A Synopsis of the North American Lagomorpha Part 16

1855. _Lepus was.h.i.+ngtonii_ Baird, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.

Philadelphia, 7:333, type from Steilacoom, Was.h.i.+ngton.

1875. _Lepus america.n.u.s_ var. _was.h.i.+ngtoni_, J. A. Allen, Proc.

Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 18:431, February 17.

_Marginal records_ (Dalquest, 1942:175, unless otherwise noted).--British Columbia (Nelson, 1909:107): Sumas; Chilliwack.

Was.h.i.+ngton: _Mt. Vernon_; Lake Kapowsin; White Salmon. Oregon: Drew; Florence; _Tillamook_. Was.h.i.+ngton: Sekiu River.

=Lepus othus=

Alaskan Hare

Total length, 565-690; tail, 53-104; hind foot, 147-189; ear from notch (dry), 75-78. Color brownish in summer; white in winter; but tips of ears always black. General comparisons indicate that this is the species which, in Eurasia, bears the name _Lepus timidus_.

LEPUS OTHUS OTHUS Merriam.

1900. _Lepus othus_ Merriam, Proc. Was.h.i.+ngton Acad. Sci., 2:28, March 14, type from St. Michael, Norton Sound, Alaska.

_Marginal records._--Alaska (A. H. Howell, 1936:334): Kotzebue Sound; mts. NW Nulato River; Akiak; 75 mi. below Bethel; thence N along coast.

LEPUS OTHUS POADROMUS Merriam.

1900. _Lepus poadromus_ Merriam, Proc. Was.h.i.+ngton Acad. Sci., 2:29, March 14, type from Stepovak Bay, Alaska Peninsula, Alaska.

1936. _Lepus othus poadromus_, A. H. Howell, Jour. Mamm., 17:334, November 16.

_Marginal records._--Alaska (A. H. Howell, 1936:335): Nus.h.a.gak; Kawatna Bay, Shelikof Strait; _Cold Bay_; _Chignik_; _type locality_; _Sand Point_; 15 mi. W Pavlof Mtn.

=Lepus arcticus=

Arctic Hare

Revised by A. H. Howell, Jour. Mamm., 17:315-332, November 16, 1936.

For the taxonomic status of the technical names _arcticus_ and _glacialis_ see Rhoads, Amer. Nat., 30:234-235, March, 1896; Merriam, Science, n. s., 3:564-565, April 10, 1896; Rhoads, Science, n. s., 3:843-845, June 5, 1896; Merriam, Science, n. s., 3:845, June 5, 1896.

Total length, 480-678; tail, 34-80; hind foot, 132-174; ear from notch (dry), 70-84. Upper parts gray in summer in southern subspecies; in others white; in winter white in all subspecies, except black tips of ears. Weights of lean individuals reach 12 pounds. Hopping on the hind feet without touching the forefeet to the ground has repeatedly been recorded for this species. There are four to eight young in a litter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 45. Distribution of _Lepus othus_ and _Lepus arcticus_.

1. _L. o. othus_ 2. _L. o. poadromus_ 3. _L. a. groenlandicus_ 4. _L. a. porsildi_ 5. _L. a. monstrabilis_ 6. _L. a. arcticus_ 7. _L. a. andersoni_ 8. _L. a. labradorius_ 9. _L. a. bangsi_ ]

LEPUS ARCTICUS ARCTICUS Ross.

1819. _Lepus arcticus_ Ross, Voyage of Discovery, ed. 2, vol. 2, appendix 4, p. 151, type locality Possession Bay, Bylot Island, lat. 73 37' N.

1819. _Lepus glacialis_ Leach, in Ross, Voyage of Discovery, ed. 2, vol. 2, p. 170, type locality same as for _Lepus arcticus_ Ross.

_Marginal records._--Franklin: type locality; Egukjuak, 8 mi. E Pond Inlet, Baffin Island (A. H. Howell, 1936:322); W coast Baffin Island, 67 30' (Anderson, 1947:96); Winter Island, Melville Peninsula (A. H. Howell, 1936:321); Repulse Bay, Melville Peninsula (_ibid._)

LEPUS ARCTICUS ANDERSONI Nelson.

1934. _Lepus arcticus andersoni_ Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc.

Was.h.i.+ngton, 47:85, March 8, type from Cape Barrow, Coronation Gulf, Northwest Territory.

_Marginal records_ (A. H. Howell, 1936:328).--Franklin: Cape Kellett, Banks Island; Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island. Mackenzie: Bathurst Inlet; Backs River near Lake Beechey; Lake Hanbury; Fort Rae; Fort Anderson.

LEPUS ARCTICUS BANGSII Rhoads.

1896. _Lepus arcticus bangsii_ Rhoads, Amer. Nat., 30:253[=236 of March issue], author's separates (preprints) published February 20, 1896, type from Codroy, Newfoundland.

_Marginal records_ (A. H. Howell, 1936:327).--Labrador: Hopedale; Makkovik. Newfoundland: Saint Johns; type locality; Mt. St. Gregory.

LEPUS ARCTICUS GROENLANDICUS Rhoads.

1896. _Lepus groenlandicus_ Rhoads, Amer. Nat., 30:254(=237 of March issue), author's separates (preprints) issued February 20, type from Robertson Bay, NW Greenland.

1934. [_Lepus arcticus_] _groenlandicus_, Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc.

Was.h.i.+ngton, 47:83, March 8.

1912. _Boreolepus groenlandicus_, Barrett-Hamilton, Hist. British Mammals, pt. 12, p. 298, October.

1930. _Lepus variabilis hyperboreus_ Pedersen, Medd. om Gronland, 77:363, no type or type locality designated but name applied to hares of east Greenland in the general vicinity of Scoresby Sound (preoccupied by _Lepus hyperboreas_ Pallas, Zoogeographica Rosso Asiatica, 1:152, 1831, a species of _Ochotona_).

1934. _Lepus arcticus persimilis_ Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc.

Was.h.i.+ngton, 47:84, March 8, type from S side Clavering Island, east Greenland.

_Marginal records._--Greenland (A. H. Howell, 1936:331): Cape Alexander; on east coast to Francis Joseph Fiord; on west coast to _Nugsuak Peninsula_; Disko Island; Holsteinsborg.

LEPUS ARCTICUS LABRADORIUS Miller.

1899. _Lepus labradorius_ Miller, Proc. Biol. Soc. Was.h.i.+ngton, 13:39, May 29, type from Fort Chimo, Ungava, Canada.

1924. _Lepus arcticus labradorius_, G. M. Allen and Copeland, Jour.

Mamm., 5:12, February 9.

1902. _Lepus arcticus ca.n.u.s_ Preble, N. Amer. Fauna, 22:59, October 31, type from Hubbart Point, W coast Hudson Bay, Keewatin.

_Marginal records_ (A. H. Howell, 1936:323).--Franklin: Pangnirtung Fiord; Nunata, Kingua Fiord; c.u.mberland Sound, Blacklead Island; Weddell Harbor, Frobisher Bay. Labrador: Ramah; Solomons Island, near Davis Inlet. Quebec: _type locality_; Great Whale River, Hudson Bay; Belcher Islands. Manitoba: Fort Churchill; _Hubbart Point_.

Keewatin: Cape Fullerton; Southampton Island. Franklin: _Cape Dorset_; Camp Kungovik, W coast Baffin Island, 65 35' N lat.; _Nettilling Fiord_.

LEPUS ARCTICUS MONSTRABILIS Nelson.

1934. _Lepus arcticus monstrabilis_ Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc.

Was.h.i.+ngton, 47:85, March 8, type from Buchanan Bay, Ellesmere Island.

_Marginal records._--Franklin (A. H. Howell, 1936:329): Cape Sheridan; Craig Harbor; Dundas Harbor, Devon Island.