346 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 



United States; the young, when born, are well furred and have their 

 eyes open. 



Key to the Species of Lepus 



ai In the eastern and central States; varying hares L. americaniis. 



3.2 In the far-western States, 

 bi Under 500 mm. in length. 



Ci Color brown summer and winter L. washingtoni. 



C2 Color brown in summer and white in winter L. bairdi. 



b2 Over 550 mm. in length; jack-rabbits. 



ci White-tailed jack-rabbits L. toii'nsendii. 



Ci Black-tailed jack-rabbits. 



di Color of flanks whitish and different from that of back.L. alleni. 



d2 Color of flanks like that of back L. calif ornicus. 



L. americaniis Erxleben. White rabbit; varying hare; snowshoe 

 rabbit. Color grayish or reddish brown in summer and white in winter; 

 length 470 mm.; tail 43 mm.; hind foot 133 mm.: northern America 

 from Bering Strait to the Atlantic; southward to British Columbia, 

 central Minnesota and Michigan; throughout New England and New 

 York and in the mountains into Virginia; mainly the Canadian zone, in 

 swamps and wet thickets; from 2 to 7 young in a litter; 12 subspecies. 



Subspecies of L. americaniis 



L. a. americaniis Erx. Color in summer pale tawny brown; borders 

 of ears conspicuously white: Hudson Bay to northern Quebec and 

 Ontario, and in Michigan to Saganaw Bay; westward to the Canadian 

 Rockies; in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming. 



L. a. virginianus (Harlan). Color in summer bright rusty brown; 

 borders of ears whitish; length 518 mm.: New England south of the 

 Penobscot; New York and southward into Virginia and West Virginia. 



L. a. struthopus Bangs. Color in summer dull tawny brown; length 

 474 mm. : Maine east of the Penobscot and eastward into Newfound- 

 land; Canadian zone. 



L. a. phcEonotus Allen. Color in summer dull yellowish buff; length 

 464 mm. : northern INIinnesota and Wisconsin and western half of the 

 northern peninsula of Michigan; Canadian zone. 



L. washi^igtoni Baird. Color in summer dull dark rusty brown; in 

 winter similar, but slightly paler; length 450 mm.; tail 41 mm.; hind 

 foot 125 mm.: Washington from the Cascades to the sea; Canadian and 

 Transition zones. 



L. w. klamathensis Merriam. Colors paler: Klamath Lake region 

 to central eastern California; Canadian zone. 



