188 Order LAGOMORPHA 



it for the winter sleep. It hibernates, probably from November 

 until early April, far enough underground to be well below 

 the frost line. 



Signs. — Because it is in hibernation when snow is on the 

 ground, and because it is too light to make visible tracks in mud, 

 the meadow jumping mouse seldom leaves tracks that can be 

 detected. 



In areas where this mouse is common, little crisscross piles of 

 slender grass and weed stems may be found; the stems have been 

 cut into 2- to 3-inch sections in attempts of the animal to reach 

 the seed heads. The piles are as much as 6 or 7 inches across. 

 The sections of stems may be in little bundles and are not to be 

 mistaken for the shorter sections, averaging about lij inches 

 long, left by the meadow vole. 



Summer nests of this mouse are in open meadows: on the 

 surface, in a tussock of grass, or a few inches below the surface 

 of the ground, covered by a protecting log. They are made of 

 material found nearby, often entirely of the dead leaves of 

 herbs, bits of grass, or dry moss. 



Distribution. — The meadow jumping mouse, although not 

 abundant, is of state-wide occurrence in Illinois. The sub- 

 species in this state is Zapus hudsonius intermedins Krutzsch. 

 The range of the species extends westward from Labrador 

 across most of Canada and Alaska, and southward to northeast- 

 ern Colorado, northern Oklahoma, northeastern Georgia, and 

 northern South Carolina. 



ORDER LAGOMORPHA 

 Hares and Rabbits 



Members of the order Lagomorpha — hares, rabbits, and 

 pikas — resemble the rodents in having a pair of large, chisel- 

 shaped upper incisor teeth, but differ from them in having an 

 additional small, inconspicuous incisor directly behind each of 

 these teeth, fig. 40d. They also differ from the rodents in ha\ ing 

 short tails that, in most species, resemble small tufts of cotton. 

 All lagomorphs are herbivorous. 



Only three species of lagomorphs. all of which belong in the 

 family Leporidae, occur in Illinois. Of these, the eastern cot- 

 tontail is the most abundant and widely distributed. It is prob- 

 ably the most important game animal in the state, being taken 



