LEMMING MOUSE 



Upperparts mixed gray, yellowish brown and black, giving 

 a, grizzled appearance similar to cinnamon-brown; tail bicolor, 

 above brownish, below whitish; underparts soiled whitish 

 wash over slate-colored underfur. 



Immature pelage darker and more slaty than adult. 



Measurements. — Sexes of equal size. Total length, 4.8 

 inches; tail vertebra, .7 inch; hind foot, .72 inch. 



Geographical Distribution. — Boreal North America. 



Food. — Vegetation, see page 398. 



Enemies. — Snakes, Hawks, Owls, Weasels, Foxes, and 

 Dther small carnivores. 



Species and Subspecies of the Genus Synaptomys 

 Subgenus Synaptomys 



Cooper Lemming Mouse. — Synaptomys cooperi cooperi Baird. 

 As described above. Found in the cooler zones, in favored 

 localities, from Minnesota to the Atlantic and south through 

 New York and Michigan. 



Synaptomys fatuus Bstngs = Synaptomys cooperi cooperi. 



Stone Lemming Mouse. — Synaptomys cooperi stonei Rhoads. 

 Closely related to typical cooperi and intermediate between 

 it and helaletes in size of rostrum; incisors wide (1.7 mm.); 

 color about as in typical cooperi. Total length, 5.1 inches; 

 tail vertebrae, .8 inch; hind foot, .8 inch. Found in "Lower 

 portion of Transition and northern half of the Upper 

 Austral Zones in the United States east of the Plains, from 

 central Wisconsin and Illinois east to the Atlantic coast ; 

 occurs as far north as Massachusetts and south in the 

 mountains into North Carolina." (Howell) 



Virginia Lemming Mouse. — Synaptomys cooperi helaletes 

 (Merriam). 

 Resembling cooperi, but with larger head and feet and longer 

 tail; incisors very broad (1.9 mm.); color very much as in 

 cooperi. Total length, 5.2 inches; tail vertebrae, .85 inch; 

 hind foot, .8 inch. Found in "Extreme southeastern 

 Virginia and northeastern North Carolina." (Howell) 



Goss Lemming Mouse. — Synaptomys cooperi gossii (Coues). 

 Somewhat redder in color than helaletes which it resembles; 

 skull long and heavy; rostrum wide. Total length, 5.4 

 inches; tail vertebrae, .8 inch; hind foot, .8 inch. Found 

 in "The west-central Mississippi Valley country, mostly in 

 the Upper Austral Zone, from northeastern Arkansas and 

 southern Illinois into Iowa and extreme southeastern South 

 Dakota." (Howell) 



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