340 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF THE UXITED STATES 



Subspecies of C. mollis 



C. m. stepJiensi (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 37 

 mm. : plains of the Columbia River to Montana. 



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

 band bright rufous; length 260 mm.; tail 70 mm.; hind foot 40 mm.: 

 central Sierras, California. 



C. c Morns Elliot. 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. mohavensis (Merr.). Color grizzled gray above, whitish beneath; 

 length 250 mm.; tail 75 mm.; hind foot 38 mm.: Mojave Desert, 

 California. 



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

 9 rows of white spots; 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. 



8. Cynomys Rafinesque. Prairie dogs. Body stout; tail very 

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

 convex; dentition i/i, 0/0, 2/1, 33; 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 grains, 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. ludovicianiis (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. 



Subspecies of C. ludovicianus 



C. I. ludovicianus (Ord). Eastward to about the 97th meridian; 

 westward to central ISIontana, Wyoming and Colorado; introduced into 

 Iowa, Louisiana, South Carolina and Nantucket Island; chiefly Upper 

 Sonoran, but also Transition and Lower Sonoran zones. 



