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Show 222 EXPLORATION OF THE CANONS OF THE COLORADO. of the fur plumbeous throughout; or blackish-gray; feet and tail, for the most part, white or colorless. Average dimensions of adult, 7 to 8 inches; tail, 2 or 3 inches; fore foot, about 1^ inches; hind foot, about 1^ inches; longest fore claw, about 0.75 inch. HABITAT.-Valley of the Mississippi and its tributaries in a broad sense, and somewhat beyond to the northward. "Canada." "Oregon" (?H). DESCRIPTION.-I shall draw up my account of this species from the large amount of material, both dry and alcoholic, before me. The specimens are from the whole immediate valley of the Mississippi, from the State of that name to Minnesota; also, from Texas; from the Platte, Washita, and Nio-brara Eivers, &c.; but not from west of the Rocky Mountains, where the ' ' * 7 genus has yet to be satisfactorily determined to occur. Descriptions of form and proportions are taken from alcoholic specimens in the flesh; of color, from dried specimens. The present being taken as the standard of comparison for other species, succeeding descriptions of the rest may consequently be abridged to present in stronger light their own peculiar characters. The present account, besides being descriptive of the particular species, is rendered supplementary to the characters of the genus. The "pocket-gopher7' is about the size of a house-rat (Mus decumanus), but less in linear dimensions and much more stoutly built, with a heavy, lumpy body, on which the skin slips loosely; no appreciable neck; a rapidly narrowed blunt head; small eyes; no obvious external ears; short limbs; strong fore feet, somewhat like those of a mole, with enormous claws; and a short, thick, stumpy tail, issuing from a conical prolongation of the rump. The side of the body, before the shoulder, is occupied by an enormous sac, opening by a wide slit along the side of the jaws, but not directly communicating with the mouth. These sacs, fully distended, represent the greatest crosswise dimension of the animal. To sum the generalities, the gopher is a mole-like rat, plus these great bags. The general habits bear out the simile : of all rodents, the gopher is probably the most completely fossorial and subterranean; and its underground operations are conducted with the aid of these sacs. The head is short, wide, deep, and blunt; not separated from the body by any appreciable constriction of the neck. The frontal region is broad and |
