Geographic Distribution of the Pocket Mouse, Perognathus fasciatus

Geographic Distribution of the Pocket Mouse, Perognathus fasciatus

In his "Revision of the pocket mice of the genus Perognathus," Osgood (1900:18-20) reviewed the distribution, as then known, of Perognathus fasciatus and recognized two geographic racesPerognathus fasciatus [fasciatus] Wied-Neuwied in eastern Montana and Wyoming and adjacent parts of North and South Dakota, and Perognathus fasciatus infraluteus Thomas, known only from the type locality at Loveland, Larimer County, Colorado. Later, Cary (1911:61) described Perognathus fasciatus litus as a pale subspecies occurring in the lower Sweetwater Valley and adjacent parts of the Red Desert of south-central Wyoming. After 1911 no important taxonomic contributions dealing with Perognathus fasciatus appeared. In studying the kinds of pocket mice known from Nebraska, I examined thirteen specimens of P. fasciatus from the northwestern part of the state which did not agree satisfactorily with the descriptions of any known subspecies of fasciatus. This impelled me to examine material from the entire range of P. fasciatus. This examination revealed that: (1) Perognathus callistus Osgood, heretofore considered to be a full species, should be reduced to subspecific rank under P. fasciatus; and (2) specimens from eastern Wyoming and adjacent parts of Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska represent an heretofore unrecognized subspecies. Further investigation, however, revealed that Perognathus flavescens olivaceogriseus Swenk, described from northwestern Nebraska (Swenk, 1940:6), is not flavescens but actually fasciatus. Since the specimens on which Swenk's description was based were taken within the range of this newly recognized subspecies, and since my examination of the holotype shows it to be of the species Perognathus fasciatus, the subspecific name olivaceogriseus is available. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 31224
Author: Jones, J. Knox
Release Date: Feb 8, 2010
Format: eBook
Language: English