Grasshopper-mouse 485 



The whiskers and ring around eyes, blackish. The white of 

 the cheeks meeting on the muzzle is a marked colour feature. 

 When seen ahve it looks like a bob-tailed Deer-mouse, or 

 a White-footed Meadow-mouse. 



Six races of this widespread species are recognized: 



leucogaster Wied, the typical form. 



hrevicaudus Merriam, smaller, with shorter tail and 



longer ears. 

 longipes Merriam, a very large race, with long, slender 



tail. 

 albescens Merriam, a very pale race. 

 melanophrys Merriam, like leucogaster^ but ears 



smaller, toes more furred, and black ring around 



eye accentuated. 

 pallescens Merriam, a very large pale race, with long 



slender extremities. 



Some of these may be entitled to full specific rank. 



Life-history. 



This appears to be a species of the eastern edge of the range 

 plains, from Texas to Manitoba, the type locality being Fort 

 Clark, Dakota. Dr. Coues found it^ in Red River Valley along 

 the 49th parallel. Vernon Bailey reports- it at Bottineau, on 

 the west slope of Turtle Mountain. At Carberry, on the first 

 of June, 1884, I captured a supposed example. As it is a spe- 

 cies of the Missouri River region, I should expect to find it in 

 all the dry portions of the second prairie steppe of Manitoba. 

 About Indian Head, Sask., it is abundant, as is proved by rec- 

 ords and specimens in the Geological Survey Museum at 

 Ottawa. The 4 which I examined are among these, although 

 in the young or gray pelage they are clearly true leucogaster. 



' Field Notes, 49th Parallel, U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull., 3, Vol. IV, 1878, p. 546. 

 * Rep. Cm. Mam. U. S. Dep. Agr., 1888, p. 443. 



