Mammals taken Along the Alaska Highway Part 1

Mammals taken Along the Alaska Highway.

by Rollin H. Baker.

INTRODUCTION

Mammals from along the Alaska Highway were obtained for the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History in the summers of 1947 and 1948 by Mr. J. R. Alcorn, field representative of the Museum. He and his family visited Alberta, British Columbia, the Yukon Territory and Alaska in an automobile and trailer from June 9, 1947, to September 6, 1947, and again from June 8, 1948, to August 24, 1948. In 1947, considerable time was spent by Alcorn in Alaska; trips were made on the Steese Highway to Circle and on the Glenn Highway to Anchorage. In 1948, most of the collecting was done in British Columbia and in the Yukon Territory but a side trip was taken to Haines, Alaska. The collecting stations are shown in figure 1. Alcorn's 1,252 specimens include several large series from areas where few or no mammals had been taken previously. Time spent at each collecting station was of short duration (usually less than three days) and although 56 species and subspecies of mammals are represented in the collections, it is recognized that not all of the kinds of mammals at any one locality were taken.

For the loan of comparative mammalian material, grateful acknowledgment is made to officials of the following inst.i.tutions: California Academy of Sciences; Biological Surveys collection of the U. S. National Museum; Provincial Museum, Victoria, B. C.; National Museum of Canada. The promptness of officials of the game commissions of the provinces and territories concerned, in providing permits for collecting also is acknowledged. A part of the funds for field work was made available by a grant from the Kansas University Endowment a.s.sociation. Elevations above sea level are given in feet. Capitalized color terms refer to those in Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomenclature, Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C., 1912.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1. Map showing localities where J. R. Alcorn collected mammals in Alaska, Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Alberta, in 1947 and 1948.]

ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES

Sorex cinereus cinereus Kerr

Cinereous Shrew

_Sorex arcticus cinereus_ Kerr, Animal Kingdom, p. 206, 1792.

(Type from Fort Severn, Ontario, Canada.)

_Sorex cinereus cinereus_ Jackson, Jour. Mamm., 6:56, February 9, 1925.

_Specimens examined._--Total 56, as follows: _Alaska_: Chatanika River, 700 ft., 14 mi. E and 25 mi. N Fairbanks, 3; N side Salcha River, 600 ft., 25 mi. S and 20 mi. E Fairbanks, 10; Yerrick Creek, 21 mi. W and 4 mi. N Tok Junction, 2; E side Deadman Lake, 1800 ft., 15 mi. SE Northway, 1. _Yukon Territory_: 6 mi. SW Kluane, 2550 ft., 1; McIntyre Creek, 2250 ft., 3 mi. NW Whitehorse, 2; W side Lewes River, 2150 ft., 2 mi. S Whitehorse, 2; SW end Dezadeash Lake, 4; 1 mi. S and 3 mi. E Dalton Post, 2500 ft., 10. _British Columbia_: Stonehouse Creek, 5 mi. W jct. Stonehouse Creek and Kelsall River, 9; Hot Springs, 3 mi. WNW jct. Trout River and Liard River, 6; mi. S jct.

Trout River and Liard River, 4; 5 mi. W and 3 mi. N Fort St. John, 1.

_Alberta_: a.s.sineau River, 1920 ft., 10 mi. E and 1 mi. N Kinuso, 1.

_Remarks._--Shrews from extreme northwestern British Columbia (Stonehouse Creek) average slightly larger than typical S. c.

cinereus, especially in length of tail. These animals show definite evidence of intergradation with the larger subspecies, _S. c.

streatori_, but are referable to _S. c. cinereus_. The pallor of some shrews from east-central Alaska (Chatanika River and Salcha River) suggests intergradation with the pale _S. c. hollisteri_.

Alcorn found the cinereous shrew at most of his trapping stations. It was captured in mouse traps baited with "chewed" rolled oats; one was taken in a trap baited with a gra.s.shopper. Rand (1944:35) and Alcorn each found this shrew to be one of the commoner mammals along the Alaska Highway, but Alcorn did not find it to be so abundant as some of the rodents in areas in which he trapped. The cinereous shrew was taken princ.i.p.ally in moist woodlands, gra.s.sy areas, and adjacent to water. One female taken on July 18 was lactating.

Sorex cinereus streatori Merriam

Cinereous Shrew

_Sorex personatus streatori_ Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 10:62, December 31, 1895. (Type from Yakutat, Alaska.)

_Sorex cinereus streatori_ Jackson, Jour. Mamm., 6:56, February 9, 1925.

_Specimens examined._--Total 19, as follows: _Alaska_: E side Chilkat River, 100 ft., 9 mi. W and 4 mi. N Haines, 10; 1 mi. S Haines, 5 ft., 9.

_Remarks._--Average and extreme external measurements of the nine adult specimens from 1 mile south of Haines are as follows: Total length, 103 (98-105); tail, 45 (43-46); and condylobasal length, 16.2 (16.0-16.4). Corresponding measurements of an adult specimen (No.

1676, UKMNH) from Sitka, Alaska, are 108, 47, and 16.5. Measurements of ten adult specimens from the Chilkat River, 9 miles west and 4 miles north of Haines, are 100 (91-106), 44 (40-50), 16.0 (15.5-16.5).

The slightly smaller average size of the latter specimens indicates a trend toward the smaller _S. c. cinereus_, which occurs farther inland. Skulls of some of the specimens from the Chilkat River have a more slender rostrum than those of the specimens from 1 mile south of Haines, and more nearly resemble _S. c. cinereus_ in this respect.

Evidently, as indicated by Jackson (1928:54), _S. c. streatori_ occupies only an extremely narrow strip of mainland in the vicinity of Haines.

Sorex cinereus hollisteri Jackson

Cinereous Shrew

_Sorex cinereus hollisteri_ Jackson, Jour. Mamm., 6:55, February 9, 1925. (Type from St. Michael, Alaska.)

_Specimens examined._--Two from _Alaska_: 1 mi. NE Anchorage, 100 ft.

_Remarks._--Both specimens of this pale subspecies were trapped, along with six _Clethrionomys_ and one _Mus_, in a gra.s.sy area bordered on one side by the road and on the other by a spruce forest. No. 21069, [male]?, taken on August 21, is in molt, with one patch of new fur on the rump and another along the midline of the nape and shoulders.

Sorex obscurus obscurus Merriam

Dusky Shrew

_Sorex obscurus_ Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 10:72, December 31, 1895.

(Type from near Timber Creek, alt.i.tude 8200 ft., Salmon River Mountains, now Lemhi Mountains, 10 miles west of Junction, Lemhi County, Idaho.)

_Specimens examined._--Total 12, as follows: _Yukon Territory_: McIntyre Creek, 2250 ft., 3 mi. NW Whitehorse, 1; SW end Dezadeash Lake, 2; 1 mi. S and 3 mi. E Dalton Post, 2500 ft., 1. _British Columbia_: Stonehouse Creek, 5 mi. W jct. Stonehouse Creek and Kelsall River, 4; W side Mt. Glave, 4000 ft., 14 mi. S and 2 mi. E Kelsall Lake, 1; Hot Springs, 3 mi. WNW jct. Trout River and Liard River, 1. _Alberta_: a.s.sineau River, 1920 ft., 10 mi. E and 1 mi. N Kinuso, 2.

_Remarks._--Some of the shrews taken in extreme southwestern Yukon Territory (1 miles south and 3 miles east of Dalton Post) and in extreme northwestern British Columbia (Stonehouse Creek and Mt. Glave) show evidence of intergradation with the coastal subspecies, _S. o.

alascensis_, in length of hind foot. These individuals have a long hind foot (14 and 15); the hind feet of specimens from the other localities listed measure 13 and 14.

Alcorn, like Rand (1944:35), found the dusky shrew to be less common than the cinereous shrew; both were taken in the same trap lines. The dusky shrew was taken at a higher alt.i.tude (4000 feet, on Mt. Glave) than the cinereous shrew.

Sorex obscurus shumaginensis Merriam

Dusky Shrew

_Sorex alascensis shumaginensis_ Merriam, Proc. Was.h.i.+ngton Acad.

Sci., 2:18, March 14, 1900. (Type from Popof Island, Shumagin Islands, Alaska.)

_Sorex obscurus shumaginensis_ J. A. Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.

Hist, 16:228, July 12, 1902.

_Specimens examined._--Total 3, as follows: _Alaska_: 1 mi. NE Anchorage, 100 ft., 1; Glenn Highway, 6 mi. WSW Snowshoe Lake, 2.

_Remarks._--These three shrews, in comparison with those referred to _S. o. obscurus_, are paler, and the one complete skull has a slightly higher braincase. All of the specimens were obtained in gra.s.sy areas adjacent to the roadway.

Sorex obscurus alascensis Merriam