SClUlUDiE— SPEBMOPHILUS BICHARDSONI. 



853 



Central Dakota, are quite similar, but are rather more strongly colored. 

 These lead into the Camp Carling series and those from the North Platte 

 (vicinity of the Medicine Bow Mountains), which are considerably darker, 

 but among which are specimens almost undistinguishable from the more 

 northern type. In the Camp Catling and Wind River Mountain specimens, 

 the black annulations in the hairs of the upper surface begin to increase in 

 extent, with a larger proportion of hairs wholly black, and a somewhat 

 stronger wash of rufous over the middle of the back, while the fulvous tint 

 of the sides becomes also more brownish. In the Fort Bridger specimens, 

 the ear becomes still further enlarged ; the black tips of the hairs are still 

 longer and more conspicuous, in extreme examples (as Nos. 3372 and 3378) 

 giving a strongly blackish cast to the whole dorsal surface ; the lighter annu- 

 lations become correspondingly narrower, and constitute merely a fine gray 

 mottling. In other specimens, there is a nearly equal admixture of the dark 

 and light sliades, resulting in a uniform finely grizzled tint (as in No. 3320), 

 with a faint wash of pale rufous, varying in some specimens to dull chestnut. 

 In t'lis phase {S. '^armatus" Kennicott), the hairs of the dorsal surface are 

 black at the base, then crossed hy a broad bar of whitish, succeeded by 

 another of pale rufous, extending nearly to the tips, which are shining black. 

 The light subterminal bar varies from gray on the head, over the shoulders, 

 and on the sides to pale rufous on the middle of the back. The nose and 

 buttocks are usually strongly rufous. In var. richardsoni, there is a much 

 broader subbasal zone of white, occupying generally two-thirds of the length 

 of the hair; the dark rings are not so black, and the fulvous tipping is much 

 paler. 



Synonymy and nomenclature. — Spermophiliis richardsoni was first de- 

 scribed and figured by Sabine, in 1822, from a specimen collected at Carlton 

 House. Richardson gave a more detailed account of it in 1829. It was also 

 described by Wagner, Audubon and Bachman, Baird, and others, who added, 

 however, little to its history. Dr. Coues, in 187.5, published an excellent 

 account of its habits, and contributed much to our knowledge of its distribu- 

 tion. These descriptions, as well as various compiled accounts, relate almost 

 wholly to the northern form, above characterized as var. richardsoni. Rich- 

 ardson, however, as early as 1829, in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, described 

 what is here recognized as var. lowmendi, he referring it doubtfully to tiie 

 guttatus of Pallas and Temminck, which is an allied species of Siberia. 



