Mar. 1899. MAMMALS OF THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS ELLIOT. 251 



FAMILY HAPLODONTIA. 



6. Haplodontia olympica. 



Aplodontia olympica, Merr. Proc. Biol. Soc., Wash., Vol. 

 XIII., 1899, p. 20. 



Dr. Merriam has lately described a Sewellel from Lake Quin- 

 ault, in Gehalis County, Washington, lying among the foot 

 hills of the Olympics, and having kindly sent me a topotype 

 for comparison, I find it to be the same as my examples. 

 I obtained, thirteen specimens, adults and young, the first two 

 at Johnson's ranch, on the Elwah River, the remainder on the 

 tops of the mountains, at Happy and Boulder Lakes. I had 

 supposed that these represented typical H. rufa; but not having, 

 unfortunately, any specimens of that species, but only the one 

 from California, H. major Merr. = H. leporina var californica, 

 Peters* to compare with, I was unable to arrive at a definite 

 conclusion. Dr. Merriam shows in his paper that the skull 

 of the Olympic Sewellel differs in various ways, sufficiently to 

 separate it from its allies. In my specimens the nose and 

 space around it are black. The white spot at the base of the 

 ear, like the one on the breast, can in no way be considered 

 a specific character, but is an individual peculiarity, as some 

 of my specimens have these conspicuously shown, while others 

 have no trace of either. 



This peculiar little rodent is known to the settlers as the 

 Gehalis, Mountain Beaver, and Farrrter, the last name being 

 the one most commonly employed. Few have seen it, as it 

 has secretive habits, and the fact that it rarely moves about 

 much during the days, gives but few opportunities for observing 

 its ways and mode of life. It keeps to wet and swampy places, 

 and near to small streams and mountain brooks, and makes 

 its burrows in the banks. Sometimes, however, these are dug in 

 the ground, in the midst of tall grasses growing densely together, 

 and paths are trodden down connecting the various entrances 

 to their underground homes. The muscle of the neck and 

 jaws are very large and powerful, and they can bite with great 

 force. The hinder part of the body is comparatively weak, 

 and the hind feet are much more slender than the hands. 

 The ribs also are slight and rather delicate, and the skeleton 

 has the appearance of being rather too feeble to carry the 



*Monstab. K. P. Akad. Wissench. Zu. Berlin, 1864, p. 179. 



