﻿58 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[Xo. 12. 



31. hrcoKlfi and Jl/". strauciti, but I am able to find only five in a skiu of 

 tlie latter, even after tliorouglily relaxing tlie foot. It is probable tliat 

 six is the real number, as Biicliner's determinations were made from 

 aleoLolic specimens. Tlie claws on all four feet are large and about 

 equal in length. That on the thumb is well developed — in this resi3ect 

 perhaps surpassing all other subgenera of Microtus. 



Fur. — The fur is long and soft, suggesting that of a lemming rather 

 than that of a vole. 



General remarks. — In many respects Fhaiomi/s resembles Fedomys so 

 closely that I should hesitate to separate the two groups were they not 

 already named. There are. however, such dilferences between them 

 that it is impossible to call them the same, while in all probability more 

 satisfactory material than that now available would show additional 

 characters. In external appearance the two subgenera dilfer consider- 

 ably. While Fedomijs is a typical vole, Fhalornijs bears a general resem- 

 blance to the lemmings. The peculiar aspect of the species of Fliaiomys 

 is caused by their short tails, large feet, and long, soft fur. The like- 

 ness between the species of Fhaionii/s and the yellowish species of the 

 subgenus Lagurus is even more striking. From the latter, however, 

 they are readily separable by dental characters. 



Jlicrotus uh/tJi i (Blanford), J/", mandarinus (Milne-Edwards), J/, siranclii 

 'B\\c\\MQi\ M. fu sens (Biichner), and M. hrandti (Eadde), are i:)erhapsthe 

 best-known si^ecies of the subgenus Fliaiomys. 



Suljgeniis PITYMYS Mclvlurtrie. 



1830. rsammomys LeC onte. Aun. Lyc. Nat. Hist., New York, IH, p. 132, 1830 (genus). 



Type Fsammom'js 2)ineton(m Le C'onte (uor Fsammoriujs Cretzsclimar 1828). 



1831. Pifymtjs McMurtrie. American edition, Cuvier Eegne Animal, I, p. 434, 1831 



(genus). Type Fsammonu/s pinetonim LeConte. 

 1857. Fitt/mijs Baird, Mamm. N. Am., p. 517, 1857 (section i 



1887. Fiiymiis Lataste, Annali del INlus. Civ. di Storia Natiirale di Genova, serie 2a, IV, 

 p. 266, 1887 ( subgenus \ 



1831. Ammomns Bonaparte. Saggio Distrib. Metod. degli Anim. Vert., p. 20, footnote, 



1831 (genus). Type F^^aiiinviint!--< I'hietorum J^e Conte. 

 1836. Fincmys Lesson, Hist. Nat. d. ^damm. et Ois decouv. depnis 1788, Compl. 



Oeuvres de Buffou, V, p. 436, 1836 (genus). Type Fsammomys jjinetoriun 



LeConte. 



1867. TerricoJa Fatio, Les Campagnols du Bassin du Leman, p. 36, 1867 (subgenus) 



(snDte]'raneH--< and savii). 

 1876. 2Iicrun(s Forsytb Major, Atti della Societa Toscana di Sci. Nat., HI, fasc. I, 



p. 126. 1876 ; subgenus'). Type Arvicola nehrodensis Mina Palumbo. 



Geographic distribution of type species. — Austral Zone in the eastern 

 United States. 



GeograpJiic distribution of subgenus. — Central and southern Eiu-ope, 

 eastern United States, parts of Mexico. 

 Fssentia I cJi a ra cters : 

 Palate, normal, 

 m 3 without closed triangles. 



m 1 normally with 5 closed triangles and 9 salient angles. 



