. Animal life in the Yosemite; an account of the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians in a cross-section of the Sierra Nevada. Zoology. 116 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE Streator Wood Rat. Neotoma fuscipes streatori Merriam Field characters.—Form and size about those of House Rat, but tail shorter than head and body (fig. 13); tail round, closely haired, not bushy (fig. 12i); pelage soft and smooth; ear rather large, rounded. Head and body 714 to 8V4 inches (183-209 mm.), tail 6% to TV2 inches (165-191 mm.), hind foot about 1^ inches (35-38 mm.), ear from crown 1 to IVi inches (24-32 ram.),
. Animal life in the Yosemite; an account of the mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians in a cross-section of the Sierra Nevada. Zoology. 116 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE Streator Wood Rat. Neotoma fuscipes streatori Merriam Field characters.—Form and size about those of House Rat, but tail shorter than head and body (fig. 13); tail round, closely haired, not bushy (fig. 12i); pelage soft and smooth; ear rather large, rounded. Head and body 714 to 8V4 inches (183-209 mm.), tail 6% to TV2 inches (165-191 mm.), hind foot about 1^ inches (35-38 mm.), ear from crown 1 to IVi inches (24-32 ram.), weight 7^4 to 8% ounces (206-247 grams). Coloration brownish gray with a general overlay of black hair tippings; whole under surface of body, under side of tail, and upper surface of feet, white. Workings.—Nests or 'houses,' 2 to 3 feet high, conical in shape, composed of twigs, leaves, chunks of wood, etc.; placed on ground beneath brush plants or trees, or, less often, on horizontal branches of oak trees at height of several feet from ground. Drop- pings: Cylindrical, about % inch long and % inch in diameter, scattered in and about nest, or at intervals along runways. Occurrence.—Common resident chiefly in Upper Sonoran Zone and lower part of Tran- sition Zone, on west slope of Sierra Nevada. Recorded from Snelling and Pleasant Valley eastward to floor of Yoseniite Valley. Lives in mixed stands of trees and brush, occasion- ally among rocks. Chiefly nocturnal. The Streator Wood Rat is well known to residents of the foothill country of east-central California. The animal itself is seldom seen, but evidence of its presence in the form of large nests or 'houses' is to be observed in many places. This animal is often referred to as 'pack rat' or 'trade rat' by of its propensity for carrying articles from place to place in and about cabins or camping places. The Streator Wood Rat is close to the house rat in size, the length of body and the weight being about the sam
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Keywords: ., bookauthorgr, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectzoology
