Accessions r%JL 4Saolf oSo. GIVEN BY fyjj^jkhhr. Cjf \JoaacjaM(aMI % ]k >-! U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ^DIVJ&W OF ORNITHOLOGY ANT) MAMMALOGY NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA No. 1 [Actual date of publication, October 2f>, 1889] Revision of the North American Pocket Mice By Dk. C. Hart Merjriam WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1 8 8 9 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DIVISION OF ORNITHOLOGY AND MAMMALOGY NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA No. 1 [Actual date of publication, October 25, 1 869 J Revision of the North American Pocket Mice By Dr. C. Bart Mkrriam WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1889 u^A/)l i£-£X-C/ CONTENTS. Page- Letter of transmittal v Announcement IV Preliminary Revision of the North American Pocket Mice (genera Perognathus et Cricetodipus auct. ), with descriptions ot new species and subspecies, and a Key to the known forms. By Dr. C. Hart Merriam 1-29 in IT. S. Department of Agriculture, July 3, 1SS9. Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith tbe first of a series of faunal papers to be published, under your direction, in the form of a serial entitled North American Fauna. The present communica- tion consists of a revision of the North American Pocket Mice (including descriptions of twelve new species and three new subspecies), and is based largely upon material collected in Dakota, Nebraska, Utah, and Arizona by Mr. Vernon Bailey, an energetic and enthusiastic natu ralist now employed ?sa field agent of the Division. Respectfully, C. Hart Merriam, Chief of Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy. Hon. J. M. Rusk, Secretary of Agriculture. V ANNOUNCEMENT. The Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy is engaged in mapping the geographical distribution of birds and mammals, in addition to the study of their economic relations. The purpose of this work is to as- certain the boundaries of the natural fauual areas of North America. The original information on which the maps are based is collected mainly by special field agents employed by the Division; a smaller portion is contributed by voluntary observers. In the progress of the work many new facts are obtained which ought to be put on record for the benefit of other workers in this department of science. It is not unusual to find new species in the collections nude by the field agents of the Division, and such species must be named and assigned their proper systematic postion before they can be discussed intelligently. It is evident that the results of the investigations of the Division are of importance to two distinct classes of readers — farmers and natural- ists. It is deemed desirable, therefore, to publish such of the results as are of use mainly to those engaged in scientific research separately from those of a more purely economic character. The publication of the economic material being already provided for (and appearing as bulle- tins and reports), it has been decided to publish a series of faunal papers, under the title North American Fauna. This publication will con- tain, in addition to the faunal papers proper, such technical matter as results from the study of the material collected or as may be necessary to an intelligent understanding of the reports which follow. No attempt will be made to issue the separate numbers at regular intervals, but each number will bear date of actual publication. The present is the first of the series. VII No. 1. NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. October, 1889. PRELIMINARY REVISION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN POCKET MICE (Genera PEROGNATHUS et CRICETODIPUS auct.) WITH DESCRIPTIONS OB NEW SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES AND A KEY IO THE KNOWN FORMS. By Dr. C. Hart Merriam. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. The present contribution toward a revision of the North American Pocket Mice is the outgrowth of a recent attempt to identify a large num- ber of specimens for the purpose of mapping their geographical distri- bution. The results wen' wholly unexpected. Only six species were previously recognized. This number is here increased to eighteen; three subspecies also are described, and several well known names are shifted to forms other than those to which they have been heretofore commonly applied. The material at hand is far more extensive* and of better quality than that accessible to any previous writer; at the same time many large areas in the West still remain unrepresented in col- lections. Tbe present revision of the group is by no means exhaustive — it is intended merely as a foundation for future study. Several problems in synonymy remain to be worked out in the light of material yet to be collected, and additional species remain to be discovered. The region between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacitic coast has not been so thoroughly explored as to bo barren of new forms; and Mexico, if I maybe allowed the prediction, will furnish a number of species now un- known, some of which will shed much light on the affinities of the group and the interrelations of its principal subdivisions. * The present study is based on about 170 specimens, of which l'^O are in my own collection and about 50 in the U. S. National Museum. 944— No. 1 1 1 2 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. . [So. 1. HISTORY AND NOMENCLATURE, i Maximilian, Prince of Wied, was first to discover arid describe a pocket mouse from North America. In 1839 he published an excellent description of a species collected by himself on the Upper Missouri River, near the mouth of the Yellowstone. He named it Perognathus fasciatus—both genus and species being new.* In 1848 Peale described a second genus and species, from Oregon, under the name Cricetodipus parvus.] In 1852 Woodhouse described a pocket mouse from San Francisco Mountain, Arizona, naming it Perognathus penicillatus. % In 1855 Baird added another species, Perognathus Jlavus, basing his description on a specimen from El Paso,§ Texas (but afterwards con- fusing with it specimens from widely remote localities). In 1857 Baird described two more species, P. hispidus, from northern Mexico, and P. monticola, from western Montana. || In 186S Gray attempted, though with ill success, to describe two ad- ditional species, which he named Abromys lordi (gen. et sp. nov.), from British Columbia; and Perognathus bicolor, from Honduras. ff The for- mer has not been since collected; the latter, as shown by Alston, "is neither a Perognathus nor a native of the subregion" (Central America), but is a Heteromys, and came from Venezuela. (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 5th series, vi, 1880, 118, 119.) Excluding UP. bicolor^ then, as not belonging to the group at all, the seven species already mentioned are all that have been formally de- scribed. In 1875 Cones provisionally proposed two additional names (mollipi. losus and longimembris),** suggesting their adoption in case the auimals to which tliey were applied should prove different; from the species under whose names they were placed (P. monticola and parvus, respect- ively); thus making a total of nine specific names proposed up to the present time. In 1857 Baird separated the pocket mice into two sections or sub- genera, Perognathus and Cricetodipus. He characterized Perognathus as the larger of the two, with larger ears and a distinct lobe to the autitragus, and with the soles entirely uaked ; Cricetodipus as smaller, with smaller ears, without any lobe to the antitragus, and with the posterior portion of the sole hairy. ft He assigned no cranial characters to either of these subgenera. * Nova Acta Acad. Caes. Leop. Carol., Nat. Cur., xix, 1839, 368-3/4, pi. xxxiv. t Rept. Mam. and Ornith., U. S. Expl. Expd., Wilkes, vm, 1848, 52-54. X Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila., 1852, 200. $ Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phiia., 1855, 332. || Mammals N. Am., 1857, 421-423. II Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud., 1868, 202. **Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1875,296,305. tt This was done on the assumption that Peale's Cricetodipus parvus was the same as the small animal from southern California, here, called P. longimembris, which see. October, 1880.] KEVISION OF THE GENUS PEKOGNATHUS. 3 In 1868 J. E. Gray named a genus Abromys, from an animal collected in British Columbia by Lord. The only character mentioned by Gray as distinguishing his genus Abromys from the genus Perognathus is the character of the fur, which he stated to be soft in Abromys and harsh or hispid in Perognathus. In 1875 Coues raised Cricetodipus to full generic rank and pointed out differential cranial characters by which it might be readily sepa- rated from Perognathus, to which latter genus he referred Abromys as a synonym. With characteristic sagacity he suspected that the small species without lobed antitragus might not belong to Peale's genus Cricetodipus at all, and therefore provisionally suggested the genetic and specific name Otognosis longimembris for the Fort Tejon animal, which he described under the head of Cricetodipus parvus. This was done on the supposition that the generic name Perognathus Max. Wied belonged to the largest species, with lobed antitragus, while in reality the contrary is true, as will be shown directly. Otognosis Coues, there- fore, becomes a synonym, pure and simple, of Perognathus. Having received a number of specimens of so-called Cricetodipus favus from the region of the Upper Missouri, near the month of the Yellowstone, some of them taken within a few miles of the very spot where Maximilian procured his type of Perognathus fa sciatus, and being unable to secure any reliable record of the occurrence of Perognathus fasciatus of Baiid and subsequent authors further north than Nebraska, I turned to Maximilian's original description, which is very full and exact, and is accompanied by a colored plate of the animal, natural size, and by figures of the skull and teeth and tables of measurements. It allows no room whatever for difference of opinion as to what his ani- mal really is— it is the Cricetodipus flavus (in part) of recent authors, my owu specimens from the Upper Missouri region agreeing in the minutest detail with his careful description. This discovery unfortu- nately renders necessary a total change in the nomenclature of the group. Cricetodipus of Baird and Coues becomes a synonym, pure and But in reality C. parvus oi Peale was a very different auimal. His description was based on a Biagle specimen, which must have been very young, as may lie seen from the following : (1) Both the Latin diagnosis of the genus and the English descrip- tion which follows begin with the statement that the head and body were "nearly eqnal in size," and further on he speaks of "its singularly large head, which equals its body in hulk." (2) The molars are said to have -'six rounded tubercles on each." (3) The dental formula is given as follows: '•Incisors, jj; canine, \\\\\ molars, ;; \ —16" (and later on in the same description be states that he found "rudiments of a fourth molar tooth in each side of the lower jaw, which would eventually have replaced the front ones, already much worn"). (4) " Lips large, tumid ; " which would indicate ft Bncking young; and (5) the relative proportions of head, body, and feet. The most, important measurements, reduced to millimeters, are : Head and body, 48; head from nose to occiput, )i'.i ; tail, 58; hind foot, 20.5; metatarsus. 13. It is perfectly evident from the above that Pe ale's Cricetodipus parvus could not have, been one of the smaller species at all, but must have been a very young indi- vidual of one of the larger species, possibly the Pcrofliiatltu* molUpilosuQ of Cones 4 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 1. simple, of Perognathus, and the large animal from the plains, called by these authors Perognathus fasciatus, is left without a name. I have named it, therefore, Perognathus paradoxus.* During the half century since the publication of Maximilian's de- scription of Perognathus fasciatus the species has never been known by its right name. Baird, in 1857, placed it in his subgenus Gricetodi- pus (under the specific name fiavus). Twenty years later (in 1877) he was followed by Coues, who raised Gricetodipds to full, generic rank. It is rare, indeed, that a species is thus separated further and further from itself, until it comes to be placed in another genus from that orig- inally framed for its reception. The aim of the present paper is to establish certain types, and to correct certain errors of nomenclature and synonymy. Hence the descriptions have been based principally on type specimens;! and no attempt has been made to determine the limits of sexual and individual variation, or to discuss other interesting questions which will be treated fully in- a subsequent communication. CLASSIFICATION AND KEY TO SPECIES. The twenty-one species and subspecies of Perognathus here described may be arranged in two principal divisions or subgenera according to their natural affinities. Unfortunately, no dependence can be placed upon external characters, such as size, the presence or absence of a lobed antitragus, the hairiness of the sole, or the possession of a crested penicillate tail, none of these peculiarities being exclusively associated with the members of either subgenus, although heretofore they have been credited with even generic significance. The classification here proposed is based solely on cranial characters. The teeth furnish excellent specific characters, but none of subgeneric value. SUBGENERA. Perognathus (proper). Mastoids largely developed, projecting behind plane of occiput ; interparieta, shield-shaped or pentagonal ; mastoid side of parietal longest; audital bullae meeting or nearly meeting anteriorly below basisphenoid. * Professor Baird had but few specimens before him when he wrote his great work on the Mammals of North America, in 18.r>7. It is not strange, therefore, that be fell into one or two errors of identification, particularly in view of the enforced haste in which his manuscript was prepared. His most serious error, and one in which he has been blindly followed by subsequent writers, lay in referring the largest species of the group (P. paradoxus of the present paper) to Maximilian's Perognathus fasciatus. He noticed the great discrepancy in size, but thought it due to age. t Of the twenty-one species and subspecies herein formally defined, no less than nineteen have been described from the actual types, twelve of which are in my own collection and seven in tbe United States National Museum. Of the remaining two, one (P. fasciatus), has been described from a duplicate type (t. e., a specimen from the original type locality) ; tbe other (P. fiavus) from a specimen taken about 400 miles from the type locality, Baird's type having been lost. This is the only one concern- ing which there remains any doubt. October, 1889.] REVISION OF THE GENUS PEROGNATHUS. 5 Chatodipus* Mastoids moderately developed, not projecting behind plane of occiput; inter- parietal broadly pentagonal, or strap-shaped ; mastoid side of parietal not longest ; audital bulla? separated anteriorly by full width or nearly full width of basispheuoid. The species comprising the subgenus Perognathus, excepting P. for- mosus alone,constitute a very natural and compact group. P. formosus agrees with the others in cranial characters, but differs from them widely in external peculiarities. The subgenus may be conveniently divided into two minor groups or sections as follows : 1. Tail vertebra I longer than head and body ; tail heavily crested ; ears very long; soles completely naked; pelage coarse Formosus group. 2. Tail at most only slightly longer than head and body ; never crested ; ears short or moderate ; soles more or less hairy ; pelage fine Fasciatus group. The species comprising the subgenus Chcetodipus naturally fall into four minor groups or sections, which may be characterized as follows : A. Occiput truncated posteriorly. (a) Hind foot long atid narrow: 1. Tail always crested-peuicillate ; interparietal more than twice as broad as long ; no supra-orbital bead Penicillatus group. 2. Tail never crested-penicillate; interparietal less than twice as broad as long; a distinct supra-orbital bead (largest forms known). Paradoxus group. (6) Hind foot short and oroad : 3. Tail not crested-penicillate Hispidus group. B. Occiput bulging posteriorly: 4. Tail crested-penicillate ; ears very long Californicus group. list of species and subspecies herein described. 1. Fasciatus 1". Fasciatus flavescens. . . 2. Flavim 3. Bimaculatus 4. Longiiuembris 5. Apache )■ Subgenus Perognathus (proper). 6. Inornatus 7. Monticola 8. Oli vaceus 8a. Olivaceus amcenus. .. 9. Formosus 10. Interniedius ^ 11. Fallax | 12. Obscurus } Penicillatus group. i 13. Spinatus I 14. Penicillatus J 16.«Paradoios .pilotns.... <,'"<»*<"<» sro"l>.. 17. Californicus. } ,, ... 18. Armatus [ Cahformcus group. KEY TO SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF PEROGNATHUS. In the preparation of the following key the dichotomous system has been followed because of the man i test advantage it affords in presenting " Chcetodipus, in reference to the stiff hairs of these animals compared with the soft pelage of Perognathus proper. Tiio type is CluBtodipua spinatus sp. now 6 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [3sro. 1. iu alternative couplets the characters employed, and also because it permits the use of antithetical diagnoses throughout. External characters have been selected whenever feasible, in order to increase the usefulness of the key. For greater convenience, subspecies have been treated as species, both in the key and in the tables which follow : Mastoids projecting behind plane of occiput ; mastoid side of parietal longest (subgenus Perognathus). a1 Tail crested-penicillate ; pelage coarse. Antitragus lobed ; hind foot 26 ; tail vertebrae J longer than head and body formosus. a" Tail not crested-penicillate ; pelage fine or soft. bl Antitragus lobed ; size rather large (tail vertebrae longer than head and body), o' Fur of belly plumbeous at base. Hind foot about 24.5 amcenus. Hind foot about 21 monticola. c2 Fur of belly white to roots of hair olivaceus. b'2 Antitragus not lobed ; size medium or small. dl Tail vertebrae longer thau head and body. Audital bullae meeting in symphysis anteriorly inornatus. Audital bullae not meeting anteriorly longimembris. d? Tail vertebra? not longer than head and body. e1 Tail vertebras nearly as long as head and body. Lower premolar about half as large as last lower molar apache. e2 Tail considerably shorter than head and body. f1 Tail vertebra? about 60. Upper parts olive-green fasciatus. Upper part yellowish-brown Jiavescens. P Tail vertebras about 40. Hind foot 15; lower premolar longer than broad flavus. Hind foot 17 ; lower premolar broader than long bimaculaius. Mastoids not projecting behind plane of occiput ; mastoid side of parietal not longest (subgenus Chwtodipus). Occiput truncated posteriorly. bl Hind foot long and narroiv. cl Tail crested-penicillate ; no supra-orbital bead (Penicillatus group). d1 Spines or bristles on rump. el Interparietal strap-shaped ; rump spines small. Tail very long (vertebrae 106) ; pelage coarse intermedins. Tail shorter (vertebras 92) ; pelage finer obscurus. e2 Interparietal broadly pentagonal ; rump spines large. Hind foot 24 ; lower premolar larger than last molar . fallax. Hind foot 21 ; lower premolar smaller than last molar spinatus. d2 No spines or bristles on rump. Hind foot about 25 penicillatus. c2 Tail not crested-penicillate ; a distinct supra-orbital bead (Paradoxus group). Hind foot 26 ; ear without distinct spot paradoxus. Hind foot 23 ; ear with distinct dark spot .- spilotus. V2 Hind foot short and broad. Tail not ci'ested-penicillate (Hispidus group). Hind foot 21.5 ; lower premolar larger than last molar . hispidus. a2 Occiput bulging posteriorly. Tail crested-penicillate; ears very long (Calif ornicus group). White spines confined to rump californicus. White spines extending forward on Hanks armatus. Onromsn. ]889.] REVISION OF THE GENUS PEROGNATHUS. ARRANGEMENT OF SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES BY HAIRINESS OF SOLES. Entirely naked*. Sole of hind foot.. <{ (fonnosus. fa 1 lax. I intermedins. I obscnrns I spin at us. ( penicillatus. californicus* armatns. paradoxus. spilatus. ^hispidus. f faseiatus. Posteriori hairy I flavescens. ' J | navns. [apache. Posteriori hairy--, { inornatns. & \ longi mem oris Posterior i hairy +. ) V \ amcenos. arrangement of species and subspecies by relative size and shape of lower premolar. 1. Size of Lower Premolar compared with Last Molar. Larger. Californicus. Armatns. Hispidus. Intermedins. Fallax. Obscnrns. Penicillatus. Fonnosus. Flavns. Longiinenibris. Smaller. Apache. Monticola. Olivaceus. Aracenus. Bimaculatus. Flavescens. Spinatus. About equal. Paradoxus. Spi lotus. Inornatns. Fasciatus. 2. Relative Proportions of Crown of Lowf.r Premolar. CO ^ i^ £ tfQ\ CO CO (M t~ t~ IO CO Ol ID CI -* 00 03 cir:rH to 03 M CO CO CO CC CCS CO co -r »n f 90o9 .P2.8T9 •sn4Biijds ^ ^- TT 01 CC 1.0 IO uO -h C! co co x' co' t-" ci CM r^ CI — CO O CS IO ( . ci io coco : ci X co* i> -i- iocs -# tj. as or .-* i~ ■ l— T U3 T 01 CO £ sm •sn.mosqo tj-cooj et- e> -h co t- IO CO X CO C-* lO* O ■-# IO* — ' CO H HUH P t89r.r. •XBUliJ

— CO x co co' X CO X CO 01 — 01 — CO t- © CO — CD - i — in* ■^ t- ■-# IO ' CO * IO X pH CO XCOOl CD -r CO* X CO t-* *H ci -* r-* 10 00 .-I ^- 0-1 " P 8069 •sneotuaoj £ S851 •B[ooijnor^ i-l CM lO CO X w-t »-" cs c- -^" co -^ io crs l-O CM-* -«* CO IO* CO «o Pc.KLS •snaaoiuy IO X-t~ IO CO l- P 8r-9Q •KiiaouAixo ■enoABu PZLSf. •guquiJiuiSaoi —i as co co in co io m t~ c i s:r; CM r»CM« CM l- : ; in CC ■* -* co -i ao r~ co m* co' m* » o CM -Cln CM Td HVClfl co ci cc: e> © t- ci ifl ci ss -* as — co' o i co* os ci o ci ad X X —1 ci iri oo -»ic:ii- co ir cc r U.S. National Museum. From San Bernardino, Cal., April 21, 1887. F. Stephens. Measurements. — Head and body, 70 ; tail vertebrae, 104 (taken in tiesh by collector); pencil, 15 ; hind foot, 24 ; ear from crown, G (taken from dry skin). General characters.— Size large; tail crested-penicill ate, its vertebra) much longer than head and body ; ears large, thicker than in penicilla- tus ; antitragal lobe much higher than broad; soles naked; pelage moderately soft (about as in penicillatus), becoming bristly on the rump. The bristles are arranged and colored as in spinatus ; they are larger than in obscurus, but not so large as in spinatus. Color.— Above, dark grizzled yellowish-brown, profusely lined with black; lateral line pale fulvous, coveriug the upper surface of the fore leg ; below, white to base of hairs. Tail bicolor : above, sooty- brown ; below, white. 20 NOETH AMERICAN FAUNA. LNo. l. Cranial and dental characters. — Skull large and broad, much arched ; mastoids rather small (ratio of mastoid breadth to basilar length of Hensel, 73.7; of intermastoid breadth, 44.9), but slightly larger than in penicillatus ; interparietal more than twice as broad as long (ratio of length to breadth, 45.6) ; audital bullae separated anteriorly by nearly full breadth of basisphenoid; nasals em arginate posteriorly, extending nearly as far back as nasal branch of premaxillaries ; frontal border of parietal longest, median and posterior subequal.. Coronoid process of mandible very short, not rising to the level of the condyle. Upper tooth row strongly curved, the convexity outward. Lower premolar larger than last molar, its crown slightly longer than broad, and nar- rower anteriorly than posteriorly. General remarks. — In size, length of ear, and coloration this species is intermediate between penicillatus and califomicus. It is nearly as dark above as califomicus, and has the lateral stripe and rump bristles of that species. Its skull, on the other hand, is clearly of the penicilla- tus type. At the same time it is more arched than that of penicillatus, and the plane of the occiput is a little fuller posteriorly. The coronoid process of the mandible is very short and low, and the crown of the lower premolar longer than broad, as in califomicus. PEKOGNATHUS OBSCUEUS sp. nov. Type No. ff f£ $ ad- From Camp Apache, Grant County, New Mexico, April 30, 1886. A. W. Anthony. Measurements. — Total length, 16Smm (measured in flesh by collector; other measurements from dry skin); tail vertebra? about 92; pencil, 11 ; hind foot, 21 ; ear, from crown, 4. General characters. — Size rather small, slightly smaller than spinatus ; tail crested-penicillate, its vertebra? considerably longer than head and body, but relatively shorter than in penicillatus ; ears large, moderately well haired ; antitragal lobe higher than broad ; tragus evident ; hind feet large and broad ; soles naked ; whiskers very long, reaching to middle of body ; pelage rather soft ; hairs of rump very long with tend- ency to develop bristles. Color. — Above, drab, suffused with pale fulvous, finely and profusely lined with blackish ; a pale fulvous lateral stripe ; below, includiug fore legs and feet, white to base of hairs, suffused with very pale fulvous or salmon. Cranial and dental characters. — Skull rather large and flat, very broad interorbitally ; mastoids small (ratio of mastoid breadth to basilar length of Hensel, 74.7 ; of intermastoid breadth, 45.9) ; audital bullae sepa- rated anteriorly by full breadth of basisphenoid ; interparietal strap- shaped, more than twice as broad as long (ratio of length to breadth 46.6) ; nasals extending posteriorly nearly as far as nasal branch of premaxillaries; median and frontal borders of parietal longest and subequal. Coronoid process of mandible small. Lower premolar much October, 1889.1 REVISION OF THE GENUS PEROGNATHUS. 21 larger than last molar, its crown broader than long, and narrower anteriorly tban posteriorly. General remarks. — P. obscurus is one of the few known species besides spinatus which show any tendency toward the development of spiues in the pelage, bnt the small bristles on its rump are hardly more than a step in the direction of the large spiues of spinatus. It differs further from spinatus in its smaller size, larger head, broader hiud foot, shorter tail, finer pelage; in the presence of a pale fulvous lateral stripe and a suffusion of the same color throughout ; iu having a larger and flat- ter skull ; in having the audital bulhe separated by full breadth of basi- spheuoid ; in having the lower premolar larger than the last molar and its crown longer than broad. PEKOGNATHUS SPINATUS sp. nov. Type No. Ifff $ ad. From Lower Colorado River, California, 25 miles below the Needles, March 23, 1889. Vernon Bailey. Measurements. — Total length, 170; tail vertebra?, 104 ; pencil, 15; hind foot, 2L (taken in flesh by collector). Ear from crown, 3.5 (measured from dry skin). General characters. — Size, rather small ; tail crestedpeuicillate, its vertebra? a fourth longer than head and body ; ears moderate, scant haired; antitragal lobe large; whiskers long; soles naked; pelage very coarse, becoming spinous on the rump. Color. — Above, clear drab-gray, grayest on the sides, coarsely liued with blackish ; no lateral stripe; under parts, including fore legs and feet, creamy white to roots of hairs. Tail sharply bicolor — above, dusky ; below, white to end of vertebra?; pencil dusky all round. Cranial and dental characters. — Skull of medium size, considerably smaller and more arched than that of penicillatus ; mastoids small (ratio of mastoid breadth to basilar length of Hensel, 73.0; of interinastoid breadth, 48.4); interparietal broadly and flatly pentagonal, more than twice as broad as long (ratio of length to breadth, 47.0) ; audital bulla? separated by less than full breadth of basisphenoid ; nasals ending pos- teriorly about on a line with nasal branch of premaxillaries ; anterior, posterior, and median borders of parietals subequal ; palatines notice- ably thinner than rest of palate. Corouoid process of mandible very small. Upper molar series straight. Lower premolar smaller than last molar, its crown sub triangular, broader than long, and very much nar- rower anteriorly than posteriorly. General remarks. — Perognathus spinatus may be distinguished at a glance from all other known species of the penicillatus group by the large size of the spines on its rump. These spines are arranged in three groups, and are of two kinds, namely : (a) elongated black-tipped bristles, with fine awn points, occupying the middle region of the rump on and near the median line ; and (b) long white spines occupying the sides of the rump and situated a little posteriorly to the first mentioned. The 22 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 1. white spines are about 12mm in length, and project far beyond the hairs. All the spines are grooved longitudinally. P. obscurus and P. inter- medins also have rump spines, but they are much smaller and less con- spicuous than in spinatus. Perognathus spinatus is the type of the sub- genus Ghwtodipus described in the early part of this paper (see p. 5). PEROGNATHUS PENICILLATUS Woodhouse. Perognathus penecillatus Woodhouse, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci." Phila., 1852, 200. Type from San Francisco Mountain, Arizona. Perognathus penicillatus Woodhouse, Rept. Expd. Zuni and Colorado Rivers, Sit- greaves, 1853, 49-50, pi. 3 (based on same specimen as above). Baird, Mammals N. Am., 1857, 418, 419, pi. xx, Fig. 5. Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1875, 237-292.— Coues, Monographs N. Am. Rodentia, 1877, 504-509. Type No. 2676 $ ad. U. S. National Museum (mounted, skull inside.) From San Francisco Mountain, Arizona, 1851. Dr. S. W. Woodhouse. Measurements (from Woodhouse). — Head and body, S9mm; tail verte- brae 115 [pencil, 15] ; hind foot 25.5. General characters. — Size large: tail crested-penicillate, its vertebrae much longer than head and body; ears rather large, nearly naked ; an titragal lobe higher than broad ; soles naked ; pelage moderately coarse Color. — Above, "dull light yellowish-brown, or tawny, lined with dark brown ;" below, including fore legs and feet, white to base of hairs; no lateral stripe. Tail bicolor: above, "dark brown;" below, white; pencil brown all round. Cranial and dental characters. — Unknown (skull inside of mounted specimen). General remarks. — The above described type of P. penicillatus (still in the U. S. National Museum) agrees almost precisely in size, propor- tions, and coloration (allowing a little for fading) with a recent speci- men irom the Lower Colorado, which will be here described in order to put on record its cranial characters so that they may be available for comparison with those of other members of the penicillatus group. No. |f$£ $ ad. From Lower Colorado River, Arizona (Norton's, about 25 miles north of Yuma), March 28, 1889. Vernon Bailey. Measurements (taken in flesh by collector). — Total length, 207; tail vertebra?, 115 ; pencil, 17; hind foot, 25; ear from crown, 5.5 (taken from dry skin). General characters. — Size, large ; tail, crested-penicillate ; its verte- bras longer than head and body ; ears large, nearly naked ; antitragal lobe higher than broad, a small tragal lobe ; sole naked ; whiskers long, extending beyond shoulders ; pelage moderately coarse, not becoming bristly on rump ; no spines anywhere. Color. — Above, drab-gray, faintly suffused with light tawny, and finely lined with dusky ; below, including fore legs and feet, pure white to base of hairs ; no lateral stripe. Tail sharply bicolor: above, dusky; below, white; pencil dusky all round. ^October, 1889.] EEVISION OF THE GENUS PEROGNATHUS. 23 Cranial and dental characters. — Skull large, rather flat; mastoids small (ratio of mastoid breadth to basilar length of Hansel G9.1 ; of in- teruiastoid breadth 45) ; audital bullae separated anteriorly by full breadth of basisphenoid ; interparietal broadly pentagonal, more than twice as broad as long (ratio of length to breadth 46.6) ; nasals not reaching so far back as nasal branch of premaxillaries ; anterior and posterior borders of parietals subequal in length. Coronoid process of mandible moderately developed, rather thick. Lower premolar larger than last molar ; crown broader than long,* narrower anteriorly than posteriorly ; first molar a little larger than second ; third about half as large as second. General remarks. — It must be borne in mind that the skull of Wood- house's type has not been examined, and consequently that there is a possibility, + however remote, that it differs in important particulars from the one here, described. This point can not be absolutely settled until either the skull is removed from the mounted type or additional speci- mens are collected from the type locality, San Francisco Mountain, Arizona. This locality is about 230 miles distant from the point on the Lower Colorado River where the specimen here described was ob- tained. PEROGNATHUS HISPIDUS Baird. Perognathus hispidus Baird, Mamm. N. Am., 1857, 421-422 (type from Charco Escon- dido, Mexico). Type No. fV,7,; 9 U. S. National Museum. From Charco Escondido, Mexico. Collected by Lieut. D. N. Couch. Measurements. — Head and body, 70""" ; tail, 72+ (terminal portion broken off); hind foot, 21.5 (taken in flesh by collector); ear from crown, 4.5 (measured from dry skin). General characters. — Size, rather large, about equaling P. formosus; hind foot remarkably broad and short ; tail probably a little longer than head and body, uot crested-penicillate ; ears moderate, thick; antitra- gus lobed; soles naked; pelage harsh, but not much coarser than in 1\ paradoxus. Color. — "Above, mixed cinnamon and black," not unlike paradoxus ; a fulvous lateral stripe; under parts, including fore legs and feet, white to roots of hair. Tail distinctly bicolor: above, dark ; below, whitish. Cranial and dental characters. — Skull large ; vault of cranium nearly flat; mastoids moderately developed — larger than in the penicillatus * Specimens from the Colorado Desert in California, and from the Lower Colorado Bivor region in Arizona from Fort Mojave northward, have the crown of the lower premolar longer than broad, while those from the region about Yuma have the crown broader than long. Possibly these two forms are deserving of separation, but it is deemed best to await the actual determination of this and other characters until specimens of penicillatus are secured from the type locality (San Francisco Mountain). rThis possibility is suggested by the very close external resemblance of P. formosus and /'. oalifornieu8, species which really belong to widely different sections of the genus, as shown by their cranial characters. 24 NOETH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. l. group, but not so large as in olivaceus and fasciatus; interparietal broadly pentagonal (ratio of length to breadth 54.2); audital bullsB separated anteriorly by full breadth of basisphenoid ; nasals not ex- tending so far posteriorly as nasal branch of premaxillaries. Coronoid process of mandible long and sharp ; condylar ramus nearly horizontal, upper edge turned down posteriorly. Lower premolar larger than last molar, its crown squarish ; second lower molar a little larger than first. Note. — Professor Baird included, under the head of P. Mspidus- another specimen, collected at Matamoras, Mexico, by Dr. Berlandier, which I am by no meaus con- vinced is specifically the same. This specimen (No. -fgfe U. S. National Museum) is not considered here. The above description, both of skin and skull, rests solely on Baird's type from Charco Escoudido. Its skull, unfortunately, is broken in two trans- versely at the frontoparietal suture. Both ends remain, however, together with the jaws, so that the important characters may still be seen. PEBOGNATHUS PARADOXUS sp. nov. Perognathus fasciatus Baird [not of Max. Wied], Mammals N. Am., 1857,420-421. T5Te tW* 5 • Trego County, Kansas, October 17, 1834. A. B. Baker. Measurements. — Head and body, 100; tail vertebrae, 105; hairs, 2.5 (taken in flesh by collector) ; hind foot, 26 ; ears from crown, 5.5 (from dry skin). General characters. — Largest known species; ears large, with anti- tragal lobe higher than broad ; tail a little longer than head and body, not crested or penicillate ; soles naked along the median line, but hairs on sides of heel concealing the bare portion ; pelage harsh ; whiskers short. Color. — Above, yellowish-brown, coarsely lined with black ; sides ful- vous ; under parts, including fore feet, white to base of fur. Tail bi- color : above, fuliginous ; below, whitish. Cranial and dental characters. — Skull large and heavy, moderately arched, much higher than that of any other species, with a slightly elevated supra-orbital ridge or bead; mastoids relatively small (ratio of mastoid breadth to basilar length of Hensel 66.2 ; of intermastoid breadth 37.9) ; interparietal large and broadly pentagonal (ratio of length to breadth 56.3) ; audital bullae separated by less than full breadth of basisphenoid ; nasals ending posteriorly almost on a line with nasal branch of premaxillaries ; median border Of parietal longest ; coronoid process of maudible long, hooked, and directed strongly out- ward. Lower premolar about the size of last molar (possibly a little smaller), its crown squarish, a little narrower anteriorly than poste- riorly. Second molar slightly larger than first. [This is much more noticeable in tbe yonng before the cusps have been worn down.] Arranged in order of size, the lower molariform series stands as fol- lows, begiuuing at the largest : m 2, m 1, m 3, pm. General remarks. — This is the species which Baird wrongly identified as P. fasciatus Max. Wied, by which name it has been known to the October, 1889.] REVISION OF THE GENUS PEROGNATHUS. 25 present time, as already explained in the introductory portion of this paper. It is the largest of the group. Its skull departs somewhat from the type exhibited by the other species, as may be seen from the accompanying figure. This is due principally to the mastoids, which are relatively smaller than those of any other species except californi- cus. As in californicus, also, the cranium is conspicuously broader just in front of the auditory meatus than posteriorly ; in all other species it is 01JI3' slightly broader at this point. The well-marked supraorbital bead is found in no other species, though it exists also in the subspecies SpilotUS. Baird's original specimen from Chihuahua (No. 1061, IT. S. Nat. Mus.) agrees surprisingly well with specimens from western Kansas, the only noticeable difference being that its tail is less distinctly bicolor, is more heavily haired, and the hairs are somewhat longer. PEROGNATHUS PARADOXUS SPILOTUS subsp. nov. Type, skin, 5293 9 ad. From Gainesville, Cook County, Texas; October 8, 1886. G. H. Ragsdale. Skull 23096 9 yg. ad. U.S.Nat. Mus. Gainesville, Cook County, Texas. G. H. Ragsdale.* Measurements. — Total length, 19G; tail, 95 (taken in flesh by collector) ; hind foot, 23; ear, from crown, 5 (from dry skin). General characters. — Size a little smaller than P. paradoxus ; propor- tions about as in that species ; soles naked. Color. — Above, dark yellowish -brown, heavily and coarsely lined with black. Fulvous side stripe darker and broader than in paradoxus, encroaching well upon the belly and including the fore legs. Tail sharply bicolor: above, fuliginous ; below, yellowish-white. The ears are orna- mented by a blackish spot near the middle of the incurved upper sur- face. Cranial and dental characters. — Skull slightly smaller than that of paradoxus ; narrower (ratio of mastoid breadth to basilar length of Ilensel, 63; of intermastoid breadth, 37.3); nasals narrower anteri- orly, and extending posteriorly as far as the nasal branch of the pre- maxillaries; supra-orbital bead as in paradoxus ; interparietal smaller and more rounded posteriorly (ratio of length to breadth 57.5); audital bullae separated anteriorly by less than breadth of basispheuoid, as in paradoxus ; basioccipital narrower anteriorly ; frontal border of parietal longest. Mandible lighter, with condylar ramus shorter and directed much more obliquely upward; angle less spreading. Dentition as in /'. paradoxus. General remarks. — Perognathus paradoxus spilotus is a well-marked 1 Unfortunately, my skins of /'. paradoxus spilntus arc not accompanied by skulls. The National Museum, however, lias a skull (No. 2:S09f>) from the same locality, which has furnished the basis for the present description. 26 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 1. subspecies, which may be easily distinguished by its darker coloration, by the blackish spot on each ear, by the shortness of its hind foot, and by the fact that the tan-colored lateral stripe extends out on the fore leg to the wrist, while in P. paradoxus the fore leg is entirely white. Its darker coloration and spotted ears make it a much handsomer animal than P. paradoxus. PEEOGNATHUS CALIFOKNTCTTS sp. nov. ? Cricetodipus parvus. Peale, Rept. Manim. and Ornith., U. S. Expl. Expd., Wilkes, viii, 1848, 52-54. Type U$"f2- Berkeley, California. Nov. 8, 1888. T. S. Palmer and Charles A. Keeler. Measurements. — Total length, 186mm (end of tail broken off); hind foot, 24 ; ear, 6. [Another specimen from same place, No. 5613 $ : Total length, 195; tail vertebras, 101 ; hind foot, 21; ears, 6.5.] General characters. — Size, large ; ears very large, with antitragal lobe considerably higher than broad; tail vertebrae longer than head and body ; tail slightly crested and penicillate ; pelage harsh, with white spines on the sides of the rump ; soles broad, naked to heel. Color. — Above, dark grizzled yellowish-brown, lined with black ; be. low, white to base of hairs ; a pale fulvous lateral stripe ; color of the back reaching elbows. Tail sharply bicolor, sooty-black above, white beneath. Cranial and dental characters. — Skull long and narrow, much arched; mastoids very small (ratio of mastoid breadth to basilar length of Hen- sel, 71 ; of intermastoid breadth, 48) ; interparietal large, convex posteriorly, about twice as broad as long (ratio of length to breadth, 50.5), occiput projecting considerably behind mastoids ; audital bullae separated anteriorly by full breadth of basisphenoid ; nasals deeply emarginate posteriorly, not reaching quite so far back as nasal branch of premaxillaries ; anterior and posterior borders of parietal longest and subequal ; coronoid process of mandible short; condylar ramus nearly horizontal. Lower premolar slightly larger than last molar; its crown longer than broad and narrower anteriorly than posteriorly ; an- terior cusp well separated from posterior ; first molar larger than sec- ond ; third more than half as large as second. General remarks. — This species, which has been heretofore confounded with P. monticola of Baird, resembles P. formosus in size and color, though darker, and having a shorter, less crested, and more sharply bi- color tail, which is blackish above from the very base, instead of on the terminal half only. Its skull differs materially from that of any other member of the group, aud approaches P. paradoxus more closely than any other species. The white spines on the sides of the rump are about as large as in P. fallax. October, 1889.] REVISION OF THE GENUS PEROGNATHUS. 27 PEROGtjSATHUS ARMATUS sp. nov. Type -6g;j"/t $ ad. Mount Diablo, California, March 2$, 1882. W. E. Bryant. Measurements. — Total length, about 160; head and body, about 70; tail vertebrae, about 90 ; pencil, 15 ; hind foot, 24 ; ear from crown, 7 (from well-made skin). General characters. — Size a little smaller than P. californicus ; ears very large, with antitragal lobe higher than broad ; tail crested-pen- icillate; its vertebra? much longer than head and body; soles broad, naked to heel ; pelage coarse, with white spines on the flanks and sides of the rump. Color. — Above, very dark-grizzled yellowish-brown, heavily lined with black (much darker than any other species) ; below, white to roots of hairs; a very pale fulvous lateral stripe, which reaches upper surface of fore leg. Tail sharply bicolor : above, sooty ; below, white ; pencil, dark all round. Cranial and dental characters. — The occipital portion of the skull is absent, together with part of the interparietal, so that no impor- tant measurements or ratios can be taken. The mastoids are small, and the audita! bullae arc separated anteriorly by nearly the full breadth of the basisphenoid. The, parietals are longer on the sagi- tal suture than in californicus ; in fact, the anterior, median, and pos- terior borders of the parietal are fairly subequal. Coronoid process of mandible short and stout. Lower premolar larger than last molar, its crown longer than broad, with the anterior cusp well separated from the posterior, as in californicus. General remarks. — /'. ormolus differs from /'. californicus in smaller size, with relatively larger hind feet and ears ; in darker color, and in the forward extension of the white spines along the flanks almost to the middle of the body. The color of the upper parts does not extend so far down on the sides as in californicus. The greater length of the parietals along the median line is another character of importance. Possibly future collections will show thai /'. armatus grades into P. californicus. If so, it will have to stand as a subspecies. UNDETERMINED SPECIES. In order to complete the present revision of the group I here intro- duce descriptions of t lie three remaining species which have been named but which I have not seen. Whether (hey all refer to the same species, and what their nearest congeners are, can not be determined from the material now at hand. None of their skulls have been described. All three came from the Pacific province, from northern California north- ward.* "Nearly fifteen years ago (Jones made tin- following statement, which is equally true to-day : "Specimeue of any Saccomyine form from Oregon and Washington Ter- ritory an; at present special desiderata." 28 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. No. 1.] PEROGNATHUS PARVUS (Peale). Cricetodipus parvus Peale, Rept. Mamm. and Ornith., U. S. Expl. Expd., Wilkes, VIII, 1848, 52-54. The type of Peale's Cricetodipus parvus is supposed to be not extant. It was a very young animal, as shown in au early part of the present paper (under History and Nomenclature, p. 3, foot-note), and its measure- ments indicate that it was one of the larger species of the group. Following is Peale's original description: Head ovate ; the snout elongate, pointed, and covered with hair, excepting the nostrils, -which are small and convolute ; lips large, tumid, and covered with short hairs ; whiskers numerous, white ; a tuft of white hairs or bristles on the chin ; cheek-pouches spacious, opening outside of the mouth, and reachiug from the upper lip to the throat; the cavity extending backwards to the ears, and -lined with hair; eyes medium size ; ears small, round, and fringed with hairs; fore legs small, thefeet moderate, margined with bristly hairs ; the nails short, curved, excepting that of the thumb, which is orbicular, or resembling the human thumb-nail ; hindlegsloug ; the feet large and strong, five-toed ; the middle one slightly longer than the rest ; inner toe shortest, reaching only to the end of the metatarsal bones of the others ; all the nails short, pointed, aud slightly curved ; tail long, tapering, and clothed with short silky hairs. Color above, sepia-brown ; beneath, white ; a dark line crosses the cheeks beneath the eyes. Length of the head and body, 1-& inch ; head from the noso to the occiput, yV iuch ; ears, t/(I inch ; tail, 2-,% inches ; foreleg from the elbow, 2'{, inch; fore foot, -^ inch ; tibia, -?g inch ; hind foot, -,% inch ; metatarsus, -ft- inch.* A single specimen of this singular animal was obtained in Oregon, but no notes were furnished by the person who obtained it. The formation of its hind legs leaves but little room to doubt that its habits are similar to the jumping mice, Meriones Labradorius (Richardson), which are inhabitants of the same region. Its singularly large head, which equals its body in bulk, its ample cheek-pouches, long hind legs, and. long tail, present a general form which is peculiar and altogether very re- markable. On dissection, the stomach was found to contain a pulpy matter, which appeared to be the remains of a bulbous root ; the liver is very large, and consists of five foliaceous lobes ; we were not able to detect any gall-bladder. The specimen is a female, aud presents the rudiments of a fourth molar tooth in each side of the lower jaw, which would eventually have replaced the front ones, already much worn. (Peale, Rept. Mamm. and Ornith., U. S. Expl. Expd., Wilkes, vm, 1848, 53-54.) PEROGNATHUS LORDI (Gray). Abromys lordi Gray Proc. Zool. Soc. London, May, 1868, 202 (type from British Columbia). Gray's description of this animal is as follows : Fur soft, abundant, gray-washed, with blackish tips ; chin and under side of body whitish ; tail tapering, gray, with blackish-brown upper surface and tip; hair of the back dark lead-colour, with a short gray band and minute black tip. * * * The teeth destroyed. Length of body aud head 3 inches ; of tail 3 inches. It differs from Dipodomys phillipsii and other species of that genus iu having no white spot over the eye at the base of the ear, or white baud across the thigh. * The most important of these measurements, reduced to millimeters, are : Head and body, 48; head from nose to occiput, 23; tail, 58; hind foot, 20.5. October, 1889.] REVISION OF THE GENUS PEROGNATHUS. 29 Mr. Oldfield Thomas, curator of mammals in the British Museum, has had the kindness to re-examine, at my request, the type of Abro- mys lordi, and his letter in regard to the same has reached me just as this manuscript is about to go to press. Mr. Thomas writes : I have the type of Abromys lordi before me. It is a Perognathus, and, so far as I can make out from Coues's description, is the same as P. monticola.* Its dimensions are : Head and body, 74mm; tail vertebrae (perfect), 81mm; hind foot with claw, 21.8 ; ear from crown, 6.5. Tbe ear appears to be just as Coues describes, with a marked antitragus, but no anterior projecting lobule. The distance from tbe tip of the nasals to the back of one of the bullae is 25.5mm. PEKOGNATHUS MOLLIPILOSUS Coues. Perognathus monticola Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pbila., 1875, 293-296. Perognathus moUq)ilo8U8 Coues, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pbila., 1K75, 296 (provisional name, based on specimen from Fort Crook, Cal.). — Coues, Monographs N. Am. Rodentia, 1877, 509-512 (same as above). Type No. 7251 9, U. S. National Museum, Fort Crook, Cal.t Measurements. — (From Coues) Head and body, 04; tail vertebrae, 82; hind foot, 20.5. General characters*. — (From Coues) Size rather small ; tail vertebra? longer than head and body; tail not crested-peuicillate; "antitragus with a great, flat, rounded, upright lobe"; pelage very soft and smooth ; soles naked. Color. — (From Coues) "Above yellowish-cinnamon lined with black- ish, the latter predominating; below, white"; "color of upper parts de- scending on the fore leg to the wrist"; a pale fulvous lateral stripe; "tail bicolor to correspond with the body colors." Cranial and dental characters. — (Xot given.) General remarks. — My opinion is that this animal will prove to be identical with P. lordi, and both may be the same as P. parvus of Peale. * Asl have alrcmly pointed out, I', monticola of Cones is a very different animal from P. monticola of Baird, and must stand as /'. mollij>ilo8U8, which see. t This specimen should bo in the National Museum, but Mr. F. W. True, curator of mammals, informs me that its number is wrong, and that it cannot be found. PLATE I. (All double natural size.) 1. (4445) $ Peroynatlius fasciatwi Max. Wied. Duplicate type. Fort Buford, Dak. 2. (5027) $ Peroynatlius fasciatus fiavescens Merriam. Type. Kennedy, Nebr. 3. (5047) $ Perognafhus flaws Baird. Mason, Tex. 4. (3572) $ Peroynatlius lonyimembris Coues. San Bernardino, Cal. 5. (4984) $ Peroynatlius apache Merriam. Type. Apache County, Ariz. 6.(23790)^ Perognafhus ivornatus Merriam. Type. Fresno, Cal. 7. (5827) 9 Peroynatlius californicus Merriam. Type. Berkeley, Cal. 30 North American Fauna. No. 1. Plate I. \^3 vs2? PLATE II. (All double natural size.) 8. (5623) $ Perognathus olivaceus Merriani. Type. Kelton, Utah. 9. (.7795) $ Perognathus olivaceus amcenus Merriani. Type. Nephi, Utah. 10. (1735) $ Perognathus monticola Baird. Type. St. Mary's Mission, Montana. 11. (5908) $ Perognathus /ormosus Merriam. Type. St. George, Utah. 12. (2C684) $ Perognathus fallax Merriani. Type. San Bernardino, Cal. 13. (6000) $ Perognathus intermedins Merriani. Type. Mud Spring, Arizona. 32 North American Fauna, No. 1. Plate II. PLATE III. (All double natural size.) 14. (2848) $ Perognathus obscurus Merriam. Type. Grant County, N. Mex. 15. (6137) $ Perognathus spinatus Merriam. Type. Lower Colorado River, Arizona. 16. (6206) $ Perognathus penicillatus Woodhouse. Lower Colorado River, Arizona. 17. (1696) ? Perognathus hispidus Baird. Type. Cbarco Escondido, Mexico. 18. (1544) $ Perognathus paradoxus Merriam. Type. Trego County, Kans. 19. (23096) 9 Perognathus paradoxus spilotus Merriam. Type. Cook County, Tex. 34 North American Fauna, No. 1. Plate III. PLATE IV. (Enlarged about ten times.) Perognathus (Chwtodipus) obscurus Merriaiu. (All from Apache, Grant County, New Mexico.) a = left upper molariform series. fc = left lower molariform series. Fig. 1 (skull No. 2855). Young (viewed obliquely from the side). Shows the loug deciduous premolar iu the under jaw, and also the tri-tuberculate cusps of the molars, which are early worn away, leaving the crowns flat (as shown in the succeeding figures). Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are camera lucida outlines of the crowns of the teeth, showing successive stages of wear. In Fig. 2 the permanent lower pre- molar has just reached the level of the crowns of the other teeth. Fig. 2 (skull No. 2354) ; 3 (2853); 4 (2S51); 5 (2848 type) ; 6 (2849). 36 North American Fauna, No. 1. Plate IV. f® D Perognathus (Chaetodipus )obscoinig. Merriam. From Gran!) CoTinty,lIew Mexico. Holarif oral teeth, showing the changes of form and out line resulting from the wearing dom of the crowns withttge. ■ MEASUREMENTS. All measurements of specimens are in millimeters. All Mammals collected by Field Agents of the Division are measured in accordance with the following instructions: (1) The total, length is the distance between the tip of the nose and the end of the tail vertebra?. It is taken by laying the animal on a board, with its nose against a pin or upright post, and by straightening the back and tail by extending the hind legs with one hand while holding the head with the other; a pin is then driven into the board at the end of the vertebne. (2) The length of tail is the length of the caudal vertebra. It is taken by erecting the tail at right angle to the back, and placing one point of the dividers on the backbone at the very root of the tail, the other at the tip end of the vertebra?. (3) The hind foot is measured by placing one point of the dividers against the end of the heel (calcaneum), the other at the tip of the longest claw, the foot being flattened for this purpose. In measuring the hind foot in dry skins, the foot is fiist wrapped in wet absorbent cotton until the toes can be straightened. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DIVISION OF ORNITHOLOGY AND MAMMALOGY NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA No. 2 [Actual date of publication, October 30, 1889] Descriptions of fourteen new species and one new genus of North American Mammals By Dk. C. Hart Mkrjuam WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE L8 8 9 MEASUREMENTS. All measurements of specimens are in millimeters. All Mammals collected by Field Agents of the Division are measured in accordance with the following instructions: (1) The total length is the distance between the tip of the nose and the end of the tail vertebra?. It is taken by laying the animal on a board, with its nose against a pin or upright post, and by s raigbtening the back and tail by extending the hind legs with one hand while holding the head with the other; a pin is then driven into the board at the end of the vertebrae. (2) The length of tail is the length of the caudal vertebra?. It is taken by erecting the tail at right angle to the back, and placing one point of the dividers on the backbone at the very root of the tail, the other at the tip end of the vertebra?. (3) The hind foot is measured by placing one point of the dividers against the end of the heel (calcaneum), the other at the tip of the longest claw, the foot being flattened for this purpose. In measuring the hind foot in dry skins, the foot is fiist wrapped in wet absorbent cotton until the toes can be straightened. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DIVISION OF ORNITHOLOGY AND MAMMALOGY NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA No. 2 [Actual date of publication, October 30, 1889] Descriptions of fourteen new species and one new genus of North American Mammals By Dr. C. Hart Mkrkiam WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1889 £u v U. S. Department of Agriculture, July 17, 1889. Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith No. 2 of North Ameri- can Fauna. It contains descriptions of a new genus, twelve new species, and one new sub-species; and also a diagnosis of the genus Onychomys, and a synopsis of the known forms. Respectfully, C. Hart Merriam, Chief of Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy. Hon. J. M. Rusk, /Secretary of Agriculture. CONTENTS. Tage. Letter of transmittal ii j 1. Three new Grasshopper Mice, with a diagnosis of the genus Onychomys&nd a synopsis of the species 1_5 2. A new Marmot from the Black Hills of Dakota 7_9 3. A new Pika from the Sierra Nevada Mountains 11-13 4. A new Spermophile from southern California 15-16 5. A new Spermophile from northwestern Arizona 17 6. A new Ground Squirrel from the arid lands 19-21 7. A new Bat from southern California 23 8. A new Bat from western Arizona 25 9. A new genus and four new species of Arvicolince 27-35 ILLUSTRATIONS. (Figures in text.) Page Fig. 1. Lower jaw of Oriychomys leucogaster 4 2. Lower jaw of Hesperomys leucopus 4 3. Head of Nyctinom us femorosaccus 23 4. Head of Nyctinomus moravensis 25 5. Last lower molar of Jrvicola 31 6. Last lower molar of Synaptomya 31 7. Last lower molar of Phenacomys 31 ( Plate*. ) Plate I. Figs. 1-7, Onychomys leucogaster (skull and teeth); figs. 8 and 9 Onycho- mys longicaudus (teeth). II. Figs. 1-3, Phenacomys celatns (skull); fig. 4, Phenacomys ungava (feet); fig. 5, Phenacomys latimanus (feet). III. Figs. 6 and 7, Phenacomys celatus (teeth); figs. 8 and 9, Phenacomys ungava (skull and teeth); fig. 10, Arvicola riparius (tooth). IV. Fig. 11, Phenacomys intermedins (teeth); fig. 12. Phenacomys latimanus (teeth); fig. 13, Phenacomys celatus (teeth); fig. 14, Arvicola austerus (teeth). V. Fig. 15, Evotomys gapperi (teeth); fig- 16, Synaptomt/s cooperi (teeth); fig. 17, Cuniculus (teeth); fig. 18, Myodes (teeth). VI. Figs. 1 and 2, Phenacomys intermedins (teeth). VII. Figs. 1 and 2, Phenacomys intermedins (teeth and skull). VIII. Figs. 1-4, Lagomys schisticeps (skull); figs. 5 and 6, Lagomys princeps (skull); figs. 7 and 8, Arctomys dacota (skull). v No, 2. NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. October, 1889. DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SPECIES AND ONE NEW SUBSPECIES OF GRASSHOPPER MOUSE, WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF THE GENUS ONYCHOMYS, AND A SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES. By C. Hart Merriam, M. D. A. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES. ONYCHOMYS LONGIPES sp. nov. (Texas Grasshopper Mouse.) Type f|3| 9 ad. Merriam Collection. Concho County, Texas, March 11, 1887. Collected by William Lloyd. Measurements (taken in the flesh by collector).— Total length, 190mm ; tail, 48 [this measurement seems to be too short]; hind foot, 25; ear from crown, 13 (measured from dry skin). General characters. — Size larger than that of the other known repre- sentatives of the genus, with larger and broader ears, and much longer hind feet. Ears less hairy than in 0. leucogaster, with the lanuginous tuft at base less apparent ; tail longer and more slender. Color. — Above, mouse gray, sparingly mixed with black-tipped hairs, and with a narrow fulvous stripe along each side between the gray of the back and white of the belly, extending from the fore-legs to the root of the tail; under parts white. Cranial characters. — Skull longer and narrower than that of 0. leuco- gaster (particularly the rostral portion), with much longer nasals, and a distinct supraorbital " bead" running the full length of the froutals and there terminating abruptly. The nasals overreach the nasal branch of the preraaxillaries about as far as in leucogaster. The incisive foram. ina, as in 0. leucogaster, barely reach the anterior cusp of the first molar. The roof of the palate extends further behind the last molar than in leucogaster, and gives off a median blunt spine projecting into the pterygoid fossa. The palatal bones end anteriorly exactly on a line 2541— No. 2 1 1 2 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 2. with the interspace between the first and second molars. The presphe- noid is excavated laterally to such a degree that the middle portion is reduced to a narrow bar less than one-third the width of its base. The condylar ramus is lower and more nearly horizontal than in leucogaster, and the angular notch is deeper. The coronoid process resembles that of leucogaster. ONYCHOMYS LONGICAUDUS sp. nov. (Long-tailed Grasshopper Mouse.) Type f 1^ $ ad. St. George, Utah, January 4, 1889. Collected by Vernon Bailey. Measurements (taken in the flesh by the collector). — Total length, 145 ; tail, 55 ; hind foot, 20 ; ear from crown, 10 (measured from dry skin). General characters. — Similar to 0. leucogaster, but smaller, with longer and slenderer tail. Pelage longer, but not so dense. General color above, cinnamon-fawn, well mixed with black-tipped hairs. Cranial characters. — Skull smaller and narrower than that of 0. leuco- gaster; zygomatic arches less spreading ; nasals less projecting behind nasal branch of premaxillaries. The coronoid and condylar processes of the mandible are shorter, and the coronoid notch is not so deep as in leucogaster. The presphenoid shows little or no lateral excavation. The incisive foramina do not quite reach the plane of the anterior cusp of the first molar. The shelf of the palate projects posteriorly consid- erably beyond the molars, and terminates in a nearly straight line with- out trace of a median spine. ONYCHOMYS LEUCOGASTER MELANOPHRYS subsp. nov. , (Black-eyed Grasshopper Mouse.) Type, flfl $ ad. Kanab, Utah, December 22, 1888. Collected by Vernon Bailey. Measurements (taken in the flesh by collector). — Total length, 154; tail, 41 ; hind foot, 21. Ear from crown 10 (measured from the dry skin). Size of 0. leucogaster. Ear a little smaller. Hind foot densely furred to base of toes. Color above, rich tawny cinnamon, well mixed with black-tipped hairs on the back, and brightest on the sides; a distinct black ring round the eye, broadest above. This ring is considerably broader and more conspicuous than the very narrow ring of leucogaster. Cranial characters. — Skull large and broad ; very similar to 0. leuco- gaster in size and proportions, but with zygomatic arches less spread- ing posteriorly, interparietal narrower, nasals not reaching quite so far beyond the nasal branch of premaxillaries, and antorbital slit narrower. Presphenoid moderately excavated, as in leucogaster. The incisive fo- ramina reach past the plane of the first cusp of the anterior molar. The condylar ramus is longer and directed more obliquely upward than in leucogaster, with the coronoid and infra-condylar notches deeper. Note. — In order to render the preceding diagnoses of new forms more useful, the following brief descriptions of the skulls of the two Oct., 1889.] REVISION OF THE GENUS ONYCHOMYS. 3 revioiis ly known species are appended for comparison, together with figures of the skull of the type of the genus (0. leucogaster) : Onychomys leucogaster Max. — Skull large and broad, with zygomatic arches spread- ing posteriorly. Antorbital slit larger than in the other known species. Palate hort, ending posteriorly in a short median spine (see figure). Onychomys torridus Coues. — Skull small , narrow, with zygomatic arches not spread- ing, and vault of cranium more rounded than in any other member of the genus. In- terparietal relatively large. Nasals projecting far beyond nasal branch of premaxil- lary. Incisive foramina very long, extending back to second cusp of first molar. Shelf of palate produced posteriorly nearly as far as in longicaudus, and truncated. Presphenoid slightly excavated laterally. Mandible much as in longicaudus, but with coronoid process more depressed and condylar ramus more slender. B. DIAGNOSIS OF THE GENUS ONYCHOMYS. The striking external differences which distinguish the Missouri Grasshopper Mouse from the other White-footed Mice of America (Hesperomys auct.) led its discoverer, Maximilian, to place it in the genus Hypudceus (=Uvotomys, Coues), and led Baird to erect for its re- ception a separate section or subgenus, which he named Onychomys. Coues, the only recent monographer of the American Mice, treats Ony- chomys as a subgenus, and gives a lengthy description of its characters. Since, however, some of the statements contained in this description are erroneous, and the conclusions absurd,* and since the most impor- tant taxonomic characters are overlooked, it becomes necessary to re- define the type. A somewhat critical study of the cranial and dental characters of Onychomys in comparison with the other North American White-footed Mice has compelled rae to raise it to full generic rank. It may be known by the following diagnosis : Genus ONYCHOMYS Baird, 1857. Baird, Mammals of North America, 1857, p. 457 (subgenus). Type, Hypudceus leucogaster. Max. Wied, Reise in das innere Nord Amerika, II, 1841, 99-101 (from Fort Clark, Dakota). Hesperomys auct. First and second upper molars large and broad ; third less than half the size of the second. First upper molar with two internal and three external cusps, the anterior cusp a trefoil when young, narrow, and on a line with the outside of the tooth, leaving a distinct step on the inside. Second upper molar with two internal and two external cusps, and a narrow antero external fold. Last upper molar subcircular in outline, smaller than in Hesperomys, and less indented by the lateral notches. * Coues says : " Although unmistakably a true Murine, as shown by tbe crauial and other fundamental characters, it nevertheless deviates much from Mus and Hesper- omys, and approaches the Arvicolines. Its affiuities with Erolomys are really close." (Monographs of North American Rodentia, 1877, p. 106.) As a matter of fact, Ony- chomys has no affiuities whatever with Evotomys, or any other member of the Arvico- liue series, its departure from Hesperomys being in a widely different direction. 4 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 2. Lower molar series much broader than in Hesperomys. First lower molar with an anterior, two internal, and two external cusps, and a posterointernal loop. In Hesperomys the anterior cusp is divided, so that there are three distinct cusps on each side. Second lower molar with two internal and two external cusps, an an tero- external and a pos- tero internal fold. Third lower molar scarcely longer than broad, sub- circular in outline, with the large posterior lobe of Hesperomys reduced to a slight fold of enamel, which disappears with wear. Coronoid process of mandible well developed, rising high above the condylar ramus and directed backward in the form of a large hook (see accompanying cut). Nasals wedge-shaped, terminating posteri- orly considerably behind the end of the nasal branch of the premaxil- laries. Fig. 1. 1. Lower jaw of Onychomys leucogaster. 2. Lower jaw of Hesperomyg leucopus. Body much stouter and heavier than in Hesperomys. Tail short, thick, and tapering to an obtuse point. Fore feet larger than in Hesperomys ; five-tubercnlate, as usual in the Murine series. Hind feet four-tuberculate, and densely furred from heel to tubercles. Tubercles phalangeal, corresponding to the four an- terior tubercles of Hesperomys, that is to say, the first is situated at the base of the first digit, the second at the base of the second digit? the third over the bases of the third aud fourth digits together, the fourth at the base of the fifth digit. The fifth and sixth (or metatarsal) tubercles of Hesperomys are altogether wanting. C. SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES. (1) By External Characters. Length, about 150mm ; tail, about 40 ; hind foot, about 21 ; ear from crown, 10. Color above, mouse-gray ; black ring around eye inconspicuous 0. leucogaster. Size of 0. leucogaster. Color above, rich tawny cinnamon, brightest on the sides ; black ring round eye conspicuous 0. leucogaster melanoplirys. Length, about 145mm ; tail, about 55 ; hind foot, 20; ear from crown, 10. Color above, cinnamon fawn 0. longicaudus. Length, about 190mm; tail, about 50; hind foot, 25; ear from crown, 13. Color above, mouse-gray, with a narrow fulvous stripe along the sides O. longipes. Length, about 135mm ; tail, about 45; hind foot, 20; ear from crown, 10. Color above, uniform dull tawny cinnamon ; no black ring around the eye. Tail thick with a dark stripe above reaching three-fourths its length; rest of tail white. O. torridus. Oct., 1889.] REVISION OF THE GENUS ONYCHOMYS. (2) By Cranial Characters. Palate ending posteriorly f with a blunt me- S a distinct supraorbital bead Ungipes. dian spine ) ,. ,. , ... , , , ( no distinct supraorbital bead leucogaster. { ( skull large and broad melanophriis. i I with straight or ..... , , , slightly con- I , n ,, Incisive foramina barely reach plane vex edire I smaller | ot farst molar longicaudus. ^ fe and nar- <( L rower | incisive foramina reach second cusp l of first molar torridus. Cranial measurements of the known forms of the genus Onychomys. Basilar length of Hensel (from foramen magnum to incisor). 'Zygomatic breadth Greatest parietal breadth Interorbital constriction Length of nasals Incisor to post-palatal notch Foramen magnum to incisive foramina Foramen magnum to palate Length of upper molar series (on alveolae) Length of incisive foramina Length of mandible . . Height of coronoid process from angle Ratios to basilar length: Zygomatic breadth Parietal breadth Nasals Molar series (on alveolae) Incisive foramina Foramen magnum to incisive foramen Foramen magnuui to palate O. leucogaster, Fort Buford, Dakota. Melanophrys, Kanab, Utah. Longipes, Concho County, Texas, 4418? 4419cT 5393d1 5894cf 3839$ 22 15 12.9 4.5 10.8 12 14.7 9.7 4.5 5 15.5 6.5 68.1 58.9 49 20.4 22.7 66 44 22 15.2 12.7 4.5 11.6 12 14.6 10 4.2 5.7 15.8 7.3 69 57.7 52. 7 19 25.9 66. 3 45.4 22.3 15.4 12.8 5.2 10.7 11.7 15 10.2 4.6 5 15.7 6.8 69 57.3 47.9 20.6 22.4 67.3 45.7 21.6 15.5 12.5 4.8 10.7 11.5 14.5 9.9 4.8 5 15.3 6.8 71.7 57 49.5 22 23.1 67 45.8 23.3 15.5 12.2 4.4 12.5 12.4 15.7 10.6 4.4 5.3 16 7.2 66.6 52 52.3 20 22.7 67.3 45.4 Basilar length of Hensel (from foramen magnum to incisor) Zygomatic breadth Greatest parietal breadth Interorbital constriction Length of nasals Incisor to post-palatal notch Foramen magnum to incisive foramina Foramen magnum to palate Length of upper molar series (on alveolae) Length of incisive foramina Length of mandible Height of coronoid process from angle Ratios to basilar length : Zygomatic breadth Parietal breadth Nasals Molar series (on alveolae) Incisive foramina Foramen magnum to incisive foramen Foramen magnum to palate Longicaudus, St. George, Utah. 5895? 5896 cf 5897 cf 9. 3 19.3 13 11.5 4.7 9.5 10.5 13.4 8.7 3.8 4.3 13.5 6.3 67.3 59.5 49.2 19.6 22.2 69.4 45 19.4 13.1 11.2 4.8 9.7 10 4 13.3 8.7 3.8 4 4 13.2 6.2 57.7 50 19.5 22.6 68.5 44.8 Torridus, Grant County, N. Mex. 2839cf 18.5 12.5 11.4 1.2 9.6 10 12.5 8.5 3.5 5 13.2 5.8 67.5 61.6 51.8 18.9 27 67.5 45.8 DESCRIPTION OF A NEW MARMOT FROM THE BLACK HILLS OF DAKOTA. By Dr. C. Hart Merriaji. But three species of Marmots have been heretofore recognized in "North America. They are Arctomys monax of the East; A. flaviventer Of the "West; and A. caligatus (=A. pruinosus auct.)* of the northern Bocky Mountains and Cascade Bange from just within our northern border to the Arctic Circle. The name Arctomys flaviventer was given by Audubon andBachman to a specimen collected by Mr. Douglas "between western Texas and California," the exact locality being unknown. It was assumed by Baird, who has been followed by subsequent authors, that all the Mar- mots inhabiting the region between the Great Plains and the Pacific Ocean were specifically the same, excepting only the subarctic A. cali- gatus. This assumption was the result of the examination of scanty and defective material, for Baird remarked that a specimen which he had from The Dalles, Oregon, and which was very imperfect and in the molt, differed considerably from a specimen from the Black Hills of Dakota. Fortunately, my own collectors have succeeded in securing fine series of skins and skulls both from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Cali- fornia and from the Black Hills of Dakota. The Sierra Nevada animal agrees very closely with Audubon and Bachman's description of A. flaviventer, and undoubtedly is closely re- lated to, if not identical with, their species. The Black Hills Marmot is a very different animal. It is fully a half larger than the largest speci- men of the Sierra Nevada form, and differs from it wholly in coloration. Its most striking feature is the possession of a mantle or cloak of golden yellow, covering the shoulders and upper third of the back. The hairs here are fully twice the length of those on the remaiuder of the back and rump. The under parts are deep chestnut-red, while in the Sierra Ne- vada species they are bright yellow, as described by Bachmau. The *A. cal'ujatus Esck.=.-i. pruinosm auct. For the change of name see Tyrrell, " The Mammalia of Canada," Proc. Canadian Inst.. 3d series, vol. vi, 1888, p. 88. 7 8 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [N6. 2. feet are concolor with the under parts, and the hairs are reddish brown to the skin, there being no black basal portion, as in flaviventer. The whole top of the head is black or brownish black, with a more or less distinct white transverse bar between the eyes and the nose. The tail is long aud broad, distichous, reddish brown above, with a black median stripe below, in sharp contrast with the brown of the sides. The whiskers are less heavy than in flaviventer. The species may be known by the following description : ARCTOMYS DACOTA sp. uov. (Black Hills Marmot.) Type |*^| $ ad. From Custer, Black Hills, Dakota, July 21, 1888. Collected by Veruou Bailey. Measurements.— Total length, 670m ; tail, 188 ; hind foot, 86 (taken in flesh by the collector); ear from crown, 13 (from dry skin). Weight, 7.73 kilograms ( = 17 lbs). General characters. — Size large, considerably exceeding the largest individuals of A. flaviventer aud equaling large specimens oUA.monax. Tail long, large, and bushy, squarely truncated at the end. Hairs of the neck and shoulders very much elongated and mixed with a thick coat of woolly uuderfur, forming a sort of mantle. Color. — Above, light yellowish brown, becoming grizzled on the pos- terior half of the back (by the admixture of black hairs having a sub- apical zone of white) ; head black, or nearly black, grizzled on the face and sides of the neck with white and reddish brown, and interrupted between the nose and eyes by a few white hairs (indicating the position of a transverse whitish bar in other specimens); end of muzzle white all round, including tip of nose and chin ; under parts uniform dull rusty chestnut, including fore legs and feet all round, except that the feet and hind legs are mixed with yellowish ; tail above and on the sides dull rusty chestnut, very similar to the color of the belly; tail below with a broad median band of clear black, broadening toward the end, and protruding slightly beyond the brown of the upper surface, so that it shows from above. Whiskers and superciliary bristles black. Cranial characters. — The skull of Arctomys dacota differs from that of Arctomys flaviventer in having the nasal branches of thepremaxillaries much broader throughout, the nasal bones shorter, the interorbital breadth greater, the basisphenoid tenestrated, and the basioccipital with a subcircular median fossa. The skull, as a whole, including the zygomatic arches, is much broader, shorter, and heavier than that of A. flaviventer, but is in no way intermediate between flaviventer and monax. General remarJcs. — Another specimen, an adult female (No. ixif)* killed at the same place July 19, 1888, measured: Total length, G2.5; tail, 165 ; hind foot, 79 ; ear from crown, 12. The mantle is light golden- Oct., 18S9.J DESCRIPTION OF A NEW MARMOT. 9 yellow, sharply defined from the color of the posterior part of the back, and a distinct transverse bar of yellowish-white crosses the face between the eyes and nose. Several half-grown young, taken at the same place during the middle and latter part of July, agree with the above in color and in the distinctness of the mantle. The mantle is less sharply de- fined in the type specimen than in any of the others. Probably this is due in part to the condition or stage of growth of the pelage, and will be found to vary somewhat with season. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF PIKA (LAGOMYS SCHISTICEPS) FROM THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS IN CALIFORNIA. By Dr. C. Hart Merriam. The " Little Chief Hare," or Rocky Mountain Pika {Lagomys prin- ceps), was described by Dr. Richardson from a specimen collected in the Rocky Mountains near the south branch of the Mackenzie, considerably north of the United States boundary. He gave its distribution as "the Rocky Mountains, from latitude 52° to 60°" (Fauna Boreali-Aineri- cana, 1829, 227). It has been since ascertained to range southward along the summits of the Rocky Mountains to latitude 42°, increasing its altitude with the decrease in latitude till in Colorado it is not found below timber-line — about 11,000 feet. As long ago as 18G3 Dr. J. G. Cooper found a species of Lagomys near the limit of perpetual snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Cali- fornia,* and it has been assumed that this animal is specifically identi- cal with that from the Rocky Mountains. Comparison of specimens, however, shows the Sierra Nevada Lagomys to be a very distinct spe- cies, which may be easily distinguished from its Rocky Mountain con- gener by both external and cranial characters. Its most conspicuous external feature is the slate-gray color of its head, which circumstance has led me to bestow upon it the specific name schisticeps. It may be characterized as follows : LAGOMYS SCHISTICEPS sp. nov. Type, Hftc? ad. From Donner, California, June 9, 1883. Charles A. Allen. Measurements. — Total length, 188mm; tail, 9.5 (taken in flesh by col- lector). Ears from crown, 16; hind foot, 29.5 (taken from dry skin). Color. — Entire upper surface of head slate-gray, in striking contrast to the yellowish brown of the same parts in L.princeps. The slate-gray of the head extends from the nose to the nape, where it gradually shades into the grayish brown of the back ; rest of upper parts strongly suf- fused with fulvous, which is most intense along the sides near the Troc.Cal. Acad. Sci., in, 1863,69; also iv, 1838,6. 11 12 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 2. belly ; the black-tipped hairs are not so numerous as in L. princeps, and are more uniformly distributed, with no tendency to form a dark patch on the lower part of the back, as is usually the case in the latter spe- cies. Belly aud upper surfaces of feet whitish, washed with buff or pale fulvous, deepest on the pectoral region. Under fur slate-black ; soles of hind feet dusky ; of fore feet, silky yellowish white ; ears, whis- kers, toe-pads, and character of fur precisely as in L. princeps. Cranial characters. — Compared with L. princeps, the skull of L. schis- ticeps presents several excellent specific characters. Viewed from above, the preorbital portion is shorter and more obtuse, with consequent shortening of the nasal bones. The intermastoid breadth is greater, and the posterior part of the calvariuui is broader and more obtusely rounded. The supraoccipital takes part in the formation of the vault of the cranium, where it appears as a narrow bridge between the mas- toids, with a smooth face continuous with the superior surface of the skull and nearly at right angle to its vertical plane. In the type speci- men (No. 5376 $ ) this horizontal strip of the supraoccipital is broadest in the middle, where it attains a breadth of two and a half millimeters. In the seven skulls of L. princeps examined the supraoccipital does not appear on the superior surface of the cranium, except to take part in the formation of the lambdoidal crest, which is obsolete in L. schisticeps. Viewed from beneath, the most striking difference between the two species becomes apparent, as may be seen from the accompanying fig- ures. In L. princeps the palatine fossa is broadly pyriform and the an- terior border of the palatal bridge which forms its base is either straight or slightly excavated (see pi. viii, fig. 6). Allen, in his diagnosis of the family Lagomyidw, states that this bridge " is wholly devoid of the pointed anterior extension seen in the latter" (the Hares, Leporidie). The type specimen of Lagomys schisticeps in this respect presents ex- actly the condition seen in the Hares, the anterior margin of the palatal bridge being produced forward in a sharp point, much altering the shape of the fossa of which it forms the base (see pi. viii, fig. 4). More- over, the palatal fossa is both narrower and longer than in L. princeps, and the vomer projects backward a considerable distance beyond its anterior border, which is formed by the premaxillaries. The distance from the incisors to the palatal fossa is less than in L. princeps. Still another important difference, perhaps the most important of all, exists in the base of the skull. The basi-occipital is shorter and very much, broader in L. princeps (pi. viii, fig. 5) than in L. schisticeps (pi. viii, fig. 3). In three skulls of L. schisticeps the average ratio of breadth to length of basi-occipital is 70 ; in three skulls of L. princeps it is 44. Oct., 1889] DESCRIPTION OF A NEW PIKA. Measurements of skulls of Lagomys schisticepft and L. princeps. 13 Lagomys schisticeps Merriam. 3346c-* 3347 2 3348? 5375? 5376^ 40 3G.8 22 21.5 5.2 14.3 8.5 10 15.7 6 7.8 21.2 30 17 8 5.8 Basilar length (from one of the occipital condyles to poste rior edge of alveola of incisor of same side) Basilar length of Hensel (from inferior lip of foramen mag- num to posterior edge of alveola of incisor) Greatest zygomatic breadth Greatest mastoid breadth Interorbital constriction Greatest length of nasal bones Length of upper molar series (on alveola:-) Incisor to molar Incisor to post-palatal notch ... Distance between alveoke of upper molar series anteriorly.. Distance between alveola1 of upper molar series posteriorly. Foramen magnum to post-paiatal notch Length of mandible (symphysis to angle) Height of mandible from angle to condylar process Length of under molariforni series Distance from incisor to molariforni series 13.2 8 9.3 15.8 10.5 18.3 28 16 35 33.7 20.4 4.5 13 8.2 9.3 14.1 5.8 7.7 20 27 15.3 7.8 5.4 21 5.3 13.4 8.2 9.4 14.2 6 28 15.6 Lagomys princeps Richardson. Basilar length (from one of the occipital condyles to pos- terior edge of alveola of incisor of same side) Basilar length of Hensel (from inferior lip of foramen mag- num to posterior edge of alveola of incisor) Greatest zygomatic breadth Greatest mastoid breadth Interorbital constriction Greatest length of nasal bones Length of upper molar series (on alveola^ Incisor to molar Incisor to post-palatal notch Distance between alveohe of upper molar series anteriorly Distance between alveola* of upper molar series posteri- orly Foramen magnum to post-palatal notch Length of mandible (symphysis to angle) Height of mandible from angle to condylar process Length of under molarifoim series Distance from incisor to molariform series DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPERMOPHILE FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. By Dr. C. Hart Merriam. SPEKMOPHILTJS MOHAVENSIS sp. nov. (Mojave Desert Spermophile. ) Type H|| $ ad. From Mojave River, California, Juiie 29, 1886. Collected by F. Stephens. Measurements (taken in flesh by collector). — Head and body, 162 ; tail vertebrae, 68 ; hairs, 16. Hind foot 38 (measured from the dry skin after soaking to straighten the toes. General characters. — Size about equal to 8. mollis; slightly larger than S. tereticaudus ; tail with hairs about half the length of head and body, distichous; ears rudimentary ; feet large; claws long and moderately curved; thumb with a large blunt claw; palms naked; soles densely hairy to claws; pelage rather harsh. Color. — Above, uniform grizzled grayish brown or drab-brown ; be- low, soiled white ; eyelids white ; tail above like the back, but with much black intermixed, particularly in the distal two- thirds where it is fully half black and bordered with creamy- white; below creamy- white, bor- dered all around by a subterminal black band. Cranial and dental characters. — Compared with that of 8. tereticaudus the skull is larger, thinner, and smoother; the nasals are broader pos- teriorly and also extend further backward, slightly overreaching the nasal branches of the premaxillaries, which latter are narrower poste- riorly than in & tereticaudus, though broader than in 8. mollis; the shelf of the palate is produced backward in the median line in the form of a long, slender spine instead of the blunt point of tereticaudus. The length of the molar series is the same as in tereticaudus, though the skull is larger— consequently the ratio of this length to the length of the skull is less; the first upper premolar is smaller and shorter than in either tereticaudus or mollis — in fact it falls short of the level of the crowns of the molar series. Habitat.— So far as known the present species is confined to the arid desert in which the Mojave River sinks. At all events enough is known 1 6 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 2. of the mammals of the surrounding region to justify the statement that it does not occur to the west, south, or east of the Mojave desert- hence the only direction in which it may yet be fouud is to the north- ward, in the desert region of southern Nevada. General remarks.— The number of specimens examined is nine, in- cluding adults of both sexes and young. The characters are very con. stant, there being little variation either in size or color. The species is entirly distinct from any previously described. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPERMOPHILE FROM NORTHWESTERN ARIZONA. By Dr. C. Hart Merriam. SPERMOPHILUS NEGLECTUS sp. nov. Type ffff ivoc\=^a, cheat, an imposter ; and [j.vS — a mouse, in reference to the circumstance that the external appearance of the animal gives no clue to its real affinities. Oct., 1889.] A NEW GENUS PHENACOMYS. 29 cuius (pi. ii, fig. 1 ; pi. in, fig. 9). There is a distinct supraorbital ridge bordering a median longitudinal frontal sulcus. It rises from the anterior border of the orbit and passes backward, following the outline of the calvarium to the lateral border of the interparietal, where it bends downward and becomes continuous with the vertical crest of the squamosal, which ends at the upper margin of the audital opening. In addition to the deep frontal sulcus there is on each side of the brain-case a shallow lateral sulcus between the ridge just described and a hori- zontal ridge of the squamosal, which is formed by the extension for- wards and backwards of the posterior root of the zygoma. At the point of junction of the orbital and temporal fossae this ridge gives off a very distinct postorbital process (squamosal, uotfrontal), which, with the lam- inar expansion of the zygoma below serves to sharply differentiate the orbit from the temporal fossa.* Furthermore, the temporal fossa is much reduced in breadth by the lateral encroachment of the brain-case, which is abruptly truncated in front of the postorbital process. The antero-posterior diameter of the interparietal is much greater than in Arvicola, and its transverse diameter less. In this respect it approaches Synaptomys and Myodes. In Phenacomys celatns, P. ungava, and P. lati- manus the interparietal is pentagonal, and its posterior border is nearly straight. The nasal bones are truncated posteriorly a little in front of the ends of the nasal branches of the premaxillaries. The rostrum is not shortened or strongly deflexed as it is in the Lemmings, but more nearly agrees with its normal condition in Arvicola. The zygomatic process of the maxillary bends down so abruptly that the lowest part of the zygomatic arch is opposite the first molar, as in Myodes (pi. II, fig. 3). In Arvicola the slope is more gradual, and the lowest part of the arch is opposite the last molar. The middle portion of the zygoma is expanded into a large lamina or plate, which consists of the expanded anterior end of the jugal or malar bone and the pos- terior portion of the zygomatic process of the maxillary. This plate slopes obliquely upward, as in Myodes and Synaptomys. Viewed from below, several characters of importance become appar- ent. The shelf of the palate is broadly emarginate posteriorly, with a median azygos projection. The pterygoid fossa is much broader an- teriorly than in Myodes, and the " step " at the back of the palate is less apparent on the sides, and is altogether wanting in the median line (pi. ii, fig. 2). In this respect Phenacomys presents a condition interme- diate between Evotomys and Arvicola, though resembling the former more than the latter. It resembles Evotomys further in the breadth and flatness of the palate and in the shape and relative size of the au- dital bullae. The latter, while conforming to the general Arvicoline "In Myodes and Synaptomys the horizontal ridge of the squamosal forms a pro- jecting shelf, overhanging the temporal fossa, and rounded off anteriorly. In Phen- acomys and Cuniculus this ridge is not developed into a projecting shelf, hut termi- nate* anteriorly in a distinct peg-like process. 30 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 2. pattern, are somewhat suborbicular instead of subfusiform. In this particular the departure from Synaptomys and Myodes is as marked as that from Arvicola. The basisphenoid is essentially as in Arvicola — it is not cut away laterally so much as in Synaptomys and Myodes. The ascending ramus of the under jaw is loug, and the articular facet is slightly above the level of the coronoid process (as in Evotomys and Cuniculus), which is sharp pointed and bent back at the tip (pi. in, fig. 9). The hamular process of the angle is rather large and curves slightly out- ward as well as upward. Its postero-iuferior border is obliquely flat- tened, but not to the extent seen in Synaptomys and Myodes. The root of the lower incisor ends posteriorly at the level of the alveola of the last molar, and a little outside and behind it, as in Evotomys. In Arvi- cola it passes back into the ascending ramus of the jaw as far as a point above and behind the dental foramen, this point being, as a rule, about two-thirds the distance from the crown of the last molar to the articular condyle. In Synaptomys and Myodes it ends at a point oppo- site and a little inside of the last molar. Hence in the posterior exten- sion of the under incisor Phenacomys is intermediate between the Lemmiugs and the true Field Mice. When the skull is allowed to rest on the upper molar series a per- pendicular let fall from the end of the nasals passes in front of the arc of the incisors, as in Evotomys and Synaptomys (pi. n, fig. 3). Dental characters. — Phenacomys has genuine rooted molars (pi. in, fig. 6), not half rooted molars like those of Evotomys, which grow from persistent pulps. In this respect it differs from all known members of the sub-family ArvicoUnce, and approaches the typical condition of the MuridcB. Each tooth in both upper and lower jaws has two distinct roots, which are long, divergent, and closed at the bottom, as in all truly-rooted teeth. The crowns of the teeth are large and crowded, with broadly rounded loops inclosing dentine islands of much larger size than in Arvicola, and somewhat larger even than in Evotomys, with correspondingly smaller interspaces or re-entrant angles (pi. vi). The dentine is umber-brown instead of white, thus emphasizing the peculiar appearance of the tooth-row as a whole. Upper molar series. — The upper molars resemble those of Arvicola (section Pedomys) in the general pattern, number, and arrangement of the prisms, but the crowding of the teeth produces a depression on the anterior face of the first loop of the second and third molars at the point where the preceding 'tooth presses against it, and a resultant bulge just inside of this point, giving the loop a pyriform shape, with an an- terior concavity (pi. vi, fig. 1), as sometimes seen in Evotomys. In Arvicola this loop is always strongly convex anteriorly. The details of the crowns are as follows : First upper molar with a broadly rounded anterior transverse loop, two external and two internal rounded tri- angles; second upper molar with an anterior pyriform transverse loop, one large internal and two smaller external rounded triangles ; third Oct., 1889.1 A NEW GENUS PHENACOMYS. 31 upper molar with an anterior pyriform transverse loop, one external and one internal closed triangle, and a posterior trefoil (pi. iv, fig. 12a). Sometimes the outer loop of the trefoil is closed, giving the tooth two external closed triangles and a postero-internal loop (pi. iv, fig. 11a). Lower molar series. — Line of infolding of enamel near outer side of tooth row. First lower molar with a posterior transverse loop, four greatly elongated internal triangles or digitations, of which at least two are completely closed, an anterior loop of variable shape, and three short external triangles, of which at least one is completely closed. Second lower molar with a posterior transverse loop, two greatly elongated internal triangles, of which one or both are closed, and two small external rounded triangles, one or both of which are closed. Third lower molar much larger than in Arvicola, as broad or nearly as broad anteriorly as posteriorly, with three greatly elongated internal loops, as in Synaptomys and Myodes, but without external tiiangle, the outer side being plane or having at most only two convexities, which correspond with the middle and last loops, respectively. By refer- ence to the accompanying figures it will be seen that the last lower Fig. 5. — Last lower molars of Arvicola. Fig. 6.— Last lower molars of Synaptomys. I'm. 7. — Last lower molars of Pheuacomys. molar of Phenacomys differs widely from that of Arvicola, but closely resembles that of Myotics and Synaptomys, the principal difference being the presence in the last mentioned genera of a distinct loop and cor- responding re-entrant angle on the outer side of the tooth. The deep- ening of the externo-lateral sulcus in. Phenacomys would produce almost precisely the condition this tooth presents in Synaptomys. In all the sections of the genus Arvicola the last lower molar is much broader posteriorly than anteriorly, while in Evotomys the reverse is true, it 32 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA,' [No. 2. being broadest anteriorly. In all the lower molars of Phenacomys the posterior loop is rounded off externally, as in Synaptomys and Myodes, instead of forming a prominent angular projection as it does in Arvicola and Evotomys (see cuts on preceding page). PHENACOMYS INTEBMEDIUS sp. nov. (Plate iv, fig. 11 ; pi. vi; pi. vii.) Type No. 780, immature. Museum of the Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey of Canada. From Kamioops, British Columbia,* October 2, 1888. Dr. Geo. M. Dawson. Measurements (from dry skin). — Total length about 118; head and body, 90 ; tail vertebrae, 28 ; hairs, 2 ; hind foot, 18 ; ears from crown, 8 ; from anterior root, 13. General characters. — Size rather small; tail slender, cylindrical; ears moderate, thin, protruding slightly beyond fur, well haired on both sides; roots rather near together; antitragus small, about as high as long; hind foot more slender than in P. celatus ; whiskers long and stiff; pelage deep, full, and soft. Color. — Above, grizzled grayish brown, paler than in Arvicola riparius; black-tipped hairs most abundant posteriorly, with no tendency to col- lect into a median darker area; under parts white, the basal plumbe- ous portion showing through ; tail bicolor, nearly black above ; fore feet light; hind feet dark, darkest on the ankle and outer side of foot. There is a strip of whitish hair on the soles. Cranial characters. — Unfortunately the skull is badly broken, and the occipital and basal portions are absent. Enough remains, however, to show that the brain-case is broad and flat, much like that of Chilotus. The specimen was young, though probably full grown, and the skull differs from those of the other species here described in the usual way in which skulls of young Arvicolinw differ from those of adults. It is lower and more evenly rounded, with broader iuterorbital and parietal regions. In fact, the breadth of the brain-case is considerably greater, both actually and in relation to the zygomatic breadth. This difference may be in part specific. There is no trace of the superciliary ridges which are so conspicuous in the adults, and but a faint indication of the lateral muscular impressions. The vertical lamellse of the zygo- matic arches are less developed, the incisive foramina are smaller, and the upper incisors are much shorter than in the other species. Dental characters. — Upper incisiors marked. with an indistinct groove near the outer side. Upper molars with all the loops and triangles closed (pi. VI, fig. 1). Last upper molar with an anterior pyriform transverse loop, two small external triangles, one large, transversely elongated internal triangle and a posterointernal loop, making in all three angular projections and two re entrant angles on each side. The * The exact locality, Dr. Dawson writes me, is a basaltic plateau about 20 miles NNW of Kamioops, at an altitude of 5,500 feet. Oc 1.1889.] FOUR NEW SPECIES OF PHENACOMYS. 33 ratios of the first, second, and third upper molars to the length of the upper molar series are, respectively, 40, 29, aud 31. Front lower molar (pi. vi, fig. 2, and pi. IV, fig. 11 b) with an anterior transverse loop, a posterior transverse loop, four internal triangles, aud three external triangles, making eleven projections, six of which are on the inner and five on the outer side of the tooth ; three triangles on each side are en- tirely closed, and the fourth inner triangle is nearly closed ; anterior loop flattened from before backward, inner half nearly transverse, outer half bent obliquely backward, as sometimes seen in Cuniculns. Second lower molar with a posterior transverse loop, two small, rounded, external closed triangles, and two large elongated, subequal internal closed loops or triangles, the posterior loop abruptly rounded off externally as in Synaptomys. Last lower molar large, about as broad anteriorly as poste- riorly. It consists of three vertical prisms set side by side and connected at their bases along the outer face of the tooth. The line of enamel- folds is thus brought in contact with the outer side of the tooth, there being no outer angles at all ; in fact the outer side has a plane, nearly flat surface, marked only by a slight ridge and compensating groove op- posite the middle triangle of the inner side. Therefore, the crown of the last lower molar presents the appearance of three long lobes directed inward and slightly backward, the middle one connected with the lateral on each side by a narrow isthmus at the base. The most anterior of these three divisions is about as long as the second and third, though the latter are much broader. The ratios of the first, second, and third lower molars to the length of the lower molar series are, respectively, 49.3, 27 7, aud 22.8. The length of the upper molar series, measured on the alveoke, is G.l ; on the crowns 5.7. The corresponding measure- ments of the lower molar series are 5.9 and 5.5. PHENACOMYS CELATUS sp. nov. (Plate ii, figs, l-.i ; pi. m, figs. 6 and 7 ; pi. iv, fig. 13.) Type No. §#H i ad. Godbout, P. Q., Canada, June 10, 1886. N. A. Comeau. Mea8urement8(froui alcoholic specimenbeforeskinning). — Total length, about 130 ; tail vertebne, 32; hairs, 2.5; hind foot, 17.5. General characters. — Size rather small, about equal to P. intermedins; feet broader than in intermedins; fore foot 5-tuberculate ; hind foot 0- tuberculate, tubercles all well developed ; thumb rudimentary, armed with a blunt nail ; tail slender, cylindrical, not particularly short (about one-third as long as head and body); whiskers long and conspicuous; ears defective, but thicker thau in intermedins, and hardly appearing above fur, not so hairy as iu ungava; autitragus small. Color. — Above, brown with a tawny cast, which may be the result of immersion in wood alcohol, out of which it was skinned ; below, whitish, the basal portion (about two thirds) dark plumbeous. Tail bicolor, but without line of demarkation ; darkest above, near the tip. Fore feet 2541— No. 2 3 34 NOETH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 2. and wrists whitish all round ; hind feet and ankles whitish, suffused with pale fulvous on the upper side. Cranial and dental characters. — Interparietal much larger than in P. lat- imanus and ungava, with antero- posterior diameter much greater (pi. n, fig. 1). First lower molar with a posterior transverse loop, four inter- nal triangles of which two are closed, three external triangles of which one is completely closed, and a broadly open anterior loop directed for- ward and slightly outward ; in all, five angular projections and four deep re-entrant angles on each side. Second lower molar with anterior tri- angles communicating. Third lower molar with a marked convexity followed by a distinct notch opposite the long middle lobe of the inner side (pi. IV, fig. 13). The length of the upper molar series, measured on the alveola?, is 5.9 ; on the crowns, 5.5. The corresponding measure- ments of the lower molar series are ^.6 and 5.5 respectively. General remarks. — In the National Museum collection there are the remains of two broken skulls of Phenacomys labeled " Groswater Bay, Labrador, Elliott Coues," of which I cau find no mention in Dr. Coues's writings. They have the appearauce of skulls found in the pellets of hawks and owls. One of them (No. 4218) is very young; the other (No. 4217) is older and larger, with correspondingly heavier processes and ridges than any of the specimens here described. I have provis- ionally referred it to P. celatus, because it has the same squarish inter- parietal, and essentially the same tooth pattern (see pi. in, figs. 6 and 7). PHENACOMYS LATIMANUS sp. nov. (Plate II, fig. 5; pi. iv, fig. 12.) Type No. fff^ $ yg. ad. Fort Chimo, Ungava, Hudson Bay. Feb. 4, 1883. Lucien M. Turner. Measurements (from alcoholic before skinning). — Total length, 116 ; head and body, 90; tail vertebra?, 28; hairs, 4; hind foot, 18; ear from crown, 5.5 ; from auterior root, 11. Additional measurements : Tip of nose to eye (inner cauthus), 12; to center of pupil, 13; to meatus, 22; to occiput, 27 ; to tip of ear, 31 ; length of manus, 11 ; breadth of manus, 5 ; breadth of pes, 5 ; fore leg, 25. General characters. — Size rather small : tail short, cylindrical ; fore feet broad, as in the Lemmings (pi. it, fig. 5 a) ; whiskers not so long and stiff as in the other species ; ears defective, but evidently peculiar, apparently very narrow and thin. Color. — Above, dull" rusty-brown, reddest about the eyes and nose (which may be due to alcoholic staining) ; below, whitish, the basal portion of the fur dark plumbeous. Tail sharply bicolor, brown above and white beneath, the latter occupying considerably more than half the circumference of the tail. Dental characters. — First lower molar with a posterior transverse loop, four internal triangles of which three are closed, three external Oct., 1889] FOUR NEW SPECIES OF PHENACOMYS. 35 triangles of which two are closed, and an anterior loop directed inward. Second lower molar with anterior triangles communicating (pi. iv, fig. 12). General remarks. — Mr. Turner writes me that this specimen was found dead in the path, and that the Indians believe that the species always dies on coming in contact with human foot-prints. PHENACOMYS UNGAVA sp. nov. (Plate ii, fig. 4 ; pi. in, tigs. 8 and 9.) Type No. £ff§ $ ad. Fort Chimo, Ungava, Hudson Bay Territory. Spring of 1884. Lucien M. Turner. Measurements (from alcoholic before skinning). — Total length, 138; head and body, 104; tail vertebra3,31; hairs,3.5; hind foot, 19; ear from crown, 7 ; ear from anterior root, 12. Additional measurements : Tip of nose to eye (inner canthus), 12; to center of pupil, 14; to meatus, 24; to occiput, 28. General characters. — Size, largest of the four species herein described ; tail moderately short, slender, cylindrical ; ears appearing above fur, densely haired inside and on the margin outside ; hiud feet longer and more slender than in P. celatus ; whiskers long and stiff. Color. — Above, rusty-brown, reddest on the nose ; below, whitish, the basal portion of the fur dark plumbeus. Dental cluvactcrs. — First lower molar with a posterior transverse loop, four internal triangles of which three are closed, three external trian- gles of which two are closed, and an anterior loop which forms a pro- jection on the inner side. Second lower molar with the anterior trian- gles broadly communicating (pi. in, tig. 8). INDEX Page. Antelope Squirrel 19-21 Arctomys caligatua 7 dacota 8-9 Jiavive nter 7 monax 7 Jrvicola, compared with Phenacomys 27-32 Bat, Free-tailed 23-25 Black Hills Marmot 7-9 Cuniculus, compared with Phenacomys 27 32 Evotomys, compared with Phenacomys 27-32 Grasshopper Mouse : Black-eyed 2 Loug-tai led 2 Texas 1-2 Lagomys princeps 11, 12, 13 8ohisticeps 11-13 Little Chief Hare 11 Marmot, Black Hills. 7-9 Mouse: Black-eyed Grasshopper 2 Long-tailed Grasshopper 2 Texas Grasshopper 1-2 Myoden, compared with Phenacomys 27-32 NycHnom us femorosacous 23 uiuliari nsis 25 Onychomya (genus) 1-5 Onychomys leucogaster 3, 4, 5 leucogaster mela/nophrya 2, 4, 5 longicaudua 2,4,5 longipes 1 , 2 , 4, ."> torridoa 3, 4, 5 Phenacomys (genus now) 27-32 Phenacomys celatua 33-34 intermedins 32-33 lalimanua 34-35 u ngava 35 Pika 11-13 Spermophile, Mojave Desert 15-16 Spermopliiliix moha veneU 15-16 neglectus 17 Squirrel, Antelope 19-21 Synaptomys, compared with Phenacomys 27-32 In hi ins Imrrisi 19,20,21 leucums 19-21 Texas Grasshopper Mouse 1-2 37 PLATE I. Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Onychomys leucogaster, $ young. (Skull No. 4422.) Fort Buford, Dakota. 1. Skull from above, and left under jaw from outside (X 2). 2. Crowns of left upper molars from below (X 10). 3. Crowns of left lower molars from above ( X 10). 4. Crowns of right upper molars from the side (X 10). 5. Crowns of right lower molars from the side (X 10). Figs. 6 and 7, Onychomys leucogaster, $" ad. (No. 5012). Valentine, Nebraska. 6. Crowns of left upper molars from below (x 10). 7. Crowns of left lower molars from above (X 10). Figs. 8 and 9, Onychomys longicaudus, $ ad. (No. 5896). St. George, Utah. 8. Crowns of left upper molars from.below ( X 10). 9. Crowns of left lower molars from above (X 10). 38 North American Fauna, No. 2. Plate I. 1-5. Onychomys lencogaster, d young. 6,7. Onychomys leucogaster, ? adult. 8,9. Onychomys longicaudus, d adult. PLATE II. 1-3. Phenacomys celatus, J ad. (No. 5988.) Godbout, P. Q., Canada. Type. 1. Skull from above (X 2). 2. Skull from below (x 2). 3. Skull from the side (x 2). 4. Phenacomys unyava, $ ad. (No. ffff.) Ungava. Type. a. Left forefoot. b. Left hind foot (X about 1^; drawn from alcoholic specimen). 5. Phenacomys lathnanus, $ yg. ad. (No. ffff.) Ungava. Type. a. Left forefoot. o. Left hind foot (x about 1J; drawn from alcoholic specimen). 40 North American Fauna, No 2 1-3. Phenacomys celatus, Desert of the Little Colorado, Arizona 1. General Results, with special reference to the geographical and vertical distribution of species 2. Grand Canon of the Colorado 3. Annotated List of Mammals, with descriptions of new species 4. Annotated List of Birds By Dn. C. Hart Mkkriam 5. Annotated List of Reptiles and Batrachians, with descriptions of new species BY Dr. Leonhakd Stejneger WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1890 MEASUREMENTS. All measurements of specimens are in millimeters. All Mammals collected by Field Agents of theDivision are measured in accordance with the following instructions: (1) The total length is the distance between the tip of the nose and the end of the tail vertebrae. It is taken by laying the animal on a board, with its nose against a pin or upright post, and by straightening the back and tail by extending the hind legs with one hand while holding the head with the other; a pin is then driven into the board at the end of the vertebras. (2) The length of tail is the length of the caudal vertebrae. It is taken by erecting the tail at right angle to the back, and placing one point of the dividers on the backbone at the very root of the tail, the other at the tip end of the vertebrae. (3) The hind foot is measured by placing one point of the dividers against the end of the heel (cal'carteum), the other at the tip of the longest claw, the foot being flattened for this purpose. In neasuring the hind foot in dry skins, the foot is fiist wrapped in wet absorbent cotton until the toes can be straightened. U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DIVISION OF ORNITHOLOGY AND MAMMALOGY NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA No. 3 PUBLTSHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE [Actual date of publication, September 11, 1890] Results of a Biological Survey of the San Francisco Mountain Region and Desert of the Little Colorado, Arizona 1. General Results, with special reference to the geographical and vertical distribution of species 2. Grand Canon of the Colorado 3. Annotated List of Mammals, with descriptions of new species 4. Annotated List of Birds By Dr. C. Hart Mkrrlam 5. Annotated List of Reptiles and Batrachians, with descriptions of new species By Dr. Lkoxhard Stkjneger WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1890 u± <-ine forest extends up the mountain as high as 2,675 meters (8,800 feet), but loses its distinct- ive character at about 2,500 meters (8,200 feet), where it is replaced in the main by a forest of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga douglasU), the same as that found from California to Puget Sound and British Columbia. The Douglas fir reaches an altitude of about 2,800 meters (9,200 feet), here giving place to Engelmann's spruce (Picea engelmanni), which covers the mountain sides between the altitude named and timber line (about 3,500 meters (11,500 feet). The fox-tail pine (Pinus aristata) begins a lit- tle lower down than Engelmann's spruce and accompanies it to the upper limits of tree growth, where both exist as depauperate forms scarcely more than a foot in height. The summit of the mountain above timber line consists of bare volcanic rock and is covered with snow about nine months of the year. Again passing down to the plateau, and thence in an easterly direc- tion to lower levels, a zone of cedar and pihon is first encountered — a belt varying in width from one to several miles according to the steep- ness of the slope. The only trees in this belt are junipers (locally known as ' cedars') and the pinon or nut pine (Pinus edulis), whose nut fur- nishes food to the Indians and the mammals and birds of the region. Descending still lower, the Desert of the Little Colorado is entered — an arid, treeless area whose upper limit may be set at the 1,800 meter (approximately 6,000 foot) contour or level. Parts of this desert are devoid of vegetation, while other parts support a scanty growth of cactus, greasewood, and a few other species. In the foregoing account the general features of the several zones of the San Francisco Mountain region have been briefly outlined. Eeca- pitulating, it may be said that in ascending from the hot and arid Desert of the Little Colorado to the cold and humid summit of the mountain no less than seven zones are encountered, each of which may be characterized by the possession of forms of life not found in the others. These zones, with their respective altitudes, are — first, the arid Desert region, below 1,800 meters (6,000 feet) ; second, the Pinon belt, from 1,800 to 2,100 meters (6,000 to 7,000 feet) ; third, the Pine, from 2,100 to 2,500 meters (7,000 to 8,200 feet) ; fourth, Douglas fir, from 2,500 to 2,800 meters (8,200 to 9,200 feet) ; fifth, Engelmann's spruce, from 2,800 to 3,500 meters (9,200 to 11,500) ; sixth a narrow zone of dwarf Aug.. 1890.] BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. 7 spruce; and seventh, the bare rocky summit, snow covered the greater part of the year.* These facts as isolated facts would be of compara- tively little interest, but in their bearing on the problems of geographic distribution a very deep interest attaches to them. This will appear by passing in review the distinctive plants and animals of the several zones, and tracing their distribution in other parts of their ranges. REMARKS ON THE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES CHAR- ACTERISTIC OF THE SEVERAL ZONES OF THE SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN REGION IN ARIZONA. ALPINE ZONE. [Approximate altitude : Above 3,500 meters, or 11,500 feet.] Nine species of plants which grow on the bleak and storm-beaten summit of San Francisco Mountain were brought back from Lady Frank- lin Bay by Lieut, (now General) A. W. Greely. These species are : Androsace septentrionalis Cijstopteris fragilis Saxifraga nivalis Arenaria verna Saxifraga caspitosa Oxi/ria digyna Cerastium alpinum Saxifraga flagellans Trisetum subspicatum One or more of them have been found at each of the following locali- ties : British Columbia, Unalaska, Bering Strait, Kotzebue Sound, PointBarrow, Melville Island, Back's GreatFish River, Hudson Bay and Strait, Labrador, Baffin Bay, Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen, New- foundland, Gulf of St. Lawrence, White Mountains of New Hampshire, Rocky Mountains, Selkirks, and Sierra Nevada. Several of them occur also in the arctic portions of the Old World, extending as far south along the coast as the island of Yeso, North Japan, and appearing again in the high mountains of Koumelia, in the Caucasus, the Carpathian Mountains, and the Alps. iSibb'iUliaprocHmbens is another polarspecies inhabiting arctic America from the peninsula of Unalaska to Hudson Bay, Labrador, and Green- land, and flourishing also throughout the arctic regions of Asia. It comes south along the higher summits of the Cascade range, the Sierra Nevada, and the Rocky Mountains, and occurs in isolated colonies on the barren peaks of San Francisco Mountain in Arizona and Mount Washington in New Hampshire. In the same way it inhabits the mountains of Central Asia and Siberia, and also the Carpathian Mount- ains, the Apennines, the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Himalaya. (ieinn rossii belongs to the same category, growing from Greenland "The normal altitudes here given for the various tree zones of San Francisco Mountain are averages for the northwest side of the mountain. Favorable southern and southwestern exposures carry the /ones up a hundred meters or more above these limits, while similar northern and northeastern exposures, particularly in gulches and carious, deflect the /.ones as much as two, or even three hundred meters. The normal average difference in altitude of the same zone 071 the southwest and north- east sides of San Francisco Mountain is ahout 275 meters (900 feet). 8 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [Ko. 3. and the shores and islands of Hudson Strait to Melville Island and the coasts of Bering* Strait and Unalaska, and also in the northern part of Siberia and Kainschatka. It conies southward in the Eocky Mountains, inhabiting tbe higher peaks of the Uintas and of Colorado, and is the most conspicuous plant above timber line on San Francisco Mountain, where it forms dense mats of green among the bare rocks — patches of such extent that they may be seen from the plateau level below. Other arctic plants found above timber line on San Francisco Mount- ain, most of them circumpolar species, are: Arenaria alpina Polemonium confertum Silene acaulis Cerastium arvense Sagina linixei Slcllaria wmbellata Festuca brevifolia Saxifraga debilis Thlaspi alpestre It appears from what has been said that many of the plants found on the high rocky summit of San Francisco Mountain occur on the higher peaks of the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada* and Cascade range, and the Appalachian chain ; they occur along the arctic coasts of Alaska, Hudson Strait, North Labrador, Greenland, North Siberia, and Spitz- bei gen ; they occur in the Alps of Europe, in the Altai and Ural Mount- ains, the Pyrenees, and some of them even in the Himalaya. In brief, they inhabit the arctic regions of the globe and extend far south on the summits of the higher mountain ranges. Plants and animals having such a distribution are termed Arctic- Alpine Circumpolar species. We collected no insects at high altitudes on San Francisco Mountain, but butterflies and diptera from great elevations in Colorado have been shown to be identical with species from Mount Washington, Labrador, and Greenland. Among birds, the Golden Eagle— a truly circumpolar species, though not confined to the arctic zone — rears its young on San Francisco Mountain. There are no exclusively arctic mammals on the top of this high mountain, because such mammals could not exist long in so small an area. An Ermine Weasel (Piitorius sp. ? ) inhabits the summit, and the Big-horn or Mountain Sheep, another truly circumpolar type, spends the summer there, descending in winter to lower levels. SUB-ALPINE OK TIMBER-LINE ZONE. [Approximate altitude, 3,200-3,500 meters, or 10,500-11,500 feet.] Just below the barren arctic summit of the mountain is a narrow belt which may be named the Timber-line zone. Here the trees which reach timber line (in this case Picea engelmanni and Finns aristata) lose the upright or arborescent habit and exist as stunted and prostrate trunks, whose gnarled and weather-beaten forms bear testimony to the severity of their struggle with the elements. In this narrow belt a number of * EDgler tells us that 26 per cent, of the plants found on the High Sierra Nevada are found also in the Alps and throughout arctic Europe. Aug., 1890. 1 BIOLOC4IOAL SURVEY OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. 9 hardy little plants attain their maximum development, decreasing rap- idly in abundance both above and below. Among1 those are : Arenaria biflora carnutosa Gentiana barbellata PotcntiUa diasecta Cerastium alpinum behring- Gentiana tenella Primula parryi ianum Heuckefa rtibesoens Saxifraga debilis Oorallorhiza nmlti flora Lazula spadicea parviflora Sedum rhodanthum Draba aurea Pedicularis paiTyi Veronica alpina Epllobinm saximontanum Phleum alpinum Many of them are circumpolar species found throughout the northern regions of America, and some of them throughout the northern regions of the world, coming south on high mountains and occurring in greatest per- fection just at or near the edge of the northern limit of trees, and at tim- ber-line on mountains further south. Such plants are known to botanists as ' Sub- Alpine species,'' and it would be well if the term sub-alpine were restricted to the characteristic species of this zone. Among birds, the Titlark (Anthus pensilvanieus) was found at the top of the mountain, where it probably breeds. It breeds in grassy places on the high peaks of the Eocky Mountains, and at sea-level in Labrador, Greenland, and throughout arctic America; and birds congeneric with it are known to breed throughout the arctic portions of the Old World. (central) iiudsonian or spruce zone. [Approximate altitude, 2,800-3,200 meters ; or 9,200-10,500 feet.] Passing down into the next zone, the Spruce zone, a number of plants, birds, and mammals are encountered, which are characteristic of humid northern regions, but regions not quite so cold as those inhabited by the species which occur on the snowy summit and at timber-line. The characteristic trees of this zone are Engeliu aim's spruce (Picea engel- manni) and the fox-tail pine (Pinns aristata). Some of the small plants are : Aquilegia chryaantha Pentatemon glaueus ateno- Solidago multiradiaia Lathyrus wrizonieua aepalua Zygadenua elegana Mei'tenaia paniculata Pyrola ehlorantha Moneaca wnifiora Uibea aetoaum The fact of present interest is that many of the plants here enumer- ated as growing in the Spruce zone of this mountain are equally charac- teristic of the upper spruce belt of the higher Alleghanies, the Eocky Mountains, the Cascades, and the Sierra Nevada, and occur also in the great northern spruce forest of Canada. It is well known that the north- ernmost part of our own continent consists of bare rock and frozen tun- dras. There are no trees along the sea edge of Labrador or Hudson Strait, or along the coast region of arctic America from Boothia Felix to Alaska, but just south of this region a large forest begins which has been called the ' Great Pine Forest.' There is not a pine tree in it, but it is called pine because conifers in general are called pines by people who are not botanists. The tree that grows there is a species of spruce congeneric 10 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 3. with the spruce which occurs high up on San Francisco Mountain, and many of the humbler plants are either identical or closely related repre- sentative forms. Among the birds which breed in the Spruce belt on this mountain are the Goshawk, Dusky Horned Owl, Dusky Grouse, Evening Grosbeak, and Clark's Crow. The Goshawk and Dusky Horned Owl range throughout the spruce forests of the north, from Labrador to Alaska, and south in the mountains; while the others are confined to its west- ern parts and outliers. Of mammals, the Porcupine is the only one believed to be restricted to this belt during the season of reproduction, and, like the Big-horn, it comes down to lower levels during the winter. Bears ( Ursus), Shrews (Sorex), Voles (Arvicola), and Ked Squirrels (Sciurus fremonti mogol- lonensis) range throughout the spruce and fir zones but were not found below. (CENTRAL) CANADIAN OR BALSAM FIR ZONE. [Approximate altitude: 2,500-2,800 meters ; or 8,200-9,200 feet.] The distinctive tree of this zone is Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga douglasii), which ranges northward to British Columbia. Another tree of nearly coincident vertical distribution on the mountain is the lofty Boeky Mountain Pine (Pinus flexilis macrocarpa), which extends north to the Kootenai region and Calgary in Canada. Wherever the Douglas fir has been burned off, its place is taken by the aspen {Populus tremuloides), a species of wide distribution iu the north, where it ranges from New England to Newfoundland and Labrador, and thence westward to Alaska, reaching its highest perfection along the southern part of the great coniferous forest of northern Canada, and coming south in the mountains. Among the smaller plants of the Douglas fir zone are : AcUva spicata Geniiana affinis Potentilla fruticosa Herberts ripens Geniiana lutevoscpala Hibes rusbyi Ceanoih ns fcndleri Geum trijlorum rioia canadensis scopulorum Nearly half of the above (namely, Geum trijlorum, Potentilla fruticosa, Actcca spicata, and Viola canadensis) have a wide range in the Canadian flora of the East and North, or are representative forms of such species ; and probably Ceanothus fendleri may be safely regarded as the western representative of G. ovatus, which ranges eastward from the Kocky Mountains to Vermont, One batrachian, a Salamander of the genus Amblystoma, has been found in this zone. Allied species inhabit the Canadian fauna of the East. A number of species of birds are characteristic of the Douglas fir zone. At least eight of these are either identical with or closely related representative forms of species which are well-known members of the Canadian fauna of the East, most of them breediug in northern New Aug., 1*90.1 BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. 11 England, the Adirondack^, and southward in the Alleghanies. These are: Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides amrri- Brown Creeper (Certhia familiaris mon- canus dorsalis) lana) 01ive-8idedFlycatcher(Co/(/oj)»s&o?Trt7i'.s) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus ealen- Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra stricklandi) ine regions of Arizona, New 12 NOETH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 3. Mexico, and Colorado, and has been reported from Durango, in Mexico. Very little can be said with certainty as to the characteristic birds of the Pine belt, the date of ray arrival at the mountain being so late (end of July) that the birds had finished breeding- and were beginning to wander. The following species, however, were nearly confined to the pines at that date and are known to breed there : Red-backed. Jnnco (Junco cinereus dor- Western Flycatcher (Emjndovax difficilis) salts) Richardson's Flycatcher (Contopus rich- Nuttall's Poor-will {Phalwnoptilus nut- ardsoni) tali) s Pigmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmcea) The only reptile found in the Pine belt is a handsome horned toad (Phrynosoma hernandesi), which is abundant. PINON ZONK. [Approximate altitude, 1,800-2,100 meters, or 6,000-7,000 feet.] The distinctive trees of this zone are the piiion, or nut pine (Pinus edulis), and the so-called 'cedar' (Juniperus occidentalis monosperma) both averaging about 5 meters (16J feet) in height. The singular checker- bark juniper (Juniperus pachyphlcea), a very handsome and conspicuous species, occurs in two or three special localities, but is rare. Several large shrubs not observed elsewhere are abundant in parts of this belt, namely, Berberis fremonti, Rhus aromatica trilobata, and Spiraea discolor dumosa. Near the Grand Cahon of the Colorado and again at Walnut Caiion, where the lava rock gives place to limestone, these shrubs are joined by Gowania mexicana, Spircea millifolium, and Bobinia neo-mexicana;, and Yucca angustifolia is replaced by Yucca baccata. Ju- niperus californica utaliensis also grows at the Grand Canon. A dense chaparral (Fallugia paradoxa) forms extensive thickets east of O'Leary Peak and occurs sparingly over most of the Piiion belt, even extend- ing down into the desert in places. Both the piiion and cedar occupy elevations of corresponding temperature in the arid lands from west- ern Texas through New Mexico and Arizona and north to central Col- orado, and the cedar reaches westward to southern California. Closely related and strictly representative forms extend northward through the Great Basin to the Plains of the Columbia. The other species men- tioned occupy more or less of the same range, and some of them push northward over the Great Plains as well as the interior basin. The most conspicuous bird of the Piiion belt is the Piiion Jay (Cyan- ocephalus cyanocephalus). Other characteristic species are Woodhouse's Jay (Aphelocoma woodhousei), the Gray Tufted Tit (Parus inornatus griseus), the Gnatcatcher (Polioptila ccerulea), and the Bush Tit (Psal- tripar us plumbeous). The range of these species, taken collectively,* is coextensive with the distribution of the cedar belt above described. The large Rock Squirrel (Spermopliilus grammurus) is the most char- Aug., 1890. J DE8ERT OF THE LITTLE COLORADO. 13 acteristic mammal of the Piiion belt, with which its range appears to be nearly coincident. It occurs in suitable localities from western Texas to the Great Basin in Utah and Nevada. Two or three small mammals, characterized by darkness of coloration, seem to be restricted to this belt, namely, Spermophilus spilosoma obsidianus, Perognathusfuliginosus, and Onychomys fuliginosus, which are here described for the first time. (See part III.) Lizards abound in the Piiion belt, becoming more numerous toward the desert, but two species (Sceloporus consobrinus and Uta ornata) which abound in the Piiion belt were not found in the desert below. THE DESERT AREA. [Approximate altitude : 1,200-1,800 meters, or 4,000-6,000 feet.] The Desert of the Little Colorado, sometimes known as the 'Painted Desert,' is a great basin about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) in depth, situ- ated on the top of the plateau. It was excavated, as its name indicates, by the drainage system of the Little Colorado Paver — the Colorado Chiquito of the Mexicans — and consequently is lowest at the north, its slope being away from the southern edge of the plateau. The river has cut its bed down to about 820 meters (2,700 feet) at the point where it empties into the Grand Canon of the Colorado, and throughout the lower part of its course it flows through a canon considerably below the level of the desert proper, the lowest part of which is but little less than 1,200 meters (approximately 4,000 feet) in altitude. Its upper limit may be set at 1,800 meters (6,000 feet). The term Painted Desert should be restricted, it seems to me, to that part of the basin which is below 1,500 meters (approximately 5,000 feet).* The geology of the region is simple. The lowest stratum which comes to the surface is carboniferous limestone; above this is red sandstone, which in turn is overlaid by the so-called variegated marls or argillaceous clays, sometimes capped by a thin layer of impure coal or lignite. The limestone appears on the west side of the river only (?), where it is soon buried under the ancient lava floods from San Francisco Mountain and neighboring craters. The red sandstone is encountered everywhere, sometimes as surface rock, sometimes as high cliffs forming the escarp- ments of broad mesas, and sometimes as curiously sculptured tablets standing on the plain. The marls are widely distributed, and in many * Tlic area below 1,:570 meters (4,500 feet) is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) in length, and that below L,500 meters (5,000 feet), 200 kilometers (T25 miles). The long axis of the desert, slightly crescentic in form, and ourvingfrom near the month of the Little Colorado in the northwest to New Mexico in the southeast, is 320 kilometers (200 miles) in length, with a transverse diameter of about 110 kilometers (70 miles) along the middle portion, and a total area of 29,800 square kilometers (ll,.r>00 square miles). Its eastern edge penetrates the boundary of New Mexico in two arms, follow- ing the usually dry courses of the Znhi and the Carrizo, and nearly reaches the boundary along the Rio l'nerco, the largest tributary of the Colorado Chiquito. 14 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. (No. 3. places, particularly south of the lower part of Moencopie Wash,* rise from the surface level in the form of strangely eroded hills and ranges of stratified cliffs whose odd shapes and remarkable combinations of colors — red, white, blue, brown, yellow, purple, and green — have given the area in which they occur the name 'Painted Desert.' There are hun- dreds of smoothly rounded, dome-shaped hills of bluish clay, utterly de- void of vegetation, and almost identical in appearance with the 'gumbo hills,' of the Bad Lands bordering the Little Missouri in North Dakota. Both the hills and the naked clayey flats between them abound in alkali vents — miniature craterlets — where the alkali effloresces, crusting over the surface in patches which resemble newly fallen snow. Many of the hills are capped with fossil wood, and many of the flats and lower levels east of the Little Colorado River are strewn with chips and pieces which have tumbled down during the wearing away of the hill-sides. Logs 30 to 50 centimeters (roughly, a foot or a foot and a half) in diameter and 9 to 12 meters (30 or 40 feet) in length are still common, and several sections were found, possibly from the same tree, which measured about 150 centimeters (5 feet) in diameter. There are pebble beds miles in ex- tent, made up of agate, moss-agate, chalcedony, jasper, obsidian, and fossil wood, witli not so much as a spear of grass or bit of cactus be- tween them. On the other hand, many of the mesas and plains are covered with sand and decomposed marls which supporta scanty growth of cactus, yucca, grease- wood, and a few other forms of vegetation char- acteristic of arid regions. The bed of the Little Colorado River contains the only running water in this part of Arizona, and it 'goes dry' a large part of the year, a little water remaining in scattered pools, which are strongly alkaline. Some of the salt and alkali flats on the river-bottom support a luxuri- ant growth of a singular fleshy plant belonging to the genus Salicomia, which at a little distance looks like a leafless bush with thick green stems. During the rainy season, and whenever the river ' runs,' the liquid which flows down its course is red alkaline mud, about the con- sistency of ordinary sirup. This is the case also with its tributaries, of which Moencopie Wash and Tenebito Wash are the only ones which cross the Painted Desert proper. The physical and climatic features of the Painted Desert are peculiar and striking, and result in the production of an environment hostile alike to diurnal forms of animal life and to the person who traverses it. The explorer is impressed with the unusual aspects of nature — the strange forms of the hills, the long ranges of red and yellow cliffs, the curiously buttressed aud turreted buttes and mesas, the fantastic shapes * The terms ' wash ' and ' arroyo ' are applied to the deep channels or ravines so common in arid regions. "These arroyos are natnral consequences of the unequal manner in which the rain falls throughout the year. Sometimes not a drop falls for several months; again, it pours down in a perfect deluge, washing deep beds in the unresisting soil, leaving behind the appearance of the deserted bed of a great river," —Emory, Mexican Boundary Survey, I, 1857, p. 57. Aug., 1890] DESERT OF THE LITTLE COLORADO. 15 of the rocks carved by the sand-blast and rendered still more weird by the hazy atmosphere and steady glare of the southern sun, the sand- whirls moving swiftly across the desert, the extraordinary combina- tion of colors exposed by erosion, the broad clayey flats whitened by patches of alkali and bare of vegetation, the abundance of fossil-wood, the extensive beds of shining pebbles, the unnatural appearance of the distant mountain sharply outlined against the yellow sky, the vast stretches of burning sand, the total absence of trees, the scarcity of water, the alluring mirage, the dearth of animal life, and the intense heat, from which there is no escape.* The plant life of the desert is scattered and scanty, and consists of such characteristic arid land forms as grease- wood (Atripleas canescens, A. confertifolia, and Sarcobatus vermiculatus) ; weeds of the genera Dico- ria and Oxytcenia (D. brandigei and 0. acerosa) ; a large brush-like shrub (Tetradymia canescens) with flowers suggesting the golden-rod; the singular Ephedra, which has no apparent foliage ; the narrow-leaved yucca ( Yucca angustifolia), and cactuses of several genera. But it must not be supposed that these rank and spiny forms of vegetation, whose gray or dull olive colors are in perfect harmony with the parched and barreu aspects of the desert, are the only plants found there ; for no sooner is the surface moistened by the passing showers of the so-called ' rainy season ' than numerous plauts spring into existence, and favored parts of the desert lose something of their usual desolate and dreary appearance. There are places where even the nutritious grama grass (Bouteloua) gains a precarious foot-hold, and where a dwarf lupine (Lu- * Lieutenant Ives and Dr. Newberry attempted to cross this desert from the Little Colorado near Grand Falls, but were obliged to turn back the first day. After follow- ing up tbe river for three days they fouud an Indian trail leading north, and followed it to the Moki villages. Tbe following quotation is from Ives's account of the first day ou the desert : " The scene was one of utter desolation. Not a tree nor a shrub broke its monotony. The edges of the mesas were flaming red, and the sand tbrew back the sun's rays in a yellow glare. Every object looked hot and dry aud dreary. The animals began to give out. We knew that it was desperate to keep on, but felt uu- willing to return, and forced tbe jaded brutes lo wade through the powdery impalpable dust for fifteen miles. The country, if possible, grew worse. There was not a spear of grass, and from the porousness of t lie soil and rocks it was impossible that there should be a drop of water. A point was reached which commanded a view twenty or thirty miles ahead, but the fiery bluffs and yellow sand, paled somewhat by distance, ex- tended to the end of the vista. Even beyond the ordinary limit of vision were other bluffs aud sand fields, lifted into view by the mirage, and elongatiug the hideous picture." Woodbouse, in speaking of a somewhat similar desert which he crossed in western Arizona, states that a coyote, " becoming desperate, rushed to the spring, aud was killed by one, of the men with a stone." lie says further: "The ravens were hover- ing over us while we remained here, eagerly watching our famished mules. Since we loft Bill Williams's Fork there have been clouds seen every day, and anxiously did we watch for rain; but this seemed a thing impossible, to rain in this miserable coun- try, where everything appears to be an enemy, and is armed with a thorn or a poison- ous stiujr." 16 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. • lNo.3. pinus capitatus) is abundant ; and the higher levels are adorned by a kind of painted-cup {Castellcia) and scattered beds of a rather coarse plant (Mirabilis multiflora) which suggests the morning glory. The del- icate pink blossoms of the graceful Malvastrum, and the more showy yellow and orange flowers of Hiddellia tagetina and Zinnia grandiflora would attract attention anywhere, and their beauty is here heightened by contrast with their sombre surroundings. Without going into details it may be said that these plants, taken collectively, occur in the arid parts of northern Mexico,* Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California, and some of them extend north in the Great Basin, even reaching the Plains of the Columbia ; and a few spread northward over the Great Plains east of the Eocky Mountains. Large black beetles of the genera Eleodes and Asida are common on the Painted Desert and are characteristic arid land forms, occurring also in Mexico. Toads of the peculiar genus Spea, modified for life in desert regions, were found after rains in some of the arroyos or washes, which are dry the greater part of the year. Lizards are the most conspicuous forms of animal life and many spe- cies abound throughout the desert. Among them are : Crotaphytus baileyi Seeloporus elongatus Rolbroolin maculata flavilenta Crotaphytus wislizenii Uta stansburiana Phrynosoma ornatissimum Seeloporus yraciosus We saw only one rattlesnake, but others have been recorded. Sev- eral of the species and all of the genera of reptiles here mentioned occur also in Mexico. Birds are scarce, both in species and individuals, and but few breed on the desert of the Little Colorado. The following species were ob- served there : Black-throated Desert Sparrow (Amphi- Brewer's Sparrow (Sp>izella breweri) spiza bilineata) Sage Thrasher (Oroscoptes montanus) Nevada Sage Sparrow (A. belli n&vadensis) Thrasher (Harporhynchits sp. — ?) Boucard's Sparrow (Pewccea ruficeps boa- Burrowing Owl (Speotyto cunicularia hy- cardi) pogcca) All of these are characteristic arid land birds, which come into the United States from Mexico and extend northward various distances. Boucard's Sparrow ranges north from the table-lands of Mexico to western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona ; the Black-throated Desert Sparrow, from Mexico and Texas westward to southern California and north in the Great Basin to Utah and Nevada ; the Sage Sparrow, from Mexico north to the Plains of the Columbia 5 Brewer's Sparrow, from * The number of Arizona plants which occurin the northern part of Mexico is very large. Hemsley, in the botanical part of Biologia Centrali-Americana, states that of the 560 genera of Arizona plants mentioned by Rothrock, no less than 402, or.72 per cent., occur also in northern Mexico. Aug., 1890.] DESERT OF THE LITTLE COLORADO. 17 Mexico north over the Great Plains and the Great Basin ; the Sage Thrasher, from Mexico north through the Great Basin ; and the Bur- rowing Owl, from southeastern Texas to California and northward to Canada wherever suitable localities exist. Another characteristic arid land bird, the Boad Bunner or Chaparral Cock (Geococcyx califor- nianus), was not seen, but has been recorded from the Little Colorado, and, like the others,enters the United States from Mexico. It ranges from Texas to California and north to Colorado. The characteristic mammals of the desert are small nocturnal forms, such as Kangaroo Bats (Diporfomys), Pocket Mice (Ohcetodipus, a sub- genus of Perognathus), Big-eared Mice {Hesperomys — of the eremicus group), and Free-tailed Bats (Nyctinomus). All of these groups reach the United States from Mexico, and none of the species of the Painted Desert range much north of Arizona. Thus it appears that most of the forms of life inhabiting the desert of the Little Colorado — its mammals, birds, reptiles, and plants — occur also in Mexico and extend northward as far as the arid lands are suited to their requirements ; and some of its species range east into Texas and west into southern California. In like manner it has been shown that the characteristic forms of life of the Pinon belt occur in similar areas in different parts of the arid lands from Mexico to the Plains of the Columbia ; that lands which rise above the level of the Pinon belt are covered with forests of tall pines and in the main possess the same species from western Texas to British Columbia; that still higher elevations are clothed with balsam and spruce, and that the humbler plants, the birds, and the mammals of these balsam and spruce forests are essentially the same throughout the Bocky Mountains and the great northern forest of Canada from north- ern New England to Alaska; that the mountain peaks, if sufficiently high, are bare at the summit, or capped with snow and ice, and sustain the same species of plants that grow in the arctic regions of the world and come south on the high mountain ranges in all parts of the Northern Hemisphere; in brief, it has been found that the same species, or closely related representative species of animals and plants inhabit the remotest parts of these several zones that inhabit them on San Fran- cisco Mountain. INTERRELATIONS AND AFFINITIES OF TIIK SEVERAL ZONES. The contemplation of the phenomena here described leads naturally to comparisons of similar areas throughout the country ; to attempts to bring together these areas into natural biological zones and provinces, and to inquiries concerning their origin. Without going into the history of the subject, it may be said that most zoologists recognize three primary zoo-geographical divisions in the United States — an 'Easterns extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Plains; a 'Central,' from the eastern border of the Plains westward to the Sierra Nevada ; and a ' Western, from the eastern 501— No. 3 2 18 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. . [No. 3. base of the Sierra Nevada to the Pacific. The arid region of the South- west which enters the United States from Mexico has been recognized as a distinct division by many naturalists, and has been named the 1 Ghihuahuan7 or ' Sonoran1 region. The region east of the Great Plains was subdivided by Agassiz as early as 1854 into three areas which he called Faunas, namely : (i) a ' Canadian Fauna? (2) an ' Alleglianian Fauna? or Fauna of the Mid- dle States, and (3) a ' Louisianian Fauna? or Fauna of the Southern States. Subsequent writers, particularly Verrill and Allen, have cir- cumscribed these Faunas, reduced their rank, and increased their num- ber until at the present time ornithologists recognize eight faunal areas in eastern North America, as follows: (1) Arctic; (2) Hudsonian ; (3) Canadian; (4) Alleghauiau; (5) Carolinian ; (6) Louisianian ; (7) Florid- ian; and (8) Antillean. Cope, from a study of the reptiles and ba- trachians, united the Louisianian and Floiidian Faunas into a district of primary rank, which he named the 'Austrorvparian' region — the exact equivalent of Agassiz's Louisianian Fauna. Passing over this region as clearly of southern origin, there remain the Carolinian, Alle- glianian, Canadian, Hudsonian, and Arctic Faunas. The three latter are boreal in their affinities, while the Carolinian is suffused with south- ern forms, and the Alleglianian seems to be neutral ground. In studying the several life-zones of the higher declivities of San Fran- cisco Mountain it became apparent not only that each has its corre- sponding zone in the East, but that in many instances the zones of the mountain may be recognized by the presence of the identical species which characterize them in New England and Canada. In short, it was found that the faunal and floral zones which go to make up the Boreal Province in the East may be traced in a northwesterly direction around the northern end of the Plains of the Saskatchewan and then south along the sides of the Rocky Mountains, even to this isolated peak in Arizona.* This has been pointed out somewhat in detail in the discus- sion under the head of each zone, and has been indicated further by the headings themselves. Each zone, while possessing throughout a certain number of common or strictly representative species, undergoes a notable change in pass- *This will be made clear by a glance at tbe accompanying map of North America (map 5), on which the Boreal Province is represented in clear green. Scudder, under the head of "Anomalies in the Geographical Distribution of our Butterflies," mentions a number of cases in which northern species of butterflies occur in supposed isolated colonies at remote points, all of which, it is significant to observe, fall within the boundaries of the Boreal Province here defined. He cites the brown elfin butterfly (Incisalia augustus) as a species throwing some light on this ' anomalous' distribution. It occurs, he states, in New England and New York, aud south iu the Alleghanies to West Virginia. North of the United States it has been found at Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, and thence westerly as far as Cumberland House on the North Saskatchewan. In the West it again enters the United States along the Rocky Mountains, aud extends as far south as Colorado. A better example of a typical boreal distribution could hardly be desired. Aug., 1890.] BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. 19 iug from the East to tbe West, each extreme being occupied by certain species not found in the other. It is necessary to recognize this differ- ence in the names applied to the zones; hence the prefix 'central' has been used in each case to distinguish the Eocky Mountain arm from the eastern arm. The several zones of the San Franciso Mountain region are interre- lated in different degrees, some very closely and others very remotely. Many species and even genera which are common to two or more zones, and consequently of no value whatever in defining the single areas, be- come of the utmost importance in studying the interrelations of the sev- eral zones. For instance, in the highest group of all — the mammalia — there are representatives of four distinct types, namely, Bears, Shrews, Yoles, and Red Squirrels, which range from the top of the timber-line belt to the bottom of the Canadian or Douglas fir zone.* All of these are circum polar types, ranging over the boreal parts of the whole world and coming south in the mountains. It is clear, therefore, that they are of boreal origin. On the other hand, there are several very different types of mammals, among which may be mentioned the Kangaroo Rats, Pocket Mice, and Grasshopper Mice, which do not occur above the Pifion zone. These are southern types reaching the United States from the table-lauds of Mexico aud extending northward over the arid lauds as far as the conditions are suited to their requirements. It is clear, therefore, that they are of southern origin. In short, it may be stated, as a result of this biological survey of the San Francisco Mountain region, that all the forms of life inhabiting Arizona were derived from one of two directions— the north or the south. Aud in extending these re- searches and generalizations so as to embrace the Great Interior Basin, the Rocky Mountain region, aud the Great Plains, which together con- stitute the so-called ' Great Central Province,'t of naturalists, I was astonished to be forced into the belief that no such province exists. In- deed, the present investigation demonstrates that there are but two pri- mary life provinces in this country : a northern, which may be termed Boreal, and a southern, which, for our purposes, may be termed Sonoran, since it comes to us from Mexico through Sonora. In attempting to arrange all the life zones of Arizona under these two headings the fol- lowing conclusions have been reached: The Arctic- Alpine, Timber-line, Hudsonian, and Canadian zones, having been shown to be derived from the north, fall naturally under the Boreal division. TheDesert and Piiion zones, having been shown to be derived from the south, fall naturally under the Sonoran division. There remains but one area, namely, the Pine area, whose relationships are in any way obscure. This area has "Bears range over the lower levels at certain seasons of the year, but are not known to breed away from the spruce and Br forests. tThis province was outlined by Agassi z as long ago as 1854, and has been accepted so far as its essential features are concerned by LeConte, Baird, Wallace, Alleu, Cope, Binuey, Gray, Packard, and nearly all recent writers. 20 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 3. been shown to consist of a mixture of Boreal and Sonoran types, more or less modified by adaptation to environment. In other words, it is neutral territory. But since the number of its Sonoran types is greatly in excess of its Boreal types, it may be more properly referred to the Sonoran Province. Therefore, of the seven life-zones of the San Fran- cisco Mountain region in Arizona, four may be referred to the Boreal Province and three to the Sonoran. The zoues composing each of these primary divisions are related to one another in different degrees. Thus, the Timber-line, Hudsonian; and Canadian zones are much more intimately related than the Timber- line and the Alpine; and the affinities of the Pifiou and Desert are much closer than those of the Piiion and Pine. Hence it becomes pos- sible to group the zones into categories of intermediate rank between the primary provinces and the tertiary zoues or areas. These second- ary divisions are here termed regions. Under the Boreal Province we may recognize two regions, an Arctic and a Boreal. The Arctic region contains but one zone, the Alpine. The Boreal region contains three zones, namely, the Timber-line, Hudsonian, and Canadian. The Sono- ran or southern province may be likewise split into two regions, a Sub- Arid and an Arid. The Sub-Arid consists of a single zone, the Pine. The Arid region comprises two zones,* the Pinon and the Desert. The facts here set forth may be graphically represented by means of a table, thus : Life Areas of the San Francisco Mountain Bet/ion in Arizona. Provinces. Ecgions. Zones or Areas. ! Boreal < 1 i Sonoran < I Alpine. Timber-line. Hudsonian. Canadian. Pine. Piiion. Desert. f Boreal s Sub- Arid Arid \ The primary divisions are based on the possession of distinctive genera; the secoudary and tertiary chiefly on distinctive species, though some of them possess distinctive genera also. ORIGIN OF THE BOREAL FAUNA AND FLORA OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. The Boreal zones of San Francisco Mountain are separated from cor- responding areas elsewhere by a broad interval occupied by the upper faunas and floras of the Sonoran Province. The arctic summit of the mountain is distant more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the nearest peak of similar character in Colorado, and nearly 3,200 kilome- ters (2,000 miles) from the nearest point in the Arctic zone proper — all * The Desert of the Little Colorado contains but two arid zones; further south a third is encountered. Aug., 1890.] BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. 21 the arctic areas within the United States being mere dots upon the map, and even the lower zones of the Boreal Province being widely separated from similar areas in the north. The question naturally arises as to the origin of these small colonies of arctic life wbich appear here aud there over a great continent. It is perfectly evident that they could not have reached their present positions during existing climatic con- ditions; hence it is necessary to search the records of the past for the explanation. The period immediately preceding the present is known as the glacial age, because the northern parts of the globe were then buried in ice. This ice cap, which in places was several thousand feet in thickness, underwent two principal movements of advance aud re- treat, first crowding the life of the region far to the southward, then allowing it to return, to be again driven south by the next advance. The southern terminus of the great ice sheet extended from Xew Jersey to southern Illinois, and thence northwestward to British Columbia, aud its effects upon the climate must have been felt throughout the United States and even into Mexico, The advance of the glacial period was so gradual that plants as well as animals had time to escape by extending their ranges southward, aud daring the return movement were enabled to keep pace with its slow retreat. Had either the process of refriger- ation or the return of heat taken place more rapidly, most of the forms of life inhabiting the northern parts of the globe would have been ex- terminated. During the recession of the glacier many boreal plants and animals were stranded on mountains, where, by climbing upward as the temperature became warmer, they were able to find a final resting place with a climate sufficiently cool and moist for their needs; here they have existed ever since. This is the commonly accepted explana- tion of the presence of arctic forms on isolated mountain peaks widely removed from the southernmost limit of their continuous distribution. Incidentally the ancient origin of arctic-alpiue faunas leads to con- clusions which might be of use to the geologist. For instance, San Francisco Mountain is a volcanic peak composed entirely of lava rock. Its summit is inhabited by species of animals and plants which conld not have reached it since the recession of the glacial period. Hence the mountain itself can not be of more recent origin than this periods Here the living fauna and flora afford evidence of the age of a great mountain. ORIGIN OF THE FAUNA AND FLORA OF THE PAINTED DESERT. The Desert of* the Little Colorado, it will be remembered, is a deep basin on top of the Great Colorado Plateau. It is wholly disconnected from the desert region of southern Arizona by the elevated and timber- covered highlands occupying the crest of the plateau escarpment. In fact the highest part of Arizona south of the Grand Canon, except a few isolated mountains, is the edge of this plateau, which is nowhere below 2,130 meters (7,000 feet), and in pi aces rises to the height of 2,740 22 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. ' [No. 3. meters (9,000 feet), as at the Mogollon Mesa. On the east, the desert is separated from the valley of the Upper Rio Grande by a broad area covered with cedar and piiiou, through which the continental divide passes, at an elevation of upwards of 2,130 meters (7,000 feet). There- fore, the only possible channel through which the fauna and flora of the Painted Desert could have reached this desert during existing climatic conditions is by way of the Grand Caiion of the Colorado. At first thought it seems incredible that a fauna and flora should extend several hundred miles through a chasm of this character; but the evidence at hand indicates that it does. Our descent into the caiion from the Cocanini Plateau was made at a point about 25 kilometers (15 miles) below the mouth of the Little Colorado. Here the caiion is about 1,800 meters (more than a mile) in depth and nearly 25 kilometers (15 miles) wide at the top. Numerous side canons cut into it, and there are many shelves and bottoms which support a flora of cactuses, yuccas, agaves, greasewoods, and other typical Sonoran forms. Pocket Mice of the sub-genus Chcetodipus, Large-eared Mice of the Hesperomys eremicus group, and the Little Spotted Skunk (Spilogale) were secured, together with several birds (among them Psuccea ruficeps boucardi) and reptiles of the Sonoran fauna, some of which occur also on the Painted Desert.* The inference is that the life of the Painted Desert is derived from the deserts of western Arizona, and that it came by the roundabout way of the Grand Caiion of the Colorado. It might be urged that the climate of the Plateau region in the past may have been enough warmer than at present to admit of direct com- munication between the life of the Painted Desert and that of the deserts of southern Arizona ; but Major C. E. Dutton, who has made a special study of the physiographic history of the Plateau region, assures me that its climate has not been warmer than now since glacial times. GENERALIZATIONS CONCERNING THE DISTRIBUTION OF LIFE IN NORTH AMERICA. OVERTHROW OF THE SO-CALLED 'CENTRAL PROVINCE ' OF NATURALISTS. The region almost universally recognized by recent writers as the 'Central Province' is made up of the Great Plains, the Rocky Mount- ains, and the Great Basin. A critical study of the life of the Rocky Mountains has shown it to consist of a southward extension of the Boreal Province, with an admixture of southern forms resulting from an intrusion or overlapping of representatives of the Sonoran Province, some of which, from long residence in the region, have undergone enough modification to be recoguized as distinct subspecies or even species. A similar analysis of the life of the Great Plains and Great Basin has shown them to consist of northward extensions of the So- * Ainoug the reptiles found near the bottom of the canon were two lizards (Scelo- porus clarkii and Uta symmetrica) which belong to the torrid fauna of southern and western Arizona, and are not known to reach the Painted Desert. AuQ.ltJOO.] BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. 23 noran Province, somewhat mixed with the southernmost fauna and flora of the Boreal Province. Thus the whole of the so-called 'Great Cen- tral Province' disappears. This explains a multitude of facts that are utterly incomprehensible under the commonly accepted zoological divisions of the country. These facts relate particularly to the distribution of species about the north- ern boundaries of the supposed Central and Pacific Provinces, and to the dilemma we find ourselves in when attempting- to account for the origin of so many primary life areas in a country where there are no impass- able physical barriers to prevent the diffusion of animals and plants. EVIDENCE ON WHICH THE 'CENTRAL PKOVINCE' WAS BASED. The conclusions here announced are so diametrically opposed to the long accepted and current views of zoologists that it may be interesting to examine for a moment the evidence on which their generalizations were based. This evidence, stated briefly, consists in the presence, in the region in question, of a large number of genera and species not found in the Eastern States. It has just been shown that the vast majority of these forms were derived from the north or from the south. The remainder fall naturally into two categories: (1) Those so closely related to forms now living in adjoiniug regions as to leave no doubt that they are the immediate descendants of the same, modified by en- vironment; and (2) isolated generic types, of which the number is small SIGNIFICANCE OF ISOLATED TYPES. The presence of isolated types, however few, might be regarded as an obstacle to the acceptance of the views here advanced, but their significance becomes apparent as soon as an attempt is made to trace the life of the present back to the life of the past. The colonies of big trees and redwoods of California (Sequoia gigantea and 8. semper virens) have no nearer relatives than the bald cypress (Ta.vodium) of the Gulf States and a related species from China (formerly recognized geueric- ally under the name Glyptostrobus). This was pointed out many years ago by Dr. Asa Gray in connection with the circumstance that the an- cestors of these trees once ranged throughout the boreal regions of the world. A fossil species (Sequoia langsdorfii) closely related to the Cali- fornia redwood has been found in Spitzbergen, Iceland, Greenland, the north of Europe, Alaska, at the mouth of the Mackenzie River, and also in the Pocky Mountains, the Great Basin in Oregon, and the Bail Lauds in Dakota. Many parallel cases might be cited. Thus the rec- ords of the rocks show that many of the types which have survived the perils incident to the successive shiftings of the fauna and fiora during and subsequent to the ice age were formerly conspicuous over large areas in the north. These facts are in complete accord with a general law which may be thus formulated: When the physiographic conditions of a region are in process of change, 24 north American fauna. • [no. 3. those forms of life which are sufficiently plastic to adapt themselves to the rapidly changing conditions survive, while those which cannot so adapt themselves become extinct. Isolated generic types are illustrations of this law and may be re- garded as remnants of the past — the only living representatives of types once abundant and widely diffused. Such types are not confined to plants, but may be found in nearly every branch of the animal king- dom. Among North American mammals the genera Neurotrichus and Aplodontia may be cited as examples, both of them being confined to a narrow strip along the Pacific coast from northern California to British Columbia. The former has a near relative in Japan ( Urotrichus), and the intermediate forms which connect it with the Shrews on the one hand and the Moles on the other are still living in eastern Asia (the genera Scaptonyx and Uropsilus). Aplodontia is a large rodent, the type and sole representative of an isolated family, and has no known living relative in any part of the world. PRINCIPAL LIFE REGIONS OF NORTH AMERICA, [See map 5.] The most importaut generalization arrived at in the present investi- gation is that the whole of extratropical North America consists of but two primary life regions, a Boreal region, which is circumpolar ; and a Sonoran or Mexican tableland region, which is unique.* The Boreal Province [colored green on map 5] extends obliquely across the entire continent from New England and Newfoundland to Alaska, conforming in direction to the trend of the northern shores of the con- tinental mass. It gives off three long arms or chains of islands which reach far south along the three great mountain systems of the United States — a western arm in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, a central arm in the Eocky Mountains, and an eastern arm in the Alleghanies — and these arms iuterdigitate with northward prolongations of the Sono- * Siuce the present paper was written (December, 1889) the author has been en- gaged in the preparation of an historical synopsis of the attempts that have been made to define the faunal and floral areas of North America. In the course of this investigation several important papers have been found which confirm, and in part anticipate, the general conclusions here announced, though none of them attempt to explain the significance of the areas recognized or to correlate them with the north- ern and southern origiu of the life of the continent. For instance, the late Dr. Asa Gray stated that it is certain " that two types have left their impress upon the North American flora, and that its peculiarities are divided between these two elements. One we may call the boreal -oriental element ; this prevails at the north, and is espe- cially well represented in the Atlantic flora and iu that of Japan and Manchuria ; the other is the Mexican-plateau element, and this gives its peculiar character to the flora of the whole southwestern part of North America, that of the higher mountains ex- cepted" (Bull. U.S. Geol.and Geog. Survey, VI, 1, Feb. 11, 1881,62). At the same time, and in the same communication, Dr. Gray adopts the three great divisions usu- ally recognized by zoologists — Eastern, Central, and Pacific. Alt,., 1890.] BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. 25 ran Province, which latter completely surround the southern islands of the Boreal system. The Sonoran Province [colored orange or yellow on map 5] comes into the United States from the south and is divisible into six subregious, namely: (1) an Arid or Sonoran subregion proper, occupying the table- land of Mexico and reaching north into western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California ; (2) a C aliform an subregion, occupy- ing the greater part of the State of that name ; (3) a Loicer Calif omian subregion; (4) a Great Basin subregiou, occupying the area between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada and extending as far north as the Plains of the Columbia ; (5) a Great Plains subregion, occupying the plains east of the Rocky Mouutains and extending north to the Plains of the Saskatchewan ; and (6) a Louisianian or Austroriparian sub- regiou, occupying the lowlands bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi, and extending eastward, south of the Alleghanies, to the Atlantic seaboard, where it reaches as far north as the mouth of Ches- apeake Bay. The latter region requires a word of comment, since its true affinities have not been heretofore pointed out, though the region itself has been long recognized.* That it is an offshoot of the Sonoran region is evi- dent from the fact that most of its peculiar or distinctive auimals and plants belong to Souorau genera, and many of its species are identical with or closely related to Sonoran forms. It contains no less than eight Sonoran genera of mammals, namely : Spilogale, Urocyon, Neo- toma, Sigmodon, Ochetodon, Geomys, Piecotus (subgenus Corinorhinus), and Nyctinomus, most of which extend northward near the Atlantic seaboard as far as Norfolk, and at least one of them ( Urocyon) consider- ably further. It contains also a number of Sonoran genera of birds, reptiles, batrachians, and plants. At the same time, it contains two Tropical American genera of mammals, namely, Didelphys and Oryzomys; and perhaps Urocyon, Sigmodon, and Nyctinomus belong as much to one as to the other. It contains also a number of Tropical genera of birds, reptiles, and plants. Hence the A uslroriparian subregion consists of a mixture of Sonoran and Tropical forms ; but since the number of its Sonoran types is greatly in excess of the Tropical, it may be fairly re. garded as a subdivision of the former. The Tropical Province [colored red on map 5], so far as North Amer- ica is concerned, occupies Central America and the Antilles and pushes north along the lowlands on both sides of Mexico, reaching the mouth * As early as 1817 the entomologist Latreille made it one of his circumpolar divis- ions. In 1822 the botanist Schouw named it the Realm of Magnolias ; and in 1854, Agassi/, named it the Louisianian Fauna. These authors, and several other early- writers ( including Moyeu, Martins, Berghans, and Schmarda) regarded it as a region of primary rank. More recent writers (including LeConte, Cooper, Binney, Baird, and Allen) looked upon it as a subdivision of the eastern forest region or Eastern Province. Cope, in 1873, restored it to independent rank and named it the Austrori- parian region. 26 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. ' [No 3. of the Rio Grande on the G-ulf of Mexico, ami a little north of Mazat- lan on the Pacific coast. It occupies also a narrow belt encircling the southern half of the peninsula of Florida. This tropical element in Florida is of comparatively recent origin, and consists mainly of a chain of island-like colonies of birds, insects, and plants which may easily have reached its shores and keys from the neighboring West Indies, as pointed out by Schwarz in an article on its peculiar Insect Fauna (En- tomologica Americana, IV, No. 9, 1888). The interrelations of the Tropical and Sonoran Provinces are such as suggest that the chief dif- fereuce may be due to humidity as much as temperature. In the light of the general conclusions here announced, the only part of North America which is in any way obscure, so far as the relation- ships of its faunas and floras are concerned, is the so-called ' Pacific Province;7 and, like the 'Central Province' already discussed, it is evidently made up of two distinct elements, a mountain element derived from the Boreal Province, and a valley element derived from the Sono- ran ; but owing to the peculiar physiographic conditions of the west coast it has undergone a greater amount of differentiation. CAUSES WHICH DETERMINE DISTRIBUTION. It is not the purpose of the present paper to discuss the causes that have to do with limiting the distribution of terrestrial animals and plants further than to point out a generalization which seems to have been overlooked. Omitting reference to the effects of physical barriers, which explain the differences in the life of disconnected continents, it may be stated that temperature and humidity are the most important causes governing distribution, and that temperature is more potent than humidity.* Authors differ as to the period during which tem- perature exerts the greatest influence, some maintaining that it is the temperature of the whole year, and others, that it is the temperature of a very brief period which determines the range of species. In the case of birds, it has been shown by Verrill and Allen that it is the tempera- ture of the breeding season. If this is true of birds, why is it not true of other forms of animal life and of plants as well ? The season of reproduction for the plant, as for the animal, is the warm part of the year. After the period of reproduction the plant withers ; after it flowers and fruits and matures its seed, it dies down or becomes physiologically inactive. And what the plant accomplishes in one way the animal accomplishes in another. To escape the cold of winter and its consequences the sensitive mammal hibernates; the bird migrates to a more southern latitude; the reptile and batrachian dig holes in the mud or sand an*l remain in a torpid condition ; the insect sleeps in its cocoon or buries itself under leaves *In arid districts humidity is an element of vastly more consequence that in re- gions of moderate or copious rain-fall, particularly in regard to the inception of the period of reproduction in plants. Aug., 1890.] BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN. 27 or decomposing vegetation ; and none, but the hardier forms of life are left to be affected by winter temperatures. Freezing- does not hurt most plants when not in a state of reproductive activity. In the north, trees five and six feel: in diameter freeze through to the heart every winter. It is obvious, therefore, that plants are not exceptions to the law that the temperature during the season of reproductive activity deter- mines the distribution of life. In high arctic latitudes this period is very brief, while in the humid parts of the tropics it seems to extend over nearly if not quite the whole year. Some eminent writers have assumed that plants and animals do not agree in distribution — that a faunal map (a map showing the distribu- tion of an association of animals) must differ essentially from a floral map (a map showing the distribution of an association of plants). This assumption is illogical, for, as just stated, plants and auimals are sub- jected to the same conditions during the season of reproduction — the season during which they are most affected by their surrouudings. Furthermore, the field work on which the present paper is based, which was conducted with special reference to the determination of this point, demonstrated that complete coincidence exists in the limitation of the life-areas as defined independently by the study of the mammals, birds, reptiles, and plants of the San Francisco Mountain region. Since the distribution of animals and plants depends primarily upon temperature, it follows that the physiographic conditions which influ- ence temperature influence distribution also. In obedience to this law certain axioms of distribution may be thus expressed : The distribution of species in the same latitude depends primarily on altitude. The distribution of species in the same latitude and altitude is influenced notably by — (a) Elevation above base-level. (b) Slope-exposure. (c) Proximity to and direction from large bodies of water. (d) Meteorologic conditions affecting temperature. In the case of mountains of equal altitude and low base-level: (1) The number of faunal and floral zones (up to the limit of zones possible for the range of temperature) is in- versely proportional to the distance from the equator. (2) The width of the zones and the abruptness of the change from one to another is proportional to the steepness of the slope. By elevation above base-level is meant the height of a given point above the plane it faces. This may be made clearer by an example. The mean altitude of base-level below the plateau rim in Arizona is less than 000 meters (.'$,000 feet), and above il more than 2,130 meters (7,000 feet). A mountain standing on the edge of the plateau will have a 28 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. . ' [No. 3. higher temperature at a given altitude on the north side than on the south side, because the plateau level (base-level) on the north side carries up the temperature. Many years ago Humboldt cited an in- stance of this kind in the Himalaya. The temperature on the north side of this lofty range is much higher than on the south side at the same elevation; or, to state it differently, the snow line and. the timber line on the north side are about 900 meters (3,000 feet) higher than on the south side. This is due to the great height of the Thibetian Plateau as compared with the altitude of base level on the south side, and is in op- position to the influence of slope-exposure. By slope-exposure is meant the inclination of the surface of the earth in relation to the angle of reception of the sun's rays. The sun strikes the east side of a hill or mountain in the early part of the day, the south side a little later, the southwest and west sides in the afternoon, when its heat is greatest, and the northwest and north about sundown or not at all. But in case there is a high plateau on the north side, the heat from the plateau will force the timber line up. Therefore, of the influences under consid- eration, base-level is more powerful than slope exposure. About half a century ago the elder Binney, in a work which he did not live to see published, made the following observation : " The relations which the different levels of elevation bear to the par- allels of latitude, although as interesting to the zoologist as to the bot- anist, have not yet been made the subject of examination in this coun- try. But the Rocky Mountains * * * offer, in the great extent of their table-land and in the height to which they rise, a vast field of research to future naturalists, where they will be able to solve many of the most importaut questions connected with the geographical distri- bution of the terrestrial mollusks of our country."* If the word 'mollusks' in the above quotation be changed to the more comprehensive word < life,' Biuuey's remarks may be regarded as a prophecy fulfilled, in part at least, by the present Biological Survey of San Francisco Mountain. At the same time it should be remembered that the present report is little more than an announcement of the gen- eral conclusions resulting from a brief survey of a limited area, and that anything approaching a final discussion of the subject must be deferred until similar surveys of many regions result in the accumulation of a multitude of facts now unknown. As the late Leo Lesquereux once said of his favorite study : " This science is in its infancy ; and the childhood of science is marked, like that of man, by a series of trials and failures, from which strength and proficiency are derived. The first astronomers did not measure the distance from the earth to the fixed stars, nor weigh the planets by the diameter of their orbits." t *Anios Binuey, The Terrestrial Mollusks of the U. S., 1851, vol. 1, 116-117. t A Eeview of the Fossil Flora of North America. Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Sur- vey Terr., No. 5 (2d series) Jan., 137f>, 248 Aur,., 1890.J CLIMATE OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN REGION. 29 CLIMATE OF THE SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN REG-ION AND DESERT OF THE LITTLE COLORADO, ARIZONA. The traveler in the Plateau region of Arizona is awed by the grand- eur and energy with which the processes of nature inauifest themselves. The multitude of volcanic craters and lava cones, culminating in San Francisco Mountain, attest the former activity and intensity of the sub- terranean forces; the Grand Canon of the Colorado, the most stupen- dous chasm known, is a gigantic illustration of the surface forces now in operation — of the cutting power of water and the carving power of sand; while the terrific thunder-storms and cloud-bursts which shake the very foundations of the earth in their fury, shattering the tall pines with the lightning, and sending mighty torrents down the hillsides to plow deep gorges in the desert, serve to indicate the resistless energy of the forces of the air. In its climatological aspects the Plateau region of Arizona presents a field of surpassing interest and diversity, and problems of the utmost importance to physiography and to agriculture may be there advanta- geously studied. Climates which usually characterize widely remote regions are here brought near together, appearing in successive strata from the desert levels to the summits of the mountains, thus permitting their several effects to be comprehended at a glance, and their differ- ences contrasted. In a general way it may be said that the climate of the region abounds in extremes. Protracted periods of drought are in- terrupted by deluges of rain; and the snows of winter suddenly give place to the intense heat of summer. As a natural consequence, most of the mammals and all of the reptiles and batrachiaus hibernate for longer or shorter periods, even on the desert It is not the purpose of the present essay to discuss meteorologic conditions further than is necessary to indicate in a very general way the peculiarities of temperature aud humidity which characterize the several zones herein defined. TEMPERATURE. The tropics are characterized by great uniformity of temperature, the daily and yearly fluctuations being insignificant. The absence of a marked fall in temperature at night is due in great part to the large quantity of moisture in the atmosphere. This moisture acts in two ways: (1) by diminishing the loss of heat by radiation ; (2) by directly increasing the temperature of the atmosphere. As stated by Wallace, "the warmth given off by the heated earth is very largely absorbed by it [the aqueous vaporj, thus raising the temperature of the air; and as it is the lower strata of air which contain most vapor, these act as a blanket to the earth, preventing it from losing heat at night by radia- tion into space.1' (Tropical Nature, L878, p. 9.) 30 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 3. The excessively dry atmosphere of Arizona acts in exactly the oppo- site way, interposing no obstacle to free radiation and presenting no medium to retain the heat given off at night. Hence the change in tern • perature from day to night is always great. The summer heat of Ari- zona, except on the high mountains, is greatly in excess of the summer heat of the tropics, while the winter temperature is vastly lower, and sudden contrasts are common. The law of latitudinal equivalent in altitude was discovered in the last century and was early formulated by Humboldt. Omitting refer- ence to local disturbing influences and seasonal variations, it may be stated as a general proposition that temperature decreases from the equatorial zone to the poles at an average rate of a little less than 1° Fahr. for each degree of latitude ; and from base-level to higher alti- tudes, at the average rate of about 3° Fahr. for each 1,000 feet of eleva- tion. In temperate and cold regions the differences due to latitude and altitude are greatest in winter and least in summer. It follows that places having the same mean annual temperature may have widely different summer temperatures ; and con versely, that places receiving the same amount of summer heat may have widely different mean an- nual temperatures. The significance of these facts becomes apparent in studying the distribution of life, for, as will be shown later, the dis- tribution of species in temperate and cold regions is governed in the main by the temperature of the warm season, the mean annual- temper- ature being of little consequence. It has just been stated that the mean average decrease in tempera- ture with altitude is about 3° Fahr. for each 1,000 feet. The exact rate in any particular case may be obtained by dividing the difference in temperature of the extremes by the difference in altitude. The Sig- nal Service records show that the actual rate of decrease in midsummer on the Colorado Plateau is 4°.* At this rate the temperature of the summit of San Francisco Mountain in summer would be 20° Fahr. lower than that of the cedar belt and 35° lower than that of the Painted Desert. Seven life zoues are described in the following pages as crowded into the narrow space between the arctic-alpine summit of San Francisco Mountain and the torrid desert of the Little Colorado, only 40 kilom- eters (about 25 miles) distant. Each of these zones has a distinctive temperature during the period of growth and reproduction — a period of less than three months' duration at the summit, but extending over half the year on the desert. Unfortunately, the time spent in any one of the several zones was insufficient to furnish the thermometric data necessary for the determination of its distinctive temperature. There- fore the only way in which it is possible to obtain information on this * Denver and Pike's Peak were selected for tbis computation because of tbeir prox- imity to tbe San Francisco Mountain region and because tbey afford a vertical range of about 2,450 meters (8,000 feet). AUG..1890.J CLIMATE OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN REGION. 31 subject is by examination of tbe records of the nearest stations in tbe same or corresponding zones. Data from several sucb statious may be found in the publications of the United States Signal Service aud in Schott's Tables, published by the Smithsonian Institution.* Compila tiou of these data leads to interesting results. Fort Apacbe, in Arizona, and Fort Wingate, j ust over the line in New Mexico, are in the pinon belt of the Great Plateau, Apache near the lower, and Wingate near the upper, limit of this zone. They are 232 kilometers (145 miles) apart. The mean temperature for the five mouths (April to August, inclusive), assumed to cover the period of reproduction in this belt is found to be G5.6° Fahr. at Fort Apache, and 65.03° at Fort Wingate, showing a really remarkable agreement over this part of the pinon belt. The mean temperature of the same period at Holbrook, on the edge of the Little Colorado Desert (at the junction of the Puerco and Little Colorado), 124 kilometers (77 miles) from Fort Apache, is a little above 70° (70.9°) Fahr. Albuquerque, in the valley of the Upper Rio Grande in New Mexico, though on the other side of the Continental Divide and 309 kilometers (192 miles) distant, has essentially the same altitude and essentially the same summer temperature (70.1° Fahr.). Data are wanting for the determination of the distinctive tempera- tures of the several zones of San Fraucisco Mountain above the cedar and pinon belt, but they may be obtained hypothetically by substitut- ing those from remote stations in the same zones. For instance, the temperature of the summit of Mount Washington, in the timber-line or subalpiue zone of the east, during the season of reproduction (June to August, inclusive), is 40.15° Fahr., which may be assumed to agree very closely with the temperature of the subalpiue zone of San Fran- cisco Mountain. Similarly, the corresponding temperature of Pike's Peak, Colorado, in the arctic-alpine zone, is 38.23° Fahr. But Pike's Peak is more than a thousand feet higher than San Francisco Peak, hence it is necessary to add about 4° Fahr. to the temperature of the former to make it represent that of the latter, which would then be in round numbers 42° Fahr. Therefore, though the actual mean temperatures of the several zones of the San Francisco Mountain region during the season of repro- duction are unknown, it is possible to arrive at very close approxi- mations to these temperatures by utilizing the records from distant stations in the same life areas. By this process the following means have been obtained. While not supposed to represent the actual means for each zone, they are believed to fall within the normal range of va- riation between the upper and lower borders of the zones to which they * The observations here referred to were taken at different periods and by voluntary observers. They lack, probably, the extreme precision and uniformity attained by the trained observers of the Signal Service; at the same time, most of them may be relied upon as sufficiently exact for purposes of comparison. 32 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. I No. 3. severally pertain, and are therefore provisionally submitted as a step toward a goal as important as it is difficult to attain. Table of assumed mean temperatures for the several zones during the period of repro- duction. Zone. Arctic-alpine zone Subalpine or timber line zone Huilsonian or spruce zone Canadian or fir zone Neutral or pine zone Piiion or cedar zone Desert zone Cent. Fahr. o o 4 39.2 7 44. G 10 50. 13 55.4 16 CO. 8 19 C6.2 22 71. C In attempting to ascertain the temperature of climatic zones, in con- nection with the distribution of their characteristic forms of life, it should be borne in mind that tbe recorded temperatures are taken in the shade, while the plants and diurnal animals of non-forested areas, particularly of deserts and prairies, live in the sunshine, and conse- quently endure much higher temperatures, as well as much greater ex- tremes than indicated by the recorded observations. In attempting, therefore, to ascertain the quantity of summer heat necessary for a par- ticular species, it should be first noted whether the species inhabits areas exposed to the full heat of the sun or dense forests where the sun's rays rarely penetrate ; and in the case of animal life it should be noted also whether the species is diurnal or nocturnal, and the tempera ture observations should be made accordingly. A series of carefully conducted meteorologic observations, made with special reference to temperature and humidity, and carried on simulta- neously in the spruce belt of the mountain and on the Painted Desert, or, better still, in each of the seven zones herein defined, would be pro- ductive of information of much scientific and economic value. HUMIDITY. The Plateau region of the interior of North America is noted for its scanty rain-fall, and the same may be said of Arizona as a whole. The annual precipitation and mean humidity are greatest on the high mountains and least on the low plains and deserts. Thus San Francisco Mountain has many times the rain-fall of the Little Colorado Desert, near by, and the quantity of aqueous vapor in the air is correspondingly higher. Evaporation is retarded by the clouds which frequently rest upon the summit, and by the dense spruce forests which protect the soil from the direct rays of the sun, enabling it to retain enough moisture to permit the growth of plants requiring a humid atmosphere for their existence. Aug., 1890. J CLIMATE OF SAN FKANCISCO MOUNTAIN REGION. 33 There are two raiuy seasons on the San Francisco Mountain plateau: one in summer, usually in July or August, the other in mid-winter. The summer raiuy season is characterized by daily thunder-showers. As a rule, several such showers occur each day, and not infrequently several may be seen at the same time from any of the volcanic cones. The area covered by each is very small, its diameter rarely exceeding half, or even a quarter of a mile ; and its duration is brief, though the rain-fall may be considerable. The accompanying thunder is often terrific, and the lightning vivid and destructive. Tall pines are shat- tered on every hand, and cattle are frequently killed ; three were killed by one stroke near our camp about the middle of August. The showers almost always take place in the day-time, and are most common at mid- day and in the early afternoon. In fact, it is a common saying in this region that it never rains at night. Two partial exceptions to this rule occurred during our stay, one in which an unusually severe and pro- tracted rain lasted from about 3 o'clock in the afternoon until 9 or 10 in the evening; the other, a light shower which actually took place in the night. During the latter part of the rainy season the showers became less frequent, but extended over a larger area and lasted longer. The axis of abundance seems to be between San Francisco and Kendrick Peaks, but the greatest precipitation occurs on San Francisco Mountain, as would be expected from its great altitude. The summit of the mount- ain is so cold that it is occasionally whitened with snow while rain falls at its base; and hail storms are frequent both on the mountain itself and throughout the plateau region, many sudden storms taking this form. Over much of the pine plateau the soil consists of decomposed lava, and is so porous that the rain sinks out of sight as it falls, and the atmosphere is so dry and evaporation so rapid that a few minutes after a shower no traces of it are visible. On the arid desert of the Little Colorado rains are infrequent, but usually of great violence, producing torrents which cut deep washes or 'arroyos' in the sun baked sand and clay. Sometimes cloud-bursts deluge large areas, flooding the valleys and destroying multitudes of the smaller mammals. Three storms of this character were witnessed, two of moderate size, the third of great dimensions, and striking evi- dences of a fourth were everywhere noticeable when we reached the region. This latter almost inundated the town of Flagstaff and several other places along the line of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway, and left unmistakable evidences of its volume and force in various directions, the most impressive, perhaps, being the overflow of a crater lake and adjoining craterlet just east of Kendrick Peak. The track of the torrent that rushed down the sides of this crater, and for a distance through the piue forest beyond, suggested a veritable volcanic eruption. While following the course of Tenebito Wash across the Painted Desert we saw a heavy rain-storm raging over the high mesas to the 501— No. 3 :i 34 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [Ko.3. north and east during the entire afternoon of August 14, though not a cloud came between us and the parching sun. Before dark a furious wind — the vehicle of a sand-blast — swept down the wash between the rows of cliffs which mark its course, abating as nigbt came on. About 10 o'clock we were startled by a loud roaring in the north, which at first gave the impression that a severe storm was advancing upon us, but not a cloud could be seen, and the stars shone brightly in every direc- tion. The roaring increased and came nearer until it was evident that something was coming down the bed of the wash.; and in a mo- ment a great wave of thick mud rushed past with a tremendous roar, accompanied by a fetid stench. The first wave was about 1£ meters (5 feet) high, but it soon rose to 2^ meters (8 feet), where it remained for an hour, and then slowly subsided. After 3£ hours it was still about 1J meters (5 feet) deep and running swiftly, and it had not entirely ceased three days later. Two days afterward (August 1G), when at the Moki Pueblo of Oraibi, a furious rain set in about 4 p. m., and lasted more than an hour, flooding the house tops and streets, and parts of the valley below. And yet the desert was as parched next day as if it had never been wet. The heaviest and most extended rain-fall observed by us occurred September 20, on which date Mr. Bailey and I set out from Little Spring for Moencopie. Heavy leaden clouds began scurrying over the moun- tain toward the northeast early in the morning, and by noon the entire sky was overcast and had a most ominous appearance. Soon the rain began falling in torrents, and the storm moved steadily east- ward from the edge of the lava beds to the Little Colorado, and thence across the desert to the high mesas beyond. Such a deluge I never saw, and we afterwards learned that it extended 160 kilometers (nearly 100 miles) to the south. The gulch in the edge of the lava beds, about 2J kilometers (1£ miles) east of Black Tank, was full to overflowing; the flat upon which it empties was 1^ meters (5 feet) under water; great lakes appeared in various parts of the desert, and the Little Colorado bottom was completely flooded. And yet all this vast volume of water disappeared in a few hours. A red, sirupy, alkaline mud filled the bed of the Little Colorado for a few days, and pools of similar mud were occasionally found in depressions in the sand-rock all the way to Moencopie. The whole desert, from the San Francisco lava beds on the west to Echo Cliffs on the east, showed that it had been recently deluged, as if by the breakage of some mighty dam, but the water had disap- peared. From the scanty data available, and from the experience of residents of the region, it is safe to infer that the rain-fall was unusually heavy in the Plateau region during the summer of 1889. PART II -GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO, BETWEEN THE KAIBAB AND COCANINI PLATEAUS. No attempt will be made to define or describe the faunas and floras of tbe stupendous chasm of the Colorado. Our stay of five days per- mitted only a hurried reconnoissance, which serves to indicate merely in a general way the more conspicuous features of the region. The lowest point between San Francisco Mountain and the Grand Canon is at the end of a narrow arm of the desert near Hull Spring, where the junipers and piiiou which border this tongue of desert unite and extend westward in a broad belt, completely separating the pine forest of the mountain plateau from that of the Cocauini Plateau (as shown by the areas colored yellow and green on Map 1). While the San Francisco Mountain Plateau is composed of lava, the Cocauini Plateau is carboniferous limestone. The resulting difference in soil affects the vegetation, and many plauts grow in the pifion belt at the canon which are not found in the same belt on the lava. Among such plauts are Coicania mexicana, Berberis fendleri, Spirwa millefolium, Robinia neo- mexicana, and Yucca baccata. Junipcrus californicus utahensis grows there also, but the relation of its presence to the soil is uucertaiu. The true sage-brush (Artemisia tridentata) of the Great Basin here finds its extreme southeastern limit. Large patches of it occur on the south side of the canon, opposite Point Sublime, but it disappears altogether a few miles away. At the brink of the canon opposite Point Sublime, about 2 miles east of the pool or tank known as Cation Spring, is a dwarf forest of peculiar aspect, and having a uniform height of about 5 meters. It consists of piiiou (Pinus edulis), cedar (Juniper us californicus utahensia), and mount- ain mahogany (Gercocarpus ledifolius*), which here equals the juniper and pihon in height and measures LOO to 201) millimeters (approximately 4 to 8 inches) iu diameter. Mingled with it are numerous tall bushes of Berberis fremonti and the beautiful Spirrca millefolium. In places this Lilliputian forest merges into extensive fields of the true sage-brush (Artemisia tridentata) and yucca (Yucca baccata, which at the time of our visit was ripening its sweet, banana-like fruit), with several kiuds of cactuses; while iu other directions it gives place to thickets of scrub "This identification was made in tho field. No specimens of the large form were brought back, but specimens of a smaller bush from the Canon prove to be Cowania mexicana. 35 36 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. ' [No.3. oak (Quercus gambeli), with here and there a small patch of dwarf locust (Bobinia neo-mexicana). The Cocanini Plateau is highest on the north and rises abruptly at the very rim of the canon. The resulting southern slope is enough warmer than the pine-covered plateau to permit the growth of juniper and pinou, which besides forming a strip along the edge of the canon, mingle with the pines below to a limited extent. The descent into the caiion is precipitous, the walls being vertical or even overhanging for the first 300 meters (1,000 feet), so that tree growth is impossible except in favored spots. In places where the cliff is broken down or cut into by side canons a sparse forest of conifers maintains a precarious foot- hold. The Grand Caiion is about 354 kilometers (220 miles) in length, and its proportions are on too vast a scale to be comprehended by those who have not seen it. At the point visited, it is about 1,800 meters (6,000 feet) in depth and 25 kilometers (15 miles) wide at the top. It is intersected by gulches and side caiions of gigantic dimensions. It has ledges, terraces, and mesas, barren crags and grassy slopes, lofty mount- ains and deep valleys, cool hillsides clad in forests of balsam firs, and hot bottoms filled with sub-tropical thickets ; it has arid stretches of sand bearing a scattered growth of cactus and yucca, and marshes and springs that never become dry and are hidden by the verdure of a mul- titude of plants requiring a moisture-laden atmosphere for their exist- ence. Its animal life is as sharply varied and as strangely contrasted. In descending from the plateau level to the bottom of the canon a succession of temperature zones is encountered equivalent to those stretching from the coniferous forests of northern Canada to the cactus plains of Mexico.* They result from the combined effects of altitude and slope-exposure, the effects of the latter being here manifested in an unusual degree. Where the walls of the caiion face north or north- east the uppermost tree-zone consists of Douglas and balsam firs (Pseudotsuga douglasii and Abies concolor)— northern species which do not occur elsewhere in the caiion. Below this is a belt of pines (Pinus ponderosa), succeeded in turn by a belt of junipers and pinon, usually more or less mingled with pines. Immediately below the piiion belt is a zone which corresponds in the main to the Desert of the Little Col- orado ; but since it has humid as well as arid areas, forms of vegetation unknown on the desert interrupt its stretches of cactuses, yuccas, and greasewoods. Still lower down another zone is encountered which may be recognized by the presence of huge cactuses, arborescent opuntias, agaves whose tall stems are conspicuous land-marks, and many other plants characteristic of the Lower Colorado and Gila regions, together * The extremes of temperature are well illustrated by the fact that the lowest temperature of the twenty-four hours at the bottom of the canon was 80° Fahr. at 4 a. m., September 13, while at the same time thick ice formed ou a bucket of water at the top of the caiion. Aug., 1890.1 GEAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 37 with sub-tropical hutnid forms aud a certain percentage of species not found elsewhere. The complex and interacting effects of radiation and refraction, of aridity aud humidity, of marked differences in temper- ature at places of equal altitude on opposite sides of the canon, of every possible angle of slope exposure, and of exposure to and protection from winds and storms, produce a diversity of climatic conditions the effect of which on the animal and vegetable life of the canon has been to bring into close proximity species characteristic of widely separated regions, and to crowd the several life zones into narrow parallel bands along the sides of the canon — bands which expand and contract in conforming to the ever-changing surface. The same conditions mod- ify and alter the species there present iu the manner in which the evolu- tion of new species is brought about. Iu short, the Grand Canon of the Colorado is a world in itself, and a great fund of knowledge is in store for the philosophic biologist whose privilege it is to study exhaustively the problems there presented. LIST OF MAMMALS NOTED AT THE GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO, ARIZONA, SEPTEMBER 10 TO 15, 1889. [The new species hero mentioned are described in Part III.] Vesperugo fuscus. Large Brown Bat. Tolerably common ; a few were seen nearly every evening. Vesperugo hesperus. Pigmy Bat. Abundant. These bats inhabit crevices in the cliffs aud begin to fly before dark in the evening, at which time swarms of them come up over the brink of the canon and flit about amoug the pines and piuon. Sciurus aberti. Abert's Squirrel. Tolerably common in the pines ; a few were found feeding on piiion nuts along the brink of the caiion. Tamias dorsalis. Gila Chipmunk. Common among the cliffs along the top of the caiion, but excessively shy and difficult to procure. Spermophilua grammurus. Rock Squirrel. Abundant among the pifion along the brink of the caiion, living in holes in the rocks. Hesperomys leucopus sonoriensis. White-footed Mouse. Not common; two specimens provisionally referred to this form were caught along the top of the canon, and one was killed in the day-time in a field of sage brush (Artemisia tridentata). Hesperomys eremicus. Silky Cliff Mouse. Abundant both along the cliffs at the top of the caiion and thence down to the river below. This is the most abundant mammal of the canon. Hesperomys megalotis sp. uov. Leaf-oarod Cliff Mouse. A single specimen was caught in the cliffs at the brink of the canon. Neotoma mexicana. Wood Rat. Common both iu the caiion and along the cliffs at the top. 38 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. - [No. 3. Thomomys fulvus. Pocket Gopher. Tolerably common wherever there is enough suitable soil on the plateau at the top of the canon. Perognathus (Chaetodipus) intermedins. Pocket Mouse. Common in small colonies down in the canon. Lepus texianus. Jack Rabbit. This species inhabits fields of sage-brush near the caiion, coming up from the desert of the Little Colorado. Lepus arizonae. Arizona Cotton-tail. Tolerably common in the juniper aDd chaparral. Cariacus macrotis. Black-tailed Deer. Three were killed by a sheep herder near the canon during our stay. Antilocapra americana. Antelope. Said to be not rare near the canon. Ovis canadensis. Mountain Sheep. Tolerably common ; we saw fresh signs nearly every day, and started a small herd opposite Point Sublime. Felis concolor. Mountain Lion. Said to be tolerably common and destructive to sheep. Lynx baileyi sp. nov. Plateau Wildcat. Tolerably common. Canis latrans. Coyote, Common ; many tracks seen. The sheep herders say that they lose many lambs through the depredations of Coyotes. Spilogale gracilis sp. nov. Little Striped Sknnk. Common both in the caiion and among the cliffs at the top. Bassaris astuta. Ring-tailed Bassaris. Said to be abundant in Cataract Canon and at places in the Grand Caiion. LIST OF BIRDS NOTED AT THE GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO, ARI- ZONA, SEPTEMBER 10 TO 15, 1889. Zenaidura macroura. Mourning Dove. A few were seen in the pines and piiion. Cathartes aura. Turkey Vulture. Common ; as many as fifteen were seen at one time sailing over the canon, and a number were observed circling over a flock of sheep near Hull's Eanch. Accipiter velox. Sharp-shinned Hawk. Common ; one shot. Accipiter cooperi. Cooper's Hawk. Common; these hawks came to the spring every morning during our stay to prey upon the small birds which came there to drink. Buteo borealis calurus. Western Red-tail. Common. Aug., 1890.] GRAND CANO^ OF THE COLORADO. 39 Aquila chrysaetus. Golden Eagle. One seen. Falco sparverius. Sparrow Hawk. Tolerably common; a male was shot whose stomach was full of grass- hoppers. Fandion haliaetus carolinensis. Osprey ; Fish Hawk. Seen twice. Bubo virginianus saturatus. Dusky Great Horned Owl. Tolerably common ; two came to the spring to drink about 10 o'clock the night of September 14, and after satisfying their thirst began hoot- ing in the tall pines. One was shot as he started to fly away. Megascops flammeolus. Flammulated Screech Owl. I shot a single specimen of this exceedingly rare owl while climbing out of the canon about 3 o'clock in the morning of September 13. Its stomach contained a scorpion and the remains of insects. Dryobates villosus hyloscopus. Cabanis's Woodpecker. A few were seen in the pines. Sphyrapicus thyroideus. Williamson's Sapsucker. Tolerably common ; adults of both sexes were shot. Melanerpes formicivorus bairdi. California Woodpecker. One was shot and several others were seen in the oaks half a mile from the caiion. Melanerpes torquatus. Lewis's Woodpecker. Tolerably common; flocks of half a dozen to a dozen came to the spring to drink every day. Colaptes cafer. Red-shafted Flicker. Tolerably common. Micropus melanoleucus. White-throated Swift. Several were seen in the caiion, but most of them had migrated before the date of our arrival (September 10). Trochilus platycercus. Broad-tailed Hummingbird. Tolerably common ; shot down in the caiion and seen also at the top. Tyrannus vociferans. Cassin's King-bird. Two were seen in the sage-brush and chaparral near the canon, and a few in the cedars. Sayornis saya. Say's Pha'bo. Seen in the chaparral and cedars near the caiion. Contopus richardsonii. Western Wood Powee. Tolerably common. Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha. Long-crested Jay. Common ; feeding on pifion nuts in company with Woodhouse's and Pinon Jays. Aphelocoma woodhousei. Woodhouse's Jay. A few were seen in the pinon near the brink of the caiion. Corvus corax sinuatus. Raven. Several were seen alon^ the cliffs at the brink of the caiion. 40 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. " IN0.3. Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus. Pinon Jay. Abundant in the pinon near the brink of the canon and also in the cedar belt \ generally seen in flocks of from thirty to eighty. Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis. House Finch. Common in small flocks, coming to the tank to drink every day. Loxia curvirostra stricklandi. Mexican Crossbill. Common ; both sexes were shot at the tank, where they came to drink. Spinus psaltria. Arkansas Goldfinch. Small flocks visited the tank to drink every day. FoocEetes gramineus confinis. Western Vesper Sparrow. Common in all grassy places and in the sage-brush. Zonotrichia leucophrys. White-crowned Sparrow. Two were shot. Spizella socialis arizonae. Western Chipping Sparrow. Tolerably common. Junco cinereus dorsalis. Red-backed Junco. Tolerably common. Feucaea ruficeps boucardi. Boucard's Sparrow. Common in the canon from an altitude of 4,000 feet downward. Adults and young were shot. Melospiza lincolni. Lincoln's Sparrow. Two were shot, and others seen near the brink of the canon. Pipilo maculatus megalonyx. Spurred To whee. Several were seen in the scrub oak. Pipilo chlorurus. Green-tailed Towhee. Abundant along the brink of the canon. Habia melanocephala. Black-headed Grosbeak. Tolerably common. Piranga ludoviciana. Louisiana Tanager. An immature bird of this species was shot in the canon. Tachycineta thalassina. Violet-green Swallow. A few only were seen, most of the species haviug gone south. Ampelis cedrorum Cedar Waxwing. A few were seen and one shot at the tank. Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides. White-rumped Shrike. Two were seen in the sage and chaparral near the caiion. Vireo solitarius cassinii. Cassin's Vireo. Two were shot. Vireo vicinior. Gray Vireo . One was shot in a pinon at the brink of the caiion. Dendroica auduboni. Audubon's Warbler. Common. Dendroica nigrescens. Black-throated Gray Warbler. One was shot. Dendroica townsendi. Townsend's Warbler. One was shot. Aug., 1890.] GRAND CANON OF THE COLORADO. 41 Geothlypis macgillivrayi. Macgillivray's Warbler. Common in thickets down in the canon, where two were shot. A few were seen also along the brink of the canon. Geothlypis trichas occidentalis. Western Yellow-throat. One was shot low down in the canon. Salpinctes obsoletus. Rock Wren. Common along the edge of the cailon. Catherpes mexicanus conspersus. Caiion Wren. Common in the caiion. Sitta carclinensis aculeata. Slender-billed Nuthatch. Tolerably common. Sitta pygmaea. Pygmy Nuthatch. Abundant in the pines. Parus inornatus griseus. Gray Titmouse. Not uncommon in the cedars and piiion. Parus gambeli. Mountain Chickadee. Tolerably common. Regulus calendula. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Several were seen and one shot. Polioptila caerulea. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Seen in small flocks near the top of the caiion. Merula migratoria propinqua. Western Robin. Tolerably common. Sialia mexicana. Western Bluebird. Abundant at the canon. PART III.— ANNOTATED LIST OF MAMMALS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN PLATEAU AND DESERT OF THE LITTLE COLORADO IN ARIZONA, WITH NOTES ON THEIR VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION, AND DE- SCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. By Dr. C. Hart Merriam. Sorex monticolus sp. nov. Mountain Shrew. This new Shrew is common throughout the Boreal zones of San Fran- cisco Mountain. Specimens were secured at various altitudes from the lower edge of the Douglas fir belt (altitude 2,500 nieters=8,200 feet) to the upper limit of the Subalpine or timber-line zone (altitude 3,500 meters=ll,500 feet), but no traces of it were found in the pines. Its nearest relative seems to be Sorex vagrans of the Pacific coast. It may be known from the following description : SOREX MONTICOLUS sp. nov. 17599 Type No. ^~ 3 ad. U. S. National Museum (Department of Agri- culture collection). From San Francisco Mountain, Arizona, August 28, 1889. Collected by C. Hart Merriam and Vernon Bailey. Altitude 3,500 meters (11,500 feet). (Original number, 406.) Measurements. — Total length, 107 ; tail vertebra?, 45 ; hairs, 2 ; hind foot, 12.5 (measured in the flesh) ; ear from crown 3 (measured from the dry skin). General characters. — This is one of the smaller Shrews. In size, length of tail, external appearance, and coloration it closely resembles Sorex vagrans of the Pacific coast. The tail is about as long as the body without the head. Color. — Upper parts uniform dull sepia brown, becoming paler on the sides; under parts much lighter but without sharp line of demark- atiou. Tail bicolor, concolor with the body. Cranial and dental characters. — The skull resembles closely that of IS. vagrans, from which it differs in having the brain-case broader and more inflated. The front upper incisor has a small but distinct internal basal lobe connivent with its fellow. The first lateral unicuspid is slightly smaller than the second. The third is less than half the size of 43 44 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. |Xo.3. the fourth and nearly as small as the fifth, which Litter is minute but distinctly visible from the outside. (See accompanying figure.) -- -o Fig. 1. — Jaws with teeth of Sorex monticolus. Record of specimens collected of Sorex monticolus. "a 6 5^ d .a 'a a 5 Locality. Date. Sex. a a a o H 5 '3 H o -a a 5 Remarks. 17600 US38 397 San Francisco Mountain, Arizona. Aug. 22, 1889 d ad.' 109 43 13 9,000 feet. 2 Jill 398 do ....do d ad. 109 44 13 Do. 17599 35B3K 406 do Aug. 28, 1889 d ad. 107 45 12.5 11,500 feet. Type. 17S01 HBtrr 494 do Sept. 19, 1889 d ad. 107 45 13 8,300 feet. Vesperugo fuscus Palisot tie Beauvois. Large Brown Bat. This is the commonest Bat of the pine plateau about the base of San Francisco Mountain, where numbers were seen every evening. Six specimens were shot. Record of specimens collected of Vesperugo fuscus. 3 a "3 6 5ft tog o ft "3 a Locality. Date. « >> z .3 a a rs s - '3 13 03 - a &>« ■S it .= E o'S £§ 3 B a — a X -— C3 B .a S M B 2 u CD it a _e3 2 o a r3 a t> ° 03 w H w W H w N H H h H 5 18697 235 San Fra n c i s c o Mountain, Ariz . July 30, 1889 d 60 48 21 13 5.5 29 44 8 77 57 19 ii 18698 236 237 256 ....do ....do ? d * 65 58 63 48 51 48 23 21 22 13.5 14 13 5.5 5.5 5.5 30 31 48 48 8.5 9 8 83 83 79 60 60 58 19 19 n 18699 do ....do 11 5 18700 ....do Aug. 1,1889 11 18701 257 258 ....do do 63 58 48 42 21.5 21 12.5 12.5 5 5.5 28 44 8 8 74 77 58 18 18.5 10 18702 ....do ....do 10.5 Aug., 1890.] MAMMALS OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN REGION. 45 Vesperugo hesperus H. Allen. Pigmy Bat. This tiny Bat is the smallest species kuown to inhabit the United States and is one of the most beautiful, its soft whitish fur contrasting handsomely with its black ears, lips, and wings. It was found in large numbers at Grand Falls on the Little Colorado River, and at the Grand Caiion of the Colorado along the Cocauini Plateau, and also about a small spring at the eastern foot of the great lava flow which ends about 5 miles west of Grand Falls on the desert. It spends the day hiding in crevices in the cliffs, emerging at night-fall to drink and hunt its insect prey. Its flight is so swift and zigzag that it is a very difficult species to shoot in the rapidly fadiug light. The young, as usual among bats, fly more slowly and steadily and are easily killed. Record of specimens collected of Vesperugo hesperus. ~s. £l £ Locality. Dau-. 18685 Utile Colorado River, Arizona. 1SG8G ... do 18687 Grand Caiion of the Colorado, Arizona, do 18688 18689 18690 18G91i 18692 18693 ...do .. do ...do ...do ..do Aug. 19, 1889 ...do . Sept 10, 1889 ...do . ....do . ...do . Sept. 13, 18 ...do. ...do. s - a ■ a - - o a = = ■ & - Sex. - 03 Z x •— £ 1 — 3 09 3 -- - id = •- it a - '5 = 3) 3 - A s 2 w H H H H - fc H H '~ C- cf ad. 86 29 14 9.5 3 19 30.5 3.5 49 35 10 ? ad 36 31 14 9.5 3 18.5 30 4 50 36 d 33 30 13 9 3 17.5 29 4 47 34 10 d 33 28 13 .... 17 27.5 3.5 43 33 10 d 36 30 14 9 3.2 18.5 29 3.5 47. 5 34 10 9 40 33.5 14 9.5 3 19 30.5 3.5 50 37.5 11.5 d 33. S 29 13.5 8.75 3.2 18 3.5 47 34 10.5 9 35 30 14 10 3.5 19 3.5 51 38 11.5 d 35 tl. 5 14 9 :; 17.5 4 50 35.5 11.5 6.5 6.5 5.5 5.5 5 5 5 5.5 5.5 Vespertilio lucifugus LeConte. Common Brown Bat. Three specimens of a small brown bat, provisionally referred to this species, were secured at Little Spring, at the north foot of San Francisco Mountain. Record of sj>ccimcn* collected of Vespevtilio lucifugus 3 s * = E a « - 6 6 "5 a 'St 'E O Locality. Date. - >. •0 0 & -3 3 a -3 1 - a 3 w "3 = la s* : p — r: - 12 12.5 12 n a a 1« 2 " r. — - M e3 _>- 5.5 5.5 5.2 X u a - w 26 25 25 = u a 6 U 0 b, 39 38 38 — H 3 - H 6.5 8.5 6.5 u - u a •■= •3 i CO 63 63 ti = — — 52 50 50 1* 16 is *3 3 a ■3 a w 18691 18695 254 355 299 San Francisco Mountain, Ariz. ...do Aug. 1,1889 ...do ? d ? 48 45 49 48 41 50 ,0 18 16 8 8.5 8.5 18696 ....do Aug. 7,1889 46 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 3. Vespertilio evotis H. Allen. Long-eared Bat. A single specimen of this species was found dead near the water at Little Spring, at the north foot of San Francisco Mountain, on the morn- ing of August 15. Record of s-pecivicn collected of Vespertilio evotis. p "« « S f^ a P •& 8.K d *s s* CD g '■sB 'A "a Locality. Date. -3 P l-a P a ,Q p «0 R o ^S a 13 rg •■S § 3 a 3 o a T3 -a c3 rg CO M <3 o ri ca h p A *2 P P O 02 M H w H H M l=H H H s H w 18683 363 San Francisco Mountain, Ariz. Aug. 15, 1889 d 48 44 18.5 19 9.5 24.5 39 7 63 50 19 9 Vespertilio melanorhinus sp. nov. Black-nosed Bat. While encamped at Little Spring, at the north base of San Francisco Mountain, I found a small golden-brown bat hanging head down from the inside of a trough made of a large pine log. It hung so low that its sharp, black nose almost touched the water. It proved to be an adult male of an undescribed species belonging to an unnamed section of the genus Vespertilio, characterized by having the upper incisors parallel as in Kerivoula, instead of divergent as in Vespertilio proper. The only other Vespertilio known to possess this peculiarity is V. ciliolabrum, a species recently described by the writer from Kansas and New Mexico. VESPERTILIO MELANORHINUS sp. nov. Type No. 18684, £ ad. (in alcohol). U.S. National Museum. (Depart- ment of Agriculture collection.) From San Francisco Mountain, Ari- zona, August 4, 1889. Collected by G. Hart Merriam. (Original num- ber, 275.) Measurements. — Head and body, 40; tail vertebrae, 43; head, 16; ear from internal basal angle, 13; tragus, from inner base, 6; humerus, 22 ; fore-arm, 32; thumb, 3.5; third finger, 57 ; fifth finger, 44; tibia, 14.5; hind foot, 7. General characters. — Upper incisors parallel, directed inward ; inner incisor slightly larger than outer, its crown bifid. First upper premolar small but with well-developed conical cusp, situated on inner side of tooth-row in contact with base of canine ; second upper premolar minute, without well- developed cusp, situated on inner side of pm. 1, with which it is in contact ; third premolar nearly as large as canine, molariform. Crown of head but slightly elevated above plane of face ; muzzle, nar- row ; naked area over nostrils small ; glandular prominences between eyes and nose small and inconspicuous ; sides of upper lip clothed with a dense fringe of long, straight, and rather stiff hairs, as in V. cilio- labrum. Aug., 1890] MAMMALS OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN REGION. 47 Size rather small, about equaling V. nigricans; tail a little longer than head and body, the extreme tip projecting. Ears shorter than head, rather narrow, the tips not reaching end of nose when laid for- ward ; anterior basal lobe angular, the horizontal and vertical borders meeting at a right angle; anterior (or inner) border of ear strongly convex on lower two-thirds, becoming straight on upper third; tip evenly rounded, with a slight posterior projection resulting from a shallow emargination, which occupies the upper half of the posterior (or outer) border; lower half of posterior border convex, with a thick lobule near the point of insertion, which is on a line with the anterior border of the tragus ; tragus long and slender, directed forward and outward ; upper third narrow ; anterior border straight in lower two- thirds, upper third convex, tip evenly rounded ; outer border with a distinct rounded lobule at base, above which it is convex on the lower two thirds, and then rapidly becomes narrower and is sinuate and slightly concave on the upper third. Thumb very short, only about half as long as foot, and armed with a sharp and strongly curved nail. Foot of medium size ; wing membranes from metatarsus at base of toes; upper surface furred only as far as a line drawn from the middle of the humerus to the knee ; under surface furred to a line joining the knee and elbow. Interfemoral membrane furred above to a little beyond middle of tibia; calcaneum reaching about half way from foot to tip of tail; postcalcaueal lobule small but distinct. Color. — Upper parts uniform dull golden brown, except the lips and face below and in front of the eyes, which parts are abruptly black ; under parts paler, palest posteriorly. Ears, face, and membranes black. Under fur everywhere blackish. General remarks. — Vespertilio melanorliinus requires comparison with but one species, namely, V. ciliolabrum, from which it differs in having shorter ears and longer legs and tail, as well as in color and minor details of form and proportions. Record of specimen collected of Vespertilio melanorhinus. a u 0) X >- a a 2 = d 'A "3 a Locality. ]):itr. Sox. — Is O a! — X '— OS • — 5 01 ja - bXi = i a o Xfl it '3 H& OS a 0 5 — OS 2 = a t> O • ad n 10 H 4:: W 10 13 6 w 22 32 H :i. 5 H 57 44 E-i 14. S ^ K 18684 275 San Franci sco Aug. 4, 1889 Type. Mountain, Ariz. Nyctinomus brasiliensis Is. Geoff. St. Hilaire. Brasilian Freo-tailed Bat. A Free-tailed Bat which is provisionally referred to this species is very abundant along the Little Colorado River near Grand Falls, where it inhabits crevice3 in the sandstone cliffs. It was not observed elsewhere. Seven specimens were secured. 48 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. Record of specimens collected of Xyctinomus brasiliensis. [No. 3. a 3 CO Third finger. © zz ca- fe - 43 3 %£ — c o « "3J 6 "3 Locality. Date. 5 — 5 3 - 43 12 106 18717 379 ....do ....do 9,59 36 19 21 135 2 25 45 76 43s 17 15= 44 12* 10c 18718 380 .-.do ....do 9 54 20 5 13= 2 24 43 7 40 15 14 37 106 18719 381 382 383 ....do ...do ? 53 cf 54 rf 56 30 33 3! 16 18 16 205 205 205 14 135 14 2 2s 2 236 24 22s 425 41 40 76 7 7 41 40 38 16' 15 15 14 14 14 42 39 s 37 12 12 11s 11 18720 ....do ...do in6 1S721 .. do — _dn 106 " Sciurus fremonti mogollonensis Mearns. Red Squirrel ; Chickaree. The Bed Squirrel of San Francisco Mountain inhabits the Boreal zones and is equally common, according to my observation, from the bottom of the Douglas fir belt to timber line. It is not nearly so noisy as its eastern congener, which its note suggests, though differing con- siderably from it. It feeds on seeds from the cones of the spruce and fir trees, and heaps containing many bushels of the scales of these cones may be found beneath the trees where it lives. Full-grown young were taken during the latter part of August. It is doubtful if the San Fran- cisco Mountain Chickaree ever descends so low as the Fihon belt, though it may do so in winter. At all events it was not seen in the Pine belt, which separates the Douglas fir from the Pinon. The differ- ence in altitude between the lower border of the Douglas fir, where this squirrel is common, and the upper border of the Pinon belt, is only a little more than 300 meters (about 1,000 feet), and the distance be- tween the two zones, at the point where they come nearest together, is only about a mile (on the northeast side of the mountain — in other di- rections it is much greater), and yet the faunal boundaries are so sharply defined that this seemingly insignificant difference constitutes a barrier as impassable as an arm of the ocean. Dr. E. A. Mearns has recently separated subspecifically the San Francisco Mountain Chickaree from the form inhabiting the Bocky Mountains.* The principal difference is that the former is slightly larger than the latter, with larger ears and hind feet. * Bulletin American Museum of Natural History, Vol. II, No. 4, pp. 277-280. Sepa- rates issued February 21, 1890. Aug., 1890.1 MAMMALS OF SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN REGION. 49 Record of specimens collected of Sciurus fremonti mogollunmais. "«e 6 6 M o mw 231 178 16 248 IT??' 266 17630 270 K5K 271 iiiis 272 5i«5 359 17607 -14-1 . 371 him 391 um 393 17509 ittn 400 A7S1* 418 aWKT 419 liiis 552 4HSI 553 1 7510 554 Jili'5 555 1 7506 I4»il 564 Locality. San Francisco Mount- ain, Arizona. ....do ...do ...do ....do ...do ....do ....do ....do ....do ....do ....do ...do ...do ...do ...do ...do . . do Date. July 30, 1889 July 31, 1889 Aug. 2,1889 Aug. 3,1889 ....do ....do Aug. 14, 1889 Aug. 17, 1889 Aug. 21, 1889 ....do Aug. 22, 1889 Aug. 28, 1889 Aug. 29, 1889 Sept. 29, 1889 ....do ....do ....do Oct. 5, 1889 Sex. "Si a o "3 0 H u "5 H o =2 ■a a a 9 ad.. 345 142 54 cTad.. 320 121 55 d ad.. 335 130 52 cf ad.. 320 120 55 $ ad.. 340 140 54 cf im.. 304 127 52 § im.. 320 137 51 cfim.. 293 129 51 cf ad . 365 156 54 $ im.. 325 141 49 9 ad.. 350 148 54 ? ad.. 340 143 54 of ad.. 330 138 51 cTad.. 340 135 53 9 ad.. 333 142 52 9 ad.. 323 134 50 9 ad.. 335 143 52 ? ad.. 335 137 54 Keniarks. Nursing; teats J. End of tail gone. Do. Nursing : teats J. Young ; milk in stom- ach. Lately nursing; teats J. Do. Teats j. Do. Do. Sciurus aberti Woodhouse. Abert's Squirrel. This large and handsome Squirrel is restricted to the pine area and was not detected in a single instance either in the Douglas fir belt above, or in the piiion and cedar belt below. At the same time it undoubtedly does invade the upper part of the piiion zone when the piiion nuts are ripe. It is common everywhere in the pines, and is particularly fond of the large seeds of Pinus flexilis, though the smaller ones of Pinus ponderosa constitute the greater part of its food because of the much greater abundance of the latter tree. It builds large covered nests of green pine branches, lined with soft grass, among the limbs of the trees, but also avails itself of holes in the trunks when suitable openings can be found. As a rule it is un- wary and may be easily approached within short gunshot range ; but when really frightened it runs swiftly over the lava rocks for along dis- tance before taking to a tree, often passing over the roots of many large pines in its flight. On reaching the tree of its choice, it climbs to the very top, and then, unlike any other squirrel with which I am familiar, crawls out to the small end of a branch about which it curls and re- mains motionless. When in this position it is exceedingly difficult to see, though considerably larger than our eastern Gray Squirrel ; and even the conspicuous white under side of the bushy tail is so coiled about the body as to aid in deceiving the observer. The long and haudsome ear-tufts are shed in the spring, and the new 501— No. 3 1 50 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 3. ones do not attain their full growth until the early part of winter ; hence specimens taken in summer have naked or nearly naked ears. The young begin to appear about the middle of September and are very tame and unsuspicious. Their ear-tufts grow much more rapidly than those of the adults, or at least begin to grow earlier in the season, so that in September and October the young have much longer tufts than their parents. Whether the species raises two litters in a season I was not able to determine, but females with udders full of milk were shot as late as the middle of September. Abert's Squirrel was first described by Dr. S. W. Woodhouse from specimens collected by himself at San Francisco Mountain in October, 1851, when attached to the Sitgreaves Expedition. Record of specimens collected of Sciurus aberti. 6 'c! a "3c 'B O Locality. Date. Sex. .a « "3 O H u > '3 H 230 225 224 230 240 220 238 230 235 195 219 227 238 o -a a s 17491 51427 1741*0 5W32 Ml is 267 273 274 323 404 405 428 429 430 439 462 463 499 Aug. 2,1889 Aug. 4,1889 ....do 9 ad.. d ad..