478 THE SCANDINAVIAN LEMMING chap. 



Of Fiber zibethicus, or rather a closely-allied form, F. osoyoos- 

 ensis, from Lake Osoyoos near the Rockies, Mr. Lord writes ^ that 

 it constructs for itself a house of bulrushes built up from the 

 bottom in 3 or 4 feet of water. It is dome-shaped, and rises 

 about a foot out of tiie water. " If a dead or badly-wounded 

 duck be left on the pool, it is at once seized on, towed into the 

 house, and doomed." Thus it appears that this Eodent, like so 

 many others, is largely carnivorous. It has also l)een asserted 

 that it eats fish. 



Neofiber is an allied genus, North American in range. The 

 species, N. alleni, is compared, as regards outward form, with the 

 Water- Vole, M. amphibius. It has, however, a shorter tail. 



Another very well-known member of this sub-fandly is the 

 Lemming. The name, however, applies to two quite distinct 

 genera. The genus Ouniculus, including the Banded Lemming, 

 C. torqtiatus, is an inhabitant of North America, Siberia, and 

 Greenland. The tail is short, its length being 1 2 mm. as against 

 a body length of 101 mm. The feet are furred beneath, a not 

 unusual state of affairs in Arctic mammals. The ears are very 

 slight. The thuml) is well developed, and l)ears a claw. 



In Myodcs, on the other hand, which is not so markedly 

 an Arctic animal, though occurring in both Palaearctic and 

 Nearctic regions, the ears are rather bigger, though still smaller 

 than those of Microtus. The under surfaces of the feet are 

 similarly furred. The tail is also short. It is commonly said 

 that the two genera are to be distinguished hj the furred feet 

 of Cuniculus, and by the absence of fur in the present genus. 

 That, according to Tullberg, does not appear to be the case. The 

 differences are thus so much reduced that it seems almost un- 

 necessary to retain the two genera. The best known species of 

 Myodcs is of course the Scandinavian Lemming, M. lemmus. 

 This animal used to occur in this country in Pleistocene times (as 

 did also C torquatus), and recently Dr. Gadow has found remains 

 with skins attached in caves in Portugal. It may still survive 

 in the mountains of the Peninsula. 



The actual hal)itat of the Lemming in Scandinavia is the 

 great tablelands, 3000 feet high in the centre. The migrations 

 dp not take place with regularity ; even twenty years may elapse 

 before the appearance in cultivated lands of those countless 



' Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 95. 



