EUROPEAN REDBACKED MICE 8$ 



also are brown." ^ The plate represents a misshapen animal with 

 slender body, disproportionately large head, and no ears. In color it 

 is light woodbrown reddening toward fawn. The name appears to 

 have been left unused until 1S34, when Melchior applied it, not with- 

 out considerable misgiving," to the redbacked mouse of Denmark. 

 Melchior recognized the insufficiency of Schreber's description and 

 plate (he suggests that the latter is a "bad drawing of a badly stuffed 

 specimen ") and suspected that the redbacked mouse might be an un- 

 described species. He preferred, however, to use the name glareolus 

 provisionally for the animal until specimens could be obtained from 

 the type locality.^ Subsequent authors have accepted Melchior's use 

 of the name, but have lost sight of the difficulties that it involves. 

 These difficulties are : that nothing in Schreber's description or plate 

 points to the redbacked mouse, while both strongly suggest a young 

 Microtiis agrestis\ that AIus glareolus inhabited the beach, a locality 

 where Evotojnys is rarely seen, but where Microtus generally 

 abounds ; and finally that if the name, as it undoubtedly must, be as- 

 sumed to receive fixity of application to the redbacked mouse not earlier 

 than 1834, it is certainly antedated by the Hyptid<^zis hercyniciis of 

 Mehlis (1831) and possibly by the Le?nmus rubidus of Baillon (1834) 

 also. Therefore, if the name glareolus is not transferred to the 

 synonymy of Microtus agrestis^ its most proper disposition, it must be 

 placed in that of Evotomys hercyiiicus. 



Hercynicus. Hypudccus hercyiiictis Mehlis, Isis, Jahrg. 1831, p. 

 876, 1 83 1, is the first tenable name for the small redbacked mouse of 

 central Europe. The type locality is in the higher part of the Harz 

 Mountains, Germany.* 



• " Sie ist zimmtbraun, mitten auf dem Riicken dunkler, und auf dem Bauclie 

 weissgrau. Die Bartborsten sind ebenfalls braun." 



2 " Den her beskrevne siellandske [Art] kan altsaa ei vsere Pallas's mus 

 rntilus, og den maa altsaa enten vsere en aldeles ny Art, eller Schreber's mus 

 glareolus, som manhidtil ikkun kiender af et Exemplar, fundet i Lolland af vor 

 ber^mte Landsmand Conferentsraad O. Fr. Miiller ; dette sidste anseer Forf, for 

 sandsynligt, og har derefter valgt Bencevnelsen da deu Schreberske Figur (Tab. 

 190), skiv^ndt den synes at vaere en slet tegning efter et slet udstoppet Exem- 

 plar, dog har endeel Lighed med vores. Sagen vilde F^rst med Sikkerhed 

 kunne oplyses, naar man var saa heldig at erholde et lollandsk Exemplar til 

 Sammenligning, hvilket hidtil ikke har villet lykkes Forf." Den danske Stats 

 og Norges Pattedyr, p. 119. 1834. 



^Redbacked mice are now known to be common in Laaland ; but Microtus 

 agrestis abounds there also, robbing the fact of the significance it would other- 

 wise have. 



* " Sie ist in dem hohern Harze, z. B. am Bruchberge und in dessen nahern 

 Umgebungen haufig. . . " 



