Part 10

Remarks.--Ground squirrels of this species are fairly abundant in the arid tropical parts of the state. Their burrows are usually found on stony areas along small ravines or under mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) thickets. The name cuiniqui in use by the Spanish speaking population is merely a corruption of the Tarascan name. Cuiniqui, therefore, is a particular kind of ardilla terrA-cola (ground squirrel).

=Sciurus poliopus nemoralis= Nelson

MichoacAin Squirrel; Spanish, Ardilla arborA-cola; Tarascan, UakuA- (Wakqe)

Sciurus albipes nemoralis Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc, Washington, 12:151, June 3, 1898, type from PAitzcuaro, MichoacAin.

Sciurus poliopus nemoralis Nelson, Proc. Washington Acad. Sci., 1:50, May 9, 1899.

Range.--Pine and oak forests of most of state.

Specimens examined, 3: nos. 2102 and 2103 Louisiana State University from 20 mi. E Morelia, 7,300 ft., and no. 1369 B. Villa R. from 1-1/2 km. N San Juan 2,250 meters.

Remarks.--Tree squirrels of this kind have been reported by Nelson (1899:51) from PAitzcuaro and Nahuatzin.

The young specimen, no. 2102, , has the tail slender, resembling somewhat that of the S. p. senex from the southward. The underparts of the female are Warm Buff, more clearly so on the underside of the legs.

=Sciurus poliopus senex= Nelson

MichoacAin Squirrel; Spanish, Ardilla ArborA-cola; Tarascan, UakuA- (Wakqe)

Sciurus poliopus senex Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 17:148, October 6, 1904, type from La Salada, 40 mi. S Uruapan.

Range.--Lowlands in southern part of state.

Specimens examined, 3: nos. 52004, 52014, 52015, distributed by localities as follows: TancA-taro, 6,000 ft., 1; Apatzingan, 1,040 ft., 2.

Remarks.--Specimen number 52014, , represents the melanistic phase of this subspecies.

The upper parts of the hind legs in this specimen are slightly grizzled. The upper side of the tail is vermiculated with whitish and the underside of the tail is black.

=Thomomys umbrinus pullus= Hall and Villa

Southern Pocket Gopher; Spanish, Tuza Serrana; Tarascan, Cumu (Como)

Thomomys umbrinus pullus Hall and Villa, Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 1:251, July 26, 1948, type from 5 miles south PAitzcuaro, 7,800 ft., MichoacAin.

Range.--Known only from pine-covered rolling land three to five miles south of PAitzcuaro.

Specimens examined, 17: nos. 100136-100152, distributed by localities as follows: 3 mi. S PAitzcuaro, 7,800 ft., 1; 4 mi. S PAitzcuaro, 7,800 ft., 10; 5 mi. S PAitzcuaro, 7,800 ft., 6.

Remarks.--Most of these pocket gophers were caught in areas supporting a good growth of pine trees in the same places where the much larger pocket gopher, Cratogeomys gymnurus, lived. Concerning the individual designated as the type specimen, H. H. Hall (field notes) writes that when he was making an excavation to reveal the gopher's burrow (5 inches below the surface), he dug deeper than was necessary and broke into the burrow of a Cratogeomys directly below. Another of us (E. R. Hall) had the same experience where the burrow of a Thomomys was approximately six inches below ground and that of a Cratogeomys approximately 16 inches below the surface of the ground. At the time this arrangement led us to wonder if Thomomys was in some sense a "parasite" on the larger Cratogeomys by levying on food stores, if Cratogeomys has any, but we found no evidence that such was the case and from our subsequent trapping concluded that the two-story arrangement was accidental and not the rule. The habit of burrowing at different levels probably was one factor which permitted the two kinds of pocket gophers to live in the same area. The average weight of these gophers was 86 grams in males and 74 grams in females, or only an eighth as much as in Cratogeomys.

=Cratogeomys gymnurus imparilis= (Goldman)

Plains Pocket Gopher; Spanish, Tuza Llanera; Tarascan, Cumu (Como)

Platygeomys gymnurus imparilis, Goldman, Jour. Mamm., 20:89, February 14, 1939, type from PAitzcuaro, 7,000 ft., MichoacAin.

Platygeomys tylorhinus Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 8:167, pl. 13, fig. 1, January 31, 1895.

Range.--PAitzcuaro and TacAimbaro, as now known.

Specimens examined, 14: nos. 100153-100166, distributed by localities as follows: 2 mi. W PAitzcuaro, 7,700 ft., 2; 3 mi. S PAitzcuaro, 7,800 ft., 1; 4 mi. S PAitzcuaro, 7,800 ft., 1; 5 mi. S. PAitzcuaro, 7,800 ft., 6; 9 mi. SE PAitzcuaro, 8,000 ft., 1; 1-3/4 mi. S TacAimbaro, 5,700 ft., 1; 1-1/2 mi. S TacAimbaro, 5,700 ft., 2.