326 Tamias minimusT. m. borealis—Canada and upper regions of Montana (USA).
The autumn pelage is pale yellowish gray on the upper-
parts, and the sides are washed with yellowish brown.
The ventral surface is grayish white tinged with buff.
The dark dorsal stripes are black, and the light dorsal
stripes are gray. The outer pair of light stripes are white
tinged with yellow.
T. m. cacodemus—“Sheep Mountain, Big Bad Lands” (= Scru-
ton Mountain, White River Badlands, Pennington Coun-
ty), South Dakota (USA). This form is similar to T. m.
pallidus, but T. m. cacodemus is paler, with a very long
tail.
T. m. caniceps—Yukon south to north British Columbia (Can-
ada). This form is similar to T. m. borealis, but T. m. cani-
ceps is grayer, especially on the head, the feet, and the
tail. The postauricular patches are more prominent, and
the underparts are pure white.
T. m. car yi—San Luis Valley, Colorado (USA). This form is
similar to T. m. minimus, but T. m. car yi is paler and
grayer. The face stripes are white.
T. m. chuskaensis—Chuska Mountains, in Arizona and New
Mexico (USA). The coloring of the dorsal stripes in T. m.
chuskaensis is similar to T. m. minimus, but the general col-
oring is perhaps paler. The dorsal surfaces of the feet are
gray. The underside of the tail is yellowish to reddish
brown, outlined with pale buff.
T. m. confi nis—Bighorn Mountains, northern Wyoming
(USA). This form is similar to T. m. consobrinus, but T. m.
confi nis is larger, and the upperparts are more buff y in the
winter. The blackish dorsal stripes are mixed with
ochraceous tawny.
T. m. consobrinus—Utah and Colorado, north along the
boundary between Idaho and Wyoming (USA). The ven-
tral surface of the tail is fulvous.
T. m. grisescens—central Washington (USA). This form is
similar to T. m. pictus, but T. m. grisescens is smaller, the
coloration is grayer and less buff y, and the dark dorsal
stripes are narrower. The tail is paler and grayish.
T. m. hudsonius—northern Manitoba (Canada). This form is
similar to T. m. borealis, but T. m. hudsonius is a darker
gray form. The ventral surface of the tail is paler. There
is less reddish brown on the shoulders, the back, and the
rump. The hind legs are dark gray. The dark dorsal
stripes are relatively broader.
T. m. jacksoni—Oneida County, Wisconsin (USA). This form
is similar to T. m. borealis, but the upperparts and the tail
of T. m. jacksoni are more intensely tawny, with a darker
face and head. The tail is also darker.
T. m. neglectus—southern Manitoba and southern Ontario
(Canada) south to the northern parts of Minnesota and
Wisconsin (USA). This form is similar to T. m. borealis,
but T. m. neglectus is larger, and the colors are brighter.
T. m. operarius—western Colorado, expanding into northern
New Mexico, the eastern edge of Utah, and southern
Wyoming (USA). This form is similar to T. amoenus, but
T. m. operarius lacks the distinct black color on the poste-
rior aspect of the ear. The tail is longer. The upper sur-
face of the tail is strongly fulvous.
T. m. oreocetes—southernmost boundary between Alberta
and British Columbia (Canada), south into Montana (USA).
The upperparts are gray, tinged with yellow on the sides.
The top of the head is grizzled gray. The outer pair of light
dorsal stripes are white. The undersurface of the tail is
pale fulvous, bordered with black and fringed with ochra-
ceous; the upper surface of the tail is grizzled yellow.
T. m. pallidus—Montana, eastern North Dakota, and north-
eastern Wyoming, expanding west over the boundary
into South Dakota and Nebraska (USA). This form is
similar to T. m. minimus, but T. m. pallidus is larger, and
the sides are more washed with ochraceous.
T. m. pictus—southern Idaho and northern Utah (USA). The
upperparts are more pallid than T. m. minimus. The up-
perparts are slate gray, and the sides are pale yellow buff.
The median dark dorsal stripes are black, with the outer
dark stripes seal brown edged with rufous. The outer pair
of dorsal stripes are white, and the median light stripes are
slate gray. The upper surface of the tail is black and yel-
lowish gray, and the under surface is dark yellowish buff
bordered with black and fringed with yellowish gray.
T. m. scrutator—southcentral part of Washington, centralTamias minimus. Photo courtesy James N. Stuart.