MAMMALS OF MARYLAND 



71 



Figure 27. — Distribution of Marmota monax monax. 



Measurements. — Males average larger than females in overall size. 

 Two adult females, one from Sparks, Baltimore County, and the other 

 from Washington, D.C., have external measurements as follows : Total 

 length 628, 615 ; tail 157, 148 ; hind foot 88, 86. Cranial measurements 

 of three adult males from the District of Columbia and nearby Mary- 

 land are as follows: Condylobasal length 102.6, 97.5, 95.7; palatal 

 length 59.3, 56.2, 55.3; zygomatic breadth 69.3, 65.8, 65.9; least inter- 

 orbital breadth 27.3, 25.9, 27.2; maxillary toothrow 21.7, 21.6, 22.0. 

 Cranial measurements of five adult females average: Condylobabal 

 length 91.3 (89.0^94.2) ; palatal length 53.5 (51.0-56.0) ; zygomatic 

 breadth 62.5 (59.6-64.8) ; least interorbital breadth 24.6 (23.3-26.3) ; 

 maxillary toothrow 21.1 (20.4-21.8). 



Habitat and hahits. — This is primarily a forest border and open field 

 mammal, seldom found in heavy dense woods. It prefers the edges 

 of brushy woodlands, and particularly open fields along streams. 

 Woodchucks are found along poorly cleared fence lines, in meadows, 

 cow pastures, and grainfields, especially where rocky outcroppings or 

 old stumps occur. They are common on the bluffs that line the Mary- 

 land side of the Potomac River, and occur in great numbers in the 

 farming country of Montgomery and Frederick Counties. Hampe 

 (1939, p. 6) reports that they are very abundant throughout the 

 Patapsco State Park, and that numerous burrows are found in the hill- 

 sides along the river. In the Bare Hills-Lake Roland region of Balti- 



