1915.] 



PAKASCALOPS BKEWERI. 



81 



even with the Bartram manuscript in hand. Bachman ^ described the 

 species in 1842 under the name Scalops hreweri, basing his description 

 upon a specimen found by Dr. L. M. Yale, at Martha's Vineyard, an 

 Island on the coast of New England." Coues,^ however, m 1879 ap- 

 plied the name Scapanus americanus to this species on the ground that 

 Harlan's description was ^^apphcable neither to Scalops [ = Scalopiis] 

 nor to Talpa'^ and that ''he [i. e. Harlan] really had in view an 

 American mole, which he recognized as distiucfc, both generically and 

 specifically, from our common Scalops aquaticusy The name Talpa 

 americana Harlan (Bartram ms.), however, is untenable for several 

 reasons: Harlan placed it in synonymy under Talpa europxa Liti- 

 nseus (loc. cit.) ; Harlan actually misidentified the American animal 

 with Talpa europxa Linn^us, as is evident from his mentioniag in 

 his introduction a species of mole as common to both continents,^ 

 and, by process of eiimuiatiQg those species which he distinctly refers 

 in his descriptions to an American distribution, it becomes evident 

 that the animal he meant was Talpa europxa Linnaeus; furthermore, 

 Harlan's description, as has been shown by True,^ is a translation, 

 word for word (with a very fev/ omissions) of Desmarest's ^ descrip- 

 tion of Talpa europxa Linnseus. 



The description of Talpa reposta Le Conte is based upon a specimen 

 from an unknown locality and seems to refer to a specimen of Para- 

 scalops hreweri with slightly abnormal teeth. 



The hairy-tailed mole shows remarkably little geographic varia- 

 tion, and such as does occur is obhterated by individual variation. 

 This variation is manifest mostly in size, and, in adults, size variation 

 may reach about 5 per cent below or above the average at a given 

 locality. White spots and blotches on the ventral parts of a few 

 specimens of young, as well as of adults, mdicate an occasional tend- 

 ency toward partial albuiism. In extreme old age the skull flattens 

 and becomes much depressed postorbitally. A most peculiar change 

 associated with old age is that, m many specimens examined, the 

 hair on the nose and tail is white; in other specimens, somewhat 

 younger but distuictly adult, some of the hairs on the nose and tail 

 are normally colored, others are white. This peculiar senile variation 

 is not confined to any particular region, but seems to be more preva- 

 lent north of Pennsylvania. 



The hairy-tailed mole is rather rare and local in distribution, and 

 difficult to trap. It is, therefore, quite probable that in the course 

 of time its known geographic range may be extended considerably. 



1 Bachman, J., Boston Joum. Nat. Hist., vol. 4, p. 32, 1842. 



2 Coues, E., Amer. Nat., vol. 13, pp. 189-190, 1879. 



3 Harlan, R., Fairna Amer., p. viii, 1825. 



* True, F. W., Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 19, p. 76, 1896. 

 6 Desmarest, A. G., Mammalogie, I's partle, p. 160, 1820. 



90549°— 15 6 



