64 



NORTH AMERICAN, FAUNA 66 



the rostrum thinner. The supraorbital process is very slender, narrow- 

 ing anteriorly so that the notxih is absent, or virtually so. The posterior 

 portion of the process is very narrow and in some instances is free of 

 the skull, leaving a distinct foramen. The auditory bullae are notice- 

 ably smaller in this species than in S. floridanus. 



Measurements. — Nelson (1909, p. 168) gives average measurements 

 of five adults from Wilmington, Mass., as follows : Total length 388 ; 

 tail vertebrae 39 ; hind foot 96 ; basilar length of skull 54.8 ; interor- 

 bital breadth 17.1. 



Since geographic variation appears to be slight in this species, 

 Maryland specimens, if taken, probably would not differ greatly in 

 size from the Massachusetts series. 



Habitat and habits. — Llewellyn and Handley (1945, p. 384) say 

 that in Virginia 



All specimens examined were taken at elevations above 3,000 feet in the Alle- 

 gheny Mountains. Signs indicate that these cottontails occupy the woods and 

 brush along most of the higher crests and ridges of the state. 



They believe that the species will be found in Virginia only at ele- 

 vations above 3,000 feet. Since the species occurs in the Alleghenies 

 to the north and south of Maryland, and since there are several moun- 

 tains in western Maryland that exceed 3,000 feet in altitude, it is 

 almost certain that the New England cottontail is resident in Maryland 

 and will eventually be taken there. 



This species is similar to Sylvilagm floridanus with regard to 

 breeding habits and food preferences. 



Remarks. — The records of Nelson (1909, p. 199) for the occurrence 

 of the New England cottontail in Washington, D.C., and in nearby 

 Alexandria, Va., have been shown by Bailey (1923, pp. 120-121) to 

 be erroneous. He says : 



They have been recorded from the District . . . and from Alexandria, but the 

 record based on 2 young taken in a nest in the Soldiers Home grounds by Dr. 

 O. W. Richmond on 20 June 1886 was erroneously included under this species, 

 and a specimen which I bought on 1 January 1904 of a colored man on the street 

 who said he killed it at Alexandria, probably came from West Virginia where 

 they are common and are often included in shipments of rabbits to market. 



SNOWSHOE RABBIT 



Lepus americanus virginianus Harlan 



Lepus virginianus Harlan, Fauna Americana, p. 196, 1825. 

 Type locality. — Blue Mountains, near Harrisburg, Pa. 



General distribution. — Southern Ontario, and northeastern United States, 

 from southern Maine, south in the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina 

 and Tennessee. 



