﻿74 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[No. 10. 



SOREX OBSCURUS LONGICAUDA subsp. nov. 



Tyi)e from Wrangel, southeast Alaska. Type, No. 74711, $ yg. ad.^ U. S. Nat. Mus., 

 Department of Agriculture collection. Collected September 9, 1895, by Clark P, 

 Streator. Original number, 4891, 



OeograpMc distribution. — Coast of southeast Alaska, from Wrangel 

 southward; also coast of Washington, including Puget Sound and 

 Skagit Yallej^ 



General characters. — Size rather large; tail long, nearly equaling 

 ht^d and body; ears conspicuous. Similar to 8. hairdi in color, length 

 of tail, and external appearance; similar to 8. obscurus in cranial and 

 dental characters. 



Color. — Upper parts dull, dark chestnut brown; under jDarts buffy 

 ash, more or less suffused with dull, pale chestnut brown on the belly; 

 tail bicolor : dark brown above, buffy below. 



Cranial and dental characters. — Skull and teeth almost indistinguish- 

 able from 8. obscurus, but larger; molariform teeth more deeply emar- 

 ginate posteriorly, and middle upper molar narrower on inner side. 



Measurements. — Average of 27 specimens from Wrangel, Alaska 

 (type locality) : Total length, 128.8 mm.; tail vertebra?, 58.1 mm.; hind 

 foot, 15.5 mm. Average of 2 specimens from iSTeah Bay, Washington : 

 Total length, 131 mm. ; tail vertebrte, 62 mm. ; hind foot, 15 mm. Aver- 

 age of 4 specimens from Aberdeen, Wash.: Total length, 122 mm.; tail 

 vertebra?, 57 mm.; hind foot, 11.2 mm. 



General remar'ks. — Sorex obscurus is a strictly boreal species, and in 

 the United States it is exclusively a mountain animal, not descending 

 to base level until British Columbia is reached. In the Puget Sound 

 region, however, and along the ocean coast of Washington, and thence 

 northerly to Alaska, it sends a representative all the way down to sea 

 level. This representative is larger, has developed an exceedingly 

 long tail, and has taken on certain peculiarities of coloration. It is 

 here described as a subsj)ecies, in the belief that intergradation with 

 obscurus takes place. 



Sjyecimens examined. — Total number, 48, from the following localities: 



Alaska: "Wrangel (type locality), 27: Loring. Revillagigedo Island, 11. 

 Washington : Neali Bay. 2 : Seattle, 1 ; Avon, 1 : Hamilton, 1 ; Mount Yernon, 1 ; 

 Aberdeen, 4. 



In addition to the above, specimens more or less intermediate between 

 longicauda and obscurus have been examined from Port Moody, British 

 Columbia (3), and the following places in the State of Washington: 

 Olympic Mountains (Lake Cushman), 4; head of Cascade Eiyer, 2; 

 Easton, 10; head of Lake Chelan, 3. 



