Chapter XIII: Part 13

_Microtus oregoni oregoni_ Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull., 79:227,
December 31, 1912.

_Microtus oregoni cantwelli_ Taylor, Jour. Mamm., 1:180, August
24, 1920 (type from Glacier Basin, 5,935 ft., Mt. Rainier, Pierce
County, Washington).

_Type._--Obtained at Astoria, Clatsop County, Oregon, by J. K.
Townsend in 1836; type in Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

_Measurements._--Ten males and 10 females from southwestern
Washington, average, respectively: total length 133, 126; length
of tail 35, 32; hind foot 16.9, 16.7; ear 9.8, 9.7; weight 19.3,
19.1 grams.

_Distribution._--The Cascade Mountains, the Olympic Mountains, and
the lowlands of western Washington.

_Remarks._--A large series of topotypes of _Microtus o. oregoni_ in the California Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy, and the rather large series from Cowlitz County, Washington, show a wide range of variation in color, size, and cranial characters. Specimens from the Cascade and Olympic Mountains seem to average a bit paler than topotypes of _oregoni_, but are not worthy of recognition as distinct races. Too few topotypes of _Microtus o. serpens_ from British Columbia are available to judge the status of that race with any certainty, but specimens from northwestern Washington are certainly _oregoni_.

_Description._--The creeping mouse is a small species of general microtine form. The head and body measure about 4 inches and the tail about 1-1/2 inches. The ears are small and the eyes tiny, nearly buried in the fur. The fur is short and rather rough. It does not lie back smoothly, thereby giving a woolly appearance. The upper parts are reddish or grayish brown and the underparts are grayish white. The nondescript appearance suggests a young rather than adult mouse.

The creeping mouse (subgenus _Chilotus_) is restricted to the Pacific Coast and ranges from British Columbia to California. In Washington it occupies almost every conceivable "mouse" habitat in its range, including wet marshes, damp ravines, dry forest, damp, mossy forest, meadows, alpine meadows and fields of short grass. It is rare in all but the latter habitat. In fields of short or dry grass it is often abundant. In the Cascade Mountains it was in relatively dry places along streams or rock slides. Altitudinally it ranges from sea level to at least 6,000 feet, and from the Humid Transition well into the Hudsonian life-zones.

Creeping mice construct tiny tunnels among the grass roots and seldom venture out of them. In suitable habitat the surface of the ground beneath the grass is a maze of these tunnels, which cross, intersect, and divide in a complex network. An observer standing in a field occupied by creeping mice can scarcely conceive of the extent and perfection of the tiny tunnel system at his feet.

Creeping mice lived but a day or two in captivity. Save for the bits of grass blades left in their runways, little is known of their food or other life habits. Their nests are round balls of dry grasses placed in cavities under logs. None of the many examined possessed a lining of softer materials. Embryos found in pregnant females from April 10 to May 18 numbered from 2 to 4.

=Lagurus curtatus pauperrimus= (Cooper)

Sagebrush vole

_Arvicola pauperrima_ Cooper, Amer. Nat., 2:535, December, 1868.

_Arvicola pauperrimus_ Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 5:64, July 30,
1891.

_L[agurus]. pauperrimus_ Thomas, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8,
9:401, April, 1912.

_Microtus pauperrimus_ Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, 55:214, August 29,
1936.

_Lemmiscus pauperrimus_ Davis, Recent Mamm. Idaho, Caxton
Printers, p. 327, April 5, 1939.

_Lemmiscus curtatus pauperrimus_ Goldman, Proc. Biol. Soc.
Washington, 54:70, July 31, 1941.

_Type._--Obtained on the "Plains of the Columbia" near the Snake
River, southwestern Washington by J. G. Cooper on October 9, 1860.
Probably from the Bunchgrass Hills near Wallula (Old Fort Walla
Walla), Walla Walla County: type in United States National Museum.

_Measurements._--Bailey (1900: 69) gives the average of 3 adults
from the vicinity of Antelope, Oregon, as: total length 115;
length of tail 20; hind foot 16.

_Distribution._--Known in Washington only from the type and a
specimen from Badger Mountains, 8 miles southwest of Waterville
(Taylor and Shaw, 1929: 25).

_Remarks._--This rare vole is the smallest microtine rodent in Washington. The head and body measure about 4 inches and the tail about 1 inch. The upper parts are grayish or yellowish brown and the underparts grayish. The upper incisors are not grooved and the inner and outer angles of the molars are about equal in length.

Mice of the genus _Lagurus_ occur in Siberia and in prairie areas of the northwestern United States and Canada. The sagebrush vole inhabits the Upper Sonoran Life-zone. It prefers upland areas of low sagebrush with sparse grass. Poorly formed runways and small piles of feces indicate its presence. The type of _Lagurus pauperrimus_ was obtained in southwestern Washington 80 years ago, and a single additional record has since been obtained. Nothing is known of its habits in Washington. The life history of related forms has been reported on by Hall (1928: 201-204) from Nevada and Moore (1943: 188-191) from Oregon.

Davis (1939: 326) raised the subgenus _Lemmiscus_ Thomas (for American forms) to generic rank and Goldman (1941: 69) accepted this usage. Comparison of the Siberian and American species reveals but three impressive differences: the dorsal stripe of the Siberian mice, the greater development of prisms in the molars of the American species, and the presence of cement in the angles of the molars of the Siberian specimens and its lack in the American. These differences seem to be of no more than subgeneric value. Goldman (1941: 69) showed that all American _Lagurus_ belong to a single species.

=Ondatra zibethicus= (Linnaeus)

Muskrat

_Description._--The muskrat is a large aquatic rodent. Head and body measure about 14 inches; the tail about 10 inches. The body is plump and the head small. Eyes and ears are relatively small. The forefeet are small and handlike with furred wrists. The hind feet are large with webbed toes and naked wrists. The tail is narrow, constricted at the base and flattened vertically. It is scaled and possesses scattered, stiff hairs. The underfur is dense and soft. The guard hair is stiff and shiny. The upper parts are rich, dark brown. The underparts are gray washed with cinnamon.

Muskrats are found in Canada and the United States. They are lowland animals, rarely ranging into the Canadian Life-zone. Their aquatic habitat makes them relatively independent of temperature, and consequently they occur in both the Transition and Upper Sonoran life-zones.

The muskrat is well adapted to aquatic life. The toes of the large hind feet are webbed at the base, the hind feet are turned slightly outward, a fringe of stiff bristles at the rear edge of each foot furnishes additional aid in swimming, and the laterally compressed tail makes it an efficient rudder. In the water the surface of the fur flattens down to entrap air in the dense underfur, keeping the body dry.

The typical habitat of the muskrat is slow-moving water or still water, such as in lakes, ponds, marshes and sluggish rivers and streams. Muskrats occur commonly, though not in large numbers, in more swiftly moving streams. In Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands they occupy a marine habitat.

In the extensive marshes along Lake Washington, King County, muskrats are abundant. They occupy sluggish water, often water polluted by garbage and sewage. In these marshes, banks suitable for the construction of burrows are absent and houses are made of cattail stalks and leaves. The food of these marsh-living muskrats consists principally of cattail and other marsh vegetation.

In contrast to the marsh-occupying muskrats, muskrats along the open, marsh-free shores of the lake live in deep clear water where waves lap the shore. These muskrats live exclusively in burrows dug in the banks and feed upon fresh-water mussels.

In still greater contrast were muskrats living 20 miles away, near Cottage Lake, King County. Here we found them in small clear streams, 4 to 10 feet wide. Depth of the water varied from a few inches to three feet. The streams flowed through meadows, pastures and junglelike, deciduous woods. Muskrats were slightly more common along wooded stretches than in open areas. Some were trapped where the streams flowed at high velocity over shallow, gravel bottoms. The animals lived in burrows and fed upon fresh-water mussels and a variety of plants.

Near Richmond Beach, Snohomish County, muskrats took up residence in a small tidal pool along Puget Sound. The nearest fresh water stream large enough to support a muskrat was two miles away. Two muskrats were trapped here. Investigation of a tidal pool a mile to the north disclosed unmistakable muskrat signs. Traps set in the culvert connecting the pool with Puget Sound at high tide took several specimens. Study showed that the muskrats were not living in the pool but among the large boulders forming the breakwater for the Great Northern Railroad, along the sound itself. They were feeding on marine mussels (_Mytilus_). These mussels lived in the salt water of the sound, not in the tidal pool.

At Peavine Pass, Blakely Island, in the San Juan Islands, muskrats were living in the swift tidal current and deep, marine waters. Several were seen in late afternoon. All were swimming parallel to the shore about 50 feet out. Here also they fed on _Mytilus_, but their homes were not discovered. Certainly they were not living in the tidal pool at Flat Point, a half-mile away.

In the interior of Blakely Island a colony of muskrats was discovered living in a marsh of about one acre. In the rainy season the ground of the marsh was covered with less than one inch of water. Residents said that in the dry season springs kept the ground moist. Muskrats were living in burrows whose entrances descended at a 45-degree angle and were filled with water. The ground about some occupied burrows was dry, the only water visible being in the burrow itself. A variety of marsh vegetation provided food.

Burrows of muskrats always have entrances under water. Usually they enter a vertical bank 6 to 15 inches below water line and occasionally 3 feet below it. About half the burrows excavated near Lake Washington, King County, had a single entrance. About 40 per cent had double or triple entrances situated 2 to 3 feet apart and converging within a yard to a single burrow. About 10 per cent had double burrows more than 3 feet in length. Burrows were from 5 to 8 inches in diameter. Nest chambers were from 12 to 15 inches in diameter, spherical, and from 6 to 30 feet from the burrow entrance. The nests themselves were bulky, loose masses of cattail leaves. Embryos found in late February and early March numbered 4 to 8.

Because it is abundant, widely spread and easy to trap, the muskrat is one of the most important fur bearers in the state. The fur is relatively stable in value. In recent years the average skin has brought the trapper slightly less than a dollar. Muskrat flesh is eaten and sold on the market in the eastern United States but has never been popular in Washington. The muskrat does little damage to agriculture, most complaints arising from its burrows which interfere with irrigation ditches.

=Ondatra zibethicus osoyoosensis= (Lord)

_Fiber osoyoosensis_ Lord, Proc. Zoöl. Soc. London, p. 97, 1863.

_F[iber]. z[ibethicus]. osoyoosensis_ Hollister, Proc. Biol. Soc.
Washington, 23:1, February 2, 1910.

_Ondatra zibethica osoyoosensis_ Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull.,
79:231, December 31, 1912.

_Type._--Obtained at Osoyoose Lake, British Columbia, on British
Columbia-Washington boundary at head of Okanogan River, by J. K.
Lord, in 1861 or 1862.

_Racial characters._--Color of the upper parts rich, dark brown.

_Measurements._--Two males and a female from Seattle, King County,
average and measure respectively: total length 565, 555; length of
tail 262, 257; hind foot 80.5, 79; weight 2 pounds 13 ounces and 2
pounds 3 ounces.

_Distribution._--Eastern Washington generally and all but the
southern part of western Washington. Specimens from as far
southwest as Tenino (W.W.D.) are typical of _osoyoosensis_.

=Ondatra zibethicus occipitalis= (Elliot)

_Fiber occipitalis_ Elliot, Field Columb. Mus. Publ. 74, zoöl.
ser., 3:162, April, 1903.

_Ondatra zibethica occipitalis_ Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull.,
79:231, December 31, 1912.

_Type._--Obtained at Florence, Lane County, Oregon, by E. Heller,
in 1901; type in Chicago Natural History Museum.

_Racial characters._--Similar to _osoyoosensis_ but redder; fur
shorter and interpterygoid spaces of skull narrower.

_Measurements._--A male from Chinook, Pacific County, measures:
total length 580; length of tail 248; hind foot 78; ear 21; weight
863 grams.

_Distribution._--The southwestern corner of the state, extending
north to Aberdeen (V.B.S.) and east to Cathlamet (V.B.S.).

=Rattus rattus= (Linnaeus)

Roof rat

_Description._--Size large, total length approximately 400 mm.; tail long, naked, comprising 50 per cent or more of total length; color sooty black or brown; in brown phase, whitish beneath.

The roof rat became established in Central America some 350 years ago, and entered the United States (English Colonies) late in the seventeenth century. Subsequent to the introduction of the Norway rat the roof rat decreased in numbers and is now found only in restricted areas.

=Rattus rattus rattus= (Linnaeus)

_[Mus] rattus_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 1 (ed. 10):61, 1758.

_Rattus rattus_ Hollister, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 26:126,
June 6, 1916.

_Type._--From Uppsala, Sweden.

_Remarks._--In Washington I have taken specimens of the roof rat in the San Juan Islands and in the coniferous forests on the west slope of the Cascades. In the latter area it seems to be widely spread and to live in the wild.

=Rattus rattus alexandrinus= (Geoffroy)

_Mus alexandrinus_ Geoffroy, Catal. Mam. du Mus. Nat. d'Hist. Nat.
Paris, p. 192, 1803.

_R[attus]. rattus alexandrinus_ Hinton, Jour. Bombay Nat. Hist.
Soc., 26:63, December 20, 1918.

_Type._--From Alexandria, Egypt.

_Remarks._--This subspecies seems to be rare in Washington. My specimens are all from small, isolated islands in the San Juan group. All were taken in the vicinity of human habitations. _R. r. alexandrinus_ resembles _R. r. rattus_, differing only in brown color of upper parts.

=Rattus norvegicus norvegicus= (Erxleben)

Norway rat

_[Mus] norvegicus_ Erxleben, Syst. Regni Anim., 1:381, 1777.

_Rattus norvegicus_ Hollister, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
29:126, June 6, 1916.

_Type._--From Norway.

_Description._--Larger, heavier-bodied and coarser-furred than the
black rat or roof rat with shorter, heavier tail. The tail is less
than 50 per cent of the total length. The color of the back is
dull, reddish brown, the sides are paler and the underparts are
dirty gray.

_Remarks._--The Norway rat was absent from the Pacific Coast of the United States before 1851. It probably reached the coast slightly after that date. It is common about all large cities in Washington. In the western part of the state it lives along streams and marshes under feral conditions.

=Mus musculus= Linnaeus, subsp?

House mouse

_[Mus] musculus_ Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 1 (ed. 10):62, 1758.

_Description._--Size small; tail about 50 per cent of total length, naked; ears small, about 12 mm. in height; upper incisors not grooved; color of upper parts reddish or grayish brown; underparts brown or gray.

_Remarks._--The house mouse became established in North America soon after its settlement by Europeans. It is now common throughout the state of Washington, principally near human habitations, but often lives in the wild.

Races of the house mouse have been dealt with by Schwartz and Schwartz (1943: 59-72), and by Nichols (1944: 82-89), but lack of adequate material prevents subspecific identification of house mice from Washington at this time.

=Aplodontia rufa= (Rafinesque)

Mountain beaver

_Description._--The mountain beaver is a stout-bodied animal about 14 inches in length, with a tiny tail that is almost invisible externally. The head is large, wide and low with small eyes, small ears and long vibrissae. The legs are short and heavy, but the forefeet are small and handlike; the hind feet are large and powerful. The claws of both forefeet and hind feet are long and strong. The pelage is short, coarse and rough. The upper parts are dark reddish brown and the underparts are grayish brown. The feet are pink.

Mountain beavers are confined to the Pacific Coast and range from southern British Columbia to central California. The genus contains a single species of which Taylor (1918) recognized nine races. The principal habitat of the mountain beaver is clearings at the edge of coniferous forests. The animals are most abundant near springs, streams and damp places, although they are not aquatic. The tangled jungles of deciduous trees and shrubs that grow in the ravines and stream valleys of the Puget Sound area present optimum habitat. They occur also on hillsides, on logged-off land and along roadside clearings. In the mountains they occur in thickets and forests, always, in our experience, near streams.

The most conspicuous evidence of the presence of mountain beavers is their burrows. These are large tunnels, four to eight inches in diameter. To each set of tunnels there are numerous entrances, some partly concealed in brush or beside logs or stumps, and some are in the open. Those in the open are less used as entrances than as places for receiving the loose earth which the animals excavate. A pile may contain nearly a cubic yard of earth and stones. Many of the burrows are shallow, and cave-ins are common. Breaks in the roof of a burrow are not repaired, although debris is removed from the burrow itself. The burrows seem not to be constructed according to a system, but are extended to take in whatever brush, logs or other cover is available. They are commonly dug through damp or muddy soil. Small streams flow through some burrows. Such partly flooded runs seem to be favored by the animals.

The nest of a mountain beaver excavated by Scheffer (1929: 15), under the roots of a fallen tree, was oval in shape, twenty inches high and 13 inches wide. The nest was protected from flooding by a basal chamber, or basin, six inches beneath the nest. Two drainage tunnels lead away from this basal chamber. The nest was composed of the leaves and stems of bracken laced together with grass and fine twigs. Two other nests examined by Scheffer measured 17 by 18 inches and 19 by 17 inches. Both were about two feet beneath the surface.

Around Puget Sound the mountain beavers mate in early March. The young number two to three, rarely four, per litter and are born in early April.

Mountain beavers enter water readily but wade rather than swim. They are rather noisy, splashing in water and breaking twigs or rustling leaves on the ground. They climb bushes and saplings, clipping off branches for food as they ascend. According to Scheffer (1929: 15) they leave the stubs of branches attached to the trunk to facilitate their descent. Twice a mountain beaver was found several feet up in a sapling. In both saplings the animal had clipped the branches close to the trunk and was desperately reaching with its hind feet for missing branches. When the observer came near, one animal squealed, tumbled to the ground, and scurried frantically to its burrow.

Although principally nocturnal, mountain beavers are not infrequently active by day, especially in the fall. At this season they harvest food and spread it on logs to dry. The cured hay is removed to their burrows for nesting material and food. In winter mountain beavers are more restricted in habits and are rarely seen by day. Presumably they feed on stored food at this time but they forage somewhat. In winter they eat such evergreen shrubs as salal (_Gaultheria shallon_) and Oregon grape (_Berberis nervosa_). They eat also the bark of trees, especially that of the willow (_Salix_). Under cover of snow, in the mountains, they burrow to some extent and pack excavated earth in snow burrows. The melting of the snow in the spring reveals the earth core, six to eight inches in diameter and two to four feet long. Several such earth cores were forked, showing that part of the earth had been pushed into a branching burrow.

The mountain beaver holds its food in its forefeet, squirrel-like, when it eats. Its food consists of the leaves and bark of woody plants and entire herbs, including roots. The mountain beaver is the only mammal so far as known that eats the bracken fern. It feeds on the branches of coniferous trees, including Douglas fir, red cedar, and hemlock. Such thorny species as the blackberry, blackcap and devil's club are eaten. The odiferous skunk cabbage and the stinging nettle are on its bill of fare. A list of its food would include most plants found in its habitat, and we know of no species that it refuses as food.

The mountain beaver is more of a nuisance than a pest. In most of its range there is but little farming although where crops are raised the mountain beaver may do some damage. It undermines roads and trails and defiles springs and streams. Control is simple for the animals readily enter steel traps set in their burrows.

=Aplodontia rufa rufa= (Rafinesque)

_Anisonyx? rufa_ Rafinesque, Amer. Monthly Mag., 2:45, November,
1817.

_Haplodon rufus_ True, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 7 (1884):596, 1885.

_Aplodontia rufa_ Merriam, Ann. New York Acad. Sci., 3:316, May,
1886.

_Aplodontia olympica_ Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 13:20,
January 31, 1899 (type from Lake Quiniault, Grays Harbor County,
Washington).

_Aplodontia rufa grisea_ Taylor, Univ. California Publ. Zoöl.,
12:497, May 6, 1916 (type from Renton, King County, Washington).

_Aplodontia rufa rufa_ Taylor, Univ. California Publ. Zoöl.,
12:497, May 6, 1916.

_Type._--None. Based on a description by Lewis and Clark. Taylor
(1918: 455) regarded as typical specimens collected at "Marmot,
Clackamas County, Oregon (western slope of Mount Hood, not far from
the Columbia River)."

_Racial characters._--Size small; skull small.

_Measurements._--Eight males and 7 females, from the area about
Puget Sound, average, respectively: total length 343, 338; length
of tail 37.5, 33.5; hind foot 57.8, 56; ear 25, 24.5; weight 1342,
1300 grams.

_Distribution._--Western Washington, between Puget Sound and the
Cascade Mountains and southward. Marginal localities are:
Bellingham (U.S.N.M.), Sauk (U.S.N.M.), Forks of Skykomish River
(W.W.D.), North Bend (U.S.N.M.), and mouth of Klama River
(M.V.Z.).

_Remarks._--Individual variation in mountain beavers is considerable. Two weakly defined races are recognized in Washington.

=Aplodontia rufa rainieri= Merriam

_Aplodontia major rainieri_ Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
13:21, January 31, 1899.

_[Haplodontia rufa] raineri_ Elliot, Field Columb. Mus. Publ. 45,
zoöl. ser., 2:112, 1901.

_[Aplodontia rufa] raineri_ Trouessart, Catal. Mamm., viv. foss.,
suppl. p. 348, 1904.

_Aplodontia rufa columbiana_ Taylor, Univ. California Publ. Zoöl.,
12:499, 1916 (type from Hope, British Columbia).

_Type._--Obtained at Paradise Creek, 5, 200 ft., Mount Rainier,
Pierce County, Washington, by V. Bailey on August 6, 1897; type in
United States National Museum.

_Racial characters._--Similar to _rufa_ but larger with larger
skull.

_Measurements._--Three males and a female from Tye, King County,
average and measure respectively: total length 352, 340; length of
tail 35, 40; hind foot 60, 59; ear 24, 19.

_Distribution._--The higher Cascade Mountains from the Columbia
River northward to the Canadian boundary. Marginal localities are:
Canyon Creek (U.S.N.M.), Cascade Pass (U.S.N.M.), Tye (W.W.D.),
Mt. Rainier (U.S.N.M.), Mt. St. Helens (U.S.N.M.), and Yacolt
(M.V.Z.).

_Remarks._--Intergradation between _rufa_ and _raineri_ is seen in specimens from the area between Stevens Pass and Skykomish, King County.

=Zapus princeps= Allen

Big jumping mouse

_Description._--The big jumping mouse is a medium-sized mouse, slightly larger than the house mouse, with an exceptionally long, tapering tail. Head and body measure about 4 inches and the tail about 5 inches. The body is slender with a small head, small eyes and small, naked ears. The forefeet are small and handlike but the hind feet are large with long, powerful legs. The long, naked tail is smoothly tapering to a narrow point. The fur is short, posteriorly directed, stiff and bristlelike. The dorsal area is dusky, the sides are orange or yellow, and the underparts are creamy white. Each upper incisor tooth has a groove on its anterior face.

Jumping mice are boreal mammals occurring in wooded regions ranging from the Arctic region southward to North Carolina, New Mexico and California. Jumping mice are of rather general distribution in Washington, being only locally common. They are partial to damp, boggy areas but avoid true swamps. They occur in clearings in the forests in the Puget Sound area and in meadows in river bottoms and in jungles in ravines. They reach their greatest abundance in the boggy meadows and glacial cirques of the mountains and spread out from such areas to seemingly less favored habitat on dryer slopes and heather meadows. Unlike many species, they do not seem to inhabit talus slides. They are entirely absent from the eastern Washington desert.

Sometimes the jumping mouse walks on all four feet but the ordinary means of progression is by short hops on the hind feet alone. When startled they travel in great bounds, covering six feet or more at a jump. When jumping they make considerable noise, swishing or rustling through the grass and landing with an audible thud. The long tail serves as a balancing organ. A specimen whose tail had been lost was reported by Svihla and Svihla (1933: 133) to turn somersaults in the air and invariably to land on its back rather than its feet.

Jumping mice become very fat and hibernate in middle summer or early fall. In the lowlands they disappear by late July but in the mountains they remain active until the middle of September. They spend the winter in nests of grass several feet beneath the surface. A hibernating individual figured by Flahaut (1939: 17) was curled in a ball, head down with the tail wrapped completely around the greatest circumference of the ball.

Near Seattle the principal food of the jumping mouse was the velvet grass (_Holchus lanatus_), and the seeds of grasses and the broad-leaved dock. The fruit of the blackberry (_Rubus macropetalus_) is eaten and occasional individuals are seen with the chin stained a deep purple from the juice.

The new-born young of the jumping mouse were reported by Svihla and Svihla (1933: 132) to average 0.8 grams in weight. They are pink, hairless, lacking even the facial vibrissae, with eyes closed and ears folded.

=Zapus princeps trinotatus= Rhoads

_Zapus trinotatus_ Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
1894, p. 421, January 15, 1895.

_Zapus imperator_ Elliot, Field Columb. Mus. Publ. 30, zoöl. ser.,
1:228, February 1, 1899 (type from Sieg's Ranch, Elwha River,
Olympic Mountains, Clallam County, Washington).

_Type._--Obtained on Lulu Island, mouth of Fraser River, British
Columbia, by S. N. Rhoads on May 31, 1892; type in Philadelphia
Academy of Natural Sciences.

_Racial characters._--Similar to _oregonus_ but brighter; sides
orange; underparts creamy white; buffy area often present on chest.

_Measurements._--Twenty males and 15 females from western
Washington average, respectively: total length 230, 233; length of
tail 140, 140; hind foot 33, 32.8; ear 14.9, 16.3; weight 23.7,
25.7 grams.

_Distribution._--Western Washington and the Cascade Mountains,
east in the northern Cascades at least to Tomyhoi Lake (W.W.D.).

_Remarks._--Actual intergrades between _trinotatus_ and _kootenayensis_ have not been examined but the differences separating the two forms are of the degree that usually distinguish subspecies. Since _trinotatus_ occurs in the high Cascades as far east as Mount Baker, at least, and _kootenayensis_ probably occurs in the northeastern Cascades, the two forms doubtless come together in the rugged, inaccessible area between these two localities. Further collecting will probably show a narrow zone of intergradation in extreme western Okanogan County.

=Zapus princeps kootenayensis= Anderson

_Zapus princeps kootenayensis_ Anderson, Ann. Rept. Nat. Mus.
Canada for 1931, p. 108, November 24. 1932.

_Type._--Obtained on Green Mountain, 6,000 ft., 10 miles north of
Rossland, West Kootenay District, British Columbia, by R. M.
Anderson, on July 18, 1929; type in National Museum of Canada.

_Racial characters._--Similar to _oregonus_ but paler; yellow more
faded.

_Measurements._--Twenty females, including 15 topotypes, average
(Anderson, 1932: 109): total length 245; length of tail 140; hind
foot 30.5.

_Distribution._--Northeastern Washington. Specimens from Sullivan
Lake (E.S.B.) have been examined.

=Zapus princeps idahoensis= Davis

_Zapus princeps idahoensis_ Davis, Jour. Mamm., 15:221, August 10,
1934.

_Type._--Obtained 5 miles east of Warm Lake, 7,000 feet elevation,
Valley County, Idaho, by W. B. Davis; type in Museum of Vertebrate
Zoölogy.

_Racial characters._--Similar to _kootenayensis_ but brighter in
color, more ochraceous. Similar to _oregonus_ but paler, more
yellowish.

_Measurements._--Davis (1939:339) gives the measurements of six
adult topotypes as: total length 240; length of tail 144; hind
foot 31.

_Distribution._--A single specimen in the Charles R. Conner Museum
from Kamiak Butte, Whitman County, is referable to this race.

=Zapus princeps oregonus= Preble

_Zapus princeps oregonus_ Preble, N. Amer. Fauna. 15:24, August 8,
1899.

_Type._--Obtained at Elgin, Union County, Oregon, by E. A. Preble,
on May 29, 1896; type in United States National Museum.

_Racial characters._--Small size, pale color.

_Measurements._--Three males and 3 females from the Blue Mountains
average, respectively: total length 233, 234; length of tail 138,
139; hind foot 31.8, 31.8; ear 16, 16; weight 29, 33 grams.

_Distribution._--The Blue Mountains of southeastern Washington.

=Erethizon dorsatum= (Linnaeus)

Porcupine

_Description._--The porcupine is one of the largest rodents found in Washington, being exceeded in size only by the beaver. Its body is heavy and stocky, its legs short, its tail long and thick and its eyes small. It is best known for the modified hairs, or quills, of its tail and dorsal area. These vary in greatest diameter from one-sixteenth to three-sixteenths of an inch and from three-quarters of an inch to five inches in length. They are ivory-white with black tips. In addition to quills, the porcupine possesses wooly, black underfur and long, banded guard hair. The bands of the guard hairs are black and yellow, varying in width. Commonly they are of a single color, black, yellow or brown.

Porcupines range over virtually all wooded parts of North America north of Mexico, in and above the Transition Life-zone. The Canadian porcupines have been studied by Anderson and Rand (1943A) and intergradation between the eastern _dorsatum_ and the western _epixanthum_ has been shown.

The porcupines are commonly considered to be forest animals. However, they are rather rare in the denser coniferous forests. In the more open areas on the Cascade Mountains, especially on the eastern slopes, they are not uncommon. They are rather common in the coniferous forests of northeastern Washington and the Blue Mountains. They seem to be rather common also in desert areas at the southern edge of the Columbian Plateau.

The huge incisors of the porcupine are adapted to feeding on bark. They do feed on bark to a certain extent in Washington, but it is my observation that more herbs and bushes are eaten than bark. In areas where porcupines are common, trees are commonly girdled, usually close to the top. Trees girdled in this manner in the Kettle River Mountains included western larch, ponderosa pine, and grand fir. The tops of some trees were killed.

The ordinary walking gait of the porcupine is a slow deliberate walk in which he appears to waddle somewhat. They can increase their speed to a slow trot. They are slow, deliberate climbers, ascending and descending trees with head upward. They are able also to climb rocks and cliffs, sometimes being seen on the tops of large boulders.

Despite their large size, porcupines are not commonly seen. They are mainly nocturnal and, in the daytime, find concealment high in the branches of some conifer or a cave between the rocks in a talus slide.

While encamped near Sherman Creek Pass in the Kettle River Mountains my companion and I heard a crunching of gravel from the road fifty feet away. We listened intently, wondering what person would be abroad in the mountains at midnight. In the vicinity of our car, concealed from our view by trees, the noise stopped, to be followed a few minutes later by a rasping and clattering that could be heard far away. We raced to the car to discover a large porcupine crouched on the running board by a pile of "pick-up" antlers of the white-tailed deer left there by us. The "porkie" had been chewing on these, heedless of the noise made by the loose antlers clashing against the metal side of the car.

In Washington the single young is born late in May or early in June. There are two pairs of mammae, both pectoral, of which only the anterior are functional.

=Erethizon dorsatum epixanthum= Brandt

_Erethizon epixanthus_ Brandt, Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.
Pétersbourg, ser. 6, 3 (Sci. Nat. vol. =1=): 390, 1835.

_Erethizon dorsatus epixanthus_ True, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.,
7:600, 1885.

_Erethizon epixanthum epixanthum_ Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull.,
128:437, April 29, 1924.

_Erethizon dorsatum epixanthum_ Anderson and Rand, Canadian Jour.
Research, 21:293, September 24, 1943.

_Type._--None. Type locality California.

_Racial characters._--Size large, total length of adults
approximately 30 inches; tail long (nearly one-third of total
length), thick, heavy and spiny; body stout; legs short; claws
long and curved; ears and eyes small; body spines short, thick and
most abundant on posterior part of back, longer and more slender
on sides and shoulders; guard hairs of shoulders and sides long,
almost concealing spines; fur of underparts shorter; color
variable, brown, black or yellow. In winter the fur is longer and
woolly, concealing spines.

_Distribution._--The Columbian Plateau and the Blue Mountains.

_Remarks._--Anderson and Rand (1943A: 295) ascribe two races to Washington. With inadequate material myself to verify this ascription. I think it probable that the northern forest porcupine and the Great Basin animal are racially different. In consequence the available names, _nigrescens_ and _epixanthum_, are here applied, pending a revision of the entire genus.

=Erethizon dorsatum nigrescens= Allen

_Erethizon epixanthus nigrescens_ Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., 19:558, October 10, 1903.

_Erethizon epixanthum nigrescens_ Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull.,
128:437, April 29, 1924.

_Erethizon dorsatum nigrescens_ Anderson and Rand, Canadian Jour.
Research, 21:293, September 24, 1943.

_Type._--Obtained on the Shesley River, British Columbia, by M. P.
Anderson on August 23, 1902; type in American Museum of Natural
History.

_Measurements._--A female from Sherman Creek Pass, Ferry County,
measured: total length 770; length of tail 250; hind foot 95; ear
37. A female from Tye, King County, measured: 930; 280; 125;
weight 20 pounds.

_Distribution._--Forested parts of the state, exclusive of the
Blue Mountains.

_Remarks._--Porcupines are extremely rare west of the Cascades but are occasionally reported from as far west as the Olympic Peninsula.

=Myocastor coypus= (Molina) subsp?

Coypu, nutria

_Mus coypus_ Molina, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chili, p. 287, 1782.

_Myocastor coypus_ Kerr, Anim. Kingd., p. 225, 1792.

_Type locality._--Chile.

_Description._--Size large, slightly smaller than a beaver; color rich, reddish brown; tail long, round; hind feet webbed for swimming.

_Remarks._--The nutria, a native of South America, has been brought to the United States and raised commercially on "fur farms." The species has become established in the wild in several localities in western Washington and at the Colville Indian Reservation in northeastern Washington. For further details see Larrison (1943).

=Ochotona princeps= (Richardson)

Pika or cony

_Description._--The pika is of guinea-pig size, with a short, chunky body about 200 mm. in length. The tail is represented externally merely by a tuft of white fur. The short, wide head has large, circular ears, large black eyes, and long whiskers. The legs are short and the soles of the feet are furred. The color of the Washington races varies from grayish-yellow to dark reddish brown. Like rabbits, all pikas have two pairs of upper incisors. The second pair, located just in back of the first, is small and delicate.

_Ochotona_ is a wide-ranging genus with many more species in Asia and extreme eastern Europe than in North America. Three races of the species _princeps_ occur in the state of Washington, where they are confined to the Cascade, Kettle River, and Pend Oreille Mountains. The ranges of all three races extend northward into British Columbia; one (_brunnescens_) occurs also in Oregon, and one (_cuppes_) in Idaho.

In Washington pikas live only in talus slides and rock piles, where they find refuge from most of the carnivores that prey on small mammals. Their distribution in the state seems to be regulated by the distribution of talus slides, and areas free of talus act as effective barriers to pikas. They are abundant throughout the Cascades but are absent from the Olympic Mountains although conditions there are well suited to them. Probably the lowlands of western Washington which, owing to moderate temperature and low relief, have little talus and exposed rock, serve as a barrier. The Columbian Plateau is also free of pikas. This may be due to the relative scarcity of talus as compared with mountainous areas, and the fact that much of the talus on the Plateau is composed of fragments of basalt too small to afford the shelter needed by pikas. The aridity of the Columbian Plateau may contribute to the absence of pikas, although this seems unlikely in view of the fact that they occur on arid lands in Nevada and elsewhere.

Altitudinally, pikas range from 300 feet, in Clark County, to 6,000 feet on Mt. Rainier, Pierce County, and on Round Top Mountain, Pend Oreille County. They occur from the arid subdivision of the Transition Life-zone, at Milk Creek, Kittitas County, to the upper edge of the Hudsonian Life-zone, at Glacier Basin, Mt. Rainier. Generally speaking, they are mammals of the mountains.

Common enemies of the pikas are the weasel (_Mustela frenata_), marten (_Martes caurina_), and hawks of several species. Pikas are active by day, especially in the early morning. Their call note is a short "eek!" which carries a long distance. This squeaking note is often heard throughout the night when rain threatens their drying hay.

Vegetation used as food, either for immediate consumption or for winter use, includes almost all grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees available near the pika's home. The subalpine lupines are especially favored. Even such a thorny growth as the devil's club (_Oplopanax horridum_) is eaten. Heather (_Phyllodoce, Cassiope_) has not been found in any of the numerous hay piles examined, even when it is the commonest plant in the vicinity. Large bundles of plants are carried in the pika's mouth. The forefeet do not assist in transporting the load. If intended for immediate consumption, the plants are deposited on one of last year's hay piles and are eaten at leisure. The eating habits of the pika are rabbitlike. A large leaf is seized at the tip and drawn into the mouth with rapid chewing motions without assistance from the forefeet. Plants destined to become hay are carefully spread out and exposed to the sun. In cloudy or rainy weather the exposed plants are gathered and stored under large rocks, to be reëxposed for curing when the weather improves. Large hay piles often include more than fifty pounds of perfectly cured grasses, annuals, bushes and evergreens.

No record of embryos is available for Washington pikas, but a male with enlarged testes was taken at Lake Keechelus, Kittitas County, on March 22, 1940. Half-grown young of _fenisex_ were taken at Sawtooth Mountain, Skamania County, on July 13, 1939, and of _brunnescens_ at Slate Creek, Whatcom County, on August 16, 1937. Nearly full-grown young of _fenisex_ are reported taken at Bald Mountain, head of Ashnola River, Okanogan County, on September 16, 1920. Young _cuppes_ of several sizes were taken at Sherman Creek Pass, Ferry County, on September 11, 1938. The breeding season possibly extends from March to August with a tendency to be earlier at lower elevations.

=Ochotona princeps cuppes= Bangs

_Ochotona cuppes_ Bangs, Proc. New England Zoöl. Club, 1:40, June
5, 1899.

_Ochotona princeps cuppes_ A. H. Howell, N. Amer. Fauna, 47:27,
August 21, 1924.

_Type._--Obtained by Allan Brooks at the Monashee Divide, 4,000
feet, Gold Range, British Columbia, on August 2, 1897; type in
Museum of Comparative Zoölogy.

_Racial characters._--Smallest and palest of the Washington pikas;
total length less than 8 inches; color of upper parts
grayish-yellow, grayest on posterior third of back; underparts
pale buff; skull small, but with relatively wide zygomatic and
interorbital regions.

_Measurements._--Eight males and 3 females from Round Top
Mountain, Pend Oreille County, average, respectively: total length
183.5, 181.5; hind foot 30.7, 31.0; ear 22.4, 23.7; one adult male
from the same locality weighed 141.6 grams.

_Distribution._--This pika has been found at Round Top Mountain
(W.W.D.) and Pass Creek Pass (W.W.D.) in northeastern Washington.

=Ochotona princeps fenisex= Osgood

_Lagomys minimus_ Lord, Proc. Zoöl. Soc. London, p. 98, 1863 (not
of Schinz, 1821).

_Ochotona minimus_ Bangs, Proc. New England Zoöl. Club, 1:39, June
5, 1899.

_Ochotona fenisex_ Osgood, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 26:80,
March 22, 1913 (substitute for _minimus_ Lord).

_Ochotona princeps fenisex_ A. H. Howell, N. Amer. Fauna, 47:28,
August 21, 1924.

_Type._--Obtained by J. K. Lord at "Ptarmigan Hill," near head of
Ashnola River, Cascade Range, British Columbia, in early fall of
1860 (?); type in British Museum.

_Racial characters._--Size and color intermediate between
_brunnescens_ and _cuppes_; length about 8 inches; color of upper
parts near Pinkish Cinnamon, becoming gray on posterior third of
back; underparts washed with buff; skull of medium size and
proportions.

_Measurements._--Nine males and 5 females from Okanogan and Chelan
counties average, respectively: total length 190.0, 197.4; hind
foot 31.1, 32.8; ear 21.6, 22.0.

_Distribution._--Specimens referable to this race occur from the
British Columbian boundary south, through the eastern Cascade
Mountains. Along the western border of its range, _fenisex_
becomes larger and darker, merging into the race _brunnescens_.
Marginal records are: Hidden Lakes (U.S.N.M.), Lyman Lake
(U.S.N.M.), Mt. Stuart (W.W.D.), Easton (U.S.N.M.), Mt. Aix
(U.S.N.M.), Steamboat Mt. (M.V.Z.).

=Ochotona princeps brunnescens= Howell

_Ochotona fenisex brunnescens_ A. H. Howell, Proc. Biol. Soc.
Washington, 32:108, May 20, 1919.

_Ochotona princeps brunnescens_ A. H. Howell, N. Amer. Fauna.
47:31, August 21, 1924.

_Type._--Obtained by George G. Cantwell at Lake Keechelus, Kittitas
County, Washington, on August 23, 1917; type in United States
National Museum.

_Racial characters._--Largest and darkest of the three races of
Washington pikas; total length 8 inches or more; color of upper
parts rich cinnamon, heavily washed with blackish; posterior part
of back slightly paler; underparts buffy cinnamon; skull large and
heavy with wide zygomatic arches but relatively narrow
interorbital region and relatively narrow across maxillary tooth
rows.

_Measurements._--Eight males and 9 females from within three miles
of Stevens Pass, King and Chelan counties, average, respectively:
total length 201.8, 208.3; hind foot 33.3, 33.0; ear 22.3, 22.6.
The average weights of 4 males and 3 females from 3 mi. S E Tumtum
Mountain, Clark County, are 178.0 and 174.3 grams, respectively.

_Distribution._--From the British Columbia boundary south to the
Columbia River and from the western Cascades east to the area of
intergradation with _fenisex_. Marginal occurrences are: Whatcom
Pass (U.S.N.M.), Stevens Pass (W.W.D.), Keechelus (U.S.N.M.),
Cowlitz Pass (U.S.N.M.), Tumtum Mountain (M.V.Z.).

=Lepus townsendii townsendii= Bachman

White-tailed jack rabbit

_Lepus townsendii_ Bachman, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 8
(pt. 1):90, pl. 2, 1839.

_Lepus campestris townsendi_ Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
17:132, July 14, 1904.

_Lepus townsendii townsendii_ Hollister, Proc. Biol. Soc.
Washington, 28:70, March 12, 1915.

_Type._--Obtained by J. K. Townsend at old Fort Walla Walla
(present town of Wallula), Walla Walla County, Washington; type in
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

_Measurements._--A male from Miller's Island, Klickitat County, in
the Columbia River, measured: total length 564; length of tail
117; hind foot 156; ear 110; weight 337.5 grams.

_Distribution._--Previously found over the grasslands of eastern
Washington. Now restricted and scarce except in the Okanogan
Valley.

_Remarks._--The white-tailed jack rabbit is the largest rabbit in the state, adults measuring 24 or more inches in length. The long legs and long ears accentuate the impression of large size. Its body is more bulky than that of its relative, the black-tailed jack rabbit. In summer the pelage of the upper parts is dark gray and in winter it is white over nearly the entire body.

The white-tailed jack rabbit occurs from southern Saskatchewan south to extreme northern New Mexico, and from eastern Washington east to Wisconsin. A single race occurs in Washington. In eastern Washington "whitetails" favor the hilly, bunchgrass territory of the arid subdivision of the Transition and Upper Sonoran life-zones. In winter they descend to the lower sagebrush valleys.

The principal enemies of the white-tailed jack rabbit are the eagle, coyote, and bobcat. Of 1,186 stomachs of coyotes from Washington, Sperry (1941: 11) found that 27 percent contained rabbits, including jack rabbits, snowshoe hares, and cottontails.

In the daytime, white-tailed jack rabbits hide in forms which consist of shallow holes dug at the bases of bushes or beside rocks. They feed in the morning, evening, and in the night along wide, well-defined trails through the bunchgrass. If startled from their forms they dash off in bounding, erratic leaps, skimming away until lost to sight. A whitetail has been timed at a speed of 34 miles per hour (Cottam and Williams, 1943: 262).

The early explorers and settlers found the white-tailed jack rabbits abundant in eastern Washington. With the invasion and spread of the black-tailed jack rabbit, and the reduction of native bunchgrass through overgrazing by livestock, the whitetail has become rare. In several years of field work on the Columbian Plateau, I saw none. Near Wallula, the type locality, residents had not seen whitetails for years, but thought there might be a few left "back in the hills." There are thought to be a few left near Ellensburg and Yakima.

Only in the Okanogan Valley are the whitetails holding their own; they are reasonably common there. In winter they come down from the hills on to the sagebrush flats along the Okanogan River in Okanogan County. In January it is not unusual to see as many as five in a day's drive. When, as will most certainly occur, the black-tailed jack rabbit enters the Okanogan Valley, the splendid whitetail may be expected to disappear from Washington.

Because this species has been so reduced in numbers, no distributional map has been included. Taylor and Shaw (1929: 28) give its range as: "north to Oroville, east to Pullman, south to Asotin, Walla Walla, and Kennewick, and west to Lake Chelan (Manson), Yakima Valley, and Klickitat County." This range is similar to that of the Nuttall Cottontail (Fig. 129).

=Lepus americanus= Erxleben

Snowshoe rabbit

_Description._--The appearance, size, and proportions of the snowshoe rabbit are similar to those of the Belgian hare. The body is about 16 inches in length, the ears are midway in size between those of the cottontail and the jack rabbit, and the feet are relatively long and the tail is short. In summer the color of the upper parts is reddish brown, varying with the subspecies. The winter pelage of _Lepus a. washingtonii_ is a slightly paler brown than the summer coat. In the other three races in Washington the winter coat is entirely white, except for the dusky borders of the ears.

Snowshoe rabbits occur in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They are absent in desert or prairie regions but range far southward in the United States in mountainous areas. They are found throughout Washington, except on the Columbian Plateau and in the Okanogan River Valley. None of the four races found in Washington is restricted exclusively to the state. Snowshoe rabbits live only in wooded areas. Their habitat varies from dense, impenetrable rain-forests along the ocean to the alpine parks, dotted with trees, of the Hudsonian Life-zone. They occur in humid and arid subdivisions of the Transition, Canadian, and Hudsonian life-zones. Altitudinally they range from sea level to 6,000 feet (Mt. Rainier).

Enemies of the snowshoe rabbit include the coyote, bobcat, lynx, long-tailed weasel, and great horned owl.

Snowshoe rabbits are largely nocturnal or crepuscular in habit. They are secretive and slip away quietly at the least threat of danger. Persons often live for years in localities where snowshoe rabbits are abundant without seeing a live individual. Those that are seen ordinarily have been startled from their forms at midday, or surprised while feeding on clover along a highway in the early morning. More commonly they are seen crossing a road in the lights of an automobile. Tracks, easily found after a fresh snowfall, give some indication of their numbers in any locality.

Little information is available on the fluctuations of numbers of snowshoe rabbits in Washington. Floyd Thornton, a trapper living at Forks, Clallam County, states that they were numerous in 1924, scarce in 1930-31, and fairly common in 1938-39. More rabbits are seen shortly after the breeding season than at other times of the year. From April 8-10, 1941, I saw none on a highway extending about 100 miles along the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula, but on June 4-5 here counted 3 dead on the road and saw 3 running across it. One was about one-third grown and another two-thirds grown.

The snowshoe rabbits are classed as game animals in Washington but few people hunt them. Their winter food includes buds and needles of hemlock, Douglas fir, and probably other evergreens. Annuals, grasses, and shrubs, as well as Douglas fir needles, are eaten in the summer. Snowshoe rabbits do some damage by eating the bark of trees and the boughs of newly planted evergreens. Together with rodents they are responsible for serious damage to plantations of Douglas fir and hemlock on the Olympic Peninsula.

At least in summer, they are heavily parasitized by fleas and ticks and may in addition carry tularemia, or rabbit fever.

Scheffer (1933: 77-78) found that the young were born from May 5 to July 4 in the Puget Sound area and that there were from 2 to 5, usually 5 per litter.

=Lepus americanus washingtonii= Baird

_Lepus washingtonii_ Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
7:333, 1855.

[_Lepus americanus_] var. _Washingtoni_ J. A. Allen, Proc. Boston
Soc. Nat. Hist., 17:434, February 17, 1875.

_Lepus americanus Washingtoni_ True, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 7:601,
1885.

_Type._--Obtained by G. Suckley at Steilacoom, Pierce County,
Washington, on April 1, 1854; type in United States National
Museum.

_Racial characters._--Size small for a snowshoe rabbit; color of
upper parts dark, in summer between Sayal Brown and Cinnamon, in
winter slightly paler, near Pale Cinnamon Buff (capitalized color
terms in the accounts of the lagomorphs are after Ridgway, Color
Standards and Color Nomenclature, Washington, D. C., 1912);
underparts white; soles of feet usually stained yellowish,
brownish, or blackish.

_Measurements._--Two males and 6 females from the Olympic
Peninsula average, respectively: total length 407, 402.5; hind
foot 114, 119. Weight of a 408 mm. male from the same locality
2-1/4 lbs.

_Distribution._--This snowshoe rabbit occupies the humid
subdivision of the Transition Life-zone of western Washington from
the British Columbian boundary south to the Columbia River.
Marginal occurrences are (from Dalquest, 1942: 175): Mt. Vernon,
Paradise Lake, Lake Kapowsin, and White Salmon.

=Lepus americanus cascadensis= Nelson

_Lepus bairdi cascadensis_ Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
20:87, December 11, 1907.

_Lepus americanus cascadensis_ Racey and Cowan, Ann. Rept.
Provincial Mus. British Columbia, p. H 18, 1935.

_Type._--Obtained by W. C. Colt near Hope, British Columbia, on
June 12, 1894; type in Museum of Comparative Zoölogy.

_Racial characters._--Size medium for a snowshoe rabbit; color of
upper parts in summer near Orange Cinnamon; head paler, sharply
marked off from body; underparts white. Color in winter: entire
body pure white except for dusky borders of ears and eyelids.

_Measurements._--Three males and 5 females from Kittitas County,
Washington, average, respectively: total length 405, 440; hind
foot 124, 133.

_Distribution._--The Cascade Mountains from the British Columbia
boundary south to Mount Adams. Marginal occurrences are: Skykomish
(Dalquest, 1942: 177), Vance (Dalquest, 1942: 177) and 7 mi. W
Guler (W.W.D.).

=Lepus americanus pineus= Dalquest

_Lepus americanus pineus_ Dalquest, Jour. Mamm., 23:178, May 14,
1942.

_Type._--Obtained by P. G. Putnam at Cedar Mountain (now Moscow
Mountain), Latah County, Idaho, on May 29, 1921; type in University
of Michigan, Museum of Zoölogy.

_Racial characters._--Size small for a snowshoe rabbit; in summer,
upper parts Cinnamon Brown, with sides slightly paler and rump
patch blackish; color of the head between Sayal Brown and
Cinnamon; hips Light Olivaceous Buff; chest-band light Cinnamon;
ears blackish, often edged with white. In winter the color of the
entire body is white, save for the dusky edges of the ears and the
blackish eyelids. The color of the underfur in winter is usually
Pale Pinkish Cinnamon, rarely Light Vinaceous Cinnamon or Orange
Cinnamon, with the basal portion slaty.

_Measurements._--Two males and 5 females, from northeastern
Washington, average, respectively: total length 419, 439; hind foot
138.5, 138. The average measurements of 3 males and 7 females from
the Blue Mountains are: 407, 422; 128, 131.

_Distribution._--The pine forests of the arid subdivision of the
Transition Life-zone along the eastern border of Washington, in
the Blue Mountains, and in the forested parts of northeastern
Washington as far west as the Kettle River Range. Western records
of occurrence are (Dalquest, 1942: 179): Deep Lake, Colville,
Calispel Peak.

=Lepus americanus columbiensis= Rhoads

_Lepus americanus columbiensis_ Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philadelphia, p. 242, June, 1895.

_Type._--Obtained by S. N. Rhoads at Vernon, British Columbia, on
July 29, 1892; type in Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

_Racial characters._--Size large; color in summer: upper parts
near Cinnamon Brown, sides and head slightly paler; top of tail
and small rump-patch blackish; chest-band pale Cinnamon Brown;
hips light Ochraceous Buff; chin and belly white.

_Measurements._--A male from Molson, Okanogan County, measures:
total length 435; length of tail 150. A male and a female from
Danville, Ferry County, measure, respectively: 460, 430; 150, 142.

_Distribution._--Only a small part of the range of this rabbit
lies within the state of Washington; the greater part is in
British Columbia. In Washington it occupies the timbered areas
north of the Columbia River, east of the Okanogan River, and west
of the Kettle River Range. Records are (Dalquest, 1942: 182):
Molson, Danville and Republic. In the 1942 paper, the latter
locality was erroneously listed under _pineus_.

=Lepus californicus deserticola= Mearns

Black-tailed jack rabbit