. Animal life in the Yosemite; an account of the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians in a cross-section of the Sierra Nevada. Zoology. MEADOW MICE 123 Yosemite meadow mice, which cut pathways in the grassland. Of the latter group the first two inhabit respectively the San Joaquin Valley and the western foothills. The last, the subject of the present chapter, is distributed over most of the high Sierras from the neighborhood of Yosemite Valley eastward to the plateau country on the western side of Mono Lake. (See %. 19.) The local meadow mice are all much alike in general outward appearanc
. Animal life in the Yosemite; an account of the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians in a cross-section of the Sierra Nevada. Zoology. MEADOW MICE 123 Yosemite meadow mice, which cut pathways in the grassland. Of the latter group the first two inhabit respectively the San Joaquin Valley and the western foothills. The last, the subject of the present chapter, is distributed over most of the high Sierras from the neighborhood of Yosemite Valley eastward to the plateau country on the western side of Mono Lake. (See %. 19.) The local meadow mice are all much alike in general outward appearance and so the Yosemite Meadow Mouse may be taken as an example for detailed treatment. (See fig. 20&.) The nose is blunt, the eyes prominent and bead-like though not so large in proportion to the head as those of white-footed mice. The ear is rather short and therefore nearly or quite buried in the copious fur. The body is rather chunky, the tail short and slender, and both front and hind pairs of feet are inconspicuous. The pelage of these mice is distinctive, being rather long, dense, and soft, and of fluffy appearance. This type of pelage is found in various other animals- which like the meadow mice live about water where the pelade must per- form the dual function of keeping the animals both dry and Fig. 16. Tails of (a) Yosemite Meadow Mouse and (b) Sierra Cantankerous Meadow Mouse. Natural size. The Yosemite Meadow Mouse like the other path-cutting species has a short tail, less than half, even but a third the length of the head and body; also the tail is of nearly uniform color. These features will usually serve to distinguish any of the path-cutting species from the Cantankerous Meadow Mouse. But within the first-named group there is no good external character to separate the species. The distinctive features are found in the skulls and hence can be determined only from museum specimens. The Yosemite Meadow Mouse is generally more blackish, but old indi- vidua
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Keywords: ., bookauthorgr, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectzoology
