Two New Meadow Mice from Michoacán Mexico
1948
In the highland forests of Michoacán, two previously unrecognized subspecies of meadow mouse were captured, measured, and ultimately given scientific names in this meticulous 1948 monograph. E. Raymond Hall documents the discovery of Microtus mexicanus fundatus and Microtus mexicanus salvus, specimens gathered from the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro and the slopes of Mount Tancitaro. The work presents exhaustive measurements of skull structure, fur coloration, and body dimensions, comparing these individuals against their relatives across Mexico. What emerges is more than mere taxonomy: it is a snapshot of postwar American mammalogy, when field collectors still trekked through remote volcanic landscapes with specimen jars and calipers, and the mapping of biological diversity was considered urgent scientific work. For specialists in Neotropical mammals or historians of twentieth-century natural science, this document remains a foundational reference, preserving the morphological data upon which later ecological studies would build.
