PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE MAMMALS OF NEW YORK 309 
Flabitat. Principally meadows and cleared land, but the animal is 
found in almost every variety of situation providing suitable ground for 
the construction of extensive burrows. 
Distribution in New York. The woodchuck probably occurs in every 
county of New York. While it is probable that the range of this animal 
has not been materially affected by the settlement of the country, there 
can be little doubt that there are more woodchucks now in the state than 
there were before the arrival of the white settlers. 
Principal records. DeKay+: “The woodchuck ... is common in 
almost every county in the state” (42, p. 69). Merriam: “The 
woodchuck is rare . .. within the proper limits of the Adirondacks, 
though he has been found sparingly in the remotest parts of the wilder- 
ness. In the cultivated area surrounding the Adirondacks he is very 
abundant” (84 d, p. 142). Fisher: ‘“ Common [at Sing Sing]” (’96, p. 
196). Mearns: “This species is... . tolerably common in the 
Schoharie valley ” ('98 b, p. 352). 
I have found the woodchuck common at Geneva, Ontario co. and 
Peterboro, Madison co. 
Mr Savage writes, “The woodchuck is more common in the hills south 
and east of Buffalo than in the flat country immediately about the city. 
However I know of a family of ‘chucks’ in a bank less than three miles 
from my home.” 
Mr Helme writes that the woodchuck though common on Long Island 
is in certain localities less numerous than it was a few years ago. He 
attributes this fact to the effect of bounties offered by several townships 
for the animals’ scalps. 
Remarks. It is probable that the woodchuck of the Canadian forests 
is not true Arctomys monax. The material necessary to decide the 
question is lacking. For an account of the tree-climbing propensities of 
the woodchuck see Merriam ’81 a. : 
Sciuropterus volans (Linnaeus) Southern flying squirrel 
1758 us volans Linnaeus, Syst. nat. ed. 10. 1: 63. 
1842 Pteromys volucella De Kay, Zoology of New York, Mammalia. 
p- 66 (part). 
1884  Sciuropterus volucella Merriam, Linn. soc. New York. ‘Trans. 
BOQ: 
1890 Sciuropterus volans Jordan, Man. vertebr. anim. northeastern 
Ue Seda 5-ssp.3247 
1896  Sciuropterus volucella Fisher, The Observer. May 1896. 7:197. 
