p. 161-168 ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references

Allen, J. A. (Joel Asaph), 1838-1921.

Streator, Clark Perkins.

American Museum of Natural History Scientific Publications

ARTICLE IX.-List of Mammals collected by Mr. Clark P. Streatorin British Columbia, with Descriptions of two New Subspeciesof Sciurus. By J. A. ALLEN.Following is a list of the mammals collected for the AmericanMuseum of Natural History during the summer of I889, by Mr.Streator in British Columbia. The localities at which the speci-mens were obtained have been already described in Mr. Chapman'sreport on the birds (see antea, p. 123) and need not here berepeated. The collection numbers about 140 specimens, repre-senting 20 species. Mr. Streator's field notes are given in quota-tion marks in their proper connection.The series of 'Squirrels, of the genera Sciurus and Tamias,proved most interesting and instructive, throwing much light onthe distribution of the several forms in British Columbia. TheCascade Range appears to sharply limit the two coast forms,Sciurus hudsonius douglassi and Tamias townsendii, at the east-ward, they being replaced in the interior respectively by Sciurushudsonius richardsoni and Tamius quadrivittatus affinis. Theform of Sciurus found on Vancouver Island proves unexpectedlyto be not referable to S. hudsonius douglassi but to be a well-marked insular form, in some respects resembling S. hudsoniusrichardsoni.1. Putorius vison (Schreber). MINK.-" Common through-out the Province."One specimen, Ducks, August 4.2. lMlephitis mephitica (Shaw). SKUNK.-" Common in theinterior. Skins that I saw from the coast region appeared torepresent a much smaller species."A half-grown specimen, without data, the label having becomedetached and lost.3. Ursus americanus Pallas. BLACK BEAR.-Representedby a single skull of a half-grown specimen. Locality not stated.4. Vesperugo fuseus (Bauvais). BROWN BAT.-One speci-men, Mt. Lehman, June 15; the only specimen seen by thecollector.5. Vespertilio nitiduS H. Allen. CALIFORNIAN BAT.-"Common in the coast region."[November, 1890.] [i6i]I62 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. III,Three specimens, Westminster, April 24, and one without label(probably from Mt. Lehman), are provisionally referred to thisspecies. The first three are very dark, the other somewhat lighterin color.6. Sorex suckleyi Baird. SUCKLEY'S SHREW.-" Commonin the coast region, but no indications of them were noticed inthe interior."Five specimens (Westminster, April 30--May To, four specimens,two adult and two half grown; Mt. Lehman, June 6, adult female)are provisionally referred to this species.7. Sciurus hudsonius richardsoni (Bachman). RICHARD-SON S CHICKAREE.-" Common throughout the interior of BritishColumbia."Ten specimens, five from Ashcroft, July 8-2i, and five fromDucks, August i-i6. Three of the specimens are about two-thirds grown; the others are all adult. They are all clear whitebelow, with a well-defined black lateral line on each side of thebody, much broader and blacker in some than in others, at thejunction of the dorsal and ventral areas. They vary somewhat incolor above, the two extremes being represented by No. 2049, Yad., Ashcroft, July 9, and No. 2054, c ad., Ducks, August 3.The former is nearly pure olivaceous gray above with no mixtureof rufous except on the fore and hind limbs and upper surface ofthe tail. The other is heavily suffused above with brownishrufous, most strongly on the limbs and upper surface of the tail.The rest are variously intermediate, with a tendency,-in somewell marked,-to a broad median dorsal dark reddish brown band.A parallel variation is seen in two young specimens from Ducks,showing that there is a wide range of individual variation in color,irrespective of season. The gray specimens bear a strong resem-blance, in the general color of the dorsal surface (excluding thetail), to average Colorado specimens of Sciurus hudsoniusfremonti.8. Sciurus hudsonius douglassi (Gray). DOUGLASS'SCHICKAREE. -" Distributed abundantly throughout the coastregion of British Columbia and Washington."Twenty-eight specimens, as follows: Westminster, B. C., April21 to May 20, fifteen specimens; Mt. Lehman, B. C., June 2-8,three specimens; Kalama, Washington, October 14-18, five speci-No. I.] Allen on Mammals from British Columbia. I63mens; Cape Disappointment, Washington, November 1-3, fivespecimens. This large series thus covers the period from April2 Ito November 3, and admirably shows the wide range of seasonalvariation to which this subspecies is subject.A male and female, collected at Westminster, April 23, are inbreeding pelage, showing only here and there small patches of thepost-breeding dress. In these there is barely a faint indicationof the black lateral line; the sides of the body above the lateralline are dark gray, with a faint wash of dark brown, which in-creases in amount toward the dorsal line, and forms the pre-vailing color for a considerable area along the middle of thedorsal region, from the head to the end of the apical half or thirdof the tail. Tail above mixed brown and black with a subapicalborder and a broad subapical tip of black and an outer b)roadconspicuous fringe of white. Lower surface of the body buff, thehairs broadly dusky at base and narrowly ringed with black nearthe tips, giving the effect of a plumbeous ground color heavilywashed with pate buff. Limbs and upper surface of the feet likethe sides. The beginning of the change to the post-breedingpelage is shown by patches of short, pale yellow fur on the chinand sides of the muzzle, and by little tufts of yellowish hair hereand there on the ventral surface of the body. In most of theother April specimens the whole ventral surface is more or lessmixed with irregularly dispersed patches of the post-breedingpelage. The April specimens still retain the blackish ear-tuftscharacteristic of the winter dress.In May specimens the change has considerably advanced.Thus, in No. 2075, 8 ad., Westminster, May 12, the whole chin,throat, and fore neck, and a quite broad but somewhat irregularmedian line are bright buffy yellow; the fore limbs, as far as theelbows, and the toes and edges of the hind feet are deep orangeyellow. A still more advanced stage is seen in No. 2065, 8 ad.,Mt. Lehman,, June 2, in which the new coat has encroached stillmore upon the ventral surface, has crept farther up on the forelimbs, and covers most of the hind feet, extending to the base ofthe toes and along the inside of the foot to the lower part of theleg, while the whole top and outer side remains as in early spring.The inner border of the foot is thus bright orange, while the topand outer border are dull brownish gray. The dark line on theI64 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. III,sides of the body is still indistinct, and, with the exception of theparts named, the pelage is nearly as in April examples.In a July specimen, collected in Pacific County, Washington,by Mr. A. H. Helme, July I7, I885, the whole lower surface andboth fore and hind feet are deep ochraceous orange; the blacklateral line is broad and intense black, and the broad dorsal bandof dark rufous has disappeared, leaving the whole dorsal area dulldark brown, washed with pale yellowish or olivaceous gray. Thetail is fringed broadly with yellowish white instead of pure white.Mr. Streator's October and November specimens are similar, andin striking contrast with his April and May specimens.The change is thus parallel in character to the seasonal changesoccurring in the Eastern Chickaree (see this Bulletin, Vol. III,pp. 4I-44), but much more strongly marked.Besides the seasonal variation in color in this subspecies, thereis also a wide range of individual variation, especially in the colorof the ventral surface. In specimens taken in March and Aprilthe ventral surface in about one specimen in ten is pale buff,varying from this to very strong buff or faint ochraceous. Inpost-breeding pelage the ventral surface varies from pale ochra-ceous yellow to deep ochraceous orange. The dorsal surfacevaries in spring specimens from a dark fuscous gray with only thefaintest or even no tinge of rusty to a strong shade of dark rustybrown over the middle third of the dorsal region, with a fainttinge of the same color on the sides of the body. In fall speci-mens the middle of the back is more or less tinged with darkrusty. The edging of the tail varies from clear white to yellowishor rusty white, in spring as well as in fall specimens.*The principal differences observable between S. h. ;-ichardsoniand S. h. douglassi are the much smaller and more heavily-clothedears, longer tail, softer and fuller pelage, and the absence ofochraceous on the ventral surface in the former as compared withthe latter. When series of the two forms are placed side by sidewith the backs uppermost, douglassi averages darker and brownerin coloration, with much less rufous in the tail, but the range ofindividual variation in color quite overlaps the average difference.When the same series are placed side by side with the ventralsurface uppermost there is a strong contrast between even thepalest specimen of douglassi and the richardsoni series.No. i.] Allen on Mammals from British Columbia. I659. Sciurus hudsonius vancouverensis, subsp. nov. VAN-COUVER CHICKAREE." Common on Vancouver Island."Six specimens from Duncan's, Vancouver Island, October I-9,are strikingly different from either S. h. douglassi or S. h. richard-soni, being in some respects intermediate between them. T'heywholly lack the ochraceous color below of doug-lassi, in this re-sembling richardsoni. The color above is rather darker andbrowner than in either, but most resembles that of douglassi. Ithas also the small low ears of that form, as compared with themuch larger ears of richardsoni. While of about the same generalsize, the tail (judging from the skins) is one-fifth shorter than ineither, but broader, more bushy, and very differently colored.This form may be characterized as follows:Post-breeding Pelage.-Similar to S. h. douglassi in general size, in the sizeand form of the ears, and in the general coloration of the dorsal surface ; belowwhite, as in S. h. richardsoni; tail short (6 inches or less to end of hairs insteadof 7 inches or more, as in richardsoni), broad and very full; tail above darkreddish brown varied with black, without a conspicuous lighter fringe, the apicalfourth to third deep black. The coloration of the tail is much as in some speci-mens of richardsoni, but the black of the apical portion is broader and lessmixed with red, while the usual light fringe formed by the tips of the hairs ofthe sides and end of the tail, found in the allied forms, is almost wholly absent,the tips of the lateral hairs being scarcely lighter in color than those covering theupper surface.Length of head and body (measurements from skins), 6.50 to 7.5o in. (I65-I90 mm.); tail to end of vertebrae, 4.60 to 5.00 (I117-I27); tail to end of hairs,5.80 to 6.40 (147-I63); hind foot, 1.70 to i.8o (43.2-45.7); height of ear fromcrown, .50 (12. 7).Type, No. 2059, V ad., Duncan's, Vancouver Island, Oct. 2, I889; C. P.Streator.A second undescribed form of this group, represented by eightspecimens from the Sierra Nevada, Placer County, California,may be thus indicated:Sciurs hudsonius californicus, subsp. nov. CALIFORNIACHICKAREE.?? Sciurus mollipilosus AUDUBON & BACHMAN, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.,I, I842, P. I02; Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., VIII, I842, P. 316.Size of S. h. douglassi, but with much larger ears and very different coloration.Post-breeding Pelage (Oct. 7-14).-Above dark olivaceous gray, varied withyellowish rufous; fore limbs as far as the elbows yellowish rufous ; hind feetrusty yellow, a distinct broad black lateral line ; below white, varying in dif-ferent specimens to pale creamy white; outer edge of thighs yellowish; tailabove dark reddish brown mixed with black centrally on the basal half, borderedbroadly with black and very heavily fringed with pure white; tail below blackvaried with white and broadly edged with pure white. In some specimens thetail above is gray centrally with barely a trace of rufous, with very broad whitei66 Bulletin American AMuseum of Natural History. [Vol. III,margins, the hairs being more or less rusty towards the base, then broadly ringedwith black and tipped with white. Ears blackish on the anterior and apicaledges, and distinctly tufted with blackish. In some specimens a band down themiddle of the dorsal region is distinctly rusty, as in the other forms of the group.Length of head and body (collector's measurements from the fresh specimens),8 in. (203 mm.); tail to end of hairs, 6.50 (I65); hind foot, 2.00 (5I); heightof ear from crown, .6o (I5.3.).Type, No. 2551, ? ad., Blue Canon, Placer Co., Cal., Oct. 13, i886; C. A.Allen.These specimens, as regards season, are strictly comparablewith Mr. Streator's series from Kalama and Cape Disappointment(mouth of the Columbia River), and also with the VancouverIsland series. The latter represent an insular white-bellied form(vancouverensis); the Columbia River specimens represent theform with the deep orange or ochraceous ventral surface (truedouglassi); while the Blue Cafnon series represent a form withpale creamy white (varying to pure white) underparts (californicus).The latter differs from both the others in the lighter, moreyellowish-olivaceous gray of the dorsal surface, in strong contrastwith the reddish-fuscous gray of the two northern forms.Californicus differs also from the others in the broad snowywhite border to the tail, in contrast to the narrower, more or lessyellowish white of douglassi, and the almost entire absence ofa distinctly lighter border in vancouverensis. In respect to thecoloration of the tail, and of the dorsal surface generally, califor-nicus and vancouverensis represent the extreme phases of what maybe called the douglassi group.In the coloration of the dorsal surface californicus much resem-bles S. h. fremonti, but the latter is pure clear white below andhas the very large ears characteristic of the interior forms(richardsoni,fremonti, and mogollonensis).Doubtless californicus has a considerable geographical distribu-tion in California, but over just what area cannot now be deter-mined. Fort Crook specimens, at least the light-bellied ones, asI now recall them (see Mon. N. Amer. Roden., pp. 679-681, andpassimf), being doubtless referable to what is here namedcalifornicus.Sciurus mo/lipilosus Bachman, from "the northern parts ofCalifornia," may refer to the present form, but it is too inade-quately described for recognition. "The inner surface of thefore legs, the throat and abdomen cinereous, lightly tinged withNo. i.] Allen on Mammalsfrom British Columbia. I 67rufous," and " a few of the hairs [of the tail] are tipped withgrey," does not apply to the form here described.10. Tamias townsendii Bachman. TOWNSEND'S CHIPMUNK.-" Abundant throughout the coast region of British Columbiaand Washington."Nineteen specimens, as follows: Westminster, May 15, one;Mt. Lehman, June 5-15, nine; Kalama, Oct. 15-20, four; CapeDisappointment, Nov. i-i i, five. None were obtained on Van-couver Island, where, Mr. Streator was informed by the residents,it does not occur.11. Tarnias quadrivittatus affinis Allen. C(OLUMBIAN CHIP-MUNK.-" Abundant throughout the interior of British Columbia."Ten specimens, all from Ashcroft, collected June i8 and I9,and July 3-8. As already noted (see antea, pp. 103-l06), thesmall Chipmunks of the T. quadrivittatus group from BritishColumbia are strikingly similar in general features to the trueT. quadrivit/atus from Central Colorado, though separatgd fromit by a thousand miles of territory and several quite differentintervening conspecific forms.12. Hesperomnys leueopus austerus (Baird). BAIRD'SWHITE-FOOTED MOUSE.-" Very common in all parts of BritishColumbia visited."Nine adult specimens from Westminster, taken April 3 to MayI5; one adult female from Mt. Lehman, June 3; three nearlyfull-grown young from Ducks, Aug. 4-IO, and a similar examplefrom Ashcroft, June i8, are typically referable to Baird's Hesper-omys austerus. This form is very near H. leucopus arcticus Mearns(Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. II, No. 4, p. 285), from whichit differs in much darker colors and larger ears. Specimens fromPoint Reyes, Cal., are also quite similar.13. Neotoma einerea (Ord). BUSHY-TAILED WOOD RAT.-"Very common throughout the interior of British Columbia."Six specimens, Ducks, August i to Sept. i. They show muchvariation in color; the single September specimen is brownerthan the others, being pale cinnamon rufous above varied withblack.i68 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. III.]14. Arvicola (Myonomes) riparius (Ord). MEADOWMOUSE.-Two fully adult specimens from Ducks, taken August4, and two immature examples from Westminster, taken May 2, Iam unable to distinguish from ordinary A. rizparius of the East.In two of the three skulls preserved the middle upper molar hasthe usual postero-internal loop; in the other skull it is absent.15. Arvicola (Chilotus) oregoni (Bachm.). OREGON MEAD-OW MOUSE.-Male and female adult, Ducks, August 4.16. Zapus hudsonius (Zimm.). JUMPING MOUSE.-" Fre-quents the meadows of both the interior and the-coast region."One adult specimen from Mt. Lehman, June, and two not fullygrown from Ducks, August. The adult specimen is much largerthan the average of eastern examples. The same is true of aspecimen from Pacific County, Washington, collected by Mr. A.H. Helme, April 20, I885.17. Fiber zibethicus (Lilin.). MusKRAT.-Three specimens,Ducks, August. 2-5.18. Thomomys talpoides douglassi (Rich.). OREGONGOPHER.-" Common throughout all parts of the interior ofBritish Columbia I visited."Five specimens, Ducks, August 8-2I. They are all immature,which may account for their small size, as compared with Californiaexamples (7T. t. bulbivorus). They are also very differently colored,being much lighter about the mouth, more rufescent above, andmuch less tawny below.19. Erethizon epizanthus Brandt. WESTERN PORCUPINE.-"Not uncommon in the interior; less so on the coast."Represented by a single specimen, unfortunately without a label.20. Lepus americanus washingtoni (Baird). WESTERNVARYING HARE.-" Not common; found only in the coast region.Represented by a very young specimen and another nearly fullgrown, from Mt. Lehman, June 14 and Sept. 23.

Mammals from British Columbia

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