340 U. S. P. R. R. EXP. AND SURVEYS-ZOOLOGY-GENERAL REPORT. 
Maryland marmot, Pennant, Synopsis Quad. 1771, 270.—Ib. Hist. Quad. 1781, No. 260.—Ib. Arctic Zoology, I, 
1784, 111. 
Quebec marmot, Pennant, Synopsis, 1771, 270.—Ib. Hist. Quad. 1781, No. 259.—Ib. Arctic Zool. I, 1784, 111. 
Monax gris, St. Hilaire & Cuvier, Hist, des Mammif. Ill, 1819 ; plate and text. 
Sp. Ch.—T ail, with the hairs, about half as long as the body and head, or a little less. Color varying from nearly pure 
black all over to grizzled above, and bright chestnut red beneath. Feet always black, or dark brown. Tail usually black, 
sometimes annulated grayish. Length, 15 to 18 inches. Hind foot over 3 inches. 
Description of specimens before skinning (847, 854). 
Form very thick and clumsy. No constriction at the neck, which is short, the head set ap¬ 
parently directly on the shoulders. Head broad, flattened above. Legs short and thick. Tail 
short, full, and bushy, somewhat flattened ; the tips of the hairs reaching a little beyond the 
ends of the claws of the outstretched feet. Fur of two kinds—the basal soft and moderately 
close, the longer projecting beyond the basal fur half the length of the latter, composed of stiff 
lustrous hairs ; the tail entirely of the latter kind, without any soft fur. Annulations are dis¬ 
tinctly visible on the skin of the tail on separating the hairs. 
Head broad and full. Centre of the eye midway between the tip of the nose and the posterior 
margin of the ear. Nose broad, the muffle covered with hair to the edge of the nostrils ; the 
broad septum between them, with the inside of the nostrils themselves, naked and black. The 
upper lip is divided vertically by a broad shallow furrow, running up and bisecting the septum. 
This is naked throughout. The lower end of this furrow is occupied by an angular cartilaginous 
pad, which lies over the base of the incisors. The lips are very full and fleshy ; the upper ones 
inflected into the cavity of the mouth, with its coating of hairs, the boundary of which is marked 
by a fringe of short bristles. The lower lip is not attached to the end of the jaw, but may be 
slipped down for a distance equal to the length of the incisors. 
There is a short shallow cavity between the muscles of the jaw and the cheek, attaining a 
depth perhaps of half an inch or less, and occupying the place of the internal pouch of Tamias 
and Spermophilus. The inner edge of this is covered by a cartilaginous roughened pad, which 
extends backwards so as when the molars are in apposition, to lie against their line of junction. 
The cheek whiskers are in five horizontal series on each side, nearly parallel, the upper 
somewhat divergent. There are about five large hairs in each series, though sometimes two 
spring from the same root, and there are in the lower rows some feebler ones anterior to the 
larger ones. All, however, are short, and do not extend back to the ear. Another set of 
whiskers (four hairs in the set) is seen above tbe anterior canthus of each eye, extending 
obliquely upwards and backwards. On each cheek, again, and about as distant from the eye 
and ear as these are from each other, is a clump of long hairs, about five or six in number. 
The tips of these reach some distance behind the ear. There is also a tuft of bristles under the 
chin, as well as some scattered shorter ones in advance of these and near the edge of the lip. 
The eyes are rather small, the pupil nearly or quite circular, the iris liver brown. In the 
anterior canthus is a small thin cartilaginous and triangular flap, which is directed backwards 
over the base of the eyeball. It is firmer and black at tip. 
The ears are short, broader than their projection above the skull. The upper edge is sub¬ 
truncate, the corners rounded or rather it forms the arc of a rather large circle. It has no 
appreciable antitragus, and is coated with short hairs on both sides. It scarcely projects above 
the hairs of the nape, though very distinctly visible from the sides. 
