Marginal records (Nelson, 1909:78, unless otherwise noted).—Saskatchewan: Indian Head (Nelson, 1909:77). Manitoba: Carberry (ibid.). Ontario: Rainy River (Anderson, 1947:100). Minnesota (Swanson, Surber and Roberts, 1945:97): Polk County; Otter Tail County; Sherburne County: Washington County. Illinois: Blanding, 6 mi. WNW Hanover (Hoffmeister, 1948:1). Kansas: Red Fork, 60 mi. W Fort Riley; Greensburg (Brown, 1940:387). New Mexico: "near" Taos (V. Bailey, 1932:47); Hopewell. Colorado: Antonito; Fort Garland; Villa Grove; Salida; Como; Denver; Mt. Whitely, 25 mi. N Kremmling. Wyoming: Spring Creek; Big Piney; head Glenn Creek, Yellowstone Nat'l Park. Alberta: Great Plains region (Anderson, 1947:99).
Lepus townsendii townsendii Bachman.
1839. Lepus townsendii Bachman, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 8(pt. 1):90, pl. 2, type from Fort Walla Walla, near present town of Wallula, Walla Walla County, Washington.
1904. Lepus campestris sierrae Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 17:132, July 14, type from 7800 ft., Hope Valley, Alpine County, California. Regarded as inseparable from L. t. townsendii by Orr, Occas. Papers, California Acad. Sci., 19:42, May 25, 1940.
Marginal records (Nelson, 1909:82, unless otherwise noted).—British Columbia: Fairview, Okanagan Valley. Idaho: Rathdrum Prairie (Rust, 1946:322); Lemhi River; Teton Basin. Wyoming: Hamsfork; Henrys Fork. Colorado: Hot Sulphur Springs; Mt. Baldy; Crested Butte; Mill City. Utah: Kanab. Nevada (Hall, 1946:600): Hamilton; Desatoya Mts.; Santa Rosa Mts. California: Parker Creek, 6300 ft., Warner Mts. Nevada (Hall, 1946:600): 8600 ft., 3 mi. S Mt. Rose; 8900 ft., Lapon Canyon, Mt. Grant; Mt. Magruder. California (Orr, 1940:43): Tuolumne Meadows; Woodfords; Tahoe City; 4700 ft., Steele Meadows. Oregon: Antelope. Washington: Manson (Dalquest, 1948:382).
Lepus californicus
Black-tailed Jack Rabbit
Total length, 465-630; tail, 50-112; hind foot, 112-145; ear from notch (dry), 99-131. Upper parts gray to blackish; tail with black mid-dorsal stripe extending onto back; never all white in winter. On the tableland of Mexico and in the southwestern United States where this species occurs together with the white-sided jack rabbits, L. californicus can be recognized by the terminal black patch on the outside of each ear and by the less extensive area of white on the flank. To the eastward, in Tamaulipas, where only the black-tailed jack rabbit occurs, it too, has extensively white flanks and some individuals lack the terminal black patch on the ear.
A certain means for distinguishing the skulls of the black-tailed jack rabbit from those of all of the white-sided jack rabbits has not yet been found. The same is true of the skulls of the white-tailed jack rabbit and the black-tailed jack rabbit in the Great Basin region of Nevada. The skulls, at least of adults, of these two species, in the region east of the Rocky Mountains can be readily distinguished by the pattern of infolding of the enamel on the front of the first upper incisor teeth; L. townsendii has a simple groove on the anterior face of the tooth and L. californicus, east of the Rocky Mountains, has a bifurcation, or even trifurcation, of the infold that can readily be seen by examining the occlusal surface of the incisor.
In Arizona, Vorhies and Taylor (1933:478) found the weight of 23 adult males to average 5.1 (4.4-6.1) lbs. In that state, 70 pregnant females averaged 2.24 (1-6) young per litter and the authors (op. cit.) thought that a female had three or four litters each year.
Lepus californicus altamirae Nelson.