﻿50 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[No. 10. 



Measurements. — Ten specimens from Soutli Edmonton, Alberta. Aver- 

 age: Length, 112.6 mm.; tail vertebne, 40.1 mm.; Innd foot, 13.8 mm. 

 .^laximum: Leiigtb, 118 mm.; tail Yertebra% 42 mm.; bind foot, 15mm. 

 Minimnm: Lengtb, 108 mm.; tail vertebne, 38 mm.; bind foot, 13 mm. 



General ranarl-s. — Wbile ^^ore.r ) ic]iar(Jsoni is totcilly dift'eitJit in color 

 from all otber American Slirews, it closely resembles tbe Euroi)ean 

 Sorei' araneus Linn.' So close is tliis resemblance tbat tbe animals 

 bave been tbongbt identical by at least two antliors — Forster, in 1772, 

 and Dobson. one Imndred and t\Yenty years later. As Forster remarks, 

 however, the back is distinctly darker in the American animal. iSorex 

 richardsoui in winter, at least, is very constant in color, but Sorex 

 araneus varies so excessively at all seasons that it is not easy to make 

 a proper comparison between the two species. In a series of about 

 30 of the latter collected near Lyndhurst, in the Kew Forest, south- 

 ern England, during June, 1894, there is every shade of intergradation 

 between specimens practicall}^ indistinguishable in color from the i)aler 

 winter examples of S. rieJiardsc/ni, and those with no distinct marking 

 of any kind, the whole body being a dull, pale broAvnish drab, slightly 

 darker on the back. Taking, however, the darker examples of 8. ara- 

 neus it is seen tliat the dorsal area is constantly less dark than in 

 S.ric]iardso)ii, while the colored area on the sides is narrower, paler, 

 and not so sharply defined from the color of the belly. Even in Avinter 

 the fur on the back is in *S'. araneus scarcely more than half as long as 

 in S. rie]ia)'dso]ii at the same season. 



The close agreement in size of Sorex rieJtardsoni and Sorex araneus is 

 shown by comparison of the measurements of the former with the fob 

 lowing averages and extremes of 10 specimens of the latter animal 

 from the New Forest, England: Average: Length, 117.9 mm.; tail ver- 

 tebra^, 39.3 mm.; hind foot, 13.9 mm. Maximum: Length, 124 mm.; tail 

 vertebra^. 42.6 mm.; hind foot, 14.8 mm. Minimum : Length, 113 nmi.; 

 tail vertebras 35 mm.; hind foot, 13 mm. The slight discrepancy in 

 the total length of the two animals is more apparent than real, since 

 it may easily be accounted for as the result of different methods of 

 taking this measurement. 



SOREX Fl^MEUS sp. laov. 

 (PL V, fig. 5; PL VI, figs. 5 and 5a.) 



1857. Sorex forsieri Baird, Mamm. N. Am., p. 22. From Carlisle, Pa. (uec Ricliard- 

 son. 1819). 



1857. Sorex rlchardsoni Baird, Mamm. X. Am., p. 24. From Eaciiie, Wis. (nec Bacli- 

 man, 1837). 



1890. Sorex iihiiyrhinus iJobson, Mou. Insectivora. Part III, fasc. 1: PL XXIII, fig. 5. 

 From Lake George, New York (iiec De Kay, 1842). 



Type loeality. — Peterboro, X. Y. Type, 9 ad.. No. 2582, collection 

 of G. S. Miller, jr., taken September 21, 1893. 



^ Sorex araneus Lmn., Syst. Xat., ed. X, p. 53, 1758. See Thomas, The Zoologist, 

 p.63, 1895. 



