MAMMALS OF MARYLAND 



107 



15.9 (15.4-16.6) ; interorbital breadth 3.8 (3.5^.0) ; maxillary tooth- 

 row 6.8 (6.6-6.9). 



Habitat and habits. — In the southern Eastern Shore section, this 

 subspecies abounds in the dryer portions of brackish and salt marshes 

 along the Atlantic seacoast and the Chesapeake Bay. It is probably 

 the most abundant mammal occurring on Assateague Island. As an ex- 

 ample of its numbers on this outer barrier island, it may be noted 

 that in a single night in the spring of 1956, 60 specimens were taken 

 in 100 traps set in tall grass and myrtle on the edge of a fresh water 

 impoundment on the Virginia portion of the island a few miles south 

 of the Maryland line. It also lives in the marshes of the Blackwater 

 National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County where it builds nests 

 in muskrat houses (Harris, 1953) . 



In the Western Shore section, in Calvert County, this vole has 

 been taken in dry meadows and brushy fields. 



The habits of this subspecies apparently differ in no essential respect 

 from those of Microtus p. pennsylvanicus. 



Specimens examined. — Calvert County: Breezy Point, 1; Drum 

 Point, 12; Scientists Cliffs Road (1 mile E Route 2), 2. Dorchestef 

 Covmty: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 5 ; Cambridge, 5. Wor- 

 cester Comity: Assateague Island, 4 and 5 miles S Ocean City, 10. 



PINE VOLE 



Pitymys pinetorum scalopsoides (Aud. and Bachman) 



Arvicola scalopsoides Audubon and Bachman, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 

 Philadelphia, 1 : 97, October 1841. 



Type locality. — Long Island, N.Y. 



General distribution. — Northeastern United States, from central New England, 

 south to Virginia and western North Carolina, west to Illinois and Wisconsin. 



Distribution in Maryland. — Common in all sections of the State. 



Distinguishing characteristics. — Teeth 1/1, 0/0, 0/0, 3/3, = 16; 

 molar teeth not rooted, and grow persistently; tail very short, buffy 

 brown above, Ughter below; ears very short, and hidden in fur; 

 pelage short, soft and glossy, almost mole-like; coloration russet to 

 chestnut brown on dorsum, becoming lighter on sides; underparts 

 grayish buff; feet grayish brown. 



This species resembles the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) 

 from which it may be distinguished by its shorter tail, shorter ears, 

 and finer, more russet pelage. It differs from the red-backed mouse 

 {Clethrionomys gapperi) in that the reddish coloration of the dorsum 

 extends onto the sides and is not confined to a band on the dorsum ; 

 smaller ears; shorter tail; fur shorter, softer and more mole-like. 



