THE TRUE MARMOTS 1257 



THE TRUE MARMOTS 

 Genus *Arctomys 



All who have traveled in the higher Alps or Himalayas are familiar with the 

 shrill, piercing, whistle-like screams of the marmots, uttered when they first catch 

 sight of an intruder on their lonely domains, and preparatory to taking refuge in 

 the security of their burrows. The true marmots, which are the largest members 

 of the present group, are distinguished from prairie marmots by their still stouter 

 build, the absence of pouches in the cheeks, and the rudimentary condition of the 

 first toe of the fore-foot, which has only a flattened nail in lieu of a claw. Their 

 skulls are, moreover, still broader, with the two rows of upper molar teeth nearly 

 parallel, and each molar tooth marked only by a pair of transverse grooves. The 

 ears are small, like those of the prairie marmots, and the tail is generally short, 

 although occasionally equal to half the length of the head and body. In size mar- 

 mots vary from about fifteen to twenty-five inches in length, exclusive of the tail, 

 the measurements of the latter ranging from three to about twelve inches. In gen- 

 eral appearance the stoutness of their bodies and the shortness of their limbs are 

 their most obvious features. The head is wide and short, the small ears are more 

 or less rounded, the eyes large and full, and the tail bushy. Their fur is of mod- 

 erate length and rather coarse and stiff; and their color is some shade of golden or 

 reddish brown, shading more or less decidedly into black along the middle line of 

 the back and on the tail, the tip of the latter being invariably dark. 



Marmots inhabit the northern portions of both the Old and New 

 Worlds, but in the former have a much more extensive distribution 

 than either susliks or chipmunks. In the more southern portions of their range 

 in the Old World, these animals are found only at considerable elevations above 

 the sea level, but in more northern districts, like the Siberian steppes, they are 

 found on the lowland plains. In North America the common marmot, or wood- 

 chuck, inhabits low elevations in districts where the winter climate is severe; but 

 a second species is exclusively a mountain-dweller. None of them are found in 

 forest districts; and whether in the mountains or on the plains, they generally 

 select open spaces with a sandy soil, and within easy distance of water, for the 

 construction of their burrows. 



In Europe there are two representatives of the genus, of which the 

 Marmots ^ rst an ^ ^ ar S er * s ^ e Alpine marmot (Ardomys marmotta), now con- 

 fined to the three disconnected mountain ranges of the Pyrenees, 

 Alps, and Carpathians; although, as attested by its fossil remains, during the 

 Pleistocene period, when the climate was different, it was an inhabitant of the low- 

 lands of Germany and other parts of the Continent. The length of this marmot is 

 about twenty inches, exclusive of the comparatively short tail. 



The bobac (A. bobac) of which a group is represented in our illustration is a 

 smaller species, measuring only about fifteen inches from the nose to the root of the 

 tail, and with a much wider geographical range. This species has its present west- 

 erly limits on the frontier of Germany, and thence ranges eastward through Galicia 



