896 General Notes. [September, 
The pine mouse is said to be common on Long Island, and 
Audubon and Bachman speak of it as “ quite abundant ia’ 
in the immediate vicinity of New York.” !—C. Hart Merriam, 
M. D: ; 
CAPTURE OF THE Pine Mouse aT Sina Sinc, New YORK.— 
Until the present year we have never detected the pine mouse 
(Arvicola pinetorum) in this locality. On Feb. 12th, 1885, a 
specimen was picked up on the road-side, dropped probably by 
some bird of prey as shown by the claw marks on it. A week 
later, we had occasion to examine a hole in an old apple tree 
occupied by a screech owl (Scops asio). Besides specimens of the 
mole (Scalops aquaticus), and meadow mice (Arvicola riparius), we 
found four pine mice, two of which were uninjured. The only 
other specimen noted was shot March 3d, while running on top of 
the snow.—A. K. Fisher, M. D., Sing Sing, New York. 
A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF SHREW.—In the Transactions of 
the Linnzan Society of New York, Dr. C. Hart Merriam describes 
and figures a shrew of more than ordinary interest captured by 
Captain Bendire near Fort Klamath. It is one of the largest of 
the shrews, is the type of a new genus, and is called Alophyrax 
bendiru. Bendire’s shrew differs from all existing genera in exter- 
nal, cranial and dental characters. It has affinities with both Sorex 
and Neosorex, and is in some respects intermediate between them, 
though in some respects it passes Neosorex in the direction away 
from Sorex. It also possesses characters of its own not found in 
either of these genera. Dr. Merriam thinks that it in common 
with Neosorex was early differentiated from a group of thirty- 
two toothed shrews of which the genus Sorex contains the near- 
living allies. “ Having abandoned a fossorial for, in the one case 
a natatcry, in the other a paludal habit, Neosorex and Atophyrax 
doubtless began to diverge in the same direction, their distinctive 
features having been developed and intensified as their peculiari- 
ties of habit became fixed—each retaining in different degrees of 
modification certain characteristics of the original stock.” 
HARELDA GLACIALIS AT NEw Or LeEANS.—An old male in win- 
ter plumage was shot on Lake Catherine, a salt water bay a short 
distance from the city, on Feb. 28th, 1885. Andubon says that 
this duck comes down as far south as this latitude, but it is the 
first specimen I have seen shot in this neighborhood. 
The skin of this bird is in my possession —G. Kohn, 14 Caron- 
delet St., New Orleans. 
