UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



IN 



ZOOLOGY 



Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 131-136, 2 text-figures " April 13, 1912 



THE MOLE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 



BY 



J. GRINNELL and H. S. SWARTH 

 (Contribution from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California! 



As far as is known the family Talpidae has but a single 

 representative in California south of the 35th parallel. This 

 species, a member of the genus Scapanus, is plentiful locally, 

 both in the lowland districts and on the mountains, reaching an 

 altitude of 9000 feet in both the San Bernardino and San 

 Jacinto ranges. The capture of specimens, however, is not an 

 easy matter, though surface ridges marking the tunnels of the 

 animals are conspicuous indications of their presence, especially 

 soon after rains. In fact, repeated attempts to catch moles by 

 various means have often failed altogether, even where signs 

 were numerous. As a consequence of this difficulty in securing 

 specimens, material representing the form found in southern 

 California is still scant, but enough has accumulated to warrant 

 our present systematic treatment. Our efforts in identifying 

 the Museum collections from the San Jacinto region have led to 

 the recognition of the following new form. 



Scapanus latimanus occultus, new subspecies 

 Southern California Mole 

 Type: Female, young adult; no. 2369, Mus. Vert. Zool. ; 

 Santa Ana Canon at 400 feet altitude, Orange County, Cali- 

 fornia ; September 20, 1908 ; collected by H. S. Swarth, orig. 

 no. 7051. 



Diagnostic Characters: Most nearly like Scapanus lati- 

 manus latimanus (Bachman) (see Osgood, 1907, p. 52), but 



