Meadow Jumping Mouse Zapus hudsonicus hudsonicus 



drawn. The tail is dark above and whitish beneath and 

 is sparsely covered with hair. The head is of normal 

 proportions and the nose is pointed. The ears are small 

 and each foot has five toes. 



The hair coat may seem rather coarse upon the 

 first examination, but a closer observation will show 

 that the main coat is short and fine and that the coarser 

 long hairs are less in number. 



The jumping mouse is well named and it leaps 

 in a manner similar to the kangaroo after which it is 

 also named. The tail serves as a prop and aids consid- 

 erably in locomotion, as is shown by the fact that when 

 part of the tail is lost through accident, the animal has 

 considerable difficulty in getting along. 



The jumping mouse is a very inoffensive crea- 

 ture and feeds upon green vegetation, although it sel- 

 dom becomes a menace in hay fields. It nests in a shal- 

 low burrow, in hollow trees or beneath boards. The 



-M. 138 >*- 



