VOL. XIX, PP. 71-72 MAY 1, 1906 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



A NEW VOLE FROM MONTAGUE ISLAND, ALASKA. 

 BY WILFRED H. OSGOOD. 



During a short time spent on Montague Island, Alaska, in 

 the spring of 1905, Mr. Charles Sheldon, although chiefly inter 

 ested in large bears, found time to " bother with mousetraps." 

 As a result of this interest in small mammals as well as large, 

 seven specimens of a vole and two of a shrew, prepared and 

 presented by Mr. Sheldon, are now in the Biological Survey 

 Collection. The shrews appear to be indistinguishable from 

 the species of the adjacent mainland coast (Sorex obscurus 

 alascensis), but the voles differ so widely as to require a new 

 name. For the privilege of describing this new form, I am in 

 debted to Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biological Survey. 



Microtus elymocetes* sp. nov. 



Type from the east side of Montague Island, Prince William Sound, 

 Alaska. No. 137,323, U. S. National Museum, Biological Survey Collection. 

 d 1 adult. May 12, 1905. C. Sheldon. 



Characters. Size very large, only equalled among the Alaskan members 

 of the " operarius group " by M. innuitus of St. Lawrence Island ; color most 

 nearly like that of M. yakutatensis but underparts even more strongly suf 

 fused with brownish ; feet dusky brownish instead of gray; skull large and 

 heavy with zygomata strongly notched anteriorly. 



Color. Similar in general to that of operarius, unalascensis, and kadid- 

 censis, but slightly darker with entire underparts heavily washed with buffy ; 

 upperparts cinnamon to clay color uniformly mixed with dusky, producing 

 a general effect of raw umber ; sides, face, and head essentially like back ; 

 underparts clay color, sometimes paling to grayish in pectoral and inguinal 

 regions ; forefeet dusky brownish, edged with whitish gray ; hind feet 

 grayish white proximally, dusky brownish distally; toes dusky brownish ; 

 tail sharply bicolor, dusky brownish above, whitish gray below. 



Skull. General characters as in operarius, unalascensis, and yakutatensis, 

 but size very much larger ; zygomata more deeply notched anteriorly ; size 



* Elymocetes, from Elymus, the generic name of the wild rye or beach grass often in 

 habited by this mouse and its relatives. 



16 PKOC. BIOL. Soc. WASH., VOL. XIX, 1906. ( 71 ? 



