Marginal records.—Quebec: Ste. Anne des Monts. New Brunswick: Dalhousie. Prince Edward Island. Nova Scotia: Black River District; Doctors Cove, N Barrington Passage. Maine: Columbia Falls; Small Point Beach. Massachusetts: Wilmington; 2 mi. N Gilbertville. New York: Berlin; North Wood; Keene Valley. Maine: E branch Penobscot River. New Brunswick: Baker Lake.
Zapus hudsonius alascensis Merriam
Zapus hudsonius alascensis Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 2:223, July 15, 1897.
Zapus hudsonius hudsonius, Osgood, N. Amer. Fauna, 24:37, November 23, 1904.
Type.—Male, adult, skin and skull, No. 73584, U. S. Nat. Mus., Biol. Surv. Coll.; Yakutat Bay, Alaska; obtained on July 5, 1895, by Clark P. Streator, original No. 4660.
Range.—Alaska Peninsula, coastal section of mainland of southern and southeastern Alaska including Revillagigedo Island; also southwestern Yukon. See [fig. 47]. Zonal range: Canadian and Hudsonian.
Description.—Size large; back from near Ochraceous-Tawny to near Dresden Brown, sometimes darkened with black tipped hair usually with darker mid-dorsal area forming a band; sides lighter than back and from near Ochraceous-Tawny to near Clay Color; lateral line usually distinct, of clear Ochraceous-Buff; belly white, frequently with a slight suffusion of Ochraceous-Buff; tail bicolored, brownish to brownish-black above, white to yellowish-white below; ears dark, edged and flecked on the inner surface with color of sides; feet grayish-white [436] above; auditory bullae broad and moderately inflated; pterygoid fossae relatively broad; incisive foramina relatively long, zygomata relatively long and broadly bowed; mastoid region relatively broad; distance from incisors to postpalatal notch relatively great; occipitonasal length relatively great.
Comparisons.—From Zapus hudsonius tenellus, Z. h. alascensis differs as follows: Size larger; upper parts darker, less ochraceous; sides duller, less ochraceous more tawny; incisive foramina averaging longer; mastoid region broader; occipitonasal length greater; zygomata wider-spreading and longer; condylobasal length averaging greater; auditory bullae less broadly rounded; and distance from incisors to postpalatal notch averaging greater.
For comparison with Zapus hudsonius hudsonius see account of that subspecies.
Remarks.—Zapus hudsonius alascensis is a fairly well marked subspecies retaining most of its characters throughout its range. Variation is noted in specimens from the southwest end of Dezadeash Lake, 2400 ft., Yukon Territory, and seems to be the result of intergradation between Zapus hudsonius hudsonius and Z. h. alascensis. These animals are like Z. h. hudsonius in the shape of the auditory bullae but are otherwise more nearly like Z. h. alascensis to which they are here assigned. Alaskan specimens from 7 mi. SSE Haines, and from a point 9 mi. W and 4 mi. N Haines average slightly larger than Z. h. alascensis in most measurements taken; however, in coloration they more nearly agree with Z. h. alascensis than with Z. h. hudsonius or Z. h. tenellus the geographic ranges of which adjoin that of Z. h. alascensis.