276 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



willow near by. Both were secured, and proved 

 to be males, evidently young of the year, but 

 full grown." 



The Greenland Hare ranges over the north- 

 western coasts of Greenland and Ellesniere Land, 

 its distribution coinciding largely with that of 

 the northern Musk-ox. It is larger than the 

 Arctic Hare, and its summer pelage is white 

 suffused with light tawny. It is remarkable for 

 its excessively heavy fur, the thickness of which 

 " gives the coat a woolly or fleece-like efifect. 

 The yotmg ( which are about one-third grown in 



July) have an odd resemblance to very young 

 lambs, owing to their ding\--whitish woolly coats. 

 This Hare has very stout claws and extremely 

 long, outreaching incisors — characters not ap- 

 proached by any of its known relatives. 



The Alaska Hare, a habitant of the tundras of 

 northern and northwestern Alaska, except the 

 peninsula and the Bristol Bay section, is the 

 largest of all the American Arctic Hares. It 

 has very large feet, and is of a darker brown in 

 summer : but in winter becomes pure white ex- 

 cept for the black tips on its ears. 



VARYING HARE 

 Lepus americanus Erxlehen 



Other Names. — .American Hare. Snowshoe Hare, 

 White Hare (or "Rabbit"). 



General Description. — A good-sized rodent with 

 large ears, long legs and very short tail. Head broad ; 

 nose blunt and rounded ; eyes large ; ears exceedingly 

 large, thickly covered with short hairs ; body of good 

 size : tail very short : legs long, hind legs longer than 

 fore legs with much larger feet; soles of feet exceed- 

 ingly hairy ; toes, five in number on fore feet, four on 

 hind feet; pelage of two coats, a shorter underfur and 

 a longer outer coat. Generally an animal of timid, 

 nervous temperament. 



Dental Formula. — Incisors, ^^ ; Canines, ^^; Pre- 



I — I o — o 



molars. ^^ ; Molars, ^^=28. 

 2—2 3—3 



Pelage. — Adults: Sexes identical. Summer. .Above, 

 reddish or cinnamon-brown darkest along the back ; 

 beneath, white; ears tipped w-ith black posteriorly, the 

 black extending down toward the margin ; anterior 

 edge of ear white ; tail above sooty-brown, beneath 

 grayish ; throat except extreme upper part of chin, 

 brownish-buff. Wmtcr. White everywhere, except tips 

 of ears which are black, the hairs having a narrow 

 middle band of reddish-brown. Young: Similar to 

 adults but much grayer. 



Measurements. — Total length, 19 inches ; tail verte- 

 brae, about 1.5 inch; hind foot, 5.5 inches. Weight 

 about 3 pounds. 



Range. — From southern end of Hudson Bay to 

 southern Kcewatin, Mackenzie, most of Saskatchewan, 

 Manitoba east through northern Ontario, northern 

 Quebec through Ungava and Labrador, south into 

 United States to Michigan north of Saginaw, and west 

 to Wyoming. 



Food. — Almost any green vegetation or bark of 

 trees. 



Remarks. — The \'arying Hare is representative of 

 a group of 12 species and subspecies, also commonly 

 known as Snowshoe Hares because of the large track 

 they make in the snow. These animals are true Hares 

 and are closely related to the Arctic Hares and to the 

 large Jack " Rabbits " or Plains Hares. In clas^ifving 



this small group of Hares considerable emphasis has 

 been laid upon cranial structures, but correlated with 

 these we find certain variations in size and color as 

 well. 



Related Species 



Varjring Hare. — Lcpus americanus americanus 

 Erxleben. Typical animal as described above. Most 

 of eastern half of Canada, west to Saskatchewan, and 

 south to Michigan and Wyoming. 



Minnesota Varying Hare. — I.e/^us americanus 

 pliaeonotus Allen. Smaller, paler and huffier than 

 the typical \'arying Hare. Northern Michigan. Wis- 

 consin. Minnesota and into western Ontario and south- 

 ern Manitoba. 



Virginia Varying Hare. — Lepus americanus rir- 

 ginianus ( Harlan I. Largest and most richly colored of 

 the \'arying Hares. In summer rusty-brown above. 

 Mountains of West Virginia and \'irginia. north 

 through eastern United States to Maine and extreme 

 southern Ontario. 



Nova Scotia Varying Hare. — Lepus americanus 

 struthopus Bangs. Hind foot shorter; color darker 

 than the typical Varying Hare. Xova Scotia. New 

 Brunswick, Quebec and Newfoundland south to Maine. 



MacFarlane's Varying Hare. — Lepus americanus 

 macfarlani Merriain. Larger than the typical form 

 with longer ears; dusky-gray above. Wooded parts of 

 Alaska, base of Alaskan Peninsula, Yukon Territory, 

 western Mackenzie, northern British Columbia and 

 northwestern Alberta. 



Baird's Varying Hare. — Lepus lyairdii bairdii 

 (Hayden). Size large; pale grayish-brown mixed with 

 black. Higher parts of Rocky Mountains from Idaho. 

 Montana, eastern Washington and Oregon, south to 

 central New Mexico, and north to southern .Alberta and 

 British Columbia. 



Washington Varying Hare. — Lepus zvashingtonii 

 washiih/tonii Baird. Small: a dark reddish form 

 with little or no white ; does not turn white in winter. 

 Washington northward to Fraser River, British Coluin- 

 bia ; and from the west slope of the Cascade Mountains 

 to the sea. 



