616 



RODENTIA 



1896. L[cmmus'] lemmus Miller, North American Fauna, No. 12, p. 37, 



July 23, 1896. 

 1910. Lemmus lemmus Trouessart, Faune I\Iamm. d'Europe, p. 198. 



Type Zoca/iV?/.- -Mountains of Lappmark, Sweden. 



Geographical distribution. — Northern Scandinavia and Finland, 

 east to the White Sea, south in the mountains of Norway to 

 Langfjeld, Christiansand," and in Sweden to northern Werm- 

 land.t During seasons of abnormal increase the animals wander 

 to the extreme south of Norway. 



Diagnosis. — General character as in the genus ; size medium 

 (head and body about 13.5 to 145 mm. ; tail, 12 to 14 mm. ; hind 

 foot, 17 to 20 mm. ; condylobasal length of skull, 29 to 32 mm.) ; 

 colour yellowish brown, the head, neck and shoulders with a 

 conspicuous black mantle. 



External characters. — Form robust, the head large and very 

 broad, appearing to be set directly on the shoulders, the legs 

 short and muscular, the tail very short and thick. Head broader 

 than deep, its greatest width nearly equal to that of body at 

 middle, the muzzle bluntly rounded ; ear short, concealed in the 

 fur, extending barely to eye when laid forward, its outline evenly 

 rounded, the meatus without trace of valve ; eyes rather small, 

 their distance apart about equal to that from inner canthus to 

 nostril ; muzzle pad obscure, the nostrils opening close to broad 

 short groove which divides narrow upper lip, their inner and 

 lower margins slightly projecting. Front leg short, very muscular, 

 the foot broad, with short, robust digits, the innermost of which 

 is very short, strongly compressed, and serving merely as a base 

 for the conspicuous strap-shaped nail 4 mm. in length by 3 mm. 

 wide ; the third is longest, and the fourth, second and fifth are 

 successively shorter ; palm covered with a dense mass of stiffened 

 hairs about 3 mm. in length, the tubercles represented by a 

 rudimentary pad at base of the two longest fingers ; claws 

 simple but large and robust, about 5 mm. or more in length 

 (frequently exceeding length of fingers), sharply pointed or blunt 

 according to condition of wear. Hind foot broad, with short, 

 strong digits, the three median of which are sub-equal and 

 longest, the innermost shortest and outermost intermediate ; 

 claws strong, simple, about 4 mm. in length ; sole densely hairy 

 like palm, the rudimentary, functionless tubercles completely 

 hidden ; on cutting away the hair four minute pads may be 

 detected, one at the base of the inner toe, one at the base of 

 second, the third between bases of third and fourth toes and the 

 fourth at base of fifth. Tail short, extending about to middle of 

 outstretched hind foot, its form somewhat club-shaped, the 

 diameter at base distinctly less than that just below tip ; hairs 

 rather short at base, nearl}' as long as vertebra? at tip where they 



* Collett, Norges Pattedyr, p. 138, 1911. 



t Lilljeborg, Sveriges och Norges Ryggradsdjur, i, p. 326, 1874. 



