:\rAMMALS. 



275 



Arvicola RiPAKirs EOEEALis (Rich.). Little Nortbeiu Meadow Mouse (Esk. Af- 

 tslin-ul). 



If the small uortbeiu meadow mouse is to be recoguized as a subspecies of Arvicola riparhis^ 

 all tbe specimeus in this collectiou may safely be included in it. Dr. Coues gives 143 inches as the 

 average length of the head and body of the specimens of 4. riparhis from the Eastern United States 

 which he examined. Of twenty-five .skins of individuals, apparently adult, in this collection, the 

 head and body of nine (Series A) measure 3 inches and less; of fourteen (Series B), more than 3 inches 

 and less than 3.5 inches; and of two (Series C), more than 3.50 inches and less than 4 inches. The 

 average length of the tail-vertebrte of eight of the nine specimens first mentioned is .99 inch, and of 

 twenty-three specimens out of the whole series, 1.10 inch. Dr. Coues's average for the same meas- 

 urement in his series of eastern specimens is 1.59. 



In Series A the color is light, and tlie .specimens exhibit a decided uniformity. In Series B 

 and C the color is somewhat darker, bat the variation is not great. 



List of specimens. 



•Winter of 1878-'79. 



Biographical notes. — The present species is abundant and widely spread overall of the Alaskan 

 mainland, and also upon many of the Aleutian Islands and the rocky i.slands in Bering Straits. 

 A large number of specimens were brought me from the Upper Yukon, and others from Xulato, 

 Anvik, Kotlik, and other places on the Lower Yukon and from the Kuskoquim Eiver. I also found 

 them numerous about the shores of Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean from the mouth of the Kus- 

 koquim Eiver to Cape Lisburne. 



It is the most common mouse in the Territory, and is abundant everywhere except upon some 

 of the Bering Sea Islands, among which the Fur Seal group may be included. 



When winter approaches they gather stores of small bulbous roots, sometimes secreting a peck 

 or moi-e in one place. These stores are usually hidden just under the moss on a small knoll or 

 under the base of a large grassy tussock. 



The Eskimo women and children search for these hiding places with a pointed stick just before 

 winter sets in, and sometimes secure a considerable amount of the roots, which are boiled and eaten 



