The cup-shaped nests of Townsend meadow mice near Seattle were below ground. Embryos were found from May 4 to May 20 and varied in number from 5 to 8 with a mean of 7. In the San Juan Islands the nests of M. t. pugeti were under driftwood.
Microtus townsendii townsendii (Bachman)
Arvicola townsendii Bachman, Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 8 (pt. 1):60, 1839.
Arvicola occidentalis Peale, U. S. Expl. Exped., Mammalogy, p. 45, 1848 (type from Puget Sound).
M[icrotus]. townsendi [Miller], N. Amer. Fauna, 12:66, July 23, 1896.
Microtus townsendii townsendii [Svihla] and [Svihla], Murrelet, 14:40, May, 1933.
Type.—Obtained on the Columbia River (probably on or near Sauvie Island, Multnomah County, Oregon); type in Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.
Racial characters.—Size large; skull narrow in interorbital region.
Measurements.—Eight males and 5 females from Clark and Pacific counties, southwestern Washington, average, respectively: total length 208.0, 208.4; length of tail 65.7, 66.0; hind foot 26.5, 25.4; ear 15.0, 14.6; weight 80.8, 76.7 grams. Thirteen males and 9 females from Seattle average, respectively: 211.8, 209.0; 71.2, 68.6; 25.7, 26.0; 15.8, 15.4.
Distribution.—The lowlands of western Washington from Bellingham (J.M.E.) south to Puget Island (V.B.S.).