204 Mammals of Eastern Asia 
groups have the grooves simple, as in Caprolagns, but not filled 
with cement. 
The North Eurasian Hares allied to timidus, the typical 
species of Lcpus, are distinguished easily from those related to 
L. euro pans by the tail being much shorter than the hind foot, 
while in the latter the tail, including the terminal hairs, is about 
equal in length to the hind foot. The number of nipples in fe- 
males of L. timidus is eight, while in L. europceus it is six. The 
ear is shorter generally in the timidus group than in the euro- 
pceus group. Finally, the upper surface of the tail in timidus is 
gray or brown, in europceus blue-black (except the Himalayan 
Hares). 
The L. timidus group in the far East includes three minor 
divisions : the large- footed Siberian Snow Hares, related to the 
Alaskan Snow Hare, L. othus; the Japanese Hare, L. brach- 
yurus, and its mainland allies; and the South China Hares, L. 
sinensis and relatives. 
The Snow Hares of eastern Siberia belong to four weakly 
separable races, Lepus timidus mordeni from the Maritime 
Province of Siberia, L. t. gichiganus from the region north- 
west of the Sea of Okhotsk, L. t. tschukschorum from extreme 
northeastern Siberia, and L. t. kolymensis from the mouth of 
the Kolyma River, on the Arctic Ocean. All four of them turn 
snow-white in winter, with the exception of the black tips of 
their rather short ears. They weigh from 7% to 8V2 pounds. 
Lepus t. orii from Sakhalin, a large Hare, like gichiganus may 
also turn white in winter ; likewise L. t. abei of the south Kurile 
Islands and L. t. ainu of Yezo. 
The Snow Hares of Greenland are reported to be markedly 
social in winter, gathering in groups of thirty or forty indi- 
viduals to feed upon whatever scanty vegetation they can dis- 
cover among the rocks and snow. It is not improbable that the 
same kind of behavior will be noticed in the case of the Siberian 
Snow Hares. 
