DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HiSTORY 77TH STREET & CENTRAL PARK WEST NEW YORK CITY A =u arty he ‘4 am Vy v' > : » are BP ian a7 Re ie - ati Mae Ay B 4 ee) 1 * ; oie % i 4 + f ‘ ¥ ge 4 , age iSt b y Ne a . } i I i bh ‘ a i j ; hae he, f 4 i a4 ; ; y , A % at . ate e ~ AMERICAN ANIMALS " ihe ¥ By A. Radclyffe Dugmore BIGHORN, OR MOUNTAIN SHEEP (Ovis cervina) AMERICAN ANIMALS Mone i AORN GULDE TNO (|THE MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA Nom hn Or MEXTCO,. WITH INTIMATE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE MORE FAMILIAR SPECIES BY WITMER STONE AND WILLIAM EVERETT CRAM GARDEN CIty NEw YorkK DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1920 | ARs © rsd : i; i \ j t rt aN uf i “ H ts 1 ' i ony ‘ j Th ) ray } , Copyright, 1902, by Doubleday, Page & Co. ‘ 41 ~ #50286 -Tuly 25 : u ¢ Ue Fee eeig 1 ‘ PREFACE N PREPARING the present volume the aim has been to produce | a work sufficiently free from technicalities to appeal to the general reader and at the same time to include such scientific information relative to our North American mammals as would be desired by one beginning their study. The key at the end of the volume will be found of service in indentifying unfamiliar mammals, and includes certain characters omitted from the body cf the book. As a guide to further study there has been appended a bibliography of the principal works on North American mammals. To many of these 1 would express my indebtedness, especially to the writings of Allen, Merriam, Miller, Bangs and Rhoads, and also my acknowledgments to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and Mr. Samuel N. Rhoads for the privi- lege of studying the specimens contained in their collections. The text figures are all reproduced from standard works, while the plates are largely from the brush or camera of Mr. A. Radclyffe Dugmore, whose name is so intimately connected with illustrations of nature. The publishers wish to acknowledge the many courtesies and the helpful codperation of the New York Zoological Society and its Director, Wm. T. Hornaday, Esq.; many of the photographs made at the Zoological Park could not have been secured elsewhere. The same is true of the Washington Zoological Park, in which Mr. Dugmore made a number of pictures. WITMER STONE. September 7, 1902. THANKS ARE DUE TO THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND THE DIREC- TOR, MR. WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, FOR THEIR COOPERATION IN SECURING MANY OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS : : : : ? TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Introduction ; Edentates or Toothless Animals The Armadillos Cetaceans Whales Dolphins : : : “ Porpoises Manatees and Dugongs Ungulates or Hoofed Animals Peccaries , : Deer and Their Allies Pronghorns The Cattle Rodents or Gnawing Animals Rabbits and Hares Pikas Porcupines . : : Pocket Gophers Pocket Mice Jumping Mice Rats, Mice and Lemmings Meadow Mice, Lemmings and Muskrats American Long-tailed Mice and Rats Introduced Rats and Mice Vii Table of Contents Rodents or Gnawing Animals —Continued. Beavers Sewellel Squirrels and Marmots . Moles and Shrews Bats Carnivorous or Flesh-eating Animals . Eared Seals Walruses Seals Weasels, Otters etc. Raccoons and Their Allies Bears Wolves and Foxes Cats : ‘ ; : ; viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS COLORED PLATES AND HALF=TONES Bighorn or Mountain Sheep (Ovis cervina) ; . Frontispiece FACING PAGS Possum Hiding in Palmetto, where he has been chased by a dog (Didelphis virginiana ) 5 A Scared ’Possum . : ; : : ‘ . 7 ‘Possum Climbing : : : : - : : ° 8 ‘Possum Looking Out of Nest . : : : 8 A New Jersey Possum (Didelphis virginiana) . 8 A Florida ’Possum : 10 Opossum ( Didelphis pe Showing veung at the Mouth of the Pouch. ; : : 10 Six-banded Armadillo (Dasypus eS : y : 12 Manatees Under Water (Trichechus latirostris) . sueniite 20 Collared Peccary (Tayassu tayassu) . : f : : 30 Bull Elk or Stag (Cervus canadensis ) ‘ ; : : 33 An Elk (Cervus canadensis) Getting His Antlers sf ‘ 35 The Rapid Growth of an Elk’s Antlers ‘ : 2 ; 37 Elk Stag and Herd (Cervus canadensis) . , é 39 A Startled Doe; she hears a whistle across the creek : 40 White-tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) . “ ‘ “ 40 Virginia Deer in the Maine Woods at Night. : - 42 Deer, in Moose Creek, Idaho . : 3 44 Western White-tail, or Virginia Deer ( OS locatn virgin- ianus macrourus) in the Bitter Root Valley, Montana 44 A Young White-tail Buck (Odocoileus virginianus) . ; 40 A Bunch of Mule-deer Does (Odocoileus hemionus) . é 48 Young Bull Moose (Alces americanus) : ‘ a : 51 A Pair of Bull Moose (Alces americanus) . : 3 ° 53 ix List of Illustrations Young Woodland Caribou (Rangifer caribou) . : Typical Heads and Antlers of Cervide Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) . ; : . ° Young Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) at’ Pie Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) : ‘ . Male Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana ) Mountain Goat (Oreamnos montanus ) Young Cow Musk Ox, about 16 months old ( Ovibos mos~ chatus ) Bull Bison (Bison bison) . ; ‘ : : : . A Herd of American Bison (Bison bison) Nest of Young Cottontails d . Young Cottontail Among the Cabbage ( teak Soridanus mallurus ) : ; : ° Varying Hare (Lepus americanus virginianus ) : . Little Chief Hare, or Pika (Ochotona princeps) ‘ ‘ Canada Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus), with quills thrown forward. In wild state American Porcupine Swimming, with oN aici ae. thizon dorsatus ) . Western Pocket Gopher ( Thomomys ) Western Long -tail Mouse, caught in the Bitter Root Mountains Long-tailed Jumping Kiouse ( Zapus donne , ‘ Mice and Shrews of the Eastern States ‘ A : 5 Western and Southern Mice and Rats $ - : ° Muskrat (Fiber zibethicus ) : . ° ° e Western Wood Rat, female ( ici : A ° ° Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus littoralis) . ° ° Western Bushy-tailed Wood Rat (Neotoma) . . ° White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus), enlarged ‘ A A White-footed Mouse and Young (Peromyscus leucopus) . House Mouse on Trap (Mus musculus) . ‘ . ° Common,or Norway Rat (Mus norvegicus ) : ° ° Canadian Beaver (Castor canadensis ) ; . ° ° x List of Illustrations PACING PAGE weaver Lodges and a Dam , : 149 A Pair of Woodchucks by their Baron ( ecbonis eas) 151 Woodchuck (Arctomys monax) : : , : : 154 Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus ) ‘: ‘ 4 156 Western Spermophile (Spermophilus ), photograph in Colorado : : ; : : 158 Say’s Spermophile ( Saab an phitics vache: 4) : . : 161 White-tailed Spermophile (Spermophilus leucurus) . é 103 Young of Columbia Spermophile (Spermophilus columbianus) 103 Say’s Spermophile in Snow (Spermophilus lateralis ) ‘ 105 Young Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), about one-third grown : , ‘ ; 105 Western Chipmunk ( Tiviias dsoameitanis) : : 4 107 Chipmunk (Tamias striatus ) ; : ‘ : : - 168 Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) . ; , : A 170 Red Squirrels (Scturus hudsonicus gymnicus) : : 172 Young Red Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus) 2 174 Hoary Marmot (Arctomys Pruinosus ) : : 4 : 174 Pine Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus richardsont) ‘ : 176 Flying Squirrel (Sciuropterus volans) ‘ : - . 179 Common Mole (Scalops aquaticus ) ; 5 : ° 190 Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) 2 a , 190 Marsh Shrew (Sorex palustris) : : ; - . 190 Four Common Eastern Bats : , é : : 198 Sea-lion (Zalophus californianus) . : : : 2 208 Sea-lion (Zalophus californianus), barking : : : 211 Walrus Bulls and Cows (Odobenus rosmarus) . F 4 212 Fur Seals (Otoes alascanus) : : F : ‘ : 216 Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) . ‘ : . : 216 Otter (Lutra canadensis) . 4 : ; ; : 222 Skunk (Mephitis putida), crossing a stream. ASE 231 Mink (Putorius vison) : : : : ; : : 234 Weasel (Putorius noveboracensis) ‘ : 4 : . 234 American Sable or Pine Marten (Mustela americana). ° 244 Wolverine or Carcajou (Gulo luscus) . ; ° . 246 x! Liet of Illustrations BaciaGe PAGE Raccoon (Procyon lotor) . ‘ A A 3 - ° 250 Polar Bear (Thalarctos maritimus) . ° ° ° . 254 Polar Bear (Thalarctos maritimus) . 5 s ° . 2506 Florida Black Bear (Ursus floridanus ) , ; : 259 Silver Tip; variety of the Grizzly Bear (Ursus horribilis) . 261 Kadiak Bear (Ursus middendorffi) . : ; : : 263 Kadiak Bear (Ursus middendorfi) . : : ; : 266 Red Fox (Vulpes fulvus) - : ° ° : : 268 A Young Red Fox (Vulpes fulvus) . . d ; ° 270 Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) : : ; . 277 Timber or Gray Wolf (Canis occidentalis ) : ow 279 Coyote (Cants latrans) d ‘ , . $ A 282 Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensts ) : : ‘ 284 Cougar, or Mountain Lion (Felis oregonus hippolestes ) : 290 Jaguar (Felis onca) . : : . . ° : 292 INTRODUCTION Mammals and their Study THE first questions that present themselves in the study of mammals are: What is a mammal and what is an animal? An animal we are told is anything endowed with life, that is not a plant. Very true, but popularly we use the word in another sense, meaning a beast as opposed to a bird, a fish or a rep- tile—that is to say we mean one of the classes of back-boned animals. Unfortunately we have no English name for this group. The term ‘‘quadruped,” it is true, applies to a great majority of its members, but does not fit the whales or bats which belong here just as much as the four-footed beasts; nor does ‘‘quadruped” apply te man who stands at the head of the group. Therefore we have to adopt an abbreviation of the Latin name for this class of animals and call them mammals. A mam- mal then is characterized by having a more or less hairy body, and in suckling its young, while it has warm blood like the birds. The relations between man and the lower mammals have always been most important. He depends upon them for meat and clothing, he uses them as beasts of burden, he hunts them and trains them to hunt each other. With the exception of the beasts of burden and those which aid him in the chase, man’s attitude toward mammals has always been that of a destroyer; in whatever field he may meet them his object is always to kill. Those which furnish good meat are slaughtered for food or are pursued from pure love of the chase; those which furnish valuable skins are killed by the trappers as a means of liveli- hood; fierce beasts are everywhere shot on sight, while a relent- less war is being perpetually carried on against the great army of rats, mice and other despoilers of our crops. Much of this slaughter is justified, but much is unwarranted and is speedily effecting the extermination of all the large and especially desirable mammals of the world. Pure greed and wantonness are destroying many of the most Introduction valuable and interesting mammals where moderation and proper protection would ensure their preservation for an indefinite time. In long past ages man learned the importance of protecting the most useful mammals of the Old World—the ancestors of the so-called domestic animals—and this he continues to do to-day, but in the case of wild animals, which he finds in other coun- tries, he seems blind to the importance of similar care. In our own country the buffalo is gone, the moose and elk are rapidly decreasing, and the fur seals are threatened with extermination in spite of all laws and regulations. In Africa all the large ‘‘game” is being shot off by adventure-loving ex- plorers and many species are even now nearing extinction; and so it is elsewhere. While the value of mammals from a purely economic point constitutes their main importance to the world at large, their scientific characters and the study of their life and habits are most absorbing, and with the spreading interest in nature study we can well afford to give them a share of our attention. From their high position in the animal kingdom it seems strange at first thought that we do not see more of mammals in our woods and fields. It is only the most common species that we are at all familiar with and though the country may be teeming with bird and insect life we are not likely on an ordinary ramble to see more of the mammals than a few squirrels, a mouse or two and perhaps a rabbit, muskrat or woodchuck. Mammals are, however, much. more plentiful than we suppose. Go out after a snowfall and see what a record of foot-prints is presented. Evidently our four-footed friends are largely nocturnal in habits, and it is this fact together with their general wariness and extremely acute sense of hearing, smell and sight that render them so hard to see. The very difficulties which beset the study of mammals in the field render it all the more attractive, and we envy the woodsman whose long practice renders conspicuous to him signs that to the beginner are passed again and again unnoticed. As we follow a trail through the forest, his quick eye notes that a bear has pre- ceded us. Here are some herbs that he has grubbed up, there are his muddy footprints on a log and the rotten bark has peeled off with his weight as he jumped down, and here again he has risen on his hind feet to claw and bite the bark of a tree. ' xiv Introduetion How clear the story is when once it has been pointed out! And we feel that in studying the marks of his presence we have learned something of the bear himself. Tracks on the snow are much easier hieroglyphs to decipher; to use Burrough’s words: ‘‘The snow is a great tell-tale and blabs as effectually as it obliterates. I go into the woods and know all that has happened. I cross the field, and if only a mouse has visited his neighbour, the fact is chronicled.” It is, indeed, a fascinating task to read the story of the mammals in the snow, to learn to know the sharp clear-cut trail of the fox, the blurred mark of the rabbit’s hairy foot, the nervous tread of the squirrels and the dainty traceries of the mice and shrews. A knowledge of mammals doubles the interest of an ordinary ramble to the lover of nature. Even though we see but few, we learn to know their presence and see their work on every side, and the more we learn of their ways the more frequent glimpses we get of them. The pleasure of seeing and studying a wild animal in life to me far outranks the gratification of making a good shot and ‘‘bagging my game,” and | think that if the pleasure men feel in hunting were carefully analyzed it will be found that besides being close to nature it rests largely in the contest of skill and craft between hunter and game and that the mere killing is any- thing but a gratification. Structure and Classification Mammals form one of the great classes of vertebrate animals. The most important character which they have in common, but which is not possessed by any other animals, is that the young are nourished for some time after birth on milk secreted by the mother. Furthermore, all mammals are covered with more or less hair* in distinction to the feathers of birds, and the scales of fishes and reptiles. Mammals are supposed to have originated from some early reptilian animal and branched off long before the birds were evolved. They first became abundantly distributed over the Ter- tiary period though the earliest remains occur in the Triassic. * Entirely disappears in adult whales. KV Introduction In the ages since then one type of mammal after another has arisen, some being modified step by step into the forms that inhabit the earth to-day while others have been entirely exterminated. In some cases the series of fossil remains are so complete that we can easily trace the ancestry of several of our modern mammals, as, for instance, the horse, which is shown to be originally descended froma five-toed beast, while successive ages show the specialization of the feet, first with four toes and then with three, until finally we have the existing horse with his one large toe or hoof on each foot. At the present time the great bulk of mammals belong to one group known as the Eutheria—modern mammals—though we have remnants of two other more primitive groups which were much more extensively developed in the past. These are now almost entirely restricted to Australia and the neighbouring islands where they have been cut off from their mainland rela- tives at the time that Australia became separated from the Asia- tic continent, and have there been preserved to the present day, free from the inroad of the higher forms of mammals which spread over the continents and, being better adapted to existing conditions, crowded the earlier forms out of existence. The most primitive of the older mammals are the Prototheria —early mammals—comprising the duck bill and spiny ant-eater of Australia, animals which resemble in skeletal characters the earliest known fossil mammals, and “which lay eggs somewhat like those of the reptiles. The second group, the Marsupialia—pouched mammals—in- cludes a large number of species in Australia and the opossums of America. One of the leading peculiarities of these animals is that their young are born at a very early stage of development in a perfectly helpless condition and are then placed in an ex- ternal pouch on the belly of the female where they continue their development. The modern mammals—Eutheria—comprise a number of dis- tinct types the relationship of which is not always clear, though they are all derived from a common origin and are more closely related to one another than to either of the preceding groups. The aquatic whales and manatees, while not closely related to one another, differ so much from the land mammals that itis very Xvi Introduction uncertain just where they branched off from the “family tree” and it is convenient to consider them first, though they are without doubt degenerate animals derived from some ancient ter- restrial forms and are not themselves primitive. The remaining orders fall naturally into two series, those with compressed, hooked “claws’’ on the feet and those with flat nails or hoofs. We will have then the following table of “orders”? of mod- ern mammals: Aquatic, with no hind legs and with fore legs modified into flippers for swimming, tail broad and flat; hair little or none. Nostrils opening on top of the head in a “blow hole,” teeth, if any, simple and all alike, not tuberculate. Cetacea, whales. Nostrils at the end of the nose as_ usual, tuberculate teeth in the back part of the jaws. Sirenia, manatees. Terrestrial (except seals and bats) with all four limbs well devel- oped, and body covered with hair. Nails of feet compressed and hooked forming claws. No incisor teeth; teeth without enamel. Edentata, sloths, armadillos, etc. With incisor teeth; enamel present. Incisors large and prominent, two in each jaw, concealed portion curved and reaching far back in the skull, canines wanting, leaving a broad gap on each side of the mouth. Glires, rats, etc. Incisors small, generally more than two, canines present leaving no gap at the side of the jaws. Anterior limbs modified into wings....Chiroptera, bats. Anterior limbs normal. Canines not prominent........ Insectivora, shrews, etc. Canines) prominent .))0)02)00 5) Carnivora, cats, dogs, etc. Nails flat or developed into hoofs. Nose modified into a trunk, toes 5. Proboscidea, elephants. Nose normal, feet never 5-toed, always armed with hoofs. Ungulata, horses, cows, etc. Nose normal, feet always 5-toed. Primates, monkeys and man. There are a few more or less obscure foreign mammals that are not accommodated in the scheme given above, and which are intermediate in their characters. In North America we lack representatives of several orders. The Prototheria are entirely wanting and of the Marsupialia we XVii Introduction have only the opossum. Of the higher orders, the Sirenia are represented by the few remaining manatees of Florida, the Eden- tata only by a species of armadillo which crosses into Texas from farther south. Proboscidea (elephants) are entirely lacking, and of Primates our only native representatives are the Indian and Eskimo. Of the remaining orders we have an abundance of species. In the scientific study of mammals we are compelled to make use of more or less obscure characters, and when separa- ting species, we are unable to base descriptions entirely upon the external appearance, as is possible in the case of birds. Some mammals, especially among the mice, exhibit scarcely any external differences, while an examination of their skulls and teeth shows that they belong to quite different gencra. Indeed, few mammals are very brightly marked, doubtless due to their general nocturnal habits and their need of protec- tive colouration. The necessity of studying some of the skeletal characters in identifying mammals makes it desirable to have an idea of the more important portions of their bony structure. While there is no reason why the structure of any particular portion of an animal’s anatomy should be regarded as of more importance than another in studying its relationship, it is nevertheless a fact that in every group of animals certain organs or parts of the skeleton show a greater susceptibility to modification, and thus furnish a much easier clue to the origin and development of the species, than is offered by those parts in which there is very slight modification. Thus in the mammals it is the structure of the skull, the teeth and the lower leg and foot bones that furnish the basis for most of our classification. The Skull.—The skull is really composed of a large number of bones, each of which has a distinctive name, but in the adult animal they have become so firmly joined together that even the lines of juncture are nearly obliterated, and we may therefore say that the adult skull consists of two parts—the skull proper and the lower jaw or mandible, the latter being separable into two symmetrical halves. The skull proper consists of the bony box or brain case, the back of which is known as the occipital bone, and in it is the round hole or foramen through which the spinal chord joins the brain. The forward part of XViii Introduction the skull comprises the upper jaw, the nasal bones, surrounding the nostrils, and the large eye sockets. The bones forming the roof of the mouth constitute the palate and those forming the Skull and one side of mandible of Musk Rat. N nasal. F frontal. P parietal. O occipital. Z zygomatic arch, B audital bulla Mx maxillary PMx premaxillary. I incisors. M molars. CP coronoid process. CD condyle. A angle. forehead are the frontals, while on the posterior portion of the lower part of the skull are two rounded ‘‘ear bones” known as the audital bulle. The Teeth.—The teeth of mammals are divided into four groups, the zucisors or cutting teeth placed across the front of the jaws, the canines, four rather elongated teeth placed at the front corners of the jaws, two above and two below, the pre- molars placed immediately behind the canines, and back of these the molars or grinders. Most mammals have two sets of teeth; the milk teeth and the permanent teeth. The former are weaker and are only retained during the early years of the animal’s life when they are succeeded by the permanent set. The premolars are represented in the milk dentition, but the molars are not, and that is the reason for separating them. In structure, however, they are quite similar and it is often impossible to distinguish them. The simplest form of tooth is a_ single-pointed cone, such as we see in the toothed whales; all canine teeth are similar to this in structure, while the incisors are generally more flattened and sometimes slightly lobed. xix ” Introduction Next we have ituberculate teeth, with a flat crown from which arise rounded or pointed tubercles; such are many molars and premolars. Besides these there are the flat-topped teeth of horses, cows, elephants and many mice with tortuous ridges across their surface, these being the most complicated teeth known. 2 Sections of Teeth. 1 An incisor or tusk of Elephant, with open pulp cavity at base. 2 Human molar with broad crown and two roots. 3 Molar of Ox, showing deeply folded enamel surface with cement filling up the depressions. (After LYDEKKER). A tooth grows from a soft “pulp” and in its early stage is open at the base, the cavity being occupied by the pulp. Some teeth remain this way and continue to grow on_ indefi- nitely while they wear away more or less at their tips. Such are the tusks of elephants and the incisor teeth of rats and other gnawing animals. Other teeth, on the contrary, gradually close up at the base, forming one or more roots or fangs, the rem- nant of the pulp being contained in the inside of the tooth. Such teeth do not increase in growth after the roots are formed. The substances that make up teeth are three: (1) dentine or ivory which forms the bulk of the tooth, (2) enamel, a very hard bluish-white substance which covers the outer surface, and (3) cement, a bone-like substance which fills up the cavities XX Introductior between the ridges on the large teeth of the horse, cow, and other similar animals. The number of teeth varies greatly in different animals and furnishes us with an excellent aid to classification. Sometimes teeth are entirely wanting, as in certain whales, and again we find one or other of the groups of teeth lacking, as the canines in the gnawing mammals, or the incisors in the upper jaw or the cattle and deer. In other families of mammals special names are used fo: some of the teeth; thus it will be noticed that in all carnivorous mammals one of the back teeth on each side of the jaw is much. larger than the others, sometimes it is a molar, sometimes a premolar, but from its peculiar prominence it is called the car- nasal tooth. Again, in the insectivorous mammals, the incisors, canines and some of the premolars are all simple in structure and so much alike that they cannot be separated by their struc- ture; they are therefore for convenience known collectively as the unicuspid teeth. In many mammals some of the teeth become immensely developed and are termed tusks as, for example, in the elephant, walrus, narwhal, etc. Legs and Feet.—Next to the variations in their skulls and teeth mammals exhibit most diversity in the structure of their limbs. The limb of a mammal consists of four parts, and the bones which compose the fore limb have different names from those of the hind limb; thus we have FORE LIMB HIND LIMB I. Humerus (upper arm). Femur (thigh). Il. Ulna and radius (fore-arm). Tibia and fibula (lower leg). Ill. Bones of the carpus (wrist). Bones of the tarsus (ankle). IV. Phalanges (fingers). Phalanges (toes). The two bones composing the lower leg or calf which lie side by side are frequently joined together, or else the fibula is only partially developed. It is in the bones of the hands and feet, however, that we find the greatest variation, especially in the long bones that form the back of our hand (metacarpals) and the instep of our foot (metatarsals) and which support the fingers and toes. These xx1 Introduction are sometimes immensely developed so as to form apparently another section to the leg, as we see in the horse and cow Where these bones are so long that the heels on the hind feet are elevated a foot or more in the air. In these animals there is also a reduction in the number of toes and we find that such of these metacarpal and metatarsal bones as remain are fused to- gether, while those belonging to the missing toes are mere abor- tive splints. With these brief explanations we shall be better able to un- derstand the preceding table of the mammalian orders and the further classification which follows. Limits of the Work So easily are mammals affected by their surroundings that we find that differences in climate, temperature, humidity, food, etc., are immediately reflected in a difference in the size, colour, or skeletal characters of the individuals of a certain region. This re- sults in an immense number of geographic varieties of nearly all kinds of mammals which have been carefully studied and sepa- rated by systematic zoologists. The differences which distinguish these varieties are not al- ways perceptible to the popular eye, but as everyone wishes to be as nearly accurate as possible, we have mentioned in the following pages every species and variety of mammal found in North Amer- ica east of the Mississippi, and all the varieties of big game animals north of Mexico. Of other mammals from the West, however, only the most important species are described. The scientific names used are those adopted in the most reliable systematic monographs of the day and no attempt has been made to solve the vexed question of what constitutes a species and what a subspecies. Those animals which would be most readily recognized as different by one beginning the study of our mammals are separately described, while geographical races and closely allied species are grouped together at the end of the account with their range and a few of their most obvious dif- ferential characters. It will therefore be understood that in so grouping them there is no intention to reduce their taxonomic rank, but simply to arrange them so that the general reader, who does not wish to study in detail the structure of every form, XXti Introduction may more easily obtain the information that he desires. Those who do desire to go deeper into the subject and study the cra- nial peculiarities and minute differences between the numerous sub- species are referred to the technical works quoted in the appended bibliography. Bxiii bat i Ck kere Covad bey a iy Nass mat ial a : ¥ is oe ae i i AMERICAN ANIMALS ray MARSUPIALS OR POUCHED ANIMALS (Marsupialia) THE marsupials stand apart from all the other groups of Ameri- can mammals having many peculiarities of structure and habit not possessed by any other family. They are in fact the sur- vivors of an ancient population which was spread over the earth before the superior beasts of to-day made their appearance. At about the time that the marsupials had reached the height of their development Australia became separated from the mainland of Asia, and until the present time these curious primitive ani- mals have flourished on this isolated continent, while almost every- where else they have been superseded by more highly developed and more aggressive beasts. Outside of Australia the only known marsupials are the opos- sums, which are restricted to South and Middle America, with the single exception of the well-known Virginia opossum of our Southern and Middle States. The variety of Australian marsupials is very great; the largest and best-known are the peculiar kangaroos; others resemble in general form our smaller carnivora, still others recall the squirrels, while the flying phalangers are the counterpart of our flying squirrels and there is even a ‘‘marsupial mole!” Among the many peculiarities of structure exhibited by these animals may be mentioned especially the mode of nourishment of the young. Birth takes place when they are extremely small, very much earlier than in the higher mammals, and they are immediately placed in a peculiar pouch situated on the belly of the female where, attached to the nipples, they continue their development until able to shift for themselves. Even then they return to the pouch for shelter, for a considerable period after they can run about. The teeth of the marsupials are more primitive than those of most of the other mammals and are generally more numerous. As might be supposed from the variation in form and size ex- hibited by the marsupials their diet is likewise varied, some being 3 The Opossums carnivorous, others herbivorous and still others like our opossum omnivorous. As before stated we have only one group of marsupials in America, the opossums (Family Didelphide) . THE OPOSSUMS Family Didelphide Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana Kerr Length. 27 inches. Description. Hair long and rather coarse; general colour grayish white, caused by a mingling of black-tipped white under fur with long white overlying hairs; legs brownish black, feet black, toes white; head, throat and middle of lower parts white; ears naked, black with white tips; tail prehensile, nearly naked, black at the base, shading into dull flesh colour. Range. Southern and Middle States, except in the mountains, north to the Hudson and Connecticut valleys and to southern Illinois, not ranging north of what is known as the ‘‘ Caro- linian’ Fauna.” In Florida and Texas slightly different varieties occur. The opossum is our only representative of that remarkable class of beasts in which the young are born at such an early and undeveloped stage that the mother is obliged to carry them about in her pocket for several weeks; when first born a kan- garoo, an opossum and a mouse are of very nearly the same size, about half an inch in length, A mother opossum takes her half-dozen or more infants as fast as they are born and drops them into her pouch, where each seizes a teat and holds on; its mouth, which at first is open almost to the angle of the jaws, rapidly contracts and grows together when once it has taken hold of that which it is in- stinctively feeling for from the very first, and for the next few weeks the little family of brothers and sisters do nothing but sleep and grow, the old one forcing her milk into their mouths. 4 mur aM Aq (DUDA srydjep1d) DOA VW AM GCASVHO NAGA SVH AH AAAHM ‘OLLANTVd NI DNIGIH WNSSOd FURS waa The Opossums In the meantime she is obliged to forage the woods for food and protect herself and her family as best she may. At first thought one might very naturally infer that she would be at a decided disadvantage in being so very literally burdened with a family, yet on the whole she carries them but little longer than most other creatures of her size, the chief difference being that she has them where she can do pretty much as she pleases with them, and in case of injury is much less liable to incur serious results. Through the day she sleeps hidden in a _ hollow tree or stump, or dozes half in sunshine and half in shade among the branches. But as daylight fades and the shadows creep through the undergrowth she goes forth to see what the night has to offer her, shuffling along among the dew wet leaves, pouncing on a lizard here or a blundering dorbug that has chanced to upset itself in midflight, or else she follows up the shrill throbbing of a cricket and digs him out from his hiding place. If luck happens to be with her she may discover a nest full of eggs or young birds or mice, it is all one to her. She can also climb to the top of the tallest tree in the woods using her tail and hand-shaped feet almost like a monkey, even hanging head down by her tail and one hind foot if nec- essary from a branch just over a bird’s nest in order to reach whatever it contains. Her prehensile tail moreover often proves useful in supporting her while she gathers grapes and persimmons and other wild fruits of the forest, and it is said that the young ones when they first come out to see what the world is like, have a way of taking a couple of turns of their own tails about that of their parent and so anchored ride safely on her back. It would seem that these youngsters are not in the habit of occupying the pouch as long as do the young kangaroos, which it. is said, remain there for a space of something like eight months, growing in that time from diminutive beings less than an inch long to fairly well-formed kangaroos of ten pounds weight which thrust out their necks when their parent is graz- ing and crop the grass beneath them. Even after they have learned to go alone they often climb back into the pouch again to ride whenever they are tired out. Opossums are anything but attractive or intelligent beasts. 5 The Opessums About the most marked exhibition of intelligence that they ever appear to display is their well-known trick of feigning death or playing possum as a last resort in danger. Even this has become so habitual with the species as to be almost or quite instinctive and it is doubtful if they ever knowingly pretend to be dead any more than the numerous beetles and spiders which possess the same _ habit. Nature most effectually assists the possum in making the ruse successful, as anyone who has ever seen it tried is bound to admit, for the long lean dull white jaws and black withered ears and skinny tail bear in themselves the very semblance of death. And when the possum plays possum he invariably draws back the gums from his glittering white teeth until he looks as if he might have been dead for a mvnth; especially as his fur has at all times the faded, colourless look and loose wind-blown texture of hair that has been exposed to wind and weather for an entire season. In cold weather opossums retire to their dens and only occasionally venture abroad wh»n there is snow on the ground. They are members of an almost tropical race that hates the cold, and wherever winter is an actual fact they are rarely found. ‘‘Opossums are very prolific, haviny two or three litters each year, each litter composed of from six to thirteen, in rare in- stances as many as fourteen our fifteen. The young remain with their mother about two months, :nd at times a brood of suck- lings may be found in the pouch, while a second brood the size of rats may be seen on her back, clinging to her fur with their hands and steadying themselves by winding their tails around her tail and legs. ‘‘The opossum somewhat resembles a little pig in his flexible snout, small black eyes, and erect ears; but he resembles the pig much more in his fondness for eating and the great variety of food that suits his taste. ‘‘His principal diet consists of insects, wild fruits, nuts and berries, varied with roots, reptiles, crayfish, carrion, eggs, small rats and mice, with additions of poultry, corn, sweet potatoes, and other farmyard delicacies.” ‘‘He is the natural enemy of the cotton rat, a destructive rodent living in vast numbers in the seaboard marshes of the Southern States. If all the food eaten by a possum during the year were divided into two piles according to its 6 By W. E. Carlin "POSSUM duced to feed in the forenoon instead of before daybreak. A SCARED Mr. Carlin, concealed a few feet ery alarm was caught admirably. of an 1 expression s comica s camera: and the ’possum’ i in th crabs and fish, and gradually th a shout as he pressed the bulb of h Es a C= Us sir av oF Do 2s 3 ae Ce a = 35 Ee a 3 - > 2 Hig The Opossums economic status in relation to the interests of mankind, there can be little doubt that the pile containing the matter, animate and inanimate, whose destruction is an advantage to us would be notably the larger.” The Negroes of the Southern States feel that the possum was especially created for their benefit and delight. They say, perhaps with truth, that no white man can ever fully appreciate the delicious joy of a moonlight possum hunt, or the delicate flavour of roasted possum. There are plenty of white people who do enjoy hunting possums by the light of the moon, and eating their game the next day; but the varying degrees of happiness are not to be measured, and the exquisite enjoyment that the possum yields the darkey may only be guessed at. There is considerable similarity between a possum hunt and a coon hunt, so far as method is concerned. The Negroes like best to go in parties with two or three cur dogs along. Besides these there must be an axe, at least one antiquated fowling-piece and a sack for carrying the game. When the dogs start off on a hot trail, the darkies follow as best they may, stumbling along over rocks and stumps among the shadows. The possum frightened by the racket behind him soon takes to a tree for safety and flattens himself down on a branch or snuggles up in a crutch, trusting to remain unobserved. But the Negroes flourishing their pitch-pine torches endeavour to locate their game by the glitter of its eyes in the flickering light, and if the tree is too big to cut down and difficult to climb, the rusty old firearm is brought into play. But as a general thing they much prefer capturing their possum alive if possible, either knocking him from his perch with a pole or chopping down the tree. As soon as he strikes the ground, dogs and niggers fall up- on him in one struggling, yelling heap, the dogs eager to kill the possum and their masters to get it away from them un- injured, and it is most astonishing how much rough handling an opossum can put up with without serious injury. Sometimes he is carried home swinging by his tail from the end of a stick which has been split and snapped onto that member in such a manner as to hold him perfectly helpless. The darkies’ idea in taking him home alive, is to fatten for a few weeks in captivity, joyfully overlooking the mere question Z The Opossums of economy in the matter; for the quantity of bread, yams and apples consumed by the greedy little beast in laying up a few additional ounces of fat is a thing to be marvelled at. Varieties of the Opossum The opossums of North America show but little variation, but naturalists have recognized three varieties as follows, the last being allied to the opossum of Mexico. I. 2. Virginia Opossum. Didelphis virginiana Kerr. Range and description as above. Florida Opossum. Didelphis virginiana pigra Bangs. Similar but smaller with longer and more slender tail. Range. Florida and lowland of Georgia along the Gulf Coast to Texas. Texas Opossum. Didelphis marsuptalis texensis Allen. Similar but tail longer than in either of the above, equal to nine- tenths instead of three-fifths the length of head and body and black at base for one-third of its length. Range. Texas. A WEW JERSEY ’POSSUM (Didelphis virginiana) By A. R. Dugmore “Playing 'Possum.” This vaim..1is actually alive. The picture of the animal climbing is the same individual photographee s hour or so later. EDENTATES OR TOOTHLESS ANIMALS (Edentata) THE edentates stand at the bottom of the series of the non- marsupial mammals. In distribution they are almost entirely re- stricted to South America, the best-known members of the group being the ant-eaters, sloths and armadillos. Of these only the ant-eaters are strictly ‘‘edentate’”’ or without teeth; so the name is somewhat misleading, although none of them have any front teeth (incisors) and such teeth as they do possess are often rudi- mentary and decidedly primitive in character. In former ages we had in North America gigantic beasts of this order, as is shown by the fossil remains of the megalonyx and mylodon, huge sloth-like animals, which existed along with the mastodon and _ sabre-toothed tigers and doubtless served as the chief source of food supply for the latter. When we think of these former giants it is disappointing to find that our only representative of the edentates within the limits of the United States to-day is a single species of arma- dillo which crosses the Mexican boundary into the state of Texas. This curious beast, representing the family Dasypodide, is by no means without interest. THE ARMADILLOS Family Dasypodide Nine-banded Armadillo Tatu novemcinctum Linnzus Also known as Peba Armadillo, Mulita. Length. 30 inches. Description. Body covered by a bony shell, consisting of two larger portions connected in the middle by eight bony rings 9 The Armadillos (nine on the sides), which hinge one to the other so as to permit of the animal rolling itself into a ball. Front of the head, fore-feet and tail similarly armoured, toes of fore-feet with large claws for digging. Colour brownish-black above, somewhat varied with yellow, below yellowish white, skin on sides of face flesh colour with a few scattered yellow hairs. Range. Southern Texas and Mexico southward to Paraguay. Covered from end to end with his bony armament the ar- madillo at once recalls the box tortoise; and his sudden transfor- mation, when harassed, into a round ball of horny plates reminds one not a little of the snapping shut of the shell of the turtle. The armadillo is an habitual digger, making his burrows in the dry soil of the arid regions in which he lives and ventur- ing forth mainly by night. In the matter of food he is not parti- cular, vegetable and animal matter both appear on his bill of fare and carrion forms no small part of his diet, while the insects and maggots which it attracts are not overlooked. The range of the armadillo within our borders is restricted and he is really more of a Mexican than an American, being one of a number of curious animals that push their way over our south-western boundary from that interesting country. ee QA x cnet By W. E. Carlin OPOSSUM (Didelphis virginiana) By David McCadden Showing young at the mouth of the pouch CETACEANS WHALES, DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES . (Cetacea) Few persons associate whales with the four-footed beasts of the land. So modified are they for the peculiar life that they lead that practically no external resemblance to their true kindred remains, and it is not surprising that the popular mind classes them as fish, to which, however, they bear no relationship. Whales are practically devoid of hair, which is characteristic of most mammals, its place in retaining the heat of the body being taken by the thick coating of fat or ‘‘blubber’’ lying just beneath the skin. There is no external trace of hind limbs and the fore-limbs are modified into flat flippers for swimming, while the tail is flat and forked like that of a fish, but it is flattened horizontally instead of vertically. There is practically no neck and the head, which is often very large, joins directly with the body. It is but natural, therefore, that the bones of the neck are very short and often joined solidly together. Whales have no close relationship with any other group of mammals and even the oldest fossil whales that have been discovered present much the same structure as the living species. Though they were undoubtedly descended from some form of land mammal, the change to an aquatic life must have taken place at a very remote period. As has been suggested, the immediate ancestors of the whales probably became adapted to a life on the shores of rivers and acquiring the habit of swimming were eventually carried out to sea, where peculiar environment has brought about their pre- sent structure. The cetaceans are entirely carnivorous, and their food generally consists of small mollusks, shrimps and fishes. They frequently associate in companies or ‘‘schools” and are for the most part inoffensive and rather timid. In size they vary from the smallest porpoises, somewhat less than ten feet long, to the largest whales which reach a length of sixty to eighty-five feet Whalebone Whales and constitute the largest known animals. The whales and their allies are grouped in several families as follows: |. Whalebone whales (Family Balanida). Size very large (length 30-85 feet), mouth enormous, no teeth, but the upper jaw provided with long strips of whalebone. Il. Sperm whales (Family Physeteride). Teeth all along the lower jaw, but absent entirely from the upper. Length 10-80 feet. III. Bottle-nosed whales (Family Zzphitd@v). One tooth on each side of the lower jaw or with no visible teeth at all; a narrow projecting snout. Length 20-30 feet. IV. Dolphins and porpoises (Family Delphinide). Teeth nume- rous in both jaws (or with one long horizontal tusk in the narwhal). Head in some species rounded in front while others have a projecting snout. Length 5-15 feet. WHALEBONE WHALES Family Balenide This family includes all of the true whales or toothless whales, as they are variously called, and the onl, large ‘‘ whale” not included here is the sperm whale which is really more closely allied to the porpoises and dolphins. The whales are charac- terized by their immense size, enormous head, and total absence of teeth. Small teeth are, it is true, formed very early in their development, but they are entirely absorbed before birth. Another peculiarity of the family is the presence in the mouth of ‘‘baleen” or whalebone. This consists of thin, flexible, horny plates, somewhat triangular in outline, which are attached cross- wise down each side of the roof of the mouth. The inner edges of these plates are much split up and frayed so that the slender filaments form a sieve reaching from the top to the bot- tom of the mouth, by which the water is strained away from the small marine animals that are scooped up by the whale and which constitute its food. By raising the tongue in the nearly closed mouth the water is expelled from the lips and the food remains. There is a popular idea that the water taken into the mouth is discharged through the nostril or “blow hole’ situated on {2 By C. William Beebe ix rings. shorter ears and tailand only s th @ & “a S rs 7 = Q al a 3 S (e) 4 iS AQ