The most northern habitat of this animal is, as far as I know, latitude 55°,
and, according to Mr. Say, they are not uncommon at Engineer Cantonment on
the Missouri, and on the plains which extend from thence to the Arkansas.
Mr. Schoolcraft mentions that they are numerous on the river St. Peter, a-
tributary of the Missouri, and have been found destructive to the gardens. They
also carry away grain from the fields at Carlton-house. They appear to be
confined to the level sandy country, and not to inhabit the rocky and more
thickly wooded parts.
A female, killed at Carlton-house on the 17th of May, had ten young in
the uterus.
D E S C R I P T IO N
From recent Specimens.
jDentition the same as that of A. Richardsonii.
Form of the body much like a squirrel’s$' Top of the head convex, the forehead and nose
forming a more remarkable curve than in A. Franklinii, and consequently considerably more
than in A. Richardsonii. The nose is as obtuse in proportion as that of the former of these
species, and of similar form. It is covered above and on the sides with very short pale-
brownish hairs. The septum, and naked space round the nostrils, have a pale flesh colour.
The mouth is farther back than that of A. Richardsonii, but not so much so as that of the
A. Franklinii, having nearly the position of the mouth of the Sciurus Hudsonius. Whiskers.
black, tipped with yellowish-brown, shorter than the head. The eyes are rather larger in proportion
than a squirrel’s. The ears consist of a very low lobe behind and above the auditory
opening, covered on both sides and-ón the margin with short hairs; it curves in anteriorly
to form a minute helix, which is hairy. The inferior part of the auditory opening has a
naked margin, which is not elevated, and appears as if a portion had been cut away.
Colour.—-The end and sides of the nose, thé lower part of the cheeks, the eyelids, the
throat, belly, part of the sides, and the extremities, are covered with a moderately close coat of
pale yellowish-brown hair, sometimes, especially on the shoulders and hips, tinged with
rust-colour. The upper part of the cheeks and side of the head are covered with a mixture
of pale yellowish-brown and black. The lower jaw is nearly white. On the back there are
five stripes of a chocolate-brown colour, each stripe having down its middle a row of square
spots nearly of the same colour with the fur on the belly. The central stripe, running from
the crown of the head to the root of the tail, is a little broader than the others, and the pale
spots in it are smaller. These chocolate stripes are separated from each other by narrower
stripes of the same colour with the belly. There are also two narrower stripes of chocolate-
brown on each side, less distinctly marked, and without spots, but separated by yellowish-
broWn stripes;—forming in all nine chocolate stripes and eight pale ones, five of the former
being spotted with the pale colour.
• The linear tail is narrower and longer than the tails either of A. Franklinii or A.
Richardsonii,- having, when its hairs are distichously arranged, a pale chocolate-brown
colour down its middle, bounded on each side by a deeper colour, approaching to black,
and lastly the whole tail is margined by pale brownish-gray. The same colours occur on the
under surface of the tail, but there is more of the pale-brown colour and less of the black.
The feet are formed like those of A. Richardsonii. The thumb is smaller, but it has a
larger nail; it has one joint and its nail is obtuse.
Dimensions
Of a recent Male Specimen.
Inches. Lines. Inches. Lines.
Length of head and body • 7 6 I Length of the palm, middle fore-toe, and
„ head . , 1 9. daw - 0 «4
„ tail (vertebrae) . 3 4 middle fore-daw 0 3
,, tail including fur 4 1 „ sole, middle hind-toe, and
Distance from tip of ,the, nose to the anterior daw l 4
angle of the orbit ■. . . . ' . . 0 9 „ middle hind-claw , 0 2
,, posterior angle of the orbit to
the auditory opening 0 74 1
The largest individual I saw was a male, which measured nearly nine inches to
the insertion of the tail. The females were smaller than the males.
In addition to the nine marmots described in the preceding pages from specimens
either recent or prepared, and to the four of which I have given compiled
notices, North America most probably possesses many others, among which may
possibly be reckoned the Techallotl of Fernandez*, which, like the Coztiocotequallin
(referred to the A. Beecheiji) feeds on grain, and lives in burrows. The author
has not mentioned whether either of these two animals has cheek-pouches or not.
The European species of the genus are:—
1. A. b o b a c (Polish marmot).
2. A. marmotta (marmot of the Alps).
3. A. spermophilus guttatus (souslilc or marmot of the Wolga).
* u Techallotl caudam fere depilem gestat, ac' breviorem, nec dodrantem vincit longitudine; non cicuratur, sed
perpetud mordet atrociter et corrodit oblata omnia; fusco et candenti colore promiscue tingitur; et posterioribus quoque
innixus pedibus oblatam edit alimoniam, sed precipue maizii spicas apprehensas anterioribus; oculi sunt magni si illos
cum ceteris partibus conferas; vivit in antris qua unguibus facile excavat; consternitque land, gossipiove et quovis alio
molli stramento, ac passeres voce imitatur.”—Fernandez, Quadr. JVov. Hisp., p. 9.
2 A 2