Mammals taken Along the Alaska HighwayBaker, Rollin H. (Rollin Harold)
Science
Mammals taken Along the Alaska Highway
Baker, Rollin H. (Rollin Harold)
Mammals -- North America
_Specimens examined._--Total 214, as follows: _Yukon Territory_: 2 mi.
W Teslin River, 2400 ft., 16 mi. S and 56 mi. E Whitehorse, 8; W side
Teslin River, 2300 ft., 16 mi. S and 58 mi. E Whitehorse, 24; E side
Teslin River, 2300 ft., 16 mi. S and 59 mi. E Whitehorse, 7. _British
Columbia_: 1 mi. NW jct. Irons Creek and Liard River, 10; Hot Springs,
3 mi. WNW jct. Trout River and Liard River, 6; N side Liard River, ½
mi. W jct. Trout River and Liard River, 13; ¼ mi. S jct. Trout River
and Liard River, 20; SE end Muncho Lake, 5; S side Toad River, 10 mi.
S and 21 mi. E Muncho Lake, 45; N side Muskwa River, 1200 ft., 4 mi. W
Fort Nelson, 9; North Fork Tetsa River, 3900 ft., 4 mi. ENE Summit
Pass, 13; Summit Pass, 4200 ft., 10 mi. S and 70 mi. W Fort Nelson,
17; E side Minaker River, 1 mi. W Trutch, 18; Beatton River, 115 mi. S
Fort Nelson, 2; 5 mi. W and 3 mi. N Fort St. John, 7. _Alberta_:
Assineau River, 1920 ft., 10 mi. E and 1 mi. N Kinuso, 10.
_Remarks._--Specimens from 2 miles west of Teslin River resemble _P.
m. borealis_ more than _P. m. algidus_ both in size of skull and in
color, although I find it difficult to distinguish the specimens by
color.
Alcorn, like Rand (1945:43), found the mouse in almost every habitat
along the Alaska Highway. On the east side of the Minaker River, one
mile west of Trutch, Alcorn took 26 _Peromyscus_ and four _Microtus_
in 70 museum special traps baited with chewed rolled oats, set in a
grassy area where there were birches and clumps of willows.
_Peromyscus_ was usually abundant in old construction camps along the
highway; on July 27 in 50 traps set under abandoned buildings at
Summit Pass, Alcorn took 21 _Peromyscus_. Apparently, as Swarth
(1936:402) notes, the white-footed mouse makes itself at home in such
buildings, and local populations probably increase as a result of the
artificial environment that provides favorable conditions for
existence.
Neotoma cinerea drummondii (Richardson)
Bushy-tailed Wood Rat
_Myoxus drummondii_ Richardson, Zool. Jour., 3:517, 1828. (Type
probably from near Jasper House, Alberta, Canada.)
_Neotoma cinerea drummondii_ Merriam, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
7:25, April 13, 1892.
_Specimens examined._--Total 4, as follows: _British Columbia_: Summit
Pass, 4500 ft., 10 mi. S and 70 mi. W of Fort Nelson, 1; 5 mi. W and 3
mi. N Fort St. John, 3.
_Remarks._--Wood rats were obtained at only two locations, Alcorn's
field notes indicating that the animals were rare and spotty in
distribution. Rand (1944:44) comments that the rats were "scarce north
of the Lower Liard Crossing."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account