Title: Additional Records and Extensions of Known Ranges of Mammals from Utah
Author: Durrant, Stephen D., Lee, M. Raymond, Hansen, Richard M.
Language: English
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UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Volume 9, No. 2, pp. 69-80
December 10, 1955


Additional Records and Extensions of
Known Ranges of Mammals from Utah


BY

STEPHEN D. DURRANT, M. RAYMOND LEE, AND
RICHARD M. HANSEN


UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
LAWRENCE
1955



Additional Records and Extensions of
Known Ranges of Mammals From Utah

BY

STEPHEN D. DURRANT, M. RAYMOND LEE,
AND RICHARD M. HANSEN


The Museum of Zoology, University of Utah, contains approximately 5000
specimens in addition to those available to Durrant (1952) when he
prepared his account of the "Mammals of Utah, _Taxonomy and
Distribution_." Study of this material discloses two kinds of mammals
not heretofore known to occur in Utah, and extends the known limits of
occurrence of many others as is set forth below in what may be thought
of as a supplement to the aforementioned report of 1952.

Our study was financed in part by a grant from the National Science
Foundation.

_=Sorex vagrans obscurus=_ Merriam. Dusky Shrew.--Twelve specimens are
available from the Abajo Mountains and Elk Ridge, San Juan County,
Utah, as follows: North Creek, 6 mi. W Monticello, 8300 ft.; 1 mi. S
Twin Peaks, 9500 ft.; Kigalia R. S., 8000 ft.; and Gooseberry R. S.,
8250 ft. Previously, the only known specimens from east of the Colorado
River in Utah were from the La Sal Mountains in extreme eastern Grand
County and extreme northern San Juan County. These twelve specimens
extend the known area of occurrence of the species in Utah
approximately 80 miles to the south, and indicate that this shrew
occurs throughout the state in favorable habitats.

_=Sorex palustris navigator=_ (Baird). Water Shrew.--An individual was
observed by M. Raymond Lee at North Creek, seven miles west of
Monticello, Abajo Mountains, 8000 feet, San Juan County, on July 10,
1954. Usually we are extremely reluctant to record sight records, but
do so in this instance because the water shrew is so distinctive that
it can be readily recognized and because the occurrence extends the
known range approximately 80 miles southward in Utah. This individual
was observed at close range while swimming and foraging in North Creek,
and there can be no doubt of its identity.

_=Myotis yumanensis yumanensis=_ (H. Allen). Yuma Myotis.--Durrant
(1952:43) reported this subspecies from Utah on the authority of Hardy
(1941:289) who had specimens from two localities in extreme
southwestern Utah. Durrant (1952:41) referred specimen Number 6784,
from Willow Creek, 25 miles south of Ouray, Uintah County, to _Myotis
lucifugus carissima_. Restudy of this specimen reveals that it is
_Myotis yumanensis yumanensis_. This identification has been
corroborated by Dr. Philip H. Krutzsch, University of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and extends the known range of the subspecies _M. y.
yumanensis_ approximately 300 miles northeastward in Utah. See also
Krutzsch and Heppenstall (1955:126) who record specimens from 2 mi. SW
Jensen.

_=Myotis subulatus melanorhinus=_ (Merriam). Small-footed Myotis.--This
bat previously was known from only seven localities in Utah, which
indicated that it occurred in only the western and southern areas of
the state. Four additional records are now available from the following
localities: Logan Canyon Cave, 15 miles north of Logan, Cache County;
Weber College Campus, Ogden, Weber County; University of Utah Campus,
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County; Six Mile Canyon, 3-1/2 miles east of
Sterling, Sanpete County. These occurrences extend the known range to
the eastward in Utah, and indicate a state-wide distribution. Specimens
of the subspecies _Myotis s. melanorhinus_ are recorded also from as
far north as Double Springs, Custer County, Idaho (Davis, 1939:117).

_=Pipestrellus hesperus hesperus=_ (H. Allen). Western
Pipistrelle.--Heretofore, the northernmost known specimens of this bat
from Utah were from Old Lincoln Highway, 18 miles southwest of Orr's
Ranch, Tooele County. Specimen Number 7531 is now available from cliffs
NE [3 mi.] Ogden, Weber County, and extends the known range of this
species in Utah approximately 100 miles northeastward. This pipistrelle
probably inhabits all of northern and northwestern Utah in suitable
habitats. This probability is supported by Davis' (1939:120) report of
a specimen from Salmon Creek, eight miles west of Rogerson, Twin Falls
County, Idaho. See also Krutzsch and Heppenstall (1955:127) who record
a specimen from, eastern Utah as far north as, Desert Springs which is
10 mi. SW Ouray, Uintah County.

_=Corynorhinus rafinesquii pallescens=_ Miller. Long-eared
Bat.--Formerly, the northernmost record of the long-eared bat in Utah
was from east of Springville, Utah County. Specimens are now available
from Goldhill, Tooele County, and from South Fork, Ogden River, Weber
County. Professor J. S. Stanford, Department of Zoology, Utah State
Agricultural College, informed us (by letter) that this bat is the
common cave bat in Logan Canyon, Cache County. This northern extension
of known area of occurrence of approximately 100 miles indicates that
it probably is state-wide in distribution in suitable habitats. It can
be inferred from Hall (1946:161) that the range of _C. r. intermedius_
in Nevada extended northeastward into northwestern Utah, and Davis
(1939:124) reported specimens from Bingham and Bannock counties, Idaho,
that he referred to the above mentioned subspecies. This led Stanford
to comment (_in litt._) that bats of this species from northern Utah in
Cache County might be _C. r. intermedius_. Insofar as we are aware, _C.
r. pallescens_ differs from _C. r. intermedius_ only in being slightly
paler. Our specimens from Goldhill and South Fork of the Ogden River
are not beyond the range of color of specimens from elsewhere in the
state that are referable to _C. r. pallescens_. Inasmuch as specimens
are not available from Logan Canyon, we deem it best pending the
acquisition of specimens from that locality to refer all members of
this species from Utah to the subspecies _C. r. pallescens_.

_=Marmota flaviventer nosophora=_ Howell. Yellow-bellied
Marmot.--Durrant (1952:101) did not indicate that any species of the
genus _Marmota_ occurred on the mountains within the basin of
Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. Furthermore, he commented (_op. cit._:502)
upon the dearth of sciurids within this basin. One specimen, No.
10,905, of the subspecies _M. f. nosophora_ has been taken from South
Willow Canyon, 10,000 feet, base of Deseret Peak, Stansbury Mountains,
Tooele County. This specimen is noteworthy not only in that it extends
the known range of this kind of mammal 50 miles to the west in Utah,
but in that it is well within the basin of the ancient lake. The marmot
is common in the Wasatch Mountains on the eastern mainland of Lake
Bonneville, but to date has not been found on the Oquirrh Mountains
immediately to the west. The Oquirrh Mountains are interposed between
the Stansbury and Wasatch mountains. The presence of the marmot on the
Stansbury Mountains indicates that it probably occurs also on the
Oquirrh Mountains.

_=Citellus beldingi crebrus=_ Hall. Belding Ground Squirrel.--Durrant
(1952:113) had only two specimens of this ground squirrel from
Standrod, Boxelder County. Additional specimens have been obtained from
the following localities in northwestern Boxelder County: Grouse Creek,
Park Valley, Grouse Creek Mountains, 12 miles northwest of Grouse
Creek, and Goose Creek. _C. b. crebrus_ now is known to inhabit all the
major drainages of the Raft River, Goose Creek, and Grouse Creek
mountains. In addition to extending the known area of occurrence of
this animal in Utah, these specimens prove also that this species is
not restricted to the Snake River Drainage as Durrant (1952:113)
supposed, but occurs also in the Great Basin Drainage.

_=Citellus richardsonii elegans=_ (Kennicott). Richardson Ground
Squirrel.--Recently, Hansen (1953:132) reported on specimens of this
species from Rich and Summit counties. Additional specimens are now
available from Highway 165 [2 mi. E Summit--Daggett Co. Line], 2 miles
south of Utah-Wyoming State Line; 5 miles west of Manila, and one mile
northeast of Manila (Carnegie Museum). These localities are in Daggett
County. The occurrence of these ground squirrels in Rich, Summit and
Daggett counties suggests that they occur along the entire northern
piedmont of the Uinta Mountains.

_=Citellus lateralis trepidus=_ (Taylor). Golden-mantled Ground
Squirrel.--Durrant (1952:126) estimated that practically all of the
area in Utah that is within the Great Basin might be included in the
range of this subspecies. Actually, he had specimens from only the Raft
River Mountains in northwestern Boxelder County. He included sight
records from the Deep Creek Mountains and from the Oquirrh Mountains.
Subsequently two specimens, numbers 7469A and 7470A, were obtained from
the Deep Creek Mountains. To date neither specimens nor subsequent
sight records have been obtained from the Oquirrh Mountains, and we are
of the opinion that Durrant erred, and that the golden-mantled ground
squirrel does not inhabit these mountains. Therefore, it seems at this
writing that this subspecies, in Utah, occurs only in the extreme
western and northwestern parts of the state in the Deep Creek and Raft
River mountains, and not within the basin of Pleistocene Lake
Bonneville as formerly supposed.

_=Eutamias umbrinus umbrinus=_ (J. A. Allen). Uinta Chipmunk.--Two
specimens, numbers 10,236 and 10,237, from the junction of Argyle and
Minnie Maud creeks, Carbon County, prove that members of this
subspecies occur on the West Tavaputs Plateau, which is outside the
range ascribed to this subspecies by White (1953:572) and by Durrant
(1952:142). The grayish color of these specimens and the reduction of
ochraceous pigments constitute basis for referring the specimens to _E.
u. umbrinus_, and not to _E. u. adsitus_ or _E. u. montanus_. _E. u.
umbrinus_ on the West Tavaputs Plateau is separated from _E. u.
montanus_ on the East Tavaputs Plateau by the Green River and its deep
chasm.

_=Perognathus formosus incolatus=_ Hall. Long-tailed Pocket
Mouse.--Prior to the description of this subspecies by Hall (1941:56),
animals of this species had not been reported from within the basin of
the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. When Durrant (1952) prepared his
manuscript he had but a single specimen from western Millard County and
one nearby record (Fautin, 1946:280). Additional specimens are known
from the following localities: junction of Trout Creek and Birch Creek,
Deep Creek Mountains, Tooele County; six miles north of Ibapah, Tooele
County; five miles south of Timpie, Tooele County; north end of
Newfoundland Mountains, Boxelder County; and Groome, Boxelder County.
These occurrences show that the species is not restricted to the
extreme western part of the state, but occurs in suitable habitats
throughout the basin of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. The known range is
extended approximately 150 miles north and 40 miles east.

_=Perognathus parvus trumbullensis=_ Benson. Great Basin Pocket
Mouse.--Durrant (1952:477), suspecting that this mouse occurred in
Utah, included the subspecies _P. p. trumbullensis_ in his hypothetical
list. Numerous specimens are now available from the following
localities: Pine Valley Mountains, Enterprise Reservoir, and 19 miles
west of Enterprise, Washington County; Bown's Reservoir, Snow Ranch,
Hall Ranch, Steep Creek, Garfield County; Aquarius Guard Station,
Aquarius Plateau, Wayne County. Insofar as we are aware, these
occurrences are the first to be recorded from Utah, and extend the
known range of this subspecies 150 miles northward.

The specimens from Washington County are paler than those from Garfield
County, and this pallor indicates intergradation with the subspecies
_P. p. olivaceus_. Of animals from the Aquarius Plateau, those from the
eastern and southern localities are pale and have a marked suffusion of
ochraceous in the upper parts, whereas those from the western and
northern localities are extremely dark owing to a heavy suffusion of
black in the upper parts. The skulls of animals from the Aquarius
Plateau resemble those of _P. p. trumbullensis_ in the majority of
diagnostic characters. In some few characters, nevertheless, the skulls
resemble those of _P. p. olivaceus_, and in other characters are
intermediate between these two named subspecies. In shape and size of
the interparietal, in slightly longer nasals, and in slightly greater
alveolar length of upper molariform teeth, animals from the Aquarius
Plateau differ from either of the aforementioned subspecies. All
characters considered, we deem it best to refer these specimens to the
subspecies _P. p. trumbullensis_.

_=Thomomys talpoides bridgeri=_ Merriam. Northern Pocket Gopher.--An
adult female, Catalogue No. 25667 of the Museum of Natural History of
the University of Kansas, skin with skull, was trapped, on 30 June
1948, 14 miles south and 2 miles east of Robertson, 9,300 feet, in
Summit County, Utah, by James O. Lonnquist (original number 146). This
is the first record of this subspecies from Utah, and raises to 37 the
named kinds of pocket gophers known from Utah.

_=Reithrodontomys megalotis megalotis=_ (Baird). Western Harvest
Mouse.--Durrant (1952:295) reported no harvest mice from the Uinta
Basin in northeastern Utah. One specimen, No. 10,239, was obtained from
two miles east of Duchesne, Duchesne County. This specimen extends the
known range in Utah 50 miles northward, and indicates that the harvest
mouse of the subspecies _R. m. megalotis_ occurs throughout the Uinta
Basin.

_=Onychomys leucogaster pallescens=_ Merriam. Northern Grasshopper
Mouse.--Hansen obtained specimens (in alcohol) from Kennedys Hole,
junction of the White and Green rivers, Uintah County. The northernmost
specimens available to Durrant (1952:328) were from one mile east of
Greenriver, Grand County. These specimens from Uintah County extend the
known range 80 miles to the north, and substantiate Durrant's
conclusion that this subspecies occurs east of the Green and Colorado
rivers.

_=Clethrionomys gapperi uintaensis=_ Doutt. Red-backed
Mouse.--Previously, the red-backed mouse in Utah was known only from
the Uinta and Wasatch mountains. The southernmost localities from which
specimens were available were in northern Wasatch County and southern
Salt Lake County. Durrant (1952:355) supposed that the species ranged
southward to Mount Timpanogos in Utah County. One specimen, No. 10,075,
from the summit, 18 miles east of Mayfield, Sanpete County, and 4 from
Ephraim Canyon, 15 miles east of Ephraim, Sanpete County, show that
this subspecies occurs also on the Wasatch Plateau of central Utah.
These latter specimens extend the known range of the red-backed mouse
in Utah approximately 100 miles southward. Owing to the practically
continuous nature of the central mountain ranges of Utah, students of
mammals of Utah usually suspect that most montane mammals occur
throughout these mountain ranges. The red-backed mouse has been sought
for in vain in the mountains south of the Wasatch Plateau. Suitable
habitats for this mouse occur throughout the Fishlake Mountains,
Thousand Lake Mountains and the Aquarius Plateau, but despite intensive
collecting, none has been obtained from these areas.

_=Phenacomys intermedius intermedius=_ Merriam. Heather Vole.--The
heather vole, while not rare, is uncommon in Utah. Durrant (1952:360)
had but eight specimens from various localities in Summit, Wasatch,
Salt Lake and Utah counties and supposed that the species was
restricted to the western Uinta Mountains and southern Wasatch
Mountains. In the summers of 1952 and 1953, intensive collecting of
mammals was carried out on Boulder Mountain and the Aquarius Plateau,
in Wayne and Garfield counties. Two specimens, nos. 8956 and 9074, were
obtained from Spectacle Lake, Boulder Mountain, Garfield County. These
specimens extend the known area of occurrence 175 miles southward in
Utah. No specimens are known from the areas between Mount Timpanogos in
Utah County, and Boulder Mountain in Garfield County. We suspect,
however, that when this intervening area has been thoroughly studied,
the heather vole, like many other montane mammals, will be found
throughout the entire length of the central mountain ranges.

_=Microtus pennsylvanicus modestus=_ (Baird). Pennsylvanian Meadow
Mouse.--In Utah this mouse was known only from wet meadows in valleys
immediately west of the Wasatch Mountains, as far south as a place 2
miles south of Provo (Hall and Cockrum, 1953:410). Norman V.
Chamberlain collected several specimens "near" Koosharem Reservoir,
Sevier County. These extend the known range of this subspecies 110
miles southward, and suggest that Pennsylvanian meadow mice occur, in
suitable habitat, all along the eastern margin of the Great Basin in
Utah, at least as far south as Sevier County. All northern specimens
are from the drainages of Utah Lake and Great Salt Lake, but these
specimens from Sevier County are from the Sevier River Drainage. This
species requires a fairly moist environment, and such habitat exists
between the aforementioned drainages which are practically
interconnected by Mona Reservoir and its adjacent areas of springs.

_=Zapus princeps utahensis=_ Hall. Big Jumping Mouse.--Durrant
(1952:388) reported a specimen from Puffer Lake, Beaver Mountains,
Beaver County. He supposed that this mouse occurred also at high
elevations still farther south in Utah. Subsequently, two specimens
were obtained from Garfield County; No. 9006 from Steep Creek, 12 miles
north of Boulder and No. 9071 from East Fork of Boulder Creek, 10 miles
north of Boulder. These two specimens extend the known range of jumping
mice in Utah 75 miles southeastward. Several specimens have been
obtained also from the Fishlake Plateau, and further bear out Durrant's
supposition that these mammals occur on all of the high mountains of
central Utah, at least as far south as the Aquarius Plateau.

_=Urocyon cinereoargenteus scottii=_ Mearns. Gray Fox.--One skull, No.
10,240, from mouth of Birch Creek, Deep Creek Mountains, Juab County,
extends the known geographic range 50 miles east from Cherry Creek
Canyon, Nevada (see Hall, 1946:241). This record indicates that the
species occurs in the mountainous areas on the western margins of
Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, and extends the known range in Utah
approximately 150 miles northward. Furthermore, this record proves that
the gray fox occurs as far north in western Utah as it does in eastern
Nevada, but to date none has been obtained from the mountains within
the basin of the ancient lake, even though some of them are not far
removed from the Deep Creek Mountains.

_=Lutra canadensis nexa=_ Goldman. River Otter.--River otters are rare
in a semi-arid state like Utah, and few have been preserved as
scientific specimens. Durrant (1952:436) had access to but one skull
from an immature animal from the Raft River Mountain area in
northwestern Boxelder County. At present there are two complete
specimens (skins, skulls and skeletons) in the collection of the
University of Utah. They were trapped by an employee of the Utah State
Fish and Game Department, and were donated to the University of Utah by
J. Perry Egan, Director of the above mentioned department. They are
nos. 8854 and 8855, and are from the Raft River, 2 miles south of the
Utah-Idaho border, Boxelder County.

_=Alces americanus shirasi=_ Nelson. Moose.--The moose is rare in Utah,
and to date records of its occurrence have been based solely upon sight
records. There are, nevertheless, two specimens preserved. One is a
young bull (skull only) from Farmington Canyon, Davis County, in the
collection of Weber College, Ogden, Utah. The other is one antler (No.
10,745) of a young bull from Henrys Fork, 16 miles south of the
Utah-Wyoming border, Summit County, and it is in the collection of the
University of Utah. This large cervid apparently is increasing in
numbers in the state. Dale Jones of the Utah State Fish and Game
Department reported to us that a herd of 25 animals was observed in
1954, in the vicinity of Haydens Peak, Bear River Drainage, Summit
County. A cow and a calf were seen in the vicinity of Strawberry
Reservoir, Wasatch County, in 1951, by employees of the same
department. This latter locality is the most southern and eastern point
of their known occurrence in Utah.

_=Ovis canadensis canadensis=_ Shaw. Mountain Sheep.--Formerly, the
mountain sheep was not known to occur in the La Sal Mountains in Grand
and San Juan counties. On October 23, 1954, a two year old ram, No.
10,906, was killed by a deer hunter at a locality 1-1/2 miles north of
La Sal, La Sal Mountains, San Juan County. This constitutes the first
complete specimen (skin and skull) of a mountain sheep from Utah.
According to Harold Crane, of the Utah State Fish and Game Department,
this ram was running with a herd of mule deer, and was the only
mountain sheep that was seen. The ram was confiscated and given to the
Department of Zoology, University of Utah, for preservation as a
scientific specimen.


LITERATURE CITED

DAVIS, W. B.

    1939. The Recent Mammals of Idaho. The Caxton Printers, Ltd.,
          Caldwell, Idaho, 400 pp., 2 full-page half tones, 33
          figs. in text, April 5.

DURRANT, S. D.

    1952. Mammals of Utah, _taxonomy and distribution_. Univ.
          Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 6:1-549, 91 figs. in
          text, 30 tables, August 10.

FAUTIN, R. W.

    1946. Biotic communities of the northern desert shrub biome
          in Western Utah. Ecol. Monogr., 16:251-310, 19 figs. in
          text, 33 tables, October.

HALL, E. R.

    1941. New heteromyid rodents from Nevada. Proc. Biol. Soc.
          Washington, 54:55-61, May 20.

    1946. Mammals of Nevada. Univ. California Press, Berkeley,
          California, xi + 710 pp., 11 pls., 485 figs. in text,
          July 1.

HALL, E. R., and COCKRUM, E. L.

    1953. A synopsis of the North American microtine rodents. Univ.
          Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 5:373-498, January 15.

HANSEN, R. M.

    1953. Richardson ground squirrel in Utah. Jour. Mamm.,
          34:131-132, February 9.

HARDY, R.

    1941. Some notes on Utah bats. Jour. Mamm., 22:289-295,
          August 14.

KRUTZSCH, P. H., and HEPPENSTALL, C. A.

    1955. Additional distributional records of bats in Utah.
          Jour. Mamm., 36:126-127, February.

WHITE, J. A.

    1953. Taxonomy of the chipmunks, Eutamias quadrivittatus and
          Eutamias umbrinus. Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist.,
          5:563-582, 6 figs. in text, December 1.


_Transmitted April 16, 1955._


25-8618



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Transcriber's Notes

Italicized text is shown within _underscores_.

Bold text is shown within =equal signs=.

Page 72: Changed northermost to northernmost
  (Western Pipistrelle.--Heretofore, the northermost known specimens)





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