Pied Lemming 



roof to the runways, but upon breaking into them abundant signs 

 of life are to be seen and a trap set in such a situation is 

 pretty sure to catch one or other of the several little animals 

 which make these spots their home. For beside the lemming 

 mouse and meadow mouse we find here also the red-backed 

 mouse and the little shrew. 



In Indiana Mr. A. W. Butler finds the lemming mice frequenting 

 stony hillside pastures, while their nests are placed under stumps 

 or logs. 



Their food seems to consist of roots and tender shoots of 

 grasses and rushes, though from the nature of their retreats it 

 is practically impossible to gain much information as to their 

 habits. Even when we are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse 

 of one of the little animals it is usually merely a flash of brown 

 fur, as he disappears with lightning speed along one of his 

 passage ways. 



Varieties and Related Species of Lemming Mice 



1. Cooper's Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys cooperi Baird. Range 



and description as above. 



2. Dismal Swamp Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys cooperi hela- 



letes (Merriam). Similar, but with larger head and more 

 massive skull. 



Range. Replaces the common species in Dismal Swamp, Vir- 

 ginia. 



3. Northern Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys fatuus Bangs. Smaller 



and darker, with narrower skull. 



Range. Northern New England, Ontario, Quebec and New 

 Brunswick. The northern representative of Cooper's lem- 

 ming mouse. 



4. True's Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys innuitus True. Re- 



sembles Cooper's lemming mouse in general appearance, but 

 has a very different skull, with much narrower, paler, 

 coloured incisor teeth. Female with eight mammae. 

 Range. Labrador (Fort Chimo_and Rigoulette). 

 ble's 



5. Preble's Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys sphagnicola Preble. 



Similar to the last, but larger (5.25 inches long). 

 Range. Base of Mt. Washington, Fabyans. N. H 



Pied Lemming 



Dicrostonyx hudsonius (Pallas) 



Length. 6 inches. 



Description, Summer. Gray above, more or less dappled with rusty 



108 



