MEADOW MOUSE 



Rainier Meadow Mouse. — Microtus oregoni cantwelli Taylor. 

 Larger than typical oregoni, slightly paler in color and with 

 different skull characters. Upperparts (midsummer) buck- 

 thorn brown; underparts grayish. Total length, 6 inches; 

 tail vertebrae, 1.7 inches; hind foot, .72 inch. Found in 

 the dcinity of Mount Rainier, Washington (Chelan, Yaki- 

 ma, and Snohomish Counties). 



YoUa Bolly Meadow Mouse. — Microtus oregoni adocetus 

 Merriam. 

 Very much paler and larger than typical oregoni. Upper- 

 parts sepia to reddish sepia brown; tail above, dark brown- 

 ish, below, paler; feet whitish; underparts dull buffy. 

 Total length, 6.9 inches; tail vertebrce, 2 inches; hind foot, 

 .84 inch. Found in only the Boreal Zone on the South 

 Yolla Bolly Mountain, Tehama County, California. 



Creeping Meadow Mouse. — Microtus serpens Merriam. 



Largest of the subgenus Chilotus; tail short; dark in color. 

 Upperparts (winter) uniform sooty gray; sides lighter; feet 

 dark gray; ears concealed in long fur; tail above, sooty, 

 below, silvery gray; underparts dark gray washed with 

 buff. Summer pelage paler and browner. Total length, 

 5.2 inches; tail vertebrae, 1.2 inches; hind foot, .72 inch. 

 Found in "Low country of southern British Columbia and 

 northern Washington between the Cascade Mountains and 

 Paget Sound." (Bailey) 



Baird Meadow Mouse. — Microtus hairdi Merriam. 



Smaller than oregoni; tail short; pelage short and glossy; 

 ears nearly hidden in fur. Upperparts glossy yellowish 

 bister, paler on sides; nose dusky; feet dark gray; tail 

 faintly bicolor, dusky and dark gray; underparts washed 

 with whitish. Total length, 5.2 inches; tail vertebrae, 1.3 

 inches; hind foot, .70 inch. Found only on Glacier Peak, 

 . Crater Lake, Oregon. 



The Meadow Mouse is one of the commonest of our small 

 mammals and in one of its many varying forms is found 

 throughout practically the entire extent of North America 

 from the Barren Grounds southward. So adaptable to 

 different environments is this small rodent that we find 

 Meadow Mice living under all conditions, from swamp lands 

 to dry, semibarren plains, and from sea-level up to the sum- 

 mits of high mountain ranges. In size and color there is a 

 corresponding range of variation associated with the diversity 

 of habitat. 



Probably the best known members of the genus are the 

 forms of the pennsylvanicus group, which live in meadows 

 and grass-lands, usually in considerable numbers, and denote 



433 



