G84 MOXOGRAPIIS OF KOUTII AMERICAN RODENTIA. 



Rocky Mountains], could not be distinguished from each other, except by 

 the white belly of the latter. I consider it quite possible, if not very 

 probable, that these may be two varieties of color of the same species."* 



Geographical distribution. — The habitat of Sciurus hudsonius (includ- 

 ing under this term its several varieties) embraces the greater part of the 

 North American continent, extending northward to the limit of forest vegeta- 

 tion and southward over the northern two-thirds of the United States. The 

 eastern variety (subspecies hudsonius) has a far more extensive range than all 

 of the others together; its habitat embracing nearly all of North America 

 (north of about lat. 34°) east of the Rocky Mountains, and extending north- 

 westward over most of Alaska. Its southern limit in the United States is 

 quite irregular, terminating on the Atlantic coast near the Delaware Bay, 

 but occupying the highlands of the interior as far southward as Northern 

 Georgia and Northern Alabama, while one specimen in the collection of the 

 National Museum is labelled as coming from as far south as Monticello, 

 Miss. In the vicinity of Washington, D. C., it is occasionally found : I have 

 lately seen a specimen from this locality, regarded as a rarity by the local 

 collectors. In the Mississippi Valley, it is not common south of Central Illi- 

 nois and Northern Missouri. ■ Woodhouse, however, notes its occurrence 

 in the Indian Territory. Northward, it is reported from Labrador and the 

 region about Hudson's Bay, and specimens are in the collection from as far 

 north as Fort Anderson, the Yukon River, and Nulato. It extends westward 

 to the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. 



Subspecies richardsoni inhabits the Rocky Mountain region of Western 

 Montana and Northern Idaho, ranging thence westward to the Cascade Range 

 and northward considerably into British America, but to what distance is 

 thus far not definitely known. Subspecies douglassi occupies the Pacific 

 coast from Central California northward to British Columbia, but is confined 

 mainly to the narrow belt west of the Coast Ranges. Its northern limit is 

 not yet known, but it ranges northward to Sitka, and probably to Southern 

 Alaska. Subspecies fiemonti occupies the more southern portion of the 

 Rocky Mountains, from Southern Wyoming to New Mexico, and thence 

 westward over Utah, Southern Idaho, and Nevada to California. It is quite 

 abundant in the mountains of Colorado, and there are also specimens in the 

 collection from the Uintah Mountains. 



* Mcimm. N. Auier. p. 277. 



