OCR Text |
Show 284 EXPLORATION OF TTIE OARONS OF TTIE OOLORADO. coul.d tell e~tly w~at the salamander docs at the instant he appeared, his motwns b~mg so qutck that one cannot be quite sure; the general impression, however, ts, that they are unloading their cheek-pouches. This is not at all ~mprobable, for we lmow that they carry their food in these receptacles, and It seems a very natural way for them to bring their refuse sand to the surface since they often have to transport it a distance of several feet. Still it i' quite desirable. to have other and more careful observations; for observers ar; ap~ ~o be deceived by their own eyes, especially in the light of preconceived opmwns. ~he subterranean labyrinth constructed by this clever army of suppers and mmers penetrates the pine-barrens and cultivated fields in every direct' A t' 1 wn. lit~l en~rge IC sa amander, ~ith a .slight knowledge of engineering. would find . e difficulty, ~ suspect, m makmg an underground journey through Florida fiom·1 thbe Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico· The direction of th e b urrows may easi y e traced by the loose hillocks of white sand which are thrown up along the line at intervals of three or four feet. These are the "<lumps'' ~ad.e by t.he burrower in throwing out his refuse accumulations. Each consbtsts ~f about a peel{ of loose sand, and, by the casual observer miU'ht easily e mistaken for an ant-hill N · . . . ' o ' h'll h 1 . fi . o opcmng ts vtsible, but by digging under the I a o e Is ound, the mouth of the adit to the main tunnel, which rna be three feet below the surface if made in cold weather but ·h t y than six inches if in summer. One of these d '. l per ups ~o more c t I moun s 1s t 1rown up m a very Iew mo. men. s.' have seen th'I r t y rai. e d m. a sm. gle night on the line of one tunnel' thts would represent nearly one hundred feet of t I' I h seen one hundred and fift . . unne Ing. ave . y m one contmuous row raised in about tw d this would make between four and five h d d r o ays; th un rc •cet of burrow con I t d . at short time apparently by one little animal a r P. c c m seem incredible to one who has not watcl d ;h n am~unt of work whiCh may animated plows which are se . I lC e rest css movements of these ' cmmg Y as well adapted [! · · h bi~ds are for cleaving the air Th b or piCrcmg t e sand us . . . c urrows are about two a d h lf . m diameter, barely large enou h t d . n one- a mches g 0 a nnt a man's hand d h ,_ stated, are at various depths b I tl ' an , as as uccn . e ow 1e surface. They me d . 11 . ttons, except in straight lines· th . b 'ld . an cr m a dircc- , eir Ul ers bP-1ng · d d their whims or their olfactorics The , . gui e apparently only by . y, no doubt, IDter:scct each other at many GOODE ON TTIE HABITS OF QEOMYS TUZA. 285 points, and one tunnel serves as a passage for a community, though fierce battles must often ensue when two rival claimants meet in a common highway. 1.'he nests are large chambers, one or two feet from the main tunnel, with which they arc connected by side-passages, which leave nearly at right angles. Here the miners lay up a supply of provisions, and the chambers are often found to cont~in a half-bushel of sweet-potatoes cut up into chunh:s as large as peach-stones, and of convenient size to be carried in the pockets. The salamander is a liberal provider. In this region, cellars are unknown, and sweet-potatoes are stored in heaps at the surface, covered with straw and sand. The salamanders are cunning enough not to throw up sand-heaps in the vicinity of these potato-heaps, but remove the loose earth into their old tunnels. When they once get access to the "tater-hake,'' they quicldy remove its contents, and the owner wakes up the ~orne morning to find his cache a hollow pretense. In these side-chambers, the salamanders rear their young, building a nest of grass, pine-needles, and live-oak leaves. I f<>Und them breeding in April. The color of Geomys tuza is quite constant, light reddish-brown above, darker along the back, and lighter yellowish-brown. beneath. One specimen was caught for me which showed a decidedly melanistic tendency, being nearly black. The measurements of a very large male arc as follows: Nose to eye, 1! inches; nose to ear, 1 i ; nose to root of tail, 11 s ; tail from root to end of vcrtebrre, 3 ; arm, fore foot to end of claws, 1 i; leg, hind foot from heel to end of claws, 11; muzzle to bottom of check-pouch, 3; circumference of expanded mouth of pouch, 5; distance from tip to tip of the longest toes of the fore feet, when stretched apart at right angles with the body, 7!; same measurement applied to hind feet, 6~; girth of body behind shouldcrA, 5; distance from eye to eye, ! ; distance from car to car, 11. The contents of one of the check-pouches in sand filled an old-fashioned silver tablespoon, heaped full. The contents of the pouch of an ordinary salamander will fill a dessertspoon in the same way. |