PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE MAMMALS OF NEW YORK 307 



Tamias striatus striatus (Linnaeus) Southeastern chipmunk 



1758 Sciurus striatus Linnaeu>, Syst. nat. ed. 10. i : 164. 

 1842 Sciurus striatus De Kay, Zoology of New York, Mammalia, p. 

 62 (part). 



1857 Tamias striatus Baird, nth Smithsonian report, p. 55 (part). 

 1886 Tamias striatus Merriam, American naturalist. Feb. 1896. 20:242. 

 1896 Tamias striatus Fisher, The Observer. May 1896. 7:196. 

 1898 Tamias striatus Mearns, Am. mus. nat. hist. Bui. 9 Sep. 1898. 

 10: 338. 



Type locality. Virginia and Carolina. 



Faunal position. Upper austral zone. 



Habitat. Thickets, rocky ledges and dry, open woods. 



Distribution in New York. The southeastern chipmunk reaches New 

 York, so far as at present known, in the lower Hudson valley only. I 

 have never seen a specimen from the upper austral area in the western 

 part of the state, and therefore can not say positively which form occurs 

 there. 



Principal records. De Kay did not distinguish between the two forms 

 of chipmunk now known to occur in New York, but his references to the 

 animal show that he included both under the name Sciurus striatus ('42, 

 p. 62). Fisher: '-'Common [at Sing Sing]" '96, p. 196. Mearns: " The 

 southern chipmunk is by far the most abundant member of the squirrel 

 family in the Highlands. It lives everywhere, from the islands of the 

 Hudson to the highest mountain tops, though it is least common on the 

 high ground" ('98a, p. 338). 



Of the chipmunk on Long Island Mr Helme writes, " This animal is 

 common. A few years ago it was nearly exterminated, but now it has 

 become plentiful again. The cause of this decrease in numbers was due 

 I believe to an extremely cold winter following an autumn in which the 

 food supply was short." 



Tamias striatus lysteri (Richardson) Northeastern chipmunk 

 1829 Sciurus ^Tamias) lysteri Richardson, Fauna Boreali- Americana. 

 1 : 182. 



1842 Sciurus striatus De Kay, Zoology of New York, Mammalia, 

 p. 62 (part). 



1884 Tamias striatus Merriam, Linn. soc. New York. Trans. 2 : 135. 

 1886 Tamias striatus lysteri Merriam, American naturalist. Feb. 

 1886. 20 : 242. 



1898 Tamias striatus lysteri Mearns, U. S. Nat. mus. Proc. 21 : 352. 



