JUMPING MICE 



(Family Zafodidce) 



These interesting mouse-like little animals are spread over all 

 the Northern parts of North America. They differ in many re- 

 spects from the true mice and can be recognized at once by 

 their extremely long hind legs and tail and by the coarseness of 

 their fur. 



In their jumping habits and long legs they resemble the jerboas 

 of the Old World and the kangaroo rats of our Southwestern 

 States. Their kangaroo-like appearance has given rise to the popu- 

 lar belief that they are marsupials and carry their young in a 

 pouch, which idea is of course wholly erroneous. 



We have two kinds of jumping mice, the meadow species, 

 probably the best known, and the large, more handsome, wood- 

 land jumping mouse, easily told by its white-tipped tail. 



Meadow Jumping Mouse 



Zapus hudsonius (Zimmerman) 



Length. 8.80 inches. 



Description. General colour yellowish fawn to rather dark ochra- 

 ceous mixed with black-tipped hairs which predominate on the 

 back making it much darker than the sides, belly white, some- 

 what suffused with buff, feet white, tail white beneath brownish 

 above, 130 mm. long. In autumn the fur is yellower with less 

 dusky above. (Illustrations facing p. 105.) 



Range. From Hudson's Bay to North Carolina, although those 

 from the Southern States and from Labrador are slightly 

 different. (See beyond.) 



This is a mouse of uncertain and varying abundance; as a 

 general thing decidedly rare, then there will come a summer when 

 any one with an eye at all for seeing things, may have half a 

 dozen or even a dozen specimens brought to his notice; the 

 most harmless, inoffensive, kangaroo-like little things with astonish- 

 ingly long tails, they go bounding off over the grass before you 

 or cower trembling in the stubble, sometimes allowing themselves 



