MAMMALS OF PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY. 93 



Type locality. — Vicinity of Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. 



Faunal distribution. — Typical gapperi is restricted to the forests of the 

 Canadian and transition zt)nes from Quebec to central Pa., and from the 

 Atlantic Ocean to Dakota. 



Distribution in Pa. and N. J. — Abundant in the upper transition and 

 •Canadian regions of Pa., but becoming local and sparingly found in the lower 

 transition areas. Grading toward E. g. carolinensis in mountains of southern 

 Ta. In N. J. it is nowhere abundant, living only in isolated spots in the 

 Kittatinny, Walkill, Bearfort and Ramapo mountains. In southern N. J. a 

 ■darker race is found in the cedar swamos and wooded bogs which there 

 abound. This has been named by my friend Mr. Stone, Evotomys g. rhoadsi. 



Records in Pa. — See list of specimens examined, below. 



Records in N. J. — Passaic Co. — I am convinced that the reason this spe- 

 cies was not taken near Greenwood Lake was my neglect to set traps in the 

 ■white cedar swamps, some of which were seen on the mountain top near Lake 

 Waywayanda. They were found in less likely situations in the Walkill Val- 

 ley. — Rhoads, i8g6. 



Sussex Co. — " Thirteen specimens were trapped in and about Bear Swamp, 

 near Long Lake, and six more in a hemlock swamp in the bottoms of the 

 Walkill, about 2 miles south of the N. York state Une." — Rhoads, Proc. Acad. 

 Nat. Sci., Phila., 1897, p. 27. 



Warren Co. — It is doubtful if this vole is found as far south as Warren Co., 

 -even in the mountains, unless it be that an exploration of the Allamuchy 

 region reveals it. I failed to secure it near Delaware Gap. — Rhoads, 1902. 



Habits, etc. — What I have written regarding the ways and haunts of Miller's 

 deer mouse applies largely to this dusky, short-tailed dweller of the forests. 

 He takes the place of the common meadow mouse in our cool forests and 

 swamps, rerely venturing far out of the woodland shades to meet this larger 

 kinsman on the skirts of swamps and meadows. In fact the meadow mouse 

 makes nearly all the advances along this line, no doubt to the disgust of the 

 wood mouse, whose cool runways he invades. Evotomys seems to prefer 

 well-shaded, swampy, damp places, where he can often wet his feet in under- 

 ground paths and dive through the hidden pools of water. He lives on the 

 leaves and tender stems of many weeds and grasses and also enjoys the nuts 

 and seeds of several species of trees, especially beechnuts, chestnuts, hazle- 

 nuts and acorns, for which it frequently makes excursions into the dry upland 

 forests and hill tops. It also seems to be fond of certain shelled snails, as 

 Omphalina and smaller Polygyra, these being found in the retreats where the 

 mice are trapped. They secure the snail by gnawing a hole into the apex of 

 the shell and drawing the body out backward. In winter I have found that 

 they live almost entirely on the leaves of the evergreen strawberry bush, 

 .Euonymus americanus, which grows abundantly in the cedar swamps and 



