ANIMALS I .Ji IvWlTMER STONE " ! 1 WILLIAM EVERETT ORAM ;i ' i ! 11 i j P' M 1 i i i ' I I i i I i I I '^"'■'■'' ll i il i I I iii i! i! I ! I I II . ! ilii v::m,'A lilili iililiilil iliiii LIBRARY OF THE ^ FOR THE ^. ^ PEOPLE ^ ^ FOR ^ ^ EDVCATION O q^ FOR /^ O SCIENCE ^< DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 77th street & CENTRAL PARK WEST NEW YORK CITY AMERICAN ANIMALS By A. Radclyfc Diigmore BIGHORN, OR MOUNTAIN SHEEP (Ovis cemna) AMERICAN ANIMALS A POPULAR GUIDE TO THE MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA NORTH OF MEXICO, WITH INTIMATE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE MORE FAMILIAR SPECIES BY WITMER STONE AND WILLIAM EVERETT CRAM Garden Ciiy New York DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1 020 \ Copyright, 1902, by Doubleday, Page & Co. m - fT04^€-3wij> a? PREFACE IN PREPARING the present volume the aim has been to produce a work sufficiently free from technicalities to appeal to the general reader and at the same time to include such scientific information relative to our North American mammals as would be desired by one beginning their study. The key at the end of the volume will be found of service in indentifying unfamiliar mammals, and includes certain characters omitted from the body of the book. As a guide to further study there has been appended a bibHography of the principal works on North American mammals. To many of these I would express my indebtedness, especially to the writings of Allen, Merriam, Miller, Bangs and Rhoads, and also my acknowledgments to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and Mr. Samuel N. Rhoads for the privi- lege of studying the specimens contained in their collections. The text figures are all reproduced from standard works, while the plates are largely from the brush or camera of Mr. A. RadclyfFe Dugmore, whose name is so intimately connected with illustrations of nature. The publishers wish to acknowledge the many courtesies and the helpful cooperation of the New York Zoological Society and its Director, Wm. T. Hornaday, Esq.; many of the photographs made at the Zoological Park could not have been secured elsewhere. The same is true of the Washington Zoological Park, in which Mr. Dugmore made a number of pictures. WiTMER Stone, September 7, 1902. THANKS ARE DUE TO THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND THE DIREC- TOR, MR. WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, FOR THEIR COOPERATION IN SECURING MANY «F THB ILLUSTRATIONS :::::; TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface . V Introduction , xiii Edentates or Toothless Animals 9 The Armadillos 9 Cetaceans .... II Whales ... 12 Dolphins 20 Porpoises 22 Manatees and Dugongs 26 Ungulates or Hoofed Animals 28 Peccaries 30 Deer and Their Allies 31 Pronghorns 54 The Cattle 57 Rodents or Gnawing Animals 71 Rabbits and Hares 73 Pikas 93 Porcupines . > • • 94 Pocket Gophers > • 4 96 Pocket Mice • • 99 Jumping Mice . 102 Rats, Mice and Lemmings . 105 Meadow Mice, Lemmings and Muskrats 107 American Long-tailed Mice and Rats 127 Introduced Rats a nd Mice . . • 138 Table of Contents Rodents or Gnawing Animals — Continued. Beavers Sewellel Squirrels and Marmots Moles and Shrews Bats .... Carnivorous or Flesh-eating Animals Eared Seals .... Walruses .... Seals Weasels, Otters etc. Raccoons and Their Allies . Bears ..... Wolves and Foxes Cats '45 150 179 '93 207 209 212 214 219 247 255 264 283 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS COLORED PLATES AND HALF-TONES Bighorn or Mountain Sheep (Ovis cervina) . . Frontispiece PACING PACS 'Possum Hiding in Palmetto, where he has been chased by a dog ( Didelphis virginiana) A Scared 'Possum 'Possum Climbing 'Possum Looking Out of Nest A New Jersey 'Possum (Didelphis virginiana) A Florida 'Possum Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) Showing Young at the Mouth of the Pouch Six-banded Armadillo (Dasypus sexcinctus) Manatees Under Water ( Trichechus latirostris) . Collared Peccary (Tayassu tayassu) . Bull Elk or Stag (Cervus canadensis) An Elk (Cervus canadensis) Getting His Antlers The Rapid Growth of an Elk's Antlers Elk Stag and Herd (Cervus canadensis) A Startled Doe; she hears a whistle across the creek White-tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) . Virginia Deer in the Maine Woods at Night Deer, in Moose Creek, Idaho .... Western White-tail, or Virginia Deer (Odocoileus virgin- ianus macrourus) in the Bitter Root Valley, Montana A Young White-tail Buck (Odocoileus virginianus) . A Bunch of Mule-deer Does (Odocoileus hemionus) . Young Bull Moose (A Ices amertcanusj . . . . A Pair of Bull Moose (Alces atnericanus) . . . • lO lO 12 26 30 33 35 37 39 40 40 42 44 44 46 48 51 53 Lriet of IUu»tratlofi6 Young Woodland Caribou (Rangifer caribou) . Typical Heads and Antlers of Cervidae Pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana) .... Young Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) Male Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) Mountain Goat (Oreamnos montanus) Young Cow Musk Ox, about 16 months old (Ovibos mos chatus) Bull Bison (Bison bison) A Herd of American Bison (Bison bison) . Nest of Young Cottontails Young Cottontail Among the Cabbages (Lepus floridanus mallurus) Varying Hare (Lepus americanus virginianus) Little Chief Hare, or Pika (Ochotona princeps) Canada Porcupine (Erethiion dorsatus), with quills thrown forward. In wild state American Porcupine Swimming, with quills projecting (Ere thiion dorsatus) Western Pocket Gopher (Thomomys) Western Long -tail Mouse, caught in the Bitter Root Mountains . . . • • Long-tailed Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius) Mice and Shrews of the Eastern States Western and Southern Mice and Rats Muskrat (Fiber ^ibethicus) ..-,., Western Wood Rat, female (Neotoma) Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus littoralis) Western Bushy-tailed Wood Rat (Neotoma) White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus), enlarged White-footed Mouse and Young (Peromyscus leucopus) House Mouse on Trap (Mus musculus) Common, or Norway Rat (Mus norvegicus) Canadian Beaver (Castor canadensis) . • bb 56 58 60 62 64 66 69 71 74 76 76 87 92 94 96 99 102 102 1 10 H3 122 128 131 131 •35 138 142 142 147 Ivist of Illustration* VAONG r*os weaver Lodges and a Dam ^^g A Pair of Woodchucks by their Burrow (Arctomys monax) , ^ | Woodchuck (Arctomys monax) ,54 Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) . . . . ,56 Western Spermophile (SpermophilusJ, photographed in Colorado 158 Say's Spermophile ( Spermophilus lateralis) . , . 161 White-tailed Spermophile (Spermophilus leucurus) . . 163 Young of Columbia Spermophile (^5/)^rw<7/)A/7«5 columbianus) 1O3 Say's Spermophile in Snow (Spermophilus lateralis) . 165 Young Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), about one-third grown 163 Western Chipmunk (Tamias quadrivitatus) . . . 167 Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) 168 Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) 170 Red Squirrels (Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus) . . 172 Young Red Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus) . 174 Hoary Marmot (Arctomys Pruinosus) . . . . 174 Pine Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus richardsoni) , . 176 Flying Squirrel ( Sciuropterus volans) . . . . 179 Common Mole (Scalops aquaticus) . . . . 190 Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) .... 190 Marsh Shrew (Sorex palustris) 190 Four Common Eastern Bats 198 Sea-lion (Zalophus calif ornianus) 208 Sea-lion (Zalophus calif ornianus), barking . . . 211 Walrus Bulls and Cows (Odohenus rosmarus) . . , 212 Fur Seals (Otoes alascanus) 216 Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) 216 Otter (Lutra canadensis ) 222 Skunk (Mephitis putida), crossing a stream . . . 231 Mink (Putorius vison) 234 Weasel (Putorius noveboracensis) 234 American Sable or Pine Marten (Mustela americana). . 244 Wolverine or Carcajou (Gulo luscus) .... 246 Liat of Ilhisuatlone Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Polar Bear ( Thalarctos maritimus) Polar Bear (Thalarctos maritimus) Florida Black Bear (Ursus floridanus) Silver Tip; variety of the Grizzly Bear (Ursus horribilis) Kadiak Bear (Ursus middendorffi) Kadiak Bear (Ursus middendorffi) Red Fox (yulpes fulvus) A Young Red Fox ( l^ulpes fulvus J . Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) Timber or Gray Wolf (Canis occidentalis) Coyote (Canis latrans) Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) Cougar, or Mountain Lion ( Felis oregonus hippokstes) Jaguar (Felis onca) MCIIW FAGS 256 259 261 263 266 268 270 277 279 282 284 290 2C)2 irst INTRODUCTION Mammals and their Study The first questions that present themselves in the study of mammals are: What is a mammal and what is an animal? An animal we are told is anything endowed with life, that is not a plant. Very true, but popularly we use the word in another sense, meaning a beast as opposed to a bird, a fish or a rep- tile — that is to say we mean one of the classes of back-boned iinimals. Unfortunately we have no English name for this group. The term "quadruped," it is true, applies to a great majority of its members, but does not fit the whales or bats which belong here just as much as the four-footed beasts; nor does •'quadruped'" apply to man who stands at the head of the group. Therefore we have to adopt an abbreviation of the Latin name for this class of animals and call them mammals. A mam- mal then is characterized by having a more or less hairy body, and in suckling its young, while it has warm blood like the birds. The relations between man and the lower mammals have always been most important. He depends upon them for meat and clothing, he uses them as beasts of burden, he hunts them and trains them to hunt each other. With the exception of the beasts of burden and those which aid him in the chase, man's attitude toward mammals has always been that of a destroyer; in whatever field he may meet them his object is always to kill. Those which furnish good meat are slaughtered for food or are pursued from pure love of the chase; those which furnish valuable skins are killed by the trappers as a means of liveli- hood; fierce beasts are everywhere shot on sight, while a relent- less war is being perpetually carried on against the great army of rats, mice and other despoilers of our crops. Much of this slaughter is justified, but much is unwarranted and is speedily effecting the extermination of all the large and especially desirable mammals of the world. Pure greed and wantonness are destroying many of the most Introduction valuable and interesting mammals where moderation and proper protection would ensure their preservation for an indefinite time. In long past ages man learned the importance of protecting the most useful mammals of the Old World— the ancestors of the so-called domestic animals — and this he continues to do to-day, but in the case of wild animals, which he finds in other coun- tries, he seems blind to the importance of similar care. In our ov^^n country the buffalo is gone, the moose and elk are rapidly decreasing, and the fur seals are threatened with extermination in spite of all laws and regulations. In Africa all the large "game" is being shot off by adventure-loving ex- plorers and many species are even now nearing extinction; and so it is elsewhere. While the value of mammals from a purely economic point constitutes their main importance to the world at large, their scientific characters and the study of their life and habits are most absorbing, and with the spreading interest in nature study we can well afford to give them a share of our attention. From their high position in the animal kingdom it seems strange at first thought that we do not see more of mammals in our woods and fields. It is only the most common species that we are at all familiar with and though the country may be teeming with bird and insect life we are not likely on an ordinary ramble to see more of the mammals than a few squirrels, a mouse or two and perhaps a rabbit, muskrat or woodchuck. Mammals are, however, much more plentiful than we suppose. Go out after a snowfall and see what a record of foot-prints is presented. Evidently our four-footed friends are largely nocturnal in habits, and it is this fact together with their general wariness and extremely acute sense of hearing, smell and sight that render them so hard to see. The very difficulties which beset the study of mammals in the field render it all the more attractive, and we envy the woodsman whose long practice renders conspicuous to him signs that to the beginner are passed again and again unnoticed. As we follow a trail through the forest, his quick eye notes that a bear has pre- ceded us. Here are some herbs that he has grubbed up, there are his muddy footprints on a log and the rotten bark has peeled off with his weight as he jumped down, and here again he has risen on his hind feet to claw and bite the bark of a tree. xiv Introduction How clear the story is when once it has been pointed out! And we feel that in studying the marks of his presence we have learned something of the bear himself. Tracks on the snow are much easier hieroglyphs to decipher; to use Burrough's words: "The snow is a great tell-tale and blabs as effectually as it obliterates. I go into the woods and know all that has happened. I cross the field, and if only a mouse has visited his neighbour, the fact is chronicled." It is, indeed, a fascinating task to read the story of the mammals in the snow, to learn to know the sharp clear-cut trail of the fox, the blurred mark of the rabbit's hairy foot, the nervous tread of the squirrels and the dainty traceries of the mice and shrews. A knowledge of mammals doubles the interest of an ordinary ramble to the lover of nature. Even though we see but few, we learn to know their presence and see their work on every side, and the more we learn of their ways the more frequent glimpses we get of them. The pleasure of seeing and studying a wild animal in life to me far outranks the gratification of making a good shot and "bagging my game," and 1 think that if the pleasure men feel in hunting were carefully analyzed it will be found that besides being close to nature it rests largely in the contest of skill and craft between hunter and game and that the mere killing is any- thing but a gratification. Structure and Classification Mammals form one of the great classes of vertebrate animals. The most important character which they have in common, but which is not possessed by any other animals, is that the young are nourished for some time after birth on milk secreted by the mother. Furthermore, all mammals are covered with more or less hair* in distinction to the feathers of birds, and the scales of fishes and reptiles. Mammals are supposed to have originated from some early reptilian animal and branched off long before the birds were evolved. They first became abundantly distributed over the Ter- tiary period though the earliest remains occur in the Triassic. * Entirely disappears in adult whales. Introduction In the ages since then one type of mammal after another has arisen, some being modified step by step into the forms that inhabit the earth to-day while others have been entirely exterminated. In some cases the series of fossil remains are so complete that we can easily trace the ancestry of several of our modern mammals, as, for instance, the horse, which is shown to be originally descended from a five-toed beast, while successive ages show the specialization of the feet, first with four toes and then with three, until finally we have the existing horse with his one large toe or hoof on each foot. At the present time the great bulk of mammals belong to one group known as the Eutheria — modern mammals— though we have remnants of two other more primitive groups which were much more extensively developed in the past. These are now almost entirely restricted to Australia and the neighbouring islands where they have been cut off from their mainland rela- tives at the time that Australia became separated from the Asia- tic continent, and have there been preserved to the present day, free from the inroad of the higher forms of mammals which spread over the continents and, being better adapted to existing conditions, crowded the earlier forms out o^ existence. The most primitive of the older mammals are the Prototheria —early mammals— comprising the duck bill and spiny ant-eater of Australia, animals which resemble in skeletal characters the earliest known fossil mammals, and which lay eggs somewhat like those of the reptiles. The second group, the Marsupialia — pouched mammals — in- cludes a large number of species in Australia and the opossums of America. One of the leading peculiarities of these animals is that their young are born at a very early stage of development in a perfectly helpless condition and are then placed in an ex- ternal pouch on the belly of the female where they continue their development. The modern mammals— £////i^m— comprise a number of dis- tinct types the relationship of which is not always clear, though they are all derived from a common origin and are more closely related to one another than to either of the preceding groups. The aquatic whales and manatees, while not closely related to one another, differ so much from the land mammals that it is very xvi Introduction uncertain just where they branched off from the "family tree" and it is convenient to consider them first, though they are without doubt degenerate animals derived from some ancient ter- restrial forms and are not themselves primitive. The remaining orders fall naturally into two series, those with compressed, hooked "claws" on the feet and those with flat nails or hoofs. We will have then the following table of "orders" of mod- ern mammals: Aquatic, with no hind legs and with fore legs modified into flippers for swimming, tail broad and flat; hair little or none. Nostrils opening on top of the head in a "blow hole," teeth, if any, simple and all alike, not tuberculate. Cetacea, whales. Nostrils at the end of the nose as usual, tuberculate teeth in the back part of the jaws. Sirenia, manatees. Terrestrial (except seals and bats) with all four limbs well devel- oped, and body covered with hair. Nails of feet compressed and hooked forming claws. No incisor teeth; teeth without enamel. Edeniaia, sloths, armadillos, etc. With incisor teeth; enamel present. Incisors large and prominent, two in each jaw, concealed portion curved and reaching far back in the skull, canines wanting, leaving a broad gap on each side of the mouth. CAires, rats, etc. Incisors small, generally more than two, canines present leaving no gap at the side of the jaws. Anterior limbs modified into \\\ngs ... .Chiropier a, bats. Anterior limbs normal. Canines not prominent Inseciivora, shrews, etc. Canines prominent Carnivora, cats, dogs, etc. Nails flat or developed into hoofs. Nose modified into a trunk, toes 5. Proboscidea, elephants. Nose normal, feet never 5-toed, always armed with hoofs. Ungulata, horses, cows, etc. Nose normal, feet always 5-toed. Primates, monkeys and man. There are a few more or less obscure foreign mammals that are not accommodated in the scheme given above, and which are intermediate in their characters. In North America we lack representatives of several orders. The Proiotheria are entirely wanting and of the Marsupialia we xvii Introduction have only the opossum. Of the higher orders, the Sirenia are represented by the few remaining manatees of Florida, the Eden- tata only by a species of armadillo which crosses into Texas from farther south. Proboscidea (elephants) are entirely lacking, and of Primates our only native representatives are the Indian and Eskimo. Of the remaining orders we have an abundance of species. In the scientific study of mammals we are compelled to make use of more or less obscure characters, and when separa- ting species, we are unable to base descriptions entirely upon the external appearance, as is possible in the case of birds. Some mammals, especially among the mice, exhibit scarcely any external differences, while an examination of their skulls and teeth shows that they belong to quite different genera. Indeed, few mammals are very brightly marked, doubtless due to their general nocturnal habits and their need of protec- tive colouration. The necessity of studying some of the skeletal characters in identifying mammals makes it desirable to have an idea of the more important portions of their bony structure. While there is no reason why the structure of any particular portion of an animal's anatomy should be regarded as of more importance than another in studying its relationship, it is nevertheless a fact that in every group of animals certain organs or parts of the skeleton show a greater susceptibility to modification, and thus furnish a much easier clue to the origin and development of the species, than is offered by those parts in which there is very slight modification. Thus in the mammals it is the structure of the skull, the teeth and the lower leg and foot bones that furnish the basis for most of our classification. The Skull. — The skull is really composed of a large number of bones, each of which has a distinctive name, but in the adult animal they have become so firmly joined together that even the lines of juncture are nearly obliterated, and we may therefore say that the adult skull consists of two parts — the skull proper and the lower jaw or mandible, the latter being separable into two symmetrical halves. The skull proper consists of the bony box or brain case, the back of which is known as the occipital hone, and in it is the round hole or foramen through which the spinal chord joins the brain. The forward part of xviii Introduction the skull comprises the upper jaw, the nasal bones, surrounding the nostrils, and the large eye sockets. The bones forming the roof of the mouth constitute the palate and those forming the Skull and one side of mandible of Musk Rat. N nas»l. F frontal. P parietal. O occipital. Z zygomatic arch. B audita! bull* Mx maxillary PMx premaxillary. I incisors. M molars. CP coronoid process. CD condyle. A angle. forehead are the frontals, while on the posterior portion of the lower part of the skull are two rounded "ear bones" known as the audital bullce. The Teeth. — The teeth of mammals are divided into four groups, the incisors or cutting teeth placed across the front of the jaws, the canines, four rather elongated teeth placed at the front corners of the jaws, two above and two below, the pre- molars placed immediately behind the canines, and back of these the molars or grinders. Most mammals have two sets of teeth; the milk teeth and the permanent teeth. The former are weaker and are only retained during the early years of the animal's life when they are succeeded by the permanent set. The premolars are represented in the milk dentition, but the molars are not, and that is the reason for separating them. In structure, however, they are quite similar and it is often impossible to distinguish them. The simplest form of tooth is a single-pointed cone, such as we see in the toothed whales; all canine teeth are similar to this in structure, while the incisors are generally more flattened and sometimes slightly lobed. Introduction Next we have tuber culate teeth, with a flat crown from which arise rounded or pointed tubercles; such are many molars and premolars. Besides these there are the flat-topped teeth of horses, cows, elephants and many mice with tortuous ridges across their surface, these being the most complicated teeth known. Sections of Teeth. I An incisor or tusk of Elephant, with open pulp cavity at base. 2 Human molar with broad crown and two roots. 3 Molar of Ox, showing deeply folded enamel surface with cement filling up the depressions. (After Lydekker). A tooth grows from a soft "pulp" and in its early stage is open at the base, the cavity being occupied by the pulp. Some teeth remain this way and continue to grow on indefi- nitely while they wear away more or less at their tips. Such are the tusks of elephants and the incisor teeth of rats and other gnawing animals. Other teeth, on the contrary, gradually close up at the base, forming one or more roots or fangs, the rem- nant of the pulp being contained in the inside of the tooth. Such teeth do not increase in growth after the roots are formed. The substances that make up teeth are three: (i) dentine or ivory which forms the bulk of the tooth, (2) enamel, a very hard bluish-white substance which covers the outer surface, and (3) cement, a bone-like substance which fills up the cavities XX Introductiot between the ridges on the large teeth of the horse, cow, an(? other similar animals. The number of teeth varies greatly in different animals and furnishes us with an excellent aid to classification. Sometimes teeth are entirely wanting, as in certain whales, and again wc find one or other of the groups of teeth lacking, as the caninea in the gnawing mammals, or the incisors in the upper jaw ov the cattle and deer. In other families of mammals special names are used fo' some of the teeth; thus it will be noticed that in all carnivorour mammals one of the back teeth on each side of the jaw is much larger than the others, sometimes it is a molar, sometimes a premolar, but from its peculiar prominence it is called the car- nasal tooth. Again, in the insectivorous mammals, the incisors, canines and some of the premolars are all simple in structure and so much alike that they cannot be separated by their struc- ture; they are therefore for convenience known collectively as the uniciispid teeth. in many mammals some of the teeth become immensely developed and are termed tusks as, for example, in the elephant, walrus, narv^hal, etc. Legs and Feet. — Next to the variations in their skulls and teeth mammals exhibit most diversity in the structure of their limbs. The limb of a mammal consists of four parts, and the bones which compose the fore limb have different names from those of the hind limb; thus we have FORE LIMB HIND LIMB I. Humerus (upper arm). Femur (thigh). II. Ulna and radius (fore-arm). Tibia and fibula (lower leg). III. Bones of the carpus (wrist). Bones of the tarsus (ankle). IV. Phalanges (fingers). Phalanges (toes). The two bones composing the lower leg or calf which lie side by side are frequently joined together, or else the fibula is only partially developed. It is in the bones of the hands and feet, however, that we find the greatest variation, especially in the long bones that form the back of our hand {metacarpals) and the instep of our foot [metatarsals) and which support the fingers and toes. These Introduction are sometimes immensely developed so as to form apparently another section to the leg, as we see in the horse and cow where these bones are so long that the heels on the hind feet are elevated a foot or more in the air. In these animals there is also a reduction in the number of toes and we fmd that such of these metacarpal and metatarsal bones as remain are fused to- gether, while those belonging to the missing toes are mere abor- tive splints. With these brief explanations we shall be better able to un- derstand the preceding table of the mammalian orders and the further classification which follows. Limits of the Work So easily are mammals affected by their surroundings that we fmd that differences in climate, temperature, humidity, food, etc., are immediately reflected in a difference in the size, colour, or skeletal characters of the individuals of a certain region. This re- sults in an immense number of geographic varieties of nearly all kinds of mammals which have been carefully studied and sepa- rated by systematic zoologists. The differences which distinguish these varieties are not al- ways perceptible to the popular eye, but as everyone wishes to be as nearly accurate as possible, we have mentioned in the following pages every species and variety of mammal found in North Amer- ica east of the Mississippi, and all the varieties of big game animals north of Mexico. Of other manimals from the West, however, only the most important species are described. The scientific names used are those adopted in the most reliable systematic monographs of the day and no attempt has been made to solve the vexed question of what constitutes a species and what a subspecies. Those animals which would be most readily recognized as different by one beginning the study of our mammals are separately described, while geographical races and closely allied species are grouped together at the end of the account with their range and a few of their most obvious dif- ferential characters. It will therefore be understood that in so grouping them there is no intention to reduce their taxonomic rank, but simply to arrange them so that the general reader, who does not wish to study in detail the structure of every form, Introduction may more easily obtain the information that he desires. Those who do desire to go deeper into the subject and study the cra- nial peculiarities and minute differences between the numerous sub- species are referred to the technical works quoted in the appended bibliography. won AMERICAN ANIMALS MARSUPIALS OR POUCHED ANIMALS (Marsiipialia) The marsupials stand apart from all the other groups of Ameri- can mammals having many peculiarities of structure and habit not possessed by any other family. They are in fact the sur- vivors of an ancient population which was spread over the earth before the superior beasts of to-day made their appearance. At about the time that the marsupials had reached the height of their development Australia became separated from the mainland of Asia, and until the present time these curious primitive ani- mals have flourished on this isolated continent, while almost every- where else they have been superseded by more highly developed and more aggressive beasts. Outside of Australia the only known marsupials are the opos- sums, which are restricted to South and Middle America, with the single exception of the well-known Virginia opossum of our Southern and Middle States. The variety of Australian marsupials is very great; the largest and best-known are the peculiar kangaroos; others resemble in general form our smaller carnivora, still others recall the squirrels, while the flying phalangers are the counterpart of our flying squirrels and there is even a "marsupial mole!" Among the many peculiarities of structure exhibited by these animals may be mentioned especially the mode of nourishment of the young. Birth takes place when they are extremely small, very much earlier than in the higher mammals, and they are immediately placed in a peculiar pouch situated on the belly of the female where, attached to the nipples, they continue their development until able to shift for themselves. Even then they return to the pouch for shelter, for a considerable period after they can run about. The teeth of the marsupials are more primitive than those of most of the other mammals and are generally more numerous. As might be supposed from the variation in form and size ex- hibited by the marsupials their diet is likewise varied, some being The Opossums carnivorous, others herbivorous and still others like our opossunn omnivorous. As before stated we have only one group of marsupials in America, the opossums (Family Didelphidct) . THE OPOSSUMS Family Didelpltidce Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana Kerr Length. 27 inches. Description. Hair long and rather coarse; general colour grayish white, caused by a mingling of black-tipped white under fur with long white overlying hairs; legs brownish black, feet black, toes white; head, throat and middle of lower parts white; ears naked, black with white tips; tail prehensile, nearly naked, black at the base, shading into dull flesh colour. Range. Southern and Middle States, except in the mountains, north to the Hudson and Connecticut valleys and to southern Illinois, not ranging north of what is known as the "Caro- linian Fauna." In Florida and Texas slightly different varieties occur. The opossum is our only representative of that remarkable class of beasts in which the young are born at such an early and undeveloped stage that the mother is obliged to carry them about in her pocket for several weeks; when first born a kan- garoo, an opossum and a mouse are of very nearly the same size, about half an inch in length. A mother opossum takes her half-dozen or more infants as fast as they are born and drops them into her pouch, where each seizes a teat and holds on; its mouth, which at first is open almost to the angle of the jaws, rapidly contracts and grows together when once it has taken hold of that which it is in- stinctively feeling for from the very first, and for the next few weeks the little family of brothers and sisters do nothing but sleep and grow, the old one forcing her milk into their mouths. o o a CO tn O a. The Opossums In the meantime she is obliged to forage the woods for food and protect herself and her family as best she may. At first thought one might very naturally infer that she would be at a decided disadvantage in being so very literally burdened with a family, yet on the whole she carries them but little longer than most other creatures of her size, the chief difference being that she has them where she can do pretty much as she pleases with them, and in case of injury is much less liable to incur serious results. Through the day she sleeps hidden in a hollow tree or stump, or dozes half in sunshine and half in shade among the branches. But as daylight fades and the shadows creep through the undergrowth she goes forth to see what the night has to offer her, shuffling along among the dew wet leaves, pouncing on a lizard here or a blundering dorbug that has chanced to upset itself in midflight, or else she follows up the shrill throbbing of a cricket and digs him out from his hiding place. If luck happens to be with her she may discover a nest full of eggs or young birds or mice, it is all one to her. She can also climb to the top of the tallest tree in the woods using her tail and hand-shaped feet almost like a monkey, even hanging head down by her tail and one hind foot if nec- essary from a branch just over a bird's nest in order to reach whatever it contains. Her prehensile tail moreover often proves useful in supporting her while she gathers grapes and persimmons and other wild fruits of the forest, and it is said that the young ones when they first come out to see what the world is like, have a way of taking a couple of turns of their own tails about that of their parent and so anchored ride safely on her back. It would seem that these youngsters are not in the habit of occupying the pouch as long as do the young kangaroos, which it is said, remain there for a space of something like eight months, growing in that time from diminutive beings less than an inch long to fairly well-formed kangaroos of ten pounds weight which thrust out their necks when their parent is graz- ing and crop the grass beneath them. Even after they have learned to go alone they often climb back into the pouch again to ride whenever they are tired out. Opossums are anything but attractive or intelligent beasts. 5 The Opt'BBUins About the most marked exhibition of intelligence that they ever appear to display is their well-known trick of feigning death or playing possum as a last resort in danger. Even this has become so habitual with the species as to be almost or quite instinctive and it is doubtful if they ever knowingly pretend to be dead any more than the numerous beetles and spiders which possess the same habit. Nature most effectually assists the possum in making the ruse successful, as anyone who has ever seen it tried is bound to admit, for the long lean dull white jaws and black withered ears and skinny tail bear in themselves the very semblance of death. And when the possum plays possum he invariably draws back the gums from his glittering white teeth until he looks as if he might have been dead for a mvnth; especially as his fur has at all times the faded, colourless look and loose wind-blown texture of hair that has been exposed to wind and weather for an entire season. In cold weather opossums retire to their dens and only occasionally venture abroad wh.n there is snow on the ground. They are members of an almost tropical race that hates the cold, and wherever winter is an actual fact they are rarely found. "Opossums are very prolific, havin-' two or three litters each year, each litter composed of from six to thirteen, in rare in- stances as many as fourteen or fifteen. The young remain with their mother about two months, .nd at times a brood of suck- lings may be found in the pouch, while a second brood the size of rats may be seen on her back, clinging to her fur with their hands and steadying themselves by winding their tails around her tail and legs. "The opossum somewhat resembles a little pig in his flexible snout, small black eyes, and erect ears; but he resembles the pig much more in his fondness for eating and the great variety of food that suits his taste. "His principal diet consists of insects, wild fruits, nuts and berries, varied with roots, reptiles, crayfish, carrion, eggs, small rats and mice, with additions of poultry, corn, sweet potatoes, and other farmyard delicacies." "He is the natural enemy of the cotton rat, a destructive rodent living in vast numbers in the seaboard marshes of the Southern States. If all the food eaten by a possum during the year were divided into two piles according to its ."5 SB 3 3 _c — 21 II The Opossumk economic status in relation to tiie interests of mankind, there can be little doubt that the pile containing the matter, animate and inanimate, whose destruction is an advantage to us would be notably the larger." The Negroes of the Southern States feel that the possum was especially created for their benefit and delight. They say, perhaps with truth, that no white man can ever fully appreciate the delicious joy of a moonlight possum hunt, or the delicate flavour of roasted possum. There are plenty of white people who do enjoy hunting possums by the light of the moon, and eating their game the next day; but the varying degrees of happiness are not to be measured, and the exquisite enjoyment that the possum yields the darkey may only be guessed at. There is considerable similarity between a possum hunt and a coon hunt, so far as method is concerned. The Negroes like best to go in parties with two or three cur dogs along. Besides these there must be an axe, at least one antiquated fowling-piece and a sack for carrying the game. When the dogs start off on a hot trail, the darkies follow as best they may, stumbling along over rocks and stumps among the shadows. The possum frightened by the racket behind him soon takes to a tree for safety and flattens himself down on a branch or snuggles up in a crutch, trusting to remain unobserved. But the Negroes flourishing their pitch-pine torches endeavour to locate their game by the glitter of its eyes in the flickering light, and if the tree is too big to cut down and difficult to climb, the rusty old firearm is brought into play. But as a general thing they much prefer capturing their possum alive if possible, either knocking him from his perch with a pole or chopping down the tree. As soon as he strikes the ground, dogs and niggers fall up- on him in one struggling, yelling heap, the dogs eager to kill the possum and their masters to get it away from them un- injured, and it is most astonishing how much rough handling an opossum can put up with without serious injury. Sometimes he is carried home swinging by his tail from the end of a stick which has been split and snapped onto that member in such a manner as to hold him perfectly helpless. The darkies' idea in taking him home alive, is to fatten for i few weeks in captivity, joyfully overlooking the mere question The Opossums of economy in the matter; for the quantity of bread, yams and apples consumed by the greedy little beast in laying up a few additional ounces of fat is a thing to be marvelled at. Varieties of the Opossum The opossums of North America show but little variation, but naturalists have recognized three varieties as follows, the last being allied to the opossum of Mexico. /. yirginia Opossum. Didelphis virginiana Kerr. Range and description as above. 2. Florida Opossum. Didelphis virginiana pigra Bangs. Similar but smaller with longer and more slender tail. Range. Florida and lowland of Georgia along the Gulf Coast to Texas. 5. Texas Opossum. Didelphis marsupialis texensis Allen. Similar but tail longer than in either of the above, equal to nine- tenths instead of three-fifths the length of head and body and black at base for one-third of its length. Range. Texas. CLIMBING LOOKING OUT OF NEST ^ -^3^ "r#* .* A WEW JERSEY 'POSSUM {Didelphis virginiana) By A. R. Dugmore "Playing 'PotMiR." T%is •v»«ttr-l is actually alive. The picture of the aaimal climbing is the same individual photographic: j, hour or »o l»t«r. EDENTATES OR TOOTHLESS ANIMALS (Edentata) The edentates stand at the bottom of the series of the non- marsupial mammals. In distribution they are almost entirely re- stricted to South America, the best-known members of the group being the ant-eaters, sloths and armadillos. Of these only the ant-eaters are strictly "edentate" or without teeth; so the name is somewhat misleading, although none of them have any front teeth (incisors) and such teeth as they do possess are often rudi- mentary and decidedly primitive in character. In former ages we had in North America gigantic beasts of this order, as is shown by the fossil remains of the megalonyx and mylodon, huge sloth-like animals, which existed along with the mastodon and sabre-toothed tigers and doubtless served as the chief source of food supply for the latter. When we think of these former giants it is disappointing to find that our only representative of the edentates within the limits of the United States to-day is a single species of arma- dillo which crosses the Mexican boundary into the state of Texas. This curious beast, representing the family Dasypodidce, is by no means without interest. THE ARMADILLOS Family Dasypodidce Nine-banded Armadillo Tatu novemcinctum Linnaeus Also known as Peba Armadillo, Mulita. Length. 30 inches. Description. Body covered by a bony shell, consisting of two larger portions connected in the middle by eight bony rings The Armadillos (nine on the sides), which hinge one to the other so as to permit of the animal rolling itself into a ball. Front of the head, fore-feet and tail similarly armoured, toes of fore-feet with' large claws for digging. Colour brownish-black above, somewhat varied with yellow, below yellowish white, skin on sides of face flesh colour with a few scattered yellow hairs. Range. Southern Texas and Mexico southward to Paraguay. Covered from end to end with his bony armament the ar- madillo at once recalls the box tortoise; and his sudden transfor- mation, when harassed, into a round ball of horny plates reminds one not a little of the snapping shut of the shell of the turtle. The armadillo is an habitual digger, making his burrows in the dry soil of the arid regions in which he lives and ventur- ing forth mainly by night. In the matter of food he is not parti- cular, vegetable and animal matter both appear on his bill of fare and carrion forms no small part of his diet, while the insects and maggots which it attracts are not overlooked. The range of the armadillo within our borders is restricted and he is really more of a Mexican than an American, being one of a number of curious animals that push their way over our south-western boundary from that interesting country. 10 OPOSSUM {Didelphis virginiana) Showing youne at the mouth of the pouch By David McCadden CETACEANS WHALES, DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES . (Cetacea) Few persons associate whales with the four-footed beasts of the land. So modified are they for the peculiar life that they lead that practically no external resemblance to their true kindred remains, and it is not surprising that the popular mind classes them as fish, to which, however, they bear no relationship. Whales are practically devoid of hair, which is characteristic of most mammals, its place in retaining the heat of the body being taken by the thick coating of fat or "blubber" lying just beneath the skin. There is no external trace of hind limbs and the fore-limbs are modified into flat flippers for swimming, while the tail is flat and forked like that of a fish, but it is flattened horizontally instead of vertically. There is practically no neck and the head, which is often very large, joins directly with the body. It is but natural, therefore, that the bones of the neck are very short and often joined solidly together. Whales have no close relationship with any other group of mammals and even the oldest fossil whales that have been discovered present much the same structure as the living species. Though they were undoubtedly descended from some form of land mammal, the change to an aquatic life must have taken place at a very remote period. As has been suggested, the immediate ancestors of the whales probably became adapted to a life on the shores of rivers and acquiring the habit of swimming were eventually carried out to sea, where peculiar environment has brought about their pre- sent structure. The cetaceans are entirely carnivorous, and their food generally consists of small mollusks, shrimps and fishes. They frequently associate in companies or "schools" and are for the most part inofl'ensive and rather timid. In size they vary from the smallest porpoises, somewhat less than ten feet long, to the largest whales which reach a length of sixty to eighty-five feet It Whalebone Whales and constitute the largest known animals. The whales and their allies are grouped in several families as follows: 1. Whalebone whales (Family Balanidce). Size very large (length 30-85 feet), mouth enormous, no teeth, but the upper jaw provided with long strips of whalebone. II. Sperm whales (Family Physeteridce). Teeth all along the lower jaw, but absent entirely from the upper. Length 10-80 feet. III. Bottle-nosed whiiles (Family Ziphiidce). One tooth on each side of the lower jaw or with no visible teeth at all; a narrow projecting snout. Length 20-30 feet. IV. Dolphins and porpoises (Family Delphinidcv). Teeth nume- rous in both jaws (or with one long horizontal tusk in the narwhal). Head in some species rounded in front while others have a projecting snout. Length 5-15 feet. WHALEBONE iVHALES Family Balcenidce This family includes all of the true whales or toothless whales, as they are variously called, and the onl^- large "whale" not included here is the sperm whale which is really more closely allied to the porpoises and dolphins. The whales are charac- terized by their immense size, enormous head, and total absence of teeth. Small teeth are, it is true, formed very early in their development, but they are entirely absorbed before birth. Another pecuHarity of the family is the presence in the mouth of "baleen" or whalebone. This consists of thin, flexible, horny plates, somewhat triangular in outline, which are attached cross- wise down each side of the roof of the mouth. The inner edges of these plates are much split up and frayed so that the slender filaments form a sieve reaching from the top to the bot- tom of the mouth, by which the water is strained away from the small marine animals that are scooped up by the whale and which constitute its food. By raising the tongue in the nearly closed mouth the water is expelled from the lips and the food remains. There is a popular idea that the water taken into the mouth is discharged through the nostril or "blow hole" situated on SIX-BANDED ARMADILLO {Dasypus sexcinctus) By c. wiiiiam Beebe A tropical species allied to our nine-banded Armadillo, but with shorter ears and tail and only six rings. Right Whale top of the head, and forms the well-known "spout" of the whale. This is quite a mistake, however, as the spout is simply the discharge of air from the lungs when the animal rises to the Longitudinal section through head of whale, showing position of whalebone and nasal opening. {After Lydekker.) surface to take a new breath, and the watery appearance of the spout is due to the condensation of moisture in the discharged breath and also to the fact that some water is thrown up if ss:^^^-:^ Skeleton of whale {B alcana) , showing contour of body, {After Lydekker.) the breath is expelled before the whale quite reaches the surface. We have three quite different types of whalebone whales on our coast, and from one to three species of each. Right Whale Balaena glacialis Bonnaterre Length. 50 to 60 feet. Description. Head enormous, equal to one-third of the total length; highly arched above the level of the back; mouth cavity consequently large and whalebone very long. Bones 13 Right Whale of the neck always fused together, no fin on the back and no longitudinal groves on the throat. Colour black, some- times slightly varied with white below. Range. North Atlantic Ocean. Few persons have opportunities to study the habits of the large whales and those who follow the business of whaling do not, as a rule, record the facts that they may discover regarding the lives of these interesting creatures. The experience of most of us is limited to the glimpse of an occasional spout far out to sea or perhaps the sight of a stranded whale washed up on the beach, a great shapeless mass partially imbedded in the sand and often advanced in decay. It is not always easy to identify such specimens until the skeleton is laid bare, and it is not surprising, since much of our knowledge of whales is based upon skeletons and stranded specimens cast up at widely distant points, that zoologists are still in considerable doubt as to just how many kinds of whales exist. From the accounts of those who have studied these gigantic animals in life we learn that when not frightened they remain at the surface to breathe from one and a half to two and a half minutes during which time they spout from six to nine times and then disappear for ten to twenty minutes. When at the sur- face the top of the arched head and the middle of the back are the only parts which project from the water. This whale and the allied bowhead {BaUvna mysitceius) of the Arctic regions are especially prized by the whalers on account of the great length of their whale-bone. Speaking of the right whale of the Pacific, which is closely allied to the Atlantic animal, Captain Scammon says: "We find the habits of these animals when roaming over the ocean full of interest. They are often met with singly in their wanderings, at other times in pairs or triplets and scattered over the surface of the water as far as the eye can discern from the mast head. Toward the last of the season they are seen in large numbers crowded together. These herds are called 'gams' and they are regarded by experienced whalers as an indication that the whales will soon leave the grounds." It is their habit, he states, to blow seven to nine times at a "rising" and then "turning flukes," as the whalemen say, and elevating the tail from six to 14 Right Whale eight feet clear of the water, they go down for periods of twelve to fifteen minutes. Whales of all sorts have been so persistently pursued and killed that they are to-day very much reduced in numbers and the survivors have become so wary that it is much more difficult to hunt them than it was in former years. Originally whales came regularly along the New England coast and were hunted from shore, the boats putting out after them as soon as they were sighted, but as years passed they learned to keep farther out to sea and vessels had to be especially equipped for their pursuit. In his account of whale-hunting Scammon states that when the whale has been sighted the whale boats with their full equipment and manned by their regular crews are lowered from the vessel and start upon the chase. "The whale is approached in the most cautious manner to avoid exciting it. If necessary, the oars are used, but in calm weather the paddles are resorted to. When within darting distance, which is about three fathoms, the order is given to the boat steerer to stand up. He instantly springs to his feet and, seizing the harpoon (to which a long rope is attached), he darts it into the whale. If opportunity offers a second iron is also thrown before the animal gets out of reach. When the harpoons are darted the order is given to ' stern all ' and the oarsmen make every effort to force the boat astern in order to be well clear of the animal in its painful convulsions from the first wounds received. "When struck the whale may attempt to escape by running, if so, every exertion is made by the boat's crew to haul up the animal so as to shoot a bomb into it or work upon it with a hand lance or, if the creature descends to the depths below, which is called 'sounding,' every effort is made to check the movement by holding on to the line or by slowly slacking it. In this manoeuvre the boat is occasionally hauled bow under water. Sometimes all the line is taken out almost instantly, when it is cut to prevent the boat from being taken down and the whale escapes. "The whale after being struck often runs to windward, thrash- ing its flukes in every direction. After going a short distance it frequently stops or brings to, at the same time making a ter- rible noise called 'bellowing,' this sound is compared to that of a mammoth bull and adds much to the excitement of the chase and Finback Whale capture. Other whales will not stop until they are hamstrung, as it were, by 'spading.' The spading process is performed by haul- ing the boat near enough to cut the cords that connect the body and the flukes either on top or underneath. A large vein runs along the side of the back, terminating at the juncture of the c;!udal fin which, if cut, will give the creature its death wound." Another method of bringing the animal to a stop is by lacerating it with numerous harpoons detached from the ropes. "When brought to, it usually remains quite stationary for a few minutes or will roll from side to side, giving the officer of the boat a good opportunity to shoot a bomb lance or use the hand lance with good effect, which soon dispatches it." The ship is then brought alongside or, in calm weather, the whale is towed to it and the "cutting in," as it is termed, begins. A cutting stage is lowered down over the animal upon which the men may stand, the tackles are fastened to the carcass and the head is severed and hoisted on deck while the remainder is cut according to a regular system so that the blubber is re- moved in several great masses while the mutilated remnant of the monster floats away or sinks to the bottom. The blubber and baleen are removed from the head later. Scammon states that the great bowhead whale will sometimes yield as much as 275 barrels of oil and the right whale 130 bar- rels, while the whalebone of the two may amount to 3,000 and 1,550 pounds respectively. Whaling has been engaged in since 1712 by vessels from New England ports, especially Nantucket and New Bedford, and in England and Scotland it has been carried on for over a century. Guns for shooting the harpoons have superseded the hand- throwing process and improved harpoons have been introduced carrying explosive bombs which are calculated to kill the whale as soon as they strike, but so wary have the survivors become that in this instance modern improvements will have little effect in hastening extermination already so far advanced. Finback Whale Bai(Bnoptera phy salts (Linnaeus) Called also Rorqual, Finner. Length. 40-50 feet. 16 Humpback Whale; Sperm Whale Description. Head equal to or rather less than one-quarter the total length. Not arched, but broad and flat above. A fleshy fin is present on the back, and the throat is longitudinally furrowed while the bones of the neck are separate. Colour jet black above, including the flippers, white below, marbled on the sides by a combination of the two colours. Range. North Atlantic Ocean. The fin-back is said to be a more active and rapid swimmer than the right whale, but its general habits are much the same. Judging by stranded examples fin-back whales are the most com- mon of the large whales on our Atlantic Coast. Besides the common fin-back we have the blue whale {Bala^n- optera musculus), a larger species of a purplish slate colour, while other closely allied varieties occur in other parts of the ocean. Humpback Whale Megaptera nodosa (Bonnaterre) Length. 50 feet. Description. Similar to the finback whales, but with the back strongly convex and the flippers very long and scalloped on the edges. Sooty-black above, white beneath. Range. North Atlantic Ocean, represented elsewhere by closely allied species. THE SPERM IVHALES Family Physeteridce Here belong two whales, one large and one small, but both recognized by their regularly toothed lower jaw, toothless upper jaw and high vertical forehead. Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus Also called Cachalot. Length. 60-80 feet. 17 Pigmy Sperm Whale Description. Head oblong, level with the back on top and square and truncate in front, forming nearly one-third of the total length of the animal; lower jaw shallow and very narrow in front, armed with 22 to 24 large teeth on each side. Back with a hump on the neck and several humps farther back, but no dorsal fin. Colour black or blackish brown, lighter below, sometimes marbled. Range. Tropical and subtropical oceans, now very rare in the North Atlantic. The sperm whale or Cachalot is the largest of the toothed cetaceans, and in its great bulk recalls the whalebone whales, though the peculiar truncated head and narrow, shallow lower jaw, with its formidable array of teeth, serve easily to distinguish it. The nostrils of the sperm whale open at the extreme front of the head instead of farther back, as in the whalebone whales, and its "spout" issues diagonally forward instead of vertically up- ward. This peculiarity enables whalers to identify the sperm whale at very great distances. This animal seems to feed at great depths and is able to remain under water longer than any other species — sometimes for over an hour at a time, according to Captain Scammon. When at the surface it respires thirty to sixty times at short intervals with great regularity and then, "pitching head-foremost down- ward, turns his flukes high in the air and when gaining nearly a perpendicular attitude descends to a great depth." The food of the sperm whale consists of various "squids" or cuttlefish. The "ambergris" discharged from its intestines is a valued article of perfume. Pigmy Sperm Whale Kogia breviceps (Blainville) Length. 10-15 f^et. Description. In a general way much like the preceding, but differs in its small size, slender curved teeth, and in the presence of a fin on the back. Range. North Atlantic and other oceans. Several specimens have been taken on our shores of late years, although it is a rare animal. x8 BOTTLE-NOSED IVHALES Family Ziphiidcs These whales are rare on our coasts and comparatively little is known of their habits. They are intermediate between the sperm whales and dolphins, both in size and structure. They all possess protruding snouts and have never more than two teeth. The front of the skull enlarges with age, the forehead be- coming vertical or even projecting in very old individuals. Three species are known on our coast. Bottle-nosed Whale Hyperoddon rostratus (Miiller) Length. 20 feet. Description. Forehead more or less vertical, as described above, beak prominent, a depression on the head around the blowhole, flippers and dorsal fin moderate. No teeth visible, though two can be found at the front of the lower jaw loosely bur- ied in the gums. Colour blackish lead, somewhat lighter below. Range. North Atlantic and doubtless other oceans. Ziphius Whale Ziphitcs cavirostris Cuvier Length. 15-20 feet. Description. Similar to the preceding, but with the teeth at the front of the lower jaw usually visible. Three of the neck vertebral bones are also separate, while in the bottle-nose all are united. Colour light stone-gray, darker on the belly. Range. Pelagic. Cow-fish Mesoplodon bidens (Sowerby) Length. 16 feet. Description. Similar to the preceding species, but the male with »9 Bottle -nosed Dolphin a tooth on each side of the lower jaw at about the middle, female toothless. Skin very smooth and polished, uniform black all over with occasional lighter blotches. Range. North Atlantic, apparently a deep-water species. DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES Family DelphinidcB The smaller cetaceans, popularly known as dolphins and por- poises, compose this family. Properly speaking, the name dolphin belongs to those species which have a projecting snout, while porpoise refers to those with uniformly rounded head. With their usual perversity, however, our earliest settlers christened the commonest of these animals on our Atlantic Coast the "porpoise," while in reality it is a true dolphin, the same as the "bottle- nose " of the coasts of Europe. Both dolphins and porpoises have a well-developed fm on the back and with one exception (the Grampus) have a large number of sharp teeth in both jaws. The other members of the family, the white whale and the narwhal are found only in the Arctic regions and are peculiar in many ways. Both lack the dorsal fin and the narwhal is devoid of teeth except for the single long protruding tusk. Bottle-nosed Dolphin Tursiops tursio (Fabricius) Called also Porpoise on our Atlantic Coast. Length. 9 feet. Description. Stout, forehead sloping, beak short and depressed, back fin about midway between the nose and the tip of the tail. Colour plumbeous gray above, lighter on the sides, shading gradually into pure white on the under surface. Teeth 22 in each jaw. Range. North Atlantic coasts from Maine to Florida and through the Gulf to Texas, also coasts of Europe. This is th^ most familiar cetacean of our Atlantic seaboard, CSontmon Dolphin ; Spotted Dolphin and few are the visitors to our seaside resorts who have not seen a school of "porpoises" passing up or down the coast just beyond the breakers, their arched backs and pointed fins rising at regular intervals above the surface of the waves and disap- pearing again, as the animal continues on its undulating course. Occasionally with a stronger leap than usual the powerful fluked tail is seen above the water and sometimes the entire body is exposed. Like other members of the family, porpoises are sociable and always gather in herds or "schools" of varying size and in this way no doubt they pursue with better effect the mackerel, herring and other fishes upon which they feed. Often at sea porpoises will associate themselves with som.e passing ship and for miles at a time plunge along close to her side, perhaps taking the vessel for some gigantic member of their own tribe. 1 have watched them travelling in this manner for long intervals and they kept close to the prow, as if piloting the ship on its way and apparently with no thought of the scraps or refuse which they might have secured had they been following in our wake. Several species of similar habits occur in the north Atlantic which are described below, while others are found in the other seas. Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis Linnaeus Length. 7 feet. Description. Beak longer and narrower than in the preceding. Colour variable; back, fin and tail black, under parts white, sides gray. The black descends on the sides to about the middle, and there is a black ring around the eye and a black line to the beak. There is usually a dusky band from the jaw to the flipper and one or two stripes on the sides. Teeth 47 to 50 above, and 46 to si below. Range. Pelagic. Apparently not common on our coasts, but has been taken in New York Harbour, Wood's Hole, etc. Spotted Dolphin Prodelphinus plagiodon (Cope) Length. 7 feet. 9^ Striped Dolphin; Harbour PorpoiM Description. Very similar in shape to the last. Purplish gray above, white below, upper parts spotted with white, lower with dark gray. Teeth 37 above, 34 below. Range. Atlantic and Gulf coasts north to Cape Hatteras. Striped Dolphin Lagenorhynchus acjitus (Gray) Length. 8 feet. Description. Beak very short, a mere rim with a depression between it and the forehead on each side. Colour black on back, rest of body gray, sides with white and yellowish patches; a narrrow black stripe from the base of the tail half- way to the middle of the body; eye surrounded with black and black lines from it to the snout and flipper; flippers black. Teeth 35 above, 37 below. Range. North Atlantic, southward to Cape Cod. Harbour Porpoise Phoccena phoccena (Linnaeus) Length. 5 feet. Description. Head rounded in front, no beak or snout. Fin of the back more triangular than in the dolphins. Colour dark slate or blackish, shading gradually to white on the belly, sides somewhat tinged with pink or yellowish, and a dark band from the lower jaw half way to the flipper. Teeth 26 in each jaw. Range. North Atlantic south to New Jersey; also on coasts of Europe and in the Pacific. As the bottle-nose {Tursiops tursio) is the commonest of the dolphins on our coast, this is the best known of the round-headed or porpoise group. It is apparently more common on European coasts than with us and, being more northern in its range, is not so familiar as the common bottle-nose to our sea-shore visitors. The five species which follow are all allied to the harbour porpoise, but have striking peculiarities which have earned for them distinctive popular names. 23 Blackfish; Grampus; Killer Blackfish Globiocephala melas (Traill) Called also Pilot Whale, Ca'ing Whale. Length. 15 feet. Description. Size large, forehead vertical, high, sometimes even overhanging the lips which are slightly protruding; flippers very long (4 feet) ; back fin situated in front of the middle, and sloping backward. Colour uniform black with a V-shaped white mark on the breast connecting with a white stripe down the belly. Teeth 10 in each jaw. Range. North Atlantic, south to Long Island on the American side. Further south it is replaced by the southern blackfish (G. brachypterus, Cope), entirely black, with much shorter flippers and only 8 teeth in each jaw. This large animal resembles somewhat the bottle-nosed whale {Hyperoodon), but is recognized at once by its long flippers and numerous teeth. It is said to be more gregarious than other species, associating in herds of two or three hundred individuals which blindly follow their leader like a flock of sheep. Grampus Grampus griseus (Cuvier) Length. 10 feet. Description. Similar to the blackfish, with the same high fore- head, but recognized by the higher back-fin, and the absence of teeth in the upper jaw. Colour dark gray above, lighter below and on the head, sides with irregular lighter stripes, flippers black mottled with gray. Teeth absent above, 6 to 14 in the lower jaw. Range. North Atlantic southward to New Jersey, also coasts of Europe and north Pacific. Killer Orca orca (Linnaeus) Length. 20 feet. Description. Size large, forehead flat, back-fin enormous (6 feet 33 White Whale; NarwhiJ high in the male), flippers short and rounded. Colours black above and white below in strong contrast; the white extends upward on the sides in two stripes and there is a white spot above each eye and a purplish area behind the back fin. Teeth lo to 13 in each jaw, large and sharp. Range. Oceans, generally distributed. The other members of the dolphin family are easy going, rather timid animals subsisting on fish and smaller marine animals, but in the killer we find all the fierce predatory characteristics of our carnivorous land animals or the sharks among the fishes. They kill and devour the blackfish and larger whales' as well as seals and large fishes. Captain Scammon says: "The attack of these wolves of the ocean upon their gigantic prey may be likened to a pack of hounds holding the stricken deer at bay. They cluster about the animal's head, some of their number leaping over it, while others seize it by the lips and haul the bleeding monster under the water and, when captured, should the mouth be open they eat out the tongue." White Whale Delphinapterjis leiicas (Pallas) Length. 1 1 feet. Description. Head rounded, neck slightly narrowed, flippers small and rounded, no fin on the back. Colour entirely white. Teeth 9 in each jaw. Range. Arctic seas, straying southward rarely as far as Cape Cod. The white whale is one of the characteristic animals of the frozen north and though forced a little southward by the ice of winter it rarely reaches the boundary of the United States. In early summer when the ice breaks up and the herring and other fishes throng the bays to spawn, the white whales pursue vhem and large numbers of the cetaceans are frequently stranded in shallow water where the Eskimos kill them with ease. Narwhal Monodon monoceras Linnaeus Length. 12 feet. Description. Head short and rounded, flippers short and broad 34 Narwha no fin on the back. Colour dark gray above, white below. sides and back with darker spots. No teeth in the lower jaw and but one above — a long horizontal twisted tusk, 5 to 6 feet in length. (A short rudimentary tusk is imbedded in the skull on the opposite side.) Range. Arctic seas, accidental farther south. This curious "sea unicorn" is another inhabitant of the far north, and its immense tusk plays an important part in the weapons and tools of the Eskimo. This tusk is really one of the front teeth, and while it appears to protrude from the middle line of the head, an examination of the skull will show that it belongs wholly to one side, which is greatly developed at the expense of the corresponding portion of the other side. A second rudimentary tusk will also be found imbedded in the bone of the skuU. 25 MANATEES AND DUGONGS (Sirenia) These animals on account of their aquatic habits have been frequently associated with the whales, but there seems no real relationship between them and it is probable that each has departed from the stock of the terrestrial mammals at a different point. Just what the affinities of the manatees are we have no more definite knowledge than in the case of the whales, nor doev palaeontology throw any light on the question. The resemblance between the manatees and whales is prac- tically limited to the flipper-like fore limbs, flat tail and scarcity or absence of hair on the skin. The tail of our manatee, how- ever, is not forked like that of the whales and the head is wholly different, relatively small and provided with a series of square- topped molar teeth, while some species have incisors as well. Only about eight species of these curious animals are known. THE MANATEES Family Trickechidce This family includes only the manatees. The dugongs of the Old World and the peculiar Steller's sea cow which formerly inhabited the north Pacific, being arranged in separate groups. Florida Manatee Trichechtts latirostris (Harlan) Called also Sea Cow. Length. 9 feet. Description. General shape cylindrical, neck short, not much con- tracted, forehead oblique, nose, as seen from the front, trian- gular, lips thick, upper one clothed with bristles and capable 20 Florida Manatee of much expansion. Tail flat and widened, then tapering to a point, flipper rather long (i foot), eyes small, skin with a few scattered hairs. Colour bluish black, somewhat paler below and gray on the muzzle. Range. Formerly the Gulf and South Atlantic coasts of the United States, now restricted to rivers and lagoons of south-eastern Florida and becoming very scarce. The exact number of species of manatee which occur on the coasts of the New World is a matter of some doubt, but it is prettv certain that the Florida manatee is different from the Trichechns americanus of South America. Unlike the whales, manatees are not lovers of the open ocean, but remain close along shore, feeding in the bays and lagoons on the various water plants and grasses. From the meagre accounts that we have of these animals in their native haunts they seem to spend their time lazily floating or wallowing about with the upper part of the head generally exposed. Those kept in captivity usually rest on the bottom of their tanks and rise to the surface for air at periods of from two to six minutes. They accomplish this " with the least perceptible movement of the tail and flapping motion of the paddles, raising the upper part of the body until the head reaches the surface, when the air is admitted through the nostril flap valves which are closely shut after the operation."* They seemed ill at ease when the water was drawn off and were apparently unable to progress on land. When feeding they seemed to fan the strands of grass and sea weed into the mouth by means of the copious bristles which surround it. It is sad to contemplate the extinction of these curious beasts which present so many interesting peculiarities to the naturalist, and problems in evolution which he has yet to solve. Their harmlessness would seem to warrant their preservation, but it seems on the other hand to aid in their destruction. As fast as the settlement of the country makes their haunts more accessible their numbers lessen and, being tropical in their nature, the frosts and cold spells which have of recent years prevailed in Florida with such ruin to the orange groves have also played sad havoc with the remaining small band of manatees. • Crane. " Proc. Zool. Soc," London, 1880, p. 456. 27 UNGULATES OR HOOFED ANIMALS (Ungulata) To this order belong most of the largest mammals. Repre- sentatives occur in all parts of the world except Australia and Madagascar, but they are most abundant in the tropics of the Old World. Nearly all the "game" mammals belong to this order and through the persistent efforts of the hunters quite a number of species are rapidly approaching extinction. Here too belong the domestic animals which have served man as beasts of burden and as a source of food and clothing from time immemorial — the horse, ass, cow, sheep, goat and hog. The ungulates are herbivorous, and many of them are gre- garious, associating in large herds. in structure they differ from all the other orders in the pos- session of rounded horny hoofs which terminate the toes and cor- respond to the claws of the rodents and carnivores. All ungulates are also digitigrade, walking on the tips of the toes with the heel much elevated. In most species the legs are decidedly long, and the feet much elongated, while there is always a reduction in the number of toes. This reaches its extreme in the horse which has but one toe on each foot, though the remnants of two others still remain in the slender bones known as "splints." The smallest ungulates are the chevrotains and some of the antelopes of Asia and Africa which scarcely reach a height of twelve inches at the shoulder, from these they range all the way to the gigantic rhinoceros and Indian buffalo, and the slender giraffe. The order is divisible into two groups — the Perissodactyli or odd-toed ungulates, including the horse and zebra (one toe); the rhinoceros and tapir* (three toes), and \.\\e Artiodactyli or even-toed ungulates; the hippopotamus (four toes); camel and giraffe (two toes), and the pig, deer, sheep, ox, etc. (four toes, two of which are rudimentary). The deer and their allies constitute the section of ruminants to which all the domestic cattle belong and which are characterized by a * The tapir has four toes on the front feet. Ungulates M peculiar four-parted stomach and the habit of casting up the hastily cropped grass for further mastication when resting later on. This operation is called "chewing the cud," and one of the compartments of the stomach serves as a receptacle for the food, while it awaits this supplementary chewing. The canine teeth are often wanting in the hoofed animals and in the ruminant group the front teeth or incisors of the upper jaw are also lacking. The large grinders or molar teeth are always present and exhibit the most complicated type of tooth known. Most of the ruminants are further peculiar in the possession of horns or bony ant- lers growing out from the top of the skull. Great numbers of fossil ungulates have been discovered and it has been possible to show the gradual evolution of the living species through a long series of extinct ancestors. Remains of extinct horses and rhi- noceroses have been found abundantly within the United States as well as animals for which we have no familiar names. To-day, however, our native ungulates are comparatively few in number and are grouped in four families, all of them belonging to the even-toed division. Foot of a ruminant (sheep) A Ankle bones. M Metatarsals fused together. S "Splints" or remnants of other metatarsals. The corres- ponding toe bones are seen below. (After Lydekker) . I. Peccaries (Family Dicotylidce). Pig-like animals, not ruminant and without horns. Canine teeth large and prominent, front teeth (incisors) in both jaws. II. Deer, elk, etc. (Family Cervidce). Ruminant animals with bony branching antlers on the head of the males (and females also in the caribou), which are shed every year. Rudimentary canines generally present but front teeth (incisors) only in the lower jaw. III. Prong horn (Family Antilocapridce) . Allied to the cattle (Bovidce), but the hollow horns are forked and are shed as in the deer. IV. Cattle and their allies (Family Bovida). Ruminant animals with hollow horns fitting over bony prominences on the skull in both males and females. These horns are 29 Texas Peeeaiy Straight or curved, but never branched, and are not shed annually. Teeth as in the deer, but the canines are entirely lacking. PECCARIES Family Dicotylida Texas Peccary Tayassii angu latum (Cope) length. 34 inches. Description. Pig-like, with short erect ears, no tail, bristly hair and a scent gland on the back. Individual hairs banded black and white, producing a mottled appearance, the face, mane of the back, throat, legs, underparts, ears and hoofs are black, while a white collar-like band reaches from the sides of the neck over the shoulders. Range. Texas and south-western Arkansas. The closely related collared peccary is found in Mexico. Peccaries are the American representatives of the pig family and take the place of the wild boars of Europe. Like many other products of the western hemisphere, they are an improve- ment upon their like in the Old World inasmuch as they are distinctly more advanced in development. They have a compli- cated stomach, somewhat like that of the ruminant mammals, and have three instead of four toes on the hind feet. In general appearance the peccary resembles a small black pig, with a mane and slender legs, and he is said to root and wallow in a truly pig-like fashion. The home of the Texas peccary is low river bottoms with dense thickets and overgrown swamps. Here he may be found singly or in small droves feeding on the acorns, pecans and wal- nuts or grubbing up roots. Spots which are particularly fre- quented by them usually smell strongly of the peculiar skunk-like odor which they emit. Whatever there may be in the stories of the fierceness o, the South American peccaries, our species seems to be a harmless 3<' b W Oh Q W pi <; O American Blk beast, preferring to escape by flight rather than turn upon its pur- suers, though its sharp teeth and well-developed tusks would make it a lather formidable enemy. DEER AND THEIR ALLIES Family Cervidce To this family belong the majority of our American hoofed animals. As has already been explained, their most distinctive characteristic lies in their solid horns or antlers, which are shed once a year. The new horn grows rapidly and is for a time soft, full of blood vessels and provided with a downy covering known as the "velvet." When the full growth is attained the horn becomes hard and the velvet wears off. The first antlers are very simple, but each succeeding pair is, as a rule, more and more branched, so that a large number of "points" indicates to the hunter an old individual. American Elk Cervus canadensis (Erxleben) Also called Wapiti. Length. 8 feet. Height at shoulder, 5 feet 4 inches. Length of antler, 50-65 inches. Description. Body above yellowish brown, beneath nearly black, head, chest and neck dark brown, legs clove brown, a yel- lowish white area on the rump about the base of the tail. Female rather lighter coloured. The antlers borne only by the male curve outward and backward with curved branches or tines projecting forward at nearly uniform distances, the lowest pair directly over the forehead. Range. Formerly throughout the Northern states and Canada, ex- tending southward in the mountains. Now nearly extinct in the East. In the Northwest its place is taken by the closely r^elated Roosevelt's elk and in the Arizona Mountains by Merriam's elk. This splendid game animal is now all but extinct east of the Mississippi river; a victim to the advance of civilization and the 31 American Elk greed of the hunter. But over the miles and miles of country which he formerly roamed at will his memory will be preserved for all time in the names of towns, counties, rivers, lakes and mountains. Any locality where elk were particularly abundant or where perhaps the last one was killed has been christened in honour of the noble beast, and apparently there is not a State lying within the former range of the species that has not its Elk county or Elk township. The name, like many another be- stowed by our early settlers, is unfortunate, as the elk of the Old World is practically identical with our moose, while the Ame- rican elk is a true stag, having its counterpart in the red deer of Europe. Wapiti, the Indian name, is distinctive and preferable, but, of course, a change in a name so well established is out of the question, and all we can do is to remember that elk in America and Europe refers to very different animals. In parts of Quebec the elk may possibly still exist or, at any rate did, not so many years ago and here are often found the cast-off horns buried in moss and loam or washed from the bed of a river. In northern Michigan and Wisconsin a few may still persist. In the Eastern States the elk seems to have lingered longest in the wilds of central Pennsylvania and men are still living who can remember the killing of the "last elk" of their several localities about fifty years ago. The Rocky Mountains and ranges to the westward now con- tain all the elk that are left and at the present rate of killing their extermination would seem to be not far distant. Like many of the Cervidcv, elk are gregarious and polygamous, associating in moderate-sized herds, the strongest bull acting as master of the cows and driving the other aspirants off by them- selves until such time as they can prove their superiority and acquire a herd of their own. At the pairing season frequent savage encounters take place between the bulls, which charge one another with lowered heads in the manner of all the deer tribe. Occasionally two individuals have been found with their great branching antlers locked inextricably to- gether or perhaps merely the antlers themselves are discovered, silent witnesses of a tragedy of former years, ending in starvation or an attack by wolves, the elk in their unfortunate predicament being unable to save themselves from either one fate or the other. "After the pairing season," writes Lydekker, "wapiti collect in 32 BULL ELK, OR STAG {Cervus canadensis) By A. R. Duga»ore American Elk large herds, which used formerly to number several hundred individuals, and wander about for a time till they finally select their winter feeding grounds. These are usually open hills where the ground is kept more or less free of snow by the wind, so that such food as there is at this season may be obtained with the least difficulty. During the hot weather, when they are much persecuted by flies and mosquitoes, wapiti resort to water, in which they will stand for hours ; and, in the pairing season at least, the old stags are fond of wallowing in mud-holes from which they emerge coated with dirt and presenting anything but a prepossessing appearance. The antlers are shed in March and the new pair free from the velvet by the end of August or beginning of September. Saplings of aspen or pine appear to afford the favourite rubbing posts for freeing the antlers from the last remnants of the velvet, in a wild state the hind breeds when two or three years old ; the number of fawns at a birth being sometimes two, or rarely three, although one is the most common." As to food the elk is not particular. Mr. Caton says: " All the grasses and most of the weeds within his reach are taken freely and the leaves and twigs of all the deciduous trees are alike enjoyed. A considerable proportion of his daily food he desires to be arboreous, yet if deprived of it he will keep in good condition on herbaceous food alone. In winter he will take the coarsest food, and will eat freely even that which the ox and the horse reject." Elk feed leisurely during the morning and afternoon, usually resting at mid- day, and unlike most deer they are not active during the night. George Bird Grinnell has recently given us an excellent pen picture of a herd of elk which we cannot do better than quote. He writes : ** From a distant ravine comes the shrill sweet whistle of a great bull elk as he utters his bold challenge to all rivals far and near. You can see him plainly as he walks out from the timber and slowly climbs the hill, followed by the group of watchful cows; and he is a splendid picture. Short-bodied, strong-limbed, round and sleek- coated, he is a marvel of strength if not of grace. His yellow body is in sharp contrast with the dark brown head and mane, and the hugely branching antlers, wide spread and reaching far back over his shoulders, seem almost too much for him to carry; so that as he marches along with ponderous tread each step seems to shake the earth. At intervals he throws back his head and utters his wild call, and before its first notes reach the ear you can see the white steam of his breath as it pours forth into the frosty air. His cows feed near to Varieties of the Elk him as he steps along or if one straggles too far he moves slowly toward her, and shaking his mighty horns warns her to return. If you fire a shot at one of that band, speedily the old bull will show himself the herder and protector of his family. Rushing about from point to point he will gather up cows and calves into a close bunch and will drive them off over the hills, threatening the laggards with his horns and using them too with cruel effect if the cows do not hurry. No chivalry this on the part of the old bull. . . . He drives them for- ward not because he wishes to protect them from death, but because the cows are his and he does not intend to be robbed of his wives and children." Varieties of the Elk As with most animals of wide range the elk varies in different parts of its habitat. Three varieties have been described and it is probable that the animals formerly inhabiting the Eastern States differed somewhat from the Rocky Mountain elk. Lack of specimens will however probably leave this question forever in doubt. /. American Elk. Cerviis canadensis (Erxl.) Described above, range west to and including the Rocky Mountains. 2. Roosevelfs Elk. Cervits occidentalis Smith. Larger and darker coloured, with heavier horns. Range. Coast range of Washington, Oregon and Northern California. 5. Merriam's Elk. Cervus merriami Nelson. Nose darker and head and legs redder than C. canadensis, but not so dark as C. occidentalis. Skull very massive, broader than either of the above. Antlers straighter at the tips. Range. White Mountains of Arizona and Mogollon Mountains, New Mexico. Virginia Deer Odocoileus virginianus (Boddaert) Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder. 3 feet i inch. Length of Antler. 20-24 inches. Description. Bright rufous chestnut above in summer with a black band on the chin, throat, under parts and inside of legs white, tail brownish above, white beneath. In winter the upper parts are yellowish gray with white about the eye. Antlers curving J4 A <" . ^■ ^«»^-' J ""—- " ? s*»w gM[ tati