MAMMALS 349 



C. g. Utah Merr. Size smaller; ears larger; back much redder: 

 Wasatch Mountains, Utah. 



C. mollis (Kenn.). Color dusky yellowish brown, without spots; 

 ears rudimentary; length 208 mm.; tail 45 mm.: Utah and Nevada. 



Subspecies of C. mollis 



C. m. stepheni (Merr.). Head and shoulders pinkish buff: 

 Nevada. 



C. m. canus (Merr.). Color dusky grizzled gray: northern Oregon. 



C. m. yakimensis (Merr.). Color buffy gray: eastern Washington. 



C. townsendi (Bachman). Color dark reddish brown, speckled 

 with white; ears very small; length 305 mm.; tail 90 mm.; hind foot 3 7 

 mm. : plains of the Columbia River to Montana. 



C. heldingi (Merr.). Sides and under parts yellowish gray; dorsal 

 band bright rufous; length 300 mm.; tail 89 mm.; hind foot 45 mm.: 

 central California. 



C. chlorus ElHot. Color olive gray above and grayish white below; 

 ears very small, blackish; length 255 mm.; tail 100 mm.; hind foot 37 

 mm.: southern California. 



C. fnohavensis (Merr.). Color grizzled gray above, whitish beneath; 

 length 230 mm.; tail 68 mm.; hind foot 38 mm.: Mojave Desert, 

 California. 



C. mexicanns parvidens (Mearns) . Color olivaceous gray with about 

 9 obscure interrupted white stripes; belly white; length 325 mm.; tail 

 130 mm.; hind foot 44 mm.: valley of the lower Rio Grande and the 

 Gulf coast northward to Corpus Christi. 



7. Cynomys Rafinesque. Prairie dogs. Body, stout; tail very 

 short and flat; ears small; cheek-pouches shallow; skull strongly 

 convex; dentition i /i, 0/0, 2 /i, 3/3; 5 toes on each foot, all with claws: 

 about 5 species, inhabiting the more or less arid plains of the western 

 States and Mexico. They are burrowing animals which live in colonies 

 and feed on grasses and other plants, including grain, often to the great 

 detriment of crops. They are not strictly hibernating animals, except 

 during severe cold; a single litter of from 4 to 6 young is raised. The 

 rattlesnake and burrow-owl are often found in their burrows, and feed 

 on their young. 



C. ludovicianus (Ord.). Color dark pinkish cinnamon above and 

 whitish beneath; tail tipped with black; length 388 mm.; tail 86 mm.; 

 hind foot 62 mm.: Great Plains from central Texas to central North 

 Dakota; westward to the eastern base of the Rockies. 



