North American Jumping Mice (Genus Zapus) — John Shaqi
North American Jumping Mice (Genus Zapus)Krutzsch, Philip H. (Philip Henry)
Science
North American Jumping Mice (Genus Zapus)
Krutzsch, Philip H. (Philip Henry)
Zapus
_Zapus trinotatus orarius_, Hooper, Miscl. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ.
Michigan, 59:67, January 12, 1944.
_Type._--Male, adult, skin and skull, No. 250, collection of E. A. and
O. Bangs (now in Mus. Comp. Zool.); Point Reyes, Marin County,
California; obtained on May 14, 1893, by C. A. Allen, original No. 618.
_Range._--Southern and western Marin County, California. Zonal range:
Upper Sonoran areas that are moist yet safe from continuous inundation.
_Description._--Size small; back dark ochraceous, usually overlaid with
black hairs forming broad dorsal band; side lighter than back with
admixture of black hairs; lateral line distinct, usually bright, near
Ochraceous-Buff; under parts strongly suffused with ochraceous; tail
bicolored, white to yellowish-white below and dark brown above; feet
grayish-white above; ears dark, edged with yellowish-white or tan; skull
small; zygomata narrow; braincase narrow; maxillary tooth-rows short;
interorbital region narrow; incisive foramina short; palatal bridge
relatively long; mastoid region relatively broad; occipitonasal length
short.
_Comparison._--From _Zapus trinotatus eureka_, _Z. t. orarius_ differs
in: Size smaller; color, dorsally and laterally, brighter, more
ochraceous; skull averaging smaller in all measurements taken except
length of palatal bridge, where it averages longer; auditory bullae
smaller, less inflated; pterygoid fossae narrower.
_Remarks._--Preble (1899:30) named this jumping mouse as a full species.
Included in the specimens examined were animals from Eureka and Mad
River, Humboldt County, California. Howell (1920:231) retained _Z.
orarius_ as a full species but restricted its range to Marin County,
California, and referred material from northern California, including
the animals from Eureka and Mad River, to a new subspecies (_eureka_) of
the species _Z. trinotatus_. Howell (_loc. cit._) suggested that _Z.
orarius_ had its closest affinity with _Z. t. eureka_ but remarked that
intergrading material was not available. Hooper (1944:68) arranged _Z.
orarius_ as a subspecies of _Z. trinotatus_ and suggested that
intergrades could be expected from geographically intermediate areas,
for example, northern Sonoma County, California.
Although animals from intermediate geographic areas still are not
available to show actual intergradation, I concur with Hooper (_loc.
cit._) and arrange _Z. orarius_ as a subspecies of _Z. trinotatus_. The
close relationship of _Z. orarius_ to _Z. trinotatus_ is evident;
certain diagnostic characters, held in common, are the shape and size of
the os penis, the diameter and pigment pattern of the hair, and the
general configuration of the skull.
Interbreeding in the wild between _Z. t. orarius_ and _Z. t. eureka_
probably does not take place, because these subspecies are separated by
terrain unsuited to jumping mice.
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