032 RODENTIA 



Alps eastward through Asia and North America to the Atlantic 

 coast of the United States. 



Characters. — Strictly terrestrial Sciiiridse, 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 CiieUns, 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. 



Remarks. — About two dozen species of Marmota 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 EUROPEAN SPECIES OP MARMOTA. 



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. mannota,']). 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 j)ale muzzle, the tail inconspicuously 

 blackish at tip ; skull with posterior border of 

 postorbital process nearly over narrowest portion 

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



MARMOTA MARMOTA Limifeus. 



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



1779. [Marwote] alpina Blumenbach, Handb. der Naturgesch., i, p. 80 

 (Substitute for Marmota). 



1801. A[rctomys] m[annota] tigrina Bechstein, Gemeinn. Naturgesch. 

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



1801. A[rcto)nys] m[a?-7nota] alba Bechstein, Gemeinn. Naturgesch. Deutsch- 

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



1801. Alrctomys] 7n[ar77iota] nigra Bechstem, Gemeinn. Naturgesch. 

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



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



1904. \_Marmota~\ marmotta Trouessart, Catal. Mamm. Viv. Foss., SuppL, 

 p. .343. 



1910. Marmota marmota Trouessart, Paune IMamm. d'Europe, p. 129. 



Type locality. — Alps. 



Geographical distribution. — Alps and Carpathians. Frequently 

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

 error.* 



Diagnosis. — Size medium (head and body about 550, tail 



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



