University of Kansas Publications

Museum of Natural History



Volume 7, No. 6, pp. 479-487

April 21, 1954

Distribution of Some Nebraskan Mammals

BY

J. KNOX JONES, JR.



University of Kansas

Lawrence

1954

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History



Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, A. Byron Leonard, Robert W. Wilson





Volume 7, No. 6, pp. 479-487

Published April 21, 1954





University of Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas





PRINTED BY

FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER

TOPEKA, KANSAS

1954



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[Pg 481]

Distribution of Some Nebraskan Mammals

by



J. Knox Jones, Jr.

Because military service will interrupt my study of Nebraskan
mammals, I am here placing on record certain information on the
geographic distribution of several species—information that is
thought pertinent to current studies of some of my associates. Most
of this information is provided by specimens recently collected by
me and other representatives of the University of Kansas Museum
of Natural History, although specimens from other collections provide
some of the records herein reported. The other collections are
the Biological Surveys Collection of the United States National Museum
(USBS), the Hastings Museum (HM), the Nebraska Game,
Forestation and Parks Commission (NGFPC), the University of
California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), the University
of Michigan Museum of Zoology (MZ) and the University of Nebraska
State Museum (NSM). Grateful acknowledgment hereby
is made to persons in charge of these several collections for lending
the materials concerned. Specimens mentioned in the following accounts
are in the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History,
except as otherwise stated. All measurements are in millimeters.
Color terms are those of Ridgway (1912). A part of the funds for
field work was made available by the National Science Foundation
and the Kansas University Endowment Association.

Sorex cinereus haydeni. (Baird). Cinereous Shrew.—Two male
shrews were trapped on April 7, 1952, among rocks along an old
railroad fill, 4 mi. N, 1/2 mi. E of Octavia, Butler County, thus extending
the known geographic range of S. c. haydeni approximately 60
miles southward from a line connecting Perch, Rock County, Nebraska,
with Wall Lake, Sac County, Iowa (see Jackson, 1928:52-53),
and providing the first record of occurrence in the Platte River Valley.
Two additional specimens, taken on July 17, 1952, are from
2-1/2 mi. N of Ord, Valley County, along the Loup River, a tributary
of the Platte from the north.

Blarina brevicauda carolinensis (Bachman). Short-tailed
Shrew.—J. S. Findley and I, in a forthcoming paper, review the distribution
of Blarina brevicauda in the Great Plains region, recording
B. b. carolinensis from the extreme southeastern and southwestern[Pg 482]
counties of Nebraska. A series of five shrews of this species recently
obtained from three miles south and two miles east of
Nebraska City in Otoe County, average significantly smaller in both
the cranial and the external measurements than typical B. b. brevicauda
and fall well within the range of carolinensis. Average and extreme
external measurements of the four adults from Otoe County,
three males and one female, are as follows: Total length, 110 (109-112);
length of tail-vertebrae, 24.2 (22-26); length of hind foot, 13.8
(13-14). Another specimen from 3 mi. S, 1-1/2 mi. E of Peru, Nemaha
County, also is referable to carolinensis. These recent records indicate
that the range of B. b. carolinensis extends up the Missouri
River Valley, approximately to Nebraska City, Otoe County. Five
specimens from Louisville, Cass County, the next county northward,
along the River, are referable to B. b. brevicauda.

Eptesicus fuscus fuscus. (Beauvois). Big Brown Bat.—One big
brown bat was obtained on July 23, 1952, from one mile west of
Niobrara, Knox County. While not so dark in dorsal coloration as
some specimens of E. f. fuscus from eastern Nebraska (Cass and
Sarpy counties), this specimen is noticeably darker than a series of
E. f. pallidus from Ft. Niobrara Wildlife Refuge, 4 mi. E of Valentine,
Cherry County, being near (16" j) Snuff Brown as opposed to
near (16' i) Buckthorn Brown. Previous to the taking of this specimen,
Webb and Jones (1952:277) reported as E. f. pallidus a specimen,
saved as a skull only, which was picked up dead at Niobrara.
It seems best to assign these two bats from the vicinity of Niobrara,
Knox County, to E. f. fuscus.

Sciurus carolinensis carolinensis Gmelin. Gray Squirrel.—An
adult male gray squirrel shot by Mr. Terry A. Vaughan in the
heavily timbered bluffs of the Missouri River, 3 mi. S, 2 mi. E of
Nebraska City, Otoe County, on October 10, 1953, provides the only
museum specimen of a gray squirrel from Nebraska known to me.
Residents in the area concerned report small numbers of this squirrel
as still occurring on the heavily wooded bluffs along the Missouri
River in Nemaha, Otoe and Richardson counties, Nebraska,
at least as far north as Nebraska City.

Gray squirrels from Nebraska have been reported twice before in
the literature as follows: "Mouth of Platte [River]" (Baird, 1858:262)
and Barada, Richardson County (Jones and Webb, 1949:312).
Swenk (1908:80), while listing no actual records, says of this squirrel,
"Common in the timber along watercourses of southeastern[Pg 483]
Nebraska, but greatly outnumbered everywhere by [Sciurus niger]
rufiventer. I have no records west of the 97th meridian nor north
of the Platte."

Spermophilus franklinii (Sabine). Franklin Ground Squirrel.—A
specimen from 2 mi. NW of Lisco, in Morrill County (NSM
3324), extends the known geographic range of S. franklinii approximately
200 miles westward along the Platte River Valley from
Kearney, Buffalo County (see Howell, 1938:134), and suggests a
westward movement of this ground squirrel along the Platte River
in recent years.

Perognathus flavescens flavescens Merriam. Plains Pocket
Mouse.—P. f. flavescens occurs in the Sand Hills and adjacent
mixed-grass plains of central Nebraska. Eastern marginal records
of occurrence are: Neligh, Antelope County, 2 (MVZ 1, NSM 1);
1 mi. E of Ravenna, Buffalo County, 2 (MZ); unspecified locality
in Adams County, 1 (HM).

Perognathus flavescens perniger Osgood. Plains Pocket Mouse.—This
mouse occurs in northeastern Nebraska. Osgood (1904:127),
in the original description of the subspecies, listed two specimens
from Verdigris [Verdigre], Knox County. Additional records of
occurrence are: Beemer, Cuming County, 2 (USBS); 1-1/2 mi. SE of
Niobrara, Knox County, 3; 1-1/2 mi. S of Pilger, Stanton County, 2.

The two specimens from Beemer are typical perniger. All of the
other Nebraskan specimens are intergrades between P. f. flavescens,
geographically adjacent to the west, and P. f. perniger to the east but
are best referred to perniger on the basis of greater total length,
larger cranial measurements and darker dorsal coloration.

P. f. perniger was originally described (Osgood, op. cit.) on the
basis of its darker dorsal coloration and encroachment of the lateral
line on the posterior parts of the venter. The latter character is
not present in all Nebraskan specimens. Mice from the two localities
in Knox County have buffy underparts; those from other
Nebraskan localities do not. Of nine specimens of P. f. perniger
examined from Elk River, Sherburne County, Minnesota, none has
buffy underparts whereas a specimen from Randolph, Fremont
County, Iowa (NSM) does. In addition, in two of five specimens
of P. f. flavescens from Kelso, Hooker County, (MZ) the lateral line
encroaches on the underparts. The encroachment of the lateral line
on the underparts, or failure of the line to do so, is thought to be
only an individual variation and of no taxonomic use.[Pg 484]

Perognathus flavus piperi Goldman. Buffy Pocket Mouse.—In
the description of P. f. bunkeri, Cockrum (1951:206) allocated to
the new subspecies, without comment, a specimen from Alliance,
Box Butte County. I have examined this specimen along with all
other Nebraskan specimens known to me and, although all approach
bunkeri in cranial measurements, they seem best referred to piperi
on the basis of darker dorsal coloration and larger external measurements.
Additional records of occurrence, several of them marginal
to the eastward, are: 10 mi. S of Antioch, Garden County, 1 (MZ);
Kelso, Hooker County, 4 (MZ); 5 mi. N of Bridgeport, Morrill
County, 1 (MVZ); 6 mi. N of Mitchell, Scotts Bluff County, 1
(NSM). A specimen not seen by me that was reported from Valentine,
Cherry County (Beed, 1936:21), is presumably also best referred
to P. f. piperi.

No specimens of P. flavus are known to me from south of the
Platte River in southwestern Nebraska although they probably occur
there. If so, they may be referable to P. f. bunkeri, which is found
in counties of Kansas adjoining the southwestern part of Nebraska.

Perognathus hispidus paradoxus Merriam. Hispid Pocket Mouse.—This
subspecies occurs commonly in central-and western-Nebraska.
Eastern marginal records of occurrence are: 2 mi. SE of
Niobrara, Knox County, 1 (NGFPC); 4 mi. E, 2 mi. S of Ord, 1;
Bladen, Webster County, 2 (HM).

Perognathus hispidus spilotus Merriam. Hispid Pocket Mouse.—Jones
and Webb (1949:312) first reported this subspecies in Nebraska
as from 5 mi. SE of Rulo, Richardson County. Additional
records of occurrence are: 3 mi. SW of Barnston, Gage County, 1
(NGFPC); Bennet, 1 (NSM), 9 mi. NW of Lincoln, 1 (NSM), 1-1/2
mi. S of Lincoln, 1 (NSM), Lancaster County; Peru, Nemaha
County, 1 (NGFPC); 3 mi. S, 2 mi. E of Nebraska City, Otoe
County, 3; Barada, Richardson County, 1 (NSM); Pleasant Dale,
Seward County, 1 (NSM); 1 mi. S of Williams, Thayer County, 1.

Glass (1947:179) referred a specimen from 9 mi. NW of Lincoln,
Lancaster County, to P. h. paradoxus. In discussing the zone of
intergradation between spilotus and paradoxus, geographically adjacent
to the west, he wrote (op. cit.:178), "It is evident that it proceeds
northeastwards, toward the Missouri River since 2 specimens
from eastern Nebraska, a juvenile from Webster County and an
adult from Lancaster County, are both typical paradoxus." I have
examined the specimen from Webster County referred to by Glass
and agree that it is paradoxus. I have not seen the specimen from[Pg 485]
9 mi. NW of Lincoln; however, another specimen from there, two
others from Lancaster County, and one from Seward County (see
above), are here referred to P. h. spilotus, rather than P. h. paradoxus,
on the basis of notably darker dorsal coloration and smaller
external and cranial measurements. The range of P. h. spilotus in
Nebraska, as presently known, therefore, is limited to the eastern,
more humid part of the State, south of the Platte River.

Peromyscus maniculatus osgoodi Mearns. Deer Mouse.—Swenk
(1908:95) reported this subspecies, under the name Peromyscus
nebrascensis, from Glen, and Dice (1941:17) reported the subspecies
from Agate, both localities being in Sioux County in the northwestern
part of the State. Osgood (1909), however, did not mention
Nebraskan specimens of this subspecies and excluded it from the
State on his (op. cit.) distribution map of the subspecies of P.
maniculatus. In addition, Quay (1948:181) reports, as P. m. nebrascensis,
deer mice obtained by him in the badlands of northern
Sioux County and adjacent Niobrara County, Wyoming. Four deer
mice referable to P. m. osgoodi have been obtained from several
localities on the Pine Ridge in Dawes County as follows: 3 mi. E
of Chadron, 2; Chadron State Park, 1; 3 mi. SW of Crawford, 1.
When compared with specimens of P. m. nebrascensis, geographically
adjacent to the east, these mice are seen to be notably darker
and less buffy than nebrascensis and to average significantly larger in
both external and cranial measurements. All deer mice from the
Pine Ridge and adjacent badlands of extreme northwestern Nebraska
probably are best referred to P. m. osgoodi. External measurements
of two adult females are respectively: Total length, 180,
175; length of tail-vertebrae, 78, 74; length of hind foot, 19, 20;
length of ear, 17, 16.

Neotoma floridana campestris J. A. Allen. Florida Wood Rat.—Five
wood rats from 5 mi. N, 2 mi. W of Parks, Dundy County, in
extreme southwestern Nebraska, provide the first record of occurrence
of this subspecies in Nebraska. These animals were trapped
in outlying sheds at the Rock Creek State Fish Hatchery. Two
large wood-rat houses were in a dense thicket of brush and young
trees in a small draw on the west side of the most westwardly
hatchery lake. Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) inhabited a combination
garage-storage barn at the hatchery and no wood rats were
taken there.

Microtus pennsylvanicus pennsylvanicus (Ord). Pennsylvania
Meadow Mouse.—This subspecies occurs in eastern and central[Pg 486]
Nebraska (see Bailey, 1900:18 and Swenk, 1908:104). Additional
records of occurrence are as follows: 5 mi. E of Rising City, Butler
County, 5; 4 mi. SE of Laurel, Cedar County, 1; Wayne, 2, and 2-1/2
mi. E of Wayne, 1, Wayne County; 2-1/2 mi. N of Ord, Valley County, 4.

Synaptomys cooperi gossii (Coues). Cooper Lemming Mouse.—Fichter
and Hanson (1947:1-8) reported the first known occurrence
of this microtine in Nebraska, recording specimens from several
localities in Lancaster County and one from near Valentine,
Cherry County. Recent records of this mouse which help to clarify
its distribution in Nebraska are as follows: 4 mi. N, 1/2 mi. E of
Octavia, Butler County, 1; 5 mi. N, 2 mi. W of Parks, Dundy County,
1; 1 mi. N of Pleasant Dale, Seward County, 1.

An adult female from Dundy County provides the westernmost
record of distribution of the species in North America. The animal
was trapped on November 1, 1952, in association with Microtus
pennsylvanicus modestus in a marshy area at the Rock Creek State
Fish Hatchery on spring-fed Rock Creek. The pelage on the back
is notably darker than in S. c. gossii, and resembles S. c. paludis
from the Cimarron River drainage in Meade County, Kansas, but
in the sum total of its characters it most closely resembles S. c.
gossii among named subspecies.

Mustela rixosa campestris Jackson. Least Weasel.—The least
weasel occurs in eastern and central Nebraska (see Swenk, 1926:313-330
and Hall, 1951:192) but is known by only a single specimen
from each locality of record save for the area around Inland, Clay
County (Swenk, op. cit.). Additional records of the distribution of
this mustelid in Nebraska are: Hastings, Adams County, 1 (HM);
Schuyler, Colfax County, 1 (NGFPC); Goehner, Seward County, 1
(NSM); 10 mi. S of Ord, Valley County, 1 (NGFPC). The last
mentioned specimen, a skull only, was obtained from a pellet of an
unidentified raptorial bird.

LITERATURE CITED

Bailey, V.

1900. Revision of American voles of the genus Microtus. N. Amer.
Fauna, 17:1-88, June 6.



Baird, S. F.

1858. Explorations and surveys for a railroad route from the
Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. War Department.
8 (Mammals, Part 1): xxxii + 757, July 14.



Beed, W. E.

1936. A preliminary study of the animal ecology of the Niobrara
Game Preserve. Bull. Conserv. Dept., Conserv. Surv. Div.,
Univ. Nebraska, 10:1-33, October.[Pg 487]



Cockrum, E. L.

1951. A new pocket mouse (genus Perognathus) from Kansas. Univ.
Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 5:203-206, December 15.



Dice, L. R.

1941. Variation of the deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) on
the sand hills of Nebraska and adjacent areas. Contrib.
Univ. Michigan Lab. Vert. Genetics, 15:1-19, July.



Fichter, E. H., and M. F. Hanson.

1947. The Goss lemming mouse, Synaptomys cooperi gossii (Coues),
in Nebraska. Bull. Univ. Nebraska State Mus., 3:1-8,
September.



Glass, B. P.

1947. Geographic variation in Perognathus hispidus. Jour. Mamm.,
28:174-179, June 1.



Hall, E. R.

1951. American weasels. Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist.,
4:1-466, December 27.



Howell, A. H.

1938. Revision of North American ground squirrels with a
classification of the North American Sciuridae. N. Amer.
Fauna, 56:1-256, May 18.



Jackson, H. H. T.

1928. A taxonomic review of the American long-tailed shrews.
N. Amer. Fauna, 51:vi + 228, July 24.



Jones, J. K. Jr., and O. L. Webb.

1949. Notes on mammals from Richardson County, Nebraska. Jour.
Mamm., 30:312-313, August 17.



Osgood, W. H.

1904. Two new pocket mice of the genus Perognathus. Proc.
Biol. Soc. Washington, 17:127-128, June 9.

1909. Revision of the mice of the American genus Peromyscus.
N. Amer. Fauna, 28:1-285, April 17.



Quay, W. B.

1948. Notes on some bats from Nebraska and Wyoming. Jour. Mamm.,
29:181-182, May 14.



Ridgway, R.

1912. Color standards and color nomenclature. Washington, D. C.
Privately printed, iv + 44, 53 pls.



Swenk, M. H.

1908. A preliminary review of the mammals of Nebraska. Proc.
Nebraska Acad. Sci., 8:61-144.

1926. Notes on Mustek campestris Jackson, and on the American
forms of least weasels. Jour. Mamm., 7:313-330, November 23.



Webb, O. L., and J. K. Jones, Jr.

1952. An annotated checklist of Nebraskan bats. Univ. Kansas
Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 5:269-279, May 31.

Transmitted January 11, 1954.

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