Alexander W. Anderson 1956

Student field notes from zoology classes in 1956

Itinerary-Catalogue The Account of Species for the Mammoélogy class University of Utah Prepared fors- Dr. 8S, Ds Durram University of Utah Department of Zoology Prepared bys Alexander W. Anderson 2195 Walker Lane Salt Lake City, Utah May 23, 1956 A.W,.Anderson 1956 Peronvyscus \ maniculatus Sunglow Forest Camp 1 mi NE Bicknell 7500 ft Wayne Co., Ut. Single specimen, A.W.A. No. 1 was taken in a small stream bed NE of camp and would seem to serve as a testimonial that P., maniculatus is statewide in distribution. The total length of the animal is less than 185, .the tail is not tufted. Tail measurments on the animal showed it to be less than 90 per cent of the length of head and body. The fur on the body of the animal is of average length. With all of these facts to go by it would seem that this animal follows along the lines of the P. maniculatus in the Key to the Mammals of Utah by S. D. Durrant. : . > . ~ é : a = , * aS spin nett-a nT at le eae ae emma apart p ee ieee nata eee an ten pte rer -* ee ae * 2 oe ‘ = or » . “— ~ i at ew et * ¢ enenn hg, saa oS ete A.W. Anderson 1956 18 May Peromyscus crinitus Sunglow Forest Camp 1 mi NE Bicknell 7500 ft Wayne Co., .Ut. Single specimen, A.W.A. No. 2 was taken in a small stream bed NE of camp. The total length of the animal is less than 185 being 172. The tail measured 89 which is more than 90 percent of the length of head and body, and slightly tufted at the end. The fur was quite long and soft. So we may assume from the literature that this animal’ fits in with the P. crinitus, nd all eclectic at ae ne * . * - oS ie ve oe 5 oar ate tacittien _— » eames beatles eneena aia hantidenia aeatenoe SP om ee P . « . _ ae tie ee i. oe. c A.W.Anderson 1956 18 May Eutamias dorsalis Sunglow Forest Camp 1’ mi NE Bicknell 7300 ft Wayne Co., Ut. Two specimens, A.W.A. No. 3 and A.W.A. No. 4 were taken in a day trap line, set out to the SW on a cliff type ridge over looking the There was much evidcamping area, ence of a large mammal population Both of on this particular hill. these animals: have stripes on the side of there heads denoting the They also have the genus Eutamias. obscure dorsal stripes especially These two animals the lateral ones. were taken in country for which they are particularly adapted, so it would seem necessary to put them in the specific group °E. dorsalis. es . ~ ' ala eee gaa ena ete aah alaeee gan, ee pee ee kan edd er > . - aR 4 = . > 8 SP é* ” wi o - wr. ~ 2. a ee- << a = lei ate A.W.Anderson 1956 19 May: Neotoma levida Bicknell bottoms 2 mi SW Bicknell 7100 ft Wayne Co.,. Ut. Single specimen, A.W.A. No. 5 was taken from the entrance to a likely looking rats nest. The area in which the specimen was taken was strewn with large igneous: boulders and outcrops, which followed along the shoulder of a small’ rise bordering the road. There was much evidence of a large mammal population, mostly Carnivors, and probably of the skunk variety as judged by the feces found in the area, the nests and the runways. The hair on the ears was sparse, and the lengbh of the ear was more than 65 percent of the hind foot. The hair on the throat and chest was not completely white, but rather plumbeous.; Overall’ coloring was a pinkish buff, the tail sharply bicolored, with very short hair on the tail. These items would tend to point up the fact that this animal belongs in the N. lepida species, sod al catia - ‘ y ’ an . Ps - : ~ 5 aalltete ted ne Ped hateieee le Deak aaaancette name eelaoa ene i . oe ee a le Pe , ; ? * = ae we ~~» PS oer A . A “ ps e-< 7 Nai tes Oe a ° eeSed —™— 4 aa a é a ae A >W. Anderson 1956 19 May Peromyscus maniculatus Bicknell bottoms 2 mi SW Bicknell 7100 ft Wayne Co.,.Ut. Two specimens, A.W.A. No. 6 and A.W.A. No. 7 a female and male in They were taken from that order. a finger of land that extended down towards the river in the Bicknell bottoms, however it was not marshy land but typical desert terrain with sagebrush, shadscale, and greesewood as members of the plant community. Both specimens had a total length of less than 185, the tails were not tufted, tail measurments on these animals showed to be less than 90 percent of the length of head and body. The fur on the bodies of the animals was ef average length. So it would seem the P. maniculatus in in the Key to the Mammals of Utah by Dr. Durrant would fit these animals to a tee, A.W.Ande rson 1956 19 May Citellus lateralis Sunglow Forest Camp 1 mi NE Bicknell 7300 ft Wayne Co., Ut. Single specimen, A.W.A. No. 8 was taken in a day trap line, set out to the SW on a cliff type ridge over looking the camping area, There was much evidence of a large mammal population on this particular hill,. not only because of the number of mammals taken in this one trap line but also by the feces:found in the area, the nests and the runways. The tail of the animal was reddish beneath, with 2 white stripes bordered with black on the upper parts, With these type of markings and the habitat the animal was found in it seems natural to place it in with the C, lateralis. St laine ‘ , y - . anata ate toll ote ao alae aed gt pear et ee a nf eer - 2 a . : a 4S . 4 - ~ > satiateaeeiieeien tcametnalaeaeaeeemen mediate eee al eaten Eeee ' ~"> Sea : : —_ . [ bg A.W.Anderson 1956 19 May Eutamias dorsalis: Sunglow Forest Camp>1l mi NE Bicknell 7300 ft Wayne Co., Ut. Single specimen, A.W.A. No. 9 was= taken in a day trap line, set out to the SW on a cliff type redge over looking the camping area, There was much evidence of a large mammal population on this particular hill, not only because of the number of mammals taken in this one trap line but also by the feces found in the area, the nests and the runways. The animal had strives on the side of the head denoting the genus Eutamias. It also had the obscure dor- sal stripes especially the lateral ones. This animal was taken in country for which it is particularly adapted, so it would seem necessary to put it in the specific group E, dorsalis, : a “ay _ ee f Aan “ . . “ eee Fe = a = a eee ee aee ee -™“ = ~ ee a en SE . < A.W.Anderson 1956 20 May: Peromyscus crinitus Sunglow Forest Camo 1 mi NE Bicknell 7300 ft Wayne Co., Ut. Single specimen, A.W.A. No. 10 was: taken in a night trap line, set out to the SW on a cliff type ridge over looking the camping area, The total length of the animal is less than 185 being 155. The tail measured 85 which is more than 90 percent of the length of head and body, and slightly tufted at the end. The fur was quite long and soft. So we may assume from the literature that this animal fits in with the P. crinitus. mi So . a, Sea i or 2 5 iil etter ees coe CATALOGUE A.W.Anderson 1956 Sunglow Forest Camp 1 mi N E Bicknell 7300 ft Wayne Co., Ut. 18 May 1956 Peromyscus maniculatus 153-62-17-16 (No Embs:) Peromyscus crinitus 172-89-17-22 Eutamias dorsalis 195-81-27-1L6 do Eutamias dorsalis 205-8 5-26-20 Bicknell bottoms 2 mi 7TLOO 9 ft Way ne Co. SW Bicknell Ut. 19 May 1956 co Neotoma lepida 255-111-5029 a? ( ; ) + on _ Me . e/ omyscus 150-66-19-17 o Peromyscus ma 140-67-19-1° Sunglow Forest Camp 1 mi WE Bicknell 7300 ft Wayne Co., Ut. 19 May 1956 a -ero myscus ~ 7 -~ crinitus : Se 7 ~ ne —_— Pee ee bias oe Dee a be a 7 mone roe ITINERARY A.W. Anderson 1956 17 May : On the morning of 17 May 1956, Mark Burgraff driving his nine passenger station wagon picked me up at my home in the southeast section of Salt Lake City and together with Dr. S.D. Durrant and four other students of the Mammalogy class at the University of Utah where off on a field trip to the Bicknell’ area of Southern Ut. We drove for five hours, stopping only long enough for gas and to eat lunchin Siggurd. Our group arrived at the camping area 1 mile Northeast of Bicknell at about four o'clock and waited for about and hour before the truck with the equipement and the other members of the trip to arrive. When everyone was assembled we pitched in and unloaded the truck, put up the kitchen tent, the fly tent and our own personnal tent. After this was taken care of Bill Gilbert and myself took approxématly seventyfive Museum special traps up a small canyon ‘Northeast of the camp and set them in five yard intervals along the edze of the small’ stream in the Canyon. After we set the traps we returned to camp and ate dinner. Turne-e ed in for the night about ten O'clock, A.W.Anderson 1956 18 May At four A.M. on the morning of 18 May 1956 Dr. S.D. Durrant was heard muttering some obscure saying about your socks, so we took the hint and arose. Mr. Gilbert and myself checked our trap line and found we had only four animals, two P. maniculatus and two Pp. crinitus., We returned to camp ate breakfast,.divided up the specimens we had and put them up. During the day we set out a day trap line as suggested by Dr. Durrant and were quite successful, obtaining two Eutamias dorsalis from a hill with cliff type ridges a short distance to SW of the camp. There was much evidence of a large mammal population on this particular hill,. not only because of the number of mammals taken in the one trap line but also by the feces found in the area, the nests and the munways. After preparing , 1 an re i 7 Sp Saggesqratsorsty [nce , , AREAPRRReNe ETRE OOM i the specimens taken that afternoon we ate supvver and turned in for the night, quite exhausted I might add, But not however before Mark Bureraff, P.Q. Foley, Bill Hilbert, Bill Calvin Raymond Lee and myself had set 250 traps out in the Bicknell bottoms. We set 50 along the stream at 5 yard intervals, 75 on a finger of dry land jutting down into the marshy area, with a’5 yard interval, and 125 traps in an area strewn with. large ignious: boulders and outcrops, which followed along the shoulder of a small rise bordering the road, A.W.Anderson 1956 18 May There was much evidence of a large mammal population, .mostly Carnivors;. and probably of the skunk variety as judged by the feces found in the area, the nests and the runways, Several old skulls, and many bones were observed where the skunks: had eaten there prey and left the bones to bleach white in the sun, A.W.Anderson 1956 19 May” Rudely awakened at 43:30 A.M. on a much cooler morning than the previous one. We motored down to the Bicknell bottoms° where we had left our traps and retrieved them. There was nothing in the line right next to the strean, there were six Peromyscus maniculatus on the finger of dry land jutting down into the marshy area, Then there were three Peromyscus maniculatus and three Neotoma lepida taken in the traps set in the area strewn with large ignoius boulders and outcrops, which followed along the shoulder of the small rise bordering the road. Our only disappointment was that we were unable to get a skunk from this area, but one of the other fellows in the class did get one the following day in the very same location. After returning to camp and eating breakfast we put up our specimens, and then set another day line Out on the same hill just South of camp that we traped the previous day. I Zot another E. dorsalis and was also fortunate in .trapping a Citellus lateralis, which I prepared im- mediatly.. By this time the small hill in back of the camp was be- ing affectionatly called "Hil11 14 or 16" depending on the number of animals taken at the time, all told there were some 27 mammals taken from the one hill with the use of day trap lines, A.W.Anderson 1956 19 May The number of traps set out each time never exceeded 50 in number and were spaced about 5 yards apart. After eating Supper we set our traps out (the usualnnumber) on our special and private hill. After a small game of cards, which lasted until 1 or 2 in the A.M. we turned in for a good nights Sleep before we began our journey back to Salt Lake, A.W.Anderson 1956 20 May Awoke at 5 o'clock ran our trap lines and came back with 3 P. maniculatus and one P. crinitus, as we were leaving for home as goon as breakfast was over and the camp had been struck, we felt we could not handle all of the specimens we had so I put up the P. crinitus and we gave the other specimens to some of the fellows who did not yet have there 10 required mammals. Camp was. struck soon after breakfast was over and we had the truck loaded and started for home by about 11 o'clock. We returned with the same group of people in Burgraff's station wagon by way of Mt. Pleasant which was a very scenic trip and also very educational. Arrived home about 4:30 P.M. and the first thing I did was take a bath, the drain was plugged up for a week afterwards. All in all though the trip was very enjoyable and educational. This trip also confirmed my view that a person can learn much more and the knovwledge will be much more retained by observing, listening, helping, and working on a field trip than any class room work could ever do. Pu yet fo