162 Mary K. Clark, Michael S. Mitchell, and Kent S. Karriker 
Table 3. Summary of selected cranial measurements from 10 adult Synaptomys 
cooperi helaletes and 26 adult S. c. stonei from the Southern Appalachians (Wetzel 
1955) compared to measurements of two specimens (NCSM 6778, NCSM 7190) 
taken in the Croatan National Forest, 1991 and 1992. 
S. c. 
stonei 
S. c. helaletes 
Measurements 
X 
SD 
X 
SD 
NCSM 6778 NCSM 7190 
Width of upper incisors 
3.5 
0.01 
4.0 
0.03 
3.9 
3.8 
Condylobasilar length 
24.8 
0.08 
25.1 
0.20 
25.2 
24.7 
Nasal width 
3.4 
0.04 
3.5 
0.07 
3.2 
3.6 
Zygomatic width 
16.7 
0.11 
17.1 
0.22 
16.4 
16.4 
Height of skull 
10.1 
0.08 
10.5 
0.17 
9.3 
9.2 
“hard to catch, because 
it will 
not take 
any 
sort of bait; 
the only 
way to capture it is 
to 
set a trap in its 
runway” (cited in 
Handley 
1979:325). Rose et 
al. (1990) described 
S. c. 
helaletes as 
an enig- 
matic study subject, noting that sign was observed 10 months be- 
fore they caught 11 S. c. helaletes in only a few weeks. There is 
some evidence that pitfall traps and live traps might be more effec- 
tive than snap traps for capturing S. c. helaletes (Rose et al. 1981, 
Rose et al. 1990). We could not compare trapping methods for S. 
cooperi in the National Forest because only three individuals were 
caught. 
Insufficient field effort in appropriate habitat might also 
account for low capture rates. Previous studies (Handley 1979, 
Breidling et al. 1983) in the Great Dismal Swamp only sampled 
forested sites. Rose (1981) trapped both forested and nonforested 
sites in the Dismal Swamp, and all of his S. c. helaletes captures 
were from nonforested areas. Rose’s study sites varied from purely 
herbaceous vegetation to natural or planted pine stands up to 15 
years old. Some' were taken from a grassy remnant marsh, others 
were captured under an electrical powerline where the 40-m- 
wide right-of-way was dominated by giant cane ( Arundinaria 
gigantea ) and softstem rush (Juncus effusus ). Rose (1981) stated 
that as long as grasses remained in the understory, S. c. helaletes 
persisted. 
A review of the habitat descriptions from other captures 
demonstrates that S. c. helaletes can be found in a variety of suc- 
cessional communities. The data tag for a specimen (AMNH 265071) 
captured in Gatesville, Gates County, reads “young-2-3’ pine planta- 
tion on cleared forest land.” The Pasquotank County specimen 
(NCSM 4019) obtained from a barn owl pellet certainly came from 
