PROCEEDINGS

Vol. XX, ^pp. 59-64 April _18,

1907

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

A COLLECTION OF MAMMALS FROM THE REGION

OF MOUNT McKINLEY, ALASKA.

':-7as

BY WILFRED

H.

OSGOOD.

Through

^{the interest}

^and

liljerality of

Mr. Charles Sheldon,

of

New _York,

the Biological

Survey

^collection

^has

recently

been enriched

l)y a

small but

valual)k' collection of

mammals from

the little-known region ^al)out the

northeast

base of INIount INIcKinley, in the interior of

Alaska. Mr. Sheldon _{spent the}

latterpart^of

July about

^the

northern

baseof

Mount McKinley

;

and

all of

August,

1906, ⁱⁿ the vicinity ^of the

head

of the

Toklat

River,

having ^reached

^{these localities}

by way

^{of the}

Tanana and Kantishna

rivers, traveling

by ^steamboats

^{to the} junction ^of the

Kantishna and Toklat and thence with pack-

horses to the sources of the Toklat,

high on

the slopes ^of

the Alaskan Range.

This

_region is

mainly

^treeless.

Mr. Sheldon

writes:

"At

the foot of the

Alaskan _range on

the

north

_side, there is

a

belt

from

ten to

twenty ^miles wide

of

country extending

north, ^all rolling

and _completely

destitute of

timber except a few willows along

^{the streams.}

At a few

points, the

timber

_(spruce)

runs up

^to

^{within seven}

or eight

miles

of the

mountains. There

is

a

_{strip of}

timber running

^{to the footof} the Peters Glacier,

then no _spruce timber thence

to the

second branch

of the

Toklat

River,

and then no timber

for fifteen

miles

east

on another branch. My camps ^were

^{all in} the timberless region or at the

head

ofthe

timber mentioned."

Although occupied

chiefly in

hunting and studying

^{the habits} of

mountain _sheep and other

_large

game, Mr. Sheldon ^preserved specimens

^of

small mammals

^also.

Most

interestingof these, ^is

a

small

Alpine

^vole

which _{not only}

represents a slightly char- acterized

new

_subspecies

but

also

belongs

^{to a}

group

^{of rare} species hitherto

known _only from

the

Kenai Peninsula and

cer-

13—Proc. Biox.. goq, Was«., Vol.XX, ^1907. (59)

60 _Osgood — _{Mammals From Mount McKinley.}

tain islands of

Bering

^Sea.

Such

records

and

notes in the fol-

lowing

^{list as are}

not derived from

actual

specimens

^are

based upon information

received

from Mr. _Sheldon, whose extended natural

history notes, ^{it is to} be

hoped,

^will find pul^lication at

some

futuretime. ,

Rangifer stonei Allen.

STONES

CARIBOU

On

his

way

^intothe base of

Mount _McKinley

aboutthemiddle_{of July,} Mr.Sheldonsaw

many

caribou,but it

was

then _{too early}tosecure_speci-

mens

with perfect antlers, sohe planned to get

them

onhis

way

out,but onthe return trip not an adult male was seen. However, he^securedin

Tanana

a pair of locked ^antlers

which had

been found near theheadof the CosnaRiver. These

seem

referable to li. stonei.

One

of

them

has a considerable part of the^skullattached, including nearly perfecttoothrows.

The

length of thetoothrowis 104

mm. Measurements

of the antlers are, respectively, as follows^:

Length

main beam

_{(along side) 1090, 1265; greatest spread} between palmations710, 570; greatest spread between bez _{tines 645,}665; circum- ferenceof Ijeambetween

brow

and bez_{tines 152,}136;

number

ofpointsⁱⁿ palmations ¹⁰

—

8,3

—

3;

number

_{of points}inbeztines 7

—

8,

4—3

;

number

of pointsⁱⁿ

brow

tines 7

—

_4,7

—

₁

; total

number

_{of points42, 21.}

Alee

americanus

_gigas Miller.

ALASKA

MOOSE.

A

few

moose and numerous

_signswereseen in the_vicinity of the base of

Mount McKinley and

^nearthe

mouth

ofthe Toklat, butno specimens were_preserved.

They

^are

abundant

_throughout the timberedpart of the region, to which, however, they ^{are not} confined, ^as they frequently traverseopencountry.

Ovis

dalli Nelson.

BALL

SHEEP.

WHITE

SHEEP.

Seven _specimens,sixadult males

and

one _(skull) adult female, taken August^{10-30. Indefinite}reportshave beencurrentto

some

extenttothe effectthatthesheep ^ofIMount

McKinley and

^{the Alaskan}

Range

^were

larger or smaller or otherwise difl'erent from the other Alaskan _sheep.

Such _reports

seem

tobegroundless, ^{for tlie} specimens ^{are identical with} those from the Kenai _Peninsula, referable to On.^ dalli.

The

skins are practicallypurewhite,butcareful search reveals a veiyfew

dusky

^hairs here

and

thereon the back

and

a _{very small}

and

_mos^tiyconcealed pro- portion of

them

onthe tail.

The

_pelage is entirely

new and

rather full

and

_{long but}

shows

considerable

brown

earthstain.

The

skulls

and

horns donotappear^{todiffer in}

any

importantrespectfromthose of_typical

Onx

(lain.

The

regionseems to be a _great stronghold of the white_sheep,but although hundreds ^ofewes

and

lambs wereseen almost_daily, rams were found onlyⁱⁿvery small

numbers

afterlong

and

determined _hunting.

Osgood — Mammals From Mount _McKinley. 61

Sciurus

hudsonicus

Erxleben.

RED

_SQUIRREL.

Common

inallthe timber.

Citellus plesius ablusus Osgood.

^ GROUND

SQUIRREL.

Eightspecimens,mostlyadults, from the base of the

Muldrow

Glacier

and

theheadoftheToklatRiver. Theseare_typical examples^ofablusus,

and

_{thus carry}itsrange considerably ^tothe northeast,the nearest point from

which

^itwas_previously

known

being the head^of

Lake

Clark.

Marmota

caligata (Eschscholtz).

HOARY MARMOT.

One

specimen, a very^fine old female,^killed

on

the Peters _Glacier,one of the few good^{adults of} this species

now

in collections from theinterior ofAlaska.

Castor canadensis Kuhl.

BEAVER.

Of

rather rare occurrence,in interiorpondsonly.

No

_specimens.

Evotomys ^dawsoni

^Merriam.

DAWSON RED-BACKED

MOUSE.

Two

_specimens, bothfromthe

wooded

_regionatthe

mouth

ofthe Toklat.

Microtus miurus

oreas _subsj).nov.

T(/pe,{rova.

head

^of ToklatRiver,Alaskan Range,^Alaska. No._148,596 U.S. National

Museum,

Biological Survey collection. (J* ad. August8, 1906. C.Sheldon. OriginalNo. 47.

Cluiracters.

—

_SimilartoM.)niurus,buttone ofcolor

more

ochraceous (not so yellowish) throughout; ^tail slightly shorter

and

_chiefly ochraceous, slightly ornotatalldarkerabove thanbelow.

Color.

—

_Type, in

worn

_{pelage: Upperparts}

and

sides pale ochraceous buff or clay^color

somewhat

toned

down

on back

by

^aslightmixture of

dusky and

exposure^ofthe

plumbeous

^{bases ofthehairs;} underparts uni- form _pale ochraceous buff; ^feet

creamy

^{buff; tail pale} ochraceous buff with_veryfainttracesof

dusky

on upper^side.

,SkidL

— _Very

similartothatofJ/,vdurus but

somewhat

narrower; brain- case

more

_elongate; zygomata^lessflaring anteriorly.

Measurements.

— _{Type and}

one topotype, repectively^: Total length,125, 120_>tailvertebrae,20, 19; hind foot (dry), 19.2, 19. Skull of type^: Basal length,^{26.7; basilar}length, 23.9; mastoid _{width, 11.4;} interorbital con- striction,3.4; nasals, 7.4; maxillarytoothrow,^6.

Remarks.

—

Seven specimens^ofthisvoleweresecuredinthe high

moun-

tain

meadows

near thehead of theToklatRiver.

Two

of these are adult males

and

theremainder immatuie,^buttlieentire series ischaracterized

62 Osgood — _{Mammal)^ From Mount McKinley.}

by

^{a riclier}

and more

reddi^li coloration than that of _typical miKrns^ of

which

_specimensinexactlycomparablepelage are available*

The

tail is

even shorter than in luinrns

and

with littleor

no

darkcolorontheupper side.

The

slight cranial characters notedabove

may

^not prove^constant.

The

form doubtless occurs throughout the higher parts of the Alaskan

Range and

^thisis probably^{the extent ofits}distribution, for collecting in the mountains near the

Yukon

River

and

in the northern Rockies has failed torevealitor

any

^{nearrelative.}

Since Mr.Sheldon's trapping was chieflyconfined tothe regionabove timberline,^this was_{the onlyspecies}of Micrntitstaken.

Some

orallofthe following probably^{occur at}

somewhat

lower altitudes inthe region^: M.

ajjcrariiiSj M. dnniniKiiidi, M. iiKirdax

and

^J/. .adiiliogiiatJnix.

Fiber spatulatus Osgood.

MUSKRAT.

Common

about ponds^{in thelesselevated}partsofthe_region.

Erethizon epixanthus

myops

^Merriam.

PORCUPINE.

Occurs throughout^thetimberedpart of the region.

No

_specimens.

Ochotona

collaris Nelson.

COLLARED

PIKA.

Five specimens, threefrom nearthe Peters_Glacier,taken July28th,

and two

fromthe base of the

Muldrow

_Glacier,taken August^{2d. Allare}typi- calofthis species,

which

doubtless occurs in suitableplacesonallthehigh mountainsoftheinteriorof Alaska. Mr.Sheldon_{reportsthat pikas}were

abundant

ⁱⁿthe_vicinityofhiscamps.

Lepus americanus

^{dalli Merriam.}

DALL VARYING

HARE.

Hares wereseen in

abundance

well

down

inthetimber butno specimens weresecured.

Lynx

^canadensis (Kerr).

CANADA

LYNX.

Common where

rabbits aretobefound.

One was

killedonthe

Tanana

Riverbutwas not_preservedasa specimen,

Canis albus _(Sabine).

NORTHERN

WOLF.

Wolves

^are abundant, chiefly above _timber,

where many

^trackswere

found.

___^

*TheBiological Survey^seriesof.V.viiurusbeingquite small,specimens from^tlie AmericanMuseumofNaturalHistory,kindly loanedbyDr.J. A._Allen,havealsobeen usedforcomparison.

Osgood — _{Mammals From Mount McKinley. 63}

Vulpes

fulvus subsp, FOX.

Very

abundant,especially above timber. Several were_{seen,including} black or nearly black individuals.

No

_specimens.

Ursus

horribilis

phaeonyx

^Merriam.

GRIZZLY BEAR.

Six _grizzliesweresecured, three adultfemales,

and

three_cubs,thelatter being theoffspring ofone mother.

They show

^{inucli variation} in color, especiallythe cubs,oneof

which

^is_verypale, another_{very dark,}

and

the thirdalmostexactly intermediate. ^Allwerekilled high

up

^onthe

moun-

tainslopes^farabovetimber, ^to which region they

seem

_largely confined.

The name

^"Glacier

Bear"

islocally applied ^to light coloredexamples^of this grizzly.

Ursus americanus

Pallas.

BLACK

BEAR.

A

black bear

was

seen on theKantishna River

and many

^trackswere notedinvarious_partsofthetimbered _region,

where

the animalsareevi- dently veryabundant.

Lutra

canadensis (Schreber).

OTTER.

Ottersoccurinlimitednumbers.

No

_specimens.

Lutreola vison _subsp.

MINK.

Common.

Severalwere seen along ^the Kantishna

and Tanana

Rivers

and numerous

skinswereseen inthe possession of trapperson theToklat.

Mustela americana

actuosa Osgood.

MARTEN.

Common

throughout ^the timbered part of theregion. Trappers' skins seen ontheToklatwere noted as being light colored

and

therefore prob- ably represent the subspecies ^actnosa.

Quio

luscus (Linnaeus).

WOLVERINE.

Common

throughout^theregion,exceptⁱⁿthe timberless_belt,

and

doubt- lessalso tobe foundthere. Skinswere seen

among

the trappers on the Toklat.

Sorex

_sp.

SHREW.

No

_specimensofshrewswere_secured,butthatthey^{occurisattested}

by

the fact that the remains ofone were found in the stomach ofa bear.

Thoseof probable occurrence are Sare.r personatus ardicus,^S. ohscurus, S.

tuii(h-ciif<is,

and

>S. exiniiuv.