THE MUSEUM. 



135 



urenieiits, and in the relatively great- 

 er length of the nasals. .S". f. nco- 

 mcxicanns agrees in size and in the 

 relative length of the nasals with .s". 

 freinonti, but with -S /. inogolloHinsis 

 in coloration. 



The species most nearly related to 

 S. fi cvionti '\% S. donglasii, as repre- 

 sented in .S". d. cali/oniuus, where 

 the resemblance is often sj close in 

 winter specimens, that their separa- 

 tion without reference to the localities 

 would be e.xceedingly difficult, yet the 

 sime individuals in summer pelage 

 would differ so markedly in the color- 

 ation of the ventral surface as to leave 

 not the slightest doubt as to their true 

 relationships. In .S. frcinonti. S. f. 

 mogolloncnsis and 5. d. californicus 

 the tail is conspicuously fringed with 

 white, in contrast with the yellow 

 fringed tail of true .S'. douglosii and of 

 ail the members of the .S". hudsonicus 

 group. 



Notes on the Jack Rabbits of the 



United States.' 



All the rabbits of the United States 

 belong to the cosmopolitan genus 

 I.eptis, but they have been arranged 

 for convenience in several groups or 

 subgenera. Of these groups the sub- 

 genus Macrotolagus, (Black-tailed Jack 

 Rabbits) is characterized by certain 

 peculiarities of the skull, by having 

 ears longer than hind foot and pelage 

 which never turns white. For con- 

 venience, the Jack Rabbits which oc- 

 cur in the United States may be divid- 

 ed into two groups, according to the 

 color of the upper surface of the tail. 

 (Jack Rabbits never turn the tail up 

 like cotton-tails, and hence it is easy 

 to tell at a distance whether the color 

 of the upper surface is black or white.; 

 In the first group, represented, by the 

 Prairie Hare ' I.cpus canifcstris , — the 

 only Jack Rabbit which ever turns 

 white in winter — the tail is entirely 



• Compiled from Dr. T S. Palmer" •< rn- 

 port 10 the Biological ."^ur-py of the Uspitrr- 

 nient of Agriculture of the United S'ates, 1897 



white. In the second group (Macro- 

 tolagus) the upper surface of the tail 

 is marked by a more or less distinct 

 stripe of black. Several species of 

 this group have been described, as will 

 appear later. 



Prairie Hare or White-tailed Jack 

 Rabbit (J.cpus cainpcstris, Bachman). 

 It was first discovered by Lewis and 

 Clark on their memorable trip across 

 the continent in 1804-6, although not 

 actually named until 1837. Bach- 

 man's description was as follows; "The 

 hare on this side of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains inhabits the great plains of the 

 Columbia. Eastward of those moun- 

 tains, they inhabit the plains of the 

 Missouri. They weigh 7 to i i pounds. 

 The head, neck, back shoulder, thighs 

 and outer part of the legs are of a lead 

 color; the sides as they approach the 

 belly, become gradually more white; 

 the belly, breast and inner parts of the 

 legs and thighs are white, with a light 

 shade of lead color; the tail is round 

 and bluntly pointed, covered with 

 white, soft, fine fur, not ijuite so long 

 as on other parts of the body; the body 

 is covered with a deep, fine, soft close 

 fur. The colors here described are 

 those which the animal assumes from 

 the middle of April to the middle of 

 November; the rest of the year he is 

 pure white, except the black and red- 

 dish brown of the ears, which never 

 change. A few reddish brown spots 

 are sometimes intermixed with the 

 white at this season (February) on the 

 head and the upper part of the neck 

 and shoulders His food is grass and 

 herbs; in winter he feeds much on the 

 bark of several aromatic herbs grow- 

 ing on the plains. Captain Lewis 

 measured the leaps of his animal, and 

 found them commonly 18 to 21 feet. 

 They are generally found separate and 

 are never seen to associate in greater 

 numbers than two or three." 



The white-tailed Jack Rabbit has an 

 extended range in the northern part of 

 the Great Basin and on the Great 

 Plains. It is said to be found as far 

 north as latitude 55 degrees in Sas- 



