John A. White

“ Variation with age.—In the chipmunks the baculum varies but little with age. In the youngest specimens that I have taken, the M3 and m3 have not yet erupted and there is no wear on P4 and p4; nevertheless, the baculum in these specimens has nearly an adult configuration and size. In juvenal Eutamias minimus the tip of the baculum is longer in relation to the length of the shaft than it is in adults; the tip is 18 to 28 per cent of the length of the shaft in adults, as opposed to 29 to 32 per cent in juveniles. ”

“ Eutamias sonomae Grinnell
Figure 4
Upper parts rich reddish, more or less dulled by gray; backs of pinnae of ears nearly bare; tail long and bushy; size large; skull large, long, and narrow; rostrum deep.
Baculum: Shaft thin; keel low, 1/10 of length of tip; tip 27 to 31 per cent of length of shaft; angle formed by tip and shaft 130°; distal 1/4 of shaft slightly compressed laterally; base deeper and wider than shaft; shaft of medium length, 3.03 to 3.30 mm.; ridges on either side of tip strongly developed, partly obscuring keel from side. ”

“ Johnson (op. cit.:63) writes, "Each species [of Eutamias] has a characteristic habitat which differs from those of other species. Where two or more species occur together in a general locality they are usually mutually exclusive in their choice of foraging and nesting sites and in the time of breeding." Thus he classified the species of Californian chipmunks not only by morphologic characteristics but by habits and habitats as well. The characteristics of the skulls and skins of chipmunks probably reflect the habitats [Pg 631] in which these animals live. ”