48 Osgood Unrecognized and Misapplied Names. 



is extremely probable that the specimens came from some part of Van 

 couver Island. In a paper* on. the beaver by Dr. Brown published at 

 about the same time as Gray's name leucodonta, the notes relate almost en 

 tirely to Vancouver Island. The most important in this connection are the 

 following : 



" Near Victoria, in Mr. Yale's Swamp, and in one near Dr. Tolmie's, are 

 several beavers; and on the road to Cad borough Bay there are * * * 

 the remains of an old^dam. In the interior they are almost everywhere 

 abundant and on the increase. In a swampy lake near the mouth of the 

 Cowichan Lake we found many ; and an extensive swamp near the 

 entrance of the Puntledge Lake was a great stronghold. On Young's 

 Creek, flowing into the same lake, were many dams. In the spring of 

 1866, when crossing the island from Fort Rupert to the head of Quatseeno 

 Sound with some Indians, a great portion of our route lay among these 

 beaver ponds and dams. All through this district beavers swarm." 



Microtus ochrogaster Wagner. 



Hypudaeus ochrogasler Wagner, Suppl. Schreber'sSaugeth.,111, p. 592, 1842. 

 Arvicola austerus Le Conte, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., VI, pp. 405-406, 



1853 Racine, Wisconsin. 

 Arvicola (Pedornys) chwamomea Baird, Mamm. N. Am., p. 541 , 1857 ? Pem- 



bina, N. Dakota. 

 Microtus (Pedomys) ochrogaster Allen, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., X, p. 459, 



1898. 



In the original description of H. ocJtrogaster, Wagner mentions two speci 

 mens. Both are preserved in good condition in the zoological collection of 

 the University of Munich (Konigl. Bayr. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat). 

 They are evidently conspecific, but the larger one, of which Wagner pub 

 lished measurements, may be considered the type. It appears to be a normal 

 example of the species currently called Microtus aunterus. The hind foot, 

 which is slightly curved, measures 19 mm.; the tail, 31.5 mm. The skull 

 is imperfect, lacking the audital bullee, end of nasals, right zygoma, and 

 under part of braincase. The following measurements, however, were 

 taken : Gnathion to posterior border of interparietal, 27.4 ; gnathion to pos 

 terior edge of last molar, 17.4 ; interorbital constriction, 4.2; width across 

 last molars, 5.6; width across first molars, 5; maxillary toothrow, 6.4; 

 mandibular toothrow, 6.3. 



Unfortunately, the two specimens bear no exact data, having been re 

 ceived from a dealer with the information that they came from America. 

 Considering the early date, it is probable that their original source was 

 some point along the commercial highways of the time, the Mississippi, 

 Missouri, and Ohio rivers, all of which traverse country inhabited by the 

 species. 



The paler western subspecies should be called ^f!crotus ochrogaster hay- 

 deni. 



* Journ. Linnaean Soc., Loud., X, pp. 361-372, 



