Full text of "The mammals of Minnesota. A scientific and popular account of their features and habits, with 23 figures and 8 plates"

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GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY OF MINNESOTA.
N. H. WINCHELL, State Geologist.

BULLETIN No. 7.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

A SCIENTIFIC AND POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THEIR
FEATURES AND HABITS,

23 FIGURES AND 8 PLATES,

BY C. L. HERRI CK.

MINNEAPOLIS:
HARRISON & SMITH, STATE PRINTERS,

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

CONTENTS.

Page.

Preface 7

List of Illustrations '.

Introduction V.

CHAPTER I YERTEBRATA MAMMALIA 13-18

SUBCLASS MONODELPHIA 17

CHAPTER II ORDER CfiLIROPTERA (BATS) 19-37

General account of the order 19

Synopsis of important families and genera 24

Geographical distribution 25

Genus Nycticejus 27

Genus Lasiurus 28

Genus Scotophilus 33

Genus Lasionycteris 34

Genus Vespertilio 36

CHAPTER III. ORDER OSECTIVORA (MOLES AND

SHREWS) 38-56

General account and geographical distribution ... 38

Family Soricidae 43

Genus Blarina 44

Sorex cooperi . 48

Family Talpidas 49

Genus Scalops 51

4 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV. ORDER CARNIYORA (FLESH EATERS)57-150

General account 57

Suborder ^Eluroidea 60

Family Felidas 63

Genus Felis 64

Genus Lynx 72

Family Canidse 74

Genus Canis 77

Genus Vulpes 80

Genus Urocyon 81

Family Mustelidse 83

Genus Taxidea (Badger) 86

Genus Mephitis 87

Genus Gulo 99

Genus Mustela 102

Genus Putorius 106

Subfamily Lutrinse (Otters) 128

Family Ursidse 135

Genus Procyon (Raccoons) 138

Genus Ursus (Bears) 145

CHAPTER V. ORDER RODENTIA (GNAWERS). ...151-253

General account 151

Family Sciuridse 154

Genus Sciurus . 155

Genus Tamias 159

Genus Spermophilus 163

Genus Arctomys 168

Family Castoridre 169

Genus Castor 170

Family Muridae 174

Genus Vesperimus 176

Genus Hypudseus 193

Genus Arvicola 197

Genus Synaptomys 207

Genus Onychomys 208

Genus Fiber. . 211

CONTENTS. 5

Family Dipodidse 217

Genus Zapus 218

Family Geomyidse 220

Genus Geomys 222

Family Leporidae (Hares) 230

Family Hystricidse (Porcupines) 243

Genus Erethizon 246

Distribution of Rodentia 252

CHAPTER VI. ORDER ARTIODACTYLA (HOOPED

QUADRUPEDS) 254-290

General account 254

Family Bovidse Genus Bison 258

Family Cervidse 270

Alces americanus 270

Rangifer tarandus 274

Cervus canadensis 278

Cervus (Cariacus) virginianus 281

Antilocapra americana 282

LIST OF PLATES.

Geomys bursarius (p. 223 ) . . . Frontispiece

Plate I. Antilocapra americana, Pronghorn antelope . . . 282

Plate II. Felis concolor, Puma 66

Plate III. Taxidea americana, Badger 86

Plate IV. Bison americanus, American bison 260

Plate V. Alces americanus, Moose deer 270

Plate VI. Cervus canadensis, American elk 278

Plate VII. Erethizon dorsatus, Canada porcupine 246

LIST OF FIGURES.

Page

Pig. 1. Heads of various bats 21

Fig. 2. Macroscelides typicus, Jumping shrew from Africa 38

Fig. 3. Blarina brevicaudata, Short-tailed shrew 45

Fig. 4. Scalops aquaticus, Mole 51

Fig. 5 and 6. Upper surface of hand and snout of Scalops

aquaticus 52

Fig. 7. Group of Mustelidae 83

Fig. 8. Putorius vulgaris and Putorius erminea, Common

and Ermine weasels 107

Fig. 9. Group of Subursinae 138

Fig. 10. The Raccoon at Bay 140

Fig. 11. The Raccoon at Dinner 141

Fig. 12. Section of Muskrat hut 214

Fig. 13. Muskrat houses 215

Figs. 14, 15 and 16. Sketches of Geomys bursarius, com-
mon pocket gopher, showing different attitudes. . . . 223-227

Fig. 17. Bones of Lepus campestris, Prairie hare 235

Fig. 18. Sphingurus villosus, South American porcupine. 243

Fig. 19. Bison europeus, European bison 259

Fig. 20. Head of unusually large caribou 275

Fig. 21. European reindeer 277

Fig. 22. Indian sketch of running antelope 290

Fig. 23. Burial post of Waubojeeg 290

CORRIGENDA.

Page 17, ninth line from bottom, for "Monotremata" read Mono-
delphia.

Page 18, seventh line, for "Monotremata" read Monodelphia.

Page 48, preceding Sorex cooperi, insert
GENUS SOREX.

Smallest mammals with soft and short pelag'e. Both feet with five
digits. Teeth free. Body mouse-like, with elongated head and pro-
jecting snout, closely appresed valve-like ears concealed beneath
the fur, and cylindrical or four-angled tail (covered with annular
scales and hairs), which is longer than the body. Soles naked.
Claws not retractile. Special glands near the fore legs. Eyes small.
Dentary formula : I.f, C. A;.|, P. M. |;5, M. |-|, = 32. The incisors have
toothed edges and an accessory basal hook. All the teeth are white
with brownish tips.

Page 48, sixth line from the bottom, insert

Color, above grayish brown; entire under parts including tail sil-
very. Easily distinguished from other Minnesota species by the
size and length of tail.

Page 78, sixteenth line, dele " Pl,ATE VI."

Page 102, nineteenth line, for "Putoris" read Putorius.

Page 108, under Ermine or White Weasel, for "Plate XV" read
Fig. 8 A, p. 107.

Page 158, under Fox Squirrel, dele "Plate VIII," and at the bot-
tom of the page the note referring to the same.

Page 159, under Sciuropterus volucella, dele "Plate VII."

Page 162, under Rocky Mountain Chipmunk, dele "Plate IX."

Page 223, after COMMON POCKET GOPHER, insert

Fron tispiece.

NOTE. As originally prepared it was intended that the following
work should be illustrated by a number of other plates, the greater
part of them colored lithographs. On account of the cost of such
plates many of them were rejected at once, and more recently again
the Printing Commission decided to publish, with the exception of
Geomys bursarius, only those which were suitable for reproduc-
tion by the photo-engraving and half-tone processes. Unfortu-
nately the proof-reader failed to notice, until over half the pages had
been printed, that the corresponding changes had not been made in
the manuscript by 'erasing the references to omitted plates, and to
this oversight is due the irregular numbering of the plates and the
fact that some of the descriptions call for plates that are not in-
cluded. N. H. W.

PREFACE.

The manuscript and plates for a final report upon the mam-
mals of Minnesota were turned over to the Survey in 1885, with
the expectation that the work would be speedily issued as part
of a quarto volume of the series of final reports. Circum-
stances with which the writer is unacquainted have delayed the
publication over six years and in the meantime much work has
been done in all branches of biology, and the state has been
carefully surveyed by the United States agents. Much of
whatever may have had any value as an original contribution
to science has lapsed and much of the remainder has been
rendered unnecessary by recent publication. This is especially
true of bibliographical material. When, however, the publica-
tion was finally ordered and no opportunity was afforded for
further field work, it seemed best to adapt the manuscript for
the purpose by the omission of much which could not be edited
satisfactorily under the circumstances, and, separating the
more general from the technical portions, to issue these in the
form of two bulletins, uniform with the series already estab-
lished by the Survey.

The present installment, therefore, contains the descriptive
and popular portion, with such illustrations as may serve to
assist the amateur. The second part will be devoted to the
materials collected upon the anatomy, especially the myology
and osteology of the mammals of Minnesota.

July, 1891. C. L. HERRICK,

Univ. of Cincinnati.

INTRODUCTION.

The present volume is intended to serve a double purpose.
The comprehensive nature of the law authorizing the Natural
History Survey of the state might lead the reader to expect
much more than the limited time and means at our disposal
made possible. This report, therefore, while putting in per-
manent form such data as came to hand during the few months
occupied in its preparation, will best serve its purpose if it in-
dicates in a general way the kind of observations and records,
the nature of the problems and the method of investigation
desirable for the future work in this department within the
state. The greatest barrier in the way of the preparation of
this report was the almost absolute absence of anything like
scientific interest in zoology in the state. There were no re-
liable data available, nor were there persons prepared to collect
such data intelligently. It is a matter of congratulation that a
permanent bureau has been established in connection with the
University for the prosecution of such studies as naturally fall
to the lot of a Natural History Survey, and the general dissemi-
nation of the scientific spirit and attainments may yet make it
possible to preserve the records of the natural biological
phenomena of Minnesota, now rapidly being obliterated by
the changed conditions accompanying the encroachments of
civilization.

As a compensation for this loss, however, a not less inter-
esting set of problems growing out of the adjustment of the
native population to the incoming one presents itself, and these
questions have a theoretical as well as practical significance
difficult to over-estimate.

Of course the collection and description of all the species of
mammalia still existing in the state is an obvious duty in con-
nection with the preparation of such a report. The omissions
and errors which of necessity exist in the present essay will
soon doubtless be made good by the activity of the Mammalian
Branch of the Agricultural Department, U. S. A., under the
direction of Dr. C. Hart Merriam.

-2

10 . BULLETIN NO. VII.

Any clear understanding of the present fauna implies a study
of the record of its development as supplied by paleontology.
It is also desirable to learn what influences have acted to cause
the extinction of some animals, to change the habitats of oth-
ers, and to modify the form and habits of still others. An
obvious duty is the study of the habits of our mammals, such
especially as relate to the food and economic relations. Some
animals rank among the most important enemies of the farmer
and poultryman, while others are either indifferent or are
worthy of preservation for the contributions they make to the
resources of parts of the state. There are regions which nature
seems to have designed as natural game preserves and suitable
legislation might long continue to us the opportunity for health-
ful sport, and pleasant variety in the food supply. The facts
relating to the fur trade are also legitimate to this work and
some account of the methods pursued in collecting the furs, so
necessary an adjunct to winter clothing, would certainly not be
out of place. If any incidents could be intermingled which
would either reflect light on the habits or excite popular inter-
est in a neglected branch of science these certainly are admis-
sible. A scientific study of our mammals would involve much
more than this. Aside from intricate questions which arise as
to the actual limits of species and relative value of varietal
characters the anatomy and physiology of each mammal fur-
nishes a field for exhaustive study. An adequate knowledge of
the relationships existing between the various living as well as
fossil animals, must be founded upon an intimate familiarity
with the points of similarity and dissimilarity in their internal
structure. The complete study of the anatomy of a single ani-
mal is the work of years, so that here is a field which one per-
son would scarcely hope to cursorily examine, much less to
exhaust.

In a state as large as Minnesota there are abundant oppor
tunities for the study of the influence of environment upon the
anatomical and physiological peculiarities of the fauna. Prob-
ably no other state in the Union is so favorably situated for
this study. In the northeastern part of the state is an area
with an annual rainfall almost as large as anywhere in the
Union. The western portion borders upon the great prairie
region of the interior. The northern portion of the state con-
tains a large invasion of the boreal fauna, while the southern
receives waifs from the south-central states. Moreover, the
distribution of forest and plain is such as to introduce diversity

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 11

of station within those habitats. Although there are no alpine
or strictly mountainous regions in the state the diversity of
surface and soil is considerable. The vast number of glacial
pools carries the habitat of the musk rat far into the prairie belt.
The prevalence of coniferous trees in the northern part of the
state exerts a very pronounced influence upon its fauna. The
opportunity to study the gradual changes in the same species
as it crosses the imperceptible but most real boundary separat-
ing these several habitats is of the greatest value for a compre-
hension of the bearing of evolution and the proper definition of
a "species."

Another field for investigation is not less interesting than the
above mentioned. The language of a people, and especially of
a rude people, is influenced to a high degree by the external
objects which furnish the mind with the earliest conceptions
and the tongue with the first-framed words. Animated nature,
and especially those animals whose large size and close rela-
tions with the individual naturally excite interest, have a large
share of influence. The psychologist is interested to know
what phases of animal-life have made the most vivid impress-
ion upon different tribes and to thus read the temperament and
mental endowment of aboriginal people in their language.
The philologist studies with no less interest, although from a
different stand-point, the effect of animals upon the various
languages. If the prominent beasts of prey have identical or
similar names in distant tribes, he seeks to discover whether
consanguinity or previous accidental propinquity was the
occasion.

Archaeology has by similar means succeeded in forming a
vivid picture of the domestic life of early European times,
while in this country little attention has as yet been directed to
the subject.

The effects of external objects upon the human mind are seen
in pictorial representations almost as soon as in vocal imitations
of properties possessed by them or verbal signs for them. The
picture writing of the savage is most highly interesting not
only as furnishing information regarding his own method of
life but of the previous range of extinct animals or such as
have since migrated. In this way the contemporaneous exist-
ence of man and the mammoth has been proven in Europe, and
genuine and well authenticated aboriginal carvings should be
carefully collected and studied, as well by the biologist as the
archaeologist. Among the ancients various animal as well as

12 BULLETIN NO. VII.

human figures were used in art to a much greater extent than
is considered permissible at the present time. While the em-
ployment of animal figures for decorative and architectural
purposes must be under the constant and rigid surveillance of
a sensitive and cultivated taste, it is yet true that the tasteful
employment of such forms would enhance the power and widen
the field of decorative art among us many fold. The legitimate
employment of fancy in combining native, animal and vege-
table forms in designs suited to external and internal decora-
tion would do much to produce that novelty and variety which
at present is achieved at the expense of all ideas of suitability,
by patching together fragments of designs from every clime
and age.

Such was the field as it outlined itself before the writer up-
on assuming the responsibility of preparing a final report on
the mammals of Minnesota. About six months having been
abstracted from the twenty-four allotted for the work, it was
necessary, not only to omit many of the departments which at
first were contemplated, but to restrict others to the briefest
possible time. It was obvious from the first that little or noth-
ing could be added to the systematic part of the subject, which
has had elaborate attention at the hands of specialists, who
have access to the vast collections secured by the government.
Few contributions relating to the habits of North American
mammals could be expected which would not be already fore-
stalled from the life-long experience of field naturalists like
Audubon and Richardson. Even the collection of synonomy
is impossible apart from the libraries of the east. A fruitful
field seemed open in the careful study and painstaking descrip-
tion of the anatomy of our animals, especially such points as
might be of permanent service to the paleontologist. It was
therefore resolved to present as complete an account of the
osteology of our mammals as time and opportunities would per-
mit, and such other anatomical data as could readily be gather-
ed at the same time. Circumstances, above alluded to, leave
even this task unfinished and the osteological notes must be re-
garded as fragmentary material, preparatory to a comprehen-
sive osteology of American mammals.

Such popular material as circumstances have afforded is add-
ed, the descriptive matter being, so far as possible, original,
although supplemented by whatever seemed desirable in works
of previous writers.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 13

CHAPTER I.

The first question which we encounter is "What is a mam-
mal?" Every one is practically familiar with a greater or less
number of mammals, and is possessed of a more or less dis-
tinct notion of the points of similarity and diversity between
such of these animals as are most familiar, but it may be sus-
pected that such of my readers as are not themselves natural-
ists may not be prepared to state the distinctions which sepa-
rate mammals from all other animals. It is remarkable how
few ideas are united in the popular conception represented for
example by the words cow, dog, cat, etc. We may perhaps think
of a cow as an ungainly quadruped with hoofs and horns, which
occupies herself in chewing a cud and brewing milk. One
familiar with country life will be likely to add that the hoofs
of a cow are divided and the horns are furnished with a core
of bone and not, like those of an elk, solid and deciduous and,
perhaps, that there are certain peculiarities in the dentition.
A keen observer would recall that there are really four hoofs
which represent four toes on each foot, that the stomach is
curiously differentiated and thus exhaust what are popularly
considered the distinctive features of a bovine. So able a
writer as John Fiske speaks of a "hoof as made up of five
claws grown together and furnished with a nail in common. "
(The Destiny of Man, p. 36). Yet few would ever have thought
to inquire which of all these points does a cow have in common
with a mouse, a kangaroo or an elephant, which animals are as
truly mammals as the cow or her master.

The mammals are members of the sub-kingdom Vertebrata
among the prominent characters of which are the following:
The body is composed of two cavities of unequal size, the
uppermost of which contains the central part of the nervous
system, or, in other words the brain and spinal cord, while the
lower cavity contains the viscera. The nervous cavity is separ-
ated from the visceral by a chain of bones which usually also
sends up bony walls which completely enclose the organs
contained in it. The anterior portion of the nervous system or
brain is usually highly developed and encased in a complicated

14 BULLETIN NO. VII.

box, known as the skull. Through openings in the skull the
nerves passing from the brain to the organs of sense emerge.
When the spinal column is ossified, it is divided into distinct
elements or vertebrae. The vertebral column is the central
support as well as the axis of the body. Nearly all paired or-
gans are symmetrically arranged on either side of it. The
bones which constitute the framework of the body and limbs
are directly or indirectly attached to it. Of external movable
limbs used in locomotion there are never more than four which
although variable in position and function may always be recog-
nized as a posterior and anterior pair. The heart is ventral,
that is, on the same side of the vertebrae as the alimentary sys-
tem.

Vertebrates are of five distinct sorts which constitute the
classes Pisces (fishes), Amphibia (frogs and salamanders),
Reptilia (reptiles), Aves (birds), and Mammalia (mammals).
Of these five groups the first two and the second two are more
naturally allied with each other than with any of the other
classes. This more intimate relationship is indicated by uniting
fishes and batrachians under the common term Icthyopsida and
the reptiles and birds under the name Sauropsida. ( The terms
BrancMata and Monocondyla are of the same extension as the
above, but less convenient. In order to preserve uniformity in
the number of sub-divisions, Mammals are sometimes given as
the only class under the province Zygencephala co-ordinate
with the above.) As distinguished from these groups, Mam-
mals possess the following pecularities:

The female has mammae or glands which secrete a milky fluid
to sustain the young, which, after birth, pass through a long
period of comparative helplessness. The two halves of the
anterior part of the brain (cerebrum ) are connected by a cor-
pus callosum. There are two condyles or articulating surfaces
at the back of the skull. The lower jaw is composed of a single
bone on each side and the ear contains the malleus and incus.
The heart has four chambers and a single aortic arch. The
diaphragm is perfect and the lungs are freely suspended in the
thoracic cavity thus formed.

The ribs join the sternum. There are no gills at any time in
life. -Blood is warm and the red corpuscles unnucleated. The
body is covered more or less completely with hair.

The scientific definition of a mammal would comprise the
points above mentioned and others of similar nature, but prac-
tically the notion which springs unbidden in our minds when the

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 15

word mammal is heard is derived, not from such a rigid analysis
as is necessary to formulate a scientific definition, but from men-
tal images of various mammals and these concrete images com-
monly are more or less clearly or vaguely implied even in the ab-
stract notion mammal. Such abstractions are only in so far valu-
able as they serve as keys to admit us with promptitude to that
chamber of our memory where are stored the various concrete
images which experience has gathered and which may be com-
pared with each other and thus produce an indefinite series of
abstract notions, varying in extension without altering the
fundamental conceptions of concrete things in the least. A
classification is in fact nothing but just such a series of gen-
eral notions and is, therefore, capable of being extended to any
number of terms, not greater thani the number of the individu-
als classified which are not positively identical. The person,
then, who desires to become conversant with zoology, or any
other branch of natural history, must strive to gather as great a
number of clear individual images of as great a variety of ob-
jects as his mental classification will enable him to retain
without confusion.

It will be our aim then to present a verbal and pictorial image
of all the mammals in our state, hoping to thus impart more
real information than would be derived from lengthy and per-
chance learned discussions of the principles of classification or
theories of derivation or development.

The following statistics will briefly summarize the mammal-
ian population of our state:

1. Number of species known to exist 63

2. Species rapidly approaching extinction , 8

3. Species increasing in abundance 6

4. Species of economic value 21

5. Species which may be regarded as injurious 24

6. Species having northern or sub-arctic affinity 6

7. Species having a western affinity , 8

8. Species belonging to the eastern province 25

9. Species of general distribution in North America 24

Of course in a relative matter of this sort opinion would vary
as to the inclusiveness of one or other of the categories; the
above table will merely indicate the approximate state of the
fauna.

Among mammals either actually extinct in our limits or like-
ly to be so may be mentioned the buffalo, prong-horn, beaver,
wolverine, elk, caribou, gray gopher, and panther. The in-
troduced species of mice and rats are on the constant increase,

16 BULLETIN NO. VII.

supplanting in many cases native species. Instances of mam-
mals of economic importance either on account of the value of
the pelt or the food furnished by the flesh will readily suggest
themselves. The fur trade in this state seems to have dimin-
ished in importance, so that statistics of its income would have
little value, at any rate it was impossible to gather any informa-
tion sufficiently reliable to be worth reporting. A few Indians
devote their time to trapping, but aside from this, the farmer's
boy who hopes to add to a limited stock of spending money, by
the capture of mink or musk-rat, is almost the only patron of
the industry.

The capture of deer is still quite an industry, and yet the
supply does not seem to diminish greatly. Only a few years
ago, patient sportsmen succeeded in securing a deer or two
within a dozen miles of Minneapolis every winter.

It would be interesting to trace, so far as possible, the origin
of domestic animals in this connection. The space at our dis-
posal prohibits more than a cursory word. For additional de-
tails one may refer to the works of Oscar Smith, Rutemyer and
Vogt.

Darwin was of the opinion that the domestic dog is a result
of the domestication and interbreeding of several feral species.

Jeitteles believes that the jackal and Indian wolf (Ganis
pallipes) have been the progenitors of the various races of do-
mestic dogs. From the former he derives terriers and turn-
spits, while from the latter he traces the poodle, cur, and bull-
dog. The Egyptian dog is believed to have had a separate
origin from the large jackal ( Canis lupaster) .

The fossil ancestors of the wolf may be found in the Dilu-
vium, over half a dozen species very much like the modern
animal being known. There are a number of wild dogs with a
greater number of molar teeth than our familiar species, and
these are thought to be the more direct descendants of the
primitive canine. Of the relations of the dogs to the cats
enough information is furnished by paleontology to show that
the petty jealousy still existing is as might be supposed a result
of consanguinity unwillingly recognized.

Among the ruminants it is interesting to recall that America
is the primitive home of the camel tribe. In the Pliocene Ter-
tiary camels were perhaps the most abundant of the larger
mammals with the exception of horses, while the alpaca and
llama alone survive to the present.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 17

The ox is supposed to be derived from three ancient species
(Bos brachyceros, B. primigenius, B. frontosus) which have since
been crossed interminably. While the ox seems to have ap-
peared in the eastern continent, America may claim to have
been the birth place of the bison whose enormous herds were
once so characteristic a feature of our country. Bison latifrons
from the diluvium is the first form known. Allen believes that
from this species have sprung B. antiquus in America and B.
prisons in the old world, the precursors of the living species
in each.

One group of mammals the Cetacea have left no trace in
the formation of Minnesota. Our knowledge of the whale is a
very recent acquisition and is chiefly derived from the careful
researches of Eschricht, Brandt, Van Beneden, Gervais and
Flower. Whalebone had long been an article of commerce
before the relation it sustained to the teeth of other mammals
was made out that it is, indeed, a thickened appendage to the
mucus membrane of the mouth, used in straining out of the
water the minute animals serving its owner for food. The
discovery that the young or f cetal bearded whale has teeth,
which are never cut, but are soon reabsorbed, deserves to be
noted here as a remarkable instance of unexpected genealogi-
cal testimony. We are thus informed that the present whales
are lineally descended from toothed whales not unlike the
dolphin. The cetaceans were most plentifully represented in
the Miocene period and at that time the two groups of whales
were less clearly marked. It is certain that the whalebone
whales are the latest members of the group historically. The
origin of the group is shrouded in mystery, a more or less
obvious similarity in certain osteological features to the
omnivorous hoofed animals being the only clue as yet available.

SUB-CLASS MO^OTREMATA.

This sub-class contains the principal orders of mammals and
all of those included in this work with the exception of the
opossum, which is the sole North American representative of
the sub-class Didelphia. The characters of the sub-class, so far
as here necessary, are the following: Development of thefcetus
is accomplished through the agency of a placenta'formed from
the allantois membrane. The mammary glands have teats.
There is, in the female, a single vagina. There is no cloaca.

18 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The caracoids are absent or are represented by small processes
of the scapula. There are no marsupial bones. The ear has a
complicated spiral cochlea. The young are brought forth in
an advanced stage of development, not requiring to be forcibly
fed by the mother. The corpus callosum is large and the
angle of the mandible is not inflexed.

The sub-class Monotremata includes the orders Carnivora,
Rodentia, Insectivora, Edentata, Chiroptera, Primates, Pinnipedia,
Cetacea, Sirenia, Proboscidea and Ungulata, or in other words,
all the cats, dogs, bears and weasels, all the squirrels and
rabbits, shrews and moles, sloths and ant-eaters, bats and
flying foxes, seals and walrusses, whales and dolphins, sea-cows
and dugongs, elephants and tapirs, and all the kine and horses
as well as all races of mankind.

As being most highly specialized and departing most from
what is assumed as the primitive type of mammalia, this sub
class is considered the highest of the three. Fossils indicate
that the lower sub-classes were once proportionally more num-
merous, especially the marsupials.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 19

CHAPTER IT.

ORDER CHIROPTERA

THE BATS.

This remarkable group of animals is at once the least under-
stood and most interesting of the mammalia. The order is a
large one, including over four hundred species which are very
artificially arranged in from fifty to sixty genera. North
America is quite poor in species as compared with the tropical
regions of both hemispheres. The number of species in the
United States does not exceed twenty, only five of which are
as yet known to enter the limits of our state.

The bats are very abruptly separated from all other animals
whatever, and even the paleontological records reveal no inti-
mate relationship with other mammals. The oldest known
bats, remains of which have been found in the rocks, are as
distinctly bat-like and as little like other mammals as those
which now flit about upon moon-lit evenings.

Bats are primarily distinguished from all other mammals by
the possession of true wings. There are, indeed, flying squir-
rels, flying marsupials and flying lemurs, but in none of these
cases is flight occasioned by true wings formed by the modifica-
tion of the anterior extremities. Sharing this peculiarity as
they do with birds alone among vertebrates, there are vastly
fewer points of similarity than of difference between the two
groups. The wing of a bird is produced, it is true, from the
hand and arm, but in a far less perfect manner, or anatomically
considered, at a great sacrifice of the pentadactyl plan on
which the hands of most vertebrates are framed. That the less
perfect instrument is able to effect more vigorous and longer
sustained flight in many cases is due to other reasons, such as
the superior lightness of the frame of birds. There are but
two evident fingers in birds and only three are represented by
bones. Bats commonly possess five more or less perfect digits,
four of which constitute the ribs for the support of the delicate
and sensitive web which is the chief instrument of support

20 BULLETIN NO. VII.

during flight. The first finger may be reduced to a single
phalanx and the other digits may also be somewhat reduced
but they never coalesce as in birds. The thumb is commonly
furnished with a nail which frequently serves as a support
during the day-time or period of winter repose. The other
fingers are greatly elongated and are very strong and elastic,
Usually if a bat is brought down by a blow it will be found that
the humerus, or short bone of the arm. is broken while the
more slender phalanges are intact.

The volatory apparatus, however, consists, besides the wing
of various other membranes, or rather continuations, of the
web above mentioned. The humeral portion is a triangular
gib-like membrane passing from the wrist to the sides of the
neck or shoulder, and is, in some species, pocket-like. There
is also a broad membrane passing posteriorly to the legs. This
web corresponds to that expansion of the skin which forms
a parachute by which flying squirrels "fly." Another portion,
the interfemoral membrane, connects the feet with each other.
The tail is ordinarily included in this membrane, but its apex
may extend beyond, or it may be entirely wanting. In some
species the leg is armed with long spurs homologous with the
cartilage upon the wrist of the flying squirrel which serve as
supports to the web.

The form is various, but is uniformly plump with a short
neck and thick body.

When not in motion the ensemble is bizarre and formless.
(See Fig. 1, heads of various bats. ) The smaller bats resemble
mice in their pelage and general appearance and are retaliative
and fierce when caught.

The head is rendered remarkable by enormously expanded
ears, often provided with a large simple or lobed tragus which
serves as a sort of valve for closing the ear. In many species
the nose is also ornamented with extraordinary folds of skin,
which seem to be the seat of the delicate tactile sense for which
bats are distinguished. The eyes of bats are very small, and seem
adapted to the peculiar nocturnal habits of the animal, but are
supplemented by the senses of touch and hearing. In a room,
across which wires have been stretched in all directions, a bat
will fly freely without dashing against them even when the
eyes are destroyed or blindfolded.

The volar membrane is itself very sensitive, being richly
supplied with nerves as well as bloodvessels. In the eye of
nocturnal animals, generally the spindle-shaped bodies in the

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

retina, which seem to be the seat of the color sense, are absent,
and it is supposed that all variations of color are translated
into shades of black and white, so that the world seems to a
bat like a charcoal drawing or steel engraving. The sense of
hearing is highly, but peculiarly developed. The reader may
have noticed that the vocal powers of bats are not great, and
that the vdice is pitched very high, so high indeed, that, to
many ears, the tones are indistinguishable. The sense of hear-
ing is similarly keyed, so that the bat can readily distinguish
tones which the human ear is not adapted to perceive. Thus
the hum of an insect which will startle a bat could only be ap-
preciated by us as we observe the motion of the wings causing it.

EXPLANATION OF FIG. 1.

1. Epomophorus. 3. Chseronycteris.

Pteropus. 4.

lerma. 6.

Pteropi
Megaue

ny(

Pbyllorhina.
Chilonycteris.

The bats of temperate regions pass the winter in caverns and
deserted buildings, where, collected in vast numbers, they sleep
during the cold season. The winter's sleep varies in length
and soundness with different species. A sort of classification
may be observed in the myriads of animals which congregate
in such places, those which are least susceptible to cold being
found in the more exposed portions, while the more sensitive
ones are fou"nd in securer retreats. Bats congregate in such
rendezvous from great distances and the period during which
the scattered tribes are gathering is one of commotion, quar-
reling and screaming. The sleepy animals are in a petulant hu-
mor and struggle for the best places so as to be most aptly com-
pared to a covey of chickens settling themselves upon their

22 BULLETIN NO. VII.

roosts at night. In such resorts, which are ordinarily used
during summer as sleeping places during the day, immense
quantities of guano are deposited which become valuable as
nitre supplies. Thus the insignificant bat plays no insignifi-
cant part in the warlike preparations of militant nations, as
the nitre so secured is an essential factor in gunpowder.
During hibernation and daily sleep, bats are in danger from
prowling animals which creep upon them when at rest; while
during their hawking excursions after insects they frequently
fall victim to the nocturnal birds of prey.

Bats may be reckoned among the beneficial animals, as their
food consists almost exclusively of insects in temperate regions.
They are aptly compared to swallows, as their benevolent in-
tent and their graceful motions are both similar. The bats of
the tropics are larger and do not content themselves with in-
sects and other small arthropods. Various fruits form a wel-
come contingent, if not the staple of the diet, while still others
are bloodthirsty enemies of large animals which they attack
stealthily, sucking the blood painlessly and escape unperceived.

The hair of bats may be distinguished from that of other
mammals by its peculiar microscopical structure. The fine fur
is a refuge for many parasites of various sorts. It remains to
mention the anatomical peculiarities of the group.

The dentition is extremely variable, but in general resembles
that of the Insectivora. The greatest diversities are found
between the f rugivorous and insectivorous bats. The number
of teeth varies from 24 to 38. The statements of various auth-
ors vary greatly as to the number of teeth a fact caused by
their deciduous character, particularly of the incisors and pre-
molars. The molars have two or three points which are vari-
ously arranged and those of opposite teeth fit between each
other. The incisors are small and above are often arranged
in oblique series not meeting in the median line. The milk
dentition is quite different from the permanent.

Most species produce but a single young at a birth or at most
two. The mother hangs by the thumbs, it is said, and the
young are dropped into a pocket formed by the incurved tail with
the membranes attached. Here they remain clinging for a day
to peculiar processes between the thighs, or at once clamber up
to the two pectoral mammae. Although northern species mate
ordinarily in Autumn, eggs are not fertilized until Spring,
when impregnation takes place. The placenta is disc -like and
the uterus has two cornua. The penis is pendulous.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 23

The form of the skull is extremely variable and affords a
safe guide to the habits of the various species. Compare, for
instance, the skulls of Chceronycteris and Chilonycteris. Most of
the true bats have no post orbital frontal processes. The nasals
are generally short and vary much in form. The most re-
markable differences are found in the form of the pre-maxillary
bones. In EhinolopMdce, they are rudimentary. The zygo-
mas are well developed in the flying foxes, but are wanting in
several species of true bats. The auditory bullae are usually
large and well developed. The vertebral column is short. The
dorsal vertebrae number twelve or thirteen. The caudal verte-
brae are cylindrical, without processes. There are also no
spinous processes upon the cervicals and dorsals. The clavi-
cles are strong and curved. The scapula is large, the post
scapular fossa being much the larger, the spine is large, as are
the acromium and the coracoid. Although tne humerus is
long, it is greatly exceeded by the bones of the forearm and
all these bones have large medullary cavities. The ulnar is
rudimentary; the scaphoid, lunar and cuneiform bones are
united.

The thumb terminates in a claw as does the index in many
forms. The pelvis is weak. The pubic bones are widely sep-
arated in the females. The fibula is often rudimentary. The
calcaneum forms a long cartilaginous process or spur which
supports the interfemoral web. The sensory apparatus, al-
ready referred to, consists of several peculiar foliaceous expan-
sions about the nose and ears as well as the ordinary organs.
Aside from these are glandular appendages near the muzzle
covered with fine tactile hairs like the vibrissae of other ani-
mals. The ears are also greatly developed, with membranous
expansions and fringing appendages in many species. Each
ear is movable independently. The lips are often curiously
modified and are "very sensitive. The alimentary canal is quite
complicated in the frugivorous bats but has the ordinary car-
nivorous structure in entomophaga. The liver is always large.

For farther details regarding the anatomy the reader is re-
ferred to the discussion of our native species.

Here it may "not be amiss to pass in review a few of the more
important families and genera.

It is common, first of all, to divide the Chiroptera into two
sub-orders. Sub-order Carpophaga or the fruit-feeding bats
embraces the flying foxes and includes but the single family
Pteropodidce.

24 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The family Pteropodidce is characterized by a relatively large size and the
peculiar dentition. The head is fox-like or dog-like and there is no re-
markably developed tragus, the ear being of ordinary form. The first
finger has usually a curved claw and is very short. The middle finger has
but two phalanges. The skull is elongated. The molars have blunt
tubercles, nevertheless the dentition is to be considered as a modified in-
sectivorous rather than a vegetarian type, as is indicated by the sharp and
well developed canines. The peculiar form may be construed as the
result of long continued vegetarian habit. The digestive tract also indi-
cates a vegetable diet, a well developed caecum being present. None of
the species suck blood although they do feed upon small animals.

The principal genus is Pteropus which includes the largest of bats, some
of which measure nearly two yards in expanse of wings. Over fifty species
or over half the family are included in this genus. The genus is at home
in Australia and adjacent lands. Some species furnish a relished food.

The other genera are as follows: Cynonycteris Peters, occurs in Africa
and the species are characterized by short tails and the following denti-
tion: |:| } | i f :jh Cynopterus Geoff., and Ptenochiws Peters, both have a
formula f:f if \ |:f, the latter having the tail distinct. In Megcerops
Peters, the tail is absent and the formula is f :| ill |:f the only species
inhabiting Sumatra. Harpyia Illiger, has a still more peculiar dentition,
l-l t f i t : l an( i is found represented by one species in the Celebes, etc.
Epomophorus Bennett, has a short tail, the dental formula being i:| \ f {
|:|. The eight or more species inhabit Africa including the Hypsigna-
thus of Allen. The dentition of Cephalotes Geoff., is J:J * f f fc:f. The
tail is short, the volar membrane springs from the spinal region, and the
index has a nail. MacroglossusCu\. t contains two species found in Siam
and Australia. The tongue is long and protrusible, the dentition is
I't i t i f : f The genus Pterocyon is represented by a single African
species.

The suborder Entomophaga contains all other bats. The dentition is
like that of the Insectivora with pointed cusps upon the molars. The
thumb only has a claw and the muzzle is short.

The first group, Phyllostomata, contains families which have large
membranous processes on the nose.

The family Megadermata has well developed nasal appendages and large
tragi or ear valves. The single phalanx of the index is short. The Genus
Ehinopoma is represented by a single Egyptian species. The nose is but
slightly appendaged, the tail long and mouse like, while the dental for-
mula is i | i |. The warmer regions of Asia and Africa furnishf our spe-
cies of the genus Megaderma, The tail is absent, the inberfemoral web
extensive. Dentition varying from f } |:f to g 1 i:|. Closely related is
Nycteris Geoff., which has a membrane connecting the ears. Ten species
mostly from Africa with dentition f :f .

Nyctophylus and Antrozous are given as generic names under this family.

The Rhinolophidce constitute the second family of leaf-nosed bats. These
horse-shoe nosed bats have large appendages upon the nose. The index
digit is reduced, the second digit has two phalanges. The tragus is
wanting. The skull is remarkable for a prominent excrescence of the
nasals and the peculiar form of the intermaxillary, the horizontal part
alone being developed, forming a movable plate. The family is found in

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 25

all parts of the world except America. Many of the species are very
widely distributed. E. Geoff. St. Hilaire distinguished the family 1 under
the generic name Rhinolophus which is now restricted to include about
thirty species of this large family. Dentition I { |:f. Upper nasal ap-
pendage lance-shaped, pointed. First toe two- join ted, others three-
jointed, spurs well developed.

Genus Phyllorhina, Bonaparte. Dentition i i f :f. All the toes two-
jointed, tail long, spurs well developed. Over twenty-five species from
Africa and eastward. The genus Coelops t Blyth, has the some formula.
The nasal appendage is two-lobed with a heart-shaped prominence. Toes
all two-jointed. Interfemoral membrane angularly excised. Only one
species found in Bengal.

The third family is the Phyllostomidce.

This very extensive family of Vampire bats is confined to South America.
In most genera only two small but broad incisors are found above. The
canines are very large, particularly below. The tall is often absent. The
vampire bats, although insectivorus ordinarily, sometimes inflict damage
by sucking the blood of domestic animals and particularly of horses, kiue
being nearly exempt from their attacks. In the sub-family Vampyri are
nine genera only two of which, Phyllostoma and Vampyrus, are rich in
species. The formula for the dentition of the vampires is f | f :|. The
tail is frequently absent.

The second sub-family Glossophagce differs from the Vampyri in lacking
the horse-shoe appendage of the lip and in having the lower lip cleft.
The tongue is protrusible. As in the above the middle finger has three
phalanges, and the tragus is present. Genus Glossophaga with the inner
upper incisor more highly developed than the outer. The crowns or the
molar have a TV-shaped figure. The zygoma is entire. Dentition f i |:|.
Upper and lower incisors forming a connected series.

The genus Monophyllus, Leach, differs in having the incisors in pairs, the
lower being small. The interfemoral membrane is small, the short tail
extending beyond it.

The genus Ischnoglossa, Sauss, has a single doubtful species with no tail.
Pfiyllonycteris, Gundlach, has the formula f { |:|. " The zygoma is absent.
One or two species inhabit the Antilles. Peltorhinus contains a species
from Jamaica Lonchoglossa, Peters, has the formula \ { f :. Inner upper
incisor smaller than the outer. Lower ones deciduous, zygoma present.
One species in Brazil. Glossonycteris, Peters, has the inner upper incisor
smaller than the outer. Zygoma absent. Formula as in the above.
Choeronycteris, Lichtenstein, also has the same formula. Lower incisors
and first upper premolar deciduous. Anterior molars very small, only
provided with an anterior prominence. Two species inhabit Mexico and
Surinam.

The geographical distribution of bats furnishes a number of
interesting facts. The order is represented in almost all parts
of the globe and the species are most numerous in the warmer

1. Fitzinger in 1869-70 gave a compiled account ofthis family which, although entitled
a "critical review of the Rhinolophi" in the Sitzenb. d. Wiener Akademie der Wissen-
schaft seems to include many synonyms and to omit some modern species. The most
reliable account seems to be that of W. Peters, June, 1871, in the Monats bericht der
Koenigl. Akad, zu Berlin, from which our statements are taken.
-2

26 BULLETIN NO. VII.

zones. The few isolated regions where they do not occur, as
Iceland, St. Helena, Galapagos Islands and Kerguelan Islands
are mostly such as have few flying insects. The faunas of the
eastern and western hemispheres are very distinct. But one
species and three genera and two families are represented in
both.

The Vespertilionidce have the widest range of any of the
families of bats, the Emballonuridce being next in order of ex-
tent. The Pteropodidce are found in the Ethiopian, Oriental
and Australian regions, the Malay Archipelago being, perhaps,
the central point.

The Rhinolophidce are restricted to the eastern and the Phyl-
lostomidce to the western hemisphere. There are many instan-
ces of apparently arbitrary restriction of species and genera
to limited stations, but more of unusually wide distribution. Of
the origin of the group we have no knowledge. The oldest
fossil bat is from the Eocene of Montmartre and differs very
little from the modern genus Vespertilio. It can not be doubted
that the type is a very old one and in spite of several apparent
links with the Insectivora, it is not impossible that the bats
are derived from a primitive and perhaps an aquatic vertebrate
allied with Amphibia.

Linnseus knew seven species of bats while the present enu-
meration includes above four hundred species.

Dr. Harrison Allen in his monograph of the bats of North
America, published by the Smithsonian Institution in the Mis-
cellaneous Collections, 1867, enumerates twenty species, sev-
eral of which must be regarded as synonyms.

Mr. J. A. Allen mentions six species from New England in
his catalogue of the mammals of Massachusetts published in
the Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology.

This number is naturally greater than can be expected from
a single inland state. Only three species have been collected
during the progess of this survey, which are described to-
gether with the notices of the species otherwise known to occur
in our limits.

Only one leaf -nosed bat occurs in the United States, the Mac-
rotus californicus of Baird, which occurs in California, south-
ward. The N'octilionidce are represented by a Mexican species,
Nyctinomus nasutus.

Several genera of the Family Vespertilionidce occur as
follows:

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 27

GENUS NYCTICEJUS, RAF.

This genus is defined as follows by Dr. Harrison Allen:

Head short, broad, flat; ears small, simple, widely separated;
upper incisors two; membranes naked.

Skull intermediate between that of Scotophilus and Lasiurus,
flat, but not to the extent seen in the former; cranium inflated,
but not so much as in the latter. It is not elevated; the occip-
ital elevation is not abrupt compared with that of L. novebora-
censis, a bat of nearly the same size, it is longer, and the face
more pointed. The palate is more level and does not slope so
much as its posterior part. The infra- orbital foramen is larger,
with a slight tendency toward the formation of a groove. The
lower jaw is less abrupt; the incisors are placed more ante-
riorly to the canines in a larger arc.

Dentition incisors i, canines J-, molars fx 2= 30. Upper jaw:
Incisors small, contiguous to canines, and slightly converging;
canines large, simple. Molars not peculiar. The first more
slender and longer than the others, but not so broad, destitute
of the W- shaped crown.

Lower jaw: Incisors not crowded, bifid. Canine simple,
turned markedly backward; basal ridge anteriorly well devel-
oped; first premolar larger than the same tooth in Lasiurus,
but in comparison with the second is of itself small. The sec-
ond premolar, if produced, would touch an extended line from
the canine. The basal ridges of both these teeth are large.
Molars not peculiar.

Nycticejus erepuscularis LEG., SP.

TWILIGHT BAT.

Vespertilio crepuscular is LECONTE. Guv. An. King., 1831; Proc. Acad. Nat.

Sci. vii, 1855.

Vespertilio creeks FR. CTJVIER. Nouv. Ann. du Mus., 1832.
Nycticejus humeralis RAFINESQUE. Journ. du Phys., 1819.
Nycticejus erepuscularis IT. ALLEN. Smith. Misc. Coll. vol. vii, 1864.
Nycticejus erepuscularis DOBSON. Catalogue Chiroptera, 1878.
Atalapha (Nycticejus) erepuscularis COUES. SURV. 100th Mer. Rep. Zool., 1875.
Color somewhat variable, face black, membranes blackish
brown, back dark fawn to brown, below lighter, brownish ears
small, "internal basal lobe small and curved, external basal
lobe also rather inconspicuous, between the latter and the angle
of the mouth a small wart is present," tragus straight on the
internal and irregularly convex on outer border. Sides of face
swollen, chin with a naked space, eyes small with a wart above

28 BULLETIN NO. VII.

each. Interfemoral web moderate, calcaneal small, tip of tail
exserted.

Fur scanty, rather woolly, membranes naked.

Length 2, tail 1.5, fore-arm 1.4, tibia 0.6, thumb 0.4, ear 0.4,
tragus 0.25, expanse of wings 9.6.

Although not reported, this species may be found in Minne-
sota.

GENUS LASIURUS, RAF.

(=Atalapha.)

I have not the necessary advantages for deciding which name
should be employed for this genus and hence follow American
usage. Some ten nominal species are known from North and
South America. Three species occur in the United States two
of which are known from Minnesota.

Skull massive, broad, high posteriorly; facial portion rather
high, passing with little flexure into the cranial, nasal portion
very broad, hiatus between the upper incisors of either side
wide, quadrately excavated. Zygoma complete. Distance be-
tween the orbital space and the front of skull very short.
Pterygoids projecting inferiorly. Dentition, i. c. J- ra. | ( )
x2 = 32 (30). Last upper molar greatly compressed from be-
fore backward. Scapula elongated with very long metacromial
and caracoid processes. This genus differs from Nycticejus in
the fact that the anterior premolar, although small, is 'present

Lasiimis noveboracensis ERXL., SP.

RED BAT.

Vespertilio noveboracensis ERXLEBEN. Sjst. Keg. Anim., 1777.

HAKLAN. Fauna Americana, 1825.

GODMAN. Amer. "Sat. Hist., 1826.

COOPER. Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1837.

LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Sci., 1855.
Nycticejus noveboracensis LECONTE. Ouv. Regn. Annual, 1831.

TEMMINCK. Monog. ii, 1835-1841.

WAGNER. Suppl. Schreb. Sauget., 1840.

SCHINZ. Synopsis Mam., 1844.

MAX. WIED. Archiv. Naturg., 1861.
Lasiurus noveboracensis TOMES. Proc. Zool. Soc., 1857.

H. ALLEN. Monogr. N. A. Bats, 1864.

BAIRD. Mam. N. A.

J. A. ALLEN. Catalogue Mam. Mass., 1869.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. J ' 29

Vespertilio lasiurus GMELIN. Syst. Nat., 1788.

SCHREBEB. Saug., 1826.

GEOFFKOY. Ann. du Mus. viii, 1806.

DESMAREST. Mammals, 1820.

FISCHER. Synopsis Mam., 1829.
Nycticejus lasiurus WAGNER. Schreb. Saug., 1840.
Vespertilio rubellus BEAUVOIS. Cat. Peale's Mus., 1796.
Vespertiho nllosissimus GEOFFROY. Ann. du Mus. viii, 1806.

DESMAREST. Mam., 1830.

FISCHER. Synop. Mam., 1829.

Vespertilio monachus RAFINESQUE. Am. Monthly Mag., 1817.
Vespertilio tessalatus " " " " "

Tapliyzous rufus HARLAN. Fauna Americana, 1825.
Lasiurus rufus GRAY. List Mam. Brit. Mus., 1843.

GOSSE. Naturalist in Jamaica, 1851.
Vespertilio blossevilii LESS ET GARN. Bull, des Sci. Nat. viii.

FISCHER. Synopsis Mam., 1829.

LA SAGRA. Hist, de Pile de Cut a, 1840.
Vespertilio bonariensis LESSING. Voyage de la Coquille, 1829.
Nycticejus varius POEPP. Reise Chili, i, 1835.

WAGNER. Suppl. Schreb. Saug., 1840.

GAY. Hist, de Chili, 1848.

Atalapha (Lasiurus) noveboracensis COUES. Surv. 100th Mer. Zoology, 1875.

This species is exceedingly variable and is regarded by many

authors as including the following. A point upon which the

"writer can express no opinion on account of the poverty of the

material at command. I shall quote Allen's description and

add such other points as are available:

"Head and face hairy; nose blunt, rounded, slightly emargi-
nated, nostrils opening semilaterally. The sides of the face
slightly inflated and set with stiff hairs. A similar row of
longer hairs surrounds the eyes. The upper lip, especially at
the sides of the face, is more massive than the lower, and is
somewhat produced. The ears are sub- rounded the inner
border straight until near the tip when it suddenly turns out-
ward; at its base is a well developed lobe which is close to, but
slightly behind the tragus. The outer border is slightly con-
vex, and terminates at the angle of the mouth. On a line with
the outer border of the ear a sharply defined lobe is noticed,
which at first appears to be the termination of the border, but
upon close examination it is found to continue on to the angle
of the mouth. Between this lobe and the mouth there is placed
a small wart covered with setae. The tragus is half the height
of the ear, is straight on the inner edge, except at the point,
where it turns abruptly inwards. The outer border has a very
irregular outline. The basal portion is indentated. This in-
dentation, which in comparison with other species of Vesper-

30 BULLETIN NO. VII.

tilionidae is considerable, is of itself not very deep, and ends in
the most convex point of the tragus, whence the border runs
upward and inward to the tip. The lower jaw is covered with
short hairs, and has at its symphysis a small naked space
which is gradually lost along the sides of the mouth. The pos-
terior surface of the ear is covered with hair one-half its length,
which extends upon the anterior production of the external
border down to the angle of the mouth.

The fur of the body is everywhere long and silky. Anteri-
orly it is rather denser though not quite so long as that pos-
teriorly. It is of a light russet red, tinged with yellow, being
tipped with gray toward the neck, and varying to fawn color,
in some specimens, toward the pubis. Fur of the same gen-
eral hue extends from the body upon the alar membranes up
to the base of the third finger of either side and blends with
that upon the anterior surface of the interfemoral membrane
at about the region of the tibiofemoral articulation. The hair
upon the latter membrane runs down fully one-half its length
in most specimens. The interbrachial expansion also possesses
a sparse growth of yellowish fur. Posteriorly the fur is very
long, and presents a richer appearance than anteriorly. The
russet red color is here predominant in the majority of indi-
viduals, though we meet with a great variety of hues of fawn,
fawn-red, and yellowish cinereous. At each shoulder a con-
spicuous white tuft of hair is seen; this is not elevated above
the surrounding fur of the neck with which its whitish color
gradually blends.

The posterior surface of the alar membranes is less extensively
furred along the brachial and digital regions than the anterior
surface, being here almost altogether confined to longitudinal
bands extending from the neck downwards across the inter-
brachial membrane midway from the shoulder to the elbow,
and thence continued along the sides of the body and external
border of the tibia to the ankle and tarsus of either side. The
dorsum of the fifth finger, for about one- third of its length, is
covered with fine scattering hair. The basal joint of the
thumb is decorated with a whitish tuft. The posterior surface
of the interfemoral is very thickly covered over its whole area
with fur of the same color as that of the body. The difference
in hue of various individuals is owing chiefly to the colora-
tion of the tips of the hair. Each hair is tinged as follows:
The base dark plumbeous in color verging to black; the
middle, a delicate yellowish-brown, passing outwards toward

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 31

the tip to a darkish-red, in some instances to a brighter red,
more rarely to a beautiful chocolate. The point is generally
white. The color of the membranes is a rich brown, border-
ing on a yellowish-brown, above the head. The ears and lips
are marked with yellow in the same manner as in the next
species (L. cinereus) they are marked with black."

Dr. Allen notices a tendency on the part of northern speci-
mens to be constantly darker, the chocolate or dark red pre-
dominating, while toward the south the pelage is generally of
a brighter hue.

Mr. J. A. Allen affirms that there is a well marked sexual
distinction, males being unil'ormely lighter in color. "In a
series of about twenty Massachusetts skins, nearly all marked
for sex by the collector, all the males are of a beautiful light,
bright, yellowish red, with scarcely a trace of the apical white;
the females, though somewhat more variable, tre universally
darker, the light led of the males being replaced in these by
dark russet, which is more or less obscured by the whitish tips
of the fur. "

Mr. Allen inclines to the belief that the following species is
merely a variety of the present one. Ac least, they are very
similar and extremely variable.

I regret that no opportunity has been afforded to compare
the osteology of the two species, but probably the description
given will apply with very slight exception to this form.

Length 1.9-2.0, tail 1.9-2.0, fore arm 1.6, tibia 0.9, longest
finger 3.5, thumb, 0.45, ear 0.5, tragus 0.3, expanse of wings
12.0.

This is a widely distributed species not very common in Min-
nesota.

Lasiurus cinereus BEAUVOIS, SP.

HOARY BAT.

Vespertilio cinereus PALISOT DE BEAUVOIS. Cat. Peale's Mus. 1796.

LECONTE. Proc. Phila. Acad. Sci., 1855.
Vespertilio pruinosus SAY. Long's Exped. to Rocky Mts., 1823.

HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825; Med. and Phys. Researches,
1831.

GODMAN. Amer. Nat. Hist., 1826.

RICHARDSON. Fauna Bor. Am., 1829.

COOPER. Ann. Lye. N..Y. iv, 1837.

DEKAY. Nat. Hist., N. Y. (Zool.), 1842.
Scotvphilus pruinosus GRAY. Mag. Zool. and Bot. ii., 1838.

32 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Nycticejus pruinosus TEMMINCK. Monogr. Mam. 1835.

SCHINZ. Synop. Mam. Mass., 1845.

MAX V. WIED. Arch. Naturg., 1861.
Lasiurus Pruinosus TOMES. Proc. Zool. Soc., 1857.
Lasiurus dnereus H. ALLEN. Monog. Bats N. A., 1864.

J. A. ALLEN. Cat. Mam. Mass., 1869.
Atalapha dnerea DOBSON. Cat. Chiropt., Brit. Mus., 1878.

BAIRD. Mam. U. S.
Atalapha (Lasiurus) dnereus COUES, Surv. 100th Mer. Zool., 1875.

In form and general appearance much like the last with
which it is sparingly distributed. It may at once be disting-
uished in ordinary cases by the black upon the face and mar-
gins of the ears. The head is large, blunt, and moderately in-
flated at the cheeks. Nose emarginate, nostrils being widely
separated, lateral. Ears large, sub-quadrate, strongly lobed
at the base in front, margins re volute, black. Tragus rather
small, anterior border nearly straight, hairy without.

Fur long, soft and thick. General color above yellowish
brown with a hoary admixture; intei femoral membrane dark
brown, with a heavy superficial grizzle of gray; top of head
creamy yellow, with some mixture of darker and white hairs.
There are a few yellowish hairs upon the humeral membrane,
while the shoulders and the edge of the interf emoral membrane
are strongly suffused with rufous. There is a broad collar of
creamy yellow, while the breast and belly are olive brown over-
laid with much yellowish white. The muzzle, lower jaw, a
band including the eyes and extending upward near the fore-
head, and the rim of the ears are black.

The inside of the ears and upper anterior part yellow. The
under parts of the wings are clothed near the humerus with
woolly yellow hair; the base of the interf emoral membrane be-
low is densely covered with dirty yellow hairs. The mem-
branes are black, except near the fingers and bones of arm,
where they are yellowish. The hairs on the back have four
colors, beginning with a base of dark olive brown, nearly black,
then follows a band of creamy yellow, more or less inclined to
rufous outwardly, then a black band and a short white terminal
portion.

Total length, 4.8; nose to anus, 2.5; nose to eye, 0.3; tail, 2-2;
nose to anterior edge of ear, 0.4; height of ear (medianly), 0.6;
total vertical extent of ear, 0.7; width, 0.5; expanse, 14-15;
radial part of wing, 2 1; thumb, 0.4; proximal phalanx of second
digit, 2.25; distal, 0.3; third digit, proximal phalanx, 2, 10, II,
0. 5, III, 0. 6, also bearing a curved nail giving the wing a lobate

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 33

termination, fourth digit, I, 2.10; II, 0.5; III, 0.6; also a curved
nail curved in the reverse direction, fifth digit, I, 1.7; II, 0.35;
III, 0.35; femur, 0.8; tibia, 0.9; interfemoral spur, 0.75.

The facial portion of the skull is much higher in the speci-
men figured than represented by Allen. Conspicuous is the
sharp downward spur of the molar process of the temporal, and
the downward inclination of the pterygoid.

The last molar above is greatly compressed and the anterior
premolar may be absent.

GENUS SCOTOPHILUS.

(=Vesperus, Coues.)
Dental formula i. -f, c. }, ra. x2=32.

The dental formula must alone be relied upon to distinguish
this and the next two following genera or sections for though
other characters exist they are not susceptible of exact formu-
lation, but consist rather in a peculiar habitus which must be
seen to be appreciated.

8cotophilus fuscus BEAUVOIS.
BROWN BAT.

Vespertilio fuscus BEAUVOIS. Cat- Peale's Mus., 1796.

LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1855.
Vtspertilio arcuatus SAY. Long's Exp. Rocky Mts., 1823.
Vespertilio phaiops RAFINESQUE. Am. Month. Mag., 1818.

LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1855.

WAGNER. Schreb. Saug., 1855.
Vespertilio ursinus . TEMMINCK. Monog. Mam., 1835.

MAX. Y. WIED. Archiv. Naturg. 1861.
Vespertilio gryphus FR. CUVIER. Ann. Mus. 1837.

WAGNER, Schreber's Saug., 1875.
Vespertilio caroli LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Sci., 1855.
Scotophilus fuscus H. ALLEN. Monogr. N. Am. Bats.., 1864.

J. A. ALLEN. Cat. Mam. Mass., 1869.
Scotophilus carolinensis GEOFFROY, HARLAN, GODMAN, LECONTE, COOPER,

DEKAY, TEMMINCK, H. ALLEN, ETC/
Vespertilio (Vesperus) fuscus COUES. Surv. 100th Mer., Zool., 1875.

Head flat, nostrils large, separated by an emargination; ear
less than head, broad at the base, obtuse at tip; tragus about
one-half as high as the auricle, notched externally at base.
Interfemoral membrane ample, basal portion furred; terminal
segment of tail exserted. Wing membrane attached to base of
toes; spur well developed. Color on the back dusky brown,

34 BULLETIN NO. VII.

the pelage being plumbeous at the base. Below, either grayish
white or as above. On the head the hair is more lanuginous,
extending nearly to the nose. The wing membrane is not
furred. The skull is large, with a slight occipital crest; the
orbital space is large. Dentition i. J, c. |, ra. |x2=32.

The first incisors above are much larger than the second and
are irregularly bifid, the internal cusp beir,g longest; canines
large, with a minute basal cusp; first molar narrow. The six
incisors of the lower jaw are crowded, tricuspidate. The two
anterior molars (premolars) simple.

I have no notes as to the abundance of this species.

The following description will apply to a male captured early
in June, and will illustrate the typical condition of the species
in Minnesota:

Total length, 4.1; tail to anus, 17.4; expanse, 12.70; radius,
1.70; thumb, 0.25; first finger, 1.62; first phalanx second fin-
ger, 1.69; first phalanx third finger, 1.58; first phalanx fourth
finger, 1.50; tibia, 0.71; hight of ear medianly, 0.47; tragus,
0.30; hight of ear externally from base of opening, 0.65; ear
from nose, 0.70; eye from nose, 0.38; distance between nostrils,
0.15; tail beyond web, 0.20.

General color yellowish brown, inclining to chestnut; below
lighter and more olivaceous; face, ears and web black, chin
and throat dark. Webs scarcely at all hairy. Cheeks tumid,
slightly warty; barbse fine, short; ears high, somewhat acute,
convex on the front margin; tragus over one- third the height
of ear, curved forward; basal lobe of ear of moderate size.
Thumbs small. Tail exserted; soles with a callous at the heel.

GENUS LASIONYCTERIS.
(=Vesperides, Coues. )

This genus is characterized by the dental formula i. f , c. }-,
ra. |x2=36. Central upper incisors bicuspid. Skull rather
flat, not crested. Thumb rather small.

Lasionycteris noctivagans LECONTE, SP.

SILVER-HAIRED BAT.

Vesperiilio noctivagans LECONTE. Guv. An. King., 1831.

COOPER. Ann. Lye. N. Y., 1837.

DBKAY. Nat. Hist. N.-Y., 1842.

WAGNER. Schreb. Saug. 1855.
Vespertilio auduboni HARLAN. Month. Am. Journ., 1831.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 35

Vespertilio pulverukntus TEMMINCK. Monog. Man., 1835.

LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Sci., Phila., 1855.

MAX. v. WIED. Archiv. Naturg., 1861.
Scotophilus noctivaqans H. ALLEN*. Monog. N. A. Bats., 1864.

J. A. ALLEN. Cat. Chir., 1869.

Vespertilio (Vesperides) noctivagans COUES. Surv. 100th Mer. Zool., 1875.
Lasionycteris noctivagans DOBSON. Cat. Mam., Mass., 1878.

Never having seen a specimen of the silvery-haired bat from
Minnesota, I simply quote the description given in Allen's
monograph :

"Head flat, broad and moderately haired; snout naked; nos-
trils wide apart, and opening sublaterally; space between
emarginate. Sides of face slightly swollen. The auricle is an
irregular oval. The inner border extends upwards and in-
wards to a level with the top of the head, and then turns up-
wards and outwards, ending in an obtuse point. The outer
border is smooth, and terminates inferiorly and internally in a
thin ridge near the angle of the mouth. The lower half of this
border folds irregularly upon itself, and bends so markedly
inwards as to touch the tragus. The tragus is straight inter-
nally, strongly and abruptly convex externally, narrow at its
base. It is but one -third the hight of the auricle, and nearly
as broad as high. Skin of face and ears blackish, with the ex-
ception of the internal basal lobe of the latter, which is whitish.
Fur long and silky, with a marked tendency to become black,
and in many specimens the extreme tip of each hair is the only
part possessing a different hue it being pale gray or white.
The fur is thicker on the back than in front, but the coloration
is very similar. The posterior part of the interfemoral mem-
brane is thinly covered with short dark colored hairs; the an-
terior surface has upon it numerous minute tufts arranged
linearly. Thumb small, foot moderate.

Dentition i. f, c. i, ra. f x2=36.

Upper incisors closely approximate to but not touching ca-
nines, nearly of the same length; median pair bifid, twisted on
their axes so that the two cusps have a somewhat antero-pos-
terior arrangement; internal cusp slightly longer. Lateral
pair unicuspid with a basal cusp. Canines simple and moderate.
First premolar very small, unicuspid, second premolar with a
very long external and short internal cusp.

In the lower jaw the incisors are not crowded, trifid. Three
premolars, of which the second is smallest.

36 BULLETIN NO. VII.

GENUS VESPERTILIO

The generic term as thus restricted includes such bats as,
having four upper and six lower incisors, have also six molars
above and below on either side, or 38 teeth in all, thus: i. f,
c. }, m. |x2=38. Wings and ears thinner than in the preced-
ing; skull less heavy, cranial portion inflated, upper outline
concave.

Yespertilio subulatus SAY.

LITTLE BROWN BAT.

Vespertilio subulatus SAY. Long's Exped. Rocky Mts., 1832.

HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825.

RICHARDSON. Fauna Bor. Amer., 1829.

GODMAN. Am. Nat. Hist., 1831.

COOPER. Ann. Lye. N. Y., 1837.

DEKAY. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1842.

WAGNER. Schreb., Saug., 1855.

LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila., 1855.

H. ALLEN. Monog. Bats N. A., 1864.

J. A. ALLEN. Cat. Mam. Mass., 1869.

BAIRD. Mam. N. A.

COUES AND YARROW. Surv. 100th Mer. Zool., 1875.

DOBSON. Cat. Chir. B. M., 1878.
Vespertilio californicus BACHMAN. Journ. Phila. Acad., 1842.

PEALE. U. S. Expl. Exped., 1858.
Vespertilio caroli TEMMINCK. Monogr. Mam., 1835.

WAGNER. Schreb. Saug., 1855.
Vespertilio domesticus GREEN. Cab. Nat. Hist.
Vespertilio evotis H. ALLEN. Monogr. Bats N. A., 1864.
Vespertilio lucifugus LECONTE. Cuv. An. King., 1831.

MAX V. WIED. Verzeich. Beobach. Sftug. N. A. 1860.

H. ALLEN. Monog. N. A. Bats, 1864.

This is our commonest species and is familar to every one.
The body is very compact and the fur dense and soft. The
head is mouse-like, and expression hightened by the long,
rather acute ears.

Color above, dark olive brown, tips of hairs being yellowish:
below, olive gray, vared with whitish and yellowish. Lips,
muzzle and top of nose nearly naked, vibrissse abundant,
cheeks warty. The membranes are black, the interfemoral
portions being slightly hairy. Ear elongated, sub acute; tra-
gus one-half its hight. The point of the tail is exserted.

Dentition i. f, c. \, m. fx2=38. Incisors of upper jaw in
pairs projecting inward, small, bifid. Two anterior premolars
minute, the second being smaller.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 37

Incisors of the lower jaw, trifid;two anterior premolars very
small, the third slender.

Length to anus, 1.8; tail, 1.5;head, nearly 0.7; ear (measured
from base of opening) 0.6; (from base behind), 0.45; tragus,
0.3; nose to eye, 0.3; width of gape, 0.3; distance between nares,
0.1; humeral part of arm, 0.9; radius, 1.5; thumb, 0.3; first
finger, 1.4; second finger, 2.4; third finger, 2.0; fourth finger,
1.9; expanse, over 8.0; thigh, 0.5; tibia, 0.75.

Toes nearly equal, with short claws, slightly webbed,
sparsely hairy on the back.

38 BULLETIN NO. VII.

CHAPTER III.
ORDER INSECTIVORA.

MOLES AND SHREWS.

FIG. 2. Macroscelides typicus, an insectivorous animal from Africa.

In this group we have not only the smallest but the oldest of
placental mammals and those, for many reasons, particularly
interesting to naturalists. Our most familiar representatives
of the Insectivora are very mouse-like in appearance and to the
natural association so brought about is due the persistent and
reasonless persecution which they suffer at the hands of the
farmer. The external resemblance is in this case, as so often,
quite misleading. In habits and structure the Insectivora are
more like bats than the mice.

In the words of Carl Vogt, ' 'One may, indeed, say with truth
that they continue on and under the earth, yes, and even in the
water, the persistent hunt for insects, snails, and all possible
vermin begun by the bats in the air. " The largest animal of
the group is little larger than a squirrel while the external
form varies greatly. Some species are adapted solely to a sub-
terranean existence, and by the great development of the ante-
rior extremities and the reduction of the sense of vision are

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 39

unfitted for any other life; others climb freely like squirrels;
again others pass much of their time in the water, and exhibit
consequent changes in structure; while still other species have
the elongated hind legs of the deer mice, and are truly terres-
trial. Organs of sense vary in accordance with the require-
ments of these various situations. The brain indicates a lower
condition of the nervous system than in any other group of
placental mammals. The hemispheres do not cover the cere-
bellum nor even the corpus bigeminum. The simple structure
of the brain corresponds to an incompletely developed brain-
case, for not only is the zygoma often entirely absent, but the
orbit is never closed, and the whole configuration of the skull
is upon a primitive type.

The dentition corresponds to no other group, neither do th'e
different genera conform to any common formula. The canines
are absent (save in one case) or are replaced by teeth which
have no resemblance to the canines of other animals. Their
place is frequently taken by a pair of the incisors. Anatomists
are not agreed as to the homologies of the various teeth. Fol-
lowing the incisors are premolars with pointed crowns, and
following them square crowned molars, which are also armed
with from three to four saliences. The dentition is well adap-
ted to the catching and comminution of insects and Crustacea.
The oldest known fossil mammals (from the Triassic) had a
dentition resembling the Insectivora and, although they may
have been insectivorous marsupials, the suggestion lies near
that our present Insectivora are descendants, very little altered,
of a very numerous group which early separated from the
common mammalian stem. Undoubted remains of insectivor-
ous animals occur in the Eocene of America and Prance, and
thence onward continue to appear with more and more definite
affinities to existing forms.

The geographical distribution confirms the indications of
paleontology. The group is widely distributed, but is never-
theless absent from South America (or nearly so) and also from
Australia. Each principal continent has its endemic types
(families or genera), and even Madagascar has its peculiar
forms. The Antilles also have their own family of Insectivora.
Again Europe and Asia support the hedge -hog family, which
is entirely excluded from America. In the two continents rich
in marsupials (Australia and South America), there are as yet
no Insectivora. In places which have been long isolated (Mad-
agascar and the Antilles), special types have grownup, while

40 BULLETIN NO. VII.

upon the larger continents the differentiation has been less one-
sided. Paleontology also shows that the various families of
Insectivora early became distinct.

The families are at present, therefore, remarkably compact
and sharply defined. Some of the largest species are found in
the Indian family Tupaiidce. These animals resemble squirrels
in outward form and size and climb well, searching for insects
in their leafy retreats. The snout is long and shrew like, but
the eyes are more highly developed than in most Insectivora.

The Macroscelidce (see fig. 2) are deceptively like the kanga-
roo mice. These jumping shrews inhabit sandy and rocky
wastes of Africa, and not only root among the rocks for larvae
but even spring after flying sorts with great accuracy.

The Myogalidce are aquatic Insectivora. The various species
live in the rivers of eastern Europe, of Asia and parts of
Africa. Leeches, fresh water mollusks, and larvae as well as
possibly the fry of fishes, serve Myogale for food. Anal
glands give to these animals a most offensive odor.

The Soricidce (shrews) include mouse-like species which may
be considered as the type of the Insectivora. Their geographi-
cal distribution is most extensive among the families of this
group and together with the moles (Talpidce) form the only
families found in North America.

Madagascar furnishes a family of Insectivora somewhat like
the hedge-hogs but uniting with this habitus characters of the
shrews and jumping shrews. Centetidce, as the family is called,
contains two genera of similar character. The true hedge-
hogs (Erinaceidce) occupy parts of the old world. It is very
common to hear our rodent porcupines called hedge-hogs.
The two animals have nothing in common but the spiny
armature. The hedge-hog is very useful to the European
farmer on account of the constant war he wages with rats and
mice, which, in spite of seeming awkwardness he skillfully
captures. Birds' nests and fruit trees form a secondary re-
course. They may be easily domesticated to a certain extent
and yet could hardly be considered desirable pets.

The subterranean Insectivora fall into two related families,
the one represented by the blind mole (Chrysochloris) of South
Africa, the other by our familiar moles. The Talpidce of Am-
erica belong to different genera from the European but are
nevertheless very familiar.

The present state of our knowledge of the Insectivora is
very low, for the attempts to distinguish species upon variable

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 41

superficial characters with no reference to tangible anatomical
distinctions has multiplied synonyms to such an extent that no
person can ever disentangle the synonomy. At present we can
form only very vague ideas as to the actual number of species
in several genera. As far as the systematic study is concerned,
all that has thus far been written is so much profitless lumber
and might best be ignored. Facts regarding the habits, anat-
my and geographical distribution, on the other hand, are of
permanent and immediate value.

In November, 1883, the writer lay encamped under the canopy
of the sky in Pine Co., Minnesota, endeavoring to escape the
chill of the frosty air by drawing the blanket close and hover-
ing nearer the camp fire. To a person alone in the woods for
the first time after a long interval every sound is novel and
more or less charged with mystery. The wind stirred the tree
tops and impinging boughs clattered and the trunks groaned
under the tortion, each tree with its own doleful note. The
few remaining pines added their sighing to the many melan-
choly sounds belonging to an autumn forest at night. But
amid all the sounds nothing could be identified as coming from
anything living, even the distant howling of wolves was
silenced, and I began to feel that the attempt to gain personal
knowledge of the ways of woodsy mammals by night study
would prove futile, and composed myself to sleep. The half-
somnolent re very which forms the prelude to slumber, was
broken by faint melodious sounds on an excessively high key
so high that it seemed that I might be simply hearing the
lower notes of an elfin symphony the upper registers in which
were beyond the powers of human ears to distinguish. The
sounds were distinctly musical and reminded me of the con-
tented twitter of birds finding resting places among the boughs
at night. Without moving I turned my eyes upon the fire-lit
circle, about which the darkness formed an apparently impen-
trable wall. Only the most careful scrutiny enabled me to dis-
cover the tiny musicians. Within a few feet of my head, upon
a decayed log, raced a pair of shrews (S. cooperi), so minute as
to escape my observation at first. Up and down with the most
sprightly imaginable motions they ran, twittering incessantly.
Hither and thither they scampered over my clothing and almost
into my pockets, like veritable lilliputians, siezing now a
crumb of cheese, with which my traps were baited, and now a
bit of fish fallen from my improvised supper table. During
the eating the conversation was not interrupted. The little

-3

42 BULLETIN NO. VII.

visitors were not bashful about criticising the housekeeping of
their host, if their apparent amusement can thus be interpreted,
but it was a most good humored little party nevertheless which
thus unceremoniously ransacked my larder. The party in-
creased in numbers and merriment, until I was almost forced
to believe myself an uninvited guest within the magic circle
of Queen Mab's domain. I watched with interest the result
of their intrusion into the traps which stood about for the
capture of any red-backed mouse that might invade my camp,
but Sorex passed entirely within, and daintily arching his back
contentedly nibbled the cheese, and when the spring rose
usually suffered but a short fright, and returned to finish the
interrupted meal. Canned fish seemed to be more acceptable
than any other food I had to offer. Tiring of the watching, I
again lay down to sleep, during which time elfin voices sounded
in my dreams. About midnight one of the little imps sprang
across my face in so violent a way as to partially waken me,
and thus, as good fortune had it, I was awake sufficiently to
recognize the meaning of a sharp crack overhead and sprang
out of my bed in time to see it occupied by a massive tree-trunk
which the fire had burned off not far from the ground.

The short-tailed shrew was seen during the progress of these
investigations but seldom. While riding through a densely
wooded portion of northwestern Hennepin county, near lake
Independence, a small animal was seen running in an uncertain
way across the road ; a hasty pursuit resulted in its capture,
although in an imperfect condition. It thus seems certain that
this shrew is not strictly nocturnal. The same is true of the
smaller shrews. They seem to rely more largely upon the
sense of smell than that of vision, and are measurably inde-
pendent of light in carrying on their search for insects. The
smaller shrews were formerly abundant about Minneapolis,
and their runways under the slight crust of a new snow, were
everywhere encountered. It is certain that they endure the
rigors of our severe winters well. Of late we have been unable
to secure many specimens, perhaps owing to the abundance of
cats, which, I dare say, do not make any fine zoological distinc-
tions before dinner.

In the American Naturalist (vol. vii, p. 483), Mr. G. Linceum
gives a graphic account of the habits of a species of Sorex
from Long Point, Texas, a part of which I quote :

' * They dwell in warm nests made of grass, about the fences
or edges of the prairie. They do not come about houses, and

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 43

are purely nocturnal. I have found only three nests of them.
They have four young at a time, which they nurse and care for
most affectionately. I had a family of them and fed them a
week where I could observe all their actions. I had a father
and mother and their half grown offspring. The male made
his escape, and finding a newly married pair they do marry,
and as far as I can learn, stick together as long ss they live

I put them in a box with my half civilized family. The male
instantly caught a young one and was aiming to kill it, when I
put him and his companion into an empty oyster can, and set-
ting it back in the box, went to supper. When I returned I
found that the ferocious, rascally male had made shift to get
out of the can, and had murdered all the young ones."

*FAMILY SORICID^.

Animals intermediate bet weens the moles and hedge -hogs,
and characterized by attenuated movable snout, plantigrade,
hairless soles, abscence of zygoma, and imperfect auditory cap-

*The following brief review of the described species may assist the student in
securing a fuller knowledge of the groups than can be given here.

1. Genus Gymnura. A single species (G. refflesii) is as large as a large squirrel, and has

a long snout, short tail and small ears, retractile claws and wooly hair. This
interesting species inhabits the Sunda and adjacent islands.

2. Genus Pardoxodon is represented by a pigmy, not two inches long, from Bengal.

3. Genus Pachyura. A large genus of shrew-like animals, some of which are over ten

inches long, others less than two, living in India, southern Europe, Madagascar
and Egypt. Specimens of the Egyptian species have been found mummied in the
tombs. Nearly thirty species have been described, many of which are synonyms.

4. Genus Crocidura. Some twenty-five nominal species are distributed from the cape

of Good Hope to India, Ceylon and Japan. C. aranea is a common species in
Europe, often entering houses, and having much the aspect of a small mouse.

5. Genus Diplornesodon. A single species of minute size and peculiar coloration, inhab-

its the sandy steppes of Kirgisen.

6. Genus Feroculus. A somewhat doubtful genus, founded on a single collection made

In Ceylon, and intermediate between Crocidura and Myoxorex.

7. Genus Mysorex. Small shrews, with the ears entirely concealed, living in South

Africa.

8. Genus Sorex. The type of the family is found in Europe and America, though it is

customary to separate the species into subgenera, or even different genera, to
correspond with the difference in habitat. The genus seems, however, to be
circumpolar.

9. Genus Blarina. North American, with but one well authenticated species, though

many have been found.
10. Genus Soriculus. A single Indian species, with but thirty teeth.

II Genus Crossopus. This genus of aquatic shrews is circumpolar, although the North

American species has been separated as a distinct genus, Neosorex. Two or more
extremely variable species are rather common in Europe, and others in Asia to
Japan.

12. Genus Solenodon contains the curious rat-like S. paradoxus of Cuba.

13. Genus Myogale contains aquatic forms, with vertically flattened tails. Some species

are upwards of ten inches long, with a tail nearly as long again. Europe and
Asia are the habitat of these musk-shrews.

Sines writing the above a new genus and species of shrew has been brought to our
notice by C. Hart Merriam: Genus atophyrax. A. hendirii Mer. is from Klamath

44 BULLETIN NO. VII.

suli. A peculiar musky fluid is secreted especially during the
rut. The eyes are small but functional, and the other senses
acute. The voice is pitched upon a high key, but musical.

GENUS BLARINA.

Shrews of a dark color and mole-like pelage, the tail being
short and hairy.

Dentition : i, }, c. $, pm. -f, m. |x2=32, (adult), or i, },
c. --, pm. -J, m. fx2=30 (immature.)

Blarina breyicaudata SAY.

THE SHORT-TAILED SHREW.

Sorex brevicaudatus SAY. Long's Expedition, I, p. 164, 1823.

HHRLAN. Fauna Amer., p. 29, 1825.

ISID. GEOFFROY. Diet. Class. V, XI, p. 320.

GODMAN. Am. Nat. Hist., I, 1831.

FISCHER. Synopsis Mam., p. 255.

BACHMAN. Jour. Phil. Acad., VII, 1837.

EMMONS. Quad. Mass., p. 13, 1840.

AUD. and BACH. Quad. N. A., V. Ill, p. 335.

DEKAY. Zool. N. York, V, I, p. 18. 1842.

WAGNER. Schreber Saugethiere, Suppl.

LINSLEY. Am. Journ. Sci., XLIII, 1842.

THOMPSON. Hist. Vermont, JS42.

PLUMBER. Am. Journ. Sci., XLVI.
Blarina brevicaudata BAIUD. Mam. N. A., 1837.

SAMUELS. Agr. Mass., 1861.

Brachyosorex brevicaudatus DUVERN. GQERM. Mag. d. Zool., 1842.
WAGNER. Schreb. Sauget., Suppl.

FITZINGER. Kritische Untersuchungen, Sitzb. d. k. Akad.,

1868.
Sorex talpoides GAPPER. Zool. Journ. V, 1830.

REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.

GIEBEL. Saugethiere.

WAGNER. Schreber Saugeth., Suppl. II.
Corsira talpoides GRAY. Proc Zool. Soc. Lond., 1837.
Blarina talpoides BAIRD. Mam. N. A.

GRAY. Proc. Zool. Soc Lond., 1837.

SAMUELS. Agr. Mass., 1861.

VERRILL. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1863.
Amphisorex talpoides GIEBEL. Saugethiere, p. 901.

Basin Ore., and seems to be paludial in habit. It possesses characters allying it with
Neosorex, but it agrees with Sorex in the number Of teeth. The only known species is
one of the largest of the true American shrews. (See Trans. Linnsean Society of N. Y.
vol. ii, 1884.)

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

Sorex parvus SAY. Long's Expedition, I.

HARLAN. Fauna Amer.

BACHMAN. Journ. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., VII.

LINSLEY. Am. Journ. Sci , XLIII.

FISCHER. Synopsis Mam.

RICHARDS. Fauna Bor. Amer.

WAGNER. Schreber Saugeth.

REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.

DE KAY. Fauna, N. Y.

AUD. aud BACH. Quad. N. A.
Brachyosorex parvus WANER. Schreb, Saugeth.

FITZINGER. Kritische Untersuch.
Sorex dekoyi BACHMAN. Journ. Phila. Acad. Nat. Sci., VII.

DE KAY. Fauna, N. Y.

LINSLEY. Am. Journ. Sci. XXXIX.

REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.

AUD. and BACH., Quad. N. A.

WAGNER. Schreber Saugeth.
Brachyosorex dekayi WAGNER. Schreber Saugeth.

FITZINGER. Kritische Untersuch.
Sorex cinereus BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Phila. VII.

REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.

DE KAY. Zool. of N. Y.

WAGNER. Schreb. Saugeth.
Croddura cinerea REICHENR. Naturg. Raubth.
Blarina cinerea BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
Blarina carolinensis BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
Blarina angusticeps BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
Blarina exilipes BAIRD. Mam. N. A.
Blarina berlandieri BAIRD. Mam. N. A.

FIG. 3. BLARINA BKEV1CAPDATA.

It will be seen from the above table of synonymy that the
writer fully coincides with the opinion, expressed by Mr. J. A.
Allen, in his paper on the Mammalia of Massachusetts (Bui.
No. 8. Mus. Com p. Zool., Cambridge), that there is no evidence

46 BULLETIN NO. VII.

of the existence of more than a single species of Blarina It
seems, on the other hand, very probable that there is but one
somewhat variable species, extending from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, and from Mexico to northern Canada and Behring's
straits. This species is moderately abundant about Minneapolis.

The following measurements may be taken as indicating the
average size : Body and head, 3.50 ; tail, .85 1.00 ; hind foot,
.64 ; forefoot, .44. A male, somewhat larger, had a tail meas-
uring 1.08 ; the hind foot, .65 ; nose to eye, .50 ; nose to tip of
incisors, .30.

The short-tailed shrews are more mole-like in appearance
than the smaller species, both on account of their low form and
short tail, and the dark mole-like pelage. The color is dark
plumbeous above, with a somewhat glossy reflection. The hairs
are fine. The lower parts are lighter and with rusty or rufous
gloss. The whiskers are numerous, fine and light-colored.
The head is rather stout and short, and in this respect differs
to a marked degree from the smaller shrews. The head is
also much depressed, and the eyes lie nearly half way between
the muzzle and the back of the head. The muzzle is not nearly
as long as in Sorex, and is truncated and naked with the nostrils
opening on the sides. The ear is not seen in life, although it is
large, because the meatus is closed by the auricle. The anti-
tragus and antihelix are well developed and valvular. The
palm has five callosities, the sole six. The tail is constricted
at the base, and expands suddenly, after which it is of uniform
size until near the end ; it is but moderately hairy, although
bearing a considerable pencil at the tip. The upper surface of
the feet is minutely hairy. The third toe is longest.

It would perhaps be expected that the size of southern speci-
mens would be less than those farther north, and this may
explain " B. carolinensis" of authors, in the specific characters
of which the only tangible point seems to be the inferior size.
B. angusticeps must be regarded, until farther information is
obtained, as an illustration of an extreme instance of individual
variation, such as may be occasionally met with in any species.

The specimen figured above was obtained in Ohio, March 4th,
and is one of several seen at about the same time. The meas-
urements are as follows :

Length of body, 3.1 ; tail, 0.9 ; total, 4.0 ; hind foot, 0.48 ; fore
foot, 0.39 ; nose to eye, 0.41 ; nose to ear, 0.80 ; vibrissse, 0.70.

Color uniform plumbeous black, without gloss, but perfectly
dead and homogeneous everywhere except upon the feet, which

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 47

are reddish brown. Tail nearly glabrous at the base, but ter-
minating in a considerable pencil of hairs. First and fifth toes
of fore foot as are the second and fourth, these being much
longer than the former, third toe longest. Claws of the fore
foot much longer than those of hind foot. Hind foot broad,
fifth toe somewhat longer than first ; second, third and fourth
toes subequal.

When captured the shrews are very likely to be devoured by
their companions, and it is frequently very difficult to secure
unmutilated specimens on this account. Dr. Merriam gives
the results of experiments upon the present species, as follows:

"Having caught a vigorous though undersized shrew, I put
him in a large wooden box, and provided him with an ample
supply of beechnuts, which he ate greedily. He was also fur-
nished with a saucer of water, from which he frequently drank.
After he had remained two days in these quarters, I placed in
the box with him an uninjured and very active white-footed
mouse. The shrew at the time weighed 10. 20 grammes, while
the mouse, which was a large adult male, weighed just 17
grammes. No sooner did the shrew become aware of the pres-
ence of the mouse than he gave chase. The mouse, though
much larger than the shrew, showed no disposition to fight,
and his superior agility enabled him, for a long time, easily to
evade his pursuer, for at a single leap he would pass over the
latter's head and to a considerable distance beyond. The shrew
labored under a great disadvantage, not only from his inability
to keep pace with the mouse, but also to a still greater extent,
from his defective eyesight. He frequently passed within two
inches (31 mm. ) of the mouse without knowing his where-
abouts. But he was persistent, and explored over and over
again every part of the box, constantly putting the mouse
to flight. Indeed, it was by sheer perseverance that he so
harassed the mouse that the latter, fatigued by almost con-
tinuous exertion, and also probably weakened by fright, was
no longer able to escape. He was first caught by the tail ; this
proved a temporary stimulant, and he bounded several times
across the box, dragging his adversary with him. The shrew
did not seem in the least disconcerted at thus being harshly
jerked about his domicile, but continued his pursuit with great
determination. He next seized the mouse in its side, which
resulted in a rough and tumble, the two rolling over and over
and biting each other with much energy. The mouse freed
himself, but was so exhausted that the shrew had no difficulty

48 BULLETIN NO. VII.

in keeping alongside, and soon had him by the ear. The mouse
rolled and kicked and scratched and bit, but to no avail. The
shrew was evidently much pleased, and forthwith began to
devour the ear. When he had it about half eaten off the mouse
again tore himself free ; but his inveterate little foe did not
suffer him to escape. This time the shrew clambered up over
his back, and was soon at work consuming the remainder of
the ear. This being satisfactorily accomplished, he continued
to push on in the same direction, till he had cut through the
skull, and eaten the brains, together with the whole side of the
head and part of the shoulder. This completed his first meal.
As soon as he had finished eating I placed him upon the scales,
and found that he weighed exactly 12 grammes an increase of
.80 gramme."

Sorex cooperi BACHMAN.

COOPER'S SHREW.

Sorex cooperi BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Sci., Phila. VII.

REICHENB. Naturg. Raubth.

DEKAY. Zool.ofN. Y.

AUD. and BACH. Quad. N. A.

WAGNER. Schreber Saugeth. B. V. Suppl.

BAIRD. Mam. N. A.

FITZINGER. Kritische Untersuch.

ALLEN. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., No. 8.
Croddura cooperi REICHENB. ISTaturg. Raubth.
Amphisorex lesueri DUVERNOY. Mag. de Zool., 1842.
Sorex lesueri WAGNER. Suppl. Schreber. Saugeth. Y.

Although the synonyms quoted above, refer to the western
form, which constitutes the species in its strictest sense, as
understood by Prof. Baird, the author is greatly inclined to
believe that at least S. haydeni, and probably several other
species given in the mammals of North America, are really
varieties of the present species. Not having material for com-
parison of this with the other species of the genus, we must
content ourselves with a brief description of the only Sorex yet
encountered in Minnesota. The specimens examined in Minne-
sota were remarkably uniform in size. Average measurements
are as follows : Length, 3.50 ; tail, 1.72 ; head and body, 1.78 ;
hind foot, about 0. 50.

Sorex platyrhinus, the common eastern species, has not been
detected in Minnesota.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 49

Neosorex palustris is an aquatic species found rarely in New
England, which may be expected here. I have noticed on sev-
eral occasions burrows and tracks leading to the water's edge,
with small gasteropod mollusk shells scattered about in such a
way as to lead one to suspect the presence of an aquatic insec-
tivorous animal, but all efforts failed to secure specimens.

FAMILY TALPIDJE, MOLES.

The moles proper are easily distinguished, and constitute a
natural and compact group. The genera are few and widely
distributed, and although a rather large number of nominal
species have been formed on superficial characters, the vari-
ability is sufficient to reduce them to very few distinct specific
types. It is strange that naturalists should be surprised to find
in animals only rarely seen, and then under exceptional condi-
tions, the same variation which is everywhere observed in our
familiar species, and yet every slight variation in color and
proportions, has been seized as a reason for creating a new
species in this family.

In appearance the moles resemble the shrews in several
respects, but there could hardly be found a more striking
diversity of habit than that furnished by the active, vivacious,
social and terrestrial shrew, and the clumsy fossorial hermit
whose disposition seems as crabbed as any one's should be,
immured by caprice in damp, endless labyrinths.

The head is very large and elongated, terminating in a slen-
der, generally flattened proboscis, in which the nostrils open
upward. The eyes are minute, and are either concealed in the
pelage or are entirely covered by the skin. The shoulder is
enormously developed, while the arm is greatly shortened and
bears an enormous shovel- shaped, five- toed manus, set at right
angles to the axis of the body, so as to play laterally in pushing
the earth aside. The posterior part of the body is compara-
tively weak, and the hind feet and tail small, the latter usually
naked. Moles are entirely insectivorous, and, except for the
unsightly mounds sometimes made, and the persistency with
which they at times mine in cultivated ground, should rank as
true aids to the gardener. A deep seated prejudice against
them existed from early times, and in the early days of Europe
an official mole catcher formed one of the stipendiaries of a
well equipped manor. Moles were thought to have something

50 BULLETIN NO. VII.

uncanny about them, and figured to a greater or less extent in
the witchcraft of the time.

The moles are solitary, except during the breeding season,
which is a period of unrest and ceaseless quarrels.

The fact that the genera are restricted to the respective con-
tinents where they are found, would seem to indicate that the
fossorial habit is a preventive of ready distribution, and that
the forms are endemic. South America is without moles, as
well as other Insectivora.

The geographical distribution may be gathered from the
brief systematic outline given below.*

In the moles the skull is flattened pyriform and shrew-like,
but differs obviously in the possession of perfect zygomatic
arches and enclosed bony tympanic bulla. There is no distinct
post-glenoid process ; the cervical vertebra have no hypaph-
ophyses ; sternum with a strongly keeled manubrium ; scapula
narrow, longer than whole arm ; clavicle very short ; humerus
enormously enlarged ; carpus with an os intermedium, and
(usually) a sickle-shaped osseous support to hand. The hind
limb is weak.

*1. GENUS UBOTRTCHUS.

A single Japanese and Asian species. 17. talpoides, represents a genus having the
general characters of the moles, except a slender terete snout and a slender
bristled tail. The dentition is |, Q, |, f X2=36. This is thought to form a trans-
ition toward Myogale.

2. GENUS CONDYLURA.

See above. FItzinger in the face of the unanimous authority of recent American
writers, recognizes four species on the basis of seasonal and sexual modification.

3. GENUS SCALOPS.

Also see above. A North American genus, with perhaps two closely allied species.
out of which Fitzinger forms nine. The calm indifference with which a European
author settles a question of specific validity upon the evidence of fragmentary,
conflicting descriptions by hasty European travelers, with the possible help of
mouldy, ill-stuffed skins of doubtful authenticity, In the face of American stu-
dents, with large accumulations of material, would be amusing if not more.

4. GENUS TALPA.

Fitzinger recognizes seven species of this genus, whose type is the common mole
of Europe. Talpa eurvpcea.

Five named varieties of the common mole indicate how variable such a species
may be. and affords a suggestive commentary on the numerous species of Scalops
recognized.

Talpa coeca differs from T. europcea simply in the size of the eye orifice, and is
usually considered identical with it. Two species of this genus are accredited to
America almost certainly erroneously, they are T. nigrofuxca and T. repostn,. A
Japanese species, T. wogura, was secured by Temminck, and an East Indian,
T. micrura, by Hodgson, while a very doubtful species, Tleucura Blyth, was described
by Blyth from farther India. It is probably simply T. micrura.

5. GENUS CHRYSOCHLORIS.

The golden moles of Africa differ from the above in having but four toes on the
fore foot, and lacking the tail.

Of this genus there seems to be three or more species; Fitzinger enumerates nin.

C. inaurata (or C capensis, as it is perhaps properly called) occurs at the cape of
Good Hope.

C. obtusirostris is from near Mosambique.

C. villosa from Port Natal, was first described by A. Smith in 1833, and specimens
are in the British Museum.

6. GENUS SCAPHANUS.

This genus is closely related with Scalops, differing in dentition and the possess-
ion of a hairy tail. The single species, Seapanus breweri. is found in the eastern
United States.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

GENUS SCALOPS. Cuv.

This genus includes American moles, in which the nostrils
are on the upper surface of the nose, and are not surrounded
by fringing tentacles, and the teeth are 36 in number, the two
upper anterior ones being very large.

Fig, 4. SCALOPS AQUATICUS.

Scalops aquations LINN. SP.

Sorex aquaticus LINN. Syst. Nat, 1758.

ERXLEBEN. Syst. Reg. Anim., 1771.

SCHREBER. Sauget., ill.

BODDAERT. Elenchus Anim, 1784.
GMELIN. Syst. Nat., 1788.
Talpa europea flavescens ERXLEBEN. Syst. Reg. Anin., 1777.

ZIMMERMAN. Geogr. Geschicte d. Menschen u. d. Thiere.
SCHREBER. Silugethiere.

52 BULLETIN NO VII

Talpa virginianus niger. SEE A. Thesaur.

Talpa virginiana BRISSON. R6gne anim.

Talparubm ERXLEBEN. Syst. regn. anim.

Talpa fusca SHAW . Gen. Zool.

Talpa purpurascens SHAW. Gen. Zool.

Talpa vulgaris var B. BODDAERT. Elencn. Anim.

Talpa pennantii LECONTE. Proc. Acad Phila., Y.

Figs. 5 and 6.
A Upper surface of hand. B Upper surface of snout.

Talpa latimanus LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila.
(?) Tlapa townsendii LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila.
Talpa aquatica LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila.
Talpa cenea LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Phila.
Scalops aquaticus Cuv.

ILLIGER. Prodrom.

FISCHER. Synops. Mam.

WAGNER. Syst. d. Amph.

BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Phila.

WAGNER. Schreber Saugethiere.

GRAY. Mam. Brit. Mus.

REICHENBACH. Naturgeschicte Raubthiere.

BLAINVILLE. Osteograph, lasectiv.

DEKAY. Zool. N. Y.

AUDITBON and BACHMAN. Quadr. N. A.

GIEBEL. Saugethiere.

BAIRD. Mam. N. A.

FITZINGER. Naturliche Fam. d. Maulwiirfe.

ALLEN. Mam. Mass.

BRAYTON. Mam. Ohio.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 53

Scalops canadensis F. Cuv. Diet, des Sc. Nat.

DESMAKEST. Nouv. Diet. Nat. Hist.

HARLAN. Fauna Americana.

GRIFFITH. Anim. King.

RICHARDS. Fauna Bor. Am.

EMMONS. Zool. N. Y.
Scalops latimanus BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Phila.

REICHENBACH. Naturg. Kaubt.

AUDUBON and BACHMAN. Quad. N. A.

WAGNER. Schreber's Saugeth.
Scalops pennsylvanica HARLAN. Fauna Amer.

FISCHER. Synopsis Mam.

WAGNER. Schreber's Saugeth.
? Scalops ceneus CASSIN. Proc. Acad. Phila.

WAGNER. Schreber's Saugeth.

The above synonymy is not vouched for entirely, much of it
being collected from various works. It serves to show how
numerous have been the notices of this animal, and yet how
little has been added to our knowledge of its habits, variations
and anatomy.

The following measurements indicate the average size :
Nose to anus, 4.6 ; tail, 1.4 ; total length, 6 ; nose to incisors,
0.5; nose to ear, 1.35; nose to occiput, 2.0; length of fore
foot, 0.9; width, 0.85; length of hind foot, 0.9. Additional
measurements of the same specimen may be taken from the
figure of the skeleton. Color deep brown to plumbeous, with
a yellowish reflection ; fur moderately long and fine. Tail
almost naked. Snout long, flattened, obliquely truncate, bear-
ing the nostrils on the upper and outer surface, inclined toward
each other. Fore foot greatly enlarged, both by the lateral
separation of the fingers, which are fully webbed, and by the
addition of a wide blade supported by a specially developed
sickle-shaped bone of the wrist. (See fig. 4 and figs. 6 A and
B.) The ear is very minute and entirely without an external
appendage ; the eye is concealed under the skin, and lies but
little back of the angle of the mouth.

The mole may be almost said to swim through the earth, its
feet not being beneath the body, but on either side, and so
armed with broad spade-like claws, and so highly provided
with muscles as to glide rapidly through the soft earth. Dur-
ing the passage through the earth, the back and shoulders
wedge the earth upward, so that the course of the animal can
be followed by the observer above. During its passage the
highly sensitive and vibratile snout is constantly in motion,
searching for such insects, worms, etc., as may come in its

54 BULLETIN NO. VII.

way. It seems hardly likely that this organ really assists
materially in loosening or removing the soil, as some have
thought. Advantage is taken of the upward thrust of the
earth to place dead-falls over their runways, in such a way
that the passage of the animal shall cause a weighted and
armed board to descend and transfix the animal. Little is
known of the domestic economy of the mole. It rarely leaves
the earth on dark days, though it has been seen in the streets
of a large city, wandering aimlessly. The males are said to
be very pugnacious, and live apart during most of the year.
Two litters of from five to nine young may be produced annu-
ally. The nest is found in sheltered situations, and is com
posed of grass and leaves. The complicated system of galleries
produced by Talpa is not ascribed to our species.

Scalops (aquaticus VAR. ) argentatus AUD. and BACH.

Scalops argentatus BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Phila.

AUDUBON and BACHMAN. Quad. "K. A.

EEICHENBACH. Naturg. Raubt.

WAGNER. Schreber's Saugeth.

BAIRD. Nam. N. A.

FITZTNGER. Naturlich. Fam. Waulwurfe.

JORDAN. Mam. Vertebrates.

KENNICOTT. Pat. Of. Rep. Agr., 1857.
Ssalops aquaticus GIEBEL. Saugeth.
Scalops aquaticus var. argentatus COUES. [?]

BRAYTON. Mam. Ohio.

Although this is the common form in Minnesota, the writer
has had no opportunity to compare the anatomy with S. aqua-
ticus. In all probability it should stand as a well marked geo-
graphical variety, conspicuous for its light colored silvery fur,
which is very long, fluffy and soft. It averages somewhat
larger than the common mole; other differences seem to be
intangible. It is difficult to conceive of a more beautiful pelage
than that of this mole, the individual hairs being as fine and so
peculiarly formed as to give rise to a gorgeous play of colors,
due to interference of the rays of light reflected. This species
occurs in Ohio, and extends westward, throughout the prairie
region.

Mr. Weber says: "Two moles in nine days ate 341 white
worms, 193 earth worms, 25 caterpillars, and a mouse, both the
bones and skin of which they swallowed." An idea that the
mole is possessed of an unusually keen sense of hearing seems

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 55

to be indicated by the expression in Shakespeare : "Pray you
tread softly, that the blind mole may not hear a foot- fall."

GENUS SCAPHANUS.

Dentition: i. f. c. f, pm. , m. fx2=44. The teeth forward
of the last premolar are nearly equal in size above and below.
Nostrils lateral or superior. Tail hairy.

Scaphanus breweri is not known to occur in Minnesota, but
since another closely allied form, S. townsendi, occurs in Oregon,
it is not unnatural to expect that some representative of the
genus will ultimately be found.

Condylura cristata L. (DESM. )

STAR-NOSED MOLE.

Sorex cristatus LINN^US. Sys. Nat. (Ed. X), 1758.

ERXLEBEN. Syst. Reg. Animal, 1777.

SCHREBER. Saugeth, 1784.

BODD^RT. Elenchus Anim., 1784.

GMELIN. Syst. Nat., 1788.
Condylura cristata DESMAREST. Journ. de Physique, 1819.

HARLAN. Fauna Am., 1825.

GODMAN. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1825.

GRIFFITH. Guv. An. King, 1827.

DEKAY. Zool. of N. Y., 1842.

BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857.

MERRIAM. Mam. Adirondacks.

Ehinaster cristatus WAGNER. Suppl. Shreb. Sauget., 1841.
Talpa lonqicaudata ERXL. Syst. Reg. Anim., 1777.

SHAW. Gen. Zool., 1800.
Talpa radiata SHAW. Gen. Zool., 1800.
/Sorex radiatus SHAW. Gen. Zool., 1800.
Condylura longicaudata DESMAREST. Mamm., 1820.

HARLAN. Fauna Am., 1825.

GRIFFITH. Cuv., 1827.

RICHARDSON. Fauna Bor. Am., 1829.

FISCHER. Synopsis, 1829.

GIEBEL. Saugeth., 1855.

Ehinaster longicaudata WAGNER. Suppl. Schreb., 1841.
Talpa longicaudata BODD. Elench. Anim., 1784.*
Condylura macroura HARLAN. Fauna Am., 1825.

RICHARDS. Fauna bor. Amer.

FISCHER. Synop. Mam.

GIEBEL. Saugethiere.

REICHENBACH. Naturg. Raubth.
Ehinaster macrurus FITZINGER. Naturl. Fam. Maulw.
Condylura prasinata HARRIS, GODMAN, LESSON, WAGNER.
Astromycetes cristatus GRAY. Etc., etc.

56 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Only a partial synonomy is given, but enough to indicate the
attention which this strange species has received at the hands
of naturalists. Although probably measurably common, this
species is very rarely seen. Only one specimen was secured
during the progress of the survey, and the Indian who secured
it stated that it was the first one he had seen, although he
evinced great familiarity with even the smaller animals.

The specimen, a male with thickened tall, measured as fol-
lows: Length to tail, 4 T \; tail, 3^; nose to base of fore foot,
If; palm, f ; longest fore claw, j\; hind foot, 1 T ^. The color
above was black with a shade os vandyke brown, below a just
perceptible tinge of reddish brown, with a ferrugineous suffu-
sion. Here and there are rusty splotches, especially under the
throat and thighs, tail and feet reddish flesh color; former fusi-
form, constricted at the base. Claws straw-yellow.

In general form this species closely resembles the common
mole, being clumsy, neckless, and with enlarged palms. The
snout is thicker than in the mole, and its smooth terminal por-
tion extends into a fimbriated margin; the radiating cartilag-
inous processes numbering from 20 to 22. These processes are
about a quarter of an inch long. The nostrils are terminal and
circular and the muzzle is furrowed below. The eyes are small,
but distinctly visible, and are midway between the muzzle and
the ear. The external ear is limited to two small valve-like
flaps. The tail is fusiform, and covered with scales which have
an annular arrangement between which are sparse hairs.

The palms are fringed with stiff hair, and the outer edges
of the front toes are produced into horny processes.

The star-nosed mole is distributed from the Atlantic to the
Pacific in suitable situations, but seems to be most at home
between 40 to 45" N. latitude. Moist meadows furnish the con-
ditions best suited to this species, and there it may sometimes
be found in considerable numbers in company with Scalops
aquaticus, in the habits of which it shares, feeding on grubs
and the like. The breeding chamber is placed beneath the
protection of a stump, .but little is known of the habits.

Osteology: The skull is more slender than in Scalops, and
the auditory openings and bullsB resemble the shrews. Denti-
tion I, i, I, I x2=44. The upper incisors project horizontally
and are approximate; these are followed by a filiform tooth,
and this by a canine-like tooth with a small spur posteriorly.
After a hiatus comes a small canine.

CHAPTER FOUR.

ORDER CARNIYORA.

FLESH EATERS.

This order is represented within our limits by species of
genera contained in distinct families. It deserves to rank as
one of the highest, if not the highest order, if specialized differ-
entiation in one direction and within narrow limits are points
sufficient to justify the claim. Although actually as a group,
of little economic interest, except it be on account of inroads
upon domestic animals, no order secures more popular atten-
tion and interest than this. Lions and tigers, bears and wolves,
these and others are familiar and dreaded names from the nur-
sery. Besides this, the constant and household companions
which man has selected from the ranks of the lower animals
belong to this order. Domestic cats and dogs introduce to us
the larger and more intractible cousins of the wilderness.

In spite of the considerable variation in external appearance
exhibited by different members of the order, it is very homo-

58 BULLETIN NO. VII.

geneous in essential characters. From the weasel, to the bear
or lion, we may look without finding any animal so peculiar
that there is any difficulty in recognizing affinities with its fel-
lows.

The typical carnivore has a more or less triangular head
with pointed muzzle, armed with long vibrissse. The ears are
pointed and movable, while the eyes are large, or at least of
fair size, (the bears do not conform to this type), and are di-
rected forward. The body is powerful, if not graceful and
lithe, as in most cases. Limbs are of moderate length and
adapted for progression, (but rarely useful for prehension).
The claws are powerful, and in the highest groups retractile,
so that the keen points and edges are not worn dull by walk-
ing. This is accomplished by the peculiar position of the last
bone of the toe. There are usually five toes on each foot and
the reduction never affects more than one toe on a foot.
Though the bones of the fore arm are not united, they are nev-
ertheless not adapted for rotary motions of pronation, etc., in
most groups.

The bears touch the ground with the whole sole of each foot,
or are, in other words, plantigrade. Between this condition,
and that of the cat, where only the toes touch the ground in
walking, or when progression is entirely digitigrade, there is
a complete series of intermediate links. The former method is
held to be the primitive one for the order and permits of great
freedom in the use of the extremities, but it is also accompa-
nied with a certain heaviness and even clumsiness, which is
avoided by the digitigrate foot. An animal which must run
swiftly, or spring upon its prey from a distance, requires the
additional leverage furnished by a long heel.

Tlie brain is well developed, having several convolutions and
a large corpus callosum. The cerebral hemispheres do not
overlap the cerebellum, however. The development of the
organs of sense reaches the maximum in this order. The eyes
are usually specially adapted to nocturnal vision, so that, al-
though the contractile iris adjusts the eye to strong daylight,
the darkness of night is no obstacle to the chase of prey. The
following anatomical characters may be added. The digestive
tract is comparatively simple, the stomach never being com-
posed of more than one chamber, and the coecum, if present,
is small. The clavicles are absent or very rudimentary, being
most highly developed in the cats. The atlas vertebra has two
large transverse processes. The zygomatic arches are usu-

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 59

ally very wide and curve upward. The orbit is never set off
from the temporal fossa, by the union of the post frontal pro-
cesses of the temporal and zygomatic bones. There is in al-
most every case a deciduate, zonary placenta. The dentition
is especially characteristic and also difficult to reduce to the
same general formula. The dentition of the forepart of the
mouth is, indeed, remarkably uniform throughout the group.
There are always six incisors in each jaw (except in the single
case of the sea otter) and two canines. The incisors are usually
chisel- shaped, -and are well adapted to gnaw the flesh from
bones of their prey. The canines serve an entirely different
purpose. They are frequently so long that they lock the jaws
when they are closed, aud enable the animal to seize its prey
with a grip which no efforts will suffice to shake off. The size
and form of the canines constitute, to a certain extent, an in-
dex of the habits of the animal. The molars and premolars
constitute a more or less continuous series of variable number.

The crowns are usually furnished either with sharp cutting
edges or conical prominences. As the canines indicate the
habits of the animal especially with reference to the way in
which they secure their prey, so the molars and premolars
furnish good evidence of the sort of food constituting the ord-
inary diet. The lateral extension of both the condyles and
glenoid surfaces, for the lower jaw prevents that lateral mo-
tion of the jaws characteristic of herbivorous animals, and in
harmony with this fact, the molars do not oppose each other,
but the teeth of the lower jaw fit between those above, and, in
many cases, their knife-like edges constitute the blades of ver-
itable shears. There are never more than four premolars in
one half of the jaw in any living carnivore, and the number
may be considerably reduced. One of the premolars above and
below is remarkably developed and furnished with two knife-
like lobes, and is especially adapted to the cutting of flesh into
morsels. These sectorials are frequently the largest teeth and
are situated so far toward the back of the mouth, that they are
very effective on account of the superior leverage their position
in the jaw occasions.

The operation of these teeth can be seen when, for instance,
a cat in biting off a tough bit turns the head to one side and
closing her eyes, gnashes with a sort of fury, cracking even
thick bones. Back of these teeth are the true molars which
have flatter or tuberculated crowns. In the typical carnivores
these are slightly developed, but they keep pace with the de-
velopment of omnivorous propensities.

60 BULLETIN NO. VII.

According to the dentition, all living and fossil carnivorous
animals might be grouped under two types, the one represented
by the fossil family Arctocyonidce, and the other by the likewise
extinct family Hycenodontidce. The former have the characteris-
tic dentition of omnivorous animals and the latter of carnivo-
res. Both had 44 teeth while the latter had five premolars,
the last two of which were sectorial.

The sectorial of the upper jaw is always one of the milk
teeth while that of the lower jaw belongs to the permanent
series . The variations from the original type which are ob-
served in modern carnivorous animals consist in reduction in
the number and various modifications in the form and use of
individual teeth. No living carnivore has more than the origi-
nal number, 44 . In the dogs and bears the number is reduced
to 42 while the Subursidaa have two less. The badgers have
36; in all these cases, however, the molars exhibit the true
omnivorous characters.

The true carnivores, as represented typically by the cats,
have only 30 teeth. The animal in this order which possesses
the fewest teeth is the Patagonian Lyncodon which has 28,
i. e., one premolar less than the cats on either side. Among
the fossil cats is an instance of still greater reduction in the
Machaerodus with its monstrous walrus-like upper canines.

Although, as above said, the dentition affords a basis for
sub -dividing the order into two groups it is found convenient
to form three sub-orders as follows:

I. Sub-order ^Sluroidea containing the families Viverridce or
civet cats, Hycenidce or hyaenas, Cryptoproctidoe including the
Foussa of Madagascar, and Felidce, the cats.

II. Sub -order Arctoidea embracing the families Ursidce or
bears, and Mustelidce or martins.

III. Sub-order Cynoidea embracing the Canidce or dog
family.

SUBORDER ^ELUROIDEA.

The characters upon which this suborder is founded are
technical and the real basis for the subdivision is found in simi-
larities of structure and habits which connect the different
members of this group more closely with each other than with
members of the other suborders. The points usually selected
as distinctive are the following: Teeth without tuberculate
crowned molars, reduced in number. Auditory bullas inflated,

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 61

rounded and usually septate, the external meatus being short.
Paroccipital and mastoid processes not prominent, the latter
being sometimes indistinguishable.

The caecum is small or absent. There are both cowper's and
prostrate glands. Of the four families of this sub-order only
one, the Felidse, is represented in Minnesota, and we may here
simply pass in review the typical members of the others as
introductory to a study of our own Carnivora.

The family Viverridce is restricted to the warmer portions of
the old world, one species only occurring in southern Europe.
The legs are short and the body usually is almost weasel-like
in its slenderness. There may be four or five toes on the feet.
Both plantigrade and digitigrate forms occur. In the one case
the claws are not retractile, while in the other they are cat-
like.

The head is small and narrow on account of the slight arch
of the zygoma. The orbit is sometimes closed. The teeth are
more or less carnivorous but vary greatly in form. The num-
ber of incisors and canines is constant and normal. There are
also constantly two molars in each ramus of both jaws. The
number of premolars may be three or four and the conforma-
tion of the teeth differs in the milk set from that in the perma-
nent dentition. Of the numerous species most are noctuiunl and
all have a musky smell.

Exceptionally, fruit forms the staple diet but the gi eater
number are entirely carnivorous. Some species, like the ich-
neumon have been domesticated and prove useful in ridding
buildings of vermin.

The genet represents the family in Europe and is a slender
yellowish gray animal with black-spotted pelt and long, ringed
tail. The Asiatic zibet and the African civet are worthy of
note on account of the peculiar secretion of the anal glands
known as zibet and which, when mixed with oil, constitutes a
perfume-like musk. It is said that both in India and parts of
Africa numbers of these animals are kept in confinement and
well fed with birds and periodically relieved of the waxy se-
cretion by scraping the sack-like mouth of the glands with a
spoon. The two animals resemble each other, the African be-
ing larger and reaching the size of a fox.

Prionodon gracilis is a graceful little animal with a spotted
coat found upon Java and neighboring islands and feeds en-
tirely upon birds. The coffee cat, Paradoxurus, inhabiting
eastern India is more omnivorous than the above and feeds

62 BULLETIN NO. VII.

upon sweet vegetables like bananas as well as birds. It is
beautifully marbled with black upon a yellow ground. The
mampalon which dwells near the fresh waters of Borneo and
Sumatra is an abberant form resembling the otter greatly and
like it is aquatic, having webbed feet and is partially planti-
grade.

The ichneumons have already been referred to and many
species are known.

The suricate is a small animal something over a foot long,
inhabiting South Africa and remarkable for having but four toes
and teeth of an insectivorous type. The food consists of small
mammals, birds and insects and the animal is used by the
natives, as is the ichneumon elsewhere, to destroy vermin in
spite of a strong and to Europeans exceedingly offensive odor.
In addition to the above we may mention the mangue, Cynictis,
the binturong, and Arctitis.

The Hycenidce, or hyaena family are a rather small group
although it was in the last geological age of relatively greater
importance. The living animals of this group are confined to
the warm portions of the Eastern Continent and are nocturnal
in habit.

The external form is somewhat like that of a wolf but dif-
fers especially in the great and disproportionate development
of the fore legs. The head is large and the muzzle is short.
The pupil is round and the ears pointed. The feet have four
toes except in the Aard Vark or Earth Wolf of South Africa
which has five on the fore feet. Progression is plantigrade
and the claws not retractile. All hyaenas, have anal glands
which emit an unpleasant smell and prevent the domestication
of tne animal. The lower jaw is very powerful and armed with
strong crushing teeth. Their milk and permanent dentition
are very different, the following being the formulae; milk denti-
tion f.|:|.g-=32, permanent detition f -\.| -\- The dorsal vertebrae
number 14 or 15. The Proteles, or Aard Vark, differs con-
spicuously from the true hyaenas especially in possessing
small weak teeth. This animal is little known but is very
retiring, burrowing with facility and possibly living largely
upon insects and reptiles. The milk dentition is of a more
carnivorous sort than the permanent set and furnishes evidence
that the present anomalous nature of the teeth is due to retro-
grade development.

A third family the Cryptoproctidce, contains only the genus.
Cryptoprocta formed to include the Foussa of Madagascar

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 63

This animal is interesting not only because it is the sole car-
nivore of any size found upon Madagascar but because it
unites with the form of a civet the dentition found in no living
cat, but characteristic of tertiary Felidae. The body and head
are slender, the tail long, and while the claws are retractile,
the whole sole is applied to the ground. There are anal glands
such as characterize the civets to which and the Felidae they
form a link. The last of the families of the JBluroidea is that
containing the cats proper to which we now pass.

FELIDJE.

THE CAT FAMILY.

This family may be considered the typical and the highest
member of the Carnivora. We find in this group only graceful
and well-formed animals combining with wonderful strength
and agility such variations in form as are best adapted to the
special habitat in which the animal is found. The psychical
characters agree with the physical and we find in the cats a
fine combination of courage and affection. In addition to
highly developed senses and mental powers, the cats have a
certain spirit of independence which makes them less adapted
than the dogs to be the slaves of man. The cat always retains
her self esteem, at least so long as she keeps her pelt and feet
dry, and wishes to be treated with consideration, in which case
she will exhibit all the affection with none of the servility of
the dog, as though conscious of royal blood and princely con-
nections. The personal pride which makes the cat so careful
not to soil her beautiful fur is seen in all her relations with
man. She does not hesitate to take possession of the best
place and exacts attention to her kittens with motherly pride,
and in return for care and caresses often lays her booty of mice
or birds at the feet of the master, perhaps rather as an evidence
of service than in the real expectation of their being used.
The toes only touch the ground in walking and the hallux is
absent, while the thumb is elevated above the other toes.
Nearly all the family are furnished with retractile claws which
are preserved from dulling by being withdrawn into sheaths
during walking. In the living species there is very slight
variation from one type of dentition. The formula for the milk
dentition is as follows: :{:|:$=26 for the permanent set
1:1:3:1=30. The incisors are small, irregularly chisel shaped

64 BULLETIN NO. VII.

and adapted for gnawing. The canines are long and curved.
The first upper pre-molar is small while the third is the sec-
torial and is the largest tooth, being trenchant with three ex-
ternal cusps and an internal tubercle. The molar is small.
The lower molar is the sectorial which has two nearly equal
cusps and a posterior talon or tubercle.

The zygomas are widely arched laterally. The skull is short
"and usually arched, the orbits being large and the longitudinal
crest less powerfully developed than in Canidse. There is no
ali- sphenoid canal. The bullse are divided into two chambers.
There are but thirteen dorsal vertebrae.

The Felidce live almost exclusively upon flesh and prefer
living prey, upon which most species creep with remarkable
patience and skill, and rarely pursue an animal which they
have failed to secure at the first spring. A remarkable habit
which prevails among the cats is that of prolonging the excite-
ment of the chase by trifling with the prey after it is partially
disabled.

The Felidce do not hunt in packs but singly, or, during the
youth of the kittens, in pairs. The cats have a most interest-
ing and pathetic affection for the young, which are cared for
with unwearying devotion and protected with unreserved self-
sacrifice. There are ordinarily two or three young, although
domestic races become more prolific. The maternal instinct is
so great that the young of other animals are often adopted
when the mother is deprived of her kittens.

The living members of the family may be grouped in three
genera, the principal one Felis containing the cats proper, the
second, Lynx, the short-tailed northern cats, and the third,
Cyncelurus, the cheetah, or hunting leopard.

The last named genus contains three species, or more proba-
bly, three varieties of a single species. These are C. jubatus.
C. guttatus and C. lanea. The head is cat-like but the body is
more like that of a dog, the legs being long and the claws not
retractile. The pupil is round instead of linear, and various
osteological peculiarities distinguish this genus quite fully
from the cats proper. The several forms are found from India
to southern Africa.

GENUS FELIS.
.

Although numerically the largest genus of the Felidce it is
represented in the United States by a single species, the pan-
ther or cougar. There are between forty and forty-five species

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 65

of this genus, of which brief descriptions may be found in
Mivart's ' 'The Cat, " and in general works on natural history.
It will be sufficient to give the names of these and their habitat.

1 Fells leo, Lion- Africa, Arabia and f ormerlyEurope and India.

2 Felis tigris, Tiger Asia, Java.

3 Felis pardis, Leopard Africa and Southern Asia.

4 Felis uncia, Ounce Highlands of Central Asia.

5 FELIS CONCOLOR, Puma America.

6 Felis onca, Jaguar South America, N. to U. S.

7 Felis macrocelis, Clouded Tiger South Eastern Asia.

8 Felis scripta, Thibet Tiger Thibet.

9 Felis tristis, Fontaneir's Cat China.

10 Felis aurata, Bay Cat Nepal, Sumatra, Borneo.

11 Felis viverrina, Fishing Cat Bengal.

12 Felis bengalensis, Leopard Eastern Asia.

13 Felis tvagati, Wagati India.

14 Felis marmorata, Marbled Tiger Nepal to Borneo.

15 Felis serval, Serval Africa.

16 Felis rutila, Golden-haired Cat Sierra Leone and Gambia.

17 Felis neglecta, Grey African Cat Gambia.

18 Felis servalina, Servaline Cat Sierra Leone.

19 Felis pardalis, Ocelot South America.

20 Felis tigrina, Margay South America.

21 Felis guigna, Guigna South America.

22 Felis pardinoides, Ocelot- like Cat South America.

23 Felis yaguarondi, Yaguarondi South America.

24 Felis eyra, Eyra South America.

25 Felis colocollo, Colocollo South America.

26 Felis rubiginosa, Rusty -spotted Cat Madras, Ceylon.

27 Felis chinensis, Chinese Cat China.

28 Felis minuta, Little Cat Philippine Islands.

29 Felis jerdoni, Jerdon's Cat (?)

30 Felis planiceps, Flat-headed Cat Malacca, Borneo.

31 Felis badia, Bornean Bay Cat Borneo.

32 Felis caligata, Egyptian Cat Egypt.

33 Felis catus, Common Wild Cat Europe.

34 Felis torquata, Indian Wild Cat India.

35 Felis cliaus, Jungle Cat India.

36 Felis ornata. Ornamented Jungle Cat India.

37 Felis caudatus, Steppe Cat Bokara.

38 Felis shawiana, Shaw's Cat Turkestan.

39 Felis manul, Manul Siberia, Thibet.

40 Felis pajeros, Pampas Cat South America

66 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The most obvious external peculiarity of the genus Felis is
the long and, frequently, tufted tail, the comparatively short
legs, the lack of ear tufts and the (commonly) circular pupil.
The dentition is f, f, -f, |. The milk dentition is f, J, f , there
being no distinction into molars and premolars.

Felis concolor L.

THE PUMA. See Plate II.)

Felis concolor LINNEUS. Mantissa, 1771, p. 522.

ERXLEBEN. Syst. Anim., 1777, p. 511.

SCHREBER. Saeugethiere, vol. Ill, 1778, p. 394.

BODDOERT. El. Anim ., I. 1784, p. 90.

CUVIER. Rechercbes sur. esp. viv. d. grandchats, 1809.

GRIFFITH. Class Quadrim., order Garni v., 1821.

HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825, p. 94.

TEMMINCK. Monog. de Mammif., I, 1827, p. 139.

GRIFFITH, etal. Cuvier's Animal King., V., 1827, p. 163.

FISHER. Synopsis Mammaiium, 1829, p. 197.

DOUGHTY. Cabinet Nat. Hist., 1830, p. 190.

FULLER. Period of gestation, Proc. Comrn.

Zool. Soc., Lond.,11, 1832, p. 62.
MARTIN. Proc. Zool. Soc., Lond., I, 1833, p. 120.
WAGNER. Sup. Schreb. Saeugth., 184, p. 461.
DEKAY. N. Y. Zoology, 1842, p. 47.
AUDUBON AND BACHMAN. Quad. N. A. II, 1851.
BURMEISTER. Thiere Braziliens, I, 1854.
BAIRD. Mammals, 1857, p. 83.
GIEBEL. Saeugethiere, 1859, p. 876.
Felis discolor SCHREBER. Saeugeth., Ill, 1778.
Felis puma SHAW. Gen. Zool., 1, 1830, p. 358.

TRAIL. Remarks on Genus Felis.

Mem. Werner Nat. Hist. Soc., 1823.
BARTLETT. Breeding of larger Felida3, etc., Proc.

Zool. Soc. London, 1861, p. 140.
FITZINGER. Eevision der zur natuerlich . Familie der

Katzen gehoerig. Formen. Sitz. math. nat. 01.

K. Akad, Wiss. Wien, 1868-1869.
PUTNAM. American Panther. Am. Nat., 1871, p. 692.
COUES. Specimen of a cougar, Am. Sportsman, Jan. 1874.
BATTY. Felis concolor, Am. Sportsman, Apr. 1874.
OBER. Florida panther, Forest and Stream, Dec. 1874.

Standard Natural History.

Few of our native animals have excited the imagination, not
to say fears, of the early settler of America to the same ex-
tent as this largest truly North American cat. To this fact
must be due the great variety of names by which it is com-

[UFI7ERSIT

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 67

monly called. Following the universal fashion among the
colonists of applying familiar names to natural objects en
countered, this large wild cat was early denominated "the
panther," although it bears no resemblance to the leopard,
which is the true panther. More natural was it to suppose
that the animals brought in at first were all females of the
lion species. This presumption was given probability by the
uniform tawny color and penciled tail of the puma. The
name "American lion" has clung to the animal ever since and
served to exaggerate the prowess of the rather cowardly
beast. The native names cougar and puma are most appro-
priately employed. The jaguar is the only feline in America
which exceeds the puma in size. The length of a full grown
male of the latter exceeds five feet to the root of the tail,
which is about three feet long. A female may measure slightly
less. When in good condition the weight reaches 150 pounds.

The body is long and slender, the head small, slender with
large ears which have rounded conchs. The legs are short and
stout and the feet are large. The tail is cylindrical and taper-
ing and at times is furnished with a terminal brush.

The fur is short and soft but rather dull. The color of the
body and legs is a uniform fulvous or reddish tint; the under
surface is reddish white; lighter and yellowish about the eyes.
Black is found only upon the muzzle and the tips of the ears.
The general color is described as like that of the Virginia
deer. The young are beautifully and variously mottled and
barred with dark brown. The tail is ringed and there is a
dusky patch upon the neck.

The puma ranges over the whole of South America and in
North America north to latitude 50-60. It is never really
abundant and conforms in its habits and dwelling places to the
exigencies of its habitat. In Florida it inhabits the depths of
the impassable everglades, *in mountainous regions it makes its
lair in the rocky fastnesses of rugged peaks. In Texas it is
sometimes found in open prairies.

The puma is nocturnal by necessity, rather than choice, and
sees quite well in day light. It preys upon small or feeble
cattle, or such as are mired or otherwise disabled. Fawns,
raccoons, skunks, birds and all small animals are eaten.

When provisions are plentiful the animal is said to only
drink the blood of its victims as has been demonstrated by
autopsies. As many as fifty sheep may be destroyed in
one night by a single puma. In case of scarcity, on the
other hand, even carrion is not discarded.

68 BULLETIN NO VII

The courage is not great and, unless impelled by hunger or
despair, it never attacks dogs or horses much less man.
During severe winters the puma may be driven to eat the por-
cupine and there are well authenticated instances where the
animal has fallen a victim to his temerity. The prey seems
not to be carried to the den which is in contrast with the habit
of other beasts. It is said to kill its prey instantly by drawing
back the head with the paw until the neck is broken . The
ordinary cry of the puma is a sort of ''mew" on a larger scale
and more prolonged than that of the domestic cat. The male
growls when disturbed and, especially in the pairing season,
gives vent to wild and unearthly cries which have wrought
upon the superstitions of the frontiersman.

It is stated that the puma or "painter," utters wailing human
cries in order to lure the belated traveler to destruction. All
such stories can easily be understood if one will take the pains
to conceive of the result if the caterwauling of a domestic cat
were magnified four or five times in power and singularity.

The female makes an affectionate mother. The young are
carried 96 97 days and are suckled until half grown.

The young are born in the spring in northern regions, but
farther south considerably later. Audubon found half-grown
pumas in Texas in February,

Pumas do not hunt in packs as do the various species of the
dog family, but until the kittens are grown they sometimes
hunt in pairs.

No opportunity has been afforded for gathering anatomical
details and the reader is referred to Audubon for additional
information as to the habits of this species.

The most recent occurrence of the puma in Minnesota was
in 1875 when a single individual was killed in Sunrise, Chisago
Co. The following extracts contain all notices of this animal
which I have been able to gather 'from the earlier writings:

In "Carver's Travels" p. 413, is the following account of
the puma which seems by the context to be credited to the
"Chipeway River." "The TYGER. The tyger of America
resembles those of Africa and Asia, but is considerably smaller.
Nor does it appear to be so fierce and ravenous as they are.
The color of it is a darkish sallow, and it is entirely free from
spots." "It is very seldom met with in this part of the world. "

Mr. Merriam ' gives the following statement concerning the
panther :

1 The mammals of the Adirondack regions of Northeastern New York. C. Hart Merriam,
M. D. Also in the Transactions of the Linncean Society of New York, 1884, under the
same title.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 69

"The distance that a panther can pass over in a single leap
is almost incredible. On level a single spring of twenty feet is
by no means uncommon, and on one occasion Mr. Sheppard
measured a leap over snow of nearly forty feet. In this in-
stance there were three preliminary springs, and the panther
struck his deer on the fourth. The longest leap measured by
Mr. Sheppard was one of sixty feet, but here the panther
jumped from a ledge of rocks about twenty feet above the level
upon which the deer was standing. He struck it with such
force as to knock it nearly a rod farther off.

Under certain conditions of the deep snows the deer cut in
so deeply that the poor animals can make but slow progress.
At such times a panther, by spreading the toes of his great
broad paws, simulates a man on snow-shoes and sinks but a
short distance in the snow. He thus gains a vital advantage
over his prey, and will now give chase to and capture one that
he missed on his first spring. Under no other circumstances
will a panther pursue a deer, for he is too well aware of the
uselessness of an attempt to overtake so fleet. an animal. Im-
mediately upon killing one he drags it bodily into some dense
thicket or windfall, where he will not be likely to be observed.
He has thus been known to drag a full-grown deer consider-
ably over a hundred feet before reaching a satisfactory covert.
Unlike the wolf, he makes the most of his prey and devours
it all before killing another. One deer generally lasts a
panther a week or ten days, and during that time he may usu-
ally be found within a mile of the carcass, hidden under some
log or uprooted tree. Sometimes, but very rarely, does he
partially bury it, after each meal, by scraping leaves and
brush over it. When all but enough for one or two meals has
been eaten, the panther, especially if a female with young,
will often make another hunt, but, if unsuccessful, returns to
the remains of the old carcass."

At the risk of repeating the substance of a previous part of
this chapter we quote from Merriam's above mentioned work
remarks upon

Some Common Fallacies Concerning Panthers.

1st. Concerning the alleged fierceness of the panther.

"Even many very respectable works upon Natural History
contain the most detailed and heart-rending accounts of the
loss of human life by the brutal attacks of these ferocious
beasts. * * * The illustrious Audubon, in his great work

70 BULLETIN NO. VII.

upon the Quadrupeds of North America, cautions the reader
not to credit the legends of the vulgar in regard to the ferocity
of this animal, and its propensity to attack man, and then goes
on to picture midnight encounters and hair-breadth escapes
almost as thrilling as the story above quoted. Oh, the incon-
sistency of man! It is now so well known that the panther is
one of the most cowardly of beasts, never attacking man unless
wounded and cornered, that it is unnecessary to do more than
contradict the popular impression to the contrary.

2d. Concerning the method of capturing its prey.

It is commonly and widely believed, and boldly asserted in
print, that the panther lurks in ambush for its prey; that it
lies in wait beside the runways of the wary deer, hidden by
some rock or thicket, or crouching upon an overhanging limb,
and falls, like a thunderbolt from heaven, upon the back of its
hapless and unsuspecting victim. Such romances, however
gratifying to the narrator, and entertaining to the community,
are without foundation in fact. * * *

3d. Concerning the screams of the panther.

Who has not heard of the piercing cries and startling screams
of the panther? Who has listened, about the evening camp-
fire, to the tales of hunters and woodsmen, but has felt his
blood run cold, and his hat tighten on his head, as the earnest
speaker, perhaps in a whisper, and uninterrupted save by the
sputtering of the fire, told of the time when, alone in the soli-
tudes of the deep forest, and at the dead of night, he was sud-
denly awakened by a piercing scream that burst upon his weary
ears. It seemed like the shriek of a woman in distress, or the
pitiful wail of a lost child. Half asleep, quite bewildered, he
starts to his feet to render assistance, when the glaring eye
balls of a fierce cougar met his horrified gaze and acquainted
him with the nature of his unwelcome guest!

An attack of indigestion, the cry of a loon, or the screech of
an owl, a piece phosphorescent wood and a very moderate im
agination, are all that are necessary, in the way of material
and connctions, to build up a thrilling tale of this description.
Indeed, the writer once had a bit of personal experience in this
line that is not yet forgotten.

In conversing with honest hunters upon this point, it has
been my uniform experience to find that those who have had
most to do with panthers are most skeptical in regard to their
cries.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 71

4th. Concerning the size of the panther.

In talking with border hunters of a certain type, and in per-
using the literature, one is every now and then confronted with
the most fabulous statements concerning the size of the beast
now under consideration. Some would have us believe that
panthers have been killed and measured with a "two foot rule"
that were eleven, twelve, and even thirteen feet in length
Formidable beasts indeed! No less an authority than James
DeKay tells us, in apparent good faith, that one was killed on
an island in Fourth Lake (of the Fulton chain) in Herkimer
county, that, when recently killed, "had a total length of eleven
feet three inches". To those who are inclined to credit such
statements I have only to say, measure off eleven feet on your
floor; place the largest panther you ever saw on this measured
line, and then tell me on what part of the beast you would
"annex" or "splice on" the three or more additional feet.

5th. Concerning the way a panther carries its prey.

We often see statements to the effect that a panther has kill-
ed a deer or a young bullock, slung it over his back and
marched off (perhaps up an embankment, or even climbed a
tree) with it. A panther drags a deer along the ground just as
a dog drags a sheep, or a cat a big piece of meat, and, if he is
a large one, he may be able to lift the deer so high that only
the hinder parts drag.

Felis domestica LINN,

DOMESTIC CAT.

The common domestic cat stands, as regards size, at nearly
the other end of the series of true cats inaugurated in America
by the jaguar and puma. At the time America was disco verd
all civilized nations had adopted this animal and it had become
a part of man's family wherever homes were known. With
most of us there is something lacking in the cheer of the
chimney corner without the contented purr of a favorite cat,
and tabby has come to be associated with the innocent pleas-
ures of childhood and with home comforts in maturer life.

A very full account of all that is known about pussy and her
family may be found in St. George Mivart's "The Cat," Lon-
don, 1881. As in the case of most of our domestic animals,
the proper combination of qualities for permanent domestica-

72 BULLETIN NO. VII.

tion seems to have been obtained by the union of several dif-
ferent races or species. Our cat seems to be the result of a
union of the common wild cat of Europe, Fells catus, and the
Egyptian cat, Felis maniculata. The cat was certainly domes-
ticated in Egypt at a very early date and was an object of ven-
eration. In Herodotus' time the cats of a house constituted in
some sort the Penates or household gods. Both cats and dogs
were early introduced into Italy, both being indicated in fres-
coes of Pompeii. The variation in coloration and form is con-
siderable, although far less than in some other domestic ani-
mals. What is called the tabby variety is thought to have re-
sulted from the admixture of wild cat blood. In the case of
the tortoiseshell cat, we have an instance of a difference in
coloration between the sexes, males being all but universally
grey. The blue cats, or Carthusian breed, are of a bluish
grey color and have fine, long, soft pelage. The Angora cat,
too, is especially remarkable for its fine, long hair as well as
its large size. The tailless manx cat is an interesting variety '
with a tendency toward the reduction of the size of the fore
legs. Malay cats also have short tails. The habits of the do-
mestic cat are sufficiently well known and appreciated. In
America there is, of course, some change in the diet, but, in
general, the cat maybe said to travel with her own commissariat
as the army of European pests usually keep pace with the
cat's emigrations. In our state the field mice form no consid-
erable part of pussy's diet at times, but the staple is always
Mus domestica. Many cats capture the gopher, Spermophilus,
habitually, although it seems not to be relished as well as
murine food. The cat at times becomes -partially insectivorous
and feeds upon crickets or g? ' shnr>p^.r$, but it appears that
these serve as a relish or ccndiment simply. No cases have
fallen under my notice of cats capturing rabbits, except when
the latter are still very young. Darwin has given us an inter-
esting example of the coherence of nature in the dependence
of the price of clover seed upon cats, via. field mice and bumble
bees.

GENUS LYNX.
See remarks under Felidse.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 73

Lynx rufus (GM. ) RAF.

WILD CAT.

Felis rufa GMELIN, SCHREBER, DESMAREST, F. CUVIER.

BLATNVJLLE. GULDENSTEIN, TEMMINCK.

LESSING. GEOFFROY ST. HILLAIRE, FISCHER.

GERVAIS . BLYTH.

Lynx floridiana RAFINESQUE. Am. Month. Mag.. 1817.
Lyncus rufus GRAY. P. Z. S., 1867.

DEKAY. Nat. Hist. N. Y., 1842.
Felix montana DESMABEST, LESSING, HARLAN.

LECONTE. P. A. N, S., Phila., 1856.
Felis maculata YIG. AND HORSF. Zool . Journ. , 1829.

LESSING. Comp. Buff., 1839, etc.
Lynx rufus RAFINESQUE. Am Month. Mag., 1817.

AUD. AND BACH. Quad., N. A.

MARCY. Expl. Bed R., 1852.

NEWBERRY. Pacif. R. R., Rep. VI, 1857.

BAIRD. Mam., N. A.

ALLEN. Bull. M. C. Z., 1871.

COUES AND YARROW. Surv. 100th Mer., 1875.

MERRIAM. Mam. Adiron., 1874.

Out of over a dozen specimens of wild cat examined, none
presented the characters attributed to L. canadensis. It would
not therefore be competent for me to discuss the validity of the
two species or their relations, but it may be confidently stat-
ed that if there are two species in Minnesota, our sportsmen
are much at fault. I was repeatedly shown specimens of
"Lynx" which uniformly proved to be L. rufus, but all hunters
claim that two species exist, though distinctive characters
apart from difference in size could never be found.

It is preferable, however, to proceed with the description of
the one known variable species.

The earliest account of the wild cat from Minnesota, seems
to be this from Carver's travels, p. 416. "The cat of the mount-
ains. This creature is in shape like a cat, only much larger.
The hair or fur resembles also the skin of that domestic ani-
mal; the color, however, differs, for the former is of a reddish
or orange cast, but grows lighter near the belly. The whole
skin is beautified with black spots of different figures, of which
those on the back are long, and those on the lower parts
round. On the ears are black stripes. The creature is nearly
as fierce as a leopard, but will seldom attack man."
-5

74 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The adult female is about three feet long. The following
measurements may be accepted as characteristic:

Length, 3 ft. ; head and body, 2 ft. 6 in. ; tail, 6 in. ; fore foot
to callosity, 3.75; hind foot, 6.75; nose to corner of eye, 1.50;
nose to ear opening, 4.50; nose to occiput,5.37; breadth of head,
425.

The base of the fur is tawny black, the middle buffy yellow,
terminal portion white, or white followed by longer or shorter
black band. Ear tips black, pencil well developed. Below the
terminal white portion is long, concealing the others. Thighs
externally spotted and lighter, obscurely barred within. The
upper arm is slightly barred externally, while internally there
are several wide black bars. In the middle of the back the
whole base of fur is black, the tips only being white. The tail
is tipped with white. The ruff is moderately long and is com-
posed of rather stiff harsh hairs. The above description ap-
plies to the winter pelage. As early as February the whole
skin takes on the rufous tint before nearly confined to the
flanks. In spring specimens, the base of the fur was pale Van-
dyke brown. In the yearling the head is of nearly the same
size as the adult. The color seems independent of sex.

During severe weather the wild cat is often forced to feed
upon the porcupine, and it is of no infrequent occurrence that
she pays for her timerity with her life . I have several times
secured them with the head and throat filled with the spines,
rendering the animals helpless. Such specimens were invari-
ably very poor and emaciated.

FAMILY CANID^.

The dog family, although brought into closer relations with
the cat group, through the hyenas, is remarkable for rigid ad-
herence to one type of structure and general habitus. The
group, although a closed one, shows the most intimate connec-
tion between most, if not all, of its species.

Six genera are recognized, of which the largest is Canis or
that containing the dogs and wolves, the latter forming the
subgenus Lupus, while the foxes constitute the genus Vulpes
The domestic dog furnishes a familiar and sufficient illustration
of the external characters of the family.

The body varies in form, but is neither adapted to aquatic
nor arboreal life, and the rather long, straight legs show the
method of progression to be running simply. The head is

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 75

rather long and has a pointed muzzle and pointed erect ears.
The claws are not retractile but are worn off by contact
with the earth. Pew species are strictly fossorial though
many dig rapidly upon occasion. The tail is of moder-"
ate length and is most frequently covered by bushy hairs and
is less flexible than in most of the Felidce. The color is usually
rather uniform, and only in a few cases vivid, and although the
fur is thick is rarely of any commercial value. The teeth are
strong and less specialized than in the cats. The general
. formula is as follows: milk teeth f. }-. f=32; permanent teeth
f. $. J. |=42. The incisors are small and three lobed above and
two-lobed below. The canines are long and curved and some-
what flattened laterally. The fourth upper premolar is the
sectorial tooth, being composed of two trenchant blades or
cones; from the base of the anterior blade springs a tubercle.
The lower sectorial is formed by the first molar.

In the genus Cyon, found in India, there is one molar less be-
low on either side making the whole number 40. The genus
Otocyon, represented by a small fox-like dog in South Africa,
has 46 to 48 teeth by the addition of one molar below and one
or two above on either side. In some instances there are but
four claws upon the fore feet but usually the thumb, although
elevated above the other digits, has a perfect claw while the
hind feet are four- toed. Most species secure their prey through
their superior speed and endurance but, as they hunt in packs,
what speed is unable to accomplish is brought about by con-
certed pursuit. In like manner, although individually very
cowardly, the wild dogs are formidable enemies of the largest
wild beasts and are much dreaded by man himself. It is that
social instinct so foreign to the cat family which makes the dog
dependent upon other members of his race or, when domesti-
cated, upon the will of his master to a larger extent than in
most animals, which makes him so well adapted for the com-
panionship of overbearing man. Although carnivorous, many
species seem to prefer carrion and not a few will adapt them-
selves to a partly vegetable diet. The sense of smell is the
most highly developed of the senses and is more acute in this
family than in any other. The ear is also well developed but
the eye, even in nocturnal species, is not particularly keen. The
bark of the domestic dog seems to be a result of association
with man, all wild dogs indulging their mood and venting their
feelings in demoniacal howls.

76 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The Canidce possess anal glands affording an odor of more
or less power. As has been said, the dogs are found over the
entire surface of the globe where carnivorous mammals occur.
Even in Australia which has no other endemic placental mam-
mal, the Dingo or native dog represents this family, although
it may be taken for granted that this species was simply in-
troduced in an early period. As regards their origin we know
that while no clearly marked representative of the Canidae
lived during the Eocene period, there were nevertheless ani-
mals which possessed similar characters, more or less masked
by inter- relationships with the other carnivorous families.

In the Miocene true representatives of the group are found.
It would appear that the various families of Carnivora have in
the main remained in the geographical regions where they
were first brought to special development. Thus hyenas are
now, as then, restricted to the old world and the raccoons to
the western hemisphere. The views of naturalists are as yet
by no means identical as to the probable origin of Carnivora in
general, most assuming a Marsupial or Marsupial like if non-
Marsupial progenitor.*

The origin of the domestic dog from one or more species of
wild dogs cannot be denied. But it is not possible to place the

*We add a list of the more important species of the genera of* the
Canidae.
Genus Canis.

C. lupus. Europe, Asia and North America.

C. latrans. Prairies of Central K. America.

C. cancrivorus. Guiana.

C. jubatus. Brazil.

C. antarcticus. Falkland Ids.

C. lupaster, C. (lupus?) N. Africa.

C. familiaris. Domestic dog.

C. hodopylax. Japan.

C. aureus (Jackal). Africa and S. Asia.

C. mesomelas. S. Africa.

C. dingo. Australia.
Genus Vulpes.

V. vulpes. Europe, Asia, N. America and N. Africa.

V. corsac. India, central Asia, Asia minor.

V. zerda. N. Africa.

V. lagopus. (Polar fox.)

(?) V. velox. Central North America.

V. virginianus. Southern United States.

V. azarce. South America.

V. magellanicus. Extreme S. America.
Genus Nyctereutes.

(?) N. procyonoides. China and Japan.

N. viverrinus. Japan.
Genus Otocyon.

O. megalotis. South Africa.
Genus Lycaon.

L. pictus.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 77

finger on any one species of wolf and say this is the stock from
which the dog sprang. It has been observed that the domestic
dog in countries where only partially domesticated resembles
very closely its wild neighbors, while in more civilized lands
where the dog has become the companion of iran, it is more
difficult to detect the resemblance to any wild race. The mon-
uments of Egypt contain drawings of various species of do
mestic dogs and there is no doubt that in every period and in
all countries man has brought this willing servant under his
yoke. Careful investigations therefore seem to have proved
that our various races of dogs have been derived from various
species of wild dogs with round pupils which different peoples
have independently domesticated and finally caused to in
terbreed. The influences of civilization have constantly in-
creased the natural tendency to variation until different breeds
of dogs differ from each other more than the most widely
diverse species of the wild representatives of the genus Canis.
In Minnesota we have representatives of two genera, and but
three species.

GENUS CANIS. LINN.

This genus contains the larger species with long limbs and
round pupils; the post-orbital process of the frontal bone is very
convex, curving strongly downward. The fox- like wolves of
South America furnish the transition between the genera Canis
and Vulpes.

Canis lupus L.

The evidence that our timber-wolf, so called, is identical with
the wolf of Europe, has been very complete, even since the
days of Richardson, and, although Prof. Baird cast the great
weight of nis opinion against such identity, the greater number
of modern authors in Europe as well as America, now consider
them the same. Dr. J. A. Allen in his list of the ''Mammalia
of Massachusetts" has summarized the evidence in a way quite
satisfactory to the writer, and we shall enter into no discussion
of the subject.

The following tabulation of the varieties found is extracted
from the Zoology of the 100th Meridian Reports.

a. WHITE WOLVES Canis lupus, albus SABINE, etc.
White, pure or washed with yellowish, with or without
black-tipped tail. Among the largest. Northerly or
Alpine.

78 BULLETIN NO. VII.

b. GRIZZLED WOLVES C. variabilis MAXIM., etc. White,

more or less extensively grizzled with gray. Large,
and rather northerly.

c. GRAY AND BRINDLED WOLVES C. lupus (Auct). Gray,

of variable shade and pattern, generally brindled,
darker dorsally, paler or white below, little or no
rufous. Medium size . Most general distribution.

d. RED WOLVES C. lupus, var. rufus AUD. AND BACH.

Mixed, reddish and black, paler below, small. South-
erly, especially Texas.

e. DUSKY WOLVES G. nubilus SAY. Dusky or plumbe-

ous brown, with or without darker muzzle bands and
leg stripe. Small, chiefly southerly.

/. BLACK WOLVES C. lupus, ater RICHARDSON. Black.
Small, southerly, Florida.

The wolf drawn on Plate VI measured over four feet in length,
tail, 19 in.; nose to eye, 5; nose to ear, nearly 9; nose to tip of
ear, 12; eye to eye, 3^. The lower canine was li long. Weight
85 Ibs.

The following incidents were furnished me by Mr. Upham
and illustrate certain traits of wolf character:

"Mr. John D. Wilcox, of Pine City, Superintendent of Schools for Pine
county, told me that about the year 1860, when he lived at Sunrise in
Chisago county, having worked through a winter clay in the woods, mak-
ing sugar-troughs, one and a half miles from home, which was at Sunrise,
he was chased by a half dozen or more wolves, which he saw bounding up
and down in their pursuit on his track, and heard their yelping; with the
greatest haste possible he got across the open land where he then was and
climbed up into a tree, but only barely in time to save himself, for the
wolves were immediately at the tree, jumping up, yelping, and making
the evening hideous. This continued two hours or more, the wolves ail
the time howling and leaping up, their eyes glowing like coals of fire.
Finally they got into a flght among themselves and turned off into a
neighboring swamp. This flght with much crashing of the alders, snarl-
ing and yelping of the wolves, and joy of Mr. W. to hear his foes waging
war on each other, lasted an hour or so; then all became as still as death,
he finally got down and escaped home. His axe, left at the foot of the
tree, had its handle so gnawed and split ttiat it was spoiled. Woodsmen
have a saying that when a pack of wolves thus are foiled and lose their
expected prey, they turn on the wolf that first led them into the pursuit
and slay him.

The same winter (or rather, spring,) a Swede a few miles from Sunrise,
making maple sugar at night and going out to gather sap, was attacked
by wolves, and is said to have been wholly eaten up, not a bone being left,
except his feet, which were gnawed as far down as the wolves could reach
into his boots; only shreds and small scraps of his clothing were found.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 79

In the winter of 1877 or 1878, Mr. Wilcox.had been to do some surveying
on the upper part of Sand creek, east of Kettle river. Returning to Pine
City through the woods with no roads, he heard a wolf cry behind him as
early as nine o'clock in the forenoon; and, looking back, he saw him with-
in a distance of twenty rods. On being shouted at this wolf turned back;
but within a half hour others, hearing his howls, had joined him, and
about the middle of the forenoon, looking back across a little swamp that
he had crossed, Mr. W. saw three wolves coming along on his track, every
now and then putting down their noses to the scent and uttering short
yelps. This was at a distance of twenty-five miles or more from his home,
and he would probably see no human being till reaching his own door, at
the south end of Cross lake, a half mile southeast of Pine City. To be
pursued and treed would be to starve to death. An expedient never before
heard of by Mr. W., saved his life. Passing through a piece of birch
woods, he stripped off a large amount of the bark and made a fire of it
exactly in his path. Then he hurried on, and soon, in about a quarter
of an hour, when the wolves came up to this fire, they made all the woods
ring with their howls of astonishment, rage, and disappointment. Their
cries continued to be heard for an hour, or to the distance of fully two
miles; but as he heard no more of them later, he supposes Lone of them
ventured beyond this barrier of fire.

This danger from wolves is only in the last part of winter and spring;
and their chasing lone travelers at other seasons has never been heard of.

During the winter of 1884-85, wolves became very abundant
and insolent in Wright county, and were seen about the out-
skirts of Monticello in broad daylight almost daily, though
they were sufficiently wary to escape capture.

Canis latrans SAY.

COYOTE.

Canis latrans SAY, HAUL AN, AUDUBON, BAIRD, Co TIES, etc.
Canis frustror WOODHOUSE.
Canis ochropus ESCHSCH, etc.

The occurrence of the prairie wolf in Minnesota must rest
on other than personal information. I presume it is still not
infrequent in the south-western counties.

Color dingy white, suffused above with tawny or grey.
The light ground color is marked by obscure streaks of black,
especially on the back and hips. The top of the muzzle, ears,
and outsides of legs is tan color.

Entire length, 54 inches, of which the tail measures 18, nose
to eye, 4; nose to ear, 8; nose to occiput, 8-9; hight at should-
er, 24. In general the size and proportions are those of a fair
sized pointer dog.

80 BULLETIIN NO. VII.

The coyote is a familiar pest upon the plains of the central
United States, and is a very persistent, if cowardly neighbor.
Its food varies with the exigencies of its situation. While it
prefers live game, and shows much endurance in its pursuit, it
will not reject offal and the refuse from the campers meals. It
will follow a party long distances subsisting on what is thrown
away. When hard pressed, however, it has recourse to vege-
table substances, such as the fruit of the prickly pear, juniper
and other berries. The howl is remarkably melancholy, and
does not tend to enliven the solitude of its domain It consists
of a short quick bark, followed by others in quick succession
in ascending gamut, until they are combined in one long drawn
wail. The clamor is greatest at night-fall and continues
through the night at intervals, breaking up with a noisy de-
monstration at daybreak.

Dr. Coues insists on the close similarity between the coyote
and the ancestor of the domestic dog. The Indian dog inter-
breeds freely, it is asserted, with the wild animal and the
crosses are perfectly fertile.

The female after a period gestation similar to that of the
dog brings forth five or six puppies in secluded spots, caverns
or recesses in the rocks. The only available means of des-
troying these wolves seems to be poison, as they avoid traps
sedulously.

GENUS VULPES.

The foxes differ from wolves and dogs in their elliptical
pupil, bushy tail, more slender form, unlobed upper incisors
and form of the postorbital process. South America furnishes
a perfect transition in its wolf-like foxes with circular pupils.
Aside from the Arctic fox which is circumpolar this genus con-
tains F. velox and F. macrus of the plains (neither of which is
known from Minnesota) and the red fox.

Tulpes Yulgaris L.

This familiar animal is distributed over the whole north tem-
perate region and is everywhere very variable. There is some
little reason to suppose that the red fox has been introduced into
this country, if not by man, at least later than the gray fox,
the bones of which are found abundantly in bone caverns.

The red fox is about 40 inches long, the tail occupying ] 8
inches. Hight 12-14 inches. In the ordinary variety the

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 81

general color is tawny red, rather darker on the shoulders
and flanks. The tail hairs are dark tipped; the outside of the
legs and back of ears are also black. The under parts includ-
ing the chin and a space about the muzzle and also the tip of
the tail, are white.

The variations from this pattern are now generally consid-
ered to be due to melanism for which no satisfactory cause can
be assigned. Complete melanism gives us the Black or Silver-
Gray Fox (V. argentatus). In high latitudes often quite black
save the tip of the tail. Elsewhere this phase consists in a
silvery gray coloration of the upper parts.

Intermediate conditions give rise to the Cross-Fox (V.
decussatus) in which the ventral line, muzzle and legs are
blackish, with two cross bars on the inside of the legs. The
median line above is also dark and is crossed by a dark shoulder
band. The head is gray and the sides are marked with fulvous.

It is authoritatively stated that these so-called varieties may
be found in the same litter, though to what extent the varia-
tions are inherited, is not known. Audubon gives an interest-
ing case of this sort. The usual food of foxes seems to be field
and wood mice and rabbits, and it is probable that their efforts
in this direction deserve to palliate their occasional forays on
the poultry yard. We are fortunately exempt in this country
from the mania for fox hunting prevalent in Europe, though it
might be well if some other, if less exciting inducement to
equestrian exercise, could be secured. The fox hunts alone or
in families, and is thus unlike the wolves. The young are five
to seven in number and are tenderly nurtured, it being during
the rearing of this growing family that the fox becomes most
audacious and destructive. It would be idle to recount tales
of the acumen of the fox, though one is tempted to revert to
the folk lore of the south as illustrating a tendency to present
another view of Reynard.

Anyone, who like the writer has watched unobserved the
playful gambols of a family of young foxes, will have a weak-
ness for the gay pests ever after.

GENUS U ROC YON.

This genus is distinguished from the foxes, of the genus Vul-
pes, by the fact that the crests for the insertion of the temporal
muscles are widely separate, by the presence of a supplementary
tubercle on the lower sectorial and a mane of rigid hairs on the
tail.

82 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Urocyon cinero-argentatus SCHREB,

Vulpes virginianus AUCT.

It is questionable whether the frequent accounts of gray
foxes in Minnesota do not rest on mistaken identification. At
any rate, this species is rather a southern animal, being the
most abundant form in Virginia, westward to Arizona and Cali-
fornia.

The size is that of the red fox, though the proportions are
more robust. The prevailing color is a clear gray, darkest
dorsally. The sides are more or less tawny or fulvous, muzzle
with black band, under surface of head, white. The tip of the
ail is blackish. The most remarkable character is that already
referred to by which this genus has been called that of mane-
tailed foxes.

The gray fox is a woodland animal and does not form ex-
tended burrows. It is said to climb with some degree of agil-
ity. It, therefore, is first to be driven out by the advance of
civilization. Indeed it is more easily eradicated from its fail-
ure to take to the earth.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

FAMILY MUSTELINE.

EXPLANATION OF FIG. 7.

No. 1.
No. 2.
No. 3.

N>. 4.

Meles taxus- European Badger. No. 5.

Conepatus suffocans -Brazilian sp. No 6.

Oulo luscus Glutton. No. 7.
My dam telagon of Java.

Lyncodon patagonicus
Galtetis barbata South America.
Ratelm capemis African Honey
Badger.

Carnivorous mammals of various form and habits chiefly in-
teresting on account of the dense pelt which frequently becomes
an article of great commercial value.
The following technical characters may be first given:
Skull with paroccipital processes distant from bulla; mastoid processes
prominent, the various sutures usually closing very completely. Clavicles
rudimentary or absent; scaphoid and lunar carpals coalescent; digits
clawed. Limbs and tail free and perfect, the former adapted for terres-
trial progression. Placenta zonary, deciduous. Intestine without a cse-

84 BULLETIN NO. VII.

cum. Cowper's glands absent. Dentition consisting of twelve incisors
(except in the Sea Otter) of similar form, four canines which are not furn-
ished with a sharp angle or ridges behind, a variable number of premolars,
and one pair of molars above and two below (except in the Honey Badgers.)
Anal glands secreting a strong odor always present.

As will be seen beyond, this family contains a number of
quite unlike groups. Some of the Mustelidce are highly aquatic,
others dwell almost exclusively in trees, while many are strictly
terrestrial. The economic importance of the family is derived
from the large number of fur bearing animals it includes. The
ermine, sable, marten, otter, mink, etc. all are members of the
group. The northern hemisphere is the home of the family,
although there are representatives in Africa and South Amer-
ica. We append Dr. Gill's synopsis of the sub-families and
add a brief review of the group before taking up our native
species.

FAMILY MUSTELIDCE.

I. Skull with the cerebral portion comparatively compressed backwards;
and with the rostral portion comparatively produced, attenuated,
and transversely convex above; anteorbitalforamen small and opening
forwards. Feet with little developed or no interdigital membrane.

A. Auditory bulla much inflated, undivided, bulging, and convex for-
wards; periotic region extending little outwards or backwards. Palate
moderately emarginated.

1. Last molar of upper jaw transverse (with the inner ledge inflated
at its inner angle); sectorial tooth with a single inner cusp.

a. Molars i; first true molar (sectorial) of lower jaw followed by a
second (tubercular) one. Toes short regularly arched, and with the
last phalanges bent up, withdrawing the claws into sheaths.
[Weasels] M USTELIN^E.

6. Molars J-; first true molar (sectorial) of lower jaw only developed.
Toes straight, with the last phalanges and claws extended; the
latter non-retractile. [Honey Badgers] MELLIVORIN^E.

#. Molars 1; last molar of upper jaw enlarged and more or less ex-
tended longitudinally. Toes straight with the last phalanges and
claws extended; the latter non-retractile. [Badgers] MELIN.E.

B. Auditory bulla elongated and extending backward close to the par-
occipital process. Palate moderately emarginated.

1. Last molar of upper jaw transverse; (with the inner ledge nar-
rowed inwards); sectorial tooth with two inner cusps. [Helictis]
HELICTIDIN.E.

C. Auditory bulla inflated, undivided, with the anterior inferior ex-
tremity pointed and commonly united to the prolonged hamular pro-
cess of the pterygoid. Palate moderately emarginated.

1. Last molar of upper jaw transverse; with the inner ledge com-
pressed. [Zorilla] ZORILLI:SLE.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 85

D. Auditory bulla little inflated, transversely constricted behin d the
meatus auditorius externus and thence inwards; in front flattened
forwards; periotic region expanded outwards and backwards. Palate
deeply emarginated.

1. Last molar of upper jaw quadrangular, wide, but with an extended
outer incisorial ledge. [Skunks] MEPHITIN.E.

II. Skull with the cerebral portion swollen backwards and outwards,
and with the rostral portion abbreviated, high and truncated for-
wards, and widened and depressed above; anteorbital foramen en-
larged and produced downwards and backwards. Feet with well-
developed interdigital membrane, and adapted for swimming.

A. Teeth normal, 36 (m , p m |, c , i f x 2): sectorial tooth (p m M
normal efficient, with an expanded inner ledge; the other molars
submustline. Posterior feet with normally long digits. [Otters]

B. Teeth very aberrant, 32 (m , p m |, c |. i | the lower inner incisors
being lost x 2); sectorial tooth (p m f ) def unctionalized as such,
compressed from before backwards; the other molars also with
blunted cusps. Posterior feet with elongated digits. [Sea Otters]
ENHYDRIN^E.

Recognizing the taxonomic value of these sub-families as
diagnosed by Dr. Gill, we may yet admit that for practical
purposes the more artificial and older arrangement has many
practical advantages. According to this, the sub-divisions of
the family are three, founded upon the structure of the foot:
a, plantigrade species the badgers; b, digitigrade species-
the weasels; c, oar-footed species the otters.

Among the badgers we may mention, aside from our own
familiar Taxidea, described beyond, the European badger, Meles
taxus, which inhabits the whole temperate region of the Asiato
-European continent as far as Japan. In form and habits it
resembles its American relative while the East Indian badger
has a longer tail and is different in color, forming the genus
Arctonyx. Mydaus telagon is an animal which seems rather to
connect the badgers with the skunks, both in appearance and
in habits. It is smaller than the badger and has a white dorsal
stripe. It also discharges a foetid fluid from the anal glands
when attacked. Africa possesses several representatives of
the group which likewise are intermediate between the
badgers and skunks. The honey badgers (Mellivora) have
well developed anal glands and the peaceful disposition which
characterizes the skunks, but in form resemble the badger.
For a further discussion of the relations of the two groups,
see the chapter on the Mephitidae.

86 BULLETIN NO. VII.

SUB-FAMILY MELIK M.

THE BADGERS.

We have already given the diagnosis of the sub-family with
sufficient detail for our present purpose and may pass to an ac-
count of the only species of the American genus Taxidea.

GENUS TAXIDEA, WATERHOUSE.

Dentition -|. {-. . =34. Skull expanded behind, the inter-
mastoid diameter nearly equaling the inter-zygomatic. Audi-
tory bullae very much inflated, impinging behind upon the
paroccipitals. Palatals extending half way to the ends of the
pterygoids. Coronoid process of jaw erect, pointed. Anterior
molar below rather small, posterior lower molar bi-tuberculate.
Back upper molar forming a right-angled triangle, with the
hypothenuse directed backward and outward. Limbs short,
fossorial. Body depressed. Tail short, flat. Pelage long
flaccid covering the back like a thatch.

Taxidea americana BAIRD.

PLATE III.
BADGER.

One specimen only of the badger has been seen during the
survey and from its comparative rarity no additional informa-
tion has been gathered. I am therefore forced to draw wholly
from Coues' N. A. Mustelidae, a work so generally accessible
as to render synonomy and exhaustive descriptive matter un-
necessary. The species is distributed throughout the United
States west of Wisconsin, extending farther east in British
America. In Mexico a sub-species T. berlandieri takes its place.
' 'The badger varies greatly in color, as a fortuitous matter of
age, season, or condition of pelage, aside from certain geogra-
phical differences. The variation, however, is mainly in the
relative amounts of the blackish tawny-gray and white which
produce the general grizzle, the pattern of coloration being well
preserved, especially as to the markings of the head. The top
of the head is dark brown or blackish, generally increasing in
.ntensity and purity from the nape to the snout. This dark
area is divided lengthwise by a sharp white or whitish median
stripe, which runs from the snout, or just back of it, to the
nape, where it is generally lost in the grizzle of that part. The

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 87

sides of the extreme muzzle are dark, like the top of the head;
from about opposite the canines the sides of the head and ears
are white, continuous with the white of the chin and throat,
but interrupted by a large dusky patch in front of the ear. The
whole body and tail above are an intimately blended mixture
of blackish with white, hoary gray, and tawny. Owing to the
length and coarseness of the pelage, the museum specimens
present a patchy or streaky appearance. The feet are dark
brown or blackish; the claws are generally light colored, es-
pecially those of the fore feet."

The badger is preeminently fossorial and extremely shy,
being almost as difficult to observe above ground as the pouch-
ed gophers. The true home of the animal is the prairie region
of the upper Missouri, where its holes are said to honey-
comb the earth.

The badger is the determined enemy of the spermophiles
and field mice and feeds on all animal matter afforded. It pos-
sesses itself almost perfect immunity from all enemies but man.
In spite of its retiring habit the badger is no coward, as the
old amusement of badger baiting testifies. Endurance and
great strength are combined with marvelous vitality. The
habits during the breeding season are unknown, there being
three or four young at a birth. Badgers may be trapped by
placing a fox trap at the mouth of the burrow, or by flooding
in early spring.

The animal is, like its European relative, fond of honey
which it is adept in securing. The European species breeds in
October, when the sexes are associated in the same burrow, but
at other times they live the life of hermits. The young, three
to five in number, are born in March and are carefully cared
for by the mother. In northern regions the animal hibernates,
but further south adapts itself to the warmer climate.

BUB-FAMILY MEPHITIN^E.

THE SKUNKS.

This is a comparatively small group confined to America,
where it is represented by two genera, one of which only is
North American while the other is nearly confined to the south-
ern division of the new world. Although seemingly so well
entitled to an exclusive position by the peculiarity through
which they are notorious, the skunks are in many respects

88 BULLETIN NO. VII.

nearly related with the badgers. This does not appear con-
spicuously upon a comparison of the only American species of
that group with Mephitis, but is clear upon examination of cer-
tain intermediate genera of the old world. Such an example is
afforded by the Telagon (Mydaus telagori) of Java, etc. This
animal, although of a brown color, has the peculiar white
marking upon the back characteristic of the skunks. The tail
is, however, even shorter than in the badger's, and is white
tipped. The resemblance to the skunks is farther enhanced
by the fact that they discharge at pleasure a stream of the of-
fensive fluid secreted by the anal glands. This fluid, to judge
from the accounts of observers, must be about as subtile and
powerfully pungent as that of the well known native animal.
Curiously enough the next nearest relatives of the skunk are
found in Africa and India, in the honey badgers (Eatelus).
Two species are known, one of which is native to south and
central Africa (E. capensis), the other occurs in East India.
(The occurrence of members of the same genus in so far dis-
tant and isolated stations, may be incidentally noticed as con-
firmatory evidence of the previous more intimate connection of
the two continents, and the consequent submergence of large
land areas in what is now the Indian ocean.) In Eatelus the
outward appearance (figure 7, No. 7) is badger-like even to the
mantle like covering of long hair on the back. The tail is per-
haps more bushy than in the badger, while the powerful odor
constitutes a remarkable reminder of the skunks proper. The
habits of the entire group, including all the above mentioned
types, seem to be in close conformity, save in so far as the pos-
session of the effective defensive weapon in certain of the ge-
nera renders the animals careless and even adventurous while
the others are among the most reclusive of Carnivora. Of the
anatomy of the exotic species above mentioned, little is known
to substantiate the suggestions made upon the basis of exter-
nal resemblances and physiological similarities. The dentition
of 1, the Zorillinae, also African, is said to be closely allied
to Mephitis. Mydaus, however, accords with that of the true
skunks, while the honey badgers have but 32 teeth, a reduc-
tion of one molar above.

Of the two genera of the Mephitinas proper Conepatus, as
represented by a single very variable species widely distrib-
uted in South America, (if indeed several species are not con-
founded under one name) bears the greatest resemblance to the
badgers. Dr. Coues says (N. A. Mustelidae p. 188): "The

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 89

skunks and badgers agree in many points of external conform-
ation; in fact Conepatus mapurito, one of the skunks is almost
as much of a badger, to all outward appearance."

As regards the one peculiarity of this sub-family without
which a skunk would be no skunk, it may be interesting to
quote again from Dr. Coues (1. c. p. 191): "In contemplating
this singular provision of nature for the protection of an other-
wise inoffensive and almost defenseless creature, we can but
admire the simplicity of the means employed. Some little
further development of glands common to the Mustelidce and
some inscrutable modification of the operations in the secretory
follicles, which gives a peculiar character to the fluid elabor-
ated, results in means of self-preservation as singular as it is
efficacious, habitual reliance upon which changes the economy
of the animal and impresses its whole nature." For a descrip-
tion of the glands see beyond.

The account given by Chatin in the Annalesdes Sciences Natur-
elles, 1874, furnishes us with the following facts regarding the
anatomy of these parts in the South American genus Conepatus:

The glandular part, beginning 33 mm. from the prostrate gland, is
nearly trapezoidal and lies beneath the urethra. It is enveloped in a
thick muscular tunic constituted chiefly by fibres from the ischio-caver-
nous and bulbo-cavernous muscles and about 3 mm. thick. Within these
muscular layers is the glandular portion proper occupying but a limited
part of the surface of the reservoir. The caeca of the follicles, 0.55 mm in
diameter, are of various shapes. The reservoir itself is very large and
covered by a thick tunic of dense, white, laminated tissue and elastic
fibres. Toward the anterior part of the cavity is the inner opening of the
duct. The ducts open outwardly in two papillae situated on either side
the anus, about 9 mm. from the median line. These papillae together
with the anus itself, are hidden by flaps of skin covering the entire de-
pression in which both are found.

The account of Dr. J. S. Parker of the anatomy of the anal
glands of Mephitis being the only one which touches upon the
physical characters of the secretion itself, we transcribe a por-
tion of the article. American Naturalist, 1871, p. 246.

"I examined the cavity of the pelvic bones, without any peculiar result,
and at last detached all except the hard, muscular pouches and the common
fundamental aperture. These I carefully cut loose, and thus reduced
the formidable animal to the last and least parts possible, and they
seemed totally inadequate to explain the well-known effect which this
animal produces. I next boldly severed, longitudinally, the rectum and
anus; nothing was to be seen worthy of remark, except two teat-like pro-
jections in two volcanic or crater-like cavities that seemed suggestive of
what might happen. So I cut away all the remaining superfluous parts

-6

90 BULLETIN NO VII.

and at last had the anal lips, two muscular pouches and the small glands
connected with them. My fortitude here giving out, and it growing
dark, I adjourned the matter to the next day.

When I resumed operations, on the parts now weighing only about two
ounces out of a Mephitis of nine pounds, I had a strip of skin with the
anal lips, the suspicious calices or cones in their cup-like cavities and the
pouches. * * * I began by severing the two muscular pouches and
found no connection between them. Books say 'the animal gives its
peculiar and penetrating odor from two glands situated external to pel vis.'
I found the 'glands' to be clear muscular fibre, with not a particle of
smell, or a trace of any glandular structure. Further to test the matter, I
cut slowly to the middle of the mass of muscular, not glandular, fibres
and came upon a thick, white leathery capsule like the crop of a chicken,
with the source for the contents provided by the little glands about it.
Now, putting on old clothes and sitting to the windward, I cut through
this white capsule; a bright yellow fluid came out and I instantly felt that
'distance would lend enchantment to the view.' But I was not to be
baffled. So I dipped the point of my scalpel in the yellow fluid, put the
tenth or twentieth part of a drop on a glass and covered it with another
strip of glass, and placed it under a power of forty diameters in my
microscope. The appearance was peculiar. It looked like moulten gold,
or like quicksilver of the finest golden color. Pressure on the strips of
glass made it flow like globules of melted gold.

By a power of sixty diameters the same color still appeared, but seemed
as if it would by a higher power resolve itself into globules, with peculiar
markings. -* * * TO the eye, the peculiar and odoriferous secretion of
this animal is of a pale bright glistening yellow, with specks floating in
it. By the microscope it looks like a clear fluid, as water with masses of
gold in it, and the specks like bubbles of air covered with gold, or rather
air in golden sacs. The air I take to be the gas nascent from the golden
fluid. * * * Another thing was a matter of interest. If I correctly
made out the capsule of fluid, the commonly called 'glands' are the mus-
cular tunic enveloping and capable of compressing the reservoir, and their
sole use is to eject the liquid. The teat like projections have one large
orifice fora distant jet of the substance, and also a strainer, with num-
erous holes like the holes in the cones of the human kidney for a near
but diffusive jetting of the matter. The substance is secreted by small
dark glands, of small callibre, connected with the capsule by narrow
ducts."

The technical peculiarities characteristic of the skunks are
here collated.

Skull. Dental formula: i.|:|,c.}:J,pm. i:|,(|;|),m.i:l--H(li)*-34(32);
The variation indicated in the premolar formula occurs in
the genus Conepatus, where the number is usually (but,
according to Coues, not always as once supposed) f :|. A
comparison of the inferior aspect of the skull of Mephitis with
that of Putorius shows that there is no anterior extension of
the orbital space and consequent elongation of the zygomatic
arch. The encroachment on the palatal part of the maxillary

MAMMALS OP MINNESOTA. 91

thus brought about in the weasel causes the great reduction of
the last molar and the apparent revolution of the axis through
90 degrees, so that it stands at right angles to the remainder of
the series. It is this condition of the orbits and zygoma and
the abbreviation of the facial region which finds its extreme in
the weasels which produces, in part at least, the great exten-
sion of the palate in that group ; and the converse condition
in Mephitis produces the effect of a deep emargination of the
palate extending frequently as far as the molars. In most of
the other Mustelidce the palatal bridge extends more than half
way to the pterygoids.

The form of the teeth, as well as their position, differs from
that of the types of the family. The upper incisors are chisel-
shaped and bent backward near the end, while those of the
lower jaw are straight and squarely truncate apically, opposing
the surface thus formed to the oblique edge of the upper teeth.
The lower premolars are small and conical, while the third
upper one is the sectorial. It has, however, a very considerable
development of the salient anterior lobe found even in Putorius
but so highly developed in the badgers that the tooth is as
much a grinder as a sectorial. The upper molar is quadrate,
but wider than long. The lower jaw as a whole differs very
little from that of the Mustelince. The foramina incisiva are
narrow. The posterior nares are separated by a bony septum
almost to the posterior edge of the palate. The pterygoids
are hooked and of moderate size. The zygomatic arch is not
compressed laterally, nor as strongly curved upward as in
the Mustelince. The glenoid fossa is of considerable size and is
well arched behind, yet looks more downward than in the
weasels, although never locked. The auditory bulla lies close
to the post-glenoid prominence, and the meatus opens just
posterior to the zygomatic process of the temporal, in contrast to
that of the Mustelince. The bullae are very little inflated, in this
respect differing greatly from the badgers. The mastoid pro-
cesses are produced and directed forward.

Generic characters of Mephitis.

Teeth, 34 ; formulas : i. f :|. c, }:i, pm. |:|, m. fcf Frontal region
tumid, dorsal outline of skull irregular. Palate not extending
beyond the molar series. Condyle of mandible projecting later-
ally, coronoid process with both margins convex, angle slightly
flaring outward. Soles quite narrow. Tail very long and
bushy. Color black with white dorsal markings.

It is now accepted that there are but two valid species of

92 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Mephitis. The first is the widely distributed and variable
M. mephitica, the second a smaller form made by Coues the
type of a distinct subgenus (Spilogale) with the following
additional characters: "Skull depressed, the dorsal outline
approaching straightness, particularly over the orbits. Zygo-
mata strongly arched upward, highest in the middle. Post-
orbital processes well developed. Mastoid processes slight,
scarcely produced beyond orifice of meatus. Periotic region
peculiarly inflated by development of mastoid sinuses, the
under surface swollen, and giving a quasi appearance of a
second bulla auditoria behind the real one." The characters
of subgenus Mephitis of Coues are the converse of these.

From the Mustelince, as represented by Putorius, Mephitis is
sharply distinguished by the following additional osteological
characters : The bones of the limbs are short, heavy and straight
The scapula is quadrangular, not triangular, and the metacro-
mium less developed. There are but two vertebrae in the sacrum.
The pelvis is broad triangular behind with produced ischiatic
spines. The sternebrae are short. (These are probably family
characters, but lack of material makes it safer to introduce
them here.) For a few other points in the osteology see
under M. mephitica.

Mephitis mephitica.

THE COMMON SKUNK.

Bibliography.

Vivei-ra mephitica SHAW. Mus. Lever., 1792; Gen. Zool., 1800.
Mephitis mephitica BAIRD. Mam. N. A. 1857.

COOPER and SUCKLEY. N. H. W. T., 1860.

HAYDEN. Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., xii, 1862.

SAMUELS. Ninth Ann. Rep. Mass. Agric., 1861, 1862.

GERRARD* Cat. Bones Brit. Mus., 1862.

ALLEN. Bull. M. C.Z., 1 869,1 87 l;Proc. Bost.Soc.,N. H., xiii,
1869; Bull. Essex Inst.,vi, 1874; Proc. Bost. Soc., xvii, 1874.

GILPIN. Proc. and Trans. N. Scotia Inst., 1870.
(?) STEVENS. U. S. Geogr. Surv. Terr., 1870-1871.

PARKER. American Naturalist, 1871.

AMES. Bull. Minn. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1874.

COTJES. Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr., 1875.

COUES and YARROW. Zooi. Expl. W. lOOMerid., 1875.
Mephitis chinga TIEDMANN. Zool., 1808.

LICHTENSTEIN. Darstellung Saugeth., 1827-34; Abhandl.
Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1836-1838.

MAXIMILLIAN. Reise N. A, i, 1839; Archiv. f. Naturge-

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA 93

schicte, 1861; Verz. N. A. Saug., 1862.

WAGNER. Suppl. Schreb. Saug. ii, 1841.

SCHINZ. Syn. i, 1844.

AuDUBONand BACHMAN. Quadrupeds N. A., i, 1849.

GIEBEL. Saugethiere, 1855.

FITZINGER. Naturg. Saugethiere, 1861.

Mephitis americana DESMAREST. Mammals, 1820; Nouv. Diet. xxi.
(?) J. SAB. Append. Franklin's Journal, 1823.

HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825.
(?) GRIFF. An. Kingd. v, 1827.
(?) LESS. Man., 1827.

GODMAN. Am. Nat. Hist., i, 1831.

DOUGHTY'S Cab. Nat. Hist, ii, 1832.

RICHARDSON. Zool., Beechey's Voyage, 1839.

EMMONS. Rep. Quad. Mass., 1840.

DE KAY. New York Zoology, i, 1842.

WYMAN. Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., 1844.

WARREN. Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., iii, 1849.

THOMPSON. Nat. Hist. Vermont, 1853.

WOODHOUSE. Sitgr. Rep., 1853.

KENNICOTT. Trans. Illinois Agric. Soc., 1853-1854.

BEESLEY. Geol. Cape May, 1857.

BILLINGS. Canad. Nat. and Geol., i, 1857.

HALL. Canad. Nat. Geol., vi, 1867.

Mephitis americana var. hudsonica RICHARDSON. Fauna Bor. Amer., i, 1829.
Chincha americana LESSONS. Nouv. Tabl., du regne an. mammifers, 1842.
Mephitis chinche FISCHER. Syn., 1829.
Mephitis varians var. chinga GRAY. Proc. Zool. Soc., 1865.
Chinche SHAW. Mus. Lever., 1792; ST. HILAIRE and CUVIER, Hist. Nat.

Mammifers, 1819.

Mephitic Weasel SHAW. Mus Lever.
Quinsque SAGARD-THEODAT. Histoire du Canada.
Enfan du Diable Charlevoix, N. France, v, 1744.
Polecat KALM. Voy.
Skunk FORSTER. Ace. of Quad. Hud. Bay and in

PENNANT. Arct. Zool., i, 1784.

HEARNE. Journ.

Chinga SCHING. Synop. Mam., 1844.
Monfette d'Amerique AUCT.
Fiskatta (Swedish), Betepuante (French), Stinkthier (German) var. "meso-

melas."
Mephitis mesomelas LICHTENSTEIN. Darstellung Saug., 1827-34, Abhand-

lung Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1836.

MAXIMILLIAN. Reise, 1839; Arch. Naturg., xxvii, 1861;

Verzeichniss, N. A. Saug., 1862.

SCHINZ. Synopsis Mammal., 1844-5.

ST. HILAIRE. Zool. Voy. Venus, i, 1855.

BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857.

Mephitis mesomtles GERRARD. Cat. Bones, Brit. Mus., 1862.
Mephitis occidentalis BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857.

NEWBERRY. Pacific R. R. Rep.,vi, 1857.

COOPER and SUCKLEY. Nat. Hist. W. T., 1860.

94 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Mephitis mephitica, var. occidentalis MERRIAM. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr., 1872.
Mephitis varians, var. a, GRAY. Proc. Zool. Soc., 1865.
Mephitis varians GRAY. Mag. Nat. Hist., i; List Mammals Brit. Mus.,
1843; Proc. Zool. Soc., 1865; Cat. Carniv. Brit. Mus., 1869.

BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857; Mexican Boundary Surv., ii, 1859.

GERRARD. Cat. Bones Brit. Mus., 1862.
Mephitis macroura ATJDUBON AND BACHMAN. Q. N. A., iii, 1853.

WOODHOUSE. Sitgreaves' Rep., 1853.

Descriptive and Biographical:

In this case, as well as generally where species of the Mus-
telidce are concerned, our account can be little more than an
abridgement of the excellent and exhaustive treatment found
in Coues' Fur-bearing Animals, in which all the prior accounts
are accompanied by the results of the author's studies of all
the material collected by the various officers of the national
scientific departments.

As Minnesota is credited with but one (quite sufficient) rep-
resentative of the sub-family Mephitince, the reader is referred
to the statements under that head for the more general facts
relating to this animal.

This well known animal may be described as the incense-
bearer of the sylvan deities, and yet the odor of sanctity
which clings to the sable and ermine of its vestures suggests
that those deities belong in the theogony of Pluto. The ton-
sure is represented by a band of white extending to the fore-
head, and the phylacteries are of snowy whiteness and are folded
back to decorate the shoulders. The train is usually white and
of plumy delicacy. In consonance with his priestly robes the
demeanor is sedate and devoid of any impetuousness. What-
ever unpleasantness may occur he never betrays alarm or incer-
titude, but pursues his way with the same quiet and unostenta-
tious dignity. Seriously, but for the unpleasant nature of the
secretion of the anal glands (which secretion, however, is char
acteristic of mink, weasels and the Mustelidce in general, as
well as many rodents), the skunk would be an interesting and
even a useful animal, forming a valuable auxiliary to the gar-
dener if not to the poultryman. Relying upon his unsavory
reputation, this animal is far less wary than most small mam-
mals, and being but partially nocturnal, may often be seen,
where abundant, in daytime ambling quietly along in search of
insects, worms, small mammals, such as mice, etc. , which form
the staple articles of his diet. The appearance of man ordinarily
causes him to scarcely accelerate his pace or turn from his

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 95

course. Every country boy has had his more or less mem-
orable encounter with the animal in question. A sort of legen-
dary terror adds imagined danger to such escapades, for in
reality one has but to behave as composedly as the Mephitis
certainly will, to escape discomfiture. If it be really necessary
to remove such a neighbor, it is easy to take him in a trap set
at the mouth of the burrow, though it then becomes a question
how to dispose of the prize. A well directed charge of shot is
perhaps the surest way to avoid unpleasant consequences.
When taken in a trap, however, a skillful person can safely
administer a quietus with a staff, by striking, upon the head,
especially if the foot is placed upon the tail. A properly con-
structed' "deadfall" is a convenient way of at once trapping
and killing the animal. If, for any reason, firearms are un-
available, the animal when trapped may be disposed of as sug-
gested by C. L. Whitman in The Forest and Stream, 1876.

"My favorite method of dealing with them is as follows:
With a tough annealed No. 15 or 16 iron wire I form a slip-,
noose about five inches in diameter and a standing loop of two
inches on the other, and a space of five inches between. The
loop is attached to the smaller end of a light, stiff pole of eight
or ten feet in length. With this firmly grasped in both hands,
I slowly and carefully approach, and slip the noose over his
head, and with a quick jerk backwards and upwards, lift him
as high as the chain of the trap will allow, and thus hold him
until he is strangled. ... If the jerk upward has not been
adroitly made, the wire may not draw as tight as it ought ; in
which case a discharge of the pungent odor will usually f ollow s
but in this perpendicular position the discharge descends
directly downwards, so that if the attack has been made from
the windward, as it ought, there is no danger. The approach
is sometimes resented at first, but the gradual arching of the
tail gives timely warning, and a careful retreat is necessary
for a moment. The second or third attempt is successful. The
animal by that time recovers from the alarm, and at most will
merely sniff the air in your direction. With this device I have
destroyed many hundred during the past thirty years, and do
not recollect an instance where I bore any of the odor about
me, except I had inadvertently trod upon dirt that was defiled."

We pass to description of the external appearance and color-
ation. The coloration is the point which first attracts atten-
tion, and is sufficiently characteristic that there need never be
any hesitation in referring the animal to this genus. The

96 BULLETIN NO. Til.

coarse, flaccid pelage is chiefly deep lustreless black relieved
with areas of the most plumy white. Although Dr. Coues is
inclined to doubt even the varietal value of the distinction made
by previous authors, it seems certain that in given localities
the pattern of coloration is quite constant. Strictly speaking,
all the skunks which we have collected belong to the Mephites
mesomelas of Lichenstein. In this variety, the coloration of
which, as Dr. Coues admits, is normal in the west, there is a
cuneiform or elongated and distinct white frontal spot and a
broad conspicuous nuchal patch separated from the former by
a very black band between the ears. A distinct black stripe,
beginning back of the shoulders, separates the rather broad
lateral bands of white which converge to a union anterior to the
root of the tail, which is entirely white, dor sally and apically,
with, however, a broad black band underneath. The same
pattern is seen in two-thirds grown young of the year as in the
parent female, but there is a preponderance of white in the
former. The soles are not hairy in summer, but doubtless
become so in winter. The elevating of that point to a chief
specific character, as is done by Baird in the Mammals of N. A.,
seems amusing.

Comparing the coloration of our animal with that of other
varieties, we find in the eastern United States the white areas
are greatly restricted. However, great variations occur. The
frontal stripe may nearly disappear, or may merge with the
muchal area ; the lateral lines may be distinct, or may extend
part way upon the tail or unite anteriorly. The tail may be
nearly or quite black, but more frequently marked with white,
especially terminally. Even when apparently black the base
of many of the hairs is white. The white elongated hairs of
the tail are of a different texture from the remainder of the
pelage. Indeed the tail entirely lacks the under fur found
elsewhere. Toward the south the amount of white is reduced
along with the size of the animal.

Next to the color the elongated and very bushy tail is the
most conspicuous external character separating Mephitis from
its allies. In some cases, as in that represented in plate 102 of
Audubon, the long hairs spread in all directions when elevated,
so that the member has been aptly likened to the plumes of a
pompon.

The short legs and plantigrade walk give a peculiar mincing
character to the gait. The nose is elongated, and forms the
acute apex of the conical head. The eye is small and oblique.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 97

The ear is low and nearly hidden in the fur. The back part of
the animal is very large comparatively, as though for the sup-
port of the tail. The toes are very short, especially on the
anterior extremities. The claws in front are rather large.

Although the skunk is so confident in nature's provision for
its defense, its reliance is at times misplaced, for it sometimes
falls a victim to its temerity. The fox, particularly, manages
to destroy and make a meal of it. Owls and large hawks also
sometimes feed upon them. The skunk hibernates partially in
northern latitudes, but it is said wakens periodically to empty
its reservoirs.

Dr. Merriam, whose extended experience with the animal in
question makes him excellent authority upon it, gives the fol-
lowing interesting particulars concerning the skunk in domes
tication :*

* ' Skunks, particularly when young, make very pretty pets,
being attractive in appearance, gentle in disposition, interest-
ing in manners, and cleanly in habits rare qualities indeed !
They are playful, sometimes mischievous, and manifest consid-
erable affection for those who have care of them. I have had,
at different times, ten skunks in confinement. They were all
quite young, measuring from 100 to 150 mm. (approximately 4
to 7 in.) only in length, when first taken. Some were dug out
of their holes, and the rest caught in box traps. Two were so
young that they could walk but a few steps at a time, and had
to be brought up on milk, being fed with a spoon. The others
ate meat and insects from the start. From some of them I re-
moved the scent bags, but the greater number were left in a
state of nature. None ever emitted any odor, although a
couple of them, when half grown, used to assume a painfully
suggestive attitude on the too near approach of strangers so
suggestive, indeed, that their visitors commonly beat a hasty
retreat. These same skunks, when I came within reach, would
climb up my legs and get into my arms. They liked to be
caressed, and never offered to bite. Others that I have had
did not show the aversion to strangers evinced by this pair, and
I believe the difference to be due to the way in which they are
brought up. If accustomed to the presence of a number of
people they are familiar and friendly toward all; while if kept
where they habitually see but one or two persons they will not
permit a stranger to touch them.

*Mammals of the Adirondack Region, p. 73.

98 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Two summers ago I was the happy master of the cleverest
young skunk that I have thus far chanced to meet. For a
name he received the title of his genus, and we called him
* Meph. ' for short. By way of precaution, I removed his scent
sacs, and he made a rapid and complete recovery, after a few
days of temporary indisposition. While driving about the
country, in the performance of professional duties, he usually
slept in my pocket. After supper I commonly took a walk, and
he always followed close at my heels. If I chanced to walk too
fast for him, he would scold and stamp with his fore-feet, and
if j I persisted in keeping too far ahead, would turn about dis-
gusted, and make off in an opposite direction, but if I stopped
and called him, he would hurry along at a sort of ambling
pace, and soon overtake me. He was particularly fond of
ladies, and I think it was the dress that attracted him ; but be
that as it may, he would invariably leave me to follow any lady
that chanced to come near. We used to walk through the
woods to a large meadow that abounded in grasshoppers.
Here 'Meph.' would fairly revel in his favorite food, and it was,
rich sport to watch his manoeuvres. When a grasshopper
jumped he jumped, and I have seen him with as many as three
in his mouth and two under his fore-paws at one time ! He
would eat so many that his over - extended belly actually
dragged upon the. ground, and, when so full that he could hold
no more, would still catch and slay them. When so small that
he could hardly toddle about he never hesitated to tackle the
large and powerful beetle known as the horned bug, and got
many smart nips for his audacity. But he was a courageous
little fellow and it was not long before he learned to handle
them with impunity. Ere many weeks he ventured to attack a
mouse, and the ferocity displayed in its destruction was truly
astonishing. He devoured the entire body of his victim, and
growled and stamped his feet if any one came near before the
repast was over."

P. 421 Carver's Travels :

4 ' THE SKUNK. This is the most extraordinary animal that
the American woods produce. It lives chiefly in the woods
and hedges. But its extraordinary powers are only shewn
when it is pursued. As soon as he finds himself in danger he
ejects to a great distance a small stream of water of so subtile
a nature, and at the same time of so powerful a smell, that the
air is tainted with it for half a mile in circumference. On this

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 99

account he is called by the French, Enfant du Diable, the Child
of the devil, or Bete Puante, the Stinking Beast. This water
is supposed by naturalists to be its urine, but I have dissected
many of them that I have shot, and have found within their
bellies, near the urinal vessels, a small receptacle of water
totally distinct from the bladder. After having taken out with
great care the bag wherein this water is lodged, I have fre-
quently fed on them, and have found them very sweet and
good."

GENUS GULO, STORR. (Wolverenes.)*

(Fig. 6 [3].)

This genus contains but a single species of very wide range
in both hemispheres. The largest North American represent-
ative of the weasel family (Mustelidoe). Form clumsy, some-
what bear-like, pelage shaggy, gait partly plantigrade. The
tail is bushy and rather short. The claws are curved and
large. The skull is particularly massive, and its spinous
development is great. The dentition is as in the martens
(Mustela) |:}:f:i=38. The anterior molar below is the sectorial
but lacks the internal cusp. Mastoids and bullse prominent.

There are seven cervical vertibraB, fifteen dorsal, five lumbar,
three sacral, and about fifteen caudals.

There are well developed anal glands affording an offensive
odor. Circumpolar. Name from Latin gulo, a glutton, in
allusion to the voracity of the animal.

Gulo borealis NILSSON.

THE WOLVERENE.

Mustela gulo LINNAEUS, GUNN, HOUTTON, etc.

Ursus gulo SCHREBBR, Sseugethiere, 1778; ZIMMERMANN, Geog. Gesch.,
1780; GMELIN, SHAW, CUVIER, etc.

Meles gulo PALLAS, Spic. Zool., 1780.

Taxus gulo TIEDEMANN, Zool., 1808.

Gulo borealis NILSSON, Ilium. B^ig. till Skan. Fn.; RETZ., CUVIER, WAG-
NER, KEYSOR and BLASIUS, SCHINZ, BLASIUS, BRANDT,
GRAY, VOGT, etc.

Gulo sibiricus PALLAS.

Gulo arcticus DESMAREST, LESSON, FISCHER, GIEBEL, FITZINGBR, etc.

Gulo vulgans GRIFFITH, SMITH, etc.

Ursus luscus LINN^US, Systema Naturae ; ERXLEBEN, SCHREBER, ZiM-
MERMANN, GMELTN, SHAW, TlJRTON.

* Our account is chiefly a compilation from the exhaustive article of Dr. Ooues in
the Monograph of North American Mustelidae.

100 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Gulo luscus SABINE, Franklin's Journal, 1823 ; RICHAKDSON, FISCHER,
GODMAN, Ross, SMITH, DEKAY, GRAY, AUD. and BACH.,
THOMPSON, BAIRD, BILLINGS, MAXIMILLIAN, GERRARD,
COUES, DALL, ALLEN, MERRIMAN ; most recent American
authors.

'Gulo wolverine GRIFFITH. Animal Kingdom, 1827.

The wolverene is a stout heavy animal about two feet and
one- half long, exclusive of the bushy tail, which measures
about one foot. The form resembles both that of a bear cub
and of a hyena. To the former the resemblance is borne out
by the nearly plantigrade walk, while the sloping back and
shagginess might suggest the latter, as do its habits. The
palms and soles are densely covered with fur, except the small
pads. The color is dark brownish black, darkest on the back.
The sides are lighter, the color being greyish or yellowish.
At the top of the head and in front of the ears is a grey or
whitish area, and there are also light spots on the throat as
in the martens.

Dr. Coues has favored us with a full historical account of the
animal, from which the following quotations are made: "The
written history of the Glutton or Wolverene, dates from an
early period in the sixteenth century, when the animal is men-
tioned by several writers in much the same extravagant terms.
The first appearance of the animal in literature is said by Von
Martens to have been in 1532, at the hands of Mechow, a phys-
ician of Cracow, in the work De Sarmatia Asiana et Europcea.
* * * Endorsed for two centuries by various writers, each
more or less authoritative in his own times, and, moreover,
appealing strongly to the love of the marvellous, the current
fables took strong root and grew apace, flourishing like all

'ill weeds,' and choking sober accounts the general picture

impressed upon the susceptible mind of that period being that
of a ravenous monster of insatiate voracity, matchless strength
and supernatural cunning, a terror to all other beasts, the

blood-thirsty master of the forest. We read how the

Glutton, too clumsy and tardy of foot to overtake large rumi-
nants, betakes itself to the trees beneath which they may pass,
and there crouches in wait for its victim ; it drops like a bolt
upon the unsuspecting elk, moose, reindeer, and fastening with
claws and teeth, sucks the blood, and destroys them as they
run. That nothing may be left undone to ensure success, the
animal has the wit to throw down moss or lichens to attract its
prey, and to employ the friendly services of foxes to drive the

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 101

quarry beneath the fatal spot. We may remember also

that the history of the Wolverene is mixed, in some cases, with
that of other animals, some of whose habits have been attribu-
ted to it. Thus Charlevoix speaks of the ' Carcajou or Quinca-
jou, a kind of cat,' evidently, however, having the Cougar
(Felis concolor) in view, as appears from the rest of his remarks."
The name "Carcajou" appears in Carver's Travels (p. 420), and
as the animal purports to be found in Minnesota, it may be in-
teresting to quote the paragraph in full :

" THE CARCAJOU. This creature, which is of the cat kind,,
is a terrible enemy to the preceding four species of beasts.
He either comes upon them from some concealment unper-
ceived, or climbs up into a tree, and taking his station in some
of the branches, waits till one of them, driven by an extreme
of heat or cold, takes shelter under it, when he fastens upon
his neck, and opening the jugular vein, soon brings his prey to
the ground. This he is enabled to do by his long tail, with
which he encircles the body of his adversary ; and the only
means they have to shun their fate, is by flying immediately to-
the water. By this method, as the Carcajou has a great dislike
to that element, he is sometimes got rid of before he can effect
his purpose."

In this case the reference can only be to the puma, though
partly fabulous. The single species of Gulo is circumpolar,
and abounds to far north, Its southern limit is about 40 in
suitable locations, although only a few instances are known of
its occurrence so far south. In Minnesota I have no informa-
tion of the animal, although it must have once existed here.
In Europe this animal once ranged (as proven by quarternary
remains) as far south as the Alps and Pyrenees, but is now re-
stricted to the polar regions. In Asia the range is considerably
greater. The wolverene is not strictly nocturnal, but, where
abundant, may be encountered at any time of day or night, and
in all seasons. He preys on small animals, and will even
attack young caribou and deer. But the taste is not discrimi-
nating, everything being eaten which chance may throw in the
way; even carrion is not rejected in case of need. The great
stories told of his voracity constitute the bulk of the history of
the animal, but he seems to be particularly characterized by
marvelous cunning and endurance. The marten trapper often
finds a skillful and inveterate energy in this large member of
the marten family. A line of traps is visited as assiduously by
the glutton as by the owner, and with disastrous results, for

102 BULLETIN NO. VII.

the traps are destroyed and hidden, and the bait devoured or
cached. According to northern explorers the animal is a victim
of a senseless kleptomania, not contenting itself in confiscating
everything it can devour, but stealing and secreting all articles
it is able to carry. It may be itself trapped in a dead-fall"or
steel- trap of large size, but great skill is required to outwit the
animal.

The wolverene brings forth four or five young, in secluded
caverns or hollow logs, in June or July, and the female is said
to be very fierce and even dangerous while guarding the young.
The sense of smell is the best developed of the senses, the
vision being particularly unreliable ; which may give rise to
the habit with which it is credited, of shading its eyes with its
paw when looking at a distance.

GENUS MUSTELA, LINN.

This genus, including the martens, differs in many respects
from the glutton, and connects that animal with the slender
weasels. The dental formulas are identical, I :}:f :i==38, and dif-
fer from that of Putoris in having one more premolar above
and below. The skull is much less massive and more tapering
than in Gulo. The rostral portion is elongated. The frontal
profile is concave. There are seven cervical vertebrae, sixteen
dorsals, six lumbar, three sacral, and eighteen to twenty cau-
dal. The form is stout and somewhat cat-like or fox-like; size
moderate that of a cat; progression digitigrade; fur dense and
valuable; habit arboreal and terrestrial. Although many vari-
eties are known to furriers, zoologically but four, or at most
five, species can be recognized. The true sable is M. zibellina,
closely allied to which is M. martes, the common European spe-
cies. The house marten, M. foina, is of a greyer color, and
has a longer tail than the above. Our own M. americana, or
marten, closely resembles the M. martes, while the fisher is
widely different. The following table of differentia may prove
useful.

M.pennanti (Fischer). Length 2 feet or more, tail over 1 foot, tapering;

ears wide, semi-circular ; color blackish, darkest below ; no

light throat-patch.
M. americana. Length under 2 feet; tail less than 1 foot, uniformly

bushy ; ears high, triangular ; color brownish, darker above,

usually with a lighter patch on the throat.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 103

Mustela pennant! ERXL.

PEKAN OR FISHER.

Mustela canadensis SCHBEBER, etc.

Maries canadensis GRAY.

Viverra canadensis SHAW.

Viverra piscator SHAW.

Mustela melanorhyncfia BODDAERT, etc.

Mustela nigra TURT.

Mustela godmani FISCHER.

The general aspect of the fisher is much like that of the fox,
hence it is often popularly called "black fox." A full grown
animal measures about 46 inches, the tail being 16 inches long.
It is thus much larger than our other Mustelidce, and is rela-
tively much stouter and more compactly framed. The head is
six inches long, the eye being two inches from the end of the
muzzle. The ear is twice as broad as long, and is one inch high.
The feet are broad and flat, furred on both sides, and armed
with curved, compressed claws. The hind foot is 4-5 inches
long. The tail is bushy and conical, and the fur is coarser
tfian in the martens. The color is exceedingly variable, con-
sisting of black and dark brown below, and greyish brown or
reddish above. The belly, legs and tail are often black, though
the breast is sometimes white spotted.

The name fisher is quite inappropriate, as the animal is not
aquatic, but is said to have a feline repugnance to that element.
Neither does it feed on fish, but pursues squirrels and other
small quadrupeds.

Richardson says: " The Pekan is a larger and stronger ani-
mal than any variety of the Pine Marten, but has similar man-
ners, climbing trees with facility, and preying principally
upon mice. It lives in the woods, preferring damp places in
the vicinity of water, in which respects it differs from the Mar-
ten, which is generally found in the dryest spots of pine forests.
The fisher is said to prey on frogs in the summer season, but I
have been informed that its favorite food is the Canada porcu-
pine, which it kills by biting on the belly. It brings forth once
a year, from two to four young. "

The pekan is distributed from ocean to ocean, in wooded
regions north of 35, but its southern limit has been greatly
altered by the inroads of the trapper. It is still reasonably
abundant in the northern parts of our state.

This animal is stated to attack and destroy so large and
powerful a creature as the raccoon . Sir John Richardson

104 BULLETIN NO. VII.

states that "its favorite food is the Canada porcupine, which
it kills by biting in the belly." Other writers have questioned
the truth of this statement, but it has recently received addi-
tional verification. Mr. Merriam writes: "During a recent
visit to the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, I was in-
formed, both by an agent of the Hudson Bay Company and by
the trappers themselves, that porcupines constitute a large
and important element in the food supply of the Pekan. Mr.
Nap. A. Corneau, of Godbout, who secured for me a large and
handsome male of this species, tells me that its intestine con-
tained hundreds of porcupine quills, arranged in clusters, like
so many packages of needles, throughout its length. In no
case had a single quill penetrated the mucous lining of the in-
testine, but they were apparently passing along its interior as
smoothly and surely as if within a tube of glass or metal. Mr.
Corneau did not discover a quill in any of the abdominal vis-
cera, or anywhere in the abdominal cavity, excepting as above
stated; a great many, however, were found imbedded in the
muscles of the head, chest, back and legs, and it was remark-
able that their presence gave rise to no irritation, no products
of inflammation being found in their vicinity. In examining
the partially cleaned skeleton of this specimen, I find some of
the quills in the deep muscles and ligaments about the joints.
A knee, in particular, shows several in its immediate neighbor
hood."

The nest is made in a hollow tree, generally thirty or forty
feet from the ground, and two to four young are brought forth
about the first of May.

" They are agile and muscular animals, jumping from tree to
tree like a squirrel, clearing a distance of forty feet in a
descending leap, never failing of a secure grip." Corporal
Lot Warfield, quoted by Merriam.

Mustela americana TURTON.

AMERICAN SABLE OR MARTEN.

Mustela martes FORSTER, SABINE, HARLAN, EMMONS, AUD. and BACHMAN,

BILLINGS, KENNICOTT, etc.
Mustela americana TURTON, BAIRD, COUES, etc.
Martes americana GRAY.
Mustela zibellina var. americana BRANDT.
Mustela vulpina RAFINESQUE.
Mustela leucopus KUHL.
Mustela huro F. OUVIER.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 105

The body of the Marten is equal to that of a small cat, the
entire length being about 30 inches, the tail measuring 12.
The legs are short and strong. The tail is bushy and full
toward the end, in contrast to the pekan. The head is broadly
triangular and cat-like, the eyes being oblique and situated half
way from snout to ears, which latter are high and rather pointed.
The soles are furred, and the pelage throughout is dense, soft,
and full. The color is brown of various shades, ranging from
almost orange to nearly black, the latter being most valuable.
On the throat there is a patch of yellowish or tawny, while the
whole under surface is lighter than the upper. The fur is full
from the end of October to the beginning of May. Toward the
end of summer, after the moult, a fine short fur appears re-
sembling that of a mink ; it gradually lengthens as winter ap-
proaches, and is considered prime after the first snow fall.

The American animal agrees with the European M. martes so
closely in external appearance as to make it impossible to dis-
cover distinctive features, but the osteological features are said
to be well marked. It is probably otherwise with M. zebellina,
the true sable, which cannot at present be distinguished. The
four species are certainly very closely allied, and show the
martens to be of recent origin.

In the Bui of the U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey,
vol. II, No. 4, Mr. J. A. Allen summarizes a large number of
facts illustrating the geographical variation in this species, yet
concludes that the three species, foina, americana and martes,
are sufficiently distinct.

The rocky, woody district on the north shore of lake Superior
and the national boundary is noted for its valuable black mar-
tens. The northern limit coincides with that of the forests.

' ' Sable are ordinarily captured in wooden traps of very
simple construction, made on the spot. The traps are a little
enclosure of stakes and brush in which the bait is placed upon
a trigger, with a short upright stick supporting a log of wood ;
the animal is shut off from the bait in any but the desired direc-
tion, and the log falls upon the victim with the slightest
disturbance. A line of such traps, several to the mile, often
extends many miles. The bait is any kind of meat, a mouse,
squirrel, piece of fish, or bird's head. One of the greatest
obstacles that the sable hunter has to contend with, in many
localities, is the persistent destruction of his traps by the
wolverine and pekan, both of which display great cunning

106 BULLETIN NO. VII

and perseverance in following up his line to eat the bait, and
even the sables themselves may be captured. I have accounts
from Hudson's Bay trappers of a sable road fifty miles long,
containing 150 traps, every one of which was destroyed through-
out the whole line twice once by a wolf, and once by a wolverine.
The marten is exceedingly shy, and never ventures into human
enclosures; nevertheless, when captured, it makes a rather
amiable pet and has little of the offensive odor of the family."

GENUS PUTORIUS.

Dental formula: i, I; c, 1; pm. |; m, |x2=34. Sectorial of lower
jaw without an internal cusp. Skull flat, rostral portion short
and turgid. Zygomatic arch usually not higher behind than in
front. Periotic region, bullae, etc , little inflated.

The body is usually very slender and lithe, the head short
and fierce, with orbicular ears. The legs are short and stout,
the tail uniformly terete. The genus is divided into four
sections : Gale (ermines and weasles), Cynomyonax (American
ferret), Putorius (ferrets), and Luireota (minks). The Amer-
ican ferret is confined to the central plateau. The ferrets
proper are stout-bodied forms confined to the Old World, thus
leaving two of the groups to be considered.

The weasels proper are grouped under Gale, and have the
following characters: The skull is smooth, with no sagittal
crest. Frontal profile strongly convex and declivous. Ptery-
goids with small hamular processes, or none. Bullae auditorise
nicked at end by orifice of meatus. Skull moderately abruptly
constricted near the middle ; post orbital processes slight.
Small animals of slender, serpentine form, of terrestrial habit.
Most northern species become white in winter. We have in
Minnesota two species.

Putorius vulgaris ALDROV.
LESSER WEASEL.

(FIG. 8B.-OOMMON ERMINE WEASEL.)

Mustela vulgaris, Earlier authors generally.

Fcetorius vulgaris KEYSOR and BLASIUS.

Mustela gale PALLAS.

Mustela nivalis FORSTER.

Mustela pusilla DEKAY.

Putorius pusillus AUDUBON.

Putorius cicognani RICHARDSON.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

107

This species is circumpolar and is equally distributed in the
New and Old World. In general it does not approach the poles
as nearly as the ermine, but extends rather farther south.
This species seems to have been domesticated as a mouser in
Greece prior to the introduction of cats.

This species differs from the ermine in its smaller size. The
length varies, eight inches being the maximum length of body,
the tail about two and a half. The tail is almost always with-
out the black terminal portion so characteristic of the larger
species. The northern specimens turn white in winter, but in
southern Minnesota probably not. But a single specimen was %
collected during the survey, and the notes upon this are in-
complete.

Fig. 8. A. Putorius ermtnea (Ermine or White Weasel).
B. Putorius vulgaris (common Weasel).

Although only relatively rare it is far from well known. Its
food is mice, insects, eggs and young birds. It is said to climb
readily in search of nests. When a mouse is introduced into
the cage containing a weasel, says Bell: ''It instantly issued
from its box, and in a moment, one single bite on the head
pierced the brain, and laid the mouse dead without a struggle

108 BULLETIN NO. VII.

or a cry. I have observed that when a weazel seizes a
small animal, at the instant when the fatal bite is inflicted, it
throws its long, lithe body over its prey, so as to secure it,
should the first bite fail. The power which the weasel has of
bending the head at right angles with the long and flexible
neck gives it a great advantage." In pursuing a rat or mouse,
it depends upon the sense of smell, and follows them with
equal ease when out of sight, readily recovering the lost track.
It is said that it even takes to the water in pursuit of its prey.
Although the weasel may itself fall a victim to birds of prey,
instances are known when the unequal contest" has been carried
on in the air, and the sharp tooth of the weasel has brought to
the ground its winged captor. Four or five young are produced,
there being two litters annually. A hollow tree or hole in
a bank, well lined with leaves, forms the nest. The mother
defends her young to the last extremity.

Putorius erminea LINN.

ERMINE, OR WHITE WEASEL
(PLATE XV, FiaS. 1-15. See ante.)

Mustela erminea, Earlier authors.

Putorius noviboracensis DeKAY, etc. (var. cicognani.)

Mustela cicognani BONAPARTE.

Putorius cicognani BAIRD, etc.

Putorius richardsoni RICHARDSON, BAIRD.

Mustela fusca AUD.

Putorius agilis AUD.

Putorius kanei BAIRD.

We accept unhesitatingly the identification of our species
with that of Europe, and incline to regard the P. longicaudata
as in the same category. This whole question has been so
thoroughly discussed by Coues and Allen that it need not be
reopened.

Every one is familiar with the cylindrical serpentine form,
the flattened head notably shorter than the neck. As Coues
says, * 'the eyes are rather small, situated midway between the
nose and ears ; they glitter with changing hues, and contribute
with the low forhead and protruding canine teeth, to a pecu-
liarly sinister and ferocious physiognomy. In northern regions
the whole sole is furred, but elsewhere the pads appear."

In summer the upper parts are a uniform brown, varying
from very dark umber to a yellowish gray, the line of demark

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 109

ation from the white of the lower parts is quite sharp. Only
the end of the tail is black. The white of the under parts
is suffused with a sulphury tint. The winter pelage is white,
unbroken except by the black tip of the tail and the yellow
suffusion. The change is a gradual one, and consists of a
gradual substitution of white for the darker color, usually by
gradual encroachment from below, leaving a constantly nar-
rower dorsal band. Sometimes, however, the substitution goes
on over the entire dorsal region simultaneously. Dr. Coues
considers that the change is effected in either of two ways:
Either the renewal of the pelage by the outgrowth of hairs of a
different color, or the change of the hairs after their formation,
cold being the conditioning circumstance in either case. We
may be permitted to doubt that the question is satisfactorily
settled. Two important purposes are subserved by the change,
the animal is screened from observation and thus protected
from its foes and rendered more successful in the chase, and
the white color makes the pelage a less perfect conductor of the
animal heat.

The Latin name Puiorius, refers to the odor which is derived
.from the secretion of the anal glands, and is only less persist-
ent and offensive than in the skunk.

The always pleasing pen of Mr. Wm. MacGillivray has fur-
nished us with the following general account of the habits of
the Stoat as observed in Great Britain: "It appears that in
England generally the Ermine is less common than the Wea-
sel; but in Scotland, even to the south of the Frith of Forth, it
is certainly of more frequent occurrence than that species; and
for one Weasel I have seen at least five or six Ermines. It
frequents stony places and thickets, among which it finds a
secure retreat, as its agility enables it to outstrip even a dog
in a short race, and the slimness of its body allows it to enter
a very small aperture. Patches of furze, in particular, afford
it perfect security, and it sometimes takes possession of a
rabbit's burrow. It preys on game and other birds, from the
grouse and ptarmigan downwards, sometimes attacks poultry
or sucks their eggs, and is a determined enemy to rats and
moles. Young rabbits and hares frequently become victims to
its rapacity, and even full grown individuals are sometimes
destroyed by it. Although in general it does not appear to
hunt by scent, yet it has been seen to trace its prey like a dog,
following its track with certainty. Its motions are elegant,
and its appearance extremely animated. It moves by leaping

110 BULLETIN NO. VII.

or bounding, and is capable of running with great speed,
although it seldom trusts itself beyond the immediate vicinity
of cover. Under the excitement of pursuit, however, its cour-
age is surprising, for it will attack, seize by the throat and
cling to a grouse, hare or other animal, strong enough to carry
it off; and it does not hesitate on ocasion to betake itself to
the water. Sometimes, when met with in a thicket or stony
place, it will stand and gaze upon the intruder, as if conscious
of security; and, although its boldness has been exaggerated
in the popular stories which have made their way into books
of natural history, it cannot be denied that, in proportion to
its size, it is at least as courageous as the tiger or the lion."

With a mind preoccupied in contemplation of the exploits of
the chase of great Carnivora those grand exhibitions of pred-
atory instincts on the part of some of the strongest beasts,
one is apt to overlook, or at least to underestimate, the compara-
tive prowess of some lesser animals. Doubtless, the entomolo-
gist would give instances of equal courage and perseverance
in pursuit of prey, of vastly greater comparative strength and
skill in its capture, and superior destructiveness. Probably
the great mass of insect-eating animals an immense and
varied host are in no whit behind in this respect. And in
nothing the instincts and predacious habits of the Weasels and
Stoats, we observe that, to grant them only equal courage and
equal comparative prowess, we must nevertheless accede to
them a wider and more searching range of active operations
against a greater variety of objects, more persevering and
more enduring powers of chase, and a higher grade of pure
destructiveness, taking more life than is necessary for immedi-
ate wants. The great cats are mainly restricted each to partic-
ular sources of food supply, which they secure by particular
modes of attack; and, their hunger satisfied, they -quietly
await another call of nature. Not so, however, with the Wea-
sels. No animal or bird, below a certain maximum of strength,
or other means of self-defence, is safe from their ruthless and
relentless pursuit. The enemy assails them not only upon the
ground, but under it, and on trees, and in the water. Swift
and sure-footed, he makes open chase and runs down his prey;
keen of scent, he tracks them, and makes the fatal spring
upon them unawares; lithe and of extraordinary slenderness
of body, he follows the smaller through the intricacies of their
hidden abodes, and kills them in their homes. And if he does
not kill for the simple love of taking life, in gratification of

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA 111

superlative bloodthirstiness, he at any rate kills instinctively
more than he can possibly require for his support. I know not
where to find a parallel among the larger Carnivora. Yet once
more, which one of the larger animals will defend itself or its
young at such enormous odds? A glance at the physiognomy
of the Weasels would suffice to betray their character. The
teeth are almost of the highest known raptorial character; the
jaws are worked by enormous masses of muscles covering all
the side of the skull. The forehead is low, and the nose is
sharp; the eyes are small, penetrating, cunning; and glitter
with an angry green light. There is something peculiar, more-
over, in the way that this fierce face surmounts a body extraor-
dinarily wiry, lithe, and muscular. It ends a remarkably long
and slender neck in such way that it may be held at right
angle with the axis of the latter. When the creature is glan-
cing around, with the neck stretched up, and flat triangular
head bent forward, swaying from one side to the other, we
catch the likeness in a moment it is the image of a serpent.

In further illustration of the character of the Stoat, I con-
tinue with an extract from Audubon, which represents nearly
all that has appeared to the point in this country:

"Graceful in form, rapid in his movements, and of untiring
industry, he is withal a brave and fearless little fellow; con-
scious of security within the windings of his retreat among the
logs, or heap of stones, he permits us to approach him within
a few feet, then suddenly withdraws his head; we remain still
for a moment, and he once more returns to his post of observa-
tion, watching curiously our every motion; seeming willing to
claim association so long as we abstain from becoming his per-
secutor.

"Yet with all these external attractions, this little Weasel
is fierce and bloodthirsty, possessing an intuitive propensity
to destroy every animal and bird within its reach, some of
which, such as the American rabbit, the ruffed grouse and
domestic fowl, are ten times its own size. It is a notorious
and hated depredator of the poultry house, and we have
known forty well-grown fowls to have been killed in one
night by a single Ermine. Satiated with the blood of proba-
bly a single fowl, the rest, like the flock slaughtered by the
wolf in the sheepfold, were destroyed in obedience to a law of
nature, an instinctive propensity to kill. We have traced the
footsteps of this bloodsucking little animal on the snow, pur-
suing the trail of the American rabbit, and although it could

112 BULLETIN NO. VII.

not overtake its prey by superior speed, yet the timid hare
soon took refuge in the hollow of a tree, or in a hole dug by
the Marmot, or Skunk. Thither it was pursued by the Ermine
and destroyed, the skin and other remains at the mouth of the
burrow bearing evidence of the fact. We observed an Ermine,
after having captured a hare of the above species, first behead
it and then drag the body some twenty yards over the fresh
fallen snow, beneath which it was concealed, and the snow
lightly pressed down over it; the little prowler displaying
thereby a habit of which we became aware for the first time
on that occasion. To avoid a do g that was in close pursuit, it
mounted a tree and laid itself flat on a limb about twenty feet
from the ground, from which it was finally shot. We have
ascertained by successful experiments, repeated more than a
hundred times, that the Ermine can be employed, in the man-
ner of the Ferret of Europe, in driving our American rabbit
from the burrow into which it has retreated. In one instance
the Ermine employed had been captured only a few days be-
fore, and its canine teeth were filed in order to prevent its
destroying the rabbit; a cord was placed around its neck to
secure its return. It pursued the hare through all the wind-
ings of its burrow, and forced it to the mouth, where it could
be taken in a net, or by the hand. In winter, after a snow
storm, the ruffed grouse has a habit of plunging into the loose
snow, where it remains at times for one or two days. In this
passive state the Ermine sometimes detects and destroys it.

"Notwithstanding all these mischieveous and destructive
habits, it is doubtful whether the Ermine is not rather a bene-
factor than an enemy to the farmer, ridding his granaries and
fields of many depredators on the products of his labour, that
would devour ten times the value of the poultry and eggs
which, at long and uncertain intervals, it occasionally destroys.
A mission appears to have been assigned it by Providence to
lessen the rapidly multiplying number of mice of various spe-
cies and the smaller rodentia.

"The White-footed Mouse is destructive to the grains in the
wheat fields and in the stacks, as well as the nurseries of fruit-
trees. Le Conte's Pine Mouse is injurious to the Irish and
sweet potato crops, causing more to rot by nibbling holes in
them than it consumes, and Wilson's Meadow-mouse lessens
our annual product of hay by feeding on the grasses, and by its
long and tortuous galleries among their roots.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 113

' / ' ' {

"Whenever an Ermine has taken up its residence, the mice
in its vicinity for half a mile around have been found rapidly
to diminish in number. Their active little enemy is able to
force its thin vermiform body into the burrows, it follows them
to the end of their galleries, and destroys whole families. We
have on several occasions, after a light snow, followed the trail
of this Weasel through fields and meadows, and witnessed the
immense destruction which it occasioned in a single night. It
enters every hole under stumps, logs, stone heaps and fences,
and evidences of its bloody deeds are seen in the mutilated re-
mains of the mice scattered on the snow. The little Chipping
or Ground Squirrel, Tamias Lysteri [sc. striatus~\ takes up its
residence in the vicinity of the grain fields and is know to carry
off in its cheek pouches vast quantities of wheat and buckwheat,
to serve as winter stores The Ermine instinctively discovers
these snug retreats, and in the space of a few minutes destroys
a whole family of these beautiful little Tamice; without even
resting awhile until it has consumed its now abundant food, its
appetite craving for more blood, as if impelled by an irresistible
destiny, it proceeds in search of other objects on which it may
glut its insatiable vampire-like thirst. The Norway rat and the
Common House Mouse take possession of our barns, wheat stacks,
and granaries, and destroy vast quantities of grain. In some in-
stances the farmer is reluctantly compelled to pay even more
than a tithe in contributions towards the support of these pests.
Let however an Ermine find its way into these barns and gran-
aries, and there take up its winter residence, and the havoc
which is made among the rats and mice will soon be observa-
ble. The Ermine pursues them to their farthest retreats, and
in a few weeks the premises are entirely free from their depre-
dations. We once placed a half domesticated Ermine in an out-
house infested- with rats, shutting up the holes on the outside
to prevent their escape. The little animal soon commenced his
work of destruction. The squeaking of the rats was heard
throughout the day. In the evening, it came out licking its
mouth, and seemed like a hound after a long chase, much fa-
tigued . A board of the floor was raised to enable us to ascer-
tain the result of our experiment, and an immense number of
rats were observed, which, although they had been killed in
different parts of the building, had been dragged together, form
ing a compact heap.

' 'The Ermine is then of immense benefit to the farmer. We
are of the opinion that it has been over-hated and too indis

114 BULLETIN NO. VII.

criminately persecuted. If detected in the poultry house, there
is some excuse for destroying it, as, like the dog that has once
been caught in the sheepfold, it may return to commit further
depredations; but when it has taken up its residence under stone
heaps and fences, in his fields, or his barn, the farmer would
consult his interest by suffering it to remain, as by thus invit-
ing it to a home, it will probably destroy more formidable ene-
mies, relieve him from many petty annoyances, and save him
many a bushel of grain. "

The same author, alluding to the Weasel's want of shyness,
and its ready capture in any kind of trap, continues with a
matter that may next interest us its relative abundance in
different localities: "This species does not appear to be very
abundant anywhere. We have seldom found more than two or
three on any farm in the Northern or Eastern States. We have
ascertained that the immense number of tracks often seen in the
snow in particular localities were made by a single animal, as
by capturing one, no signs of other individuals were afterwards
seen. We have observed it most abundant in stony regions;
in Dutchess and Ontario counties in New York, on the hills of
Connecticut and Vermont, and at the foot of the Alleghanies
in Pennsylvania and Virginia. It is solitary in its habits, as
we have seldom seen a pair together except in the rutting season.
A family of young, however, are apt to remain in the same
locality until autumn. In winter they separate, and we are
inclined to think they do not hunt in couples or in packs
like the wolf, but that, like the bat and the mink, each indi-
vidual pursues its prey without copartnership, and hunts for
its own benefit." In Massachusetts, according to Allen, it is
comparatively common. I myself saw none in Labrador during
my summer visit; but it must be quite abundant, to judge from
the number of skins I saw in possession of the natives at various
places. According to Richardson, ''Ermine-skins formed part
of the Canada exports in the time of Charlevoix; but they have
so sunk in value, that they are said not to repay the Hudson's
Bay Company the expense of collecting them, and very few are
brought to the country from that quarter." Nevertheless, it
would appear that the Ermine is much more abundant in British
America generally than it is in the United States. Over three-
fourths of the large miscellaneous collection of skins we have
examined in the preparation of this article came from this coun-
try and from Alaska. The writer last mentioned speaks of it
as "common", and adds that it often domesticates itself in the

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 115

houses of the fur traders, where it may be heard the live -long
night pursuing the white-footed mouse. Up to a certain limit of
latitude it would appear to increase in numbers to the north-
ward. The abundance of an Ermine, either the present or suc-
ceeding species, on the Missouri is attested by the regalia of
ceremony of some of the Indian tribes picturesque constumes
decorated with the tails, in rude imitation of royal fashion.

Like a majority of thoroughly predacious animals, the Ermine
is somewhat nocturnal; that is to say, it is active and success-
ful in the dark. Nevertheless, it is too often abroad in the day-
time, either in sport or on the chase, to warrant our reckoning
it among the truly nocturnal Carnivores. In the choice and
construction of its retreats we see little evidence of burrowing
instincts, or, indeed, of any considerable fossorial capacity. It
retreats beneath stone heaps, under logs and stumps, in hol-
lows of trees, and also in true underground burrows, though
these, it should be observed, are usually those made by Rodents
or other burrowers whom it has driven off or destroyed. Nev-
ertheless, there is evidence that the animal sometimes digs.
Thus Captain Lyon, as rendered by Richardson, states, that he
observed a curious kind of burrow made by Ermines in the snow,
"which was pushed up in the same manner as the tracks of
moles through the earth in England. These passages run in a
serpentine direction, and near the hole or dweling place the
circles are multiplied, as if to render the approach more intri-
cate." Audubon has a passage of similar effect: "We have
frequently observed where it had made long gallleries in the
deep snow for twenty or thirty yards, and thus in going from
one burrow to another, instead of travelling over the surface, it
had constructed for itself a kind of tunnel beneath."

Accounts of different writers indicate a great variation in the
number of young produced at a birth from two to twelve. We
may safely assume that these unusual extremes, the aver-
age litter being five or six. As in case of the Mink, the rutting
season is early; in the United States, during a part of Febru-
ary and March. Young have been noted, toward the southern
extreme of the range of the species, before the end of March;
but most are produced in May or late in April. Without defi-
nite information respecting the period of gestation, we may sur-
mise this to be about six or seven weeks. Information is also
wanting of the length of time that the young nurse or require
to have food brought them by the parents.

116 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Of the mental characteristics of the ermine much has been
written. In spite of its innocent appearance the little animal
is probably the most bloodthirsty and blindly ferocious of our
Garni vora. The following account, kindly furnished me by
Dr. T. S. Roberts, illustrates the blind fury with which it re-
sents interference :

"Going to a place on a small island in Lake of the Isles
where had been left on the 12th inst. , the skinned bodies of six
muskrats, it was found that they had all disappeared. While
standing near the spot the white head of a weasel appeared at a
hole under the roots of a small oak tree close by. It soon with-
drew again, and a steel trap was set at the entrance to the bur-
row. Presently it appeared at a second opening near by. Here
-a second trap was set. The weasel would come to the entrance,
look out and go back again, passing and repassing with great
agility over the trap without springing it. On walking away
some distance and looking back the weasel was seen out of his
retreat, and making violent efforts to drag the muskrat into his
hole. On approaching again he tore away at the body furi-
ously, but was forced to leave it. He seemed of a very irritable
disposition, as he would tear and bite in the most insane man-
ner at sticks and roots in the entrance of the hole, as if in
a great rage. Once he appeared at the entrance and seizing one
of the jaws of the trap tried to drag the whole down with him.
At last, in a more than usually precipitate retreat over the
trap he sprung it, and was a prisoner. He was as fierce as any
large animal, and showed great fight."

Dr. Merriam says : "I once put a very large rat into a square
tin cage with a weasel of this species. The rat had been caught
in a steel trap by the toes of one of its hind feet, and was in no
way injured. He was very ugly, biting fiercely at the trap and
the stick with which I assisted him into the cage of the weasel.
No sooner had he entered the cage than his whole manner and
bearing changed. He immediately assumed an attitude of
abject terror, and trembled from head to foot, and crawled into
the nearest corner. The weasel advanced toward him at once,
and as he did so the rat raised on his hind legs, letting his fore
paws hang helplessly over his breast, and squealed piteously.
not only did he show no disposition to fight, but offered no re-
sistance whatever, and did not even attempt to defend himself
when molested. The weasel did not seize him at first, but
cuffed him with his fore paws, and drove him from one corner
of the cage to another, glaring at him continuously. Then,

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 117

with a sudden move, he sprang upon his victim, already par-
alyzed with fear, laid open the back of the head with a single
bite, ate the brains, and left the quivering carcass untouched."

In connection with the above vivid picture of the effect pro-
duced upon its victims by the appearance of the weasel, we-
may quote from Coues a passage showing how his aspect
affects a more dispassionate and unbiassed observer:

" A glance at the physiognomy of the weasels would suffice
to betray their character. The teeth are almost of the highest
raptorial character ; the jaws are worked by enormous masses
of muscles covering all the sides of the skull. The forehead is.
low, and the nose is sharp; the eyes are small, penetrating,
cunning, and glitter with an angry green light. There is
something peculiar, moreover, in the way that this fierce head
surmounts a body extraordinarily wiry, lithe and muscular.
It ends in a remarkably long and slender neck, in such a way
that it may be held at a right angle with the axis of the latter-
When the creature is glancing around, with the neck stretched
up, and the fiat triangular head bent forward, swaying from
one side to the other, we catch the likeness in a moment it is
the image of a serpent."

(?) Putorius longicaudata BON APART.

LONG-TAILED WEASEL.

This species is noticed by Dr. Coues from Minnesota, though
we have never seen it. The only external differences between
this and the Ermine are the greater length of the tail (f - f as
long as head and body) the terminal black portion of which is
reduced, and the substitution of a salmon for a sulphur yellow
on the under parts. The habitat is said to be the Upper Mis
souri region. It would seem that a geographical variety or
race is as high a distinction as the form deserves. In addition
to the above external differences, it is true, the skull is said to
be much wider half as long as wide, the anteorbital foramen
smaller, the upper posterior premolars inclined forward.

The species occupies the burrows of the Richardson's sper-
mophile.

118 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Putorius vison BRISSON.

MINK.

(PLATE XVIII.)

Mustela vison, Earlier writers.

Lutra vison SHAW.

Putorius vison. Modern writers.

Mustela lutreola FORSTER, SABINE, etc.

Vison lutreola GRAY.

Mustela canadensis ERXLEBEN, etc.

Mustela winingus BARTON.

Mustela minx TURTON.

Mustela lutreocephala HARLAN.

In size and external appearance the mink approaches the
martens. The tail is bushy rather than cylindrical, but the
head is triangular and flat like the weasels. The ear is very
small. The fur is composed of a soft, dense under fur inter-
mingled with long stiff shining hairs. The color is brown of
various shades, from dark chocolate to yellowish. A broad
dorsal area is darkest. The chin is white, and there may be
other blotches of white on the under parts which are otherwise
little lighter than the upper surface. As indicating the aquatic
habit, the toes are webbed at the bases. The mink is distrib-
uted over N. America everywhere in suitable locations. Our
species differs from the European P. lutreola in a few insignifi-
cant osteological points only.

Coincidentally with the aquatic habitat, the food of the
Mink is somewhat modified, in comparison with that of the
Jand species of the genus. It is probably our only species
which feeds habitually upon reptiles, fish, molluscs, and crusta-
ceansmore particularly upon frogs, fresh-water bivalves,
crawfish, and the like. Nevertheless, it is not confined to
such diet, but shows its relationships with the terrestrial Wea-
sels in a wide range of the same articles of diet as the latter
secure. It is said to prey upon Muskrats a statement I have
no hesitation in believing, though I cannot personally attest it.
A recent writer,* in an article which I would quote were it
written in a style suited to the present connection, narrates an
incident which may be here briefly related, as showing that
the Mink is a formidable enemy of the Muskrat, though yield-
ing to the latter in weight. Whilst snipe-hunting on a marshy
island below the Kickapoo Rapids of the Illinois River, the

*M. A. Howell, jr. "The trapper not the only enemy of the Muskrat." Forest and
Stream of Dec. 21, 1876.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 119

writer noticed an object, which appeared like a ball some six
or eight inches in diameter, rolling toward the water; and
soon ascertained that it was a Mink and a Muskrat clinched
together, and so completely covered with mud as not to have
been at first recognized. At his approach, the Mink released
its hold and make its escape; but the Muskrat was already
dying of severe wounds in the head and neck, from which the
blood was flowing profusely. The Muskrat had evidently been
captured and overcome in fair fight by broad daylight, and the
Mink would have devoured its victim had not the hunter inter-
fered. It is also destructive to our native rats and mice the
Arvicolas, Hesperomys, Sigmodon, and Neotoma; it is known to
capture Rabbits, especially the Lepus palustris, its associate in
many marshy or swampy tracts; while its not infrequent vis-
its to the poultry-yard have gained for it the hearty ill-will of
the farmer. Various marsh -inhabiting birds are enumerated
in the list of its prey, among them the rails and several
smaller species; and we may presume that it does not spare
their eggs. But most birds are removed from its attack; for the
Mink is not a climber, at least to any extent. In respect to poul-
try, its destructiveness seems to result rather from the regularly
repeated visits of an animal that has located in the vicinity
than the wholesale slaughtering sometimes accomplished by the
Ermine. According to those who have excellent opportunity of
judging, the Mink does not as a rule kill more than it eats.
Still, the opposite case has been recorded. Its modes of hunt-
ing offer nothing peculiar. Like the Weasel and Stoat, it has
been known to pursue its prey by scent.

The Mink often annoys hunters by stealing the game they
have shot before they have an opportunity of bagging it. An
incident related by a recent anonymous writer in "Forest and
Stream" is in point, and furthermore illustrates the wonderful
energy and perseverance sometimes displayed by the Mink in
securing its food. Speaking of a duck-shooting excursion,
during which some of the birds that had- been killed were not
recovered till next day, the writer goes onto say: "The first
spot which claimed attention, was where our 'hen mallard'
had 'struck hard pan.' Here was a sight! feathers and blood
marked the scene of a terrific struggle for what remained of a
duck's life. Here, for at least ten feet in circuit, the snow,
grass and twigs, were whipped into a confused mass, here and
there besprinkled with blood, and quite as often decorated
with feathers; then there was a trail, leading directly to the

120 BULLETIN NO. VII.

river bank, and out upon the ice; the trail thence proceeded
up the bank of the river on the ice for about half a mile, when
it disappeared directly in line of a hole in the bank, where we
discovered the bird half buried, head foremost, into a hole
about one-half the size of the body, frozen stiff. When discov-
ered we worked, not without difficulty, at the extrication of the
bird. It required all our force to draw it out, when, as it broke
from its fastenings, two large Minks suddenly appeared, and
darted back into their retreat, the last we saw of the varmints
after a half hour of close watching. The ground along the
shore was rough, covered with heavy grass, brush, drift wood,
and many willows. Here the natural obstacles precluded the
possibility of such a trip by land, and the little piece of engi-
neering practiced by this one Mink, in capturing and convey-
ing home its prize, was truly marvellous. That there was but
one Mink, the trail bore direct evidence throughout its entire
length from the scene of the struggle. As we followed the line,
we could easily trace the wide trail of the mallard, as it was
dragged bodily along over the fresh snow, and the deep pene-
tration of its claws into the new ice, spoke volumes of the force
exerted by that small animal in the completion of so severe
an undertaking, and the excessive amount of Mink poiver ex-
pended in the completion of a successful foraging expedition.
Here and there thoughout the line of trail were frequent halt-
ing places, where our Mink had stopped for a rest. Every
time there appeared numerous tracks around the body of its
victim, as though pleased to inspect its trophy before the next
heat, and then as the distance shortened, the strokes of its tail
at regular intervals of march, marked upon the snow upon either
side of the trail the determined intention of the animal to go
through with its meat before it was too cold to squeeze into a
small space, where the sharp frost would soon fix it perma-
nently. When drawn out, we found that a couple of 'square
meals' had been made from the head, neck and breast, and
enough left for several days to come."

This account of the Mink's theft called forth shortly afterward
in the same paper the following instance of its stealing fish; the
editor, Mr. Charles Hallock, remarking that he had known
Minks to carry off fish weighing no less than twelve pounds :
"We were spending our vacation in the woods of Maine, fish-
ing, and traveling about for a good time in general, One day we
came across an old dam made to flood a piece, of lowland. As
this looked like a good place to fish we stopped, seated our-

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 121

selves upon the edge of the dam, and east in our line. The
fish were quite plenty, and as fast as we caught one we threw
it behind us upon the scaffolding. After a dozen or so had
been caught, I thought I would light my pipe, pick up the fish
and put them in the shade, and I started to do so. I accom
plished the first object, but upon looking for the fish I could
not find a single one. I thought that my chum must have re-
moved them, and was playing a joke upon me, but on mention-
ing it to him he was as much surprised as I was. They could
not have fallen through the cracks, or leaped over the side
without our knowing it. Where were they? That was the
question. He returned to fish, and I seated myself upon the
bank to digest the subject. Presently he caught another fish
and threw it upon the boards. Immediately I saw a Mink run
out from a hole near by, snatch the fish and carry it off. This
explained the mysterious disappearance of the others."

The movements of the Mink on land, though sufficiently
active, lack something of the extraordinary agility displayed
by the more lithe and slender-bodied Weasels, as a conse-
quence of the build of its body; while, for the same reason, it
does not pursue the smaller animals into their extensive under-
ground retreats, nor so habitually prowl about stone heaps
and similar recesses. It is altogether a more openly aggres-
sive marauder, though not less persistent and courageous in
its attacks. It appears to be more perfectly at home in the
water, where it swims with exactly the motions of an Otter,
and in fact appears like a small specimen of that kind. It
swims with most of the body submerged perhaps only the
end of the nose exposed and progresses under water with per-
fect ease, remaining long without coming to the surface to
breathe. This may be partly the reason of its long survival
under the pressure of a deadfall.

The Mink is not properly a migratory animal. In most sec-
tions it remains permanently where it takes up its abode. In
others, however, it may be forced to remove at times, owing to
scarcity or failure of its food-supply, such as may ensue from
the freezing of the waters in northern parts. Under such cir-
cumstances, it may perform extensive journeys overland. Trap-
pers have indeed spoken to me of a ''running" time with the
Minks, but I cannot satisfy myself that reference is here had
to anything more than periods of sexual activity, when the ani-
mals are hunting mates. I do not think that whatever "migra-
tion" may take place is anything more than casual.
-8

122 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The rutting season begins early generally February and
April is for the most part the month of reproduction, Five or
six young are ordinarily produced at a birth. Litters have been
found in the hollow of a log, as well as in the customary bur-
rows.

The Mink has been frequently tamed, and is said to become,
with due care, perfectly gentle and tractable, though liable to
sudden fits of anger, when no one is safe from its teeth. With-
out showing special affection, it seems fond of being caressed,
and may ordinarily be handled with perfect impunity. The
following account of the semi-domestication of Minks on an
extensive scale will be read with interest, not alone for its
novelty, but also because it gives some precise information
respecting the reproduction of the species.

"Minkeries."

The Mink appears to be the only species of its genus which
has been systematically reared and trained for ratting in this
country as the Ferret is in Europe. The relationship of the two
animals at once suggests the feasibility of an experiment which
has been tried with complete success, as we learn from an in-
teresting article lately published in "Forest and Stream" (Oc-
tober 22, 1874 apparently taken from "Fancier's Journal and
Poultry Exchange" of October 15, 1874). I reproduce the pas-
sage in substance.

Mr. H. Resseque, of Verona, Oneida County, N. Y. , has fre-
quently exhibited at fairs two tame female Minks, which he
hands to the by-standers to be caressed and passed from one
to another. The animals were perfectly gentle, submitting to
be handled, but it was noticed that they kept their eyes on their
keeper, to whom they would frequently extend their paws like
a child wishing to be taken to its parent. Seven years ago,
Mr. Resseque came in possession of a live wild Mink, and through
her progeny his stock has on some occasions amounted to ninety
individuals, besides the numerous specimens disposed of. At
the late Albany County fair, his "minkery" was one of the novel
features.

Mr. Resseque's minkery consists of twelve stalls, each twelve
feet square, of stale soil, and surrounded with a fence and some
special precautions to prevent the escape of the animals. In
each stall is placed a dry-goods' box for the home of the female;
it has two openings for ingress and egress, opposite each other,
besides a door on top to allow of inspection and cleaning. The

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 123

animals are fed on sound, fresh meat, as they do not relish
tainted flesh. In summer it is given to them daily, but in cold
weather a large quantity is thrown in at once and allowed to
freeze, the Minks helping themselves at pleasure. In February,
their allowance is shortened, to get them into condition for
breeding. Mr. Resseque claims that this slight degree of fast-
ing makes them more lively and playful, and it is a part of his
plan to imitate nature as closely as possible their supply of
food, in the wild state, being restricted at this season.

In the minkery, the sexes are not allowed to run together ex-
cept during the month of March, which is considered the run-
ning season in a state of nature. If allowed together for a
longer period, the male teases and annoys the female. At this
time, the males fight desperately, and if not soon separated one
always gets the mastery. The females come in heat with great
regularity, all being ready for the male within ten days; and the
period of excitement lasts about four days. One male serves
six females. The females reproduce when one year old. The
duration of gestation scarcely varies twelve hours from six
weeks. There is but one litter annually. The litters run from
three to ten in number; the young are born blind, and remain
so for five weeks. When newly born, they are light-colored,
hairless, and about the size and shape of a little finger. By
the time the eyes are open, they are covered with a beautiful
coat of glossy hair. The young females develop sooner than
the males, attaining their stature in ten months, while the males
are not full-grown until they are a year and a half old. It is
noted that in every litter one or the other sex predominates in
numbers, there being rarely half of them males and the other
half females. If taken in hand when their eyes are first open,
they are readily tamed; they should not subsequently be al-
lowed to remain with the mother or in each other's society. By
continual petting and handling, they become like domestic rat-
ters, and have all the playfulness of the young of the feline
tribe. They may be handled, without fear of their sharp teeth,
but they prove extremely mischievous, their scent leading them
to food not intended for them. Their fondness for bathing will
prompt them to enter a tea-kettle or any open vessel; and when
wetted they will roll and dry themselves in a basket of clothes
fresh from the laundry, or even upon a lady's dress, occasion -
ing much inconvenience.

Minks are not burrowing animals in a state of nature, but
freely avail themselves of the holes of Muskrats and other ver-

124 BULLETIN NO. VII.

min. They cannot climb a smooth surface, but ascend readily
where there is roughness enough for a nail hold. The grown
male will weigh about two pounds; the female is heavier than
she looks, averaging between one and a half and one and three -
fourths pounds. These tame Minks make excellent ratters,
hunt vigorously, and soon exterminate the troublesome pests.
Rats will make off on scenting them, they are so bewildered
in flight that they give no battle, but yield at once; and the
Mink severs the main vessels of the neck so quickly and skil-
fully that an observer would scarcely imagine the deed had
been done.

When wild Minks are confined with the tame ones, the latter
always prove stronger than the former, and come off victorious
in the contests that ensue. They have been observed to beat
off a cat that imprudently invaded the minkery in quest of food.
So completely domesticated are the animals that a person may
enter the inclosure with impunity, and observe the animals
playing about him like kittens.

Mr. Resseque states that he finds ready sale for his Minks
in fact, that he cannot supply the demand. His prices are $30
per pair $20 for a female, $10 for a male, and $25 for an im-
pregnated female. It is to be hoped that this novel branch of
industry will be perpetuated and extended. There are plenty
of Minks in this country, the services of which are available
without difficulty for the purpose of destroying vermin, and in
the aggregate their good services would have a very decidedly
appreciable result. They have a great advantage over terrier
dogs in being able to enter any ordinary rat-hole and drive their
prey from its hidden resorts.

From the "Forest and Stream" of July 2, 1874, the following
article is extracted in further illustration of this branch of
industry :

"Messrs. Phillips & Woodcock, of Cancadea, New York,
commenced two years ago the business of breeding Mink for
their fur. A correspondent of the Buffalo Express describes
the 'Minkery' in the following terms:

" 'The "Minkery," designed to accommodate one hundred
Minks for breeding, consists first of an enclosure about forty feet
square, made by digging a trench one foot deep, laying a plank at
the bottom, and from the outer edge starting the wall, which
consists of boards four feet high, with a board to cap the top,
projecting upward eight or ten inches to prevent their climbing
over. Within this enclosure is a building 14 by 24, supplied by

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 125

running water, from which the Mink catch living fish, that are
often furnished, with the greatest delight.

" 'The building is constructed by an alley three feet wide
around its circumference. Within are two rows of cells four
feet deep and two and a half wide, each having a door venti-
lated at the top and bottom with wire screens, as is also the front
entrance, what the proprietors call the anteroom, four by four
feet, which must be fastened within every time the building is
entered, to prevent the escape of the imprisoned animals. On
entering the main hall, which the Minks have access to (when
not rearing their young), they present a very playful group.

" 'The person feeding them is often mounted, for their food
and their tenacity of hold is so strong that they may be drawn
about or lifted without releasing their hold upon the food. The
nest of the female is very peculiarly constructed with grass,
leaves, or straw, with a lining of her own fur so firmly com-
pacted together as to be with difficulty torn in pieces. The
aperture leading to the nest is a round opening, just sufficient
to admit the dam, and is provided with a deflected curtain,
which covers the entrance and effectually secures her against
all invasion when she is within. About the middle of March
the females are separated from the males until the young are
reared. The necessity for this arises from the fact that the
males seem inclined to brood the young almost as much as the
dam, when both are permitted to remain together.

" 'The expense of feeding these animals is almost nominal,
being supplied pretty much entirely from the usual offal of a
farm yard, with occasional woodchucks and game in general.
They eat this food with equal avidity after decomposition has
taken place, devouring every particle of flesh, cartilage, and the
bones. The flesh and bones entire of the woodchuck are con-
sumed often at a single meal. While the expense of keeping
is thus trivial, the profitable yield of the animal is compara-
tively immense, it being considered a moderate estimate or
claim that the Mink with her increase will equal the avails of a
cow.'"

We find in Audubon and Bachman several paragraphs upon
the same subject, which will be transcribed: "The Mink, when
taken young, becomes very gentle, and forms a strong attach-
ment (?) to those who fondle it in a state of domestication.
Richardson saw one in the possession of a Canadian woman,
that passed the day in her pocket, looking out occasionally
when its attention was roused by any unusual noise. We had

126 BULLETIN NO. VII.

in our possession a pet of this kind for eighteen months; it
regularly made a visit to an adjoining fish pond both morning
and evening, and returned to the house of its own accord, where
it continued during the remainder of the day. It waged war
against the Norway rats which had their domicile in the dam
that formed the fish-pond, and it caught the frogs which had
taken possession of its banks. We did not perceive that it
captured many fish, and it never attacked the poultry. It was
on good terms with the dogs and cats, and molested no one
unless its tail or foot was accidentally trod upon, when it inva-
riably revenged itself by snapping at the foot of the offender.
It was rather dull at midday, but very active and playful in the
morning and evening and at night. It never emitted its dis-
agreeable odour except when it had received a sudden and
severe hurt. It was fond of squatting in the chimney corner,
and formed a particular attachment to an armchair in our study.

"The latter end of February or the beginning of March, in
the latitude of Albany, N. Y., is the rutting season of the Mink.
At this period the ground is usually still covered with snow,
but the male is notwithstanding very restless, and his tracks
may everywhere be traced, along ponds, among the slabs around
sawmills, and along nearly every stream of water. He seems
to keep on foot all day as well as through the whole night.
Having for several days in succession observed a number of
Minks on the ice hurrying up and down a millpond, where we
had not observed any during the whole winter, we took a
position near a place which we had seen them pass, in order to
procure some of them. We shot six in the course of the morn-
ing, and ascertained that they were all large and old males. As
we did not find a single female in a week, whilst we obtained
a great number of males, we came to the conclusion that the
females, during this period, remain in their burrows. About
the latter end of April the young are produced. We saw six
young dug from a hole in the bank of a Carolina rice field; on
another occasion we found five enclosed in a large nest situated
on a small island in the marshes of Ashley river. In the State
of New York, we saw five taken from a hollow log, and we are
inclined to set down that as the average number of young the
species brings forth at a time."

The following extract from a letter from Dr. T. S. Roberts,
gives a vivid account of an episode in the life of the mink :

"Passing through a tamarack swamp, December 7th, 1877, I
came upon a trail in the snow made apparently by the body of

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 127

some small animal while being dragged along. My curiosity
being aroused, I followed it a short distance out from among
the tamaracks into the bushy meadow adjoining. Here I came
upon a place where the snow had been beaten down in a circular
spot, the weeds and bushes having been lashed about evi-
dently the scene of an encounter of some kind. Going a
few steps farther, I found there were now two tracks, one
made by a rabbit in full run, and the other by some small
animal, evidently a mink. The pursuit had been a hot one,
and the mink had showed his cunning by keeping a little to one
side of the rabbit that he might take advantage of any curve or
turn made by the latter. Having learned this much, I turned
about and followed the trail made by the body of the captured
rabbit. Straight into the middle of the tamarack swamp it
went, to a small stream flowing in a narrow, ditch-like channel-
Here on the frozen stream I found the rabbit dragged into
a narrow place between the banks of the ditch. It was the
little grey rabbit (Lepus sylvaticus). A round hole just back of
the ear on the left side, showed how the life blood had been
drawn.

Near this creek I noticed other places where this mink had
been chasing rabbits, but without success. A short distance
up the creek I found where another rabbit had been dragged
into the ditch, but it was not frozen here, and the body could
not be found."

The following observations given by Prof. C L. Webster*
may serve to give some insight into the domestic habits of the
mink. Opportunities for such observation are, unfortunately,
exceedingly rare in all the fur-bearing animals, and the present
case may serve as a foil to the less pleasant picture afforded by
Dr. Roberts, of the disposition of another member of the same
group :

' ' While engaged in geological work on the Cedar river, near
Osage, Iowa, my attention was attracted by the peculiar actions
of a mink (Putorius visori). By careful maneuvering we were en-
abled to approach to within a short distance of where it was en-
gaged, and there watch its behavior unobserved. It was an old
mother mink engaged in fishing for her young. On the ripples
in the centre of the stream, where the water was not more
than two feet in depth, was a flat drift boulder rising a few
inches above the surface. On this rock the mother mink would
take her position and here watch for small fish to approach,

*Am. Naturalist. March,-1889, p. 176.

128 . BULLETIN NO. VII.

when she would dive into the water, be gone for a moment and
then reappear on the opposite side of the rock, usually with a
fish in her mouth, which she would deposit in the centre of the
stone, and its struggles instantly stop by a quick, sharp bite
back of the head, which caused immediate death. This process
was repeated without intermission, except to stop for an instant
to shake the water from her furry coat, until seven fish, vary-
ing from four to seven inches in length, were deposited upon
the rock. Then, without stopping to rest, taking one fish in
her mouth, she plunged into the stream and swam ashore,
climbed up the steep bank and ran hastily to her young, in a
burrow under an old stump on the bank of the stream, fifty
yards away. In a moment she was seen returning, plunged
into the stream and swam to the rock, took a second fish in her
mouth, entered the river once more, and returned to her young
as at first. This was repeated until all the fish had been carried
away. A few moments after having removed the last fish, she
returned and began her work once more. This time, however,
her labors were without result; so, shifting her position to an-
other rock in the stream a short distance away, she continued
her fishing. But, although more than a quarter of an hour was
spent in energetic effort, her labors were without avail, and
she was this time compelled to return to her young empty
handed."

"From the bank of the stream, where egress from the water
was made, to the burrow, fifty yards distant, a well beaten path
had been formed by the mother mink in her daily excursions in
quest of food for her young."

SUBFAMILY LUTRINJE.

THE OTTERS.

Several closely allied subgenera of aquatic Mustelidce con.
stitute this group, which is represented in most parts of the
earth, but in North America by but a single species. The
elongated body is supported on very short limbs. The neck is
not as long as in the weasels, and the tail is tapering and flat-
tened. The dentition is highly carnivorous, i. |, c. }, p m. |,
m. \ x 2=36. In the genus Lutra the skull is much depressed
and flattened on top, the dorsal outline being nearly straight.
The rostral portion is short. The palate extends beyond the
molars, anteorbital foramen very large. The pterygoids are
hamular.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 129

Lutra canadensis Guv.

OTTER.

(Plate XIX.)

Lutra canadensis most earlier writers.

Latax canadensis GRAY.

Lutra hudsonica F. Cuv.

Lutra lataxina F. Cuv.

Lataxina mollis GRAY.

Lutra calif ornica BAIRD.

Coues gives the following diagnostic points: ''Orbits well
defined by prominent conical postorbital processes, the distance
between the tips of which is one-half or more of the intermas-
toid width of the skull. Inner depressed moiety of posterior
upper premolar as large and nearly as long as the main outer
moiety; general dentition strong, nose pad large."

The otter is frequently over four feet in length, the tail
measuring about eighteen inches. The head is rounded and
short-muzzled, the eyes and ears being small, the former being
half way to the snout. The fur is very dense and glossy, the
under fur being close and abundant. The feet are almost com-
pletely webbed. The color is a dark rich brown with a pur-
plish cast, darkest on the back and root of the tail. The female
is similar to, but smaller than the male.

The otter was distributed throughout the United States in
suitable locations though now becoming rare in all but remote
districts. A few individuals seem still to cling to their old
haunts in many places. In Mexico a slightly different species
or variety exists and in South America a still different form.
Although the otter is not rare in many parts of Minnesota, no
specimen has been encountered in the field explorations nor
yet authentic indications of its presence. I am again con-
strained to quote from Coues' Mustelidse, pp. 313-319.

Habits of Otters.

Although I have observed the "seal" of the Otter and its
curious "slides" in various parts of our country during the years
I have been a student of our animals, I cannot truly aver that
I have ever laid eyes upon a living individual; and to speak
of its habits, I must give information at second hand. Pre-
suming upon the reader's knowledge of the thoroughly aquatic
and highly piscivorous nature of the animal, I turn to the vari-
ous histories at our disposal in further elucidation of its habits

130 BULLETIN NO. VII.

According to Richardson, one of the earliest authors giving
accounts of the species with precision, "the Canada Otter re-
sembles the European species in its habits and food. In the
winter season, it frequents rapids and falls, to have the advant-
age of open water; and when its usual haunts are frozen over,
it will travel to a great distance through the snow, in search
of a rapid that has resisted the severity of the weather. If
seen, and pursued by hunters on these journies, it will throw
itself forward on its belly, and slide through the snow for sev-
eral yards, leaving a deep furrow behind it. This movement is
repeated with so much rapidity, that even a swift runner on
snow-shoes has much trouble in overtaking it. It also doubles
on its track with much cunning, and dives under the snow to
elude its pursuers. When closely pressed, it will turn and de-
fend itself with great obstinacy. In the spring of 1826, at Great
Bear Lake, the Otters frequently robbed our nets, which were
set under the ice, at the distance of a few yards from a piece of
open water. They generally carried off the heads of the fish,
and left the bodies sticking in the net.

"TheCannada Otter has one litter annually, about the middle
of April, of from one to three young."

In the Middle and Southern States, Audubon says they are
about one month earlier.*

The sliding of the Otter, which Sir John describes, is not alone
resorted to in the endeavor to avoid pursuit; and again, it is
something more than simply an easy way of slipping down a
wet sloping bank into the water. It seems to be a favorite
amusement of this creature, "just for fun.". Godman speaks
of the diversion in the following terms: "Their favorite sport
is sliding, and for this purpose in winter the highest ridge of
snow is selected, to the top of which the Otters scramble, where,
lying on the belly with the fore-feet bent backwards, they give
themselves an impulse with their hind legs and swiftly glide
head-foremost down the declivity, sometimes for the distance
of twenty yards. This sport they continue apparently with the
keenest enjoyment until fatigue or hunger induces them to
desist."

Statements of similar import are made by various writers,
and accord with Audubon's personal observations, as rendered
by him in the following language:

*According to Bell, the European Otter goes with young nine weeks, and produces
three to five young ones in March or April (Brit. Quad. 1837, 136). The period of gestation
of our species, if different, probably remains to be ascertained.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 131

"The Otters ascend the bank at a place suitable for their
diversion, and sometimes where it is very steep, so that they
are obliged to make quite an effort to gain the top; they slide
down in rapid succession where there are many at a sliding
place. On one occasion we were resting ourself on the bank
of Canoe Creek, a small stream near Henderson, which empties
into the Ohio, when a pair of Otters made their appearance,
and not observing our proximity, began to enjoy their sliding
pastime. They glided down the soap-like muddy surface of
the slide with the rapidity of an arrow from a bow, [*] and we
counted each one making twenty two slides before we dis-
turbed their sportive occupation.

"This habit of the' Otter of sliding down from elevated
places to the borders of streams, is not confined to cold coun-
tries, or to slides on the snow or ice, but is pursued in the
Southern States, where the earth is seldom covered with snow,
or the waters frozen over. Along the reserve dams of the rice
fields of Carolina and Georgia, these slides are very common.
From the fact that this occurs in most cases during winter,
about the period of the rutting season, we are inclined to the
belief that this propensity may be traced to those instincts
which lead the sexes to their periodical associations."

The food of the Otter, and the manner in which it is pro-
cured, are noted by the same author in the following terms:

"The Otter is a very expert swimmer, and can overtake
almost any fish, and as it is a voracious animal, it doubtless
destroys a great number of fresh water fishes annually. We
are not aware of its having a preference for any particular
species, although it is highly probable that it has. About
twenty-five years ago we went early one autumnal morning to
study the habits of the Otter at Gordon and Spring's Ferry,
on the Cooper River, six miles above Charleston [S. C.], where
they were represented as being quite abundant. They came
down with the receding tide in groups or families of five or six
together. In the space of two hours we counted forty -six.
They soon separated, ascended the different creeks in the salt
marshes, and engaged in capturing mullets (Mugil). In most
cases they came to the bank with a fish in their mouth, des-
patching it in a minute, and then hastened back again after
more prey. They returned up the river to their more secure
retreats with the rising tide. In the small lakes and ponds of
the interior of Carolina, there is found a favourite fish with the
Otter, called the fresh- water trout (Grystes salmoides).

*[ A statement certainly too figurative for literal acceptation."]

132 BULLETIN NO. VII.

"Athough the food of the Otter in general is fish, yet when
hard pressed by hunger it will not reject animal food of any
kind. Those we had in confinement, when no fish could be
procured were fed on beef, which they always preferred boiled.
During the last winter we ascertained that the skeleton and
feathers of a wild duck were taken from an Otter's nest on the
banks of a rice field reserve-dam. It was conjectured that the
duck had either been killed or wounded by the hunters, and
was in this state seized by the Otter, ....

"On throwing some live fishes into a small pond in the
Zoological Gardens in London, where an Otter [presumably,
however, of another species] was kept alive, it immediately
plunged off the bank after them, and soon securing one, rose
to the surface holding its prize in its teeth, and ascending the
banks, rapidly ate it by large mouthfuls, and dived into the
water again for another. This it repeated until it had caug ! .t
and eaten all the fish which had been thrown into the water for
its use. When thus engaged in devouring the luckless fishes
theOtter bit : throught them, crushing the bones, which we could
hear snapping under the pressure of its powerful jaws."

The nest of the European Otter is said to be formed of grass
and other herbage, and to be usually placed in some hole of a
river's bank, protected either by the overhanging bank or by
the projecting roots of some tree. Its fossorial ability, and the
general intelligence it displays in the construction of its re-
treats, have been greatly exaggerated by some writers, to judge
by the more temperate language used by the distinguished
author of the History of British Quadrupeds. "We read of its
excavating a very artificial habitation," says Bell, "burrowing
under ground to a considerable distance; making the aperture
of its retreat always under water, and working upwards, form-
ing here and there a lodge, or dry resting-place, till it reaches
the surface of the ground at the extremity of its burrow, and
making there a breathing- hole, always in the middle of a bush
or thicket. [*]. This statement is wholly incorrect. The Otter
avails itself of any convenient excavation, particularly of the
hollows beneath the overhanging roots of trees which grow on
the banks of rivers, or any other secure and concealed hole
near its fishing haunt; though in some cases it fixes its retreat
at some distance from the water, and when driven by a scanty

*[The author remarks the similarity of such an account with that given by Mr.
George Bennett in describing the retreats of the Ornithorhynchua of Australia, though
the former Is found in books published long prior tj the discovery of the latter
animal.]

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 133

supply of fish, it has been known to resort far inland, to the
neighbourhood of the farm -yard, and attack lambs, sucking
pigs, and poultry, thus assuming for a time the habits of its
more terrestrial congeners. " I am not aware that such extrav-
agant statements have been made, with any authority at least,
respecting the American Otter; and indeed one has only to
regard the general configuration of the animal, and particu-
larly the shape of the fore limbs and condition of the claws, to
become convinced that the mining operations of the animal
are necessarily limited. It does not appear that the under-
ground retreats of the Otter are consiructed with the skill and
ingenuity of even those of the Muskrat. A retreat examined
by Audubon has been thus described by this author:

"One morning we observed that some of these animals re-
sorted to the neighbourhood of the root of a large tree which
stood on the side of the pond opposite to us, and with its over-
hanging branches shaded the water. After a fatiguing walk
through the tangled cane brake and thick under- wood which
bordered the sides of this lonely place, we reached the opposite
side of the pond near the large tree, and moved cautiously
through the mud and water to its roots: but the hearing or
sight of the Otters was attracted to us, and we saw several of
them hastily make off at our approach. On sounding the tree
with the butt of our gun, we discovered that it was hollow r , and
then having placed a large stick in a slanting position against
the trunk, we succeeded in reaching the lowest bough, and
thence climbed up to a broken branch from which an aperture
into the upper part of the hollow enabled us to examine the
interior. At the bottom there was quite a large space or cham-
ber to which the Otters retired, but whether for security or to
sleep we could not decide. Next morning we returned to the
spot, accompanied by one of our neighbours, and having ap-
proached and stopped up the entrance under water as noise-
lessly as possible, we cut a hole in the side of the tree four or
five feet from the ground, and as soon as it was large enough
to admit our heads, we peeped in and discovered three Otters
on a sort of bed composed of the inner bark of trees and other
soft substances, such as water grasses. We continued cutting
the hole we had made larger, and when sufficiently widened,
took some green saplings, split them at the but-end, and man-
aged to fix the head of each animal firmly to the ground by
passing one of these split pieces over his neck, and then press-
ing the stick forcibly downwards. Our companion then crept

134 BULLETIN NO. VTI.

into the hollow, and soon killed the Otters, with which we
returned home."

Their structure being identical, the American and European
Otters cannot differ in their general movements and attitudes.
In speaking of the conformation of the latter species, Bell
remarks that evidently every facility consistent with the preser-
vation of its structural relations with the rest of the group is
given to the Otter for the pursuit and capture of its proper
food. "It swims and dives with great readiness and with pecu-
liar ease and elegance of movement; and although its action
on land is far from being awkward and difficult, yet it is cer-
tainly in the water that the beautiful adaptation of its structure
to its habits is most strikingly exhibited. It swims in nearly
a horizontal position, and dives instantaneously after the fish
that may glide beneath it, or pursues it under water, changing
its course as the fish darts in various directions to escape from
it, and when the prey is secured, brings it on shore to its retreat
to feed."

Yielding a pelt of great beauty and value, from the exqui-
site softness and rich warm color of the fur, as well as from
the size of the animal, the American Otter is systematically
pursued by professional trappers. I have already given some
figures showing the thousands annually destroyed, and will
condense from Mr. Gibson's work, already often quoted, the ac-
count of the various methods employed for every trapper has
his own notions and ways of doing things, and in the pursuit
of so valuable and so wary a creature as the Otter there is
room for large and varied experience. The animal seems to be
taken in this country usually, if not invariably, with the steel
trap, a special size and make of which, with two springs, goes
by the name of "Otter trap." Searching for a "slide," or place
where the animal habitually crawls from the water up the
bank the hunter sets the trap on the spot, a few inches under
water. No bait is here required; and devices are used in se-
curing the trap by which the animal may be led into deep
water when caught, or lifted upward, the design in either case
being to prevent the animal's escape by gnawing off the im-
prisoned limb. The trap may also be placed at the top of the
slide, two or three feet back of the slope, in a place hollowed
to receive it, and covered with snow. Under such circum-
stances, care is taken not to handle the trap' with the bare
hands. It is scented with various animal odors, and, to fur-
ther insure success, a "way" is made to the trap by means of

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 135

parallel logs. The trap is sometimes simply set in the beaten
track made in the snow, carefully hidden; or at the entrance
of the burrow; or at the base of a slanting log with one end
under water, the Otter being attracted by bait or odor placed
beyond on the other end; or a rock which projects over a
stream is utilized in the same way. In all these methods, the
utmost care is necessary to obliterate traces of the trapper's
presence, as the sight and smell of the Otter are acute, and his
wariness, caution, and sagacity at a very high rate. "In win
ter when the ponds and rivers are frozen over the Otters make
holes through the ice at which they come up to devour their
prey. Where the water is a foot deep beneath any of these
holes the trap may be set in the bottom, the chain being se-
cured to a heavy stone. When the Otter endeavors to emerge
from the hole he will press his foot on the trap and thus be
caught. If the water is deep enough beneath the hole the
trap may be baited with a small fish attached to the pan, and
then carefully lowered with its chain and stone to the bottom.
For this purpose the Newhouse, No. 3, is best adapted, as the
Otter is in this case caught by the head."

FAMILY URSID^E.

THE BEARS, RACCOONS, ETC.

This very large and interesting family is represented within
our limits by two species representing the two sub-families.
The family is distributed over all parts of the globe where any
species of Garni vora occur and is represented by a large num-
ber of quite diverse species. The common characters are as
follows: Progression plantigrade, soles naked (except in
Ailurus), toes five on each foot, sometimes more or less webbed
and usually large curved and non-retractile though some spe-
cies have more or less retractile claws. The body is usually
clumsy and heavy, though there are exceptions to this. All
the species with a few exceptions, which live in arctic or
treeless regions, climb readily and some spend their lives in
arboreal habitats. The bears as a group are omniverous and
the teeth, although identical in number with those of the Cani-
dce, are remarkable for their adaptation to an omniverous diet. *

There are, however, a few in this family, like the Ursus mar-
inns, or polar bear, which live exclusively upon flesh and

*(Baird unaccountably says on page 206 of the Report of the Northern Pacific R.
R., Mammals "The teeth are the same In number with the Canidaa, although their
more carnivorous character is shown by the turberculated molars." Perhaps the
word carnivorous is a misprint for omniverous, for neither the habits of the animal
nor ordinary analogy substantiate the statement as it stands.)

136 BULLETIN NO. VII.

others which are nearly confined to a vegetable diet, interme-
diate conditions linking these extremes.

There are from forty-two to thirty-six teeth and two molars
are always present in the upper and lower jaw, while in Ursus
a third molar is found in the lower jaw. The crowns of the
molars are tuberculate, the prominences in some cases being
high and sharp, but in true bears are low and the crown is also
marked by various wrinkles and elevations. These teeth are
in many respects not unlike the molars of swine. There are
normally four pre-molars in each jaw as in Ursus, Ailuropus,
Procyon, Nasua and Bassaris. In Ailurus there are but three
in the upper jaw, while a like reduction is also found in the
lower jaw of Arctictis and Cercolepies.

There is a tendency to reduce the number of pre-molars with
age. In the true bears these teeth are reduced in size and
have conical crowns, while the smaller members of the family
have sharp triangular middle lobes. The incisors and canines
have the form common to Carnivora and are often of great size.

The nearest relatives now living are the Civet cats which
some of the smaller forms greatly resemble. The plantigrade
walk, which is perhaps the most marked peculiarity of bears,
is also found among certain Viverridce, while there are a few
of the Ursidce which have retractile claws.

The two sub -families are well marked and distinct groups.
The Subursince include the long-tailed, small-bodied forms,
almost confined to America. The number of teeth is never
more than forty (except in the aberrant ^Eluropus. )

The Ur since, include, besides Ursus proper, several species
of tropical bears.

The Prochilus labiatus inhabits Ceylon and India and is char-
acterized by its long, flat head, overhanging lips and protrusi-
ble snout and the long, curved claws. It is arboreal and lives
largely upon honey.

A still better climber is the sun bear, which inhabits the
Sunda Islands, etc. , and is vegetarian in habit and is particu-
larly partial to the cocoanut.

SUBFAMILY SUBUKSIN^E.

This group is composed of several genera of small animals
represented in North America by the raccoons or lavatory
bears. The genera are more strictly localized than in the
larger division of the Ursidce, but as a whole the group is

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 137

widely distributed. The characteristics of the Subursince differ
from those of the typical ursine particularly in a reduction of
the number of teeth. Externally the appearance is rendered
less bear-like by the presence of a long, hairy, and sometimes
prehensile tail. The true bears possess 42 teeth, while their
smaller relatives have 36 - 40, the chief variation being in the
molars and premolars. The Subursince are plantigrade, and
have a free use of the fore feet, most species using them with
great dexterity in feeding, etc. The species are arboreal, and
chiefly nocturnal, and bear confinement and even domestication
well.

These like other ursine animals are omnivorous. Insects,
birds, and especially their eggs, are particularly relished,
though fruits, roots and other vegetable food is not declined.
Some species exhibit their relation with the familiar Ursus
by a penchant for honey.

A connection with the cats seems to be offered by a South
American animal, the Bassaris asiuta, which has been classed
with the Civet cats (Viverridce). Indeed, this animal has been
placed in that group by some authors. Although said by Vogt
to inhabit Mexico, Southern California and Texas, American
authors seem not to have noticed its occurrence in the United
States.

On the other hand, the link between the small bears and
Ursus is found in Ailuropus, a curious bear-like animal, confined
in its range to the inaccessible mountains of eastern Thibet.
This animal is but partially plantigrade, touching the ground
with but part of the sole. In size it approaches the true bears,
but in many points resembles the panda (Ailurus fulgens),
which is described as a pretty arboreal and frugivorous animal,
35 centimeters long. The panda inhabits the Himalayas above
6,000 feet. The cat-like head with its ruffled cheeks, the fine
reddish fur, and the long tail, make it a striking animal. Its
food is chiefly fruit.

Curiously enough we encounter another representative of the
group in the Sunda Islands in the Arctictis binturong. The
dog-like head, lynx-like ears and monkey-like tail make a
strange combination, as may be gathered from the outline sketch
(see Fig. 9 [3]). The claws are not retractile, but the food
largely consists of flesh. The tail is used for prehension. The
nearest relative to this creature must be sought in South
America where we find the Cercoleptes, in which the tail is used

" 9

138

BULLETIN NO. VII.

almost as freely as in the American monkeys (Fig. 9 [2]).
This animal is described as most affectionate and confiding in
confinement. Like the raccoon it is very "handy" in the use
of its fore feet.

FIG. 9.

1. Nasua rufa South American Coati.

2. Cercoleptes caudivolvulus South Ameri-

can Kinkajou.
Arctictis binturong.

Still another South American animal may be mentioned to
show the connection between the above and the raccoons, to
the consideration of which these remarks are introductory. The
coati (Nasua) (Fig. 9 [1]), are much less tractable and pleas-
ing pets. They are described as the vagabonds of their native
land which includes all South and part of North America. They
climb and run with equal ease and are as much at home when
rooting with their long snout in the earth as when ransacking
the nest of an unfortunate bird. The males seclude themselves
save in the breeding season. The dentition of the coati is
almost identical with that of the raccoons.

GENUS PROCYON (RACCOONS.)

As lack of material prevents from offering any comparisons
with related genera, the reader is referred to the description
of our only species for points in the anatomy diagnostic of this
genus.

The dental formula for the genus is as follows:

3-3 1-1

i. , c. ,

33 1-1

4-4 22

p m. , m. = 40.

4-4 2-2

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 139

The variation in the number of molars and premolars in re-
lated genera is as follows:

4-4 2-2

Ailuropus : p m. , m. , - 42.
4-4 3-3

3-3 2-2 \

Ailurus: p m. , m. = 38.

4-4 2-2

o Q o 2

Arctictis.Cercoleptes: p m. , m. = 36.

3-3 2-2

4-4 2-2

Procyon, Nasua, J3assans: p m. , m. = 40.

The Ursince agree with the Ailuropus in the number of teeth.

The head is broad and depressed, the muzzle being pointed
and the nose produced. The ears are moderate, rounded, not
pointed above. The feet are all five-toed and the toes are dis-
tinct. The impression made by the hind foot when the heel is
applied to the ground, as is not always done in walking, is al-
most exactly like that of a human infant. There are no pads
or callosities. The tail is longer than one-half the body and
covered with long hairs. The Raccoons always have dark
marks about the face, and bands encircling the tail. The three
known species are confined to America; they are P. lotor, in-
habiting the Eastern United States westward to Texas, Wyo-
ming, etc. ; P. hernandezii, occupying the western coast of the
United States, Mexico and Central America; and P. cancrivorus
from South America. Other species have been described, but
seem not to be valid. The three species are so similar that the
anatomical characters of P. lotor may be considered of generic
application.

Procyon lotor LINN.

RACCOON.

Ursus lotor, older writers.

Procyon lotor, STORR and later authors.

About the size and nearly the general color of the badger.
Head broad and depressed, the muzzle being acute; ears large,
rounded above, hairy. General color grayish white or yellow-
ish brown. An oblique dark patch on the cheeks. Tail bushy
with four or five dark rings. Entire length over thirty-two
inches, the tail being one -third.

Generally distributed in the United States east of the Rocky
Mountains.

The raccoon ranges over the entire wooded parts of our
state and is well known for its depredations upon the farmer

140 BULLETIN NO. VII.

and the poultryman. The habits are tolerably well known.
It is instructive to watch the Procyon in confinement, which is
readily endured, for the amiable and inquisitive pet exhibits
many of his native characteristics. There is something quite
human in the way the claws are used, although the expression
of the face and many of the attitudes and motions are quite
bear-like. In fact there is a curious combination of the ludi-
crous clumsiness of a bear with a deftness and sprightliness
peculiarly its own. Even when chained, the fore feet are kept
constantly in motion examining automatically every inequality
of the ground and every crevice. A rat hole or the like is al-

FIG. 10. The Raccoon at Bay.

ways an attractive field for study. If permitted to approach
the person he scrambles freely over one and searches every
pocket and hem. A bit of cake or candy thus found is eagerly
devoured and the search at once renewed. If furnished water
all food is carefully washed, and in its absence it is carefully
rubbed. The positions assumed in this process are frequently
comical in the extreme. If a fragment is accidentally dropped
the feet distinguish it from the pebbles on the bottom at
once. When searching for a lost morsel with its feet one
scarcely escapes the impression that the animal is blind, which
delusion is hightened by the opaque appearance of the pupil
in many lights. On the other hand, the truth is that the eyes
are busily engaged in following our motions, and the animal
relies on the tactile sense entirely in handling its food. At
other times when provided with food it seats itself gravely or

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

141

leans against an adjacent tree and, holding the food between
the hind paws, helps himself with the hands in a most busi-
ness-like manner. A decided preference is shown for sweet
food and corn bread is much preferred to wheaten. Potatoes
when cooked are eaten with reluctance, but are skillfully
pealed and broken into morsels without the assistance of the
teeth. Green corn is disposed of with an instinctive and ac-
complished ease. Eggs are devoured with an eagerness ap-
proaching excitement. A slight crack is made with the teeth
which is enlarged at one point with the claws and the contents
lapped up as they exude. A boiled egg is a conundrum not
readily solved and only understood when the yelk is reached.
A pet raccoon was chained in my doorway for weeks till the
neighboring chickens lost all fear of the intruder and partook
freely of the crumbs which fell from his table. Only after

FIG. 11. The Raccoon at Dinner.

142 BULLETIN NO. VII.

this state of confidence was reached did he make any dem-
onstration, and then continual depredations attested the
cunning of the quadruped. Curiously enough, birds were
freely eaten, but small rodents were utterly refused, so that
we must conclude that these latter do not enter the regular
diet of the animal in a wild state. Our raccoon passed much
of its time in "jumping rope" with its hind feet, while its
chain was kept taut by the neck.

The raccoon is hunted on account both of its flesh and its
pelt, the latter being used considerably in the manufacture of
robes and coats, and occasionally, especially in the rural dis-
tricts, for other purposes. It is neither very durable nor at-
tractive, however, and would hardly lead to the persecution
which attends the animal were it not that its depredations upon
the corn fields and the poultry house add the motives of re-
venge and self-protection to the more sportsman-like. The
flesh is not despised by many, though the omnivorous, and es-
pecially the insectivorous habits of the animal render it
specially subject to internal parasites in spite of the most re
markable precautions which either experience or natural taste
has developed in its eating habits. An instance was seen
where the body of a raccoon which had been exposed in the
market with other meats, was literally filled with worms of the
genus Filaria several inches long, and these filled with living
embryos in all stages of development.

The hunting of raccoons is a favorite amusement of farmers'
boys, and as it is carried on at night with the aid of dogs,
torches and axes, seems to be replete with an excitement
hardly commensurate with the value of the prize. This sport
has a peculiar fascination for the Southern negro, and the ex-
ploits of a night's 'coon hunt served to mitigate the weariness
and sadness of a life of servitude.

The writer had on one occasion the opportunity of assisting
in such an enterprise. It was in Northern Alabama, and the
ostensible object of the hunt was an opossum which, for vari-
ous reasons, the visitor was anxious to secure.

At about nine o'clock a party of boys and dogs, which con-
stantly increased, sallied forth, animated by the occasional
blasts of an old horn, this instrument being necessary to prop-
erly control the proceedings of a multitude of mongrel curs,
each of which excelled in some subtlety of 'possum or 'coon lore
any dog in the county. Lights were brandished and with a
shout as heterogeneous as the company from which it pro-

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 143

ceeded we plunged into a swampy and tangled woodland, to the
writer, at least, of unknown extent. The baying or rather
'yelping of the dogs in various directions kept us informed that
"Tige" and "Zep," etc., were at their work. Suddenly the
conclave of hunters assembled violently excited. "Zep hab
struck fresh 'coon trail, shore," said one. "Go way, dar,
Sandy," was the reply, "dat dog never let on datarway cep'en
he's found 'possum tracks." In a sage discussion, involving
the theory and practice of dog-education, the time was occupied
until we had all assembled about the base of a tall tree which
seemed the object of the most excited interest of the mongrel
called "Zep." Our lights brilliantly illuminated the base and
lower branches which, however, cast deep and deceptive
shadows upon the spire of the noble tree. Boys and dogs were
equally excited, and there were proposed and instantly rejected
a variety of expedients for dislodging -the unknown animal
which the 'possum dog hazarded his reputation in affirming
still lay concealed among the boughs. The other dogs now
came up, and some immediately caught the infection and added
their strangely modulated cries to the din. One, however,
sniffed wisely at the scent and, shaking his head sadly, s talked
off to a small sapling, large enough to support nothing heavier
than a squirrel, and set up a lively opposition, gazing into the
bare top of the sapling with well-feigned admiration, tearing
the ground and rending the air with his deep cries. This sage
conduct was the source of deep gratification to his owner, who
' ; knowed from the first thar wan't no 'possum in that thar
gum. " But at last it was decided that an athletic youth should
scale the tree with a gun upon his back and beard the animal
in his retreat. A period of breathless silence followed by a
deafening report ensued. Something struck the ground with a
heavy thud and the dogs rushed up to gaze upon the hero
who had fired and brought himself, but not his game, to the
ground. He reported, however, a most mammoth opossum
clinging to the upper boughs. Candidates for new honors were
few, but additional inducements sent another sable youth up
the tree, and we were rewarded by a flash followed by a suc-
cession of snarls and spits as a heavy animal crashed earthward
and landed in the midst of the group of furious dogs. Then
ensued a scene more easy to imagine than to describe. Dogs
and boys all eager to beat and tear the life out of the poor ani-
mal which seemed at first likely to vanquish the former if left
to themselves. When the dogs had been beaten off the leader

144 BULLETIN NO. VII.

held up a full grown raccoon which, even added to the excite-
ment of the chase, hardly mitigated the disappointment in the
failure to secure an Alabama opossum.

Description of a specimen of raccoon taken Aug. 27, 1884: This
animal while young, was evidently over a year old. It throve
and grew well and became a great favorite by its amiability and
eccentricity.

The moult was in progress or rather nearly completed at
this time. The old hair comes out in bunches, (i. e. the under
fur), and was replaced by a darker shade. The fur was, of
course far from being as full, long and strikingly colored as in
winter.

The colors are as follows: Base of fur light sepia brown or
a somewhat warmer tint. This ground color affects the exter-
nal appearance little, except below where it is less completely
obscured by the terminal part of the hairs. It does, however,
tone down the external coloration everywhere. The general
grey of the body is produced by the color of the longer and
coarser hairs which have a median portion of white or light,
but impure olivacious yellow and a longer or shorter terminal
portion of dark brown or black. The chief difference between
a winter and summer pelage is produced by the greater length
of the dark terminal portion in the former. Underneath the
terminal band is lacking and the color, except on the throat, is
pure white upon the plumbeous or brown color of the under
fur. Above the middle band of the hairs is distinctly yellow-
ish and along the back the black tips are conspicuous and in
winter give the appearance of a dark median stripe or band.

Upon the head are distinct markings consisting of the fol-
lowing dark areas on a white ground. A median band of yellow-
ish brown beginning on the nose and becoming blackish be-
tween the eyes, terminating upon the forehead, and a band li
inches wide crossing the cheeks diagonally and including the eye.
The top of the head partakes of the color of the back, but the
base of the ears and an irregular spot behind them is dark. A
dark band nearly meets the facial one below upon the throat.
The ears are white-tipped. No other marking occurs except
upon the tail where the yellowish cast is more pronounced and
the lighter color is broken by rings or annulations of black.
In this case there are six rings aside from the terminal pencil
of black hairs. A more or less distinct garter of black or
brown marks the hinder leg. The exposed part of the skin is
black; elsewhere it is white.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 145

There are three pairs of mammas, the posterior pair being
near the thighs, the second 3 inches in advance, and the pector-
al pair yet 4 inches beyond.

Measurements: Length of body 22-J- inches, tail 10, end of
nose to incisors f, end of nose to eye 2 T V, end of nose to ear
opening 4f, night of ear from inside 2 T 9 ^, elbow to longest claw
7-J, palm 3^, thumb 1, middle finger If, sole of hind foot 4f .

GENUS URSUS.

The clumsy beasts constituting this genus are sufficiently
well-known to require no general description. As a group it is
sharply defined although much diversity of opinion exists as to
the value of the remaining divisions of the sub-family. The
members of the genus Ursus are chiefly northern in distribu-
tion. One species (U. ornatus), occurs in the mountainous parts
of South America. The polar bear is circumpolar and differs
considerably in habits a.nd anatomy from more southern species.
The northern parts of Europe are, or were, inhabited by num-
erous varieties of the single species U. arctos. This brown
bear is larger than our species and in some respects like the
grizzly of the west. Carl Vogt's description of the young of this
species applies equally to ours:

"Little bears are very amiable and in the highest degree
comical. Clowns in every respect, unwieldly yet nimble, al-
ways ready for play or sport, sociable with every one, and to
a certain extent teachable, they nevertheless evince an egotis
tic independence which later becomes a sullen habit. The
mother cares for them with unlimited devotion; for weeks she
does not leave them a moment, and remains without food in
the secluded recess chosen for their reception. She teaches
them to walk, to climb and to swim and defends them with
courage and to the last. Although the mother covers them
with caresses, coddles them warmly and endures well pleased
their teasing, still she does not neglect punishment, which when
needed is applied in the form of sundry slaps and ear-boxing,
and even slight bites of which she is not sparing. It is even
said that bears of two or three years old assist in training their
younger brothers and sisters."

In the United States at least two species and numerous vari-
eties of bear are known, and it would be presumption to at-
tempt to discuss the value of the various specific distinctions
assumed by various authors upon the basis of the slight mater-
ial at the disposal of this survey.

146 BULLETIN NO. VII.

For details concerning the anatomy the reader is referred to
the description of the black bear beyond. Great variations are
found in different individuals of the same species.

Ursus americanus PALLAS.

THE BLACK BEAR.

The black bear is still quite common in Minnesota; every
year a number are exposed in the markets of Minneapolis. So
far as observed these are nearly all of the normal black variety.

Mr. Allen remarks: "Contrary to what was formerly sup
posed, bears everywhere appear to be among the most variable
of mammiferous animals, not only in coloration, but in size,
proportions, and in the conformation of the skull and other parts
of the skeleton. Those familiar with them say it is rare to find
any two alike. I am informed by my friend Mr. C. W. Bennett
that he has known two cubs of the same litter, taken in one of
the western states, that as they grew up, differed very mater-
ially, from each other in color, one being black and the other
brown. They differed widely also in form and disposition, one
being docile and playful, while the other was ferocious and
dangerous. The leading varieties in color of the American and
European bears, as the brown and black bears, are now gener-
ally deemed to be but varieties and ' not species. The bears
have ever been a perplexing group, and accordingly the opin-
ions advanced by different authors respecting the number of
species vary widely. Several high authorities consider the
land bears of northern North America, northern Asia and Europe
as forming but one, or at most two, species, among which (au-
thorities) are Blainville and Middendorff, the latter of whom,
with access to a large amount of material, has especially and
most minutely investigated the subject.

Dr. Gray recognizes eight with numerous varieties and sub-
varieties of each.

There is a strong tendency among naturalists to consider old
world bears as all distinct from those of North America, and at
least to recognize two species of the latter the grizzly bear of
the west and the continentally dispersed black and brown bears.
Prof. Baird gives the probable number as five, four of which
he seems to consider well founded. But each of the recognized
species presents so many varieties, which to a greater or less
extent intergrade, that well-marked lines of distinction cannot
at present be drawn."

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 147

Perhaps it is not at present allowable to claim with much as-
surance the existence of more than a single very variable spe-
cies and a number of rather indefinite sub-species.

The distinguishing characters are osteological or external,
and the two sets by no means vary coetaneously.

During the winter of 1880-81, some twenty black bears were
brought into Little Falls, Morrison Co., their skins being
worth from ten to fifteen dollars (Upham).

A cinnamon bear is said to have been killed near Watab in
1884.

Although so clumsy in appearance, the black bear is pos-
sessed of great strength and, especially, remarkable endurance.
As the largest beast of prey found in our state, it exacts an al-
lowance of respect, not to say fear, hardly commensurate to
its peaceable and ease- loving disposition. At the time of the
early explorations in Minnesota, bears appear to have been
numerous and very frequently seen. The Indian, very
naturally with his less effective weapons, found the bear a
more formidable enemy than the European hunter, and this
may account for the part the bear plays in Indian mythology
and legendary lore. The habits vary with the time and place
greatly and the strength of the animal is supplemented by con-
siderable adroitness which Indian belief and hunters' imagin-
ation have exaggerated to a high degree of cunning. The deft-
ness with which the anterior extremities are used always gives
us the impression of the human skill which accompanies such
motions in man, so that we tend to exaggerate the mental
powers of such animals as have the power of pronation, etc.,
and to underestimate the intelligence which is restricted to
other ways of expression. There is but one bear which is en-
tirely carnivorous, the Ursus arctos, and in this case necessity
is the evident cause of the departure from the otherwise uni-
versal omnivorous habit.

In summer the black bear rarely or never seeks animal food,
although it is by no means refused if at hand. In spring and
summer the moist, shady borders of pools and rivers afford
both suitable food and covert, while impenetrable swamps and
wet woods furnish secure retreats during the heat of mid-sum-
mer. Succulent roots and almost any vegetable materials are
appropriated, while crawfish, and perhaps other small animals,
are said to supplement this diet. Nettles and even the Indian
turnip (Arumtriphyllum) are delicacies in the cuisine of our
Bruin. In late summer the various berries growing in ' 'open-

148 BULLETIN NO VII.

ings" and upland prairies allure the bear from his seclusion.
Raspberries are especially esteemed and low cherry trees are
broken down and the small berries greedily eaten. Like the
raccoon, the bear sometimes makes inroads upon the corn-fields
breaking down and otherwise destroying much more than is
eaten or carried away Later in the season grapes, acorns and
various nuts are eaten. In the east and south bears were not
infrequently encountered while breaking off the boughs of nut-
bearing trees or "lopping"' as it is, in some sections, termed.

During the winter, especially at the north, animal food of a
necessity supplants, to a considerable extent at least, all other,
and it is then that depredations upon the barn-yard may be ex-
pected. Pigs, calves and even larger animals are carried away.
It is stated that on the coast bears frequently feed largely
upon fish. Bruin certainly is not afraid of water and swims
easily and is no mean antagonist to a party of boatmen. The
venturesome boat that approaches too near is frequently cap-
sized by the heavy beast. During the frightful forest fires
which prevail at the north it is not unusual for men who fly to
mid-stream for refuge from the terrible heat to be beseiged by
a bear, which craves only the privilege of resting upon the
boat, but who is not safely to be allowed that demand. The
craving for sweets is a well known characteristic of all bears.
The natural supply is furnished by the nests of the humble -bee,
or the stores which wild bees lay away in hollows of trees. A
"bee-tree" is very adroitly emptied by Bruin, who cares little
for the stings and angry buzzing of the proprietors.

The lumbering gait of the bear is deceptive ; he really is
capable of a high degree of speed, and avails himself of flight
when attacked by man, unless wounded or deprived of the
young. Unlike the grizzly bear, our species climbs volun-
tarily, and very generally betakes itself to a tree when har-
rassed by dogs. In other cases, or if close hauled, he rises
upon his hind feet, placing his back against any convenient
object, and assumes the defensive ; in which case dogs and men
do well to carry on warfare at a distance. The quality in a dog
most to be desired is not courage, for no number of dogs are a
match for a bear.

Our animal is a great lover of ease, and spends much of its
time in warm weather in wallowing in the mud or sleeping in
a retired haunt. In the far north bears hibernate during much
of the winter, which they are said to pass in the mild pleasure
of licking their paws. It is doubtful if any great amount of

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 149

nutriment is derived from this amusement, either for mind or
body. The winter habitation is selected not only for its
warmth, but for its seclusion, for during this period the great-
est danger threatens the animal, and the hunter is constantly
on the lookout for one of these dens, which may be detected by
frost (caused by the breath) about the opening in the snows
which bury the cavity. An upturned tree in clayey soil fre-
quently forms a retreat just suited for the winter resort of the
bear, who excavates a recess in the sheltered cave formed by
the up torn roots.

The sexes associate in the autumn, and one to four young are
born after a period of six or seven weeks say in January,
(more exactly. 120 days.) Four years are required to reach
maturity. Like almost all animals residing in the colder
parts of America, bears are migratory to a greater or less
extent. The migrations are probably hardly noticeable in our
limits. Many country people believe in the existence of an-
other species of bear known as ''The Ranger", which, like the
man-eating tiger, is blood-thirsty, and always gaunt and hun-
gry. This form should be distinguishable by a star or crescent
in the breast, and does not hibernate.

The young of Bruin often fall a prey to the fox or fisher.

As an illustration of the winter habits of bears the following
extract from an article in the "Century Magazine" of March,
1882, by Chas. C. Ward, is here reproduced. "Stimulated by
the large price offered by the officers of a garrison, an Indian
was indefatigable in his endeavors to find a den. One day ac-
companied by his little son, a boy of ten, he discovered unmis-
takable traces of a bear's den, near the top of a hill strewn
with granite bowlders, and almostim passable from the number
of fallen pines. One old pine had fallen up hill, and its up-
reared roots, with the soil clinging to them, formed, with a
very large rock, a triangular space into which snow had drifted
to a depth of ten or twelve feet. The Indian was about to pass
on when he detected the whining of bear cubs. By making a
detour, he reached a place on a level with the bottom of the
bowlder, and there saw tracks of an old bear, leading directly
into the centre of the space between the tree root and the
bowlder. The old bear, in her comings and goings, had tun-
neled a passage under the snow drift. Getting down on his
hands and knees, the Indian, with his knife held between his
teeth, crept bear- fashion into the tunnel. After entering sev-
eral feet he found the usual bear device a path branching off

150 BULLETIN NO. VII.

in two directions. While pondering what to do under such cir-
cumstances, a warning cry came from his little son, who was
perched upon the top of the bowlder, and the next instant the
old bear rushed into the tunnel, and came into violent con-
tact with the Indian, the shock causing the tunnel to cave in.
The Indian, after dealing the bear one blow, lost his knife in
the snow, and seized the bear with his hands; but she proved
too strong for him, and was the first to struggle out of the
drift, when, unfortunately, she met the little Indian boy, who
had climbed down to come to his father's rescue. He received
a tremendous blow on the thigh from the bear's paw as she
passed, which crippled him for life."

Among the native superstitions worthy of mention are the feel-
ings of supernatural reverence with which the bear is regarded
by the red man. Solemn and curious ceremonies are necessary
to appease the spirit of the slain hero. The severed head is placed
in a conspicuous position and is decorated with charms and or-
naments of all sorts, and a formal speech is made in which,
graced by all manner of compliments, the bear's pardon is asked
for the rude method by which his life was sacrificed, and the
hunter deferentially trusts the excuses offered may be accepted
by the animal and his gens. After this, tobacco smoke is
blown into the nostrils and the celebration takes on a more
practical character.

Nor is this respect peculiar to Indian tribes. The northern
races of Europe have like superstitions.

During the pairing season, the males congregate in troops
and scour the forest, growling, snarling, and fighting. On
such occasions all prudent hunters avoid an encounter with
them.

CHAPTER V.

ORDER RODENTIA.

THE GNAWERS.

The Rodents are easily recognized by many points of general
similarity, notwithstanding the diversity in appearance and
variation in habitat. The order is the largest among mammals.
The number of genera, and especially of species is enormous,
and the geographical distribution is similarly extended.

While usually of small size, the animals of this order are by
no means insignificant ; some, like the beaver, affording a val-
uable fur, while others, as the hare, are prized for the food or
sport furnished ; and still others rank among the depredators
on human stores, and are therefore universally detested. The
largest rodent, the capybara, is not larger than a small hog.
All rodents are plantigrade, applying the whole sole to the
ground, and find their food within the vegetable kingdom.
The toes are movable and generally clawed.

152 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Rodents agree in lacking, even in the milk dentition, canine
teeth a very important and constant character. The incisors
are rootless and grow during the life of the animal. They form
segments of a circle, the upper being the smaller circle. The
outer surface only is provided with enamel, thus providing
for automatic sharpening by mutual attrition. It is interesting
to notice a curious adaptation for the use of these chisel- shaped
teeth in squirrels, for instance. The symphysis, or line of
union of the two lower jaws, is cartilaginous only, permitting
the play of the jaws laterally. By this means the teeth when
inserted in the nut or acorn shell, are pried apart, splitting the
shell with ease.

The incisors are frequently ornamented with ridges or cor-
rugations. The number of molars is not large, never more
than six or less than two in one ramus. The number of true
molars is three, and these were not preceded by milk teeth
as is usually the case with the premolars. The molars are some-
times rootless, and at others have well defined crown and roots*
but the distinctions based on this circumstance are of subordi-
nate worth. These two kinds of molars are found in closely
related families, for instance among mice. The variations in
the internal structure are so great as to make general state-
ments of little value. The skull is generally elongate with
well- developed premaxillse. The orbits are not shut off from
the temporal fossae. The interparietal is well developed.
There is a ninth bone in the carpus. The clavicles are present
in the arboreal and fossorial groups, but absent in others.
The brain surface is smooth, and the cerebrum extends but
slightly backward. The digestive tract conforms to the
herbiverous habits of the animals, a large caacum being found
in all but the dormice.

The nails, though generally claw-like, are occasionally mod-
ified to closely resemble hoofs ; in some cases, also, the bones
of the leg are elongated and the mid-foot bones form a kind of
cannon-bone, adapting the possessor to a saltatorial life, and
indicating that the ungulates are not so completely distinct
from the claw-bearing animals as sometimes suggested. The
rodents are extraordinarily fertile, and reproduce with incred-
ible rapidity, even though exposed to constant inroads from
beasts and birds of prey. The great fecundity becomes in
some cases the occasion of distress, and forced migrations,
forming an interesting parallel with human history. The
lemming of northern Europe has repeatedly sent southward

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 153

hordes of emigrants, which, in spite of the normally nocturnal
habits of the animal, pressed on in a solid phalanx, harried on
all sides by hawks and wolves, crossing rivers and facing death
in a hundred forms, driven by the fiat of necessity, and thus
demonstrating the Malthusian principle as applied at least to
mice. The rodents attain the maximum development in South
America. Thirty -two of the thirty -seven genera are restricted
to that continent. The hares and squirrels constitute the most
universally distributed families. Africa, similarly, is rich in
endemic forms, while even the island of Madagascar has its
peculiar rodent fauna. The distribution in the circumpolar
continent is more general and presents fewer exceptional fea-
tures. Eleven or so of the twenty-four North American genera
are peculiar to this continent, and most of the restrictions and
limitations are such as may be accounted for by the physical fea-
tures of the land. The mice are found in all continents, even
Australia having representatives. The hares and squirrels are
found on all other continents, and are rather close families.
East India is poorest in rodents, and for no obvious reason, so
that we are forced to seek the explanation of this and other
anomalies in the historical development of the order. Repre-
sentatives of the genus Myoxus, and the squirrels have been
found among Eocene fossils in Europe, and the genera continue
to the present time. The Eocene of Wyoming affords remains
of Paramys and Sciuravus, and in the upper Eocene the mar-
mot-like Plesiarctomys.

Other species very imperfectly known are referred to unchar-
acterized genera, as Colonymys, Taxymys, Tillomys, Mysops,
Heliscomys, etc. Enough, at least is known to indicate a
numerous line of successors to the early Eocene rodents and to
convince us that the various families were early differentiated.
Mice, squirrels and porcupines have existed since the Eocene
that period so marvelously productive of new mammalia.
The Miocene was the period of greatest development of the
type, and it is claimed that at that time some genera now
restricted to the Americas roamed over Europe. The numer-
ous recent discoveries of paleontology leave us quite in doubt
as to the primitive source of the rodent type, beyond the vague
suggestion that the earliest rodent was probably a marsupial
a convenient way of dissembling sheer ignorance.

It would be interesting did our limits permit to compare
the curious extremes of structure and variations in habit exhib-

-10

154 BULLETIN NO. VII.

ited by the rodent tribes. From the flying squirrels of West
Africa, as large as a cat, to our own diminutive Sciuropterus
volucella, from the blind mole of the Cape to our pouched
gopher, from the springing mice of the Sahara to our shy
Zapus hudsonius, there is variety enough to interest the most
fastidious.

Rodents are divided into two suborders upon the structure of
the teeth. The first, SIMPLICIDENTATI, includes the three
series, Sciuromorpha, Myomorpha, and Histricomorpha, inclu-
ding respectively animals with resemblance and affinity to the
squirrel, mouse and porcupine.

The second suborder, DUPLICIDENTATI, includes the hares
and picas.

FAMILY SCIURIDCE.

SQUIRRELS.

This family includes a variety of animals varying greatly in
structure, but unmistakably related. Even the flying squirrels
do not differ so essentialy from the prairie dog or woodchuck
that the affinity can not easily be seen at a glance. Active and
rather social and pleasing animals, for the most part, but num-
bering some petty raiders among them, we shall not be likely
to neglect the Sciuridce.

The Sciuromorpha have perfect clavicles, nearly free forearm
bones, small incisive foramina, large and distinct malar. The
nasal pad is small and the upper lip cleft. In the Sciuridce post-
orbital processes are present and the molars are provided with
tuberculed crowns. Dental formula : i \ :-}-; pm. f :|- m. f :f. The
number of premolars often varies in the same genus, there
being in many cases but one on a side above. The tail is hairy
and generally bushy, the feet well clawed. Habits fossorial,
scansorial, or partly volant. Considerable variation obtains in
the configuration and minor details of the skull and skeleton,
as will be seen. Eight genera are recognized, six of which
occur in our district.

The squirrels constitute the genus Sciurus, standing at the
head, while the rear is brought up by the more primitive type
represented by Arctomys, the woodchuck. The two genera not
found in America are Pteromys and Xerus, found in India and
Africa respectively, the latter being in some respects like the
porcupine.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 155

GENUS SCIURUS, LINN.

Aside from obvious differences in habits, the true squirrels
may be distinguished from the chipmunks and gophers by the
broad head and curved dorsal outline of the skull. Skull short,
broad, cranial portion expanded, facial portion rather broad ;
malar bone nearly vertically expanded ; post- orbital process
produced and slender ; first premolar, if present, very small.
Pelage full, tail full and bushy, back never striped, no cheek
pouches. It is unnecessary to speak of the characteristics of
so familiar an animal. Every one whose boyhood brought him
within the influence of Nature at all must remember more than
one escapade in which this furry tree-farer played an important
part.

Some fourteen species occur in America, some of which are
very closely allied. Our own state has but three species.
Central America seems to be the focus of the genus on this
continent, and here the species are not only the most numerous
and variable but the largest as well. Toward the north and
south the size diminishes, and a tendency is observed to depart
from the typical characters of the genus. The tail especially is
reduced.

The following table copied from Allen's monograph will be
found useful:

SYNOPSIS OF NORTH AMERICAN SCIURI.

I. Tail very short and narrow, the caudal vertebrse alone
about two- thirds as long as head and body; tail to end of hairs
about one-seventh shorter than the head and body; premolars
-f, the first very small and often deciduous; a narrow, black,
lateral line; size small.

1. Above greyish, mixed with yellowish or reddish, annu-
lated with dusky, often with a strong wash of ferruginous
along the middle of the back; below generally white, some-
times narrowly annulated with black; in one sub-species fulvous
below. Hob. Northern half of North America. S. hudsonius.

I a). Above varied with black and yellowish-rusty; upper
surface of tail with hairs gray at the base and tips, with a
broad subterminal bar of black. Hob. Central portion of Rocky
Mountains and thence westward to Sierra Nevadas.

var. fremonti.

(b). Above dusky, strongly varied with reddish; upper
surface of tail with the hairs dark reddish brown at the base,

156 BULLETIN NO. VII.

tipped with reddish, and a very broad subterminal band of
black, sometimes occupying the whole of the terminal third-
Hob. Rocky Mountains between latitude 43 C and 52", and thence
westward to the Cascade Range. var. richardsoni.

(c. ) Much as above, tail with less black, more or less tinged
with fulvous or rufous below. Hob. Pacific Coast region from
Northern California to Sitka, var. douglassi.

II. Tail- vertebras about four- fifths the length of head and
body; tail, with hairs, rather longer than the body, generally
full and bushy. Premolars f ({). Size large or medium.

A. Premolars f

2. Above whitish- gray, varied with fulvous; beneath white;
middle of back more or less brownish; indistinct fulvous lateral
line; ears never conspicuously tufted. Hob. U. S. east of
plains, Canada to Guatemala. 8. carolinensis.

Variety leucotis is the familiar form with the body longer
than ten inches. The type of the species is smaller and inhab-
its the South Atlantic states, while variety yucatanensis is still
smaller and has no rufous suffusions.

3. Above dark bluish-grey, a dorsal band of bright chestnut;
a distinct black lateral line; no fulvous suffusions; below white;,
ears very large, tufted, frequently melanistic. Hob. Rocky
Mountains of Colorado and Arizona. S. alberti.

B. Premolars }.

4. Color above generally some shade of grey, but extremely
variable; rusty and melanistic phases prevalent; size large;
tail broad and bushy. Hdb. E. U. S. to the plains. S. niger.

(a). Length 13 inches; nose and ears white; below gener-
ally fulvous or rufous; dusky phases frequent. Hob. South
Atlantic and Gulf states. var. niger.

(b). Smaller; nose and ears not white. Hob. North Atlantic
states. var. cinereus.

(c). Above dusky grey, strongly suffused with rufous; ears,
feet and ventral surface fulvous, varying to rufous; occasion-
ally dusky or black beneath. Hob. Mississippi basin.

var. ludovicianus.

III. Tail- vertebrae alone equal to length of head and body ;
size large; premolars f.

5. Above dark, pure grey, beneath white; tail black, washed
with white. Hal). Pacific Coast west of Coast Range.

8. fossor.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 157

Sciurus hudsonius PALLAS.

CHICKAREE.

This pleasant but spiteful little squirrel, which is the most
common member of the genus in Minnesota, is found abund-
antly wherever trees afford it the necessary conditions. It is
not found upon the prairies but follows the sparsely timbered
river valleys, even to Big Stone lake, though rarely. Its merry
chir-r-r-r-r is the first greeting to the traveler, along the open-
ings bordering the "Big Woods," and it is frequent in the
northern parts of the state. It measures 6. 00-7. 50 to the root of
the tail which is 6-7; head about 2; ear 1.50. Color, above
grayish fulvous with a broad dorsal band of red. Under parts
white or grey. The tail is colored as the back but its long
hairs have a black band and yellowish tips. The upper sur-
faces of the feet vary with the seasons and age, being either of
the same color as the back or of a golden orange, often parti-
colored during the moult. The black lateral line seems also to
be a seasonable character. The ears are blackish and have
small pencils in winter. The feet are furry below in winter.
The northern regions furnish larger specimens than farther
south. In Minnesota the coloration and to some extent the size
is very variable and would appear not to afford any indication
of geographical variation.

The chickaree is strictly arboreal and does not hybernate.
Its food normally consists of nuts and grains, but it delights to
vary this diet with animal food occasionally and commits depre-
dations upon the nests of various birds eating the young birds
with a relish. It is thought by woodsmen that this active squir-
rel drives out the gray squirrel or harrasses it until it is glad
to leave the territory claimed by it. The winter store is said
to be collected in several places rather than in a single store-
house, as in the case of the chipmunk. Like the larger spe-
cies, the red squirrel collects leaves and grass in the branches
forming a nest for protection against cold during severe
weather.

The young are cared for in hollow trees until able to care
for themselves.

Sciurus carolinensis, var. leucotis GAPPER.

GRAY OR BLACK SQUIRREL.

The gray squirrel is locally rather abundant in Minnesota, and
is gaining rather than loosing as settlement continues. Color,

158 BULLETIN NO. VII.

clear whitish-gray, with a dorsal area of yellowish-brown.
Under parts white; sometimes jet black, with all intermediate
phases. Hairs of the tail white-tipped, with a subterminal
band of black, and black ampliations upon the brownish basal
portion. Lower parts rarely suffused with rufous. Ears gen
erally with a tuft of white behind at the base, not penciled.
Length, 10.50; tail, 11.50; tail vertebrae, 8; fore foot, 1.75; hind
foot, 2. 50. As a rule the males seem to be larger, but perhaps
there is no sexual variation. The top of the head is generally
clear, dark-gray, while often there is a lateral yellowish line.

It is curious that the melanistic phases seem to be local and
confined to narrow limits.

The southern variety of this species is considerably smaller
and decidedly less white. The two varieties pass into each
other. Variety leucotis extends throughout the northern United
States and southern Canada westward to the eastern border of

the plains, and southward to the isotherm of 56 F.

Sciurus niger LINN.

FOX SQUIKREL.

PLATE VIII.*

The varietal distinctions set up for the various phases of this
species are of very unimportant nature. Our specimens are all
of the variety ludovicianus. Length of body, 11-14; tail, to end of
vertebrae, 8 . 50 10 . 50. Above gray, with much suif used rufous
or sienna red ; ears, feet and lower parts rusty red, varied with
more or less dusky. The under surface is sometimes nearly
black. Specimens from the far west are paler, those from the
south more reddish below. The variety ludovicianus is confined
to the area drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries.

The gray squirrel seems more common in most parts of the
state, but the distribution is remarkably capricious.

GENUS SCIUROPTERUS, F. Cuv.

The flying squirrels are represented in North America by
but a single species extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific
and subject to great geographical variation.

The skull is short, broad, and strongly curved, orbits large,
interorbital region constricted, pterygoid processes slender,

*The plate is intended as an illustration of the adaptability of native animals to
decorative art. The present case being a tile in which conventionalization is intro-
duced into the accessories simply in order to highten contrasts otherwise too slight to
be available for such purposes.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 159

pre molars two. Fore limb with a catilaginous spur from the
carpus to which is attached the volar fascia passing like the
string of a shur through the hairy fold of skin serving for flight.
Fur very soft, tail with distichous pelage, ears large, eyes very
large.

( My notes on this genus having been lost only a brief ac
count of the common species is now possible.)

Sciuropterus volucella PALL.

(Plate VII.)

This beautiful species is extremely variable. The eastern
United States is inhabited by the variety volucella which rarely
exceeds 5| inches in length of body, the tail being somewhat less.
The color is a soft yellowish brown above, white or cream
colored below. The middle of the back and especially the upper
surface of the tail is darker than the remainder. The under
pelage is plumbeous or black and this frequently appears along
the edges of the wings and the terminal portion of the tail.

The species is dispersed throughout the wooded parts of
North America as far south as Central America.

In Minnesota it is extremely local. It often becomes a
familiar visitor in the door yards of country homes, flitting
from tree to tree at dusk and taking its pay by constant and
ill-timed forages upon the corn-cribs. Though very skillful
the little animals sometimes overestimate their powers and
falling short are precipitated to the earth, but their agility is
so great that they are almost instantly in their place in the
tree tops. When captured they make as engaging and sprightly
pets as could be expected of nocturnal animals. To the noc-
turnal habit may be attributed the comparative constancy of the
color pattern in spite of variation in other respects. The
rodents which are exposed to diurnal conditions being, on the
other hand, most variable in this particular.

The families are large and domestic, but little is known of
the household economy.

GENUS TAMIAS, ILL.

"Skull narrowed anteriorly; post-orbital process long,
very slender, directed downward and backward; plane of malar
bone more oblique, and the zygomatic process of the maxillary
more expanded and depressed than in Sciurus, but rather less so

160 BULLETIN NO. VII

than in Spermophilus ; ante orbital foramen oval, situated in
the base of the zygomatic process of the maxillary ; upper pre
molars two or one ; when two are present the first is generally
minute ; ears of medium size or small, never tufted ; cheek
pouches large ; pollex with a well-developed nail ; tail shorter
than the body, flattened and rather broad, but shorter and
narrower than in Sciurus ; dorsal surface with two to four Ion
gitudinal whitish stripes, with a central and two marginal black
stripes." This genus, though most closely allied to Spermophi-
lus, links that genus very closely to the arboreal squirrels, to
which some species bear a great resemblance in habits. The
genus is apparently of North American origin, though one
species is also found in Northern Asia and Europe. Dr. Mer-
riam describes a new subspecies as T. striatus lysteri, upon a
basis which it seems to us would make it possible to create
endless named varieties of the more widely distributed species,
especially if the seasonal and sexual and age variations are
quite neglected . A new species is also described by Dr. Mer-
riam, from California, as T. m^crorhabdotes.

Tamias striatus (LINN), BAIRD.

COMMON CHIPMUNK.

Length of body, 5.75; tail, to end of vertebrae, 3.65; to end of
hairs, 4.25; forefoot, 0.80; hindfoot, 1.35. Middle of back, gray,
rufous on the rump, grizzly brown to gray on head; sides yellow-
ish, whole lower surf ace white; tail blackish above, hairs white-
tipped. The back is ornamented by five narrow black stripes,
the two lateral ones on each side being separated by white lines
more or less buffy. A white superciliary line, and a yellowish
stripe beneath the eye.

As bearing on the habits of this interesting and social rodent
the following account is quoted from a sprightly article in the
American Naturalist by Ira Sayles: (Am. Nat. vol. iv, p 249.)

"I lately noticed in my garden a bright- eyed chipmunk,
Tamias striatus, advancing toward me. * * * Here he paused
a moment 'and gave a sharp look all around him, as if to detect
any lurking spy on his movements. (His distended cheeks
revealed his business; he had been out foraging.) He now put
his nose to the ground and, aiding this member with both fore
paws, thrust his head and shoulders down through the dry leaves
and soft muck, half burying himself in an instant.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA 161

At first I thought him after the bulb of an Erythronium that
grew near * * * Presently, however, he became compara-
tively quiet. In this state he remained, possibly half a minute.
He then commenced a vigorous action as if digging deeper;
but I noticed that he did not get deeper; on the contrary, he
was gradually backing out. I was surprised that in all his
apparent hard work (he worked like a man on a wager) he
threw back no dirt. But this vigorous labor could not last long.
He was soon completely above ground, and then became mani-
fest the object of his earnest work; he was refilling the hole
he had made and repacking the dirt and leaves he had dis-
turbed. Nor was he content with refilling and repacking the
hole. With his two little hand-like feet he patted the surface,
and so exactly replaced the leaves that, when he had completed
his task, my eye could detect not the slightest difference be-
tween the surface he had so cunningly manipulated and that
surrounding it. * * * It was now my turn to dig, in order
to discover the little miser's treasure. I gently removed enough
of the leaves and fine muck to expose his hoard half a pint of
buttercup seeds, Ranunculus acris. I took out a dozen seeds or
so, recovered tie treasure as well as my bungling hands could,
and withdrew filled with astonishment at the exhibition of cun-
ning, skill and instinct of the little much abused denizen of our
field borders."

The chipmunk often appears during warm days in mid winter
when it, in Minnesota, frequently feeds upon the bright berries
of the bitter-sweet which can furnish but very little nourish-
ment.

It is amusing to observe how fear often takes possession of
these timid animals. When pursued by a dog they will take
refuge in some low tree entirely secure from their enemy who
at once pursues what seems the most preposterous method,
barking and tearing the earth and going into a spasm of rage
in the most insane fashion. It often proves effective notwith-
standing, for, from sheer terror, the rodent springs wildly
about untillosing its foothold it falls into the very jaws of the
dog.

162

BULLETIN NO. VII.

Tamias asiaticus (GMELIN) ALLEN.

Var. qiiadrivittatus?

ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHIPMUNK.

PLATE IX, FIG. 21.

T. asiaticus is known to occur in the state from well authen-
ticated skins collected by T. S. Roberts near Duluth and from
observations made by Mr. Upham near Red Lake, indicating
that the species ranges nearly entirely across the state to a
considerable distance south of the boundary. The specimens
of Mr. Roberts are not now before me, but several examples
collected by myself in Canada, along the north-eastern shore
of Lake Superior, probably are identical. Along the north
shore this species is much more common than its larger rival
and conforms with great satisfaction to the conditions of exist-
ence presented by the rocky soil and depauperated vegetation.
It was never observed to climb, though carefully watched,
where it was quite abundant and fearless. Several individuals
visited our store-tent daily and gave us abundant opportunity
to observe the activity and pert, pretty ways in whict it out-
does the familiar species.

The following table presents the available measurements, all
being taken from animals collected at Michipicoten bay, Lake
Superior, during July and August:

Length of

Lengtl

i of tail

Nose

Right

INO.

body.

To hairs.

To vertebrae

Hina foot.

Fore foot.

to eye.

of ear.

i..

3.85
4 00

3.80
4 30

3.10

1.15
1 25

0.55
61

0.45
54

Fresh.
Alcoh'l

3.90

4 30

1.25

0.60

Alcoh'l

3.60

4 00

1.18

0.50

Alcoh'l

3.90

4 00

1.20

Alcoh'l

4.10

4.30

1.23

0.53

Skin.

These measurements are below the average of T. guadrivittatus
but the bright coloration points in that direction.

The characters of var. quadrivittatus are given as follows:
"Length of head and body, 4.50-5.00; of tail to end of vertebrae,
about 3.50; to end of hairs, about 4.50. Pattern of coloration
strictly the same as var. borealis, but the colors brighter, with
much more rufous, and the size smaller. Under parts sometimes
faintly tinged with fulvous. The black dorsal stripes are edged
and more or less mixed with rufous; the light stripes, especially

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 163

the outer, are whiter, varying from grayish- white to pure white;
the sides of body, especially anteriorly, are brignt reddish fer-
ruginous; the tail yellowish-rusty, with a sub terminal border
of black edged with yellowish." The habitat assigned to this
variety is the middle and southern portions of the Rocky moun-
tains from near the northern boundary of the United States to
New Mexico, westward to Pacific coast, eastward to the plains.

It is quite difficult to decide to which of the nominal varieties
these specimens belong. They occur in the range of borealis,
have the colors of quadrivitattus and size of pallidus. As a
matter of fact, very likely these varieties do not express all of
the tendencies to variation which seem to be governed by the
actually existing conditions of life rather than to express the
genetic relations.

The osteology of the Asiatic chipmunk would be of value
only as taken together with a description of the entire anatomy
and a minute comparison with other species of the genus, with
a view to discover what relations exist between these closely
allied species. A few measurements may prove instructive, as
affording a means of comparison with T. striatus.

Skull length, 1.25 (T; striatus, 1.60), width, 0.82 (0.97), nasals,
0.38 (0.51), incisors, to palate, 0.65 (0.85), between molars, 0.20
(0.24), rames, 0.80 (1,10).

Shoulderblade, 0.60 (0.80), humerus, 0.70 (0.90), ulna, 0.88
(1.00), longest metacarpal, 0.20 (0.28), pelvis, 0.85 (1.08), femur,
0.95(1.10), tibia, 1.10 (1.21), longest metatarsal, 0.50 (0.54).

These figures indicate a much more slender skull in T. stria-
tus (1.46 1.64 being the width to length ratios approximately).
This is largely due to the greater facial prolongation of the
latter, in which the nasal bone is contained 3.13 times in the
length of the skull, while in the smaller species it is 3.28 times.

The humerus is shortest proportionally in T. asiaticus (1.35
and 1.22 being the proportions between humerus and femur in
the two species. ) Perhaps the shorter humerus may be corre-
lated with less active and especially less arboreal habits. The
T. asiaticus does not seem to burrow as extensively as our chip-
munk. The greater length of the tail is as obvious in the
skeleton as in the flesh.

GENUS SPERMOPHILUS, F. Cuv.

This genus, a synopsis of which is given beyond, contains
about twenty species confined to the northern continents of

164 BULLETIN NO. VII.

both hemispheres. The spermophili are most numerous in the
temperate and north temperate regions, and are essentially
prairie animals. There are about equal numbers in America and
the Asiatic-European continent. They are not found in the
eastern portions of America; nor are they numerous in western
Europe, so that the plains of Asia may be taken as their geo-
graphical centre. The fossil forms, of which there are several,
do not afford conclusive evidence upon the origin of the genus.
Its species are very like members of several different genera:
Sciurus (the squirrels), Tamias (the chipmunks), Cynomys (the
prairie dogs) and Arctomys (the woodchucks). Different species
are more like one or the other of these groups, so the group is
rather heterogeneous and consequently difficult to diagnose.
The form is usually slender; the tail is not so bushy as in most
squirrels, and its hairs are usually more obviously dichotomous
in their arrangement than in squirrels. The tail is of variable
length but, in the majority of cases, is short and stumpy. The
ears are never tufted as in most squirrels, but may be quite
large; in typical forms, however, they are small and rounded.
Like Tamias, the gophers have well developed pockets opening
inside the mouth and operated by special muscles. There may
or may not be a nail upon the thumb.

Aside from these external characters there are some osteo-
logical peculiarities. There are always two premolars i. e.,
five back teeth; the zygoma is flattened horizontally; the ante-
orbital foramen is triangular instead of a narrow slit and is
protected by a spur at the lower outer corner.

The genus Tamias in habits and in structure forms the link
between the gophers and squirrels, and the line of demarkation
between the former is purely artificial. The genus has been
divided into three sections or subgenera, and before passing to
the list of species we may quote the diagnoses as revised by
Allen, to whose paper in the Rodentia of North America the
reader is referred for a full discussion of their position.

"Sub-genus OTOSPERMOPHILVS, Brandt. Ears large, high, pointed (larger
and more pointed than in some species of Sciurus)] tail long, full and
broad, with the hairs two-thirds to three-fourths the length of the
head and body; general form of the skull, and the dentition, strongly
Sciurine.

Sub-genus COLOBOTIS, Brandt. Ears small, sometimes marginiform; tail
short, flattened, with the hairs one-third to one-half the length of
the body; skull short and broad, the zygomatic arches broad, gener-
ally greatly widened posteriorly; dentition heavy, and the first
upper premolar generally large.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 165

Sub-genus ICTIDOMYS, Allen. Ears generally small,sometimes rudimentary;
tail long, cylindrical, or narrow and flattened, or quite broad, with
the hairs one-half to three-fourths the length of the body; skull very
long and narrow; first upper premolar usually rather small, and the
dentition not heavy."

It will be seen that there are but two species, S. franklini and
S. tridecemlineatus, whose range brings them within our limits,
although specimens of one of the varieties of S. richardsoni
might possibly cross our northwestern boundary. Both the
species above mentioned may be found in suitable localities
throughout the state. The 8. franklini is less fossorial, and
being a more conspicuous animal, is soon destroyed in thickly
settled regions, while the great fertility and more subterranean
habits of the leopard gopher, enable it to hold its own in spite
of the best endeavors of the farmer and the army of boys and
dogs who pursue it in the vicinity of towns. Their curiosity
being the one failing which enables boys of exceptional pa-
tience to snare them at the openings of the burrows into which
they have been seen to plunge.

Spermophilus tridecemlineatus MITCHILL.

PLATE X.

Sciurus tridecemlineatus MITCHILL,, Med. Repos., xxi, 1821; DESMAREST,.

Mamm. ii, 1822.
Arctomys tridecemlineatus HARLAN, Fauna Amer.. 1825; GODMAN, Am.

Nat. Hist, ii, 1826.
Spermophilus tridecemlineatus AuDUBONand BACHMAN, Quad. N. A., i, 1849;

HOY, Pat. Off. Rep. Agr., 1853; KENNICOTT, ib., 1856;

BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857; THOMAS, Trans. Ill State Agr.

Soc., 1860; ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1870.
Spermophilus tridecem. var. tridecemlineatus ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat-

Hist., 1874; Monographs N. A. Rodentia : 1877.
Arctomys hoodi SABINE, Trans. Linn. Soc., 1822; Franklin's Journal, 1823;

FISCHER, Synop. Mam. 1829; WAGNER, Schreber's Sau-

gethiere.

Arctomys (Spermophilus) hoodi RICHARDSON, Fauna Boreali-Amer., 1829.
Spermophilus hoodi F. CUVIER, Suppl. Buffon. 1831; MAXIMILLIAN, Reise

N. Amer., 1839; Archiv. f. Naturgesch. , 1861. WAGNER,

Suppl. Schreber's Sauget., 1843; BRANDT, Bull. Physico-

Math. Cl. Acad. St. Petersb., 1844: SCHINZ. Syn. Mam.,

1845; GIEBEL, Saugethiere, 1855.

A full-grown female measures as follows: Head and body,
7.25; tail, 4.15; total length, 11.40; hind foot. 1.50; fore foot,
0.85; longest fore claw, 0.30; nose to eye,0.80; nose to ear, 1.50;
nose to occiput, 2.0; night of ear, 0.30; longest hairs on the

166 BULLETIN NO. VII.

tail, 1.0; lower incisors, 0.30; claw of thumb, 0.10; cheek pouches,
1.50 deep from incisor. The prevailing color is pale lemon
yellow with almost a greenish tinge, this is everywhere warmed
with suffusions of rusty orange so that at a distance the ground
color might be called rusty yellow; about the lips, throat and
eyes the color is nearly white; the upper part of the head is
enlivened with bright orange anteriorly and chestnut with an
admixture of dark brown posteriorly; the back is marked with
about nine broad stripes of very dark brown locally suffused
with chestnut, one of these stripes passing down the middle of
the back beginning upon the occiput and fusing into the brighter
colors on the upper surface of the tail; anteriorly this stripe is
divided by a narrow band of the general body color, but back of
the shoulders this breaks up into rather regular blotches oc-
cupying the middle of the dark band; the two dark bands on
either side of the central one also contain rows of light spots,
while the remainder of the dark bands are narrower and un-
spotted. The appearance thus produced is that of a dark
dorsal surface broken by alternating continuous narrow, light-
colored lines and rows of spots. The outer side of the hind
legs is brindled and at the ankle there is a considerable suffu-
sion of rufous. The tail is orange or chestnut with a bar of
white near the end of the hairs, the longest of which are white
tipped. The tail is scantily hairy and the hairs are dichotom-
ously arranged. The posterior part of the sole is hairy. The
vibrissse are black and the longest reach to the ear. The ears
are covered without and within with close fur. The muffle is
very small. There is a pale depauperate variety (pallidus
Allen) occupying the prairies of Colorado, Wyoming, and parts
of. Missouri and Arkansas. The species ranges from the
Saskatchawan region to Texas and from Ohio to Utah. Minne-
sota is thus the peculiar home of the typical form and thus
deserves the name "Gopher State."

Spermophilus franklini (SABINE) LESSON.

GRAY GOPHER.

Length, 9.50-10.50; tail to end of vertebrae, 5.50-6.50; to end
of hairs, 6.50-8.50; nose to eye, 0.95; hind foot, 2.00.

General color brownish yellow above, pied everywhere by
the black of the base of the hairs, which shows in wavy lines
so as to produce almost a marbled appearance. The yellowish

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 167

fades out anteriorly, and on the head there is only pure black
and white, mingled to form a clear grey, as also on the sides of
the head. There is a conspicuous white ring about the eye,
which is separated from the black of the lids by an inconspicu-
ous yellowish line; a little yellowish too is found on the ears.
The end of the nose is buffy. The sides of the body are lighter
than the back, and the black is most conspicuous upon the
sides of the hip and thigh. The outside of the fore leg is yel-
lowish. The yellowish of the back extends some distance upon
the tail, which, however, has a prevailingly whitish color, the
hairs being yellowish white at the base, black medianly and
for a considerable distance near the end pure white. The under
parts, inside of legs and part of cheeks are white. Claws
blackish, teeth white, iris dark brown. The pelage is stiff and
nearly destitute of under fur, that of the tail being distichous
and abundant, often nearly as full as in the gray squirrel, which
this species not a little resembles. There are well developed
cheek-pouches provided with special muscles. Six pairs of
teats are present. The ears in this species are very small.

This graceful animal was at one time fairly abundant through-
out the southern part of Minnesota, but is being rapidly extermin-
ated by civilization. The natural home is about the edges of
copses and it is not unusual for the animal to take refuge in a low
tree or close thicket rather than its burrow. Being so much
more conspicuous and less fossorial it is less fitted to hold its
own than the striped gopher. It is still abundant about Big
Stone lake, where it will approach the traveler's tent fearlessly
and may be taken by the hand if desired. During the summer
it feeds upon wild fruits, sue.- as strawberries, but has well-
marked carniverous propensities During a few days' encamp-
ment on Lake Traverse several of these animals became so
domestic as to partake freely of fish from our taible so long as
no suspiciously hasty motions were executed by the human
participants. The following are typical measurements for this
region :

No. 86. (Female) Head and body, 9. 75; tail to end of vertebrae,
5.50; to end of hairs, 6.70; nose to eye, 95; nose toear, 1.80;
hight of ear, 0.50; fore foot, .1.20; hind foot, 2.10; upper in-
cisors, 0.25; lower incisors, 0.41.

In his monograph of the squirrels, Mr. Allen mentions that
the gray gopher, Spermophilus franklini, was introduced in
Tuckerton, New Jersey, in 1867; where it has gone on multiply-

168 BULLETIN NO. VII.

ing ever since, as Mr. Jillson kindly informs me. Mr. Jillson
writes under date of May 18th, 1885: "They are not numerous
enough yet to do a great deal of damage to crops, but if a pair
takes up its abode near small chickens or turkeys, they soon
thin them out. When not frightened into their holes they gen
erally plug them up with dirt, but always leave them open
when out." This latter habit has not been noticed by any
other observer, and is not shared in by the striped gopher ; in
fact it may be that this habit is one result of their more
exposed habitat.

GENUS ARCTOMYS, (LiNN.) SCHREBER.

' Skull with the dorsal outline nearly straight ; frontal
region flat or depressed ; postorbitals triangular at base, with
a long decurved point ; zygomatic arches moderately expanded,
not widening and diverging posteriorly ; grinding teeth rather
small, the transverse and an tero- posterior diameters about
equal, and the molar series very nearly parallel ; occipital and
interparietal crests well developed ; anteorbital foramina sub-
triangular, widest below, but not thrown outward.

"Size large; body thick- set, broad, depressed; cheek -
pouches small ; tail rather short, bushy not flattened ; ears
small ; nail of pollex broad, flat, or wanting ; pelage consisting
of long coarse hairs and thick under fur. Coloration generally
yellowish gray or brownish, without either distinct spots or
stripes." The woodchucks are magnified Spermophiles with
some of the characters intensified, but seem to be an older and
more synthetic type perhaps the most central living group of
the Sciuridce.

Three closely allied species are recognized from America,
A. monax from the eastern United States north to Hudson's
Bay, A. flaviventer, from the Rockies, A. pruinosus, from Alaska
and northwestern America. The last is very close to the Old
World form A. marmota, which is at home in the Alps, Pyre-
nees and Carpathians. A small species, A. bobac, occurs in
Siberia and Russia.

Arctomys monax (LiNN) SCHREBER.
WOODCHUCK.

Length, 13.50 15.50; tail to end of vertebrae 4.50; to end of
hairs, 6.75; hind foot, 3.00; fore foot 2.30; nose to eye 1.50.

Color, a mixture of gray, fulvous and brown, below brown to
rufous. Top of head, feet and tail dark brown to black; sides

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 169

of head and and threat yellowish, chin and nose gray. Below,
especially about the fore legs, with much rusty red. Ears
rounded, rather large. Tail short, bushy, terete. Colors vary
greatly, with noticeable tendency to melanism. A patch of
white marks the lower lip and a more or less distinct bar of
gray crosses the muzzle. There is a curious callosity just
above the short upper incisors. The sole has six callosities, the
palm five. There are two pairs of pectoral and one of in
guinal teats separated by an interval of five inches.

The woodchuck may be somewhat widely distributed in Min-
nesota but the only localities at which is has been encountered
are upon the tributaries of the St. Louis and the shores of lake
Superior. Here it does not appear to attain the size of the
eastern specimens and perhaps is more brightly colored,
though observations are lacking to support this statement.
The habits are exactly those of the Spermophiles including the
curiosity which makes them an easy prey to the trapper.

An adult Ohio female measures as follows: Length, 14.50;
tail to end of hairs. 9.50; fore foot, 2.50; hind foot, 3.00; nose
to eye, 1.80; nose to ear, 3.70; hight of ear, 1.00; width of
muzzle, 1.15; distance between eyes, 1.90.

FAMILY CASTOKID^E.

This family is placed among the Sciuromorpha, thus express-
ing a relationship with the squirrels which is more completely
seen in internal structure than in externals. The family differs
from the squirrels in not possessing the postorbital frontal
processes and in the oblique positions of the molar series. The
teeth are imperfectly rooted and the enamel is folded, more as in
the Muridce. Some doubt may be expressed as to the correctness
of this reference, since in several characters the resemblance
is with the Myomorpha. The existing members of the Castori-
dce are modified for aquatic life and seem to have descended
from aquatic species.

The Myomorpha include several aquatic species but, beyond a
superficial resemblance, even the muskrat has little in common
with the beavers.

Beavers, not very unlike the existing species, made their ap-
pearance during the Miocene Tertiary. The genera Trogono-
therium in India Ghalicomys in Europe and Steneofiber and Eucastor
in America were companions of their more favored relative. The
Miocene was the period during which the rodents differentiated
-11

170 BULLETIN NO. VII.

most rapidly, leaving little but retrenchment for the following
periods.

Eucastor was a genus of small beavers the known examples
of which were less than half the size of our species. There is
some reason to doubt if it is more than sub-generically distinct
from the modern form.

Steneofiber and Palceocastor are vicarious genera, the one in
Europe the other in America, which may easily be identical.

Trogonotherium contained species considerably larger than ex-
isting beavers.

GENUS CASTOR.

Feet five- toed, hind feet palmate; body stout, especially be-
hind; tail laterally expanded, scaly; skull somewhat as in
squirrels but without postorbital frontal processes. Molars
-, single rooted, the dentinal pulp persisting until a late per-
iod, triturating surface composed of enamel folds; lower jaw
massive, symphysis firmly closed. The genus is represented
at present by a single circumpolar species which may be
divided into two sub-species or varieties with very close rela-
tions.

The very careful review of the evidence bearing on the ques-
tion of the relation of the two forms given in Dr. Ely's account
contained in Morgan's "Beaver and His Works", makes a dis-
cussion of the matter unnecessary. Certain constant but min-
ute differences in osteology and the nature of the secretion are
demonstrated, while the importance to be admitted for them
must be a matter of opinion.

Castor flb^r LINN.

BEAVER.

Body thick and heavy, with the greatest diameter near the
hips, length about 30 inches; tail, 10 inches; the head is broad,
depressed; nostrils lateral in a naked muffle; ears nearly hidden
in the fur, rounded; the fore feet are small and are not used in
swimming; hind feet broad, webbed, second toe often with a
double claw; color, reddish-brown, darker in winter. The long
hairs are coarse and glossy, the under pelage soft, fluffy and of
a grayish color. Melanism is common northward, albinoes not
being rare. The beaver is the largest North American rodent;
indeed, with the single exception of the capybara, it is the

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 171

largest living species, and but few fossil forms could have much
excelled it, the gigantic Casteroides, elsewhere mentioned, be-
ing perhaps the largest as it was nearly the size of a black bear.
A detailed account of the anatomy of the animal is given in
Capt. Morgan's work already referred to, to which the reader
is referred.

The natural history of the beaver makes a pleasing chapter
in science both on account of the charming social habits of the
animal and the intelligence indicated by his architectural
powers. The beaver is par excellence the builder among our
native animals and the forethought evidenced by the dams and
other structures compels interest.

With the teeth for ax and chisel and the tail as trowel, the
beaver is able to perform feats of mechanical engineering
worthy of human tools and ingenuity. The fore feet, although
small and useless in swimming, are dexterously employed in
building, there being considerable play between the bones of
the fore arm. The claws are strong and and adapted to bur-
rowing as the animal is regularly fossorial. The hind feet are
fully webbed and the claw of the second toe has a curious pro-
jection below peculiar to this animal. The hearing and smell
are acute and in part compensate for rather imperfect sight.
Although social, the social instinct extends but little beyond
the family circle and is by no means so extended as often
imagined.

From two to six young are born after a period of gestation of
about three or four months. The young are born in May and
may be weaned in six or eight weeks.

The food of the beaver consists almost entirely of the bark
and wood of deciduous trees, birch, cottonwood, willow, poplar
and maple being preferred. In order to obtain the green
nutritious bark of the branches, trees of astonishing size,
considering the implement used, are cut down and dismembered.

In preparing for winter great industry is shown. As the
beaver does not hibernate, he requires suitable food laid away
for four months of enforced confinement. Like the pocKet
gophers, they are equal to the emergency. Commencing in
September they cut and store their winter's food. Though this
labor is performed chiefly at night, beavers are not strictly
nocturnal. In regions where they have been unmolested they
swim freely by day and sun themselves like the mnskrat.

The location of the burrow and the building of the lodges in-
dicate great skill, judgment or instinct.

172 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The beaver is naturally pre-emminently a burrowing animal
and the lodge is thought to have been derived from a modifi-
cation of the burrow. Where the burrows have been broken
into by accident they are frequently repaired with sticks and
grass, thus imitating a lodge and perhaps suggesting how the
latter may have originated.

The burrow is the city of refuge and is always provided
although the family occupies a lodge. The entrance to these
burrows is usually from beneath the roots of a tree and the
adit may be ten or fifteen feet long. The chamber in which it
terminates is perhaps two feet in diameter. The end of the
burrow is often protected by a pile of sticks which serves in
winter to prevent the solidification of snow over the chamber
and thus excluding the air. Such heaps of sticks may have
been the introductory step to the formation of the lodge. In
many regions where beavers are abundant lodges are not found.
The European variety does not exhibit the architectural
skill for which ours is noted.

The lodge seems to be adapted for a brood chamber, and
varies with its location. It is a dome- shaped structure com-
posed of poles and earth. The lodge is small at first, and is
not abandoned at the end of the season, as in the case of the
muskrat, but is enlarged annually. The cavity within, which
usually communicates with the exterior by two openings, is
gradually enlarged, and the lodge receives increments of sticks
from without. The sticks laid up for winter are used in the
spring for repairing the lodge and the dam. Each fall the
lodge is plastered externally with mud, which freezing makes
it very firm. A large lodge may measure over twenty feet in
external diameter, and the chamber corresponding, eight feet,
and a foot and one-half in hight. The floor of the chamber is
usually near the water's edge, and is beaten hard. The skill
displayed in the construction of a lodge is no greater than that
of the muskrat ; the superiority of the beaver lies in his skill
in constructing dams and other structures secondary to the
lodge. Canals and dams constitute the chef d'ouvre of the bea-
ver. The dam precedes the lodge in the order of formation,
and is designed to retain the water in the pond selected as the
site of the lodge at a constant level. The dam, like the lodge,
is of gradual formation, and is not necessarily the product of
co-operative industry beyond the limits of a single family.
Dams are either permeable or compact. The solid dam is pre-
ferred where the opening is well defined and furnished with

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 173

firm banks. The dam is begun by laying, sticks in regular
order parallel to the current and loading with rocks and mud.
Nothing of the nature of stakes or piles is employed. The
poles may be twelve feet long, and are arranged with great
precision. The inner slope is more abrupt, and is faced with
earth and turf, forming below an impervious layer. The dam
requires constant repairing, and may be added to annually
until it becomes a very considerable and solid structure. The
upper part of the dam being more permeable than the lower,
the water is permitted to percolate through without gathering
head at any place, thus preventing injury. The best authori-
ties state that there is no co-operatiou in the work of repairing,
but that each beaver examines and builds as he sees fit. Others
claim that there is a systematic supervision by older members
of the clan and appointed relays, reserves and the like. This
may be due to the close concert of action observed. When
busily engaged upon their structures, carrying earth and trow-
eling it upon the inside of the dam, or patting it firmly on the
lodges with their tails, the appearance is very like that of
a disciplined force of builders, and at the approach of danger,
the simultaneous disappearance of the party, each with a dis-
tinct slap upon the water with the tail, tends to high ten the
effect of concerted action.

The beaver not only forms dams and lodges, but excavates
extensive canals through the swampy ground adjacent in order
to transport the cuttings and boughs used in construction.
Often the trees used by the beaver are not found in immediate
proximity to the pond, and such canals are carried to the higher
ground where suitable growths of poplar, birch or maple are
situated. The boughs used upon the dam are often*so large as
to be carried with great difficulty on land, but can be trans-
ported by water with ease. Sach canals also connect the pond
with the burrow where the margins are soft and swampy.
Canals of this sort are often over 100 feet long. Where the
banks are abrupt the beaver excavates inclined passages or
slides, somewhat similar to otter slides, along which the brush-
wood is carried to the stream. This reminds one of what may
be seen along the white cliffs in the Tyrol, where well-worn
slides several hundred feet long mark the ways along which
peasants send the faggots used for fuel in the valleys.

When abundant, the beaver is easily trapped, and its fur was
once a staple commodity among the early settlers, often taking
the place of currency. The trap, which is a medium- sized

174 BULLETIN NO. VII.

double- spring steel, smoothed- jawed trap, is placed in a breech.
in the dam and is intended to catch the unconscious repairer
by the hind foot, as the fore foot would be torn away or severed
by the teeth. Traps are also frequently set at the opening of
the lodges or burrows, or even in frequented run-ways. The
usual practice is, where possible to arrange the ring at the end
of the chain so that it will slide downward upon an obliquely
placed pole and drown the beaver, which instinctively dives
when first discovering its peril.

Sometimes gum camphor, castoreum or oil of juniper is used
to attract beaver to the vicinity of the trap. A more destruc-
tive method is sometimes employed. A party systematically
drives the beaver from the lodges to the burrows, the mouths
of which are then stopped, and the beaver are dug out and
easily secured. The Indian resorts to a method requiring more
patience and cunning. The pile of twigs gathered for food is
barricaded, only a single opening being left. This is guarded
by a twig, the movement of which apprizes the watcher of the
entrance of the unsuspecting animal into the enclosure, which
is now closed, and the beaver being confined under the ice soon
drowns and is removed to make room for another victim. A
single trapper can care for a line of thirty or forty miles.

The beaver has been generally distributed over the wooded
parts of the United States. The following quotation fromGeikie's
Geological Sketches will illustrate the conditions in many other
regions: "The extent to which the valley bottoms in this and
the other mountain ranges of western North America have been
changed by the operations of this animal is almost incredible.
In a single valley, for example, hundreds of acres are gradually
submerged- and their cottonwood or other tree- growth is killed.
In this way the floor of the valley is cleared of timber. The
beaver ponds, eventually silting up, become first marshes and
then, by degrees, fine meadows."

In most of the wooded parts of Minnesota beaver were once
abundant, but the traces of their existence are rapidly disap-
pearing, and lodges can now be found only in the inaccessible
regions far northward.

FAMILY

The North American Muridce, according to Dr. Coues, may be
characterized as follows :

Dental formula: i. -}-:}. c. :$ pm. -:g- m. f :f. Anteorbital
foramen a large pyriform slit, bounded anteriorly by a broad

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 175

plate of the maxillary. Coronoid, condylar, and descending
processes of the mandible well developed and distinct. Tibia
and fibula united below. Two sub-families Murinoe and Arvico-
lince are here recognized.

SUBFAMILY MURING.

This subfamily contains a large number of sprightly animals,
represented very familiarly by the domestic pests, and easily
distinguishable from the field mice, which constitute the other
subfamily of the Muridce, by their slender, lithe form, large
eyes and ears, pointed snout, and the long tail, which is cov-
ered with circlets of scales.

In this subfamily the teeth are rather adapted to an omnivo-
rous diet than a strictly herbivorous or gramnivorous one.
The incisors are rather narrow, squirrel-like, and the molars
are rooted and with tuberculate crowns. The skull is quite
different from that of arvicoline rodents. The nasal bones
project forward. The zygomas are abruptly curved downward,
the palate is simple, and the angle of the mandible not strongly
hamular.

Instead of going into elaborate details it is thought better to
reproduce the admirable tabular statement drawn up by Dr.
Coues and published in Monographs of North American Roden-
tia, p. 45.

NORTH AMERICA. SOUTH AMERICA.

a. With grooved upper incisors.

Genus OCHETODON, Coues. Form i Genus KEITHRODON, Waterh. Form
murine. leporine.

b. With smooth upper incisors.

Subgenus VESPERIMUS, Coues. Subgenus CALOMYS, Waterh. Form

Form murine.

Subgenus ONYCHOMYS, Baird.
Form arvicoline.

Submenus ORYZOMYS, Baird. Form

rat-like.
Genus HOLOOHILUS. Brandt. Form

rat-like.

murine.
Subgenus HABROTHRIX, Waterh .

Form arvicoline.
Subgenus OXYMICTERUS, Waterh.

Genus SIGMODON , Say . Form arvi-
coline.

Genus NEOTOMA, Say. Form rat-
like.

176 BULLETIN NO. VII.

GENUS VESPERIMUS, COUES.

A word of explanation is necessary in thus employing the
name usually considered subgeneric under Hesperomys as of full
generic value. This change was the result of an attempt to
diagnose the genus Hesperomys as it now stands in our litera-
ture, with the groups Vesperimus, Onychomys, Oryzomys, Calomys,
Habrothrix and Oxymicterus as subgenera. It was found impos-
sible to distinguish these genera collectively from the associated
genera by any characters of a higher sort than those separating
them among themselves. In this dilemma the simplest remedy
seemed to be to disregard altogether the generic name
Hesperomys, which was, as pointed out by Baird,orginally applied
to the whole group of Sigmodont Muridce. Moreover, Hesperomys
would need to give place to the prior name, Sigmodon, if its sig-
nification were simply restricted to the whole group to which
it could naturally be applied. Sigmodon, however, is duly rec-
ognized as a valid generic term, and for our part we do not see
that any harm can result from the change proposed.

The genus Vesperimus was amply characterized by its founder
and, as by him diagnosed, includes animals of medium or small
size, lithe form and quick movement. The long hind legs and
rather short anterior extremities adapt them for rapid running
and springing, while the short fore claws indicate that they are
not fossorial. The fore feet are rather less than half as long
as the six tubercled soles. The palms are naked, while the
soles, in most of the species, are furry posteriorly. The tail is
usually long as compared to other native mice, ranging from
considerably longer than the remainder of the body to the
length of the trunk alone.

The head presents an animated appearance. The bright
prominent eyes, large sparsely pilous ears and acute muzzle
conspiring to give vivacity to the face. The ears are unusually
large and thin. The colors are bright, and the contrast between
the upper and lower surfaces of both body and tail is marked.

The most unreflecting person would be forced to admire the
sprightly deer mice, and they universally attract attention,
while their inroads upon the graneries are rarely so great as
to merit the execration poured upon their domestic cousins.

The cranial and other anatomical characters maybe gathered
from the specific description beyond ; a few points only need
be noticed. Characteristic features are the slender rostral
part occasioned by development of the nasals and premaxilla-
ries, the broad, low, cranial portion, and deflected zygomas.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 177

The lower jaw is elongated, with low coronoid and broad but
not hamular angle. The skull is twice as long as wide. The
length of the lower jaw is about three times its hight.

The scapula differs from that bone in Arvicola by being less
slender and having a short acromium and broad metacromium.
The deltoid ridge of the humerus is fairly developed. The
sternum consists of six sternebrae, the manubrium being very
broad anteriorly. The fibula is united with the tibia, as in
Arvicola, but is less slender, and the limb is proportionally
longer.

We have purposely omitted the dentition from the above
account, preferring to quote Coues' statements as the most sat-
isfactory general account at hand:

''The molar series is both short and narrow, between one-
sixth and one-seventh the length of the skull. . . . The molars
rapidly decrease in size from before backward, particularly in
the upper jaw, where the last one is subcircular, and not more
than half as large as the middle one, which itself is less than
the front one. . . . The molars of the upper jaw'have three
roots apiece, two external and one internal; those of the under
jaw have but two, placed one after the other on the median line.
. . . The unworn molars of Hesperomys show a double
lengthwise series of conical tubercles connected by lower cross-
wise ridges, and the whole face of the tooth is encased in a
sheet of enamel continuous with that of the sides of the tooth.
. . . The tubercles are not exactly opposite each other in
crosswise pairs, but are half -alternating. Down between the
bases of these conical eminences are seen furrows, the more
readily noticeable because generally blackened, apparently by
the sticking of foreign matter in them. They represent the
deep, close-curved plications of enamel that penetrate the tooth
from either side, the ends of the loops nearly or quite meet-
ing in the substance of the tooth. ... It will be seen that,
after abrasion has commenced, the molar crowns will present a
different pattern with each stage of the process. . . . The
student may imagine the top of a pigeon pie, full of humps and
hollows, gradually razeed down by a succession of thin parallel
horizontal slices. Let the crust be the enamel, and the substance
of the pie the dentine ; the first slice will shave off the tops of
one or more humps, exposing the interior (dentine) in isolated
places, these islands lying in a network of crust (enamel)."

The habits seem to be as uniform as the structure, and our
species may furnish an idea of the group.

178 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Vesperimus leucopus RAFINESQUE.
WHITE-FOOTED OR DEER MOUSE.

PLATE XI.

M us sylvaticus var., ERXLEBEN, Syst. An., 1775.

M us sylvaticus var. novebiracewis FISCHER, Synopsis, 1829.

Mas noveboracensis SELYS-LONGCFIAMPS, Etudes de microm., 1639.

Mus agrarius var. americanus, KERB'S Linnaeus, 1792.

Mus agrarius GODMAN, Am. Nat. Hist., 1860.

Musculus leucopus RAFINESQUE, Am. Monthly Mag., 1818.

Mus leucopus DESMAREST, Mam., 1822.

HARLAN, Fauna Amer.. 1825.

GRIFFITH, Animal Kingd., 1827.

FISCHER, Synopsis, 1829.

RICHARDSON, Fauna Bor. Am., 1829.

DEKAY, N. Y. Zool., 1842.

AUD. & BACH., Quad. N. Am., 1849.

THOMPSON, Nat. Hist. Vermont, 1853.

KENNICOTT, Agri. Rep. U. S. Pat. Office, 1856.
Hesperomys leucopus LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1852.

BAIRD, Mammals of N. A., 1857.

ALLEN, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 1869, 1870.

BALL, Alaska and its Resources, 1870.

MAXIMILIAN, Arch. Naturgesch., 1862; Verzei. N. Am.

Saugeth.,1362.
Hesperomys (Calomys) leucopus WAGNER, Schreber's Saug.

GIEBEL, Die Saugethiere, 1859.
Hesperomys (Vesperimus)kucopus COUES, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. ,1874;

Monogr. North Arner. Rod., 1877.
Hesperomys ( Vesperimus) americanus COUES & YARROW, Rep.Zool. Expl. W.

100 Merid., 1875.

Cricetus myoides GAPPER, Zool. Journ., 1830.
Hesperomys myoides BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.
Arvicola emmonsi DEKAY, Rep. Quadrupeds Mass., 1840.
Hesperomys maniculatus WAGNER, Wiegmann's Archiv., 1843-1845; Abhand.

Akad. Wiss., 1848.

Hesperomys polionotus WAGNER, Wiegmann's Archiv., 1843.
Hesperomys campestris LECONTE, Proc., Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853.

AUD. & BACH., Quad. N. A., 1854.

BAIRD, Mammals N. A., 1857.

Hesperomys texanus WOODHOUSE, Proc. Acad., Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853;
Sitgreaves' Rep. Expl. Zuni R., 1853.

AUD. & BACH., Quad. N. A., 1854.

BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857; U. S. & Mex. Bound. Surv.,1859.

KENNERLY, Pac. R. R. Rep., 1859.
Hesperomys cognatus LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855.

BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.
Hesperomys gracilis LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 179

Hesperomys austcrus BAIRD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855; Mam. N.
Amer., 1857.

COOPER & SUCKLEY, Nat. Hist. Wash. Ter., 1860.

Hesperomys boylii BAIRD, Proc. Acad. Nat.Sci. Phila., 1855. Mam. N.A., 1857.
Hesperomys gambeli BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857: Pac. R. R. Rep., 1859.

NEWBERRY, P. R. R. Rep., 1857.

COOPER & SUCKLEY, Nat. Hist. Wash. Ter., 1860.

The white-footed or deer mouse is familiar to every farmer's
boy, and claims admiration, not only on account of its graceful
form and spirited appearance, but by its pretty though subdued
coloration and sprightly movements. The soft brown pelage
of the upper parts contrasts nicely with the pure white of the
feet and under parts. The origin of the name deer mouse is
found partly in the fawn color which is the normal color of the
back and partly also in the long leaps by which the mouse es-
capes its pursuers. In the young the shade is less bright and
is more like that of the house mouse, while the dorsal colora
tion extends downward on the outside of the legs. That the
animal is subject to interminable variations in color is seen from
the long list of synonyms given. A full discussion of the value
of specific characters based on such varieties of coloration may
be found in Coues' article on this species in the monographs of
N. A. Rodentia, already frequently referred to. It may be ad-
mitted without discussion that the specific identity of the names
united above is settled once for all by that author's careful
revision. Our Minnesota specimens, when adult, are remarka-
bly uniform, and present no noteworthy variations. The upper
parts are a warm brown as far as well down upon the shoulder
and hips. The back is considerably darkened by numerous
nearly black hairs while the tail is dark brown above and pure
white below. The thighs are gray. The ears are dark with a
white margin. There is a dark spot at the base of the whisk-
ers which are themselves black. The size of this species varies
somewhat, but the chief differences are in the proportional
length of tail and body.

For Minnesota the following measurements are typical for
the female:

Total length 7.0; tail 3.4; body 3.6; hind foot 0.9; fore-fuot
0.4; span of hind legs 4.4; of fore legs 3.4; nose to eye 0.55;
nose to ear 1.0; hight of ear 0.7.

The length of the male is less by half an inch than in the
female, the proportions remaining about the same.

According to Coues the averages of eighty specimens from
Massachusetts are as follows:

180 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Total length 6.45; trunk 3.25; tail 3.20; nose to eye 50; nose
to ear 0.90; palms 0.34; soles 0.80; ears 0.55.

It must be remembered that measurements of prepared speci-
mens in which age and sex are, for great part, neglected, are
eminently untrustworthy. Could such sources of error be
eliminated probably much of the variability assumed would
disappear. Although, therefore, the size of Minnesota speci-
mens seems slightly to exceed the average of the eastern form,
there is no certainty of this, our measurements giving the full
normal size. On the other hand the length of the tail and the
size fully distinguish our deer mice from the Arctic variety
which is characterized by a shorter tail and larger size. The
size is about as in the nominal variety "myoides," but the tail is
not generally as long as the head and body. Our specimens
may be unhesitatingly compared with those from northern New
England. Students of these animals should be warned that the
length even of the tail and feet, particularly the former,
changes considerably in drying, hence, only fresh measure-
ments are of positive value in a critical discussion. As we have
but three quite distinct forms of the numerous styles of Ves-
perimus in Minnesota we are happily not required to meddle
with such matters.

' 'It [the white-footed mouse] is a good climber, and I have
often found its nest in ,holes in living trees, more than seventy
feet above the ground. While on a snow-shoe walk with a
friend one bright moonlight evening, several winters ago, one
of them was observed skipping lightly over the snow a short
distance ahead. We gave chase, but the mouse escaped by
running up the trunk of a smooth -barked beech hard by. My
friend, who was not aware of its climbing propensities, looked
on in amazement while the mouse, with as much ease and
nimbleness as a squirrel, ascended the tree and disappeared in
a knot-hole high among the branches.

"The white-footed mouse does not hibernate. Except during
the severest weather, its tracks may be seen on the snow
throughout the winter, its long tail leaving a furrow by which
it may always be recognized. In the autumn it lays up an im-
mense store of provisions for so small an animal 1 ."

In forest regions beech-nuts are said to usually furnish the
winter larder and it is not rare to find several quarts thus
stored away. Kennicott speaks of having found within a

(1). Mammals of the Adirondacks, p. 263.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 181

stump in a clover field, several quarts of clean red clover seed
collected by a family of these mice.

Dr. Samuel Lockwood in the "American Naturalist" for 1871
contributes a delightful chapter on the musical capacities of
the wood mice. This we quote almost entire as placing the
animal before us in vivid and novel light and applying almost
as well to the present species.

"Last spring my friend, Philip Ryall, Esq., brought from
Florida a mouse which he had captured in his residence there.
He says that for a number of nights a low sound of a more or
less musical nature had been heard proceeding, as was sup-
posed, from the chimney, and which was very naturally attrib-
uted to the chimney swallow. One day a small mouse came
from under the hearth into the middle of the floor of the sitting-
room, sat up and sang for about a minute and retired. This
explained the mystery. Its nightly music and its daily visit
were continued, almost invariably, the visit being limited to
the same small area of the floor. It was determined to capture
the little stranger, which, after many unsuccessful attempts,
was finally accomplished. Last June the interesting little fel-
low was very kindly passed into my custody. My first concern
was to add to its comfort by enlarging its cage, also to provide
in every possible way a condition of things suited to its nature.
For all this I was amply rewarded in the fine health and the
musical performances that followed.

"*A little study soon determined that the pretty creature
belonged to the Vesper mice. It is known by the popular
names of Jumping mouse, Wood mouse and White- footed mouse.
Our specimen is one of the smallest of its own genus, for the
precise species is the one known to naturalists as Hesperomys
cognatus Leconte. This fact, so novel, once determined gave
additional zest to my purpose to make it an object of especial
study. To give it individuality, as it was fast becoming a pet,
I named it Hespie, which name, as its object was female, was
certainly appropriate. I thought she soon learned to know me,
and certainly I soon came to regard her with attachment. Yet,
the truth told, she was a pretty, pert and unamiable little miss,
and would permit no familiarity, always biting the finger that
attempted to touch her. Her animation, agility and graceful-
ness of motion were wonderful. Sometimes a fly would enter
the cage, when she would spring at and catch it, sometimes
with her mouth and at others with her hands. This she would
eat with great relish. So uniformly quick were her motions,

182 BULLETIN NO. VTI.

that on one occasion my little boy said : * Papa, I would like
to see mousie walk just once.' Her taste was quite omnivorous,
although, unlike the domestic mouse, she did not care for
cheese. But meat, corn, nuts, sugar and even pudding and fish
were all acceptable. A little sod of fresh grass and white clover
was occasionally put into the cage. This she enjoyed greatly,
eating the greens like a rabbit; only always insisting on sitting
up to* it. It was interesting to witness how ready she was
for emergencies. Sitting on her hind feet, she would take hold,
with her hands, of a blade of grass and begin eating at the tip.
The spear would rapidly shorten, and seemingly she must now
stoop to finish it, or do it in the ordinary quadrupedal style.
Now, that was just what she did not choose to do. So, when
the emergency came, she would stoop down and in a trice cut
the blade off close to the sod with just one nip, then up again
on her feet in a sitting posture, she would finish it in a com
fortable and becoming way. On one occasion a worm crept
out of the sod and Hespy at once fell to it and soon had it
tucked away without cooking. As to exercise, she manages
to take a great deal. In the day time her exercise is less, as
she does a good deal of sleeping then. It is at night that her
peculiar talents appear to advantage, beginning at vespers, as
her name might imply. Then, as a singer, her genius literally
shines. It is with her singing that we are most concerned, and
indeed, at the moment of this writing (for it is night) she is in
fine song. Perhaps, however, it will seem more literal and
actual if her performances are described in the past tense.

"Our little musician had several snatches or bits of melody
which were often repeated. But in her repertoire were two
notable ones, each of which deserves to be dignified as a profes-
sional role. The one by far the more frequent is noted below,
and because it is her favorite, when running in her revolving
cage, it was named ; The Wheel Song. '*

' ' The last bar of this would frequently be prolonged to two
or three, and she would sometimes change from c sharp to d, to
c natural and d, then warble on these two notes awhile and wind
up with a quick chirp on c sharp and d. The distinctions be-
tween the semi -tones was very marked and easily appreciable
to a good ear. I have always enjoyed the mellow little strains
of the song of the sparrow and the house wren. But in either
case it was short and apt to become monotonous from its admit-
ting almost no variation. Monotony was not chargeable to

* The musical notation was written by my son, Ferris C. Lockwood.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

183

Hespie's Wheel Song. With unconscious skill she would work
it out in wonderful variety. Instead of the first measure, she
would sometimes open with the second one and then follow it
with the first. Or she might start with the third, following
with the second or first, just as fancy seemed to dictate. Then
she had her whims as to the amount of repetition of each bar,
that is to say, she would double or even triplicate a measure
when the notion took her. In this regard time was quite
ignored. Indeed, whatever may have been the Hesperomys'
canon of musical procedure or propriety, we could not but re-
gard it as arbitrary, or beyond our comprehension. Still, it
must be admitted that this litile performer possessed precis-
sion, delicacy and scope of excution.
NO. I. THE WHEEL SONG.

8va

NO. 2 THE GRAND ROLE.

8va

"She had one role, which although the notation is simpler
than that of the Wheel Song, yet I think, to her, its execution
was more difficult. It is certain that she wa$ far more chary of
its performance, and to me its effect seemed more impressive.
I have, on account of its inf requency, distinguished it as ' The
Grand Role.'

184 BULLETIN NO. VII.

' * This was seldom given, yet quite often enough to allow it to
be written down on board. The second measure would be sung
quite fast, sounding almost like the pecking of a woodpecker
on a tree, and at other times it would be slow like the dropping
of water. Although she had no ear for time, yet she would
keep to the key of & (two flats), and strictly in a major key.
This fact I consider interesting, as Wood declares his belief 'that
the untaught cries of all the lower animals, whether quadru-
peds or birds, are in the minor key. ' Herein theory must yield
to observation. If I might venture an opinion, it would be
that the music of the really musical wild animals is oftener on
a major key, while the minor key characterizes savage man.
A remarkable fact in the above role is the scope of little Hespie's
musical powers. Her soft, clear voice falls an octave with all
the precision possible; then, at the wind-up, it rises again into
a quick trill on c sharp and d.

"Though it be at the risk of taxing belief yet I must, in duty,
record one of Hespie's most remarkable performances. She
was gamboling in the large compartment of her cage, in a mood
indicating intense animal enjoyment, having awoke from a long
sleep, and partaken of some favorite food. She burst into a
fullness of song very rich in its variety. While running and
jumping, she rolled off what I have called her Grand Role; then
sitting, she went over it again, ringing out the strangest diver-
sity of changes, by an almost whimsical transposition of the
bars; then, without for an instant stopping the music, she leapt
into the wheel, started it revolving at its highest speed,
and went through the wheel song in exquisite style, giving
several repetitions of it. After this she returned to the large
compartment, took up again the Grand Role, and put into it
some variations of execution which astonished me. One meas-
ure, I remember, was so silvery and soft that I said to a lady
who was listening, that a canary able to execute that would be
worth a hundred dollars. (I occasionally detected what I am
unable to explain, a literal dual sound, very like a boy whist-
ling as he draws a stick along the pickets of a fence,) So the
music went on, as I listened, watch in hand, until actually nine
minutes had elapsed. Now the wonderful fact is, that the rest
between the roles was never more than a second of time, and
during all the singing, the muscles could be seen in vigorous
action through the entire length of the abdomen. This feat
would be impossible to a professional singer, and the nearest
to it that I have seen was the singing of a bird in the grove.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 185

"For several days the wheel grated on its axle. This
afforded Hespie great delight, and her own little warble was
completely lost in the harsher sound. It was pretty much as it
is with some of the modern methods of praise, as when the
vocal is subordinated to the instrumental, a mere murmur of
song, on which the organist comes down as with the sound of
many waters. A drop of oil, and the sound of the friction
stopped. This quite excited her temper, and she bit at the
wires of her wheel most viciously. A little device was hit upon
which set her in good humor again. A strip of stout writing
paper, half an inch wide, was pinned down in such a way that
its clean-cut upper edge pressed against the wires of the wheel,
making with its revolution a pleasant purring sound. It was
on the principle of the old-time watchman's rattle, and the old
toy known as a cricket.

' 'This for a while greatly delighted the capricious creature,
and she made the wheel almost fly ; at the same time, in unison
with the whirr of the wheel, was her own soft, cheery warble.
It was very low, yet very distinct. I remember once on a
larger scale witnessing an analogous sight, when, unseen, I
entered a room in which was a woman spinning wool, and sing-
ing at the top of her voice, in keeping with the loud whirring
of the spinning wheel. Without her wheel the domestic life of
little Hespie would be rather monotonous. * * * We next
shut her out of the wheel by corking up the entrance. She
worked desperately at the closed aperture ; then in despair
gave vent to a piercing little cry. It was surprizing what a
strange pleasure this sound afforded me, it showed so clearly
the difference in the timbre or quality of the sound of distress
from that which I have called its singing. She was a good
deal excited, and ran frantically into and out of her little bed-
box, which had a hole at each end. Soon this tiny gust of rage
passed over. She now, though running about her cage, indulg-
ing in little gambols, indicating grace and agility, struck off
into a truly beautiful strain of song. It occupied about three
minutes, and had in it considerable scope and variety. First,
there was a clearly enunciated expression like that of the
cooing of a turtle dove, a soft note with a deliberate slowness.
This changed into a series of more rapid notes strangely sug-
gesting the not so weird-like, the conchy clamor of the Ameri-
can cuckoo (Coccyzus), then closing with a series of short, rapid
sounds like the tapping of a woodpecker on a tree." "A very
noticeable fact was, that a great deal of this little creature's

-12

186 BULLETIN NO VII.

song was poured forth while at play, that is, while in actual
activity ; and, take the wheel-play, for instance, when really
in quite violent exercise. A thing, too, which much surprised
me, was, that often when eating she sang and ate at the sanae-
time, literally in the same breath. This singular habit, so
suggestive of a great physiological difficulty, led to an in-
cident, which caused considerable merriment for those who
witnessed it. I had been examining some insect larvae on a
twig of black alder. Without any real motive, a bit of the
twig, about an inch long, and an eighth of an inch thick, was
offered Hespie. She was delighted, and at once began in her
usual pretty way, sitting up, to eat the bark, although it is very
bitter. Thus she sat "bolt upright;" and the manner in which
she held this little black stick in both her hands up to her mouth,
at the precise angle at whith a fife is held, although nibbling
away, yet singing at the same time, it looked so like a little
fifer playing on an ebony fife that laughter was irresistible at
the comical sight."

"Wishing to see how this Hesperomys would behave in com-
pany, I put into her cage a young domestic mouse about one-
third grown. She was asleep in her little box. When she
awoke it was a pretty sight. What animation! How the black
eyes started and sparkled! To me they seemed to snap with
fire. The whole frame was in a quiver first of astonishment,
then with rage. It was not a run but a jump which she made
at the little involuntary intruder, who received a nip that made
it squeal in terror. We removed the little captive, who was so
astonished that it was quite content to lie in our hand. Its ter-
ror had won our pity, and we restored to it its liberty. " * * *
* 'And now we ask are these phenomena that have been herein
described the result of an abnormal condition of things or not?
How much truth is there in the theory of some that the singing
of these mice is the result of disease, or of some bronchial dis-
turbance? In my opinion the following reasons disprove the
truth of any such theory :

1. The exquisite animal enjoyment and actual physical con-
dition, for it is fat and perfect in pelage and form, indicating high
health. Every form of bronchial disease is, in its most ordi^
nary effect, depressing to the animal spirits.

2. When engaged in song, the exercise reaches to the very
depth of the chest, as is so often seen in the lowing of kine,
where the muscles may be observed in action for the whole
length of the abdomen. Persons afflicted bronchially avoid
deep vocal exercise.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 187

3. The singing is so often performed under those precise
circumstances in which bronchially diseased persons are sure
to keep still, if possible. For instance, take the Wheel Song.
Here, although the exercise was violent, yet the song would be
sustained with no diminution of vocal strength; and quite fre-
quently was it the case, that when the animal stopped turning
the wheel, though it continued the song, the momentum would
throw it on its back, when as if in surprise, it would roll off
four or five notes on a higher octave, and in a greatly increased
loudness of voice.

4. Our vesper mouse delights in a role, the performance of
which argues three facts: A high organization of the organs
of the voice; delicate and skillful adjustment during use; a per-
fect condition as respects health. She can sing and eat at the
same time. * * * Now this fact, in the case of our Hesper-
omys, that it could eat and sing at the same time, even admit-
ting, what is probably true, that there are intervals of very
short duration (so short as to be almost indiscernible) when the
epiglottis closes to allow the food to pass down the gullet,
demonstrates, as we think, that the organization of those parts
was very delicate, and that the whole organism was in the very
highest condition of health."

Although the particular mouse, above so pleasantly described,
came from Florida, it is certain that the musical powers are not
confined to any section, for several different species of various
genera have afforded examples of more or less highly developed
musical powers, as witness the following note quoted from the
American Naturalist of 1871, p 171 :

"A communication in the Naturalist some time ago in regard
to musical mice, prepared me for a phenomenon which recently
came under my observation, which otherwise would have aston-
ished me beyond conception. I was sitting a few evenings
since, not far from a half -open closet door, when I was startled
by a sound issuing from the closet, of such marvelous beauty
that I at once asked my wife how Bobbie Burns (our canary)
had found his way into the closet, and what could start him to
singing such a queer and sweet song in the dark? I procured
a light, and found it to be a mouse ! He had filled an overshoe
from a basket of popcorn which had been popped and placed in
the closet in the morning. Whether this rare collection of food
inspired him with song I know not, but I had not the heart to
disturb his corn, hoping to hear from him again. Last night
his song was renewed. I approached him with a subdued light

188 BULLETIN NO. VII.

and with great caution, and had the pleasure of seeing him sit-
ting among his corn and singing his beautiful solo. I observed
him without interruption, for ten minutes, not over four feet
from him. His song was not a chirp, but a continuous song of
musical tone, a kind of to wit-to-wee-woo-woo-wee-woo, quite
varied in pitch. While I observed him I took for granted that
he was a common house mouse (Mus musculus), but when he
sprang from the shoe to make his escape he appeared like the
prairie mouse (Hesperomys michiganensis), a species I had not
however, observed before indoors. I have thus far failed to
secure this little rodent musician, but I shall continue to do all
I can in the way of popcorn to entertain him, and if his marvel-
ous voice gives him the pre eminence in mousedom which he
deserves, by the aid of natural selection I shall presently have
a chorus of mice; in which case you shall receive their first
visit. W. O. Hiskey, Minneapolis, Minn."

The writer has been informed of many similar cases, making
it certain that the musical performances described above, are in
no way exceptional, but showing that considerable musical
powers are universal among Hesperomys. That the song is
not a voluntary expression of pleasure has been suggested by
many. The most recent data in favor of the pathological
nature of mouse music has been offered by Mr. Davis.*

While wandering about the house its tell-tale song gave
notice of its wanderings. ' ' When removing it from the trap
to the cage, and many times afterward, it ran about a small
room, and the most noticeable feature on these occasions was
the unvaried song, it being especially loud if I caused the mouse
to scamper around the room several times without stopping.
When gnawing upon the exposed wood in the cage, when eat-
ing, or when disturbed in its nest, this singing was particularly
loud; in fact, upon any exertion, the song was produced, vary-
ing in volume in proportion to the amount of exercise."

"It was just previous to, and for some time after the birth of
two miserable little young that Mus sang most continuously.''

It would be of great interest to determine by anatomical
examination whether the singing mice are suffering from bron-
chial disease.

*Wm. T. Davis. The Song of the Singing Mouse. Am. Naturalist, 1889, p. 481.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

189

Vesperimus sonoriensis LECONTE .

THE SONORA MOUSE.

Mus leucopus RICHARDSON, Zool. Journ., 1818; Fauna Bor. Am., 1829.
Hesperomys sonoriensis LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853.

AUDUBON AND BACHMAN, Quad. North America, 1854.

BAIRD, Mam. K A., 1857; U. S. and Mex. Bound. Surv.,1859.
Hesperomys leucupus sonoriensis COUES, Monogr. N. Am. Rodentia, 1877.

The little animal known as Hesperomys sonoriensis is a resident
of the western interior region and might be regarded as a per-
manent prairie variety of H. leucopus but for the fact that the
two species are associated at the limits of their geographical
range instead of fading insensibly into each other as geographical
varieties of recent origin might be expected to do. Our collec-
tion embraces a considerable number of specimens collected at
Brown's Valley and other points near the western line of Min-
nesota where this form is the most abundant mouse. There is
a very remarkable uniformity in size and coloration which both
are sufficiently unlike the deer mouse to be easily distinguish-
able. On the whole, the colors may be said to be considerably
lighter and less conspicuous than in the deer mouse, but still
they are bright and attractive. The white parts encroach
more upon the dorsal area than in our more eastern mouse and
the line of demarkation is more distinct, there being none of
the gray on the hips usually seen in the latter, and the sides and
lower parts are beautifully white. The brown portion of the
tail is a narrow stripe and the back is not so conspicuously
marked with black hairs as in leucopus. Besides these differ
ences in the whole anterior portion, the pelage is sifted over
with whitish so as to give it a grayish tinge, while only on the
rump is found the bright reddish brown of our familiar species.
Should the color not prove distinctive the marked difference in
size is sufficiently conspicuous.

The following table fairly represents the limits of normal
variation and in one case (No. 100) a specimen to some extent
resembling the deer mouse.

No.

Nose
toanus

Tail.

Nose
to ear.

Nose
to eye.

Hind
foot.

Fore
foot.

Ear.

Sex.

Date.

325( 9 )

2 44

0.87

Dec 4 1883

89
90
91
98

3.62
3.38
3 60
3.55

2.25
2.40
2 25
2 35

0.90
0.75
1.00
0.95

0.50
0.45
0.50
0.50

0.72
0.71
0.70
0.70

0.38
0.35
0.35
0.35

0.50
0.50
0.51

female
female
male
female

July 1, 1885.

3.50

2.00

0.95

0.50

0.70

male

100

3.85

2.60

1.00

0.57

0.80

0.35

male

101

3.80

2.36

1.05

0.50

0.75

0.55

male

106

3.80

2.40

1.00

0.50

0.72

female

July 4, 1885.

107

3.75

2.20

0.98

0.49

0.70

female

190 BULLETIN NO. VII.

There is no evidence, so far as our state is concerned, that
the three species of Vesperimus merge into each other. V.
michiganensis and V. sonoriensis are associated westwardly and
although the exact line of contact between the latter and F.
leucopus has not been studied it is presumable from appear-
ances that this line corresponds with the western forest limit
and is quite sharp.

The westward range of the species includes Dakota, Mon-
tana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona,
New Mexico, Texas, and part of California.

The Arctic mice of this group resemble the present species in
having short tails but for a reason quite different from that
which would by assumed in this case. The color, moreover,
in the latter is darker. The matter of coloration is so largely
dependent on the humidity of the climate that our western
mice, at least within the influence of the Red River valley, are
much darker than typical F. sonoriensis of the plains. Of the
habits we know nothing to distinguish them from the common
deer mouse. They may be seen springing about among the
high grass at times although probably less saltatorial than the
deer mouse.

Yesperimus michiganensis AUD. AND BACH.

THE MICHIGAN MOUSE.

(Plate XI.)

Mus michiganensis AUDUBON AND BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci.

Phila., 1842 ; Quadrupeds N. A., 1854.
Hesperomys michiganensis WAGNER, Wieg. Archiv., 1843.

BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.
Hesperomys (Vesperimus) michiganensis COTJES, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.

Phila., 1874 ; Monogr N. A. Rodentia, 1877.
Mus bairdii HOY and KENNICOTT, U. S. Pat. Offlc. Rep. Agric., 1856.

The Michigan mouse is common throughout the upper Mis-
sissippi valley and the states adjoining and is of reasonably
frequent occurrence in the south eastern parts of Minnesota.
This mouse may be at once distinguished from the deer mice
by its small size, small tail and feet and the darker coloration.
Unless examined carefully the color will usually seem not
greatly brighter than in the house mouse. The general gray
of the upper parts is mingled with yellowish on the sides,
especially upon the cheeks, as Audubon points out, while the
whole back is very dark brown. (The colors are rather
brighter than usual in our drawing.) The gray of the sides
extends down the outside of the limbs to the wrist and ankle.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 191

The head is hardly to be distinguished from that of the deer
mouse but the ears are smaller although they are obviously
margined with white and otherwise in color and form as in V.
leucopus. The tail is about as long as in V. sonoriensis but is
less densely hairy and has a broader dark stripe above. One
of our Minnesota specimens ( as figured) has both hands and
feet snowy white while in more southern and eastern specimens
they are said to be dark. The following measurements per-
tain to the specimen figured: length 5.63 ; tail 2.38 ; head and
body 3. 25 ;sole 0. 68 ;f oref oot 0. 37 ;nose to eye 0. 50 ; nose to ear 0. 87.

It will be seen that these measurements indicate a larger
animal than usual, besides being one which in some other
points approaches \ 7 . leucopus. Our Michigan mice are more
domestic in their habits than the deer mice and may be en-
countered about buildings even in towns of some size. One was
taken, in 1877, in the basement of the University at Minneapolis.

The range of the present species is rather more limited than
that of other members of the subgenus but is nevertheless far
less restricted than has been hitherto supposed. It is essen-
tially a prairie animal, and will probably be found to be limited
in range by the extent of the prairies as distinguished from the
plains on the one hand, and the forest regions on the other. It
maybe found throughout the whole of the southern half of
Minnesota, but is most abundant in the southwestern and south-
ern portions. In Dakota it mingles freely with the Sonora
mouse without exhibiting the least tendency to approach it in
coloration, and on the east is gradually superseded to a very
large extent by the deer mouse, from which it is even more
evidently distinct. Upon the rolling prairies of the south and
west it may be said to be alone in its own territory. Two very
well marked varieties occur which, so far as the present writer's
experience goes, are, in a general way, connected with open or
more umbrageous stations. Both varieties are found together
in some cases, but the majority of the specimens found in Da-
kota and to the south and west will undoubtedly be found to ad-
here to one type of coloration and those in the east to another.

Qn first encountering the Michigan mouse near Big Stone
lake upon the western boundary I was inclined to imagine that
a species hitherto unseen lay before me, so different was the
whole ensemble, but comparisons and the variations exhibited
by a large series of specimens made clear the essential conso-
nance in most points with V. michiganensis.

Inasmuch as this varietal difference is quite different from
that mentioned by Hoy and Kennicott as separating H. bairdii
from H. michiganensis it may be well to define it more minutely-

192

BULLETIN NO. VII.

The eastern Michigan mouse although much less bright than
H. leucopus has on the sides a decided brownish cast, or even
fawn color, while the typical western variety has scarcely a
trace of any other tint than black and white except on the up-
per surface of the tail. About the head there is the same hoari-
ness exhibited by other prairie mice, as though faded by the
sun. As a rule there is a less sharply defined line of demarka-
tion between back and belly than in more eastern specimens
examined.

In all the Michigan mice examined the ear is white -rimmed
in spite of Dr. Coues' assertion to the contrary. Although the
dorsal dark area may not reach the hand there is invariably a
dark blotch on the wrist which may or may not embrace the
whole upper surface of the hand.

The following table of measurements, of which all but the
last two refer to specimens captured near the western line of
Minnesota, may show the variations in size and can be taken
as fully trustworthy, having been made with great care from
fresh specimens:

No.

Nose
to
anus.

Tail.

Nose
to ear .

Nose
to eye.

Hind
foot.

Ear.

Sex.

Date.

108
111
113
117

3.00
3.25
3.12
3.20

1.90
2.15
1.90
2.00

0.90
'6.'90'

0.45

'oiso'

0.73
0.70
0.70

0.60

'o'.ss'

male
male
male
male

July 5, 1885.
July 5, 1885.
July 7, 1885.
July 7, 1885.

118
119

3.20
3.45

2.00
2.20

0.85

0.50

0.70
0.70

0.50

male
male

July 7, 1885.
July 9, 1885.

3.25

2.37

0.87

0.50

0.68

female

Nov., 1883.

2 80

1 90

male

9 (Alcohol).

SUBFAMILY ARVICOLIN^E.

The field mice, which are included in this section of the
immense rat family, may be readily recognized, as a rule, by
their rather clumsy and squatty form, blunt muzzle and small
ears. Tail and limbs are generally short, while the eyes are
small. The fur is often thick and fluffy, while the colors are
predominatingly rusty brown. The north temperate regions
of both hemispheres form the habitat of the majority of the
species. None occur in South America. As in other northern
mammals, there is rather a close conformity between the faunae
of Europe and America.

The anatomical characters are no less conspicuous. The
incisors are broad and short. The molars are perfectly pris-
matic, and their growth is continuous, so that after the crowns

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 193

are worn off the pattern does not vary greatly with use. In
almost all the species the molars are rootless. The palate is
not flat, as in Murince, but variously complicated. The zygoma
is not deflected as far downward as in Murince, and it is not
emarginate at its anterior origin. The nasals are broad and
short. The angle of the mandible is arched. The scapula is
narrow, with long, slender acromium. The proportions of the
limb bones are different from those common in Murince.

GENUS HYPUD^US ILLIGER.*

This small genus fittingly introduces the arvicoline group of
rodents forming a transition as it does between the Murince or
common mouse subfamily and the field mice or Arvicolince.

The separation of the genus from other field mice is a matter
of convenience as well as morphologically demanded. The
very few species are all inhabitants of the northern hemisphere
and are so closely related that they might without serious im-
propriety be reduced to varieties of a single circumpolar
species, Mus rutilus Pallas.

The external form is sufficiently like that of our common
field mouse, Arvicola riparius, but the color is bright, all these
mice deserving the adjective "red-backed". The red-backed
mice are inhabitants of the woods as distinguished from the
prairie mice and those so disposed may see in the color illus-
trations of protective coloration. The wood mice frequent
decaying trees, the pulverent wood surrounding which com-
monly has a color very like that of the mice. The prairie mice
are exposed to greater danger and have a color not unlike that
of the sear grasses or the earth.

The genus is so essentially arvicoline that the diagnostic
features may take the form of points varying from that type
in the direction of the Murince. In form arvicoline, but rather
less slender and with longer ears. Colors bright or, at least,
strongly red. Molars each with two roots (instead of rootless
as in Arvicola or fully rooted as in Murince). The teeth are
otherwise as in the field mice bub less completely broken up

*ln using this name for the genus lately renamed Evotomys by Coues, we follow
Keyserling and Blasius, Prof. Baird and European authors generally. It seems a mis-
fortune that in nomenclature as well as in more vital matters there should be no
articulation between the scientific labors of the two continents. Dr. Coues has in the
case of this genus (as well as frequently elsewhere) shown the intimate relations
between the mammals of Europe and North America. It is therefore a positive misfor-
tune if the same group bears different names on the different sides of the Atlantic. It
seems that the technicality involved might be well ignored in this ease and the above
name, which has been more or less fully instated in theIlterAtufinf both continents'
retained for this group.

UHIVBRSITY

194 BULLETIN NO. VII.

into distinct prisms. The faces of the upper molars especially
present less complicated figures than usual; instead of alter-
nating triangles we find single irregular figures extending
entirely across the tooth. The skull is very broad and is
greatly inflated in the perotic region, the auditory bullse being
larger than in any other mouse. The bony palate is broad- and
rather short and abruptly truncate at the posterior nares ( not
with a second shelf before reaching the basis cranii). The
pterygoids are not very prominent. The cranium is large
while the facial portion is greatly reduced and the interorbital
distance is quite small. The posterior extremity is propor-
tionally large but there are no indications of either saltatorial
or fossorial capacities.

It has been shown by Dr. Coues that in America we have but
a single species of this genus, H. rutilus Pallas, which occurs
in its typical form throughout the Arctic portions of the con-
tinent. It is thus seen that H. rutilus, like so many Arctic
animals is circumpolar in distribution and has become modi-
fied southwardly so as to give rise to varieties which may be
diverse in the western and eastern hemispheres. The southern
varieties have been called gapperi in America and glareolus* in
Europe, there being nothing to show them distinct.

Hypudaeus rutilus yar. gapperi? VIGORS.

(Var. glareolus Sund.?)

Arvicola gapperi VIGORS. Zool Journ. v, 1830.

DEKAY. Zool. of New York, 1842.
SCHINZ. Synop. Mam. ii, 1845.
Hypudceus gapperi BAIRD. Mam. N. Am., 1857.
Arvicola fulva AUDUBON and BACKMAN. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.

viii, 1842.

WAGNER, Wiegmann's Arch., 1843.
Arvicola dekayi AUD. and BACK. Quad. N. Am. iii, 1854.
Ewtomys rutilus gapperi COUES. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1874; Monogr.

N. Am. Kod., 1877.

*. Mus rutilus var. Pallas.

Mus glareolus Sundeval, 1840.
Mus glareolus Schreber.
Hypudceus hercynicus Mehlis,
Arvicola rubidus Longchamp.
Arvicola rufescens Longchamp.
Arvicola riparia Yarrell, Jenyns.
Arvicola pratensis Bell, Macgillivray.
Hypudoeus glareolus Wagner.
Arvicola glareolus Giebel.

(H. nageri Schinz. May not belong here, it being an Alpine species imperfectly des-
cribed.)

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

195

The close relationship between this variety and H. rutilus
was first shown by Coues in the Proceedings of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in 1874. The differences con-
sist in a somewhat greater size and a considerably greater
development of the extremities in accordance with the general
law that the extremities are shorter in northern individuals of
a species extensively distributed than in southern examples of
the same species. If the size be really less than in H. rutilus
it forms an exception to the remainder of the law that the
absolute size is usually greater. The colors are darker,
especially the sides which are a grayish brown instead of hav-
ing the milk tinge of H. rutilus.

In general form there is nothing to distinguish this interest-
ing animal from the common field mouse. It can be at once
distinguished, however, by the color and the greater develop-
ment of the ears. These organs appear quite prominently
above the fur and are hirsute, while near the base of the anti-
tragus is a tuft of stiff hairs longer than the ear itself.

The middle of the back from the crown to the root of the tail
is of a strong, rusty red color, given a grayish cast by numerous
black hairs sprinkled through the pelage. On the sides the
red is largely replaced by brown, so that the resulting color
is much as in Arvicola riparius. The bases of the hairs every-
where are plumbeous. About the face the color becomes a
grizzly gray, in old specimens at least. Below greenish white
of various degrees of purity is the prevailing color, the fur
being much lighter color than in A. riparius. The feet partake
in the same coloration. The tail is distinctly bicolored, the upper
surface being, as usual, darker than the prevailing color of the
back. The vibrissse are rather longer than in A. riparius. Con-
siderable variations in the coloration occur, the breadth of the
red stripe especially being far from constant, either in width or
intensity.

The following measurements may be taken as a very fair
showing of the size of adults, the first being taken in autumn,
the second in spring, and in adjacent localities:

NUMBER.

Total
length

Head
and body.

Tall.

Nose
to eye.

Nose
to ear

Fore
foot.

Hind
foot.

31. (Female?)

5.70

4.0

1.70

0.50

0.95

0.31

0.75

72. (Male)

4.90

3.7

1.20

1.30

0.40

0.70

Averages

5.13

3.6

1.53

0.44

0.85

0.37

0.72

Coues' averages, published in his monographs of North
American Rodentia, are placed in the third line for conven-
ience of comparison.

196 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The tubercles on the feet furnish reliable generic, if not
specific, characters. There is, in this species, a large pad at
the base of the first and second digits of the hind foot; a smaller
one lies midway between the third and fourth; the largest one
of all is near the base of the fifth digit, while two smaller ones,
one on the outside, the other on the inside (the latter farthest
back) lie behind them. The under surface of the toes appears
scutilate. and the sole is punctate, while all that portion back
of the pads is sparsely hairy. The fore foot has five pads, and
the thumb nail is spade-shaped. The nasal pads are very small,
and the head is blunt and stout, in fact the aspect is, as has
been said, very much like that of a field mouse.

While our information does not permit us to very minutely
describe the range of the species, we know of its occurrence in
most parts of the state. The following localities may be named :
Hinckley, Pine county; Milaca, MilleLacs county; Minneapolis,
Hennepin county; Brown's Valley, Traverse county; Ortonville,
Big Stone county, and points on the Red and Minnesota rivers.
It was not found on the Mississippi at Watab, where Arvicola
riparius is very common; nor can it now be found near Minne-
apolis, though once common.

In the eastern part of the United States this variety is found
as far south as Massachusetts, and in New York, Michigan and
Wisconsin, as well as in Washington. It merges insensibly
into the typical H. rutilus to the north, so that to lay down an
arbitrary geographical range is impossible.

The writer has observed these mice very abundant in dense
woods running actively from fallen log to stump or brush heap
in broad day light, the rusty red color being scarcely distin-
guishable from the red sawdust which often forms the soil or
the pine needle carpet. The food can only be surmised, but
the stomach is quite different from that of Arvicola, being more
complicated and it may be presumed that grass seeds do not
enter as largely into the diet as in the latter. By the first of
April sexual functions are at their hight, the testes measur-
ing 0.3.

The following additional measurements are appended al-
though they are not all from fully adult specimens, These are
from specimens collected near Big Stone lake on the western
line of Minnesota. Although by no means abundant it is not
rare in the region of the upper Minnesota:

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

197

No.

Nose
to
anus.

Tail.

Nose
to ear.

Nose
to eye.

Hind
foot.

Fore
foot.

Ear.

Sex.

Date.

3 60

1 30

0.70

July 1885

2 90

1 20

0.65

Julv 1885

1.60

0.90

0.50

0.38

male

(mutilated)
July, 1885

116

3 80

1 70

female

(mutilated)
July 7 1885

"It feeds upon beechnuts and a variety of seeds, berries, and
roots, and also, at certain times in the winter season, upon the
bark of shrubs and trees.

' 'The beech, maple, ash, and bass suffer most severely from
its attacks, and in the order named. The bark is generally
removed in irregular areas from the large roots just above the
ground; but sometimes saplings, and even trees a foot or more
in diameter are completely girdled to the hight of three or
four feet. The damage thus done to our deciduous groves is
sometimes great, but does not compare with the ravages com-
mitted by the field mouse (Arvicola riparius).

"The wood mouse is terrestrial, like the other members of the
Arvicoline series, and commonly lives in burrows in the ground.
It sometimes makes regular runways similar to those of the
field mouse, but usually travels freely over the surface. . .

"The nest of the red-backed mouse is usually in this [Adiron-
dack] region, placed in a burrow in the earth, although it is
sometimes found in a half decayed log or under the roots of a
stump." Mammals of the Adirondacks, p. 271.

GENUS ARVICOLA, LACEPEDE.

The genus is employed in the restricted sense as indicated by
Coues.

Size moderate or rather large; form stout and clumsy; feet
and tail short, the latter densely covered with hair. Muzzle
blunt and covered with fur, except the small nasal pads. The
eyes are small, and situated about half way between the muzzle
and the hidden ears, which have a large antitragus. The inci-
sors are not grooved, broad. Molars - |, prismatic; the
prisms are very acute, the anterior upper one having five
prisms, of which one is anterior, the following ones arranged
alternately ; the middle molar has four prisms, one being ante-
rior and two exterior ; posterior upper molar with (apparently)
four to seven prisms, the variability arising from the greater

198 BULLETIN NO. VII.

or less subdivision of the fourth treffle. The anterior lower
molar is very long and variously formed, the anterior prism
being more or less complicated r the middle molar has four or
five prisms, the last being transverse, the others alternating;
the last molar consists of three simple prisms in a series.

The skull is never more than twice as long as broad. Ante-
rior palatal foramina very short. Nasals short. Coronoid
process extending to the hight of the condyle.

The four American subgenera are as follows :

SUB GENUS MYONOMES, RAFINESQUE.

Back upper molar with two external triangles, one internal triangle, an
anterior loop, and a posterior crescent-like figure (this with some vari-
ability). Middle upper molar with two internal triangles. Front lower
molar with three internal and two or three external triangles. Ears covered
by fur, rounded ; antitragus well developed. Tail longer than the head.
Sole six-tuberculed ; claws of forefeet small. ?ize and fur ordinary.

1. Arvicola riparius ORD.

2. Arvicola borealis RICH.

3. Arvicola xanthognathus LEACH.

4. Arvicola richardsoni AUD. and BACH.

5. Arvicola longicaudatas MERRIAM.

SUBGENUS CHILOTUS, BAIRD.

Back upper molar with oue external triangle and a posterior trefoil;
anterior lower molar with three inner and two or three external trian-
gles. Ears small, orbicular, helix incurved all round. Size small. Tail
longer than head. Claws short. Two imperfectly known species from
the Pacific coast and one from Dakota.

6. Arvicola oregonus BACH.

7. Arvicola pallidus MERRIAM.

8. Ai'vicola curtains COUES.

SUBGENUS PEDOMYS, BAIRD.

Back upper molar with one external triangle ; middle upper molar with
one internal triangle ; front lower molar with two internal and one ex-
ternal triangle. Tail about equal to head. Fore claws short. Size med-
ium, fur ordinary.

9. Arvicola austerus LE CONTE.

10. Arvicola minor MERRIAM.

SUBGENUS PITYMYS, McMuRT.

Back upper molar with one external triangle and a posterior trefoil;
middle upper molar with one internal triangle; front lower molar with
two internal and one external triangle. Tail shorter than head. Fore
claws fossorial. Size small, fur mole-like.

11. Arvicola pinetorum LE CONTE.

12. Arvicola quasiater COUES.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 199

Arvicola riparius ORD.

COMMON MEADOW MOUSE.
(Plate XII.)

Mynomes pratensis RAFINESQUE. AID. Month. Mag., 1817.
Arvicola pennsylvanica ORD. Guthrie's Geogr., 1815.

WAGNER. Suppl. Schreber's Sauget.

SCHINZ. Synopsis, 1845.

AUD. AND BACH. Quad. N. A., 1849.

LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853.
Arvicola palustris HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825.
Arvicola riparius ORD. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1825.

DEKAY. Zool. of New York, 1842.

AUD. AND BACH. Quad. N. A., 1854.

LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853.

BAIRD. Mam. N. America, 1857.

GIEBEL. Saugethiere, 1859.

GODMAN. Amer. Nat. Hist., 1860.

ALLEN. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. No. 8.
Arvicola (Myonomes) riparius COLTES. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1874.

COTJES AND YARROW. Zool. Expl. W. 100th Mer., 1876.

COUES. Monogr. N. A. Rodentia, 1877.

Arvicola riparius longipilus KENNICOTT. Agric. Rep. U. S. Patent Office
for 1856.

BAIRD. Mam. N. Amer., 1857.
Hypudceus riparius MAXIMILIAN. Arch. Naturg., 1862; Verzeichniss N.

Amer. Siiuget., 1862.

?Hypudceus ochrogaster WAGNER. Schreber's Sauget., iii.
Arvicola xanthognatha HARLAN. Fauna Amer., 1825.

GODMAN. Amer. Nat. Hist., 1826.

SAY. Long's Exped. to Rocky Mts., 1823.

DEKAY. Zool. of New York, 1842.

LINSLEY. Amer. Journ. Sci., 1842.
Arvicola alborufescens EMMONS. Rep. Quad. Mass., 1840.

DEKAY, N. Y. Zool. i, 1842.
Arvicola hirsutus EMMONS. DEKAY, 11. cc.
Arvicola nasuta BACHMAN. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1842.

AUD. AND BACH. LECONTE.
Arvicola oneida DEKAY. LECONTE, 11. cc.
Arvicola rufescens DfiKAY. Zool. New York, 1842.
Arvicola occidentalis PEALE. Mam. U. S. Expl. Exped., 1848.

LECONTE, AUD. AND BACH., BAIRD.

Arvicola montana PEALE, 1. c., AUD. AND BACH., BAIRD, NKWBERRY.
Arvicola edax LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853.

AUD. AND BACH., BAIRD.

Arvicola borealis LECONTE. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853.
Arvicola trowbridgei BAIRD. Mam. N. A ., 1857.
Arvicola longirostris BAIRD. NEWBERRY, P. R. R. Rep., 1857.
Arvicola modesta BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857.
Arvicola rufidorsum BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857.
Arvicola breweri BAIRD. Mam. N. A., 1857.

200

BULLETIN NO. VII.

American naturalists are greatly indebted to Dr. Coues for
the very complete and lucid discussion of the meadow mice of
America, particularly as respects this common and widely dis-
tributed species. What otherwise would have been a mere
suspicion, or, at best, a moral certainty, is by him placed be-
yond dispute namely, that the majority of the innumerable
species related to A. riparius are synonyms pure and simple.
The difference of opinion which may still exist as to the specific
validity of those forms which show tangible differences, will be
comprehensible, and will be founded upon different interpreta-
tions of facts, and not upon the misunderstanding of facts.

Arvicola riparius, the common meadow mouse, is perhaps
the most abundant, as it is the most widely distributed of our
native mice. It makes its home in the weedy corners of fields,
along hedge rows, in the close grass of the meadow anywhere
that affords shelter and access to its food. In the autumn
it leaves its summer habitation and makes a new domicile
iji the corn shocks or grain stacks, or beneath the granaries
adjoining, showing its appreciation of the thrifty care of the
farmer by helping him dispose of his harvest. The farmer boy
enlivens the monotonous task of corn husking by a merry
scramble after the furry pilferers, as each shock is removed,
assisted, it may be, by an eager terrier, which tears the large,
spherical nests with excited haste.

Allowing for great local or accidental variations, the follow-
ing description will make the animal recognizable :

Body four to five inches long, stout ; members small, partic-
ularly the forefeet and tail ; head blunt. The forehead is
curved, the muzzle very blunt and furry, the eyes small, not
prominent, and placed about half way between the nose and
ears. The ears are covered with hairs on both sides, and do
not overtop the fur, having a valve- like antitragus closing the
opening. The forefeet are small and are employed as prehen-
sile organs extensively, the animal naturally supporting itself,
when at rest, upon the hind feet almost exclusively.

The proportions, as well as the normal size, may be gathered
from the following measurements, which will be found to be
very constant in adult specimens from the southern part of
Minnesota:

NUMBER.

Trunk

Tail.

Nose
to eye.

Nose
to ear.

Hind
foot.

Fore
foot.

Spread of
hind legs.

Spread of
fore legs.

75. (Male)

4.00

1.35

0.50

0.90

0.70

0.40

3.9

3.25

76. (Female)...

4.30

1.40

0.45

1.00

0.70

0.40

4.1

3.35

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 201

The ear is 0.45-0. 50 high, the lower incisor 0. 30, upper incisor
0.20. It is believed that there is normally about the above-
indicated difference between males and females of the same
age and at the same place. The above were chosen because
the two were taken under circumstances indicating that they
were a pair. In autumn the averages of mice collected would
be quite unreliable, and it seems quite probable that more than
a single winter is necessary to the attainment of the full size.
However, mice collected in spring about Minneapolis have
proven very uniform in both size and color. A very large
female, collected in October, 1883, measured about five inches,
with a tail measuring 2.0, hind feet 0.75, and fore feet 0.43.

The averages of 114 specimens of this species from east of
the Mississippi, as given by Coues, are as follows: Trunk, 4.33;
tail, 1.59; hind foot, 0.78.

In our opinion the average of a large series of Minnesota
specimens would be considerably less, and quite obviously so
if the northern part of the state were represented.

The color is dark brown with reddish sifted through the
pelage. Usually the whole back from the nose to the tail is
uniform dark brown, the upper surface of the tail being some-
what darker, while the sides of the body are appreciably
warmer. The upper surfaces of the feet are brown, also.
Below the fur is ashy white, more whitish about the mouth.
The lower surface of the tail is more or less distinctly white.
Winter specimens are very uniform in color, and there is no
sexual differentiation as in Fiber. The vibrissso are short and
dark.

The range of this species is very extensive yet it would
seem that its true home is the eastern part of the United
States from the northern part of the Gulf states northward to
Labrador. Farther west the northern limit of typical Arvicola
riparius seems to lie within the U. S. boundaries. Although
the species extends westward to the Pacific it tends to lose its
integrity and merges in varieties of greater or less permanence.
Northwardly and westerly from the middle of Minnesota the
size drops rapidly and in the Red River valley the measure-
ments are never up to the average of the type. Still farther
north it would seem that the species can not go without great
difficulty or at the expense of much of its normal size. It here
becomes variety borealis. It may be suggested that constant
migrations (after the analogy of the migratory habit of the
-13

202 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Lemmings) tend to confuse the effect of climate, in which case
we may understand why variety borealis may be occasionally
found as far south as Moorhead, Minnesota (a fact not hitherto
reported) and why, on the other hand almost typical riparius
sometimes reaches Alaska. It is, at any rate, certain that this
section (Myonomes) of Arvicola when it becomes acclimated
takes on the characteristics of an arctic variety this our ex-
planation with larger body and smaller extremities. This
phase constitutes variety xantliognailms or the yellow cheeked
variety of Alaska and the arctic regions. The relative size of
true riparius and borealis will be found given under the osteology
of the latter. (Anatomical details of the present species below. )

We have kept specimens of the meadow mouse in confine-
ment and found it an engaging pet easily domesticated and
accommodating itself to its new circumstances well. It is sur-
prising how little the fore feet are used in its daily activities.
Although perhaps less amusing than the white-footed mouse
in confinement it is sprightly and active. The sight is rather
defective and the senses not acute. Its food consists largely
of grasses and the stomach will usually be found full of green
material although the grain is also highly relished. I have
been able to detect no preference between the various cereals.
Wheat is secured in the field by cutting the halm off repeatedly
until the ear is brought within reach. The meadow mouse is
not fossorial strictly, excavating at most but shallow runs
below the surface. The teeth are used expertly in gnawing
through boards if a light is seen through, but not so much so
apparently as in the case of our domestic mice. These wild
mice are very fond of water, lapping it eagerly if for a few
hours deprived of it. They are also very neat in their per-
sonal habits. They fall an easy prey to birds of prey on
account of their imperfect sight but would otherwise multiply
very rapidly. They like well on sunny afternoons to play about,
running through the galleries or roads they have made through
the high grass. These paths lead from one covert to another
and are not burrows but pass under roots or fallen logs or
boards or brush piles and are beaten smooth by constant use.
On such isolated places as bushy islands in the middle of some
river they become numerous and venturesome.

It has already been mentioned that the field mice are now
found in greater numbers than elsewhere, upon the low grass-
covered islands in our rivers, where, during the summer, at
least, they are to a certain extent, exempt from forays of

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 203

domestic cats and other enemies. In such places their nests
may be found in almost every suitable grass tussock, and under
fallen trees or driftwood. Such islands are, of course, flooded
during a short period in spring, and these freshets are times of
great excitement among the mice which have domiciled them-
selves under the boards and riffraff left by the last flood.

In April, 1885, while in camp upon a large low island at the
head of lake Pepin, a hard storm of rain and snow caused a
sudden rise in the river of nearly fifteen inches sufficient, at
least, to flood the greater part of the island and float away
many traps set for mice and shrews in various places. Near
the tent was a broad bay the low shores of which, for acres in
extent, were covered with driftwood, which furnished conceal-
ment for innumerable mice, Arvicola riparius. When the river
began to rise the water oozed beneath the boards, and before
the observer was really aware of the encroachment of the
waters the whole area was afloat.

The night was clear and moonlit, and as we stood watching
the most insidious approach of the waters, wondering if we
should be compelled to remove our camp, we were astonished
by a confused rustle and murmur not unlike that produced by
the wind among dry leaves. This we were at a loss to account
for since the night was perfectly still. At our feet, however,
something tangible appeared in the shape of a group of mice
fleeing from the waters, creeping out from their hiding places,
in evident alarm, which was expressed in querulous cries as
well as by their excited and uncertain movements. To use a
common expression, the whole tract was "alive" with mice
fleeing for their lives toward the higher open ground behind.
The picture was that of the Ohio floods, with mice rather than
men as actors, and furnished an illustration apropos of Burns's
lines, " The best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley."
A pair of great-horned owls, whose nest was hard by may have
profited more by this unexpected hegira than the naturalists of
the party but, presumably, were less affected by its novelty
than they.

Arvicoia riparius var. borealis RICH.

It is interesting to compare a specimen of Arvicola sent us by
Prof.W.W. Cooke, of Moorhead, Minnesota, with the measure-
ments and the description of the arctic form called borealis by
Richardson. This specimen, collected March 15th, 1885,

204 BULLETIN NO VII.

although received in too poor condition to be preserved or
satisfactorily studied, attracted attention on account of its
obviously reduced size. There seemed to be no reason to sus-
pect that it was not fully mature, while its measurements ex-
cluded it from normal A. riparius, which, except in the matter
of size, it completely resembled.

Length of trunk, 3.50; tail, 1.30; sole, 0.70; palm, 0.41; nose
to eye, 0.40.

In the absence of other specimens or further information as
to the presence or absence of normal A. riparius in the North-
western part of the state this stands as an isolated case of little
value, except as it may direct attention to this question whether
we have a permanent boreal variety of Arvicola in Minnesota;

As there is little or nothing in the form of the bones of A.
borealis to distinguish it from A. riparius proper, the follow-
ing measurements may serve to indicate the proportions of
both forms : The upper number (units = T ^ inch) in each case
refers to A. borealis, the lower to A. riparius. Total length of
skull, y 9 ^, (i. e. inborealis 0.9 in riparius 1 inch); zygomatic
width |f; length of nasals, ||; length of temporals, ff ; medial
length of parietals, |; length of molar series, |f ; length of
upper incisors, -^ ; length of scapula, f; length of humerus,
ff; length of radius, ff; longest metacarpal, ff; pelvis, f|;
femur, |f; tibia, f; free portion fibula, j; longest metatarsal,
|f; (It is worthy of notice that the difference in size, so notic-
able in all other measurements, disappears in comparing the
length of bones of the hand and foot, although the size in other
respects is greater in the larger animal). The seventeen cau-
dal vertebrae, \%% . The number of caudal vertebrae seems to
be the same, but a greater diversity in size is exhibited here
than elsewhere. The last seventeen vertebras were measured
in each case.

Arvicola (Chilotus) pal I id us MERRIAM.

Quite recently Dr. Merriam has described from Dakota a
species of the subgenus Chilotus, which may yet be encoun-
tered in Minnesota.* The species is said to strikingly differ
from the other known North American species of Arvicola in
the extreme paleness of coloration and the extreme shortness
of tail.

*C. HART MERRIAM. Description of a new species of Field Mouse (Arvicola pallidus)
from Dakota.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 205

"General Characters. Size medium, nearly equalling that of
Arvicola riparius (average total length of four specimens,
126.25mm.) Tail very short (average length in four speci-
mens, 23. 75 mm. from actual base, apparent length only about
18 mm.) with a long terminal pencil. Ears medium, thick,
well haired, superior border inflexed, giving them a promi-
nence not seen in flat ears of the same size; antitragus medium
(smaller than in A. oregonus), its anterior border becoming con-
tinuous with the anterior base of the auricle, thus forming a low
rim in front of the meatus as in A. oregonus and Synaptomys
cooper L Fur everywhere long, full and soft .

"Color. Upper parts every where uniform pale, buffy-gray,
slightly grizzled by the admixture of black- tipped hairs; under
parts white, the plumbeous color of the base showing through
in places on the belly; tail more or less obscurely bi-color."

' 'Total length (1) male, 124mm.; (2) female, 121 mm.; (3)
male, 133 mm.; (4) female, 127 mm. Tail (1) 25 mm.; (2) 20
mm.; (3) 25mm.; (4) 25 mm. Hind foot (1) 18.25 mm.; (3)
18.7 mm.; (4) 17.5mm."

"Mr. Bailey states that "the pallid Arvicolas seem to be com-
mon at Fort Buford. They show a decided preference for the
north side of steep hills. I have not found them on the south,
southeast or southwest sides. The only reason I can suggest
for this distribution is that the twilight (their favorite hour) is
longer on the north side. The hills where I found them are
all steepest on the north side, which may have some effect,
though there seems to be no difference in the vegetation on
different sides." "Their food seems to consist largely of the
flowers of certain plants. When these plants grow near there
are usually pieces of stems and blossoms of Liatris graminifolia
and Artemisia frigida lying about, but many other plants and
grasses seem to be eaten. They feed largely upon the seeds
of Eurotia lanata. Probably the bulbs of Liatris graminifolia
form a pa'rt of their diet, as is the case with Arvicola austerus."
* 'I have caught several grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster)
and western white-footed mice (Hesperomys leucopus sonoriensis)
at their holes, and think these species either drive out the Ar-
vicolce or else inhabit the old holes." They are found on the
edge of the "Bad Lands" and from the fact that they live en-
tirely in the hills and from their food it may be inferred that
their habitat is the "Bad Lands."

206 BULLETIN NO. VII.

SUBGENUS PEDOMYS, BAIRD.

Though no member of the sub-genus has been encountered
in the progress of these investigations, it is certain that parts
of Minnesota fall within the range of P. austerus as well as,
possibly, of P. curtains.

The characters given by Coues are as follows:
"Postero-superior molar with an anterior transverse loop,
two interior triangles, one exterior triangle, and a posterior
U , V-, or Y- shaped loop (as in Pitymys and Chilotus).
Medio-superior molar with an anterior, two exterior, and only
one interior triangle (lacking the supplementary postero-inter-
ior spur or triangle of Myonomes). Antero-inferior molar with
a posterior transverse loop, two interior closed triangles, one
exterior closed triangle, another exterior and another interior
open triangle, and an anterior irregular trefoil. * * Perfect
plantar tubercles only five."

Arvicola (Pedomys) austerus LEG.

Very similar to Arvicola riparius but more compactly formed,
and with harsher pelage. The color is a muddy brown above
and a rusty plumbeous below; four inches long; tail 1.25; hind
foot 0.70.

Since writing the above, Dr. Merriam has described*
a new variety of A. austerus differing from the type chiefly in
size and living upon the upland prairies. This mouse was first
collected by Mr. Vernon Bailey, chiefly from Dakota, but the
range also includes portions of western Minnesota, about Orton-
ville. The description is sab- joined.

Arvicola austerus minor MERRIAM.

"Type ||||, male, Merriam collection. From Bottineau,
Turtle Mt, Dakota, Aug. 27, 1887.

Description of Type. Similar to Arvicola austerus, but much
smaller; length from end of nose to tip of tail vertebrae (meas-
ured in the flesh), 133 mm.; tail vertebrae, 36 mm.; hind foot,
16. 5 mm. ; ears rather prominent, slightly overtopping the fur.

Color. Upper parts uniform grizzled gray; under parts whit-
ish, washed with pale cinnamon. Viewed from behind, looking
away from the light, the whole head, sides and back appear to

*DR. C. HART MERRIAM. Description of a New Prairie Meadow Mouse (Arvicola aus-
terus minor) from Dakota and Minnesota. American Naturalist, 1888, p. 598.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 207

be closely lined with silvery. The fur of the belly is plumbeous
basally and nearly white apically. There is no sharp line of
demarkation between the color of the sides and that of the
belly. Tail bicolor, the light color of the under surface reach-
ing well up on the sides."

"Other specimens from Elk River have the upper parts
strongly suffused with brown, and the belly strongly washed
with cinnamon, while in others the under parts are of the
'muddy rust color' so often seen in true austerus."

GENUS SYNAPTOMYS, BAIRD.

This genus, charcterized by Coues as ' ' the most remarkable
genus of the family," is very capricious in its distribution and
thus is considered very rare.

' Root of inferior incisor ending abruptly opposite the last
lower molar. Faces of superior incisors longitudinally grooved
near the outer edges. Construction of molars and general
cranial characters as in My odes (Lemmings); palate ending as
in typical Arvicola; external characters as in Arvicola; ears
equaling or overtopping the fur; tail equal to or longer than
the hind foot; pelage very soft and full."

Synaptomys cooperi BD.

Myodes ( Synaptomys) cooperi, BAIRD. Cat. in Mam. N. A., 1857.
Synaptomys cooperi, BAIRD. Mam. N. A., p. 558, 1857.

COUES. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., 1874; Monogr.
Amer. Rodentia, 1877.

QUICK and BUTLER. Am. Nat., Feb., 1885.

The only specimen of the single species of Synaptomys as
yet found in Minnesota was collected by O. E. Garrison in
Benton county and is at present in the National Museum
(No. 10575). The pelage is described as very soft and full,
and the color as much resembling A. riparius. Messrs. Quick
and Butler have given the following information regarding the
habits of this interesting species: It breeds from February to
December, and was never known to bring forth more than four
young at one time. There is one pair of pectoral and one pair
of inguinal mammae (Coues says two pairs of pectoral and one
pair of inguinal). In color, specimens are, as a rule, darkest
when just reaching maturity. The nest of this species is always
under cover, generally in a hollow stump or log, and is composed

208 BULLETIN NO. VII.

of fine grass. It is not so securely built as the nests of some of
the other species of this family. Cooper's mouse lives in winter
chiefly upon the stems of blue grass and the more tender por-
tions of white clover. In November, 1883, a large quantity of
the tuberous roots of the "Wild Artichoke" (Helianthus doro-
nicoides) were found in the storehouses of a colony of these
mice.

GENUS ONYCHOMYS, BAIRD.
MOLE MICE.

This genus is of particular interest in as much as it contains
three varieties of mice which, from their inaccessible station
and secluded habits have seldom gained admittance to natural
history museums or received the attention of naturalists. This
interest is enhanced by the fact that the genus is evidently
very closely allied to Vesperimus but has developed in a direc-
tion entirely different from that group ; and its species, exter-
nally and in habits, vary greatly from the deer mice. Fossorial
prairie or desert animals living largely on insects might be
expected to differ greatly from such saltatorial and gramnivor-
ous animals as Vesperimus contains.

The mole mice are distinguished from their relatives by the
compact arvicoline form, short tail and hind legs, well de-
veloped anterior extremities with fossorial claws, and the soft
mole-like character of the pelage. The hasty observer would
refer the animal to Arvicolince rather than to the sigmodont
Murince ; indeed prince Maximilian, who was the first to meet
the genus, referred the 0. leucogaster to Hypudceus. As we
have specimens of none of the genus except 0. leucogaster var.
pallidus the reader is referred to the discussion of that variety
for a description of the anatomical peculiarities. It seems
that, in view of the many points of divergence in structure and
habits, there should be no hesitation in separating the mole
mice generically from Hesperomys.

Onychomys leucogaster MAXIMILIAN.

MISSOURI MOLE-MOUSE.

Hypudceus leucogaster MAXIMILIAN, Reise in das Innere N. America, 1841.
Mus missouriensis AUDUBON AND BACHMAN, Quad. N. A., 1851.
Hesperomys (Onychomys) leucogaster BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.

COUES, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.Phila., 1874; Monogr. N. A.

Rodentia, 1877.
Hesperomys leucogaster MAXIMILIAN, Arch. f. Naturg. xviii, 1862.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 209

The single species thus far found under the genus Onychomys
has differentiated into three more or less distinct geographi-
cal races or varieties. Of these but one is found in Minnesota
and that only upon the western boundary and a very short dis-
tance east of it.

The typical form is stated to be restricted to the upper Mis-
souri river region, and is described as follows :

"Color above, grayish-brown, passing into yellowish-red,
and finally into a stripe of fulvous on the sides. Feet, inclu
ding outer surface of the forearm and under surface of the body
and tail, white." Baird.

'Beneath, snow-white; above, mouse-brown, with darker
dorsal area. Tail twice the hind foot or less ; much less than
half the head and body. Fore foot more than half the hind
foot. Ear about 0.50 high." Coues.

' ' The chief distinguishing feature in coloration, as compared
with Hespzromys leucopus, is the mostly white muzzle. "Coues.

The following measurements from No. 7492 of the national
museum, are selected as fairly illustrating the proportions :
Nose to tail, 4.25; tail, 1.65; hind foot, 0.88; fore foot, 0.50;
nose to eye, 0.60; nose to ear, 1.00; ear, 0.50. The skull of a
somewhat smaller specimen measured 1.07 (Coues).

Onychomys leucogaster var. torridus COUES.

Was founded upon a single alcoholic specimen from Arizona,
which differs from the typical form of the species in having
rather larger ears and tail and smaller fore feet. The colors
are warmer. The following is Dr. Coues' diagnosis :

"Beneath, tawny- white [?]; above brownish fulvous, with no
darker dorsal area. Tail about two and a half times the hind
foot ; almost half as long as head and body. Fore foot half the
hind foot. Ears about 0.75 high." Coues.

Without discussing the characters on which this variety is
founded, we may remark that in the only form which we have
seen, the proportional length of the tail and limbs were found
to be subject to considerable variation, and that even while the
exact pattern of coloration was maintained. Coues gives the
following measurements of the specimen described : ' ' Nose to
tail, 3.75 ; tail, 2.00 ; hind foot, 0.80 . fore foot, 0.40 ; nose to eye,
0.50 ; nose to ear, 0.95 ; ear, 0.70.

210 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Onyehomys leucogaster var. pallidus, var. n.

O. leucogaster var. pallidus HEKRICK. Thirteenth Ann. Rep. Geol. Nat.
Hist. Surv. Minn., 1884.

This variety is based upon a series collected near the sources
of the Minnesota river and the Bois des Sioux river in Dakota,
which differs so completely in coloration from either of the
above varieties as to be entirely incompatible with any descrip-
tion as yet given of O. leucogaster, while at the same time pre-
serving the essential characters of the species.

Upon first encountering the form while encamped on the
shores of Lake Traverse, the writer was at a loss to classify
his find, for, in coloration and form, it entirely differed from
any description or figure known to him. It was at once set
down as an Arvicola on the strength of its compact, obtuse
form and burrowing habit, although the large ears and a cer-
tain vague suggestion in the appearance hinted at Hesperomys.
It was necessary to examine the teeth before conviction was
reached that we had to do with a Hesperomoid type. The mole-
like appearance and habit at last furnished memory with the
clue and we recognized our capture as Onychomys.

It will be most satisfactory to transcribe the description made
in our diary from the recently killed specimen, as being quite
unprejudiced by thought of comparison with other species.

Description of No. 103, collected July 4, 1885: "Color no-
where other than black and white or a mixture of the two.
Base of fur everywhere ashy gray; above, black and white
most intimately mixed so as to produce the effect of a whitish
reflection from black fur, thus resembling a mole. On the
sides the white tips are more numerous among the hairs, so
that the color is lighter, but the fur is so fine that the pelage
would not be called grizzled. Under parts very pure delicate
white (soft looking) but sparsely sown with black-tipped hairs.
Soles hairy. Tail not distinctly bi-color."

There is a dark ring about the eyes, the white of the lower
parts embraces the lips to the nostrils, and the muzzle is hoary.
The lip is cleft and the fur about this cleft is long and hangs
over like a moustache. The fur is close and dense about the
small nasal pads. The insides and rims of the ears are silvery
white. The tail is terete and very closely hairy, except at the
tip, which is as naked as in Geomys, and is gradually reduced

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

211

in size from the middle to the apex. The vibrissse are unusu-
ally fine and long, reaching beyond the apex of the ear, and
are of uncertain color, really black, but so polished as to appear
partly white. The sole is very densely covered with fine close
hairs, and there are but four tubercles. The ears vary in length,
but seem to be intermediate between the varieties above men-
tioned.

0. pallidus burrows on the sandy prairies and seems to be
largely diurnal in habit. We know little regarding its habits,
but, inasmuch as its stomach was found filled with the remains
of grass-hoppers and other insects, we are justified in claiming
that the suggestion of a largely insectivorous diet offered by
the dentition is borne out by actual observation.

The coloration must be influenced by the constant exposure
which a chase of diurnal insects makes necessary upon the
open plains; and the short and nearly naked tail are suggestive
of the fossorial habits.

The following table gives all the details at command con-
cerning the proportions; and as all the measurements were
made with great care upon recently killed specimens, may be
trusted as thoroughly reliable.*

No.

Nose
to anus.

Tail.

Nose
to ear.

Nose
to eye.

Hind
foot.

Fore
foot.

Ear.

Sex.

103
104

4.60
4.40

1.45
1.35

1.08
1 00

0.60
0.55

0.90
90

0.55

0.60
0.50+

female,
male.

105

3.95

1.50

1 00

0.40

male

114

4.15

1.60

0.85

male

115

5.10

1.60

1.20

0.60

0.50

male.

GENUS FIBER, CUVIER.
Fiber zibethicus (L.) Cuv.

MUSKRAT.

Figs. 12 and 13.

The muskrat is the largest of the mice and is typically arvi-
coline, differing chiefly in those modifications correlated with
its aquatic habits.

The dentition is moderately individualized. The upper in-
cisors are semicircular with plane outer surface. The first

*It should be said that Dr. Merriam. who has examined the types of this species in
the National Museum, considers the present variety identical with the type. In
this case the published descriptions obviously require revision.

212 BULLETIN NO. VJI.

upper molar has an anterior, two interior and two exterior
triangles; second molar with an anterior, interior and two ex-
terior triangles; back molar with an anterior, interior, and
exterior triangle, and a posterior V-shaped treffle.

The following notes derived from the Bulletin of Denison
University, vol. vi, were printed under the title Biological Notes
upon Fiber, Geomys and Erethyzon, by C. L. and C. Judson
Herrick:

The muskrat, Fiber zibethicus, is sufficiently well-known to
every one, and yet perhaps few are aware of the extent to which
the animal adapts itself to the varying conditions of its envi-
ronment. One who casually learned to know the water rat in
one of our western states might pass many years in Ohio with-
out recognizing the fact that the same animal abounds in Ohio,
and under the changed conditions here prevailing adopts an
almost wholly different method of life. It would be more accu-
rate to say that in the cold Northwest, with its luxus of small
lakes and marshes, the monotonous career of the animal expands
in conformity with the greater variety of aquatic stations.

The muskrat is a truly arvicoline rodent, that is, its affinities
are with the field mice rather than with ihe jumping mice
(Hesperomys) or oriental rats and mice (Mus). Though, at first
sight, very different from Arvicola, the chief differences in
Fiber are such as are obviously adapted to aquatic habit.
The long, laterally flattened, scaly and naked tail, small ears,
obliquely set and fringed hind feet with webbed toes are all
modifications induced by accommodation to aquatic habit.
The dark brown fur is long, with a liberal admixture of long,
stiff, glossy hairs of a darker color than the rest. The color
and texture varies with the season, and in early summer rats
may be found with a curiously tufted or mottled pelage. There
are six mammas and strongly-developed perineal glands which
are responsible for the peculiar musky odor implied by the
name. 'The secretion is often used by trappers for the more ex-
pensive castoreum in preparing "scent" used in baiting traps.

As already indicated, the habits of the muskrat are subject
to considerable variation. Its usual home is a long burrow
opening beneath the surface of the water and passing many
yards into the bank, terminating in a cosy nest beneath the
protecting roots of a tree. It is here that young are reared and
from these burrows the entire family may be seen emerging at
twilight to engage in swimming races, games of tag and sport-
ive contests upon the surface of the stream. The head and

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 213

rudder-like tail alone project above the surface, and the long
V-like diverging ripples which are created by the rapid swim-
mer soon span the entire stream and stand out in bold relief as
they catch the sky tints at sunset. In regions not frequented
by man or sufficiently protected by trees long run ways may
be traced from these burrows into neighboring meadows or
wheat fields. The family is large and the appetite is extensive
if not critical. Almost anything of a vegetable nature will be
tolerated, but the corn-like roots of rushes and the rhizomes of
the water lily as well as flag roots are relished. The frantic
and grotesque haste with which the rat when disturbed rushes
down the runway toward the water, oblivious to any obstacle,
is very amusing and sometimes startling, and may have given
rise to the stories of fierce onslaughts upon man. Young-man -
afraid-of -his- shadow might readily consider himself beset as
the excited rat comes crashing down his path regardless of
everything but his destination. Nevertheless, there seems to
be considerable evidence that old "rogue" rats are decidedly
irascible, and a worried mother rat may overstep the bounds of
etiquette in defense of her young. The burrowing habits of
the rat associate him with the cray-fish and other enemies of
canals and dams. Even in the vicinity of a large city like Cin-
cinnati large numbers are annually taken in the canal banks
for their skins, which, when in prime condition, bring 15 to 18
cents.

The comparatively simple domicile above described is ade-
quate for the southern states and flowing waters, but in Wis-
consin and Minnesota the conditions are very different. Nearly
every quarter section has its small lake or pond, and these
pools are shallow and mostly filled with weeds. Here the
muskrat finds congenial resorts. Even in the bleak prairies
the sloughs and ponds fairly swarm with these furry denizens.
Here the intense cold of winter freezes all standing water to a
depth of over four feet, so that the openings of the summer homes
of the rat are sealed for four or five months and he is forced to
construct a building suited to the seeming infelicitous and con-
flicting conditions. The house must extend above water to ad-
mit air; it must be deeply buried from the cold; it must connect
with the water; it must contain food; the food should be grow-
ing or fresh; the house should afford protection from enemies
and escape when attacked.

The solution of these problems might tax the ingenuity of
the ablest mind, yet nature, by the use of the simplest ma-

214 BULLETIN NO. VII.

terials under the guidance of natural selection, has solved
every one. Let us watch the process, and, I doubt not, learn
a lesson of skill and patience. The situation is a shallow pool
which is destined to freeze nearly solid. It is grown up with
rushes and NupJiar or spatter dock, two plants which play an
important part in the domestic economy of this animal, supply -
him at once with food and building materials.

In the placid days of early autumn a pair of muskrats may be
seen diving to the bottom and tugging and biting at the roots
of the rush. After tearing them off, the rat collects four or
five of the rushes, say four feet long, and swims with them to
a spot selected over the deepest part of the pool. Here they
are arranged in parallel order and carefully straightened.
Then another mouthful is brought and placed across the first
at right angles. The angles are bisected by other clusters
until a circular raft is formed sufficiently strong to support the
weight of the animal. Now the colony of rats sets at work in
earnest. And all day long one or more rats may be seen on the
platform apparently eating rushes. Closer inspection shows
that they are biting rushes into short lengths to form the
"filling" of the structure. The accumulation increases and
its weight causes the raft to sink and a new series of long
rushes is added. Thus repeatedly until sufficient material has
been accumulated to rest on the bottom of the pond. All the
previous weeks the rats seemed to make little progress, as the
material sank as fast as lifted much above the surface. Dur-
ing the early stages a strong wind may ruin the work of weeks,
but the rats are never discouraged.

Fig. 12. Section of muskrat hut.

So far only vegetable matter has entered into the composi-
tion of the hut, but as soon as it begins to rise permanently
above the water there is a change of method and the whole

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 215

space about the lodge is cleared of vegetation. The rats dive
to the bottom and pull up the rushes and water- lillies by the
roots and build them into the structure with large masses of
earth adhering. The bottom is deepened and thus the danger
of freezing solid is obviated. The earth is used in plastering
the outside of the hut, though this is not systematically done.
A curious habit we have occasionally observed is the thatching
of the hut with the large water-lily leaves so overlapped and
cemented with mud as to form an impervious roof. By this
time the ice is beginning to form and the hut has settled as
much as it will, being buoyed up by the ice. The rats now
burrow into the house from near the bottom forming a passage
in the form of a letter U inverted, the uppermost part being
above the water level and here a small chamber is excavated.
Run-ways are excavated beneath the ice to various parts of the
pond. In the long excursions undertaken beneath the ice the
rats are said to ascend to the ice and exhaust the lungs, per-
mitting the expired air to absorb oxygen and then reinspire it.
This we have never been able to observe. The roots of NupJiar
are built into the house or are stored conveniently near for
winter use. The great mass of vegetable matter soon begins
to "heat," generating warmth enough not only to add to the
comfort of the occupants of this curious home, but to cause
new sprouts to spring from the roots. The chamber is en-
larged during the winter and the part removed serves to supply
food in case of outside famine. The outer layer of mud freezes
solid and forms an adequate defense against the wolves which

Fig. 13. Muskrat houses.

216 BULLETIN NO. VII.

might otherwise wage a war of extermination. There see ms
to be a certain reciprocity between the occupants of adjacent
lodges, although the rats are jealous by nature and have not
the communistic characters of the beaver, though no whit in-
ferior to them as architects.

As to the statement commonly believed by woodcraf tsmen in
the west that the muskrat prearranges his hut in view of the
length and severity of the coming winter we can offer nothing
definitely. There is, however, a wide variation in respect to
the size and structure of the huts and a general correspon-
dence, though by no means a universal one, between the huts
built during a given season. An average hut is 6x10 feet in
diameter at the water's edge and the size of the chamber varies
from eighteen inches to two feet.

It is interesting to note in this connection the curious state-
ment of Carver as to the winter habits of this animal (p. 425
Carvers Travels. )

"The muskrat is so termed for the exquisite musk which it
affords. It appears to be a diminutive of the beaver, being
endowed with all the properties of that sagacious animal, and
wants nothing but size and strength, being not much bigger
than a large rat of the Norway breed, to rival the creature it
so much resembles.

* 'Like the beaver it builds itself a cabin, but of less perfect
construction, and takes up its abode near the side of some
piece of water. In the spring they leave their retreats, and in
pairs subsist on leaves and roots till the summer comes on,
when they feed on strawberries, raspberries and such other
fruits as they can reach. At the approach of winter they sep-
arate, when each takes up its lodging apart by itself in some
hollow of a tree, where they remain quite unprovided with
food, and there is the greatest reason to believe, subsist with-
out any till the return of spring."

The feats performed by muskrats in opening and devouring
mussels may be, as claimed by some observers mythical but
there seems to be no doubt that they avail themselves of ani-
mal food upon occasion.

"Just before night we saw a musquash, the only one we saw
in this voyage. The Indian, wishing to get one to eat, hushed
us, saying, 'stop, me call 'em'; and sitting flat on the bank, he
began to make a curious squeaking, wiry sound with his lips,
exerting himself considerably. * * * It was evident that he
was in the habit of calling the musquash to him, as he said.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 217

An acquaintance of mine after this tells me that his Indian, in
this way repeatedly called the musquash within reach of his
paddle in the moonlight, and struck at them." Thoreau. The
Maine Woods, p. 211.

FAMILY DIPODID^E.

This is an interesting, though not a large, family containing
five genera of springing mice distributed over widely separated
regions of the earth. The three subdivisions included under
this head are so diverse that there is considerable difference of
opinion as to their relative rank. The affinities assumed for
the animals included in them are borne out by external resem-
blances more fully than by anatomical structure. Alston gives
the following diagnosis of the family : ' ' Incisors compressed.
Premolars present or absent. Grinding teeth rooted or root-
less, not tuberculate, with more or fewer transverse enamel -
folds. Skull with the brain-case short and broad, infraorbital
opening rounded (often as large as the orbit) ; zygomatic arch
slender; curved downward ; the malar ascending in front to the
lachrymal in a flattened perpendicular plate ; facial surface of
the maxillaries minutely perforated ; mastoid portion of the
auditory bullas usually greatly developed. Metatarsal bones
greatly elongated, often fused into a cannon-bone. Form slen-
der ; front portion of the body and fore limbs very small ; hind
limbs long and strong, with from three to five digits ; tail
long, hairy."

Three subfamilies, viz : (Jaculince=) 1. Zapodince, 2. Dipo-
dince, and 3. Pedetince. The last named departs most from the
murine or mouse-like character, and contains a single genus
and species found in South Africa. The animal is figured at
the left in the headpiece to Rodentia. It is of nearly the size
of a rabbit, and but for the long and densely hairy tail, would
much resemble one. The fore feet are rather larger than those
of allied forms, while the nails upon the posterior extremities
are almost hoofs. The cervical vertebras are free as are the
metatarsals.

The Dipodince form three genera, Dipus, Aladaga and Platy-
cercomys.

The first named genus contains the jumping mice of Europe
and northern Africa, while the second inhabits the steppes of
Asia and European Russia. These animals have the cervicals

-14

218 BULLETIN NO. VII.

more or less anchylosed, and the metatarsals fused to form a
so-called cannon-bone. The tail is long and tufted at the end.
Lastly we come to the

SUBFAMILY ZAJPODINJE.

One species is the sole representative of this group, which by
Coues is made a distinct family. This species ranges over a
considerable portion of North America, and has been quite
elaborately discussed by recent authors, so that we may simply
note the characters of the subfamily before passing to the de-
scription of the animal itself :

Dental formula: 1:#: fci=l8. Upper incisors compressed, sul-
cate ; molars rooted. Head short and rounded. Anteorbital
foramen large. Malar bone produced anteriorly, uniting with
the lachrymal. The zygoma is slender and depressed. Fore
feet small; hind feet enlarged, but normal. Tail very long but
not tufted.

GENUS ZAPUS, COUES.
Zap us hudsonius (ZIMMERMAN) COUES.

This jumping mouse is perhaps the most interesting of our
Minnesota rodents. The greatly elongated foot in which,
nevertheless, the bones are all distinct, the long tail, greatly
exceeding the body, the enormous ears with valvular flaps, and
the cheek pouches constitute unique characters.

The average length is 3 inches, tail 5 inches, hind foot 1.18
inches. The hinder parts of the body are enlarged, while the
truncate muzzle gives the profile a peculiar appearance. The
pelage is coarse and the tail is like that of the common mouse.
The color above is of a rather intense yellowish cast with a
brownish dorsally; pencilings of brownish-black due to the
elongated hairs shade the back. The under parts are beauti-
fully white, sharply set off from the coloration of the back.
The species has only been observed by the writer in the west-
ern part of the state. At Lake Traverse it was found in a state
of primitive simplicity, and was readily taken in the hand.

An article in the American Naturalist for June, 1872, by San-
born Tenney, affords the following facts regarding the hiber-
nation of the Zapus:

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 219

"On the 18th of January of the present year (1872), I went
with Dr. A. Patton, of Vincennes, Indiana, to visit a mound
situated about a mile or a mile and a-half in an easterly direction
from Vincennes. While digging in the mound in search of
relics that might throw light upon its origin and history, we
came to a nest about two feet below the surface of the ground,
carefully made of bits of grass, and in this nest was a jumping
mouse (Jaculus hudsonius Bd.; apparently dead. It was coiled
up as tightly as it could be, the nose being placed upon the
belly, and the long tail coiled around the ball-like form which
the animal had assumed. I took the little mouse into my hand.
It exhibited no motion or sign of life. Its eyes and mouth were
shut tight, and its little fore feet were shut and placed close
together. Everything indicated that the mouse was perfectly
dead, excepting the fact that it was not as rigid as perhaps a
dead mouse would be in the winter. I tied the mouse and nest
in my handkerchief and carried them to Vincennes. Arriving
at Dr. Patton's office I untied my treasures and took out the
mouse and held it for some time in my hand. It still showed
no signs of life; but, at length I thought I saw a very slight
movement in one of the hind legs. Presently there was a very
slight movement of the head, yet so feeble that one could
hardly be sure it was real. Then there came to be some evi-
dence of breathing, and a slight pressure of my fingers upon
the tail near the body was followed by an immediate but feeble
movement of one of the hind legs At length there was unmis-
takable evidence that the animal was breathing, but the breath-
ing was a labored action, and seemingly performed with great
difficulty. As the mouse became warmer the signs of life be-
came more and more marked; and in the course of the same
afternoon on which I brought it into the warm room it became
perfectly active, and was as ready to jump about as any other
member of its species. I put this mouse in a little tin box with
holes in the cover, and took him with me in my journey ings,
taking care to put in the box a portion of an ear of corn and
pieces of paper. It ate the corn by gnawing from the outside
of the kernel, and it gnawed the paper into bits with which it
made a nest. * * * On the evening of February 6th I
reached my home in Williamstown, and on my arrival the
mouse was in good condition; but the next morning it was again
apparently dead. In the course of the day, however, being
placed where it was warm, it gradually came back to activity
as before."

220 BULLETIN NO. VII.

"Mr. Slade says*: 'The long-tailed jumping mouse inhabits
high land or low land, forest or pasture, cultivated field or
swamp, and appears to be equally at home in either, and num-
erous in any situation. It possesses a momentary agility
second to no other rodent, and a muscular strength of enor-
mous power for so small a creature. When suddenly disturbed
it often moves away in a direct line, the first three or four leaps
being eight or ten feet in length; but these distances rapidly
decline to about four feet, which are continued until it con-
siders itself out of danger. This is not always the case for it
frequently takes an irregular course and jumps at diverse an-
gles for several successive leaps. * * * It feeds upon the
buds, leaves and twigs of many kinds of plants, upon seeds,
grain, wild berries, chestnuts, acorns, grass, and to some ex-
tent, upon the bark of shrubs. * * * As a rule, three lit-
ters are produced in a season, each consisting of from two to
four young."

FAMILY GEOMYIDJE.-

POUCHED OR POCKET-GOPHERS.

The pouched rats are among the most interesting and pecu-
liar of North American mammals and from their secluded
habits are seldom seen. They have, however, considerable
economic importance, as their insidious and undisturbed
forays upon gardens and orchards render them more obnox-
ious than more open foes. From their habits unlikely to spread
rapidly, they multiply in favorable localities to an incredible
extent and miles of meadow land are honeycombed by their
burrows. For the same reason they are somewhat arbitrarily
distributed.

From the fact that the few species are so similar, and closely
allied geographical races so numerous, it might be inferred
that the group, as at present found, is of a comparatively
recent origin and that its different members are diverging from
a common centre west of the Mississippi. To this it might be
replied that subterranean, like subaqueous, species are subject
to slower changes than those more directly influenced by cli-
mate, etc. However this may be, the family is distributed over
the western part of the United States and ranges southward
into Mexico. The eastward range is little beyond the states

*Merriam's Mammals of the Adirondacks, p. 292.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 221

bordering upon the Mississippi river except southwardly, where
a variety of our common Geomys bursarius extends into Florida
and Georgia and was the first of the family found in the United
States though a different species was previously noticed in
Mexico. The northern limits of the family are determined by
the frosts of winter, for burrowing becomes an arduous task
where much of the time the soil is frozen six or more feet deep.

In the New England and Middle States the family is entirely
absent.

These low-bodied, dense-furred animals are chiefly remarka-
ble for the large fur lined pockets extending from the shoulder
to the sides of the mouth and opening entirely outside the
buccal cavity. The pockets have several special muscles to
retain them in place. The pockets are used for carrying food,
which in all the species, is stored in subterranean graneries
against time of drought or winter frosts. Considerable skill is
shown in collecting the proper amount in one place, so that
the heat generated in a mass of grass, for example, shall be
enough to cause the growth of fresh shoots but not enough to
destroy the whole.

As now understood the pocket-gophers constitute a well cir-
cumscribed family of two genera, allied, on the one hand, to
the field mice (Arvicolidce) by many important cranial and
other characters and, on the other to the pouched mice (Saccom-
yidce) by the possession of fur- lined pouches on either side of
the mouth (but having no connection with the mucous surfaces).
Again, the gophers are allied by quite unmistakable points of
agreement with the African mole rats (Georychidce) which in
habits they more resemble than either of the above families. If
it were pertinent in such a work as this to discuss the relative
value of these different affinities, it might be shown that a very
good case could be made in favor of a closer relationship with the
Georychidce, or Muridce than with the Saccomyidce. After a
comparison of cranial characters between Fiber the Sac-
comyidce and Geomys it seems well to suggest that the presence
oj absence of external pockets ought not to be too implicitly
relied upon in collocating the families of rodents.

It is only safe to say at present that the Geomyidce constitute
a distinct family of myomorphic rodents with uncertain inter-
ordinal affinities. No definition of the family is necessary in
this connection, but the student is referred to the following
papers on the group :

222 BULLETIN NO. VII.

COUES, E., Monographs of N. A. Rodentia, Geomyidae.

COUES, E., do Saccomyidas (Introduction

COUES, E., Exploration of Colorado river, Part iii, Chapter xii Ab-

tract of results of a study of the genera Geomys a ad Thomomys.
COUES, E., The cranial and dental characters of Geomyidae. From the

Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., 1875.
LICHTENSTEIN, K. W. H., Ueber aeussere Backentashen on l>agethieren.

Koengl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1825.

The chief characteristics of the family may also be gathered
from what is said of the one species which comes especially
under consideration here.

GENUS GEOMYS, RAF.

This genus contains four species which occupy a belt through
the center of the United States from British America to Cen-
tral America. It does not extend beyond the Rocky mountains
on the west, nor reach the Atlantic coast except southwardly.

As distinguished from Thomomys, Geomys possesses the fol-
lowing characters: The upper incisors have a deep median
groove which may be accompanied by a second fainter one
near the inner margin. The inferior incisor is very long, caus-
ing a slight protuberance on the outside of the ascending
ramus between the angle and the condyle, but this is not so
highly specialized as in Thomomys. The crowns of the molars
are not acute exteriorly. Zygomatic arch widest in front, not
forming a sweeping gradual arch as in Synaptomys. The basi-
occipital is not greatly narrowed. Interparietal triangular.
The palatal bone is on two planes with a double excavation
between. Fore claws greatly enlarged, claws of hind feet spade-
like. The external ears are inconspicuous.

The differences upon which the genera are separated are
minute and almost intangible, but on account of the few species
of Thomomys may be found permanent. The latter genus con-
tains but two species and one of these is a reduced form found
only in the unfavorable mountain regions of the west Indeed,
it may be said that the limited size and many of the peculiarities
of the genus are perhaps correllated with the range in dry or
otherwise ill-suited regions, and are what might have been pre-
dicated in the case of a Geomys transferred to the same localities.

Of the genus Geomys thre'e distinct types occur. The first
represented by G. bursarius or the common pouched gopher
with a southern variety in the south Atlantic and Gulf states
(this form, G. tuza, is frequently ranked as a species) ; the
second type is that of G. mexicanus, which is the Mexican re-

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

223

preservative of the genus. Aside from the size, which is
greater than G. bursarius, there is the absence of the marginal
groove on the incisors, the reduced fore-claws and pouches to
distinguish this type. With it is associated another "species"
(G. castanops) found only in Texas and New Mexico, and
which combines with the characters of the one some of those
of the other. The third type occurs in Central America and
and is represented by the single species G. hispidus. The
tendency exhibited in the Mexican species is here extended.
The result is an animal nearly a foot long with shallow
pockets, stiff, hairy fur and short claws.

Geomys bursarius (SHAW) RICHARDSON.

COMMON POCKET GOPHER.

Figs. 14,15,16.

Fig. 14.

The traveler in the states west of the Mississippi river must
become familiar with the low mounds scattered over the
prairies in groups or irregular series. These mounds are a
characteristic feature of the landscape where there is little
else to diversify it. They serve to exhibit the nature of the soil
and its substratum to the casual observer. These little hills
are the masses of earth which are thrown out by the gophers
whose burrows mine the soil beneath. The inhabitant of these
burrows is the subject of this article. The first description is
that of Shaw in the Linnean Transactions, v, 1800. The paper
was accompanied by a plate which represented the pockets
everted and extended, a condition impossible in nature but not

224 BULLETIN NO. VII.

infrequently seen in stuffed specimens. Indeed in so good a
work as Owen's Comparative Anatomy the same error is re-
peated and the gopher is figured with external pouches
pendulous from either side the mouth.

The following is as complete a list of the bibliography as I
can compile. Much of it is copied directly from Coues' mono-
graph.
Mus bursarius SHAW, Linn. Trans., v, 1800 ; Gen. Zoology, ii, 1800.

MITCHILL, Arner. Journ. ScL, iv, 1822.

Cricetus bursarius DESMAREST, Nouv. Diet, d' Hist. Nat., xiv ; Encycl.
M6th. Suppl.; Mamm. ii, 1822.

F. CUVIEB, Diet. Sci. Nat., xx.

DESMOULIN, Diet. Class., viii.

GRIFFITH (et al.) Animal King., iii and v, 1827.
Saccophorus bursarius KUHL, Beitrage z. Zoologie, 1820.

FISCHER, Synopsis, 1827.
Pseudostoma bursarius SAY, Long's Exped. to Rocky Mts., 1823.

HARLAN, Fauna Boreal. Amer., 1825.

LESSON, Manuel de Mamm., 1827.

GODMAN, Am. Nat. Hist., 1831.

DEKAY, Fauna N. Y., 1842.

AUDUBON and BACHMAN, Quadrupeds N. A., 1849.
Geomys bursarius RICHARDSON, Sixth An. Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1836.

WOODHOUSE, Sitgreaves' Rep. Zuni and Colorado Rs., 1853.

PARVIN, Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst, 1854-1855.

KENNICOTT, Trans. 111. Agric. Soc., 1853-1854.

GIEBEL, Saugethiere, 1855; Beitrage i. Osteologie d.
Nagethiere, 1857.

BAIRD, Mammals N, A., 1857.

MAXIMILIAN, Arch. Naturg., 1861; Verz. Reise N. A.
Saug.

GERRARD, Catalog Bones Brit. Mus., 1862.

LEIDY, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1867.

AMES, Bull. Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sciences, 1874.

COUES, Proc. Phila. Acad., 1875; Powell's Rep. Colorado

R., 1875.

Ascomys bursarius EYDOUX AND GERVAIS, Voy. sur la corvette de 1' etat
La Favorite, 1830.

SCHINZ, System. Verz. Saugethiere, 1844-1845.

GIEBEL, Odontographie.
Ascomys canadensis LICHTENSTEIN, Abh. Acad. Wiss. Berlin, 1823.

BRANTS, Muizen, 1827.

WAGNER, Suppl. Schreber's Sauget., 1843; Abhand. K.

Baier. Akad. Munch., 1846.
Ascomys drummondii WAGNER., 1. c.
Saccophorus? albus FISCHER, Synopsis, 1827.
Mussaccatus MITCHILL, N. Y. Med. Repository, 1821.
Geomys canadensis LECONTE, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1852.
Geomys drummondii RICHARDSON, Sixth Ann. Rep. Brit. Assoc., 1833-1837.
Geomys oregonensis LECONTE, 1. c.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA

225

Geomys breviceps BAIRD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855; Mammals

N. A., 1857.
GERRARD, Cat. Bones Brit. Mus., 1862.

Fig. 15.

The external appearance of the gopher is not unlike that of
a rat but much more "squat" and compact. The head is broad
and flat. The strong fore limbs and the huge claws are a
prominent feature. The teeth are also large and very con-
spicuous by the slight development of the lips and cheeks.
The posterior part of the body is produced into a truncate
cone supported by the elongated pelvis bones. This trunca
tion is quite conspicuous in so much that the tail seems to
spring from a special square-topped prominence. The tail
itself is comparatively short and is sparsely hairy or quite
naked at the tip. The skin of the tail is not scaly, as in Mur-
idce, but delicate and pink- tinted. The attitude when alarmed,
especially when forced into strong light is faithfully repro-
duced in our drawingf and other characteristic attitudes are
copied in the outline vignettes accompanying.

The size* varies greatly in a given locality but there is little
geographical variation, and as an illustration the measure-
ments of two females are given, the one being from Minneap-
olis near the eastern part of the state and one from Brown's
Valley in the extreme western part.

tThe author refers to a plate which was omitted.

*The following table of measurements refers to specimens collected by
Dr. C. E. McChesney, near Ft. Sisseton, Dak., and measured in the flesh.
The table is extracted from the complete table published by Coues (p. 614
of his monograph of Geomyidae)as bearing on the question of variation in
size in one locality and that near our own station.

226

BULLETIN NO. VII.

The tails are measured from a different point than those measured by
the writer, which must be allowed for:

SEX.

Total
length.

Length
of body.

Length
of head.

Length
fore foot.

Length
of
hind foot.

Longest
claw.

Male

12.08

9.00

2.42

1.25

Male

8.00

2.45

1.05

Male

12.07

9.00

2.62

1.80

1.37

0.93

Female
Female

10.30
9 80

7.90
7.20

2.05
2 00

.60
47

1.27
1 05

0.77
62

Male

11 46

8.50

2 36

.66

1 35

Male .. .

9.07

6.50

2.08

1 20

Male

11.12

8.50

2.12

1 27

0.80

Male

12.38

9.25

2.45

I 30

Female

9.98

7.50

2.05

1 60

1.18

0.80

Female

9.45

7.00

1.97

1.46

1 14

0.75

Female

9.80

7.30

1.97

1.55

1.22

0.67

Female

10.12

7.45

1.97

1.60

1.27

0.69

Male

11 65

9 00

2 20

1 82

1 35

Male

11 30

9.25

2 47

1 78

1 40

Female . . .

10 75

8.00

2.00

1 63

1 35

0.75

Female

10 61

8.00

2 03

1 60

1 27

0.74

Male

12 02

9.25

2.30

1 85

1 45

0.82

Female . . .

10 67

8.00

2.00

1 68

1.27

0.73

Male

11 25

8.25

2 02

1 69

1.38

Female

10.33

7.50

1.90

1.57

1.18

Male

12.11

9.00

2.50

1 76

1.43

0.83

Female

10 62

7.85

2.20

1.68

1.33

0.81

Female

9.79

7.12

2.12

1.55

1.28

0.66

Female

8.25

6.00

1.63

1.37

1.14

0.47

Male

9.18

6.50

1.62

1.55

1.25

0.57

Female

10 91

8 25

2 00

1 65

1 23

0.70

Female

9 92

7 00

1 92

1 64

1 25

Male

8 63

6 08

2 10

1 55

1 26

0.64

Male..

11.53

8.50

2.20

1.82

1.37

0.73

No.

Place.

Sex.

Body

Tail

S O

1-2

Sole

Minneapolis...
Brown's Valley

Female . .
Female . .

lOi
lOi

7i
7i

21
3i

1
1

The length of the opening to the pouch is 1 T \. The fur is
dense and very soft, mole like. The under fur is plumbeous
and very fine. Externally the color is a subdued but rich
brown with a purplish or reddish reflection, and during the life
of the animal has a glossy brilliancy not to be seen in the pre-
pared skin. The head and middle of the back are darker
brown. Beneath the colors are much lighter, becoming whit-
ish on the feet, tail and lower lip. There is also a light spot
on the nose and below the small muffle. The whiskers are thin
and pale. In a female in the flesh before me as I write (August)
the colors are paler than above described, the prevailing tone

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 227

being very light hazel darkened with Vandyke on the back and
grayish below. There occurs a peculiar phase of coloration
which is not known to correspond to any seasonal or physi-
ological condition, where the animal is dark (almost black)
gray and nearly concolor. In aged individuals there is a con-
siderable admixture of white hairs, especially upon the head.
In summer the feet and tail become nearly naked.

Fig. 16.

' 'The habits being entirely subterranean with the exception of
rare nocturnal forays, our acquaintance with the animal must
necessarily be formed under unfavorable conditions. It is little
wonder that when dragged ruthlessly from its home a prisoner in
the jaws of a trap, the recluse-like animal produces an unfavora-
ble impression. When thus brought into the blinding glare of
the daylight he throws himself back upon his haunches, elevates
his head, and, half in fury, half in pain, gnashes his teeth and
utters the aspirated sigh -like spit which is the only note of
offense. Blinded by the light, he turns toward every sound
and appears quite demented. But in the seclusion of his bur-
row or when once on friendly terms with his captor, he appears
a very different creature. Perhaps we are the only persons
who have had the opportunity to study the interesting habits
of the Geomys in captivity. After a short time he becomes
perfectly tame and an engaging pet. When first secured he ate
sparingly of potato but evinced decided preference for leaves
and rhizomes of red clover, seizing them in one fore paw, which
was used as a pair of forceps by bringing the long claws in op-
position to the callosity of the palm, and feeding himself
gracefully. While eating he assumed a semi-erect attitude
and arched the back much as the muskrat does. In eating a

228 BULLETIN NO. VII.

clover plant he always pursued the same method, beginning at
one extremity and- "feeding it into" the mouth rapidly, and
uniformly using now one fore paw, now the other. After
the keen edge of the appetite was removed the animal
began at once to. stow food into his pockets, in doing which he
reversed his former position and seemed to all but stand on
his head, cramming in the leaves and roots with much celerity.
The play of jaws is ordinarily like that of a rat, but at times,
when a large root was encountered, the jaws were set in rapid
motion so that the clicks made by the teeth blended in one
uniform clatter. A similar habit has been noticed in several
rodents, especially the porcupine. The only truly vocal sound
was a sharp squeak if the hissing note of rage be excepted.
Upon the smooth surface of the floor the motions seemed em-
barrassed and awkward. A small twine stretched on the floor
served to stop his course until he divided it with the teeth
rather than step over it."

' When placed in a vessel of fresh earth the Geomys seemed
almost distraught. The smell of fresh soil acted as a power-
ful stimulant and the animal careened about before falling to
violent digging which he carried on literally tooth and nail,
biting the clods, rooting violently, and throwing back the earth
with the feet. This, however, was but play, and it was only
when given larger quarters that he began the excavation of a
burrow in real earnest. The position in digging is with the
hind feet well forward and the back strongly arched. The
earth is thrown back with the fore paws, and, as it accumulates
under the animal, the latter launches a vigorous kick with both
hind feet in the most ludicrously earnest manner. After a con sid-
erable pile is thus formed behind the animal, he turns about and
approximating the callosities of the two fore feet in front and
with the claws well up, he pushes the mass before him by the
action of the hind limbs until it piles up in front of him, and
he looks like a diminutive earth scraper. It is in this way that
the earth is brought to the surface and not in the pockets as
often stated. The whole process is accomplished in the most
brisk and business-like manner possible. Thus, in the habits
of the animal we have the explanation of an osteological pecu-
liarity of the wrist. There is a strongly developed bone (the
falciform) not found in many mammals which serves to sup-
port the callosity which in this case, as we have seen, serves
bottt as a scraper and an aid in prehension. The most notice-
able fault of the gopher is his gluttony. The amount he eats

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 229

is alarming. Our pet seated himself calmly upon the knee and
disposed of one grass stalk after another most vivaciously,
eagerly seeking for more. Bread was especially desired and
with a shrewd eye for the future the beggar would fill both
pockets, and when appetite and both pockets were filled he
would empty the latter in a corner of his den and promptly
return for more."

* ' When given the liberty of the room, he set off in a curious
canter but usually returned to be placed in the box, where he
constructed a new nest every day. In the darkest portion he
formed a nest of dry grass where the midday sleep was enjoyed.
This siesta is very profound so that one could frequently re-
move him from the box before he awaked, which he did with
a start and appeared to require some time to get his bearings."

"In suitable localities one may trace the progressive exten-
sion of the burrow by the small hillocks of earth thrown up,
often extending in an irregular line for many rods in a meadow.
The digging is chiefly confined to the early summer and autumn,
or after a long rain. Dry earth is difficult to manipulate and
during drought the favorite food of the gopher is not to be
secured. The hillocks resemble those of a mole but are much
larger. The burrows are of two sorts, permanent run-ways
and explorative or temporary burrows. The latter are near
the surface and are closed off from the permanent burrow when
completed. When such a burrow is made in a potato field it
can be traced with the utmost regularity from hill to hill and
the tubers are systematically removed and stored in large deep
cellars. The amount which one family will carry off in a few
days is all but incredible. The natural food consists of grass
roots, especially the tender shoots of the red clover, and like
plants. A curious provision against winter needs was fre-
quently observed. The main run-way was provided with blind
alleys at intervals, each of which was somewhat expanded at
the end. Here a store of grass roots is accummulated in quan-
tities varying from a pint to nearly half a peck. The amount
seems to be intentionally limited so that the slight heating
shall stimulate the roots to fresh growth, thus providing fresh
supplies for the winter. Larger chambers are constructed for
the tubers of Helianthus, etc. "

"It is probable that the animal does not drink. Current
stories as to the digging of subterranean wells and the like
being, so far as we could learn, fabrications. There is no evi-
dence of hibernation though in the nature of the case it cannot

230 BULLETIN NO. VII

be disproven. The female appears to perform most of the work
of digging."

' ' The gophers may be trapped by one familiar with their
habits. When a fresh mound is found this should be opened
so that direct daylight falls into the burrow. Then a second
opening is made along the trend of the passage about eighteen
inches from the first. The opening is carried a few inches
below the level of the run-way and in it a small steel trap is
placed. The trap is carefully covered with light earth to the
level with the run-way and the light completely excluded from
the second opening. The success of the plan depends upon the
dislike of the gopher for light. He at once brings a fresh sup-
ply of earth to stop up the opening and being blinded by the
light does not observe the second excavation. If the latter
presents any irregularities, however, he immediately deposits
the load there and barricades the burrow at that point." *

FAMILY LEPORID^E.

HARES.

This small and well-defined family is pre-eminently North
American and our own state contains parts of two rather dis-
tinct faunas, though only three species are as yet known.

The geographical distribution of the family, taken in con-
nection with that of other rodents, is puzzling. South America
is richer than any other continent in rodentia and yet the single
species of hare found within it is more than probably derived
more or less directly from the North American group. More
than this, the pikas (Lagomyidce), which seem to be the closest
living allies of the hares, were circumpolar in their distribution
in comparatively recent times, though now represented by a
single American and six Asiatico-European species. On the
other hand, it is true that South America contains a variety of
curious rodents specialized in different directions. Here, for
example, are springing, hare-like animals with long squirrel-
like tails, others resembling antelopes in form and possessing
hoof-like claws (Dolichotis). The Guinea pigs and the hog-like
Hydrochcerus (capybara) make up with these a curious and
suggestive assemblage of forms from among which it may be
possible to glean evidences of the common stock from which

*C. L. and C. Judson Herrick. Bui. Deuison Univ., vi.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 231

they, with the hares, have descended. The hares are, however,
among the most widely distributed of rodents, and with the
squirrels are found in most parts of the world, except Australia,
the mice being the only family superior in this respect.

Thus far a very few species of fossil hares have been found
and these are united in the genus Palceolagus, Leidy, and are
from the Miocene formations of America. Related species re-
ferred at present to the same family have been found in Pliocene
and later deposits also in America. The pikas (Lagomys) have
not yet been found fossil in America, but are known to have
inhabited the whole of Europe and England in Pliocene times.
The geographical limits of the latter group has thus been
greatly reduced meanwhile probably by the more extensive
glaciatioA of Europe.

OSTEOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF LEPORID^E.

There are long hypapophyses, or ventral median processes
upon the anterior lumbar vertebrae. These processes are almost
peculiar to the hares. The anterior thoracic vertebrae have
very long spines. The transverse processes of the lumbar
vertebrae are also very long and, with the hypapophyses, serve
to set off the interior muscular masses which play so important
a part.

The caudal vertebrae are few and those at the base have a
great expansion of the transverse processes.

The manubrium of the sternum is compressed and extended
forward as in other rodents in which the clavicle is rudimen-
tary.

The skull has its longitudinal axis more or less strongly
curved, the facial surface of the maxilla is perforate and cur-
iously reticulated. The lachrymal bone is entirely within the
orbit.

The palate in rodents is usually narrow. In the hare the
anterior palatine foramina are longitudinal slits of great size.
The part of the palate between the molars is reduced to a very
narrow bridge.

The tympanic is anchylosed to the periotic and develops a
well marked tubular auditory meatus which is directed upwards
and backwards. The supraorbital process forms a great shield
over the eye. The hyoid arch is reduced, the basihyal being
compressed and keeled.

The scapula is rather slender, the acromium is long, and
there is a long metacromium. In the rabbit the clavicle develops

232 BULLETIN NO. VII.

only after birth. An os centrale is found in the carpus. The
outer or acetabular border of the ilium is almost obsolete, and
the gluteal and iliac surfaces are confluent.

The tibia is very long. There is a third trochanter below
the trochanter major of the femur. The fibula is slender and
distally united with the tibia, while above, it is united by an
interosseus cartilage. The hallux or inner toe is wanting, and
the metatarsals are elongated.

COMPARISON OF CRANIA OF AMERICAN HARES.

The skulls of Lepus callotis and of L. californicus are very
similar. L. californicus appears to have the mandible more
slender, with the margin between angle and condyle more
deeply excavated, otherwise the two species agree quite fully
and differ from L. timidus var. arcticus and L. campestris in
the very long and slender nasals, the less strong curvature of
the crani-facial axis and some other differences.

The skulls of L. aquaticus and L. palustris carry out the
peculiarities of the L. sylvaticus group to an extreme. The
lower jaw becomes solid and broad. The supraorbital frontal
processes are fused completely with the skull. The hamular
process of the zygomas are enlarged, thus giving greater
security to the glenoid fossa. In both, the maxillary part of
the inter- alveolary bridge is enlarged rather than the palatal
portion. The constriction of the nasals just prior to the end
is also noticeable.

The differences between the skulls of Lepus sylvaticus and L.
auduboni are not of a very tangible character, if we may judge
from Prof. Baird's figures. The comparison is not facilitated
by the fact that the skull of the latter figured was evidently
that of a young animal while that of L. sylvaticus is an old one
with sutures closing and frontal processes united with the
skull. (See Baird's Mammals, PL Iviii.) The interparietal of
the latter is either ignored or has anchylosed with the neigh-
boring parts. But we know that usually at least this anchy-
losis does not take place even in old L. sylvaticus. Other
apparent differences may, probably, be eliminated in like man -
ner. Baird's figure of the basis cranii in the one case is in-
complete but shows the absence of two teeth present in the L
sylvaticus.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 233

ANATOMY OF SOFT PARTS.

The stomach is roundish, curved, partially constricted into
two compartments of which the pyloric is most muscular. The
coecum of the intestine is large.

There are ten teats in Lepus.

The external ear varies in size and form with the species,
but the following description of that of L. campestris will serve
to illustrate its peculiarities:

It is in this species of immense size, being 7-J inches long
from the base to tip. The essential parts to be distinguished
are the cartilage which gives it its form, the muscles and the
dermal covering. The ears are densely furred without
and half way down within and are thus well protected from
the severity of the rigorous climate in winter. The cartilage
itself is papery toward the tip but below becomes somewhat
thicker. The general form may be described as spoon- shaped,
the lower -J being the hollow handle, this part is tubular and
forms the opening into the internal ear. Aside from the nearly
straight canal formed by the upper part of the tube are two
semi-cylindrical cavities, one on either side. The anterior of
these is the pars anteriorhelicis which consists of two parts,
the anterior being a blind sac f in. deep the fossa conchas
the posterior a groove separated from the meatus by a small
spina helicis anterior. A much larger spina helicis posterior
separates the other part of the helix which occupies the opposite
side of the ear; this groove opens into the external meatus
below. At the bottom of the slit which forms the opening
of the external ear is a lobate slit called the incisura intertra-
gica which separates two concave lips which represent the
tragus and antitragus. The upper part of the ear or scapha is
less concave and is well furred. The scutulum is the large
cartilage at the base which slides over the top of the skull and
furnishes insertion and origin for many muscles which move
the ear; it is inch long.

Lepus campestris BACHMAN.

PRAIRIE HARE.

Fig. 17.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Lepus variabilis LEWIS, Barton's Med. and Phys. Journ., ii, 1806, 159.

GODMAN, Am. Nat. Hist., ii, 1826, 69.
Lepus virginianus, var.t HARLAN, Fauna Amer., 1825, 310.
Lepus virginianus RICHARDSON, Faun. Bor. Am., i, 1829, 224.

MAXIMILIAN, Riese, i, 1839, 508.
1 o

234 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Lepus campestris BACHMAN, Journ. Acad., Nat. Sci Phil., vii, 1837, 349;

viii, 1839, 80.

WATERHOUSE, Nat. H. Mam., ii, 1848, 127.
GIEBEL, Saugethiere, 1855, 449.
BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857, 585.
NEWBERRY, Pac. R. R. Rep., vi, iv, 1857, 62.
COOPER, ibid., xii, iii, 1860, 104.
SUCKLEY, ibid., xii, iii, 1860, 131.
MAXIMILIAN, Wiegm. Arch., 1861, Bd. i, 145.
HAYDEN, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. Phila., xii, 1862.
GRAY, Ann. and Mag. 1ST. H., 3d series, xx, 1867.
ALLEN, Proc. Best. Soc. N. H., viii, 1875, 433.
ALLEN, Bull. Essex Inst., vi, 1874.
COUES, ibid., vii, 1875, p. 73; - - U. S. Geog. Surv. W.

100 Mer., vol. v., p. 127.
ALLEN, Monographs N. A., Rodentia, ii, U. S. Geol. Surv.

Terr., vol. xi, 1877.
Lepus townsendi BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. N. S. Phila. viii, 1839, 90,

PL II; Townsend's narrative, 1839.
AUD. and BACH., Quad. N. A., i, 1849, 25.
COOPER, Am. Nat., ii, 1868, 536.

This is readily distinguished from any species found in Min-
nesota, not only by its great size, but by the great length of
ears and tail, which latter is white above and below. It is
much larger than the varying hare and about equals the North-
ern L. timidus. It is universally called jack-rabbit. The
prairie hare is a denizen of the northern part of the plains,
claiming kin with the sage-bush and rattle-snake. Its habitat
extends from the plains of the Saskatchewan to middle Kan-
sas and Utah. It occurs in Northern California, and Western
Minnesota. The species was first described by Lewis and
Clarke in 1814, but received its name from Bachman in 1837,
and has suffered several vicissitudes since.

In winter this hare is white throughout except the black tips
of the ears and traces of yellowish brown upon the top of the
head. The fur does not become white to the base, however,
the under fur and base of hairs being reddish brown . In sum-
mer the upper parts become yellowish gray or brownish
There is usually a white fleck in the centre of the forehead
and the ears are creamy white below and brown above.

The following measurements will give an idea of the propor-
tions: Length, 20.25; tail, 5.50; forefoot, 2.85; hind foot,
5.75; hight of ear, 4.80. A female purchased in Minneapolis
market, January 12, 1884, measured: Length, 22; tail to end
of hairs, 7; tail to end of vertebraB, 4.25; nose to eye, 2.37;
nose to ear, 3.75; ear, 5.25; fore foot, 3; hind foot 8.9. The

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

235

species has been encountered in Minnesota near Big Stone
lake, though it, no doubt, ranges over a large part of South-
western Minnesota. In 1876 the writer secured a specimen at

FIG. 17. Bones of Lepus campestris.

Explanation of figures: Fig. t, skull from above; Fig. 2, skull from side; Fig. 3,
lower jaw; Fig. 4, pelvis; Fig. 5, scapula; Fig. 6, axis; Fig. 7, atlas; Fig. 8, pelvis of
Lepus sylvaticu*.

236 BULLETIN NO. VII.

the head waters of the Des Moines river, which is the most
eastern authenticated point of capture of which we have been
informed.

In Dakota it must still be abundant as large numbers some-
times find their way into city markets.

Lepus sylvaticus BACHMAN.

COMMON RABBIT.

Fig. 17 (8).

VAR. SYLVATICUS.

Lepus nanus SCHREBER, Saugethiere, iv, 1792 (part.)

DEKAY, Zool. of New York, 1842, p 93.

WAGNER, Suppl. Schreber's Saug., iv, 1843.
Sylvilagus nanus GRAY, Ann. and Mag. Nat. H. 3d. series, xx, 1867, 221.

ALLEN, Bull. Mus. Comp Zool., i, 1869.
Lepus americanus DESMAREST, Mammalogie, ii, 1822.

HARLAN, Fauna Amer., 1825.

AUDUBON, Birds of Amer. pi. 51.

FISCHER, Synop. Mam., 1829, 376 (in part.)

BACHMAN, Jour. Acad. N. S. Phila., vii, 1837.

EMMONS, Quad. Mass, 1840, 56.

THOMPSON, Nat. Hist. Vermont, 1842, 48.

Lepus sylvaticus BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. N. S. Phila., vii, 1837, 345, pi.
xxii; viii, 1839, 79.

WATERHOUSE, Nat. Hist. Mam., ii, 1848.

AUDUBON and BACHMAN, Quad. N. A., i, 1849, 173, pi.
xxii.

WOODHOUSE, Sitgreave's Col. and Zuni R. Exp., 1853, 55.

MAXIMILIAN, Wiegmann's Arch., 1861, i, 144.

BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857, 597, pi. viii; U. S. and Mex.
Bound. Surv., ii, 1859.

HAYDEN, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., xii, 1863, 148.

ABBOTT, Cook's Geol. N. Jersey, 1868, 759.

ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., xiii, 1869, 194; Bull. Mus.
Comp. Zool., ii, 1871, 184.

ALLEN, Monographs, N. A. Rodentia, ii, U. S. Geol.

Surv. Terr., vol. xi, 327.
Sylvilagus bachmani GRAY, Ann. and Mag. N. H. 3d series, xx, 1867, 222-

VAR. NUTTALLI.

Lepus nuttalli BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. N. S. Phila., vii, 1837, 345, pi.

xxii; viii, 1839, 79; Townsend's Narrative, 1839, 329.
AUD. and BACH., Quad. N. A., ii, 1851, 300.
BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857, 606; U. S. and Mex. Bound.

Surv., ii, 1859, ii, 48.

Lepus sylvaticus var. nuttalli ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., xvii, 1875,
334; Monog. N. A. Rod., ii, p 328.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 237

Lepns artemisia BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. N. S. Phila., viii, 1839, 94;

Townsend's Narrative, 1839, 329.
WATERHOUSE, N. H. Mam., ii, 1848, 126.
ATJD. and BACH., Quad. N. A., 1851, ii, 272.
WOODHOUSE, Sitgreave's Col. and Zuni R. Exp., 1853.
BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857, 602; U. S. and Mex. Bound.

Surv., ii, 1859, ii, 48.

NEWBERRY, Pacif. R.R. Rep., vi, iv, 1857, 65.
KENNERLY, ibid., x, vi, 1859, 16.
SUCKLEY, ibid., xii, iii, 1860, 105.
STJCKLEY and GIBBS, ibid, 132.

HAYDEN, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. Phila., xii, 1863, 148.
COUES, Am. Nat., i, 1867, 534; Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.,

1867, 136.

Sylvilagus artemisia GRAY, Ann. and Mag. N. H. 3d series, xx, 1867, 222.
Lepus artemisiacus WAGNER, Suppl. Schreber's Saug., iv, 1844.

VAR. AUDUBONI.

Lepus auduboni BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857, 608.

NEWBERRY, Pac. R. R. Rep., vi, iv, 1857, 65.

KENNERLY, ibid, x, vi, 1859, 17.

GRAY, Ann. and Mag. N. H. 3d series, xx, 1867.

Lepus sylvaticus var. aububoni ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., xvii, 1875 t
434; Monog. N. A. Rod., ii, p. 329.

Geographical variation and distribution. As regards the gen-
eral subject, the present writer can hope to add nothing to the
exhaustive elaboration in Allen's memoir, from which the facts
respecting the geographical variation outside our own state
are taken with no further acknowledgement. The habitat of
L. (Sylvilagus) sylvaticus extends from a line north of tne
isotherm of 45, but conforming more or less with it, except
westerly, where the northern limit is restricted, over the
greater part of the United States and southward to Yucatan.

The typical L . sylvaticus extends from Southern Maine west
to Dakota, south through Nebraska, Kansas, Indian Territory
and Eastern Texas to Yucatan. The entire United States east
of this line save the hights of the Alleghanies are occupied by
this tolerably permament variety. The geographical variation
over this region consists in "an increasing paleness from the
Mississippi westward toward the plains, where the variety
sylvaticus passes by insensible steps into variety nuttaUi. The
specimens from 'Eastern Nebraska and Eastern Dakota can, in
general, hardly be referable to the one form rather than
the other. At the southward the colors become slightly more
intense, but the difference is by no means striking. * * * The
brownish terminal band of the under fur becomes more uni-

238 BULLETIN NO.. VII.

formly traceable, being generally present in specimens from
about Washington, but much stronger in those from S. Carolina
and Florida, in which it generally forms a strong, broad bar,
though sometimes obsolete."

The amount of black i. e. the length of the black tips of the
coarser hairs is variable in the same locality, seasonally and
otherwise,

Winter specimens are lighter than the same individuals in
summer, and the difference is apparently greatest to the north.
Our Minnesota winter specimens are very light colored. Al-
though there seems to be a tendency to a decrease in size
southward according to the usual law, it is slight and speci-
mens from Mexico are as large as northern individuals. The
local peculiarities of station seem to have a more direct influ-
ence than the general geographical influences.

' ' Southern specimens generally have the ears less covered
han northern ones, the feet less heavily furred, and the gen-
eral pelage harsher and less full. Southern specimens also
show a tendency to decidedly longer ears than the northern
ones." This is in accordance with the law, an increase of
mean annual temperature and humidity tends to cause greater
development of apendicular parts.

VAR. NUTTALLI.

This variety expresses the law that treeless, dry regions
tend to diminish the intensity of coloring. "The lightest
specimens appear to' be those from western Wyoming, Colorado,
Nevada and Utah, Arizona specimens passing gradually into
var. arizonce." In size there is some difference, the present
variety being, according to Allen, about twelve per cent, smaller.
The proportions are the same and the difference in size has
usually been overestimated. Northern specimens have dense
soft fur and heavily -clothed ears and feet. The paleness is due
to a suppression of the yellowish or fulvous subterminal rather
than the black terminal portion of the coloring.

VAR. ARIZONA

is the extreme of the tendency expressed by the above but with
the addition of considerably elongated ears, they being one-
third longer than those of types of the above variety. This
variety was founded upon some six specimens, of which part
at least were young, and we await with interest the accumula-
tion of additional material.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 239

VAR. AUDUBONI

is about the size of L. sylvaiicus and has longer ears. The
dorsal surface is yellowish-brown mixed with black, under-
neath white. It is the darker phase of _L. sylvaticus inhabiting
the moist regions of the Pacific coast from northern California
to San Diego, passing on the southern limit into var. arizonce.
In color it is said to resemble L. irowbridgei which is much
smaller and has no black upon the ear- tips and has a shorter tail.

The L. bachmani described by Waterhouse and figured by
Audubon is regarded by Allen as simply the common variety,
an immature individual being the basis of the description and
figures. The latter are very poor and are not distinctive.

L. ariemisia is regarded as a synonym for L. nuttalli. The
name L. bachmani was applied later to the gray hare of the
Texas plains and it is therefore doubtful if that name is not
also a synonym of the sage hare, L. nuttalli.

Size. A full grown female gives the following measurements :
Length, 18.50; tail, 3; nose to eye, If; nose to ear, (open-
ing) 3|; nose to occiput, 3.25; ears, 2f; fore foot, If;
hind foot, 4.25. (No. 38, Jan. 1884). This it will be seen
from the appended schedule is not an unusual measurement for
adult specimens in Minnesota. Out of thirty-five specimens,
of which measurements are given in Allen's Monograph of
North American Leporidse, but one reaches the length given
above. The wide range from which the specimens were
received makes it the more remarkable that that one should
be from Iowa, and the next largest (17.00 long) should be from
Wisconsin, and that the suit of specimens from Iowa should be
uniformly of large size. The average of the thirty- five speci-
mens falls below 15.45. A number of specimens from Kansas
fall below 13.50, showing, presumably, a transition to the west-
ern varieties.

Of L. sylvaticus, Baird gives following measurements of a
fresh specimen:

Nose to occiput 3 . 25

" " eye 1 . 93

" " ear 3.17

" " root of tail 16.75

" " end of outstretched legs 26.75

Tail to end of vertebrae 2.00

Tail to end of hairs . . 2.75

240 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Forearm 3.08

Elbow to end of claws 4 . 75

Tibia 3.42

Heel to claws 3 . 58

This makes the total length 19 . 50

Or 1 in . more than our largest specimen .

Lepus americanus ERXL.

VABYING HARE. "WHITE BABBIT."

VAR. AMERICANUS.

Lepus americanus ERXLEBEN, Syst. Beg. Animal., 1777.

GMELIN, Syst. Nat. , i, 1788, 162.

SHAW, Gen. Zool. Mam., iii, 1801, 202.

DESMAREST, Mammal ogie, 1822, 351.

SABINE, Franklin's First Journ., 1824.

BICHARDSON, App. Parry's Second Voyage, 1825, 324.

Fauna. Bor. Am., i, 1829, 217.

. Back's, Arct. Land Exp., 1836.

FISCHER, Syn. Mam., 1829, 376.

BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vii,1837, 403; viii,
1839, 76.

DEKAY, New York Zool., i, 1842, 95.

WAGNER, Suppl. Schreber's Sauget., iv, 1844.

WATERHOUSE, Nat. Hist. Mam., ii, 1848.

AUDUBON and BACHMAN, Quad. N. A., i, 1849.

GIEBEL, Saugethiere, 1855, 449.

BAIRD, Mam. N. A., 1857.

GRAY, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 3d series, xx, 1867.

MAXIMILIAN, Wiegm. Archives, 1861.

Boss, Canad. Nat. and Geol., vi, 1867.

WELCH, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1869.

GILPIN, Proc. and Trans. Nova Scotia Inst. Nat. Sci.,

iii, 1872.
Lepus hudsonius PALLAS, Nov. Sp. Glires, 1778.

BODD^ERT, Elench. Anim., i, 1784.

ZIMMERMAN, Pennant's Arktische Zool., i, 1887, 96.
Lepus nanus SCHREBER, Sauget., ii, 1792.
Lepus campestris HAYDEN, Am. Nat., iii, 1869.

DALL, Alaska and its Besources.

Lepus variabilis var. GODMAN, Am. Nat. Hist., ii, 1826.
Lepus borealis SCHINTZ, Synop. Mam., ii, 1845.

X,epus americanus var. americanus ALLEN, Monog. N. A. Bodentia, 1876. l
"American Hare," FORSTER, PENNANT, ETC.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 241

VAR. VIRGINIANUS.

Lepus americanus BACHMAN, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vii, 1837; viii,
1839.

DEKAY, WAGNEK, AUD. and BACH., BAIRD, GRAY.

ALLEN, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., i, 1869.

HALL, Can. Nat. and Geol., vi, 1861.
Lepus virginianus HARLAN, Fauna Am., 1825.

FISCHER, Synop., 1829.

DOUGHTY, Doughty's Cab. N. Hist., i, 1830.

BACHMAN, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vii, 1837.

EMMONS, Quad. Mass., 1840.

THOMPSON, Nat. Hist. Vermont, 1842.
Lepus americanus var. virginianus ALLEN, Mo nog. N. A. Rodentia, 1876.

VAR. WASHINGTONI.

Lepus washingtoni BAIRD, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vii, 1855; Mam. N

A., 1857.
COOPER, SUCKLEY, SUCKLEY and GIBBS, Pacif. E. R.

Reports, 1860.

GRAY, Ann. and Mag. N. H., 3d ser. xx, 1867.

Lepus americanus var. washingtoni ALLEN, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist.,
xvii, 1875; Monog. N. A. Rodentia, 1876.

VAR. BAIRDI.

Lepus bairdi HAYDEN, Am. Nat., in, 1869.

Lepus americanus var. bairdi ALLEN, Bull. Essex. Inst., vi, 1874; Proc.

Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xvii, 1875; Monog. N. A.

Rodentia, 1876.

Although I have copied the synonomy for the several varie-
ties of our common hare as given by Allen it must be admitted
that, save as to the last, it requires hair (hare) splitting nicety
to make out any distinctions which will not be utterly invalidated
by individual variation. In general the southern L. americanus
has a less reddish cast of the summer pelage and the part of the
hairs which becomes white in winter is restricted. The period
during which the winter pelage is worn is shorter, but the varia-
tions in size are so insignificant as compared with individual
variation as to present no basis for remark. There is, of
course, the probability that the ultimate size of the northern
specimens will be found greater, but the facts thus far col-
lected give but negative results. Variety americanus in its
typical form does not enter the United States so far as known.
The var. ivashingtoni, though originally supposed to be much
smaller appears to be simply a more fulvous form with the
pelage soft and full. Though this variety is said not to un-
dergo a seasonal change about Puget's Sound, its pelage seems
elsewhere to have a deeper outer white zone in winter than the
previous varieties.

242 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Var. bairdi is not different in size and proportions from other
varieties of L. americanus. ' 'The most prominent distinctive
features in summer pelage are its pure white under-fur, the
long, black tips of the hairs and the white feet, and in winter
the tendency of the pelage to become pure white to the base."
"This variety appears to be strictly an alpine form inhabiting
the snowy summits of the higher portions of the Rocky Moun-
tains. " Baird supposed that there were marked differences' in
size especially of the tarsi to distinguish this from the other
varieties which are said by Allen not to obtain.

The following remarks must be understood to pertain to
Minnesota specimens simply unless otherwise stated :

It is unnecessary to devote space to a description of the
habits of so familiar an animal. Chapters of every country
boy's experience could easily be recalled by allusions to box-
traps and snares. The greatest feat of the creature is per-
formed with his feet, and the image of personified fear with a
puff of feathery tail and a confused mixture of hurtling legs
and pendant ears constitutes our idea of the hare. Its whole life
is one continual flight. Nevertheless there are quiet intervals
when fragrant clover blooms and aromatic apple bark sooth the
fears. Although so timid, the ha,re actually possesses consid-
erable courage. A countryman having captured a leveret, was
employed in marking it by notching its ears, when he was inter-
rupted by the mother, who flew at him with singular courage and
struck so fiercely with her fore feet that she tore his hands sev-
erely. Being unable to release her young, she waited until he
liberated the little hare, with w r hich she went off. The males are
quite pugnacious, waging fierce combats with their own spe-
cies . Billings gives an illustration in the case of specimens
confined with hares of other species. "The old males at this
period seemed to be animated with new courage; they had
previously suffered themselves to be chased and worried by
the common English rabbit, and even retreated from the at-
tacks of the gray rabbit, but now they stood their ground, and
engaged in fierce combats with the other prisoners and gener-
ally came off victorious. They stamped with their feet and
used their teeth and claws, and in the fight tore off patches of
skin and mutilated the ears of their former persecutors until
they were left in undisturbed possession of the premises."
When frightened the rabbit will frequently strike the ground
with such force with its feet as to produce a considerable

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

243

sound, thus giving the alarm to the does much as the beaver
does with its tail.

The hare when close-pressed will take to water, concealing
itself in the herbage with only the nose exposed; it also swims
readily. Frequently these animals become a great pest, as
they peel and so destroy the young fruit-trees. This may be
in a measure prevented by painting the bark with tobacco de-
coction or other distasteful substance. The young of the hare
are able to see at birth. The leverets are suckled about three
weeks, while the natural life-time is perhaps ten years.

FAMILY HYSTRICIDJE-

Fig. 18, Spfcin0Mru8 mlloxw WATERHOUSE, S. Amer.

244 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The porcupines (carefully to be distinguished from hedge-
hogs) constitute a small family of rather large, clumsy and
indolent rodents which are conspicuous among their fellows
for the remarkable change which some of the long hairs un-
dergo. These become altered to form sharp quills which
usually are so armed with retrorse bristles as to make them
very perfect defensive weapons. The body is usually heavy
and low, the head short and blunt with heavy muzzle and
small ears. The form varies much and, in particular, the tail
may be short and bristly, or long, naked and prehensile. The
feet have naked soles and usually have the first digit reduced
on one or both pairs of limbs. The toes are usually armed
with very strong curved claws. The eastern porcupines are
terrestrial, living in burrows or cavities in rocks while on the
western continent they are more or less arboreal. The food
consists of roots, fruits, bark, green leaves and pulpy stalks
and, on occasion, almost anything edible. Like most vegetable
feeders they are very fond of salt and are as a result of their
filthy habits, particularly liable to internal parasites.

The nasals are frequently very large ; the lachrymal obsoles-
cent ; there is no preorbital process of the temporal as in
hares ; the zygomas are massive and short. There are four
molars in each jaw of similar form and size ; the incisors are
large and smooth in front ; the palate is excised between the
molars. Malar bone with no angular process below. There
are seven cervical, fourteen to sixteen dorsal, five lumbar,
three or four sacral and from twelve to thirty caudal vertebrso.
The clavicles are poorly developed. There are but four rnam-
ms8 in the female.

The porcupines are brought into relation with rodents in
general by a number of South American animals which com-
bine the spiny armature with rat-like or hare-like characters.

The family is very naturally divided into two groups or sub-
families as well by the diversity in habits as anatomical differ-
ences of the animals inhabiting the two hemispheres. The Hys-
tricince, or Old World porcupines, are terrestrial and a number
of anatomical peculiarities growing out of this habit are obser -
vable. The Synetherince, or American porcupines, are arboreal
and thus require more perfect clavicles and ordinarily pre-
hensile tails. The molars are rooted while the number of toes
is less, the digits being armed with hooked claws which serve
in climbing. The soles are tuberculated or roughened. The

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 245

North American species are, as might be expected, more like
the European types than those of South America.

As we have but a single species in North America, instead
of a more extended discussion of the group it must suffice to
give a list of the described species and the above figure of
one of the most remarkable of the foreign types.

SUBFAMILY SYNETHERIN^E

Clavicles perfect; molars rooted; toes 4-4 or 5-4; tail generally prehen-
sile; habit, arboreal. Western Hemisphere.

Genus Chcetomys GRAY. Containing a single species of rather slender
form, with a rat-like scaly tail. The malar bone is very broad, with a spur
above. C. subspinosus Gray, S. A.

Genus Synetheres F. CUVIER. The body is rather slender, clothed with
straight spines. The tail is scaly at the end only. The temporal region is
very broad and high. The body is covered with spines except beneath,
where they are replaced by bristles. The skull is greatly elevated between

the eyes.

1. S. prehensilis BRANDT, S. A.
. . platycentrotus BRANDT, S. A.
? 3. S. magna LUND. \ Fossils from Caverns of

? 4. S. duMa LUND.

? 5. S. fossilis LUND. > Minas Geraes.

Genus Sphingurus F. CUVIER. Much as above but hairy below and
without the great elevation between the eyes.

1. S. villosus WATERHOUSE, S. A.

2. S. pallidus WATERHOUSE, S. A.

3. S. melanurus WATTERER, S. A.

4. S. bicolor TSCHUDI, S. A.

5. 8. iwoce-hispanice WATERHOUSE, Mexico.
Genus Ereihizon F. CUVIER. (See beyond).

1. E. dorsatus CUVIER, N. A.

2. E. dorsatus var. epixanthus BRANDT.

SUBFAMILY HYSTRICIN^B.

Clavicles imperfect; toes, 5-5; molars but partly rooted; tail, short;
habit, terrestrial or fossorial. Eastern Hemisphere.

Genus Hystrix LINN. Body short; head thick with blunt muzzle;
covered with very long erectile spines; tail inconspicuous.

1. H. cristata L., Europe and N. Africa.

2. H. hirsutirostris BRANDT, Syria, etc.

3. H. africce-australis PETERS, S. Africa.

4. H. javanica CUVIER, Java, etc.

5. H. fwdgsoni GRAY.

Genus Atherura M. G. CUVIER. Much as in Hystrix, but with long ap-
pendaged tail and but four toes in front.

1. A.fasciculata SHAW, Siam.

2. A. macroura WATERHOUSE, Sumatra.

3. A. africana GRAY, Sierra Leona.

A number of fossil forms of more or less uncertain position might be
here included.

246 BULLETIN NO. VII.

(jenus Erethizon F. CUVIER.

This genus may be distinguished from other American por-
cupines at once by its having five toes armed with strong claws
behind. The body is thick and bulky, the limbs being short and
oddly shaped, adapted for climbing and hanging. The tail is
short and covered all over with spines and bristles. The ana-
tomical details are given beyond and it may be simply noticed
that the facial part of the skull is greatly elevated and the malars
are expanded anteriorly. The molars converge anteriorly; the
bullse are very large and inflated, the infraorbital foramina
are of great size. The palate is ridged and ends opposite the
third molar. Although there is but a single species, two
marked geographical varieties are known, the first of these,
the Canada porcupine, once ranged over all suitable woody
districts from the Atlantic westward to the Saskatchewan and
southward into Virginia. Northward it is restricted by food
supply rather than the rigors of the climate and seems to be
co-extensive in its range with the timber belt. Toward the
west it does not extend so far south as eastwardly and occurred
in Ohio, Northern Michigan and Wisconsin and Northern Min-
nesota. Although well protected from the attacks of wild
animals, the porcupine falls an easy victim to man and has
neither the skill nor means to evade him. Thus it is that the
species is rapidly becoming extinct in settled parts of the
country. The western variety extends from the Pacific to
meet the Canada porcupine and southward along the moun-
tains to the Mexican line.

Erethizon dorsatus L.

CANADA PORCUPINE.

This animal seems to be less common within the limits of
our state than in portions of Wisconsin. Lumbermen of ex-
perience state that upon the Chippewa river it is a frequent and
annoying visitor to the lumber camps, where its swine-like
inquisitiveness leads it to break open and destroy provisions
which it can not eat. In Minnesota its distribution may
roughly correspond with that of the pine forests, yet nowhere
does it become more than locally frequent and, even where
measureably common, it is less frequently encountered than

Plate VII.

EKETHIZON UORSATUS. CANADA PORCUPINE.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 247

would be naturally expected from its clumsy habit and slug-
gish nature. Our own personal acquaintance with the animal
is confined to the period of a visit to the St. Louis river in June
and July. There upon the northern limits of pinery cutting it
may be seen at its best and is at home in the fullest sense. It
may be best to introduce the animal to the reader in the same
way that we formed its acquaintance. Imagine, then, a few
hours before midnight, a birch canoe, with a flaming torch in
the bow, propelled quietly down the stream in the shadow of
the banks which are themselves brightly illuminated for some
distance ahead by our light. We are watching for the lumi-
nous eyes of the deer, which, startled in their feeding places
stand quaking at the sudden apparition. Our attention is
attracted by a most peculiar clattering sound evidently the
teeth of some animal in very rapid motion, but more rapid and
louder than anything we had ever heard. The source of the
sound we are at first unable to make out, but again we start at the
sound of heavy feet and crackling branches. Some heavy
animal comes down to the water's edge where the banks are
covered with a new growth of arrow-head leaf (Sagittaria)
succulent and green, for it is June and the receding waters
have but lately exposed the roots to the sun. The clatter of
teeth is again heard very loud and inexplicable until we make
out the gray form of a burly porcupine which at once starts
up the bank much as an overfed hog might do. A shot
brought the animal to the water's edge where, after flounder-
ing about a little, it began to swim toward us evidently in a
vindictive mood. Another shot made it ours and we found it
an imense animal measuring over three feet from its blunt
muzzle to the end of the spiny tail. The stomach of this speci-
men, a full-grown male, contained nothing but the finely com-
minuted shoots of Sagittaria. On the same night at about
eleven o'clock we encountered a second individual which after
receiving a shot clambered with comparative agility into the
top of a tall tree.

It should not be concluded from the above account that the
porcupine is strictly nocturnal. In the afternoon they may be
seen feeding along the meadows, using their four-clawed hands
with awkward cleverness in bringing branches or grass tufts
within reach of their mouths. If alarmed they clamber under
the overhanging banks, or under roots of upturned trees, draw-
ing the body together with the quills bristling, and there lie
in fancied security. Indeed, in such a position they are more

248 BULLETIN NO. VII.

difficult for the predacious animals which might attempt their
capture than ever was chestnut to the inquisitive squirrel.
Under ordinary circumstances the larger animals do not attempt
to capture the porcupine, but during severe weather game be-
comes so scarce that the lynx and panther are driven to sacri-
fice future happiness to the urgent need of food. The porcupine
makes a famous dish when once safely "peeled," but sight and
even life itself is endangered in the process.

We have received specimens of Lynx rufus with the head
filled with quills, some of which penetrated the orbit. Such
specimens are usually lean and apparently in a famished condi-
tion. Even the panther is sometimes found killed by the shafts
of this critie among beasts.

Of course there is no truth in the current belief that the por-
cupine discharges its quills like a horrible animated gattling
gun, but it is said that by sudden lashings of its short tail quills
are fastened in the skin of its enemies. Once fastened, these
barbed quills penetrate with fearful pertinacity, every move-
ment of the body serving to drive them on.

It is not generally known that this animal is a good swimmer.
He even voluntarily crosses large rivers and, on account of the
lightness of the body, stands so far above the surface as to ap-
pear like a very large animal.

Although preferring the green inner bark of trees and new
shoots or succulent vegetable matter the porcupine is upon oc-
casion omnivorous. The taste of salt is greatly relished, and
pork skins and salt covered barrels are greedily eaten; even the
slight salty taste imparted by the hands attracts them, and the
implements of lumbermen suffer from their teeth. Indians re-
gard them, in their turn, as delicate food, but what the flavor
may be the writer has not ventured to discover.

Of the winter or breeding habits we can say nothing from per-
sonal observation. It is said by trustworthy witnesses that
during the very coldest weather porcupines sometimes spend
days and weeks suspended in the tops of high trees apparently
in a state of suspended animation.

It is stated that two young are produced at a birth (more
rarely three or four) and these are lodged in hollow trees or
like retreats until able to care for themselves. When startled
by the approach of man, they are said to utter cries like those
of a child.

The porcupine makes its nest in a ledge of rocks or in a
hollow log. Its young, which are but one or two in number,

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 249

are born about the first of May and are very large, being act-
ually larger and relatively more than thirty times larger than
the young of the black bear at birth. Merriam says : * ' May
1st, 1882, I shot at Big Moose Lake, a female porcupine which
contained a foetus that would certainly have been born within
two or three days. It weighed one and one-quarter pounds
avoirdupois (567 grammes), and measured in total length eleven
and one fourth inches (285 mm.), the head and body measuring
about seven and three-fourths inches (just 195 mm.). It was
densely covered with long black hair, and the quills on its
back measured over half an inch (13 mm.) in length. The dis-
coid placenta measured two and one-quarter inches (57 mm.)
in diameter."

The first mention of the porcupine which I have found in
works treating of animals from Minnesota is the following
from Carver's Travels (p. 423) which, while rather more ac-
curate than most of his descriptions, contains several errors:

"The body is covered with hair of a dark brown, about four
inches long, a great part of which are of the thickness of a
straw and are termed quills. These are white with black
points, hollow and very strong, especially those of the back.
The quills serve this creature for offensive and defensive wea-
pons, which he darts out at his enemies and if they pierce the
flesh in the least degree, they will sink quite into it, and are
not to be extracted without incision. The Indians use them
for boring their ears and noses to insert their pendants, and
also by way of ornament to their stockings, hair, etc., besides
which they greatly esteem their flesh. "

Carver also enumerates the "hedgehog", but does not de-
scribe or again mention it. What may be meant I am at a loss
to conjecture.

The following measurements indicate the size of a full-grown
male: Nose to anus, 2ft.; girth, 2.4; tail, 11 in. ; hind foot,
4.3; longest claw of hind foot, 1.1; claw of pollex, 0.7; longest
claw of fore foot, 1.1; tibia, 6; fore leg, 5; upper incisor, 0.9;
lower incisor, 1.2; nose to eye, 1.9; nose to ear, 3.7; width of
muzzle over 2; hight of muzzle from end of upper incisor, 2.2;
eye, 0.5.

The general color is vandyke brown, the quills being yellow-
ish white with brown points. The long hairs, white with dark
bands. The outer part of the fur is lighter brown. There is
a light stripe on either side the tail, but below it is nearly black
-16

250 BULLETIN NO VII.

The phalangial part of the feet is umber brown, the nails
brownish black.

The full grown female is smaller, and the colors are lighter
about the head and shoulders. Nose to anus, 1.8 ft.; tail, 9in;
nose to eye, 1.7; nose to ear, 3. 6 ; hight of ear, 1. 5 ; breadth of muz-
zle, 1.3; longest hind claw, 1.2; longest fore claw, 1. There
are four teats, the first pair being five inches from the clavicles,
the second seven and one-half. There is a minute claw upon
the rudimentary thumb.

A young porcupine collected July 3d, measured as follows:
Body, 1 ft., 3. 25in. ; tail, 6. 25 ; longest claw, 0. 7 ; upper incisors, 0. 4.
The color is vandyke brown, in which is a plentiful sprinkling
of longer hairs, the outer one-fourth of which are nearly white..
This gives the whole an ashy appearance unlike the more
marked coloration of the adult. There is a girdle of elongated
quills forming a zone over the back in front of the pelvic region.
In front of this tuft the quills are hidden by the pelage, and
back of it the fur is denser and darker, and without the gray
hairs except on the sides where also the quills appear. The
tail and rump are therefore uniform brown. The under parts
of the body are rather sparsely covered with fine hair like that
of the raccoon. The tail is nearly black below. The length
of the quills of the porcupine varies much. Sometimes they
are nearly hidden under the pelage, and at others form a very
conspicuous thicket, especially upon the middle of the back and
on the hips. There is a prominent tuft of long hairs springing
from the back of the head.

Although skeletons were carefully prepared, a subsequent ill-
ness afforded opportunity for their misplacement, and I can
only give details of the skull and such notes upon the anatomy
as were jotted down in the field.

The skull, (see plate VII) when viewed from the side, at
once draws attention to the elevation anteriorly. Although a
plane touching the condyles and the incisors, also touches the
anterior molars, the distance from the end of the incisors to the
nasals is nearly 1.50, while from the condyles to the top of the
occipital is but 0.90. The zygomatic width is 2.60, the greatest
length 3.50. The nasals along the median line measure 1; the
f rentals the same. The inter-orbital distance is 1.05; the com-
bined width of the nasals 0.75. The distance from the f rentals
to back of skull is 1.40; from meatus to meatus 1.60. The
nasals are spatulate convex; the temporals concave, especially
behind. From the rudimentary supraorbital process there

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 251

extends a prominent ridge diagonally across the parietals to
the median crest of the supraoccipital. The combined width
of the parietals is 1.40; two large foramina passing into the
squamosals at the point of greatest width just behind and
medianly from the zygomatic process of the squamosals. The
squamosals are long and narrow, measuring 1.40; the zygomatic
process being nearly horizontal and only slightly curved at the
very end. The interparietal is so small as hardly to be no-
ticed. The skull is flat behind, the supraoccipital being 1.50
wide and but 1 high. The par-occipital processes are moder-
ately prominent and nearly vertical. The foramen magnum
is nearly 0.60 wide and is lemon-shaped. The premaxillary is
very large, 0.80 long, and sends up two very large flat plates
which incline backward and outward. The opening of the
nares is thus an inverted truncate triangle. The premaxillary
extends beyond the nasals considerably. The main portion of
the maxillary seen from the side is nearly an isosceles triangle;
the palatal portion is small and ridgy; the infra-orbital foramen
is immense, leaving two slender columns to support the zyg-
oma. The palatal is greatly reduced, the last molar being entirely
back of the palate. The molar series are inclined to each
other at an angle of 30; the outer margins if extended for-
ward meeting at the incisor or a little beyond. The malar is
1.40 long and greatly expanded anteriorly while its posterior
end is knobbed and inflexed.

The basi sphenoid is 0.55 long, and its pterygoid processes
are short but prominent and soldered on to the bullse which are
prominent and large. The basioccipital is nearly 0.60 long
along the median line. The lower jaw is massive; the angle of
the mandible being inflexed, making a large shelf on either
side. The condyle with its ascending ramus is blunt and short,
while the coronoid process is but an inconsiderable spur on the
front edge of the ascending ramus. Length of mandible 2.80;
hight of ascending ramus 1.30; length of molar series 1.11.
The pattern of the molar crowns seems, at first, very uniform,
but a more careful study shows considerable variation. There
is an outer and inner enamel layer forming a double wall about
the tooth when worn. The size and general contour of the
teeth are alike in all of the sixteen teeth, but various minor dif-
ferences occur. In general each crown consists of two opposite
semilunes united in the middle; each semilune consists of an
outer and inner enamel wall, and these may be parallel or the
inner one may be folded upon itself. In some cases, between

252 BULLETIN NO. VII.

the semilunes are interpolated folds or figures, and here certain
transitional stages seem to show that the outer and inner
enamel layers are parts of the same layer. The details may be
gathered from the figures.

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF RODENTIA.

The rodents are perhaps the most widely distributed of the
orders of Mammafta, yet but one of its families (Muridce), in-
cluding the universally distributed rats and mice, is found
represented in all the major land areas. In this respect the
hares and squirrels (Leporidce and Sciuridce) come next, they
being found everywhere except in Australia and Madagascar.
In the former the only members of the placental Mammalia are
six genera of mice of which four are not found elsewhere,
while in Madagascar three genera peculiar to that island alone
occur. South America is richest in rodents and, except for a
few genera shared with North America, is the exclusive habitat
of its species. Thirty -seven genera are credited to it of which
thirty-two are endemic.

Africa is next in numerical richness and affords about thirty
genera, several of which are found also in India and the Medi-
terranean province, only twenty -one being endemic. The North-
ern continents are less rich in species and exhibit the custom-
ary uniformity. The palearctic region has some twenty-five
genera of which only about fifteen are not found either in India,
Africa or North America. Southeastern Asia is remarkably
poor in species, and the few genera considered endemic are
nearly allied to widely distributed groups. North America,
although possessing several peculiar types, is closely similar
to the Asiatico-European continent in its rodents.

These facts lead to the assumption that the rodents are de-
rived from several ancestral lines which have continued inde-
pendent in the principal discrete land-areas. The principal
centres of divergence are supposed to be in South America and
Africa. Most of the important families are represented by
remains as early as Eocene Tertiary. In Europe, during that
period, there lived members of the existing genera Sciurus,
and Myoxus. There is some reason to suppose that the squir-
rels appeared in America rather later than in Europe, although
the synchronousness of epochs of like names in the two conti-
nents is pure assumption. Remains of Sciurus have not been
found earlier than the Miocene here, while in the Eocene there
were types of such extinct genera as Paramys and Sciuravus.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 253

The mice appear in both Europe and America in the Eocene,
some naturalists identifying the genus Arvicola in South Ameri-
can strata of that age. In the Miocene many additional forms
appear as, in Europe, the jumping mouse (Issyodromys), the
beaver, and beaver-like animals ( Chalicomys and Steneo/iber ) . The
Miocene was the time when the rodents expanded to their pres-
ent proportions, since which time few changes of importance
have taken place. The progenitor of the Rodentia is as yet
undiscovered, and speculation will have little weight until some
truly intermediate forms are discovered. The oldest remains
thus far discovered are truly rodent-like.

254 BULLETIN NO. VII.

CHAPTER VI.

THE ARTIODACTYLA.

THE HOOFED QUADRUPEDS.

HIS large group of mammals is a part
of what was once termed Pachydermata^
i. e. , the thick-skinned mammals. Throw-
ing out the elephants, which are really
very different from any other mammals
whatever, there certainly is a consider-
able degree of unity of structure among
the members of that group, horses and
cattle being structurally as well as casually associated. The
artiodactyle or even- toed mammals are of large or medium size
and of various form and habits. The herbivorous habit pre-
vails and the feet are usually much modified from the funda-
mental form. The structure of the feet furnishes the most
obvious distinction upon which the group is founded, since all
the Artiodactyla split the hoof. The two halves of the hoof
represent the third and fourth digits, while the first and fifth
digits in the living forms are not functional, but hang as use-
less pendants above the hoof as seen in domestic cattle. The
ancestral forms, so far as they have been discovered, had at
most four subequal toes, the first digit Ipeing always absent.
The hippopotamus may be reckoned as among the archaic
types of the group and differs from all other recent forms in
still retaining the four toes. In this case, as in ancestral forms,
the bones of the forearm and lower leg and the metacarpals and
metatarsals are distinct and the paired bones are nearly equally
developed.

In the swine a remarkable reduction is encountered, for the
fifth and second digits are shortened and the bones reduced.
The bones are, however, still distinct and the hoofs are still
carried as reminders of the earlier conditions.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 255

In the peccaries of South America the reduction is carried
still farther. The inner toe of the hind foot disappears and
the metatarsals are partially united. In the genus Hyomos-
chus (Chevrotain) a similar reduction is exhibited. Tibia and
fibula are present and distinct, the metacarpals are distinct,
while the corresponding bones in the posterior extremity are
united more or less throughout. All other living ruminants
(and the Hyomosckus is a very old type, its bones being found
in the Eocene period) have the metatarsals and metacarpals
fully united, only a groove indicating the line where the two
bones have united during the embryonic life of the animal.
Giraffes exhibit the last stage in the process. Here the bones
are fully united and the accessory hoofs disappear. The history
thus preserved in a fragmentary way in the living examples of
the Artiodactyla is completed and supplemented in the records
of paleontology.

We discover a marked similarity with the history of the de-
velopment of the horse in the above account of the modifica-
tion of the hoof in the even- toed group.

The primatwe artiodactyle, it may be presumed, had 44
teeth, three incisors, one canine, and seven teeth in the molar
series in each half of the jaws. Even in ruminants which
suffer the greatest reduction from the type, the rudiments of
these teeth are found in the embryo and simply fail to develop.

In the Eocene period there existed a curious form called
Anoplotherium which had a full set of teeth in an unbroken
series. A reduction in the number of teeth during the ages is
not less remarkable than that of the digits as above described,
and here too modern representatives of the various stages of the
process remain. In the swine there are six incisors above and
below, the hippopotamus has but four above, the camel only
two, and cattle none. The reduction in the number of the
teeth and especially in the canines is indicative of a change
from omnivorous to herbivorous habits. It would seem, more-
over, that when the incisors cease to be developed into weapons
either offensive or defensive, there is a tendency to produce
excresences from the skull above in other words horns, ant-
lers, or their equivalents.

The number and structure of the teeth varies with the com-
plexity of the digestive organs. In the swine and other o mniv-
orous ungulates the stomach is simple while in the ruminants
it is divided more or less fully into four sacks or compartments
which have various functions. The most important parts are,

256 BULLETIN NO. VII.

first, the rumen into which the food is taken as it is eaten. The
net is a shallow sack so placed that the coarse unmasticated
food is directed into the rumen, while after it is regurgitated
and finely comminuted it passes through a groove into the leaf
stomach and finally into the fourth compartment where the
gastric juice is freely mingled and the digestion proper begins.

Intelligence is not great, as a rule in the group, the brain
being small and the organs of sense only moderately developed.
In some species which are little able to protect themselves, the
senses of sight and smell are highly developed and caution and
powers of flight supply the place of craft and other mental en-
dowments. The habits are comparatively uniform and are
chiefly interesting on account of the various ways in which they
are made to minister to man's necessities.

It is almost as difficult to understand how civilized nations
would do without kine, sheep, goats, swine, etc. , as to imagine
a Laplander living without the reindeer or a desert Arab with-
out the camel. I need not refer to the sport furnished by the
various deer and antelopes the world over.

The placenta is diffuse and the mammae are ventral or in-
guinal.

The swine constitute a very old group and, like many another
old family, have preserved tolerably connected records from
the earliest times. Even in the Eocene period we find swine
with two hoofs (Entelodon, Choerotherium,etc.,) while in the mid
die Miocene members of the modern genus Sus are encountered
In the Eocene gypsum beds of Montmartre are four-toed swine
of the genera Choeropotamus and Hyopotamus. In the Miocene an
offshoot furnished origin to the comparatively recent family of
the Hippopotamidce. The genus Merycopotamus, remains of which
are found in India, afforded a transition to true river-horses
with six incisors. During the quarternary the various forms,
some of which were hardly larger than a hog, others larger
than the leviathan of the Nile, disported themselves in the
shallows of tHe inland seas of Europe as far as Ireland. A
colder period drove them across what is now the Mediterran-
ean and from similar causes they became extinct in India also.
At present, the two species are strictly confined to the con-
tinent of Africa.

Two distinct geneological trees are required in the study of
the swine proper. In America there seems never to have ex-
isted any animals of the genera Sus, Porcus, or Hippopotamus
or even of related genera.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 257

Nevertheless herds of wild swine have doubtless roamed over
parts of Minnesota as in the states farther west. Since the
Eocene period America has had a group of swine like animals
in general appearance like those of Europe though quite differ-
ent in details. The peccary of South America is at the
hither end of this line of descent, while at the other stands the
genus Eohyus of the Eocene, followed by Helohyus of the middle
Eocene, Perchcerus of the lower Miocene, Tinohyus of the upper
Miocene, Platygonus, etc. , of the Quarternary. It may perhaps
be interesting to notice that, as usual, America has "gotten
the start of" the old world and our hogs exhibit a greater
degree of specialization than those of Europe and Africa, and
the four- toed form has quite gone out of style.

We have already noticed that the family Tragulidce as re-
presented by the tfyomoschus seems to have persisted
with little change from the upper Eocene to the present
time. Deer and antelope were differentiated in the Miocene.
During the Pliocene and Quarternary gigantic deer ranged over
Europe and America, whose direct descendants are seen in the
elk or more properly Canadian stag and the stag of Europe.
The gigantic Irish elk lived until comparatively recent times.
In America the Casoryx, characterized by a non-fusion of the
metatarsals, existed in the Pliocene. Antelopes ranged over
Europe in immense herds in late geologic periods. During the
Ice period both America and Europe were over-run by reindeer,
moose deer (properly elk) and musk oxen.

The ancestors of the domestic cattle are found in Pliocene
rocks of Asia and Europe, the type being entirely absent from
America.

The European buffalo is apparently earlier than the ox, as
indicated by fossil remains. Asia has remained the home of
the kine group whence indirectly our domestic ox must, in all
probability, be derived from three species living at no very
distant date in Europe. The' Bos primogenius is said to have
been partially domesticated in . Europe during the middle ages
and is described as black with a white stripe above. Lineal
descendants of this form are said to still exist in a half wild
condition in Scotland. Bos frontosus, an extinct species with a
broad concave forehead is said to be the progenitor of the
short-horn breeds and Bos brachyceros of the spotless and large-
horned breeds. Africa has no endemic species of ox, the
probability being that the zebu has been imported thither.

258 BULLETIN NO. VII.

In Egypt in ancient times three varieties were domesticated
which must certainly have been imported. Sheep and goats
seem to have sprung from some forms of antelope indeed the
musk ox may be said to be a transition between goats, ante-
lopes and the oxen. None of these are endemic in America
but we now have one representative of each in the Rocky
mountain goat, big-horn sheep, prong-horn antelope, and musk
ox. The bison seems to have been individualized in America
in the Pliocene and in Europe a form appeared in the Quarter-
nary which forms the direct transition to the present European
bison.

The camels are of American origin. The genus Parameryx
appeared in Eocene and the peculiarities became more marked
in later forms. The llama once ranged over most of North
America. The camel appeared in Asia in the Miocene and
seems to have been introduced into Africa at a very early day.

The primary sub-divisions of Artiodactyla are two: Poly-
dactyla, including the hippopotami and the swine and, the Bi-
dactyla or Euminantia (cud-chewers.)

The first of these groups has, as we have seen, no repres-
entatives within our limits and the number of ruminants is very
small. At present four species of the family Cervidce are the
only members of the vast group of ungulates found in Minne-
sota.

FAMILY BOVIDJE.

GENUS BISON, SMITH.

The two living species of this genus are, strangely enough,
found one in America the other in Europe and Western Asia.
The European species seems at present to exist only in the
great forests of Lithuania and in the inaccessible regions of
the Caucasus. Our own species is now limited to an almost
equally limited area and without the official protection afforded
the European species will soon become extinct.

Externally the bisons are distinquished by the great develop-
ment of the anterior extremities, especially the "hump" over
the shoulders, the relatively light posterior part of the body,
broad, convex forehead, short conical horns with a decided
upward curvature, and the shaggy coat and heavy mane. The
nearest relative is found in the yak Bis (Poephagus) grun-
niens. The gaur and gayal B. gaurus and B. frontalis are also
nearer than members of the restricted genus Bos.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

259

The forehead in the bison is actually and relatively wider
than in the ox, the horns also are set farther forward while
the plane of the occiput is semicircular forming an obtuse
instead of acute angle with the forehead. The intermaxillar-
ies are triangular and shorter than the nasals. The spines of
the dorsal vertebrae are elongated, the limb bones are less mas-
sive than in Bos and the cannon bone of the hind limb is rela-
tively longer.

Fig. 19. Bison europeus.

While a great deal has been written upon the genealogy of
the bison the diversity of opinion is very striking. Ruetimeyer,
Brandt, Lilljeborg, Vogt, Allen, Leidy and Schmidt have all
given attention to the subject without placing it beyond dis-
pute. It would seem most probable that the earliest bison
properly so-called was the gigantic B. latifrons which may have
had a circumpolar distribution. Since this species is found in
America only thus far it may be that America is the true place

260 BULLETIN NO. VII.

of origin of the genus. Two species of smaller but still con-
siderable size then appeared, one in ^Europe the other in Am-
erica. B. prisons of Europe and B. antiquus of America may
reasonably be assumed as the forerunners of the existing
aurochs and the American bison. These differ from each other
apparently more than the two earlier species from which they
sprang.

The B. latifrons must have been of enormous size, the horns
being in the male not less than six feet long. The horn cores
at the base measure 20 inches, the forehead being over fifteen
inches wide. The existing remains were derived from Ken-
tucky, Texas and Mississippi, associated in some instances
with the mastodon and horse, as well as other extinct species.

Bison antiquus is known from quite a variety of remains, but
so imperfect are they all that it remains a question whether
they are not specifically identical with B. latifrons or perhaps
with the extinct European B. priscus. The evidence seems to
favor the existence of a species smaller than B. latifrons, but
still of greater size than our living species characterized by
larger proportional horn cores and other differences. The
remains referred to have been found in California, Alaska and
Kentucky, and in connection with extinct elephants, tapirs and
horses. For a discussion of the evidence bearing on these
matters, refer to Allen's monograph, forming Part II, of Vol.
I, of the Kentucky Geological Survey Memoirs. It would be
of interest if it were possible to determine from what time our
modern species dates, yet, although the species is found fossil
in the bone caves of Pennsylvania and the deposits of Big-bone
Lick, Kentucky, we only can conclude that its remains are
always later than those of the mammoth and mastodon, and do
not reach a great antiquity. Prof. Shaler thinks it probable
that the bison did not co-exist with the mound-builders.

Bison americanus GMELIN.

Plate IV.

We rely in many details of the description upon that given
by J. A. Allen and refer the reader to his monograph for bibli-
ography.

An adult male measures about nine feet from the muzzle to
the root of the tail thirteen and one-half feet to the end of the
tail. The female measures six and one-half feet to the inser-

UNIVERSITY

MAMMALS OP MINNESOTA. 261

tion of the tail, and has a shorter terminal pencil upon the tail. *
The male stands nearly six feet high at the shoulder, includ-
ing the protuberance, or "hump," which is so characteristic a
factor in the ensemble of the animal. The female is twelve
inches shorter and is but four and a half feet high at the hip,
while the male is four and two-thirds. A large male may reach
a weight of nearly a ton, while the females range from one
thousand to fifteen hundred pounds. The horns are short and
in the males are very thick at the base, curving rapidly up-
ward, outward and recurving to the end, becoming rapidly con-
tracted to the sharp apex. In the female the base is smaller
and the horn is more slender and curved. The muzzle is broad
and naked as in other Bovidce. The hoofs' are short, broad
and rounded, those of the hind feet being most pointed. The
pelage is woolly and dense, furnishing a valuable and much
prized article of commerce. The prevailing color is a dark
brown, darkest on the head, legs and tail, the long hairs of the
latter being restricted to the terminal pencil. In summer the
color is lighter, and in old individuals it becomes permanently
bleached out to a yellowish grizzle. Young animals are dark
brown, though the calf is lighter. The "hump " and head are
covered by a mane of considerable length. The chin and
throat are also bearded. The mane extends down the median
line above nearly to the tail, and there are tufts of shaggy hair
about the legs. The female, though smaller is not noticeably
different from the male in color. Although albinism is rare,
specimens are sometimes found partly or nearly entirely
white. Such a specimen is now (1886) on exhibition in the
museum of the State University of Minnesota. Black or
melanic forms also occur.

The American bison is smaller than the European but has
larger shoulders. It seems to be more highly specialized. The
pelvis is much smaller and the tail shorter in B. americanus.
Allen finds the ratio of humerus and radius to femur and tibia
as 75 - 83 to 100 in B. americanus, and as 78-84 to 100 in B. euro-
pens. The only constant differences in the skull seem to consist
in a greater massiveness of the bones of the skull of the aur-
ochs. The individual variation is as great as in most of the
larger mammals. This is supplemented by a tendency to form
local varieties, two of which are sometimes recognized, the
wood buffalo and mountain buffalo. The former is. said to be

* A curious error occurs in the explicit measurements given by Allen, making the
total length of the tail four inches less than that of its pencil of hairs.

262 BULLETIN NO. VII.

rather larger and darker colored than the bison of the plain.
The mountain variety is not probably essentially different.

The bison is a perpetual nomad; indeed, the gregariousness
of the animal makes this a necessary corollary. The migra-
tions of the herd are caused by seasonal changes which drive
them northward, or toward the mountains at one time and in
the opposite direction at another, but the details of their wan-
derings are controlled by chance variations in food and water.
The vast herd, often thousands strong, consumes and destroys
large areas of herbage in an incredibly short time and the
mammoth pastures of our continent were none too large for the
buffalo in their best estate. The prairie fires and inroads of
locusts were frequent causes of change of base, while the posi-
tion of streams and springs acted as determinants upon the
course of the moving column. Before the encroachment of
settlements and other interference the major migrations were
so constant and uniform that the approximate date of the ar-
rival and departure of the herd could be predicted quite closely.
Like most animals accustomed to travel in large companies the
buffalo loses to a large degree its sense of individual respon-
sibility, and acts but as a member of the community, rushing
blindly on in case of danger, impelled by a common instinct,
and frequently plunging headlong into dangers which an indi-
vidual alone would avoid. They are said to evince great dex-
terity in climbing and descending steep banks and make good
headway over steep ground, although generally choosing the
most direct and level routes. When upon their migrations
herds frequently cross large rivers, buffeting a rapid, ice-filled
current with undaunted courage. At times great losses are
suffered in the crossing of such streams, especially when great
herds crowd upon the ice. Stupidity and 'bull-headedness, "
which are marked characteristics of all bovines, seem to be un-
usually developed in the bison, and in the exhibition of these
traits it gives evidence of what in another animal might be
regarded as courage. In reality, however, the buffalo is timid
and distrustful. A very remarkable trait is repeatedly referred
to by those familiar with its habits. The animal is not stopped
by any danger in front but is frequently thrown into great con-
fusion by unwonted objects in the rear, as the incident given
by Colonel Dodge, in the Chicago Inter-Ocean, 1875, will illus-
trate.

"The winter of 1871-72 was unusually severe in Kansas.
The ponds and smaller streams to the north were all frozen

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. , 263

solid, and the buffalo were forced to the rivers for water. The
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad was then in process
of construction. If a herd was on the north side of the track
it would stand stupidly grazing and without symptom of alarm,
though the locomotive passed within a hundred yards. If on
the south side of the track, even though at a distance of one or
two miles, the passage of a train set the whole herd in the
wildest commotion. f At its full speed and utterly regardless of
consequences, it would make for the track, on its line of re-
treat. If the train happened not to be in its path it crossed the
track and stopped, satisfied. If the train was in the way, each
individual buffalo went at it with the desperation of despair,
plunging against or between locomotive and cars, just as the
blind madness chanced to take them. Numbers were killed,
but numbers still pressed on only to stop and stare as soon as
the obstacle was passed." But notwithstanding the traits
largely resulting from the communism in which the animal
lives they are balanced by others representing the virtues be-
longing to social existence. The buffalo is no wise lacking in
evidences of affection and parental solicitude.

The bulls invariably range themselves about the circumfer-
ence of the herd while the cows and calves remain in the cen-
ter. The larger herds when feeding break up into smaller
groups, which preserve the same arrangement in obedience to
instinct. It appears that the notion long prevalent that cer-
tain old bulls stand as sentries upon the outskirts of the herd
is fallaceous, most observers claiming that it is the females
with anxiety quickened by the maternal instinct, which are
usually first to perceive danger. The picture presented by a
huge composite herd when alarmed, uniting, forming into a
solid column and plunging across the plain, is grand indeed,
while hardly less interesting is the sight, alas, to be seen no
more, of thousands of God's cattle grazing in undisturbed quiet
on their appointed hills. Many incidents have been related of
the devotion of the buffalo cow to her offspring in danger,
while the contrary reports seem to be due to circumstances oc-
casioned by the dominant social instinct where the individual
was lost in the social instinct.

In some cases it is the males upon whom the office of protec-
tion devolves, especially in case of attack by wolves. Wolves
were the only animals molesting the bison until the advent of
man, and before their numbers were so reduced by hunters
these marauders constantly harrassed the herds. Indeed, it

264 BULLETIN NO. VII.

seems not improbable that the habit of going in herds may
have had its origin in the necessity of protection against these
enemies. When separated from the herd the mother was often
obliged to pass the night in sleepless vigil, pacing about her
sleeping calf. The following extract from a letter from Mr.
Upham is suggestive -in this connection :

i "When this part of the state was examined in 1881, the dis-
appearance of these animals was so recent ^that their bones, es-
pecially their skulls, were frequently seen on the prairie. In
many places, also, rings of taller and greener grass than the
ordinary prairie sward, were observed, having a width of five
or six feet, and forming a circle from two to six rods in diam-
eter. According to Mr. James Nolan, of McCauleyville, these
mark a circuit tramped by buffalo cows while walking around
their calves at night to guard them from besieging wolves.
Occasionally a half circle of such grass was seen, and this was
said by Mr. Nolan to be be where a lone buffalo guarded her
calf from a single wolf, which staid on one side through the
night, while the buffalo walked back and forth in a half -circle. "
Colonel Dodge gives an interesting account of the way in which
a party of bulls rescued and brought safely out of the jaws of
the wolves a newly born calf. Wolves do not confine their at-
tacks to the young, but harrass and destroy the old and
wounded. Catlin draws a pathetic picture of the old and de-
crepit bull standing on the defensive against an overpowering
number of wolves, even after eyes and much of the flesh of the
head had been torn away. Evidently the sluggish and stupid
buffalo could not long expect to escape the ruthless mounted
hunter. The white man with his firearms has rapidly brought
the whole race to the verge of extinction.

In most respects the habits of the bison are like those of do-
mestic cattle. The propensity to rub upon any suitable object
has resulted in the polishing of the few projecting rocks and
trees found upon the prairies. This effect has sometimes been
referred to the action of blown sand. Mr. Upham kindly furn-
ishes notes from the Red river valley, which I transcribe:
"The few large boulders, three to five feet or sometimes more in
diameter, which are found jutting above the surface of the
prairie plain of the Red river valley (excepting within a few
miles next to the river, where the surface is alluvial clay ) and
through the west part of Minnesota further south, are usually
surrounded to a distance of five to ten feet from them by a
slight hollow, about a foot below the general surface, but there

MAMMALS OP MINNESOTA. 265

is no perceptible ridge outside the hollow. This feature is
doubtless due to the pawing of buffaloes in former years while
rubbing upon the boulders, the dust loosened in this manner be-
ing blown away by the winds. Mr. Pierre Bottineau, a very ex-
perienced and observing voyageur and guide, still living at Red
Lake Falls, attributes the polished surface of such projecting
boulders, and of the ledges of rock in Pipestone and Rock coun-
ties to rasping by the hair and horns of buffaloes in this way;
which seems more probable, than that this polishing was
done by wind-blown particles of sand and dust. (See Geol. Nat.
Hist. Surv. Minn., vol. i, pp. 63, 66 and 541; 1884). Catlin's
descriptions make it certain that the polished rock-surfaces in
the vicinity of the Pipestone quarry were much more noticeable
in his time than now. " Similar observations and explanations are
recorded by Dr. George M. Dawson in the region of the Bow
and Belly rivers east of the Rocky mountains in British America,
where he states that "all the larger boulders of the district are
surrounded by a shallow saucerlike depression, caused by the
pawing of the buffalo, and their angles are worn quite smooth
and glossy by the rubbing of these animals upon them." (Rep.
Prog. Geol. Surv. Canada, 1882-'84, p. 149c.)

Mr. Upham also writes, "another notable feature ascribed
to buffaloes is the very rough surface often found on areas of
slightly moist land in the Red river valley, the ground being
indented by many hollows and holes five to twenty feet across,
and one to five feet deep, with steep sides. These are com-
monly called 'buffalo-wallows'." This propensity to wallow
and roll in the mire reminds one of the buffalo proper of warm
regions, and is not found in the animals of the genus Bos.
Allen says, ' ' their especial delight is to roll in che mud, or in
'wallowing' as it is called, from which exercise they arise
looking more like an animated mass of mud than their former
selves. The object of these peculiar ablutions is doubtless to
cool their heated bodies and to free themselves from trouble-
some insects. When not finding a muddy pool ready at hand,
an old bull proceeds to prepare one. Finding in the low parts
of the prairies, says Catlin, a little stagnant water amongst the
grass, and the ground underneath soft and saturated with
moisture, an old bull lowers himself upon one knee, plunges
his horns into the ground, throwing up the earth and soon
making an excavation into which the water trickles, forming
for him in a short time a cool and comfortable bath, in which
he wallows ' like a hog in the mire.' In this 'delectable lava '
-17

266 BULLETIN NO. VII.

he throws himself flat on his side, and then forcing himself
violently around with his horns, his feet, and huge hump,
plows up the ground still more, thus enlarging the pool till he
at length becomes nearly immersed. Besmeared with a coat-
ing of the pasty mixture, he at length rises, changed into a
'monster of mud and ugliness.' with the black mud dripping
from his shaggy mane and thick woolly coat. The mud soon
drying upon his body insures him hours of immunity from the
attack of insects. Others follow in succession, having waited
their turns to enjoy the luxury; each rolls and wallows in a
similar way, adding a little to the dimensions of the hole, and
carrying away a share of the adhesive mud. By this means
an excavation is eventually made having a diameter of fifteen
or twenty feet, and two feet in depth." Similar excavations
are made upon the dry prairie and receive the same name.
However formed, these cavities serve a useful purpose as reser-
voirs of rain water for man and beast, and in not a few cases
during the exciting Indian wars such wallows have formed
natural rifle pits in which a small band has been able to resist
the onslaught of a much superior force of savages. The wal-
lows may be detected from a distance by the greener and
ranker grass of the margin.

Rutting takes place in July and August and one, or at most
two calves are dropped in March to June. The young consort
with the cows and younger bulls, but do not form separate
herds. Conflicts plentifully intermixed with sonorous bellowing
are frequent but so short are the horns and so tough and shaggy
the head that serious results are rare. Even when enraged
the buffalo is rarely the formidable and pertinacious foe repre-
sented in penny books of adventure.

The buffalo is easily tamed and the cross with the domestic
cattle is fertile. Great diversity of opinion prevails as to their
availability for domestic purposes. Some suppose that great
improvement in domestic breeds of cattle could be secured
by crossing with the wild relatives but the preponderance of
evidence seems rather to negative the assertion.

The attempt was made at one time in Virginia but the results
were unfavorable. It would seem that a race of draught oxen
might be reared from this stock but no persistent experiments
have been made. Sibley speaks of a man who in the Red river
valley had broken a bull to the plow and performed the whole
labor of the field with him alone.

MAMMALS OP MINNESOTA. 267

There is no doubt as to the fertility of the cross and the size
is increased, but the beef is rather inferior and milking quali-
ties have not been tested, while the traits of the wild animal to
some extent persist. It is very desirable, however, that the
experiment should be more carefully made. Since it is doubt-
ful if the project is sufficiently alluring to attract private
enterprise it would seem legitimate for the government to estab-
lish preserves where such experiments should be systematically
undertaken.

In this connection the following clipped from the Week's
Current of January, 1887, may be of interest:

' 'A gentleman is now successfully domesticating the American
buffalo at Stony Mountain, Manitoba. Starting his herd is 1878
with five calves, it now numbers sixty-one head; the greater
number pure buffaloes, the rest half-breeds. In January they
were all sleek and fat, and yet, they were then living on the
open prairie and feeding on the prairie grasses covered by
snow. At this time the snow was deep and the thermometer
had for a long time registered 29 or more below zero. When
a blizzard comes on, the animals lie down together, with their
backs to the wind, and allow the snow to drift over them, so
that under the combined protection of their own wool and the
snow they are quite warm. Not one of the herd has ever
exhibited the slightest symptom of disease, although the only
care they receive is occasional watching to prevent them from
straying away. Thus winter and summer, they live and thrive
on the bare prairie with numbers undiminished by any of the
ordinary cattle scourges and with expenses reduced to a mini-
mum. When the present herd is sufficiently increased, it is in-
tended to divide it among several prairie ranges where once the
buffalo roamed at will."

Before the introduction of horses and fire -arms from Europe
the pursuit of the buffalo was attended with exhibitions of skill
and prowess no longer requisite. But even then numbers of
the attacking party and the unsuspicious nature of the game
robbed the chase of much of its interest and made it too much
like wholesale butchery.

On the prairies of the west the season of the buffalo hunt
held a marked place in the Indian calendar. Prolonged prepar-
ations were made and it issued in festivity and unusual activity.
In many places the herd was "corraJled" by fire and the ani-
mals, blinded and alarmed by the flames, rushed unsuspectingly
upon the hunters who had their own way with them. In other

268 BULLETIN NO VII.

places the animals were impounded and destroyed at leisure.
The pound was an enclosed area about 125 feet in diameter,
formed by posts planted at regular intervals, guarded by the
women and children of the tribe. Series of posts diverged
from the opening and served to direct the herd toward the
latter. Several hundred buffaloes were frequently enclosed
when the slaughter began. Deprived of even the usual degree
of intelligence by fear, the enraged animals assisted in their own
destruction, though in some cases an unusually adventurous
bull forced an opening and led the whole herd safely through
the cordon of yelling savages.

Another method, rather rarely resorted to, was to take
advantage of their stupid tendency to follow the leader
and lure the whole herd to destruction. An Indian dis-
guised himself with a partially stuffed skin and, attaching
himself to the herd just as the alarm was given on the other side,
led the way to a precipice. There he secreted himself in a
crevice, while the buffalo following were precipitated to the
bottom. This method naturally was attended with no little
danger to the one leading in it. Since the introduction of
horses sometimes a cordon of horsemen was substituted for the
pen with nearly equally fatal results. The more modern
method is for a number of well mounted horsemen to strike
well into the centre of the compact herd and thus stampede
them, after which an indiscriminate slaughter is carried on as
long as the scattering animals can be pursued. The modern
hunter follows the same plan essentially but improved firearms
and better horses make it a much more destructive matter.
As long as the buffalo still roamed over the plains of Kansas
and the Red river, buffalo-hunting was a business as well as a
pastime for many. The pot-hunter however preferred the
still hunt as more safe and productive. Buffalo-hunting has
always been most wasteful. The excitement is so great that
neither reason nor fatigue reminds even the thoughtful that
his sport is sheer improvidence until the last individual is
out of reach. The Indian rarely used a tithe of the slain ani-
mals and modern hunters have not been less extravagant. One
.man often destroyed thousands during a single season. Mr..
Allen in his monograph gives very full statistics of the rate of
destruction of the buffalo. He says "at the time of the com-
pletion of the Atchison, Topekaand Santa Fe railroad to Dodge
City, which occurred Sept. 23, 1872, the principal trade of the
town consisted in the outfitting of hunters and exchange: fon-

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 269

their game. The number of hides shipped during a period of
three months, beginning with this date, is reported to have
been 43,029, and the shipment of meat 1,436,290 Ibs.," the num-
ber killed around Fort Dodge during four months being esti-
mated at over 100,000. During 1871 hides and meat represent-
ing over 20,000 individuals were shipped over the Kansas
Pacific railway. In 1876 but few remained scattered about
their former range in that region but since then these too
have, it would seem, been entirely exterminated. Thous-
ands were killed for sport and many more for no adequate
return perhaps the tongue or a dainty morsel.

Allen estimates the total destruction between 1870 and 1875
as not less than two and one half millions annually. This ex-
plains the nearly complete extermination except in the almost
inaccessible regions to the far north. The flesh of the buffalo
when young is tender and juicy but only the tongue and flesh
of the hump are regarded as delicacies. Buffalo beef furnished
the material for the manufacture of pemmican for the fur
countries. It was thought by the early explorers that the
woolly hair of the buffalo would become an article of commerce.
The Indians spun and wove it into a variety of articles and
ornaments but it has never been utilized by the whites. The
bones and even the excrement are of value, the latter especi-
ally, the so-called "buffalo-chips"' have aided materially in set-
tling the treeless regions. Without this substitute for wood it
would have been impossible to secure fuel for many a weary mile.

An exhaustive study of the former range of the buffalo has
been made by Allen. They were common in Minnesota up to a
comparatively recent time. In 1823 Major Long encountered
thousands about Big Stone and Traverse. In 1844 Captain
Allen encountered herds in southwestern Minnesota. ' 'Seventy-
five miles west of the source of the Des Moines we struck the
range of buffalo, and continued in it to the Big Sioux river and
down the river about eighty- six miles." In 1850, according to
Pope, buffaloes were abundant between the Pembina and the
Cheyenne rivers. Stragglers seem to have visited the south-
western part of the state as late as 1869. They were driven
out of the region east of the Mississippi before 1835 though
found within fifty miles of St. Paul somewhat later.

The location of a midland route to the Pacific coast cut the
range of the buffalo in two and the completion of the Union
Pacific railroad made the separation permanent. The rapid
extermination of the buffalo to the south of this line followed.

270 BULLETIN NO. VII.

The original habitat as laid down by Allen is as follows:
Beginning with the region east of the Mississippi river, its
extension northward was limited by the great lakes, while the
Alleghanies may be taken as its general eastern limit. To the
southward it seems never to have been met with much south of
the Tennessee river. It is well known to have ranged over
northern and western Arkansas, and thence southward over the
greater part of Texas, and across the Rio Grande into Mexico.
Westward it extended over northern New Mexico and thence
westward and northward throughout the Great Salt Lake basin,
and probably to the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and
the Blue mountains in Oregon.

North of the Uuited States its western boundary seems to
have been formed by the main chain of the Rocky mountains*
along the foot-hills of which it has been found as far north as
the Mackenzie river. Its most northern limit seems to have
been the northern shore of Great Slave lake. In the British
possessions its range to the eastward did not extend beyond the
plains west of the Hudson's bay highlands. It was hence
wholly absent from the region north of the Great Lakes.

FAMILY CERVIDJE.
Alces americanus JARDINE.

MOOSE DEER.

PLATE V,

This, the largest existing ruminant in North America is ex-
ceedingly uncouth and ungainly, and more ox -like in many
respects than any other member of the Cervidce. The body is
massive and compact and relatively short, being concentrated
anteriorly. The legs are very long and stout, especially the
forelegs. The hoofs are large and ox-like, and the ' 'dew-claws"
large and pendulous. The metatarsal gland is absent. Tarsal
gland small and covered with retrorse hairs. The head is
massive but narrow, and reminding somewhat of that of a horse,
the nose, however, is enormous and hairy, except a space be-
tween the nostrils. The ears are very large. The antlers, which
complete the bizarre physiognomy of the male, are relatively but
moderately large and spreading, forming, by the expansion of
the beam and coalescence of the lines, a broadly-palmate shovel-

TJHIVEHSITY

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 271

like organ, adapted to be used in the excavation of food buried
beneath the snows of the frozen regions chiefly inhabited by the
animal. Though, as before said, relatively short, being rarely
over twenty-five to thirty inches long, the antlers of the moose
are remarkably massive and strong, and may weigh from fifty
to sixty pounds. That such appendages form very effective
weapons is obvious at a glance. Three months is required to
complete the growth of the antlers in the adult male, which re-
moves the velvet in September. For nearly two months during
the rutting season, the antlers continue to receive nourishment,
and the antlers may be worn to January, February, or even
March following. The young carry the antlers longer ; for
instance, the young bull moose gains its first antler, consisting
of a small cylindrical dag, in its second summer, and carries it
until April or May following. The antlers of the next year are
bifurcate. These appendages continue to increase in size at
least to the age of seven years. One to three short tines are
added, but not with sufficient regularity to serve as a trust-
worthy criterion for estimating the age. It is said that
although the antlers are used as well as the feet in the cyclo-
pean conflicts of the males, only the latter are employed
against dogs, wolves, etc., as .though, possibly, the noble
weapons nature furnishes were designed only for use in strife
with their peers.

The hair which is coarse, stiff and brittle, is very abundant
upon the neck and shoulders, often forming a shaggy mane.
In summer the coat is more glossy and resembles that of the
horse. The color is brown or blackish-brown and admits of a
rather wide range of variation. Below, the color is lighter, as
also the middle of the nose and insides of the ears.

The females lack the horns and are considerably smaller and
lighter colored, at least in the winter pelage. A full-grown
male may weigh 1,500 pounds. One or two young (very rarely
three) are produced and are very carefully secreted and vigi-
lantly guarded. Upon occasion the mother, in protecting her
offspring, may display great ferocity, which is rendered the
more formidable because of the gigantic size and threatening
aspect of the beast. The family relations of the moose indi-
cate greater fidelity than in any other American deer. Al-
though this constancy is limited to a single season, they are
more nearly monogamic than most of our large quadrupeds.

Of external sexual distinctions it remains to mention the
"bell" or dew-lap of the moose, which is so nearly confined to

272 BULLETIN NO. VII.

the male as to make it safe, perhaps, to refer those instances
of its presence in the female to similar causes, as the inheri-
tance of other sexual characters by members of the opposite
sex. This pendulous flap of the skin of the throat seems to
serve simply a purpose, which, from the paucity of our vocab-
ulary, we must term ornament, though by no means implying
by this that it is designed merely to gratify the taste of wearer
or viewer.

The nearest existing relative of the moose is the elk of
Northern Europe. Unfortunately, by one of those frequent
transpositions in popular nomenclature, the name elk has in
this country been applied to the only other large deer-like ani-
mal, though the latter is hardly specifically distinct from the
European stag. Although subject to a wide range of variation
the species under consideration present in a comprehensive
view appreciable distinctions. While, therefore, there can be
no doubt of their common origin and close relationship, the
decision of the question of specific identity must depend very
largely upon theoretical considerations or individual judgment.
The American moose is larger and of a darker color than the
European species, and certain differences in the form and ex-
pansion of the antlers are obvious, while the more recondite
(and theoretically more valuable) distinctions seem never to
have been carefully studied. The configuration of the cra-
nium varies too much in all large mammal's and especially in
those in which one sex bears horns, and hence more or less of
cross inheritance of sexual characters is to be expected, to
afford instructive distinctions unless very careful elimination
of all variants is made upon the basis of very large and repre-
sentative collections.

The original habitat of the moose extended entirely across
the continent between the fortieth and seventieth parallels,
approximately in appropriate localities. The treeless regions
were, of course, always avoided by an animal whose chief sus-
tenance is afforded by leaves and bark. A few specimens of
this noble animal still may remain in the inaccessible regions
of Northern Minnesota, but the time is not far distant when it
will have deserted the territory of the United States forever .
The moose is at home in dense thickets, such as are usually
found about the swamps and shallow lakes at the head waters
of northern streams. The long legs and deeply cleft hoofs
adapt the animal to such a habitat, while the short neck and
prehensile snout sufficiently indicate the impossibility of its

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 273

grazing like other deer. The moose is said to feed upon conifer-
ous as well as deciduous trees, which is rather exceptional.
In winter higher ground is sought, but still in localities afford-
ing abundant * ' browse. " When the snow becomes deep they
are said to congregate in close herds and select a limited range
which becomes more circumscribed as the snow deepens and
becomes encrusted. This is called a "yarding" and a moose
yard may occupy nearly one hundred acres. Such yards, when
discovered by the hunter, of course, are a capital prize. The
females do not yard with the old males, the former often occu-
pying separate yards with their calves. The younger males
are quite gregarious, but as age increases a desire for solitude
seems to augment till ultimately the patriarch becomes a her-
mit, nursing his morose reflections in some isolated spot far
from the haunts of his kind.

The pursuit of the moose is rendered difficult by the keen-
ness of his senses and extreme wariness. To stalk the animal
even with firearms taxes the patience and skill of the Indian.
When, however, the snow becomes covered with so firm a crust
as to support the hunter and impede effectually the progress
of the heavy animal, the chase of the moose becomes compara-
tively easy to one familiar with its habits and haunts. When
hunted at such times the herds pass in single file, each step-
ping so accurately in the foot- prints of its predecessor as to
lead any but an experienced person to suppose that but a single
animal formed the trail. When moving rapidly, the leader
becomes weary of breaking the way and steps to one side fall-
ing in behind the others, and in this way they change in rota-
tion, although a very chivalrous care is exercised in aiding the
weaker members of the herd.

During their confinement in yards at the hight of winter the
accessible shrubs are very closely cropped, but ordinarily the
tree is not killed since only one side is stripped. The bark is
removed to a hight of ten feet as the animal rears upon its
hind feet and peels the bark. The direction a herd is moving
may be ascertained by one familiar with their habits since the
bushes browsed are pulled toward the animal. The fir trees
are browsed but the bark is not eaten, yet hunters state that
young firs suffer more than other species from the habit of the
males of rubbing their heads upon them in such a way as to
apply the balsam to the abraded skin about the horns. It would
be a curious and instructive fact, if substantiated, if instinct
teaches the animal the curative properties of the balsam of fir

274 BULLETIN NO. VII.

and the proper method of applying the salve to the tender
skin of the scalp. The same instinct is shown in the habit of
diving in fly -time to escape the assaults of these pests if this
habit is not the result of the fondness of the moose for the
roots of the yellow water lily Nuphar.

The bark of the flowering maple and mountain ash and the
twigs of the fir and "moosewood" are said to form the staple
winter diet of the moose in some places at least. In summer
the white hunter is most successful in hunting the moose by
availing himself of the curiosity and antipatly to fire which are
prominent traits of the animal. Torch hunting has been al-
ready frequently referred to and the process is essentially
similar in all cases. A canoe manned by two persons is quietly
paddled along the stream or among the water plants of the
lake frequented by moose, and the glare of the torch is said to
excite the male to a blind rage, making it an easy victim. At
the proper season the accurate imitation of the bellow of the
male is said to be an effectual means of getting within range.
Aside from the loud bellow referred to the sound known by the
hunters as "chopping" i. e., the gnashing of the teeth is per-
haps the only sound intentionally produced. The only speci-
men of this animal encountered from Minnesota is that now on
exhibition in the museum of the University, but as it was not
seen in the flesh no anatomical or other details could be secured.

Rangifer tarandus.

WOODLAND CARIBOU, OR AMERICAN REINDEER.

Fig. 20.

The reindeer are represented in America by two species, and
only one of these merely enters the northern outskirts of the
United States. The relationship between our species and the
European is so close that many writers have hesitated to con-
sider them as distinct. The caribou is much smaller than its
relative, the moose, and is even more ungainly and kine-like.
The full-grown animal is as large as a well-grown yearling
beef, and has much the same stocky form. The legs are
shorter and the neck rather longer than in the moose, while the
hoofs are broader than in any American ruminant. Like the
moose the neck of the male is clothed with a shaggy mane-
The muzzle is like that of the ox rather than of the moose.

The color is variable and fluctuates with the seasons ; in gen-
eral, however, it is lighter than that of other deer. In summer
it is darkest, the prevailing color being dark brown varying

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

275

Fig. 20. Head of an unusually large Caribou.

toward yellowish or reddish. The neck and under parts, inclu-
ding also rump and tail and inside of legs, are white. The brown
is deepest and most constant on the head and legs, though the
feet are fringed with white. The neck is always light-colored,

276 BULLETIN NO. VII.

and in the male is furnished with a heavy mane. The fur is of
two sorts, the inner being dense and soft while the longer hairs
are crinkled and pliant. The hide makes a useful leather.
The color is lighter on the back than on the sides. The antlers
are worn by both males and females, though those of the
female are smaller and less palmated. The antlers are more
spreading than those of the moose, which they most resemble.
Their form is very irregular, but the slender branches are more
or less palmated at the end. The feet are very large and the
hoofs are flattened, and in form similar to those of the ox ; the
dew claws or accessory hoofs are unusually large and are not
entirely unf unctional . There is said to be some muscular con-
trol of these remnants of the second and fifth digits, which,
with their flattened hoofs spread laterally, add considerably to
the support of the animal as its makes its way across the bogs,
which are its special habitat. The entire lower leg is applied
to the ground in such cases, so that the caribou's foot forms a
sort of snow shoe. The hoofs are black. Tarsal gland large,
metatarsal gland wanting, interdigital gland found only in
hind feet.

The antlers of the male are from two to three feet long, the
shaft being subcylindrical, with comparatively restricted
palms. The brow tines are asymmetrical, one or both descend-
ing to about the level of the eyes and one usually expanded in
a vertical plane and digitate. The bez-tine may also descend.
At the end of the main shaft the palmate part bears a number
of posterior tines. There is considerable variation, which
would be useless to describe. The antlers of the female are
small and little palmate, but bear simply flattened snags. The
Barren-ground caribou which inhabits the rocky morasses of
arctic America and is most nearly akin to this species has similar
antlers, though rather more palmate and proportionally much
larger. Indeed, the antlers of the woodland caribou are not
half the size of its cousin's, though the latter is about half its
size.

The antlers of the European reindeer with which our spe-
cies is sometimes identified, differ chiefly in that those of the
European form are less palmated. To these differences in the
antlers we must add the greater size of the American species,
as well as its lighter color. The caribou lives chiefly upon
lichens and mosses and the browse of small trees and shrubs.
The reindeer moss, Cladonia rangiferina, species of Usnea,
Sticta and Cornicularia are said to constitute the principal sup-

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

277

Fig. 21. European Reindeer,

ply, especially in the far north. In summer they delight to
feed upon the rich grass of river bottoms, taking good care,
however, to keep clear of the thickets which might shelter
their enemies. The writer has encountered the caribou in
Minnesota only about the head waters of the White-face river
and along the St. Louis river near Knife Falls. There it was
in 1884 not rare, though so shy as to be secured with difficulty.
Along the north shore of Lake Superior it is less shy and the
animals may be seen feeding quietly in groups along the up-
land meadows. It also occurs in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
and Maine. Thence it ranges west to the Pacific, but does not
extend south of Lake Superior. Along the Pacific the range
extends nearly to the Arctic, but the Barren-ground species
takes the ]31ace in central British America as far south as 60
or farther. The range is more restricted eastward perhaps
because of the greater rigor of the climate.

278 BULLETIN NO. VII.

Although eaten by the Indians, the flesh is inferior and no
attempt seems to have been made to domesticate our species.
The hide, therefore, is the most valued article furnished by
the caribou, and in a short time, like so many other large ani-
mals, the caribou will cease to be a member of our fauna.

Cervus canadensis ERXL.

AMERICAN ELK.

Plate VI.

The only true Cervus of Minnesota, and the largest animal in
America, except the moose, still exists, though in diminished
numbers, in the northern wilderness. The elk may be taken
as the type of a true deer, and the poetic associations and fan-
cies which cling to the stag of Europe might better have been
engrafted upon this species than the Virginia deer, as has hap-
pened. The elk is, however, so much larger than the stag,
though by some regarded as not specifically distinct, and so
much more rare than the deer that it has come to be regarded
as one of the peculiar outgrowths of our own country, while
few ever think of the Virginia deer as radically different from
the European red deer.

The short body, slender and rather long legs, small feet,
slender head and graceful neck, make up the ensemble so fami-
liar, at least through illustrations, but no illustration can do
justice to the majesty of the stag at bay with flashing eye and
threatening antlers. The elk may be regarded as par excellence
the game mammal of America. The antlers are large and much
more uniform in size and form than either of the preceding.
The antler consists of the beam or main trunk, in this case
cylindrical and polished, chief branches called tines, minor
branches called snags, and tubercles. The position and relative
size of the tines are of especial importance in distinguishing
species. The lowest considerable tine is the brow-tine, extend-
ing forward, the next the bez-tine, then the royal, sur-royal
tine, etc. In the elk the brow- tine springs from immediately
above the burr and forms a gentle downward curve. The bez-
tine extends laterally and is nearly of the same size. A con-
siderable interval separates the royal tine, which is smaller
than the preceding. The beam now is reduced in size and
gives off more or fewer anterior tines which vary with age and
otherwise. Occasionally these upper tines spring from the
same point forming a depression surrounded by diverging

ws.

I : K

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 279

points. Such cases are called crown-antlers. The first set of
antlers are slender spikes called dag- an tiers, and it is rare to
find any trace of bifurcation. The second set have brow and
bez-tines, and possibly other snags. The third year adds the
royal tines, and succeeding pairs vary Considerable, but con-
tinue to enlarge many years. These wonderful organs, pro-
duced in so incredibly short a time each summer and dropped
in autumn or winter, have always attracted much attention.
Though so horn-like these appendages were early seen to differ
from ordinary horn which is an epidermal excrescence. They
are really peculiar bones left exposed to view by the denuda-
tion of their original skin-like covering. So much has been
written about the antlers and their development that we need
not go into details. A very complete general account may be
found in Caton's Deer of America,

The antlers contain more animal matter than ordinary bone,
but in most respects the structure is similar. Much obscurity still
exists as to the exact physiological explanation of the excite-
ment which causes this growth by concentrating the blood at
these points. During the period of growth the sensitive cover-
ing or velvet is especially vascular and sensitive, but blood is
also supplied by the periosteum below and haversian canals.
The velvet dies and is peeled voluntarily, but authors disagree
as to whether the cessation of the flow of blood is due to the
mechanical closing of the vessels passing to the velvet by the
growth of the burr at the base, or by a more subtle process.
After the velvet is removed, a process more or less painful and
attended with loss of blood, the antlers become hard, and the
deer sets about polishing the tips by abrasion against tree
trunks and among the boughs. The growth of the antler is
dependent on the generative organs, at least largely, and cas-
tration causes a curious abortion or malformation, also prevent-
ing the shedding at the proper time. It is stated that the elk
assist each other in the removal of the antlers, and that heaps
of these appendages may be found in places where the males
have congregated for this purpose. Of the truth of this we can
not vouch. The comparative rarity of such relics is accounted
for by some one on the ground that mice at once devour them.
The eyes of the elk are prominent and expressive, the ears
large and very movable, neck short and flexible, tail very short.
The summer pelage dirty yellowish-gray upon the body, with
chestnut brown head, legs and under parts. In winter the
colors are much darker and sexual differences appear, the

280 BULLETIN NO. VII.

males being darker. The male has the lower parts of the body
and neck as well as legs very dark brown, nearly black, while
in the female these corresponding parts are chestnut brown.
Above, the color is yellowish-brown. The rump is marked by
a patch of white, bordered above by black. The young elk is
spotted or dappled with dull white, but far less regularly than
the fawn of the Virginia deer.

Like the red deer of Europe the elk is gregarious and polyg-
amous, though the number associated is rarely great. The
herd consists of several divisions during the breeding season.
The oldest or most vigorous buck drives the younger bucks
from the herd of does while the young malcontents become
companions in discontent. Sometimes some of the females
desert the harem and join the buckaneers. No one in America
has had so fine opportunities for the study of the elk as Judge
Caton, and from his "Antelope and Deer of North America"
one may glean ample illustrations of its habits.

In appetite, the elk is not epicurean but eats greedily almost
all vegetable food. Grass and succulent herbage as well as
the shoots of many trees form the staple diet. In a state of
nature the elk breeds at two or three years, producing one,
two or three at a birth. The fawns are very active but the
mother does not at once join the herd.

The domestication of the elk is so easy that it is a pity it has
not been more generally attempted. The writer has seen
domesticated specimens at work like oxen and experiment in
this line would be at least interesting. The geographical dis-
tribution was once enormons extending far north and south
of the limits of the United States. The prairies were rather
avoided but all other portions of our national domain were
suited to this noble deer. It is now practically extinct in the
eastern part of the United States. In the writings of early ex-
plorers of Minnesota references to great herds of elk abound.
To-day the Indians in the region north of Lake Superior now
and then succeed in securing one, but the American hunter is
fortunate if he sees a wild elk east of the Yellowstone. Mr.
W. W. Cooke of Moorehead informed me that both moose and
elk are always found near lakes Itaska and Caribou while in 1885
they were common about Red lake. The cause of the wide
range may be found in the fact that the appetite is not delicat e
and no single plant is the chief reliance of the animal. The
chase of the elk can not be regarded as very noble sport aside
from the size of the game, as sheer patience and endurance are

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 281

the chief factors. Still hunting is the only method available to
the white hunter. The Indian formerly succeeded in slaying
in a more wholesale manner.

Cervus (Cariacus) virginianus BODD.

COMMON OR VIRGINIA DEER.

The most graceful and attractive in color of our Gervidce
reach only a medium size. The extreme weight may be 250
pounds but the average is much less.

The beautiful reddish-gray which constitutes the prevailing
color varies to bright bay or yellowish. The winter coat is
lighter and more bluish than that of summer. The lower side
of the head to the throat, the belly and inside of thighs, and
the inside of the hind legs are white. A dark line marks the
median lower line of neck and brisket. The separate hairs are
banded with gray, brown, yellowish-gray and black succes-
sively, beginning at the base. The head is acute, the nose be-
ing naked, eyes very large, ears relatively small. The antlers
are spreading and strongly curved from base to tip with back-
wardly projecting tines, from one to six in number. The num-
ber of these tines is only an approximate index of the age, and
may vary in the opposite members of the same pair. They
reach a considerable size, weighing as much as six pounds.
The neck is much more slender in proportion than in the elk,
and the body is longer. The tail is longer than any of our
deer, and tapers uniformly. It measures from fifteen to six-
teen inches and is flattened rather than terete. The body above
described is furnished with long and marvelously active legs,
tipped with acute polished hoofs, and capable ofj feats not to be
believed till seen.

This deer is more timid and sensitive than the larger species,
but when taken young submits to domestication readily. Al-
though moderately gregarious this species is not so polygamous
as the elk, and no single buck rules the harem. Fierce fights
often occur, however, and continual quarreling occurs during
the rut. The fawns are weaned at four or five months but fol-
low the mother, the males for one, the females for two years.
The mother tends and guards her young most solicitously.
During summer the feeding is done chiefly at night, and grassy,

-18

282 BULLETIN NO VII.

slow-flowing streams and lily -flecked lakes are favorite resorts.
No animal furnishes more real sport than the deer. The weary
days spent in tramping through fairly impassable swamps are
forgotten in the excitement of the moment when the lordly ani-
mal dashes by with gleaming eyes, and gives you a few seconds
opportunity for his capture. The prevailing method for stalk
ing the deer in the open woodlands of Minnesota is for several
to unite, some stationing themselves in the known runways while
others beat the denser copses, in hope of starting the animal.
The fortunate hunter, into whose beat the deer strikes, has no
intimation of its approach except the crash which precedes his
appearance. If nerves do not fail, the rifle is prepared, and a
ball is sent crashing into the shoulder as the animal springs
into the air, to fall in a heap almost at the feet of his slayer.
Coursing deer on horseback has never been tried as our state
furnishes no opportunity. Jack hunting, if less sportsman-like,
is fully as exciting and less fatiguing than any other method.
An experience of this sort on the St. Louis river convinced the
writer that nerves, usually rather steady, can be stirred by the
sudden apparition of luminous orbs, backed by, no one knew
what. As much depends on the one who uses the paddle as
the actual Nimrod.

A few initiated have succeeded in securing a deer or two near
the city of Minneapolis every winter up to very recently, but
now this sport must be sought far northward.
\

Antilocapra americana ORD.

AMERICAN ANTELOPE; PRONG-HORN ANTELOPE.

Plate I.
Antilocapra americana ORDWAY, Jour, de Phys., 80. 1818.

J. E. GRAY, Knowsley Menagerie, 1850.

AUDUBON and BACHMAN, N. Amer. Quadrupeds, ii, p.
193, 1851.

BAIRD, Pacif. R. R. Rep., viii, p. 666, 1857.

HARLAN, Fauna Am., p. 250, 1825.

CATON, Antelope and Deer N. A., 1877.

C. YOGT, Sauget., p. 310, 1883.
AntilopeamericaneOnvwAY, Guth. Geog., 1815.

HARLAN, Fauna Am., p. 250, 1825.

DOUGHTY, Cab. Nat. Hist., p. 49, 1833.

MAXIMILIAN, Reise in Nord-Am., 1839.
Antilope furcifer SMITH, Linn. Trans., xiii, p. 28, 1822.

DESMAREST, Mamm., ii, p. 479, 1822.

RICHARDSON, Fanna Bor.-Am. ii, 1829.

GIEBEL, Zoologie, Sauget., p. 305, 1855.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 283

Antilope (Dicranoceros) furcifer SMITH, Griff. Guv.

WAGNER, Sup. Schreb. Sauget. , iv.
Antilocapra furcifer DESMAREST, Mamm. ii, 479.
Antilope palmata SMITH, Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii.

SMITH, Griff. Guv., iv.

WAGNER, Schreb. Sauget., v.

OGILBY, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1836.
Antilope (Dicranoceros) palmata SMITH, Griff. Guv., 1827.
Antilope anteflexa GRAY, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.
Cervus hamatus BLAINVILLE, Bull. Soc. Philomat., 1816.
Dicranoceros furcifer SUNDEVALL, Konig. Sv. Vetonsh. Handl., 1844.
Dicranoceros americanus TURNER, Proc. Zool Soc., 1850.
Cervus bifurcatus RAFINESQUE, (Eichardson.)

The prong-horn antelope is perhaps the most remarkable
ruminant which enters our limits, not only because it is the
only antelope of America, but because it possesses several
peculiarities which entirely distinguish it from any other rumi-
nant whatever. Although known from accounts of western
hunters and pioneers for some time previous, the first scientific
knowledge of the animals was derived from the specimen
brought back by the Lewis and Clark exploring expedition.
As we shall see beyond, this antelope forms the connecting
link between the deer and the antelopes, and may be taken as
a type long isolated and representing a group of animals of
an inclusive type. At present this animal does not set foot
within our borders, but at no very distant date, frequently
entered the southwestern prairie counties.

In size, the prong-horn is less than the common deer and
considerably larger than a sheep. The body is very short and
its build may rather be characterized as * * stumpy " than elegant.
The legs are long but not graceful, while the feet are peculiar
in not having either accessory hoofs or hock glands. The
neck is not long for a deer, but is carried in an erect, and what
seems a rather constrained attitude. The head is large and is
redeemed from ugliness by the extraordinarily large eyes.
The eyes are said to be larger than those of an ox, and, there-
fore, relatively larger than those of any ruminant. The color
is black, but the expression mild and winning. The eye is
protected by ample lashes, especially upon the upper lid.
Tnere is no larmier without or internally. The ears are pointed
and hairy inside and out, being about five inches long and quite
narrow. The muzzle is blunt and hairy with only a narrow
naked space in the middle about one-quarter of an inch in
width and expanding to include the nostrils. The nostrils are
large and less oblique than in the deer. The horns are the

284 BULLETIN NO. VII.

most interesting feature, not of the head only, but of the whole
bodily structure. These appendages have not been correctly
understood until recently. In two particulars they differ from
the antelopes; first, no true antelope has tines upon the horns;
but the adult prong-buck has a sharp spur directed forward,
and the shaft curves gracefully backward and inward, taking
on a distinctly hamular shape; second, no true antelope sheds
its horns, while the prong- buck drops its horns annually up to
the maturity of the horn. This fact was first discovered by
hunters whose practical experience gave their testimony good
claim to credence; but even up to Audubon's time this was
discredited. Audubon indeed thought he had demonstrated
the contrary by showing that the bony core of the horn is com-
pletely ossified with the skull. His mistake grew out of the
assumption that if the horns are deciduous they must be consti-
tuted after the plan of the antlers of the Cervidce. The first
statement of the true deciduous character of the horns was
published by Bartlett, who, as superintendent of the gardens of
the Zoological Society of London, communicated his discovery
in the journal of that society. Eight years previous, however,
Dr. C. A. Canfield made this discovery and reported the same
to Prof. Baird whose caution prevented Dr. Canfield from
receiving the credit of priority in this matter.

The horn may be described as partially hollow, deciduous
and seated upon a true core of bone about one-half the length
of the horn. At the base the horn is corrugated, but there are
no annulae or rings of growth, indeed, the horn is rather long-
itudinally striate. The length of an adult horn is about ten
inches. The general form of the horn is most like that of the
European chamois. In the female the horn is shorter, ap-
pears later, is always simple and never exceeds three inches
in length. This is an instructive fact, inasmuch as hollow-
horned ruminants have horns in both sexes, while antlered
ruminants are invariably males. Judge Caton has studied
the process of shedding the horns carefully and I can do no
less than copy quite fully his statements:

1 'Although, as before shown, both male and female antelopes
have horns, we can only distinctly detect even the rudiments
of the horns on the male at the time of its birth. It may then
be felt as a slight protuberance on the skull. This rapidly in-
creases in size, and when about four months old the horn
breaks through the skin, and a horny knob appears. At this
time it is not firmly set upon the core, which as yet is but rudi-

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 285

mentary, and the little horn may be moved about appreciably.
After this the core grows pretty rapidly and soon fixes the
horn more firmly in its position. On an early kid, in my
grounds, this little horn matured and was cast off on the 2d
day of January, when I found it quite thrown off the core and
suspended by a slight fibre on one side, so I saved it. The
next day I found the other horn in the same condition, which I
likewise saved. At this time the horn was fully one inch
long."

"The new horn had already commenced its growth, and
the tip was already hardened into perfect horn, and was ex-
tended appreciably above the core, which at that time was less
than nine lines long. The new horns grew very rapidly
through the winter, so that in six weeks the cores had more
than doubled in length, and the horns were extended more
than an inch above the cores, and the hardened perfected
horns had extended down to near the top of the cores."

4 'But this process is better observed on the adult males.
This law seems to govern the times of shedding of the antelope,
the older the animal, the earlier the horn matures, and the
sooner it is cast. On old bucks the horn is shed in October,
while on the early kids it is shed in January, and still later
on later kids, or else it is carried over till the next year. On
a late kid in my grounds on the first of December, the horn
was not more than a quarter of an inch above the skin. It
grew slowly all winter, and till the time of its death in May
following."

"Let us observe the horn of the- adult male antelope, which
is shed in October. If we make our examination so soon as
the horn is cast off, we can readily understand the process by
which it is removed. By looking into the cavity of the cast-off
horn, we shall see that it extends but about half way its length,
or a little way above the prong ; and we shall also see that it
contains a large number of coarse lightish colored hairs, all
of which are firmly attached to the horn, and many of them,
towards the lower part, passing quite through it. We see the
core of the horn is covered with the same kind of hairs as
those seen in the cavity of the horn. We now appreciate that
these hairs grew from the skin, and more or less penetrated
the shell or horn, and when this was removed some were torn
from the skin and others from the horn."

' 'We observe, further, that the new horn had commenced its
growth a considerable time before the old one was cast, for the

286 BULLETIN NO. VII.

new horn was extended several inches above the top of the
core, nearly in a vertical direction, although with a slightly
posterior inclination. The top of this, for nearly half an inch,
is already hardened into perfect horn. Below this it is softer, and
a little way down it has lost its horny texture, but is a pretty
firm and somewhat flexible mass down to the core and around
it, at the upper part of which, however, it has rather the ap-
pearance of a thick massive skin, of a high temperature, show-
ing great activity in the blood-vessels permeating it. As we
pass lower down, the skin is thinner, and shows less excite-
ment or activity. Upon this skin enveloping the core, we find
the hairs already described. "

"This was the condition of the new development when the
old horn was cast off. It shows that the new horn had al
ready made considerable upward growth from the top of the
core, which only extended up into the old horn a little distance
above the snag, or about half its length ; all above this, of the
old horn, was solid; and was not intersected by the hairs as it
was below."

"Now it is perfectly manifest that as the horn was extended
in length above the core, it must have carried with it the old
horn which it detached from the core and tearing out the hairs
the roots of which were in the skin, and many of which ex-
tended into or through the old horn. * * * I have never
observed the animal to assist this process by rubbing its horns
against convenient objects, but my opportunities have not been
such as to authorize the statement that they do not sometimes
do so."

' ' When the old horn was cast off, the new one, as we have
already seen, had made a considerable growth above the core,
which was already tipped with perfect horn." * * *

1 'By the latter part of winter, on the adult, the horn has at-
tained about this stage of growth. From this it presses on,
hardening in its downward growth till the latter part of sum-
mer, or the commencement of the rut, by which time the growth
is protected down to the base, and is a complete weapon for
warfare, and it so continues during the rut, and until the growth
of the new horn is commenced and loosens the old one from its
core, and raises it from its seat as has been described." The
Antelope and Deer of America. J. D. Caton.

It is uncecessary to add that the horn core is true bone,
clothed with its periost, and this part of the horn is as per-
manent as in other hollow-horned ruminants. The cutaneous

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA 287

layers, the transformation of which produces the horney por-
tion, lies directly upon the periost of the core. The hairs
which cover the skin, enveloping the core before horn is
formed persist, and thus, according to Prof. Curtis, assist in
tying down the horny shell. Upon the way in which the epi-
dermis is altered to form horn, I may again be permitted to
quote from Caton's excellent work: "Now, the peculiarity
about this is, not that the epidermis is the source of the horn, or
is converted into horn, but that a very limited section should
be stimulated to extraordinary activity till its work is accom-
plished, and then subsides into a comparatively dormant state;
and then another portion wakens to the same vigorous action,
to be again succeeded by another active section still lower
down; this state of activity, commencing at the top of the core
and gradually passing along down it, followed by the per-
fected horn, and the quiet condition of the epidermis lining its
cavity; and that this extraordinary phenomenon should occur
annually."

Having thus fully discussed the horns, it remains to mention
the other prominent and interesting appendages, the hoofs.
The Prong-horn is one of the few ruminants which externally
are bi-digitate. This may be taken as an indication of extreme
development in an old type, and expresses the greatest extreme
of reduction in the artiodactyle series, as the horse does in the
perissodactyle. The hoofs are similarly shaped on both feet,
and are very acute and narrow. The external margin is some-
what concave.

The tail is short, measuring little more than three inches.

The hair is coarse, somewhat crinkled, stiff and quite brittle.
It shows no tendency to felt or mat, but bristles coarsely and us-
ually rather raggedly over the body. There is little or no under
fur in summer, but according to Caton this is present in consider-
able quantities in the colder season. The neck is clothed with
a stiff bushy mane, of which the hairs may be four inches long.
The brittle character of the pelage unfits the fur for robes, but
although weak, the skin is said to rival chamois skin for like
purposes.

The color seems to be very uniform, the variations being
chiefly such as are incident to exposure and slight seasonal
modification. The colors are bright and striking, and so well
marked that they are easily recognized, as may be seen by com-
paring the subjoined rude sketch by an Indian with our plate.
The prevailing color is rufous yellow to tawny. The face is

288 BULLETIN NO. VII.

brown. The lower surface is white broken by two bands of
yellowish upon the neck. There is also a conspicuous white
spot upon the rump.

The antelope is essentially a prairie animal, and sedulously
avoids the timber. Its companions are the coyotes and the
prairie hare, as well as its more nearly related fellow, the buf-
falo. Like the last, it is gregarious, and like the first, extremely
fleet of foot ; indeed, it is said to surpass all other native
mammals in fleetness, yet is comparatively short of wind. It
seems to be well settled from observations by Dr. Canfield, that
in an entirely natural state the antelope is eminently grega-
rious. He says : * ' From the first of September to the first of
March antelopes meet in bands, the bucks, does and kids, all
together. At the end of that time the does separate themselves
from the band, one by one, to drop their kids; they produce
two at a birth. After a little time the does collect together
with their young, probably for mutual protection against co-
yotes, the old bucks in the meantime go off alone, each by him-
self, or at most two together, leaving the young bucks and
young does together in small bands. * * * Any particular
band of antelopes does not leave the locality where they grow
up, and never range more than a few miles in different direc-
tions."

The males are said to be very belligerent during the rutting
season and the female is credited with much courage and ad-
dress in protecting her young from the coyote and other foes.
Males are said to be exceedingly salacious.

The antelope is said to possess unusual powers of expressing
emotions, as will be gathered from the following passage from
the much quoted volume of Judge Caton:

* 'I had placed him in a close cage in the evening, intending
to familiarize him with my presence, and divest him of his
fears when he saw me by convincing him that I would not hurt
him. When I approached him the next morning he seemed
struck with terror and made frantic efforts to break out, which
he soon found was impossible. His great black eyes glistened
in affright. I spoke softly and kindly while he stood trembling
as I introduced my hand and placed it on his shoulder. Des-
pair now seemed to possess him, and he dropped on to his
knees, bowed his head and burst into a copious flood of tears,
which coursed down his cheeks and wet the floor."

The long white hair of the rump is said to bristle under ex -
citement.

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 289

The American antelope is accredited with unusual intelli-
gence and is quite readily tamed, but domestication is not per-
manently successful for even under the most favorable circum-
stances the contrast to the active and free life of the plains is
very great and becomes intolerable. Health is impaired and
the animal soon dies. The reproductive powers are affected
even sooner than the general health and breeding in confine*
ment is rarely or never successful. It is interesting to notice
the fact stated by Caton that the prong-buck seems to consider
the antelope of Asia as more congenial than native deer with
which it probably was familiar in its natural state. The antelope
is a dainty feeder but avoids the browse which constitutes so
large a part of the food of deer and woodland ruminants. They
seem to live almost entirely upon the buffalo grass of their na-
tive plains, but readily partake of the ordinary cereals in con-
finement.

The antelope is assiduously pursued both by Indians and
white hunters for, though somewhat dry, the flesh is highly
esteemed and even finds its way in considerable quantities into
Minneapolis markets. The chase is difficult but is rendered less
so by the curiosity which is so marked a peculiarity of the
animal as to be a real weakness. Another point which is
availed of by the hunter is the entire inability of the antelope
to spring over high vertical obstacles, and this in spite of
really marvelous powers in horizontal leaps. It would seem
that long confinement to the plains has deprived them of their
natural endowment in this direction. The Indians formerly
availed themselves of this peculiarity by forming large low
enclosures of brush-wood into which the antelope were driven,
much as the caribou is captured in the north, and followed
until exhausted and slaughtered. The Indians of the present
day sometimes run them down on horseback, for, although fleet
of foot, the antelope is said to lack wind. Staking is the usual
method of hunting as their sight is but moderately discriminat-
ing. The habitat is limited to the temperate parts of North
America west of the Mississippi river. Formerly their range
included all of the territory between the tropics and about fifty-
four north latitude and from the Mississippi to the coast ex-
cept in the wooded and mountainous portions. At the present
time they are restricted to the less accessible and arid regions
between the Missouri river and the Mountains and southward.
Southwestern Minnesota once furnished them congenial past-
urage, but they have long since retired beyond the Missouri.

290

BULLETIN NO. VII.

Fig. 22. Personal totem of Running An- Fig. 23. Cedar burial post or adjedatig
telope, drawn by himself . Mullery's sign of Wabojeeg, showing that he belonged to
language, p. 410. the deer clan. Schoolcraft's History Am-

erican Tribes, p. 356.

INDEX.

AardVark 62

Aeluroidea 60, 63

Aeluropus 136

Ailurus 135,139

Ailuropus 136, 137, 139

Ailurus f ulgens 137

Alactaga 217

Alces americanus 270

A merican antelope 282

American elk 278

American ferret, 106

American hares, comparison

of crania of 232

American lion 67

American sable 104

Amphibia % . . 14

Amphisorex talpoides ". . 44

lesueri 48

Anatomy of soft parts of Le-

poridas 233

Anoplotherium 255

Antelope, American 282

prong-horn 282

Antilocapra americana 282

Antilocapra furcifer 282

Antilope Americane 282

anteflexa 283

furcifer 282

(Dicranoceros) furcifer 283

palmata 283

(Dicranoceros} palmata 283

Arctictis 136, 139

Arctictis binturong 137, 138

Arctitis 62

Arctocyonidae 60

Arctoidea 60

Arctomys 154, 168

bobac 168

flaviventer 168

hoodi 165

(Spermophilus) hoodi 165

marmota 168

monax 168

pruinosus 168

tridecemlineatus 165

Arctonyx 85

Artemisia f rigida 205

Artiodactyla 254

Artiodactyla,fossil remains of 255

Arumtriphyllum 147

Arvicola 197, 253

alborufescens 199

austerus 198

(Pedomys) austerus 206

austerus minor 206

borealis 198

borealis 199

breweri 199

curtatus 198

dekayi 194

edax 199

emmonsi 178

fulva 194

gapperi 104

glareolus 194

hirsutus 199

longicaudatus 198

longirostris 199

minor

modesta 199

montana 199

nasuta 199

occidentalis 199

oneida 199

oregonus 198

pallidus 198

(Chilotus) pallidus 204

palustris

pennsylvanica 199

pinetorum 198

pratensis 194

quasiater 198

richardsoni

riparia 194

riparius 193, 195, 198, 199

riparius var. borealis 203

(Myonomes) riparius

riparius longipilus 199

rubidus 194

rufescens 194, 199

rufidorsum 199

trowbridgei ; . . 199

xanthognatha 199

xanthognathus 198

Arvicolidas 221

Arvicolinae 192

Ascomys bursarius 224

canadensis 224

drummondii. 224

292

BULLETIN NO. VII.

Astromycetes cristatus 55

Atalapha

cinerea 32

cinerea cinereus . 32

(Nycticejus) crepuscularis . . 27

(Lasiurus) noveboracensis . . 29

Atherura 245

africana 245

f asiculata 245

macroura 245

Atophyrax 43

Aves 14

Badger

African honey
Brazilian
European
honey

83
84
Bassaris .................... 136, 139

Bassaris astuta .............. 137

Bats ......................... 19

brown ....................

dentition of ............. 22

form of the skull of ...... 23

geographical distribution
of ...................... 25

hoary .................... 31

littlebrown ........ ...... 36

red ...................... 28

silver-haired .............. 34

twilight .................. 27

Bear ......................... 135

black ..................... 146

sun ................ : ..... 136

Beaver ....................... 170

Bidactyla .................... 258

Binturong ................... 62

Bison ......................... 258

americanus .............. 260

antiquus ................. 260

europeus ................. 259

frontalis .................. 258

gaurus ................... 258

latifrons ................. 17,259

priscus ...... ............ 260

Black bear ................... 146

Black squirrel ............. 157

Blarina ...................... 43,44

angusticeps ............... 45, 46

berlandieri ........ ....... 45

brevicaudata ............ 44, 45

carolinensis ............. 45, 46

cinerea ................... 45

exilipes ................... 45

talpoides ................. 44

Bones of Lepus campestris . . 235
Bos brachycera ..............

brachyceros ............. 257

frontosus ................ 17,257

(Poephagus) grunniens ... 258
primigenius ............. 17, 257

Bovidse .................. 258

Brachysorex brevicaudata 44

dekayi 45

parviis 45

Brown bat 33

Buffalo, mountain 261

wood 261

Calomys 175,176

Canada porcupine 246

Canidse 60,74

Canis 74,77

antarcticus

aureus 76

cancrivorus 76

dingo 76

familiaris 76

frustror 79

hodopylax 76

jubatus 76

latrans 76, 79

lupaster 16, 76

lupus 76,77

lupus var. rufus

mesomelas

nubilus

ochropus

pallipes

variabilis 78

Capybara 230

Carcajou 101

Caribou, woodland 274

Carnivora 57

dentition of 59

Carphophaga 23

Casoryx 257

Castor 170

fiber 170

Castoridffi 169

fossil remains of 169,170

Cat, civet 136

family 63

dentition of 63

domestic

wild.

Centetidaa 40

Cephalotes 24

Cercoleptes 136, 137, 139

caudi volvulus 138

Cervidse 258, 270

Cervus bifurcatus 283

canadensis 278

hamatus 283

(Cariacus) virginianus ... 281

Cetacea

Cheeronyteris 21, 23, 25

Chaeropotamus 256

Chserotherium 256

Cluetomys 245

subspinosus 245

Chalicomys 169, 253

Cheetah : 64

Chevrotain 255

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

293

Chickaree

Chilonycteris

Chilotus

Cfiincha Americana

Cfiinche

Chinga

Chiroptera

Chipmunk, common

Eocky mountain

Chrysochloris

Civet

Civet cat

Cladonia rangiferina

Coati

Ccelops

Coffee cat

Colobotis

Colonymys . . . ^

Common deer

Common ermine weasel

Common fallacies concerning

panthers

Common pocket gopher

Common rabbit

Comparison of crania of

American hares

Condylura

cristata L

longicaudata

macroura

prasinata

Conepatus

mapurito

suffocans ,

Cooper's shrew

Cornicularia

Corsira talpoides

Cougar

Coyote

Cricetus bursarius

myoides

Crocidura

cinerea

coopen

Crossopus

Cryptoproctidas
Cynaelurus

guttatus. . .

jubatus

lanea

Cynictis

Cynoidea

Cynomyonax . . .
Cynonycteris . .
Cynopterus
Cyon

157
21, 23

206
93
93
93

19,23

160

162

40,50

136

276

138

164

153

281

106

69
223
236

232
50
55
55
55
55

83
,48

276
44
67
79

224

178
43
45
48
43

60, 62
64
64
64
64
62
60

106
24
24
75

Didelphia 17

Diplomesodon 43

Dipodidae 217

Dipodinaa 217

Dipus 217

Dolichotis 230

Domestic cat 71

Duplicidentati 154

Earth wolf 62

Elk, American 278

Emballonuridas 26

Enfan du diable 93

Entelodon 256

Entomophaga 24

Enhydrinas 85

Eohyus 257

Epomophorus 21, 24

Erethizon 245, 246

dorsatus 245, 246

dorsatus var. epixanthus 245

Erinaceidaa 40

Ermine 106, 10S

Eucastor 169, 170

Eurotia lanata 205

Evotomys 193

rutilus gapperi 194

Deer, common 281

Virginia 281

Deer mouse 178

Dicranoceros americanus 283

furcifer 283

Fcetorius vulgaris....

106

Felidaa

60, 63

Felis

aurata

badia

bengalensis

caligata

catus ,

65, 72

caudatus

chaus

chinensis

colocollo

concolor .

65, 66, 101

discolor

domestica

eyra

guigua
jerdoni

65
65

leo

macrocelis

maculata

maniculata

manul

marmorata

minuta

neglecta

onca

ornata

pajeros

pardalis

pardinoides

pardis

planiceps

294

BULLETIN NO. VII.

puma 66

rubiginosa 65

rufa 73

rutila 65

scripta 65

serval 65

servalina 65

shawiana 65

tigrina 65

tigris 65

torquata 65

tristis 65

uncia 65

viverrina 65

wagati 65

yaguarondi 65

Felix montana

Feroculus 43

Ferret 106

Fiber 211

zibethicus 211

Field mice 192

Filaria 342

Fisher 103

Flying squirrel 159

Foussa 60, 62

Fox squirrel 158

IOS

sibiricus 99

vulgaris 99

wolverine 100

Gymnura 43

25
25

Gale ........................

Galictis barbata

Gaur

Gayal

Genet ........................

Geomyida3 .................. 220, 222

Geomys ...................... 222

breviceps .................. ^*

bursarius ........... 221,222,223

canadensis ................ 224

castanops ................ 223

drummondii .............. 224

hispidus ................. 223

mexicanus ...... ........ 222

oreqonensis ................ 224

tuza ...................... 222

Georychidae .................. 221

Glossonycteris ...............

Glossophaga .................

Glutton ............ ........

Gnawers ......................

Gopher, common pocket ..... 223

gray.

166

pocket..: 220

pouched 220

Gray gopher

Gray squirrel

Grystes salmoides 131

Guinea pig 230

Gulo

arcticus

borealis

luscus

luscus 100

Habits of otters 129

Harbrothrix 175, 176

Hares 154,230

American 240

fossil 231

prairie 233

varying 240

Harpyia 24

Helianthus 229

doronicoides 208

Helictidinae 84

Helictis 84

Heliscomys 153

Helohyus 257

Hesperomys 176

( Vesperimus) americanus .. 178

austeris 179

boylii 179

campestris

cognalus

gambeli

gracilis .'. . 178

leucogaster 208

(Onychomys) leucogaster... . 208

leucopus ^ . . . 178

( Calomys) leucopus 178

( Vesperimus) leucopus 178

leucopus sonoriensis 205

leucopus sonoriensis 189

maniculatus 178

michiganensis 188

michiganensis 190

( Vesperimus) michiganensis 190

myoides 178

polionotus 178

sonoriensis 189

texanus 178

Hippopotamidas 256

Histricomorpha 154

Hoary bat

Holochilus 175

Honey badger 84

Hoofed quadrupeds 254

Hunting leopard 64

Hysenidse 60,62

Hyaenodontidaa 60

Hydrochasrus 230

Hyomoschus 255

Hyopotamus 256

Hypsignathus

Hypudaaus

gapperi

glareolus 194

hercynicus 194

leucogaster 208

nageri 194

ochrogaster 199

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

295

nparius 199

rutilus 194

rutilus var. gapperi 194

rutilus var. glareolus 194

Hystricidaa 243

Jlystricinae 244, 245

Hystrix 245

af ricae-australis 245

cristata 245

hirsutirqstris 245

hodgsoni 245

javanica 245

Ichneumon .

Ictidomys

Ischnoglossa

Insectivora

fossil remains of.
Introduction

.... 165
25
38
39
9
Issyodromys 253

Jaculinse ..................... 217

Jaculus hudsonius ........... 2] 9

Jaguar ....................... 67

Jumping mouse ............. 218

Kinkajou .................... 138

Lagomyidaa 230

Lasionycteris 34

noctivagans 34

Lasiurus 28

cinereus 31

noveboracensis 28

pruinosus 32

rufus 29

Latax canadensis 129

Laiaxina mollis 129

Lemmings 207

Leopard, hunting 64

Leporidaa 230, 252

anatomy of soft parts of . . 233
osteological peculiarities

of 231

Lepus americanus 240

americanus 236, 241

americanus var. americanus 240

americanus var. bairdi 241

americanus var. virginianus 241

americanus var.wastiingtoni 241

aquaticus 232

artemisia 239

artemisia 237

artemisiacus 237

auduboni 232

auduboni 237

bachmani ................ 239

bairdi ................... 241

borealis ................... 240

californicus .............. 232

callotis ................... 232

campestris .............. 232, 233

campestris ................ 240

campestris, bones of ..... 235

hudsonius ................. 240

nanus ................... 236, 240

nuttalli .................. 239

nuttalli ................... 236

palustris ...... . .......... 232

sylvaticus ...... 127, 232, 235, 236

sylvaticus var. arizonas.. 238
sylvaticus var. auduboni 239
sylvaticus vai . auduboni. . . 237
sylvaticus var. nuttalli.. 238
sylvaticus var. nuttalli ..... 236

sylvaticus var. sylvaticus 236
timidus var. arcticus ..... 232

townsendi ................. 234

trowbridgei .............. 239

variabilis ............... 233, 240

virginianus ............. 233, 241

washingtoni ............... 241

Liatris graminifolia .......... 205

Little brown bat ............ 36

Lonchoglossa ................ 25

Long tailed weasel ........... 117

Lutra californica ............. 129

canadensis ............... 129

hudsonica ................. 129

lataxina .................. 129

vison ..................... 118

Lutreola ..................... 106

Lutrinaa ..................... 84, 128

Lupus ........................ 74

Ly caon pictus ................ 76

Lyncodon .................... 60

patagonicus .............. 83

Lyncus rufus .................. 73

Lynx ......................... 64,72

canadensis.. ............. 73

floridiana ................. 73

rufus .................... 73, 248

104

Machasrodus

Macroglossus

Macroscelidaa

Macroscelides typicus

Mammalia

Mangue

Marten

Maries americana

canadensis ................ 103

Meadow mouse ............... 199

Megaderma .................. 21, 24

Megadermata ................ 24

Megasrops .................... 24

Meles gulo .................... 99

taxus ................... 83, 85

296

BULLETIN NO. VII.

Melinse 84, 86

Mellivora 85

Mellivorinae 84

Mephitic weasel] 93

Mephitinse 85, 87

Mephitis 91

americana 93

americana var. hudsonica.. 93

cliinche 93

chinga 92

macroura 94

mephitica 92

mephitica var. occidentalis. 94

mesomelas 96

mespmelas 93

occidentalis 93

varians 94

varians var. chinga 93

Merycopotamus 256

Mice, mole 208

springing 217

Michigan mouse 190

Mink 106, 118

Minkeries 122

Minnesota, mammalian popu-
lation of 15

Missouri mole-mouse 208

Mole mice 208

Mole-mouse Missouri 208

Moles 49, 38

dentition of 39

star-nosed. 55

Monfette d'amerique 93

Monodelphia 17

Monophyllus 25

Moose deer 270

Mountain buffalo 261

Mouse, deer 178

field 192

jumping 218

meadow .. 199

Michigan 190

Sonora 189

white-footed 178

Muridai 174, 221, 252

Murinse 175

Musculus leucopus 178

Muskrat 211

Musquash 216

Mus agrarius 178

agrarius var. americanus . . 178

bairdii 190

bursarius 224

glareolus 194

leucopus 178, 189

michiganensis 190

missouriensis 208

noveboracensis 178

rutilus 193

rutilus 194

saccatus 224

sylvaticus 178

sylvaticus var. noveboracen-
sis.. 178

Mustela 102

americana 102, 104

canadensis 103, 118

cicognani 108

erminia 108

foina 102

fusca 108

gale...: 106

godmani 103

gulo 99

huro 104

leucopus 104

lutreocephala 118

lutreola 118

martes 102

martes 104

melanorhyncha 103

minx 118

nigra 103

nivalis 106

pennanti 102, 103

pusilla 106

vison 118

vulgaris 106

vulpina 104

winingus 118

zibellina 102

zibellina var. americana. . . 104

Mustelidas 60, 83

Mustelinas 84

Mydaus telagon 83, 85, 88

Myogale 43

Myogalidae 40

Myoides 207

(Synaptomys) cooperi 207

Myomorpha 154

Myonomes 198, 206

pratensis 199

Myoxus 153, 252

Mysops 153

Mysorex 43

3ST

Nasua 136, 139

rufa 138

Neosorex palustris 49

iSfeotoma 175

Nuphar 214

Nycterentes procyonoides 76

viverrinus 76

Nycteris 24

Nycticejus 27

crepuscularis ,

humeralis 27

lasiurus 29

noveboracensis

pruinosus

varius 29

Ochetodon 175

Onychomys 175, 176, 208

leucogaster 205, 208

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

297

leucogaster var. torridus. 209
leucogaster var. pallidus. 210

Oryzomys 175, 176

Osteological peculiarities of

Leporidse 231

Otocyon..! 75

megalotis 76

Otospermophilus 164

Otter 85, 128

sea 85

habits of 129

Oxyrnicterus 175, 176

Pachydermata.. 254

Pachyura 43

Palasocastor 170

Palaaolagus . . 231

Panda 137

Panthers, common fallacies

concerning 69

Paradoxurus 61

Parameryx . . 258

Paramys 153, 252

Pardoxodon 43

Peccary 255

Pedetinas 217

Perchserus 257

Pedomys 206

austerus 206

curtatus 206

Pekan 103

Phyllorhina 21,25

Phyllonycteris 25

Phyllostoma 25

Phyllostomata 24

Phyllostomidse 25, 26

Pikas 154, 230

Pisces 14

Pitymys : . . . 206

Platycercomys 217

Platygonus 257

Plesiarctomys 153

Polecat 93

Polydactyla 258

Porcupine 244

Canada 246

Porcus 256

Prairie hare 233

Prionodon gracilis 61

Prochilus labiatus 136

Procyon 136, 1 38, 139

cancrivorous 139

hernandezii 139

lotor 139

Proteles 62

Pseudostoma bursarius 224

Ptenochirus 24

Pterocyon 24

Pteromys 154

Pteropodidse 23, 24, 26

Pteropus 21, 24

Puma 66

Putorius .................... 102, 108

ayilis .................... 108

cicognani ................ 106, 108

erminea ................ 107, 108

Jcanei ......... .......... 108

longicaudata ........... 108, 117

lutreola .................. 118

noveboracensis ............ 108

pusillus ................... 106

richardsoni ............... 103

vison .................... 118

vulgarus .............. 106,107

Quincajou ................... 101

Quinsque .................... 93

Rabbit common ............. 236

white .................... 240

Raccoon ................ 135, 138, 139

Rangifer tarandus .......... 274

Ratelus capensis ............. 83, 88

Red bat ...................... 28

Reindeer American .......... 274

Reithrodon ................... 175

Reptilia ..................... 14

Reynard ..................... 81

Rhinaster cristatus ............ 55

longicaudata .............. 55

mammas ................. 55

Rhinolophidae ............. 23, 24, 26

Rhinolophus ................. 25

Rhinopoma .................. 24

Rocky mountain chipmunk . . 162

Rodentia .................... 151

concluding remarks on

distribution of ........ 252

dentition of .............. 152

fossil remains of ......... 153

Ruminantia ................ 258

Sable, American 104

Saccomyidse 221, 222

Saccophorus bursarius albus. . . 224

Sagittaria 247

Scalops 50, 51

ceneus 53

aquaticus 51,52

aquaticus 54

aquaticus var.argentatus 54

argentatus 54

canadensis 53

latimanus 53

pennsylvanica 53

Scaphanus 50,55

breweri 55

townsendi 55

Sciuravus 153,252

Sciuridae 154,252

298

BULLETIN NO. VII.

Sciuromorpha 154

Sciuropterus 158

volucella 154,159

Sciurus 155,252

alberti 156

carolinensis 156

carolinensis var. leucotis 156,157
carolinensis var.yucatanensis!56

fossor 156

hudsonius 155,157

hudsonius var. douglassi. 156
hudsonius var. fremonti. 155
hudsonius var. richardsoni 156

niger 156,158

niger var. cinereus 156

niger var. ludovicianus. .156,158

niger var. niger 156

tridecemlineatus 165

Scotophilus

carolinensis 33

fuscus 33

noctivayans 35

pruinosus 31

Short tailed shrew 44

Shrews 38

Cooper's

short tailed 44

Sigmodon 175

Silver haired bat

Simplicidentati 154

Skunk 85,87

common 92

dentition of 91

Solenodon 43

Sonora mouse 189

Sorex 43

oxquaticus 51

brevicaudata 44

cinereus 45

copperi 48

cristatus 55

dekayi 45

haydeni 48

lesueri 48

parvus 45

platyrhinus 48

radiatus 55

talpoides 44

Soricida cooperi 41

Soricidse 40,43

Soriculus- 43

Spermophilus 163

franklini 165,166

hoodi 165

richardsoni 165

tridecemlineatus 165

tridecem. var. tridecemlin-
eatus 165

Sphingurus 245

bicolor 245

melanurus 245

novse-hispaniaa 245

pallidus 245

villosus 243,245

Spilogale .....................

Springing mice ...............

Squirrel ......................

black .....................

flying ....................

fox .................... ...

gray ......................

Star-nosed mole ..............

Steneoflber .............. 169,170,

Stoat .........................

Subursida? ...................

Subursinas ....................

Sun bear ....................

Suricate ......................

Sus ..........................

Swine .., ....................

fossil remains of .........

Sylvilagus artemisia ...........

bachmani .................

Sy naptomyfe ..................

cooperi ..................

Synetheres ...................

dubia .....................

fossilis ....... ............

magna ...................

platycentrotus ...........

prehensilis ..............

Synetherinas ................ 244,

Synopsis of North American
sciuri ..................

92
217
154
157
159
158
157

55
253
109

60
136
136

62
256
256
256
237
236
236
207
207
245
245
245
215
245
245
245

155

Talpa

cenea

aquatica

europea flavescens

fusca

latimanus

longicaudata

pennantii

purpurascens

radiata

rubra ,

virginiana

virginianits niger

vulgaris var. B

Talpidae

Tamias

asiaticus

asiaticus var.quadrivitta-
tus

asiaticus var. borealis...

lysteri.

macrorhabdotes

striatus

striatus lysteri.

Taphyzous rufus

Taxidea

americana

berlandieri

Taxus gulo

Taxymys

Thomomys

50
52
52
51
52
52
55
52
52
55
52
52
52
52

40,49
159
162

162

162
113
160
160
160
29

85,86

153

222

MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA.

299

Tinohyus .................... 257

Tillomys ..................... 153

Tlapa towsendii ............... 52

Tragulidae .................... 257

Trogonotherium ............. 169, 170

Tupaiida^ .................... 40

Twilight bat ................. 27

Tyger ........................ 68

Urocyon ..................... 81

cinero-argentatus . . ...... 82

Urotrichus ................... 50

Ursida3 .................. 60, 135, 136

Ursina3 ....................... 136

Ursus ....................... 136,145

americanus .............. 146

arctos .................. 145, 147

gulo ...................... 99

lotor ..................... 139

luscus ..................... 99

marinus .................. 135

ornatus .................. 145

Usnea ....................... 276

Vainpyrus ......... .......... 25

Varying hare ................ 240

Vesperimus ................. 175, 176

leucopus. ............... 178, 190

michiganensis ........... 190

sonoriensis ............. 189,390

Vespertilio ................... 36

arcuatus ................. 33

auduboni ................. 34

blossevilii ................. 29

bonariensis ................ 29

californicus ............... 36

caroli ..................... "33, 36

cinereus ................... 31

creeks ......... ........... 27

crepuscularis .............. 27

domesticus ................ 36

evotis ...... ............... 36

fuscits ....................

gryphus. . .................

lasiurus .................. 29

ludfugus .................. 36

monachus ................. 29

noctivagans ....... ........ 34

( Vesperides) noctivagans. . . 35

noveboracensis ............ 28

phaiops ................... 33

pruinosus ................. 31

pulverulentus .............. 35

rillosissimus .............. 29

rubellus .................. 29

subulatus ................

lesselatiis ................

ursinus ................... 33

VespertilionidiB .............. 26

Vesperus ..................... 33

Virginiadeer ................ 281

Vison lutreola ................ 118

Viverra canadensis ............ 103

mephitica ..... . . .......... 92

piscator. . . ................ 103

60, 61, 136

Vulpes ....................... 74, 80

argentatus ............... 81

azarae .................... 76

corsac .................... 76

decussatus .............. 81

lagopus .................. 76

macrus .................. 80

magellanicus ........ .... 76

velox ..................... 76, 80

virginianus ............... 76

virginianus ............. ... 82

vulgaris .................. 80

vulpes ................... 76

zerda ----- ................ 76

Weasel ....................... 84,106

common ................. 107

common ermine .......... 106

ermine ................... 107

lesser .................... 106

long-tailed ............ ... 117

white ......... .......... 107, 108

White-footed mouse .......... 178

White rabbit ................ 240

Wild cat ..................... 73

Wolf, black .......... ..... .... 78

brindled . . ............... 78

dusky.- ...................

fossil ancestors of ........ 16

gray .....................

grizzled .................. 78

prairie .................. 79

red ....................... 78

white .................... 77

Wolverine ............ ...... 99

Wood buffalo ............... 261

Woodchuck .................. 168

Woodland caribou ........... 274

Xerus.

Yak.

154

258

Zapodinse 217,218

Zapus 218

hudsonius 154,218

Zibet ,. 61

Zorilla 84

Zorillinae 84

Index of Authorities Cited and Quoted.

Page.
Allen, J. A., Synopsis of ^North

American Sciuri 155

quoted 1164, 167

Allen, J. A

259, 260, 261, 77. 114, 242, 45

quoted... 105, 146, 237, 265, 268, 269

Alston, quoted 217

Audubon, quoted, 111,114,115, 131

133, 28

Audubon and Bachman, quoted 125

Bailey 205

Baird, Prof. S. F. . .242, 96, 146, 232

quoted 135, 209

Bartlett 28

Bell, quoted 107, 132, 134

cited 130

Bennett, C W 146

Bennett, George 132

Blainville 146

Bottineau, Pierre 265

Brandt : 259

Butler 207

Canfleld, Dr. C. A 28, 28

Carver 249

quoted 68, 73, 98, 101, 216

Catlin 264

Caton, Judge, J. D. , 28,2,279,280 28

Gooke, Prof. W. W 203, 280

Coues, Dr. Elliott, cited, 80, 96, 109

117, 129, 206, 209

quoted, 86, 88, 89, 92. 100, 108, 117
Habits of otters, 129; tabu-
lar statement of MurinaB 175
Dentition of Yesperimus,
177, 179, 192, 193, 194, 195,

201, 207, 224

Curtis, Prof 28

Davis, Wm T., quoted on ves-
per mice 188

Dawson, Dr. Geo M 265

Dodge, Col., quoted 262, 264

Ely, Dr 170

Garrison, E. O 207

Geikie, quoted 174

Gibson, Mr , quoted 134

Gill, Dr., synopsis of sub-fami-
lies of Mustelidae 84

Godman, quoted 130

Gray, Dr 146

Hallock, Charles, quoted 120

Herrick, C. L., quoted 212, 227

Herrick, C. Judson, quoted. 212, 227
Hiskey, W. O., quoted on ves-
per mice 187

Howell, M. A., Jr., quoted 118

Hoy 191

Jillson, Mr, quoted 168

Kennicott 180, 191

Leidy, Jos 259

Lilljeborg 259

Linceum, G., habits of species

of Sorex 42

Lockwood, Dr. Samuel, quoted

on vesper mice 181

McChesney, Dr. C. E 225

MacGillivray, Wm., quoted .... 109
Merriam, Dr. C. H., some com-
mon fallacies concerning pan-
thers 69

quoted, 97, 104, 116, 180, 197,

249,160,204,206, 211

Middendorff 146

Mivart, St. George 65, 71

Morgan, Capt., Beaver and His

Works 170

Nolan, James 264

Owen 224

Parker. Dr. J. S., quoted 89

Pope. ' 269

Quick 207

Resseque, H., quoted on minke-

ries 122

Richardson, Sir John

quoted 103, 114, 115, 130

Roberts, Dr. T. S., quoted, 116,

126, 162

Ruetimeyer 259

Ryall, Philip, Esq 181

Sayles, Ira, quoted 160

Schmidt 259

Shaler, N. S., Prof 260

Shaw 223

Slade, quoted 220

Tenney, Sanborn, quoted on

Zapus 219

Thoreau, quoted 216

Upham, Warren, quoted, 78,147,

162,264, 265

Vogt, Carl, quoted.. 38, 137, 145, 259
Ward, Chas. C., habits of bears 149
Wartield, Corporal Lot, quoted 104

Weber, Mr., quoted 54

Webster, Prof. C. L., quoted. . . 127

Whitman, C. L., quoted 95

Wilcox, John D . . . ......... 78

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