86 CALIFORNIA FISH AXD GAME 



rejiion, "wliicli cipTeos witli inforniatioii at our disposal, oxeept in that 

 tlie area inliabited by deer of botli species is probably larger than 

 Sheldon's map indicates, for we have records of "good" black-tailed 

 deer from the Yosemite Valley and Joseph Dixon lias recently told 

 ns that he has seen specimens of true California mule deer from the 

 ■western flank of the Sierras as far north as cast of Sacramento. 

 Sheldon's map indicates that the California mule deer ranges east 

 across the southern Sierra in Kern, Tulare and Fresno counties into 

 Inyo County. This treatment must now be modified in view of Cowan's 

 findings and ascription of a new mule deer to the Inyo region (see 

 California Fish and Game, vol. 19, 1933, p. 274), so the California 

 mule probably does not range east of the Sierra crest here or at any 

 other point. 



Sheldon's description of the California mule deer states that "the 

 upper surface of the tail is centered with the dark median line of 

 black following its length to the tip, and is edged with white" (p. 15), 

 he also states that the white rump patch is much restricted as com- 

 pared with that of the Rocky Mountain mule deer. This description 

 agrees with Caton's original one of the California mule deer, the type 

 of which was taken near Gaviota Pass in Santa Barbara County, and 

 apparently the tails of all mule deer from this region have the dark 

 doi'sal median line. On the other hand, many examples of California 

 mule deer from the w^estern flank of the Sierra Nevada from the 

 Yosemite region to Kern County and also, we understand, from the 

 San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains of Southern California, 

 have pure white tails except for theii- black tips, lacking the dai'k dorsal 

 stripe. Sheldon does not mention this fact in his text, but in the 

 cajition for the illustration of such a white-tailed mule deer, photo- 

 graphed in Sequoia Park, which appears on page 22 of his work, lie 

 draws attention to this fact and states that these deer come into this 

 region from the Nevada side and meet the range of the California 

 mule deer here. On page 25, he illustrates another deer from the same 

 region which has a very narrow black dorsal tail stripe and avers that 

 this is the result of intergradatiou between Rocky ^Mountain and Cali- 

 fornia mide deer, adding that the dark median tail line is not suf- 

 ficiently prominent to classify fliis deer as a typical California mul(> 

 deer. The latter statement is doubtless true, but the reviewer can find 

 nothing- in Sheldon's work to support his statement that Rocky 

 IMountain (now correctly Inyo) mule deer come west into this region 

 and interbreed Avith the California form. We consider that California 

 mule deer are variable as to this character and that in the center of 

 this form's range more animals have white than black-lined dorsal tail 

 surfaces. The preponderance of black-striped-tailed deer in the north- 

 ern extremities of tliis form's range, soutliern San Luis Obispo and 

 Santa Barbara counties on the west. Tuolumne and IMariposa counties 

 on the east, maji be the result of intergradatiou of this species with 

 black-tailed deer. If such is proven to be the case, then the type of 

 californicus can not be regarded as typical of the race if such a state- 

 ment can be made, but it represents a borderline specimen indicative 

 of intergradatiou with black-tailed deer. Perhaps a thorough study of 

 this form will show that typical examples from the center of its range 

 have Avhite tails except for black tips. This hypothesis is simply pro- 



