232 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 



[No. r>o 



General characters. Large for a Zapvs; tail Tery long and slender and almost 

 naked ; hind feet long with long slender toes and naked soles : ears long and 

 narrow; upper incisors deeply grooved, dark orange In color: pelage appro- 

 harsh, and bristly. Color with strong pattern, back from nose to tail dusky with 

 but a trace of yellow ; sides deep rich orange with coarse black bristles scattered 

 through ; whole lower parts white or creamy white. 



'Measurement*. Large typical adult female: Total length, 235 mm: tail, 

 135; foot, 33; ear (dry), 13. Weight of adult male, 27.5 g. 



Distribution and habitat. This large, dark, richly colored, and 

 beautifully marked form occupies the coast country from southern 

 British Columbia to southern Oregon and extends inland to include 

 Ln its range the Willamette, Umpqua and lower Rogue River Valleys 



(fig. 52). Specimens 

 from Eugene are fair- 

 Iv typical but show a 

 slight tendency toward 

 mo n tan us from the Cas- 

 cades, while others from 

 Grants Pass are grading 

 toward pacifists of the 

 upper Rogue River Val- 

 ley. Humid Transition 

 Zone in Oregon seems to 

 be fully occupied by them. 

 They are largely marsh 

 and meadow dwellers but 

 are often caught along the 

 creek banks or under 

 ferns and weeds in the 

 woods. In places they a re 

 occasionally abundant but more generally they are scarce in numbers 

 and scattered in distribution. 



General habits. Although of mouse size, these graceful little ani- 

 mals in disposition and habits have little in common with ordinary 

 mice. Naturally quiet and phlegmatic, they are easily captured alive 

 in the hands and if gently handled rarely bite and seem not much 

 afraid. When startled they progress rapidly in long leaps but usu- 

 ally after 3 or 4 jumps they stop and sit motionless to see if they 

 pursued, and then if closely watched may often be approached 

 stealthily and captured under the hollowed hand. In dense vegeta- 

 tion such as ferns or marsh grass or weedy cover their method of 

 escape is generally successful. 



While mainly nocturnal they are occasionally seen in day light 

 when frightened from their grassy nests on the surface of the ground. 

 They do" not make runways nor leave any trace of their presence 

 except the little heaps of grass stems where they feed. These are 2 

 to 3 inches long and are readily distinguished from the shorter, more 

 scattered cuttings found in the runways of meadow mice. 



The animals burrow into the ground to make their winter nests, 

 become very fat in autumn and hibernate long and closely during the 

 cold winter weather, remaining unconscious for about half the year 

 in the colder parts of their range and apparently also in that part 

 of Oregon where the winters are comparatively mild. 



FIGURE 52. Range of the four forms of jumping mice 

 in Oregon: 1, Zapus trinotatus trinotatus; 2 Z. t. 

 montan*s; 3, Z. t. pacific**: 4, Z. princepa ore- 

 yonus. Type localities oiroloil. 



