932 EODENTIA 



Alps eastward through Asia and North America to the Atlantic 

 coast of the United States. 



Characters. — Strictly terrestrial Sciuridse, including the largest 

 members of the family ; form robust, Meline rather than Sciurine 

 in general aspect ; tail short and bushy, scarcely or not flat- 

 tened ; cheek pouches rudimentary or absent ; cranial and dental 

 characters essentially as in CiteUus, but skull with rostrum 

 nearly as deep as brain-case, and with heavy postorbital processes 

 standing out nearly at right angles with main axis of skull ; 

 anterior upper premolar always large and well developed. 



Bemarks. — About two dozen species of Marmoia are now 

 known, the majority of them occurring in Central Asia. One 

 of these extends its range westward into eastern Hungary ; 

 while a single species is peculiar to the Alps and Carpathians. 



KEY TO THE EUEOPEAN SPECIES OF MABMOTA. 



Colours noticeably varied, the head blackish, with 

 contrasted pale muzzle, the back much less yel- 

 lowish than sides, the tail conspicuously black 

 on terminal third ; skull with posterior border 

 of postorbital process decidedly in front of nar- 

 rowest portion of postorbital constriction (Alps 

 and Carpathians) M. marmoia, p. 932. 



Colours not varied, the entire animal a yellowish 

 brown overlaid on upper parts with black, the 

 head slightly darker than body, without con- 

 trasted pale muzzle, the tail inconspicuously 

 blackish at tip ; skull with posterior border of 

 postorbital iJrocess nearly over narrowest portion 

 of postorbital constriction (eastern Hungary) ... M. bobak, p. 937. 



MARMOTA MARMOTA Linna?US. 



1758. [Miis] marmota Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., i, 10th ed., p. 60. 



1779. [^Mannota'] alpina Blumenbach, Handb. der Naturgesch., i, p. 80 

 (Substitute for Marvwta). 



1801. A[rctoviys] m[armota'] tigrina Bechstein, Gemeinn. Naturgesch. 

 Deutschlands, i, 2d ed., p. 1029. 



1801. A[i-ctomys] m[an7iota^ alba Bechstein, Gemeinn. Naturgesch. Deutsch- 

 lands, I, 2d ed., p. 1030. 



1801. A[i-ct07nys'] vi[annota] nigra Bechstein, Gemeinn. Naturgesch. 

 Deutschlands, i, 2d ed., p. 1030. 



1857. Arctomys marmoia Blasius, Siiugethiere Deutschlands, p. 280. 



1904. [Marmoial marmotia Trouessart, Catal. ]\Iamm. Viv. Foss., SuppL, 

 p. 343. 



1910. Marmoia marmoia Trouessart, Faune Mamm. d'Europe, p. 129. 



Type localifj/. — Alps. 



Geograpliical distrihufion. — Alps and Carpathians. Frequently 

 referred to as occurring in the Pyrenees, but this probably an 

 error.* 



Diaiinoxh. — Size medium (head and body about r).")0, tail 



* See Trutat, Bull. Soc. d'Hist. Nat. de Toulouse, xi, p. 110, 1877. 



