1936] 



MAMMALS OF OREGON 



143 



General habits. In no way has this form been found to differ in 

 habits from typical chrys&devrus. 



AMMOSPHERMOPHILUS LEUCURUS LEUCURUS (MEBBIAM) 



ANTET.OPE SQUIBREL; WHITE-TAILED SAND SQUEKREL; TA-WATZ of the Piute 



(L. J. G.) 



FIGURE 25. Range of the antelope squirrel in eastern 

 Oregon : Ammospermophilus leucurus leucurus. 



Tamias leucurus Merriam, North Amer. Fauna No. 2, p. 20, 1889. 



Type. Collected in San Gorgonio Pass, Calif., by Frank Stephens, May 1G 

 1885. 



General characters. S i z e 

 of a large chipmunk (pi. 28, 

 B), with shorter, heavier 

 body, shorter tail, very short 

 ears, palms naked ; soles 

 hairy up to posterior edge of 

 plantar tubercules; claws but 

 slightly curved; inner cheek 

 pouches ample. In thin harsh 

 summer pelage, upper parts 

 grizzled cinnamon brown, be- 

 coming clearer cinnamon on 

 rump and legs, a broad white 

 stripe along each side of 

 back; lower parts including 

 lower surface of tail clear 

 white; top and margins of 

 tail blackish, frosted with 

 white tipped hairs. Winter 

 pelage fine and silky, lower 

 parts and side stripes silvery 



white; upper parts much grizzled pinkish cinnamon, brightest on legs and 

 sides. Young as in summer adults. 



Measurements. Adult from type locality : Total length, 220 mm ; tail, 68 ; 

 foot, 40; ear (dry), 8. 



Distribution and habitat. With a wide range over the desert area 

 of southeastern California and much of Nevada the antelope squirrels 

 reach their northern limit in the Upper Sonoran valleys of south- 

 eastern Oregon (fig. 25). There are specimens from Warner, Alvord, 

 and Owyhee Valleys, and records of occurrence in the Malheur 

 Valley. While in the southern part of its range it is largely a Lower 

 Sonoran Zone species, it also extends well into the arid Upper 

 Sonoran. 



General habits. These little desert squirrels live in the open, bar- 

 ren valleys far from timber, but usually where tufts of greasewood, 

 sagebrush, and low desert shrubs furnish cover, protection, and 

 food. With their short, flat tails curled up over the rump so the 

 white under surface shows like the white flag of the antelope, they 

 go scampering from bush to bush over the hot, sandy valleys, run- 

 ning with remarkable speed and hiding in the shadows with such 

 skill that specimens are not easily obtained. In places they take 

 refuge among broken rocks and sit on top of the high points to watch 

 for enemies, but more often they are out in the open, where they 

 watch from the tops of bushes and at the approach of an enemy fly 

 to some far-away retreat. Their homes are usually in burrows, but 



