[38.] 4. Arvicola N ovoboracensis. Sharp-nosed Meadow-Mouse.
Lemmus Novoboracensis. 46 Rafinesqtje, A n n . o f M a tu r e ,” (quoted from Desmarest, Mamtn. p. 286).
A . {Movoboracensis) naso graeili aeuto, aurieulis prominulis, caudd squamatd nudiusculd caput mediocre longiludine
excedenti, eorpore super obscure fuseo ; suiter sordide murrno.
Sharp-nosed Meadow-Mouse, with ears slightly overtopping the fur, a slightly hairy scaly tail, more than half the
length of the head, the body above dark brown; beneath soiled brownish-gray.
A Meadow-Mouse was observed by Mr. Drummond on the Rocky Mountains,
inhabiting dry places along with the Arvicola xanthognathus, and having similar
habits with that animal. It answers to the short description given of Mr.
Rafinesque’s Lemmics Novoboracensis; and although that is not sufficient to prove
their identity, I have adopted his specific name, to avoid the hazard of loading
the science with another synonym.
D E S C R I P T IO N .
Shape.—The body is thick: the head of a moderate size, tapers from the ears to the
end of the nose ; the nose is slender and acute when compared with other species of this
genus, and it projects a little way beyond the incisors. Ears rounded, rising slightly above
the surrounding fur, but they are not very conspicuous, as the hairs on their margins have the
same colour with those of the head and back. The tail is covered with very short adpressed
hairs, not close enough to hide the scales; a few of the hairs converge to a point at the end of
the tail. The legs are very short, the feet small, and the claws weak and compressed ; a very
minute nail occupies the place of a thumb. The fu r is less fine than that of the Arvicola P enn-
sylvanicus. On the back it is grayish-black from the roots to near the tips, which are reddish-
brown, terminated by black. The resulting colour is an intimate mixture of brown and black,
appearing in some lights dark reddish-brown, in others umber-brown, mixed with black. The
superior parts of the head have the same colour with the back, except that there is an
obscure rufous spot beneath the ear. The ventral aspect is yellowish-gray, which mingles on
the sides with the colour of the back. The feet are dark-gray. The upper surface of the
tail is liver-brown, the under one grayish-white.
Dimensions.
laches. Lines. Inches. Lines.
Length: of head and body . . . 4 3 I Length of tail . . . . 1 &
„ head . . . . 1 4 | „ longest for on the back . . 0 S
Described from a summer specimen.
[39.] 5. A r v i c o l a b o r e a l i s . (Rich.). Northern Meadow-Mouse.
Mouse, No. 15. Forster, Phil. Trans., G2. p. 380 ?
Arvicola borealis. Richardson) Zoo/. Joum., No. 12, April, 1828, p. 517.
A w i n n a k . D o g - r i b I n d i a n s .
A . {borealis') pentadactylus, aurieulis vellere conditis, caudd caput mbeequanti, eorpore villosissimo badio nigroque suiter
cinereo.
Northern Meadow-Mouse, with a strong thumb-nail, ears concealed in the fu r ; tail about as long as the head ; fur very
long and fine; on the back chestnut colour mixed with black, on the belly gray.
This animal was found in abundance at Great Bear Lake, living in the vicinity
of the Arvicola xanthognathus, and having similar habits. It very much resembles
the Arvicola Novoboracensis in size and general appearance; but, on comparing
them with each other, the A. borealis is seen to have a rounder and smaller head,
a less prolonged upper jaw, shorter ears, and a shorter and differently clothed tail'.
I t may also be distinguished not only from the A. Novoboracensis, but also from
the A. xanthognathus and A. Pemisyltanicus, by the form of its thumb-nail, which,
instead of being thin, obtuse and rounded, lying closely on one side of a little
tubercle, is larger, strap-shaped, and projects from the extremity of a minute
rudimentary thumb. It has its outer and inner surfaces alike in being rather
convex, and a small obtuse point projects from its truncated end. The form of the
thumb-nail allies this animal very closely to the Norway lemming, and to one or
two species of American lemming ; but its claws are smaller and more compressed,
and apparently not so well calculated for scraping earth as the broader claws. of
the lemmings. It may, however, be considered as an intermediate link between
the two sub-divisions of the genus arvicola, and may without inconvenience be
ranked either as a true meadow-mouse or as a lemming.
DESCRIPTION.
The Northern-Meadow Mouse has the dentition and usual form of the campagnols, with a
moderately large head, a convex forehead, and a short but acute nose projecting beyond the
incisors. The eyes are small, and the ears, which, toward their margins, are thinly clothed
with hairs of the same colour with the adjoining parts, are low, rounded, and shorter than the
surrounding fur. The body and head are clothed with fur, which is very long in proportion to
the size of the animal. The fur on the upper parts is shining blackish-gray, from the roots to
the tips, some of which are yellowish or chestnut-brown, some black. The hairs with blade
tip save the longest, and are equally distributed amongst the others, giving the whole a dark