VOL. Xlli, PP. 13-14 JANUARY 31, 1899 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



A NEW VOLE FROM HALL ISLAND, BERING SEA.* 

 BY GERRIT S. MILLER, JR. 



A specimen of Microtus collected by Mr. C. H. Townsend on 

 Hall Island, Bering Sea, represents a species distinct from any 

 hitherto described. It is a rather large member of the typical 

 group of the subgenus Microtus, and is more nearly related 

 to a Siberian species which I suppose to be M. kamtxchaticus 

 (Polyakoff) than to any of the known Alaskan members of the 

 genus except M. kadiacensis. On account of its remarkably short 

 tail it may be called : 



Microtus abbreviatus sp. nov. 



Type, ? young adult (skin and skull), No. ifftf, United States National 

 Museum, collected on Hall Island, Bering Sea, September 8, 1885, by 

 C. H. Townsend. 



General characters. Size rather large (hind foot, 23 mm.) ; tail shorter 

 than hind foot ; plantar tubercles, 6 ; ears concealed in the fur ; enamel 

 pattern essentially as in Microtus arvalis of Europe. 



Fur and color. The fur is dense and only moderately long about 12 

 mm. in length at middle of back but the specimen was taken when in 

 the midst of the autumnal molt, with the short new hairs of the winter 

 coat appearing as a dense mat among the roots of the longer fur. As the 

 skin has been preserved in alcohol for an unknown period, f the original 

 color of the animal cannot be determined with certainty. In its present 

 condition the dorsal surface is light yellowish brown, duller on head, 



* Published by permission of Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



f Mr. Townsend tells me that the specimen was preserved dry. It was 

 received at the National Museum in September, 1886, and its subsequent 

 history is not known. It was found in a bottle of alcohol in October, 1898. 



4 Bior,. Soc. WASH., VOL. XIII, 1899 (13) 



