PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE MAMMALS OF NEW YORK 309 



Habitat. 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 7 8i a. 



Sciuropterus volans (Linnaeus) Southern flying; squirrel 



1758 Mus 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. 



2:99. 

 1890 Sciuropterus volans Jordan, Man. vertebr. anim. northeastern 



U. S. ed. 5. p. 324. 

 1896 Sciuropterus volucella Fisher, The Observer. May 1896. 7:197. 



