Mammals from Hamilton Inlet, Labrador. 237 



The type of Lepus americanus, as is well known, came from the south 

 side of Hudson Strait. Hamilton Inlet is not only much south of this, 

 but appears to have quite a different fauna, the small mammals especially 

 being different from those taken at Fort Chimo by L. M. Turner. It is 

 therefore probable that typical Lepus americanus is even more extreme 

 than the Hamilton Inlet series, which is at present the best working 

 material available.* 



Zapus hudsonius (Zimmerman). 

 Three specimens were caught in the damp mossy spruce woods. 



Fiber zibethicus (Linn.) 



Musk rats were very scarce about Hamilton Inlet, but were said to be 

 abundant in the lakes and rivers of the interior. The one specimen col 

 lected, an adult, agrees in every way with true zibethicus of northeastern 

 North America generally, and shows no approach to the insular form 

 (Fiber obscurus) found in Newfoundland. 



Dicrostonyx hudsonius (Pallas). 



Three specimens of the Hudsonian lemming were secured, all taken at 

 the entrance to one hole on top of a treeless hill. A fourth was also 

 trapped at the same hole, but afterwards destroyed. The lemming was 

 well known to the natives, who called it ' hill mouse,' and said it was 

 usually abundant on all the hills. Mr. Goldthwaite worked very hard to 

 get more, but the dogs had visited all suitable places and dug out the 

 lemmings before he arrived, and the hole where he caught his specimens 

 was the only one he could find that was occupied. 



Mr. GerritTS. Miller, Jr., who examined these specimens at the time 

 he wrote his 'Genera and Subgeneraof Voles and Lemmings,' tells me 

 that this lemming is not like any of the old-world species. The name Mus 

 hudsonius Pallas t apparently applies to this species, which may be briefly 

 described as follows : 



Color. Upper parts gray (about the color of a Maltese cat), somewhat 

 mixed with black tipped hairs and slightly touched in places with rusty ; 

 a narrow black stripe along middle of back ; long hairs covering ear, 

 mixed black and rusty ; a spot of pale yellowish rust color at base of 

 whiskers. Lower sides and under parts dull brownish gray, irregularly 

 washed with rusty, the rust color predominating in front of arms, across 



* The Arctic Hare is said to occur at Hamilton Inlet, but Mr. Goldth 

 waite was unable to get one. It was reported to be more abundant in 

 winter than in summer. 



t Richardson (Fauna Boreali- Americana, 1829, p. 132) refers the specific 

 name hudsonius to Forster. I cannot find that Forster ever gave his ani 

 mal (a mutilated specimen) a scientific name, merely styling it ' 

 animal called a Field Mouse, Churchill River,' 



