, not triangular, and the metacro-
mium less developed. There are buttwo vertebre in the sacrum.
The pelvis is broad triangular behind with produced ischiatic
spines. The sternebre are short. (These are probably family
characters, but lack of material makes it safer to introduce
them here.) For a few other points in the osteology: see
under M. mephitica.
Mephitis mephitica.
THE COMMON SKUNK.
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA 93
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Chinga Scu1ine. Synop. Mam., 1844.
Monfette dU’ Amerique AUCT.
Fiskatta (Swedish), Bete puante (French), Stinkthier (German) var. ‘‘meso-
melas.”
Mephitis mesomelas LICHTENSTEIN. Darstellung Saug., 1827-34, Abhand-
lung Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1836.
MAXIMILLIAN. Reise, 1839; Arch. Naturg., xxvii, 1861;
Verzeichniss, N. A. Saug., 1862.
ScHINZ. Synopsis Mammal., 1844-5.
ST. HILAIRE. Zool. Voy. Venus, i, 1855.
BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857.
Mephitis mesomeles GERRARD. Cat. Bones, Brit. Mus., 1862.
aoe occidentalis BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857.
NEWBERRY. Pacific R. R. Rep.,vi, 1857.
COOPER and SUCKLEY. Nat. Hist. W. T., 1860.
94 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Mephitis mephitica, var. occidentalis MERRIAM. U.S. Geol. Sury. Terr., 1872.
Mephitis varians, var. a,GRAY. Proc. Zool. Soc., 1865.
Mephitis varians GRAY. Mag. Nat. Hist., i; List Mammals Brit. Mus.,
1843; Proc. Zool. Soc., 1865; Cat. Carniv. Brit. Mus., 1869.
BAIRD. Mam. N.A., 1857; Mexican Boundary Surv., ii, 1859.
GERRARD. Cat. Bones Brit. Mus., 1862.
Mephitis macroura AUDUBON AND BACHMAN. Q.N. A., iii, 1853.
WooDHOUSE. Sitgreaves’ Rep., 1853.
Descriptive and Biographical:
In this case, as well as generally where species of the Mus-
telide are concerned, our account can be little more than an
abridgement of the excellent and exhaustive treatment found
in Coues’ Fur-bearing Animals, in which all the prior accounts
are accompanied by the results of the author’s studies of all
the material collected by the various officers of the national
scientific departments.
As Minnesota is credited with but one (quite sufficient) rep-
resentative of the sub-family Mephitine, the reader is referred
to the statements under that head for the more general facts
relating to this animal.
This well known animal may be described as the incense-
bearer of the sylvan deities, and yet the odor of sanctity
which clings to the sable and ermine of its vestures suggests
that those deities belong in the theogony of Pluto. The ton-
sure is represented by a band of white extending to the fore-
head, and the phylacteries are of snowy whiteness and are folded
back to decorate the shoulders. The train is usually white and
of plumy delicacy. In consonance with his priestly robes the
demeanor is sedate and devoid of any impetuousness. What-
ever unpleasantness may occur he never betrays alarm or incer-
titude, but pursues his way with the same quiet and unostenta-
tious dignity. Seriously, but for the unpleasant nature of the
secretion of the anal glands (which secretion, however, is char-
acteristic of mink, weasels and the Mustelide in general, as
well as many rodents), the skunk would be an interesting and
even a useful animal, forming a valuable auxiliary to the gar-
dener if not to the poultryman. Relying upon his unsavory
reputation, this animal is far less wary than most small mam-
mals, and being but partially nocturnal, may often be seen,
where abundant, in daytime ambling quietly along in search of
insects, worms, small mammals, such as mice, etc., which form
the staple articles of his diet. The appearance of man ordinarily
causes him to scarcely accelerate his pace or turn from his
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 95
‘course. Every country boy has had his more or less mem-
orable encounter with the animal in question. A sort of legen-
dary terror adds imagined danger to such escapades, for in
reality one has but to behave as composedly as the Mephitis
certainly will, to escape discomfiture. If it be really necessary
to remove such a neighbor, it is easy to take him in a trap set
at the mouth of the burrow, though it then becomes a question
how to dispose of the prize. A well directed charge of shot is
perhaps the surest way to avoid unpleasant consequences.
When taken in a trap, however, a skillful person can safely
administer a quietus with a staff, by striking upon the head,
especially if the foot is placed upon the tail. A properly con-
structed ‘‘deadfall” is a convenient way of at once trapping
and killing the animal. If, for any reason, firearms are un-
available, the animal when trapped may be disposed of as sug-
gested by C. L. Whitman in The Forest and Stream, 1876.
‘‘My favorite method of dealing with them is as follows:
With a tough annealed No. 15 or 16 iron wire I form a slip-
noose about five inches in diameter and a standing loop of two
inches on the other, and a space of five inches between. The
loop is attached to the smaller end of a light, stiff pole of eight
or ten feet in length. With this firmly grasped in both hands,
I slowly and carefully approach, and slip the noose over his
head, and with a quick jerk backwards and upwards, lift him
as high as the chain of the trap will allow, and thus hold him
until he is strangled. . . . If the jerk upward has not been
adroitly made, the wire may not draw as tight as it ought; in
which case a discharge of the pungent odor will usually follow,
but in this perpendicular position the discharge descends
directly downwards, so that if the attack has been made from
the windward, as it ought, there is no danger. The approach
is sometimes resented at first, but the gradual arching of the
tail gives timely warning, and a careful retreat is necessary
fora moment. The second or third attempt is successful. The
animal by that time recovers from the alarm, and at most will
merely sniff the air in your direction. With this device I have
destroyed many hundred during the past thirty years, and do
not recollect an instance where I bore any of the odor about
me, except I had inadvertently trod upon dirt that was defiled.”
We pass to description of the external appearance and color-
ation. The coloration is the point which first attracts atten-
tion, and is sufficiently characteristic that there need never be
any hesitation in referring the animal to this genus. The
96 BULLETIN NO. VII.
coarse, flaccid pelage is chiefly deep lustreless black relieved
with areas of the most plumy white. Although Dr. Coues is
inclined to doubt even the varietal value of the distinction made
by previous authors, it seems certain that in given localities
the pattern of coloration is quite constant. Strictly speaking,
all the skunks which we have collected belong to the Mephites
mesomelas of Lichenstein. In this variety, the coloration of
which, as Dr. Coues admits, is normal in the west, there is a
cuneiform or elongated and distinct white frontal spot and a
broad conspicuous nuchal patch separated from the former by
a very black band between the ears. A distinct black stripe,
beginning back of the shoulders, separates the rather broad
lateral bands of white which converge to a union anterior to the
root of the tail, which is entirely white, dorsally and apically,
with, however, a broad black band underneath. The same
pattern is seen in two-thirds grown young of the year as in the
parent female, but there is a preponderance of white in the
former. The soles are not hairy in summer, but doubtless
become so in winter. The elevating of that point to a chief
specific character, as is done by Baird inthe Mammalsof N. A.,
seems amusing.
Comparing the coloration of our animal with that of other
varieties, we find in the eastern United States the white areas
are greatly restricted. However, great variations occur. The
frontal stripe may nearly disappear, or may merge with the
muchal area; the lateral lines may be distinct, or may extend
part way upon the tail or unite anteriorly. The tail may be
nearly or quite black, but more frequently marked with white,
especially terminally. Even when apparently black the base
of many of the hairs is white. The white elongated hairs of
the tail are of a different texture from the remainder of the
pelage. Indeed the tail entirely lacks the under fur found
elsewhere. Toward the south the amount of white is reduced
along with the size of the animal.
Next to the color the elongated and very bushy tail is the
most conspicuous external character separating Mephitis from
its allies. In some cases, as in that represented in plate 102 of
Audubon, the long hairs spread in all directions when elevated,
so that the member has been aptly likened to the plumes of a
pompon.
The short legs and plantigrade walk give a peculiar mincing
character to the gait. The nose is elongated, and forms the
acute apex of the conical head. The eye is small and oblique.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 97
' The ear is low and nearly hidden in the fur. The back part of
the animal is very large comparatively, as though for the sup-
port of the tail. The toes are very short, especially on the
anterior extremities. The claws in front are rather large.
Although the skunk is so confident in nature’s provision for
its defense, its reliance is at times misplaced, for it sometimes
falls a victim to its temerity. The fox, particularly, manages
to destroy and make a meal of it. Owls and large hawks also
sometimes feed upon them. The skunk hibernates partially in
northern latitudes, but it is said wakens periodically to empty
its reservoirs.
Dr. Merriam, whose extended experience with the animal in
question makes him excellent authority upon it, gives the fol-
lowing interesting particulars concerning the skunk in domes-
tication :*
‘‘Skunks, particularly when young, make very pretty pets,
being attractive in appearance, gentle in disposition, interest-
ing in manners, and cleanly in habits—rare qualities indeed !
They are playful, sometimes mischievous, and manifest consid-
erable affection for those who have care of them. I have had,
at different times, ten skunks in confinement. They were all
quite young, measuring from 100 to 150mm. (approximately 4
to 7 in.) only in length, when first taken. Some were dug out
of their holes, and the rest caught in box traps. Two were so
young that they could walk but a few steps at a time, and had
to be brought up on milk, being fed with a spoon. The others
ate meat and insects from the start. From some of them I re-
moved the scent bags, but the greater number were left ina
state of nature. None ever emitted any odor, although a
couple of them, when half grown, used to assume a painfully
suggestive attitude on the too near approach of strangers—so
suggestive, indeed, that their visitors commonly beat a hasty
retreat. These same skunks, when I came within reach, would
climb up my legs and get into my arms. They liked to be
caressed, and never offered to bite. Others that I have had
did not show the aversion to strangers evinced by this pair, and
I believe the difference to be due to the way in which they are
brought up. If accustomed to the presence of a number of
people they are familiar and friendly toward all; while if kept
where they habitually see but one or two persons they will not
permit a stranger to touch them.
*Mammals of the Adirondack Region, p. 73.
98 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Two summers ago I was the happy master of the cleverest
young skunk that I have thus far chanced to meet. For a
name he received the title of his genus, and we called him
‘Meph.’ for short. By way of precaution, I removed his scent
sacs, and he made a rapid and complete recovery, after a few
days of temporary indisposition. While driving about the
country, in the performance of professional duties, he usually
slept in my pocket. After supper I commonly took a walk, and
he always followed close at my heels. If I chanced to walk too
fast for him, he would scold and stamp with his fore-feet, and
if}I persisted in keeping too far ahead, would turn about dis-
gusted, and make off in an opposite direction, but if I stopped
and called him, he would hurry along at a sort of ambling
pace, and soon overtake me. He was particularly fond of
ladies, and I think it was the dress that attracted him ; but be
that as it may, he would invariably leave me to follow any lady
that chanced to come near. We used to walk through the
woods to a large meadow that abounded in grasshoppers.
Here ‘Meph.’ would fairly revel in his favorite food, and it was
rich sport to watch his manoeuvres. When a grasshopper
jumped he jumped, and I have seen him with as many as three
in his mouth and two under his fore-paws at one time! He
would eat so many that his over-extended belly actually
dragged upon the ground, and, when so full that he could hold
no more, would still catch and slay them. When so small that
he could hardly toddle about he never hesitated to tackle the
large and powerful beetle known as the horned bug, and got
many smart nips for his audacity. But he was a courageous
little fellow and it was not long before he learned to handle
them with impunity. Ere many weeks he ventured to attack a
mouse, and the ferocity displayed in its destruction was truly
astonishing. He devoured the entire body of his victim, and
growled and stamped his feet if any one came near before the
repast was over.”
P. 421 Carver’s Travels :
“THE SKUNK. This is the most extraordinary animal that
the American woods produce. It lives chiefly in the woods
and hedges. But its extraordinary powers are only shewn
when it is pursued. As soon as he finds himself in danger he
ejects to a great distance a small stream of water of so subtile
a nature, and at the same time of so powerful a smell, that the
air is tainted with it for half a mile in circumference. On this
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. . 99
’ account he is called by the French, Enfant du Diable, the Child
of the devil, or Bete Puante, the Stinking Beast. This water
is supposed by naturalists to be its urine, but I have dissected
many of them that I have shot, and have found within their
bellies, near the urinal vessels, a small receptacle of water
totally distinct from the bladder. After having taken out with
great care the bag wherein this water is lodged, I have fre-
quently fed on them, and have found them very sweet and
good.”
Genus GULO, SrorR. (Wolverenes.)*
(Fig. 6 [3].)
This genus contains but a single species of very wide range
in both hemispheres. The largest North American represent-
ative of the weasel family (Mustelide). Form clumsy, some-
what bear-like, pelage shaggy, gait partly plantigrade. The
tail is bushy and rather short. The claws are curved and
large. The skull is particularly massive, and its spinous
development is great. The dentition is as in the martens
(Mustela) %:t:$:4—38. The anterior molar below is the sectorial
but lacks the internal cusp. Mastoids and bullz prominent.
There are seven cervical vertibre, fifteen dorsal, five lumbar,
three sacral, and about fifteen caudals.
There are well developed anal glands affording an offensive
odor. Circumpolar. Name from Latin gu/o, a glutton, in
allusion to the voracity of the animal.
Gulo borealis NILsson.
THE WOLVERENE.
Mustela gulo LINNZUS, GUNN, HouTTron, etc.
Ursus gulo SCHREBBR, Seugethiere, 1778; ZIMMERMANN, Geog. Gesch.,
: 1780; GMELIN, SHAW, CUVIER, etc.
Meles gulo PALLAS, Spic. Zool., 1780.
Tazus gulo TIEDEMANN, Zool., 1808.
Gulo borealis NILsson, Illum. Wig. till Skan. Fn.; Rerz., CUVIER, WAG-
NER, KeEysor and BLAstus, SCHINZ, BLASIUS, BRANDT,
GRAY, VOGT, etc.
Gulo sibiricus PALLAS.
Gulo arcticus DESMAREST, LESSON, FISCHER, GIEBEL, FITZINGER, etc.
Gulo vulgaris GRIFFITH, SMITH, etc.
Ursus luscus LINNZ=Us, Systema Nature; ERXLEBEN, SCHREBER, ZIM-
MERMANN, GMELIN, SHAW, TURTON.
* Our account is chiefly a compilation from the exhaustive article of Dr. Coues in
the Monograph of North American Mustelide.
100. BULLETIN NO. VII.
Gulo luscus SABINE, Franklin’s Journal, 1823; RICHARDSON, FISCHER,
GODMAN, Ross, SMITH, DEKAy, GRAY, AUD. and BACH.,
THOMPSON, BAIRD, BILLINGS, MAXIMILLIAN, GERRARD,
CovuEs, DALL, ALLEN, MERRIMAN ; most recent American
authors.
Gulo wolverine GRIFFITH. Animal Kingdom, 1827.
The wolverene is a stout heavy animal about two feet and
one-half long, exclusive of the bushy tail, which measures
about one foot. The form resembles both that of a bear cub
and of a hyena. To the former the resemblance is borne out
by the nearly plantigrade walk, while the sloping back and
shagginess might suggest the latter, as do its habits. The
palms and soles are densely covered with fur, except the small
pads. The color is dark brownish black, darkest on the back.
The sides are lighter, the color being greyish or yellowish.
At the top of the head and in front of the ears is a grey or
whitish area, and there are also light spots on the throat as
in the martens.
Dr. Coues has favored us with a full historical account of the
animal, from which the following quotations are made: ‘‘The
written history of the Glutton or Wolverene, dates from an
early period in the sixteenth century, when the animal is men-
tioned by several writers in much the same extravagant terms.
The first appearance of the animal in literature is said by Von
Martens to have been in 1532, at the hands of Mechow, a phys-
ician of Cracow, in the work De Sarmatia Asiana et Europea.
* %* * Endorsed for two centuries by various writers, each
more or less authoritative in his own times, and, moreover,
appealing strongly to the love of the marvellous, the current
fables took strong root and grew apace, flourishing like all
‘ill weeds,’ and choking sober accounts——the general picture
impressed upon the susceptible mind of that period being that
of a ravenous monster of insatiate voracity, matchless strength
and supernatural cunning, a terror to all other beasts, the
blood-thirsty master of the forest. —_ — — We read how the
Glutton, too clumsy and tardy of foot to overtake large rumi-
nants, betakes itself to the trees beneath which they may pass,
and there crouches in wait for its victim ; it drops like a bolt
upon the unsuspecting elk, moose, reindeer, and fastening with
claws and teeth, sucks the blood, and destroys them as they
run. That nothing may be left undone to ensure success, the
animal has the wit to throw down moss or lichens to attract its
prey, and to employ the friendly services of foxes to drive the
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 101
quarry beneath the fatal spot. — — — We may remember also
that the history of the Wolverene is mixed, in some cases, with
that of other animals, some of whose habits have been attribu-
ted to it. Thus Charlevoix speaks of the ‘Carcajou or Quinca-
jou, akind of cat,’ evidently, however, having the Cougar
(Felis concolor) in view, as appears from the rest of his remarks.”
The name ‘‘Carcajow” appears in Carver’s Travels (p. 420), and
as the animal purports to be found in Minnesota, it may be in-
teresting to quote the paragraph in full:
«THE CARCAJOU.—This creature, which is of the cat kind,
is a terrible enemy to the preceding four species of beasts.
He either comes upon them from some concealment unper-
ceived, or climbs up into a tree, and taking his station in some
of the branches, waits till one of them, driven by an extreme
of heat or cold, takes shelter under it, when he fastens upon
his neck, and opening the jugular vein, soon brings his prey to:
the ground. This he is enabled to do by his long tail, with
which he encircles the body of his adversary ; and the only
means they have to shun their fate, is by flying immediately to
the water. By this method, as the Carcajou has a great dislike
to that element, he is sometimes got rid of before he can effect
his purpose.”
In this case the reference can only be to the puma, though
partly fabulous. The single species of Gulo is circumpolar,
and abounds to far north, Its southern limit is about 40° in
suitable locations, although only a few instances are known of
its occurrence so far south. In Minnesota I have no informa-
tion of the animal, although it must have once existed here.
In Europe this animal once ranged (as proven by quarternary
remains) as far south as the Alps and Pyrenees, but is now re-
stricted to the polar regions. In Asia the range is considerably
greater. The wolverene is not strictly nocturnal, but, where
abundant, may be encountered at any time of day or night, and
in all seasons. He preys on small animals, and will even
attack young caribou and deer. But the taste is not discrimi-
nating, everything being eaten which chance may throw in the
way; even carrion is not rejected in case of need. The great
stories told of his voracity constitute the bulk of the history of
the animal, but he seems to be particularly characterized by
marvelous cunning and endurance. The marten trapper often
finds a skillful and inveterate energy in this large member of
the marten family. A line of traps is visited as assiduously by
the glutton as by the owner, and with disastrous results, for
102 BULLETIN NO. VII.
the traps are destroyed and hidden, and the bait devoured or
cached. According to northern explorers the animal is a victim
of a senseless kleptomania, not contenting itself in confiscating
everything it can devour, but stealing and secreting all articles
it is able to carry. It may be itself trapped in a dead-fall or
steel-trap of large size, but great skill is required to outwit the
animal.
The wolverene brings forth four or five young, in secluded
caverns or hollow logs, in June or July, and the female is said
to be very fierce and even dangerous while guarding the young.
The sense of smell is the best developed of the senses, the
vision being particularly unreliable; which may give rise to
the habit with which it is credited, of shading its eyes with its
paw when looking at a distance.
GENUS MUSTELA; LINN.
This genus, including the martens, differs in many respects
from the glutton, and connects that animal with the slender
weasels. The dental formule are identical, $:+:4::—88, and dif-
fer from that of Putoris in having one more premolar above
and below. The skull is much less massive and more tapering
than in Gulo. The rostral portion is elongated. The frontal
profile is concave. There are seven cervical vertebre, sixteen
dorsals, six lumbar, three sacral, and eighteen to twenty cau-
dal. The form is stout and somewhat cat-like or fox-like; size
moderate—that of a cat; progression digitigrade; fur dense and
valuable; habit arboreal and terrestrial. Although many vari-
eties are known to furriers, zoologically but four, or at most
five, species can be recognized. The true sable is M. zibellina,
closely allied to which is M. martes, the common European spe-
cies. The house marten, M. foina, is of a greyer color, and
has a longer tail than the above. Our own MM. americana, or
marten, closely resembles the M. martes, while the fisher is
widely different. The following table of differentia may prove
useful.
M. pennanti (Fischer). Length 2 feet or more, tail over 1 foot, tapering ;
ears wide, semi-circular ; color blackish, darkest below; no
light throat-patch.
M. americana. Length under 2 feet; tail less than 1 foot, uniformly
bushy ; ears high, triangular ; color brownish, darker above,
usually with a lighter patch on the throat.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 103
Mustela pennanti ERXt.
PEKAN OR FISHER.
Mustela canadensis SCHREBER, etc.
Martes canadensis GRAY.
Viverra canadensis SHAW.
Viverra piscator SHAW.
Mustela melanorhyncha BODDAERT, etc.
Mustela nigra TURT.
Mustela godmani FISCHER.
The general aspect of the fisher is much like that of the fox,
hence itis often popularly called ‘‘black fox.” A full grown
animal measures about 46 inches, the tail being 16 inches long.
It is thus much larger than our other Mustelidw, and is rela-
tively much stouter and more compactly framed. The head is
six inches long, the eye being two inches from the end of the
muzzle. Theear is twice as broad as long, and is one inch high.
The feet are broad and fiat, furred on both sides, and armed
with curved, compressed claws. The hind foot is 4-5 inches
long. The tail is bushy and conical, and the fur is coarser
than in the martens. The color is exceedingly variable, con-
sisting of black and dark brown below, and greyish brown or
reddish above. The belly, legs and tail are often black, though
the breast is sometimes white spotted.
The name fisher is quite inappropriate, as the animal is not
aquatic, but is said to have a feline repugnance to that element.
Neither does it feed on fish, but pursues squirrels and other
small quadrupeds.
Richardson says: ‘‘ The Pekan is a larger and stronger ani-
mal than any variety of the Pine Marten, but has similar man-
ners, climbing trees with facility, and preying principally
upon mice. It lives in the woods, preferring damp places in
the vicinity of water, in which respects it differs from the Mar-
ten, which is generally found in the dryest spots of pine forests.
The fisher is said to prey on frogs in the summer season, but I
have been informed that its favorite food is the Canada porcu-
pine, which it kills by biting on the belly. It brings forth once
a year, from two to four young.”
The pekan is distributed from ocean to ocean, in wooded
regions north of 35°, but its southern limit has been greatly
altered by the inroads of the trapper. It is still reasonably
abundant in the northern parts of our state.
This animal is stated to attack and destroy so large and
powerful a creature as the raccoon. Sir John Richardson
104 BULLETIN NO. VII.
states that ‘‘its favorite food is the Canada porcupine, which
it kills by biting in the belly.” Other writers have questioned
the truth of this statement, but it has recently received addi-
tional verification. Mr. Merriam writes: ‘‘ During a recent
visit to the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, I was in-
formed, both by an agent of the Hudson Bay Company and by
the trappers themselves, that porcupines constitute a large
and important element in the food supply of the Pekan. Mr.
Nap. A. Corneau, of Godbout, who secured for me a large and
handsome male of this species, tells me that its intestine con-
tained hundreds of porcupine quills, arranged in clusters, like
so many packages of needles, throughout its length. In no
case had a single quill penetrated the mucous lining of the in-
testine, but they were apparently passing along its interior as
smoothly and surely as if within a tube of glass or metal. Mr.
Corneau did not discover a quill in any of the abdominal vis-
cera, or anywhere in the abdominal cavity, excepting as above
stated; a great many, however, were found imbedded in the
muscles of the head, chest, back and legs, and it was remark-
able that their presence gave rise to no irritation, no products
of inflammation being found in their vicinity. In examining
the partially cleaned skeleton of this specimen, I find some of
the quills in the deep muscles and ligaments about the joints.
A knee, in particular, shows several in its immediate neighbor
hood.”
The nest is made in a hollow tree, generally thirty or forty
feet from the ground, and two to four young are brought forth
about the first of May.
‘“They are agile and muscular animals, jumping from tree to
tree like a squirrel, clearing a distance of forty feet in a
descending leap, never failing of a secure grip.”—Corporal
Lot Warfield, quoted by Merriam.
Mustela americana TURTON.
AMERICAN SABLE OR MARTEN.
Mustela martes FORSTER, SABINE, HARLAN, EMMONS, AUD. and BACHMAN,
BILLINGS, KENNICOTT, etc.
Mustela americana TURTON, BAIRD, COUES, etc.
Martes americana GRAY.
Mustela zibellina var. americana BRANDT.
Mustela vulpina RAFINESQUE.
Mustela leucopus KUHL.
Mustela huro F. CUVIER.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 105
The body of the Marten is equal to that of a small cat, the
entire length being about 30 inches, the tail measuring 12.
The legs are short and strong. The tail is bushy and full
toward the end, in contrast to the pekan. The head is broadly
triangular and cat-like, the eyes being oblique and situated half
way from snout to ears, which latter are high and rather pointed.
The soles are furred, and the pelage throughout is dense, soft, -
and full. The color is brown of various shades, ranging from
almost orange to nearly black, the latter being most valuable.
On the throat there is a patch of yellowish or tawny, while the
whole under surface is lighter than the upper. The fur is full
from the end of October to the beginning of May. Toward the
end of summer, after the moult, a fine short fur appears re-
sembling that of a mink ; it gradually lengthens as winter ap-
proaches, and is considered prime after the first snow fall.
‘The American animal agrees with the European M. martes so
closely in external appearance as to make it impossible to dis-
cover distinctive features, but the osteological features are said
to be well marked. It is probably otherwise with M. zebellina,
the true sable, which cannot at present be distinguished. The
four species are certainly very closely allied, and show the
martens to be of recent origin.
In the Bul of the U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey,
vol. II, No. 4, Mr. J. A. Allen summarizes a large number of
facts illustrating the geographical variation in this species, yet
concludes that the three species, foina, americana and martes,
are sufficiently distinct.
The rocky, woody district on the north shore of lake Superior
and the national boundary is noted for its valuable black mar-
tens. The northern limit coincides with that of the forests.
‘‘Sable are ordinarily captured in wooden traps of very
simple construction, made on the spot. The traps are a little
enclosure of stakes and brush in which the bait is placed upon
a trigger, with a short upright stick supporting a log of wood ;
the animal is shut off from the bait in any but the desired direec-
tion, and the log falls upon the victim with the slightest
disturbance. A line of such traps, several to the mile, often
extends many miles. The bait is any kind of meat, a mouse,
squirrel, piece of fish, or bird’s head. One of the greatest
obstacles that the sable hunter has to contend with, in many
localities, is the persistent destruction of his traps by the
wolverine and pekan, both of which display great cunning
ay
k {
106 BULLETIN NO. VII
and perseverance in following up his line to eat the bait, and
even the sables themselves may be captured. I have accounts
from Hudson’s Bay trappers of a sable road fifty miles long,
containing 150 traps, every one of which was destroyed through-
out the whole line twice—once by a wolf, and once by a wolverine.
The marten is exceedingly shy, and never ventures into human
enclosures; nevertheless, when captured, it makes a rather
amiable pet and has little of the offensive odor of the family.”
GENUS PUTORIUS.
Dental formula: i, 3; ¢, 4; pm. 3; m, 3*2=34. Sectorial of lower
jaw without an internal cusp. Skull flat, rostral portion short
and turgid. Zygomatic arch usually not higher behind than in
front. Periotic region, bullee, etc., little inflated.
The body is usually very slender and lithe, the head short
and fierce, with orbicular ears. The legs are short and stout,
the tail uniformly terete. The genus is divided into four
sections: Gale (ermines and weasles), Cynomyonax (American
ferret), Putorius (ferrets), and Lutreola (minks). The Amer- ~
ican ferret is confined to the central plateau. The ferrets
proper are stout-bodied forms confined to the Old World, thus
leaving two of the groups to be considered.
The weasels proper are grouped under Gale, and have the
following characters: The skull is smooth, with no sagittal
crest. Frontal profile strongly convex and declivous. Ptery-
goids with small hamular processes, or none. Bulle auditorize
nicked at end by orifice of meatus. Skull moderately abruptly —
constricted near the middle; post orbital processes slight.
Small animals of slender, serpentine form, of terrestrial habit.
Most northern species become white in winter. We have in
Minnesota two species.
Putorius vulgaris ALDROV.
LESSER WEASEL.
(FIG. 8B.-COMMON ERMINE WEASEL.)
Mustela vulgaris, Earlier authors generally.
Fetorius vulgaris KEYSOR and BLASIUS.
Mustela gale PALLAS.
Mustelu nivalis FORSTER.
Mustela pusilla DEKAY.
Putorius pusillus AUDUBON.
Putorius cicognani RICHARDSON.
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 107
“This species is circumpolar and is equally distributed in the
New and Old World. In general it does not approach the poles
as nearly as the ermine, but extends rather farther south.
This species seems to have been domesticated as a mouser in
Greece prior to the introduction of cats.
This species differs from the ermine in its smaller size. The
length varies, eight inches being the maximum length of body,
the tail about two anda half. The tail is almost always with-
out the black terminal portion so characteristic of the larger
species. The northern specimens turn white in winter, but in
southern Minnesota probably not. But a single specimen was
collected during the survey, and the notes upon this are in-
complete.
Fig. 8. A. Putorius erminea (Ermine or White Weasel).
B. Putorius vulgaris (common Weasel).
Although only relatively rare it is far from well known. Its
food is mice, insects, eggs and young birds. It is said toclimb
readily in search of nests. When a mouse is introduced into
the cage containing a weasel, says Bell: ‘‘It instantly issued
from its box, and in a moment, one single bite on the head
pierced the brain, and laid the mouse dead without a struggle
108 ( BULLETIN NO. VII.
or a cry. I have observed that when a weazel seizes a
small animal, at the instant when the fatal bite is inflicted, it
throws its long, lithe body over its prey, so as to secure it,
should the first bite fail. The power which the weasel has of
bending the head at right angles with the long and flexible
neck gives it a great advantage.” In pursuing a rat or mouse,
it depends upon the sense of smell, and follows them with
equal ease when out of sight, readily recovering the lost track.
It is said that it even takes to the water in pursuit of its prey.
Although the weasel may itself fall a victim to birds of prey,
instances are known when the unequal contest has been carried
on in the air, and the sharp tooth of the weasel has brought to
the ground its winged captor. Four or five young are produced,
there being two litters annually. A hollow tree or hole in
a bank, well lined with leaves, forms the nest. The mother
defends her young to the last extremity.
Putorius erminea LINN.
ERMINE, OR WHITE WEASEL
‘PLATE XV, FIGS. 1-15. See ante.)
Mustela erminea, Earlier authors.
Putorius noviboracensis DEKAY, etc. (var. cicognani. )
Mustela cicognant BONAPARTE.
Putorius cicognani BAIRD, etc.
Putorius richardsont RICHARDSON, BAIRD.
Mustela fusca AUD.
Putorius agilis AUD.
Putorius kanet BAIRD.
We accept unhesitatingly the identification of our species
with that of Europe, and incline to regard the P. longicaudata
as in the same category. This whole question has been so
thoroughly discussed by Coues and Allen that it need not be
reopened.
Every one is familiar with the cylindrical serpentine form,
the flattened head notably shorter than the neck. As Coues
says, ‘‘the eyes are rather small, situated midway between the
nose and ears ; they glitter with changing hues, and contribute
with the low forhead and protruding canine teeth, to a pecu-
liarly sinister and ferocious physiognomy. In northern regions
the whole sole is furred, but elsewhere the pads appear.”
In summer the upper parts are a uniform brown, varying
from very dark umber to a yellowish gray, the line of demark
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 109
ation from the white of the lower parts is quite sharp. Only
the end of the tail is black. The white of the under parts
is suffused with a sulphury tint. The winter pelage is white,
unbroken except by the black tip of the tail and the yellow
suffusion. The change is a gradual one, and consists of a
gradual substitution of white for the darker color, usually by
gradual encroachment from below, leaving a constantly nar-
rower dorsal band. Sometimes, however, the substitution goes
on over the entire dorsal region simultaneously. Dr. Coues
considers that the change is effected in either of two ways:
Hither the renewal of the pelage by the outgrowth of hairs of a
different color, or the change of the hairs after their formation,
cold being the conditioning circumstance in either case. We
may be permitted to doubt that the question is satisfactorily
settled. 'T'wo important purposes are subserved by the change,
the animal is screened from observation and thus protected
from its foes and rendered more successful in the chase, and
the white color makes the pelage a less perfect conductor of the
animal heat.
The Latin name Putorius, refers to the odor which is derived
from the secretion of the anal glands, and is only less persist-
ent and offensive than in the skunk.
The always pleasing pen of Mr. Wm. MacGillivray has fur-
nished us with the following general account of the habits of
the Stoat as observed in Great Britain:—‘‘It appears that in
England generally the Ermine is less common than the Wea-
sel; but in Scotland, even to the south of the Frith of Forth, it
is certainly of more frequent occurrence than that species; and
for one Weasel I have seen at least five or six Ermines. It
frequents stony places and thickets, among which it finds a
secure retreat, as its agility enables it to outstrip even a dog
in a short race, and the slimness of its body allows it to enter
avery small aperture. Patches of furze, in particular, afford
it perfect security, and it sometimes takes possession of a
rabbit's burrow. It preys on game and other birds, from the
grouse and ptarmigan downwards, sometimes attacks poultry
or sucks their eggs, and is a determined enemy to rats and
moles. Young rabbits and hares frequently become victims to
its rapacity, and even full-grown individuals are sometimes
destroyed by it. Although in general it does not appear to
hunt by scent, yet it has been seen to trace its prey like a dog,
following its track with certainty. Its motions are elegant,
and its appearance extremely animated. It moves by leaping
110 BULLETIN NO. VII.
or bounding, and is capable of running with great speed,
although it seldom trusts itself beyond the immediate vicinity
of cover. Under the excitement of pursuit, however, its cour-
age is surprising, for it will attack, seize by the throat and
cling to a grouse, hare or other animal, strong enough to carry
it off; and it does not hesitate on ocasion to betake itself to
the water. Sometimes, when met with in a thicket or stony
place, it will stand and gaze upon the intruder, as if conscious
of security; and, although its boldness has been exaggerated
in the popular stories which have made their way into books
of natural history, it cannot be denied that, in proportion to
its size, it is at least as courageous as the tiger or the lion.”
With a mind preoccupied in contemplation of the exploits of
the chase of great Carnivora—those grand exhibitions of pred-
atory instincts on the part of some of the strongest beasts,
one 1s apt to overlook, or at least to underestimate, the compara-
tive prowess of some lesser animals. Doubtless, the entomolo-
gist would give instances of equal courage and perseverance
in pursuit of prey, of vastly greater comparative strength and
skill in its capture, and superior destructiveness. Probably —
the great mass of insect-eating animals—an immense and
varied host—are in no whit behind in this respect. And in
nothing the instincts and predacious habits of the Weasels and
Stoats, we observe that, to grant them only equal courage and
equal comparative prowess, we must nevertheless accede to
them a wider and more searching range of active operations
against a greater variety of objects, more persevering and
more enduring powers of chase, and a higher grade of pure
destructiveness, taking more life than is necessary for immedi-
ate wants. The great cats are mainly restricted each to partic-
ular sources of food supply, which they secure by particular
modes of attack; and, their hunger satisfied, they quietly
await another call of nature. Not so, however, with the Wea-
sels. No animal or bird, below a certain maximum of strength,
or other means of self-defence, is safe from their ruthless and
relentless pursuit. The enemy assails them not only upon the
ground, but under it, and on trees, and in the water. Swift
and sure-footed, he makes open chase and runs down his prey;
keen of scent, he tracks them, and makes the fatal spring
upon them unawares; lithe and of extraordinary slenderness
of body, he follows the smaller through the intricacies of their
hidden abodes, and kills them in their homes. And if he does
not kill for the simple love of taking life, in gratification of
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA 111
superlative bloodthirstiness, he at any rate kills instinctively
more than he can possibly require for his support. I know not
where to find a parallel among the larger Carnivora. Yetonce
more, which one of the larger animals will defend itself or its
young at such enormous odds? A glance at the physiognomy
of the Weasels would suffice to betray their character. The
teeth are almost of the highest known raptorial character; the
jaws are worked by enormous masses of muscles covering all
the side of the skull. The forehead is low, and the nose is
sharp; the eyes are smail, penetrating, cunning; and glitter
with an angry green light. There is something peculiar, more-
over, in the way that this fieree face surmounts a body extraor-
dinarily wiry, lithe, and muscular. It ends a remarkably long
and slender neck in such way that it may be held at right
angle with the axis of the latter. When the creature is glan-
cing around, with the neck stretched up, and flat triangular
head bent forward, swaying from one side to the other, we
catch the likeness in a moment—it is the image of a serpent.
In further illustration of the character of the Stoat, I con-
tinue with an extract from Audubon, which represents nearly
all that has appeared to the point in this country:—
“Graceful in form, rapid in his movements, and of untiring
industry, he is withal a brave and fearless little fellow; con-
- scious of security within the windings of his retreat among the
logs, or heap of stones, he permits us to approach him within
a few feet, then suddenly withdraws his head; we remain still
for a moment, and he once more returns to his post of observa-
tion, watching curiously our every motion; seeming willing to
claim association so long as we abstain from becoming his per-
secutor.
“Yet with all these external attractions, this little Weasel
is fierce and bloodthirsty, possessing an intuitive propensity
to destroy every animal and bird within its reach, some of
which, such as the American rabbit, the ruffed grouse and
domestic fowl, are ten times its own size. It is a notorious
and hated depredator of the poultry house, and we have
known forty well-grown fowls to have been killed in one
night by a single Ermine. Satiated with the blood of proba-
bly a single fowl, the rest, like the flock slaughtered by the
wolf in the sheepfold, were destroyed in obedience to a law of
nature, an instinctive propensity to kill. We have traced the
footsteps of this bloodsucking little animal on the snow, pur-
suing the trail of the American rabbit, and although it could
112 BULLETIN NO. VII.
not overtake its prey by superior speed, yet the timid hare
soon took refuge in the hollow of a tree, or in a hole dug by
the Marmot, or Skunk. Thither it was pursued by the Ermine
and destroyed, the skin and other remains at the mouth of the
burrow bearing evidence of the fact. We observed an Ermine, .
after having captured a hare of the above species, first behead
it and then drag the body some twenty yards over the fresh
fallen snow, beneath which it was concealed, and the snow
lightly pressed down over it; the little prowler displaying
thereby a habit of which we became aware for the first time
on that occasion. To avoid a dog that was in close pursuit, it
mounted a tree and laid itself flat on a limb about twenty feet
from the ground, from which it was finally shot. We have
ascertained by successful experiments, repeated more than a
hundred times, that the Ermine can be employed, in the man-
ner of the Ferret of Europe, in driving our American rabbit
from the burrow into which it has retreated. In one instance
the Ermine employed had been captured only a few days be-
fore, and its canine teeth were filed in order to prevent its
destroying the rabbit; a cord was placed around its neck to
secure its return. It pursued the hare through all the wind-
ings of its burrow, and forced it to the mouth, where it could
be taken in a net, or by the hand. In winter, after a snow
storm, the ruffed grouse has a habit of plunging into the loose
snow, where itremains at times for one or two days. In this
passive state the Ermine sometimes detects and destroys it.
‘‘Notwithstanding all. these mischieveous and destructive |
habits, itis doubtful whether the Ermine is not rather a bene-
factor than an enemy to the farmer, ridding his granaries and
fields of many depredators on the products of his labour, that
would devour ten times the value of the poultry and eggs
which, at long and uncertain intervals, it occasionally destroys.
A mission appears to have been assigned it by Providence to
lessen the rapidly multiplying number of mice of various spe-
cies and the smaller rodentia.
‘‘The White-footed Mouse is destructive to the grains in the
wheat fields and in the stacks, as well as the nurseries of fruit-
trees. Le Conte’s Pine Mouse is injurious to the Irish and
sweet potato crops, causing more to rot by nibbling holes in
them than it consumes, and Wilson's Meadow-mouse lessens
our annual product of hay by feeding on the grasses, and by its .
long and tortuous galleries among their roots.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. VES
‘Whenever an Ermine has taken up its residence, the mice
in its vicinity for half a mile around have been found rapidly
to diminish in number. Their active little enemy is able to
force its thin vermiform body into the burrows, it follows them
to the end of their galleries, and destroys whole families. We
have on several occasions, after a light snow, followed the trail
of this Weasel through fields and meadows, and witnessed the |
immense destruction which it occasioned in a single night. It
enters every hole under stumps, logs, stone heaps and fences,
and evidences of its bloody deeds are seen in the mutilated re-
mains of the mice scattered on the snow. The little Chipping
or Ground Squirrel, Tamias Lysteri [sc. striatus] takes up its
residence in the vicinity of the grain fields and is know to carry
off inits cheek pouches vast quantities of wheat and buckwheat,
to serve as winter stores The Ermine instinctively discovers
these snug retreats, and in the space of a few minutes destroys
a whole family of these beautiful little Tamiw; without even
resting awhile until it has consumed its now abundant food, its
appetite craving for more blood, asif impelled by an irresistible
destiny, it proceeds in search of other objects on which it may
glutits insatiable vampire-like thirst. The Norway rat and the
Common House Mouse take possession of our barns, wheat stacks,
and granaries, and destroy vast quantities of grain. In some in-
stances the farmer is reluctantly compelled to pay even more
than a tithe in contributions towards the support of these pests.
Let however an Ermine find its way into these barns and gran-
aries, and there take up its winter residence, and the havoc
which is made among the rats and mice will soon be observa-
ble. The Ermine pursues them to their farthest retreats, and
in a few weeks the premises are entirely free from their depre-
dations. We once placed a half domesticated Ermine in an out-
house infested with rats, shutting up the holes on the outside
to prevent their escape. The little animal soon commenced his
work of destruction. The squeaking of the rats was heard
throughout the day. In the evening, it came out licking its
mouth, and seemed like a hound after a long chase, much fa-
tigued. A board of the floor was raised to enable us to ascer-
tain the result of our experiment, and an immense number of
rats were observed, which, although they had been killed in
different parts of the building, had been dragged together, form
ing a compact heap.
‘The Ermine is then of immense benefit to the farmer. We
are of the opinion that it has been over-hated and too indis
-
114 BULLETIN NO. VII.
criminately persecuted. Ifdetected in the poultry house, there
is some excuse for destroying it, as, like the dog that has once
been caught in the sheepfold, it may return to commit further
depredations; but when it has taken up its residence under stone
heaps and fences, in his fields, or his barn, the farmer would
consult his interest by suffering it to remain, as by thus invit-
ing it to a home, it will probably destroy more formidable ene-
mies, relieve him from many petty annoyances, and save him
many a bushel of grain.”
The same author, alluding to the Weasel’s want of shyness,
and its ready capture in any kind of trap, continues with a
matter that may next interest us—its relative abundance in
different localities:—‘‘This species does not appear to be very
abundant anywhere. We have seldom found more than two or
three on any farm in the Northern or Eastern States. We have
ascertained that the immense number of tracks often seen in the
snow in particular localities were made by a single animal, as
by capturing one, no signs of other individuals were afterwards
seen. We have observed it most abundant in stony regions;
in Dutchess and Ontario counties in New York, on the hills of
Connecticut and Vermont, and at the foot of the Alleghanies
in Pennsylvania and Virginia. It is solitary in its habits, as
we have seldom seen a pair together exceptin the rutting season.
A family of young, however, are apt to ,.remain in the same
locality until autumn. In winter they separate, and we are
inclined to think they do not hunt in couples or in packs
like the wolf, but that, like the bat and the mink, each indi-
vidual pursues its prey without copartnership, and hunts for
its own benefit.”” In Massachusetts, according to Allen, it is
comparatively common. I myselfsaw none in Labrador during
my summer visit; but it must be quite abundant, to judge from
the number of skins I saw in possession of the natives at various
places. According to Richardson, ‘‘Ermine-skins formed part
of the Canada exports in the time of Charlevoix; but they have |
so sunk in value, that they are said not to repay the Hudson’s
Bay Company the expense of collecting them, and very few are
brought to the country from that quarter.’”’ Nevertheless, it
would appear that the Ermine is much more abundant in British
America generally than it is in the United States. Over three-
fourths of the large miscellaneous collection of skins we have
examined in the preparation of this article came from this coun-
try and from Alaska. The writer last mentioned speaks of it
as ‘‘common’’, and adds that it often domesticates itself in the
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 115
‘houses of the fur traders, where it may be heard the live-long
night pursuing the white-footed mouse. Up toacertain limit of
latitude it would appear to increase in numbers to the north-
ward. The abundance of an Ermine, either the present or suc-
ceeding species, on the Missouri is attested by the regalia of
ceremony of some of the Indian tribes—picturesque constumes
decorated with the tails, in rude imitation of royal fashion.
Like a majority of thoroughly predacious animals, the Ermine
is somewhat nocturnal; that is to say, it is active and success-
fulinthe dark. Nevertheless, it is too often abroad in the day-
time, either in sport or on the chase, to warrant our reckoning
it among the truly nocturnal Carnivores. In the choice and
construction of its retreats we see little evidence of burrowing
instincts, or, indeed, of any considerable fossorial capacity. It
retreats beneath stone heaps, under logs and stumps, in hol-
lows of trees, and also in true underground burrows, though
these. it should be observed, are usually those made by Rodents
or other burrowers whom it has driven off or destroyed. Nev-
ertheless, there is evidence that the animal sometimes digs.
Thus Captain Lyon, as rendered by Richardson, states, that he
observed a curious kind of burrow made by Ermines in the snow,
‘which was pushed up in the same manner as the tracks of
moles through the earth in England. These passages run in a
serpentine direction, and near the hole or dweling place the
circles are multiplied, as if to render the approach more intri-
cate.” Audubon has a passage of similar effect:—‘‘We have
frequently observed where it had made long gallleries in the
deep snow for twenty or thirty yards, and thus in going from
one burrow to another, instead of travelling over the surface, it
had constructed for itself a kind of tunnel beneath.”
Accounts of different writers indicate a great variation in the
number of young produced at a birth—from two totwelve. We
may safely assume that these unusual extremes, the aver-
age litter being five or six. As in caseof the Mink, the rutting
season is early; in the United States, during a part of Febru-
ary and March. Young have been noted, toward the southern
extreme of the range of the species, before the end of March;
but most are produced in May or late in April. Without defi-
nite information respecting the period of gestation, we may sur-
mise this to be about six or seven weeks. Information is also
wanting of the length of time that the young nurse or require
to have food brought them by the parents.
116 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Of the mental characteristics of the ermine much has been
written. In spite of its innocent appearance the little animal
is probably the most bloodthirsty and blindly ferocious of our
Carnivora. The following account, kindly furnished me by
Dr. T. S. Roberts, illustrates the blind fury with which it re-
sents interference :
‘‘Going to a place on a small island in Lake of the Isles”
where had been left on the 12th inst., the skinned bodies of six
muskrats, it was found that they had all disappeared. While
standing near the spot the white head of a weasel appeared at a
hole under the roots of a small oak tree close by. It soon with-
drew again, and a steel trap was set at the entrance to the bur-
row. Presently it appeared atasecond opening near by. Here
a second trap was set. The weasel would come to the entrance,
look out and go back again, passing and repassing with great
agility over the trap without springing it. On walking away
some distance and looking back the weasel was seen out of his
retreat, and making violent efforts to drag the muskrat into his
hole. On approaching again he tore away at the body furi-
ously, but was forced to leave it. He seemed of a very irritable
disposition, as he would tear and bite in the most insane man-
ner at sticks and roots in the entrance of the hole, as if in
agreatrage. Once he appeared at the entrance and seizing one
of the jaws of the trap tried to drag the whole down with him.
At last, in a more than usually precipitate retreat over the
trap he sprung it, and was a prisoner. He was as fierce as any
large animal, and showed great fight.”’
Dr. Merriam says: ‘‘I once puta very large rat into a square
tin cage with a weasel of this species. The rat had been caught
in a steel trap by the toes of one of its hind feet, and was in no
way injured. He was very ugly, biting fiercely at the trap and
the stick with which I assisted him into the cage of the weasel.
No sooner had he entered the cage than his whole manner and
bearing changed. He immediately assumed an attitude of
abject terror, and trembled from head to foot, and crawled into
the nearest corner. The weasel advanced toward him at once,
and as he did so the rat raised on his hind legs, letting his fore
paws hang helplessly over his breast, and squealed piteously.
not only did he show no disposition to fight, but offered no re-
sistance whatever, and did not even attempt to defend himself
when molested. The weasel did not seize him at first, but
cuffed him with his fore paws, and drove him from one corner
of the cage to another, glaring at him continuously. Then,
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. ~ 117
.with a sudden move, he sprang upon his victim, already par-
alyzed with fear, laid open the back of the head with a single.
bite, ate the brains, and left the quivering carcass untouched.”
In connection with the above vivid picture of the effect pro-
duced upon its victims by the appearance of the weasel, we.
may quote from Coues a passage showing how his aspect
affects a more dispassionate and unbiassed observer:
‘*A glance at the physiognomy of the weasels would suffice.
to betray their character. The teeth are almost of the highest
raptorial character ; the jaws are worked by enormous masses
of muscles covering all the sides of the skull. The forehead is.
low, and the nose is sharp; the eyes are small, penetrating,
cunning, and glitter with an angry green light. There is
something peculiar, moreover, in the way that this fierce head
surmounts a body extraordinarily wiry, lithe and muscular.
It ends in a remarkably long and slender neck, in such a way
that it may be held at a right angle with the axis of the latter.
When the creature is glancing around, with the neck stretched
up, and the flat triangular head bent forward, swaying from
one side to the other, we catch the likeness in a moment—it is
the image of a serpent.”
(?) Putorius longicaudata BONAPART.
LONG-TAILED WEASEL.
This species is noticed by Dr. Coues from Minnesota, though
we have never seenit. The only external differences between
this and the Ermine are the greater length of the tail (#— 4 as
long as head and body) the terminal black portion of which is
reduced, and the substitution of a salmon for a sulphur yellow
on the under parts. The habitat is said to be the Upper Mis
souri region. It would seem that a geographical variety or
race is as high a distinction as the form deserves. In addition
to the above external differences, it is true, the skull is said to
be much wider—half as long as wide, the anteorbital foramen
smaller, the upper posterior premolars inclined forward.
The species occupies the burrows of the Richardson’s sper--
mophile.
118 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Putorius vison BRISSON.
MINK.
(PLATE XVIIL.)
Mustela vison, Earlier writers.
Lutra vison SHAW.
Putorius vison, Modern writers.
Mustela lutreola FORSTER, SABINE, etc.
Vison lutreola GRAY.
Mustela canadensis ERXLEBEN, etc.
Mustela winingus BARTON.
Mustela minx TURTON.
Mustela lutreocephala HARLAN.
In size and external appearance the mink approaches the
martens. The tail is bushy rather than cylindrical, but the
head is triangular and flat like the weasels. The ear is very
small. The fur is composed of a soft, dense under fur inter-
mingled with long stiff shining hairs. The color is brown of
various shades, from dark chocolate to yellowish. A broad
dorsal area is darkest. The chin is white, and there may be
other blotches of white on the under parts which are otherwise
little lighter than the upper surface. As indicating the aquatic
habit, the toes are webbed at the bases. The mink is distrib-
uted over N. America everywhere in suitable locations. Our
species differs from the European P. lutreola in a few insignifi-
cant osteological points only.
Coincidentally with the aquatic habitat, the food of the
Mink is somewhat modified, in comparison with that of the
land species of the genus. It is probably our only species
which feeds habitually upon reptiles, fish, molluscs, and crusta-
ceans—more particularly upon frogs, fresh-water bivalves,
crawfish, and the like. Nevertheless, it is not confined to
such diet, but shows its relationships with the terrestrial Wea-
sels in a wide range of the same articles of diet as the latter
secure. Itis said to prey upon Muskrats—a statement I have
no hesitation in believing, though I cannot personally attest it.
A recent writer,* in an article which I would quote were it
written in a style suited to the present connection, narrates an
incident which may be here briefly related, as showing that
the Mink is a formidable enemy of the Muskrat, though yield-
ing to the latter in weight. Whilst snipe-hunting on a marshy
island below the Kickapoo Rapids of the Illinois River, the
*M, A. Howell, jr. “The trapper not the only enemy of the Muskrat.’—Forest and
Stream of Dec. 21, 1876.
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 119
_ writer noticed an object, which appeared like a ball some six
or eight inches in diameter, rolling toward the water; and
soon ascertained that it was a Mink and a Muskrat clinched
together, and so completely covered with mud as not to have
been at first recognized. At his approach, the Mink released
its hold and make its escape; but the Muskrat was already
dying of severe wounds in the head and neck, from which the
blood was flowing profusely. The Muskrat had evidently been |
captured and overcome in fair fight by broad daylight, and the
Mink would have devoured its victim had not the hunter inter-
fered. It is also destructive to our native rats and mice—the
Arvicolas, Hesperomys, Sigmodon, and Neotoma, it is known to
capture Rabbits, especially the Lepws palustris, its associate in
many marshy or swampy tracts; while its not infrequent vis-
its to the poultry-yard have gained for it the hearty ill-will of
the farmer. Various marsh-inhabiting birds are enumerated
in the list of its prey, among them the rails and several
smaller species; and we may presume that it does not spare
their eggs. Butmost birds are removed from its attack; for the
Mink is notaclimber, atleast toany extent. In respect to poul-
_ try, its destructiveness seems to result rather from the regularly
repeated visits of an animal that has located in the vicinity
than the wholesale slaughtering sometimes accomplished by the
Ermine. According to those who have excellent opportunity of
judging, the Mink does not as a rule kill more than it eats.
Still, the opposite case has been recorded. Its modes of hunt-
ing offer nothing peculiar. Like the Weasel and Stoat, it has
been known to pursue its prey by scent.
The Mink often annoys hunters by stealing the game they
have shot before they have an opportunity of bagging it. An
incident related by a recent anonymous writer in ‘‘Forest and
Stream” is in point, and furthermore illustrates the wonderful
energy and perseverance sometimes displayed by the Mink in
securing its food. Speaking of a duck-shooting excursion,
during which some of the birds that had been killed were not
recovered till next day, the writer goes on to say:—‘‘The first
spot which claimed attention, was where our ‘hen mallard’
had ‘struck hard pan.’ Here was a sight! feathers and blood
marked the scene of a terrific struggle for what remained ofa
duck’s life. Here, for at least ten feet in circuit, the snow,
grass and twigs, were whipped into a confused mass, here and
there besprinkled with blood, and quite as often decorated
with feathers; then there was a trail, leading directly to the
120 BULLETIN NO. VII.
river bank, and out upon the ice; the trail thence proceeded |
up the bank of the river on the ice for about half a mile, when
it disappeared directly in line of a hole in the bank, where we
discovered the bird half buried, head foremost, into a hole
about one-half the size of the body, frozen stiff. When discov-
ered we worked, not without difficulty, at the extrication of the
bird. It required all our force to draw it out, when, as it broke
from its fastenings, two large Minks suddenly appeared, and
darted back into their retreat, the last we saw of the varmints
after a half hour of close watching. The ground along the
shore was rough, covered with heavy grass, brush, drift wood,
and many willows. Here the natural obstacles precluded the
possibility of such a trip by land, and the little piece of engi-
neering practiced by this one Mink, in capturing and convey-
ing home its prize, was truly marvellous. That there was but
one Mink, the trail bore direct evidence throughout its entire
length from the scene of the struggle. As we followed the line,
we could easily trace the wide trail of the mallard, as it was
dragged bodily along over the fresh snow, and the deep pene-
tration of its claws into the new ice, spoke volumes of the force
exerted by that small animal in the completion of so severe
an undertaking, and the excessive amount of Mink power ex-
pended in the completion of a successful foraging expedition.
Here and there thoughout the line of trail were frequent halt-
ing places, where our Mink had stopped for a@ rest. Hvery
time there appeared numerous tracks around the body of its
victim, as though pleased to inspect its trophy before the next
‘heat, and then as the distance shortened, the strokes of its tail
atregular intervals of march, marked upon the snow upon either
side of the trail the determined intention of the animal to go
through with its meat before it was too cold to squeeze into a
small space, where the sharp frost would soon fix it perma-
nently. When drawn out, we found that a couple of ‘square
meals’ had been made from the head, neck and breast, and
enough left for several days to come.”
This account of the Mink’s theft called forth shortly afterward
in the same paper the following instance of its stealing fish; the
editor, Mr. Charles Hallock, remarking that he had known
Minks to carry off fish weighing no less than twelve pounds :—
‘We were spending our vacation in the woods of Maine, fish-
ing, and traveling about for a good time in general, One day we
came across an old dam made to flood a piece of lowland. As
this looked like a good place to fish we stopped, seated our-
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 131
. selves upon the edge of the dam, and east in our line. The
fish were quite plenty, and as fast as we caught one we threw
it behind us upon the scaffolding. After a dozen or ‘so had
been caught, I thought I would light my pipe, pick up the fish
and put them in the shade, and I started to doso. I accom
plished the first object, but upon looking for the fish I could
not find a single one. I thought that my chum must have re-
“moved them, and was playing a joke upon me, but on mention-
ing it to him he was as much surprised as I was. They could
not have fallen through the cracks, or leaped over the side
without our knowing it. Where were they? That was the
question. He returned to fish, and I seated myself upon the
bank to digest the subject. Presently he caught another fish
and threw it upon the boards. Immediately I saw a Mink run
out from a hole near by, snatch the fish and carry it off. This
explained the mysterious disappearance of the others.”
The movements of the Mink on land, though sufficiently
active, lack something of the extraordinary agility displayed
by the more lithe and slender-bodied Weasels, as a conse-
quence of the build of its body; while, for the same reason, it
does not pursue the smaller animals into their extensive under-
ground retreats, nor so habitually prowl about stone heaps
and similar recesses. It is altogether a more openly aggres-
sive marauder, though not less persistent and courageous in
its attacks. It appears to be more perfectly at home in the
water, where it swims with exactly the motions of an Otter,
and in fact appears like a small specimen of that kind. It
swims with most of the body submerged—perhaps only the
end of the nose exposed—and progresses under water with per-
fect ease, remaining long without coming to the surface to
breathe. This may be partly the reason of its long survival
under the pressure of a deadfall.
The Mink is not properly a migratory animal. In most sec-
tions it remains permanently where it takes up its abode. In
others, however, it may be forced to remove at times, owing to
searcity or failure of its food-supply, such as may ensue from
the freezing of the waters in northern parts. Under such cir-
cumstances, if may perform extensive journeys overland. Trap-
pers have indeed spoken to me of a “‘running” time with the
Minks, but I cannot satisfy myself that reference is here had
to anything more than periods of sexual activity, when the ani-
malsare hunting mates. I do not think that whatever ‘‘migra-
tion” may take place is anything more than casual.
—8
122 BULLETIN NO. VII.
The rutting season begins early—generally February—and
April is for the most part the month of reproduction. Five or
six young are ordinarily produced ata birth. Litters have been
found in the hollow of a log, as well as in the customary bur-
rows.
The Mink has been frequently tamed, and is said to become,
with due care, perfectly gentle and tractable, though liable to
sudden fits of anger, when no one is safe from its teeth. With-
out showing special affection, it seems fond of being caressed,
and may ordinarily be handled with perfect impunity. The
following account of the semi-domestication of Minks on an
extensive scale will be read with interest, not alone for its
novelty, but also because it gives some precise information
respecting the reproduction of the species.
*‘Minkeries.”’
The Mink appears to be the only species of its genus which
has been systematically reared and trained for ratting in this
country as the Ferret isin Europe. The relationship of the two
animals at once suggests the feasibility of an experiment which
has been tried with complete success, as we learn from an in-
teresting article lately published in ‘‘Forest and Stream” (Oc-
tober 22, 1874—apparently taken from ‘‘Fancier’s Journal and
Poultry Exchange” of October 15, 1874). Ireproduce the pas-
sage in substance.
Mr. H. Resseque, of Verona, Oneida County, N. Y., has fre-
quently exhibited at fairs two tame female Minks, which he
hands to the by-standers to be caressed and passed from one
to another. The animals were perfectly gentle, submitting to
be handled, but it was noticed that they kept their eyes on their
keeper, to whom they would frequently extend their paws like
a child wishing to be taken to its parent. Seven years ago,
Mr. Resseque came in possession of a live wild Mink, and through
her progeny his stock has on some occasions amounted to ninety
individuals, besides the numerous specimens disposed of. At
the late Albany County fair, his ‘‘minkery” was one of the novel
features.
Mr. Resseque’s minkery consists of twelve stalls, each twelve
feet square, of stale soil, and surrounded with a fence and some
special precautions to prevent the escape of the animals. In
each stall is placed a dry-goods’ box for the home of the female;
it has two openings for ingress and egress, opposite each other,
besides a door on top to allow of inspection and cleaning. The
1 , A
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 123
animals are fed on sound, fresh meat, as they do not relish
tainted flesh. In summer it is given to them daily, but in cold
weather a large quantity is thrown in at once and allowed to
freeze, the Minks helping themselves atpleasure. In February,
their allowance is shortened, to get them into condition for
breeding. Mr. Resseque claims that this slight degree of fast-
ing makes them more lively and playful, and it is a part of his
plan to imitate nature as closely as possible—their supply of —
food, in the wild state, being restricted at this season.
In the minkery, the sexes are not allowed to run together ex-
cept during the month of March, which is considered the run-
ning season in a state of nature. If allowed together fora
longer period, the male teases and annoys the female. At this
time, the males fight desperately, and if not soon separated one
always gets the mastery. The females come in heat with great
regularity, all being ready for the male within ten days; and the
period of excitement lasts about four days. One male serves
six females. The females reproduce when one year old. The
duration of gestation scarcely varies twelve hours from six
weeks. There is but one litterannually. The litters run from
three to ten in number; the young are born blind, and remain
so for five weeks. When newly born, they are light-colored,
hairless, and about the size and shape of a little finger. By
the time the eyes are open, they are covered with a beautiful
coat of glossy hair. The young females develop sooner than
the males, attaining their stature in ten months, while the males
are not full-grown until they are a year and a halfold. Itis
noted that in every litter one or the other sex predominates in
numbers, there being rarely half of them males and the other
half females. If taken in hand when their eyes are first open,
they are readily tamed; they should not subsequently be al-
lowed to remain with the mother or in each other's society. By
continual petting and handling, they become like domestic rat-
ters, and have all the playfulness of the young of the feline
tribe. They may be handled, without fear of their sharp teeth,
but they prove extremely mischievous, their scent leading them
to food not intended for them. Their fondness for bathing will
prompt them to enter a tea-kettle or any open vessel; and when
wetted they will roll and dry themselves in a basket of clothes
fresh from the laundry, or even upon a lady’s dress, occasion -
ing much inconvenience.
Minks are not burrowing animals in a state of nature, but
freely avail themselves of the holes of Muskrats and other ver-
124 BULLETIN NO. VII.
min. They cannot climb a smooth surface, but ascend readily
where there is roughness enough for anail-hold. The grown
male will weigh about two pounds; the female is heavier than
she looks, averaging between one and a half and one and three-
fourths pounds. These tame Minks make excellent ratters,
hunt vigorously, and soon exterminate the troublesome pests.
Rats will make off on scenting them, they are so bewildered
in flight that they give no battle, but yield at once; and the
Mink severs the main vessels of the neck so quickly and skil-
fully that an observer would scarcely imagine the deed had
been done.
When wild Minks are confined with the tame ones, the latter
always prove stronger than the former, and come off victorious
in the contests that ensue. They have been observed to beat
off acat that imprudently invaded the minkery in quest of food.
So completely domesticated are the animals that a person may
enter the inclosure with impunity, and observe the animals
playing about him like kittens.
Mr. Resseque states that he finds ready saie for his Minks—
in fact, that he cannot supply the demand. His prices are $30
per pair—§$20 for a female, $10 for a male, and $25 for an im-
pregnated female. It is to be hoped that this novel branch of
industry will be perpetuated and extended. There are plenty
of Minks in this country, the services of which are available
without difficulty for the purpose of destroying vermin, and in
the aggregate their good services would have a very decidedly
appreciable result. They have a great advantage over terrier
dogs in being able to enter any ordinary rat-hole and drive their
prey from its hidden resorts,
From the ‘‘Forest and Stream” of July 2, 1874, the following
article is extracted in further illustration of this branch of
industry :—
‘Messrs. Phillips & Woodcock, of Cancadea, New York,
commenced two years ago the business of breeding Mink for
their fur. A correspondent of the Buffalo Express describes
the ‘Minkery’ in the following terms:—
“The ‘‘Minkery,” designed to accommodate one hundred
Minks for breeding, consists firstof an enclosure about forty feet
square, made by digging a trench one foot deep, laying a plank at
the bottom, and from the outer edge starting the wall, which
consists of boards four feet high, with a board to cap the top,
projecting upward eight or ten inches toprevent their climbing
over. Within this enclosure is a building 14 by 24, supplied by
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 125
running water, from which the Mink catch living fish, that are
often furnished, with the greatest delight.
‘The building is constructed by an alley three feet wide
around its cireumference. Within are two rows of cells four
feet deep and two and a half wide, each having a door venti-
lated at the top and bottom with wire screens, as is also the front
entrance, what the proprietors call the anteroom, four by four
feet, which must be fastened within every time the building is ©
entered, to prevent the escape of the imprisoned animals. On
entering the main hall, which the Minks have access to (when
not rearing their young), they present a very playful group.
‘« «The person feeding them is often mounted, for their food
and their tenacity of hold is so strong that they may be drawn
about or lifted without releasing their hold upon the food. The
nest of the female is very peculiarly constructed with grass,
leaves, or straw, with a lining of her own fur so firmly com-
pacted together as to be with difficulty torn in pieces. The
aperture leading to the nest is a round opening, just sufficient
to admit the dam, and is provided with a deflected curtain,
which covers the entrance and effectually-secures her against
all invasion when she is within. About the middle of March
the females are separated from the males until the young are
reared. The necessity for this arises from the fact that the
males seem inclined to brood the young almost as much as the
dam, when both are permitted to remain together.
_***The expense of feeding these animals is almost nominal,
being supplied pretty much entirely from the usual offal of a
farm yard, with occasional woodchucks and game in general.
They eat this food with equal avidity after decomposition has
taken place, devouring every particle of flesh, cartilage, and the
bones. The flesh and bones entire of the woodchuck are con-
sumed often at a single meal. While the expense of keeping
is thus trivial, the profitable yield of the animal is compara-
tively immense, it being considered a moderate estimate or
claim that the Mink with her increase will equal the avails of a
cow.”
We find in Audubon and Bachman several paragraphs upon
the same subject, which will be transcribed:—‘‘The Mink, when
taken young, becomes very gentle, and forms a strong attach-
ment (?) to those who fondle it in a state of domestication.
Richardson saw one in the possession of a Canadian woman,
that passed the day in her pocket, looking out occasionally
when its attention was roused by any unusual noise. We had
126 BULLETIN NO. VII.
in our possession a pet of this kind for eighteen months; it
regularly made a visit to an adjoining fish pond both morning
and evening, and returned to the house of its own accord, where
it continued during the remainder of the day. It waged war
against the Norway rats which had their domicile in the dam
that formed the fish-pond, and it caught the frogs which had
taken possession of its banks. We did not perceive that it
captured many fish, and it never attacked the poultry. It was
on good terms with the dogs and cats, and molested no one
unless its tail or foot was accidentally trod upon, when it inva-
riably revenged itself by snapping at the foot of the offender.
It was rather dull at midday, but very active and playful in the
morning and evening and at night. It never emitted its dis-
agreeable odour except when it had received a sudden and
severe hurt. It was fond of squatting in the chimney corner,
and formed a particular attachment to an armehair in our study.
“The latter end of February or the beginning of March, in
the latitude of Albany, N. Y., is the rutting season of the Mink.
At this period the ground is usually still covered with snow,
but the male is notwithstanding very restless, and his tracks
may everywhere be traced, along ponds, among the slabs around
sawmills, and along nearly every stream of water. He seems
to keep on foot all day as well as through the whole night.
Having for several days in succession observed a number of
Minks on the ice hurrying up and down a millpond, where we
had not observed any during the whole. winter, we took a
position near a place which we had seen them pass, in order to
procure some of them. We shot six in the course of the morn-
ing, and ascertained that they were all large andold males. As
we did not find a single female in a week, whilst we obtained |
a great number of males, we came to the conclusion that the
females, during this period, remain in their burrows. About
the latter end of April the young are produced. We saw six
young dug from a hole in the bank of a Carolina rice field; on
another occasion we found five enclosed in a large nest situated
on a small island in the marshes of Ashley river. In the State
of New York, we saw five taken from a hollow log, and we are
inclined to set down that as the average number of young the
species brings forth at a time.”
The following extract from a letter from Dr. T. 8S. Roberts,
gives a vivid account of an episode in the life of the mink :
‘‘Passing through a tamarack swamp, December 7th, 1877, I
came upon a trail in the snow made apparently by the body of
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 187
‘ some small animal while being dragged along. My curiosity
being aroused, I followed it a short distance out from among
the tamaracks into the bushy meadow adjoining. Here I came
upon a place where the snow had been beaten down in a circular
spot, the weeds and bushes having been lashed about—evi-
dently the scene of an encounter of some kind. Going a
few steps farther, I found there were now two tracks, one
made by a rabbit in full run, and the other by some small
animal, evidently a mink. The pursuit had been a hot one,
and the mink had showed his cunning by keeping a little to one
side of the rabbit that he might take advantage of any curve or
turn made by the latter. Having learned this much, I turned
about and followed the trail made by the body of the captured
rabbit. Straight into the middle of the tamarack swamp it
went, to a small stream flowing in a narrow, ditch-like channel-
Here on the frozen stream I found the rabbit dragged into
a narrow place between the banks of the ditch. It was the
little grey rabbit (Lepus sylvaticus). ‘ A round hole just back of
the ear on the left side, showed how the life blood had been
drawn.
Near this creek I noticed other places where this mink had
been chasing rabbits, but without success. A short distance
up the creek I found where another rabbit had been dragged
into the ditch, but it was not frozen here, and the body could
not be found.”
The following observations given by Prof. C L. Webster*
’ may serve to give some insight into the domestic habits of the
mink, Opportunities for such observation are, unfortunately,
exceedingly rare in all the fur-bearing animals, and the present
case may serve as a foil to the less pleasant picture afforded by
Dr. Roberts, of the disposition of another member of the same
group:
‘‘While engaged in geological work on the Cedar river, near
Osage, Iowa, my attention was attracted by the peculiar actions
of amink (Putorius vison). By careful maneuvering we were en-
abled to approach to within a short distance of where it was en-
gaged, and there watch its behavior unobserved. It was an old
mother mink engaged in fishing for her young. On the ripples
in the centre of the stream, where the water was not more
than two feet in depth, was a flat drift boulder rising a few
inches above the surface. On this rock the mother mink would
take her position and here watch for small fish to approach,
*Am. Naturalist. March, 1889, p. 176.
128 BULLETIN NO. VII.
when she would dive into the water, be gone for a moment and
then reappear on the opposite side of the rock, usually with a
fish in her mouth, which she would deposit in the centre of the
stone, and its struggles instantly stop by a quick, sharp bite
back of the head, which caused immediate death. This process
was repeated without intermission, except to stop for an instant
to shake the water from her furry coat, until seven fish, vary-
ing from four to seven inches in length, were deposited upon
the rock. Then, without stopping to rest, taking one fish in
her mouth, she plunged into the stream and swam ashore,
climbed up the steep bank and ran hastily to her young, in a:
burrow under an old stump on the bank of the stream, fifty
yards away. In a moment she was seen returning, plunged
into the stream and swam to the rock, took a second fish in her
mouth, entered the river once more, and returned to her young
as at first. This was repeated until all the fish had been carried
away. A few moments after having removed the last fish, she
returned and began her work once more. This time, however,
her labors were without result; so, shifting her position to an-
other rock in the stream a short distance away, she continued
her fishing. But, although more than a quarter of an hour was
spent in energetic effort, her labors were without avail, and
she was this time compelled to return to her young empty
handed.”
‘‘From the bank of the stream, where egress from the water
was made, to the burrow, fifty yards distant, a well beaten path
had been formed by the mother mink in her daily excursions in
quest of food for her young.”
SupramMity LUTRIN 4.
THE OTTERS.
Several closely allied subgenera of aquatic Mustelide con-
stitute this group, which is represented in most parts of the
earth, but in North America by but a single species. The
elongated body is supported on very short limbs. The neck is
not as long as in the weasels, and the tail is tapering and flat-
tened. The dentition is highly carnivorous, i. %, ¢. +, pm. 4,
m. +x 286: In the genus Lutra the skull is much depressed
and flattened on top, the dorsal outline being nearly straight.
The rostral portion is short. The palate extends beyond the
molars, anteorbital foramen very large. The pterygoids are
hamular.
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 129
. Lutra canadensis Cuv.
OTTER.
(Plate X1X.)
Lutra canadensis most earlier writers.
Latax canadensis GRAY.
Lutra hudsonica F. Cuv.
Lutra lataxina F, Cuv.
Lataxina mollis GRAY.
LIutra californica BAIRD.
Coues gives the following diagnostic points: ‘‘Orbits well
defined by prominent conical postorbital processes, the distance
between the tips of which is one-half or more of the intermas-
toid width of the skull. Inner depressed moiety of posterior
upper premolar as large and nearly as long as the main outer
moiety; general dentition strong, nose pad large.”’
The otter is frequently over four feet in length, the tail
measuring about eighteen inches. The head is rounded and
short-muzzled, the eyes and ears being small, the former being
half way to the snout. The fur is very dense and glossy, the
under fur being close and abundant. The feet are almost com-
pletely webbed. The color is a dark rich brown with a pur-
plish cast, darkest on the back and root of the tail. The female
is similar to, but smaller than the male.
The otter was distributed throughout the United States in
suitable locations though now becoming rare in all but remote
districts. A few individuals seem still to cling to their old
haunts in many places. In Mexico a slightly different species
or variety exists and in South America a still different form.
Although the otter is not rare in many parts of Minnesota, no
specimen has been encountered in the field explorations nor
yet authentic indications of its presence. I am again con-
strained to quote from Coues’ Mustelidz, pp. 313-319.
Habits of Otters.
Although I have observed the ‘‘seal’” of the Otter and its
curious ‘‘slides” in various parts of our country during the years
I have been a student of our animals, I cannot truly aver that
I have ever laid eyes upon a living individual; and to speak
of its habits, I must give information at second hand. Pre-
suming upon the reader’s knowledge of the thoroughly aquatic
and highly piscivorous nature of the animal, I turn to the vari-
ous histories at our disposal in further elucidation of its habits -
130 BULLETIN NO. VIL.
According to Richardson, one of the earliest authors giving
accounts of the species with precision, ‘‘the Canada Otter re-
sembles the European species in its habits and food. In the
winter season, it frequents rapids and falls, to have the advant-
age of open water; and when its usual haunts are frozen over,
it will travel to a great distance through the snow, in search
of a rapid that has resisted the severity of the weather. If
seen, and pursued by hunters on these journies, it will throw
itself forward on its belly, and slide through the snow for sev-
eral yards, leaving a deep furrow behind it. This movementis
repeated with so much rapidity, that even a swift runner on
snow-shoes has much trouble in overtaking it. It also doubles
on its track with much cunning, and dives under the snow to
elude its pursuers. When closely pressed, it will turn and de-
fend itself with great obstinacy. In thespring of 1826, at Great
Bear Lake, the Otters frequently robbed our nets, which were
set under the ice, at the distance of a few yards from a piece of
open water. They generally carried off the heads of the fish,
and left the bodies sticking in the net.
‘The Cannada Otter has one litter annually, about the middle
of April, of from one to three young.”
In the Middle and Southern States, Audubon says they are
about one month earlier.*
The sliding of the Otter, which Sir John describes, is not alone
resorted to in the endeavor to avoid pursuit; and again, it is
something more than simply an easy way of slipping down a
wet sloping bank into the water. It seems to be a favorite
amusement of this creature, ‘‘just for fun.” Godman speaks
of the diversion in the following terms:—‘‘Their favorite sport
is sliding, and for this purpose in winter the highest ridge of
snow is selected, to the top of which the Otters scramble, where,
lying on the belly with the fore-feet bent backwards, they give
themselves an impulse with their hind legs and swiftly glide
head-foremost down the declivity, sometimes for the distance
of twenty yards. Thissportthey continue apparently with the
keenest enjoyment until fatigue or hunger induces them to
desist.”
Statements of similar import are made by various writers,
and accord with Audubon’s personal observations, as rendered
by him in the following language:—
*According to Bell, the European Otter goes with young nine weeks, and produces
three to five young onesin March or April (Brit. Quad. 1837, 186). The period of gestation
of our species, if different, probabiy remains to be ascertained.
i *
13S
ro.
rity =
Cy A ,
:
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 131
“The Otters ascend the bank at a place suitable for their
diversion, and sometimes where it is very steep, so that they
are obliged to make quite an effort to gain the top; they slide
down in rapid succession where there are many at a sliding
place. On one occasion we were resting ourself on the bank
of Canoe Creek, a small stream near Henderson, which empties
into the Ohio, when a pair of Otters made their appearance,
and not observing our proximity, began to enjoy their sliding
pastime. They glided down the soap-like muddy surface of
the slide with the rapidity of an arrow from a bow, [*] and we
counted each one making twenty-two slides before we dis-
turbed their sportive occupation.
“This habit of the Otter of sliding down from elevated
places to the borders of streams, is not confined to cold coun-
tries, or to slides on the snow or ice, but is pursued in the
Southern States, where the earth is seldom covered with snow,
or the waters frozen over. Along the reserve dams of the rice
fields of Carolina and Georgia, these slides are very common.
From the fact that this occurs in most cases during winter,
about the period of the rutting season, we are inclined to the
belief that this propensity may be traced to those instincts
which lead the sexes to their periodical associations.”’
The food of the Otter, and the manner in which it is pro-
cured, are noted by the same author in the following terms:—
-“The Otter is a very expert swimmer, and can overtake
almost any fish, and as it is a voracious animal, it doubtless
destroys a great number of fresh water fishes annually. We
are not aware of its having a preference for any particular
species, although it is highly probable that it has. About
twenty-five years ago we went early one autumnal morning to
study the habits of the Otter at Gordon and Spring’s Ferry,
on the Cooper River, six miles above Charleston[S. C.], where
they were represented as being quite abundant. They came
down with the receding tide in groups or families of five or six
together. In the space of two hours we counted forty-six.
They soon separated, ascended the different creeks in the salt
marshes, and engaged in capturing mullets (Mugil). In most
cases they came to the bank with a fish in their mouth, des-
patching itin a minute, and then hastened back again after
more prey. They returned up the river to their more secure
retreats with the rising tide. In the small lakes and ponds of
the interior of Carolina, there is found a favourite fish with the
Otter, called the fresh-water trout (@Grystes salmoides).
*([A statement certainly too figurative for literal acceptation.]
132 BULLETIN NO. VII.
“‘Athough the food of the Otter in general is fish, yet when
hard pressed by hunger it will not reject animal food of any
kind. Those we had in confinement, when no fish could be
procured were fed on beef, which they always preferred boiled.
During the last winter we ascertained that the skeleton and
feathers of a wild duck were taken from an Otter’s nest on the
banks of a rice field reserve-dam. It was conjectured that the
duck had either been killed or wounded by the hunters, and
was in this state seized by the Otter,
“On throwing some live fishes into a sree pond in the
Zoological Gardens in London, where an Otter [presumably,
however, of another species] was kept alive, it immediately
plunged off the bank after them, and soon securing one, rose
to the surface holding its prize in its teeth, and ascending the
banks, rapidly ate it by large mouthfuls, and dived into the
water again for another. This it repeated until it had caug'it
and eaten all the fish which had been thrown into the water for
its use. When thus engaged in devouring the luckless fishes
the Otter bit throught them, crushing the bones, which we could
hear snapping under the pressure of its powerful jaws.”
The nest of the European Otter is said to be formed of grass
and other herbage, and to be usually placed in some hole of a
river’s bank, protected either by the overhanging bank or by
the projecting roots of some tree. Its fossorial ability, and the
general intelligence it displays in the construction of its re-
treats, have been greatly exaggerated by some writers, to judge
by the more temperate language used by the distinguished
author of the History of British Quadrupeds. ‘‘We read of its
excavating a very artificial habitation,” says Bell, ‘‘burrowing
under ground to a considerable distance; making the aperture
of its retreat always under water, and working upwards, form-
ing here and there a lodge, or dry resting-place, till it reaches
the surface of the ground at the extremity of its burrow, and
making there a breathing-hole, always in the middle of a bush
or thicket.[*]._ This statement is wholly incorrect. The Otter
avails itself of any convenient excavation, particularly of the
hollows beneath the overhanging roots of trees which grow on
the banks of rivers, or any other secure and concealed hole
near its fishing haunt; though in some cases it fixes its retreat
at some distance from the water, and when driven by a scanty
*(The author remarks the similarity of such an account with that given by Mr.
George Bennett in deseribing the retreats of the Ornithorhynchus of Australia, though
the former is found in books published long prior t» the discovery of the latter
animal.]
“og
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 1338
' supply of fish, it has been known to resort far inland, to the
neighbourhood of the farm-yard, and attack lambs, sucking
pigs, and poultry,—thus assuming for a time the habits of its
more terrestrial congeners.” Iam not aware that such extrav-
agant statements have been made, with any authority at least,
respecting the American Otter; and indeed one has only to
regard the general configuration of the animal, and particu-
larly the shape of the fore iimbs and condition of the claws, to
become convinced that the mining operations of the animal
are necessarily limited. It does not appear that the under-
ground retreats of the Otter are constructed with the skill and
ingenuity of even those of the Muskrat. A retreat examined
by Audubon has been thus described by this author:—
‘One morning we observed that some of these animals re-
sorted to the neighbourhood of the root of a large tree which
stood on the side of the pond opposite to us, and with its over-
hanging branches shaded the water. After a fatiguing walk
through the tangled cane brake and thick under-wood which
bordered the sides of this lonely place, we reached the opposite
side of the pond near the large tree, and moved cautiously
through the mud and water to its roots: but the hearing or
sight of the Otters was attracted to us, and we saw several of
them hastily make off at our approach. On sounding the tree
with the butt of our gun, we discovered that it was hollow, and
then having placed a large stick in a slanting position against
the trunk, we succeeded in reaching the lowest bough, and
thence climbed up to a broken branch from which an aperture
into the upper part of the hollow enabled us to examine the
interior. At the bottom there was quite a large space or cham-
ber to which the Otters retired, but whether for security or to
sleep we could not decide. Next morning we returned to the
Spot, accompanied by one of our neighbours, and having ap-
proached and stopped up the entrance under water as noise-
lessly as possible, we cut a hole in the side of the tree four or
five feet from the ground, and as soon as it was large enough
to admit our heads, we peeped in and discovered three Otters
on a sort of bed composed of the inner bark of trees and other
soft substances, such as water grasses. We continued cutting
the hole we had made larger, and when sufficiently widened,
took some green saplings, split them at the but-end, and man-
aged to fix the head of each animal firmly to the ground by
passing one of these split pieces over his neck, and then press-
ing the stick forcibly downwards. Our companion then crept
134 BULLETIN NO. VII.
/
into the hollow, and soon killed the Otters, with which we
returned home.” .
Their structure being identical, the American and Kuropean
Otters cannot differ in their general movements and attitudes.
In speaking of the conformation of the latter species, Bell
remarks that evidently every facility consistent with the preser-
vation of its structural relations with the rest of the group is
given to the Otter for the pursuit and capture of its proper
food. ‘‘It swims and dives with great readiness and with pecu-
liar ease and elegance of movement; and although its action
on land is far from being awkward and difficult, yet it is cer-
tainly in the water that the beautiful adaptation of its structure
to its habits is most strikingly exhibited. It swims in nearly
a horizontal position, and dives instantaneously after the fish-
that may glide beneath it, or pursues it under water, changing
its course as the fish darts in various directions to escape from
it, and when the prey is secured, brings it on shore to its retreat
to feed.”
Yielding a pelt of great beauty and value, from the exqui-
site softness and rich warm color of the fur, as well as from
the size of the animal, the American Otter is systematically
pursued by professional trappers. I have already given some
figures showing the thousands annually destroyed, and will
condense from Mr. Gibson’s work, already often quoted, the ac-
count of the various methods employed—for every trapper has
his own notions and ways of doing things, and in the pursuit
of so valuable and so wary a creature as the Otter there is
room for large and varied experience. The animal seems to be
taken in this country usually, if not invariably, with the steel
trap, a special size and make of which, with two springs, goes
by the name of ‘‘Otter trap.” Searching for a ‘‘slide,” or place
where the animal habitually crawls from. the water up the
bank the hunter sets the trap on the spot, a few inches under
water. No bait is here required; and devices are used in se
curing the trap by which the animal may be led into deep
water when caught, or lifted upward, the design in either case
being to prevent the animal’s escape by gnawing off the im-
prisoned limb. The trap may also be placed at the top of the
slide, two or three feet back of the slope, in a place hollowed
to receive it, and covered with snow. Under such circum-
stances, care is taken not to handle the trap with the bare
hands. Itis scented with various animal odors, and, to fur-
ther insure success, a ‘‘way” is made to the trap by means of
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. e {35
parallel logs. The trap is sometimes simply set in the beaten
track made in the snow, carefully hidden; or at the entrance
of the burrow; or at the base of a slanting log with one end
under water, the Otter being attracted by bait or odor placed
beyond on the other end; or a rock which projects over a
stream is utilized in the same way. In all these methods, the
utmost care is necessary to obliterate traces of the trapper's —
presence, as the sight and smell of the Otter are acute, and his
wariness, caution, and sagacity at avery high rate. ‘‘In win
ter when the ponds and rivers are frozen over the Otters make
holes through the ice at which they come up to devour their
prey. Where the water is a foot deep beneath any of these
holes the trap may be set in the bottom, the chain being se-
cured to a heavy stone. When the Otter endeavors to emerge
from the hole he will press his foot on the trap and thus be
caught. If the water is deep enough beneath the hole the
trap may be baited with a small fish attached to the pan, and
then carefully lowered with its chain and stone to the bottom.
For this purpose the Newhouse, No. 3, is best adapted, as the
Otter is in this case caught by the head.”
Famiuy URSID2.
THE BEARS, RACCOONS, ETC.
This very large and interesting family is represented within
our limits by two species representing the. two sub-families.
The family is distributed over all parts of the globe where any
species of Carnivora occur and is represented by a large num-
ber of quite diverse species. The common characters are as
follows: Progression plantigrade, soles naked (except in
Ailurus), toes five on each foot, sometimes more or less webbed
and usually large curved and non-retractile though some spe-
cies have more or less retractile claws. The body is usually
clumsy and heavy, though there are exceptions to this. All
the species»with a few exceptions, which live in arctic or
treeless regions, climb readily and some spend their lives in
arboreal habitats. The bears as a group are omniverous and
the teeth, although identical in number with those of the Cani-
dee, are remarkable for their adaptation to an omniverous diet. *
There are, however, a few in this family, like the Ursus mar-
mus, or polar bear, which live exclusively upon fiesh and
*(Baird unaccountably says—on page 206 of the Report of the Northern Pacific R.
R., Mammals—* The teeth are the same in number with the Canidae, although their
more Carniverous character is shown by the turberculated molars.” Perhaps the
word carniverous is a misprint for omniverous, for neither the habits of the animal
nor ordinary analogy substantiate the statement as it stands.)
: “3 . a
/
136 BULLETIN NO. VII.
others which are nearly confined to a vegetable diet, interme-
diate conditions linking these extremes.
There are from forty-two to thirty-six teeth and two fooler
are always present in the upper and lower jaw, while in Ursus
a third molar is found in the lower jaw. The crowns of the
molars are tuberculate, the prominences in some cases being
high and sharp, but in true bears are low and the crown is also
marked by various wrinkles and elevations. These teeth are
in many respects not unlike the molars of swine. There are
normally four pre-molars in each jaw as in Ursus, Ailuropus,
Procyon, Nasua and Bassaris. In Ailurus there are but three
in the upper jaw, while a like reduction is also found in the
lower jaw of Arctictis and Cercoleptes.
There is a tendency to reduce the number of pre-molars with
age. Inthe true bears these teeth are reduced in size and
have conical crowns, while the smaller members of the family
have sharp triangular middle lobes. The incisors and canines
have the form common to Carnivora and are often of great size.
The nearest relatives now living are the Civet cats which
some of the smaller forms greatly resemble. The plantigrade
walk, which is perhaps the most marked peculiarity of bears,
is also found among certain Viverride, while there are a few
of the Ursidw which have retractile claws.
The two sub-families are well marked and distinct groups.
The Subursine include the long-tailed, small-bodied forms,
almost confined to America. The number of teeth is never
more than forty (except in the aberrant luropus. )
The Ursine include, besides Ursus proper, several species
of tropical bears.
The Prochilus labiatus inhabits Ceylon and India and is char-
acterized by its long, flat head, overhanging lips and protrusi-
ble snout and the long, curved claws. It is arboreal and lives
largely upon honey. )
A still better climber is the sun bear, which inhabits the._
Sunda Islands, ete., and is vegetarian in habit and is particu-
larly partial to the cocoanut.
Susramity SUBURSIN.
This group is composed of several genera of small animals
represented in North America by the raccoons or lavatory
bears. The genera are more strictly localized than in the
larger division of the Ursida, but as a whole the group is
pr
me .
is a
~ MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. | 137
. widely distributed. The characteristics of the Subursine differ
from those of the typical ursine particularly in a reduction of
the number of teeth. Externally the appearance is rendered
less bear-like by the presence of a long, hairy, and sometimes
prehensile tail. The true bears possess 42 teeth, while their
smaller relatives have 36 — 40, the chief variation being in the
molars and premolars. The Subursine are plantigrade, and
have a free use of the fore feet, most species using them with
great dexterity in feeding, etc. The species are arboreal, and
chiefly nocturnal, and bear confinement and even domestication
well.
These like other ursine animals are omnivorous. Insects,
birds, and especially their eggs, are particularly relished,
though fruits, roots and other vegetable food is not declined.
Some species exhibit their relation with the familiar Ursus
by a penchant for honey.
A connection with the cats seems to be offered by a South
American animal, the Bassaris astuta, which has been classed
with the Civet cats (Vzverride). Indeed, this animal has been
placed in that group by some authors. Although said by Vogt
to inhabit Mexico, Southern California and Texas, American
authors seem not to have noticed its occurrence in the United
States.
On the other hand, the link between the small bears and
Ursus is found in Ailuropus, a curious bear-like animal, confined
in its range to the inaccessible mountains of eastern Thibet.
This animal is but partially plantigrade, touching the ground
with but part of the sole. In size it approaches the true bears,
but in many points resembles the panda (Ailurus fulgens),
which is described as a pretty arboreal and frugivorous animal,
39 centimeters long. The panda inhabits the Himalayas above
6,000 feet. The cat-like head with its ruffled cheeks, the fine
reddish fur, and the long tail, make it a striking animal. Its
food is chiefly fruit.
Curiously enough we encounter another representative of the
group in the Sunda Islands in the 4Arctictis binturong. The
dog-like head, lynx-like ears and monkey-like tail make a
strange combination, as may be gathered from the outline sketch
(see Fig. 9[8]). The claws are not retractile, but the food
largely consists of flesh. The tailis used for prehension. The
; nearest relative to this creature must be sought in South
America where we find the Cercoleptes, in which the tail is used
AS,
\
138 BULLETIN NO. VII.
almost as freely as in the American monkeys (Fig. 9 [2]).
This animal is described as most affectionate and confiding in
confinement. Like the raccoon it is very ‘‘handy” in the use
of its fore feet.
P—
Fira. 9.
Nasua rufa—South American Coati.
2. Cercoleptes caudivoluulus—South Ameri-
ean Kinkajou.
3. Arctictis binturong.
tos
.*.
Still another South American animal may be mentioned to
show the connection between the above and the raccoons, to
the consideration of which these remarks are introductory. The
coati (Nasuwa) (Fig. 9 [1]), are much less tractable and pleas-
ing pets. They are described as the vagabonds of their native
land which includes all South and part of North America. They _
climb and run with equal ease and are as much at home when 7
rooting with their long snout in the earth as when ransacking
the nest of an unfortunate bird. The males seclude themselves
save in the breeding season. The dentition of the coati is
almost identical with that of the raccoons.
i
— a
~
— 3 _
~
GENUS PROCYON (Raccoons. )
or axe
As lack of material prevents from offering any comparisons
with related genera, the reader is referred to the description
of our only species for points in the anatomy diagnostic of this
genus.
The dental formula for the genus is as follows:
/
eT
pe a at
« *
ee eee ee
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 139
The variation in the number of molars and premolars in re-
lated genera is as follows:
4—4 2—2
Ailuropus : p m. —, m. —, = 42.
2 3-3 2-2
Ailurus: pm. —, m. — = 38.
: fh =2
~
3—3 —2
Arctictis, Cercoleptes: p m. par rare 36.
=
w
2
9
p 44 22
Procyon, Nasua, Bassaris: p m.—, m. — = 40.
ap -o8
The Ursine agree with the Ailwropus in the number of teeth.
The head is broad and depressed, the muzzle being pointed
and the nose produced. The ears are moderate, rounded, not
pointed avove. The feet are all five-toed and the toes are dis-
tinct. The impression made by the hind foot when the heelis
applied to the ground, as is not always done in walking, is al-
most exactly like that of a human infant. There are no pads
or callosities. The tail is longer than one-half the body and
covered with long hairs. The Raccoons always have dark
marks about the face, and bands encircling the tail. The three
known species are confined to America; they are P. lotor, in-
habiting the Eastern United States westward to Texas, Wyo-
ming, etc.; P. hernandezii, occupying the western coast of the
United States, Mexico and Central America; and P. cancrivorus
from South America. Other species have been described, but
seem not to be valid. The three species are so similar that the
anatomical characters of P. Jotor may be considered of generic
application.
Procyon lotor Linn.
RACCOON.
Ursus lotor, older writers.
Procyon lotor, StoRR and later authors.
About the size and nearly the general color of the badger.
Head broad and depressed, the muzzle being acute; ears large,
rounded above, hairy. General color grayish white or yellow-
ish brown. An oblique dark patch on the cheeks. Tail bushy
with four or five dark rings. Entire length over thirty-two
inches, the tail being one-third.
Generally distributed in the United States east of the Rocky
Mountains.
The raccoon ranges over the entire wooded parts of our
state and is well known for its depredations upon the farmer
140 BULLETIN NO. VII.
and the poultryman. The habits are tolerably well known.
It is instructive to watch the Procyon in confinement, which is
readily endured, for the amiable and inquisitive pet exhibits
many of his native characteristics. There is something quite
human in the way the claws are used, although the expression
of the face and many of the attitudes and motions are quite
bear-like. In fact there is a curious combination of the ludi-
crous clumsiness of a bear with a deftness and sprightliness
peculiarly its own. Even when chained, the fore feet are kept
constantly in motion examining automatically every inequality
of the ground and every crevice. A rat hole or the like is al-
Fig. 10.—The Raccoon at Bay.
ways an attractive field for study. If permitted to approach
the person he scrambles freely over one and searches every
pocket and hem. A bit of cake or candy thus found is eagerly
devoured and the search at once renewed. If furnished water
all food is carefully washed, and in its absence it is carefully
rubbed. The positions assumed in this process are frequently
comical in the extreme. Ifa fragment is accidentally dropped
the feet distinguish it from the pebbles on the bottom at
once. When searching for a lost morsel with its feet one
scarcely escapes the impression that the animal is blind, which
delusion is hightened by the opaque appearance of the pupil
in many lights. On the other hand, the truth is that the eyes
are busily engaged in following our motions, and the animal
relies on the tactile sense entirely in handling its food. At
other times when provided with food it seats itself gravely or
id
o
ee
;
w
‘
:
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 141
leans against an adjacent tree and, holding the food between
the hind paws, helps himself with the hands in a most busi-
ness-like manner. A decided preference is shown for sweet
food and corn bread is much preferred to wheaten. Potatoes
when cooked are eaten with reluctance, but are skillfully
pealed and broken into morsels without the assistance of the
teeth. Green corn is disposed of with an instinctive and ac-
complished ease. Eggs are devoured with an eagerness ap-
proaching excitement. A slight crack is made with the teeth
which is enlarged at one point with the claws and the contents
lapped up as they exude. A boiled egg is a conundrum not
readily solved and only understood when the yelk is reached.
A. pet raccoon was chained in my doorway for weeks till the
neighboring chickens lost all fear of the intruder and partook
freely of the crumbs which fell from his table. Only after
Fia. 11.—The Raccoon at Dinner.
— ' *, [ rs : 3: ae Sad eRe
142 BULLETIN NO. VII.
this state of confidence was reached did he make any dem-
onstration, and then continual depredations attested the
cunning of the quadruped. Curiously enough, birds were
freely eaten, but small rodents were utterly refused, so that
we must conclude that these latter do not enter the regular
diet of the animal in a wild state. Our raccoon passed much
of its time in ‘‘jumping rope” with its hind feet, while its
chain was kept taut by the neck.
The raccoon is hunted on account both of its flesh and its
pelt, the latter being used considerably in the manufacture of
robes and coats, and occasionally, especially in the rural dis-
tricts, for other purposes. It is neither very durable nor at-
tractive, however, and would hardly lead to the persecution
which attends the animal were it not that its depredations upon
the corn fields and the poultry house add the motives of re-
venge and self-protection to the more sportsman-like. The
flesh is not despised by many, though the omnivorous, and es-
pecially the insectivorous habits of the animal render it
specially subject to internal parasites in spite of the most re
markable precautions which either experience or natural taste
has developed in its eating habits. An instance was seen
where the body of a raccoon which had been exposed in the
market with other meats, was literally fillea with worms of the:
genus Filaria several inches long, and these filled with living
embryos in all stages of development.
The hunting of raccoons is a favorite amusement of farmers’
boys, and as it is carried on at night with the aid of dogs,
torches and axes, seems to be replete with an excitement
hardly commensurate with the value of the prize. This sport
has a peculiar fascination for the Southern negro, and the ex-
ploits of a night's ‘coon hunt served to mitigate the weariness
and sadness of a life of servitude.
The writer had on one occasion the opportunity of assisting
in such an enterprise. It was in Northern Alabama, and the
ostensible object of the hunt was an opossum which, for vari-
ous reasons, the visitor was anxious to secure.
At about nine o’clock a party of boys and dogs, which con-
stantly increased, sallied forth, animated by the occasional
blasts of an old horn, this instrument being necessary to prop-
erly control the proceedings of a multitude of mongrel curs,
each of which excelled in some subtlety of ‘possum or ‘coon lore
any dog in the county. Lights were brandished and with a
shout as heterogeneous as the company from which it pro-
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 143
ceeded we plunged into a swampy and tangled woodland, to the
writer, at least, of unknown extent. The baying or rather
yelping of the dogs in various directions kept us informed that
‘Tige” and ‘‘Zep,” etc., were at their work. Suddenly the
conclave of hunters assembled violently excited. ‘Zep hab
struck fresh ’coon trail, shore,” said one. ‘“‘Go way, dar,
Sandy,” was the reply, ‘‘dat dog never let on datar way cep’en
he’s found ’possum tracks.”» In a sage discussion, involving -
the theory and practice of dog-education, the time was occupied
until we had all assembled about the base of a tall tree which
seemed the object of the most excited interest of the mongrel
called ‘‘Zep.” Our lights brilliantly illuminated the base and
lower branches which, however. cast deep and deceptive
shadows upon the spire of the noble tree. Boys and dogs were
equally excited, and there were proposed and instantly rejected
@ variety of expedients for dislodging the unknown animal
which the possum dog hazarded his reputation in affirming
still lay concealed among the boughs. The other dogs now
came up, and some immediately caught the infection and added
their strangely modulated cries to the din. One, however,
sniffed wisely at the scent and, shaking his head sadly, stalked
off to a small sapling, large enough to support nothing heavier
than a squirrel, and set up a lively opposition, gazing into the
bare top of the sapling with well-feigned admiration, tearing
the ground and rending the air with his deep cries. This sage
conduct was the source of deep gratification to his owner, who
“‘knowed from the first thar wan’t no ’possum in that thar
gum.” But at last it was decided that an athletic youth should
scale the tree with a gun upon his back and beard the animal
in his retreat. A period of breathless silence followed by a
deafening report ensued. Something struck the ground witha
heavy thud and the dogs rushed up to gaze upon—the hero
who had fired and brought himself, but not his game, to the
ground. He reported, however, a most mammoth opossum
clinging to the upper boughs. Candidates fornew honors were
few, but additional inducements sent another sable youth up
the tree, and we were rewarded by a flash followed by a suc-
cession of snarls and spits as a heavy animal crashed earthward
and landed in the midst of the group of furious dogs. Then
ensued a scene more easy to imagine than to describe. Dogs
and boys all eager to beat and tear the life out of the poor ani-
mal which seemed at first likely to vanquish the former if left
to themselves. When the dogs had been beaten off the leader
144 BULLETIN NO. VII.
held up a full grown raccoon which, even added to the excite- |
ment of the chase, hardly mitigated the disappointment in the
failure to secure an Alabama opossum.
Description of a specimen of raccoon taken Aug. 27, 1884: This
animal while young, was evidently over a year old. It throve
and grew well and became a great favorite by its amiability and
eccentricity.
The moult was in progress or-rather nearly completed at
this time. The old hair comes out in bunches, (7. e. the under
fur), and was replaced by a darker shade. The fur was, of
course far from being as full, long and strikingly colored as in
winter.
The colors are as follows: Base of fur light sepia brown or
a somewhat warmer tint. This ground color affects the exter-
nal appearance little, except below where it is less completely
obscured by the terminal part of the hairs. It does, however,
tone down the external coloration everywhere. The general
grey of the body is produced by the color of the longer and
coarser hairs which have a median portion of white or light:
but impure olivacious yellow and a longer or shorter terminal
portion of dark brown or black. The chief difference between
a winter and summer pelage is produced by the greater length
of the dark terminal portion in the former. Underneath the
terminal band is lacking and the color, excepton the throat, is
pure white upon the plumbeous or brown color of the under
fur. Above the middle band of the hairs is distinctly yellow-
ish and along the back the black tips are conspicuous and in
winter give the appearance of a dark median stripe or band.
Upon the head are distinct markings consisting of the fol-
lowing dark areason a white ground. A median band of yellow-
ish brown beginning on the nose and becoming blackish be-
tween the eyes, terminating upon the forehead, and a band 1{
inches wide crossing the cheeks diagonally and including the eye.
The top of the head partakes of the color of the back, but the
base of the ears and an irregular spot behind them is dark. A
dark band nearly meets the facial one below upon the throat.
The ears are white-tipped. No other marking occurs except
upon the tail where the yellowish cast is more pronounced and
the lighter color is broken by rings or annulations of black.
In this case there are six rings aside from the terminal pencil
of black hairs. A more or less distinct garter of black or
brown marks the hinder leg. The exposed part of the skin is
black; elsewhere it is white.
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There are three pairs of mammez, the posterior pair being
near the thighs, the second 3 inches in advance, and the pecior-
al pair yet 4 inches beyond.
Measurements: Length of body 223 inches, tail 10, end of
nose to incisors #, end of nose to eye 2,;, end of nose to ear
opening 42, hight of ear from inside 2,°,, elbow to longest claw
7i, palm 34, thumb 1, middle finger 18, sole of hind foot 4.
GENUS URSUS.
The clumsy beasts constituting this genus are sufficiently
well-known to require no general description. Asa group it is
sharply defined although much diversity of opinion exists as to
the value of the remaining divisions of the sub-family. The
members of the genus Ursus are chiefly northern in distribu-
tion. Onespecies (U. ornatus), occurs in the mountainous parts
of South America. The polar bear is circumpolar and differs
considerably in habits and anatomy from more southern species.
The northern parts of Europe are, or were, inhabited by num-
erous varieties of the single species U. arctos. This brown
bear is larger than our species and in some respects like the
grizzly of the west. Carl Vogt’s description of the young of this
species applies equally to ours:
“Little bears are very amiable and in the highest degree
comical. Clowns in every respect, unwieldly yet nimble, al-
ways ready for play or sport, sociable with every one, and to
a certain extent teachable, they nevertheless evince an egotis
tic independence which later becomes a sullen habit. The
mother cares for them with unlimited devotion; for weeks she
does not leave them a moment, and.remains without food in
the secluded recess chosen for their reception. She teaches
them to walk, to climb and to swim and defends them with
courage and to the last. Although the mother covers them
with caresses, coddles them warmly and endures well pleased
their teasing, still she does not neglect punishment, which when
needed is applied in the form of sundry slaps and ear-boxing,
and even slight bites of which she is not sparing. It is even
said that bears of two or three years old assist in training their
younger brothers and sisters.”’
In the United States at least two species and numerous vari-
eties of bear are known, and it would be presumption to at-
tempt to discuss the value of the various specific distinctions
assumed by various authors upon the basis of the slight mater-
ial at the disposal of this survey.
146 BULLETIN NO. VII.
For details concerning the anatomy the reader is referred to
the description of the black bear beyond. Great variations are
found in different individuals of the same species.
Ursus americanus PALLAS.
THE BLACK BEAR.
The black bear is still quite common in Minnesota; every
year a number are exposed in the markets of Minneapolis. So
far as observed these are nearly all of the normal black variety.
Mr. Allen remarks: ‘‘Contrary to what was formerly sup
posed, bears everywhere appear to be among the most variable
of mammiferous animals, not only in coloration, but in size,
proportions, and in the conformation of the skull and other parts
of the skeleton. Those familiar with them say it is rare to find
any two alike. Iam informed by my friend Mr. C. W. Bennett
that he has known two cubs of the same litter, taken in one of
the western states, that as they grew up, differed very mater-
ially from each other in color, one being black and the other
brown. They differed widely also in form and disposition, one
being docile and playful, while the other was ferocious and
dangerous. The leading varieties in color of the American and
European bears, as the brown and black bears, are now gener-
ally deemed to be but varieties and not species. The bears
have ever been a perplexing group, and accordingly the opin-
ions advanced by different authors respecting the number of
species vary widely. Several high authorities consider the
land bears of northern North America, northern Asia and Europe
as forming but one, or at most two, species, among which (au-
thorities) are Blainville and Middendorff, the latter of whom,
with access to a large amount of material, has especially oe
most minutely investigated the subject.
Dr. Gray recognizes eight with numerous varieties and sub-
varieties of each.
There is a strong tendency among naturalists to consider old
world bears as all distinct from those of North America, and at
least to recognize two species of the latter—the grizzly bear of
the west and the continentally dispersed black and brown bears.
Prof. Baird gives the probable number as five, four of which
he seems to consider well founded. But each of the recognized
species presents so many varieties, which to a greater or less
extent intergrade, that well-marked lines of distinction cannot
at present be drawn.”
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MAMMALS OF MIN.JESOTA. 147
Perhaps itis not at present allowable to claim with much as-
surance the existence of more than a single very variable spe-
_ cies and a number of rather indefinite sub-species.
The distinguishing characters are osteological or external,
and the two sets by no means vary coetaneously.
During the winter of 1880-81, some twenty black bears were
brought into Little Falls, Morrison Co., their skins being
worth from ten to fifteen dollars (Upham).
A cinnamon bear is said to have been killed near Watab in
1864.
Although so clumsy in appearance, the black bear is pos-
‘sessed of great strength and, especially, remarkable endurance.
As the largest beast of prey found in our state, it exacts an al-
lowance of respect, not to say fear, hardly commensurate to
its peaceable and ease-loving disposition. At the time of the
early explorations in Minnesota, bears appear to have been
numerous and very frequently seen. The Indian, very
naturally with his less effective weapons, found the bear a
more formidable enemy than the European hunter, and this
may account for the part the bear plays in Indian mythology
and legendary lore. The habits vary with the time and place
greatly and the strength of the animal is supplemented by con-
siderable adroitness which Indian belief and hunters’ imagin-
ation have exaggerated to a high degree of cunning. The deft-
ness with which the anterior extremities are used always gives
us the impression of the human skill which accompanies such
motions in man, so that we tend to exaggerate the mental
powers of such animals as have the power of pronation, etc.,
and to underestimate the intelligence which is restricted to
other ways of expression. There is but one bear which is en-
tirely carnivorous, the Ursus arctos, and in this case necessity
is the evident cause of the departure from the otherwise uni-
versal omnivorous habit.
In summer the black bear rarely or never seeks animal food,
although it is by no means refused if at hand. In spring and
summer the moist, shady borders of pools and rivers afford
both suitable food and covert, while impenetrable swamps and
wet woods furnish secure retreats during the heat of mid-sum-
mer. Succulent roots and almost any vegetable materials are
appropriated, while crawfish, and perhaps other small animals,
are said to supplement this diet. Nettles and even the Indian
turnip (Arumtriphyllum) are delicacies in the cuisine of our
Bruin. In late summer the various berries growing in ‘‘open-
148 BULLETIN NO VII.
ings” and upland prairies allure the bear from his seclusion.
Raspberries are especially esteemed and low cherry trees are
broken down and the small berries greedily eaten. Like the
raccoon, the bear sometimes makes inroads upon the corn-fields
breaking down and otherwise destroying much more than is
eaten or carried away Later in the season grapes, acorns and
various nuts are eaten. In the east and south bears were not
infrequently encountered while breaking off the boughs of nut-
bearing trees or ‘‘lopping” as it is, in some sections, termed.
During the winter, especially at the north, animal food of a
necessity supplants, to a considerable extent at least, all other,
and it is then that depredations upon the barn-yard may be ex-
pected. Pigs, calves and even larger animals are carried away.
It is stated that on the coast bears frequently feed largely
upon fish. Bruin certainly is not afraid of water and swims
easily and is no mean antagonist to a party of boatmen. The
venturesome boat that approaches too near is frequently cap-
sized by the heavy beast. During the frightful forest fires
which prevail at the north it is not unusual for men who fly to
mid-stream for refuge from the terrible heat to be beseiged by
a bear, which craves only the privilege of resting upon the
boat, but who is not safely to be allowed that demand. The
craving for sweets is a well known characteristic of all bears.
The natural supply is furnished by the nests of the humble-bee,
or the stores which wild bees lay away in hollows of trees. A
‘‘bee-tree” is very adroitly emptied by Bruin, who cares little
for the stings and angry buzzing of the proprietors.
The lumbering gait of the bear is deceptive; he really is
capable of a high degree of speed, and avails himself of flight
when attacked by man, unless wounded or deprived of the
young. Unlike the grizzly bear, our species climbs volun-
tarily, and very generally betakes itself to a tree when har-
rassed by dogs. In other cases, or if close hauled, he rises
upon his hind feet, placing his back against any convenient
object, and assumes the defensive ; in which case dogs and men
do well to carry on warfare at a distance. The quality in a dog
most to be desired is not courage, for no number of dogs are a
match for a bear.
Our animal is a great lover of ease, and spends much of its
time in warm weather in wallowing in the mud or sleeping in
a retired haunt. In the far north bears hibernate during much
of the winter, which they are said to pass in the mild pleasure -
of licking their paws. It is doubtful if any great amount of
-
\
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA, 149
_nutriment is derived from this amusement, either for mind or
body. ‘The winter habitation is selected not only for its
warmth, but for its seclusion, for during this period the great-
est danger threatens the animal, and the hunter is constantly
on the lookout for one of these dens, which may be detected by
frost (caused by the breath) about the opening in the snows
which bury the cavity. An upturned tree in clayey soil fre-
quently forms a retreat just suited for the winter resort of the
bear, who excavates a recess in the sheltered cave formed by
the uptorn roots. :
The sexes associate in the autumn, and one to four young are
born after a period of six or seven weeks—say in January,
(more exactly, 120 days.) Four years are required to reach
maturity. Like almost all animals residing in the colder
parts of America, bears are migratory to a greater or less
extent. The migrations are probably hardly noticeable in our
limits. Many country people believe in the existence of an-
other species of bear known as ‘‘The Ranger”, which, like the
man-eating tiger, is blood-thirsty, and always gaunt and hun-
gry. This form should be distinguishable by a star or crescent
in the breast, and does not hibernate.
The young of Bruin often fall a prey to the fox or fisher.
As an illustration of the winter habits of bears the following
extract from an article in the ‘‘Century Magazine” of March,
1882, by Chas. C. Ward, is here reproduced. ‘Stimulated by
the large price offered by the officers of a garrison, an Indian
was indefatigable in his endeavors to find aden. One day ac-
companied by his little son, a boy of ten, he discovered unmis-
takable traces of a bear’s den, near the top of a hill strewn
with granite bowlders,and almostim passable from the number
of fallen pines. One old pine had fallen up hill, and its up-
reared roots, with the soil clinging to them, formed, with a
very large rock, a triangular space into which snow had drifted
to a depth of ten or twelve feet. The Indian was about to pass
on when he detected the whining of bear cubs. By making a
detour, he reached a place on a level with the bottom of the
bowlder, and there saw tracks of an old bear, leading directly
into the centre of the space between the tree root and the
bowlder. The old bear, in her comings and goings, had tun-
neled a passage under the snow drift. Getting down on his
hands and knees, the Indian, with his knife held between his
teeth, crept bear-fashion into the tunnel. After entering sev-
eral feet he found the usual bear device—a path branching off
Se
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150 BULLETIN NO. VII.
in two directions. While pondering what to do under such cir-.
cumstances, a warning cry came from his little son, who was
perched upon the top of the bowlder, and the next instant the
old bear rushed into the tunnel, and came into violent con-
tact with the Indian, the shock causing the tunnel to cave in.
The Indian, after dealing the bear one blow, lost his knife in
the snow, and seized the bear with his hands; but she proved
too strong for him, and was the first to struggle out of the
drift, when, unfortunately, she met the little Indian boy, who
had climbed down to come to his father’s rescue. He received
a tremendous blow on the thigh from the bear’s paw as she
passed, which crippled him for life.”
Among the native superstitions worthy of mention are the feel-
ings of supernatural reverence with which the bear is regarded
by thered man. Solemn and curious ceremonies are necessary
to appease the spiritof the slain hero. The severed head is placed
in a conspicuous position and is decorated with charms and or-
naments of all sorts,and a formal speech is made in which,
graced by all manner of compliments, the bear’s pardon is asked
for the rude method by which his life was sacrificed, and the
hunter deferentially trusts the excuses offered may be accepted
by the animal and his gens. _ After this, tobacco smoke is
blown into the nostrils and the celebration takes on a more
practical character.
Nor is this respect peculiar to Indian tribes. The northern
races of Europe have like superstitions.
During the pairing season, the males congregate in troops
and scour the forest, growling, snarling, and fighting. On
such occasions all prudent hunters avoid an encounter with
them.
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CHAPTER V.
ORDER RODENTIA.
THE GNAWERS.
The Rodents are easily recognized by many points of general
similarity, notwithstanding the diversity in appearance and
variation in habitat. The order is the largest among mammals.
The number of genera, and especially of species is enormous,
and the geographical distribution is similarly extended.
While usually of small size, the animals of this order are by
no means insignificant; some, like the beaver, affording a val- —
uable fur, while others, as the hare, are prized for the food or
sport furnished ; and still others rank among the depredators
on human stores, and are therefore universally detested. The
largest rodent, the capybara, is not larger than a small hog.
All rodents are plantigrade, applying the whole sole to the
ground, and find their food within the vegetable kingdom.
The toes are movable and generally clawed.
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152 BULLETIN NO. VIL.
Rodents agree in lacking, even in the milk dentition, canine
teeth—a very important and constant character. The incisors
are rootless and grow during the life of the animal. They form
segments of a circle, the upper being the smaller circle. The
outer surface only is provided with enamel, thus providing
for automatic sharpening by mutual attrition. It is interesting
to notice a curious adaptation for the use of these chisel-shaped
teeth in squirrels, for instance. The symphysis, or line of
union of the two lower jaws, is cartilaginous only, permitting
the play of the jaws laterally. By this means the teeth when
inserted in the nut or acorn shell, are pried apart, splitting the
shell with ease.
The incisors are frequently ornamented with ridges or cor-
rugations. The number of molars is not large, never more
than six or less than two in one ramus. The number of true
molars is three, and these were not preceded by milk teeth
as is usually the case with the premolars. The molars are some-
times rootless, and at others have well defined crown and roots:
but the distinctions based on this circumstance are of subordi-
nate worth. These two kinds of molars are found in closely
related families, for instance among mice. The variations in
the internal structure are so great as to make general state-
ments of little value. The skull is generally elongate with
well-developed premaxille. The orbits are not shut off from
the temporal fosse. The interparietal is well developed.
There is a ninth bone in the carpus. The clavicles are present
in the arboreal and fossorial groups, but absent in others.
The brain surface is smooth, and the cerebrum extends but
slightly backward. The digestive tract conforms to the
herbiverous habits of the animals, a large czeecum being found
in all but the dormice.
The nails, though generally claw-like, are occasionally mod-
ified to closely resemble hoofs; in some cases, also, the bones
of the leg are elongated and the mid-foot bones form a kind of
cannon-bone, adapting the possessor to a saltatorial life, and
indicating that the ungulates are not so completely distinct
from the claw-bearing animals as sometimes suggested. The
rodents are extraordinarily fertile, and reproduce with incred-
ible rapidity, even though exposed to constant inroads from
beasts and birds of prey. The great fecundity becomes in
some cases the occasion of distress, and forced migrations,
forming an interesting parallel with human history. The
lemming of northern Europe has repeatedly sent southward
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 153
hordes of emigrants, which, in spite of the normally nocturnal
habits of the animal, pressed on in a solid phalanx, harried on
all sides by hawks and wolves, crossing rivers and facing death
in a hundred forms, driven by the fiat of necessity, and thus
demonstrating the Malthusian principle as applied at least to
mice. The rodents attain the maximum development in South
America. Thirty-two of the thirty-seven genera are restricted
to that continent. The haresand squirrels constitute the most
universally distributed families. Africa, similarly, is rich in
endemic forms, while even the island of Madagascar has its
peculiar rodent fauna. The distribution in the circumpolar
continent is more general and presents fewer exceptional fea-
tures. Eleven or so of the twenty-four North American genera
are peculiar to this continent, and most of the restrictions and
limitations are such as may be accounted for by the physical fea-
tures of the land. The mice are found in all continents, even
Australia having representatives. The hares and squirrels are
found on all other continents, and are rather close families.
East India is poorest in rodents, and for no obvious reason, so
that we are forced to seek the explanation of this and other
anomalies in the historical development of the order. Repre-
sentatives of the genus Myoxus, and the squirrels have been
found among Eocene fossils in Europe, and the genera continue
to the present time. The Eocene of Wyoming affords remains
of Paramys and Sciwravus, and in the upper Eocene the mar-
mot-like Plesiarctomys.
Other species very imperfectly known are referred to unchar-
acterized genera, as Colonymys, Taxymys, Tillomys, Mysops,
Heliscomys, etc. Enough, at least is known to indicate a
numerous line of successors to the early Eocene rodents and to
convince us that the various families were early differentiated.
Mice, squirrels and porcupines have existed since the Hocene—
that period so marvelously productive of new mammalia.
The Miocene was the period of greatest development of the
type, and it is claimed that at that time some genera now
restricted to the Americas roamed over Europe. The numer-
ous recent discoveries of paleontology leave us quite in doubt
as to the primitive source of the rodent type, beyond the vague
suggestion that the earliest rodent was probably a marsupial—
a convenient way of dissembling sheer ignorance.
It would be interesting did our limits permit to compare
the curious extremes of structure and variations in habit exhib-
SMe,
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154 BULLETIN NO. VII.
ited by the rodent tribes. From the flying squirrels of West
Africa, as large as a cat, to our own diminutive Sciuropterus
volucella, from the blind mole of the Cape to our pouched
gopher, from the springing mice of the Sahara to our shy
Zapus hudsonius, there is variety enough to interest the most
fastidious.
Rodents are divided into two suborders upon the structure of
the teeth. The first, SIMPLICIDENTATI, includes the. three
series, Sciwromorpha, Myomorpha, and Histricomorpha, inclu-
ding respectively animals with resemblance and affinity to the
squirrel, mouse and porcupine.
The second suborder, DUPLICIDENTATI, includes the hares
and picas.
Famiry SCIURID.
SQUIRRELS.
This family includes a variety of animals varying greatly in
structure, but unmistakably related. Even the flying squirrels -
do not differ so essentialy from the prairie dog or woodchuck
that the affinity can not easily be seen at aglance. Active and
rather social and pleasing animals, for the most part, but num-
bering some petty raiders among them, we shall not be likely
to neglect the Sciwride.
The Scituromorpha have perfect clavicles, nearly free forearm
bones, small incisive foramina, large and distinct malar. The
nasal pad is small and the upper lip cleft. Inthe Sciuride post-
orbital processes are present and the molars are provided with
tuberculed crowns. Dental formula: i }:4; pm. ?:?m. 3:3. The
number of premolars often varies in the same genus, there
being in many cases but one on a side above. The tail is hairy
and generally bushy, the feet well clawed. Habits fossorial,
scansorial, or partly volant. Considerable variation obtains in
the configuration and minor details of the skull and skeleton,
as will be seen. Eight genera are recognized, six of which
occur in our district.
The squirrels constitute the genus Sciurus, standing at the
head, while the rear is brought up by the more primitive type
represented by Arctomys, the woodchuck. The two genera not
found in America are Pteromys and Xerus, found in India and
Africa respectively, the latter being in some respects like the
porcupine.
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 155
Genus SCIURUS, Linn.
Aside from obvious differences in habits, the true squirrels
may be distinguished from the chipmunks and gophers by the
broad head and curved dorsal outline of the skull. Skullshort,
broad, cranial portion expanded, facial portion rather broad ;
malar bone nearly vertically expanded; post-orbital process
produced and slender ; first premolar, if present, very small.
Pelage full, tail full and bushy, back never striped, no cheek
pouches. It is unnecessary to speak of the characteristics of
so familiar an anima]. Every one whose boyhood brought him
within the influence of Nature at all must remember more than
one escapade in which this furry tree-farer played an important
part.
Some fourteen species occur in America, some of which are
very closely allied. Our own state has but three species.
Central America seems to be the focus of the genus on this
continent, and here the species are not only the most numerous
and variable but the largest as well. Toward the north and
south the size diminishes, and a tendency is observed to depart
from the typical characters of the genus. The tail especially is
reduced.
The following table copied from Allen’s monograph will be
found useful:
SYNOPSIS OF NORTH AMERICAN SCIURI.
I. Tail very short and narrow, the caudal vertebre alone
about two-thirds as long as head and body; tail to end of hairs
about one-seventh shorter than the head and body; premolars
+, the first very small and often deciduous; a narrow, black,
lateral line; size small.
1. Above greyish, mixed with yellowish or reddish, annu-
lated with dusky, often with a strong wash of ferruginous
along the middle of the back; below generally white, some-
times narrowly annulated with black; in one sub-species fulvous
below. Hab. Northern half of North America. 8S. hudsonius.
(a). Above varied with black and yellowish-rusty; upper .
surface of tail with hairs gray at the base and tips, with a
broad subterminal bar of black. Hab. Central portion of Rocky
Mountains and thence westward to Sierra Nevadas.
var. fremonti.
(b). Above dusky, strongly varied with reddish; upper
surface of tail with the hairs dark reddish brown at the base,
156 BULLETIN NO. VII.
tipped with reddish, and avery broad subterminal band of
black, sometimes occupying the whole of the terminal third:
Hab. Rocky Mountains between latitude 43° and 52°, and thence
westward to the Cascade Range. var. richardsoni.
(c.) Much as above, tail with less black, more or less tinged
with fulvous or rufous below. Hab. Pacific Coast region from
Northern California to Sitka, var. douglassi.
Il. Tail-vertebree about four-fifths the length of head and
body; tail, with hairs, rather longer than the body, generally
full and bushy. Premolars } (1). Size large or medium.
A. Premolars ?
2. Above whitish-gray, varied with fulvous; beneath white;
middle of back more or less brownish; indistinct fulvous lateral
line; ears never conspicuously tufted. Hab. U. S. east of
plains, Canada to Guatemala. S. carolinensis.
Variety Jeucotis is the familiar form with the body longer
than ten inches. The type of the species is smaller and inhab-
its the South Atlantic states, while variety yucatanensis is still
smaller and has no rufous suffusions.
8 Above dark bluish-grey, a dorsal band of bright chestnut;
a distinct black lateral line; no fulvous suffusions; below white;
ears very large, tufted, frequently melanistic. Hab. Rocky
Mountains of Colorado and Arizona. S. alberti.
B. Premolars }.
4. Color above generally some shade of grey, but extremely
variable; rusty and melanistic phases prevalent; size large;
tail broad and bushy. Hab. E. U.S. to the plains. S. niger.
(a). Length 13 inches; nose and ears white; below gener-
ally fulvous or rufous; dusky phases frequent. Hab. South
Atlantic and Gulf states. var. niger.
(b). Smaller; nose and ears not white. Hab. North Atlantic
states. var. cinereus.
(c). Above dusky grey, strongly suffused with rufous; ears,
feet and ventral surface fulvous, varying to rufous; occasion-
ally dusky or black beneath. Hab. Mississippi basin.
var. ludovicianus.
III. Tail-vertebre alone equal to length of head and body;
size large; premolars j.
5. Above dark, pure grey, beneath white; tail black, washed
with white. Hab. Pacific Coast west of Coast Range.
S. fossor.
>.
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oe,
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. ¥57
Seciurus hudsonius PALLAS.
CHICK AREE.
This pleasant but spiteful little squirrel, which is the most
common member of the genus in Minnesota, is found abund-
antly wherever trees afford it the necessary conditions. It is
not found upon the prairies but follows the sparsely timbered
river valleys, even to Big Stone lake, though rarely. Its merry
chir-r-r-r-r is the first greeting to the traveler, along the open-
ings bordering the ‘‘Big Woods,” and it is frequent in the
northern parts of the state. It measures 6.00-7.50 to the root of
the tail which is 6-7; head about 2; ear 1.50. Color, above
grayish fulvous with a broad dorsal band of red. Under parts
white or grey. The tail is colored as the back but its long
hairs have a black band and yellowish tips. The upper sur-
faces of the feet vary with the seasons and age, being either of
the same color as the back or of a golden orange, often parti-
colored during the moult. The black lateral line seems also to
be a seasonable character. The ears are blackish and have
small pencils in winter. The feet are furry below in winter.
The northern regions furnish larger specimens than farther
south. In Minnesota the coloration and to some extent the size
is very variable and would appear not to afford any indication
of geographical variation.
The chickaree is strictly arboreal and does not hybernate.
Its food normally consists of nuts and grains, but it delights to
vary this diet with animal food occasionally and commits depre-
dations upon the nests of various birds eating the young birds
with arelish. Itis thought by woodsmen that this active squir-
rel drives out the gray squirrel or harrasses it until it is glad
to leave the territory claimed by it. The winter store is said
to be collected in several places rather than in a single store-
house, as in the case of the chipmunk. Like the larger spe-
cies, the red squirrel collects leaves and grass in the branches
forming a nest for protection against cold during severe
weather.
The young are cared for in hollow trees until able to care
for themselves. i
Sciurus carolinensis, var. leucotis GAPPER.
GRAY OR BLACK SQUIRREL.
The gray squirrel is locally rather abundant in Minnesota, and
is gaining rather than loosing as settlement continues. Color,
- ‘
158 BULLETIN NO. VII. -
clear whitish-gray, with a dorsal area of yellowish-brown.
Under parts white; sometimes jet black, with all intermediate
phases. Hairs of the tail white-tipped, with a subterminal
band of black, and black annulations upon the brownish basal
portion. Lower parts rarely suffused with rufous. LHars gen:
erally with a tuft of white behind at the base, not penciled.
Length, 10.50; tail, 11.50; tail vertebrze, 8; fore foot, 1.75; hind
foot, 2.50. Asa rule the males seem to be larger, but perhaps
there is no sexual variation. The top of the head is generally
clear, dark-gray, while often there is a lateral yellowish line.
It is curious that the melanistic phases seem to be local and
confined to narrow limits.
The southern variety of this species is considerably smaller
and decidedly less white. The two varieties pass into each
other. Variety leucotis extends throughout the northern United
States and southern Canada westward to the eastern border of
the plains, and southward to the isotherm of 56° F.
Sciurus niger LINN.
FOX SQUIRREL.
PLATE VIII.*
The varietal distinctions set up for the various phases of this
species are of very unimportant nature. Ourspecimens are all
of the variety /udovicianus. Length of body, 11-14; tail, toend of
vertebre, 8.50—10.50. Above gray, with much suffused rufous
or sienna red ; ears, feet and lower parts rusty red, varied with
more or less dusky. The under surface is sometimes nearly
black. Specimens from the far west are paler, those from the
south more reddish below. The variety /udovicianus is confined
to the area drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries.
The gray squirrel seems more common in most parts of the
state, but the distribution is remarkably capricious.
GENUS SCIUROPTERUS, F. Cvuv.
The fiying squirrels are represented in North America by
but a single species extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific
and subject to great geographical variation.
The skull is short, broad, and strongly curved, orbits large,
interorbital region constricted, pterygoid processes slender,
*The plate is intended as an illustration of the adaptability of native animals to
decorative art. The present case being a tile in which conventionalization is intro-
duced into the accessories simply in order to highten contrasts otherwise too slight to
be available for such purposes.
» ta
i iy
4.
x hi ead fea ours
Se sg
ry MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 159
premolars two. Fore limb with a catilaginous spur from the
| earpus to which is attached the volar fascia passing like the
string of ashur through the hairy fold of skin serving for flight.
Fur very soft, tail with distichous pelage, ears large, eyes very
large.
(My notes on this genus having been lost only a brief ac
count of the common species is now possible. )
Sciuropterus volucella PAu.
(Plate VII.)
This beautiful species is extremely variable. The eastern
United States is inhabited by the variety volucella which rarely
exceeds 54inches in length of body, the tail being somewhat less.
The color is a soft yellowish brown above, white or cream
colored below. The middle of the back and especially the upper
surface of the tail is darker than the remainder. The under
pelage is plumbeous or black and this frequently appears along
the edges of the wings and the terminal portion of the tail.
The species is dispersed throughout the wooded parts of
North America as far south as Central America.
In Minnesota it is extremely local. It often becomes a
familiar visitor in the door yards of country homes, flitting
from tree to tree at dusk and taking its pay by constant and
ill-timed forages upon the corn-cribs. Though very skillful
the little animals sometimes overestimate their powers and
falling short are precipitated to the earth, but their agility is
so great that they are almost instantly in their place in the
tree tops. When captured they make as engaging and sprightly
’ pets as could be expected of nocturnal animals. To the noc-
turnal habit may be attributed the comparative constancy of the
color pattern in spite of variation in other respects. The
rodents which are exposed to diurnal conditions being, on the
other hand, most variable in this particular.
The families are large and domestic, but little is known of
the household economy.
GreNuS TAMIAS, ILL.
‘‘Skull narrowed anteriorly; post-orbital process long,
very slender, directed downward and backward; plane of malar
bone more oblique, and the zygomatic process of the maxillary
more expanded and depressed than in Sciuruws, but rather less so
160 BULLETIN NO. VII
than in Spermophilus; ante orbital foramen oval, situated in
the base of the zygomatic process of the maxillary ; upper pre-
molars two or one ; when two are present the first is generally
minute; ears of medium size or small, never tufted; cheek
pouches large; pollex with a well-developed nail; tail shorter
than the body, flattened and rather broad, but shorter and
narrower than in Sciurus ; dorsal surface with two to four lon.
gitudinal whitish stripes, with acentral and two marginal black
stripes.” This genus, though most closely allied to Spermophi-
lus, links that genus very closely to the arboreal squirrels, to
which some species bear a great resemblance in habits. The
genus is apparently of North American origin, though one
species is also found in Northern Asia and Europe. Dr. Mer-
riam describes a new subspecies as 7. striatus lysteri, wpon a
basis which it seems to us would make it possible to create
endless named varieties of the more widely distributed species,
especially if the seasonal and sexual and age variations are
quite neglected. A new species is also described by Dr. Mer-
riam, from California, as 7. mcrorhabdotes.
Tamias striatus (LINN), Barrp.
COMMON CHIPMUNK.
Length of body, 5.75; tail, to end of vertebre, 3.65; to end of
hairs, 4.25; fore foot, 0.80; hindfoot, 1.85. Middle of back, gray,
rufous on the rump, grizzly brown to gray on head; sides yellow-
ish, whole lower surface white; tail blackish above, hairs white-
tipped. The back is ornamented by five narrow black stripes,
the two lateral ones on each side being separated by white lines
more or less buffy. A white superciliary line, and a yellowish
stripe beneath the eye.
As bearing on the habits of this interesting and social rodent
the following account is quoted from a sprightly article in the
American Naturalist by Ira Sayles: (Am. Nat. vol. iv, p 249.)
‘T lately noticed in my garden a bright-eyed chipmunk,
Tamias striatus, advancing towardme. * * * Here he paused
a moment and gave a sharp look all around him, as if to detect
any lurking spy on his movements. (His distended cheeks
revealed his business; he had been out foraging.) He now put
his nose to the ground and, aiding this member with both fore
paws, thrust his head and shoulders down through the dry leaves
and soft muck, half burying himself in an instant.
¥
att
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—
rs belts
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a a ee Se
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA 161
At first I thought him after the bulb of an Erythronium that
grew near * * * Presently, however, he became compara-
tively quiet. In this state he remained, possibly half a minute.
He then commenced a vigorous action as if digging deeper;
but I noticed that he did not get deeper; on the contrary, he
was gradually backing out. I was surprised that in all his
apparent hard work (he worked like a man on a wager) he
threw back no dirt. But this vigorous labor could not last long. |
He was soon completely above ground, and then became mani-
fest the object of his earnest work; he was refilling the hole
he had made and repacking the dirt and leaves he had dis-
turbed. Nor was he content with refilling and repacking the
hole. With his two little hand-like feet he patted the surface,
and so exactly replaced the leaves that, when he had completed
his task, my eye could detect not the slightest difference be-
tween the surface he had so cunningly manipulated and that
surrounding it. * * * It was now my turn to dig, in order
to discover the little miser’s treasure. I gently removed enough
of the leaves and fine muck to expose his hoard—half a pint of
buttercup seeds, Ranunculus acris. I took out a dozen seeds or
so, recovered te treasure as well as my bungling hands could,
and withdrew filled with astonishment at the exhibition of cun-
ning, skill and instinct of the little much abused denizen of our
field borders.”’
The chipmunk often appears during warm days in mid-winter
when it, in Minnesota, frequently feeds upon the bright berries
of the bitter-sweet which can furnish but very little nourish-
ment.
It is amusing to observe how fear often takes possession of
these timid animals. When pursued by a dog they will take
refuge in some low tree entirely secure from their enemy who
at once pursues what seems the most preposterous method,
barking and tearing the earth and going into a spasm of rage
in the most insane fashion. It often proves effective notwith-
standing, for, from sheer terror, the rodent springs wildly
about until losing its foothold it falls into the very jaws of the
dog.
\
162 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Tamias asiaticus (GMELIN) ALLEN.
Var. quadrivittatus?
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHIPMUNK.
PLATE IX, FIG. 21.
T. asiaticus is known to occur in the state from well authen-
ticated skins collected by T. S. Roberts near Duluth and from
observations made by Mr. Upham near Red Lake, indicating
that the species ranges nearly entirely across the state to a
considerable distance south of the boundary. The specimens
of Mr. Roberts are not now before me, but several examples
collected by myself in Canada, along the north-eastern shore
of Lake Superior, probably are identical. Along the north
shore this species is much more common than its larger rival
and conforms with great satisfaction to the conditions of exist-
ence presented by the rocky soil and depauperated vegetation.
It was never observed to climb, though carefully watched,
where it was quite abundant and fearless. Several individuals
visited our store-tent daily and gave us abundant opportunity
to observe the activity and pert, pretty ways in whict it out-
does the familiar species.
The following table presents the available measurements, all
being taken from animals collected at Michipicoten bay, Lake
Superior, during July and August:
c Length of tail ¥ a i
No.| DOR EIN OF ie jlo wextsnrale ind toot.| Foregogt.| ¢nnee, lopeae
ee 3.85 3.80 3.10 1a ORD 0.45 | O 60 | Fresh.
ers 4.00 ASO aaerere ech we 25 0.61 0.54 ..| Aleoh’l
ee 3.90 ASO "stare aeer ihaPs) 0.60 OCDE eee Alcoh’l
A 3.60 A100) iekertee oo nerstane 1.18 0.69 O50 alien Alcoh’l
pete 3.90 A OM M| scene Bee hewehate 1.20 0.60 O52 Seca Aicoh’l
Go. 4.10 [AC Oe tabrekcneachea cas QS Waste etree 07537 eee eee
These measurements are below the average of T. quadrivittatus
but the bright coloration points in that direction.
The characters of var. quadrivittatus are given as follows:
“Length of head and body, 4.50—5.00; of tail toend of vertebree,
about 3.50; to end of hairs, about 4.50. Pattern of coloration
strictly the same as var. borealis, but the colors brighter, with
much more rufous, and the size smaller. Under parts sometimes
faintly tinged with fulvous. The black dorsal stripes are edged
and more or less mixed with rufous; the light stripes, especially
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 163
the outer, are whiter, varying from grayish-white to pure white;
the sides of body, especially anteriorly, are bright reddish fer-
ruginous; the tail yellowish-rusty, with a sub-terminal border
of black edged with yellowish.” The habitat assigned to this
variety is the middle and southern portions of the Rocky moun-
tains from near the northern boundary of the United States to
New Mexico, westward to Pacific coast, eastward to the plains.
It is quite difficult to decide to which of the nominal varieties |
these specimens belong. They occur in the range of borealis,
have the colors of quadrivitattus and size of pallidus. Asa
matter of fact, very likely these varieties do not express all of
the tendencies to variation which seem to be governed by the
actually existing conditions of life rather than to express the
genetic relations.
The osteology of the Asiatic chipmunk would be of value
only as taken together with a description of the entire anatomy
and a minute comparison with other species of the genus, with
a view to discover what relations exist between these closely
allied species. A few measurements may prove instructive, as
affording a means of comparison with T. striatus.
Skull—length, 1.25 (7. striatus, 1.60), width,0.82 (0.97),nasals,
0.38 (0.51), incisors, to palate, 0.65 (0.85),between molars, 0.20
(0.24), rames, 0.80 (1,10).
Shoulderblade, 0.60 (0.80), humerus, 0.70 (0.90), ulna, 0.88
(1.00), longest metacarpal, 0.20 (0.28), pelvis, 0.85 (1.08), femur,
0.95 (1.10), tibia, 1.10 (1.21), longest metatarsal, 0.50 (0.54).
These figures indicate a much more slender skull in 7. stria-
tus (1.46—1.64 being the width to length ratios approximately).
This is largely due to the greater facial prolongation of the
latter, in which the nasal bone is contained 3.18 times in the
length of the skull, while in the smaller species it is 3.28 times.
The humerus is shortest proportionally in 7. asiaticus (1.385
and 1.22 being the proportions between humerus and femur in
the two species.) Perhaps the shorter humerus may be corre-
lated with less active and especially less arboreal habits. The
T. asiaticus does not seem to burrow as extensively as our chip-
munk. The greater length of the tail is as obvious in the
skeleton as in the flesh.
GENUS SPERMOPHILUS, F. Cuv.
This genus, a synopsis of which is given beyond, contains
about twenty species confined to the northern continents of
164 BULLETIN NO. VII.
both hemispheres. The spermophili are most numerous in the
temperate and north temperate regions, and are essentially
prairie animals. There are about equal numbers in America and
the Asiatic-European continent. They are not found in the
eastern portions of America; nor are they numerous in western
Europe, so that the plains of Asia may be taken as their geo-
graphical centre. The fossil forms, of which there are several,
do not afford conclusive evidence upon the origin of the genus.
Its species are very like members of several different genera:
Sciurus (the squirrels), Tamias (the chipmunks), Cynomys (the
prairie dogs) and Arctomys (the woodchucks). Different species
are more like one or the other of these groups, so the group is
rather heterogeneous and consequently difficult to diagnose.
The form is usually slender; the tail is not so bushy as in most
squirrels, and its hairs are usually more obviously dichotomous
in their arrangement than in squirrels. The tail is of variable
length but, in the majority of cases, is short and stumpy. The
ears are never tufted as in most squirrels, but may be quite
large; in typical forms, however, they are small and rounded.
Like Tamias, the gophers have well developed pockets opening
inside the mouth and operated by special muscles. There may
or may not be a nail upon the thumb.
Aside from these external characters there are some osteo-
logical peculiarities. There are always two premolars i. e.,
five back teeth; the zygoma is flattened horizontally; the ante-
orbital foramen is triangular instead of a narrow slit and is
protected by a spur at the lower outer corner.
The genus Tamias in habits and in structure forms the link
between the gophers and squirrels, and the line of demarkation
between the former is purely artificial. The genus has been
divided into three sections or subgenera, and before passing to
the list of species we may quote the diagnoses as revised by
Allen, to whose paper in the Rodentia of North America the
reader is referred for a full discussion of their position.
‘‘Sub-genus OTOSPERMOPHILYVS, Brandt. Ears large, high, pointed (larger
and more pointed than in some species of Sciurus); tail long,full and
broad, with the hairs two-thirds to three-fourths the length of the
head and body; general form of theskull, and the dentition, strongly
Sciurine.
Sub-genus CoLonorrs, Brandt. Ears small, sometimes marginiform; tail
short, flattened, with the hairs one-third to one-half the length of
the body; skull short and broad, the zygomatic arches broad, gener-
ally greatly widened posteriorly; dentition heavy, and the first
upper premolar generally large.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 165
Sub-genus icripomys,Allen. Ears generally small,sometimes rudimentary;
tail long, cylindrical, or narrow and flattened, or quite broad, with
the hairs one-half to three-fourths the length of the body; skull very
long and narrow; first upper premolar usually rather small, and the
dentition not heavy.”
It will be seen that there are but two species, S. franklini and
S. tridecemlineatus, whose range brings them within our limits,
although specimens of one of the varieties of S. richardsoni
might possibly cross our northwestern boundary. Both the
species above mentioned may be found in suitable localities
throughout the state. The S. franklini is less fossorial, and
being a more conspicuous animal, is soon destroyed in thickly
settled regions, while the great fertility and more subterranean
habits of the leopard gopher, enable it to hold its own in spite
of the best endeavors of the farmer and the army of boys and
dogs who pursue it in the vicinity of towns. Their curiosity
being the-one failing which enables boys of exceptional pa-
tience to snare them at the openings of the burrows into which
they have been seen to plunge.
Spermophilus tridecemlineatus MItTcHILL.
PLATE X.
Sciurus tridecemlineatus MircHiLL, Med. Repos., xxi, 1821; DESMAREST,
Mamm. ii, 1822.
Arctomys tridecemlineatus HARLAN, Fauna Amer., 1825; GODMAN, Am.
Nat. Hist. ii, 1826.
Spermophilus tridecemlineatus AUDUBON and BACHMAN, Quad. N. A., i, 1849;
Hoy, Pat. Off. Rep. Agr., 1853; KennicorT,Wb.,, 1856;
BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857; Tuomas, Trans. Ill] State Agr.
Soc., 1860; ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1870.
Spermophilus tridecem. var. tridecemlineatus ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat.
Hist., 1874; Monographs N. A. Rodentia, 1877.
Arctomys hoodi SABINE, Trans. Linn. Soc., 1822; Franklin’s Journal, 1823;
FISCHER, Synop. Mam. 1829; WAGNER, Schreber’s Siiu-
gethiere.
Arctomys (Spermophilus) hoodi RICHARDSON, Fauna Boreali-Amer., 1829.
Spermophilus hoodi F. CUvV1iER, Suppl. Buffon. 1831; MAXIMILLIAN, Reise
N. Amer., 1839; Archiv. f. Naturgesch., 1861. WAGNER,
Suppl. Schreber’s Siuget., 1843; BRANDT, Bull. Physico-
Math. Cl. Acad. St. Petersb., 1844; ScHINz. Syn. Mam.,
1845; GIEBEL, Siugethiere, 1855.
A full-grown female measures as follows: Head and body,
7.25; tail, 4.15; total length, 11.40; hind foot. 1.50; fore foot,
0.85; longest fore claw, 0.30; nose to eye,0.80; nose to ear, 1.50;
nose to occiput, 2.0; hight of ear, 0.30; longest hairs on the
t
166 BULLETIN NO. VII.
tail, 1.0; lower incisors,0.30; claw of thumb,0.10; cheek pouches,
1.50 deep from incisor. The prevailing color is pale lemon
yellow with almost a greenish tinge, this is everywhere warmed
with suffusions of rusty orange so that at a distance the ground
color might be called rusty yellow; about the lips, throat and
eyes the color is nearly white; the upper part of the head is
enlivened with bright orange anteriorly and chestnut with an
admixture of dark brown posteriorly; the back is marked with
about nine broad stripes of very dark brown locally suffused
with chestnut, one of these stripes passing down the middle of
the back beginning upon the occiput and fusing into the brighter
colors on the upper surface of the tail; anteriorly this stripe is
divided by a narrow band of the general body color,but back of
the shoulders this breaks up into rather regular blotches oc-
cupying the middle of the dark band; the two dark bands on
either side of the central one also contain rows of light spots,
while the remainder of the dark bands are narrower and un-
spotted. The appearance thus produced is that of a dark
dorsal surface broken by alternating continuous narrow, light-
colored lines and rows of spots. The outer side of the hind
legs is brindled and at the ankle there is a considerable suffu-
sion of rufous. The tail is orange or chestnut with a bar of
_ white near the end of the hairs, the longest of which are white
tipped. The tail is scantily hairy and the hairs are dichotom-
ously arranged. The posterior part of the sole is hairy. The
vibrisse are black and the longest reach to the ear. The ears
are covered without and within with close fur. The muffle is
very small. There is a pale depauperate variety (pallidus
Allen) occupying the prairies of Colorado, Wyoming, and parts
of Missouri and Arkansas. The species ranges from the
Saskatchawan region to Texas and from Ohio to Utah. Minne-
sota is thus the peculiar home of the typical form and thus
deserves the name ‘‘Gopher State.”
Spermophilus franklini (SaBrinE) Lesson.
GRAY GOPHER.
Length, 9.50-10.50; tail to end of vertebrae, 5.50-6.50; to end
of hairs, 6.50-8.50; nose to eye, 0.95; hind foot, 2.00.
General color brownish yellow above, pied everywhere by
the black of the base of the hairs, which shows in wavy lines
_ so as to produce almost a marbled appearance. The yellowish
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 167
fades out anteriorly, and on the head there is only pure black
and white, mingled to form a clear grey, as also on the sides of
the head. There is a conspicuous white ring about the eye,
which is separated from the black of the lids by an inconspicu-
ous yellowish line; a little yellowish too is found on the ears.
The end of the nose is buffy. The sides of the body are lighter
than the back, and the black is most conspicuous upon the
sides of the hip and thigh. The outside of the fore leg is yel-
lowish. The yellowish of the back extends some distance upon
the tail, which, however, has a prevailingly whitish color, the
hairs being yellowish white at the base, black medianly and
for a considerable distance near the end pure white. The under
parts, inside of legs and part of cheeks are white. Claws
blackish, teeth white, iris dark brown. The pelage is stiff and
nearly destitute of under fur, that of the tail being distichous
and abundant, often nearly as full as in the gray squirrel, which
this species not a little resembles. There are well developed
cheek-pouches provided with special muscles. Six pairs of
teats are present. The ears in this species are very small.
This graceful animal was at one time fairly abundant through-
out the southern part of Minnesota, but is being rapidly extermin-
ated by civilization. The natural home is about the edges of
copses and it is not unusual for the animal to take refuge in a low
tree or close thicket rather than its burrow. Being so much
more conspicuous and less fossorial it is less fitted to hold its
own than the striped gopher. It is still abundant about Big
Stone lake, where it will approach the traveler’s tent fearlessly
and may be taken by the hand if desired. During the summer
it feeds upon wild fruits, suc.. as strawberries, but has well-
marked carniverous propensities During a few days’ encamp-
ment on Lake Traverse several of these animals became so
domestic as to partake freely of fish from our table so long as
no suspiciously hasty motions were executed by the human
participants. The following are typical measurements for this
region:
No. 86. (Female) Head and body, 9.75; tail to end of vertebrae,
9.90; to end of hairs, 6.70; nose to eye, 0 95; nose toear, 1.80;
hight of ear, 0.50; fore foot, 1.20; hind foot, 2.10; upper in-
cisors, 0.25; lower incisors, 0.41.
In his monograph of the squirrels, Mr. Allen mentions that
the gray gopher, Spermophilus franklini, was introduced in
Tuckerton, New Jersey, in 1867; where it has gone on multiply-
168 BULLETIN NO. VII.
ing ever since, as Mr. Jillson kindly informs me. Mr. Jillson
writes under date of May 18th, 1885: ‘‘They are not numerous
enough yet to do a great deal of damage to crops, but if a pair
takes up its abode near small chickens or turkeys, they soon
thin them out. When not frightened into their holes they gen-
erally plug them up with dirt, but always leave them open
when out.” This latter habit has not been noticed by any
other observer, and is not shared in by the striped gopher; in
fact it may be that this habit is one result of their more
exposed habitat.
GENUS ARCTOMYS, (LINN.) SCHREBER.
‘Skull with the dorsal outline nearly straight; frontal
region flat or depressed ; postorbitals triangular at base, with
a long decurved point ; zygomatic arches moderately expanded,
not widening and diverging posteriorly ; grinding teeth rather
small, the transverse and antero-posterior diameters about
equal, and the molar series very nearly parallel; occipital and
interparietal crests well developed ; anteorbital foramina sub-
triangular, widest below, but not thrown outward.
‘‘Size large; body thick-set, broad, depressed; cheek-
pouches small; tail rather short, bushy not flattened; ears
small; nail of pollex broad, flat, or wanting ; pelage consisting
of long coarse hairs and thick under fur. Coloration generally
yellowish gray or brownish, without either distinct spots or
stripes.” The woodchucks are magnified Spermophiles with
some of the characters intensified, but seem to be an older and
more synthetic type—perhaps the most central living group of
the Sciwride.
Three closely allied species are recognized from America,
A, monax from the eastern United States north to Hudson’s
Bay, A. flaviventer, from the Rockies, A. pruinosus, from Alaska
and northwestern America. The last is very close to the Old
World form A. marmota, which is at home in the Alps, Pyre-
nees and Carpathians. A small species, A. bobac, occurs in
Siberia and Russia.
Arctomys monax (LINN) SCHREBER.
WOODCHUCK.
Length, 138.50—15.50; tail to end of vertebrae 4.50; to end of
hairs, 6.75; hind foot, 3.00; fore foot 2.30; nose to eye 1.50.
Color, a mixture of gray, fulvous and brown, below brown to
rufous. Top of head, feet and tail dark brown to black; sides
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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 169
- of head and and throat yellowish, chin and nose gray. Below,
especially about the fore legs, with much rusty red. Ears
rounded, rather large. Tail short, bushy, terete. Colors vary
greatly, with noticezable tendency to melanism. A patch of
white marks the lower lip and a more or less distinct bar of
gray crosses the muzzle. There is a curious callosity just
above the short upper incisors. The sole has six callosities, the
palm five. There are two pairs of pectoral and one of in
guinal teats separated by an interval of five inches.
The woodchuck may be somewhat widely distributed in Min-
nesota but the only localities at which is has beep encountered
are upon the tributaries of the St. Louis and the shores of lake
Superior. Here it does not appear to attain the size of the
eastern specimens and perhaps is more brightly colored,
though observations are lacking to support this statement.
The habits are exactly those of the Spermophiles including the
curiosity which makes them an easy prey to the trapper.
An adult Ohio female measures as follows: Length, 14.50;
tail to end of hairs. 9.50; fore foot, 2.50; hind foot, 3.00; nose
to eye, 1.80; nose to ear, 3.70; hight of ear, 1.00; width of
muzzle, 1.15; distance between eyes, 1.90.
Famity CASTORID.
This family is placed among the Sciuromorpha, thus express-
- ing a relationship with the squirrels which is more completely
seen in internal structure than in externals. The family differs
from the squirrels in not possessing the postorbital frontal
processes and in the oblique positions of the molar series. The
teeth are imperfectly rooted and the enamel is folded, more as in
the Muride. Some doubt may be expressed as to the correctness
of this reference, since in several characters the resemblance
is with the Myomorpha. The existing members of the Castori+
de are modified for aquatic life and seem to have descended
from aquatic species.
The Myomorphainclude several aquatic species but, beyond a
superficial resemblance, even the muskrat has little in common
with the beavers.
Beavers, not very unlike the existing species, made their ap-
pearance during the Miocene Tertiary. The genera Trogono-
therium in India Chalicomys in Europe and Steneofiber and Eucastor
in America were companions of their more favored relative. The
Miocene was the period during which the rodents differentiated
—11
/ : : 2 3 : P bua
170 BULLETIN NO. VII.
most rapidly, leaving little but retrenchment for the following
periods.
Eucastor was a genus of small beavers the known examples
of which were less than half the size of our species. There is
some reason to doubt if it is more than sub-generically distinct
from the modern form.
Steneofiber and Palewocastor are vicarious genera, the one in
Europe the other in America, which may easily be identical.
Trogonotherium contained species considerably larger than ex-
isting beavers.
GENUS CASTOR.
Feet five-toed, hind feet palmate; body stout, especially be-
hind; tail laterally expanded, scaly; skull somewhat as in
squirrels but without postorbital frontal processes. Molars
+t, single rooted, the dentinal pulp persisting until a late per-
iod, triturating surface composed of enamel folds; lower jaw
massive, symphysis firmly closed. The genus is represented
at present by a single circumpolar species which may be
divided into two sub-species or varieties with very close rela-
‘tions.
The very careful review of the evidence bearing on the ques-
tion of the relation of the two forms given in Dr. Ely’s account
contained in Morgan’s ‘‘Beaver and His Works”, makes a dis-
cussion of the matter unnecessary. Certain constant but min-
ute differences in osteology and the nature of the secretion are
demonstrated, while the importance to be admitted for them
must be a matter of opinion.
Castor fiber Linn.
BEAVER.
Body thick and heavy, with the greatest diameter near the
hips, length about 80 inches; tail, 10 inches; the head is broad,
depressed; nostrils lateral in a naked muffle; ears nearly hidden
in the fur, rounded; the fore feet are small and are not used in
swimming; hind feet broad, webbed, second toe often with a
double claw; color, reddish-brown, darker in winter. The long
hairs are coarse and glossy, the under pelage soft, fluffy and of
a grayish color. Melanism is common sorthward, albinoes not
being rare. The beaver is the largest North American rodent;
indeed, with the single exception of the capybara, it is the
Y ~ 4 i % fea
od ‘ aca ‘ ¥ ern
}
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 171
largest living species, and but few fossil forms could have much
excelled it, the gigantic Casteroides, elsewhere mentioned, be-
ing perhaps the largest as it was nearly the size of a black bear.
A detailed account of the anatomy of the animal is given in
Capt. Morgan’s work already referred to, to which the reader
is referred.
The natural history of the beaver makes a pleasing chapter
in science both on account of the charming social habits of the ©
animal and the intelligence indicated by his architectural
powers. The beaver is par excellence the builder among our
native animals and the forethought evidenced by the dams and
other structures compels interest.
With the teeth for ax and chisel and the tail as trowel, the
beaver is able to perform feats of mechanical engineering
wortky of human tools and ingenuity. The fore feet, although
small and useless in swimming, are dexterously employed in
building, there being considerabie play between the bones of
the fore arm. The claws are strong and and adapted to bur-
rowing as the animal is regularly fossorial. The hind feet are
fully webbed and the claw of the second toe has a curious pro-
jection below peculiar to this animal. The hearing and smell
are acute and in part compensate for rather imperfect sight.
Although social, the social instinct extends but little beyond
the family circle and is by no means so extended as often
imagined.
From two to six young are born after a period of gestation of
about three or four months. The young are born in May and
may be weaned in six or eight weeks.
The food of the beaver consists almost entirely of the bark
and wood of deciduous trees, birch, cottonwood, willow, poplar
and maple being preferred. In order to obtain the green
nutritious bark of the branches, trees of astonishing size,
considering theimplement used, are cut down and dismembered.
In preparing for winter great industry is shown. As the
beaver does not hibernate, he requires suitable food laid away
for four months of enforced confinement. Like the pocket
gophers, they are equal to the emergency. Commencing in
September they cut and store their winter’s food. Though this
labor is performed chiefly at night, beavers are not strictly
nocturnal. In regions where they have been unmolested they
swim freely by day and sun themselves like the mnskrat.
The location of the burrow and the building of the lodges in-
dicate great skill, judgment or instinct.
172 BULLETIN NO. VII.
The beaver is naturally pre-emminently a burrowing animal
and the lodge is thought to have been derived from a modifi-
cation of the burrow. Where the burrows have been broken ~
into by accident they are frequently repaired with sticks and
grass, thus imitating a lodge and perhaps suggesting how the
latter may have originated.
The burrow is the city of refuge and is always provided
although the family occupies a lodge. The entrance to these
burrows is usually from beneath the roots of a tree and the
adit may be ten or fifteen feet long. The chamber in which it
terminates is perhaps two feet in diameter. The end of the
burrow is often protected by a pile of sticks which serves in
winter to prevent the solidification of snow over the chamber
and thus excluding the air. Such heaps of sticks may have
been the introductory step to the formation of the lodge. In
many regions where beavers are abundant lodges are not found.
The European variety does not exhibit the architectural
skill for which ours is noted.
The lodge seems to be adapted for a brood chamber, and
varies with its location. It is a dome-shaped structure com-
posed of poles and earth. The lodge is small at first, and is
not abandoned at the end of the season, as in the case of the
muskrat, but is enlarged annually. The cavity within, which
usually communicates with the exterior by two openings, is
gradually enlarged, and the lodge receives increments of sticks
from without. The sticks laid up for winter are used in the
spring for repairing the lodge and the dam. Each fall the
lodge is plastered externally with mud, which freezing makes
it very firm. A large lodge may measure over twenty feet in
external diameter, and the chamber corresponding, eight feet,
and a foot and one-half in hight. The floor of the chamber is
usually near the water’s edge, and is beaten hard. The skill
displayed in the construction of a lodge is no greater than that.
of the muskrat; the superiority of the beaver lies in his skill
in constructing dams and other structures secondary to the
lodge. Canals and dams constitute the chef d’ouvre of the bea-
ver. The dam precedes the lodge in the order of formation,
and is designed to retain the water in the pond selected as the
site of the lodge at a constant level. The dam, like the lodge,
is of gradual formation, and is not necessarily the product of
co-operative industry beyond the limits of a single family.
Dams are either permeable or compact. The solid dam is pre-
ferred where the opening is well defined and furnished with
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. Aiea
firm banks. The dam is begun by laying sticks in regular
order parallel to the current and loading with rocks and mud.
Nothing of the nature of stakes or piles is employed. The
poles may be twelve feet long, and are arranged with great
precision. The inner slope is more abrupt, and is faced with
earth and turf, forming below an impervious layer. The dam
requires constant repairing, and may be added to annually
until it becomes a very considerable and solid structure. The —
upper part of the dam being more permeable than the lower,
the water is permitted to percolate through without gathering
head at any place, thus preventing injury. The best authori-
ties state that there is no co-operatiou in the work of repairing,
but that each beaver examines and builds as he sees fit. Others
claim that there is a systematic supervision by older members
of the clan and appointed relays, reserves and the like. This
may be due to the close concert of action observed. When
busily engaged upon their structures, carrying earth and trow-
eling it upon the inside of the dam, or patting it firmly on the
lodges with their tails, the appearance is very like that of
a disciplined force of builders, and at the approach of danger,
the simultaneous disappearance of the party, each with a dis-
tinct slap upon the water with the tail, tends to highten the
effect of concerted action.
The beaver not only forms dams and lodges, but excavates
extensive canals through the swampy ground adjacent in order
to transport the cuttings and boughs used in construction.
Often the trees used by the beaver are not found in immediate
proximity to the pond, and such canals are carried to the higher
ground where suitable growths of poplar, birch or maple are
situated. The boughs used upon the dam are often so large as
to be carried with great difficulty on land, but can be trans-
ported by water with ease. Such canals also connect the pond
with the burrow where the margins are soft and swampy.
Canals of this sort are often over 100 feet long. Where the
banks are abrupt the beaver excavates inclined passages or
slides, somewhat similar to otter slides, along which the brush-
wood is carried to the stream. This reminds one of what may
be seen along the white cliffs in the Tyrol, where well-worn
slides several hundred feet long mark the ways along which
peasants send the faggots used for fuel in the valleys.
When abundant, the beaver is easily trapped, and its fur was
once a staple commodity among the early settlers, often taking
the place of currency. The trap, which is a medium-sized
174 BULLETIN NO. VII.
double-spring steel, smoothed-jawed trap, is placed in a breech
in the dam and is intended to catch the unconscious repairer
by the hind foot, as the fore foot would be torn away or severed
by the teeth. Traps are also frequently set at the opening of
the lodges or burrows, or even in frequented run-ways. The
usual practice is, where possible to arrange the ring at the end
of the chain so that it will slide downward upon an obliquely
placed pole and drown the beaver, which instinctively dives
when first discovering its peril.
Sometimes gum camphor, castoreum or oil of juniper is used
to attract beaver to the vicinity of the trap. A more destruc-
tive method is sometimes employed. A party systematically
drives the beaver from the lodges to the burrows, the mouths
of which are then stopped, and the beaver are dug out and
easily secured. The Indian resorts to a method requiring more
patience and cunning. The pile of twigs gathered for food is
barricaded, only a single opening being left. This is guarded
by a twig, the movement of which apprizes the watcher of the
entrance of the unsuspecting animal into the enclosure, which
is now closed, and the beaver being confined under the ice soon
drowns and is removed to make room for another victim. A
single trapper can care for a line of thirty or forty miles.
The beaver has been generally distributed over the wooded
parts of the United States. The following quotation fromGeikie’s
Geological Sketches will illustrate the conditions in many other
regions: ‘‘The extent to which the valley bottoms in this and
the other mountain ranges of western North America have been
changed by the operations of this animal is almost incredible.
In a single valley, for example, hundreds of acres are gradually
submerged and their cottonwood or other tree-growth is killed.
In this way the floor of the valley is cleared of timber. The
beaver ponds, eventually silting up, become first marshes and
then, by degrees, fine meadows.”
In most of the wooded parts of Minnesota beaver were once
abundant, but the traces of their existence are rapidly disap-
pearing, and lodges can now be found only in the inaccessible
regions far northward.
Famity MURID~&.
The North American Muride, according to Dr. Coues, may be
characterized as follows :
Dental formula: i. 4:}. c. 9:9 pm. 9:9 m. 3:3. Anteorbital
foramen a large pyriform slit, bounded anteriorly by a broad
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 175
_ plate of the maxillary. _Coronoid, condylar, and descending
processes of the mandible well developed and distinct. Tibia
and fibula united below. ‘T'wo sub-families Murine and Arvico-
line are here recognized.
Supramity MURINE.
This subfamily contains a large number of sprightly animals,
represented very familiarly by the domestic pests, and easily
distinguishable from the field mice, which constitute the other
subfamily of the Muride, by their slender, lithe form, large
eyes and ears, pointed snout, and the long tail, which is cov-
ered with circlets of scales.
In this subfamily the teeth are rather adapted to an omnivo-
rous diet than a strictly herbivorous or gramnivorous one.
The incisors are rather narrow, squirrel-like, and the molars
are rooted and with tuberculate crowns. The skull is quite
different from that of arvicoline rodents. The nasal bones
project forward. The zygomas are abruptly curved downward,
the palate is simple, and the angle of the mandible not strongly
hamular.
Instead of going into elaborate details it is thought better to
reproduce the admirable tabular statement drawn up by Dr.
Coues and published in Monographs of North American Roden-
tia, p. 45.
NORTH AMERICA.
SOUTH AMERICA.
a. With grooved upper incisors.
Genus OCHETODON, Coues. Form
Genus REITHRODON, Waterh. Form
leporine.
b. With smooth upper incisors.
murine.
Subgenus VESPERIMUS, Coues. ;
Form murine.
Subgenus ONycHomys, Baird.
Form arvicoline.
aes )
Subgenus Oryzomys, Baird. Form
rat-like.
Genus HoLocuHibus, Brandt. Form
rat-like.
9
Subgenus CALomys, Waterh. Form
murine.
Subgenus HABROTHRIX, Waterh.
Form arvicoline.
Subgenus OXYMICTERUs, Waterh.
2
Genus SIGMODON,Say. Form arvi-
coline.
Genus NEOTOMA, Say.
like.
Form rat-
176 BULLETIN NO. VII.
GENUS VESPERIMUS, Cougs.
A word of explanation is necessary in thus employing the
name usually considered subgeneric under Hesperomys as of full
generic value. This change was the result of an attempt to
diagnose the genus Hesperomys as it now stands in ‘our litera-
ture, with the groups Vesperimus, Onychomys, Oryzomys, Calomys,
Habrothrix and Oxymicterus as subgenera. It was found impos-
sible to distinguish these genera collectively from the associated
genera by any characters of a higher sort than those separating
them among themselves. In this dilemma the simplest remedy
seemed to be to disregard altogether the generic name
Hesperomys, which was,as pointed out by Baird, orginally applied
, to the whole group of Siymodont Muride. Moreover, Hesperomys
would need to give place to the prior name, Sigmodon, if its sig-
nification were simply restricted to the whole group to which
it could naturally be applied. _ Sigmodon, however, is duly rec-
ognized as a valid generic term, and for our part we do not see
that any harm can result from the change proposed.
The genus Vesperimus was amply characterized by its founder
and, as by him diagnosed, includes animals of medium or small
size, lithe form and quick movement. The long hind legs and
rather short anterior extremities adapt them for rapid running
and springing, while the short fore claws indicate that they are
not fossorial. The fore feet are rather less than half as long
as the six tubercled soles. The palms are naked, while the
soles, in most of the species, are furry posteriorly. The tail is
usually long as compared to other native mice, ranging from
considerably longer than the remainder of the body to the’
length of the trunk alone.
The head presents an animated appearance. The bright
prominent eyes, large sparsely pilous ears and acute muzzle
conspiring to give vivacity to the face. The ears are unusually
large and thin. The colors are bright, and the contrast between
the upper and lower surfaces of both body and tail is marked.
The most unreflecting person would be forced to admire the
sprightly deer mice, and they universally attract attention,
while their inroads upon the graneries are rarely so great as
to merit the execration poured upon their domestic cousins.
The cranial and other anatomical characters may be gathered
from the specific description beyond ; a few points only need
be noticed. Characteristic features are the slender rostral
part occasioned by development of the nasals and premaxilla-
ries, the broad, low, cranial portion, and deflected zygomas.
-
wT
ee
“7. -
oN
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 177
The lower jaw is elongated, with low coronoid and broad but
not hamular angle. The skull is twice as long as wide. The
length of the lower jaw is about three times its hight.
The scapula differs from that bone in Arvicola by being less
slender and having a short acromium and broad metacromium.
The deltoid ridge of the humerus is fairly developed. The
sternum consists of six sternebre, the manubrium being very
broad anteriorly. The fibula is united with the tibia, as in -
Arvicola, but is less slender, and the limb is proportionally
longer.
We have purposely omitted the dentition from the above
account, preferring to quote Coues’ statements as the most sat-
isfactory general account at hand:
‘‘The molar series is both short and narrow, between one-
sixth and one-seventh the length of theskull. . . . Themolars
rapidly decrease in size from before backward, particularly in
the upper jaw, where the last one is subcircular, and not more
than half as large as the middle one, which itself is less than
the frontone. . . . The molars of the upper jaw have three
roots apiece, two external and one internal; those of the under
jaw have buttwo, placed one after the other on the median line.
The unworn molars of Hesperomys show a double
lengthwise series of conical tubercles connected by lower cross-
wise ridges, and the whole face of the tooth is encased in a
sheet of enamel continuous with that of the sides of the tooth.
The tubercles are not exactly opposite each other in
crosswise pairs, but are half-alternating. Down between the
bases of these conical eminences are seen furrows, the more
readily noticeable because generally blackened, apparently by
the sticking of foreign matter in them. They represent the
deep, close-curved plications of enamel that penetrate the tooth
from either side, the ends of the loops nearly or quite meet-
ing in the substance of the tooth. . . . It will be seen that,
after abrasion has commenced, the molar crowns will present a
different pattern with eachstage of the process. . . . The
student may imagine the top of a pigeon pie, full of humps and
hollows, gradually razeed down by a succession of thin parallel
horizontal slices. Letthe crust be the enamel,and the substance
of the pie the dentine ; the first slice will shave off the tops of
one or more humps, exposing the interior (dentine) in isolated
places, these islands lying in a network of crust (enamel).”’
The habits seem to be as uniform as the structure, and our
species may furnish an idea of the group.
178 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Vesperimus leucopus RAFINESQUE.
WHITE-FOOTED OR DEER MOUSE.
PLATE XI.
Mus sylvaticus var., ERXLEBEN, Syst. An., 1775.
Mus sylvaticus var. noveboracensis FISCHER, Synopsis, 1829.
Mus noveboracensis SELYS-LONGCMAMPS, Etudes de microm., 1839.
Mus agrarius var. americanus, KERR’S Linnaeus, 1792.
Mus agrarius GODMAN, Am. Nat. Hist., 1860.
Musculus leucopus RAFINESQUE, Am. Monthly Mag., 1818.
Mus leucopus DESMAREST, Mam., 1822.
HARLAN, Fauna Amer., 1825.
GRIFFITH, Animal Kingd., 1827.
FISCHER, Synopsis, 1829.
RICHARDSON, Fauna Bor. Am., 1829.
DEKaAy, N. Y. Zool., 1842.
Aub. & BAacH., Quad. N. Am., 1849.
THompsoON, Nat. Hist. Vermont, 1853.
KENNICOTT, Agri. Rep. U. S. Pat. Office, 1856.
Hesperomys leucopus LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1852.
BAIRD, Mammals of N. A., 1857.
ALLEN, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zvol., 1869, 1870.
DALL, Alaska and its Resources, 1870.
MAXIMILIAN, Arch. Naturgesch., 1862; Verzei. N. Am.
Siiugeth., 1862.
Hesperomys (Calomys) lewcopus WAGNER, Schreber’s Siug.
GIEBEL, Die Siiugethiere, 1859.
Hesperomys ( Vesperimus)leucopus COUES, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1874;
Monogr. North Amer. Rod., 1877.
Hesperomys ( Vesperimus) americanus COUES & YARkow, Rep.Zool. Expl. W.
100 Merid., 1875.
Cricetus myoides GAPPER, Zool. Journ., 1830.
Hesperomys myoides BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.
Arvicola emmonsi DEKAY, Rep. Quadrupeds Mass., 1840.
Hesperomys maniculatus WAGNER, Wiegmann’s Archiv., 1843-1845; Abhand.
Akad. Wiss., 1848.
Hesperomys polionotus WAGNER, Wiegmann’s Archiv., 1843.
Hesperomys campestris LECONTE, Proc., Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853.
AupD. & BACH., Quad. N. A., 1854.
BATRD, Mammals N. A., 1857.
Hesperomys tecanus WoopuHovussk, Proc. Acad., Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853;
Sitgreaves’ Rep. Expl. Zuni R., 1853.
AuD. & BAcH., Quad. N. A., 1854.
BAIRD, Mam. N. A.,1857; U. S. & Mex. Bound. Surv.,1859.
KENNERLY, Pac. R. R. Rep., 1859.
Hesperomys cognatus LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855.
BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.
Hesperomys gracilis LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 179
_ Hesperomys austerus BAIRD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855; Mam. N.
Amer., 1857. ,
CoorER & SUCKLEY, Nat. Hist. Wash. Ter., 1860.
Hesperomys boylii BAIRD, Prov. Acad. Nat.Sci. Phila.,1855,.Mam.N.A.,1857.
Hesperomys gambeli BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857; Pac. R. R. Rep., 1859.
NEWBERRY, P. R. R. Rep., 1857.
CooPER & SUCKLEY, Nat. Hist. Wash. Ter., 1860.
The white-footed or deer mouse is familiar to every farmer’s
boy, and claims admiration, not only on account of its graceful -
form and spirited appearance, but by its pretty though subdued
coloration and sprightly movements. The soft brown pelage
of the upper parts contrasts nicely with the pure white of the
feet and under parts. The origin of the name deer mouse is
found partly in the fawn color which is the normal color of the
back and partly also in the long leaps by which the mouse es-
capes its pursuers. In the young the shade is less bright and
is more like that of the house mouse, while the dorsal colora
tion extends downward on the outside of the legs. That the
animal is subject to interminable variations in color is seen from
the long list of synonyms given. A full discussion of the value
of specific characters based on such varieties of coloration may
be found in Coues’ article on this species in the monographs of
N. A. Rodentia, already frequently referred to. It may be ad-
mitted without discussion that the specific identity of the names
united above is settled once for all by that author’s careful
revision. Our Minnesota specimens, when adult, are remarka-
bly uniform, and present no noteworthy variations. The upper
parts are a warm brown as far as well down upon the shoulder
and hips. The back is considerably darkened by numerous
nearly black hairs while the tail is dark brown above and pure
white below. The thighs are gray. The ears are dark with a
white margin. There is a dark spot at the base of the whisk-
ers which are themselves black. The size of this species varies
somewhat, but the chief differences are in the proportional
length of tail and body.
For Minnesota the following measurements are typical for
the female:
Total length 7.0; tail 3.4; body 3.6; hind foot 0.9; fore fuot
0.4; span of hind legs 4.4; of fore legs 3.4; . nose to eye 0.55;
nose to ear 1.0; hight of ear 0.7.
The length of the male is less by half an inch than in the
female, the proportions remaining about the same.
According to Coues the averages of eighty specimens from
Massachusetts are as follows:
180 BULLETIN NO. VIL.
Total length 6.45; trunk 3.25; tail 3.20; nose to eye 0 50; nose
to ear 0.90; palms 0.84; soles 0.80; ears 0.55.
It must be remembered that measurements of prepared speci-
mens in which age and sex are, for great part, neglected, are
eminently untrustworthy. Could such sources of error be
eliminated probably much of the variability assumed would
disappear. Although, therefore, the size of Minnesota speci-
mens seems slightly to exceed the average of the eastern form,
there is no certainty of this, our measurements giving the full
normal size. On the other hand the length of the tail and the
size fully distinguish our deer mice from the Arctic variety
which is characterized by a shorter tail and larger size. The
size is about as in the nominal variety ‘‘myoides,” but the tail is
not generally as long as the head and body. Our specimens
may be unhesitatingly compared with those from northern New
England. Students of these animals should be warned that the
length even of the tail and feet, particularly the former,
changes considerably in drying, hence, only fresh measure-
ments are of positive value ina critical discussion. As we have
but three quite distinct forms of the numerous styles of Ves-
perimus in Minnesota we are happily rot required to meddle
with such matters.
“It [the white-footed mouse] is a good climber, and I have
often found its nest in holes in living trees, more than seventy
feet above the ground. While on a snow-shoe walk witha
friend one bright moonlight evening, several winters ago, one
of them was observed skipping lightly over the snow a short
distance ahead. We gave chase, but the mouse escaped by
running up the trunk of a smooth-barked beech hard by. My
friend, who was not aware of its climbing propensities, looked
on in amazement while the mouse, with as much ease and
nimbleness as a squirrel, ascended the tree and disappeared in
a knot-hole high among the branches.
‘‘The white-footed mouse does not hibernate. Except during
the severest weather, its tracks may be seen on the snow
throughout the winter, its long tail leaving a furrow by which
it may always be recognized. In the autumn it lays up an im-
mense store of provisions for so small an animal?.”
In forest regions beech-nuts are said to usually furnish the
winter larder and it is not rare to find several quarts thus
stored away. Kennicott speaks of having found within a
(1). Mammals of the Adirondacks, p. 263.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 181
_ stump in a clover field, several quarts of clean red clover seed
collected by a family of these mice.
Dr. Samuel Lockwood in the ‘‘American Naturalist” for 1871
contributes a delightful chapter on the musical capacities of
the wood mice. This we quote almost entire as placing the
animal before us in vivid and novel light and applying almost
as well to the present species.
‘‘Last spring my friend, Philip Ryall, Esq., brought from
Florida a mouse which he had captured in his residence there.
He says that for a number of nights a low sound of a more or
less musical nature had been heard proceeding, as was sup-
posed, from the chimney, and which was very naturally attrib-
uted to the chimney swallow. One day a small mouse came
from under the hearth into the middle of the floor of the sitting-
room, sat up and sang for about a minute and retired. This.
explained the mystery. Its nightly music and its daily visit
were continued, almost invariably, the visit being limited to
the same small area of the floor. It was determined to capture
the little stranger, which, after many unsuccessful attempts,
was finally accomplished. Last June the interesting little fel-
low was very kindly passed into my custody. My first concern
was to add to its comfort by enlarging its cage, also to provide
in every possible way a condition of things suited to its nature.
For all this I was amply rewarded in the fine health and the
musical performances that followed.
‘‘A little study soon determined that the pretty creature
belonged to the Vesper mice. It is known by the popular
names of Jumping mouse, Wood mouse and White- footed mouse.
Our specimen is one of the smallest of its own genus, for the
precise species is the one known to naturalists as Hesperomys
cognatus Leconte. This fact, so novel, once determined gave
additional zest to my purpose to make it an object of especial
study. To give it individuality, as it was fast becoming a pet,
{named it Hespie, which name, as its object was female, was
certainly appropriate. I thought she soon learned to know me,
and certainly I soon came to regard her with attachment. Yet,
the truth told, she was a pretty, pert and unamiable little miss,
and would permit no familiarity, always biting the finger that
attempted to touch her. Her animation, agility and graceful-
ness of motion were wonderful. Sometimes a fly would enter
' the cage, when she would spring at and catch it, sometimes
with her mouth and at others with her hands. This she would
eat with great relish. So uniformly quick were her motions,
182 BULLETIN NO. VII.
that on one occasion my little boy said: ‘Papa, I would like
to see mousie walk just once.’ Her taste was quite omnivorous,
although, unlike the domestic mouse, she did not care for
cheese. But meat, corn, nuts, sugar and even pudding and fish
were all acceptable. male ue
TOO perso OOF) LOO eOnay PORSO: "0. 35. lio. ccc male a
IONE rarcoll 2: 360i O05) O.50) FO alee... &. 0.55 | male a
TOG OE COL mene s OOS | OLSO IO G2r oy. cents orvesss female | July 4, 1885.
NOR oeaom aero Os9se | Cea Gr Os Ol. cece looee oe female
190 BULLETIN NO. VII.
There is no evidence, so far as our state is concerned, that
the three species of Vesperimus merge into each other. V.
michiganensis and V. sonoriensis are associated westwardly and
although the exact line of contact between the latter and V.
leucopus has not been studied it is presumable from appear-
ances that this line corresponds with the western forest limit
- and is quite sharp.
The westward range of the species includes Dakota, Mon-
tana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona,
New Mexico, Texas. and part of California.
The Arctic mice of this group resemble the present species in
having short tails but fora reason quite different from that
which would by assumed in this case. The color, moreover,
in the latter is darker. The matter of coloration is so largely
dependent on the humidity of the climate that our western
mice, at least within the influence of the Red River valley, are
much darker than typical V. sonoriensis of the plains. Of the
habits we know nothing to distinguish them from the common
deer mouse. They may be seen springing about among the
high grass at times although probably less saltatorial than the
deer mouse. |
Vesperimus michiganensis AUD. AND BACH.
THE MICHIGAN MOUSE.
(Plate XI.)
Mus michiganensis AUDUBON AND BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Phila., 1842 ; Quadrupeds N. A., 1854.
Hesperomys michiganensis WAGNER, Wieg. Archiy., 1843.
BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.
Hesperomys (Vesperimus) michiganensis Cours, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Phila., 1874; Monogr N. A. Rodentia, 1877.
Mus bairdii Hoy and KENNIcoTT, U.S. Pat. Offic. Rep. Agric., 1856.
The Michigan mouse is common throughout the upper Mis-
sissippi valley and the states adjoining and is of reasonably
frequent occurrence in the south eastern parts of Minnesota.
This mouse may be at once distinguished from the deer mice
by its small size, small tail and feet and the darker coloration.
Unless examined carefully the color will usually seem not
greatly brighter than in the house mouse. The general gray
of the upper parts is mingled with yellowish on the sides,
especially upon the cheeks, as Audubon points out, while the
whole back is very dark brown. (The colors are rather
brighter than usual in our drawing.) The gray of the sides
extends down the outside of the limbs to the wrist and ankle.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 191
‘The head is hardly to be distinguished from that of the deer
mouse but the ears are smaller although they are obviously
margined with white and otherwise in color and form as in JV.
leucopus. The tail is about as long as in V. sonoriensis but is
less densely hairy and has a broader dark stripe above. One
of our Minnesota specimens (as figured) has both hands and
feet snowy white while in more southern and eastern specimens
they are said to be dark. The following measurements per-
tain to the specimen figured:—length 5.63 ; tail 2.38 ; head and
body 38.25;sole 0.68;forefoot 0.37 ;nose to eye 0.50; nose to ear 0.87.
It will be seen that these measurements indicate a larger
animal than usual, besides being one which in some other
points approaches JV. /Jewcopus. Our Michigan mice are more
domestic in their habits than the deer mice and may be en-
countered about buildings even in towns of some size. One was
taken, in 1877, in the basement of the University at Minneapolis.
The range of the present species is rather more limited than
that of other members of the subgenus but is nevertheless far
less restricted than has been hitherto supposed. It is essen-
tially a prairie animal, and will probably be found to be limited
in range by the extent of the prairies as distinguished from the
plains on the one hand, and the forest regions on the other. It
may be found throughout the whole of the southern half of
Minnesota, but is most abundant in the southwestern and south-
ern portions. In Dakota it mingles freely with the Sonora
mouse without exhibiting the least tendency to approach it in
coloration, and on the east is gradually superseded to a very
large extent by the deer mouse, from which it is even more
evidently distinct. Upon the rolling prairies of the south and
west it may be said to be alone in its own territory. Two very
well marked varieties occur which, so far as the present writer’s
experience goes, are, in a general way, connected with open or
more umbrageous stations. Both varieties are found together
in some cases, but the majority of the specimens found in Da-
kota and to the south and west will undoubtedly be found to ad-
here to one type of coloration and those in the east to another.
On first encountering the Michigan mouse near Big Stone
lake upon the western boundary I was inclined to imagine that
a species hitherto unseen lay before me, so different was the
whole ensemble, but comparisons and the variations exhibited
by a large series of specimens made clear the essential conso-
nance in most points with V. michiganensis.
Inasmuch as this varietal difference is quite different from
that mentioned by Hoy and Kennicott as separating H. bairdii
from H. michiganensis it may be well to define it more minutely:
192 BULLETIN NO. VII.
The eastern Michigan mouse aJthough much less bright than
H. leucopus has on the sides a decided brownish cast, or even
fawn color, while the typical western variety has scarcely a
trace of any other tint than black and white except on the up-
per surface of the tail. About the head there is the same hoari-
ness exhibited by other prairie mice, as though faded by the
sun. As arule there is a less sharply defined line of demarka-
tion between back and belly than in more eastern specimens
examined.
In all the Michigan mice examined the ear is white-rimmed
in spite of Dr. Coues’ assertion to the contrary. Although the
dorsal dark area may not reach the hand there is invariably a
dark blotch on the wrist which may or may not embrace the
whole upper surface of the hand.
The following table of measurements, of which all but the
last two refer to specimens captured near the western line of
Minnesota, may show the variations in size and can be taken
as fully trustworthy, having been made with great care from
fresh specimens:
Nose . Nos Nos Hind
No. see Tail. |46 Sead ka aoe foot. | ©: Sex. Date.
108 | 3.00 | 1.90 | 0.90 | 0.45 | 0.73 | 0.60 | male | July 5, 1885
ce sa a el ges Ba iestnn ag «os rg gee male | July 5, 1885.
113 | 3.12 | 1.90 | 0.90 | 0.50 | 0.70 | 0.55 | male | July 7, 1885.
DUT QO WED OO Ue ian a llemeloeillic cites = |e cei male | July 7, 1885
118 | 3.20 | 2.00 | 0.85 | 0.50 | 0.70 | 0.50 | male | July 7, 1885.
TLO GS 245 al Ve2O) Meese Ns eae O: TON. Eaves male | July 9, 1885.
21 | 8.20 | 2.87 | 0.87 } 0.40") 0568 15.524. female} Nov., 1883.
SS | BeG0 | DOO tec wets O60") 0.10 for. o male | ? (Alcohol).
Supramity ARVICOLIN 4%.
The field mice, which are included in this section of the
immense rat family, may be readily recognized, as a rule, by
their rather clumsy and squatty form, blunt muzzle and small
ears. Tail and limbs are generally short, while the eyes are
small. The fur is often thick and fluffy, while the colors are
predominatingly rusty brown. The north temperate regions
of both hemispheres form the habitat of the majority of the
species. None occur in South America. As in other northern
mammals, there is rather a close conformity between the faunz
of Europe and America.
The anatomical characters are no less conspicuous. The
incisors are broad and short. The molars are perfectly pris-
matic, and their growth is continuous, so that after the crowns
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 193
.are worn off the pattern does not vary greatly with use. In
almost all the species the molars are rootless. The palate is
not fiat, as in Murine, but variously complicated. The zygoma
is not deflected as far downward as in Murine, and it is not
emarginate at its anterior origin. The nasals are broad and
short. The angle of the mandible is arched. The scapula is
narrow, with long, slender acromium. The proportions of the
limb bones are different from those common in Murine.
GENUS HYPUDASUS ILLIGER.*
This small genus fittingly introduces the arvicoline group of
rodents forming a transition as it does between the Murine or
common mouse subfamily and the field mice or Arvicoline.
The separation of the genus from other field mice is a matter
of convenience as well as morphologically demanded. The
very few species are all inhabitants of the northern hemisphere
and are so closely related that they might without serious im-
propriety be reduced to varieties of a single circumpolar
species, Mus rutilus Pallas.
The external form is sufficiently like that of our common
field mouse, Arvicola riparius, but the color is bright, all these
mice deserving the adjective ‘‘red-backed”. The red-backed
mice are inhabitants of the woods as distinguished from the
prairie mice and those so disposed may see in the color illus-
trations of protective coloration. The wood mice frequent
decaying trees, the pulverent wood surrounding which com-
monly has a color very like that of the mice. The prairie mice
are exposed to greater danger and have a color not unlike that
of the sear grasses or the earth.
The genus is so essentially arvicoline that the diagnostic
features may take the form of points varying from that type
in the direction of the Murine. In form arvicoline, but rather
less slender and with longer ears. Colors bright or, at least,
strongly red. Molars each with two roots (instead of rootless
as in Arvicola or fully rooted as in Murine). The teeth are
otherwise as in the field mice but less completely broken up
*In using this name for the genus lately renamed Evotomys by Coues, we follow
Keyserling and Blasius, Prof. Baird and European authors generally. Itseemsa mis-
fortune that in nomenclature as well as in more vital matters there should be no
articulation between the scientific labors of the two continents. Dr. Coues has in the
case of this genus (as well as frequently elsewhere) shown the intimate relations
between the mammals of Europe and North America. It is therefore a positive misfor-
tune if the same group bears different names on the different sides of the Atlantic. It
seems that the technicality involved might be wellignored in this case and the above
name, which has been more or less fully instated in the literature of both continents:
retained for this group.
194 BULLETIN NO. VII.
into distinct prisms. The faces of the upper molars especially
present less complicated figures than usual; instead of alter-
nating triangles we find single irregular figures extending
entirely across the tooth. The skull is very. broad and is
greatly inflated in the perotic region, the auditory bulle being
larger than in any other mouse. The bony palate is broad and
rather short and abruptly truncate at the posterior nares (not
with a second shelf before reaching the basis cranii). The
pterygoids are not very prominent. The cranium is large
while the facial portion is greatly reduced and the interorbital
distance is quite small. The posterior extremity is propor-
tionally large but there are no indications of either saltatorial
or fossorial capacities.
It has been shown by Dr. Coues that in America we have but
a single species of this genus, H. rutilus Pallas, which occurs
in its typical form throughout the Arctic portions of the con-
tinent. It is thus seen that H. rutilus, like so many Arctic
animals is circumpolar in distribution and has become modi-
fied southwardly so as to give rise to varieties which may be
diverse in the western and eastern hemispheres. The southern
varieties have been called gapperi in America and glareolus* in
Europe, there being nothing to show them distinct.
Hypudeus rutilus var. gapperi? VIGORs.
(Var. glareolus Sund.?)
Arvicola gapperi ViIGoRS. Zool Journ. v, 1830.
DEK Ay. Zool. of New York, 1842.
SCHINZ. Synop. Mam. ii, 1845.
| Hypudeus gapperi BATRD. Mam. N. Am., 1857.
Arvicola fulvua AUDUBON and BACKMAN. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.
viii, 1842.
WAGNER, Wiegmann’s Arch., 1843.
Arvicola dekayi AUD. and Back. Quad. N, Am. iii, 1854.
Evotomys rutilus gapperr Cougs. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1874; Monogr.
N. Am. Rod., 1877.
* Mus rutilus var. Pallas.
Mus glareolus Sundeval, 1840.
Mus glareolus Schreber.
Hypudeeus hercynicus Mehlis,
Arvicola rubidus Longchamp.
Arvicola rufescens Longchamp.
Arvicola riparia Yarrell, Jenyns.
Arvicola pratensis Bell, Macgillivray.
Hypudeeus glareolus Wagner.
Arvicola glareolus Giebel.
(H. nageri Schinz. May not belong here, it being an Alvine species imperfectly des-
cribed.)
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 195
The close relationship between this variety and H. rutilus
was first shown by Coues in the Proceedings of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in1874. The differences con-
sist in a somewhat greater size and a considerably greater
development of the extremities in accordance with the general
law that the extremities are shorter in northern individuals of
a species extensively distributed than in southern examples of
the same species. If the size be really less than in H. rutilus
it forms an exception to the remainder of the law that the
absolute size is usually greater. The colors are darker,
especially the sides which are a grayish brown instead of hav-
ing the milk tinge of H. rutilus.
In general form there is nothing to distinguish this interest-
ing animal from the common field mouse. It can be at once
distinguished, however, by the color and the greater develop-
ment of the ears. These organs appear quite prominently
above the fur and are hirsute, while near the base of the anti-
tragus is a tuft of stiff hairs longer than the ear itself.
The middle of the back from the crown to the root of the tail
is of a strong, rusty red color, given a grayish cast by numerous
black hairs sprinkled through the pelage. On the sides the
red is largely replaced by brown. so that the resulting color
is much as in Arvicola riparius. The bases of the hairs every-
_where are plumbeous. About the face the color becomes a
grizzly gray, in old specimens at least. Below greenish white
of various degrees of purity is the prevailing color, the fur
being much lighter color than in A. riparius. The feet partake
in the same coloration. The tail is distinctly bicolored, the upper
surface being, as usual, darker than the prevailing color of the
back. The vibrisse are rather longer than in A. riparius. Con-
siderable variations in the coloration occur, the breadth of the
red stripe especially being far from constant, either in width or
intensity.
The following measurements may be taken as a very fair
showing of the size of adults, the first being taken in autumn,
the second in spring, and in adjacent localities:
= Total Head * N N F Hind
NUMBER. ighpth Ga edie Tail. |to a Sere faut, foot.
By ses (OH CTIA OPN 00 ove! s sc. v aclaras 5.70 4.0 | 1.70 | 0.50 | 0.95 | 0.31 Opt
Zee B.C 1) nea ae 4.90 oo | Le20nl Ordon) Loo | 0-40 0.70
ANETAGEOS (56.6 crete 5.13 Sabai eie sou O-44a0V85: (kOs37 | 0.72
Coues’ averages, published in his monographs of North
American Rodentia, are placed in the third line for conven-
ience of comparison.
196 BULLETIN NO. VII.
The tubercles on the feet furnish reliable generic, if not
specific, characters. There is, in this species, a large pad at
the base of the first and second digits of the hind foot; a smaller
one lies midway between the third and fourth; the largest one
of all is near the base of the fifth digit, while two smaller ones,
one on the outside, the other on the inside (the latter farthest
back) lie behind them. The under surface of the toes appears
scutilate. and the sole is punctate, while all that portion back
of the pads is sparsely hairy. The fore foot has five pads, and
the thumb nail is spade-shaped. The nasal pads are very small,
and the head is blunt and stout, in fact the aspect is, as has
been said, very much like that of a field mouse.
While our information does not permit us to very minutely
describe the range of the species, we know of its occurrence in
most parts of the state. The following localities may be named:
Hinckley, Pine county; Milaca, Mille Lacs county; Minneapolis,
Hennepin county; Brown's Valley, Traverse county; Ortonville,
Big Stone county, and points on the Red and Minnesota rivers.
It was not found on the Mississippi at Watab, where Arvicola
riparius is very common; nor can it now be found near Minne-
apolis, though once common.
In the eastern part of the United States this variety is found
as far south as Massachusetts, and in New York, Michigan and
Wisconsin, as well as in Washington. It merges insensibly
into the typical H. rutilus to the north, so that to lay down an >
arbitrary geographical range is impossible.
The writer has observed these mice very abundant in dense
woods running actively from fallen log to stump or brush-heap
in broad day light, the rusty red color being scarcely distin-
guishable from the red sawdust which often forms the soil or
the pine needle carpet. The food can only be surmised, but
the stomach is quite different from thatof
elongated hairs shade the back. The under parts are beauti-
fully white, sharply set off from the coloration of the back.
The species has only been observed by the writer in the west-
ern part of the state. At Lake Traverse it was found ina state
of primitive simplicity, and was readily taken in the hand.
An article in the American Naturalist for June, 1872, by San-
born Tenney, affords the following facts regarding the hiber-
nation of the Zapus:
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 219
“On the 18th of January of the present year (1872), I went
with Dr. A. Patton, of Vincennes, Indiana, to visit a mound
situated about a mile or a mile and a-half in an easterly direction
from Vincennes. While digging in the mound in search of
relics that might throw light upon its origin and history, we
came to a nest about two feet below the surface of the ground,
carefully made of bits of grass, and in this nest was a jumping
mouse (Jaculus hudsonius Bd.) apparently dead. It was coiled
up as tightly as it could be, the nose being placed upon the
belly, and the long tail coiled around the ball-like form which
the animal had assumed. I took the little mouse into my hand.
It exhibited no motion or sign of life. Its eyes and mouth were
shut tight, and its little fore feet were shut and placed close
together. Everything indicated that the mouse was perfectly
dead, excepting the fact that it was not as rigid as perhaps a
dead mouse would be in the winter. I tied the mouse and nest
in my handkerchief and carried them to Vincennes. Arriving
at Dr. Patton’s office I untied my treasures and took out the
mouse and held it for some time in my hand. It still showed
no signs of life; but, at length I thought I saw a very slight
movement in one of the hind legs. Presently there was a very
slight movement of the head, yet so feeble that one could
hardly be sure it was real. Then there came to be some evi-
dence of breathing, and a slight pressure of my fingers upon
the tail near the body was followed by an immediate but feeble
movement of one of the hind legs At length there was unmis-:
takable evidence that the animal was breathing, but the breath-
ing was a labored action, and seemingly performed with great
difticulty. As the mouse became warmer the signs of life be-
came more and more marked; and in the course of the same
afternoon on which I brought it into the warm room it became
perfectly active, and was as ready to jump about as any other
member of its species. I put this mouse in a little tin box with
holes in the cover, and took him with me in my journeyings,
taking care to put in the box a portion of an ear of corn and
pieces of paper. It ate the corn by gnawing from the outside
of the kernel, and it gnawed the paper into bits with which it
made a nest. * * * On the evening of February 6th I
reached my home in Williamstown, and on my arrival the
mouse was in good condition; but the next morning it was again
apparently dead. In the course of the day, however, being
placed where it was warm, it gradually came back to activity
as before.”
220 BULLETIN NO. VII.
“Mr. Slade says*: ‘The long-tailed jumping mouse inhabits
high land or low land, forest or pasture, cultivated field or
swamp, and appears to be equally at home in either, and num-
erous in any situation. It possesses a momentary agility
second to no other rodent, and a muscular strength of enor-
mous power for so small a creature. When suddenly disturbed
it often moves away ina direct line, the first three or four leaps
being eight or ten feet in length; but these distances rapidly
decline to about four feet, which are continued until it con-
siders itself out of danger. This is not always the case for it
frequently takes an irregular course and jumps at diverse an-
gles for several successive leaps. * * * It feeds upon the
buds, leaves and twigs of many kinds of plants, upon seeds,
grain, wild berries, chestnuts, acorns, grass, and to some ex-
tent, upon the bark of shrubs. * * * Asarule, three lit-
ters are produced in a season, each consisting of from two to
four young.”
Famiry GEOMYID.
POUCHED OR POCKET-GOPHERS.
The pouched rats are among the most interesting and pecu-
liar of North American mammals and from their secluded
habits are seldom seen. They have, however, considerable
economic importance, as their insidious and undisturbed
forays upon gardens and orchards render them more obnox-
ious than more open foes. From their habits unlikely to spread
rapidly, they multiply in favorable localities to an incredible
extent and miles of meadow land are honeycombed by their
burrows. For the same reason they are somewhat arbitrarily
distributed.
From the fact that the few species are so similar, and closely
allied geographical races so numerous, it might be inferred
that the group, as at present found, is of a comparatively
recent origin and that its different members are diverging from
a common centre west of the Mississippi. To this it might be
replied that subterranean, like subaqueous, species are subject
to slower changes than those more directly influenced by cli-
mate, etc. However this may be, the family is distributed over
the western part of the United States and ranges southward
into Mexico. The eastward range is little beyond the states
*Merriam’s Mammals of the Adirondacks, p. 292.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 221
. bordering upon the Mississippi river except southwardly, where
a variety of our common Geomys bursarius extends into Florida
and Georgia and was the first of the family found in the United
States though a different species was previously noticed in
Mexico. The northern limits of the family are determined by
the frosts of winter, for burrowing becomes an arduous task
where much of the time the soil is frozen six or more feet deep.
In the New England and Middle States the family is entirely
absent.
These low-bodied, dense-furred animals are chiefly remarka-
ble for the large fur-lined pockets extending from the shoulder
to the sides of the mouth and opening entirely outside the
buccal cavity. The pockets have several special muscles to
retain them in place. The pockets are used for carrying food,
which in all the species, is stored in subterranean graneries
against time of drought or winter frosts. Considerable skill is
shown in collecting the proper amount in one place, so that
the heat generated ina mass of grass, for example, shall be
enough to cause the growth of fresh shoots but not enough to
destroy the whole.
As now understood the pocket-gophers constitute a well cir-
cumscribed family of two genera, allied, on the one hand, to
the field mice (Arvicolide) by many important cranial and
other characters and, on the other to the pouched mice (Saccom-
-yidc) by the possession of fur-lined pouches on either side of
the mouth (but having no connection with the mucous surfaces).
Again, the gophers are allied by quite unmistakable points of
agreement with the African mole rats (Georychide) which in
habits they more resemble than either of the above families. If
it were pertinent insucha work as this to discuss the relative
value of these different affinities, it might be shown that a very
good case could be made in favor of a closer relationship with the
Georychide or Muride than with the Saccomyide. After a
comparison of cranial characters between Fiber the Sac-
comyidee and Geomys it seems well to suggest that the presence
oz absence of external pockets ought not to be too implicitly
relied upon in collocating the families of rodents.
It is only safe to say at present that the Geomyide constitute
a distinct family of myomorphic rodents with uncertain inter-
ordinal affinities. No definition of the family is necessary in
this connection, but the student is referred to the following
papers on the group:
222 BULLETIN NO. VII.
CouEs, E., Monographs of N. A. Rodentia, Geomyide.
CouEs, E., do Saccomyide (Introduction—passim).
Cougs, E., Exploration of Colorado river, Part iii, Chapter xii—Ab-
tract of results of a study of the genera Geomys and Thomomys.
CovuEs, E., The cranial and dental characters of Geomyid#. From the
Bull. U.S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., 1875.
LICHTENSTEIN, K. W. H., Ueber aeussere Backentashen on Nagethieren.
Koengl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1825.
The chief characteristics of the family may also be gathered
from what is said of the one species which comes especially
under consideration here.
GENUS GEOMYS, Rar.
This genus contains four species which occupy a belt through
the center of the United States from British America to Cen-
tral America. It does not extend beyond the Rocky mountains
on the west, nor reach the Atlantic coast except southwardly,.
As distinguished from Thomomys, Geomys possesses the fol-
lowing characters: The upper incisors have a deep median
groove which may be accompanied by a second fainter one
near the inner margin. The inferior incisor is very long, caus-
ing a slight protuberance on the outside of the ascending
ramus between the angle and the condyle, but this is not so
highly specialized as in Thomomys. The crowns of the molars
are not acute exteriorly. Zygomatic arch widest in front, not
forming a sweeping gradual arch as in Synaptomys. The basi-
occipital is not greatly narrowed. Interparietal triangular.
The palatal bone is on two planes with a double excavation
between. Fore claws greatly enlarged,claws of hind feet spade-
like. The external ears are inconspicuous.
The differences upon which the genera are separated are
minute and almost intangible, but on account of the few species
of Thomomys may be found permanent. ©The latter genus con-
tains but two species and one of these is a reduced form found
only in the unfavorable mountain regions of the west. Indeed,
itmay be said that the limited size and many of the peculiarities
of the genus are perhaps correllated with the range in dry or
otherwise ill-suited regions, and are what might have been pre-
dicated in the case of a Geomys transferred to the same localities.
Of the genus Geomys three distinct types occur. The first
represented by G. bursarius or the common pouched gopher
with a southern variety in the south Atlantic and Gulf states
(this form, G. tuza, is frequently ranked as a species) ; the
second type is that of G. mexicanus, which is the Mexican re-
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 2393
‘presentative of the genus. Aside from the size, which is
greater than G. bursarius, there is the absence of the marginal
groove on the incisors, the reduced fore-claws and pouches to
distinguish this type. With it is associated another ‘‘species”
(G. castanops) found only in Texas and New Mexico, and
which combines with the characters of the one some of those
of the other. The third type occurs in Central America and
and is represented by the single species G. hispidus. The
tendency exhibited in the Mexican species is here extended.
The result is an animal nearly a foot long with shallow
pockets, stiff, hairy fur and short claws.
Geomys bursarius (SHAW) RICHARDSON.
COMMON POCKET GOPHER.
Figs. i4, 15, 16.
SS EEE
Seeger a eee y
Fig. 14.
The traveler in the states west of the Mississippi river must
become familiar with the low mounds scattered over the
prairies in groups or irregular series. These mounds are a
characteristic feature of the landscape where there is little
else to diversify it. They serve to exhibit the nature of the soil
and its substratum to the casual observer. These little hills
are the masses of earth which are thrown out by the gophers
whose burrows mine the soil beneath. The inhabitant of these
burrows is the subject of this article. The first description is
that of Shaw in the Linnean Transactions, v, 1800. The paper
was accompanied by a plate which represented the pockets
everted and extended, a condition impossible in nature but not
224 BULLETIN NO. VII.
infrequently seen in stuffed specimens. Indeed in so good a
work as Owen’s Comparative Anatomy the same error is re-
peated and the gopher is figured with external pouches
pendulous from either side the mouth.
The following is as complete a list of the bibliography as I
can compile. Much of it is copied directly from Coues’ mono-
graph.
Mus bursarius SHAW, Linn. Trans., v, 1800; Gen. Zoology, ii, 1800.
MITCHILL, Amer. Journ. Sci., iv, 1822. ;
Cricetus bursarius DESMAREST, Nouv. Dict. d’ Hist. Nat., xiv; Encycl.
M¢th. Suppl.; Mamm. ii, 1822.
F. Cuvier, Dict. Sci. Nat., xx.
DESMOULIN, Dict. Class., viii.
GRIFFITH (et al.) Animal King., iii and v, 1827.
Saccophorus bursarius KUHL, Beitriige z. Zoologie, 1820.
FISCHER, Synopsis, 1827.
Pseudostoma bursarius SAY, Long’s Exped. to Rocky Mts., 1823.
HARLAN, Fauna Boreal. Amer., 1825.
Lesson, Manuel de Mamm., 1827.
GODMAN, Am. Nat. Hist., 1831.
DEKAY, Fauna N. Y., 1842.
AUDUBON and BACHMAN, Quadrupeds N. A., 1849.
Geomys bursarius RICHARDSON, Sixth An. Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1836.
WOODHOUSE, Sitgreaves’ Rep. Zuii and Colorado Rs., 1853.
PARVIN, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst, 1854-1855.
KENNIcOTT, Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc., 1853-1854.
GIEBEL, Siugethiere, 1855; Beitrige z. Osteologie d.
Nagethiere, 1857.
BAIRD, Mammals N, A., 1857.
MAXIMILIAN, Arch. Naturg., 1861; Verz. Reise N. A.
Siiug.
GERRARD, Catalog Bones brit. Mus., 1862.
LEIDY, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1867.
AMES, Bull. Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sciences, 1874.
Couks, Proc. Phila. Acad., 1875; Powell’s Rep. Colorado
R., 1875.
Ascomys bursarius EYDOUX AND GERVAIS, Voy. sur la corvette de I’ etat
La Favorite, 1830.
SCHINZ, System. Verz. Siiugethiere, 1844-1845.
GIEBEL, Odontographie.
Ascomys canadensis LICHTENSTEIN, Abh. Acad. Wiss. Berlin, 1823.
BRANTS, Muizen, 1827.
WAGNER, Suppl. Schreber’s Siiuget., 1843; Abhand. K.
Baier. Akad. Miinch., 1846.
Ascomys drummondii WAGNER., l. ¢.
Saccophorus? albus FISCHER, Synopsis, 1827.
Mus saccatus Mrrcniuyu, N. Y. Med. Repository, 1821.
Geomys canadensis LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1852.
Geomys drummondii RICHARDSON, Sixth Ann. Rep. Brit. Assoc.,1836-1837.
Geomys oregonensis LECONTE, 1. ¢.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA 225
.Geomys breviceps BAIRD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855; Mammals
N. A., 1857.
GERRARD, Cat. Bones Brit. Mus., 1862.
Fig. 15.
The external appearance of the gopher is not unlike that of
a rat but much more ‘‘squat’” and compact. The head is broad
and fiat. The strong fore limbs and the huge claws area
prominent feature. The teeth are also large and very con-
Spicuous by the slight development of the lips and cheeks.
The posterior part of the body is produced into a truncate
cone supported by the elongated pelvis bones. This trunca
tion is quite conspicuous in so much that the tail seems to
spring from a special square-topped prominence. The tail
itself is comparatively short and is sparsely hairy or quite
naked at the tip. The skin of the tail is not scaly, asin Mur-
idee, out delicate and pink-tinted. The attitude when alarmed,
especially when forced into strong light is faithfully repro-
duced in our drawing} and other characteristic attitudes are
copied in the outline vignettes accompanying.
The size* varies greatly in a given locality but there is little
geographical variation, and as an illustration the measure-
ments of two females are given, the one being from Minneap-
olis near the eastern part of the state and one from Brown’s
Valley in the extreme western part.
” +The author refers to a plate which was omitted.
*The following table of measurements refers to specimens collected by
Dr. C. E. McChesney, near Ft. Sisseton, Dak., and measured in the flesh.
The table is extracted from the complete table published by Coues (p. 614
of his monograph of Geomyide) as bearing on the question of variation in
size in one locality and that near our own station.
226 BULLETIN NO. VII.
The tails are measured from a different point than those measured by
the writer, which must be allowed for:
sabe hp | Lene
: Total Length Length Longest
SEX. length. | of body. | of nena. iene eet hina tok epee
Male warned trseten ce 12.08 9.00 DA Dwlis ies shctelletan melee 1225
Males cs ddnrendnest neat 8.00 DSA tia hye at etaretie sll cistern 1.05
Males east ceaes 12.07 9.00 2.62 1.80 1.37 0.93
iemaleyaccns canes 10. 30 7.90 2.05 1.60 127 0.77
Bemale sts. . e 9.80 7.20 2.00 1.47 1.05 0.62
Male-t As cccrcee eee 11.46 8.50 2.36 1.66 1esp 6.81
Male to iaiee rede 9.07 6.50 2.08 1.50 1.20 0.70
Malesia teinoherc ie: 8.50 Peli 1.64 1-7) 0.80
Males ts iacen seth e 12.38 9.25 2.45 1.70 1.30 0 84
Memalel co.cc 9.98 7.50 2.05 1.60 1.18 0.80
Memalere sss .5c ue: 9.45 7.00 1.97 1.46 1.14 Oni
HMemale sie e es eke 9.80 Teou 1.97 10535; Li22 0.67
Female’. .... i
PF CP
By {
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 239
VAR. AUDUBONI
is about the size of L. sylvaticus and has longer ears. The
dorsal surface is yellowish-brown mixed with black, under-
neath white. It is the darker phase of L. sylvaticus inhabiting
the moist regions of the Pacific coast from northern California
to San Diego, passing on the southern limit into var. arizone.
In color it is said to resemble ZL. trowbridget which is much
smaller and has no black upon the ear-tips and has a shorter tail.
The L. bachmani described by Waterhouse and tigured by
Audubon is regarded by Allen as simply the common variety,
an immature individual being the basis of the descripvion and
figures. The latter are very poor and are not distinctive.
L. artemisia is regarded as a synonym for L. nuttalli. The
name L. buchmani was applied later to the gray hare of the
Texas plains and it is therefore doubtful if that name is not
also a Synonym of the sage hare, L. nuttalli.
Size. A full grown female gives the following measurements:
Length, 18.50; tail, 3; nose to eye, 13; nose to ear, (open-
ing) 33; nose to occiput, 3.25; ears, 2%; fore foot, 14;
hind foot, 4.25. (No. 38, Jan. 1884). This it will be seen
from the appended schedule is not an unusual measurement for
adult specimens in Minnesota. Out of thirty-five specimens,
of which measurements are given in Allen’s Monograph of
North American Leporidz, but one reaches the length given
above. The wide range from which the specimens were
received makes it the more remarkable that that one should
be from Iowa, and the next largest (17.00 long) should be from
Wisconsin, and that the suit of specimens from Iowa should be
uniformly of large size. The average of the thirty-five speci-
mens falls below 15.45. A number of specimens from Kansas
fall below 18.50, showing, presumably, a transition to the west-
ern varieties.
Of L. sylvaticus, Baird gives following measurements of a
fresh specimen:
INO OE Nt OCT PUG seit seh 2 Svehla tx Eas ite its o's v.20
fetta MOVE oaigl in Mruiecee ta Ny OS Corer ce ie ee Se ws Pos
PRM NILES Lacs PROS Ushi ta Se ha aie eR ae i
COMER Oo 180018 46 |k pe RR eR OR A a 16.75
end of outsiretched lees. 6... .66 ebssge 26.75
aa tes ONO. GLSVOEEOWIEO Us tials WN! ol vwyen as Oe e's 2.00
Misi KenChOn maiteate ver OLAS faa ole eles Bite
/
240 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Horearm 6 1ge2s Slaw ew a alee ee tee oo OS
lbow to end of iclawsiie tess wae ween actrees 4.75
TiDi ay £5 thygestniek ares FSES, 2 EGLO Ey arais ete ahora eee 3.42
Hoel to Claws ii ii iecciat wen oe ote assole elays ae ee Je shy reel
This makes the total length..............0..06. 19.50
Or 1 in. more than our largest specimen.
Lepus americanus ERXL.
VARYING HARE. “WHITE RABBIT.”
VAR. AMERICANUS.
Lepus americanus ERXLEBEN, Syst. Reg. Animal., 1777.
GMELIN, Syst. Nat., i, 1788, 162. :
SHAW, Gen. Zo6]. Mam., iii, 1801, 202.
DESMAREST, Mammalogie, 1822, 351.
SABINE, Franklin’s First Journ., 1824.
RICHARDSON, App. Parry’s Second Voyage, 1825, 324.
Fauna. Bor. Am., i, 1829, 217.
Back’s, Arct. Land Exp., 1836.
FISCHER, Syn. Mam, 1829, 376.
BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vii,1837, 403; viii,
1839, 76.
DeKay, New York Zoél., i, 1842, 95.
WAGNER, Suppl. Schreber’s Siiuget., iv, 1844.
WATERHOUSH, Nat. Hist. Mam., ii, 1848.
AUDUBON and BACHMAN, Quad. N. A., i, 1849.
GIEBEL, Siiugethiere, 1855, 449.
BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.
GRAY, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d series, xx, 1867.
MAXIMILIAN, Wiegm. Archives, 1861.
Ross, Canad. Nat. and Geol., vi, 1867.
WELCH, Proc. Zo6]. Soc. London, 1869.
GILPIN, Proc. and Trans. Nova Scotia. Inst. Nat. Sci.,
iii, 1872.
Lepus hudsonius PALLAS, Nov. Sp. Glires, 1778.
BoppDARtT, Elench. Anim., i, 1784.
ZIMMERMAN, Pennant’s Arktische Zo6l., i, 1887, 96.
Lepus nanus SCHREBER, Siiuget., ii, 1792.
Lepus campestris HAYDEN, Am. Nat., iii, 1869.
DALL, Alaska and its Resources.
Lepus variabilis var. GODMAN, Am. Nat. Hist., ii, 1826.
Lepus borealis SCHINTZ, Synop. Mam., ii, 18465.
Lepus americanus var. americanus ALLEN, Monog. N. A. Rodentia, 1876.
“American Hare,” FORSTER, PENNANT, ETC.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. ; 241
VAR. VIRGINIANUS.
Lepus americanus BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vii, 1837; viii,
1839.
DEKAyY, WAGNER, AUD. and BACH., BAIRD, GRAY.
ALLEN, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zo06l., i, 1869.
HALL, Can. Nat. and Geol., vi, 1861.
Lepus virginianus HARLAN, Fauna Am., 1825.
FISCHER, Synop., 1829.
Doveuty, Doughty’s Cab. N. Hist., i, 1830.
BACHMAN, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vii, 1837.
Emmons, Quad. Mass., 1840.
Tuompson, Nat. Hist. Vermont, 1842.
Lepus americanus var. virginianus ALLEN, Monog. N. A. Rodentia, 1876.
VAR. WASHINGTONI.
‘Lepus washingtoni BAtRrD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vii, 1855; Mam. N
A., 1857.
CoorER, SUCKLEY, SUCKLEY and Gisss, Pacif. R. R.
Reports, 1860.
Gray, Ann. and Mag. N. H., 3d ser. xx, 1867.
Lepus americanus var. washingtoni ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist.,
xvii, 1875; Monog. N. A. Rodentia, 1876.
VAR. BAIRDI.
Lepus bairdi HAYDEN, Am. Nat., iii, 1869.
Lepus americanus var. bairdi ALLEN, Bull. Essex. Inst., vi, 1874; Proc.
Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xvii, 1875; Monog. N. A.
Rodentia, 1876.
Although I have copied the synonomy for the several varie-
ties of our common hare as given by Allen it must be admitted
that, save as to the last, it requires hair (hare) splitting nicety
to make out any distinctions which will notbe utterly invalidated
by individual variation. In general the southern L. americanus
has a less reddish cast of the summer pelage and the part of the
hairs which becomes white in winter is restricted. The period
during which the winter pelage is worn is shorter, but the varia-
tions in size are so insignificant as compared with individual
variation as to present no basis for remark. There is, of
course, the probability that the ultimate size of the northern
specimens will be found greater, but the facts thus far col-
lected give but negative results. Variety americanus in its
typical form does not enter the United States so far as known.
The var. washingtoni, though originally supposed to be much
smaller appears to be simply a more fulvous form with the
felage soft and full. Though this variety is said not to un-
dergo a seasonal change about Puget’s Sound, its pelage seems
elsewhere to have a deeper outer white zone in winter than the
previous varieties.
242 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Var. bairdi is not different in size and proportions from other
varieties of Z. americanus. ‘‘The most prominent distinctive
features in summer pelage are its pure white under-fur, the
long, black tips of the hairs and the white feet, and in winter
the tendency of the pelage to become pure white to the base.”
“This variety appears to be strictly an alpine form inhabiting
the snowy summits of the higher portions of the Rocky Moun-
tains.” Baird supposed that there were marked differences in
size especially of the tarsi to distinguish this from the other
varieties which are said by Allen not to obtain.
The following remarks must be understood to pertain to
Minnesota specimens simply unless otherwise stated:
It is unnecessary to devote space to a description of the.
habits of so familiar an animal. Chapters of every country
boy’s experience could easily be recalled by allusions to box-
traps and snares. The greatest feat of the creature is per-
formed with his feet, and the image of personified fear with a.
puff of feathery tail and a confused mixture of hurtling legs.
and pendant ears constitutes our idea ofthe hare. Its whole life
is one continual flight. Nevertheless there are quiet intervals.
when fragrant clover blooms and aromatic apple bark sooth the
fears. Although so timid, the hare actually possesses consid-
erable courage. A countryman having captured a leveret, was
employed in marking it by notching its ears, when he was inter-
rupted by the mother, who flew at him with singular courage and
struck so fiercely with her fore feet that she tore his hands sev-
erely. Being unable to release her young, she waited until he
liberated the little hare, with which she went off. The males are
quite pugnacious, waging fierce combats with their own spe-
cies. Billings gives an illustration in the case of specimens
confined with hares of other species. ‘‘The old males at this
period seemed to be animated with new courage; they had
previously suffered themselves to be chased and worried by
the common English rabbit, and even retreated from the at-
tacks of the gray rabbit, but now they stood their ground, and ~
engaged in fierce combats with the other prisoners and gener-
ally came off victorious. They stamped with their feet and
used their teeth and claws, and in the fight tore off patches of
skin and mutilated the ears of their former persecutors until
they were left in undisturbed possession of the premises.”
When frightened the rabbit will frequently strike the ground
with such force with its feet as to produce a considerable
pe:
4
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 243
sound, thus giving the alarm to the does much as the beaver
does with its tail.
The hare when close-pressed will take to water, concealing
itself in the herbage with only the nose exposed; it also swims
readily. Frequently these animals become a great pest, as
they peel and so destroy the young fruit-trees. This may be
in a measure prevented by painting the bark with tobacco de-
coction or other distasteful substance. The young of the hare
are able to see at birth. The leverets are suckled about three
weeks, while the natural life-time is perhaps ten years.
Famity HYSTRICID &.
Fig. 18, Sphingurus villosus WATERHOUSE, S. Amer. ’
244 BULLETIN NO. VIL.
The porcupines (carefully to be distinguished from hedge-
hogs) constitute a small family of rather large, clumsy and
indolent rodents which are conspicuous among their fellows
for the remarkable change which some of the long hairs un-
dergo. These become altered to form sharp quills which
usually are so armed with retrorse bristles as to make them
very perfect defensive weapons. The body is usually heavy
and low, the head short and blunt with heavy muzzle and
small ears. The form varies much and, in particular, the tail
may be short and bristly, or long, naked and prehensile. The
feet have naked soles and usually have the first digit reduced
on one or both pairs of limbs. The toes are usually armed
with very strong curved claws. The eastern porcupines are
terrestrial, living in burrows or cavities in rocks while on the
western continent they are more or less arboreal. The food
consists of roots, fruits, bark, green leaves and pulpy stalks
and, on occasion, almost anything edible. Like most vegetable
feeders they are very fond of salt and are as a,result of their
filthy habits, particularly liable to internal parasites.
The nasals are frequently very large ; the lachrymal obsoles-
cent; there is no preorbital process of the temporal as in
hares ; the zygomas are massive and short. There are four
molars in each jaw of similar form and size; the incisors are
large and smooth in front; the palate is excised between the
molars. Malar bone with no angular process below. There
are seven cervical, fourteen to sixteen dorsal, five lumbar,
three or four sacral and from twelve to thirty caudal vertebre.
The clavicles are poorly developed. There are but four mam-
mee in the female.
The porcupines are brought into relation with rodents in
general by a number of South American animals which com-
bine the spiny armature with rat-like or hare-like characters.
The family is very naturally divided into two groups or sub-
families as well by the diversity in habits as anatomical differ-
ences of the animals inhabiting the two hemispheres. The Hys-
tricine, or Old World porcupines, are terrestrial and a number
of anatomical peculiarities growing out of this habit are obser-
vable. The Synetherine, or American porcupines, are arboreal
and thus require more perfect clavicles and ordinarily pre-
hensile tails. The molars are rooted while the number of toes
is less, the digits being armed with hooked claws which serve
in climbing. The soles are tuberculated or roughened. The
a MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 945
North American species are, as might be expected, more like
the European types than those of South America.
As we have but asingle species in North America, instead
of amore extended discussion of the group it must suffice to
give a list of the described species and the above figure of
one of the most remarkable of the foreign types.
SUBFAMILY SYNETHERIN A
Clavicles perfect; molars rooted; toes 4-4 or 5-4; tail generally prehen-
sile; habit, arboreal. Western Hemisphere.
Genus Chetomys GRAY. Containing asingle species of rather slender
y form,with arat-like scaly tail. The malar boneis very broad, with a spur
above. C. subspinosus Gray, S. A.
Genus Synetheres F. CUvIER. The body is rather slender, clothed with
straightspines. The tail is scaly attheend only. Thetemporal region is
very broad and high. ‘The body is covered with spines except beneath,
where they are replaced by bristles. Theskull is greatly elevated between
the eyes.
S. prehensilis BRANDT, 8. A.
2, 3S. platycentrotus BRANDT, 8S. A.
? 3. 8. magna LUND. Fossils from Caverns of
? 4. §. dubia LUND.
? 5, SS. fossilis LUND. Minas Geraes.
Genus Sphingurus F. CuviER. Much as above but hairy below and
without the great elevation between the eyes.
x 1. S. villosus WATERHOUSE, S. A.
2. SS. pallidus WATERHOUSE, S. A.
3. S. melanurus WATTERER, S. A.
4, §S. bicolor TScHUDI, S. A.
5. 8. nove-hispanie WATERHOUSE, Mexico.
Genus Hrethizon F. CUVIER. (See beyond).
1. EH. dorsatus CUVIER, N. A.
2, EH. dorsatus var. epixanthus BRANDT.
SUBFAMILY HYSTRICIN A.
Clavicles imperfect; toes, 5-5; molars but partly rooted; tail, short;
habit, terrestrial or fossorial. Eastern Hemisphere.
Genus Hystrix LINN. Body short; head thick with blunt muzzle;
covered with very long erectile spines; tail inconspicuous.
1. H. cristata L., Europe and N. Africa.
H., hirsutirostris BRANDT, Syria, etc.
H. africe-australis PETERS, 8. Africa.
H., javanica CuVIER, Java, etc.
s 5. H. hodgsoni GRAY.
Genus Atherura M.G.CuvIER. Muchasin Hystrix, but with long ap-
pendaged tail and but four toes in front.
1, A. fasciculata SHAW, Siam.
2. A. macroura WATERHOUSE, Sumatra.
3 A. africana GRAY, Sierra Leona.
A number of fossil forms of more or less uncertain position might be
here included.
SECS
-
\
246 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Genus Erethizon F. CuvIER.
This genus may be distinguished from other American por-
cupines at once by its having five toes armed with strong claws
behind. The body is thick and bulky, the limbs being short and
oddly shaped, adapted for climbing and hanging. The tail is
short and covered all over with spines and bristles. The ana-~
tomical details are given beyond and it may be simply noticed
that the facial partof the skullis greatly elevated and the malars
are expanded anteriorly. The.molars converge anteriorly; the
bulle are very large and inflated, the infraorbital foramina
are of great size, The palate is ridged and ends opposite the
third molar. Although there is but a single species, two
marked geographical varieties are known, the first of these,
the Canada porcupine, once ranged over all suitable woody
districts from the Atlantic westward to the Saskatchewan and
southward into Virginia. Northward it is restricted by food
supply rather than the rigors of the climate and seems to be
co-extensive in its range with the timber belt. Toward the
west it does not extend so far south as eastwardly and occurred
in Ohio, Northern Michigan and Wisconsin and Northern Min-
nesota. Although well protected from the attacks of wild
animals, the porcupine falls an easy victim to man and has
neither the skill nor means to evade him. Thus it is that the
species is rapidly becoming extinct in settled parts of the
country. The western variety extends from the Pacific to
meet the Canada porcupine and southward along the moun-
tains to the Mexican line.
Erethizon dorsatus L.
CANADA PORCUPINE.
This animal seems to be less common within the limits of
our state than in portions of Wisconsin. Lumbermen of ex-
perience state that upon the Chippewa river it is a frequentand
annoying visitor to the lumber camps, where its swine-like
inquisitiveness leads it to break open and destroy provisions
which it can not eat. In Minnesota its distribution may
roughly correspond with that of the pine forests, yet nowhere
does it become more than locally frequent and, even where
measureably common, it is less frequently encountered than
Plate VII.
ERETHIZON DORSATUS. CANADA PORCUPINE.
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 247
‘would be naturally expected from its clumsy habit and slug-
gish nature. Our own personal acquaintance with the animal
is confined to the period of a visit to the St. Louis river in June
-and July. There upon the northern limits of pinery cutting it
may be seen at its best and is at home in the fullest sense. It
‘may be best to introduce the animal to the reader in the same
way that we formed its*acquaintance. Imagine, then, a few
hours before midnight, a birch canoe, with a flaming torch in
the bow, propelled quietly down the stream in the shadow of
the banks which are themselves brightly illuminated for some
distance ahead by our light. We are watching for the lumi-
nous eyes of the deer, which, startled in their feeding places
stand quaking at the sudden apparition. Our attention is
attracted by a most peculiar clattering sound—evidently the
teeth of some animal in very rapid motion, but more rapid and
louder than anything we had ever heard. The source of the
sound we areat first unable to make out, but again we startat the
sound of heavy feet and crackling branches. Some heavy
animal comes down to the water’s edge where the banks are
covered with a new growth of arrow-head leaf (Sagittaria)
succulent and green, for it is June and the receding waters
have but lately exposed the roots to the sun. The clatter of
teeth is again heard very loud and inexplicable until we make
out the gray form of a burly porcupine which at once starts
up the bank much as an overfed hog might do. A_ shot
brought the animal to the water’s edge where, after flounder-
ing about a little, it began to swim toward us evidently in a
vindictive mood. Another shot made it ours and we found it
an imense animal measuring over three feet from its blunt
muzzle to the end of the spiny tail. The stomach of this speci-
men, a full-grown male, contained nothing but the finely com-
minuted shoots of Sagittaria. On the same night at about
eleven o’clock we encountered a second individual which after
receiving a shot clambered. with comparative agility into the
top of a tall tree.
It should not be concluded from the above account that the
porcupine is strictly nocturnal. In the afternoon they may be
seen feeding along the meadows, using their four-clawed hands
with awkward cleverness in bringing branches or grass tufts
within reach of their mouths. If alarmed they clamber under
the overhanging banks, or under roots of upturned trees, draw-
ing the body together with the quills bristling, and there lie
in fancied security. Indeed, in such a position they are more
248 BULLETIN NO. VII.
difficult for the predacious animals which might attempt their
capture than ever was chestnut to the inquisitive squirrel.
Under ordinary circumstances the larger animals do not attempt
to capture the porcupine, but during severe weather game be-
comes so scarce that the lynx and panther are driven to sacri-
fice future happiness to the urgent need of food. The porcupine
makes a famous dish when once safely ‘‘peeled,” but sight and
even life itself is endangered in the process.
We have received specimens of Lynx rufus with the head
filled with quills, some of which penetrated the orbit. Such
specimens are usually lean and apparently in a famished condi--
tion. Even the panther is sometimes found killed by the shafts
of this critic among beasts.
Of course there is no truth in the current belief that the por-
cupine discharges its quills like a horrible animated gattling
gun, but it is said that by sudden lashings of its short tail quills
are fastened in the skin of its enemies. Once fastened, these
barbed quills penetrate with fearful pertinacity, every move-
ment of the body serving to drive them on.
It is not generally known that this animal is a good swimmer.
He even voluntarily crosses large rivers and, on account of the
lightness of the body, stands so far above the surface as to ap-
pear like a very large animal.
Although preferring the green inner bark of trees and new
shoots or succulent vegetable matter the porcupine is upon oc-
casion omnivorous. The taste of salt is greatly relished, and
pork skins and salt covered barrels are greedily eaten; even the
slight salty taste imparted by the hands attracts them, and the
implements of lumbermen suffer from their teeth. Indians re-
gard them, in their turn, as delicate food, but what the flavor
may be the writer has not ventured to discover.
Of the winter or breeding habits we can say nothing from per-
sonal observation. It is said by trustworthy witnesses that
during the very coldest weather porcupines sometimes spend
days and weeks suspended in the tops of high trees apparently
in a state of suspended animation.
It is stated that two young are produced at a birth (more
rarely three or four) and these are lodged in hollow trees or
like retreats until able to care for themselves. When startled
by the approach of man, they are said to utter cries like those
of a child.
The porcupine makes its nest in a ledge of rocks or in a
hollow log. Its young, which are but one or two in number,
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 249
_are born about the first of May and are very large, being act-
ually larger and relatively more than thirty times larger than
the young of the black bear at birth. Merriam says: ‘‘ May
1st, 1882, I shot at Big Moose Lake, a female porcupine which
contained a foetus that would certainly have been born within
two or three days. It weighed one and one-quarter pounds
avoirdupois (567 grammes), and measured in total length eleven
and one-fourth inches (285 mm.), the head and body measuring
about seven and three-fourths inches (just 195 mm.). It was
densely covered with long black hair, and the quills on its
back measured over half an inch (18 mm.) in length. The dis-
coid placenta measured two and one-quarter inches (57 mm.)
in diameter.”
The first mention of the porcupine which I have found in
works treating of animals from Minnesota is the following
from Carver’s Travels (p. 423) which, while rather more ac-
curate than most of his descriptions, contains several errors:
‘¥ \ AS = ZA
ARE ARRAS Sie WSR
Ban 2 NS actR A RQ a\\ a » ‘
Se IN i)
Mh i NN Ny : ‘a N Q \\ mS y }
=U “
\a
ANY
~
hah
j
-
Fig. 19. Bison europeus.
While a great deal has been written upon the genealogy of
the bison the diversity of opinion is very striking. Ruetimeyer,
Brandt, Lilljeborg, Vogt, Allen, Leidy and Schmidt have all
given attention to the subject without placing it beyond dis-
pute. It would seem most probable that the earliest bison
properly so-called was the gigantic B. latifrons which may have
had a circumpolar distribution. Since this species is found in.
America only thus far it may be that America is the true place
260 BULLETIN NO. VII.
of origin of the genus. Two species of smaller but still con-
siderable size then appeared, one in|Hurope the other in Am-
erica. B. priscus of Europe and B. antiquus of America may
reasonably be assumed as the forerunners of the existing
aurochs and the American bison. These differ from each other
apparently more than the two earlier species from which they
sprang.
The B. latifrons must have been of enormous size, the horns
being in the male not less than six feet long. The horn cores
at the base measure 20 inches, the forehead being over fifteen
inches wide. The existing remains were derived from Ken-
tucky, Texas and Mississippi, associated in some instances
with the mastodon and horse, as well as other extinct species.
Bison antiquus is known from quite a variety of remains, but
so imperfect are they all that it remains a question whether
they are not specifically identical with B. latifrons or perhaps
with the extinct European B. priscus. The evidence seems to
favor the existence of a species smaller than B. latifrons, but
still of greater size than our living species characterized by
larger proportional horn cores and other differences. The
remains referred to have been found in California, Alaska and
Kentucky, and in connection with extinct elephants, tapirs and
horses. For a discussion of the evidence bearing on these
matters, refer to Allen’s monograph, forming Part II, of Vol.
I, of the Kentucky Geological Survey Memoirs. It would be
of interest if it were possible to determine from what time our
modern species dates, yet, although the species is found fossil
in the bone caves of Pennsylvania and the deposits of Big-bone
Lick, Kentucky, we only can conclude that its remains are
always later than those of the mammoth and mastodon, and do
not reach a great antiquity. Prof. Shaler thinks it probable
that the bison did not co-exist with the mound-builders.
Bison americanus GMELIN.
Plate IV.
We rely in many details of the description upon that given
by J. A. Allen and refer the reader to his monograph for bibli-
ography.
An adult male measures about nine feet from the muzzle to
the root of the tail—thirteen and one-half feet to the end of the
tail. The female measures six and one-half feet to the inser-
Plate IV.
BISON AMERICANUS. AMERICAN BISON.
a o ¥ ls
eh Setyeeee” Wipalay hae be Sinker silo gee aw PY
a
Sect
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 261
- tion of the tail, and has a shorter terminal pencil upon the tail.*
The male stands nearly six feet high at the shoulder, includ-
ing the protuberance, or ‘‘hump,” which is so characteristic a
factor in the ensemble of the animal. The female is twelve
inches shorter and is but four and a half feet high at the hip,
while the male is four and two-thirds. Brows Datn.acotonae atau 33
(Nycticejus) crepuscularis.. 20 Buftalo; mountain. .:- 2 see 261
(Lasiurus) noveboracensis. 29 WOO, Sac ccGwuwes aie 261
WA CHETUGA) acd cocci sare eet ecu 245
ATMOONE: Hooter ee 245 st
AASLOULA TA ceiastmels gente tras 245 =
MACTOUTAS i Se ee eee 945 Calomys eevee ste eceece cece 175,176
Pobophy Tax. + hemsusearcu ae te 43 Canada porcupine ........... 246
DAS VAS 3 eierite atte ce ean Sa a! SE ee te 14 Canidg je eb as 0 6 0 © aie ele: ale mie tee ws 60, 74
ATIG 2s. suice'e.s datergeies eae 74, 77
BB AWCALCTICUS scteere sis elite 76
. AUTCWS cee e sesame enone 76
BRAG ET sg ows uals e's acsiesieieinsine ys 86 CANCLIVOFUS..... ccc cece 76
African honey........... 83 GING Oren Lake eee 76
BLAZIN. cco act ee 83 familiaris): 2 sees. eee 76
MEO POAT wie Sinn sis g cleletetanate 83 GOURD pin elo Hem ra Tic Paes SOR 79
HOMEY... .... 2.2. eee eee eees 84 hoddépylax iis. ae e205 on 76
HAS RSS ELTUG sph jn nye negiis Eeeioes eclats a ote 136, 139 TWDAEHS; vas babe eee 76
ASSANIB? ABUU PAs o's «cet eee 137 aGranist etek eee 76, 79
HIS) aon Btguomioadldomeuoauor 19 lupaster: i lace, te ee 16, 76
DIOWD...... 0. see e sees eee 3 lupites..0; eee 76, 77
GEntLIONNOLe see eee 22, lupus VAL. rus =e 78
form of the skull of...... 23 mesonelags?. So. tees 76
geographical distribution nubilas::3 2! 42a 78
Of... eee eee reese eens 25 OchivOpus ee ee ee 79
BYOB sy oiait. You nidexseas ale ote 31 pallipes.:.<-ccn eee ee 16
little brown.............. 36 Variapilis so. peeee 7
TED eee es ee eee e eee esas 28; CupyDatarncctess os cee ee 230
silver-haired.............. ato” Curcalotl. vtec oe ee ae 101
DWLLEG ibis 5 Giaie!S/ susie, «seis 18h 27 Caribou, woodland.........., 274
CAM a tel Ton sine ate eee 133° Garnivotaucee oe eee 57
black. ......2..-..+. neces. 146 dentition of. 8s. ioe 59
ESULTIM orecwre ot en ate\ a tous ldo yareeheletotate 136 Carphophaga ES Seay TN ies Sty 2 23
SCAN Tears Sick cette sia ccice MR cles 170 Casoryx AS Pig sh ee aa ome Wr apg ET «ens O57
PANACEA erat A ourons » ple lo's 208 CAagtarcn teers tein 17
BMNGUTONG, «6 5 esa ea cieet on a ae 62 fibers. 4io0 33 e eee 170
BISOD...2 0.202 2ceeeeseeeendens ADS. CAStOnIGES “savas ascent eet ae 169
americanus ......+..+++.- 260 fossil remains of........ 169,170
antiquus................. 260" Oat, cracle oan 24
Lepus americanus ......... ie nol Macroscelida .........0+-:00. 40
americanus.........000 336. 241 Macroscelides typicus........ 38
americanus var.americanus ’ 240 NET CH Oe ReaD Shooter ter 14
americanus var. bairdi.... 241 IAI siocr ene ce ai atd aie wach iss 62
americanus var. virginianus 241 Marten..... wesc seceees sed esi LOE
americanus var.washingtoni 241 Martes americana. .....-..055- 104
- aquaticus...... gee Fay 233 CONMUETSIS HU. rs seis sivtn ial ois veiais 103
Paiaaniaiaiscc.. sik Ce. 239 Meadow mouse.......... eal 199
2S Sea aca ii en seal Megaderma.......sesssee sees 21, 24
ee eee 237 Megadermata....... sects tisetas 24
auduboni.....---- +». hte Gee: SRDS reso Sanna a
ees hgiee 237 ae tin wae vile ae molys lavivians 99
ARTIS) ete a ctetnais\e cierere eases Oa, OO
296 BULLETIN NO. VII.
MSIE ooo cop meine nee tecereet 84, 86 * \ Mastelarr sc Jhc%,c 10.011 eteje creer 102
Mellivora ......s.eeseeee eens 85 AMETICANA® } sie bes oa ee 102, 104
Mellivorin®.........s2000 sees 84 CONAAENSIS. 2.6 vesccesene 103, 118
Mephitic weasel)... 66.5 disecens 93 CHOOTONG Avidielardiis «\snivuewinle 108
ae ea Mtoe cei ok Cole een 85, 87 CHIANG «:'y he dopneiege 99
TROCTOUDG eae wrote: canoe teres 94: - sae dein Wises 2 stage see 104
TALS P MNGUCAL og se are stele she letalets 92 UGOPUS Treks +5 sh iAaleralereta teats 104
mephitica var. occidentalis. 94 LUbTeoCeDRGLG. 0 2ncinw wane 118
THEROMEIAS. oso shies ee 96 LET COVA iain 5 ist eyes ordi opt iota 118
PRESOTIIEVOS hiciaie afore ctotelsiereiatels 93 MIMVAT DOS esc oa) sos Mey aieusuerorerone 102
OCCUUENEOMS nis cielelaioiteis telete is 93 TUG TLCS 5 Aarne. sae tatoo steusie eye ENS 104
DOPE Sd ahh die isthe’ vis Slaton 94 MELANOTAYNCHA.. 1.22 ceeeee 103
VATIANS VAY. CRINDA.... . 00. 93 MUNG As wie sveoieiheheveanteeree 118
eee aa fae ia tele Ae eae 256 PUTO, cio xis a »o a eels aes 103
Teen ola ler ts A eee e en oe e 208 TLUDOUUESS eave cach sre saber amen teeta lee 106
springing MIE ithe deso otareye 217 DCTURGIRU soit.) omnia caine 102, 103
eae TUBS se v's win Vowel ; 190 WOUSPLUL << | 0's 0 sais 5 salen 106
HI epee Paectouses Gisteie terete clatscehetetors 106, 118 OUSON Shallow sis DYotehtsee ee 118
IMGT IRERIGS s c.cdc5 oatsew atectelemeree 122 DULQOTIS ue vatSic cause Soles et 106
Minnesota, mammalian popu- DUD UU sions a(cjeniealah seid se 104
PALGION Ol. deer, aisiohees 15 RDUPTAIUS sai 60s 224
BULUOUECUS su :5' 2 oss wieder 178 Ochetodon....... SE re aaasir SF 175
sylvaticus var. noveboracen- Onychomiys<: tcc pee eens 175, 176, 208
GEe Seek ake aS rail alate lets Mies 178 leutOVAStEr < ib siswae sts 205, 208
MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.
leucogaster var. torridus. 209
leucogaster var. pallidus. 210
5 0 0 AEA 175, 176
Osteological peculiarities of
EEPOTidD sancti. acs
GT TY tad A me 75
AMET ALOGIS xen ech s beets 76
SPEOSPETMOPHIUNYS soci cic as ed «i 164
BTS Moos hole ctawiciatie'c sitehnw ane 85, 128
S@dis cies teenie Pe icecke sles 85
NT DGS) Olea ioc scetetrere shcue ee a: 129
OR INTCLOTUS Ss «s,s os0 0s 010502 175, 176
Las
IBACOWICELMVA A a =< cise resp + o's)» 254
ESC MUMIA cya tetd icts Sraiciortr eta so; ‘sie! 43
FEA OC ASTON ys 0s. cceieys ofessus) ¢ s.sie: 3 170
ESOC) 231
Panda. +. .: 137
Panthers, common ‘fallacies
COMCCD UDG. «tsi 5 ison
AM AGOXURUS). oc ate acess fale sieres 61
AT ATIETY:Xe <'. cc's) soles ce OS
Me PE a EMS ys ces is o.slate 5 0/402 wins 158, 252
rae O MONO Me hs cise apres < a's Sites’ a's Ad
POMC alate axtis ce spices sin seimco 255
(PRC) he oa en ae 217
POTEET LIS ts ahs laFecrelallcleleveuetars’ ass 257
IPG OMIVE yin oes wsi's. 6 tine eee 206
AMBUOLUSirersteens sislalereieve ace 206
CUE BA CUS A nisrcistaiclelanctarsieceve.sie 206
CANT entre grata ws we 4 one ess elew nid 103
VMOU Ayah inci s as <'elmesie ees 21, 25
MV LOM CLEDRIS . a/c uss «ss ..00 ae 25
BEV OS POTWVA. c/s,-0 o10 0.010 00 /o10,5,0:8 25
PSIHV NV OSTOMIATAS + icie6 vee iciec o-2 24
VLOGS TOME wo css oar 25, 26
LEUIEE ae een 154, 230
MICO reee estas wate ‘s. She uve said ois" 14
BEALS EUV eed chrs ci eha.'a o's atqhov bie fe ice 206
LADY CONGONTY Sine «veteide om ests: 217,
ESE bY BOWES av nie ars dinicts ioe. ete tals 257
PIESLATCUOULYS: 44 cies. 2 oh acers's an lbe
UROLECO Uamernts fasainicrotet eh dike bie aiataeve 93
POLY AE UY LA sviste:s'ovrace's entte’s,a10!bip 258
OVC PANIC ie os coe sieeve sn sia ee 244
COMAGE) codices. wane af a09% 246
MERI UL Ss Seeta Salads oh saa Sieg! Bis aaa ag 256
IPTAITTO NANG cin tacloieetereielas see 233
Prionodon gracilis........... 61
Prochilus labiatus........... 136
IPTOCYV OM as ad aie siet-ca aelgaree 136, 138, 139
CAMECTEVOLOUS <\cissese ce sets 139
Hernande7ziis seen ciel oe 139
V@OUOI crest oral eta tietersenae shat 139
SET ODOLESE: cys! stecisvetivoien'e eens 62
Pseudostoma bursarius........ 224
MSMERIOCHITUG: . oo vrc0 aeeraas eos 24
MOC VONE ta '. ss pe sye ciolniee wicva)s 24
NEN Soop iss, 5 0s 0 a aphataierd od 154
PPCTOPOGIA®. .2...5..206. 23, 24, 26
PIE, We vis.oe oo 2 ene no nens 21, 24
“W10G).. 515.0 6S ASR IO ICS nOS 66
297
EWUOLIMSS ee ont kes eater 102, 106
COPLES Usain bots « opemietaetees Pe nT AUIS
CHOGTONI. os Snis. «niente 106, 108
SUMINEA sci can oe oes 107, 108
RGNCUA ae es eae ae eerste 108
longicaudata........... 108, 117
Mitreolat. oes uke aeeoe 118
NOVEDONOACEISIS s+ cnieieecie ner 108
PIUBSCLUUS ke, aes diareane. kth 106
TLCMOTOSONG! ick Stein dois 108
VISOMT eis conieta termite ete 118
WU GATS. <2 skh A weneer 106, 107
Q
Gaia yj Ouiin..iclose atten ee 101
GUinaQue oso. Soe A ay ae 93
=e
Rabbit:common 2... 600.68 236
Wh be Sitesi aeeeraetio oes 240
aCeOOns.:. 2.628 die. ieet 135, 188, 139
Rangifer tarandus........ 274
Ratelus capensis. .-........... $88, 88
Hed DAs: 5 We. ke eee eae 28
Reindeer American.......... 274
TReiGA TOU ONS chen'ic 40+ Ge ees 175
H e(2) 0) NU 2 oes Nari regr wey ate ae 14
ICV MENG necscieiere ke nee eed 81
Ethinaster cristatus.... 0.0.76. 2. 55
FOR GICHUMOALOS shai s 2.0 haa'actare 55
TIVO LUTUS Hotere scare arcrcte Sketetet 55
Bhinolophid@. ...:..0..... 23, 24, 26
Ebi Ol ODHUSe. ti. ii22's +2 treks 25
ECV OPOUIAT oi ¥.0 cn. cece ee ates 24
Rocky mountainchipmunk.. 162
PVCU cae sence stn deltas 151
concluding remarks on
distribution of ........ 252
dentition: of, «: 200... age 152
fossil remains of......... 153
FUMIE GA. | ostciersae de sb eg 258
=
se ble, Ameri¢anv: ) 1.2.2. %nas 104
PEE CCOMMVIG LOY. o7 oslo tates 221, 222
Saccophorus bursarius albus... 224
BASIL GAA. oe iccte ode eases 247
BCA LODS AN a ofcis is atanlew sxe ot hae 50, 51
CONEUS., ie where stare ahetate oi alae ie 53
BOMALICUS ve cen eaurem hye 2 51,52
AQUOLICUS....-.-...seeeees 54
aquaticus var.argentatus 54
UEGENUOUUS valetatavsio.c) POR AF ye
298 BULLETIN NO. VII.
Scluromorpha. :..: -...i0 VULPES cia Cah cicada cclehe o oetaathe tie 74, ay
ALGSTUGAUUSt were setisereereets 1
a BVADICS js abit paCtmNI Ga oon -
COLSACE tectias nests atlvatet ste T
Urocyon eee es wee ee wre ee ere se eee 81 decussatus VAN es (Sims POL Gay ats 81
cinero-argentatus........ 82 lagopus’..../....s%- SO en 76
Urotrichus Cec ccc wcec eee rescece 50 TAC THUS oe mie eee terete 80
Ursidee mists Sele) uel sie bibielv'e eva 60, 135, 136 magellanicus A de Sy 76
UYSin®. «2.0 -- eee eee cece eee 136 VElOK Gs sa Seah A eee 76, 80
Ursus. TOPIC O OO COT OOO OO 136, 145 virginianus La aS Shy SN Sey 76
AMETICANUS «2.0 0se+ seen 146 UUTGUVIANUS. «ais s seu aoa
ATUEEOS Beto) acc" 5''\Polas ai eho ...- 145, 147 Witlarinnete ou a a betes 80
MEM g OAS, 9 oa sila chaeinm s/4.0.0.0.8 99 ALES eee rok fae eee 76
LOLOL. «1... esse eee ee teens 139 TRUDE sa Ae oa Nees 76
WATSCUS wontons stats volo, a efarsvos os 99
MANATU TNS eters t)6eye\cele's.< a shale) aie storeia> 34
Sas ead noctivagans... a =
NOVCOOTACENSIS...0vcsces oe
phaiops ig ee a epee ee 33 BY leer em eh arent bo tearthn Wyereie eG 258
DTS MOMUR os. weay oie Semen tae 31 rz
eee en cheisceansrerer starch A
PU LOSESSUTIVILG ws 2 <.4 ainiota eras EEE eat PS, Wnt erie 17. 218
aaa ate ee ae ie
Subulatus.......-++.+.... 36 WUGSOMIUE os... venues ed 154, 218
EUS ccs 2 sya: 0s Rpuriata os 2 fit a eR ee 61
UPSNUS. vee e rere scene es SW - MGRN cS ta,2h seca 3s peste aus 84
Vespertilionidw.............. Saas MSTA Es Pekan dys Novae ke 84
Index of Authorities Cited and Quoted.
= Page
Allen, J. A., Synopsis of North
AIMELIGAN SCIUML..5 son. c's eo 2 + 155
TULL Red UOC Gone ok eae Sam 1164, 167
solo, Tea hoes Ee a ee ee aa
quoted.. 105, 146, 237, ‘265, ‘268, ‘269
Alston, quoted.. 217
Audubon, quoted, “EU, 114, 115, 131
2 gigi ¢ ers O COE o Eee 133, 28
Audubon and Bachman, quoted 125
TS UIIGAY alain A I os al oe ea 205
Baird, Prof. 8. F...242, 96, 146, 232
BI wins so horde cies xls ec , 209
PAM UOe he acs aeile SEN aisles beceuis 28
Bell, quoted........... 107, 132, 134
cited batt bac ee SRO ee aa 130
BPEMUPIC H Bie, C WW stays ant.s pa she's 0,2 ole aie 146
Bennett, GeOEmte: aira htae as 132
EST eU IRIAN kccvertie «chested, sa cieioioe oles 146
IBGtPGEA, PIGIre o.oo. seen 265
Wie eTIRE Meets nae ote code sas 0 ete 259
PSIDOIETR ee a aere hat ons ati eee 207
Wanileld, D.C. Af .85 ces 28, 28
Bete IW lege ai acca aah + Giers ste adn 249
7 UCU 68, 73, 98, 101, 216
Be RR Fae onardisik eho hae aie wat oe 264
Caton, Judge, J. D,. 28,2, 279, 280 28
Cooke, Prof. W. Ww. SAN 3 Ste 3,
Coues, Dr. Elliott, cited, 80, 96, 109
Dee. Meidosten ests | 117 129; ‘206, 209
quoted, 86, 88, 89, 92. 100, 108, 117
Habits of otters, 129; tabu-
lar statement of Murine 175
Dentition of Vesperimus,
177, 179, 192, 1938, 194, 195,
A Aa ay Se 201, 207, 224
AOI GTS pes LO leticearaiecsete Sa ren acide 28
Davis, Wm T., quoted on ves-
TUE SA wit vita <0 4 om sche css 188
Dawson, Dr. Geo M...........- 265
Dodge, Col., quoted........ 262, 264
1IKG. ORS Aone oe AE UC rne as 170
Gari So res On ape eye ce cis cons 207
Gelder QUTOUCGE, 22a: senceic ois cathe 174
Gibson, Mr, quoted. ... 2.4... 0: 134
Gill, Dr., synopsis of sub-fami-
lies of Mustelid#............ 84
PpamMan, QUOTE, 6.6... 0... eee 130
RBI Soh arash eek eee 146
Hallock, Charles, quoted....... 120
Herrick, C.L., quoted...... 212227
Herrick, 8 Judson, quoted .212, 227
Hiskey, W. O., quoted on ves-
UC El cca eee eave se eet 187
Page.
Howell, M. A., Jr., quoted..... 118
BOY faeces aces eee ea eae 191
Jillson, Mr, quoted............ 168
Keennieoubasgiivn. cates caste 180, 191
Leidy, sOsuek acres. csr at 259
DLiltjeboresc. 2 22s. cence ose 259
Linceum, G., habits of species
OL SORGWE al We te vin daiod. tants 42
Lockwood, Dr. Samuel, quoted
ONGVESPE MlGeleea as oe ase sere 181
MeChesney, Ir. Con. ogres 225
MacGillivray, Wm., quoted.... 109
Merriam, Dr. C.H., some com- |
mon fallacies concerning pan-
TICTS2 cvs ee cewehiceee er oe eee 69
quoted, 97, 104, 116, 180, 197,
BOK Ae ae at, 249, 160, 204, 206, 211
Middendorih:..... @. cceecorks wee
Mivart, St. George.......... G55. Ml
Morgan, Capt., Beaver and His
Woke uae ke 170
INGlan, PamIeS:. ./. > 4 ee er es cate 264
ONVEMB ee icina eos noe ease 224
Parker, DrodieS., quoted: .5.. +: &9
ROPER Adee steele toes toe ree 269
CUTIES Rete hin cic. eres Me cede Mt cra 207
ne H., quoted on minke-
MACS ere re ace ts, Ao trae slates 122
Richardson. Sir JONG s. cecesee
Gubbed ais. tens. 4 108, 114, 115, 130
Roberts, Dr. V. S., quoted, 116,
SER seed Si cote ICONS orckens EM 126, 162
RUS Him OVC Es cra ce ee o «ote Petia 259
Ryall, bins HS Gia'ss.0,. Oxo weeis 181
Sayles; [ras quoted... siccseae 160
CHM tics sot Masago seuss 259
Shaler IN. Sy) E90...