Comments on the Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution of Some North American Rodents

The paper reviews subspecific taxonomy and geographic ranges of several North American rodents by reexamining museum specimens and contrasting them with prior literature. The authors compare pelage characters, skull measurements, and patterns of geographic continuity or isolation to resolve conflicting identifications and, where warranted, recommend alternative subspecific referrals. Multiple cases are treated — including marmots, rock squirrels, chipmunks, and jumping mice — with detailed specimen-based comparisons and locality reasoning used to clarify ambiguous distributions and to justify the proposed taxonomic adjustments.