25 



FIELD COLUMBIAN MUSEUM ZOOLOGY, VOL. i. 



Sciuropterus alpinus olympicus. 



Sciurus alpinus olympicus. Elliot, Pub. Field Mus., Feb. 

 i, 1899, p. 225. 



This splendid species was obtained only on top of the moun- 

 tains, in the vicinity of Happy and Boulder Lakes, the farthest 

 points at which we made a regular camp on the Elwah River 

 side of the snow range. I have reason to believe it is found 

 much lower down on the Solduck trail., We never saw the 

 squirrel in the trees, and it must be strictly nocturnal in its 

 habits. The four specimens procured were all taken in -traps, 

 some of them placed quite a distance from trees, which showed 

 that the animals must do considerable traveling over the ground. 

 Not having seen any flying squirrels, nor any evidence of their 

 existence, it was both a great surprise as well as pleasure to 

 find an individual one morning in a trap placed upon the top 

 of a large rock. Its deep, rich coloring, verging to a jet black 

 on the wing membranes, at once attracted my attention, and 

 together with its great size caused me to regard it as different 

 from anything I had previously seen. The species appears to 

 go in pairs, for in each locality that we obtained specimens 

 those of each sex were procured. It does not seem to be 

 plentiful, else it is probable we would have taken more examples; 

 but although at times we had as many as one hundred and fifty 

 traps set, we only took four of the species. In my description 

 I have pointed out where this form differs from 6". a. 'fuliginosus 

 as described. It would seem, while it is evidently much darker 

 in its coloration, it is also much larger ; in fact, the largest 

 of the flying squirrels yet discovered on this continent. 



The measurements of the four specimens are as follows: 



