Cytogenetic Evidence for the Specific Distinction of an Alaskan Marmot, \u3ci\u3eMarmota broweri\u3c/i\u3e Hall and Gilmore (Mammalia: Sciuridae)

Cytogenetic studies based upon somatic cells (bone marrow) have disclosed that the marmot hitherto designated Marmota caligata broweri Hall and Gilmore, occurring in the Brooks Range of Arctic Alaska, differs from M. c. caligata (Eschscholtz) in number of chromosomes (2n=36 as compared with 2n=42 in M. caligata) and in proportions of chromosomal types. Typical karyograms for the two species are presented. It is concluded that the Brooks Range marmot is specifically distinct from M. caligata, the applicable name being Marmota broweri Hall and Gilmore. Also determined were diploid chromosome numbers for two other Nearctic species of marmots, M. flaviventris (Audubon and Bachman), with 42, and M. olympus (Merriam), with 40. It is suggested that M. broweri survived the last (Wisconsin) glaciations in the amphi-Beringian refugium, and that its closest affinities may be with one of the Eurasian species of Marmota

Taxonomy and Zoogeography of \u3ci\u3eLemmus\u3c/i\u3e spp. (Rodentia: Arvicolinae), with Notes on Laboratory-Reared Lemmings

Lemmings of the genus Lemmus Link, 1795, have long attracted interest because of the high numerical densities attained at intervals by their populations. In earlier times, in northern Europe, such events seemed so remarkable as to be explained by some as a consequence of the animals\u27 having fallen from the sky (HaGSTROM 1749). During the last 25 years, lemmings have been the object of intensive ecological investigation in Eurasia and North America, although there has been no consensus concerning their taxonomic relationships. In 1959, a colony of brown lemmings from arctic Alaska was established in our laboratory, primarily to provide experimental animals for the study of zoonoses indigenous to arctic and subarctic North America. A colony of lemmings from Fennoscandia was similarly established in 1964. The lemmings proved to have advantages as laboratory animals, and at the same time the existence of the colonies permitted observations to be made on their biological characteristics and comparisons of chromosomes to be undertaken for the two forms and their hybrids. The results of these observations and comparisons, with a review of the zoogeography of Lemmus, are reported in the present paper

Taxonomy and Zoogeography of \u3ci\u3eLemmus\u3c/i\u3e spp. (Rodentia: Arvicolinae), with Notes on Laboratory-Reared Lemmings

Lemmings of the genus Lemmus Link, 1795, have long attracted interest because of the high numerical densities attained at intervals by their populations. In earlier times, in northern Europe, such events seemed so remarkable as to be explained by some as a consequence of the animals\u27 having fallen from the sky (HaGSTROM 1749). During the last 25 years, lemmings have been the object of intensive ecological investigation in Eurasia and North America, although there has been no consensus concerning their taxonomic relationships. In 1959, a colony of brown lemmings from arctic Alaska was established in our laboratory, primarily to provide experimental animals for the study of zoonoses indigenous to arctic and subarctic North America. A colony of lemmings from Fennoscandia was similarly established in 1964. The lemmings proved to have advantages as laboratory animals, and at the same time the existence of the colonies permitted observations to be made on their biological characteristics and comparisons of chromosomes to be undertaken for the two forms and their hybrids. The results of these observations and comparisons, with a review of the zoogeography of Lemmus, are reported in the present paper

Cytogenetic Evidence for the Specific Distinction of an Alaskan Marmot, \u3ci\u3eMarmota broweri\u3c/i\u3e Hall and Gilmore (Mammalia: Sciuridae)

Cytogenetic studies based upon somatic cells (bone marrow) have disclosed that the marmot hitherto designated Marmota caligata broweri Hall and Gilmore, occurring in the Brooks Range of Arctic Alaska, differs from M. c. caligata (Eschscholtz) in number of chromosomes (2n=36 as compared with 2n=42 in M. caligata) and in proportions of chromosomal types. Typical karyograms for the two species are presented. It is concluded that the Brooks Range marmot is specifically distinct from M. caligata, the applicable name being Marmota broweri Hall and Gilmore. Also determined were diploid chromosome numbers for two other Nearctic species of marmots, M. flaviventris (Audubon and Bachman), with 42, and M. olympus (Merriam), with 40. It is suggested that M. broweri survived the last (Wisconsin) glaciations in the amphi-Beringian refugium, and that its closest affinities may be with one of the Eurasian species of Marmota

Redescription of \u3ci\u3eDiandrya composita\u3c/i\u3e Darrah, 1930 (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) from Nearctic Marmots (Rodentia: Sciuridae) and the Relationships of the Genus \u3ci\u3eDiandrya\u3c/i\u3e emend.

According to the original description of Diandrya composita Darrah, 1930 (the type and only species of the Nearctic genus Diandrya Darrah, 1930) , this cestode would possess a combination of organs, the interproglottidal glands and pedunculated prostate glands, otherwise unknown in any member of the Anoplocephalidae. Neither of these organs is present in D. composita . This species is redescribed and the generic diagnosis is emended accordingly. Diandrya composita has its closest affinities with cestodes of the genus Andrya Railliet, 1893, from which it differs significantly only in reduplication of the reproductive organs

Studies on the Helminth Fauna of Alaska. XXXVIl. Description of \u3ci\u3eSchizorchis caballeroi\u3c/i\u3e n. sp. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae), with Notes on Other Parasites of \u3ci\u3eOchotona\u3c/i\u3e

Schizorchis caballeroi n. sp. has been described from the collared pika, Ochotona collaris (Nelson), from Alaska, and has been distinguished morphologically from its congeners, S. ochotonae Hansen, 1948, and S. altaica Gvozdev, 1951. Nine species of helminths have been described 10 dale from North American pikas, O. collaris and O. princeps (Richardson). These mammals are markedly allopatric and do not share any species of helminth. Nematodes of two genera, Eugenuris Shults and Labiostomum Akhtar, 1941, occur in O. collaris as weIl as in palearctic species of Ochotona. This, along with other pertinent information, is taken to suggest that O. collaris has invaded North American more recently than did O. princeps or its precursor

Paneak\u27s Plants and Animals [\u3ci\u3eIn a Hungry Country\u3c/i\u3e: Appendix 1]

A list of plants and animals recognized by Simon Paneak (1900-1975), a Nunamiut Eskimo. Names are given in English and Iñupiaq, and their scientific names are provided

Pullorum Disease in the Coot

Among specimens collected on March 8, 1945, at Buckeye Lake, Ohio, were a number of coots (Fulica americana). When the latter were examined for parasitic infection, it was noticed that the ovary of one specimen was deformed, and much enlarged when compared with those of other birds of this species collected on the same day. No other lesions were detected macroscopically, and the bird appeared to be in normal physical condition. The ovaries resembled those found in chickens affected with pullorum disease, and a pure culture of Salmonella pullorum was recovered

Observations on a Cyclic Decline of Lemmings (\u3ci\u3eLemmus\u3c/i\u3e) on the Arctic Coast of Alaska during the Spring of 1949

The importance to the biotic community of various species of lemmings in arctic and subarctic regions has long been recognized, but there is little known about the ecology of these mammals. of the two species that occur on the Arctic Slope of Alaska, namely, the collared lemming, Dicrostonyx groenlandicus rubricatus (Richardson), and the brown lemming, Lemmus trimucronatus alascensis Merriam, during the spring of 1949 the writer had the good fortune to observe a cyclic decline in the population of the brown lemming on the Arctic Coast of Alaska. Observations were made during the peak density preceding this decline and were continued for more than a year subsequent to it. It is the purpose of this paper to present the results of these studies

Review of \u3ci\u3eSuomen Nisäkkäät\u3c/i\u3e [\u3ci\u3eMammals of Finland\u3c/i\u3e] by L. Siivonen (Otava Publishing Company, 1972)

Review of Suomen Nisäkkäät [Mammals of Finland] by L. Siivonen (Otava Publishing Company, 1972)