Sciurus carolinensis pennsylvanicus Ord
When J. A. Allen considered what name to apply to the gray squirrel of northeastern United States and adjacent parts of Canada, (Monogr. N. Amer. Rodentia, p. 709, 1877) he selected the name leucotis of Gapper (Zool. Jour., 5:206, 1830) as applicable. Allen rejected Ord's (Guthrie's Geog., 2nd Amer. Ed., Zool. App., 2:292, 1815) earlier name, Sciurus Pennsylvanica, because (loc. cit.) "it was given to specimens from the Middle Atlantic States, and hence from a locality bordering upon the habitat of the southern form, and consequently the name is not strictly applicable to the northern type as developed in the Northern and Northeastern States and the Canadas." It must be recalled that Allen had not at that time seen a copy of Ord's exceedingly rare work and was basing his comments on Baird's statements on Ord's treatment of the squirrels.
Subsequently, Rhoads obtained a copy of the second edition of Guthrie's Geography and had Ord's zoological appendix thereto reprinted. The reprinted version (now known generally as Ord's Zoology by Rhoads, 1894) contains (Appendix, p. 19) Rhoads' review of the pennsylvanicus vs. leucotis controversy. Rhoads concluded that pennsylvanicus must apply because it has priority and is available. The habitat was given by Ord as "those parts of Pennsylvania which lie to the westward of the Allegany ridge," not the "Middle Atlantic States" as Allen thought.
Notwithstanding Rhoads' comments, Bangs (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 10:156, December 28, 1896), in his "Review of the Squirrels of Eastern North America," employed leucotis Gapper and rejected Ord's name because it "is a nomen nudum" and of uncertain application. There seems to have been no attempt subsequently to review the pertinent names.
We are of the opinion that Rhoads' (loc. cit.) analysis and conclusions are correct and as cogent today as then. We do not agree with Bangs that pennsylvanicus is a nomen nudum for the following reasons. The name was based on melanistic individuals and could conceivably be applied to three species of squirrels, the red squirrel, the fox squirrel, and the gray squirrel. Melanistic red squirrels, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, are everywhere rare and in any case appear as individuals and not populations. Ord (loc. cit.) reported that his Sciurus Pennsylvanica was abundant. Ord, we think, was not referring to the fox squirrel, Sciurus niger, because he wrote that S. Pennsylvania "has always been confounded with... [Sciurus niger], but it is a different species," and (loc. cit.) described S. niger as a "Large Black Squirrel" and Sciurus Pennsylvanica as a "Small Black Squirrel." Therefore, pennsylvanicus Ord can refer only to Sciurus carolinensis. Further, melanistic gray squirrels then, as now, were common in western Pennsylvania and exceedingly rare in eastern Pennsylvania. Additionally, Ord described his animal, although admittedly inadequately (small, black, not S. niger). The name Sciurus Pennsylvanica Ord is clearly not a nomen nudum and must replace leucotis Gapper.
Allen's (loc. cit.) argument that the specimens were not representative of "leucotis" because they were from the Middle Atlantic States is based on an initial misunderstanding of the locality. Further, whether or not "topotypes" are representative of a subspecies has no bearing on the availability of the name appended to them. The name and synonomy of the northern gray squirrel are as follows:
Sciurus carolinensis pennsylvanicus Ord
1815. Sciurus Pennsylvanica Ord, Guthrie's Geog., 2nd Amer. Ed., 2:292. Type locality, western Pennsylvania.
1894. Sciurus carolinensis pennsylvanicus, Rhoads, Appendix of reprint of Ord (supra), p. 19.
1792. Sciurus cinereus Schreber, Säuget., 4:766. Type locality, eastern United States, probably New York State. (Nec Sciurus cinereus Linnaeus.)