Remarks on the Bifid Claws of the Varying Lemming

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Abstract
One of the most frequently mentioned characteristics of the varying lemming (Dicrostonyx) is the growth of enlarged claws on the 3rd and 4th digits during the winter. Hinton (monograph of the voles and lemmings [microtinae] living and extinct. London, p. 139, 1926) pointed out that in summer the claws do not differ greatly from those of other lemmings; but in winter “they are very large, sometimes exceeding half an inch in length, and have the appearance of being double, each of the two fingers seeming to bear two enormous claws, one on top of the other, which are separated at their tips by a more or less deep notch.” It was formerly believed that the growth of bifid claws was a characteristic of only the “old lemmings in winter pelage.” However, Degerbøl and Møhl-Hansen (Med. Om. Grønl. 131.) : 14, 1943) have pointed...

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