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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol -^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many fframes as required. The ffollowing diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s A des taux de reduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ji . II ■pmnai^ai DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. F. V. HAYDEN, U. S. GEOLOGIST. VNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES, ..^-^^^r* * MISCELLANEOUS PTTBLICATIOTTS, No. 8. \0^ *A FUR-BEARING ANIMALS: A MONOGRAPH OF North American Mdstelidj;, IN WHICH AN ACCOUNT OP THE WOLVERENE, THE MARTENS OR SABLES, THE ERHINE, THE MINK AND VARIOUS OTHER KINDS OF WEASELS, SEVERAL SPECIES OF SKUNKS, THE BADGER, THE LAND AND SEA OTTERS, AND NUMEROUS EXOTIC ALLIES OF THESE ANIMALS, 18 CONTKinUTKD TO THB HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS. BY ELLIOTT COUES, CAPTAIN InD assistant SUUdEON UNITED STATES AKMT, SECRKTART ANU NATURALIST OF THB BUBVET. ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTY FIGURES ON TWENTY PLATES. WASHINGTON: aOVBENMBNT PEINTINO OFFIOB. 1877. »■> i ^ > ' ite*' eoo o' O (1 1 id ' e * n rt ft * *" . t . 1 o * a p ' PREFATORY NOTH U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, Washington, B. C, July n, 1877. This treatise on Fur-bearing Animals of North America, pre- pared by Dr. Elliott Coues, Assistant Surgeon United States Army, at present on duty with the Survey, is published as a specimen fasciculus of a systematic History of North American Mammals, upon which the author has been long engaged. In the forthcoming work, which will be published by the Survey as soon as it can be prepared for the press, it is proposed to treat the Mammals of North America, living and extinct, in the same comprehensive and thorough manner in which the single family of the Mmtelidce has been elaborated. The form of the final work, however, will necessarily be modi- fied, in order to bring the whole matter within reasonable com- pass, as well as to adapt it more perfectly to the wants of the general public, which it is designed to meet. The technical and critical portions of the treatise will be condensed as far as may be deemed compatible with itsdistinctively scientific charac- ter, while the aspects of the subject which are of more general interest, such as the life-histories of the species and the eco- nomic or other practical relations which animals sustain toward man, will be presented in ample detail. Other considerations have also had weight with me in de- ciding to publish this Monograph of the Mustelida in advance of the general "History", and as a separate volume. This family of Mammals is one of special interest and importance, from an economic point of view, as all the species furnish valua- ble peltries, some of which, like Sable, Ermine, and Otter, are in great demand ; while their pursuit is an extensive and im- portant branch of our national industries. It is believed that the Monograph satisfactorily reflects the present state of our knowledge of these animals, and forma III 5GT% mmm IV NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. a desirable contribution to the literature of the general subject. The Mustelid(v, like most other families of North American Mammals, have not been systematically revised for many years,, daring which much new material, hitherto unused, has become available for the purposes of science; while the steady and rapid progress of scientific inquiry has rendered it necessary t» reopen and discuss many questions in a new light. The same principles and methods of study which the author has suc- cessfully applied to the elucidation of the Rodentia of North America have been brought to bear upon the investigation of the Miiatelidiv. The Memoir is based upon specimens secured by the Survey under my direction, together with all the material contained in the National Museum, for the opportunity of examining which the Survey acknowledges, in this as in other instances, its indebtedness to the Smithsonian Institution. The illustrations of the present volume, with few exceptions,* were engraved by Mr. H. H. Nichols, of Washington, from pho- tographs on wood made under Dr. Coues's direction by Mr. T. W. Smillie, of Washington. This method of natural history illus- tration may still be regarded in the light of an experiment ; but the cuts may be considered fine specimens of the engraver's^ art, when it is remembered that photography gives no lines, to be followed by the graver. Though showing less detail^ particularly of the under surfaces of the skulls, than might have been secured by hand-drawing, the cuts possess the merit of absolute accuracy of contour. This opportunity is taken to reprint, by permission, a Gironlar ' relating to the proposed " History ", which was addressed by Dr. Coues to the Medical Staff of the Army, of which he is a member. The Circular is sufficiently explicit to require no com- ment ; but I may here express my high appreciation of the courtesy with which the wishes of the Survey have been met by the Surgeon General of the Army. F. V. HAYDEN, United States Qeologiat. * The several figures on the electrotype plate VI were kindly loaned by Mr^ £. A. Samnele, of Boston, from the Massachusetts Agrioalturol Report for 1861. The figures on plate XII were drawn on wood by Mr. S. W. Keen, of Waelw ingtoD, from photographs furnished by Mr. H. W. Parker, of the Agricultural College, Amherst, Mass. ' [Reprinted.] WAR DEPARTMENT, SURGEON GENBKAL'S OFFICE, Washington, March 31, 1877. CIRCULAR ORDERS, ) No. 1. S The attention of the Medical Officers of the Army is partioa* larly invited to the following communication addressed to them by Assistant Surgeon Elliott Ooues, U. S. Army. It is hoped that their assistance and co-operation will be cheerfully given for the reasons stated and in the manner indi> cated by Dr. CouES. Bt order of the Surgeon General: C. H. CRANE, Assistant Surgeon General^ U. 8. Army, Office ok U. S. Geoix)Oical and Geookaphical Survey, Waahington, D. C, Maroh 13, 1&77. To THE Medical Officers of the Army : Medical Officers of the Army, and others who may be interested in the matter, are respectfally and earnestly invited to cooperate with the under- 8i);ned in the preparation of a worl; entitled "History of North American Mam- malt," to be published by the Government. It is now twenty years since the last general work apon the Qaadrnpeds of this country appeared. The progress of our knowledge during this period renders the demand for a new treatise imperative. It is proposed to make the forthcoming "History" a standard scientific treatise, covering the whole ground, and fully exhibiting the present state of our knowledge of the sub- ject. The plan of the work may be briefly indicated ; its scope includes^ 1. The Classification of North American Mammals according to the latest and most approved views of leading therologists, including diagnoses of the orders, families, genera and species. H. The most acceptable Nomenclature of each species and variety, with ex- tensive Synonymy. 3. The elaborate technical Description of each species and variety, including much anatomical detail, especially respecting the skull and teeth. • 4. The Geographical Distribution of the species — an important matter, con- cerning which much remains to be learned. 5. The "Life-histories" of the species, or an account, as full and complete as it can be made, of their habits. This is also a matter reqniriug niucti further study. 6. The Bibliography of the subject. V ■ VI NORTH AMERICAN MU8TELID.E. While tbu strictly aciuntilic cbarncter of the work will bo iiiiiintained, tho " life-historieH," being of general interest, will be divested us fur as pussiblo of tecbuicalitit-H, and treated with u free bund, in popular style. The author has long been engaged in gathering material for this work, already fur ad~ vaucetl, and hopes to publish at no distant day. His resources and facilitieH for the preparation of the defcriptive and other technical portions of tho treatite have been ample ; but he has still, in common with other naturalists, much to learn respecting the Geographical Distribution and Habits of North American Mammals. To these points, therefore, special attention is invited, with the expectation that much important and valuable information may be secured with the assistance of Medical and other Orticers of tho Army, many of whom enjoy unusual facilities for ac(iuiring a knowledge of this subject, and whose individual experiences, in many casen, represent a fund of information not yet on sciontitic record, but which, it is hoped, may now be made fully available. The Geographical Distribution of animals can be thoroughly worked out only by means of observations made at very many different places. To thi* end it is desirable that lists should be prepared of the various species fount! in any given locality, noting their relative abundance or scarcity, times of appearance and disappearance, nature of their customary resorts, and other pertinent particulars. A sutlioient number of such reports, from various stations, would greatly increase our knowledge, and render it more precise.. It is believed that the " History of the Post," as already prepared by Medi- cal Otiicers, usually includes information of this kind, which, by the permia~ sion of the Surgeon General, is made available for the present purpose. As a rule, the habits of largvr "game" animals, such as are ordinarily ob- jects of the chase for pleasure or protit, and of all those which sustain obvion* economic relations with man, as furnishing food or furs, or as committing depredations upon crops or live stock, are the best known ; yet there ia nino'ii to be learned even respecting these. The habits of many of the imatler, insigniticaut or obscure species are almost entirely unknown. Full and ac- curate information respecting tho habits of the numerous species of Plares, Squirrels, Shrews, Moles, Mice, Rats, Bats, Weasels, Gophers, &e., is par- ticularly desired. The Bats offer a peculiarly inviting and little explored field of research. Among points to which attention may be directed, in any case, are the following : Date and duration of the rut. -Period of gestation. — Usual time of repro- duction. — Number of yonng produced. — Duration of lactation. — Care of thei young, by one or both parents. — State of monogamy or polygamy. — Time* of disappearance and re-appearance of such animals as are migratory, and of such as hybernate. — Completeness or interruption of torpidity. — Time* of changing pelage, of acquiring, shedding and renewing horns. — Habit* connected with theae processes. — Habits peculiar to the breeding and rut- ting seasons. — Construction of nests, burrows, or other artiiicial retreats. — Natural resorts at different seiisons. — Nature of food at various seasons ; mode of procnriug it; laying-up of supplies; <|uantity required. — VariouA cries, of what indicative.— Natural means of offense and defense, and how employed. — General disposition, traits, characteristics. — Methods of captur- ing or destroying, of taming or domesticating. — Economic relations witU (/ :i CIRCULAR. tn man ; how injiiriotiM or beneficial, to what extent, used for what pnrposoH, yielding what products of value. Other pointa will doubtless suggest theiiiHolveH to the observer. Anatom- ical noteH of careful «liHHOCtionN of soft parts, particularly of the difjestivo and reproductive organs, are valuable. Anecdotal records of personal ex- periences possess at least the interest which attaches to originality, and are very acceptable. Persous are frequently deterred from commuoicating their observations for fear that what they have to otf^r may not be wanted. This is generally a mistake. In the tirst place, duplication of data serves the important purpohe of corroborating and coiitirmiiig the accuracy of reports furnished, and in all cases of seasonal phenomena, which of course vary with latitude, the same observations may be prolitably repeated at different stations. Secondly, persons wlio write books are generally supposed to know more than they really do. Specimens of common and well-known animals, especially if bulky, are of course less desirable than those of rare and obscure species ; but speci- mens of any species securer! beyond the ordinary geographical range, or illustrating unusual conditions, such as albiuism, melanism, or malforma- tions, or representing euibryonio stages of growth, are always in demand. Small dry parcels may be conveniently mailed direct to the undersigned; large packages should be sent in accordance with Circular Orders, No. 2, War Department, Surgeon General's.OfHce, April 13, 1875, (copy herewith [*]), or by express, if the Quartermivster's I Jepartmont cannot furnish trauspor- 11 WA.i4 DKIPARTMICNT', Surgeon General's Office, ' H'lishiiigton, Jpril l,\, 1875. CIRCULAR ORDERS, No. 2. The following General Order from the Adjutant (jroneral's OHice is pub- lished for the information of Medical Otlicers : (JrENEKAL OKDEHH 1 No. -19. ) WAR DEPAUTMENT, Adjucant Gknbkai.'k OKncK. Wanhingtvn, April 6, IfiT.I. The Quarteriuaiitur'8 Departiuent is iiiithoriKed to traii!iport to the Medical Musiniin at Wasliinjit'jn such objects as may bo turned over to its otticers for that iiurpuse at any military post or station by the otticers of the Medical Department. By 0K1>EK OF THE SECKETAHY Ol' WaII : E. D. TOWNSEXP, Adjutant Qeiural. Medical Officers in turning over package.s to the Quartermaster's Depart- ment for transportation will take receipts in duplicate, and will forward one of the receipts to the Surgeon General. All packages for the Museum should be plainly marked "Surgeon General, U. S. A., Washington, D. C," with "Army Medical Museum" inscribed in the lower left hand corner. By okder ok the Sukgeon Geneimi. : C. H. CRANE, AHuhlant Surgeon (Jenerttl U. H, Army. VIII NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^t:. tation. SpeoimenB, after examinatioa by the ODdenigued for the parpoae* of the work in hand, will be depoaited, ia the name of the donor, in the Amy Medical Mnaenm, or in the National Masanm. Printed instraotions for collecting and preeerving specimens will be fnr< nlahed on application to the Smithsonian Institution. Medical Of cers reeeiviag this Circular are requested to bring it to the notice of others who may be interested in the matter, and are cordially invited to open corre- •pondence with the writer upon the subject. It is proper to add, that, for all information or specimens furnished, full oredit will be given in every instance, both in the text of the treatise in which such material is utilized, and in the records and publications of the Moaeum in which it is finally deposited; and that the author will regard cooperation in this work as a personal favor, to be fully appreciated and gratefully acknowledged. ELLIOTT C0UE8, Aatktant Surgton, U. S. Army. SUMMARY OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The Family MUSTELIDiE. Oeneral oonsiderationn— Systematic position and relations of the Mtu- <e{id<e— Division into subfamilies— Schedule of the North American genera— Their difi'erential characters — Diagnoses of the North American subfamilies — The anal glands of MuBtelime—The fossil North American species of Mustelina — Derivation and significa- tion of names applied to Muatelida CHAPTER II. Subfamily MUSTELINE: The Wolverene. The genus G«/o— Generic characters — Gulo Iu«cii«, the Wolverene — Syn- onsrmy — Habitat — Specific characters — Description of external characters — Measurements— Anal glands — Description of the skuU and teeth — Measurements of skulls, European and American— Nomenclature of the species — Relation of the European and Ameri- can animal— General history, geographical distribution, and habits of the species — Its distribution in the Old World 38 CHAPTER III. MUSTELINE— Continued: The Martens. The genus JtfM«(eIa — Genenc characters, &c. — Analysis of North American species — Mustela pennanti, the Pekan or Pennant's Mar- ten—Synonymy—Habitat—Specific characters — Description of external characters — Dimensions — Skull and vertebrae— General history, habits, and geographical distribution — Interpolated mat- ter relating to exotic species of Muntela — M. martea — Synonymy — Description of its skull and teeth— if. /atna— Synonymy — Notes on its characters — M. zihellina — Synonymy — Measurements of skulls of the three species — Comparative diagnoses of M. martM, americaiia, and foina — Mustela americana, the American Sable or Marten — Synonymy — Description and discussion of the spe- cies — Table of measu'-'-ments — Geographical variation in the skull— General histui d habits of the species IX 50 HBP is. NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.C. CHAPTEU IV. MUSTELINE.:— Conthuied: The Weasels. Tho genus I'nlnrhix — Gouorio chiirat'torH niid reumrka — DiviHion of tlio genua into suhyoneiii— AnalyMiM of tho North Aniuricim Hpeoios — Tho HubtfenuH Galc—J'utoriun vuhjarU, the Coinnioii WeaHol — Syu- ouyuiy— Habitat— 8pecitic oharactera — Qcneral characters anil re- hitionshipH of the specieH— (leo^iiiphical diHtributioii — Habits — J'utoriua trniinca, tho Stoat or Erniiue— Synonymy — Habitat — Spe- citio characters— DiscuHsion of spocitio cliaravters luitl relation- ships — Table of mt>a«urenients— Note on the skull and teeth — Description of external oharactorH — Conditions of the change of color — General history and habits of the species — Its distribution In tho Old World — PutoriuH huijivuuda, the Long-tailed Weasel — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific characters — Description — Measure- ments — General account of the species — I'litorins hraHiliensia fre- na1u», the Hi idled Weasel — Synonymy — Habitat — Specillc oharuc- tera — General account of tho species 97 ^ CHAPTEU V. MUSTELIN.E— Continued: The American Ferret. The subgenus Vifnomyonar, — Snbgeneric charack«irs — Putoriua ( C'»/m«>»m,V(>- nax) nigripvn, the American or lilack-lboted Ferret — Synonymy — Specific characters — Habitat — General account of the species — Ad- i>KNi>UM: On the species of the subgenus I'uloriuH — /'. /wliUiii^, the Polecat or Fitch — Synonyjny — Uesciiption — I'. J'atidtiH vur. fnro, the Ferret — Synonymy — Remarks — Ferrot breeding and handling — I'.J'dtitliix var. (V<r,^m<iinii, tiie Siberian Polecat — Synon- . ymy — Uenuuks — /'. Mdimaticut, the Spotted I'olicat — Synonymy and remarks 117 CUAPTEK VI. t f ^. . i MUSTELIN.E— Ccnitiniu'd: The :^Iink. The subgenus Ai(frt.'o/a— Subgenoriir uhart.'..ters and rennirks — I'utoriuii v'uon, the American Mink— Synonymy— Habitat — Spetiillc char- ■ acters — Desoripti«)n of external characters — Measurements — Vari- ation in external characters — Variation in the skull — Comparison, with tho European Mink — Notice of allie«l Old World species, /'. /Htreo/(iand I', nibirirun — General history and habits of the Mink — "Minkeries" lod SUMMARY OF CONTENTS. 3|| . CHAl'TEU VIL SiiMFAMiLY MEPHITIN/K: The Skunks. Qenorul consideration!) — Crnnial niul duutal chumctorH — The iinul itr- iimturo — Division of tlio sulit'ainily into tjencnv — Noto t)n fossil North Anioricun simcios— TUo ^enus McphitiH — Afephitim mi'phitiai, the Common Skunk — Synonymy — llabitut— Spoellic oliitrikuters — Description of «t\terniil ohiirnvters — Description of Mic skull und tuoth — Vnriiition in the skdll with sp«<ciul ruferunoe to gooi^ruphi- cal distribution — Anatomy ai\d physiology of tho anal glands an I ]>roperties of the secretion — (feograt)hical distribution antl haitits of the Sknnk— History of tho species — Ai»I)I';ni>1!M : On hydn>pho- bia from Skunk-bite, the so-callud " r;ibioH mephitica " 1H7 . CHAPTKR VIII. ^rKPIHTIN.E— Continued: Skunks. ■ The genus .l/»7>/ii/i>, continued — Mnphilix macrura, t\w T^ong-tailed Mex- ican Skunk — Synonyiiiy — Habitat — Specific characters — Descrip- tion — Tlu^ subgenus Spiloiialt!— Mvphitin {S,<iloyal() piitoiiuH, tho Iiittle Striped Skunk — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific cliaracters — Description of external characters — Description of the skull and teetli — History of tho species — Tho genus CinnpatuM — Conepatim mapunio, the White-backed Skunk— Synonymy— Habitat — Speci- fic characters — Description of external characters — Descripticm of the skull aiul teeth — Description of the anal ghuuls — (ieographi- cn' distribution ami habits 2'Mi CIIAPTKK IX. SunFAMiLY MELIN^K: The IUdgeks. The genus Tturidm — Oeneric characters and coinparisim with Melea— Tnxului tninrianiii, tho American Kadger — Symuiymy — Habi- tat — Specific characters — Description of external characters — De- scription of the skull and teeth — (ieographieal variation in the skull — History of the American Madger — Its geographical distri- butiim — Haluts— 7(jri(/m rtme/icdaa ?><r/ttwdicr», the Mexican IJad- giT — Synonymy — Habitat— Subspocilio character — Qeiuiral re- marks— Ai>i>K..Ni>rM : Description of the perinieal glandti of the European liadger, .Vrks vulijaiia 2C1 ! XII ^ NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiG. CHAPTER X. Subfamily LUTEINS : The Otters. General considerations — The genas Lutra — Generic characters and remarks— The North American Otter, Lutra canadens'u—Syaon- ymy — Habitat — Specific characters— Description of external char- acters—Description of the skull and teeth— Variation in the skull— History of the species — Geographical distribution— Habits of Otters — Extinct species of North American Otter 293 CHAPTER XI. Subfamily ENHYDRIN^: Sea Otter. General considerations- The genas EnhydrU — Generic oharaotera — Enhydria lutria, the Sea Otter — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific characters — Description of external characters— Description of the skull and teeth — History of the species — " The Sea Otter and its hunting"— The habits of the Sea Otter 325 !i' I,. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATE I.— GUU) LTJ8CU8. Skull from above, below, and in profile. {Reduced.) II. — MUSTKLA PENNANT!. Skull from above, below, and in proBle. {Xatuml site.) III.— MUSTELA MARTR8. Skull from above, below, and in profile. (Xatural size.) IV.— MUSTRLA POINA. Skull from above, below, and in profile. (Nalaral size.) v.— MuSTELA AMERICANA. Skull from above, below, and in profile. (Xatuml aixe.) VI.— PUTORIUS ERMINEA and P. VUX.GARI8. Figs. 1, 3, .<>, 6, P. erminm, heads and tails. Figs. 2, 4, P. vul- garis, head and tail. (Natural size.) VII.— PUTORIUS NIORIPBS. Skull from above, below, and in profile. (Xatural size. ) VIII.— PUTORIUS F(KTIDU8. Skull from above, below, and in profile, (yatiiral size.) IX.— PUTORIUS VI80N. Skull from above, below, and in profile, (yatural size.) X.— Mephitis mephitica. Skull of ordinary characters from above, below, and in pro- file. (Natural size.) XI.-Mephitis mephitica. Skull oflarge size from above, below, and in profile. (Natu- ral size.) XII. —Mephitis (Spilogale) putorius. Two skins, to show the peculiar markings. (Muvh reduced.) XIII.— Mephitis (Spii-ogale) putorius. Large old skull from above, below, and in profile. (Natural size.) XIII ^■e ilM i - XIV NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. li! PLATE XIV.— Mkphitis (Simlocjale) i'utohhts. Small young sktfll from above, below, and ia prjfi'e. (Nat- ural size.) XV. — CONKl'ATUS MAl'UIUTO. Skull from above, below, aad ia profile. {Natttral size.) XVI.— Taxidka amkricana. SkuU from above, below, and in protile. (Reduced.) XVII. — LiTRA CANAI>KX!SIS. . • Skull from above, below, and in profile. (Natural nise.} XVIII. — Ll TRA VULGARIS. Skull from above, below, and in profile. (Salural size.) XIX.— EnIIVDRIS LUTRI8. Skull from above and below. (Reduced.) XX,— Enhydris i.utris. Skull in profile. (Reduced.) Palate and t:etb. (Natural sue.) J. (Nat- zc.) re.) re.) ralaize.) .H-ji-ui.j..ij ^!0»«apwwi mmmm n I w HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDJl. CnAPTEE I. The Family MUSTELID^. General considerations — Systematic position and relations of tho Mustelidce — Division into subfamilies — Sclieduleof tho North American genera — Their ditf«n'ential characters — Diagnoses of the North W^mcrican subfamilies — Tlio anal glauds of MnstcVnw — The fossil North American species of MustdhHv — Derivation and signilication of names applied to MtiateUda. TniS is a large, iuiportaut, and well-defiued family of Car- nivorous Mammals, embracing the Weasels aud Martens, as its typical representatives, tbe Skunks, Badgers, Otters, and a few other less familiar animals. Representatives of the family exist in most portions of the globe, excepting the Australiim region, home of tho Marsupials and Monotremes. The group reaches its highest development in the JiTortheru Hemisphere, or Arctogaja, where both the gen- era and the species are most numerous and diversified. Some twenty genera are recognized by modern authors; of these, the genus Putorius, including the true Weasels, has the most extensive geographical distribution in both hemispheres, and contains by far the largest number of species. In one sense, it is to be considered as the typical genus of the family. Many of the other genera consist of but a single species, and some of them are the sole representatives, of the subfamilies to which they respectively belong. The economic importance of the family may be estimated from the very high commercial value which fashion has set IM 1 2 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. f i ' ! i M upon the fur of several of the species, such as the Erinitie, Sable, Nutria, and Sea Otter ; and various other pelts, ouly less valu- able than these, are furnished by lueinbors of this fon^ily. These animals sustain other relations toward man, by no means to be overlooked. The serious obstacles whicii the Wolverene offers to the pursuit of the more valuable fur-bearing animals of British America is set forth in following pages; while the destructiveness of such species as the Mink and various kinds of Weasels is well known to the poulterer. The Skunks are infamous for the quality, familiar to every one, which places them among the most offensive and revolting of animals ; they are, moreover, capable of causing one of the most dreadful dis- eases to which the human race is exposed. The cruel sport which Badgers have afforded from time immemorial has given a verb to the English language; while the legitimate pursuit of various MusteUAw is an important and wide-spread branch of human industry.* The scientitic interest with which the zoologist, as simply such, may regard this family of animals yields to those practical considerations of e very-day life which render the history of the Mustelklw so important. The definition of the family is strict. The zoological char- acters by which it is distinguished from other Carnivorous Mam- mals are well marked; and few if any naturalists of repute differ in their views respecting the limitation of the group. The systematic position of the family in the Carnivorous series seems to be alsj settled by very general consent. Singular as it may seem, when, without considering intermediate forms, we com- pare for instance the diminutive, slender-bodied, and nimible Weasels with the great, heavy-bodied, and comparatively sloth- ful Bears, the closest aflBnities of the Musteline series are with the Ursine; the next nearest are with the Canine; and the family Mustclidcv may properly stand between the Canidcv on * During the century, 1769-18G8, the Hudsou'B Bay Company sold at auc- tion in Loudon, besides many milUon other pelts, the following of Mustelidw : — 1,240,511 sables, 074,027 otters, 68,694 wolverenes, 1,507,240 minks, 218,653 skunks, 275,302 badgers, 5,349 sea otters. In 1868 alone, the company sold (among many thousand others) 106,354 sables, 73,473 miuks, 14,966 otters, 6,298 skunks, 1,104 wolverenes, 1,551 badgers, 123 sea otters ; besides which there were also sold in Loudon, in the autumu of the same year, about 4,500 sables, 22,000 otters, &,e. Auother company, the Canadian, sold in London, during the years 1763 to 1839, the following: 2,931,383 sables, 29,110 wolver- enes, 895,832 otters, 1,080,780 minks. — (Drostk-HOlsiioff, Der Zoologhche Garten, 1869, p. 317.) POSITION AND RELATIONSHIPS OF MUSTELID.E. 3 the oue band and the Urshhc oa the other. In order to give a clear idea of the poaition and relationships of the Mustelkhc, the following characters* of the higher groups of Mammals under which the family comes are given : — Maininals having a brain with tho corohral hoinisithores oonuectoil by a more or less weU-developed corpua callosiim and a reduced anterior coimniasiire. Vnjrina a single tube, bu*; sonietinios with a partial septum. Young retained within the womb till of considerable size and nearly perfect development, and deriv- ing its nourishment from tho mother through tho intervention of a " placenta" (developed from tho allantois) till birth. Scro- tum never in front of penis. . . (Subclass) Iflonodelpllia* Brain with a relatively largo cerebrum, behind overlapping much or all of the cerebellum, and in front much or all of the olfactory lobes; corpus callosum (attypically) continued horizontally backwards to or beyond tho vertical of the hippocampal suture, developing in front a well-defined recurved rostrum. (Super-order) EDUCABILIA. Posterior members and pelvis well developed (in antithesis with tho Cetaceans and Sirenians). Proximal segments of both fore and hind limbs (upper arm and thigh) more or less enclosed in tl.o general integument of the trunk (in antithesis with tho order Primates). Clavicles rudimentary or wanting. Scaphoid and lunar bones of the wrist consolidated iuto one (scapho- lunar) carpal. Digits clawed (not hoofed). Teeth of three I kinds, all enamelled; incisors ^][i| (exceptionally fewer); ca- nines specialized and robust ; one or more molars in each jaw usTially sectorial. Brain without calcarine sulcus. Placenta deciduato, zonary. (;=The Caruivora or "beasts of prey" of ordinary language.) (Order) Fkr^. Body elevated and adapted for progression on laud by approximately equal development, freedom, and mobility of foro and hind limbs. Tail free from common integument of body. Ears well developed. Functional digits terminating in claws. Digits of neither fore nor hind feet webbed to tho ends (ex- cepting the hind feet of Enhydra) ; inner digits of fore feet nob produced beyond the rest ; inner digits of hind feet seldom thus produced, but often reduced or atrophied. (All these ex- pressions in antithesis to the rinnipedia, or suborder of the Seals.) (Suborder) FissiPEDiA. * For which I am principally indebted to Dr. Theo. Gill. (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. | — 230 — | Arrangement | of the | Families of Mammals. | With analytical tables. | Prepared for the Smithsonian Institu- tion. I By Theodore Gill, M. D., Ph. D. | [Seal.] | Washington : | Published by tho Smithsonian Institution. | November, 1872. | [8vo. pp. i-vi, 1-98.]) •^ mtoHm mm % NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. : Skull with the paroccipital process not closely appliud to the audi- tory bulla; the mastoid process promiueut and projeotiug out- wards or dowuwards behind the external auditory meatus; ex- ternal auditory meatus diversiform. Intestinal canal with no Ciecuni. Prostate gland not salient, being coutaiiied in the thickened walls of the urethra. Skull with the carotid canal distinct, and more or less in advance of the foramen lacerum posticum ; condyloid foramen alone distinct from the foramen lacerum posticum; glenoid foramen generally well defined. Os penis very large. Cowpor's glands not developed. (Super-family) Akctoidea. True molars of upper jaw one (M- ^ : rarely— in MelUvorino!—^); last premolar of upper jaw sectorial (rarely — in Enhydrince — with blunt tubercles) (Family) Muatelidw. DIVISION OF THE MUSTELIDiE INTO SUBFAMILIES. Having thus, by a process of gradual elimioation of the char- acters of other groups, reached a family, Mustelidce^ we may proceed to inquire of what subdivisions the family itself is susceptible. Authors — 3veu throwing the older writers out of consideration — differ greatly in their methods of reckoning the subfamilies and genera, the number of subfamilies recognized varying from three or four to eight. According to my present understanding of the subject, derived from my knowledge of American forms, I am inclined to consider that, if any sub- family divisions are to be adopted, regard for equivalency, or the just coordination of the characters involved, requires a larger number of subfamilies than have usually been recog- nized — very possibly the full number, eight, admitted by Dr. Gill. The excellent analysis of the family given by this writer (see p. 3, note) is herewith presented : — XVI.— MUSTELID.E. Sub-families. I. Skull with the cerebral portion comparatively compressed backwards ; and with the rostral portion comparatively produced, attenuated, and transversely convex above ; anteorbital foramen small and opening forwards. Feet with little developed or no interdigital membrane [and the species, with few exceptions, not aquatic]. A. Auditory bulla much inflated, undivided, bulging, and convex forwards ; periotic region extending little outwards or backwards. Palate moderately emarginated. ANALYSIS OF SUBFAMILIES OF MUSTELIDiE. 6 ICTOIDEA. 1. Last molnr of upper jaw (M \) transverse, (with the inner letljje in- tlatcd at its inuor angh) ;) sectorial tooth with a single inner cnsp. n. M ^ ; fi rst trno niolnr (sectorial) of lower jaw foUowed by a second (tubercular) one. Toes short, regularly arched, and with the last phalanges bent up, withdrawing the claws into sheaths. (Gray.) [Martens and Weasels.] Mustelin.k. h. M J ; first true molar (sectorial) of lower jaw only developed. Toes straight, with the last phalanges and claws extended ; the latter non-retractile. (^rayO [Extra-limital.] .... Meixivouina:. 2. Last molar of upper jaw (M 1) enlarged and more or less extended longitudinally. — M-^-. Toes straight, with the last phalanges and cliiws extended; the latter non-retractile. (Gray.) [Badgers.] Memx;»:. B. Auditory bulla elongated and extending backwards close to the par- occipital process. (Flower.) I'alate moderately cmargiuated. I. Last molar of upper jaw (M ] ) transverse; (with the inner ledge nar- rowed inwards): sectorial tooth with two inner cusps. [Extra-lim- ital.] IIeuctidin-k. C . Auditory bulla inllatod, undivided, with the anterior inferior extremity pointed and commonly united to the prolonged hamular process of the pterygoid. (Flower.) Palato moderately emarginated. 1. Last molar of upper jaw (M \) transverse ; (with the inner ledge com- pressed.) [Extra-limital.] Zohillin.k. D. Auditory bulla little inflated, transversely constricted behind the meatus auditorins extornua and thence inwards ; in front flattened forwards; periotic region expanded outwards and backwards. Pal- ate deeply emarginated. 1. Last molar of upper jaw (M ?) quadrangular, wide, but with an ex- tended outer incisorial ledge. [Skunks.] .... Mephitinje. II. Skull with the cerebral portion swollen backwards and outwards; and with tho rostral portion abbreviated, high and truncated for- wards, and widened and depressed above; anteorbital foramen enlarged and produced downwards and backwards. Feet with well-developed interdigital membrane, and adapted for swimming. [The species highly aquatic, one of them marine.] A. Teeth normal, 36 (M ^, PM ^, C |, I -| X 2) : sectorial tooth (PM 4) normal, efficient, with an expanded inner ledge; the other molars submusteline. Posterior feet with normally long digits. [Otters.] Ll-'TKIJI^. B. Teeth very aberrant, 32 (M ^, PM g-, C j, 1 1 — the lower inner incisors being lost — X 2) : sectorial tooth (PM f ) defunctionalized as such, compressed from before backwards; the other molars also with blunted cusps. Posterior feet with elongated digits. [Sea Otter.] .; ■ ^... - ,■■. Enhydrinje. Of the foregoing eight subfamilies, three, namely, the Melli- vorince, HelictidinfVf and Zorilliiuc, each of which consists of a single genus, are confined to the Old World. No one of the subfamilies is peculiar to North America ; but the MephitinWy 6 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTEIJU.!:. or Skunks, are not found in the Old WorM, where they are represented by the African ZorilHiia'; they occur in South as well as North America. The MeJinw, or Badgers, are common to North and Middle America and the Eastern Hemisphere, but do not occur in South America. Tlie Sea Otter, sole repre- sentative of the Enhydrincv, inhabits both coasts of the North Pacific. The LxUrinw^ or ordinary Otters, are of general dis- tribution in both hemispheres. The MnstcUna\ or true Weasels, Martens, &c., are of very general distribution, as already indi- cated; such is especially the case with the typical genus Pato- tills. The genera Mustela and Oulo chiefly inhabit the higher latitudes; Galictis is peculiar to South America. The North American forms of the family down to the genera are exhibited in the following synoptical table ; — Subclasa MonodclpUia, Super-order EducahiUa. Order Ferw, Suborder Fissipedia, Suj)er-family Arctoidea, « Family Mustelidw. Subfamily Mustdince. Geuera Gulo. (The Wolvoroue.) Mustela. (The Martens.) Putoritia. Subfamily Mephitinai. Genera Mephitis. Sjniogale. Conejmlus, Subfamily Melina: (The liadgers.) Genus Taxidea. Subfamily Lutrina. (The Otters.) Genus Lutra. Subfamily £n%driw«!. (The Sea Otter.) • ' Genus Enhydra. (The Weasels.) (The Skunks.) ANALYSIS OF GENKKA OF MUSTELID;!-: SCnEDITLE or DIFFERENTIAL CHARACTERS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN GENERA. VariouH characters hij which the siih/amlliefi anil genera are differentiated are ex- hibited in the foUnwing Hv)iednle:— MuHtolldiD. Duntal fdrnnila: I. 3-3 3-3' I..1 3-3 3-3' I..; 8-3 3-3' C. C. C. Pin. M. I;; 3-3 3-3- 3-3 •8-2' 1-1 i-i- 1-1 l-i' 1-1 1-1' 1-1 8-a- 18 *"■ l-l 1-1' l-l l-l- 4-4 4-4' 3-3 3-3- M. Pm. rrT„ M, Pm. 14 ,=34. c. :- C. T Pm. M. M. zr, 1-1 3-3= 1-1 a-3- 1^8 16 ic' 36. 3S. i-i_ia_ 1-116 3-2-18 •normally j^, som. times ^i 16 j^=32oi 34 , Pm. 3:33. 3-3 3-3' PM. and M. normnl— angular, trenchnnt< or acute abuorinni— roiindetl, blunt, tuberculoun , liaok upper M. qiiadrati', tranaverae, niucli wider than long about as wide aalong trianKuInr, tho liypotbenuso poRtero-extt^rior irri'giilnrl.voval;'all corners rounded off... Back upper Pm. strictly sectorial, linear, with small anterior interior cnsp I triangular, o'winj; tosize of the in- ner ledge. reaenibling the back upper M Upper Pm. 4-4, the anterior one comparativoiy well developed * minute, crowded out of line 3-3, tho anterior one comparatively well develoixjd or 3-2; whou 3-3, the anterior very minute , Lower 1. 3-3, the usual carnivorous formula 2-3, the inner pair lacking Lower sectorial without obvious inner tubercle of middle lobe with slight but evident inner tubercle with str(»ngly developed inner tubercle nostrum of skull so short that root of zygcmia is nearly or quite op- posite fore end of nasal bones moderately produced : root of zygoma more nearly . opposite hind end of nasals Brain-case comparatively compressed backward, little broader be- hind than before, with straightish or little convex lateral outline widened backward, with quite straight lateral outlines., much widi'iied backwards and swollen outward, with very convex lateral outlines Frontal region very short, broad, flat on top longtlieued, narrowed, very convex transversely Bony palate ending o)>po8ite back upper molars produced back of the molars, but not Lalf-way to end of pterygoids produced far back ot the molars— half-way or more ♦" ends of pterygoids Postorbital processes moderate, slight or obsolete strong, transverse, acute Anteorbital foramen bounded above by slender maxillary process, large, subtriangular, or oval, presenting downward-forward a .a S I I 8 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. Schedule of diffetrntial eh(tr((ctcra of the .Voc/Zi .tmcncaii grnera — CoutiuiUHl. Aliiatttliilin. 9 im i S Antporliitiil foi'iiincii botiniloil by 8totit procoHs, pn>si>iit.iiij» nioro or loBH vtM'ticdUy Aporturoof iniros in two pliiiioH, iipproiichinntlio vortical ttutlliori- zoiitnl ono pliiiio, or Hourly so, moro or loss obliquo. . . Auditory biillm at iimxiniiini of iiitlatiiiii, with sliortost niul loiist tubular uioiitus iiiuoli iiitlikloti, with inoilurntu coustrictiou into tbo tubulnr nu^ittus littlo iiittatod, n)U(^b oonstriclod across tho moiitiis Mastoids littlo tlovolopod, outwartl or l)aukward nioro dovolo|iod, outward luucli dovelopod, downward I*orlotic ro^ion ouiitractud, brin^iuK parocoipitala oloso to auditory bulliu '.. oxpandotl, ronioviun paroucipltals from biillii>, and horizontal oxpandod, ronntving paroucipltals from bullio, .-ory oldiiino Qlonoid fossae shallow, open, without antorior lotlgo, nrosontiiiK nioro forwnrtl than ilownward, novor locking oouirylos. .. motloratoly dt>op and closo, with antorior lod^o pro- sontiug downward-furwai'd, never locking con- dy li>8 very doop and closo, with stront; anterior and pos- terior ledftes, sometbnes locking condyles Coronoid proooss of ,jaw in protllo conical, erect, apex forward of condylo obtusely falcate, sloning, apex uverlianKUiK condyle Lower border of jaw stralKhtisb from symphysis to posterior rtngle usually aaeeudiii); posteriorly, in straiKbt or concave lino Toes scarcely or not webbed, with ordinary ratio of louKths fully webbed, with onlinary ratio of lengths those of tlio liind feet elonKatod, with extraordi- nary ratio of lengtlis Fore claws lone, stout, littlo curved, biKbly fossorlal nioderato or short, curved and acute, not fossorial Body very stout; si/.o very largo; tail bushy, short i appearance s(uuewhat t>oar' like rather slender or extremely so ; size medium and email ; tall long, tereto stout i size medium and small ; tail long, very bushy stout, much dopressed; sizo medium ; tail short, distichous... stout, cylindrical ; sizo large ; tail long, conical, closo-liaircd. . Habits ohieHy terrestrial terrestrial and highly arboreal strictly torrestriar and more or less fossorial aquatic (tluviatile, lacustrine, or maritime) aiiuatio (marine) i !* " - Is i ■ill. I ' r. ,^ 3 X X Such a table a8 this might be indefinitely continued, but the foregoing analysis of leading ditForontial characters sufllces for present purposes. \: DIAGNOSES OF NORTH AMERICAN SUBFAMILIES. 9 Wo may iiiuilly sum uiul amplify the (litioreiitial characters of tlio forogoing tablu, with others, in tlie foUowing expressions, tUagnostie of the live subfamilies here adopted : — DIAGNOSES OF TUE FIVE NOUTII AMERICAN SUIIFAMILIES. 1. ^lusTELiN.!']. — Teeth of ordinary Carnivorous pattern, 3S or 34 in number, accordiuy; to varying number of premolars, whether *^^ (Qulo, Mustcla) or y^;j(ZV/or/««); the number unequal in the two Jaws, !,^or J-|J; incisors constantly f^) canines Y.\, iisiu all ^r"stclid(v; and molars *'', as in all Mustelidw excepting Mel- liroiina: Molar of upper jaw much \\iderthan long; its long axis transverse to the axis of the dental scries, longitudinally constricted across the middle. Posterior upper i>reniolar (the large "sectorial" tooth) narrow and linear, with a small dis- tinct spur projecting inward from its antorointerior corner, liostral partof skull moderately produced, sloping in profile, very obliquely truncated, transversely convex, the hind endsof the na- sals more nearly opposite the roots of the zygoma than their fore ends are.* Cerebral portion of skull comparatively compressed backward, little broader behind than before, with moderately convex lateral outlines. Postorbital processes moderately developed. Anteorbital foramen small, oval or subcircular, presenting upward forward {Gulo) or more or less downward forward {Mustcla, Putorius). Posterior uares thrown into one common conduit by absence of bony septum. Bony palate pro- duced far back of molars, — half-way (more or less) to ends of pterygoids; interpterygoid space longer than wide. Audi- tory bullic much intlated, with moderate constriction of the tubular meatus.t Little or no expansion of periotic region behind the buUiB, with which the paroccipitals appear in contact. jNCastoids little developed, presenting outward or backward. Glenoid fossie shallow, the anterior ledge slight ; condyles never locked. Coronoid proces:: of mandible erect, conical in profile, the posterior outline with forward upward obliquity {MusteUij rutoriusy — more nearly vertical in Oulo), the apox in advance of the condyle. Feet with ordinary development and ratio of * It iH curious to obnurvo that an a<]|uatio Hpocios of I'tttoriua (/'. t'i'Mon,tho Mink) tonils to approach the aquatic Ottorn {Liitrinw aud Unhydrinw) lu tho rehitivo ahortiioas of rostriiii, iti loss obliquo trunuation, tlatnooaoa top, t&.o, tllcro agaiu tho aiiuatic Pitloriun riaon approacheu tho other aquutiu Hpeciu8 of (litVorutit subfainilioH iu tho uouiparativu IliitiicHa of the buHie. 1 «; I , ?■ 10 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. li iii HI. digits ; digits incompletely oi' not webbed. External appear- ance and habits variable, according to the genera and species, none strictly fossorial ; progression digitigrade and subplanti- grade ; size from nearly the maximnm to the minimum in the family ; body never much depressed, nor tail conical or distich- ous. Periiueal glands moderately developed. No peculiar sub- caudal pouch. Nature highly predacious. 2. MEPHiTiNiG. — Teeth of ordinary Carnivorous patteru, 34 or 32 in number, according to varying number of premolars, whether ^ {McpMiis and Sjnlof/ale) or indifferently ^ or — {Conepattts); the number unequal in the two jaws, ]" or ~. In- cisors, canines, and molars as in the last subfamily. Molar of upper jaw quadrate, about as wide as long (varying in detail with the genera). Posterior upper premolar with a large inner shelf, giving a triangular shape to the tooth. Kostral part of skull moderately produced, and otherwise much as in the last (aperture of nares very oblique in Conepatus); cerebral portion as in Miistelinic. Postorbital processes slight or obsolete. An- teorbital foramen very small, circular, sometimes subdivided into two or more canals. Posterior nares completely separated by a bony septum reaching to the end of the bony palate. Bony palate ending opposite last molars {Mepliitis, Spilogale) or a little back of them, but not half-way to ends of pterygoids, (Conepatus). Auditory bullae little inflated, with much constric- tion of the tubular meatus. Mastoids well developed, outward. Periotic region flattened and expansive behind the bullae, the surface nearly horizontal, the paroccipitals remote from the bullre. Glenoid shallow, presenting much forward as well as downward, without anterior wall, never locking condyle. Coro- noid process of jaw conical in profile, erect, wholly in advance of condyle (except in Conepatus, which, in this respect, singularly resembles Enliydra). Feet with ordinary development and ratio of digits; digits not webbed. Form stout; tail very bushy; pelage long; colors black and white. Habits strictly terrestrial, more or less fossorial; progression plantigrade; movements slow. Size moderate and small. No peculiar subcaudal pouch. Perinseal glands extraordinarily developed, affording a means of offence and defence. 3. Melin-^.* — Teeth of ordinary Carnivorous pattern, 34 in * The charactors here given are drawn entirely from the American genus Taxidea, and will require modilication in order to their applicability to the subfamily at large. •11 M DIAGNOSES OF NORTH AMERICAN SUBFAMILIES. 11 number (in the North American genus); Pm. gj ; the number unequal in the two jaws, J|; incisors, canines, and mohars as in the last. Molar of upper jaw triangular, the long side postero- exterior. Posterior upper premolar substai'tially as in Mephitince. Rostral portion of skull as in the foregoinnr- cerebral portion conical, rapidly widening backward, with nearly straight lateral outlines. Postorbital processes moderately well developed. Anteorbital foramen large, subtriangular, presenting vertically. Posterior nares as in Mephitina'. Bony palate produced back of the molars, as in Mustelime. Auditory bullae very highly inflated, with little constriction across the short tubular portion. Periotic region much as in Mtistelinfc, the paroccipitals close to the enormous buUoe. Mastoids moderately developed, outward. Glenoid fossa very deep, with prominent anterior as well as posterior walls, at length locking in the condyle. Ooronoid process as in the foregoing. Feet with ordinary development and ratio of digits, not webbed. Body stout, extremely de- pressed ; tail short, stout, flattened ; size medium ; snout some- what hog-like. Progression plantigrade. Terrestrial and highly fossorial ; fore claws highly developed. Perinseal glands mod- erately developed. A peculiar subcaudal pouch. 4. LuTRiN-^. — Teeth of ordinary Carnivorous pattern, 36 in number; Pm. ^; the number equal in the two jaws, 1^; incisors, canines, and molars as before. Molar of upper jaw quadrate. Back upper premolar substantially as in Mephitimc and Melimc. Kostral i)art of skull extremely short, bringing the fore ends of the nasals nearly or quite opposite the anterior root of the zygoma, the sides of the rostrum erect, tlio top flat. Cerebral portion of the skull much swollen backward, with strongly convex lateral outlines. Postorbital processes variable (highly devel- oped in the North American species, slight or wanting in some others). Anteorbital foramen very large, presenting obliquely downward as well as forward, circumscribed above by a very slender maxillary process. Posterior nares as in Mustelincc. Bony palate produced far back of molars. Auditory bulla? very flat. Periotic region expanded, removing the paroccipitals from the bullsB, but the surface not horizontal as in Mephitimc, but very oblique. Mastoids highly developed, downward. Glenoid much as in Melinw, deep, sometimes locking condyle. Coronoid as in the foregoing. Feet with ordinary development and rat' of digits, which are fully webbed. Claws variable, sometime rudimentary or wanting. Body stout, but elongate and cylin- 12 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. :;■ 'in drical; tail long, conical, tapering, sometimes dilated, close- Laired; mnzzle very obtuse. Highly aquatic in habits. Pelage ^vhole-col' 1. 5. Eni iiiNiE. — Teeth very aberrant in general pattern, the molars rua premolars without trenchant edges or acute angles, but tuberculous, 32 in number, and of equal number in both jaws, brought about by incisors —^ and premolars g"^, the ca- nines and molars remaining as before. Molar of upper jaw irreg- ularly oval ; back upper premolar defunctionalized as a " sec- torial" tooth, and substantially similar to the molar. Propor- tions of rostral and cerebral parts of the skull substantially as in Lutrina\ but rather an exaggeration of that conformation. Postorbital processes moderate. Anteorbital foramen very large, triangular, presenting downward and forward; the bridge over it very slender. Posterior nares as in Liitrinw. Palate produced far back of molars ; iuterpterygoid space very wide, the emargination rather wider than deep. Auditory bulhne, periotic region, mastoids, and glenoids as in Lutrimv. Coronoid sloping backward, obtusely falcate, its apex overtopping con- dyle. Hind feet with extraordinary development and ratio of digits, being transformed into Seal-like flippers ; otherwise gen- eral configuration and external appearance substantially as in Liitrina'. Highly aquatic and marine. ON THE ODORIFEROUS ANAL GLANDS OF THE MUSTELIDiE. mm Throughout this family of Carnivores are found special secre- tory apparatus in the perinseal region, which furnish a strongly odorous fluid. These glands are so highly developed, and play such a part in the economy of the animals, that special notice is to be taken of them. A classification of the Mustelidce has even been proposed, based chiefly upon their modifications in the different genera. They early attracted attention, and have long been generally known to zoologists. Quite recently a French anatomist, M. Ghatin, has made them a special study, publishing a very important and interesting paper upon the subject.* This paper, so .far as it relates to the Mustelidw (for the author has studied the odorous anal glands of various other animals), I have translated for incorporation with the present work ; under heads of the several species beyond will be found * Recherchos pour servir d, I'histoire aiiatoiniqiiedes glaudos odorautea dea matuniif^res. Par M.-J. Chatiu. <^Annale8 des Sciences Naturellea, 5" sdr,, tome xix, pp. 1-135, plaucbes i-ix, 1874. ANAL GLANDS IN MUSTELID^. 13 the matter relating to them. Here I introduce M. Chatin's de- scriptious of the parts as they appear in Mustela foina, for the same type of structure obtains throughout the subfamily Mtis- telinw. I also bring in the author s resume of the several mod- ifications of structure found in the family at large, with extracts from his proposed classifloation of the family, as based prima- rily upon theso organs, though I should add that I do not indorse his views without qualification. 1. — Description of the glands in Mustela foina, as illustrating their structure throughout the subfamily Mustelina:* The anal glandular apparatus being essentially the same throughout the Mustelinw, the following description of the parts as they appear in Mustela foina will suffice : — The anal orifice is found at the bottom of a fossa covered with thin, smooth, whitish integument, with a slightly raised border, the rudiment of a fold which is much more highly de- veloped in the Skunk. At each side of this fossa, in a small special depression, in front of which this fold lies, is found an unibilicated papilla, through the narrow orifice of which the milky-whitish secretion of the anal gland exudes. Within the perimeum are two lateral masses, each as large as a small bean, bound together by one muscular envelope. The anal gland is 11 millimetres long and G across the middle. Upon removal of the muscular coat, which is rather delicate, the secretory part comes into view ; its exterior is studded with nipple-like emi- nences ; its substance is like that of the anal glands of most Carnivores. The parenchymatous tissue mainly consists of lam- inated fibres, elastic fibres, nerve tubes, and capillaries ; the striped muscular fibres do not penetrate the substance of the organ. The culs-de-sac are of an average diameter of 0.04 millimetre ; they are sometimes varicose or raoniliform, and in- close a granular substance. In the middle of the gland is a small receptacle ior the product of secretion, which is voided through a sho^c duct opening on the e<lge of the anus, as above said. It seems improbable that a scanty supply of merely disa- greeably musky liquid can effectively answer in any way as a means of defence. The simple fact that it does not appear to be repugnant to the animals which may be supposed inimical * For the inoditications of the structure of the organs in Skunks and Badg- ers, see subfamilies Mephitinw and Melinw. r Ihi 14 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. m.[ to Martens and Weasels, is sufficient to invalidate such a hypothesis. It is true that it is emitted when the animals are angered, terrified, or put in pain ; but these are merely circum- stances of irritation akin in many respects to other forms of excitement. It is more probable that the secretion subserves a purpose in the sexual relation, as it is undeniably a means whereby the sexes may discover and be attracted toward each other. 2. — Resume of the several types of structure of the odoriferous glands in Mustelidw. The Ferrets and Martens exhibit one general plan of struct- ure of the anal glands. At each side of the termination of the rectum, there is an oval body consisting of a tunic of mus- cular striped fibres enveloping a mass of glands, in the midst of which is a receptacle of variable capacity, containing a liq- uid differing little in its properties, which is poured out through a short duct opening upon a pore at each side of the anus. In the Badgers, Skunks, and Katels, there are decided mod- ifications of this plan. In the last two named, the true anal glands alone exist, and these are quite diiferent from those of t\\^ Mustelincc. Instead of a thin and simple muscular envel- ope of the gland, we find a thick fleshy tunic, foimed of two layers of interlaced fibres, capable of sudden strong compres- sion of the receptacle. This latter is not a small simple sac with laminar walls, such as is found in the centre of the gland of Mustelincv, but is an enormous reservoir, with a dense resist- ing fibrous coat, always containing a considerable quantity of the follicular product. The glandular substance is not spread all over this central capsule, but is restricted to a particular portion, and contrasts by its dark color with the white surface of the envelope of the pouch. The contents of the receptacle are sufficiently offensive to justify the profound and universal disgust which these animals excite in consequence of their curious and very efficacious means of defence. The voiding of the liquid must be sudden ; and it does not suffice that the re- ceptacle is large and powerfully muscular ; the offensive liquid must be directed far backward, so iis to flow as little as possible upon the rectal mucous membrane ; consequently the opening is large and uiK)n the summit of an umbilicated papilla, around which rests a cutaneous fold, which in a measure directs the discharge. ANAL GLANDS OF MUSTELID.E. f5 This general plan is further modified in the Badgers, where not only are there anal glands of a usual type, but also in their neighborhood is found, in both sexes, a racemose cluster of glands, the secretion of which is turned into the subcandal pouch, which is generally described as appertaining to the anus; but its form is peculiar, and its contents, moreover, are of a different character from those of the anal glands proper. In some respects this pouch resembles the large reservoirs of viverreum of the Civets, and, as in the^e cases, is sparsely hairy. Thus the Badger is a special case iu its own family, where it distantly represents, in this respect, the Viverridce, These last have, in addition to anal glands, a secretory appa- ratus for special products, though even here species of Uerpestis hfi.ve anal glands like those of various Mmtelidw. 3. — Resume of M, Chathi's views of the Glassifimtion of the family, as based on the odoriferous glands. "This is one of the least homogeneous families of Carnivora, if we include in it, after Van der Hoeven and others, such dif- ferent animals as the Otter, Polecat, Badger, Skunk, Marten, and Eatel. It is surprising that types so distinct as these should have been suffered to remain thus far in an association as intimate as it is uu philosophical, and it is easily seeu how Milne-Edwards was enabled to form" three families out of the components of so miscellaneous an assemblage as that of the Mustelidw. In the conflguration of the limbs, as well as in their entirely peculiar habits, the Otters may represent one family {Liitrida')', then come the true Mustelidw, emhmciug Miistela, Pulorlus, &c. ; and, finally, the family Melidw, consisting of Mephitis (with Conepatns, &c.), Metes {Taxidea, &c.), and Melli- vora. " Now, these three divisions correspond with as many modi- fications of the perinatal secretory apparatus : the two former, Lutridw and Mustelidw, offer in a general way a single pair of glands opening on the border of the anus, one on each side, furnished with a receptacle for the product of secretion. " In the Melidce, the Badgers on the one hand and the Skunks and Eatels on the other form two quite distinct sections. In these latter genera are likewise found a single pair of anal ,.dands, but these are quite different from those of the Mmtelida'. The receptacle has a remarkable capacity ; the follicular mass, instead of spreading over it, occupies buLa small portion of its 11, ; ,!: 16 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. surface ; while the secretion, which is always plentiful, here acquires an unparalleled fetor. In the Badgers, on the contrary', these anal glands are not the only secretory organs ; there being in addition a particular subcaudal ])ouch surrounded by a race- mose gland, which produces a peculiar liquid. "This brief summary of the leading modifications of the perinatal glands of Mustelulw suffices to show that several dif- ferent types are included in that group "* ON THE EXTINCT MUSTELINE OP NORTH AMERICA. The following fossil species of North American Musteliiuc have been described : — 1. Mastela mnstellna, {Cope). Aelurodon mustellnua, Cope, Palicont. Bull. no. 1 4, July 25, 1873, 1. Martes musteUnUB, Cope, Ann. Ilt^p. V. S. Gool. Surv. for 1873, 1874. 590. Mustela parvUoba, Cope (change of name on reference of the species to Mustela). Pliocene. Loup Fork epoch. "A small, single-rooted second molar of the lower jaw. First molar sectorial, with a rather narrow posterior heel, one-third its length, and a small inner tubercle at the base of the second outer cusp. Last premolar with a short posterior heel, and dis- tinct outer tubercle on the posterior side of the cusi). Margin of jaw strongly everted below masseteric fossa. "Measurements. M. " Length of three last molars 0. 018 " Leugth of sectorial inolara '. 010 " Width of sectorial molars (greatest) 005 " Height of posterior cusp (greatest) 005 " This species was about as large as the domestic cat, and less than one-third that of Aelurodon feroXj Leidy." {Quoted from the second reference above cited.) 3. Muatela iiamblniia, (Cope). Martes nambiana, Oope, Froo. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1674, 147. "fFutorlus namblanus", Cope. -, .! ^^ ■ From the Santa F^ (N. Mex.) Marls. Pliocene. " Represented by a mandibular ramus which supports three teeth. The anterior blade of the sectorial is rather obtuse. The first premolar is one-rooted j the second and third are without * But M. Chatin, regarding the family iu the {)erspective of his special studies, may be considered not to have given due weight to other points of structure, the sum of which, as I believe, indicates that the Mitstelidw, as defined in the present work, are a homogeneous and natural assemblage of genera, of the grade usually held to represent family value. EXTINCT MUSTELIN/E OF NORTH AMERICA. 17 posterior coronal lobe, but exhibit small basal lobes, both an- terior and posterior. The anterior of the second is rather elevated, and the entire crown is directed obliquely forwards. Canine compressed. Mental foramina below the second and third premolars. " Measurements. M. "Leugth of three premolars 006 " Elevation of anterior lobe of sectorial 002 ' ' Depth of ramus at anterior lobe of sectorial 003 ^' This species is of smaller size than the M. mustelinuSf Cope, and the sectorial tooth less elevated and trenchant." — {Oriy, descr.) 't. Oalera macrodon, Cope. (Salero macrodon. Cope, Proo. PhlU. Aoad. Kat. Scl. 1869, 155 (se« also \3S\.—Leidy, Extinct Mamni. Dak. Nebr. 1669, 369, pi. xsx. f. 1, 2, 3. Post-pliocene deposits in Charles County, Maryland, asso- ciated with remains of Dicotyles torquatua and a Manatus. *' This species is based on the greater portion of the right ramus of the mandible of an adult, containing three molars in place, the alveolae [sc. alveoli] of the first and of the last, with a considerable portion of that of the canine. '"' The alveolus indicates a canine of large size. The basis of the first premolar is turned obliquely outwards, and is two- rooted. The second and third i)remolars are separated by a space: they have well-marked cingula, but neither posterior nor internal tubercles. The sectorial is elongate, more than twice as long as wide, the inner tubercle well-marked, acute, the posterior lobe flattened, elongate ; anterior lobe narrowed. Alveolus of the tubercular molar longitudinal, receiving a flattened fang with a groove on each side. Inferior face of ramus? below anterior line of coronoid process, broad rounded, turned ^outwards. Masseteric ridge only reaching the latter below near the apex of the coronoid process, and not extend- ing anterior to the line of the posterior margin of the tuber- cular molar. Bamus narrow at first premolar. . In. Lin. " Length of ramus from posterior margin of canine to ditto of tu- bercular 1 5.5 " Ditto tojpoaterior margin sectorial 1 3. "Ditto third premolar 3.75 " Ditto sectorial molar 6. "Width of same (posterior lobe) 2.8 " Depth ramus at posterior margin firbt premolar 7. 5 " Ditto ramus at posterior margin sectorial 8. 25 " Widtb^ramus at posterior margin symphysis 4. 5 2m 18 NORTH AMERICAN MU8TELID.E. " This species appears to have been perhaps rather larger than the Galera barbata (Gray) of Brazil, and of a rather more slender muzzle. As compared with that species, it ex- hibits many peculiarities. The third premolar is smaller, and the first, the sectorial, and the tubercular [are] relatively larger. In G. barbata, the first molar has but one root, and the mandibular ramus [is] thicker and deeper. The masseteric ridge advances to opposite the middle of the sectorial molar, and is continued on the inferior margin of the ramus, much anterior to its position in the G. macro don. "The discovery of this species adds another link to the evi- dence in favor of the extension of neotropical types* over the nearctic region during the post-pliocene epoch. Of thirty con- tinental North American species enumerated by Leidy (An- cient Fauna of Nebraska, 9) all but thirteen may be said to be characteristic of that, or closely allied to the species of the present period of North America. Of the thirteen, one (Elephas) is characteristic of the old world, of one (Anomodon) affinities [are] unknown, and eleven are represented by members of the same family or genus now living in South America." — {Quoted from the original article.) * i '1^ 4t Galera perdicida, Cope. Hemiacis perdlclda« Cope, Proc. Acad. Xat. Sci. Pbila. 1869, 3 (named, not described). Galera perdlclda, Cope, Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 18fi9, 177, pi. iii. figs. 1, 1 a.— Leidy, Ext. Mam. Dak. and Nebr. 1869, 445. From limestone breccia, Wythe County, Virginia. Post- pliocene. " This is a small carnivore of the Lutriue group of the Mustelidfe, apparently allied to Mephitis and Lutra. [The generic name given, however, is that of one of the Mustelince.] It is only represented by a left ramus of the mandible, with dentition complete. Its characters are as follows : Dentition ^, |, ^, ^. The tubercular molar is relatively as in the allied genera, but without sharp tubercle ; the sectorial characterizes the genus as distinct from the two mentioned [Lutra and Mephi- tis]. The posterior lobe is without the marfeed internal and exter- nal acute tubercle seen in Mephitis, nor the tubercular crest of Lutra, but is rounded and slightly concave. The median crests, * " The genu8 Galera, Gray, i8 here regarded as distinct from Galictis Bell (GriBonia Gray), as it possesses an internal tubercle on the inferior secto- rial, which is wanting in the latter." — (i,oc. cit.) EXTINCT ML'STELIN.E OF NORTH AMERICA 19 inner aiul enter, are strongly developed, and with tbe anterior, (jnite a8 in Mephitis. •'The jaw pertained to an adult individual of smaller size than the common skunk, Mephitis chinga. The bases of the crowns of the first and second premolars, and to the outer side of the canine are surrounded by a well marked cingulum. The length of the crown of the molar is greater in proportion to the length [?J than in the skunk. The axis of thecoronoid process is as in it, at right angles to that ot the ramus. The latter is straighter on the inferior border than in the skunk, and exhibits a marked difference in the angle being nearly on the same line, and not raised above it, as in the species of American skunks and others, figured by Baird. " ileasiireMents, Lines. " From angle to outer incisive al veolns 15. 6 " Depth ftt coronoid W. " From base condyle to tnbercnlar molar 5. " Length of sectorial molar 3. (5 " Width of sectorial molar 1.2 " Height from basal shoulder 2. " Depth ramus at tubercular 2. 7 "Depth ramus at Pm. 2 3.1 "Length of crown of canine 3. "There are two mental foramina in the specimen, one below the third, the other below the first premolar. Tbe crown of the canine is contracted and curved ; slightly flattened on the inner side." {Quoted from the original description.) I do not know the skull of Oalera. As figured, the jaw of G. perdicida differs from that of Mephitince and LutrincB, as usually presented, in the straightness of the inferior border, agreeing in this respect with Mustelinie. It closely resembles, among recent forms, the genus Putoriusy from which, however, the character of the sectorial lower molar, with its strong acute inner tubercle of the middle lobe, as in Mephitis (and Lutra\ perfectly dis- tinguishes it. I should not be surprised, however, if the relation- ships of this form proved to be actually with Mephitis, especi- ally with Spilogale. In a specimen of the latter before me from Georgia, the lower border of the jaw is quite as straight as that figured by Professor Cope; in size, the specimen agrees better with the figure than it does with some other specimens of Spilogale before me 'f the general shape is the same; there are two mental foramina exactly as described and figured ; and 11 '■ ■I I 'li illi! , ill m 20 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDit. I fail touote, in the figure or dcscriptiou, any decided diflereuces iu dentition from Spiloyale. In fine, it may be questioned whether " Galera perdicida " is even specifically distinct from Spilogale putoriua. The fossil was found, it will be remembered, amongst remains of numerous species not distinguishable from recent ones.* ON THE DERIVATION AND SIGNIFICATION OF THE NAMES APPLIED TO THE JIUSTELIDiE. To treat of this interesting topic 1 cannot, perhaps, do better than give a version of Dr. E. von Martens's article, Ueber IMernamenjj so far as it relates to the animals of the present family. This valuable article, as it seems to me, places the subject in a clear light, and gives, in a sufficiently concise and convenient form, just the information that is required for an understanding of the etymology and philological bearing of the names used in various languages to designate the species of Muatelidce. Study of this subject, which is sadly neglected in ordinary zoological writings, is essential to the proper appre- ciation of the technical or binomial names ; the older ones being, as will be seen, not necessarily of Greek or Latin origin, as commonly assumed. Thus, for instance, the generic name Gulo comes simply by translation into Latin of the Scandinavian and Bussian names, which refer to the voracity of the animal. Dachs [Melea vulgaris]. — For this remarkable animal, no Greek name can be determined with certainty, although it is stated by late investigators, as Fiedler and Lindeumeyer, to ex- ist in Greece ; for it is at least a hazardous interpretation to identify the species with the rp6/o^^ " runner ", of which Aris- totle (Gen. 3, 6) speaks on the authority of Herodorus of Heraklea. The Latin Meles of Pliny, 8, 38, 58, is decidedly more certain : aufflatw cutis distentu ietus hominum et morsus eanum arcent ; the Badger, of course, does not inflate its skin, but, nevertheless, its thick hide enables it to withstand bites and blows. Less pertinent is a passage in Varro De Re Bust. 3, 12, 3, where maelis is written. Isidor of Sevilla (seventh century * Some time after the foregoiug was written, I addreHsed to Professor Cope a note on the subject, stating my views ; and in reply I learned that Professor Cope " had for some time saspected " that the animal was a MejfMtia. t " Ueber Thiernamen." Von E. von Martens in Berlin. In : Der Zoolo- gische Garten ; the portions relating to the Muatelidce, here translated, being ttt pp. 251-256 and pp. 275-281 of Jahrg. (or vol.) xi (1870). ETYMOLOGY OF NAMES OF MUSTELID.E. 21 E NAME« nfter 0!iri«t) writes melo, genitive melotm ; and, in the vicinity of Bologna, according to the statement of Diez, the Badger ia still called melogna. Elsew .ere, however, this word is obsolete, being replaced in the living Enropoaa languages by various others, entirely different. The German word (lachn may be traced back to the early period of the Middle Ages : in the quack prescriptions of Mar- cellus of Bordeaux, in the ninth century, is found adepn tax- oninus, Badger's fat, and taxm, used by the above-mentioned Isidor as the definition of adeps, fat, with reference to a still earlier author, is probably the same ; the short form das, as the word still runs in Dutch, is found in the German vocabulary of the ninth century ; the nun Hildegard, in the twelfth, wrote dahsifi ; Albertus Magnus, in the thirteenth, daxus. The form taxm or taxo, as a name for the animal itself, occurs in the Latin vocabulary from the period of the eighth century ; it may be that this term is related to the pure Latin name of the yew-tree, taxu8 of Csesar and Virgil {Taxiis hraccata Linn.), agreeably to which the initial t straightway becomes fixed in the Romanic names of the Miimal, in the Italian, tasso ; in the Spanish, tejon (and tesajo, smoked meat) ; the Portuguese texugo ; while the Old French had its taisson, of which only taniere (from taisniere), meaning particularly a Badger- burrow, and, generally, the den of a wild beast, remains in modern French. The poet Tasso, and the founder of the German postal system, Taxis, derive their family name from dachs, Badger, as the old Roman agitator Sp. Maelius probably also did. The word itself may be originally German, and have be ■ come naturalized in France, Spain, and Italy with the migra- tions of German races. To derive it from the Sanskrit taJcsha (Greek zkxrwy), a carpenter, to be taken in the sense of an ar- chitect, is rather far-fetched. Another series of names of the Badger in Northern Europe begins with B, as the French blai- reaii, the English badger, the Danij^h hrok,* and the Russian borsnk ; but it is not certain that these are all ety mologically re- lated. Blaireau^^ in Middle- Age Latin blerellus, is interpreted by Diez as the diminutive of the mediaeval Latin bladarius, a grain- merchant (Romanic biado, late French ble, grain) ; and in support of this it is argued that the English name of the animal, badger, signifies also a dealer in grain. Such connection requires us to " " Brock '' is also foiiud as an English provincialism. — Tr. t Which is corrupted, in America, into Braro, Brairo, and Prarow.— Tk. 22 NOKTIl AMERICAN MUSTELID.i:. i ! k hi I 'i; invent the certainly erroneous explanation tli!»t the animal lays up a sstore of provisions in its domicile, as if it drove a trade in grain. Dielenbach's derivation from the Celtic, originally Cym- ric, word bimrr, gray, seems to me to bo nearer the mark ; it would theu be " the little gray beast "; and it is corroborative of this that the animal is called, in Picardy, </>i«ard; in Sweden and Denmark, //>vV>7M<7 or f)fW>///«(7, that is to say, OrnuUng, "a gray or grizzly beast". But the proper Cel^^ic name of the ani- mal is broc; in the Gaelic, Irish, and Bretonic remarkably like the Danish brok, and somewhat similar to borsuk, which prevails in Poland, Eussia, and Siberia ; there this name for the Badger is current among the Bashkirs, Kirghiz, and Buchares, and is rendered horz by the Magyars; so we may consider it a primitive Turanian word, the more so since the South Sclavonic uses an- other term, in Cuvu'iohi, jozavec or janbez ; in Bohemia, gezivee. The Wallachian, jezure or esure, which has been incorrectly con- sidered as from the Latin esor, eater, is probably related. iii4 ViELFRASS [Oiilo luscvs], — According to the latest investi- gations, the Glutton inhabited Middle Europe nearly to the Alps, in the period of the Lake-dwellers {P/uhlbauteu, literally pile-buildings), together with the Reindeer; and of its occur- rence in Germany, even in the last century, two cases are given, one at Frauenstein in Saxony, by Klein, 1751, the other at Helmstiidt in Brunswick, by Zimmermann, 1777, both, unfor- tunately, without the particulars. Though both these zoolo- gists saw the stuffed specimen, neither gives the date of cap- ture, the first only stating that it occurred under Augustus H, who died in 1733. These can only have been stray s[)eciuiens, since no contemporaneous or previous writer mentions the oc- currence of the animal in Germany. The species was entirely unknown in the Middle Ages, making its first appearance in literature through Michow, a physician of Cracow (de Sarma- tia Asiana et Europa^a, 1532), as Lithuanian and Moscovitic, and through Bishop Olaus Magnus, of Upsala, 1562, as an ani- mal of North Sweden, thus nearly at the limit of its present distribution. What we can gather from the name of the ani- mal accords perfectly with this. In Europe, names are only found in the vernacular proper of Scandinavia and Russia, jar/" or jerv of the former, and rossomaha of the latter, both of which are given by the above-mentioned historians; all German, French, Latin, and such, are book-names, intended to denote if I iiii; ETYMOLOGY OF NAMES OF MUSTELID.E. 23 the voracity of the aniiual, and point back to the well-known account of Ohms, as the German Vicl/rass, the Latin OulOj the French Olouton, the Kni^iish Glutton. It has often been as- serted that the (Jerman VielJ'ra,s/i, in the sense of glutton, is a misunderstanding, it being derived from the Swedish word fi('(U, Norwegian /jail, rock or clilf; but this I cannot credit, first, be(;ause the secontl sylhible is not accounted for on such supposition {fjall—ydri is remote, and the animal is nowhere so called, but simply jaV/'); secondly, because both the Swed- ish Olaus Magnus and the Norwegian Bishop Pontoppidau give its voracity special prominence, and from this trait derive the name jerf (<;ier/;, "gierig", greedy f), translated Gulo aud Vielfniss. Another Norwegian clergyman, H. Strom, gives, iu- deed, the designation Fieldfrass, besides jcrf, to the animal, which is of rare occurrence in his locality, but with the explicit remark that Fiehlfrms was, beyond doubt, derived from the German word Vicl/rass. This is thus exactly contrary to the usual German acceptation; and, in fact, "Felsenfrass-' would be a singular appellation. ZoBEL [Mufitela zibellina]. — The name appears as early as the latter half of the Middle Ages, under many variations, as the modern Latin, sahelns, zibellina ; Gernmn, zebvl (as early as the ninth century, according to Graff), zobel ; Proven9al, sebeli ; English and old French, sable ; Swedish, sabel ; Russian, sobol ; Finnish, soboli — in every case meaning a northern peltry. In the East, we find atiother variation, samur, in the Crimea aud Armenia, and thence to Servia aud Wallachia. The name is probably of Turanian origin. Mabdek [Mustela marten, M. foina], — This word now occurs in Germanic aud Bomanic languages, in both either with or without the second K, as the Spanish and Portuguese marta, in the former as a feminine noun, and likewise the French la marie, though in some dialects la martre, the Provencal mart, Italian martora and martorella ; the English martin [or, ofteuer, marten — Tr.] appears to be an easy way of raying martern, still in use in some localities; Dutch wwrfer, Swedish mard, Danish maar. Seeking for the earliest form of the word, we first find martes in Martial, the Spanish-born Roman poet ; but this can scarcely be an old Latin word, as it is not found in Pliny or other classical writers; aud Martial often introduced forcJgn 24 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. m words into his Latin. In Anglo-Saxon, it only appears as meardh; whilst, on the other hand, in Germany, we find martarus used by Hildegard and Albertus Magnus, in the twelfth and thir- teenth centuries. The resemblance to the German verb " mar- tern" [to torment] is obvious ; in fact, " martern " might be de fined " to act like a marten ", the proper implication being, not the sanguinary murders the marten commits, but the palpable torment which it designedly inflicts. Another derivation comes decidedly nearer — martyr, meaning a person tortured, from martyrium, torture, whence the verb first arose. The resem- blance in sound may have occasioned the second R in those cases in which it appears. We might also seek to establish a connection between " marder", a marten, and " Morder", Ger- man for a murderer; but the T, which occurs in a majority of the forms of the word, is against this, as is also the fact that the German name occurs in many languages to which " Mord ■' and " Morder " do not belong. A second Romanic name of the Marten is fuina; Spanish and Italian the same, Portuguese /wm/m, French la fouine; in some dialects with a in place of w, as in certain Italian locali ties faina, in Provence faguino, fahino, Old French fayne; Catalonian fagina, Belgic faweina, in the Canton of Grau- bUndten further modified into Jierna. The obsolete German names of certain pelts, Fehe, Feh-icamme, are very likely re- lated. The word is not Latin as the name of an animal ; but it may be inquired, with respect to the later forms, whether it does not probably signify marta fagina. Beech-marten, as one of the two European species of the genus is often named ; properly the Tree- or Pine-marten, in distinction from the Stone- or House-marten, since the former lives in the forest, the latter about buildings ; though very curiously, the Stone- marten [ M u stela foina\ is the Martarus or Martes fagorum of Albertus Magnus and afterward of Ray, whilst the Pine- marten [M. 'inartes] is distinguished as M. abietum, "Marten of the firs". The precise distinction between fouine, foina = Stone-marten, and martCy martes = Pine-marten, moreover, may have been first set forth by Bufibn and Linujeus, and have obtained rather among zoologists than among the people at large; the more valuable Pine-marten ["Edel-marder", liter- ally "noble marten"! took the commonest name, leaving the less popular one for the other rarer species. From th\» fouine, >\h \ ETYMOLOGY OF NAMES OF MUSTELID^:. 25 the French have formed the verb foubier, to pry into or ram- mage about.* The Celtic, Sclavonic, and Finnish names are entirely differ- ent, as are the Cymric bela,\ the Eussian, Polish, Bohemian, and Orainish Tcuna, Finnish and Laplandish niita; with which the Magyaric nyest or nest accords. Iltis [Putoriiis fcctidus].— The German name is found under many variations, according to localities, particularly in North Germany, as iltniti, eltiSy Danish ilder, Swedish iller; further- more, with k, ilk J ulk, according to Bechstein in Thuringia even Ram-unk, which is the well known name of a reptile [toad]; and again with 6, elb-thier, elbkatze, which has been sought to be derived from elben = elves, the nocturnal sprites; but the oldest form of the word known to me, ilUbenzus of Albertus Magnus (thirteenth century), is little unfavorable to this etymology. The Dutch bunsing stands entirely alone. The Romanic languages name the species simply from its bad smell, as the Italian puszola^ French putois, mediteval Latin ptitorins, the pusnais of French animal-fable, which is the same as pitnaise, a bed-bug. The second portion of the English name, pole-cat, is of obvious meaning; agreeably to which we find in Diefenbach (Celtica, ii, p. 435) that in Wales, in early times, the animal was kept, or, more likely, suffered to remain, about houses, to destroy mice.| Another English name, fitclier, Jitchet [or Jitch — Tr.], related to the old French fissan, apparently indicates the same capacity in which the animal was employed or regarded. The Sclavonic languages have a particular word, tschor, tschorz, or tscher, in Carniolan ticor, in Roumanian dihor. By Pliny (8, 55, 84), this species is called viverra, probably an Iberian word no longer occurring in later languages, and which Linnreus first reapplied in zoology to the Civet-cats. Since the Middle Ages, however, two forms of the name of this animal have simultaneously appeared, the first without *, furo of Isidor of Sevilla (seventh century), whence the present Por- * " Diirchsuchen, durchstobern " ; so tlofineil by the uriter, bnto'f-iir au- thority defines fouiner to slink off, to ia«»ak: away ; lEv^d only in trivial style. But either meaning is sufficiently charaoteristio of the animals. — Tk. t Obviously related to the modern French btlettc—see beyond. — Tu. I The whole English word, poh-cnt, is by some simply rendered "I'olish- cat", as if the animal were originally from Poland. In America, the word has been very commonly transferred to the .Skunks, M»phUii : Catesby's pol- cat is such, and Kalm's fiskatta is translated j#o/e-t»t<. — Tk. 26 NORTH AMEPTCAN MUh/ UJE. m tuguese /umo, and tho Spanish /«w>on, transferred by the Span- ish colonists to the South American Galictis vittata, and the North American Miistela huro Fr. Cuv., and ^iiretus of the Em- peror Frederick II, considered as French L Albertus Magnus, with which the present French furet, English ferret, Celtic fared and fearaid, GerniRii frett, are all related. The -et may be a diminutive form, or be a part of the original word ; it is slighted by the etymologist Isidor, who somewhat gratuitously finds in it the Latin /Mr, thief. The word cannot be Arabic, for Isidor died in 636, before the irruption of the Arabs into Africa. But if, as Shaw states, the Weasel is called /erf in Barbary, the probability is that the word, like others, is common to the North African pre- Arabic and the Iberian pre-Romanic languages, and that it is this very animal which Strabo calls the North African (Libyan) Weasel.* 4l\ ■;!r WiESEL [Putorius vtdgaris]. — This word is found in most of the Germanic languages: Swedish wessla; English iceesel or weasel; Dutch icezel. It may be traced back to late mediaeval German and Anglo-Saxon. The Swabian verb icuseln, to skip about ("sicA rasch bea-efien^) like any small creature, may readily be derived from wiesel, notwithstanding the difference in the vowel. In this case again, as in the instance of daihs, the same word recurs in Spanish, but without the diminutive termination, as veso. It is found in mediaeval Latin of the twelfth century, and was by the Romanic colonists bestowed upon an American Musteline animal {Putorim vison, the repre- sentative of the European Mink). The ordinary French term for the Weasel, bektte, is diminutive of the old French bele, from the Celtic and the present Welch hela, a marten, and also occurs under a different modification in North Italy, which was certainly once inhabited by Celts. It may all the more readily have been preserved in French, since it may be con- sidered related to belle, pretty, and be so interpreted. Certainly in many languages the Weasel derives its name from its neat and elegant ways, as the Italian donnola and Portuguese doninha, little lady; the Spanish comadreja, god-mother; the ' * According to RoUeston ( Journ. Anat. aud Pfays. i. 1867, p. 47 aeq.) the Cat aud the Marten were both domesticated in Italy nine hundred years before the period of the Crusades, and the latter, Mustela foina, was the " cat" or yaX^ of the ancients, who, furthermore, called Mustela martea yaTif/ iiypia, and designated Vherra genetta as rapniama ya/.i], — Tit. ETYMOLOGY OF NAMES OF MUSTELID.E. 27 andereigerra * of the iubabitauts of Biscay, meauiug the same as the Portuguese word just given; the late Greek >tjfi<piTa, v.ip'jz'^a, a bride; the Bavarian Schonthierlein, "pretty little creature"; the English fairy (Diez). The Sclavonic tongues have an entirely peculiar series of names: laska, lasika, lastiza, and the like. In Greek and Latin proper, we find for the Musteline ani- mals only three names, which are all different from those which are better known in living languages, and of the pres- ent existence of which we only find isolated instances ; these are ixri^, r«^-^'?) ^.nd mnstela. Pliny uses mnstela in different places for native and exotic Mtistelidce, without furnishing the means of nicer discrimina- tion of the species; he indicates their mousing capacity ; and Palladius De Be Rust. 4, 9, 4, says that they were kept for this purpose. The name appears to be derived from mus, and to mean "a mouser"; for I cannot agree with Sundevall in recog- nizing in the second syllable the Greek *)j>a, a hunt; since * does not become t in Latin. According to Risso, the Weasel is called moustelle to this very day iu Xice, and in Lorraine, according to Diez, moteile; this is a partial persistence of the name which, among the Romans, not only indicated the Weasel as the species best known to them, but also included the other Musteline animals iu general. So it was also with the Greek ya/Jr/ (Batrachomyomachia, 9) or ^a/.^ (Arist. Hist. An. 2, 1, and his not very well written book 9, chap. 6), the best-known Greek species of the Marten family, yellowish, white beneath, and a mouser; whilst the fable that it was a transformed maiden (Ovid, Metam. 9, 306-323; Galanthis, with the express statement that the beast still lived about houses) accords well with the complimentary names already mentioned. Thps mnstela is primarily our Weasel [Putorius imlgaris]^ though occasionally other species receive the same name, as, for example, an African one, in Herodotus, 4, 192. More difficult to explain is the second Greek name, ^ txrt?, the skin of which, according to Homer (Iliad, 10, 333), made a night-cap for a Trojan hero, and which, according to Pseudo- Aristotle, Hist. An. 9, 6, was of the size of a small Mr'.tese dog {'■'■ Malteser Hiindchens'^), like a Weasel, white underneath, and fond of honey. This latter circumstance caused Cetti to sep- * Precisely the same as the Latin tniilkrcHla. — Tii. I M 'I 28 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. n \\i\ iP"' arate his boceamehi ("honcj-mouth" — as we should say, "hav- ing a sweet tooth "), which is, however, a species scarcely dis- tinguishable from P. vulyaris {ef. Zool. Gart. 1867, p. 68). Au- bert and Wimmer, on the other hand, argue for Miistela foina, as this animal is common in Greece, where it is still called ixrU; the latter jiosition is certainly well taken, and the Marten, as the larger animal, better fulfils the Homeric indica- tion just given; but the expression "white underneath" is only true of the throat of the Martens, for both species of Muatela are dark-colored on the belly, and in this respect very different from the Weasel. For the rest, it is much more prob- able that Aristotle named both the Marten and the Weasel together, than that he distinguished two kinds of Weasels and knew nothing whatever of the Marten. Hermelin [Putorins erminea]. — Though this name soundii; like a foreign word, it is nevertheless probably of German ori- gin, since not only are there several provincial variations of less strange accent, like Heermunchen and Harmchen, but there is also the simple harmo of old German manuscripts of the ninth to the eleventh century (Graff, althochdeutscher Sprach- schatz). From this came harmelhi, of the twelfth century,, simply the diminutive. The name went with the peltries into foreign lauds, becoming the Italian armelUno, the Spanish armino, the French [and English] ermine — originally, with Al- bertus Magnus, who had many French forms of names, erm'ini- «m, — and came back to the German as Hermelin, with ^ foreign accent, on the last syllable. The she-fox Ermeleyn, in the Fable of "Reinecke Fuchs" ["The Beasts at Court"], obviously derived her name from this animal. In Lithuanian, we find szarmii or 8zarmonys?i^ the name of the same animal, which is the same as harmo, according to the rules for the rendering of the sound, just as the Lithuanian szirtlis is the German herz. The inter- pretation of Hermelin as the "Armenian Mouse" is thus vir- tually refuted. The Swedes call the animal ross-kat and le-Mt, the latter probably shortened from Lemmiwjskatze, since the creature is destructive to Lemmings. In North France, we find for the Ermine the name roselet, obviously indicating its red- dish coloi', and with this corresponds the fabulous name Riissel, offspring of the Ermeleyn. The South European languages have no special name of their own for the Ermine, since it is there found only in the mountains, as the Southern Alps and the Balkan for example. I I 1 % ■■'■!■ ^ ETYMOLOGY OF NAMES OF MUSTELID.E. 29 NoRZ [Putorius hUreola].— Thin animal is at ouce proclaimed to be East European by its name; for the word, first used in Germany by the Saxon mineralogist Agrieola, in 1546, is Scla- vonic; the Kussian is norka, the South Russian nortschil', the Polish nurek, from the verb nurka, to dive. The Swedes alone, in whose country the animal also appears, have a particular name for it, mcink, which is the source of the mink or miiix ap- plied to the different North American species [P. vison]. Otter [Lutra vulgaris], — To the comparative philologist this word offers a field as broad as it is difl&cult, for the names of the animal in various European languages are enough alike to be compared, yet sufficiently dissimilar to be questioned as the same word; the initial particularly differs in a suspicious manner: otter, Ultra, evudpiq. In Sanskrit and Zend,* we find for an aquatic animal, of what kind is not known with cer- tainty, but which may easily have been the Fish -otter, the name udra-s, derived from the root ud, water (Latin udus, Greek uSwp). With this agrees perfectly the Lithuanian udra, the Curlandic and Livonian nderis, and, with slight change of the initial, wydra, which obtains throughout the Sclavonic tongues, the Roumanian vidre — all of which are actual names of the Otter. In the Germanic languages, the u becomes o; otr in the old Northern sagas, ottar in old mediaeval German, otter in the present German, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish, though in the latter the early initial u sometimes reappears, giving utter. The change of d into t is the rule in the rendering of the sound of Sanskrit, Greek, Lithuanian, and Sclavonic in the Germanic languages, although in pure German this consonant properly changes into sharp « {udwp, water — ^Hcasser^ as is not, how- ever, the case with the name of the animal. In Greek, we find, as the name of the Otter, hoSpn;, Herod. 2, 72, and 4, 109, ivu8p\i;, Arist. Hist. An. 1, 1, and 8, 5, or ho8poq^ Aelian Hist. An. 11, 37, nearly always mentioned in connection with the Beaver; also the forms, agreeing better with the San- skrit, 83/>of, lidpa, the former for an actual serpent (Ilias, 2, 723, Arist. Hist. An. 2, 17, 83), the latter for a fabulous serpent like monster (Hesiod, Theogon. 413, &c.). In Latin, we find only lutra, Plin. 8, 30, 47, which differs not only in the initial, but also in the t, though the Latin should agree with the Greek and Sanskrit and differ from the Ger- *Zend: the language of the Avesta, or aucient sacred writings of the Per- siauH. The people who used it were a branch of the Asiatic Aryans.— Tr. 1^ b:i m i: nm i i'i F I ! ii i: > I 111 30 NORTH AMERICAxV MUSTELID.E. manic in respect to the consonants. This Intra obtains in modern Romanic ages with littk; variation ; French, la lout re; Italian in soMje Itali; itive fif), an [cf. oHza, o«i ,, luiria or loirUt. ortugaese, lontra / Asturian, londra ; .ects, lodra, ludria (preserving the prim- .a (which bears lightly upon the name unze ounce] among the cats [Felidie] ; Provencal, The >i in many of these names may simply be a matter of easy pronunciation. Curiously enough, we find in Norway, far removed from Romanic influence, a name of the Otter of similar sound, slenter. The Spaniard says nutria. This may be an arbitrary corrup- tion of Ultra; but when we recall the Greek huSpt^, and consider that many Spanish names of animals are nearer the Greek than the Latin (for example, (jolondrinasix-^'^^''' [* swallow], and galapago in the first two syllables =;f?A((ii/ij [a turtle]), it seems very likely that nutria is derived from svoUpt^'', and it may be seriously questioned whether the latter is actually com- pounded of h and Idwp, not rather that the v represents the I in Intra, and that the s is simply a prefix, as in iXaxv^ = the San- skrit lag hus=:the Latin levis. Initial I and n are sometimes in- terchangeable, as for instance in the Greek Urpov and virpov, the Latin lamellassthe Proven5al namela (Ourtius, Griechische Etym. 395). The primitive IndoGermanic word from which all the above are conjecturally derived probably did not begin with a pure vowel, since a consonant precedes it in so many of the foregoing forms, as the o in Sclavonic, the I in Latin, and the rough aspirate in Greek. The German word otter, when it signifies a snake, is femi- nine ; when used for the quadruped it is indifferently masculine or feminine. The former is justifiable, inasmuch as the old Northern otr or otur is masculine ; to make it feminine may be partly on account of its identity with the name of the serpent, partly from its analogy with the Romanic lutra. Albertus Magnus furthermore converted lutra into the masculine form. Inter, In the Middle Ages, finally, there arose the Latin word hitrix, as the name of a snake, formed from lutra by anal- ogy with natrix, and apparently furnishing an imitation of the double employ of otter. On account of its similarity in form and its kindred significa- tion, I cannot refrain from mentioning in this connection the word natter [viper, a kind of snake]. In spite of the Spanish nudria, I believe that it has nothing to do with otter, though ETYMOLOGY OF NAMES OF MUSTELIDiE. 31 the two are often coufounded by persons not learned in natural history, or considered of similar signification. It is an old word, appearing in the Latin of Cicero as natrix (Qu. Acad. 2, 28); in the Gothic of Ultilas as nadrs, masculine moreover, Ev. Luc. 3, 7, where the Greek text has lyidva, and Luther translated ^^ otter", but at that time already feminine in the old Northern nadhra. The same word is also found in Celtic. This wide diffusion of the word makes it probable that the Latin natrix is not to be interpreted as a swimmer, as if from nare =natare ; in general, people take ^^ natter" for a poisonous serpent, not simply as a water-snake, and the specific applica- tion of the term to the Coluber natrix Linn, is of later origin. Many philologists derive the word from an old root, na (Ger- man nahen, Latin neo, Greek >^<(*), in the sense of coiling ("wwic/tnitrew"); cf. Latin necto. We may briefly treat of other names of the Otter. The Celtic languages have a particular term, Gaelic dobran, Cymric dyfrgi. The Tartaric Icama has probably given name to the largest tributary of the Volga. In many, particularly Asiatic, languages, our animal is called by some equivalent of " water- dog" or "river-dog"; as in the Dekan paniciitta; in the Ca- naries (and also in the East Indies), nir-nai; Malayan, andjing- ayer ; whilst the xui/s? r.oTdix'jn of Aelian, 14, 21, appear to have been Otters. ; i I iiiii! CHATTER II. !JI'fi<i li isi4 llwW ill 'iVV V.:\i Subfamily MUSTELIN.E: The Wolverene. The geiins Guh — Generic characters— Gn/o luscua, the Wolverene — Syn- onymy — Habitat — Specific characters — Description of external charac- ters — Measurements — Anal glands — Description of the skull and teeth- Measurements of skulls, European and American — Nomenclature of the species — Relation of the European and American animal — General his- tory, geographical distribution, and habits of the species — Its distribu- tion in the Old World. HAVING already presented the characters of the subfamily Muatelincc with detail sufficing for present purposes, I may at once proceed to consider the genera composing the group. These are : Oulo; Oalictis; Mustela; Putorim. The second of these is not represented in North America. Putoriua is sus- ceptible of division into several subgenera. These genera will be treated in successive chapters, the present being devoted to the genus Otilo. The Genus GULO. (Store, 1780.) < Mustela, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. lOtb ed. 1758, anil of many authors. < Vrsus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. lOtb ed. 1758, and of gome authors. < Heles, PaU. Spio. Zool. xlv. 1780 ; also of Boddoert, 1784. =6ul0i Storr,* Prod. Meth. Mamm. 1780, and of late authors generally. (From Klein.) < Taxus, Tiedem. Zool. 1. 1803. * This extremely rare work has lately been made the subject of a critical essay by Prof. T. Gill, who examined a copy in the library of the Surgeon- Gene; al, U. S. Army, at Washington ("On the 'Prodromus Method! Mam- malium ' of Storr". By TLaodore Gill. Extracted from the Bulletin of the Philosophical Society of Washington, October, 1874. Philadelphia : Collins, printer, 1876. 8vo. pamph., 1 p. 1., pp. i-xiii). The full title, as quoted by Gill, is as follows : — Prodromv.s Methodi Mammamvm. I Rectore Vnirersitatis maguifi- centissimo | sereuissimo atqve potentissimo | dvce ac domino | Carolo | dvce Wvrtembergise ac Tecciaa regnante, j rel. rel. | — | Ad institveudam | ex decreto gratioste facvltatis medicse | pro legitime oonseqvendo | doctoris medicinse gradv | inavgrralem dispvtationem | propositvs | pr^eside | Gottl. CoNR. Christ. Storr | medicinee doctore, hvivs, chemiee et botanices | pro- fessore pvblioo ordiuario | vuiversitatis H. T. pro-i-ectore, | respondente | FridericoWolffer, | Bohnlandense. | — ( TvUngce,d.Jul.MDCCLXXX. \ — | Litteria Reissianis. [4to, 43 pp., 4 tables.] 39 THE GENUS GULO. 33 J>'»- TTj Geneiuc CHARACTEU8.— Z)e«<<(l formula : i. '{^^ ; c. ~r] m. ^ J =7,-^ = 38 (as in irmtela). Sectoilaltooth of lower jaw (anterior true M.) without an internal cuap (usually evident in 3/«s/e?fl). Anteorbltal fora- men presenting obliquely upward as well as forward, canal-like, and open- ing over interspace between last and penultimate premolars. Skull little constricted at the middle ; rostral portion relatively shorter, stouter, and more obliquely truncated anteriorly than in Mustda. General apper outline of the skull in profile more arched. Mastoids and auditory tubes more pro- duced, the whole periotic region decidedly more prominent. Zygomatio arch very high behind, at first ascending vertically, then giving oflf a pos- terior convexity. Depth of emargination of palate about equal to distance thence to the molars. Skull, as a whole, massive, finally developing strong ridges. Fertebral formula : c.7 ; d. 15 ; ?. 5 ; «. 3 ; cd. 1.5 or 16. (Gerrard.) Size much above the average for this family, and nearly at a maximum {lialictia alone, of this subfamily, is said to be larger). Form very stout, and general appearance rather Bear-like than Weasel-like ; organization ro- bust. Legs short and stout. Tail short (about as long as the head), bushy, with drooping hairs. Pelage shaggy. Ears low. Soles densely hairy, with six small naked pads. Claws strong, acute, much curved. Coloration pe- culiar.* Anal glands moderately developed. Progression incompletely plan- grade. Habits chiefiy terrestrial. Notwithstanding the remarkably peculiar outward aspect of GhJo in comparison with its allies, it is very closely related to the Martens in structure, forbidding more than generic distinc- tion from Mustela. The dental formula is the same. In addi- tion to the cranial characters above given, it may be stated that the skull is relatively as well as absolutely more massive than that of the arboreal Martens, in coordination with the much more robust and sturdy organization of the Wolverene. Detailed descriptions of the skull and teeth, as well as of the external characters of the genus, are given beyond under the head of the single known species, O. Iu8cu8. The generic name is the Latin gulo, a glutton, in allusion to the voracity of the animal. The obvious relation of the word is with the Latin gula, throat or gullet, also used figuratively for appetite or gluttony ; and in various languages the vernac- ular name of the species is a word of similar signification. ^' Gulo " was the original specific name in the binomial nomen- clature; but its application to the, present animal was origi- nally simply by translation into Latin of the Scandinavian and Russian vernacular (cf. anted,, p. 22). * In the pattern of coloration, however, we discern the trace of the same character that is fully developed in Mephitis mephitiva— the light bands, con- verging over the rump, being similar to the stronger white stripes which mark the Skunk. 3 M l\ I'i 84 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. The Wolverene. Onlo luiicu*. Plats I. m I III (1. Old World rtjfereneeii.) GulO, anci'/uorum.— "Cf(!«n. Quad. Vivip. 1551, 633, flg.— 0(. Ifo^. Hitt. Gent. Sept. 15SS, Va.—Aldrov. Quad. Dig. 1045, m.—Seheff. Lappon. 1673, 339.— OAaWtt, Exerclt. 1077, 15.-j;;aez. Hist. Nat. Polon. 1791, 318.— Linn. S. X. 9d-5th eda. 1740-7, AA.— Klein, Quad. 1751, B3, pi. i.—HUl, Hist. An. 1753, 546, pi. Vl.—Jonit. Theatr. 1755, 131, pi. 57." MustcU ruro'fuscii, medio dorM nlgro, L. Fn. Suec. lat ed. 1746, 9, no. 6; S. K. 6th-7th edit. 1748, 5, DO. 1 Kram. Elenob. Vef{. et Anim. 1756, 311. Mustel* gUlO, L. Fn. Saeo. 3d od. 1761, 5, no. 14; S. N. i. 10th ed. 1753, 45, no. 3; S. N. i. 13tb ed. 1766, 67, no. h.—Ounn. Act. Midros. ill. 191, pi. 3, f. S.— JETouM. Natura. ii 169, pi. 14, f. i—MM. Zool. Dan. Prod, 1776, 3, no. Xi.—Erxl Syst. An. 1777, 477, no. li.—FaJb. Fn. Grwnl. 17»0, 31, no. 19. I'rsHS gUlo, Sehreh. Siing. ill. 1778, 535, pis. 144 (Act. Holm. 1773) and 144* (Buff.).— Zimm. Oeog. Oescta. ii. 17d0, 376, no. 168.-Om. S. X. i. 1788, 104, no. %.—Shaw, O. '£. i. 1800, 460, pi. 104.— Tur(. S. N. i. 1806, 64.— Cuv. "Tabl. fil6m. — , 113. "—'J'. Cuv. Diet. Sci. Nat. xix.7D, f— ," Heles gUlO, PaU. Spic. Zool. xiv, 1780, iiS. pi. 3; Z. R. A. i, 1831, 73, no. Vi.—Bodd. Blench. An. i. 1784, 81, no. 5. T«XH8 gUlOi Tiedem, Zool. i. 1808, 377. OulO borealls, "A'tl««. Ilium. Fig. till Sknud. Fn."— "Kcfz. Fn. Suec. 1800, S.V"— Our. It. A. 1. 1817, —.—^Yar|n. Suppl. Schreb. ii. 1841, ^M.—Keyg. •« Bias. Wirb. Eur. lH4i), r,6.—lichim. Syn. Mamm. 1844, Mt.—Bla*. Wirb. Deutscbl. 1837, 309, iigs. Ill), Vid (sknll).— £ran(i(, Bemerk. Wirb. N. K. Kussl. 185-, W.—Qray, P. Z. S. 1865, 130. Golo siblrlcus, PaM. "Sp. Zool. xiv. t. 3".— (Oray.) Onlo arctleus, Dttm. Mamm. i. 183U, 174.— £m«. Mam. 1837, Ui.— Fitch. Syn. 1829, 131.— Oieb. Siiug. 1855, ^^.—Fit^inger, Naturg. Saug. 1. 1861, 341, f. 70. dnlo TUlgarlit, OHff. An. Klngd. v. 1837, 117, no. 331.— J7. Smith, Nat. Lib. xv. 1843, 908. Onlo leucaras, "Htd9nhorg".—(Qray.) BossonskS, Ruttian.—" Nitremb. Hist.Nat. 1635, \6d.—Rouom(Kk,BeU. Trav.i. 1763, 331.— Rotomaeh, Ryttoh. Orenb. Topog. i. 1773, 337.— Aotomai, SUlUr, Besohr. Kamt. 1774, 118. " TeelvrMt, " Tsbr. Seize oaar China, 1704, 31.— .ffoutt. Nat Hist. Dier. ii. 1761, 189, pi. 14, f. i."— Dutch. Tlclfrasti, £I«tn, op. et loo. cU.—J. 0. Om. Reise Siblr. ill. 1751, 493 MiilUr, Natura. i. 1773, 365, pi. 14, f. 4 (ex. Hoatt.).— Fon Marteixt, Zool. Qart. xi. 1870, 353 (philologi- cal).— Oerman. TlelfrM, HaUen, Naturg. Tblere, 1757, 549. fiOHloi, Bomare, Diet. d'Hist. Nat. ii. 1768, 343. fllOMlOB. Bomare, torn. cU. 333.-Buf. HUt. Nat. xiii. 1765, 378 ; Snppl. iii, 340, pi. 48. - French. eintlOB, Ptnn. Syn. Qnad. 1771, 190.—Engli«h. itrt,3ldn,¥iltru,A'onoegian, JM, Jtrj, Flltrws, 8wedith,—Gen^rg, Act. Stuokh. 1773, 333, pi. 7, 8. Wtttk, LapUmdert. (B. Anuriean r<iftrenee».) €o»tl unulo Mfflnls «merlcuu8, JETInn, Quad. 1751, 74. linos fk'rtiJhHdsoBis, £r{«f. Qnad. 1736, 963, no. 3. ' • 'I Si-' SYNONYMY OF OULO LUSCUH. 85 Vrsus InsCHS, L, 8. N. i. nsS, 47, no. 9j 1766, 71, DO. 4 (based on Briston and Edwards).— Erxl. Synt. Anlm. 1777, 167, no. i.—Schrtb. Saug. Hi. 177ei, ^39.—Zimm. Oeogr. OcMh. ii. 1780, 376, no. 169.— Om. 8. X. 1. 1788, 103,uo. 4.—fthav; O. Z. 1. 1800, 469, pi. 103, lower flfc- (kfter Edward*).— rurt. 8. N. 1. 1H06. 64. \n\h iTRCri, Fabric. Fn. Qrwnl. 1780, 94, No. 14. M«l«li Inwui, Bodd. Elenob. An. i. 1784, 80. OhIo Ihicm, /. Sab. Franklin's Jonrn. 1893, 6S0.— J?. Sab. Siippl. Parry's Ut Voy. 1894, p. clxxilv— Ificfc. App. Parry's 9d Voy. 1893, 91)9 — .Bic/i. F. H.A. 1. 1899, il.— Finch. 8yn. 1899, 154.— Oodm. Am. N. H. I. 1831. 11^5, pi.—, lower &g.-Roii$, Exp. IKIS. 8.— H. SmUh, Nat. Lib. xt. 1849, 908.— D« Kay, N. Y. Zoi)!. i. 1849, 97, pi. 19, f. i.—Oraj/, List Mamm. Br. Miis. 1843, 68.— Aud. <fi Baeh. Quad. X. A. i. 1840, 903, pi. 96.— Thompi. N. H. Vorninnt, 1853, 30.— Baird. Stansbury's Report, 1859, 311 (Great Salt Lake, Utah) ; M. K. A. 1857, XSl.—Bittingi, Canad. Kat. and Oeol. 1. 1857, 941.— Aom, op. oit. Ti. 1861, 30, 441.— Maxim. Arch. Xaturg. 1861,-! Verz. N.-Aui. SUug. 1869, 35.— Otrr. Cat Bones Br. Mim. 1869, 96 (Includes Imth).— OouM, Am. Kat. I. 1867, 359 — Dall, Ari. Nat. Iv. 1870, 991 (Tnkon).— AU<h, Bull. M. C. Z. 1. 1870, 177 (Massarhu- setts).— ir«rr. IT. S. Geol. Surv. Terr. 1879, 669 ( WyominK).— AU<n, Ball. Essex. Inst, vi. 1874, 54 (Montgomery, Colorado).- iV<;iii«, apud Couti, Birds K. W. 1874, 994, in text (Clear Creek County, Colorado).- Coum <t Tarrow. ZoJil. Expl. W. 100 Merld. v. 1875, 61 (Wahsatoh Mountains and localities in Utah). Ouio «rcllCUH, var. A., Dettn. Mamm. i. 1890, 174, no. 967.— flaW. Fu. Amer. 1895, 60. flulo wolverene, Oriff. An. Kingd. v. 1897, 117, no. 339. i'Krnijon. La Bontan, Voy. 1703, BX.—Sarraiin," Mim. Acad. Sci. Paris, 1713, p. 19.— J7u- mare, Diet. d'Hist. Xat. i. 1768, 493.— B-<ncA Canadiani. {Sot of F. Ouvier, Suppl. Buff.) (Also, Carkajou, Karkajoti. Compare Cree Indian names.) l^arc^JOU or QueeqUChMCb, Dobbt, Hudson Bay, 1744, 40. Quickhatch or Wolf erenc, Edw. Birds, ii. pi. l03.—EUii, Hudson's Bay, i. 1750, 40, pi. 4. {Quickthatch and Qinquihatvh are also found. Compare Cree Indian names.) WolTcrene, Penn. Syn. Quad. 1771, 195, no. 4U, pi. 90, f. 9; Hist. Quad. ii. 1781, 8, pi. fl; Arct. Zool. i. 1784, 66, no. il.—Heam*, .Tourn. , 313.— Church, Cob. Quad. ii. 1805, pi. — . (Also, jyoloerenne, Wolveren, Wolverin, Wulveriufi, Wolveyinj.)—Volveren«, Lest. Man. 1827, 142 (In text). Orinte amerlcaBlsrhe nalbfUcha, Hall. KaturK. Thiore, 1757, 518. Wolfbeer, Houtt. Katuur. Hist. Dieren, ii. ii'.-Wol/iibar, Milll. Naturs.l. 1773, 985. Ours de la baye de Hudson, Brits, op. et toe. eit. Okcecoobawgew, Okeecoohawgces, One Indianii. (Obvious derivation uf Quiokhatck, if not also of Carcajou.) • Hab. — Arctogaa. In America, tbe whole of the British Proriuces and Alaska, south in the United States to New England and New York, and still further in the Rocky Mountains, to at least 39^. Specific chauactkrs. — Sub-plantigrade, thick-set, shaggy, bushy-tailed, with thick legs and low ears ; blackitih, with a light lateral band meeting its fellow over the root of the tail, thus encircling a dark dorsal area .: fore- head light ; 2-3 feet long ; tail-vertebra3 6-9 inches. Description of external charactersA Tbe form of this aDimal iudicates great strength, without correspondiug activity. The body is heavy and almost clumsy, supported upon thick-set and rather low legs ; the walk is in- completely plantigrade. The back is high-arched, the general * Special paper : Histoire d'un animal nomm6 Carcfyou en Am^rique, &o. t Taken from a mounted specimen, from Great Salt Lake, Utah, in tbe National Museum. • • ♦. , . • . • • t 86 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. m figure (Iroopiug both before and behind, both tail and head being carried low. The general appearance is strikingly that of a Bear cub, with the addition of a bushy tail, though there is somewhat of the elongation which characterizes the Muatelidw. The head is broad and much rounded on every side, with rather short and pointed muzzle, wide apart eyes, and low ears, alt.getber not very dissimilar from that of Mmtela pennanti. Tho jaws, however, are rather Canine in appearance. The muffle and septum of the nose are naked, the former for about half an inch from the end of the snout. The eyes are remark- ably small. The ears are low, much broader than high, obtusely rounded, well furred on both sides, scarcely overtopping the fur of the parts. The whiskers are few and short ; there are other similar bristles about the head. The pelage, as usual, is of two kinds ; there is a short under-fur, a kind of coarse kinky wool scarcely an inch long, which is mixed with the longer stiflfer and straightish over-hairs, which are about four inches long on the sides, flanks, and hips, giving the animal a shaggy aspect, like a Bear. On the fore parts, and especially the head, how- ever, the coat is much shorter and closer. The tail is clothed with still longer hairs, measuring some six or eight inches, drooping downward and conferring a peculiar shape, as if this member were deficient at the end. The tail-vertebrte are one- fourth, or rather more, of the length of head and body. The legs are very stout and the feet large ; the track of the animal resembles that of a small Bear, b.it it is less completely planti- grade. The palms and soles are densely furry ; but the balls of the digits are naked, and among the hairs may be discerned small naked pads at the bases of the digits, as well as a larger one beneath the carpus, the correspondent to which on the heel is apparently wanting. The fourth front digit is longest; then comes the third, fifth, second, and first, which last is very short. On the hind feet, the third is longest, the fourth little shorter ; then follow the second, fifth, and first. In color, the Wolverene is blackish, or deep dusky brown, with a remarkable broad band of chestnut or yellowish-brown, or even fading to a dingy brownish-white, beginning behind the shoulders, running along the sides, and turning up to meet its fellow on the ru jip and base of the tail, circumscribing a dark dorsal area. There is a light-colored grayish area on the front and sides of the head. On the throat, and between the fore legs, there isia pat^h,/)r fi\ie^f> ^re several irregular spots j DESCRIPTION OF GULO LUSCUS. m of light color, as in Mvstcla. The legs, feet, most of the tail, and under parts generally, are quite blackish. The claws are whitish, strong, sharp, much curved, and about an inch long. "The color of tl'o fur varies much according to the season and age. The younger animals are invariably darker in the shadings than the old, which exhibit more of the grey mark- ings. ... In some specimens the yellowish fringing of the sides and rump is almost entirely white and of larger extent, leaving but a narrow stripe on the centre of the back dark. In such the hoary markings of the head would be of greater extent, and descend, most probably, to the shoulders." — (Ross, I. c.) Meaeurcmiuta of seren specimens of GULO IX'SCUS, a 356 1092 1093 1057 16tH t Locality. Port Simpaoii, H. B. T Yakon Kiver, Alaska . do Peel's River (Dec.) ... do Mackenzie's River Montana, U.S From tip of nose Tailto to— end of— e S I a 5 ' H I 60 5. 10 5. 00 5. 70 3. 75 4. 80 C. 00:6. 50(). lOJS. 15j«. •jl,6. 10 S. 26. 50, 31. 00 29. 25 29. 00 27.00 34. bO; 36.00 — I- r.4o r.60 ?.60 ).25 iOO, r». 00' 8.90 ^ 12.40 13.60 13.10 15. 00 13.00 Lcnctli oi- 00 00 50 5.10 13.00:4.40 14.00! 7.10 (i. 75 li. 70 6.50 o g a H 'A 2. 00 Fresh. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. Dry. '*Krora Ross. Longest iiairsof body 4.00; of tail 7.50; upper canines 0.90; lower 0.75. t From Baird. Anal glands. The anal glands of this animal are stated to be of about the size of a walnut; the fluid yellowish-brown and of the consistency of honey. The discharge is by the usual lateral papillse within the verge of the anus. The scent is foetid in a high degree. Description of the sliuU and teeth. (See Plate I.) ,. The massiveness of the skull of Gitlo, in comparison with that of Mustela, is as striking as its superiority in size. In general form, the prominent peculiarity is the strong convexity of the upper outline in profile. From the highest point, just behind the orbits, the skull ..' ^nes rapidly downward behind; and the frontal declivity is also iu.'';h greater than in Mustela. There I 38 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. Ill III ill liiii' iil! M 1:1 J I is much more of a troutal concavity, and the plane of the nasal orifice is extremely oblique. These features of the profile rather suggest a Feline than a Musteline skrull, although, of course, the resemblance is still far from complete. There is a strong char- acter in the zygoma : in 2[ustela a simple arch ; here a nearly horizontal beam borne posteriorly upon an upright base, with a strongly convex backwardly projecting elbow. The same straightness requires a prominent process for definition of this part of the orbit. The zygoma is laminar and quite deep, much more so than in Mustela, Viewed from above, the zygomata are widely divergent from before backward. The anteorbital foramen is comparatively small, and appea. over the fore bor- der of the sectorial tooth. Prominent characters are observed in the paroccipital and mastoid, which form great processes of abutment against the bullne, the same being only moderate in Mustela, and merely indicated in the smaller Weasels. The pal- ate is very broad for its length, with straight (not a little con- cave) sides ; measured across its broadest point, it forms very nearly an equilateral triangle with the sides. The posterior emargination is moderate, broadly U-shaped. The bullae audi- torice are only inflated on less than the interior half, the rest being greatly contracted and drawn out into a long tubular meatus (one extreme, of which the other is seen in the slender- bodied species of Gale — compare descriptions). The basi- occipital space is somewhat wedge-shaped, owing to the diverg- ence posteriorly of the bullre. The pterygoids are very stout at base, but soon become laminar, and terminate in long, slen- der, hamular processes. Even in young skulls, the lambdoidal crests are as strong and flaring as in the oldest of Mtistela, and terminate in the very prominent mastoids. The occipital sur- face is considerably excavated beneath these crests; the mediau superior protuberance is great. The condition of the sagittal crest varies, as usual, with age. In the youngest specimens, it is single and median for but a little way, then gradually divar- icates on either hand to the supraorbital process ; in the old- est, the divarication only begins more than half-way forward, a high, thin crest occupying the rest of the median line. The general shape of the brain-box, viewed from above, is, in con- •equence of the breadth and depression of the skall behind, neither the ovate nor the somewhat cylindrical, as obtains in Mustela and Putorius, but rather trapezoidal, somewhat as in Taxidea. The body of the under jaw is shaped exactly as in SKULL AND TEETH OP GULO LUSCUS. 39 Mnstela, though it is more massive, but the coronoid is differ- ent. Its back' border rises straight and perpendicularly, the anterior border curving strongly backward to meet it in a rounded obtuse apex. In Muatela, the borders gradually ap- proximate to each other and meet more acutely. M. pennanti alone is much like Otilo in this respect. Eeviewing general cranial characters from the small Oale to the large Oulo, we see with increase of mere size a correspond- ing increment of massiveness; a graduation in obliquity of the plane of the end of the muzzle ; a lengthening and constriction (on the whole) of the rostrum ; an increase of the convexity of the upper profile ; a depression of the zygomata from regular arches to a shape higher behind and more nearly horizontal in continuity; enlargement of paroccipitals and mastoids; con- striction and lateral elongation of the buUse into auditory tubes ; and a flattening and widening behind, and correspond- ing contraction in front of, the brain-box. The dentition shares the general massiveness of the cranium. Compared with those of Miiatelttj the teeth, if not relatively larger, are more swollen and stouter, with bulging sides, blunt points, and dull edges. The back upper molar is placed so far inward, out of line with the rest, that its outer border scarcely projects outside the inner border of the next. It has the same general character as in Mustela. The median constriction is slight, the inner more strongly regularly convex, with raised brim and crescentic ridge inside this ; the outer is double con- vex (convex with an emargination), higher than the other, with an irregularly tuberculous surface. The antero-internal spur of the last premolar is low and little more than a mere heel, scarcely to be called a cusp. Turgidity aside, this tooth other- wise repeats the same in Mustela. The next premolar abuts against the reentrance between the spur and main body of the last ^ne, rather than lies in continuation of the same axis. The foremost preniolar is relatively smaller and more crowded than the same in Mmtela ; it rests directly against the canine, to the inner side of the general axis of dentition. It woald seem that but little more crowding would cause this tooth to perma- nently abort. The great canines are extremely stout at the base, rather blunt, and have a strong forward obliqaity. Of the six upper incisors, the lateral pair are, as nsaal, maeh larger (wider and deeper, though little, if any, longer) than the rest. They are usually found much abraded by rabbing 40 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. m I'll m In a^iiust the under canines. The other incisors are all alike, smaller and evenly set ; all show indication of trilobation, with a large middle and minute lateral lobes, best seen from behind, where, at the point where the teeth flatten toward the tips, ridges divaricate, the termination of these ridges forming the lateral lobes. The inferior incisors are irregularly set, the mid- dle one on each side being crowded back ont of the general plane. The outermost pair are broader than the rest, and seem longer, viewed from the front, since more of the tooth is exposed from the alveolus. The next, partially displaced pair, viewed from the front, seem the smallest of all ; but this is due to their position. Viewed from behind, their size is seen to be much greater than that of the middle pair. All the incisors are obscurely lobate at end. The under canines are shorter, stouter, and more curved than the upper ; most of their surface is stri- ate. The anterior lower premolar, like the same tooth in the upper jaw, is very small, displaced inward, and apposed against the canine. The next premolar is markedly increased in size, and set in the jaw with its longitudinal axis very oblique to the general axis of dentition, as if turned partially around for want of room. The next two premolars are much larger still and massive ; they both show a single central pointed conical cusp, whose sides are bevelled down all around to the rimmed base of the tooth, but there is no indication of the secondary cusp half- way up the back edge of the main cusp, as in Mustela pennanti, martes, americana, and perhaps all of this genus. Similarly, on the great sectorial lower molar, there is no sign of a secondary cusp on the inner face of the main cusp, as is so plainly seen in M. martes, and which also exists in less degree in M. pennanti, americana, and foina. These differences of the two back under premolars and front under molar are, perhaps, the strongest dental peculiarities of Gulo as compared with Mustela. Be- sides this, the two main cusps of the anterior lower premolar are subequal iu size and elevation instead of very unequal, as in Mustela, where the hinder one is much the highest. The posterior tuberculous portion of this tooth is relatively much smaller. As in allied genera, the back lower molar is small, subcircular, tuberculous, not calling for special remark. In a large proportion of the skulls which come to hand, the canines and sectorial '^teeth are found cracked, even split en- tirely in two or broken off, apparently a result of the desperate exertions the captured animals made to free themselves from iron traps. NOMENCLATURE OF GULO LUSCUS. a I appeud measurements of a very large and another rather small American skull, with those of a specimen from Lapland. ileasurements of slculh, European and American. Total len^tb from apes of intermaxillary- to occipital protuberance. Greatest -width (zygomatic) ". Distance between orbits K asal bones, length Upper incisors from front to hinder margin of palate Upper molars and premolars, length taken together Lower molars and premolars, length taken together Lower jaw, length to back of condyle Lower jaw, height of coronoid above condyle Greatest width of palate Least width of skull Intermastoid width Interparoccipltal width Foramen magnum, width AVidth across supraorbital protuberance a 5.50 3.35 1.40 3.80 L65 1.95 3.65 1.70 1.80 1.30 3.00 1.95 0.70 1.75 II. la 3.55 1.45 1.00 3.85 1.65 1.95 3.70 1.65 1.80 1.35 3.20 3.05 0.75 1.75 PS ^ 6.00 3.75 1.50 1.00 a 10 1.75 2.10 4.00 1.85 1.95 1.55 3.50 a. 35 0.80 1.83 NOMENCLATURE OF THE SPECIES — RELATION OF THE EURO- PEAN AND AMERICAN ANIMAL. This animal has received a great variety of names, both tech- uical^and vernacular. Nearly all barbarous tribes of Northern regions in both hemispheres, as well as civilized nations, have each bestowed some appellation ; and in some cases at least the latter have adopted an aboriginal name, with more or less modification, while in all cases the book-names of the species appear to be derived from the vernacular. Thus, " quickhatch " of the English residents of British America is obviously an Anglicism of the Cree or Knisteneaux word, and I agree with Sir.John Bichardson that carcajou of the French Canadians is probably derived from the same source.. I have no idea what the meaning of the more frequent term wolverene may be ; none of its various spellings furnish a clue, beyond the obvious tco\f^ which is however of wholly uncertain applicability here. Oulo, glutton, glouton, are self-explaining, in allusion to the voracity of the animal ; this is also the meaning of the Swed- ish, Bussian, and German names above quoted. Oulo was adopted by Linnseus as the specific name of the European ani- mal, which he placed in the genus Mustela, This author sepa- rated the American as VrsKS luscus — an absurd name indeed. 1 '1 m'Um i 42 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. " Luscus " signifies blind of one eye, mope-eyed ; as is said to have been the unfortunate condition of a specimen imported from Hudson's Bay, some time in possession of Sir Hans Sloane, and described by Edwards, upon whose account Lin- naeus based his Ursus luscus. Linnoeus was frequently capri- cious, and sometimes facetious, in bestowing names; while some of those he gave were wholly inappropriate. Thus the Paradisea apoda ("footless"), the common bird of Paradise, was so called for no other reason than that the skins imported into Europe used to lack the feet, these having been removed in the preparation of the specimens by the natives. This tax- idermal accident not only gave rise to the name, but to the general belief that the bird had no feet, and to various fabu- lous accounts of its habits as a consequence of such condition. It is deplorable that an accidental deformity of one particular individual should be thus perpetuated as the designation of a species ; the more so, as it is the name which, according to strict rules of nomenclature, must prevail. It may, however, be fairly questioned whether it should not be set aside, under the accepted ruling that priority shall not be entitled to prece- dence when the first name involves a palpable error, or is wholly inept, as in the present instance. The specific term gulo being used for the genus, the name borealis would come nest in order, should luscus be ignored on these considerations. The foregoing synonymatic lists show that this species has not escaped subdivisiod into nominal ones, and that varieties have been generally recognized. But the dose similarity of the animals from the two continents did not escape some of the earlier writers, among them even those of slight scientific acquirements or experience. Thus Shaw, in 1800, states of the Wolverene, of which he reproduces Edwards's figure, that " this appears to be no other than a variety " of Ursm gulo. Des- marest allowed varietal distinction from the animal be called 6. arcticus. Guvier endorsed the specific validity which earlier writers had generally admitted ; this error Griffith perpetuated, and, calling one Oulo vulgaris^ the other G. wolverene^ introduced at once two new synonyms. At least, if these names did not originate with him, I have not found them in previous works. A certain " Oulo leucurus Hedenborg", quoted by Gray, I have not had an opportunity of verifying. In the foregoing syn- onymy I separate the American from the Old World quota- tions merely for the convenience of reference, and must not be HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE WOLVERENE. 43 lid to )orted Hans b Lin- capri- while 18 the radise, ported moved ia tax- to the 8 fabu- idition. rticular on of a ding to owever, J, under prece- )r, or is ftc term Id come jrations. cies has jrarleties larity of some of scientific as of the lat " this 0. Des- )e called ih earlier letaated, trodaced } did not as works. ay, I have Ding syn- Id quota- ist not be understood as implying that any distinction, varietal or spe- cific, subsists between the Glutton and the Wolverene. In comparing numerous American skulls with one from Lap- land, I detect in the former a tendency to less constriction of the cranium behind the postorbital processes. This is an in- teresting correlation with one of the more pronounced differ- ences in the skulls of M. martea and M. americana. But th'S is the only discrepancy I find, and it is not, moreover, uni- formly exhibited to any appreciable degree. The identity of the animals of the two continents is to be considered fairly es- tablished, whatever range of variation in size and color either may present. Pallas notes a curious supposed character in urging a criti- cal comparison of the two forms. " Piles Guloni esse trique- tros notavit Baster (Act. Harlemens. vol. xv.) sed hoc an in Americano ? nostra ti pili teretes ", he says, on p. 75 of the " Zoographia ". HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE SPECIES. The written history of the Glutton or Wolverene dates from an early period in the sixteenth century, when the animal is mentioned with little interval of time by several writers in much the same extravagant terms. The first appearance of the ani- mal in literature is said by von Martens to have been in 1532, at the hands of Michow, a physician of Cracow, in the work De Sarmatia Aaiana et Europaa. Olaus Magnus (1562), to whom is commonly attributed the earliest mention, thongh he thus appears to have been anticipated, gives a most extraordinary account, made up of the then current popular traditions and superstitions, and tales of hunters or travellers, unchecked by any proper scientific enquiry; although, to do him justice, he does not entirely credit them himself. We may be sure that such savory morsels of animal biography did not escape the notice of subsequent compilers, and that they lost nothing of their flavor at the hands of the versatile and vivacious Baffon. Endorsed for two centuries by various writers, each more or less authoritative in his own times, and, moreover, appealing strongly to the popular love of the marvellous, the current fables took strong root and grew apace, flourishing like all " ill weeds", and choking sober accounts. Coming down to ns through such a long line of illastrious godfathers, they were treated with the respect generally accorded to long years, and furnished the liiiii I.' I, l:' 'I inn I'' ! mm IHiiii il! !!lJ i-vi!:! 44 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELlDiE. Staple of professedly educational text-books. Probably no youth's early conceptions of the Glutton were uncolored with romance ; the general picture impressed upon the susceptible mind of that period being that of a ravenous monster of insa- tiate voracity, matchless strength, and supernatural cunning, a terror to all other beasts, the bloodthirsty master of the forest. We cannot wonder at the quality of the stream, when we turn to the fountain-head of such gross exaggeration. We find it gravely stated that this brute will feast upon the carcase of some large animal until its belly is swollen as tight as a drum, and then get rid of its burden by squeezing itself between two trees, in order that it may return to glut itself anew — an alleged climax of gluttony to which no four-footed beast attains, and for the parallel of which we must refer to some of the most noted gormandizers of the lioman Empire. We have indeed reliable accounts of such gastronomic exploits, but they are not a part of those records which are generally accepted as zoological. In one of the old zoological works of some celeb- rity, there is a very droll picture of a Wolverene squeezing itself between two trees, with a most anxious expression ef countenance, the fore part of the body being pressed thin, while the hinder is still distended, and the large pile of manure already deposited being rapidly augmented wit ^ further supplies. Still in the track of the marvellous, we rea^.! how the Glutton, too clumsy and tardy of foot to overtake large Ruminants, betakes itself to the trees beneath which they may pass, and there crouches in wait for its victim ; it drops like a shot upon the unsuspecting Elk, Moose, Beindeer, and, fastening with claws and teeth, sucks the blood and destroys them as they run. That nothing may be left undone to ensure success, the animal has the wit to throw down moss or lichens to attract its prey, and to employ the friendly services of Foxes to drive the quarry beneath the fatal spot. I allude to these things, not that such gross exaggerations longer require refutation, but because they are a part, and no inconsiderable one, of the history of the species ; and because, as we shall see in the sequel, a perfectly temperate and truthful narration of the creature's actual habits sufficiently attests the possession of really remarkable qualities, which need be but caricatured for transformation into just such fables. We may remember, also, that the history of the Wol- verene is mixed in some cases with that of other animals, some of whose habits have been attributed to it. Thus Charlevoix HISTORY AND HABITS OP THE WOLVERENE. 45 (Voy. Amer. i, 201) speaks of the "carcajou or quincajou, a kind of cat", evidently, however, having the Cougar {Felis oon- color) in view, as appears from the rest of his remarks. Such habit of lying in wait for their prey is common to the Cougar, Lynx, and other large Cats. Not to prolong this portion of the subject, I may state briefly, that the animal whose characteris- tics will be fully exposed in the course of this article is simply aa uncommonly large, clumsy, shaggy Marten or Weasel, of great strength, without corresponding agility, highly carnivorous, like the rest of its tribe, and displaying great perseverance and sagacity in procuring food in its northern residence when the supply is limited or precarious, often making long uninterrupted journeys, although so short-legged. It is imperfectly planti- grade, and does not climb trees like most of its allies. It lives in dens or burrows, and does not hibernate. It feeds upon the carcases of large animals which it finds already slain, but does not destroy such creatures itself, its ordinary prey being of a much humbler character. It is a notorious thief; not only of stores of meat and fish laid up by the natives of the countries it inhabits, the baits of their traps, and the animals so caught, but also of articles of no possible service to itself; and avoids with most admirable cunning the various methods devised for its destruction in retaliation. All the earlier accounts referred to the animal of Europe and Asia. I have not found the terms " Carcajou " and " Wolverene ", nor any allusion to the American form, until early in the eight- eenth century. La Hontan speaks of it in 1703, likening it to a large fierce Badger ; Lawson has been quoted in this connec- tion, he having attributed to the Lynx some of the fabulous accounts of the Glutton ; but it is evident that his remarks neither apply, nor were intended to apply, to the Wolverene. Catesby speaks of an animal "like a small bear" which exists in the Arctic porto is of America ; this reference is among the earlier ones to the Wolverene, those which confound it with other species being excluded.* We have other definite accounts of the Wolverene, near the middle of the eighteenth century, * The Wolverene has been confused not only \rith the Lynx and Coagar in early times, bnt also qaite recently with the American Badger, Taxidea amerkana. Thus F. Cuvier (Suppl.Baffon,i, 1831,267) treats at length of " Le carcajou, ou Blaireaa Amdricain ", his whole article being based upon the Badger, to which he misconceives the name Carcajoa to belong. Paol Gervais also speaks of the " CarJcajou ou Blaireaa d'Am^rique " (Proc. Verb. Soo. Philom. Paris, 1842, 30). 46 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. as those of Klein, Ellis, Dobbs, Edwards, and BrissoD. Ursus lu80U9 of LinnsBUs arose la a way already narrated, and the species may be considered to have been well known from this period, although it was for a long time very generally supposed to be different from the Glutton of Europe and Asia. The various American biographies of this animal are without exception more or less incomplete and unsatisfactory; even those which are shorn of obvious exaggeration are, in large part, a compilation of earlier statements. They have, however, steadily improved, the latest, that of Audubon and Bachman, being by far the best, although Sir John Richardson's was an excellent contribution. The account which Pennant gave in 1784 ( Arct. Zool. pp. 66-^8) is purged of some of the fables, yet curiously shows how their effects will linger. He scouts the idea of such excessive gluttony as had been attributed, yet relates the moss-throwing story, and represents the Wolverene as " a beast of uncommon fierceness, the terror of the Wolf and Bear ; the former, which will devour any carrion, will not touch the carcase of this animal, which smells more foetid than that of the Pole-cat ". Pennant traces its distribution as far north as Copper Biver, to the countries on the west and south of Hud- son's Bay, Canada, aud tho tract between Lakes Huron and Superior. He gives a fair description, and adds : — '' It hath much the action of a Bear ; not only in the form of its back, and the hanging down of its head, but also in resting on the hind part of the first joint of its legs." " The Kamtschatkans ", he naively continues, " value them so highly as to say, that the heavenly beings wear no other furs." Bichardson gives some interesting particulars, among them none, so far as I am aware, that are not accurate. In a passage he quotes from Graham's MSS., we see a probable basis for the fabulous accounts that the Fox is the Wolverene's provider or abettor in the chase — ^for it is the well-nigh universal rule that fable is founded on facts exaggerated, distorted, or perverted. Alluding to the Wolverene's notorious habit of following Marten roads, Mr. Graham remarks that the animal tears the captured Martens to pieces or buries them at a distance in the snow. '« Drifts of snow often conceal the repositories thus made of the martens from the hunter, in which case they furnish a regale to the hungry fox, whose sagacious nostril guides him unerringly to the spot. Two or three foxes are often seen following the Wolverene for this purpose." Bichardson discredits the accounts which had it !l HISTORY AND HABITS OP THE WOLVERENE. 47 come down from Baffon of the destructiou of Beavers by the Wolverene. *' It must be only in summer, " he says, *' when those industrious animals are at work on land, that it can sur- prise them. An attempt to break open their house in winter, even supposing it possible for the claws of a Wolverene to pene* etrate the thick mud walls when frozen as hard as stone, would only have the effect of driving the beavers into the water to seek- for shelter iu their vaults on the borders of the dam."* Hearne gives a much more credible account of the depre- dations of the Wolverene upon another of the valuable fur- bearing animals of the north— the Fox— during the period of reproduction. Being directed by scent to the burrow of the Fox, which its great strength enables it to enlarge if necessary, it enters and destroys the whole family. In evi- dence of its amazing strength, of that sort most effective in pulling, pushing, and prying, the same author mentions that a Wolverene had been known to upset the greater part of a pile of wood nearly seventy yards around, iu order to get at some provisions which had been deposited in this cache. Audubon's article, although entertaining and accurate, is chiefly a com- pilation from previous accounts, as he appears to have met with the animal iu a state of nature but once, the result of which occurrence is his principal coutributioa to the subject. This was in Rensselaer County, near the banks of the Hoosac River. He tracked a Wolverene iu the snow to its den, which was among rocks, and shot it after prying away some heavy frag- ments. '* There was a large nest of dried leaves in the cavern, which had evidently been a place of resort for the Wolverene during the whole winter, as its tracks from every direction led to the spot. It had laid up no winter store, and evidently depended on its nightly excursions for a supply of food. It had however fared well, for it was very fat." The fur of the Wolverene is highly valued both by civilized and uncivilized people. A number of skins sewn together makes a very beautiful carriage robe or hearth-rug, and the pelts are in common use for these purposes. The Indians and Esqui- * An auonyiqous writer, doabtless Geaeral D. S. Stanley (" D. S. S., Fort Sally, Dakota"; American Naturalist, ii, 1868, p. 215), notes the depredations committed by the Wolverene upon Beaver, in the following terms : — " The wolverene follows the Beaver and preys upon them; in northern latitudes, the wolverene is almost always present where the beaver is abundant. The beaver has a beaten path on the bank of the stream near his lodge. There the wolverene lies iu wait for him, and often cuts short his career." 48 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. manx use the far as they do that of the Wolf, for fringiug their garments, the skin being cut in strips for this purpose. I have already given (p. 2) some statistics of the trade in this kind of pelt, which indicate the comparative standing of the animal among the far-bearing species of this country. The following methods of its capture are taken from Gibson : — * <'The wolverine is a dangerous foe to many animals larger than itself, and by the professional hunter it is looked upon as an ugly and dangerous customer. There are several methods of trapping this horrid creature, and in many localities suc- cessful trapping of other animals will be impossible without first ridding the neighborhood of the wolverines. Dead-falls of large size will be found to work successfully, baiting with the body of some small animal, such as a rat or squirrel. A piece of cat, beaver or muskrat flesh is also excellent, and by slightly scenting with castoreum success will be made sure. Several of these traps may be set at intervals, and a trail made by dragging a piece of smoked beaver meat between them. The gun-trap, . . . will also do good service in exterminating this useless and troublesome animal. Steel traps of size No. 3 or 4 are commonly used to good purpose. ... In all cases the trap should be covered with leaves, moss or the like, and the bait slightly scented with castoreum. Like all voracious ani- mals, the perpetual greed of the wolverine completely over- balances its caution, and thus renders its capture an easy task.^t The Wolverene is an animal of circumpolar distribution in both hemispheres. In North America, it exists in all suitable country north of the United States to the Arctic Goast, and even on some of the islands of the Polar Sea, traces of its presence having been discovered on Melville Island, about latitude 75°. Our notes upon its distribution in this country may relate chiefly to its southern limits. Of an erroneous quo- tation, by which it has been supposed to occur as far south as Carolina, I have already spoken. Its southern limit has been fixed more properly between 42° and 43°; this is probably nearly correct for the eastern portions of the continent, aside from what recession of the species northward may have re- cently occurred, although, as we shall see, the species reaches * Complete American Trapper, [etc.] p. 800. New York. 16mo. 1876. t A statement at variance with the experience of others, as detailed on a following page, from which it would appear that the wary oreatnre is par- tioolarly diflScnlt to entrap. HISTOHY AND HABITS OF THE WOLVERENE. 49 farther south iu the West. lu Massachusetts, accordiuff to Mr. AUeu, it still lingered a few years since, in that portion where the Canadian, as distinguished from the Alleghanian, fauna is represented. But the Massachusetts reports are all probably traceable to a Hoosac Mountain record some years prior. Dr. Hitchcock and Dr. De Kay both quote Dr. Emmons for this, although the species is not given in the latter's report. In New York, it was rare In the time of Audubon and De Kay : the former notes specimens from Rensselaer (1810) and Jeffersou (1827) Gounties. Dr. Z. Thompson, writing in 1833, states that it was then extremely rare in Vermont, none having been met with to his knowledge for several years. Though occasionally found when the country was new in all parts of the State, it was never very plentiful, and for years had been known only in the most wooded and unsettled parts. I have met with but one record of -its presence in the United States from west of New York to the Bocky Mountains, though it is to be pre- sumed that it inhabits, or has lately done so, the wooded por- tions of our northern frontier. Maximilian speaks {I. c.) of the occurrence of the species on the western border of Canada and near the mouth of the Ked River of the North, and surmises that the species may extend to the Missouri River, especially as he saw a skin, but without Indication of locality, at one of the trading posts. I never saw the Wolverene in Dakota or Montana, where most of the country is altogether too open. Baird, however, speaks of its occasional occurrence in the Black Hills, and registers a specimen from '' northwest of Fort Union''* (probably Montana, toward the base of the Rocky Mountains); and Mr. C. H. Merriam (as recorded I s. c.) procured a speci- men on the Yellowstone River, Wyoming, in August, 1872. In the Rocky Mountains, as was to have been expected, its extension southward has been traced to the farthest known point, between 40° and 39'='. Professor Baird notes a specimen obtained by Captain Stansbury from the Great Salt Lake, Utah, which lies wholly south of 'i2°. This individual is still (1877) pre- served, mounted, in the National Museum. It is probable that its extreme limit is even somewhat farther than this, reaching in the mountains to the borders of Arizona and New Mexico and *This locality (Fort Union), frequently mentioned in tlie works of Au- dnbon, Baird, and others, no longer exists as such, being now a heap of rab- bish. It is replaced by Fort Buford, commanding the mouth of the Yellow- stone, at the extreme southwest corner of Dakota, adjoining the southeast corner of Montana. 4m 50 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. corresponding latitudes in Galilornia. Of this, I was assured by hunters whose statements i had no reason to doubt, and who were evidently acquainted with the species. But I could not confirm their statements by actual observation, and, for all that is positively known, the Salt Lake record remains the southernmost, excepting that very recently furnished by Mr. Allen (op. cit). He saw the skin of aa individual taken in the vicinity of Montgomery, Colo., near the limit of timber, and the animal was stated to be not uncommon. This locality is somewhat south of 40<^, and the occurrence is strongly corroborative of the accounts I received, as just mentioned. I have myself lately seen a mounted specimen among a collec- tion of animals made by Mrs. M. A. Maxwell, in the vicinity of Boulder, Colo. I have no record fi*om the region west of the main chain of the Bockies in Oregon or Washington Territory, although it is not to be presumed, upon this negative evidence, that the species does not occur there. The Wolverene ranges, as we have seen, in greater or less abundance, all over the northern portions of this country. It appears to be particularly numerous in the Mackenzie Biver region, and it fairly infests the whole country bordering the lower portions of this river and the west side of the mountains. From this country, many accounts have reached me, from vari- our ofScers of the Hudson's Bay Company, through the liber- ality of the Smithsonian Institution, which placed in my hands all the matter represented in its archives upon the mammals of the far north. These manuscripts witness the wonderful cun- ning and sagacity of the beast, as well as its ferocity, and repre- sent it to be the greatest enemy with which the hunters and trappers have to contend in the pursuit of fur-bearing animals. Messrs. Kennicott, Macfarlane, Ross, and Lockhart have each recorded their experiences, which together afford the material for a comple' '^ biography. The hunter, says Mr. Lockhart, may safely leave an animal he has killed for one night, but never for a second time, with- out placing it in a strong cache of logs. The first night the Wolverene is pretty sure to visit the place, but will touch nothing. The next night he is certain to return, and, if he can possibly get at the meat, he will gorge himself, and then make away with the rest, which he cunningly hides, piece by piece, under the snow, in different directions. At' every cAiOhe he makes he voids his urine or drops his dirt, probably to prevent HISTORY AND HABITS OP THE WOLVERENE. 51 assured ibt, and 1 1 could and, for ains the I by Mr. taken in [ timber^ ) locality strongly entioned. ; a collec- B vicinity est of the Eerritory, evidence, er or less untry. It izie Eiver lering the lountains. from vari- the liber- my hands lammals of lerful oun- and repre- anters and ig animals, have each le material an animal time, with- t night the will touch d, if he can then make )e by piece, y cAohe he to prevent Foxes, Martens, or other animals from smelling the hidden meat and digging it up. Gd,ches must be made of green wood, and be exceedingly strong, or the animal will certainly break into them. He has been known to gnaw through a log nearly a foot iu diameter, and also to dig a hole several feet deep in frozen ground, to gain access to the coveted supply. Should he succeed in gaining entrance for himself, and yet be unable to displace the logs sufficiently to permit of removal of the meat, the brute will make water and dirt all over it, rendering it wholly unfit to be used; even a dog will then scarcely touch it. To the trapper, the Wolverenes are equally annoying. When they have discovered a line of Marten traps, they will never abandon the road, and must be killed before the trapping can be successfully carried on. Beginning at one end, they proceed from trap to trap along the whole line, pulling them success- ively to pieces, and taking out the baits from behind. When they can eat no more, they continue to steal the baits and cache them. If hungry, they may devour two or three of the Martens they find captured, the remainder being carried off and hidden in the snow at a considerable distance. The work of demoli- tion goes on as fast as the traps can be renewed. The propensity ic tteal and hide things is one of the strongest traits of the Wolverene. To such an extent is it developed that the animal will often secrete articles of no possible use to itself. Besides the wanton destruction of Marten traps, it will carry off the sticks and hide them at a distance, apparently iu sheer malice. Mr. Boss, in the article above quoted, has given an amusing instance of the extreme of this propensity: — "The desire for accumulating property seems so deeply implanted iu this animal, that like tame ravens, it does not appear to care much what it steals so that it can exercise its favorite propen- sity to commit mischief. An instance occurred within my own knowledge in which a hunter and his family having left their lodge unguarded during their absence, on their return found it completely gntted — the walls were there but nothing else. Blankets, guns, kettles, axes, cans, knives and all the other paraphernalia of a trapper's tent had vanished, and the tracks left by the beast showed who had been the thief. The family set to work, and by carefully following up- all his paths recov- ered, with some trifling exceptions, the whole of the lost prop- erty." Though very clumsy animals, the Wolverenes manage to cap- 62 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. i tare, at times, such prey as Hares or Grouse, and chey successfully attack disabled Deer. We have already seea how they destroy Foxes in their burrows; and they are usually found in excel- lent condition. They also feed on offal or carrion ; in fact, any- thing that they can catch or steal. Their own flesh is only eatable in the extreme of starvation. They bring forth in bur- rows under ground, probably old Bear washes, and have four or five young at a birth. It is very rarely that they are discov- ered at this period or whilst suckling their young. One rea- son, however, may be that they reproduce late in June and early in July, when the mosquitoes are so numerous that no one who can avoid it goes abroad in the woods. The rutting season is in the latter part of March. The female is ferocious in the defense of her young, and if disturbed at this time will not hesitate to attack a man. Indeed, Indians have been heard to aver that they would sooner encounter a she-bear with her cubs than a Carcajou under the same circumstances. In Octo- ber, when the rivers set fast, the Wolverenes reappear in fam- ilies, the young still following their dam, though now not much her inferior in size. They are full grown when about a year old. In early infancy, the cubs are said to be of a pale cream color. lue Wolverene may be captured in wooden traps similar to those used for Martens, but of course made on a much larger scale, as the animal's strength is enormous, even for its size. The traps are sometimes built with two doors. But so great is the cunning and sagacity of the beast, that the contrivance for its destruction must be very perfect. The traps are covered up with pine-brush, and made to resemble a cS^che as much as possible I the Wolverene is then likely to break in and get caught. Tb" bait, ordinarily the conspicuous feature of a trap, must in this instance be concealed, or the animal will either break in from behind, or, failing in this,^will pass on his way. It is sometimes also taken in steel traps, or by means of a set gun ; but both these methods are uncertain, great " medicine " being required to outwit the knowing and suspicious beast. The eyesight of the Wolverene is not very bright, but his sense of smell is extremely acute. << The winter I passed at Fort Simpson", writes Mr. Look- hart, '* I had a line of Marten and Fox traps, and Lynx snares, e7<- .^Jing as far as Lac de Brochet. Visiting them on one occasion I found a Lynx alive in one of my snares ; and being HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE WOLVERENE. 53 indisposed to carry it so far home, determined to kill and skin it before it should freeze. But how to c^che the skin till my retaru ? This was a serious question, for Carcajou tracks were numerous. Placing the carcase as a decoy in a clump of willows at one side of the path, I went some distance on the opposite side, dug a hole with my snow-shoe about three feet deep in the snow, packed the skin in the smallest possible compass, and put it in the bottom of the hole, which I filled up again very carefully, packing the snow down hard, anfl then strewing loose snow over the surface till the spot looked as if it had never been disturbed. I also strewed blood and entrails in the path and around the willows. Returning next morning, I found that the carcase was gone, as I expected it would be, but that the place where the skin was cached was apparently undis- turbed. 'Ah I you rascal,' said I, addressing aloud the absent Carcajou, * I have outwitted you for once.' I lighted my pipe, and proceeded leisurely to dig up the skin to place in my muski- moot. I went clear down to the ground, on this side and on that, but no Lynx skin was there. The Carcajou had been before me, and had carried it off along with the carcase ; but he had taken the pains to fill up the hole again and make every- thing as smooth as before ! "At Peel's River, on one occasion, a very old Carcajou dis- covered my Marten road, on which I had nearly a hundred and fifty traps. I was in the habit of visiting the line about once a fortnight ; but the beast fell into the way of coming oftener than I did, to my great annoyance and vexation. I determined to put a stop to his thieving and his life together, cost what it might. So I made six strong traps at as many different points, and also set three steel traps. For three weeks I tried my best to catch the beast without success ; and my worst enemy would allow that I am no green hand in these matters. The animal carefully avoided the traps set for his own benefit, and seemed to be taking more delight than ever in demolishing my Marten traps and eating the Martens, scattering the poles in every direction, and cAching what baits or Martens he did not devour on the spot. As we had no poison in those days, I next set a gun on the bank of a little lake. The gun was concealed in some low bushes, but the bait was so placed that the Carciyon must see it on his way up the bank. I blockaded my path to the gun with a small pine tree which completely hid it. On my first visit afterward I found that the beast had gone up to 54 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. the bait and stnelled it, but had left it untouched. He had next palled up the pine tree that blocked the path, and gone around the gun and cut the line which connected the bait with the trigger, just behind the muzzle. Then he had gone back and pulled the bait away, and carried it out on the lake, where he laid down and devoured it at his leisure. There I found my string. I could scarcely believe that all this had been done designedly, for it seemed that faculties fully on a par with human reason would be required for such an exploit, if done intention- ally. I therefore rearranged things, tying the string where it had been bitten. But the result was exactly the same for three successive occasions, as I could plainly see by the footprints ; and what is most singular of all, each time the brute was care- ful to cut the line a little back of where it had been tied before, as if actually reasoning with himself that even the knots might be some new device of mine, and therefore a source of hidden danger he would prudently avoid. I came to the con- clusion that that Carcajou ought to live, as he must be something at least human, if not worse. I gave it up, and abandoned the road for a period. »'On another occasion a Carcajou amused himself, much as usual, by tracking my line from one end to the other and de- molishing my traps, ^ fast as I could set them. I put a large steel trap in the middle of a' path that branched ofif among some willows, spreading no bait, but risking the chance that the animal would ' put his foot in it' on his way to break a trap at the end of the path. On my next visit I found that the trap was gone, but I noticed the blood and entrails of a hare that had evidently been caught in the trap and devoured by the Carcajou on the spot. Examining his footprints I was satisfied that he had not been caught, and I took up his trail. Proceed- ing about a mile through the woods I came to a small lake, on thti banks of which I recognized traces of the trap, which the beast had laid down in order to go a few steps to one side to make water on a stump. He had then returned and picked up the trap, which he had carried across the lake, with many a twist and turn on the hard crust of snow to mislead his ex- pected pursuer, and then again entered the woods. I followed for about half a mile farther and then came to a large hole dug in the snow. This place, however, seemed not to have suited him, for there was nothing there. A few yards forther on, however, I found a neatly built mound of snow on which the HI8T0BY AND HABITS OF THE WOLVERENE. 55 animal had made water and left his dirt ; this I knew was his •cache. Using one of my snowshoes for a spade I dug into the hillock and down to the ground, the snow being about four feet deep ; and there I found my trap, with the toes of a rabbit still in the jaws. Gould it have been the animal's instinctive im- pulse to hide prey that made him carry my trap so far merely for the morsel ot meat still held in it ? Or did his cunning nature prompt him to hide the trap for fear that on some future unlucky occasion he might put his own toes in it and share the rabbit's fate ? " This propensity of the Wolverene to carry off traps receives confirmation from other sources. In Captain Cartwright's Journal (ii, 407), a similar instance is recorded in the follow- ing terms : — " lo coming to the foot of Table Hill I crossed the track of a Wolvering with one of Mr. Gallingham's traps on his foot : the foxes had followed his bleeding track. As this beast went through the thick of the woods, under the north side of the hill, where the snow was so deep and light that it was with the greatest difficulty I could follow him even on In- dian rackets, I was quite puzzled to know how he had con- trived to prevent the trap from catching hold of the branches of trees or sinking in the snow. Biit on coming up with him I discovered how he had managed : for after making an attempt to fly at me, he took the trap ifi his mouth and ran upon three legs. These creatures are surprisingly strong in proportion to their size ; this one weighed only twenty-six pounds and the trap eight ; yet including all the turns he had taken he had carried it six miles." The ferocity of the Wolverene, no less than its cunning, is illustrated in some of the endless occasions on which it matches its powers against those of its worst enemy. A man bad set a gun for a Carcajou which had been on his usual round of dem- olition of Marten traps. The animal seized tUe bait unwarily, and set off the gun ; but owing to careless or improper setting, the charge missed or only wounded it. The Carcajou rushed upon the weapon, tore it from its fastenings, and chewed the stock to pieces. It is added to the account of this exploit that the beast finished by planting the barrel muzzle downward up- right in the snow ; but this may not be fully credited. The stories that pass current among trappers in the North would alone fill a volume, and they are quite a match for those that -Olaus Magnus set down in his book centuries ago. How much 56 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. wiser are we in our generatioD ? Is there anything new under the sun f But we need not go beyond the strict fact to be impressed with the extraordinary wit of the beast, whom all concur in conceding to be " as cunning as the very devil ", With so much for the tricks and the manners of the beast behind our backs, roaming at will in his vast solitudes, what of his actions in the presence of man ? It is said that if one only stands still, even in full view of an approaching Carcajou, he will come within fifty or sixty yards, provided he be to wind- ward, before he takes the alarm. Even then, if he be not warned by sense of smell, he seems in doubt, and will gaze earnestly several times before he finally concludes to take him- self off. On these and similar occasions he has a singular habit — one not shared, so far as I am aware, by any other beast whatever. He sits on his haunches and shades his eyes with one of his fore paws, just as a human being would do in scruti- nizing a dim or distant object. The Carcajou then, in addition to his other and varied accomplishments, is a perfect skeptic — to use this word in its original signification. A skeptic, with the Greeks, was simply one who would shade his eyes to see more clearly. To this day, in sign-language among some of the Korth American Indians, placing the hand to the forehead sig- nifies *' white man " — either in allusion to this habit, or to the shade given the eyes by the straight vizor of the military cap, which the Indians see oftener than they desire. Mr. Lockhart writes that he has twice been eye-witness of this carious habit of the Wolverene. Once, as he was drifting down stream in a small canoe, he came within a short distance of one of the ani- mals on the bank; it stopped on perceiving him, squatted on its haunches, and peered earnestly at the advancing boat, hold- ing one fore paw over its eyes in the manner described. Not seeming to take alarm, it proceeded on a few paces, and then stopped to repeat the performance, when Mr. Lockhart, now sufficiently near, fired and killed the beast. On another occa- sion, when the same gentleman was crossing the Rocky Mount- ains, a Wolverene, which had become alarmed and was making off, stopped frequently and put up his paw in the same manner, in order to see more clearly the nature of that which had dis- turbed him. On other occasions, the Wolverene displays more boldness than this in the presence of man. It has been known to seize upon the carcase of a deer, and suffer itself to be shot rather ITS DISTRIBUTION IN THE OLD WORLD. 57 than relinquish possession, though the hunter had approached within twenty yards of his game. When pressed by the pangs of hunger, still bolder exploits are sometimes performed, as in the instance narrated by Capt. J. G. Ross. In the dead of an Arctic winter, his ship's company were surprised by a visit from a Wolverene, which clambered over the snow wall sur- rounding the vessel, and came boldly on deck among the men. Forgetful of its safety in the extremity of its need for food, the animal seized a canister of meat, and suffered himself to be noosed while eating. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPECIES IN THE OLD WORLD. This portion of the subject is translated from J. F. Brandt's elaborate article.* According to Georgi {I. s. c. [i. e. Geogr. Phys. Beschr. 1786] p. 1547), the Glutton is found in the temperate, and particu- larly in the cold regions of Eussia and Siberia ; that is to say, from Lithuania and Gurland, where, however, it is rare, to Finland, Kola, Archangel, Wologda, Perm; and in Siberia, from the mountains which bound this country (the Altalt, the Sajan, and Danrian Alps, the Stannovoi, &c.), to the Arctic Tandras. Brincken (Mem. sur la For^t de Bidlowicza, p. 45) speaks of Gluttons in the forest of Bidlowicza. Eichwald, however, two years later (1830), states that formerly they were only found in some few forests of Podolia and Pinsk (Skizze, p. 237). In 1791, Fischer says (Naturgesch. von Livland, Livonia, 2d edition, p. 141) that the Glutton was already rare in Livonia, though still common in Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and Lapland, as well as in Gurland; though in Derschau and von Keyserling's description of the Province of Gur- land, published as early as 1805, the Glutton is not mentioned among the animals of Gurland, and it is likewise wanting in Lichtenstein's Gatalogue of the Mammals of Gurland, published in 1829 (Bull. Nat. Hist. Moscon). Kessler only mentions the Glutton incidentally, stating that there were reports of its casual appearance, and that a specimen was once captured, though giving no particulars. According to Rczaczynski (Auctuar. Hist. Nat. p. 311), two Glut- tons were killed in Podolia at the beginning of the last century. It is, therefore, unquestionable thai the Glutton * Bemerknngeu Uber die Wirbelthiere des Qordlichen enropaiscben Rnss- lauds, besonders dea nordlicben Ural's. Ein Beitrag zar naheren zoolo- gisch-geograpbiscboD Kenntniss Nordost-Europa'a. 58 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. was occasionally fouud iu Gurland, LitkuaDia, and Fodolia during the last century, but that it no longer extends so far westward and southward, so that we may rely, concern- ing its appearance in Bussia, upon the statement of Pallas (Zoiig. B.-A. i. p. 74) that the animal was seldom found in European Bussia, except in the northerly forests, though com- mon in Siberia. In East Siberia, Sarytschew (Beise, i. p. 77) discovered it on the middle portions of the Indigirka. Wran - gel (Beise, ii. pp. 274, 238) indicates the occurrence of the Glut- ton in Werchojansk and the country of the Tschukts. G e b 1 e r (Uebersicht d. Katuuischen Geb. p. 84) calls Gulo borealis a solitary inhabitant of the Altai forests, and we once received from him a specimen from the Altai region. According to vo n Middendorff, the Glutton is also found on the Boganida Biver, whence it makes excursions to the Tundra, to plunder the traps set for the Yulpeslagopus. It was lately observed by Wosnessenski in Kamtschatka, where it was more nu- merous in northern than iu southern portions. There, particu- larly in the Anadyr regions, it is said to inhabit the Tundras rather than the forests Georgi (7. o.) designates the Ural in general, Lehman n (Brandt in Lehmaun's Beise Zoolog. Append, p. 301) and Eversmanu, probably more rightly, only the middle and northerly Ural as its habitat. According to Hoffmann's verbal communications, the ani- mal is to be found in the northerly IJral, at least as far as forests exist, as before indicated by Georgi, and seems to be not rare there, for a skin costs but three silver roubles, and the Samojeds are in the habit of trimming their garments with the fur. Ermann (Beise, i. 1, p. 562) states that the Glutton occurs on the Obi Biver. Schrenck (Beise, i. pp. 10, 66, 97) reports that it is found in the forests of the District of Mesen, particularly on the Pinega Biver, and sometimes on Onega Lake. The government of Wologda annually delivers 300 to 500 Glutton skins (von Baer and Helmersen, Beitrage, vii. p. 251). I do not recall, after more than twenty years' experi- ence in the government of St. Petersburg, a single instance of a Glutton's having been captured there. Wallenius (Fauna Fenn. p. 11, and Forteckning iifver Sallsk. Samlingar, p. 7) cites the Glutton as inhabiting the Finnish provinces of Tawastland and Osterbotten. We may safely fix its present distribution in the Bnssian possessions from Finland and Bussian Lapland (?) to Kamtschatka, and from the middle Ural and Altai to the northerly Tundra. CHAPTER III. MUSTELINE— Continued : The Martens. The genus Muaiela — Generic characters, &c.— Analysis of North Amerioan species — Mmtela pennanti, the Pekan or Pennant's Marten — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific characters— Description of external characters — Diuien- sions— Sknll and vertebrte— General history, habits, and geographical dis- tribution — Interpolated matter relating to e::otic species of Miutela — M. martes — Synonymy — Description of its skull and teeth — M. foina — Syn- onymy — ^Notes on its characters — M. zihelUiia — Synonymy — Measurements of skulls of the three species— Comparative diagnoses of M. martea, americana, ani foina — Mxstela americaHa, the American Sable or Marten — Synonymy — Description and discussion of the species — Table of measure- ments — Geographical variation in the skull — General history and habits of the species. IN this chapter are treated the genus Mustela and the two species by which it is represented in North America. Sev- eral closely allied species of the Old World are also introduced, as seemed to be required for the adequate discussion of their intimate relationships. The Genus MUSTELA. (Linn., 1758, emend.) < MllstelSt Linn. Syst. Nat. i. lOtb ed. 1738, and of many authors. < Tiverra, Shaw, 6en. Zool. i. 1800; not of antliors. <6h10, H. Smith, (fide Gray); not of Storr. =1inTttii, Authors, attet Bay. >.PelC»lli«, J. K Oray, Profl. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1865, 107. (type M. pennanti.) > FolBSt J. E. Oray, Proo. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1865, 107. (Type if. martet var. fagorum.) > OharronlSt /. E. Oray, Proc. ZooL Soc. 1865, 108. (Type M. Jlavigxiia Bodd.) 1-1 > P™'4_4> 1-1 a-2 ~- Generic cbahb.— Dental formula : i. ^^3 ; c. {-^rt 5 P™- Jtrf ; n> j^ = 38 (as in Oulo ; one more premolar,* above and below, on each side, than in Puioriiia). Sectorial tooth of lower jaw usually with an internal cusp. Anteorbital foramen presenting vertically or somewhat downward as well as forward (as in Putorim ; reverse of Crulo) ; canal-like, opening over interspace between last and penultimate premolars (as in Gulo ; the open- ing is over the last premolar in P\dor\\i9). Skull much constricted at the middle, the rostral portion relatively longer, more tapering than in Oulo or *' As a not infrequent anomaly, the small anterior premolar which consti- tutes the Increment in the dental formula as compared with that of PvLtorim fails to develop. Thns it is wanting on the right side above in a skull, No. 7159, from Fort Good Hope, though present on the left side and on both sides below. Similarly, an incisor occasionally aborts. 59 60 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. Ptttoriua, and mach more obliquely truncated than in Putoriuf, less so thaa in Gulo ; frontal profile more or less concave. Nasal bones narrower in the middle than at either end. General upper outline of sknll moderately arched. Production of mastoids and auditory bullie and general prominence of periotio region intermediate between Gulo and Putoriut. Zygomatic arch high behind (usaally higher than in front) ; nowhere vertical, nor developing a posterior convexity. Depth of emarginatiou of palate greater than dis* tance thence to the molarH. Skull as a whole less massive than in either Oulo or PutoriM. Vertebral formula. — According to Gerrard, the vertebrie of M. maries, type of the genus, is c. 7, d. 16, 1. 6, s. :i, cd. 18 or 19 ; other species of the genus differ in the number of caudals. Size medium and large for this subfamily. Form moderately stout ; claws strong, curved, acute. Tail longer than the bead, bushy, cylindrical or taper- ing. Soles densely furry, with naked pads. Pelage long and soft, but not shaggy ; whole-colored, or nearly so, never whitening in winter. Progression digitigrade. Habits highly arboreal as well as terrestrial ; not aquatic. This genus forms the liuk between Oulo and PutoriuSj as will be evident upon comparison of the diagnoses of the three. The skull, however, is lighter than io either of the two other genera of Mmtelinee^ with more produced and tapering rostrum ; in height, relative to length or breadth, it is intermediate. The species have a somewhat Fox-like or Catlike superficial aspect, rather than that appearance we usually associate with the name of " WeaseF, being much stouter-bodied, more copiously haired, and busiiier-tailed ; one species, indeed, is commonly called black " fox " or black " cat ". They appear to be more decid- edly arboreal than the Weasels, spending much of their time in trees, and are not aquatic, like several of the Weasels proper. They are agile and graceful in their movements ; and, if not really more active than the Weasels, their actions seem to possess a quality of lightness and elasticity di£ferent from the writhing and insinuative motions of the very slender-bodied, short-legged Weasels. Although strictly carnivorous, predacious, and de- structive to many kinds of small Mammals and Birds, they, appear less ferocious and bloodthirsty than the Weasels, whose sanguinary impulses seem insatiable ; and at times they exhibit a playful and comparatively amiable disposition. The name of the genus is the Latin mustela or mustellaj a kind of Weasel ; the word being apparently derived from, or related to, the more general term mus.* Its adjectival deriva- * This seems to have included, besides Mice, various kinds of small de- atmotive animals, such as now might be collectively referred to as " vermin". Thus, mu$ pontieue is supposed to have probably been an Ermine. The word may be simply a long form of mus, like maxilla or axilla from mala and ala. THE OENUH MUSTELA. 61 tive, mii8telinu8, refers primarily to geueral Weasel-like quali- ties ; secondarily, to the peculiar tawny color of most species of Weasels in summer, and is transferable to other animals, just as "foxy*^ signifies the peculinr red of the Oommon Fox. For an example, familiar to ornithologists, the "tawny" thrush of Wilson, Turdiia " muatelintis ", may be cited. This genus comprises the Martens and Sables, of which there are several species, inhabiting the northern portions of both Old and New Worlds, and particularly abundant in the higher latitudes. Aside from the very distinct Fisher, or Pekan, Mua- tela pennantif peculiar to North America, the species are so closely related that some authors have contended for their identity. There appear, however, to be good grounds upon which at least three if not four species may be established ; one confined to America, the rest belonging to the Old World. The high commercial value of the pelts of these animals, and their corresponding economic importance, has sharpened the eyes of those pecuniarily interested to such degree that nu- merous kinds of "sable" and "marten" are recognized by the furriers; and the caprices of imperious fashion set a wholly fictitious value upon slight shades of color or other variable conditions of pelage, which have no zoological significance whatever. The Sable par excellence is the Russian and Asiatic animal, Muatela zibellina, a variety of the common European Marten, M. martes, or a closely allied species; but, as all Sables are Martens, it is perfectly proper to speak of our species, M. nmericanttf as the American Sable or Marten. Some of its for- taitous conditions of pelage — the darker shades — represent the " sable " of furriers, while in the ordinary coloration it may be called by another name. The meanings of the various terms employed to designate animals of this genus are more fully discussed elsewhere, under beads of the several species. The two North American species of Mustela may be readily distinguished by the following characters : — Analysis of the North American species of Mustela. Larger : length two feet or more ; tail a foot or more, the rertebree about half the length of head and body, tapering from base to point. Ears low, wide, Bemicironlar. Blackish ; lighter on fore upper parts and head ; darkest below ; no light throat-patch M. pennanH. Smaller : length nnder two feet ; tail less than a foot long, the vertebrse less than half the length of the body, uniformly bushy. Ears high, sabtrian- gular. Brown, &c.; not darker below than above ; usually a large yellow- ish or tawny throat-patch M. anurieana. 62 NOBTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.f:. The Pekan, or Peniinnt*fi Marten. nvBtela pcnnantl. ;Platb II. Mmtela peBMBlll, Era. Syst. An. 1777, 470, oo. lO (baHeil on the FUher of Pmnant: for diMnMion of nam*, In question of priority over eanadenii* Scbrebor, of. Bd. op. it^frik nt. p. ISl).— Zimm. Oeogr. Oesch. 11. 1760, 310, no. 906.— J. 8ah. Frank. Joam. 1883, 09l.-Gfri/. CaT. R. A. ▼. 18S7, lOS, no. 354.-I>M«. Man. 1837, ISO, no. 405— IVieA. Syn. Mam. 1889, 817.— Oodm. Am. N. H. 1. 1931, 303.— Bd. M. N. A. 18S7, )49, pi. 36, f. 1.— y«wb. P. R. R. Rep. tI. mil, 4l.-Ooop. <« SueU. N. H. W. T. 18W, 9i, 114.— Aow, ' Canid. Nat. ▼!. 1861, U.—OUpin, Tr. Not. Soot. Iniit. 11. 1870, 9, M.—AU. Ball. M. C. Z. 1. 1869, 161 <MaM.)i Ball. Est. Inst. t1. 1874, S4 (Colorado).— AmM, Ball. Minn. Acad. Nat. Sol. 1874, 69. Manes pcbbmUI, Oray, P. Z. S. 1863, 107; Cat. Camlv. Br. Mas. 1869, es. MaatclB CBBBdtBtIt, Sehrth. Sttag. Hi. 1778, 493, pi. 134 (baaed on the Pehm of Bnffon; not M. eanadeniii of Erxl., wbioh is Putoriut viion).—Zimm. Geog. Gaaob. IL 1780, 309, no. 807.— Bodd. Elencb. An. 1. 1784, 86.-Om. S. N. i. 1788, ii.—Turt. S. N. 1. 1806, 59 (not aamo name on p. 57, wbich la tbe American Otter).— fuAi, Beltr. 1880, 74.— Dmai. Mamm. 1. 1880, 183, no. 384 ; Ency. M«th. pi. 80, f. 4 ; Kout. Diet xlx, 379.— ffaW. Fn. Amer. 1835, W.—Lut. Man. 1837, 149.-ar</. Cav. R. A. ▼. 1837, 184, no. 393.-JV«eA. 8yn. 1839, 816.-J»«k. F. B. A. i. 18S9, 58, no. IH—Rieh. Zodl. Voy. Blosaom, 1639, 10*.— Fr. Ouv. Diet Sol. Nat. six. 856.- Afartin, P. Z. S. 1833, 97 (anat.).— £miNOM, Sep. Qnad> Mass. 1840, 3B.—Wagn. Sappl. Sobreb. 11. 1841, 9313.— D* Kay, N. T. Zo8t. 1. 1848, 31, pi. 13, f. 1 (akolD.-Aud. <t Baeh. Q. N. A. 1. 1849, 307, pi. Al.—DeEay, Fifth Ann. Rep. Reg. Univ. N. T. 1863, 33, pi. (orig. HfH—Thompt. N. H. Vermont, 1853, 33.— Kenn. Trans. HI. Bute Agric. Soo. 1853-4, 578 (Illinois,)- Zn««i. Proo. Boat. Soo. vl. 1858, 418.-6i<be{, Odontog. 36, pi. 19, f. 1 ; Sttag. 1855, Tn.-Alawim. Arch. Natarg. 1861, 839.— £ 'Uingt, Canad. Geol. and Nat. 11. 1837, 116.— Kn<«{and, Proo. Boat Soo. vl. 1859, 418 (skeleton).— JETal?, Canad. Nat. t). 18G1, 999.— Maxim. Vera. N. A. SKng. 1868, 43. MastelB CBBBdeBsH var. Bibs, Rich. op. eit. 54 ("White Pekan"; albinism). HBttelB (MBrt«8) CBBBdcBSls. Schim, Syn. Ma.i!ffl. 1. 1844, 334. MartM CBBBieBSlSi Gray, List Mamm. Br. Mas. 1843, 63.— Oerrard, Cat. Bones Br. Mas. leca, 91. TlverrB CBBMCBttS, Shaw, (3en. Zool. i. 1600, 499. MBatelB ■clBBOrkyBChB, Bodd. Elenob. An. 1784, 88, no. 13 (based on FUher of Pennant) — Zimm. in Peon. Arkt. Zotfl. 1787, 83. Tlvern ylacBtor, Shaw, Gen. Zoiil. l. ISOO, 414 (based on FUher of Pennant). HBttelB BlCTBt Turt. ed. L. S. N. 1. 1806, 60 (= FUher Weaul of Pennant). MBStelB KOiflUBl, FUeh. Syn. Mamm. 1839, 817.— £«m. Mamm. 1848, 150. MBltelB plUBtoriB, Lees. Man. 1837, ISO, na 403 ((jaotes pennanti Erxl. with query). "6«lo CBUilBeBa e( flerrBKlBens, H. Smith."— {J. E. Gray.) PekBB, OhMim. Noav. France, Hi. 1744, 134.— Bu/. Hist. Nat. xlil, 1765, 304, pi. 48 (biMls of jr. eafMientU Sohreb.).— Bomm, Diet. d'Hist. Nat. ill. 1768, 401.— P«i»no, Seataglia, An. ()aad. Iv. 1775, pi. 155, f. 1 (ex Baffon).— Fctan, Pcnn. Syn. Qaad. 1771, 834, no. 159 ; Hist. Qnad. 1781, no. 304 ; Arot. Zool. 1. 1784, 78, no. 88 (apparently tame as the inimal of Briason and Baffon).— P«hin ot French Canadian. ("Peean " is also foond.) PekSB-BIBNer, Maxim, l. e. FiBker, Petm. Syn. Qaad. 1771, 83.1, no. 157; Hist. Qaad. 1781, 328, no. 903; Arot. Zool. 1. 1784, 88, no. 31 (basis of M. ptnnantii, Erxl.).— Fisher, American, Vulgo, Marte*pMieBr, Deem. op. eit. 184. PeBBBBt'e MBPtCBt Oodm. op. etloe.eU. Uttadi, Heame, Joom. — , 378. ( Alao written Weejaek.) 9(«kaiek, OreeIndiane(Xkhards(m)=:Ot»chilik, Ojibwaye {Maxim.) =\F^ack, Fur Tradere^ Woodehoek, Angliei. TUUckAf CUppevaymnt iSoee). * • MMk Pbx, Black CM, Yvfgo. Hab. — ^North America, approximately between 35° and 65°, in wooded portions of tbe conntry. DESCBIPTION OF MUSTELA PENNANTI. 6S Specific CRARACTERH.— Black or blackish, lif^btening by mixture of brown or gray on the apper fore part anr* head; no conspiouoas light tbroat- patoh; generally darker below tb; a above; very large and stoat; length tj or 3 feet ; tuil over a foot long. Deioription of external characters.* Form. — With its large size, this animal combines a stout- ness of form not seen in other species of the genus. The general aspect is rather that of a Fox than of a Weasel, but, in place of the acute muzzle and pointed ears of the former, we have a fuller face, somewhat canine in physiogno' y.t The muzzle is thick and short ; the prominent nasal pad has the ordinary T-shape, and is definitely naked; it is black. The whiskers are stiff, scant, and short, hardly reaching to the ears ; there are other stoutish bristles over the eye, at the corner of the mouth, on the cheeks and chin ; they are all black. The eye is rather large and full for this group. The ears are low,, but remarkably broad, being about twice as wide at base as high ; they are rounded in contour, and well furred, both sides, to the entrance of the meatus. The feet are broad and flat, furred both sides, and qrmed with very stout, compressed, much curved, acute claws, not hidden by the bristles at their base; they are light-colored. On the palm may usually be seen the following pads (though they are sometimes hidden by the overgrowing fur ): one at the end of each digit ; a V-shaped area of four nearly coalesced pads, indicated by mere sulci be- tween them, situated opposite the first digit, and indicating the bases of, respectively, the first, the second, the third and fourth combined, and the fifth digit. There is a tenth pad, isolated from the rest, far back, on the wrist, near the outer border. On the hind feet, the arrangement of the naked bulbs is essen- tially the same, excepting that the hindermost (tenth) one is wanting. The tail-vertebrse are about half as long as the head *From varions specimens in the Smithsonian Institation. t" The physiognomy of the Pckan is very different from that of the Marten. When the latter is threatened, its features resemble those of an enraged oat, but the expression of the ^ekan's countenance approaches to that of a dog, though the apparent obliquity of its eyes gives it a sinister look. The head has a strong, roundish, compact appearance, and contracts suddenly to form the nose, which terminates rather acutely. The ears, low and semioiroular, are far apart, so as to leave a broad and slightly rounded forehead. They are smaller in proportion than the ears of the Pine-martin. The eyes, situ- ated where the head curves in to form the nose, appear more oblique than- they really are."— (Richardson, I. c.) 64 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. Ill I Vji IL.I.t.||. and body. The tail is cyliudric-conic, rapidly ta)>eriQg to a sharp point from the enlarged and bushy base. The general pelage is much coitrser than that of the true Martens, and ^ooser, if not longer; it consists of the usual undt'r fur, with long, glossy, bristly hairs intermixed. The pelago is very short on the head. Color. — Color is very variable, accordiug to age, season, or other fortuitous oircumstances ; in general, how«iver, a particu- lar pattern, if not also tone, is preserved. The animal is darker below than above, at least on parts of the belly, contrary to the usual rule in this group. The belly, legs, and tail, in most ma- ture examples, are black or blackish-brown, and the hinder part of the body above is much the same. On the rest of the upper parts, however, there is a progressive lightening toward the head, from increasing admixture of light brown and gray shade, which colors, occupying but little, if any, of the length of the hairs on the dark parts of the body, on the lighter parts so increase in extent that they give the prevailing tone, over- I)owering both the smoky-brown bases and the blackish tips of the hairs. The ear has usually a light bordering. On the under parts, even of the blackest individuals, are usually found irregular white (not tawny or buffy) blotches on the chest, in the arm-pits, and on the lower belly between the thighs. The throat may also show a few white hairs, though I have never observed anything like the conspicuous light gular area com- monly displayed by the Marten. Smaller specimens before me lack much of the general black- ishness above indicated ; still the feet, tail, and at least a me- dian abdominal area are darker than the upper parts in general, though the darkness is rather brown than black. The light upper parts are pale ( " oary gray, overlaid with the blackish tips of the hairs. Both llichardson and Audubon note near' white specimens. Dimensions. — Of the full-grown animal, about 30 inches from nose to root of tail (many specimens are only about 2 feet long, while others a third larger than this are noted). Tail-vertebne about 14 inches (12 to 16), the terminal hairs 2 to 4 inches longer. Nose to eye 2 inches ; to occiput, over curve of bead, ()^ ; ear 1 inch high, about twice as broad ; distance between tips of ears'? inches ; hind foot 4^ ; fore leg, from elbow,* 6 or 7 inches ; hind leg, from hip, nearly 12. Individuals are said to range in weight from 8^ to 18 pounds. SKULL AND VERTEfiR.E OF M. PENNANTL 65 Skull and vertebra.'. Cranium. — The skull of this species is instantly distinguished from that of M. martes by its obviously superior size. The larg- est ot bix examples before me measures 4.40 in extrnme length by 2.40 in greatest zygomatic width. The under jr. «r is 3.00 in length. There are other points. The zygomatic arch is nota- bly lower. The skull is more contracted behind the orbits. The lambdoidal (occipiUl) crest is stronger and more flaring; its termination as a broad flange back of the meatus audito rius is conspicuous when the skull is viewed fk'om above, whereas in the skull of M. martesj held in the same position, the terminations of this crest are almost hidden by the bulge of the brain-box. The bony palate is more narrowly and deeply emarginate behind. The bullie anditoriiB are relatively smaller and flatter; the meatus is absolutely smaller. Some other minor points might be established. I observe no noteworthy dental peculiarities, aside from superior size of the teeth. This skull exceeds in length the large fossil one mentioned by Prof. Baird from the Bone Cave of Pennsylvania, which is little over 4 inches long. Several New York skulls are less than 4 inches in length by little over 2 in greatest breadth. One skull, of a very old animal, in which the sutures are all obliterated, is remarkably massive, and broad for its length, measuring only just 4 inches long by full 2.40 in breadth. This series of skulls, like others in this group, shows that the (character of the sagittal crest, or elevation, is wholly transi- tory ; in old specimens, the crest is a thin laminar ridge, while in others there is a median longitudinal elevation half an inch or more in width. The lambdoidal crest is subject to the same luodiflcations. The constriction of the skull back of the supra- orbital processes also increases with age. Vcrtebrfp :—c. 7, d. 14, 1. 6, s. 3, cd. 20 or 21 (Oerrard). Knee- laud {he. suprii cit.) gives the caudals u. 20; the rest of his formula agrees with Gerrard^s. Of the 14 ribs, he gives 10 as apparently " true " (sternal). The Pekan is much the largest of the genus, and indeed of the whole Weasel kind (subfamily Muntelhuv), excepting only the Wolverene and (Irison. In size, as In some other points of form, vigor, and ferocity, it approaches the Wolverene, and is obviously the connecting link between Muatela and Oulo. It has no immediate representative in the Old World. 5 M 66 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^G. GENERAL HISTORY, HABITS, AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBU- TION OF THE SPECIES. As this species is confined to North' America, and as it pre- sents marked zoological characters, its written history is less extensive and less involved than that of animals which have a circumpoiar distribution in both the Old and New World. In tracing up this matter, we go back to the works of Bn£fon, Brisson, and Pennant, all of whom appear to have described the animal from the same specimen — one in the cabinet of M. Aubry at Paris. It is the Pekan of Bnffon, 1765, and the Fisher of Pennant, Syn. Qaad. 1771. Pennant's account of his Fisher is unmistakable ; but he describes, in addition, the Pekan of Bnffon, not recognizing in it the same species. These two accounts furnished for many years the bases of all the sci- entific binomial names imposed by various authors. The Mus- tela canadensis of Schreber, 1777, is the Pekan of Bnffon ; the M. pennantii of Erxleben, 1777, and M. melanorhyncha of Bod- daert, 1784, are the Fisher of Pennant. This is perfectly plain ; but a question of priority arises between the names pennantii Erxl. and canadensis Schreb., owing to some uncertainty of actual date of publication of the works of Erxleben and Schreber, since the supposed earlier author quotes the other in various places. Judging, however, by the printed dates of publication, as the proper means of arbitration, pennantii of Erxlelta takes precedence. The question is, aowever, further complicated by the fact that Erxleben has also a Mustela cana- densis (p. 455), which Included both the Vison and Pekan of Buffon — the Mink and the Fisher; and many authors have adopted the name for the latter. But, as Prof. Baird has clearly shown, Erxleben's description of M. canadensis applies solely to the Mink, and, indeed, will take precedence over M. visony if Brisson be not quotable as an authority in binominal nomenclature. As a summary of the subject, therefore, it may be said that M. canadensis Erxl. goes to the Mink, while M. ca- nadensis Schreb. and authors sinks to a synonym of M. pennantii Erxl. In later years, various nominal species have been establisht<d upon the Pekan, none of which, however, require special dis- cussion. The name Fisher, very generally applied to this species by others as well as authors, is of uncertain origin, but probably HISTORY AND HABITS OP THE PEKAN. 67 arose from some miscoDception of its habits, or from confound- iug them with those of the Mink. The name is entirely inap- plicable, as the animal is not aquatic, does not fish, nor habitu- ally live upon fish, and it should be discarded, as likely to perpetuate the confusion and misunderstanding of which it has always to a greater or less extent been the cause. Pekan is a word of unknown,* or at least of no obvious, application, but is less objectionable, inasmuch as it does not mislead. As to the supposed piscatorial exploits of the Pekan, we find refuta- tion in some of the very earliest accounts of those who, unlike certain compilers of books, had actual knowledge of the ani- mals they recounted. Thus Bartram, who is quoted by Pen- nant, state& that " though they are not amphibious, and live on all kinds of lesser quadrupeds, they are called Fishers". Hearne states that they dislike water as much as cats do. In fact, the universal testimony of those who are best informed is that the economy of the Pekan is as nearly as possible like that of the Pine Marten, as indeed one would expect, judging by analogy. Godman, a naturalist who has perhaps not always been fully appreciated, states the case correctly in criticising the same points: — "That it will eat fish when thrown on shore there is little doubt, as almost all the carnivorous animals are delighted with such food : but we have no proof that this Marten is in the habit of fishing for itself.'' Sir John Richardson has a para- graph which may be quoted in continuation of this point, as well as for its affording further insight into the character of the species : — "The Pekan is a larger and stronger animal than any variety of the Pine Marten, but it has similar manners ; climbing trees with facility, and preying principally upon mice. It lives in the woods, preferring damp places in the vicinity of water, in which respect it differs from the Martin, which is generally found in the dryest spots of the pine forests. The Fisher is said to prey much upon frogs in the summer season; but I have been informed that its favorite food is the Canada porcu-, pine, which it kills by biting on the belly. It does not seek its food in the water, although, like the Pine-martin, it will feed upon the hoards of frozen fish laid up by the residents It brings forth, once a year, from two to four young." Doubt has been cast by Audubon upon Richardson's state- * Compare Ptan or Petan, the Asaiuiboine name of the Otter, which may possibly have become transferred with modification to the present species. m 68 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. ment that the Pekan kills the Porcupine ; bat its accuracy is attested by Mr. Oilpio in the article above quoted, who states that Porcupine quills have been found in its stomach. A modified derivation of the name Fisher is given by De Kay: — "We are informed by a person who resided many years near Lak6 Oneida, wh6re the Fisher was then common, that the name was derived from its singular fondness for the fish used to bait traps. The hunters were in the practice of soak- ing their fish over night, and it was frequently carried off by the fisher, whose well known tracks were seen in the vicinity. In Hamilton County it is still [1842] numerous and trouble- some. The hunters there have assured me that they have known a fisher to destroy twelve out of thirteen traps in a line not moi-e than fourteen miles long." The same author vontin- nes:— "The hunting season for the fisher, in the northern part of the State, commences about the tenth of October, and lasts to the middle of May, when the Airs are not so valuable. The ordinary price is $1.50 per skin; but it is not so fine, nor so highly valued as that of the sable." According to all ac- counts, the animals were formerly very abundant in the State of New York, where, however, they have latterly become re- stricted to northern mountainous and thinly settled portions. The bone caves of Pennsylvania, according to Baird, have furnished numerous remains of Pennant's Marten, among them one skull larger than some recent ones examined (but compare p. 65). The animal may be still found occasionally in the mountains north of Carlisle, in Perry County, where the liv-' ing animal figured by Audubon was procured. The distribution of the Pekan is general in wooded districts throughout the greater part of North America. As indicating approximately the southern limit of its distribution (for, like the Marten and Ermine, it is essentially a northern animal), we may refer to its occurrences in North Carolina and Tennessee, as attested by Audubon and fiachman. The parallel of 35° may be near its limit. Mr. Allen recently asce^ tained its pres- ence in Colorado. West of the Rocky Mountains it was long ago noted by Lewis and Clarke, whose accounts of the " Black Fox " are checked by numerous later observers, as Newberry, Cooper, and Suckley, who found it in Washington and Oregon Territories. From California, however, I have no advices, though the animal probably inhabits at least a part of that State. Dr. Newberry says it is rare in Oregon, but less so in HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE t»EKAN. 69 Washiugtou Territory. According to Dr. Suckley, it is found quite plentifully in the thickly wooded districts along the eastern, and probably also the western,. slopes of the Cascade Range, especially in the neighborhood of streams ; it also in- habits the Blue Mountains of the same region. In the eastern United States, it must not be presumed that it actually occurs now throughout its ascribed range ; for the settlement of ^be country practically restricts it to the more inaccessible or at least unfrequented wooded districts. Many years ago, as we have already seen, it had become greatly thinned out in the Middle States, and this process has been steadily progressing, until, at the present day, the Pekan is almost unknown in most of the United States east of the Mississippi. Writing in 1S53, Mr. Kennicot states it "used frequently to be seen" in Illinois in the heavy timber along Lake Michigan. In New England, according to Mr. Allen, it probably still occurs, though rarely, in the Hoosac ranges. In 18^10, Dr. Emmons reported it as occasionally found in the vicinity of Williamstown, Mass., especially in the mountainous ranges which extend through Stamford, Vt. It is stated to be rare in Canada, and not found at all in the populous districts. In Nova Scotia, according to Dr. Gilpin, it was never .very plenty, and is being rapidly exterminated, only two hundred at most being taken yearly, chiefly in the high wild region of the Cobequid Uills in Cum- berland. In British America, Sir John Richardson states that it is found as far north as Great Slave Lake, latitude 63^ ; and the specimens I have examined confirm this dispersion, ex- tending it to include Alaska also. The Pekan is stated to breed but once a year; it brings 'V)rth its young in the hollow of a tree, usually 30 or 40 feet from the ground. Two, three, and four young, but not more, so far as I have learned, are produced in a litter. It has been known to offer desperate resistance in defence of its young, as on the occasion when the individual figured by Audubon was procured. This animal, a young one, was kept in confinement for several days. ^' It was voracious, and verv spiteful, growl- ing, snarling and spitting when approached, but it did not appear to suffer much uneasiness from being held in captivity, as, like many other predacious quadrupeds, it grew fat, being better supplied with food than when it ha'l been obliged to cater for itself in the woods." Another mentioned by the same author as having been exhibited in a menagerie in 70 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 'l^'ii \m Ul H ill iPii ii limk Gharlestou, S. C, some moDths after its capture, continued sullen and spiteful, hastily swallowing its food nearly whole, and then retiring in growling humor to a dark corner of its cage. Hearne, however, has remarked that the animal is easily tamed, and shows some affection at times. When taken very young, it may become perfectly tume, and as playful as a kitten ; such was the case with a pair mentioned by Mr. B. B. Koss. The Pekan is sometimes forced, by failure of other sources of supply, to a vegetarian diet, when it feeds freely upon beech- nuts. In continuation of the history of this animal, which I have had no opportunity of studying in the living state, the following paragraphs are quoted from the authors just mentioned, as illustrative of its habits and manners: — " Pennant's Marten appears to prefer low swampy ground ; we traced one which had followed a trout stream for some dis- tance, and ascertained that it had not gone into the water. Marks were quite visible in different places where it had scratched up the snow by the side of logs and piles of timber, to seek for mice or other small quadrupeds, and we have no doubt it preys upon the Northern hare, gray rabbit, and ruffed grouse, as we observed a great many tracks of those species in the vicinity. It further appears that this animal makes an occasional meal on species which are much more closely allied to it than those just mentioned. In a letter we received from Mr. Fothergill, in which he furnishes us with notes on the habits of some of the animals existing near Lake Ontario, he informs US that ' a Fisher was shot by a hunter named Marsh, near Port Hope, who said it was up a tree, in close pursuit of a pine marten, which he also brought with it.' ... " Whilst residing in the northern part of our native State (New York), thirty-five years ago, the hunters were in the habit of bringing us two or three specimens of this Marten in the course of a winter. They obtained them by following their tracks in the snow, when the animals had been out in quest of their prey the previous night, thus tracing them to the hollow trees in which they were concealed, which they chopped down. They informed us that as a tree was falling, the Fisher would dart from the hollow, which was often fifty feet from the ground, and leap into the snow, when the dogs usually seized and killed him, although not without a hard struggle, as the Fisher was HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE PEKAN. 71 iutiuitoly more daugerous to their houuiU thau either the gray or red fox. They usually called this species the Black Fox. "A servant, on oue occasion, came to us before daylight, ask- ing us to shoot a raccoon for him, which, after having been chased by his dogs the previous night, had taken to so large a tree that he neither felt disposed to climb it nor to cut it down. On our arrival at the place, it was already light, and the dogs were barking furiously at the foot of the tree. We soon per- ceived that instead of being a raccoon, the animal was a far more rare and interesting species, a Fisher. As we were anx- ious to study its habits we did not immediately shoot, but teased it by shaking some grape vines that had crept up nearly to the top of the tree. The animal not only became thoroughly frightened, but seemed furious ; he leaped from branch to branch, showing his teeth and growling at the same time ; now and then he ran half way down the trunk of the tree, elevating his back in the manner of an angry cat, and we every moment expected to see him leap off and fall among the dogs. He was brought down after several discharges of the gun. He seemed extremely tenacious of life, and was game to the last, holding on to the nose of a dog with a dying grasp. This animal proved to be a male; the body measured twenty-five inches, and the tail, including the fur, fifteen. The servant who had traced him, informed us that he appeared to have far less speed than a fox, that he ran for ten minutes through a swamp in a straight direction, and then took to a tree. . . . " Species that are decidedly nocturnal in their habits, fre- quently may be seen moving about by day during the period when they are engaged in providing for their young. Thus the raccoon, the opossum, and all our hares, are constantly met with in spring, and early summer, in the morning and after- noon, whilst in autumn and winter they only move about by night. In the many fox hunts, in which our neighbours were from time to time engaged, not far from our residence at the north, ... we never heard of their having encountered a single Fisher in the daytime; but when they traversed the same grounds at night, in search of raccoons, it was not unusual for them to discover and capture this species. We were informed by trappers that they caught the Fisher in their traps only by night. " On several occasions we have seen the tracks of the Fisher in t'.ie snow ; they resemble those of the pine marten, but are 72 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. Ill ii imb doable their size. To judge by them, the auimal advances by short leaps in the manner qf a mink." I will supplement this account with the interesting experi- ences of Mr. B. B. Boss (as recounted I. s. c.) with this species in the Mackenzie Bi ver region :— " In this district it is not found except in the vicinity of Fort Besolution, which may be con- sidered as its northern limit. In the numerous deltas of the mouth of Slave Biver it is abundant, frequenting the large grassy marshes or prairies, for the purpose of catching mice, its principal food. In appearance it bears a strong family likeness to both the martin and the wolverene. Its general shape assimi- lates more to the former, but the head and ears have a greater similitude to those of the latter. It is named by the Ghippe- wayan Indians 'Tha cho,' or great martin. Its neck, legs and feet are stouter in proportion thau those of the martin, and its claws much stronger. lu color and size it varies greatly. Young full-furred specimens, or those born the previous spring, can scarcely be distinguished from a large martin except by a darker pelage and a less full, more pointed tail. As it advances towards old age, the color of the fur grows lighter, the long hairs become coarser, and the grayish markings are of greater extent and more conspicuous. "The largest fisher which I have seen was killed by myself on the Bivi^re de Argent, one of the channels of the mouth of Slave Biver, about 15 miles from Fort Besolution. It was fully as long as a Fulvus fox, much more muscular, and weighed 18 pounds. In the color of its f > . ^ the greyish tints preponderated, extending from half way down the back to the nose. The fur was comparatively coarse; though thick and full. The tail was long and pointed, and the whole shade of the pelage was very light and had rather a faded look. Its claws were very strong and of brown color; and as if to mark its extreme old age the teeth were a good deal worn and very much decayed. I caught it with diflBculty. For about two weeks it had been infesting my martin road, tearing down the traps and devouring the baits. . So resolved to destroy it, I made a strong wooden trap. It climbed up this, entered from above, and ate the meat. A gun was next set but with no better success, it cut the line and ran off with the bone that was tied to the end of it. As a 'dernier resort' I put a steel trap in the middle of the road, covered it careflilly, and set a bait at some distance on each side. Into this it tumbled. From the size of its footprints my ii'iiiy HISTORY AND HABITS OP THE PEKAN. 73 impression all aloug w<i8 that it was a small wolverene that was annoying me, and I was surprised to find it to be a fisher. It shewed good fight, hissed at me much like an enraged cat, bit- ing at the iron trap, and snapping at my legs. A blow ou the nose turned it over, when I completed its death by compressing the heart with my foot until it ceased to beat. The skin when stretched for drying was fully as large as a middle sized otter, and very strong, in this respect resembling that of a wolverene. t'ln their habits the fishers resemble the martins. Their food is much the same, but they do not seem to keep so gener- ally in the woods. They are not so nocturnal in their wander- ings as the foxes. An old fisher is nearly as great an infliction to a martin trapper as a wolverene. It is an exceedingly pow- erful animal for its size, and will tear down the wooden traps with ease. Its regularity in visiting them is exemplary. In cue quality it is however superior to the wolverene, which is that it leaves the sticks of the traps where they were planted : while the other beast if it can discover nothing better' to hide, will cache them some distance off. It prefers meat to fish, is not very cunning, and is caught without difficulty in the steel- trap. Fishers are caught by methods similar to those employed in fox-trapping." It may not be generally known that the Pekan successfully assaults an animal as large as the Kaccoon; indeed, that the abundance of the latter in some districts depends in a measure upon the rarity of the former. The following letter, addressed to Prof. Baird, in 1857, by Mr. Peter Keid, of Washington County, New York, sufficiently attests these facts: — "Raccoons are more numerous here now than they were at the first set- tlement of the country, or for some time subsequent. Thirty years ago they were so seldom found, that many boys 15 or IS years old had scarcely seen one. Before the increase in their numbers I once witnessed a circumstance that satisfied my mind on this score. Whilst hunting, early one winter I found the carcase of a freshly killed sheep, and by the tracks around it in the light snow perceived that a Fisher had sur- prised a Baccoon at the feast. A hard chase had ensued, the Raccoon tacking at fnll speed to avoid his pursuer, the Fisher outrunning and continually confronting his intended victim. I saw where at length the Fisher had made an assault, and where a bloody contest had evidently ensued. The Raccoon, worsted in the encounter, had again broken away, and the chase Mi 74 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. was resumed, but with dimiuinbed euergy on the part of the Rac- coon; the animal had been soon overtaken again, and a still more desperate encounter had taken place. The Goon had failed fast, and it had at length become merely a^unning fight, when both animals had entered a swamp where it was impossible for me to trace them further; but I have no doubt the Goon was killed. 1 have witnessed similar engagements between the Mink and Muskrat, the Weasel and House Sat, always ending in the death of the assaulted. The Fisher has been nearly extinct in these parts for about twenty-five years, and this to my mind accounts for the great increase in numbers of the Baccoon.^' INTKRPOLATED MATTER RELATING TO THE EXOTIC MUSTEL^E, MM. MARTES, FOINA, AND ZIBELLINA. Before entering upon the discussion of the intimate relatiousbips of the American Sable or Pine Marten with its extralimital allies, some notice of the latter seems to be required in order to a better understanding of the in- tricate questions concerned. I accordingly present the three exotic species, with such remarks as seem called for and as I' am able to offer. The ma- terial before me indicates, with little hazard of error, that the American form is specifically distinct from both the Beech Marten and the Pine Marten of Europe. Its relationships with the Asiatic Sable seem to be closer, but these I am unable to discuss satisfactorily, owing to lack of specimens of the Asiatic animal. 3ro(«.— Much of the synonymy relatinj; to these exotic species has been rather summa- rily compiled at second hand, and should be talien with the allowance for " probable error " jrhich nsnally obtains in such cases. 1. The European Pine IVIarten. Nnstela martea. Plati III. Martn, Antiquorum.—Aldrov. Quad. Digit. 1645, 331.— Charkt. Ezercit. 1677, i^.—Wagn. Helvet latlO, 161.— <9ibb. Scots. Illust. 1684, ii. 11.— £zac2. Polon. 1721, 9^; 1736, 314.— Linn. 8. X. i. 9d ed. 1740, 44.— Jontt. Tbeatr. Quad. 1755. pL 64. Hartes sylf estrls, Oem. Quad. ISSl, 865. fig.— Jontt. Theatr. Quad. 1759, 156. Martes arb*rea, Sehwenekf. Theriotroph. 1603, 110. Maries la arborlbasi Agrie. Anim. Subter. 1614, 38. Martes abletaa, Ray, Syn. Quad. 1693, iOO.—KUin, Quad. 1751, 64.— Fleming, Br. An. 1838, 14.— BeU, Brit. Quad. 1837, 174 ; 3d ed. 1874, 317.— 6err. Cat. Bones. Br. Mas. 1863, 90.— Oratf, List Mamm. Br. Mus. 1843, 63; P. Z. S. 1865, 104 ; Cat Cam. Br. Mas. 1869, 61.— FiU. yAtVLTg. SauK. i. 1861, 335, f. 67. Martes abieiHB van. nartes, ralgarls, aliaica, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, 104; Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, 83 (bat obviously not Muitela altaiea Pall., which is a Putoriua). Mnstela ftalvo nigricans, gula pallida, Linn. Fn. Suec. 1st ed. 1746; 3, no. 7 ; Syst Nat ed. 6th, 1748, 5, no. 3 —Hill, Hist. An. 175-2: 546, pi. il—Kram. Blench. An. 17.-i6, 311. EUROPEAN PINE MARTEN, MUSTELA MARTES. 75 MnnteU marles, BrUii. Quad. 17M, '247, no. 9.—L. Pn. 8u«o. 9d ed. 1761, 6, no. IS ; S. N., lOtb ed. 1738, 46, DO. 9; 1. 1766, 67, no. 6.— JftUL Zool. Dan. Prod. 1776, 3, no. li.—ErxL Syit. ■ 1777, 439, no. i.—Sohrtb. S<iai{. ill. 1778. 479, pi. VM.—Zimm. OooL Oeaoh. ti, 1760, 303, no. 107.— Mrm. Oba. Zool. 43.— WUdung. TMOh. 18U0, 94, pi. 3.— Om. S. N. L 1788, 93, no. S.—B*eh»t. TSfttnrg. Deutichl. I. , 169.— ViieM. M6m. Soc. Nat Mows. i. 1806, 949 (by bridity with oat).— 7ur(. S. N. i. 1806, iO.—Pall. ZoJig. 1. 1811, ai.—Dtim. Mamm.i. 1890, lei, no. 980 ; Ency. M^th. pi. 81, f. 4.—Fr. Cue. Mamm. 111. Uvr. 69 ; Diet. Sci. Kat. sxix. 955, Ag. X.-Qeoff. Diet. Ci»M.x.900.-£«M. Mam. 1837, 148.-i^eA. Syn. 1899, 914.— Jenyni, Brit. Vert. 1833. U.—Sitm.PUt, Arob. Naturg. 1839, 2H,—K*yt. A Bla$. Wlrb. Ear. i. 1640, m.—S«lyi-L. Fn. Belg. 1849, H.—Blainv. Compt Rend. zlv. 1849, p. 910 aeq. pis.; Oat^ogr. 1849, —.—Bark. N. Act. Leop. xsv. 1843, t60.'-8thiru, Syn. 1844, 35.— Bp. Fn. Ital. iv. t. —.—Oieb. Fn. Vorn-. Siiug. , 56 ; Odout , 33 ; SHag. 1835, 774.— «m««I, Arch. Naturg. xix. 18.53, M.—Brnndt, Bern. Wirb. Nord. Ear. RomI. 93; Beit. Kennt Siiog. Riisal. 1. 1835, pi. Iv.-Midit. 81b. Siiug. 69, pi. 9, t.—.—Sekr«nek., Reiite AmurL , M.—Blai. Wlrb. Dentacbl. 1837, 313, f. 191. 133.— JUekil, Zool. Oart ziv. 1873.457 (albino). .MuBtela HirteH var. aklrluH, L. S. x. i. 1766, 67. TiTem nanet, Shaw, o. z. i. isuo, 4id. Martes sylTStlea, IfiUi. Skand. Fn. {Uartat itylreiitriti (jesu.). NasteU VHlgarlS, OHff. Cuv. R. A. v. 18:27, 193, uo. 34». MaNer, Riding. Abbild. Tblere. 1740, pi. 19.— J/iiK. Samml. ill. , .'lU ; Nature. 1773, 967.— 2Iartent, Zool. Oart xi, 1870, p. 934 (philological).— (rerman. Martre, CharUr. Nout. France, iii. 1744, n*.—French. BaaniHarter, Hatter, Natarg. Vierf. Tb. 1737, 451.— Oennnn. Marie. BrUi. L e. BniT. Hist Nat vil. 186, pi. •a.— Bom. Diet ill. 176^. '.i'.— French. Marie coaaaae. Cur. R. A. i. 149. Marler, Houtt Nat Hiat. Dieren. ii. 1761, Vi3.—Belaic. .Vaar, Pontopp. Daa i. 1763, 610— DanUh. Marlora« Seatao. An. Quad, ii, pi. 6». (from Batton}.— Italian. FeldnaNer, J/are. Buff. Vierf. Th. Iv. I5H. Kielaarier, Oim. Maria, Jipani^A. i •■ MiN, SwedUh. Marllll,ti>«nn. Syn. Quad. 1771, 913, no. 154 ; Brit Zool. :)H. tie. Plae marten, Sweet Marlen, lellow*breasled M»ntn.-En'jlUh. Deatription of the iikuU atid teeth of M. martea. ■,. (See Plate III.) The 8kull aud teeth of M. martes may be described ia general terms to illustrate this part of the stracture of the genus, aud to serve as a standard of comparison for the other closely related species. The points in which they specially differ from that of Pntoriua are elsewhere summed. The skull indicates considerable strength, particularly in the rostral portions, where it is massive (still it is not so strong reliitively as in either Gtilo or Putorim); the cranial part is thinner, and usually gives indication of the cerebral folds within. Most of the sutures are early obliterated ; those of the nasals, bullte anditoriaR, and zygomatic processes of squamosal and malar are the last to disappear. The nasals persist separate from each other long after they fuse with the maxillaries. The zygomatic width of the skull is more thau half its length ; these arches are upright, but are borne well away from the skull by the outward obliquity of their roots, both fore and aft. From an egg-shape cerebral part, the skull tapers to a decided postorbital constriction ; this is approxi- mately of the same (more or le^^s) width as the rostral part. The cerebral part is rather broader than high. Tbn upper profile of the skull is slightly IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ ^ / O u. 1.0 1^ li£ ill 2.2 w ij^ IIIIIk l.i 1.4 III ,,6 1.25 0> ^ /: y /^ i ji'l I' il Uh 76 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. convex, sloping more rapidly down behind, with a frontal concavity and oblique nasal orifice. The roof of the brain-box is convex in every direction ; a temporal "fossa" being only indicated by the ridges (sagittal and lamb- doidal), which indiciite the extent of the temporal muscle. The sagittal crest divaricates anteriorly to run out to each snpraorbital process; in old ani- mals, it is a thin high ridge ; in the young, a tablet of greater or less width. The occipital crest rises and flares with age, but is always a thin edge. The occipital depression below this is well marked ; the condyles are notably projecting, and connected by a sbarp ridge below the foramen magnum. The mastoids are not conspicuous. The bulhe are large, elongate, oblique, convex forward ; a slight constriction across them, and some outward pro- longation, develops a tubular meatus. Excepting the bnllse, the general floor of the skull is quite flat. The palate is completely ossified some dis- tance back of the molars, and nearly plane. A broad, deep emargination lies between the pterygoids ; these are simply laminar, vertical, and terminate in a well marked haniular process. The palatal plates of the intermaxil- laries, when not fused, are seen to be of very slight extent ; the small incisive foramina do not reach as far back as the hinder border of the canines. The orbits are pretty well defined by the curve of the zygoma and presence of supraorbital processes, but are not otherwise distinguished from the general temporal cavity. The auteorbital foramen is large, high up over the fore edge of the last premolar. The nasal orifice has a well-marked and little irregular bony parietes. The jaw has a lightly and somewhat irregularly convex inferior profile. The coronoid plate is large, erect, its apex reaching or slightly overlapping the zygomatic arch. The angle of the jaw is a slight sharp process. The con- dyle is low, about on the level of the teeth, broad from side to side, but very narrow in the opposite direction. Its reception in the glenoid fossa is close, but the articulation does not lock as in Mths or Taxidea. The single upper molar is completely tubercular, low, flat, with irregular minor elevations and depressions, much broader transversely than length- wise, subquadrate in general contour, partly divided by a slight median constriction (both vertical aud horizontal), with an inner and outer moiety, whereof the former more or less considerably exceeds the outer in length. The inner border of this inner moiety is always strongly convex, with a raised brim. In typical M. martis, the inner moiety is twice (to speak roundly) as large aa the outer. In M. anwicana, much as in foina, the disproportion is obviously less. The outer border of the outer moiety in martea iz »iniply convex ; in the other forms just mentioned it is more or les8emargi.;ate. The inner moiety shows one tubercle within the brim^ the outer has two such. The next tooth — last premolar — is the largest of all, and sectorial in char- acter, but with a prominent fang projecting inward from the anterior end. In profile, it shows a large, pointed, central cusp, flanked before and behind with a small one. There is quite an excavation between the large central and small posterior cusps. The next two molars, of nearly equal size, are much smaller than the last, but repeat its characters in diminishing degree, minus the antero-internal fang. The remaining anterior premolar is very small. It is a simple conical cusp, with a slight heel behind, but none be- fore; it occaeionally aborts. The large canines are not peculiar. The six EUROPEAN BEECH MARTEN, MUi-T£LA FOINA. 77 inoisors are closely crowded ; the ontei pair are much larger than the rest ; these are all alike. The onter are regularly curved, with an enlarged cin- gulum around the base; the others start obliquely forward from the jaw, then turn vertically downward with an appreciable angle. In the lower jaw, of the two molars the hindermost is small, circular, and completely tuberculous. The next is the largest of the under teeth, chiefly sectorial in character, but with a depressed, rimmed, tubercular, posterior moiety. This rim at each of its ends rises into a slight cusp, but the inner one is merely a slight heel to the central cusp, instead of a prominent point as in M. foina. The two main cusps of the tooth are much higher, the hinder one highest, compressed, with cutting edge, forming with each other the usual V-shape reentrance, continued further down as a closed slit. The last premolar is a conical cusp augmented posteriorly by a secondary cusp half as hi^h, and with a heel both before and behind at the base. The next premolar is like the last, but smaller, with a mere trace of the secondary cusp, though it is well heeled fore and aft. On the next premolar, the sec oudaiy cusp entirely subsides in a general gentle slope from the snmmit of the tooth to its base behind, and the front heel is not developed. The first premolar is simply a minute knob. It looks like a tooth hardly yet estab- lished, or else about to disappear. The lower canines are shorter, stouter, and mure curved than the upper. The six incisors are greatly crowded be- tween the canines, so much so that, through lack of room, one at least some- times fails to develop, leaving only five, as in more than one specimen before me. They are smaller than the upper ones, and not so regular, for one ur a pair— most frequently the middle one — on each side is crowded back out of the plane of the rest. As in the upper jaw, the onter pair of under inci- sors are the largest, and have slightly clubbed and bilobate tips. 3. The European Beech marten. ' - ■ • Uliistela folna. Plate IV. Marte!) domestlca, Getn. Quad. 1531, 865, fig.—Aldroe. Qiad. Oigit. ir>4S, JXl.—Jonst. Theatr. Quad. 1755, 156. Martes saxallllii, Sehwenckfeld, Tberiotroph. 1603, 110. Mttftes In saxis, Agric. Anim. Subter. 1614, 38. ' Maries HtgAmni, Ray, Syn. Quad. 1693, 200.— Kem. Br. An. 1828, 14. Maries saxorum, Klein, Quad. 1751, 64. Miistela foyna, BrUs. Quad. 1756, 246, no. 7.— PaH. Zoiig. R. A. i. 1811, 86. MUHteU folna, WhiU, Phil. Trans. Ulv. 1774, VJ6.—Erxl. Syst. An. 1777, i53,no. 5.— Sehreb. SKu(j. iii. 1778, 494, pi. 129.— Zimm. Geogr. Gesch. ii. 1780, 303, no. 198.— Om. S. N. i. 1788, 95, no. U.—Herm. Obs. Zool. ii.—Wildung. Tasch. filr 1800, —.—Beehat. Naturg. i. , 755.— D?«w. Mamm. 1. 1820, 182 ; Nouv. Diet. xix. 380 ; Enoy. M6th. pi. 81, f. 1. - Fr. Out). Diet. Sci. Nat. xiii. 254.—/*. Oeoff. Diet. Class, x. 209.— Ori/f. An. Kiugd. V. 1887, 193, no. 350.— J«n. Br. Vert. 1835, 11.— Selys-L. ^n. Belg. i. 1842, 9.— Keys, ct BUM. Wirb. Eur. 1840, 6T.—Sokim, Syn. Mamm. i. 1844, 336.— fitoinv. Compt. Rend. xiv. 1842, 210 seq. pl».— Witift. Odont. 33, pi. 12, f. 3 ; Sflug. 1855, ^^i.—Henlel, Arch. Naturg. xix. 1853, n.— Power, Ann. Mag. N. H. 2(1 ser. xx. 1857, 4X0.— Brandt, Bemerk. Wirb. Eur. N. E. Russl. , 24.-B«a«. Wirb. Deutsehl. 1857, 817, f. 123.— Jiiekel, Zool. Gart. xiv. 1873, 437 (albino). Tlverra folna, Shau\ Gen. Zool. i. 1800, 409. 78 NORTH AMERICAN MU8TELID.E. MHrtes rotna, Bell, Brit. Quad. 1837, 1G7 : 2d ed. 1874, WS.—Oray, List Mamm. Br. Masv 1M3, 63; P. Z. S. 1865, 108; Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, 86.— Gerr. Cat. Bones Br. Mus. 1863, yi. MosteU martes var. folna, L. S. X. i. 17C6, 67. Ma8t«la|fol8Da, Ohatin, Ana. Soi. Nat. Stb ser. xix. 1874, 97 (anat.). Foulne, Brist. op. loe. cit.—Bomare, Diet. d'H. N. ii. 1768, 232.— Bu/. Hist. Nat. vii. 161.— Out). R. A. 1. 149.— JVencft. . ,....,. ..„, FolBa< Seatag. Qnad. ii. pi. 6S.— Italian. Htelnmarder, Hall. Xatnrg. Vierf. Th. 1757, 459 —German. Nteinmarder oder Buchmariier« Meyer, Yorstell. Thiere, pi. 4.— German. Hauiwarder, Mart Bnff. Vierf. Tb, 147, pi. 61 a.—Schr. Fn. Boic. i. no. 9.— Ger.nan. Martin, Penn. Syn. Quad. 1771, 215, no. 154 ; Br. Zuiil. 38. (House, Stone, and Beech Mar- ten, Martem, Marteron, Martlett.) Fulna, Spanish. The Beech or Stone Marten, which aeema to ba well established as a species, may nsaally be distinguished from the Pine Marten by the pure white throat and some other external features, as well as by some difference in habits. But stronger characters are found in the skull and teeth. Some differences in the proportions of the skull are obvious, and sufficient to confer a recog- nizably different physiognomy ; the rostral part of the skull is much shorter. The frontal profile above is more sloping ; the zygomatic width is relatively greater. The zygoma is regularly arched throughout, instead of rising ab- ruptly behind and then sloping down gradually forward. The anterior root of the zygoma, owing to the shortness of the muzzle, is nearly half-way from the supraorbital process to the end of the skull ; it is much further back in If. martea. The palate is much shorter aud broader for its length. The back upper molar is very notably less massive ; its inner moiety is but little larger than the outer : the latter is nicked on the outer border, whereas in M. martea the inner moiety of the same is neariy cwice as large as the outer, and the border of the latter is strongly convex. In M.foina, the inner anterior fang of the last premolar is very small aud oblique ; in M. martea, it is much larger and projects inward at a right angle. The next premolar is appreciably smaller than the same tooth in M. martes. These dental peculiarities, taken from specimens before me, are confirmatory of Blasius' diagnosis. The skulls are 3.25 or less in total length by about 1.90 in greatest width ; those of if. martta are 3.50 or more in leugth, with a width scarcely greater than in M. martea. It seems a slight difference in the tigures, but the resulting mod- ification in shape is decided. Similarly, the palate of M.foina is about 1.40 in length by 0.90 in greatest width inside the teeth ; that of M. martea is 1.70 in length, with no greater width. As a practical means of appreciating these differences, let one take the jaw of M. martea, and try to fit it to a skull of M. foina, or conversely. Cautious and accurate observers, like Dau- benton and Bell, have recorded vheir doubts of the specific distinctness of the two forms; but Bell, at least, has found reason to change his opinion, while the views of many equally good judges are concurrent with thosejhere adopted. ASIATIC SABLE, MISTELA ZIBELUNA. 1\) 3. The Asiatic liable. ainstela slbelllna. MuSileU SObella, Oesn. Quad. 1551, 869.—Rzacz. Anct. Folon. 173C, 317. MUHtela zobela, Forer, AUg. Thierb. Gesner, 1609, 347. Mnstela Zibellln*, Aldrov. Quad. Digit. 1645, 335.— CAarfet. Esercit. 1677, 90.— Ray, Syn. Qasd. 16U3. 201.— Xtnn. S. X. 2d ed. 1740, 44 ; Ot.n ed. 1748, 5, no. 1.— Klein, Quad. 1751, 64 Jonst. Theatr. Qoad. 1755, 156.— Linn. S. N. lOtb ed. 1758, 46, no. 8; ISth ed. 1766, 68, no. 9.— J. O. Otn. N. C. Petrop. v. 338, pi. 6 Erxl. Syst An. 1777, 467, no. d.-Schreb. Sang, iii, 1778, 478, pi. 136.-^imm. Geogr. Gescb. ii. 1780, 303, no. 196.— Pall. Spio. Zool. xiT. 1780, 54, pi. 3, f. 3; Zoog. E. A. i. 180, 83, pi. 6.—Turi. S. S. i. 1806, 59.— 6m. S. N. i. 1788, 96, no. 9.— ifUII. Rnss. Gesch. iii. 495.— Deem. Mamm. i. 1820, 182, no. 383; Noav. Diet. xix. 382; Enoy. H6tb. pi. 83.— JV. Cue. Diet. SoL Nat. xxix. 1823, 255.— /«. Qeoff. Diet. Class, x. 210.— (?rt/. An. Kingd. y. 1897, 124, no. 351.— Leu. Man. 1827, 148.— Fi$eh. Syn. 1839, 216.— Btoind. Compt. Rend. xlv. 1848, 210 seq. plB.—Sehim, Syn. Mam. i. 1844, 336.— Gieb. SSag. 1855, 776.— Brandt, Bemerk. Wirb. N. E. Knsal. il.—Midd. Sibir. Saug. <;e, pi. i.—Sckreiusk, Reise Amarl. , 27. Mugtela martes Elbelllna, Brits. Qnad. 1756, 248, no. 9. . Viverra zlbelllna, Shaw, Gen. Zool. i. 1800, 411. Martes Zibelllna, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, 105 {"Muatela" lapgu) ; Cat. Cam. Br. Mns. 1869, 83. Mart«g zibelltna var. asiatlea, Brandt, Beit. Kennt. SSag. Rassl. 1855, 6, pll. i, ii, and pi. iii, f. 7, 8, 9 (many "subvarieties" named). Zobela, .ilj/ric. Anim. Sabter. 16U\ 39. 8ebeillna, Schef, Lappon. 1673, 34a Zobel, Strahlenb. Eur. n. Asia, 1730, 430 J. O. Om. Reise, i. 1751, Zdl.—Hall. Xaturg. Vierf. Thiere, 1757, 459.— JftiM. Natura. 1773, 272.— 5«eK. Kamtscht. 1774, 119.— Martens, Zool. Gart. xi, 1870, 254 (pbilological). Sabeldler, Houtt. Nat Hist. Dieren, ii. 1761, 9H.—Ihttch. ZIbeline, Bnflf. Hist Nat xiiL 1765, 309.— Somare, Diet iv. 1768, 650.— French. Gebelllna, Cevelllna, <S!pa/twh.— Zibellino, Kalian.— Sabbel, Swedish.— ^bol, Polish, Rus- sian. Sable, Penn. Syn. Quad. 1771, 217, no. 156 j Hist Qnad. 328, no. 201; Aret. Zool. i. 1784, 79, no. 30. {Saphilinas Pelles, sable skins, is found in Jornandes; Zombolines occurs in Marco Polo — Webster . ) Lack of specimens of this form uDfortiinately prevents me from bringing it into the discussion upon any original investigations ; the views of authors are discussed beyond. I have, however, carefully examined both skins and skalls of 31. martes, foina, and americana. Such is the variability of the pelage, that probably no decisive indications can be gathered from comparisons of the skins, however widely these may differ in extreme cases^ The skulls and teeth afford the readiest means of separating these three closely-allied forms. The following measurements of three skulls, selected as fairly expressing averages of M. martes, foina, and americana respectively, will show in what the cranial differences consist. The skull of M. foina differs more from those of both M. martes and M. americana than these latter do from each other ; but these latter are readily distinguished by their dental characters. ;:■!': Ii!f!.v lls-j 80 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. Meaiurementa of akiilh of MM. foina, martes, and Americana. Totallength Greatest width Least width (exclusive of muzzle) Distance between orbits Upper incisors from front hinder margin of palate ■Upper molars and premolars, length taken together Lower jaw, length, from apex of symphy- sis to back of condyle ' .'. . Lower jaw, height angle to top of coro- noid Front border of orbit, end of intermax- illary Width of muzzle behind canines Greatest length of zygoma Greatest width of palate insi le teeth Width across supraorbital proi^CoobS . . . . Greatest length (longitudinal) of back upper molar Width of cranium proper M. foina (Germany). Inches. 3.25 1.8S 0.80 0.65 1.55 0.95 2.05 0.90 0.95 0.68 1.50 0.85 l.dO 0.23 1.40 M. martes (Sweden), M. ameticana (Alaska). Inchet. 3.50 1.95 0.80 0.85 1.75 1.10 2.40 1.00 1.10 0.70 1.65 0.90 0.95 Inchet. 3.fi0 1.85 0.70 0.80 1.75 1.10 2.40 1.10 1.10 0.70 1.70 0.89 0.90 0.20 1.40 The indications afforded by the foregoing measurements, together with some other cranial and dental characters, may be summed in the following diagnostic paragraphs. It will be seen that most of the cranial points brought out by Prof. Baird (oj). cit. p. 155) are substantiated, but it must be borne in mind that they are matters of degree, which may not always hold, except of averages. The remarkable ditlerence iu the back upper molar, as insisted upon by Gray, is the principal character upon which to rely between morses and americatia. Comparative diagnosen. M. martes. — Inner moiety of back upper molar one-third longer thau outer moiety, and altogether about twice as large (coincidently with which the entire dentelure of martes is stronger than in the other two forms, though diflferenc38 in particular teeth are not readily expressed) ; outer border of outer moiety regularly strongly convex. Fang of last upper premolar large, transverse. Penultimate under molar with a cusp well developed at the |)ostero-internal base of the main cusp. Sides of muzzle nearly parallel. ■Supraorbital processes midway between greatest constriction of cranium and anterior root of zygoma ; the constriction moderate. Zygomatic width more than half total length of skull. M, americana. — Inner moiety of back upper m'>lar scarcely longer or larger than the outer [in 25 skulls examined] ; outer border of outer moiety double- convex, t. e., with an emargination. Fang of last premolar small, oblique. Penultimate under molar with merely a slight heel at base inside of the main cusp. Bides of mnzzlo sensibly tapering. Supraorbital processes nearer point of greatest constriction than anterior root of zygoma ; constriction great. Zygomatic width about half total length of skull. M. foina. — Molar and last upper premolar as in americana ; penultimate lower molar with prominent supplementary cusp as in martes. Sides of muz- zle sensibly tapering. Supraorbital processes much nearer point of greatest constriction than anterior root of zygoma ; constrictiou slight. Zygomatic ■width much more than half total length of skull. SYNONYMY OF MUSTELA AMERICANA. m The American Unfile or Harten. iWiiNteIn nmerfcnnn. Plate V. Mustela martes, Forst. Phil. Trans. Ixii. 1772, 372.— 7. Sab. Frankl. Jonrn. 1893,051.— ffarl. Fn. Araer. 1885, 67 (qnotes a " Mustela vison var.")— Warden, Hist. IT. 8. v. 1819, G13.— Kich. F. B. A. i. 1829, 51, no. n.—Gapp. Zoiil. Jonrn. t, 1830, 303.— Godm. Am. N.|H. i. ie.U, WO.— Emmons, Rep. Qnad. Mass. 1840, 40.— D« K. N. Y. Zool. 1. 1843, 32, pi. 11, f. 3, pi. 19. f. 2 (skull).— 4 ud. <£ Bach. Q. X. A. iii. 1853, 176, pi. 138.- Iftomp*. N.IH. Termont, 1653, 3a.—Billingi, Canad. Xat. and Geol. ii. 1857, 463.— AUen, Bnll. M. C. Z. i. 1870, 161 (critical). -£«nn. Tr. 111. State Agric. Soc. for 1853-54, 1855, 578.— AH. Bail. Ess. Inst. vl. 1874, 54, 59 (Colorado and Wyoming).- HaiZ, Canad. Nat. and Geol. vi. 1661, 395. Mlistela smerlcail*, Turton, ed. L. S. N. i. 18*i6, 60— lid. M. X. A. 1857, 152, pL 36, f. 3 (skull), pi. 37, f. 1 (sknll).— .Veic6. P. R. R. Rep. vi. If57, il.-Kneel. Proo. Bost. Soc. N. H. vi 1858, 418.— Ooop. <C Suett. N. H. W. T. 18fiO, !I9.— iJo»«, Canad. Xat. vi. 1861, 35.— Gilpin, Tr. Nov. Scot. Inat. ii. 1870, 10, 69.— Ames, Bull. Minn. Acad. Xat. Sot. 1674, 69 Coue.'i c£ rorrmc, Zool. Expl. W. 100 Merid. v. 1875, 61 (Taos, X. Td.).— Allen, Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. vol. il. no. 4, 1876, 328 (skull). Martm amerlcann, Oray, P. Z. S. 1665, 106; Cat. Cam. Br. Mua. 1869, 84. Maries americana vara, abietinoldes, baro, et leuropus, Oray, u. cc. Mnstela zibelllna var. americana, Brandt, Beit Siiag. Russl. 1855, 16, pi. 3, f. 10 (critical). Mustela Zibeiltna, Oodrn. Am. Nat. Hist. i. 1631,308 (refers to true Sable, but the Amer- ican speciea described). .Muslela VUlpina, Ra/. Am. J. Sc. i. 1819, 82 ; Phil. ilag. 1819, 411 ; Isis, 1834, 453 (Upper Missouri River) (tail whitie at end).— FiVft. Sj'u. 1829, 215. . Mustela (Hnrtes) vuiplna, /ScAtnz, Syn. Mamm. i. 1644, 337. MuStelalcuCOpuSjiTuW. Beit. 1820, 74.— Fk^c/i. Syn. 1829,216. • ' Mustela (Martes) leucopus, Schinz, Syn. Mnunu. i. 1844, 337. MartfS leucopus, Oray, List Mamm. Br. Mus. 1843, 6X—tierr. Cat. Bones Br. Mus. 1863, 91. MllStela leucopus, Qrif. Cuv. R. A. v. 1827, 126, no. 357. .Mustcia huro, F. Cuv. Diet Sci. Xat. xxix. 1823, 2,".6; Snppl. Buff. i. 1831, 321.— Jo. Geoff, Diet. Class. X. 211.— Fwcft. Syn. 1829, 217. MU8tela (Martes) huro, .Se^inz, Syn. Manim. i. 1844, .337. Mustela marllnus.Anw*, Bnll. Minn. Acad, Xat. Sci. 1874, 60. Martin or Marten, Pine Marten, American Sable, of American writers. Wawpeestau, Wawbeechlns, Wappanvw, Indian (Richardson). . Description and disctiHsion of the species.* This animal is about the size of a large House Gat, though standing much lower on account of the shortness of the legs. The length of the head and body is about a foot and a half, more or less ; the tail with the bairs is a foot long or less ; the tail-vertebr{B are less than half as long as the head and body. The tail is very full and bushy, particularly toward the end, the reverse of the tapering pointed shape which obtains in if. pennanti. The longer hairs of the tail at and near the end measure aboat 3 inches. The head is quite broadly triangular, or rather conical, with the contraction of the muzzle beginning. * Prepared from nutnerous specimens in the Smithsonian Institution. 6m NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. I :;i:i K ;v i^'i m at the site of the eyes. These are oblique, and situated about over the angle of the mouth, midway between the snout and the ears. The latter are quite high, somewhat pointed, though obtusely so, but not regularly orbicular as in M.pennanti; their height above the notch is rather greater than their width at base; they are closely hairy ou both sides. The longest whiskers reach to the back of the ears ; there are other bristles over the eyes, on the cheeks, and chin. The end of the snout is defi- nitely naked in T-shaped area, as usual in this genus. The liuibs are short and stout ; the feet appear small in comparison with the calibre of the legs. The outstretched hind legs reach more than half- way to the end of the tail. The soles are ordi- narily densely furred, only the ends of the pale-colored claws appearing. But in the frequent specimens observed with scant- haired soles, the tubercles may be distinctly seen, without part- ing the fur ; they have the ordiuary disposition. The pelage is long and extremely soft and full. It consists of three kinds of fur. The first is very short, soft, and wool- like, immediately iuvesting the skin, as may be seen upon pluck- ing away both kinds of the longer hairs. The second is soft and kinky, like the first, but very much longer, coming to the general surface of the pelt. The third is the fewer, still longer, glossy hairs, bristly to the roots. It is almost impossible to describe the colors of the Pine Marten, except in general terms, without going into the de- tails of the endless diversities occasioned by age, sex, season, or other incidents. The animal is " brown", of a shade from orange or tawny to quite blackish ; the tail and feet are ordi- narily the darkest ; the head lightest, often quite whitish ; the ears are usually rimmed with whitish ; on the throat, there is usually a large tawny-yellowish or orange-brown patch, from the chin to the fore legs, sometimes entire, sometimes broken into a number of smaller, irregular blotches, sometimes want- ing, sometimes prolonged on the whole under surface, when the animal is bicolor, like a Stoat in summer. The general " brown " has a grayish cast, as far as the under fur is con- cerned, and is overlaid with rich lustrous blackish-brown in places where the long bristly hairs prevail. The claws are whitish; the naked nose-pad and whiskers are black. The tail occasionally shows interspersed white hairs, or a white tip. Upon this subject, I cannot do better than quote again from DESCRIPTION OF MUSTELA AMERICANA. 83 the article of Mr. B. R. Ross, who describes the Marten from long experience of its variations : — " The winter fur of this species is full and soft, about an inch and a half deep, with a number of coiirse black hairs interspersed. The tail is densely covered with two kinds of hair, similar to those of the back but coarser. The hairs on the top are longest, measuring 2^ inches, and giving the end a very bushy appearance. The fur is in fullcoat from about the end of October until the beginning of May, according to locality. When in such condition the cuticle [sic, meaning skin viewed from inside] is white, clean, and very thin. From the latter of these dates the skin acquires a darker hue, which increases until the hair is renewed, and then gradually lightens until the approach of winter, the fur remaining good for some time before and after these changes. When casting its hair the animal has far from a pleasing appearance, as the under fur falls off leaving a shabby covering of the long coarser hairs, which have then assumed a rusty tint. The tail changes later than any other part, and is still bushy in some miserable look- ing summer specimens now lying before me. After the fall of these long hairs, and towards the end of summer, a fine short fur pushes up. When in this state the pelage is very pretty and bears a strong resemblance to a dark mink in its winter coat. It gradually lengthens and thickens as winter approaches, and may be considered prime after the first fall of snow. " It is difficult to describe the color of the martin fur accu- rately. In a large heap of skins (upwards of fifty) which I have just examined minutely there exists a great variety of shades darkening from the rarer of yellowish-white and bright orange, into various shades, of orange brown, some of which are very dark. However, the general tint may with propriety be termed an orange brown, considerably clouded with black on the back and belly, and exhibiting on the flanks and throat more of an orange tint. The legs and paws as well as the top of the tail are nearly pure black. The claws are white and sharp. The ears are invariably edged with a yellowish white, and the cheeks are generally of the same hue. The forehead is of a light brownish gray, darkening tdwards the nose, but in some specimens it is nearly as dark as the body. The yellowish marking under the throat, (considered as a specific distinction of the pine martins) is in some well defined and of 84 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. m : il; K?''t'' ■ m pi I an orauge tint, while in others it ia almost perfectly white. It also varies much in extent, reaching to the fore legs on some occasions. At other times it consists merely of a few spots, while in a third of the specimens under consideration it is entirely wantiny. "After minutely comparing these skins with Prof. Baird's and Dr. Brandt's description of the martins, and the latter gentleman's paper on the sables, I find that the M. Americana of this district agrees in general more closely with the latter, and am therefore disposed to coincide with that gentleman in his opinion that they are only varieties. The martins of this district bear a greater resemblance to the sables of Eastern Siberia than to the martins of Europe, holding, as it may be with propriety said, an intermediate position. I am also in- clined to believe that the various colors found in these regions are simply varieties of the same species, and that the diftier- ences if any, seen in the Zib. [sic, lege sibelWm] are merely continental. In summer, when the long hairs have fallen off, the pelage of this animal is darker than in winter. The fore- head changes greatly, becoming as deeply colored as any other part of the body, which is of an exceedingly dark brown tint on the back, belly and legs. The yellow throat-markings are much more distinct at this season, but vary much both in color and extent, though in only one summer skin are they abso- lutely wanting. The white edging on and around the ears still remains, but the cheeks assume a grayer tint. The tail is not so full, but from the high North latitude (the Arctic coast) from which these skins were procured it is still rather bushy. One of the specimens has the dark hairs laid on in thin longi- tudinal stripes, causing a curious appearance." The last paragraph brings us directly to the cousideratiou of the position which the American Marten holds among its congeners. Upon this vexed question it is incumbent upon me to review the testimony for and against the specific dis- tinction of this animal from the Old World Pine Marten and Sable, and to state clearly the grounds upon which my own conclusions rest. Passing over some earlier accounts, which, owing to inadequacy or lack of point, are entirely superseded by later and better investigations, we may examine four au- thors who have made the subject a matter oi special examina- tion, namely, Gray, Brandt, Baird, and Allen. In the first place, M. foina may be thrown entirely out of RELATIONSHIPS OF MU8TELA AMERICANA. 85 the questiou. It is dow almost universally admitted to be a distinct species, even by the most cautious and conservative writers, some among whom, like Bell, were formerly inclined to the contrary opinion. Some external characters, more or less obvious and constant, like the white gular patch, are correlated with perfectly definite and satisfactory cranial and dental peculiarities, as elsewhere detailed in this paper. In discussing the European and American Pine Martens, to which I will now direct attention, Gray, Brandt, and Baird were agreed upon specific distinction. Allen dissented from such view, reviving the case as presented by Richardson, Audubon, and others. Dr. Gray made the separation entirely upon the character of the posterior upper molar. Dr. Brandt elaborately detailed external characters of size, proportion, color, and char- acter of pelage. Baird adduced certain cranial and dental as well as external features. Allen confined himself to ezternal points. Finding that the accounts of authors are unsatisfac- tory or conflicting in these respects (as may be truly said to be the case), observing the great admitted range of variation, and not examining the skulls and teeth, he disallowed specific valid- ity. I myself, with ample material before me, do not find suffi- cient grotinds derived from examination of the skins alone for admitting the specific distinction of M. americana and martes (but it is otherwise when the skull and teeth are considered). Some of the alleged distinctions obviously fail. Thus, there is no difference in the furring of the soles (cf. Baird, oj). cu. p. 154) ; in the animal from either country, the pads may be ex- posed or concealed according to season or locality. Many of the minute points of coloration adduced by Brandt cannot be verified, and, indeed, are negatived in the examination of suffi- cient series of specimens. Prof. Baird has, I think, most perti- nently summed the case in the following terms {I. c): — "The Swedish specimens are much larger, although the skulls appear to indicate the same age. The fur is harsher and coarser, and the prevailing tints paler ; the tail and feet are not very dark brown, instead of being almost black. The color of the fur at base lis lighter. The throat-patch does not touch the fore legs. The tails of the European specimens appear longer in propor- tion to the boily . . . . " This greater length of the tail is also attested by Brandt, who says that the tail-vertebife in M. martes equal one half or more of the length of head and body, and extend nearly one-third beyond the outstretched '< J 86 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. hind legs. This distinction is confirmed, as an average char- acter, by the specimens before me, thongh, like other matters of mere degree, it is subject to some uncertainty of determina- tion. I similarly endorse, on the whole, a lighter, grayer, more uniform coloration of .V. martes, although in the interminable variations of M. amcrivana probably no infallible distinctions can be substantiated. But all these points have a certain value when correlated, as they should be, with the cranial and dental peculiarities. These are decided, and, I think, not open to reasonable question as atfording good specific characters. Baird has tabulated most of them, and the specimens I have examined confirm nearly all the distinctions he has sought to establish. While he has not, as asserted by Gray, overlooked certain dental peculiarities, he has perhaps not laid the stress upon them which is warranted. Gray rests secure, I think, in basing the primary distinction upon the remarkable features presented by the tick upper molar. We may bring the points to mind by saying that in M. martes we find an hourglass- shaped tooth with one bulb (the inner) very much larger than the other ; while in M, americctna there is less median constric- tion, nearly an equality in size of the two bulbs, and an emar- giuate instead of simply convex exterior contour of the outer bulb. There are coordinated dental characters : the last upper premolar in M. martes has a strong, directly transverse. Inner fang; t'uv. same in M. amcricana is smaller and oblique. The penultimate lower molar in M. martes develops a compara- tively strong supplementary cusp at the base on the inner side of the main cusp, represented in M. americana merely by a slight heel. It is to these dental characters that I primarily refer in predicating, as I do, specific validity of ilf. americana. I coordinate them with the cranial characters elsewhere de- tailed, and supplement them with the less essential external features already noted, in coming to the conclusion that the American is not the Pine Marten of Europe. The question then narrows to the characters cf ilf. amcricana in comparison with those of M. zibellina, the true "Eussian" Sable. Gray separate? .j two upon dental peculiarities; the Sable having, according to his determination, the same dental characters as M. martes. I regret that I have not been able to verify this. If it indeed holds, it would be sufficient to settle the issue between M. zibellina and M. americana, whatever might then become of the ascribed and supposed differences RELATIONSHIPS OP MUSTELA AMERICANA. 87 between the former of these and ^1/. martes. Viewing the un- questionably close relations between the American and Asiatic Sables, it becomes very desirable to clear up this point. With- out reference to dental or cranial characters, Baird says that ''the' true Sable is readily distinguishable by the short tail, which does not extend as far as the end of the outstretched hind feet, and by the bfills of the toes covered entirely with woolly fur ". The latter distinction does not hold, as we have seen; the former is disallowed by Brandt, who finds that in both the Asiatic and American Sable the tail has much the same length, being, without the hairs, about one-third the body, and not reaching as far as the outstretched hind feet. Certain supposed color distinctions which Brandt found in the Ameri- can specimens he examined are clearly negatived by the more extensive series before me. He, however, finds in the Ameri- can animal a pelage less dense and lighter-colored, with a less bushy tail, and, upon such considerations, is induced to regard it rather as a variety of the zihellina than as a distinct species or as the Pine Marten of Europe. The very close relationships of the American and Asiatic Sables are unquestionable. Brandt properly alludes to intermediate specimens he had seen ; Mr. Ross reaflflrms such a state of the case; in fine, external char- acters, when thoroughly sifted, are seen to be inadequate as a means of specific diagnosis. The case really hinges upon the validity of the dental characters ascribed by Gray, of which it is seen that Brandt makes no note. If these characters hold, there is no doubt of the propriety of separating M. americana specifically ; otherwise, it must be referred to M. zihellina as a continental race, as Brandt has done. In the present state of the case, this may be consideied the proper reply to the often-asked question, have we the true Sable in America ? The animal is, to all external appearance, indis- tinguishable except in some of those slight points of pelage which, through the whims of fashion, affect its commercial value, but there may be a technical zoological character of im- portance in the teeth. «' ; .'.:. I will only add that I see nothing tending to give weight to a supposition that there might be more than one species or va- riety of Marten on this continent. All the endless diversity in minor points which inspection of large series reveals comes clearly within the range of individual variability as a result of climate, season, age, sex, or other incidents. : 'i i r 88 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. Meaauremenh * of thirty-four fresh Mpicimeua of Mustula amekicana. !1:' I a i!i' .. 1017 1018 1019 lOiO lOSl 10S9 1033 1035 1043 1046 1649 165e 1651 lefM 16S5 1638 1663 1863 1706 1634 1633 1636 1637 1640 1648 M34 1635 1636 1637 1628 1639 1630 1631 1639 Locality. Ynkon (November) ...do do do .. (October) ....do ..(December) , ...do do ....do do ....do do , ...do do do ..(Marcb) , ...do do Peel's River (December) ...do. do .. ...do .. . . . do . . do .. do .. do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. do .. ...do .. ...do .. — do .. ...do .. . . . . do . . — do .. . . . dn . . — do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do.. .(November) do do .do .. . (December). do do do ...(November). do do do do . , . (December) . ...(October) ... ..do ..do ..do . do . . do ..do ..do .do From tip of noae to— ^ I «' !l.6ol3. il.70;3. 11. 40 3. 1.45,3. !l. 5513. 1. 65 3. !l.60 3. |l.70i3. I. 5()'3. 1.73 3. 11.45 3. II. 43 3. 11.603. 1 1.40.'. 1. 70 3. 1. 43 3. 1. 65 3. 1. 60 3. 1.60,3. !l. 60 3. 1.60 3. 1.40 3. ; 1.45 2. 11.60 3. ;i.6.i:i. 1.35 3. 11.60 3. 'l.fi0 3. jl. 60 3. 11.60 3. 11.60 3. '1. tin 3. 1.50 3. {1.40 3. 18 00 4. 40 00i4.3U| 6013. 80 60'3. 43; 6OI3. 60 90|3. i»5 90';». 95 75|3. 90 65'3. 60 I0|4.05i 60':i. 50' fO 3. 30| 90 :}. 85 70|3. 45 M 4. 10 503. 55 00,3. 95I 90 3. 85! 90 3. 90; Oii:i. m| h5 .1. 73 50 3. 50; 60 A. 60t 80 3. >>0' 10 4. 10| .-10 3. 80 90 3. 851 30 4. 00 95 3. 95i 75 3. 85! 10 4. OOJ 90 :). 80! 80 3. 85i 70 3. 50; 18.50 18.75 13.60 16.00 16.30 18.23 17.50 19.30 16.60 18.70 16.00 16.70 17. 75 15.50 18.30 16. 30 Tail to end of— a » 7.60 8.301 8.25! 6.30! 7.30 8.35! 8.00' 8.50 7.10' 7.80i 6.50 6.60' 8.00i 6.50 7.85! 7.15! 17. 60i7. 20 18. 30 8. 00! 18. 40 7. 80i 17. 4017. 90! 17. 40 7. 30 16. OOI7. 00' 16.501 7. 25 17. 907. 90! 18. 30:7. 80 17. 00 7, 25 17. I0I7.40, 18. 00'7. 15 17. 00 7. 10 17. 60 7. 75' 17. .50 7. 30 17. 50 7. 60 17. 70 7. 35 15. 80 6. 90' 1 I 10. 00 3. 12.00 3. Length of— 9.85 9.80 10.60 11.83 11.00 IS. 00 10.40 11. 4013. 9. 80 3. 10. 50 3. 11.60 3 10. 10|3. 10. 60|3. 10. 19 3. 10. 30 3. liL 00l3. 11. 30j3. 10. 70I3. 10. 30|3. 9. 90|3. 10. 0013. 11. 1013. 10. 8013. 10. 35 3. 10. 70:3 10. 35^3. 10. 3013. 11. 05l3. 11. 10 3. 10. 70 J. 9. 85,3 9. 80 3. 35' 4. 45 40 4.30 70 3. 59 90 3.63 80 3. 80 104.30 00 4.30 104.40 50 3.6.=) 10 4. 10 65 3.80 80.3.80 30 4. 30 60 3.60 1.33 23 4. 45 1. 63 603.701.40 10 4.20 1.43 00 4.31 10 4.25 1.50 Ml 'S » 1.40 1.30 1.25 1.20 1.55 1.20 1.60 1.30 ■| a Si c 1.50 05 4. 10 10 4. 30 70 3. 70 75 3. 75 05 4. 10 15 4. 10 00 4.10 00 4.00 00 4.00 80,4. 00 00 4. 10 05 4. 20 00 4. 25 00 4.10 653.70 l.35| 1.40 1.25| 1.30i 1.50 1..53 1.60 l.SOl 1.55! 1.5.31 I.43I 1.601 1.55 1.50 1,40! Fresh. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ..do. ..do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ..do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ..do. ..do. ...do. ..do. ..do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...du. ...do. ...do. ..do. ' A» recorded by the collectors on tbe l.tbels of the spectmens. y^f 1 j;;h . 1 I;!! 1 ft 1 1 The foregoing table of careful fresh measurements satisfac- torily indicates the average lUmeusious and range of variation of this species in the higher latitudes. The female is seen to be considerably smaller than the male on an average, though the dimensions of the sexes inosculate. The range is from 15^ to over 19 in length of head and body, with an average near 17J. The tail-vertebrte range from little over C to 8^, averaging near 7 J. With the hairs, this member ranges from 9J to 12 inches, being generally about 11 inches, ijar from about 1{ to If, generally about 1 ^. Fore toot 2f to 3f , settling near 3. Hind foot 3§ to nearly 4 J, generally a little over 4. These extremes, it will be remembered, are those between the largest males and smallest females ; neither sex has so wide a range. VARIATION IN SKULLS OF MUSTELA AMERICANA. 89 OEOGBAPBICAL YARIATx 'N IN THE SKULLS OF M. AMERICANA. Mr. J. A. AUeu has recently * giveu a table of measuremeut of length and breadth of forty-six skulls of this species, prepared to show the range of geographical variation. His results are here reproduced, together with his critical commentary on the specific validity of M. amcricanu. It will be seen that he aban- dons his former t position, and endorses the distinctive charac- ters of the dentition of MM. martes, foina, and americana. The forty -six male skulls of this species, of which measuremeuts are given below, are mainly from four or five localities differing widely in lati- tude. A comparison of the average size of a considerable number from each shows a well-marked decrease in size southward. Four skulls from Peel River, the largest, and also from the most northerly locality, have an aver- age length of 3,39, and an average width of 2.0?, the extremes being 3.50 and 3.3.') in length and 2.12 and 2.02 in width. Nine skulls from the Yukon (prob- ably mostly from near Fort Yukon ) give an average length of 3.34 and an aver- age width of 1.98, the extremes being 3.55 and 3.00 in length and 2.15 and 1.73 in width. Five skulls from Fort Good Hope give jiu average length of 3.24 and an average width of 1.95, the extremes in length being 3.37 and 3.15 and in width 2.05 and 1.73. Ten skulls from the northern shore of Lake Superior average 3.14 in length and 1.76 in width, the extremes in length being 2.23 nud 3.02 and in width 1.89 and 1.65. Eight skulls from the vicinity of Um- bagog Lake, Maine (Coll. Mus. Comp. ZoiJl.), average 2.96 in length and 1.7 in width, the extremes in length being 3.10 and 2.73 and in width 1.H5 and ■ 1,50. Five skulls fi'om Northeastern New York average 3.02 in length and 1.61 in width, the extremes being in length 3.10 and 2.92 and in width 1.63 and 1.50. There is thus a gradual descent in the average length from 3.39 to 3.02, and in width from 2.07 to l.Ol. The largest and the smallest of the series are respectively 3.55 and 2.92 in length. Several fall as low as 3.00, and an equal number attain 3.50. The difference between the largest and the smallest, excluding the most extreme examples, is one-sixth of the dimen- sions of the smaller and one-seventh of the size of the larger. The sexes differ considerably in size, relatively about the same as in Piup- riiis vismi; but the above generalizations are based wholly on males, and in each case on those of practically the same age, only spticimens indicating mature or advanced age being used. The series of fully one hundred skulls of this species contained in the National Museum presents a considerable range of variation in details of structure, involving the general form of the skull, the relative size of differ- ent parts, and the dentition, especially the form and relative size of the last molar. In a former paper,t I had occasion to notice somewhat in detail the variations in color our American Martens present, and the difficulty of flnd- * Bull. IT. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, vol. ii, no. 4, pp. 328-330 (July, 1876). t Bull, Mus. Comp. Zool. Cambridge, i, pp. 161-167 lOct. 1869). t" Mammals of Massachusetts"', Bull. Mus. Comp, Znijl. vol. i, pp. 161-167 (Oct., 1869). J J 90 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID-E. ing »ny features of coloratiou that seemed to indicate more than a single American species, or that would serve to distinguish this even from the Mar- tens of the Old World. Dr. J. E. Gray, it is true, had already called atten- tion to the small size of the last molar iu the American Martens as compared with the size of the same tooth in the Old World Martens ; but, as his obser- vation was apparently based on a single American skull, and as I was at the time strongly impressed with the wide range of individual variation I had found in allied groups, even in dental characters, and also with the great frequency of Dr. Gray's characters failing to be distinctive, I was misled into supp<^Hing all the Martens might belong to a single circumpolar upecies, with several more or less strongly-marked geographical races. My friend Dr. Coues some months since kindly called my attention to the validity of Dr. Gray's alleged difference in respect to the size and form of the last molar, which I have since had opportunity of testing. This character alone, however, fails to distinguish Mmiela foina from Muntela americana, in which the last molar is alike, or so nearly so that it fails to furnish distinctive diiferences. The size and general form of the skull in the two are also the same, the shape of the skull and the form of the last upper molar failing to be diag- nostic. The second lower true molar, however, in Mustela foina presents a character (shared by all the Old World Martens) which serves to distinguish it from Muatela amerkaiia, namely, the presence of an inner cusp not found iu the latter. In Muatela Jiavigula, the last molar is relatively snwller than even in Mustela americana, and of the same form. Mustela martea differs iu its more massive dentition and in the heavier structure of the skull, but especially in the large size of the last molar and the very great development of its inner portion. Hence, while the size apd shape of the last upper molar serves to distinguish Mustela martes from Mustela americana, it fails as a valid distinction between Mustela americana and Mustela flavigula and Mustela foina. As already remarked, however, Mustela americana lacks the inner cusp of the second lower molar, which is present in the Old World Martens, or at least possesses it only in a very rudimentary condition. . , , > ' ' •,■■> ,1 , , '■ Measurements of forty-six skulls of Mustela americana. 6043 6049 eoes A04T 6044 6091 6048 6046 9090 7159 7167 7168 7164 7163 6081 6080 6063 6059 3385 Locality. ^ Ya1{0D River cf .do. .do. .do. .do. .do. .do. .do. d d" 'Kenai, Alaska | d" Fort Good Hope ; dT do I d" do I d do ' d do d Peel River d" do d do I d do .1 d Red River i d EC a 3.55 50 45 37 30 00 38 3.38 3.30 3.37 3,35 3.35 3.35 3.15 3.50 3.37 3.35 3.35 3.40 3.15 1.85 1.83 1.83 1.85 1.73 1.83 3.03 3.05 1.98 1.93 1.76 1.73 3.03 3.13 t.»4 Remarks. Imperfect. Imperfect. ....:. do. HISTORY AND HABITS OF THK MARTEN. M€((»u I emenis of forty-six «A«7fs 0/ Mustela americaxa— Continued. ' II "38 = Locality. 4670 4668 4664 4668 4666 4675 4674 4667 4672 4681 1668 1163 3819 3818 2<245 541 550 543 552 553 543 545 544 Lake Superior (north shore) . .do .do .do .do. .do. .do. .do. .do. 05 .do. d d d Wasliington Territory do do J do Essex County, New York \ d do I cT <lo i d do I d Sarauac Lake, New Toi & i d Umbagog Lake, Maine I d .do. .do. .do. .do. .do. .do. .do. d d d ■d d d d Remarks. Rather young. do. do. GENERAL HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE SPECIES. According to the foregoing consideratioos, the history of this interesting animal, one highly valuable iu an economic point of view, is to be disentangled from that of the European and Asiatic species, with which it has always been to a greater or less degree intermixed. The first specific name, so far as I have become aware, is that bestowed iu 1806 by Turtou, in an edition of the Systema datura!; if there be an earlier one, it has escaped me. This name, however, appears to have been generally overlooked, or at least unemployed, until of late years revived by Professor Baird. His usage of the term, however, has received but partial support, some of the later writers agreeing with the custom of earlier ones in referring our animal to the European Marten, from which, as I have shown, it is well distinguished. Previous to the appearance of Dr. Brandt's elaborate memoir, only one author, it seems, among those who denied its specific validity, came so near the mark as to refer it to the Asiatic Sable. This was Dr. God- man, but even he used the name under the impression that the true Sable existed in America, as well as the Pine Marten, 92 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. i^ % 1 K t 11. which he refers to as M. martes. As will be seen by reference to the list of synonyms, several nominal species have been established at the expense of the American Sable, upon slight individaal peculiarities. The earliest of these is the M. viilpina of M. Raflnesque, which represents the occasional anomaly of the tail white-tipped, as alluded to by Mr. Ross in the article already quoted. A similar condition of the feet constitutes Kuhl's M. leucopiis ; while the M. huro of F. Cuvier is appar- ently only light-colored individuals. Dr. Gray seeks to estab- lish these last two varieties, and adds another, M. abietinoides, based upon dark-colored examples, with the *' throat-spot large or broken up into small spots". But these pretended species are not such, nor even as varieties are they entitled to more than passing allusion, a? .'udicating to what extent some iudi- vidnals may depart from the usual style of coloration. Although the American animal was known in very early times, long before it received a distinctive name, having been referred alternately to the European Pine Marten and Asiatic Sable, or to both of these species, v^ry little definite informa- tion upon its range and habits was recorded for many years. Pennant, our principal early authority on the animals of the Xorth American fur countries, and the source of much subse- quent inspiration on these species, considered it the same as 31. martes, and drew its range accordingly. He states that it inhabits, in great abundance, the northern parts of America, in forests, particularly of pine and fir, nesting in the trees, bringing forth once a year from two to four young ; that itf food is principally, mice, but also includes such birds as it can catch ; that it is taken in dead-falls, and sometimes eaten by the natives. As an article of commerce in comparatively early times, we notice the sale of some 15,000 skins in one year (1743) by the Hudson's Bay Company, and the importation from Can- ada by the French into Rochelle of over 30,000. '* Once in two or three years," he adds, they " come out in great multitudes, as if their retreats were overstocked : this the hunters look on as a forerunner of great snows, and a season favorable to the chase." Such periodicity in numbers thus early noted is con- firmed by later observations. , /; Sir John Richardson has the following observations upon th(> distribution of the Sable in British America : " The Pine-martin inhabits the woody districts in the northern parts of America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in great numbers, and have HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE MARTEN. 93. been observed to be particularly abundnnt where the trees have been killed by flio but are still standing. It is very rare as Hearne has remarked, in the district lying north of Churchill Eiver, and east of Great Slave Lake, known by the n&me of Cbepewyan or Barren Lands. A similar district, on the Asiatic side of Behring's Straits, twenty-five degrees of longitude io breadth, and inhabited by the Tchutski, is described by Pen- nant as equally unfrequented by the Martin, pad for the same reason, — the want of trees. The limit of its northern range in America is like that of the woods, about the sixty-eighth degree of latitude, and it is said to be found as far south as New England. Particular races of Martins, distinguished by the fineness and dark colours of their fur, appear to inhabit certain rocky districts. The rocky and mountainous but wood^ district of the Nipigon, on the north side of Lake Superior, has long been noted for its black and valuable Martin-skins. ... Upwards of one hundred thousand skins have long been collected annu- ally in the fur countriea." But the range of the American Sable is now known to be more extended in both directions than appears from the fore- going. In some longitudes, at least, if not in all, it reaches the Arctic coast, as mentioned by Mr. B. E. Boss, and as attested by specimens I have examined. Mr. Ross states that it is found throughout the Mackenzie Eiver District, except in the Barren lands, to which it does not resort, being an arboreal animal. It occurs abundantly in Alaska, apparently throughout that vast country ; and, in short, we cannot deny it a less highly Arctic extension than that of the Asiatic Sable. Along the Pacific side of the continent, west of the Rocky Mountains, the Sable has been traced to the Yuba River of California by Dr. J. S. Newberry, who i onresents it as not uncommon in Oregon ; and Dr. George Suckl >y procured specimens in Washington Terri- tory. Mr. J. ^. /• i m found the animal in Wyoming and Colo- rado, and CO > . lert? it as common iu the last-mentioned Territory in Park County. But however far south it may extend in such longitudes, there is apparently a great stretch of treeless country in which it is not found at all. I obtained no indications of its presence in any of the unwooded portions of Dakota and Mon- tana, which I have explored with special reference to the dii"' tribution of the Mammals and Birds. It is represented as com- mon in CF^nada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador. In Kew England, according to Dr. Emmons, writing in 1840, it m 94 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 1= ! ih was uot infrequent in the pine and beech forests of Massachu- setts, and Mr. Allen states that it is still occasionally seen in the mountains of Berkshire County. It inhabits the mountain- ous regions of New York and some parts of Pennsylvania ; but in tracing its extreme southern limit in the Atlantic States, we see that it has uot been found so far south as the Pekan has. I find no indication of its occurrence in Maryland or Virginia. The southern limit, which has been set at about 40<^ north, is probably correct for this longitude, though in the mountainous regions of the West it may require to be somewhat extended. General considerations aside, its local distribution is determined primarily by the presence or absence of trees, and further affected by the settlement of the country. Being of a shy and suspicious nature, it is one of the first to disappear, among the smaller animals, with the advance of civil zation into its woody resorts. In unpeopled districts, even the vast numbers that are annually destroyed for the pelts seems to affect their abund- ance less materially than the settlement of tho country does. Notwithstanding such destruction, they abound in the northern wilds. Even in Nova Scotia, a thousand skins are said to have been exported annually within a few years, and they may justly be regarded as among the most important of the land fur-bearing animals. Eespecting their comparative scarcity at times, Mr. Boss has recorded a remarkable fact of periodical disappear- ance. " It occurs in decades," he says, " or thereabouts, with wonderful regularity, and it is quite unknown what becomes of them. They are not found dead. The failure extends through- out the Hudson's Bay Territory at the same time. And there is no tract, or region to which they can migrate where we have uot posts, or into which our hunters have not penetrated. . . . When they aie at their lowest ebb in point of numbers, they will scarcely bite at all [at the bait of the traps]. Providence appears thus to have implanted some instinct in them by which the total destruction of their race is prevented." The Sable is ordinarily captured in wooden traps of very simple construction, made on the spot. The traps are a little enclosure of stakes or brush in which the bait is placed upon a trigger, with a short upright stick supporting a log of wood; the animal is shut oflf from the bait in any but the desired direction, and the log falls upon its victim with the slightest disturbance. A line of such traps, several to the mile, often extends many miles. The bait is any kind of meat, a mouse, B!u I'i HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE MARTEN. 95 squirrel, piece of fisb, or bird's head. One of the greatest ob- stacles that the Sable huuter has to contend with in many localities is the persistent destruction of his traps by the Wol- verene and Pekan, both of which display great cunning and perseverance in following up his line to eat the bait, and even the Sables themselves which may bo captured. The exploits of these animals in this respect may be seen from the accounts elsewhere given. I have accounts from Hudson's Bay trappers ot a Sable road fifty miles long, containing 150 traps, every one of which was destroyed throughout the whole line twice — once by a Wolf, once by the Wolverene. When thirty miles of this same road wa3 given up, the remaining 40 traps were broken five or six times in succession by the latter animal. The Sable is principally trapped during the colder mouths, from October to April, when the fur is in good condition ; it is nearly valueless during the shedding in summer. Sometimes, however, bait is refused in March, and even early that month, probably with the coming on of the rutting season. The period of full furring varies both in spring and autumn, according to lati- tude, by about a month as an extreme. Notwithstanding the x^ersistent and uninterrupted destruc- tion to which the Sable is subjected, it does not appear to diminish materially in numbers in unsettled parts of the country. The periodical disappearances noted by Mr. Ross and the animal's early retreat before the inroads of population are other matters. It holds its own partly in consequence of its shyness, which keeps it away from the abodes of men, and partly because it is so prolific; it brings forth six or eight young at a litter. Its home is sometimes a den under ground or be- neath rocks, but ofteuer the hollow of a tree; it is said to fre- quently take forcible possession of a Squirrel's nest, driving off or devouring the rightful proprietor. Though frequently called Pine Marten, like its European relative, it does not appear to be particularly attached to coniferous woods, though these are its abode in perhaps most cases, simply because such forests pre- vail to a great extent in the geographical areas inhabited by the Marten. The Sable is no partner iu guilt with the Mink and Stoat in invasion of the farm-yard, nor will it, indeed, designedly take up its abode in the clearing of a settler, preferring always to take its chances of food supi)ly in the recesses of the forest. Active, industrious, cunning, and predaceous withal, it finds 96 NORTH AMERICAN Ml'STELID^. ample siibsisteuce in tlie weaker Rodents, Insectivora, and birds and their eggs. It hunts on the ground for Mice, which con- stitute a large share of its sustenance, as well as for Shrews, Moles, certain reptiles, and insects. An expert climber, qaite at home in the leafy intricacies of tree tops, it pursues Squirrels, and goes birds'-nesting with success. It is said to also secure toads, frogs, lizards, and even fish. Like the Wolverene and Fekan, it sometimes makes an entrance upon the hoards of meat and fish which are cached by the natives in the higher latitudes. It is said not to reject carrion at times. It has been stated to eat various nuts and berries, as well as to be fond of honey; but we may receive such accounts with caution, viewing the very highly carnivorous character of the whole group to which the species belongs. ;.','.,v' '•:,■;-<■ ;- .:„-■„;■'.*:...;■.■■• 'w:-:- ■-•. The Sable has some of the musky odor characteristic of its family, but in very mild degree compared with the fetor of the Mink or Polecat. Hence the name " Sweet Marten ", by which its nearest European ally is known, in contradistinction from Foulimart, or " Foul Marten ", a name of the Polecat. With a general presence more pleasing than that of the spe- cies of Putorius, it combines a nature, if not less truly preda- ceous, at least less sanguinary and insatiable. It does not kill after its hunger is appeased, nor does a blind ferocity lead it to attack animals as much larger than itself as those that the Stoat assaults with success. Animals like the Eabbit and Squirrel form less of its prey than the smaller Bodents and Insectivores. In confinement, the Marten becomes in time rather gentle, however untamable it may appear at first ; it is sprightly, active, with little unpleasant odor, and altogether rather agreeable. i '^ •:w4- ' /^»if •/ liiiili! CHAPTER IV. MUSTELINiE— Continued : The Weasels. The genus PutoriiiH — Generic characters and remarks — Division of the genus into sabgenera — Analysis of the North American species — The subgenus Gale — Putmius vulgaris, the Common Weasel — Synonymy— Habitat— Spe- cific characters — General characters and relationships of the species — Geo- graphical distribution — Habits — Putoriua erminea, the Stoat or Ermine^ Synonymy — Habitat — Specilic characters — Discussion of specific charac- ters and relationships — Table of measurements — Note on the skull and teeth — Description of external cluiracters — Conditions of the change of color — General history and habits of the species — Its distribution in the Old World — Ptitorius longlmuda. the Long-tailed Weasel — Synonymy — Habitat— Specific characters — Description — Measurements — General ac- count of the speciep — Putoriut braaiUetms frenaius, the Bridled Weasel — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific characters — General account of the species. CONTINUING with the subfamily Miistelince, but passing from the genus Miistela, we reach the next genus, Pnto- m», which contains the true Weasels or Stoats (subgenus Gale), the Ferrets and Polecats (suligenus Putorius proper), the American Ferret (subgenus Cynomyonax)^ and the Minks (subgenus Lutreola). This chapter is devoted to the considera- tion of the species of the first of these sections, after presenta- tion of the characters of the genus at large. The other sec- tions are reserved for succeeding chapters. , . . The Genus PUTORIUS. (CuviER.) < MnsteU, or Msrtes, of some anthers. X Viverra «p., I<u(ra «p- of some authors. = Putorius, Ouviw, Rdgne Anim. i. 1817, and of authors generally. ■= FflBtoriUS, Keyi. d BVm. Wirbelth. Eur. 1840. > Gymnopus, Oray, Cat. Mamm. Br. Mns. 1842. > Lutreola, " Wagner ", Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, 117. (Type Mxutela lutreola L .) > Gale, "Wagner", Oray, P. Z. S. 1865, 118. > Neogale, Oray, P. Z. S. 1865, 114. (Type P. braeiliengit.) > Vlson, G^ray, P. Z. S. 1865, 115. (Type P. wiwn.) 3 -3 . C. Pm. Gknbric characters. — Dental formula: I. ^ __ M. i^ =1| =34 (one premolar above and below less than in Gu Jo and Mm- tela). Sectorial tooth of lower jaw (anterior true molar) without an inter- 7 m 97 n NORTH AX.ERICAN MUSTELID/E. mi i rl nal cusp. Aatoorbital foramen preMenting downward-forward (as in .Vjjs- tela; revertto of (hih), a mere oriticu, not canal-like, and opening over the last premolar (the opening more anterior in Giilo and Mualvia), Skull as a rule* little contracted at tbe middle ; the rostral portion extremely short, stout, turgid, scarcely tapering, and much more vertically truncated than in Giilo or Mustrla; frontal protilo convex, and usually more nearly horizontal than in Galo or Mu»tela. Nasal bones widening forward from an acute base. General outline of skull in profile scarcely arched — sometimes (luite straight and horizontal in most of its length. Production of mastoids and auditory buUie and general promlneuco of pcriotic region at a minimum ; the bulhi> flatter than in Mimtela or Gnlo, and scarcely so constricted across as to pro- duce a tubular meatus. Zygomatic arch usually not higher behind than iu front, nowhere vertical nor developing a posterior convexity. Depth of emargination of palate little if any greater, or less than, distance thence to the molars. Skull as a whole more massive than in Mmtela, though smaller. Size medium and very small (including the smallest species of the whole family). Bo<ly cylindrical, slender, ofteu extremely so; legs verj' short; tail long, terete, uniformly bushy or very slendes and close-haired, with a terminal pencil. Ears large, orbicular. Soles commonly furry. Pelage usually close and short, whole-, or oftener, parti-colored ; turning white iu wiutor in Northern species. Progression digitigrade. Habits Indetermin- ate — terrestrial, arboreal, or aquatic. , The foregoing characters are drawn up from consideration of the European and North American forms, and may require some qualification, in ultimate details, to cover all the modifi- cations of this extensive genus, containing, as it does, several sections or groups of species, probably of subgeneric value. From Gulo or Mustela it is at once distinguished by the diiier- ent dental formula. The skull, as compared with that of its nearest ally, Mustela, differs notably in the shortness and bluntness of the muzzle, position and direction of the ante- orbital foramen, slight convexity of the upper profile, and other points noted above. There is a decided difterence in the char- acter of the auditory bullai, more readily perceived on compar- ison than described; the bulhe are^ usually less inflated — some- times quite flat, as in P. vison ; andf even when, as iu some cases, the inflation of the basal portion is not much less than in Mustela, we miss the constriction| which in the latter genus produces a well-determined tubular meatus. The skull of Fn- tortus is decidedly heavier for its size than that of Mustela, in this respect more like that of Oulo, though it is comparatively much flattened and other svise dissimilar from the latter. The name of the genus is from the ILatin putor, a stench * In some species of Putorim, however, the constriction is as great as is ever found in Muatela. ANALY&iS OF THE GENUS PUTORIUS. 99 {puteo, to stink), aa one of its synonyras, F<etorius, is from fietor^ /<eteo, of the same siguitication. The rehitiou of the Eng\i»h putri<1, fetid, &c., is obvious. The extensive genus Putorius is divisible into several well- marked sections, doubtless of aubgeneric value. Three such groups exist in North America. These may be analyzed as follows, in connection with a fourth group, Putorius proper, introduced to further elucidate the position and relations of a new subgenus I propose for the reception of the Putorius ni- yrii)es. Dirisioii of the geiiitH iuto mthgriiera. 1. tfAi.K. * — The, StoafH or ICrmhien, and Weaseh, — Skull smooth, without woll-devoloped Hagittal cro.st. Frontal profile strongly convex and decli- vous. Pterygoids with small haninlar processes, or none. Bulhe anditoritr nicked at end by orifice of the meatus. Skull moderately abruptly con- stricted near the middle; postorbital processes slight. Species of snuill and smallest size, with very slender, cylindrical, " vermiform " body, very loug neck, and tail (of variable length) slenderly terete, with terminal pencil, usually black ; pelage, including that of the tail, short and close set (the Northern species usually turning white in winter), bicolor, of uniform color above, lighter below. Ears li.ige, higlr, and orbicular. Palmar pads all separate. Toes scarcely wobbed. Habits terrestrial, and somewhat arbo- real ; not a<iuatic. Of general distribution in both hemispheres. 'i. CvNOMVONAXt (nob., subg. nov.).—Aiiivrir<in Ferret. — Skull developing sagittal crest. Frontal profile scarcely or not convex, strongly declivous. Pterygoids with slight Immular process. Bulla" auditoriie nicked by orifice of meatus. Sectorial tooth of upper jaw with its outer border nearly straight, developing no decided antero-oxtcrnal process, and the antero-internal pro- cess merely a slight spur. Skull abruptly and strongly constricted iu ad- vance of the middle, with strongly developed postorbital processes. Last molar of under jaw minute, merely a cylindrical round-topped stump, without trace of cusps or other irregularity of surface. Animal of large size, equal- ling or exceeding a large Mink, yet retaining the attenuate, elongate and cylindrical body, long neck, large suborbicular ears, slenderly terete black- tipped tail, and close short pelage of Gale. Coloration not distinctively bicolor ; legs darker than body ; peculiar facial marking. Toes not serai- palmate. Palmar pads discrete. Habits terrestrial. No seasonal change of colors. One species known, peculiar to North America. 3. Putorius I (proper). — The Ferrets or Polecats. — Skull finally develop- ing sagittal crest, and roughened muscular impressions. Frontal profile *£tym. — The Greek ya'/.i'/, a weasel. \Etym. — Greek kvuv, dog, five, mouse, uva^ (or fivof), king. — The genns Vynomys {kvuv, five) is that of the so-called " prairie-dogs", among which the species lives, and upon which it largely subsists. — Cynomyonax, "king of the prairie-dogs ". \ Etym. — See above. ':i I I 1^' :: 100 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDVE. convex, strougly doclivoua. Pterygoids developing large hi 'nnlar processes. Bullu) auditoriiD nicked by oriQce of ineatHH. Hkiill scarcely constricted near the middle, where, if anything, it is broader than rostrum ; postorbital pro- cesses poorly developed. Sectorial tootli of upper jaw as in Ciinomnonax. Back molar of lower jaw of ordinary size, circular, developing irregularities of the crown. Animals rather large, comparatively stout-bo<lied, less length- ened, with rather bushy, tapering tail, and low, orbicular ears; pcluge long and loose, instead of close-set, variegated above, or there not notably darker than below ; do not turn white in winter. Palmar pads separate. Toes not semipahnatc. Terrestrial in habits. The species confined to the Old World, 4, LuTRKOLA*. — The Minks, — Skull of adult developing sagittal crest and muscular impressions. Frontal outliue nearly straight and scarcely declivous. Pterygoids with strong hamular procoss. BuUte auditoriiu notably less inllated than in the foregoing, prolonged into a somewhat tubular meatus, not nicked at orifice. Constriction of skull and development of postorbital processes intermediate in degree between I'utorius proper and Vijnomyonax. Sectorial tooth of upper jaw with its outer border concave, owing to devel- opment of a strong antero-exterior spur, which lies out of the axis of dentition, and forms with the antero-iutorior cusp (present in all Miintelinw) a rather open V, into which the antecedent premolar fits, the antero-internal process developing to a conical cusp. Back lower molar as in I'uturius proper. Animals of large to largest size in the genus, stout-bodied, rather long and very busby tail, cylindrico-tapering ; pelage moderately loose, but thick, to resist water, very bristly and lustrous, dark-colored, unicolor or only varied with irregular white patches on under parts ; no seasonal changes of pelage. Ears very low. Feet semipnlmate, natatorial. Palmar pads with- out hairy intervals. Habits highly aquatic. Species common to both hem- ispheres. The first of these subgenera is represented in North America by several species, some of which are not clearly distinguished from their congeners of Europe, while another is specifically identical with an animal which ranges through Central into South America. The second and fourth each contain a single North American species, as far as known, the fourth having a closely allied European congener ; while the second, peculiar to Amer- ica, is the nearest analogue of the third, which has no exact American representative. The North American species of Putorius at large may be determined by the following analysis of subgeneric and specific characters: — , ,, * Etym.—" Lutreola ", " Little Otter "—diminutive form of the Latin lutra, an Otter, which the Mink much resembles. For von Marten's exposition of the word lutra in its several forms, and discussion of the philological ques- tions involved, see p. 29. ANALYSIS OP N. A. SPECIES OP PUTORIUS. 101 AnnlyxiH of Xorth Jmrricdn xpeiien nf I'litoriiig. A. (Giile.) Of HumlloHt m/.o (len>;tli of Imail and body midor 12 inches), most slender and attenuate body, and lonj^est nock. ICars conspiciiouH, orbicular. Tail (jloTidtirly terete, witli tlio tip usually (rarely in viilij((fin) black. Toes cleft. Palmar pads separate. Coloration bicolor, in distinct upper and under areas, latter not darker than former, feet not black; or, entirely white, excoptinjj black tip of tail. (Weasels, Stoats or Erniincs.) (I, Head not darker than rest of upper parts, nor variegated witli stroaki* or spots. a'. Tail pointed at end, scarcely or not black-tipped, 2 inchet* or less in length, including hairs; belly white or scarcely tinged with sulphury 1, P. vl'uiakis. //. Tail with a terminal pencil of black hairs, and over 2 inches long, including hairs. a". Belly pure sulphury-yellow; tail-vertebne 2-5 inches long, the black tip not confined to the terminal pencil. . . 2. P. kuminka. ?>". Belly tawny, satlVon or salnion-yoUow ; tail (>-7 inches long, the black tip reduced to terminal pencil. . . . :}. P. i-onoicaud.v. h. Head darker than rest of ui ^.ar parts, with light stripes or spots; belly as in h" 4. P. ijrasilikxsis fiu'.xatus. B. {Cynomiionax.) Much larger; length of head and body over It inches; body scarcely stouter, and equally close-haired, and tail very short, slenderly terete, black-tipped. Ears conspicuous, orbic- ular. Toes cleft. Palmar pads separate. Coloration not bicolor in distinct areas. (American Ferret.) Pale brown, nearly uniform, or brownish-white, scarcely darker on the back ; feet, end of tail, and broad bar across the face black. 5. P. NIGKIPES. C. {LiiQ'eohi.) Size of the last, or rather less ; body as stout or stouter. Ears low. Toes semipalmate. Palmar i^ads fused. Tail uniformly bushy. (Mink.) Dark chestnut-brown or blackish, uniform, or only varied by white patches below ; tail without differently colored tip. 6. P. VISON. The Subgenus GALE. (WAGNER.) This subgenus, which lucludes the Weasels proper and the Stoats or Ermines, comprises a large majority of the species of Putorius, widely distributed over the globe. The leading char- acters which distinguish it from its nearest allies have already been given (p. 99), together with an analysis of the four species known to inhabit North America. Further details of the skull, teeth, and external form are presented beyond, under head of G. erminea, which, as a typical member of the subgenus, may serve as a standard of comparison. We may at once, there- fore, proceed to consider the several North American species. if 102 NORTU AMERICAN MUSTELID/E. 1^ I fl The IVeaMel. Piitoriiis (Onle) Tiilgrnris. Plate VI, Fios. 2, 4. • («. Old World reforeneet.) Mustela, Vitriorum {"Oem. Quad. 1551, 851, f. —.—Sc/iiwnriltA Tlieriotroph. 1603, 116.— Ohai-M. Exercit. 1677, iO.—Rzncz. Polou. 1721, 235"). Mustela vulijaris, Aldfov. Qnad. Digit. 1645, -im.-Sm. Scot. Illust. ii. Ifiell, W.—Kay, Syn. 16!»3, 195— i. ,S. N. eii*. 2(l-5tli, 1740-47, H.—Kb'ln, Quad. 1751, &i.—Jomt. Thoatr. 1755, 152, pi. 04.— B)-M«. Quad. 1756, 241, no. l.—Ei'xl. Syst. Auiin. 1777, 471, uo. 12 (syiion. iiiHcb mixed with that of other species).- .S'eftrWi. Siiug. lii. 1778.— Om. S. N. i. 1788, 99.— Jifchst. Xttturg. 1. , 612.— Ihirt. S. N. i. 1806, 61.— Dc«m. Marani. i. 1820, 179, no. 275; Nouv. Diet. xix. 372; KQcy. Meth. pi. 84,f. l.—Fr. Our. Diet Sci. Xat. xxix.1823, 251, no. 7.— /». Oeof. Diet. Class. x.SKJ.- tcM. Man. 1827,146.— Fwo/i. Syn. 1829, 2'i3.—Fl<'m.lir. An. 1828, 13— J(!«. IJr. Vert. 1835, 12.— B. H, Br. (,>nad. 1837, Ml ; 2d ed. 1874, 182, f. — .— Seljfs-L. ¥u. Belg. 1842, 10.— Griiy, List Mainiu. Br. Mus. 1843, Gb.-Oirh. Siiug. 1855, lS2.—FiU. Natiirg. Siiiis. i. 1861, 335, f. 69.— rrcrr. Cat. Br. Mas. 1862, 'Si.—Farwick, Zool. <iart. xiv. 1873, 17 (alhino). Muslela vultturlst a. «i><itlvii, P. nivalis, Om. S. K. i, 1788, 99, nos. 11 a, 11 b. VIverra vulgaris, Shmr, G. Z. i, 1800, 4iO, pi. 98, upper tig. Mustela (liale) viilKaris, ScAiHz.Syu.M.imm.i. 1844,344. -0;ai/.P. Z.S. 1865, 113; Cat. Carn. Br. Mus. 1869, 90. Putorlus vulgarlii. Griff. An. Kinjid. v. 1827, 121, no. 344 (but not same name on p. 120, no. •Xid).—Hrandt. Wirb. Eur. N. E. Russl. , 26. FflBtorliis vulKariN. Keys, dr Jilai. Wirb. Eur. 1840, 69, no. 14~.— Bins. Wirb. Deutschl. 1857, 'iZl.-Jiickel, Zool. Gart. xiv. 1873, 459 (albino). MllsteiA llivall!*, Linn. Fn. Suec. 2d ed. 1701, 7, no. 18; S. N. i. 1766, 69, no. 11.— Miill. Zool. Prod. 1776, 3, no. 15.—Frxl. Syst. An. 1777, 476, no. U.—Schreb. Siiup. iii. 1778, pi. 138.— Jl,ll. Kon. Vet. Akad. StncVh. vi. 1785, 212, no. 9, pi. l.—Lese. Man. 1827, 146. Mustfia Kale, I'nU. Zoo;;. K.-A. i. 1831, 94, no. 32. BtMtQ, liries. op. e,^ loc. eit.—liuf. Uiat. Nat. vii. 225, pi. 29, f. l.—J5omn/c, Diet. 1. 1768, 2G-i.— French.— Marcot, Marrolle, French. roilimoil Weescl, Venn. Syu. (Jiiad. 1771, 212, no. J51 ; IJrit. Zool. 1. , 95, pi. 7, 1". It.— Shaw, op. loc. cif.— Weasel or MecSf I, Knglish. Srheeiiwlescl, Miill. Natnrs. i. 17;o,276 (= Jf. nivalis). WIesel, Kleine WIeael, German (il. r. Martens, Zool. Gart. xi. 1870, p. 276, philological).— We/el, JM(iie.—\«isv\, Laskatt, /^hhi*;!.— Sneemuus, Danish (white).— Snbmus, Swedish (white).- BalluUula, //aitan.— I'oiuadreja, Spanish. (ft. American references.) .Muslela nivalis, Font. Phil. Tr. Ixii. 1772, 373. Mustela vulgaris, iTf/c!. Fn. Amer. i. 1825, ai.— Maxim. Keisc, ii. If 41, QS.-Thomps. N. 11. Verm. 1853, •M.—Uall, Canad. Nat. and Geol. vi. 1861, 295. Mustela (Piiloriiis) vulgaris, Kick. F. B.-A. 1. 1839, 45. Pulorius vulgaris, Emm. Hep. Quad. Mass. 1840, 44.— J^;;.Pr. Bost.Soc. xiii. 1869, 183; Bull. M. C. Z. i. 1870, 167. Miistela (Uale) vulKaris raramerlcana. Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, 113; Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, 91. MllStela pusllla, De K. N. Y. Zoiil. i. 1842, 34, pi. 14, f. l.—Jleesley, Geol. Cape May, 1857, 137. PutorlUS |)U8lllU8, Aud. cfi Uach. Q. N. A. ii. 1851, 100, pi. 64.— M. M. N. A. 1857, 159.-Suckl. N. H. W. T. 1860, 92.— *(!»». Kep. Mass. Agric. for 1861 (1862), 154, pi. 1, f. 2, 4.— Maxim. Arch. Naturg. 1861, —; Verz. N. Am. Siiug. 1862, 49.— ifo»», Canad. Nat. and Geol. vi, 1861, m.—Mcrriam, Uep. U. S. Geol. Siirv. Terr. 1872, 661 (Idaho).- ^ww*. Bull. Minn. Acad. Nat. Scl. 1874, 69. Pntorlus •' f Icognani ", iJav ZoiJl. Beechey's Voy. 1839, 10* (err.). Common Weesel, Penn. Hist. (^uad. 1781, no. 193; Arct. Zoiil. i. 1784, 75, no. 2.5. Hab. — In America, tbo northern portions of tiic United States and north- ward. Enrope and Asia, northerly. CHARACTERS OF PUTORIUS VULGARIS. 103 Si'KCiFiC ciiAUACTEHS. — Very small; lougthof hoadund body (5 or 8 iuohes; of tail-vertebrm 2 inches or less ; tail-vertebne about one-fourth or less of the head and body; tail slender, cylindrical, pointed at tip, which is con- color or not obviously black ; under parts white, rarely, if ever, tinned with sulphury; coloration otherwise as in P. erminea. Caudal vertebnu 15 (Gerrard). General characters and relationships of the species. To describe the general body-colors of this animal would be to repeat, in substance, most of what is beyond said of P.erminea. I find no differences susceptible of intelligible description ex- cepting those given in the foregoing diagnosis, although, as usual in this genus, there is considerable individual variation in the shade of the mahogany-brown upper parts, in the details of the line of demarcation with the white of the under parts, and in the color of the feet, which appear to be indifferently like the back or like the belly. I do not observe, however, in any of the specimens before me, that the under parts are nota- bly tinged with sulphury yellow, as is frequently or usually the case with P. erminea. They are quite purely white. The points of this animal to which attention should be di- rected in comparison with its ally, P. erminea, are the general dimensions and the color of the tail. This member is both abso- lutely and relatively shorter than in P. erminea; it is cylin- drical, very slender, and usually terminates in a point, without the slightest bushy enlargement. In most specimens, as in all the European examples I have seen, there is no black whatever at the end of the tail ; on the contrary, the tip is frequently mixed with a few white hairs. In other specimens, however, the end of the tail is dusky, as in No. 0401, from the Yukon {Kennicott) ; while in Xo. 3310, from Oregon ( Wayne), the tip is quite blackish. The tail-vertebnu rauge from rather less than an inch in length to full two inches, if not a trifle more, though the latter dimension seems to be rarely reached ; the terminal pencil of hairs from )f to '^. According to Gerrard, there are fewer (15) caudal vertebrie than in P. erminea. Accounts of authors are surprisingly at variance in assigning dimensions to tliis animal. De Kay says in one place 12-13 inches (nose to end of tail), but this is probably a slip of the pen, for his detailed measurements amount to 8.80 for head and body and 1.80 for tail-vertebrio ; Audubon, 8 ; Bachman gave 7 inclios, the tail-vertebne 2. Baird gives ; the tail from 0.83 to 1.00; the head, 1.4.1; fore foot, 0.58; hind foot, 0.02. The 104 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. i^ I MP % f:^ smaller dimensious seem to be nearer the average. The skin from the Yukoo, above mentioued, probably well stretched, measures 7.50; tail-vertebne, 1.25; hind foot, 1.10. The Ore- gon specimen was apparently about 7 inches ; the tail 2. Two skins from British America (4411, Fort Resolution, Kennicott, and 4231, Moose Factory, Brexler) are notably smaller and shorter-tailed than any others I have seen. They are about 6 inches long, the tail-vertebrii,' an inch or less, the hind feet about 0.75.* They are also somewhat peculiar in the intensity of a liver-brown shade. With only such small and dark-colored specimeuvs as these last before us (strictly representing P. pnsUlus of Audubon and Bachman), there raightbe little difliculty in distinguishing at least an American race; but, as already indicated, such distinctions disappear on examining larger series, and consequently fail to substantiate a geographical race. Whatever minute discrep- ancies may be noted in comparing certain American with cer- tain other European examples, assuredly these do not hold throughout the series ; and, moreover, the differences inter se between animals of either continent are as great as any of those which can be detected when the animals of the two continents are compared. Thus, holding in my hands the Yukon speci- men and No. 2290, from Leeds, England, I find that I have in- contestably the same species. In size and color, these two are much more nearly identical than Nos. 2290 and 2279, the latter being also from Leeds. The Yukon animal has, indeed, a bushy tip to the tail ; but, again, the one from Moose Factory has not. A specimen from Scotland (No. 1058) has proved susceptible of overstuffing up to more than 10 inches for length of head and body ; but No. 2290 was scarcely 7 inches long. The presence of true M. vulgaris on our continent may be considered estab- lished. So that the question practically narrows to whether we have not also an additional species. This I cannot admit ; for if minute differences of the grade allowed to distinguish a supposed ^^pusillus " be taken into account, we must, to be con- sistent, also separate from this latter the specimen from Oregon,! with its longer blackish-tipped tail, and so have three North * Reliable European writers assign a length of about 8 inches of head and body, the head IJ, the tail 2. The female is usually an inch, if not more, smaller than the male. tThis furnishes a case parallel with that of Hesperomyti "boylii" and Ff. " ansterus". There is a strong local inllueuce exerted upon various animals iu this region. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF P. VULGARIS. 105 American "species" of the vulgaris type, namely, vulgaris as attested by the Yukon specimen ; '•'■pusillus ", as by the Hudson's Bay example and others ; and a nameless Oregon species. We should obviously be reduced to this dilemma in any such at- tempt to describe specimens instead of characterizing species. And in determining our species and races, it is quite sufiicient to note the minor variation^" from a common type without giv- ing the subjects of such variation a name. Nevertheless, as it is desirable to carry investigations of the characters of animals into minute particulars, the following summary is presented : — Var. 1. An animal averaging slightly less than P. vulgaris of Europe, with the end of the tail blackish, Alaska, »SjC. Var. 2. Eather smaller than the last; the tail relatively longer (vertebrje about two inches) and distinctly dusky-tipped. Ore- gon and Washington Territories. Var. 3. Very small — about six inches long; tail-vertebraj one inch or less; color darker than in P. vulgaris, but tail concolor. Hudson's Bay, &c. Geographical distribution. The area over which this species turns white in winter may be approximately deduced from the accounts of various au- thors. This is nearly coincident with what is now know^n of the American range of the animal. Mr. J. A. Allen states that it turns in northern New England, but not so far south as Massachusetts, where the change sometimes, but not always, occurs to P. erminea. Dr. De Kay denies any change in New York, though I suspect this may not hold for the northern mountainous portions of the State. According to Maximilian, the change takes place in the region he explored, as it doubt- less does in all higher latitudes. The range of the Least WeavSel extends entirely across the continent on this hemisphere ; but its north and south disper- sion are less definite, in the present state of our knowledge. To the northward, Richardson formerly limited its extension to the Saskatchewan; but my specimens, from the Yukon, Fort Resolution, and Hudson's Bay, largely extend the sup- posed range, and I infer that the animal is generally distrib- nted in British America and Alaska. Audubon's examples were from the Oatskills and Long Island; and this author alludes to others from Lake Superior. The Bed River and ii 'W 4 I ik n |i lU \i^. 106 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. Ul)i)tr Missouri regions, Oregon and Washington Territory, are other recorded localities. According to Mr. Allen, it is rather rare in Massachusetts — much more so than P. erminea. The total lack of citations of the species from Southern or even Middle districts in the United States is in evidence, though of a negative character, of the geographical distribution at pres- ent assigned. Habits. Our accounts of the habits of this animal are lamentably meagre; nor can I add to them from personal observation. De Kay says it is by no means a rare animal, but one difficult to capture; that it feeds on mice, insects, young birds, eggs, &c., and possesses all the rapacity characteristic of the tribe. Audubon repeats this, in substance, with the inference that, owing to its small size, it would not be mischievous in the poultry-house, and would scarcely venture Lv attack a full- grown Norway Eat. In this dearth of facts respecting the animal in America, we turn to other authors. One of the most particular, and at the same time interesting and apparently reliable accounts, is that given by Thomas Bell (who was evidently familiar with the animal) in the work above cited. Comparing its habits with those of the Stoat, Bell finds them considerably distinct, and believes that the accusations current against the Weasel should mostly be laid rather at the door of the Stoat. He continues: — "It is not meant to be asserted that the Weasel will not, when driven by hunger, boldly attack the stock of the poultry yard, or occasionally inak< free with a young rabbit or sleep- ing partridge ; but that its usual prey is of a much more igao- ble charactei is proven by daily observation. Mice of every description, the Field and Water Vole, rats, moles, and small birds, are their ordinary food ; and from the report of unpre- judiced observers, it would appear that this pretty animal ought rather to be fostered as a destroyer of vermin, than ex- tirpated as a noxious depredator. Above all, it should not be molested in barns, ricks or granaries, in which situations it is of great service in destroying the colonies of mice which infest them. Those only who have witnessed the multitudinous num- bers in which these little pests are found, in wheat-ricks espe- cially, and have seen the manner in which the interior is drilled, as it were, in every direction by their runs, can at HABITS OF THE WEASEL. 107 all appreciate the amoani of their depredationa ; and surely the occasional abduction of a chicken or duckling, supposing it to be even much more frequently chargeable against the Weasel than it really is, would be but a trifling set off against the benefit produced by the destruction of those swarms of little thieves. " The Weasel climbs trees with great facility, and surprises birds on the nest, sucks the eggs, or carries off the young. It lias been asserted that it attacks and destroys snakes; this, however, I believe to be entirely erroneous. I have tried the experiment by placing a Weasel and a common snake together in a large cage, in which the former had the opportunity of retiring into a small box in which it was accustomed to sleep. The mutual fear of the two animals kept them at a respectful distance from each other; the snake, however, exhibiting quite as much disposition to be the assailant, as its more formidable companion. At length the Weasel gave the snake an occa- sional slight bite on the side or on the nose, without materially iujuriug it, and evidently without any instinctive desire to feed upon it; and at length, afcer they had remained two or three hours together, in the latter part of which they appeared almost indifferent to each other's presence, I took the poor snake away and killed it. " Far different was this Weasel's conduct when a Mouse was introduced into the cage; it instantly issued from its little box, and, in a moment, one single bite on the head pierced the brain and laid the Mouse dead without a struggle or a cry. I have observed that when the Weasel sei/.os a small animal, at the instant that the fatal bite is inflicted, it throws its long lithe body over its prey, so as to secure it should the first bite fail; an accident, however, which I have never observed when a ]\rouse has been the victim. The power which the Weasel lias of bending the head at right angles with the long and flexible, though powerful neck, gives it great advantage in this mode of seizing and killing its smaller prey. It also frequently assumes this position when raising itself on its hinder legs to look around. " The disposition which has been attributed to the Weasel of sucking the blood of its prey, has, I believe, been generally much exaggerated. Some persons have positively denied the existence of such a propensity, and my own observation, as far as it goes, would tend to confirm that refutation of the com- §'• 'I' 108 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. 1 ii monly received notion. The first gripe is given on the head, the tooth in ordinary cases piercing the brain, which it is the Weasel's first act of Epicurism to eat clean from the skull. The carcase is then hidden near its haunt, to be resorted to when required, and part of it often remains until it is nearly putrid. "The Weasel pursues its prey with facility into small holes, and amongst the close and tangled herbage of coppices, thick- ets and hedge-rows. It follows the Mole and the Field Mouse in their runs ; it threads the mazes formed in the wheat- rick by the colonies of Mice which infest it, and its long flexi- ble body, its extraordinary length of neck, the closeness of its fur, and its extreme agility and quickness of movement, com- bine to adapt it to such habits, in which it is also much aided by its power of hunting by scent — a quality which it partakes in equal degree with the Sto!it. In pursuing a rat or a mouse, therefore, it not only follows it as long as it remains within sight, but continues the chase after it has disappeared, with the bead raised a little above the ground, following the exact track recently taken by its destined prey. Should it lose ihe scent, it returns to the point where it was lost, and quarters the ground with great diligence till it has recovered it ; and thus, by dint of perseverance, will ultimately hunt down a swifter and even a stronger animal than itself. But this is not all. In the pertinacity of its pursuit, it will readily take the water, and swim with great ease after its prey. " It is, however, sometimes itself the prey of hawks, but the following fact shows that violence and rapine, even when ac- companied by superior streng* h, are not always a match for the ingenuity of an inferior enemj. As a gentleman of the name of Pinder, then residing at Bloxworth in Dorsetshire, was rid- ing over his grounds, he saw, at a short distance frc u him, a kite pounce on some object on the ground, and rise with it in its talons. In a few minutes, however, the kite began to show signs of great uneasiness, rising rapidly in the air, or as quickly falling, and wheeling irregularly round, whilst it was evidently endeavoring to force some obnoxious thing from it with its feet. After a short but sharp contest, the kite fell suddenly to the earth, not far from where Mr. Pinder was intently watching the manoeuvre. He instantly rode up to the spot, when a Weasel ran away from the kite, apparently unhurt, leaving the bird dead, with a hole eaten through the skin under the wing and the large bloodvessels of the part torn through. ... SYNONYMY OF PUTORIUS ERMINEA. 109 " The female Weasel .... brings forth four, or more fre- quently five youug, and is said to have two or three litters in a year. The nest is composed of dry leaves and herbage, and is warm and dry, being usually placed in a hole in a bank, in a dry ditch, or in a hollow tree. She will defend her young with the utmost desperation against any assailant, and sacrifice her own life rather than desert them ; and even when the nest is torn up by a dog, rushing out with great fury, and fastening upon his nose or lips." The signification of the name 'Weasel \ or, as it is also some- . times written, ^WeeseV, is obscure. Webster states that he does not know the meaning, but observes that the German hciese^ is a meadow. Von Martens, as quoted on p. 26, dis- cusses the subject in its philological bearings. The name 'Weasel' in strictness should pertain to the present species, as distinguished from its various larger allies, as the Stoats and Fer- rets ; but it has come to have rather a generic application to the various species of the same immediate group. The fiitoat oi* Ei'iiiiiic. Pntorliift (Oale) ermlnea. Platk VI, Figs. 1, 3, 5, 6, 7. (a. General references.) Mus poiitlrus, quem hodle vocant nermelmn, Agric. "De Auim. Subter. 1614, 33". MUitteIn rnndlda, Sehiveackf. " Theriotroph. 1603, 118 ". .Uustela Candida In extrema caud& niKrIcans, J.{(2(oti. "Quad. Digit 1645, 310, fig ". Mustela alpina Candida, Wagn. " Hist Nat. Helvet 16d0, 180' . Mustela Candida «. animal Ermlneum recenUorum, Ray, " Syn. Qnad. 1693, 198 ". Mustela alba, itzacz. " PoIod. nai, 235 ". Mustlela caudK aplce atro, Linn. Fn. Sueo. Ist ed. 1746, 3, uo, 90. Mustela Candida «. ermlneum, Linn. Syst. Nut. eds. 6tli, 7th, 1748, 5, no. 6. Mustela armelllna, Klein, "Quad. 1751, 63 ". Mustela nivea auribus augustls, caudie aplce nigro, 27(2<, " Hist Anim 1752, 548 ". .Mustela hieme alba, testate supra rutlla Infra alba, caudie aplce nlgru. Bris$. Qaad. 1756,243. Mustela ermlnea, Linn. Mas. Adolph. Frid. Ist ed. 1754, 5 ; S. X. i. lOtli ed. 1758, 46, no. ; Fq. Suec. 2d ed. 1761, 6, na 17 ; Syst. Nat. 12tli ed. i. 1766, 68, no. 10.— ffottt. Katnurl. Hist. iii. 1761, 206, pi. 14, f. 5.— 5. O. Gmel. Reise, ii. 1770, pi. 23 {ermitieum majut).— iliill. Zool. Dan. Prod. 1776, 3, no. U.-Erxl. Syst An. 1777, 474, no. 13.— Sehreb. Siiug. iii. 1778, 496, pi. 137, A, B.—Zimm. Oeogr. Gescb. ii. 1780, 308, no. 205.— &m. S. N. i. 1768, 98, no. 10.— Herm. Obs. Zool. 45.— Beehtt. Naturg. i. , 797.— Turt. S. N. i. 1806, 61.— J'all. Zoog, B.-A. 1. 1831 , 90, no. 31 {ermineum).—De»m. Mamm. i. 1820, 180, no. 277 ; Nonv. Diet, xix, 37«| Encj-. M6th. pi. 83, f. 2, 3.—Fr. Ow«. Diet Sci. Nat xiix, 1823,250.— Is. (/eo/. Diet Class. X. 212.— ie»«. Man. 1827, HS.—Fiseh. Syn. 1829, 222.— J'ieMi. Br. . An. 1828, 13.— J'en. Br. Vert 1835, 13.— BeH, Br. Qaad. 1837, 148 ; 2d ed. 1874, 191, flg.— Srlys-L. Fn. Belg. 1843, IQ.—Gray, List Mamm. Br. Mus. 1843, 65 Sekim, Syn. Mamm. i. 1844, di'i.-Schrenek. Reise Amnrl. , 4Q.—0ieb. Saug. 1855, 781.— Gerr. Cat. Bones Br. Mus. 1863, 93.—0rUl, Zool. Gart iii. 1862, 238.— Oray, P. Z. S. 1865, 111; Cat. Carn. Br. Mus. 1869. 88. rf i' 110 NORTH AMERICAN J^USTELIDiE. I;i Mustela ermlnea n. mtl\a, h. hyberna, Qm. S. N. i. 1786, OS, nos. 10 a, lOb. VIverra ermlnea, Shaw, Uen. Zoiil. i. 1800, 426, pi. 90. PutoriUH ermlnea, Onf. An. Kliiuil v. 1827, 123, no. :UX—Owen, Br. Fobs. Mamm. , 116, f. 40, 41, 42 (skull).— Bca/idi. Wirb. Kur. N. K. KushI. , 24. FCBtorlus ermlnea, Kfj/n. <C Blag. Wirb. Kur. 1H40, OO, no. 185 Bias. Wirb. Doutschl. 1857, ^2S.— jacket, Zool. Oart. xiv. 1874, 450 (albino). ArmellnuH, Oesn. Quad. l.^Sl, 852. Hcrmvlinus, Schejf. Lappou. 1673, 343. HermellaenuH, OhatM. Exercit l(i77, 30.— /o)i«<. Thoatr. 1755, l.'JS. Hermlne, Oharlev. Nouv. France, ili. 1744, 134.— Bjim. Quad. 1756, 243, no. H.—Buf. Hist. Nat. vii. 240 ; Diet. Antra. iL iiO.— French. Hermelln, Hell. Vierf. Tliioto, 1757, 453.— A', (i. dm. Roiso, ii. 192, pi. 23, iii. 370.— /'««. Relse, 1771, 129.— JMcf. Huff. Vierf. iv. lOB, pi. 67.— .Vui/., Natursyst. i. 1773, 274, pi. 14, f. 5.— Stell. Kaintscli. 1774, Ii5.-Maiteng, Zool. Gart. xi. 1870, p. 278 (philological). Hermyn-Wczel, HotUt. Nat. Hist. Dieren, ii. 1761, 206, pt. 14, f. 5.—Belgic, Ermellino, Scatag. Anim. Quad. ii. pi. 74, H(f. from Buffou.— /fa?i«/i. Stoat, Ermine, Venn. Brit. Zoiil. , Si.—KiiglM. Roselet (summer), i'/vuc/i.- Armlilu, Armelinu, 5/>r(ui8ft.— Armellino, Italian.— lekatt, Swedish.— UrotMntay, Polwh flornostal, Itusnian. (b. American references.) a. erminca. Mustela ermlnea, Forst. Phil. Trans. Ixii. 1772, Vi'i.—lLirlan, Fn. Amer. 182.5, fa.—Oodmnn, Am. X. U. L 1831, \m.—Thompa. X. IX. Verm. 185;t, 31.— £f«H, Canad. Nat. and Geol. vi. 1861, 295. .MuHtcIa erminca mr. amcrlrana, Qray, V. Z. S. 1865, ill j Oat. ("am. Br. Mus. 1869, 89. PutoriUH ermlnea, A»d. dt Bach. Q.N. A. ii. 1851,56, pl.59.— ? Wood. Sitgr. Rep. 1853,44 (Indian Territory).— Aii. Bull. M. C. Z. i. 1870, 167 (critical).— iJi7rt«flr«, Canad. Nat. and Geol. ii. 18.57, 45,'i (biographical).- AMt'H, Pr. Bost. Soo. N. H. xiii. 1869, 183. PutorlUS noveboracensls, De Kay, Rep. N. Y. Survey, 1840, 18; N. Y. Zool. ii. 1842, 36, pi. 12, f. 2 (winter) and pi. 14, f. 2 (summer).— £/n.mo/w. Rep. Quad. Mase. 1840,45. — Bd.'M. N. A. 1857, 166, pi. 36, f. 3 (skull).— £■<;«»». Tr. 111. State Agric. Soc. 1853-4, .578.— itoox, Canad. Nat. and Geol. vi. 1861, 441.— Maxim. Ardi. f. Naturj;. 1861, iiO.— Verz. N. A. SiiuK. 1862, 44 Gitpin, Tr. Nov. Scot. Inst. ii. 1870, 1.5, 5\).—Sam. Ann. Rep.»Ma88. Agrio. tor 1861, 1862, 156, pi. 1, f. 1.— Amc», Bull. Minn. Acad. Nat. Sci. 1874, 69. (6. eicoona7ii.) Mustcia (I'utorlus) ermlnea, Tft'cA. F. B. A. i. 1829, 46. Mustela ermlnea, Thomps. N. IT. Vermouth 1853, 31. Mutitela cirognani, Bp. Charlesw. Mag. ii. 1838, 37; Fn. Ital. 1838, sub. M. buccamtla.— Wiegm. Arch. 1839, 4-23.— Gray, Cat. Mamm. Br. Mus. 195. PutoriU!^ l-tCOgnaul,£(/. M. N. A. 1857, IfH.—SuckU'y, P. R. R. Rep. xii. pt. ii. 1859, 9i.— Gilpin, Tr. Nov. Scot. Inst. ii. 1870, 13, 59.— Sciwi. Aun. Rep. :Ma8s. Agric. for 1861, 1862, pi. 1, f. 6. Mustela richardsoni, Bp. Charlesw. Mag. ii. 1838, 38 (based on Richardson).- G/a^/, P. Z. S. 1865, 112: Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, 90. PutorlUN richardsoni, liich. Zool. Beechey's Voy. 1839, 10*.— Bd. M. N. A. 1857, Idi.— Gray, Cat. Mamm. Br. Mus. 195.— Sam. Rep. Mass. Agric. for 1861, 1862, 155, pi. 1, f. 3, 5, l.—Rosn, Canad. Nat. and Geol. vi. 1861 ,441.— Gilpin, Tr. Nov. Scot. Inst. ii. 1870, 1559.— ( 1) Stev. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr. 1870, 461 (Wyoming).— A»ne«, Bull. Minn. Acad. Nat. Sci. 1874, 69. Mustela fusca, Aud. di Bach. J. A. N. S. P. viii. pt. ii. 1842, 288.— /)e Kay, N. Y. Z. i. 1842, 35 — TTaf/n. Wiegm. Arch. 1843, Bd. ii. 32. . /v. ., . >• < .Mustela (tlale) fusca, Schinz, Syn. Mamm. i. 1844, 343. .:''*" Putorlus fUSCUiS, Aud. <£• Baeh. Q. N. A. iii. 1853, 234, pi. 148. Putorlus agills, Aud. a- Back. Q. N. A. iii. 1853, 184, pi. 140.— £e»n. Tr. Illinois State Agric. Soc. for 1853-4, 1855, 578 (Illinois). Putorius kanei, Bd. M. N. A. 1857. 172 (Kamtschatka aud Siberia). Putorlus ermlnea var. kanel, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, in : Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, 89. Hab. — ArctogHiii : Europe, Asia, aad America, north to the limit of exist- CHARACTERS OF PUTORIOUS ERMINEA. ni ence of torreHtrial Maininala. In America, south to very nearly the soutberu border of the United Htateti, but no opeoiiuens seen from the Gulf States, New Mexico, Arizona, or Southern -California. Tiie range meets that of P. hraailienxin, which conducts the genus into South America. Spkcii'ic characters. — Length of head and body 8-11, of tener U-IO inches ; of tail-vertebrai 2-5 inches, averaging 3J-4, only exceptionably passing the tirst-named limits. Tail ut all seasons brushy, conspicuously black-tipped for i-jf, generally about if, its total length. In suuuner, dull mahogauy- browu above, pale sulphury-yellow below ; in winter, in most regions pure white all over except the black end of the tail, tinged in places with sul- phury-yellow. Caudal vertebrio 17 or 18 {Gerrard). Discussion of specific characters and relationships. In entering upon the subject of the Ermines, the following pricmonenda, which will be attempted to be proven in the course of the article, will assist to an appreciation of the points of the discussion : — 1. The Ermines of Europe, Asia, and America are speciti- cally identical. 2. None of the supposed characters which have been relied upon to separate them have any exi.stence in nature except as peculiarities of individual specimens examined. 3. The American Ermines are of two forms according to size alone, which in the extremes stand widely apart, but which grade insensibly into each other. 4. Within certain limits (to bo hereafter defined), length of the whole animal, length of tail, both absolutely and relatively to that of body, aiid length of the black portion, either abso- lutely or relatively to that of the tail, are utterly fallacious as a means of specific diagnosis. 5. No question of coloration, of stoutness of body, of shape of ear, of furriness of feet, of character of pelage, and the like, can enter into the question, since such details are proven fortui- tous circumstances of sex, age, season, locality, or merely normal individual variability. I have before me a considerable suite of specimens of the Ermine, taken at various seasons in Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Siberia, and Kamtschatka, together with an immense collection from all portions of North America inhabited by the animal. I may therefore set forth my conclu- sions without hesitation. The Ermine is the same animal in Europe, Asia, and America. Kespecting the various trivial and insignificant distinctions which Gray and others have sought to establish, upon obviously insufficient material and inadequate 112 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. i' »■:% H"-' !?■'' ¥W investigation, it may be stated unequivocally that they fail as bases of speciflc or even varietal separation. Not that the alleged trifling difterences do not exist ; I can find them all and others besides : but they occur equally in the specimens from all countries, are not in the least correlated with any supposed geographical limits, and are, in short, an expression merely of the normal individual variability of the animal. As perfect duplicates as I ever examined came from Alaska and Northern Europe respectively: in all those nice points of pelage, shades of color, &c., which the practiced eye recognizes, they are more exactly alike than, for example, several specimens from England and France are among themselves. Every point which has been seized upon to separate an American from the Old World animal is nullified by sufticient series of specimens. In seeking either resemblances or diflFerences in the nicer minor points, we must not look at the animals as limited by certain continental areas, nor in any way by longitude : experi- ence proves that this would be useless. A creature of thoroughly and conspicuously circumpolar distribution, extending probably as near the pole as any land Mammal, it is modified, wheu changed at all, by latitude, as expressed in the climate to which it is subjected, state of its food-supply, &c. These points are thoroughly understood in the commercial world by those whose wits are sharpened by their pecuniary interests; and it is surprising that some naturalists have failed to appreciate them. The existence in North America of the true Ermine being established, there yet remains the question whether there be not also in this country other species of the same type, for we must not hastily assume that, because we have the true Er- mine, all our other Stoats must be identical with it. Throwing out of consideration the quite different P. longi- eauda, three species have of late years been currently recog- nized. These are the P. noveboracemis of De Kay, P. richard- goni of Bonaparte (= agilis Aud. and Bach.), and P. cieognani of Bonaparte (==f uncus A. and B.). Of the first-named it may be said, simply, that it is based upon the ordinary United States animal, of dimensions exactly corresponding to an average English specimen, for instance, and not otherwise different. This may be accepted as a convenient standard of comparison for the ordinary United States animal, identical with that from corresponding latitudes in the Old World. The P. richardsoni of Bonaparte was originally a mere presumptive attempt to CHARACTERS OF PUTORIUS ERMINEA. 113 scpanito the Ermine of America, being based npon P. erminea of Kichardson, who does not hint at any supposed distinction from the Old Workl animal, and whose description and measurements indicate identity with ordinary P. erminea. Later, the name was adopted by Prof. Baird for specimens from Massa- chusetts and northward, considerably smaller than the average (8 inches), but with proportions of body and tail much as usual. ]'. iujUis of Audubon and Bachmau is obviously the same as Baird's richardsoni. Specimens from Massachusetts and north- ward, of about the same size, but shorter tail, were separated by Baird as 1*. cieognani. He compares richardsoni with cicog- nani as follows: — "This species is readily distinguished from r. cieognani by the longer tail, the vertebnc alone of which are lialf the length of the body." Measurements of the tail-vertebrjo of P. cieognani given range from 2.25 to 3.00. As a matter of fact, I find the tails to present all the several dimensions given by Baird, together with other intermediate dimensions, constituting an unbroken series from the shortest to the longest; and with additional dimensions which connect them as closely with the largest examples of " novehoraccnsis ''. It will be observed from Baird's tables that the difference among the various examples of ^^ cieognani ^^ (2.25 to 3.00 = 0.75) is about the same as that supposed to distinguish rich- ardsoni (3.00 as against 4.00). In regard to total size, the same minute gradations are before me, from specimens scarcely 8 inches long to others over 10. The points of relative lengths of the black tip, amount of white on the upper lip, &c., are wholly matters of individual variability, to be thrown out of the discussion. It may be said in brief that the xVmerican Ermines are inseparably connected by the most minute intergradations from the smallest and shortest-tailed to the opposite extreme. This fact ascertained, however, should not blind us to the equally notable fact of the existence of such differences. All the points laid down by Baird are substantiated. There are the larger and smaller Weasels, living side by side, in New York and Massachusetts, for instance — the one scarcely 8 inches long, with the tail-vertebra) under 3, and the other 11 inches, with the tail over 5. And I find the same thing to hold through- out the country to the Arctic Ocean. The P. kanei of Baird, a type of which is before me, is merely one of these smaller Ermines from Arctic regions. The author indeed says it is about the size of the P. cieognani, " which it otherwise greatly 8 m Ju '^ f ;: 4 114 NORTH AMERICAN MITSTELID.E. resenibles and represents''. The point I make is, tbat it is im- possible to draw any dividing lino between tlie extremes. Whatever character, or whatever set of characters, wo assume as definitive, is instantly negatived by sutllcient material. There is no dividing line. The differences may be relegated to the cate- gory of individual variability in size ; and as such they possess for the zoologist quite as much interest as if they were " speciffc characters". To facilitate the recognition and handling of this range of variation, I have above thrown the synonyms in two batches, assorting them as far as practicable ; though it must always be remembered that the name refers, in most cases, not to either extreme, but to various intermediates, so that exact location of the names is in the nature of the case impossible. The smaller Stoat may be recognized, by those who desire to give it a name, as P. cftninea var. vicognauL So far from there being anything remarkable or exceptional in this, it seems that a similar case occurs in Europe. Though I am not cognizant of any species based upon tins distinction in size, the specimens before me indicate the same range of variation. Thus, one from France, in winter pelage, and there- fore full-grown, is quite as small as typical cicognani; for all I can discover, it is as nearly identical with a small Massachu- setts skin as if the two had been born in the same litter.* Those engaged in investigating the points at issue here should not fail to consult, further, Mr. Allen's paper upon the subject above quoted. It will be found an admirable historical summary of the case, an acute analysis of imaginary distinc- tions, and a logical conclusion. With the exception of the case of P. longicauda, which Mr. Allen had not seen, his views are substantially the same as those 1 have since been led to adopt from my own studies, though I would lay a little more stress upon the actually existing differences thaa he was inclined to do when arguing solely figainst that absence of specific distinc- tion in which I wholly agree with him. I wish to here bring out the differences as strongly as he did the resemblances. Since the point at issue is entirely a matter of dimensions, relative and absolute, the following table of measurements is presented without comment as a fair resume of the whole question : — * " Earum inter Auierices auiiualia quoqiiu lueuiiiiit Charlevoix hist, de la Nouv. France vol. iii. p. 134. Statnra ibi paiilo minoro sunt. Sic et in Dauu- riJB densissimis sylvis occurreut sititliainam vix excedentcs." — (Paixas, Zoog. lionso-Jsiatka i.lSll, 92.) H a' 5 a 5 MKASUREMENTS OP PlITORII'H ERMINEA. 'iuui)JO(Iii yt siniBX a n i g 2 = 5 si c * • c 3 i* 3 o S i* ^ 5' ^ . •a»D JO vi^i'il •.ttB[o JO pno oj oonx e< •.ttB|3 JO pa.) oj AvoqiJi p ■%on} ptiifi S s •jooj aaoji -3 S.I i e« t '(B.iqojJOj^ o .4 "l-fl bTiSSSi^SSt^SS •(jixut : A^ • 11 1^ ^^ g?S2S -• - III si Jl i O' »« ^ r^ lO ift O lO • « 3 "3 Q © tf> I' 11 o i» . 1^ i" rt rt 7i Tl irttowvm't'coeoM'^coiotrt'r >-rmi.^oxo 'UBX o a o _&. a SSS12SSSSSSSSg'^?.P2S'^23 •jndpoo S •ana 1^ •9A'5£ •xog "dO* ga ■jsrinina jBajStc.io •dO •d a 3 .©< . 1-5 o in o o s* a • Ci 5 31 O -H rt — ! — ■ eJ -J s< si eJ rl i n ?» r? si S S "»■ • Li o X o Q o Q • t- t- I- /.SB* I o =;■ ci s> o O c> o^■o^■^^"o I'^'o'c'o'c'to'o : = ',P : : : '3 S '3 s t- s = ; ; ; • t- X 'i o CI rt f > Ri n in o o 3 o •joqnina ^noj.ino S .a -3 a ■a .a a 3 115 ".^. i I *I1 if ) ! w. m ',1 'I 116 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. I^^ote on the skull and teeth. Skull and teeth. — A description of the craDiuin and dentition of this typical si^ecies will answer well for that of tbe subgenus Oale (see p. 99). The skull, though strong, is smooth in its gen- eral superficies, lacking almost entirely the sagittal ridge and roughness of muscular attachment which characterize the crania of the larger forms, like fvctidus and xlson for instance. The forehead is turgid and convex in profile ; the muzzle very short, swollen, and nearly vertically truncate. The zygomata are very slender, regularly arched throughout; the anterior root is a thin tiariug plate, perforated by a large foramen anteorbitale. The cranium proper is peculiarly cylindrical rather than ovoidal; the postorbital constriction is abrupt, though slight. Supra- orbital processes are moderately developed. The palatal emar- gination is slight; the pterygoids send out a spur to embrace the adjacent foramen, and terminate roundly, without a hamu- lar process, so conspicuous in the larger Putorii and in Mustela, or with only a slight one. The bulhe auditoriic are very large, llattisli, i)arallel rather than divergent, and not in the least produced into a tubular meatus; on the contrary, the orifice of the meatus shows from below as an emarginatiou. The glen- oid fossie have so i)rouiiuent a hinder edge that they seem to present forward rather than downward. The teeth scarcely furnish occasion for remark, as they pre- sent no peculiarities. In a specimen before me, the middle upper premolar of the right side has failed to develop. This is rather a large tooth to thus abort. Among the incisors (much as elsewhere in this subfamily), various irregularities are observable in different specimens, owing to the crowded state of these small teeth. (For cranial and dental peculiarities as compared with longicauda, see beyond.) Description of the external characters. A general description of this animal, herewith given, neces- sarily embraces many points shared with its congeners. It may be taken in amplification of the generic characters already given, and serve as a standard of comparison for other species, in the several accounts of which a repetition of non-essential specific characters is by this means avoided. In general form, the Stoat typifies a group of carnivorous Mammals aptly called 'vermiform', in consideration of the ex- treme length, tenuity and mobility of the trunk, and shortness ■ CHARACTERS OF PUTORIUS ERMINEA. 117 of the limbs. This elongation is specially observable in the neck, the head being set exceptionally far in front of the shoul- ders. The trunk is nearly cylindrical; it scarcely bulges iu the region of the abdominal viscera, slopes a little over the haunches, rises slightly about the shoulder muscles, is a little contracted behind these; the neck is but little less in calibre than the chest. The greatest circumference of body is little more than half its length. The head is shorter than the neck ; it is notably depressed, especially flattened on the coronal area and under the throat ; it is broad across the ears, whence it tapers with convex lateral outline along the zygomatic region, thence contracting more rapidly to the snout. The bulging of the sides of the head is in great measure due to the bulk of the temporal and masset- eric muscles, which form swollen masses meeting on the median vertical line. This also contributes to the flattening of the frontal outline. The width of the head across the ears is about two-thirds its length. The eyes are rather smalV, situated mid- way between the nose and ears; they glitter with changing hues, and contribute, with the low forehead and protruding canine teeth, to a peculiarly sinister and ferocious physiognomy. The ample gape of the mouth, thin-lipped, reaches to below the eyes. The nasal pad at the extremity of the miizzle, is entirely and definitely naked; it is obscurely marked with a median furrow. The nostrils are small, circular, with a lateral projec- tion below. The ears are conspicuous, rising high above the short surrounding fur ; they are rounded in contour, about as wide across as high above the notch. Most of the auricle is flat and closely furred both sides. The rim completes about three-fifths of the contour. There is a conspicuous lobule reaching half-way up the border behind. The concavity of the vestibule is slight, naked, but hidden by a close-pressed pencil •^f long, upright hairs from the base of the auricle in front, ex- tending nearly to the top of the ear. The back of the ear is on the occipital cross- line. Tlie whiskers are few but long, the longest reaching far be- yond the head. A few shorter, very slender bristles spring over the eye and on the malar region. The short forelimb is stout, and not fairly separated from the body much above the elbow. The forearm tapers rapidly to the wrist, causing the feet to appear slender in comparison, though tbey are really relatively stouter than in many unguiculate fiW i tM I • ir ' ," '• !, I £iiL:. * ' -ft: m 'I '^^^Ils! 118 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. animals. From the wrist the feet are little sliorter than the .forearm ; they are broad and depressed. The 3d-4th digits are sabequal and longest; the 2d-5th are subequal and shorter to the extent that their claws scarcely or not reach the base of the claws of the longer digits. The thumb is much shorter still. All the digits are alike clawed. The claws are moderately developed as to length, stoutness, and curvature ; though not properly retractile, they remain sharp, and serviceable for climb- ing, though probably not effective weapons on the chase. The back of the hand is always full furred, the hairs reaching about to the ends of the claws; the terminal and marginal hairs have a peculiar stiff bristly character, different from that of the gen- eral pelage. But the furring of the feet, no less than the general character of the pelage, is very largely dependent in quantity and quality upon season and latitude. In the most boreal specimens, in winter, the wiiole foot is densely hairy, like that of a Polar Hare or Ptarmigan ; no trace of palmar tubercles is seen. In southern and summer examples, the foot-pads are usually distinctly visible ; and this is their character : there are ten rounded balls on the foot ; one at the end of each digit (5), four on the palm (9), one at the wrist (10). The latter is far back, and nearly median, commonly overhung with fur. There is one at the har*^ of respectively the 1st, 2d, and 5th digits ; and another largei , like two bulbs in one, at the bases of the 3d and 4th digits. The four strictly plantar pads are close together, without intervening hairy spaces; that on the wrist, like those on the ends of the digits, are isolated. The hind limbs repeat the characters of the fore, in their stoutness, taper, and little discrimination of the upper portion from the trunk. The resemblance extends to the feet, which are almost duplicates of the hands in size, shape, and in rela- tive lengths of the digits. The same conditions of furring occur; the tuberculation is likewise the Sfime, except that a tubercle corresiwnding to the tenth one above enumerated is not found. But the length of the foot from heel to end of toes is about half as much again as that of the fore foot. The tail is of moderate length. In proportion to the length of head and body, it is rarely if ever so short as in P. vulgaris, or so long as in P. longieauda. The vertebral portion, not includ- ing that which runs into the body to join the sacrum, will probably average between § and l the length of the body and head; with the hairs, the proportion is about }j-'j. This num- iiiV' CHARACTERS OF PUTORIUS ERMINEA. 119 ber is cyliudrical, with some etilar<?emeQt of the brushy black tip, and well furred throughout. The terminal pencil of hairs, an inch and a half or two inches in length, commonly repre- sents about half the length of the vertebral portion, and more than half the length of the part that is black. But no other portion of animal's frame is so variable as this. Of the general character of the pelage of this prized " fur- bearing" animal, it would be useless to speak otherwise than as a zoologist. Those differences which the whims of imperious fashion render all-important in the commercial world have no further interest for us than inasmuch as they indicate the variable conditions resulting from season, climate, or particular locality. Nevertheless, these points are evident to the prac- tised eye when not altogether obscured by the furrier's art. The rule is increase in softness, fineness, and density w'th increase of latitude, and during the winter in all latitudes. During summer and to the southward, the fur is stiffer, thinner, and of the particular harsh gloss which comes from admixture with longer bristly hairs — something different from the smooth soft sheen of the opposite condition. In specimens from the same regions, there is also observed a difference according to freshness or worn condition of the coat, according to vigor of the animal, and doubtless other causes. In its summer dress, the Stoat is a good example of a " bicolor" pattern of coloration. The upper parts are continuously and uniformly of one color, the under of another, with strict line of demarcation of the two. The color above ranges, according to locality, season, or still more fortuitous circumstances (as, for example, age of the particular coat and health of the individ- ual), from a rather light dull " yellowish ■' brown, to a rich dark mahogany brown, not very different from that of a Muskrat or Mink. The tail, excepting the black brush, agrees in color. The sh.ade is nearly uniform, though an intensified dorsal area may often or usually be traced. Below, the animal is white, almost invariably tinged with sulphury-yellow — often of a decidedly strong shade of this color. Exceptional specimens aside, we may say, iu round terms, the animal is sulphury-yellow below — not white, as in P. vulfiaris, nor salmon nor buffy, as in r. longicauda or I*, frenata. The chin, throat, and insides of the legs are usually excepted from this sulphury discoloration, being quite puiely white. The tail is invariably black-tipped to the extent and in the manner rj ready sufllciently indicated. -il Ml m-- rf:? •■ ('■ 120 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID/E. |i m Now, as to the details of coloration, especially the lino of demarcation of the two body-colors, we must remember, in the beginning, that we here h;!\', an animal which, under ordinary conditions, turns entirely ,s i-ie once every year, and resumes its bicolomtiou a- o*:'ien • that consequently we must expect to find sk:)s slvowic^ i:\ .ry possible step of the transition ; and that, moreover, v.alwus odd little matters of coloration are cer- tain to appear in ditferent cases. Taken in its perfected sum- mer dress in average latitudes, the animal ordinarily shows a lino of demarcation, 1> inning at the snout, involving the edge of the upper lip, runni..^ thence straight along the side of the head and neck to the shoulder ; there dipping down the fore edge of the limb to the paw, returning on the opposite border of the limb, running thence nearly straight to the hind leg, dipping down the outside of this also, returning to the periuiijum, there meeting its fellow. The tail all around and upper surfaces of the paws are like the back. A slight lower- ing of this line would leave the end of the muzzle and the whole upper lip dark, as is frequently' the case, showing how absurd are any distinctions based on " amount of white on the upper lip". The line also frequently encroaches upon the belly, narrowing the sulphury band. But, as might be anticipated, the chief deviations from this complete summer dress are in the other direction — lessening of dark area. The commonest point here is whiteness of the paws, the dark spurs stopping at the wrist and ankle. Another common state is whiteness of the anal region and under surface of the tail. Frequently light patches reach irregularly up the sides of the head, par- ticularly about the ears. These points may be witnessed in midsummer, and appear to be purely fortuitous — that is, not traces of the regular change. Coming now to this matter of the change, we find it under several aspects. I am not now speaking of the mode of change, but of the appearances presented at different stages. A fre- quent state of incipient change leaves much of the snout, ears, legs, and tail, sulphury-white, with considerable elevation of the general line of demarcation. This progresses until there may be a narrow median dorsal stripe along the whole length of the animal. In this kind of change, the fur of the dark parts is often found without the slightest admixture of white, the hairs being uniformly as dark as in summer, to the very CONDITIONS OF THE CHANGE OF COLOR. 121 roots. In other cases, however, with little or no restriction of the general dark area, this insensibly lightens bj' progressive whitening of the hairs from the roots outward, at first appear- ing merely paler brown, then white with brown streakiness of uniform character all over. The animal finally becomes pure white except the end of the tail. But this white is generally tinged in places, particularly on the belly and hind quarters, with sulphur-yellow. Conditions of the change of color. Much has been said of the mode in which this great change is effected , not only in the case of the Ermine, but of the Arctic Fox,Northern Hare, Hudson's Bay Lemming, and other animals. As I have not personally witnessed the transition, I can only display the evidence aftbrded in the writings of others. Some contend that the change is rapid and abrupt, resulting in a few hours, simply from lowering of temperature to a certain point. Others argue that the change is gradually accomplished; and of those favoring the latter view, some maintain that the brown coat is shed and a white one grown, while others hold that the extinction of pigment is gradually ettected without a renewal of the pelage. We will first review the evidence adduced by the author of Bell's Quadrupeds (p. 150, seq.): — " The winter change of color which this species so universally assumes in northern climates .... is effected, as I believe, not by a loss of the summer coat, and the substitution of a new one for the winter, but by the actual change of color of the existing fur. It is perhaps not easy to otter a satisfactory theory for this phenom- enon, but we may perhaps conclude that it arises from a similar cause to that which produces the gray hair of senility in man, and some other animals ; of this instances have occurred in which the whole hair has become white in the course of a few hours, from excessive grief, anxiety or fear ; and the access of very sudden and severe cold has been known to i>roduce, almost as speedily, the winter change, in animals of those species which are prone to it. The transition from one state of the coat to the other does not take place through any gradation of shade in the general hue, but by patches here and there of the winter colour intermixed with that of summer, giving a pied cov- ering to the animal It appears to be established that what ever may be the change which takes place in the structure ?v.£ v\ 122 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. of the hair, upon which the alteration of colour imiucdiately depends, the transition from the summer to the winter colours is primarily occasioned by actual change of temperature, and not by the mere advance of the season." The author quotes in support of his views, and as tending to confirm them, the observations of Mr. John Ilogg (Loudon's ]\rag. vol. v.), and details an experiment upon a Lemming which turned white by a few hours' exposure to severe cold. As a supporter of the view that the change results from renewal of the coat may be cited the eminent naturalist Mr. Blyth, who communicates his conclusions to Mr. Bell in these terms {op. cit. 153) : — ''Authors are wrong in what they have advanced respecting the mode in which this animal changes its color, at least in autumn; for in a specimen which I lately examined, which was killed during its autumnal change, it was clearly perceivable that the white hairs were all new, not the brown changed in colour." Once again we have the minute and detailed observations of Audubon and Bachman, made from March 6 to 28, upon an animal they kept in confinement, and which was observed dur- ing this period to nearly complete the change from white to the summer colors. These authors agree with Mr. Blyth: — "We have arrived at the conclusion, that the animal sheds its coat twice a year, i. e., at the periods when these semi-annual changes take place. In autumn, the summer liair gradually and almost imperceptibly drops out, and is succeeded by a fresh coat of hair, which in the course of two or three weeks becomes pure white ; while in the spring the animal undergoes its change from white to brown in consequence of sheddiug its winter coat, the new hairs then coming out brown." This conflicting testimony, which might be largely added to if this were desirable, is perhaps not so difiicult to harmonize as'it appears at first sight ; nor is it in the least required to impugn the credibility of the witnesses of observed facts. I should state in the beginning, however, that it seems to me to be like straining a point to find any analogy between this periodi- cally recurring change in a healthy animal and the tardj' senile change coincident with flagging of the vital energies, or with the sudden pathological metamorphosis due to violent mental emotions of a kind to which /oyc natunv are not ordinarily ex- posed. This point aside, I would readily agree with Mr. Bell that ^subjection to sudden severe cold may materially hasten CONDITIONS OP THE CFIANGE OP COLOR. 123 M (I the cliauge. But it is to be remembered in this connection that the difference in temperature is necessarily coordinated more or less perfectly with the progress of the seasons, so that it becomes in effect merely a varying element in the periodical phenomena. The question practically narrows to this : Is the change coincident with renewal of the coat, or is it independ- ent of this, or may it occur in both ways f Specimens before me prove the last statement. Some among them, notably those taken in spring, show the long W00II3' white coat of winter in most places, and in others present patches — generally a streak along the back — of shorter, coarser, thinner hair, evidently of the new spring coat, wholly dark brown. Other specimens, notably autumnal ones, demonstrate the turning to white of ex- isting hairs, these being white at the roots for a varying distance, and tipped with brown. These are simple facts not open to question. We may safely conclude that if the requisite tem- perature be experienced at the periods of renewal of the coat, the new hairs will come out of the opposite color ; if not, they will appear of the same color, and afterward change ; that is, the change may or may not be coincident with shedding. That it ordinarily is n'ot so coincident seems shown by the greater number of specimens in which we observe white hairs brown-tipped. As Mr. Bell contends, temperature is the im- mediate controlling age^t. This is amply proven in the fact that the northern animals always change ; that in those from intermediate latitudes the change is incomplete, while those from farther south do not change at all. The good purpose subserved in the animal's economy — in other words, the design or final cause of this remarkable alter- ation^ is evident in the screening of the creature from ob- servation by assimilation of its color to that of the predomi- nating feature of its surroundings. It is shielded not only from its enemies, but from its prey as well. Another important effect of the whiteness of its coat has been noted. Mr. Bell has clearly stated the case : — " It is too well known to re(iuire more than an allusion, that although the darker colours absorb heat to a greater degree than lighter ones, so that dark-coloured clothing is much warmer than light coloured, when the wearer is exposed to the sun's rays — the radiation heat is also never greater from dark than from light-coloui . surfaces, and consequently the animal heat from within is more completely retained by a white than by a dark covering ; the temperature !|! ii'- ' I t -■ii 124 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. ; ! therefore of an nninml having white fur, would continue more equable than that of one clothed in darker colours, although the latter would enjoy a greater degree of warmth whilst exposed to the sun's influence. Thus the mere presence of a degree of cold, sufficient to prove hurtful if not fatal to the animal, is itself the immediate cause of such a change in its condition as shall at once negative its injurious influence." The latitudes in which the change occurs in this country in- '•' le the northern tier of States, and the entire region north- .d. In this area, the change is regular, complete, and uni- rsal. Complete change is also usually effected — but not always — nearly to the southern limits of dispersion in mount- ainous regions. White winter specimens are the rule in Mas- sachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania ; and I have seen others, pure white, from Illinois, Wyoming Territory, and Cal- ifornia (Fort Crook). For the Southern States, from which I have no white examples, I will quote Audubon and Bachman : — " We received specimens from Virginia obtained in January, in which the colours of the back had undergone no change, and remained brown ; and from the upper and middle districts of South Carolina, killed at the same period, when no change had taken place ; and it was stated that this, the only species of Weasel found there, remained brown through the whole year. . . . Those from the valleys of the Virginia mountains have broad stripes of brown on the back, and specimens from Abbe- ville and Lexington, South Carolina, have not undergone the slightest change." It may be presumed that in the debatable ground some individuals may change and others not, and that, again, character of successive seasons may make a difference in this respect. . General history and habits of the species. For the meaning of the name of this animal, we may refer again to Bell : — " The derivation of the word Stoat is very prob- ably, as Skinner has it, from the Belgic * Stout', bold; and the name is so pronounced in Cambridgeshire and in some other parts of England to the present time. Gwillim, in his * Dis- play of Ileraldrie ', gives the following etymology of Ermine : — 'This is a little beast, lesse than a Squirrell, that hath his being in the woods of the land of Armenia, whereof hee taketh his name.' " The latter word is sometimes written in English 'ermin' or 'ermelin'; and the same term occurs in several HISTORY AND HAUITS OF THE ERMINE. 125 other languages, as in the French 'hermine', the Italian ' ar- mellino', the Spanish 'arinino', Portuguese 'anniuho', Dutch 'hermelyu', German, Danish, and Swedish * hormelin ', and Armoric ' erminicq '.* Barbarous nations of the northern por- tions of the globe would appear to have each their own name for an animal well known to them as an object of the chase and of proQt; names of very various signification, according to the different points which attracted their attention. Thus, Pallas enumerates nearly fifty names, most of which have no evident connection with each other. The technical appellation of the animal is derived from putor, a bad smell. Fwtorius, proposed as a substitute for Putorius by Keyserling and Blasius, has the same signification. The name is highly appro- priate; for the stench emitted by the animals, of both sexes, is horribly off'ensive at times, as when under the influence of fear, anger, or the sexual passion ; it is only less penetrating and more fugitive than that of the Skunk itself. It may be emitted at pleasure, as in case of the Skunk, and is scarcely perceptible, except at certain periods, when the animal is at rest. The source of the odor is a peculiar fluid contained in special glands situated about the anus, opening upon two con- ical papilliB, one on each side of the anus, just within the verge of the opening. On slightly everting the anus, these papilhii may be readily perceived ; slight pressure will cause them to stand erect, while at the same time the fluid may be caused to spirt several inches in a fine spray, or even trickle in a stream about the parts.f The female Ermine is provided with these glands, the same as the male. She is much smaller than the opposite sex; but, this and her sexual characteristics aside, she is quite identical. She makes her home in an underground burrow, beneath the stump of a tree, under a pile of rocks, in a decaying log, or the hollow of a tree trunk, and brings forth a large litter. The number at a birth is, however, very variable ; four or five may be an average number. They have been found newly born from March to June, according to latitude, but are ordi- narily i)roduced in April or May. In northern latitudes, the litter may be born while the female is still in her white pelage, as in the case mentioned by Pallas ; he found two young of a white mother, early in May, in the hollow of a tree. The •Compare ospocially vou Martens, antea, p. 28. t Compare aH<c«, p. 12. , .v . ? ■f If ■ .,. > ■ !'f 'I ■*! 12f5 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. cavitj' was separated into several compartments, arranged with some care. One of these contained a heap of fresh mice and shrews, another a quantity of the rejected skins, feet, and tails of these animals. The nest was extremely foul. The cry of the yonng is represented by Pallas to be like that of a newly-born kitten. At the age often or twelve days, the little animals were ashj- above and white beneath. The mother, courageous in defence o her offspring, could scarcely be driven away, and followed the captor of her brood for a long time. The same author details the methods of capturing Ermine in Siberia — by means of a noose set at the entrance of their burrows, of spring-traps (at least so I understand by dccipulis compressoriiH incscatiH), and of a bent stick with slip-kuot, set off with a thread crossing their patnway, and placed before a hollow made in the snow where the bait is put. The skinsj used for vestments, were sent, he says, chiefly to China, Turkey, and parts of Europe, being little used in Eussia, where the tails, the principal ornaments, were reserved by law as the ex- clusive perquisite of royalty {privilegio Mojestatis reservaUc). The body was withdrawn from the skin through a single incision across the posteriors; and it is added that not even those tribes ''who eat all sorts of nasty things" will consume the flesh, so thoroughly impregnated is it with the fetor. The weight of a male is stated to be from five to eight ounces, more or less ; of the female, scarcely four. ]Mr. Hogg's observations on the British Stoats, in Loudon's Magazine, v., 718 et scq., as already mentioned, relate chiefly to the changes of pelage as affected by temperature rather than season ; but further remarks, bearing upon some of the habits of the animal, will be found interesting: — " Whilst walk- ing along a footpath in a tteld, one day in the last week of December, 1831, I observed a Stoat, or a Weasel, coming in the same path towards me. I immediately stood still, and, as he approached, I found that he carried his nose in the same relative bearing to the ground, and was in the act of running the scent of some bird, or other small animal, exactly after the manner of a dog 'on scent', and in chase after game. His whole attention being to the ground, with his head down, he did not see me until close to me, when, suddenly catching sight of me, he turned a little aside, stopped short, looked up, and then scampered back along the path, with his tail erected into somewhat of a carve, from the black end of which I was HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE ERMINE. 127 l|l able to distinguish him Iroin a Weasel, and, bounding; into a hedge near the path, he there concealed himself; whence ho would probably j?o forth again, when he perceive«l that all was safe, and would perhaps follow up the scent from which I had disturbed him. 1 was thus an eyewitness to the fact of a Stoat being able to pursue its prey on .s ent, and I have little doubt that nature has given the sense of smelling, in a similar degree, to the Weasel and Polecat ; which will therefore readily account for their being so destructive to game, and chietly for their instinct in tinding the nests of partridges and pheasants during the breeding season. "... A Stoat does sometimes take to swimming. Walk- ing on a fine evening in the spring, a few years ago, by the banks of the Wear, between Schinclitto IJridge and Old Dur- ham, I noticed an animal swimming in the water; and, making haste to the place, which was just below the same bank whereon I was walking, I saw that it was a Stoat; it then swam gently across the river, which is there both deep and of con- siderable width, to the opposite bank, where, owing to the thick brushwood, I lost sight of it. In the act of swimming, it lifted its head and neck well out of Avater, like a dog; and so differed from a water rat, which usually keeps its head close along the surface." That the Stoat readily takes to the water, and swims well, has, however, been long known. Tallas makes this statement : " habitat .... uecnon circa aquas, in quibus etiam praidam dou illibenter quajrit, optime natans", and similar testimony is afforded by the writings of various authors. Audubon, however, says nearly the reverse: — "The Ermine avoids water, and if forcibly thrown into it, swims awkwardly like a cat." But this should be taken with qualifi- cation, like the same author's further statement, that the ani- mal "does not, like the Fisher and Pine jMarten, pursue its prey on trees, and seems never to ascend them from choice, but from dire necessitj", when closely pursued by its impla- cable enemj', the dog." The Ermine indeed is neither so aquatic as its congener, the Mink, nor so much at home on trees as the Martens ; but it has too frequently been observed in such situations to admit the doubt that it both swims and climbs with ease and without reluctance. The always pleasing pen of Mr. Wm. Macgillivray has fur- nished us with the following general account of the habits of the Stoat as observed in Great Britain : — " It appears that in I :;:<l ■i $ ;• i M 1 1* m- m 128 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID/E. f^ ■ It . f 1 1 M England guncrally tho Erniino is less coiniuuu than the Wea- sel; but in Scotland, even to the south of the Frith of Forth, it is certainly of more frecjuent occurrence than that species; and for one Weasel I have seen at least five or six Ermines. It frequents stony places and thickets, among which it finds a secure retreat, as its agility enables it to outstrip even a dog in a short race, and the slimness of its body allows it to enter a very small aperture. I'atches of furze, in particular, afford it perfect security, and it sometimes takes possession of a rabbit's burrow. It preys on game and other birds, from the grouse sind ptarmigan downwards, sometimes attacks poultry or sucks their eggs, and is a determined enemy to rats and moles. Young rabbits and hares frequently become victims to its rapacity, and even full-grown individuals are sometimes destroyed by it. Although in general it does not appear to hunt by scent, yet it has been seen to trace its prey like a dog, following its track with certainty. Its motions are elegant, and its appearance extremely animated. It moves by leaping or bounding, and is capable of running with great speed, although it seldom trusts itself beyond the immediate vicinity of cover. Under the excitement of pursuit, however, its cour- age is surprising, for it will attack, seize by the throat and cling to a grouse, hare or other animal, strong enough to carry it off; and it does not hesitate on occasion to betake itself to the water. Sometimes, when met with in a thicket or stony place, it will stand and gaze upon the intruder, as if conscious of security; and, although its boldness has been exaggerated in the popular stories which have made their way into books of natural history, it cannot be denied that, in proportion to its size, it is at least as courageous as the tiger or the lion." With a mind preoccupied in contemplation of the exploits of the chase of great Carnivora — those grand exhibitions of pred- atory instincts on the part of some of the strongest beasts, one is apt to overlook, or at least to underestimate, the compara- tive prowess of some lesser animals. Doubtless, tho entomolo- gist would give instances of equal courage and perseverance in pursuit of prey, of vastly greater comparative strength and skill in its capture, and superior destructiveness. Probably the great mass of insect-eating animals — an immense and varied host — are in no whit behind in this respect. And in noting the instincts and predacious habits of the Weasels and Stoats, we observe that, to grant them only equal courage and 11^ HISTORY AND HAHITS OF THE ERMINE. 129 pqnnl comparative i)rowe88, wo must novortheless accede to them a wider and more searching range of active operations against a greater variety of objects, uiore persevering and more enduring powers of chase, and a higher grade of pure destructiveneas, taking more life than is necessary for immedi- ate wants. Tlie great cats are mainly restricted each to partic- nhir sources of food supply, whi(!li they se(!ure by i)arttcular modes of attack ; and, their hunger satislied, they (juietly await another call of nature. Not so, however, with the Wea- sels. No animal or bird, below a certain maximum of strength, or other means of self-defence, is safe from their ruthless and relentless pursuit. The enemy assails them not only upon the ground, but under it, and on trees, and in the water. Swift and sure-footed, he makes open chase and runs down his prey; keen of scent, be tracks them, and makes the fatal spring ui)on them unawares ; lithe aiul of extraordinary slenderness of body, he follows the smaller through the intricacies of their hidden abodes, and kills them in their homes. And if he does not kill for the simple love of taking life, in gratification of superlative bloodthirstiness, he at any rate kills instinctively more than he can possibly require for his support. I know not where to find a parallel among the larger Carnivom. Yet once more, which one of the larger animals will defend itself or its young at such enormous odds ? A glance at the physiognomy of the Weasels w«uld suffice to betray their character. The teeth are almost of the highest known raptorial character ; the jaws are worked by enormous masses of muscles covering all the side of the skull. The forehead is low, and the nose is sharp; the eyes are small, penetrating, cunning, and glitter with an angry green light. There is something peculiar, more- over, in the way that this fierce face surmounts a body extraor- dinarily wiry, lithe, and muscular. It ends a remarkably long and slender neck in such way that it may be held at right aifgle with the axis of the latter. When the creature is glan- cing around, with the neck stretched np, and flat triangular head bent forward, swaying from one side to the other, we catch the likeness in a moment — it is the image of a serpent. In further illustration of the character of the Stoat, I con- tinue with an extract from Audubon, which represents nearly all that has appeared to the point in this country : — " Graceful in form, rapid in his movements, and of untiring industry, he is withal a brave and fearless little fellow ; cou- 9m 'fi. S'iii I ■ ifi 130 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELl^^. Ml 'V 4' K scious of security within the windings of his retreat among the logs, or heap of stones, he permits us to approach lim within a few feet, then suddenly withdraws his head ; we remain still for a moment, and he once more returns to his post of observa- tion, watching curiously our every motion ; seeming willing to claim association so long as we abstain from becoming his per- secutor. " Yet with all these external attractions, this little Weasel is tierce and bloodthirsty, possessing an intuitive propensity to destroy every animal and bird within its reach, some of which, such as the American rabbit, the rutted grouse and domestic fowl, are ten times its own size. It is a notorious and hated depredator of the poultry house, and we have known forty well-grown fowls to have been killed in one night by a single Ermine. Satiated with the blood of proba- bly a single fowl, the rest, like the flock slaughtered by the wolf in the sheepfold, were destroyed in obedience to a law of nature, an instinctive propensity to kill. We have traced the footsteps of this bloodsucking little animal on the snow, pur- suing the trail of the American rabbit, and although it could not overtake its prey by superior speed, yet the timid hare soon took refuge in the hollow of a tree, or in a hole dug by the Marmot, or Skunk. Thither it was pursued by the Ermine and destroyed, the skin and other remains at the mouth of the burrow bearing evidence of the fact. We obierved an Ermine, after having captured a hare of the above species, first behead it and then drag the body some twenty yards over the fresh fallen snow, beneath which it was concealed, and the snow lightly pressed down over it ; the little prowler displaying thereby a habit of which we became aware ibr the first time on that occasion. To avoid a dog that was in close pursuit, it mounted a tree and laid itself flat on a limb about twenty feet from the ground, from which it was finally shot. We have ascertained by successful experiments, repeated more than ^ hundred times, that the Ermine can be employed, in the man- ner of the Ferret of Europe, in driving our American rabbit from the burrow into which it has retreated. In one instance the Ermine employed had been captured onl> a few days be- fore, and its cauiue teeth were filed in order to preve Jt its destroying the rabbit ; a cord was placed around its neck to secure its return. It pursued the hare through all the wind- ings of its burrow, and forced it to the mouth, where it could HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE ERMINE. 131 be taken in a net, or by the band. In winter, after a snow storm, the ruffed grouse has a habit of plunging into the loose snow, where it remains at times for o!ie or two days. In this passive state the Ermine sometimt's detects ami destroys it. "Notwithstanding all these mischievons and destructive habits, it is doubtful whether the Ermine is not rather a bene- factor than an enemy to the farmer, ridding his granaries and fields of many depredators on the product of his labour, that would devour ten times the value of the poultry and eggs which, at long and uncertain intervals, it occasionally destroys. A mission appears to have been assigned it by Providence to lessen the rapidly multiplying number of mice of various spe- cies and the smaller rodentia. "The White-footed Mouse is destructive to the grains in the wheat fields and in the stacks, as well as the nurseries of fruit- trees. Le Conte's Pine Mouse is injurious to the Irish and sweet potatoe crops, causing more to rot by nibbling holes in them ti:an it consumes, and Wilson's Meadow-mouse lessens our annual product of hay by feeding on the grasses, and by its long and tortuous galleries among their roots. " Whenever an Ermine has taken up its residence, the mice in its vicinity for half a mile around have been found rapidly to diminish in number. Their active little enemy is able to force its thin vermiform body into the burrows, it follows them to the end of their galleries, and destroys whole families. We have on several occasions, after a light snow, followed the trail of this Weasel through fields and meadows, and witnessed the inimeuse destruction which it occasioned in a single night. It enters overy hole under stumps, logs, stone heaps and fences, and evidences of its bloody deeds are seen in the mutilated re- mains of the mice scattered on the snow. The little Chipping or Ground Squirrel, Tamiaa Lysteri [sc. striatus] takes up its residence in the vicinity of the grain fields and is known to carry off in its cheek pouches vast quantities of wheat and buckwheat, to serve as winter stores. The Ermine instinctively discovers these snug retreats, and in the space of a few minutes destroys a whole family of these beautiful little Tamiw; without even resting awhile until it has consumed its now abundant food, its appetite craving for more blood, as if impelled by an irresistible destiny, it proceeds in search of other objects on which it may glut its insatiable vampire like thirst. The Norway rat and the Common House Mouse take possession of our barus,wheat stacks, If I'l 132 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDJE. I m mm and granaries, and destroy vast quantities of grain. In some in- stances the farmer is reluctantly compelled to pay even more than a tithe in contributions towards the support of these pests. Let however an Ermine find its way into these barns and gran- aries, and there take up its winter residence, and the havoc which is made among the rats and mice will soon be observa- ble. The Ermine pursues them to their farthest retreats, and in a few weeks the premises are entirely free from their depre- dations. We ouQe placed a half domesticated Ermine in an out- house infested with rats, shutting up the holes on the outside to prevent their escape. The little animal soon commenced his work of destruction. The squeaking of the rats was heard throughout the day. In the evening, it came out licking its mouth, and seemed like a hound after a long chase, much fa- tigued. A board of the floor was raised to enable us to ascer- tain the result of our experiment, and an immense number of rats were observed, which, although they had been killed in diftereut parts of the ^"Mlding, had been dragged together, form- ing a compact heap. " The Ermine is then of immense benefit to the farmer. We are of the opinion that it has been over-hated and too indis- criminately persecuted. If detected in the poultry house, there is some excuse for destroying it, as, like the dog that has once been caught in the sheepfold, it may return to commit further depredations; but when it has taken up its residence under stone heaps and fences, in his fields, or his barn, the farmer would consult his interest by suffering it to remain, as by thus invit- ing it to a home, it will probably destroy more formidable ene- mies, relieve him from many petty annoyances, and save him many a bushel of grain." The same author, alluding to the Weasel's want of shyness, and Its ready capture in any kind of trap, continues with a matter that may next interest us — its relative abundance in different localities : — " This species does not appear to be very abundant anywhere. We have seldom found more than two or three on any farm in the Northern or Eastern States. We have ascertained that the immense number of tracks often seen in the snow in particular localities were made by a single animal, as by capturing one, no signs of other individuals were afterwards seen. We have observed it most abundant in stony rogtous ; in Dutchess and Ontario counties in New York, on the hills of Connecticut and Vermont, and at the foot of the Alleghanies HISTCitY AND HABITS OF THE ERMINE. 133 iu tenusylvania and Virginia. It is solitary in its habits, as we have seldc m seeu a pair together except in the rutting season. Afa>u*^j' of young, hovc, er, are apt to remain in the same locality until autumn. In winter they separate, and we are inclined to think that f.ioy do not hnnt in couples or in packs like the wolf, but that, like the bat and the mink, each indi- vidual pursues its prey without copartnership, and hunts for its own benefit." In Massachusetts, according to Allen, it is comparatively common. I myself saw none in Labrador during my summer visit ; but it must be quite abundant, to judge from the number of skins I saw in possession of the natives at various places. According to Richardson, " Ermine-skins formed part of the Canada exports in the time of Charlevoix ; but they have so sunk in value, that they are said not to repay the Hudson's Bay Company the expense of collecting them, and very few are brought to the country from that quarter." Nevertheless, it would appear that the Ermine is much more abundant in British America generally than it is in the United States. Over three- fourths of the large miscellaneous collection of skins we have examined in the preparation of this article came from this coun- try and from Alaska. The writer last mentioned speaks of it as "common", and adds that it often domesticates itself in the houses of the fur traders, where it may be heard the live-long night pursuing the white-footed mouse. Up to a certain limit of latitude it would appear to increase in numbers to the north- ward. The abundance of an Ermine, either the present or suc- ceeding species, on the Missouri is attested by the regalia of ceremony of some of the Indian tribes — picturesque costumes decorated with the tails, in rude imitation of royal fashion. Like a majority of thoroughly predacious animals, the Ermine is somewhat nocturnal ; that is to say, it is active and success- ful in the dark. Nevertheless, it is too often abroad in the day- time, either in sport or on the chase, to warrant our reckoning it among the truly nocturnal Carnivores. In the choice and construction of its retreats we see little evidence of burrowing instincts, or, indeed, of any considerable fossorial capacity. It retreats beneath stone heaps, under logs and stumps, in hol- lows of trees, and also in true underground burrows, though these, it should be observed, are usually those made by Bodents or other burrowers whom it has driven off or destroyed. Nev- ertheless, there is evidence that the ani^xial sometimes digs. Thus Captaiu Lyon, as rendered by Richardson, states, that be T -a 1 «Vl^.. L- ik: *( 'f'" . sT S iv ^li 1 '1 P H:' I 1:^ 134 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. it- n observed a curious kind of burrow made by ErmiDes in the snow, " which was pushed up in the same manner as the tracks of moles through the earth in England. These passages run in a serpentine direction, and near the hole or dwelling place the circles are multiplied, as if to render the approach more intri- cate." Audubon has a passage of similar effect : — " We have frequently observed where it had made long galleries in the deep snow for twenty or thirty yards, and thus in going from one burrow to another, instead of travelling over the surface, it had constructed for itself a kind of tunnel beneath." Accounts of different writers indicate a great variation in the number of young i>roduced at a birth — from two to twelve. We may safely assume that these are unusual extremes, the aver- age litter being five or six. As in case of the Mink, the rutting season is early ; in the United States, during a part of Febru- ary and March. Young have been noted, toward the southern extreme of the range of the species, before the end of March ; but most are produced in May or late in April. Without defi- nite information respecting the period of gestation, we may sur- mise this to be about six or seven weeks. Information is also wanting of the length of time that the young nurse or require to have food brought them by the parents. On the distribution of the Ermine in the Old World.* Georgi {loc. cit. [i. e., Geogr. Phys. Besch. iii. 6], p. 1539) indicates, with regard to the distribution of the Ermine in Eussia, the southern temperate, and the cold regions almost to the Arctic Ocean. He mentions, as special localities, the Polish-Russian and Dnieper governments, Curland, Livonia, and Ingermannland, also Finland, the governments on the Volga and its tributaries, and also the governments of Arch- angel, Wiburg, Wologda, Perm, those of the southeast to Bucharia; Siberia from the Ural to the Jeuisei, Dauria, the Lena Biver, Kamtschatka, and finally the Kurile and Aleu- tian Islands ; and calls attention to its abundance in Siberia. Pallas (Zoogr. R.-A. i. p. 92) gives the Ermine as inhabit- ing not only the whole of Europe, and Asia to India, but also asserts its extension into America, remarking, however, its absence from the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. Accord- ing to Wosnessenski's observations, communicated to me * Translated from Brandt's article already quoted with reference to Galo luacu8. OLD WORLD DISTRIBUTION OF THE ERMINE. 13*5 personally, and contrary to the opinion of Pallas, Ermines are met with on the Aleutians and Behring Islands, where they are hunting the Mice and Shrew-mice marching after the food- provisions of man. The same author also speaks of their fre- (juent occurrence in Kamtschatka and on the coasts of the sea of Ochotsk. Von Saritschew (Beise,i. p. 92) observed Ermines on the middle course of t\e Indigirka, and von Wrangel (Reise, ii. p. 238) near Werchojansk, in latitude 67°, longitude 33°; Gebler (Katun. Gebirge, p. 85) mentions their existence in West Siberia; Eversmann in the governments of Kasan and Orenburg; Lehmanu (Reise, Zool. App. by Brandt, p. 302) names, besides Orenburg, the country of the Bashkirs and Fort Spask; Hohenacker (Bull. Nat. Hist. Moskou, 1837,2, p. 137) enumerates them among the Mammals of the couutries of the Caucasus; Nordmann mentions their appearance in Bes- sarabia, Ekaterinoslaw, and Asia Minor (Demidoff, Voy. iii. p. 17); and Ozernay (Bull. Nat. H. Moskou, 1851, p. 274) in the governments of Charkow and Ekaterinoslaw. Kessler calls them frequent inhabitants of all the four governments of the Dis- triutofKiew. Brine ken (Mem. p. 47)and Eichwald(Skizze, p. 237) number them among the animals of Lithuania. Their ap- pearance in Curland is mentioned in the Description of the Province of Curland by v. Derschau and v. Keyserling (p. 130), and also by Lichteustein (Bull. Nat. H. Mosc. 1829, p. 289). According to a communication from Fischer, Ermines are met wich in Livonia only in certain localities and a very few places (Naturg. v. Li viand, p. 144). Their frequent appearance near St. Petersburg I am able toattest by many years'experience. In Finland, they ate mentioned by Sadelin (Fauna Fenn. p. 10, and the Forteckning iifver Siillskapets p. Fauna Fenn. Sam- lingar, p. 7). Oseretskowski indicates them also on the coast of Lapland. Schrenk (Reise, i. pp. 66, 97) reports them on the Pinega River and in the District of Mesen. From the latter region, a specimen was received by the Academical Museum through the kindness of Mr. Bystrow, inspector of schools (see »uiy report in the Scientific Bull, of the Acad, of Sciences of St. Petersburg, v. x). In the government of Wologda there are said to be collected annually from 5,000 to 10,000 skins (v. B ae r Beitr. vii. p. 251). Sujew (Pallas, Trav. iii. p. 87) numbered them among the inhabitants of the lower Obi, and this was lately confirmed by Ermann (Reise, i. p. 562). The Ural expe- dition brought back with them a male specimen killed on June i no a •« 136 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 7, 1847, on the Wischera, in latitude 62^. The summer coat of this individual agreed substantially with that of other Ermines killed at the same season in other regions. The tail of the above mentioned animal shows a white ring before its black end, very likely only an individual peculiarity. The balls of the feet and the joints of the toes were distinctly visible. Von Hoffmann informed me that the Ermines follow the Lemmings to the Arctic Sea. The many Ermines killed near St. Petersburg are always brown in summer but white in winter, which, Pallas says, is also the case with those living near the Caspian Sea (Zoogr. i. p. 93). In my memoir on the periodical change of pelage of animals of the Weasel kind (Bull. Sc. CI. Phys. Mat. v. ix. n. 12, Melanges Biolog. i. p. 185), I mentioned the capture of an Er- mine in the brown or summer pelage, in the month of Novem* ber, on the island of Oesel, and doubted then the likelihood of such an occurrence. The following communication, however, from D r . M o r i t z , of Tiflis, respecting Mustela vulgaris^ permits me to believe that many individuals do not change when the winter is mild. The northern limits of the animal's distribu- tion in the Russian possessions are the shores of the Arctic Ocean; the southern limits include the whole region south of the Caucasus; the western, Poland; and the eastern, Kamt- schatka and East Siberia. Concerning the value of the fur, and the yearly proceeds, see v. Baer, Beitr. viii, p. 183. The Long^-tailed IVeasel. I M Patorlns longlcaada. ? Hustela longicauda, Bp. Charlesw. Mag. K. H. 1838, 38 (based on long-tailed variety of P. enninea from Carlton Honse, iiicA. F. B. A. i. 1829, 47, in text).— Gray, Liat Mamm. Br. Mus. 195. TPutorlus longlcauda. Rich. Zool. Beeohey's Voy. 1839, 10*, (in text; same as foregoing). Futorius longicauda, Baird, M. If. A. 1857, 169 (Nebraska, Montana) — Suekley, P. K. R. Rep. xii. pt. ii. 1859, pp. 93, 114 (Milk River).— ffaj/d. T.'ins. Am. Philos. Soc. xii. 1863, 143.— (?) Bogg, Canad. Kat. and Gool. vi. 1861, iil.—CoMg tt Yarrow, Zool. Expl. W. 100 Merid. 1875, 591 (Colorado and New Mexico). PutoriUS culbertsoni, Bd. MSS. Mus. Smiths, (labels of nos. 4330, 432.5). HermeUii des Oberen Missouri, Maxim. Verz. N.- A. Sang. 1862, 46, pi. " 8", f. 8 (penis-bone). Hab. — Region of the Upper Missouri and its tributaries ; Minnesota, Da- kota, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming; also Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona. North apparently to Carlton House ; west probably to the Pacific. Specific characters. — Size of P. erminea ; tail absolutely and relatively longer, with hairs i to |^ the head and body. Below tawny or buffy, with a salmon (not sulphury) tinge abruptly defined against whit^ of cheeks and r t u o » t- DESCRIPTION OF PUTORIUS LONGICAUDA. 137 chin. Black on end of tail .almost redncod to the terminal pencil alone, scarcely J the whole length. Color entirely white in winter. Male, total length of head and body, 10.50 ; tail-vertebrae 6.75 ; tail with hairs 8.50. Fe- male, total length of head and body, 8.50 ; tail vertebrte, 5.75 ; tail with hairs, 6.75. Description. * The size is entirely within the range of that of P. erminea, and there is little to note in this respect, excepting the greater length of the tail ; the general build, however, appears stouter than is usual in P. erminea, the muzzle blunter. The tail is remarkably long — not that it is entirely beyond the maximum of that of erminea, but that when shortest it is about at such maximum, and that its normal average is beyond the average of that of P. erminea. The two animals being of substantially the same size of body, the tail is relatively longer — including the hairs it is three-fourths to four-fifths the length of the body and head. The black on the tail is normally restricted to the minimum — or even beyond this — of ordinary erminea; it occu- pies scarcely anything more than the terminal pencil alone, extending le^^s than half an inch on the vertebrae. The upper parts are much as in erminea, but there is a peculiar olivaceous cast, owing to admixture of some green in the brown — not that any green shows as such, but it gives a particular tone to the parts. Below, and on both sets of paws, the color is a rich and beautiful buffy -yellow mixed with salmon color, quite diflferent from the clear sulphury of P. erminea. This color is abruptly displayed against the pure white of the chin and cheeks. The female is considerably smaller than the male, as usual in this genus, but is not otherwise different. (This particular specimen is much lighter than her mate, but such distinction will not hold.) The following measurements were carefully taken in the flesh:— •From a pair in the Cones collection, killed in August, 1874, in North- western Montana. cf ' w%\ m 138 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. ■< o S5 s 1-4 as O H Ph o 5 '>o 5* i. ;$ ;^ 'aampadB jo 9jn')«x •48Dqo JO qviIO •So •iv9 JO nmin. •iw JO iqSioH Bii«[o JO pu9 o!( aau^ 'SMVp JO pno o:) Aioqia; o .a 2 a i o e .& a o 1^ (jooj pniH •;ooj ejo J •eajBH •aaaqo^jOA •H«X ':)udpoo •Jwa •9^a H 01 2 ■joqmua ivniSfJO SS s<sl iSS mm to 00 ss I2S 0*0 biibb 0<) Izi^zi I eg a I §§ ^^ *"« a c9 Hi Hi a a o o <i1<M ■ad ■3 Ml I I a o bo a '3 o §* a 13 a c9 -5) •3 a la B ■& 9 IH .M .8 oo .a s «s cu s "d GENERAL ACCOUNT OF PUTORIUS LONGICAUDA. 139 General account of the species. The subject of the present article diflfers notably in the above particulars from the common type of Ermine. It is probably the same as the longicauda of Bonaparte, though it must be observed that we have no assurance of this. It is the longicauda of Baird. In case Bonaparte's animal should prove not the same, the present must be called P. culbertsoni Baird, MSS. After dwelling at the length I have upon the variability in the length of tail of P. crminea, and on the extent of the black pencil in that species, it may seem inconsistent to intro- duce such features in a specific diagnosis. But it will be observed that the character of the member is something over and above that shown by P. erminea in any of its interminable variety, and that I use it in combination with another pe- culiarity, the color of the under parts. Taken together, these seem perfectly distinctive ; at any rate, I find the same features preserved throughout a considerable series of specimens, with- out the slightest intergradatiou with P. erminea. The speci- mens are distinguishable at a glance. While 1 make no doubt that this animal is an offshoot from P. erminea, yet the differ- entiation is complete, and no intermediate specimens are known ; while, for that matter, it is doubtless true that all of the species have come from an original stock. This particular oifshoot is a step toward those members of the genus which extend into tropical America. This is evident in the coloration of the belly, very little increased intensity of which would assimilate it to the rusty and orange-brown shades prevailing farther south. Besides the types of my description, I have examined a dozen or more additional specimens — those recorded by Baird in his work, and others since received at the Smithsonian; None show any gradation with P. erminea. In No. 4325, from old Port Union, "Nebraska" (now Montana), the tail-vertebrte (the tail has not been skinned) measure 6.50 inches, with the hairs about 8.00. No. 4320, from Fort Laramie, Wyoming, taken in December, 1859, is pure white; the black tip under 1.50 long; the vertebra) (unskinned) are about 6.00 ; the speci- men in its winter dress is readily recognized by these features as pertaining to P. longicauda. Another specimen is in winter dress from Fort Clarke. There are several from Utah. A skin, too defective for satisfactory identification, but probably m 140 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. I : I "*|]:; belonging here, is iu the collection from Puget's Bound — a locality which, if substantiated, would considerably extend the known range of the species. It is the individual which formed the basis of P. "nc/tardfsoMt" iu Dr. Buckley's report above cited. Since writing the foregoing, I have examined the skull of this species in comparison with that of P. erminea, and I tind remarkable distinctions. Ooordinately with the shorter and broader head, the skull shows differences of shape as well marked as those subsisting between M. marten and foina. An example of P. noveboracensis measures 1.90 by 0.95; a female specimen of longicanda 1.80 by 1.03, the resulting difference in contour boing obvious. The cranial portion proper of P. longicauda is much more expanded and ovate, the width there (0.90) being half the total length, while the same measurement of P. noveboracensis (0.80) is much less — only about half the length of the skull exclusive of the rostral portion. The skull of P. longicanda is notably more constricted behind the orbits. The zygomata are much more obliquely offset from the skull. The anteorbital foramina are narrowly oval and very oblique. There is a remarkable inward obliquity of the last upper ii^olar, different from anything I have seen iu P. ermineus. I have not seen a male skull ; it will be found larger by about a fourth of an inch in length. We may tabulate the cranial characters of the two species as follows : — p. erminea. — Zygomatic width of skull one-half its length. Cranial width much less than half the total length. Width of skull at point of greatest constriction half the zygomatic width. Anteorbital foramina large, suboir- cnlar. Set of back upper premolar nearly vertical. P. longicanda. — Zygomatic width of skull about three-fifths its length. Cra- nial width half the total length. Width of skull at point of greatest con- striction about two-fifths the zygomatic width. Anteorbital foramina small, very obliquely oval. Set of back upper premolar obliquely inward. I think that after all the relationships of this species are closest with P. frenatus, notwithstanding the absence of the facial markings peculiar to the latter. It shares with P. frenatus the rusty-reddish or salmon-colored under parts, well contrast- ing with the clear sulphury-yellow of P. erminea. Moreover, southern examples, such as those from New Mexico, show a decided approach to P. frenattn in darkening of the color of the head. This is sometimes so decided, that were white spots present in these cases, the specimens would unhesitatingly be referred to P. frenatus; and we know that in Central Ameri- GENERAL ACCOUNT OF PUTORIUS LONOICAUDA. 141 u\ cau and Mexican skins the facial markings of P. froiatus are not seldom extinguished. The Long-tailed Stoat is the characteristic form of the genus throughout the region of the Missouri and its tributaries. While I am not assured that it inhabits this country to the exclusion of P. erminea, I may state that I never met with the latter in any of my travels, and that I have not seen specimens from fairly within this region, though some from its confines are before me. It is the Weasel of the Rocliy Mountains too, for a corresponding extent, and, as above indicated, very prob- ably reaches to the Pacific. Mr. Ridgway informs me that he found a specimen, which he satisfactorily identifies from mem- ory of its creamy-yellow under parts, in the Wahsatch Mount- ains, near Salt Lake City, Utah. I have also seen the species in the mountains of Colorado. I found the. animal to be quite numerously represented in Northern Montana, on the boundless prairies of the Upper Missouri and Milk River, living in burrows underground along with the Gophers {Spermophilus richardsoni), Badgers, and Kit Foxes. In these treeless domains, it occupies as its home the deserted burrows of the Gophers. I once surprised a family of five or six in such a retreat ; I could hear them spitting angrily below, but did not succeed in my endeavor to dislodge them. This was late in July; the young were well grown at this period. Later in the season, at Chief Mountain Lake, one of the headwaters of the Saskatchewan, on the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, latitude ■49°, several specimens were secured. Here the species was living on wooded ground; indeed, one of my specimens was caught up a small tree, and killed with a stick. It climbed anfl leaped among the branches with ease and agility, much like a Squirrel. Skins were in de- mand by the men of our party for the manufacture of tobacco- pouches; they made very pretty ones, and many were killed for this purpose. Tlie specimen mentioned above from the Wahsatch Mount- ains was found dead by Mr. Ridgway in the nest of a Buteo sicainsoni. This shows that the animal, des,)ite its ferocity and activity, may I'all a victim to the rapacity of the larger Hawks. The individual had its neck torn, and was already partly eaten by the two strong and voracious young Buzzards which occupied the nest. The nest contained also the remains 'Mi f\. rv 142 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. U :i of a Chipmunk, and of a Black -beailoil Grosbeak {Qoniaphea MeJiinoerphnla). When irritated, this species diffuses a fu^tid odor quite as strong as that of the Miuk, The Bridled l¥eai>iel. PiitorinM (Oale) brRiiillensiii frenatoR. a, hragilifimfi (Sewast.). Mimtrtn brnsnirnsls, Smmst. Mom. Aeail. St. Petorsb. Iv. 1813,3.50, pi. 4.— FTwrh. Syn. 1820, iii.—liunn. Wi\\. Nat. Ges. llalle, ii. 1854, M.—Oorr. Cat. Bonos IJr. Mu». 1863, 94.— GriKj, Ann. Mug. N. H. xiv. 1874, 374. Mlistelii (Putorlus) brannieilNls, DOrhlij. Voy. Am«r. M6rid. , pi. 13, f. 3 (skull). Mustda (Onlc) br»<«UienNi!«, sohim, Syn. Maniin. i. 1844, 346. Mii'^tolu Oicojiale) brusUleiistl!) mir. briisUluna, Oray, P. Z. S. 1865,115 (type ot Neogale); Cut. Ciini. Br. Miw. 1869, 92. h. (tquatonalis Coues. Mustela aurcnvcntrlH, Gray, P. Z. S. 1864,5.5, pi. 8 (Quito; very young) (not M. OMrirmter Hmhis.) Gray, P. Z. S. 1865,115 (Ecuador and New Grenada; adult); Cat. Cam. Br. Mn«. i8<'.9, 92. Pilli)rlii>) brasUlenHlii var. trquatorlaUH, Cows (merely as a substitute for Gray's preoc- ciipind name). 1 Musli'la macrura, Tae.z. P. Z. S. 1874, 311, pi. 48 (Central Porn). •? Miistela nfllnts, Gray, Ann. Mai?. N. H. xiv. 1874, 375 (New Granada). c. frenatus (Llcht.). .VllStrln rrcnnta, Licht Dnrstellung . . . Siing. 1827-34, pi. 53 (Mexico).— Attd. cC Bach. J. A. N. S. P. viii. pt. ii. 1842,291.— Omi/, Zoiil. Voy. Sulphur, 1844, 31, pi. 9 (head).— Tomes, P. Z. S. 1861,287 (Guatemala).— Omy, List M. Br. Mus. 1843, eS.-Oerrai-d, Oat. Bones Br. Mus. 1862, 94. MiiHtcIa (Gale) frenata, Wann. Suppl. Scbreb. Siing. ii. 1841, 234. i'UtorillK fri'natUS, Bach. J. A. X. S. P. viii. •iHS.—Awl. (C Bach. Q. J. A. ii. 1851, 71, pi. 60 (Texas to Monterey and southward). — Bd. M. N. A. 1857, 173, pi. 19, fig. 5rt; Mex. B. Surv. ii. pt. ii. 18.59 ; Mammals, 19, pi. 17, flgs. 1 and 2, a-e.—Ooucs, Am. Nat. i. 1867, 352. Mustcla vailthOKenys, Gray, Ann. Mag. N. II. xi. 184.3, 118; Zoiil. Voy. Sulpb. 1844, 31, pi. 9 ; {n't. to Pall. Zoog. 92); List M. Br. JIus. 1843,66; P. Z. S. 1865,115; Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, 93 ; Ann. Mag. N. H xiv. 1874, 375.— Got. Cat. Bones Br. Mus. 1862, 94. Pulorius xanlhoeenys, Bd. B. N. A. 1857, 176, pi. 19, f. 3 n (California).— Aetob. P. R. R. Rep. vi. Ib57, 42 (San Francisco). Putorius mcxicanus, Berlandier, MSS. ic. ined. 4 (Tamaulipas and Matamoras). *l'oinadrrJa' of the Mexicans. ((Jompare Mmtcla javonica Seba, Thes. i. pi. 48, fig. 4 — Jf. leucogcnis Schinz, Syn. i. 344 ; not Japanese.— Cf. Pall. Zoog. li.-A. i. 1811, 92, footnote.) H.\n. — Southarn Texas to California. Up the Pacific side to San Francisco, Fort Crook, and probably Astoria, Oregon. South to Qaatemala. Var. (vqttiitorialis, thence to Ecuador. Var. bmailiemis, Brazil. Si'ECiFic CHAKACTER8.— Size aud proportions of P. erminea; top of head notably different in color (darker) from the back, and blotched with white ; chin white; other under parts more or less strongly tinged with tawny-yel- low or orangj-brown ; tail tipped with black. No seasonal change of pelage. GENERAL ACCOUNT OF P. BRA8ILIENSIS FRENATUS. 143 Genera I account of the 82)ecie8. In respects of size and form, tliis species scarcely dittcra from r. crminea. The pelage appears to be coarser, thinner, and more glossy than it usually is in the P. erminea, evidently as a consequence of the more southern habitat of the animal. The palms, soles, and ears are rather more scantily haired. There are no indications that the animal turns white in winter. The pattern of coloration is as usual in this genus, with the adilition of the peculiar head-markings, to be presently de- scribed. The upper parts are of a mahogany-brown, as in the Slimmer coat of other Stoats, but ditter in the shadv much as ]tolished mahogany differs from that wood iu the rough, being darker and richer in tint. This color deepens insensibly into blackish on the head. The darkest examples before us, from (tuatemala, are almost chocolate-brown, and quite black on the head. This intensity of coloration is quite coincident with (loorease of latitude ; and the northernmost examples, from California, are much paler — of a lighter and more yellowish- brown than the average of P. erminea. There is a similar par lelism in the color of the under parts. Aside from the chin and throat, which usually remain quite purely white, the under l»art8 range from a tawny-yellow to a rich orange-brown. In running through the series from California to Guatemala, I have seen nothing quite like this in any of the northern Stoats, in which any yellowish of the under parts which may exist is sul- phury; the only approach to it being a salmon shade on P. Umgkauda. In the orange-bellied Guatemalan skins, moreover, the line of demarcation from the white of the throat is quite abrupt; iu others, the transition is by insensible degrees. The light color of the under parts runs down both fore and hind limbs to the feet; but the tops of the feet are indifferently col- ored like the belly or like the back ; at any rate, I find specimens varying in this respect, without finding any clue to a rule which might determine this condition. The tail is like the back all around ; it blackens insensibly at the tip, for a shorter distance than is usual iu northern Stoats ; the defined black only occu- pying, on an average, about an inch of the end in addition to the terminal pencil of hairs, which is about another inch longer. 144 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. Measurements of two apecimena of Putorius bkasiliensis frknatus. '•' i^ijii M a Localltj. H .1- From tip of no«e to- TaiUojnd Lad St h of— "S 1 a a 3 1" a 6 3 i > i n 1 1 1 c n C » £^ 3 1 8382 2323 Matainoras, Mex . . . ■--■'lo 1.00 0.60 1.75 l.SO 2.25 2.20 n.OO 6.75 8. 25 4. 75 B.00 5.30 1.20 1.10 1.80 1.60 Ale. Ale. The facial white markings of this species deserve special cousideranoii. Upon the most cursory examination, one may satisfy himself of their irregular, indeterminate character, and would expect to find them, as they really are, variable to the last degree. They are similar in this respect to the white on the chin and abont the lips and along the belly of the Mink, or on the chest of the Marten, and of a part with the variation above mentioned in the color of the paws of the present spe- cies. They ai>pear to be, in fact, simply an exaggeration and permanent retention of certain white markings that occur in P. erminea (uiiassociated with beginnings or remiiins of the winter dross). In several European examples of P. erminea, I find a little white coronal or two white supraciliary or auricular spots, and a wholly variable extent of white upon the cheeks. The usual pattern in P.frenatus is this : a triangular or quad- rate white frontal spot just between the eyes, and a broad oblique white stripe on each side of the head. In addition, there may or may not be an occipitjil white spot between the ears. The frontal spot is usually isolated from the white stripes, but may fuse with them, completing the " bri<lle". It is sometimes reduced to a mere nasal stripe, with correspond- ing reduction of tlie pre auricular markings. In a specimen from Fort Crook, Cdliforuia, which I refer to this species, there are only a few white hairs on the muzzle, and a slight patch at the base of the ear. But the malar stripe, on the variations of which P. xanthogenys chiefly rests, is still more unstable in character ; for its width and the outline it forms with the black of the cheeks are wholly indeterminate. I am inclined to think that this animal has become fairly differentiated from an original stock which comprised P. er- minea, although traces of a former connection may still subsist on the confines of its present habitat. The Fort Crook speci- CHARACTERS OF P. BRASILIEXSIS FRENATUS. 145 men above mentioned imperfectly represents the species. It is, morover, associated in that locality with an animal which turns perfectly white in winter, and is in other respects insep- arable from northern Ermines. Thus, No. 2839. fi-om Fort Crook {Feilmr), is pure white underneath, has the head like the back in color, and both of the usual undressed mahogany- brown ; yet it shows the white frontal spot and has a decided trace of the malar stripe. It is accompanied by No. 3872, pure white all over. Still, the white markings of No. 2839 may be remains of a seasonal change, or merely like the similar ap- pearances that some specimens of the European P. enninea present. I refer these two specimens to P. enninea, but in- clude the other from Fort Crook, No. 3830, in the beginning of the hrasiUensis series. I refer to this species, with some hesita- tion, a very young Stoat from Astoria, Oregon (No. 3520, June 19, 1858, J, Wayne). Although the head is not darker than the back, and no head-stripes are apparent, the belly shows strongly the characteristic fawn color of frenatus. There remains the discussion of the relationships of the South American forms. Although I have not specimens from Brazil or Ecuador, the sufficient descriptions of authors enable me to speak with confidence respecting them. There is evi- dently but one series of linked forms. We have already seen that frenata begins in Upper California, as xanthogenys, which is merely the northernmost palest form, between which and true frenata (City of Mexico, &c.) there is no diffierence requiring recognition by name. In Guatemala, frenata already assumes the rich coloration that culminates further south in brasiliensis. Gray, indeed, who usually subdivides altogether too much, does not attempt to separate frenata and brasUictms except varietally. P. miiiatorialis (as I call what Gray named il/. aureoventris, a term preoccupied to all intents and purposes by auriventer of Hodgson) was originally described from a very young animal (" length 6 inches, tail 4J" — the adult is after- ward described as length 12, tail 8), without facial markings, but the adult has the auricular blotch, though the frontal spot appears to be extinguished. It is described as very dark'y and richly colored, the under parts and ear-spot " golden-ye.- low "; the coloration of the plate is almost precisely that of Guatemalan specimens before me. But that the facial mark- ings may be completely extinguished, as a matter of individ- ual variation, is shown by a specimen before me from Costa 10 M 1 i; W I'd .flirliili HI 146 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. n Bica. It is very dark and richly colored, with the merest trace of white markings behind one eye — not both. I find nothing in the ascribed characters of Mustela macrura Taczanowski forbidding its reference to the Middle American series ; nor is there anything in Dr. Gray's brief and unsatis- factory account of M. affinis incompatible with the characters of the present species in their now ascertained range of variation. There is nothing peculiar in the relationships of the various forms as here advanced. It is paralleled in the cases of other Mammals and many Birds, and, in fact, might have been pre- dicated. We are in possession of no special information upon the hab- its of the Bridled Weasel, which, however, may be presumed to diflfer little, if at all, from those of its allies. Dr. Newberry represents it as abundant about San Francisco. I CHAPTER V. I '>! MUSTELIN^E— Continued: The American Ferret. The snbgemis Cynomyonax — Subgeneric characters— Putorius {Cynomyonax) Tiigripes, the American or Black-footed Ferret — Synonymy — Specific char- acters — Habitat — General account of the species — Addendum : On the species of the snbgenns Piitorius — P. falidun, the Polecat or Fitch — Syn- onymy — Description — P. fietidua var. furo, the Ferret — Synonymy — Re- marks — Ferret breeding and handling — P. foefidus var. eversmanni, the Siberian Polecat — Synonymy— Remarks — J', sarmaticm, the Spotted Pole- cat — Synonymy and remarks. I HAVE been obliged to establish a new subgenus for the reception of the singular Putorius nlgripes of Audubon and Bachman, which curiously combines some features of both Oale and Putorius proper, with others peculiar to itself. As indi- cated by the name of American or Black-footed " Ferret", it is the strict analogue in this country of the European Ferret, or Polecat, with which it agrees so closely in some respects that I was at first inclined to refer it to the subgenus Putorius itself. But further examination has satisfied me that the sum of its peculiarities ranks as high, at least, as that characterizing other admittei^ subgenera of Putorius. I have already concisely contrasted its characters with those of other sections of the genus (p. 99), and shall devote this chapter to further consid- eration of the remarkable animal. The Subgenus CYNOMYONAX. (Coues, 1877.) Tbe dental formula of this subgenus is the same as that of the genus Putorius at large (pm. ~^y The details of the dentition agree most closely with those of subgenus Putorius, though peculiar in one respect. The back lower molar is a mere cylindrical stump, with hemispherical crown, too small and weak to develop the little cusps seen plainly in P.faeiidus and P. vison. The inferior incisors, in the speci- men examined, are so crowded that the middle one on each side sets entirely back of the line of the rest, exactly as in a specimen of P.fcetidus before me. The deutelure of the upj^r jaw might be described in terms identical with those applicable 147 I I \\'IH: Hi I if V 148 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. to P.fcetidu8f though the back molar seems to be rather weak. P./oetidns and C. nigripes both differ from L. rison in the char- acter of the ui)per sectorial tooth, which in vison develops, as elsewhere described, an antero-exterior process, wholly wanting in the other subgenera. The skull of Cynomyonax differs notably from that of Oale, and agrees with those of Putorius proper and Lutreola in its size, relative massiveness, and development of ridges and de- pressions. It is nevertheless at once distinguished by the extreme degree of constriction behind the orbits, where the width of the cranium is much less than that of the rostrum. (In L. vison, the constriction is moderate; in P. f<xtidu8, there is scarcely any.) Coincidently with this narrowing of the skull near the middle, the postorbital processes are better developed than they are in either of the two genera last named, and the postmolar production of the palate is extremely narrow. The interpterygoid emargination is comparatively shallow as well as narrow, not nearly reaching half-way to the molars; the palate ends (in the specimen examined — it may not in others) transversely instead of with strongly concave or even acute emargination. The pterygoids, as in Gale, do not develop decided hamular processes (conspicuous in P.foetidus and X. vison). The bullaj auditoriee, as in both Oale and P. fmtidus (they are notably flatter in L. vison), have considerable inflation, with scarcely a tubular prolongation and nick at end. In brief, the skull combines the size, massiveness, and roughness of Putorius proper and Lutreola, with other characters rather of Gale, and some peculiarities of its own. In external details, Cynomyonax is similarly interrelated to Oale and Putorius proper, though nearer the former {Lutreola being more specialized in adaptation to aquatic habits than either of the other subgenera). Though of such large size, Cynomyonax retains the attenuate body, long neck, very short legs, slim tail, large orbicular ears, and close-set pelage of a true Stoat. On the other hand, the pattern of coloration, ex- cepting the black-tipped tail, is different, and more like that of the Ferrets in some respects, while it is entirely peculiar in others. It is interesting to observe that this single American ana- logue of a special Old World group occurs in the western portion of the country, furnishing another among many instances of the closer relationships of the Western than of the Eastern fauna with that of the other hemisphere. ACCOUNT OF THE AMERICAN FERRET. 149 American or Black-rooted Ferret. Piitortas (Cynomyonax) nlyripea. Platr VU. Putorlus ntsripcs, Awl. A. Bach.* Q. X. A. ii, 1851, -397, pi. 93 (Lower Platt<' niror).— M. M. N. A. 1857, UO (from tht> t'Dri'Koins).— Owi/, V. Z. S. 1865, 110 ; Out. Cam. l?r. Mas. 18B9, 88 (its validity quoriod). —Oom«s, Am. Sportsman Nov. 20, 1874 (call for speoi- meuB).— J.me«, Bull. Minu. Acad. 1874, 69 (presumptively attributed to Minnesota) . H.\B.— Region of the Platte River, aucl other portious of the central plutoau. Kah been found in Kansas, Nebra.skii, Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado ; north to Milk River, Montana. Specific characteks. — Above pale brownish, mixed withafewl)lacki8h- t'.pped hairs, especially on the lower back ; below nearly wh'te; hairs every- \7here white at the roots ; general color-aspect brownish-white ; a broad stripe across forehead, the feet and the end of the tail, black. Length 19 inches ; tail-vertebne 4, with hairs 5i ; fore leg 4. Skull 2.G0 long ; rather under 0.50 broad at point of greatest constriction (zygomatic width un- known). Oeneral account of the species. CJutil verj'^ recently, nothing was known of this remarkable animal beyond what was given by Audubon. Tlie original of his figure, if ever preserved, does not appear to have been ex- amined by other naturalists. Doubt has been cast upon the existence of such an animal,f and the describer has even been * Digest of the original description. — Dentition strictly as in Putorius (teeth 34). Form elongate ; forehead arched and broad ; muzzle short; ears short, broad at base, triangular, closely furry both sides ; feet covered with hair on both surfaces. Tail narrowly cylindrical. Pelage finer than that of the Mink or Pine Marten, and even shorter (relatively) than that of the Er- mine ; the outer hairs few, short, and coarse. All the pelage white at the roots ; the bases of the longer hairs with a yellowish tinge, their ends broadly reddish-brown ; soft under fur white, with a yellowish tinge, giving the animal on the back a yellowish-brown appearance, in some parts approach- ing to rufous ; on the sides and rump, the color is a little lighter, gradually fading into yellowish-white. Nose, ears, sides of head, throat, under surface of neck, belly, and under surface of tail white ; a shade of brownish on the chest between the fore legs. A broad black patch on the forehead, enclosing the eyes and reaching near the tip of the nose ; legs to near the shoulders and hips brownish-black ; end of tail black for about two inches. Type procured by Mr. Alexander Culbertson on the lower waters of the Platte. Stated to inhabit the wooded parts of the country to the Rocky Mountains, and to be perhaps found beyond that range, though not observed by any travellers from Lewis and Clarke to the ptesent day. Habits said to resemble those of the Ferret of Europe. " It feeds on birds, small reptiles and [other] animals, eggs and various insects, and is a bold and cunning foe to the rabbits, bares, grouse and other game of our western regions.' t Dr. J. E. Gray, for instance, with characteristic sagacity, queried it amidst a number of purely nominal species he admitted without question. 150 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. ;! P .dm I,; saspected of inventiilg it to embellish his work. I have, there- fore, the greater pleasure in bjing able to present a full account of the species. The first specimen known after the type was a fragment of a skin which for some years lay unrecognized in the National Museum at Washington. According to my present recollec- tion, the object being not at hand, it consists of a squarish piece of the skin of the lower back, with the tail attached. A second specimen (No. 11932) lately reached the same mu- seum, but unfortunately in very defective state of preservation. It was procured from some point on the Platte Eiver, and pre- sented by Mr. J. W. Munyou, or Muuyou. The skull was smashed to pieces. I was only enabled to determine that the animal had thirty-four teeth, and was therefore Putorius, not Muatelttj and that its relationships appeared to be with the European P.fwtidus group.* Being so short of the necessary material when I began to study this group, I caused an advertisement of my wants, with a description of the species, to be inserted in several of the sporting newspapers, and extensively copied by papers of the region inhabited by the species. This had the gratifying re- sult that in a short time the required specimens were received at the Smithsonian Institution ; and my thanks are due to several gentlemen who kindly interested themselves in the matter. The third specimen (counting the above-mentioned scrap of skin as one) was brought to Washington by Dr. F. V. Hayden, Director of the tJnited States Geological Survey. This one was taken by Dr. Law, in the valley of the Cache La Poudre Eiver, near the northern border of Colorado. It was in better condition than Mr. Munyon's, but still defective, having lost part of the tail and most of the head, which had been shattered by a rifle-ball. The length of this individual was about eighteen inches to the root of the tail. Dr. Hayden informed me that it had been shot at the mouth of a prairie-dog hole, of which it had taken possession, and that its stomach contained remains of one of these quadrupeds. He also spoke to me of another individual, kept for some time in confinement at Greeley, Colo- *The whitishness about the mouth and ears of P.foetidus, contrasting with dark parts, gives somewhat the appearance of a stripe across the face, which is perfected in C. nigHpea, in which the face-markings recall those of the Orison, GalictU vitUtta. ACCOUNT OF THE AMERICAN FERRET. 151 rado, which had also been secured in a prairie-dog town ; and represented the species as being not at all rare, though very difficult to obtain, owing to the facilities for its retreat into the safe recesses of the burrows of the Marmots. Shortly afterward a fourth specimen came to hand from Fort Wallace, Kansas, where the animal is said to be called the "prairie-dog hunter", from the habits indicated in the preced- ing paragraph. This individual, sent by Mr. L. H. Kerrick, fairly well mounted, was the first I had seen with the head and tail complete and in good preservation. Another specimen, from Wyoming or the contiguous portion of Colorado, was sent to Prof. Baird bj' my friend, Oapt. James Gilliss, of the Army, then stationed at Cheyenne Depot, Wyo- ming. This one I think I have not seen. Still another specimen, important as extending the known geographical distribution of the species, was very recently re- ceived at the Smithsonian Institution, from Mr. C. Cavileer, of Pembina, Dakota. This was procured on Milk River, Mon- tana. I am informed by Prof. Baird that two living specimens were sent from some part of the West to New York, one of which died en route, and was probably thrown away ; of the ultimate disposition of the latter I do not know. Mrs. M. A. Maxwell, a well-known naturalist and taxidermist, of Boulder, Colorado, who made a remarkably fine Centennial exhibit of the animals of Colorado at the late Int ational Exposition, at Philadelphia, procured two or three . pecimens in the vicinity of Denver. They were taken on the prairie land in dog-towns. These specimens, very nicely prepared, I had the pleasure of inspecting when Mrs. Maxwell's collection was on exhibition in Washington, during the winter of 1876-77. One of them had been "drowned out" of a prairie-dog hole, and kept for some time in captivity. It became, I am informed, quite tame, though it was furious when first captured. The skull from which the foregoing cranial and dental charac- ters were drawn up was sent from Nebraska by the late Mr. W. F. Parker, formerly editor of the "American Sportsman ", in which one of my advertisements was inserted. I do not know whether or not it was accompanied by a skin. It is No. 14530 of the National Museum. No. 11932 shows the characteristic black facial stripe, black feet, and black end of the tail. The general light brownish- mi <n I 152 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. white color aud character of the pelage are peculiar. The coat is very short aud close, the individual hairs appearing scarcely longer than those of a Stoat ; there is nothing of the length ot pelage of either Mink, Polecat, or Marten. The fur is every- where, even on the darkest part of the back, white at the roots, and on the under parts it is entirely white, excepting a faint brownish discoloration. There is a stronger tinge of pale brown on the back, and a certain dorsal area shows blackish- brown tips of the hairs, not strongly pronounced enough, however, to materially alter the general cast of the parts. The tail has nothing of the bushy character seen in a Mink or Polecat, be- ing cylindrical, close-haired, scarcely enlarged at the terminal brush, and relatively as slender as that of a Stoat. As far as can be judged, this specimen agrees closely with the dimensions assigned by Audubon. Dr. Hayden's specimen, in better order, corresponds closely in coloration with that just described: it is dingy whitish all over, with a slight brownish cast on the upper parts, and a dorsal area of sparse dark brown streakiness. All four paws are quite black ; on the fore legs, these black stockings run up to the shoulder all around the limb, except on the outer sur- face, where a pale line extends down from the body. On the hind limbs, the black is more restricted, soon fading into smoky- brown below the knee. A Ine along the soles is whitish. There is a curious blackish stripe through the umbilicus. The feet are remarkable for the great length of the numerous bristles on the toes, projecting far beyond and almost hiding the claws; the palms and soles are densely furry. The specimen equals a very large Mink in size. The Kansas specimen affords some additional characters, es- pecially relating to the general shape. The body seems pro- portionally as slender and the neck as long as in an Ermine. The tail- vertebrae are only about five inches long, decidedly less than one-third of the length of the head and body, which is apparently some eighteen or nineteen inches, but is perhaps stretched. The circumference of the body is about seven inches. The slender tail has no enlarged terminal brush. The physi- ognomy and general aspect is rather that of an overgrown Wea- sel than of a Mink or Ferret. The ears are very prominent, perhaps even more so than those of a Stoat, and are not per- fectly orbicular, having an obtuse point at the highest part of the border; they measure, in their present state, 1.10 above EXTRALIMITAL SPECIES OF PUTORIUS. 153 notch, 0.70 above head. The longest whiskers (black) reach to the back of the ear; others grow ou the chiu, the cheeks back of the angle of the mouth, and on the forehead. The brownish-black mask is well contrasted with nearly white sur- roundings, except on the forehead, where the dingy brownish of the upper parts extends to it. The ears are mostly white, with a dark touch at the lower front border. The dingy 'brown- ish of the upper parts is a little stronger than in either of the two other specimens here described. The blackish tip of the tail is about one and a half inches long. I made no written memoranda of my examination of Mrs. Maxwell's specimens, but remeuiber that they presented nothing requiring special comment, being fairly illustrative of the char- acters here detailed. Audubon's figure is unmistakable, and gives a very fair idea of this interesting animal. As remarked by Prof. Baird, it is singular that so conspicuous a species should have so long eluded the observation of the many explorers who have trav- ersed the region it inhabits, and where, apparently, it is by no means rare. Its retiring habits, and the nature of its resorts, doubtless tend to screen it. In the summer of 1876, 1 conducted a natural history party through the region supposed to be its centre of abundance, where Dr. Hayden's and Captain Gilliss's specimens were secured ; but I failed to obtain a sight of it, though I was in the midst of prairie-dog towns, and continu- ally on the watch for this particular animal. The geographical distribution above assigned will probably require to be consid- erably enlarged. ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER V. On the species of the extralimital suhyenus PuTORius. lu further illustration of the genus Putoriiis, I wish to introduce a notice of the extralimital species of the subgenus Pntorius, which, as already said, includes the Fitches, Ferrets or Polecats.* No representatives of this particular group are indigenous to America, but the Ferret is extensively bred, in confinement or semi-domestication, for the purpose of hunting rats, rabbits, &c. * The untechnical reader must not confound the proper use of the term " polecat " for the Ferret group, with its frequent application in this coun- try to the Skunks (.l/ejjfti/utte). 154 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTEl.IDiE. I The Subgenus PUTORIUS. For the cliaraoters of Una group Hee anted, p. Qi). The nonpareil note on p. 74 is equally applicable to the synonymy of the following extralimital speoies of the subgenuH. 1. Butorlum tcBtldu:— Polecat or Fileh. Plate VIII. Mustria pulorlUN, L. 8. N. i. 10th od. 1758, 46, no. 5 ; S. N. ii. ITfifl, 67, no. l.—Sehrfb. Sttiig. iii. 1778, 485, pi. 131.— (/»». 8. N. i. 1788, •il.—liechH. Natiirg. i. 479.— i'aM. ZooR. K -A. i. 1811, 87.— />mm. Mnmni. i. 1880, 177, no. 271. -F;-. Ow. Mamm. il. Z\.—Flem. Br. An. 1888, 14.— /en. Br. Vort. 18^5, W.—BHl, Br. Quad. 1837, 15(i, tig.; 2(1 ed. 1874, iOX—SelysL. Fu. Bolg. 1843, 9.—niainv. Compt. Kend. xiv. 1843, 210 sHq. pis. —.—achiiu, Syu. 1844, 339.— Oieb. Odout. 33 ; Siiuj;. 1855, 779. Tlverra putoriUM, Shaw, Gen. Zoo), i. 1800, 415. FflBtorlUM pulorlUM, Keyi. (f Blag. ^Vcrb. Eur. i. 1840, 08, no. 143.— 7i{a«. Wirb, Doutachl. 1857, 222, X. l^.—Chatin, Ann. Sci. Kat. 5tb aer. xix. 1874, 98 (anatomioal). MuHtela rtetldn, '•Klein." PutoriUN ftctldUH, Cray, List Mamm. Br. Mns. 1843, 04; P. Z. S. 1865, 109; Cat. Carn. Br. Hus. 1869, 87.— Gcrr. Cat. Bones Br. Mus. 1802, 92. PutorlUH verus, Bf.— Brandt, Bern. Wlrb. Nord. Eur. Russl. 26. PutorlUH communlH, " Out>. R. A."— (Gray.) Putorlui) typus "F. Ouv."—(Orav.) PutorlUM VUlKaris, Grif. Cuv. R. A. v. 1827, 120, no. 339 {\.o. p. 131, no. 344).— i'it;. Naturg. 8auK. i. 1861, 328, f. 68. Putois, Buff. niat. Nat vii. , 199, pi. Iii. Polecat, Fitch, Fitctaet, Fitchew, Foumart, Fulmart or Fullmart, EnglUh.—Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 89, pi. 6. IltiN, Oerman, of. v. Martent, Zoiil. Gart. zi. 1870, 275 (philological). WIcha, Madral, Selj/t-L. I. c. Form stout ; oars short and rounded ; tail rather bushy, oylindric-tapering, about one-third the head and body ; fur very long and loose on most parts ofthe body (the well-known "fitch" of commerce), yellowish-brown, over- laid with glossy blackish-brown, the tail, legs, and chest mostly bkickish ; head dark, the ears, a space in front of them, lips and chin, usually white. Varies interminably in proportion of the yellowish and blackish, Length about 16 inches ; tail 5^ ; head 2f ; ears i. The name Polecat is probably a contraction of Polish cat. Foumart, «fec., are merely Foul Mart, in distinc- tion from the Muatelas, or " Sweet " Marts, the odor in this species being much more disgusting. The animal inhabit>s Europe. la. Var. tnro.—The Ferret. Mustela furo, L. S. N. i. 1766, 68, no. %.—Schreh. Siiug. ill. 1778, -, pi. 133.— Om. S. N. i. 1788, 91.—De*m. Mamm. i. 1820, 178, no. 273.— Jen. Br. Vert. 1835, n.—FUch. Syn. 1839, 219.— Bell, Br. Quad. 1837, 161, &g.—ScUw, Syn. 1844, 340.— Pr. Ouo. Mamm. ii. 22.— Owfr. Odont. 33, pi. 12, f. 8 ; Siiug. 1855, 780. Tlverra Hiro, Shaw, Gen. Zoiil. i. 1800, 418. FCBtoriUi faro, Ohatin, Ann. Sci. Nat 5th ser. xlz. 1874, 98 (anatomical). Hu8tela pntorius var., Flem. Br. An. 1838, 14. Putorius TUlgarlB var. furo, Oriff. Cuv. R. A. v. 1837, 130, no. 339 a. PutoriUB fCBtldOS vars. turo, BUbmro, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, 110; Cat Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, 87. Ferret, EnglUh.—Penn. Brit. Zool. i. , 91. Furet, Furet Putoire, French.— Buff. Hist. Nat vii , 309, pi. 26. Frett, Frettel, Frettehen, GentMn.—Blou. Wirb. Deutsobl. 1857, 325. This is the well-known tame Ferret, now only recognized in a state of do- mestication. It is smaller and slenderer than the Fitch, yellowish-white or white, with pink eyes. This is an excellent example of a "variety", prop- erly so called, in distinction from a geographical race. The root of all the BREEDING AND HANDLING OF FERllETS. 155 varions vernacular iiamoa (there are many otherH than thcwe above given) Heeuis to be the Latin fur, a tliief. There may also, aa has been Huggewted, be a relationship with the Latin vivvrra, by which name the present, among other species, seems to have been known to the ancients. The rearing of Ferrets seems to be a growing industry in this country, though still not practiced to the extent it is iu Europe. The following iirticle, entitled " Ferret Breeding and Handling", by Mr. F. Mather, apjteared in the "American Sportsmiiii " (newspaper) of November 28, 1874 : — "I have had several iiuiuiries of late from readers of the Si'oiitsman con- cerning the breeding, management and hunting of ferrets, together with itivitations to write it up. It appears somewhat singular that no one has done this before, at least I do not remember to have seen anything on the subject in any American paper, and this fact causes me to comply with the request more readily than I should have done had others with more experi- ence volunteered to publish it. " Practical details having been asked for, we will consider them as they are in our day, and not stop to trace their origin nor where first used. We have two varieties, the brown or ' fitch-ferret,' and the white one. The latter is probably an albino, as its eyes are pink ; l)nt it breeds true to color every time, possibly a ' sport,' as the ilorists say, that has been perpetuated. The white ones seem to be in most favor for some unknown reason, judging from the inquiries that I have received. I keep both kinds, and have them mixed, and don't see any difference in hunting cpialities, and can only account for the preference on the ground that the white ones are thought to be the prettiest pets. Having no strong local attachments, they require to be con- stantly confined, although instances have been known whore they were at liberty and did not go away ; still, as they are just as good for chickens as for rats and rabbits, it is best not to trust them too far. Two or three ani- mals may be kept in a common shoe-box with slats or wire-cloth fronts, a box for a nest in one corner, and a drawer containing coal-ashe^ or earth in another. This should be emptied often and renewed ; they will make all their muss here and will then keep clean and healthy. A cellar is not a good place for them — too damp and cold ; a yard or wood-shed is better. I have a ferret-yard made for the purpose, built of hemlock boards ; it is six- teen feet long by six wide; the sides are four feet high, the boards running up and down to prevent climbing ; it is also tloored to prevent digging. I have in this at present eighteen ferrets, but could accommodate fifty, as they only foul one corner. A tin spout conveys milk into the feeding-pan, and meat is thrown over. Their nest is a box with a cover ; it is full of straw, and a hole in one side is the door. One-half will be covered this winter to keep the snow off. " They will shiver in the summer, and it is not good to keep them in too warm a place if they are expected to hunt in the snow ; but a small box of straw where they can huddle up together and so keep warm is sufficient. I saw three ferrets last summer in a small box that was sheet-ironed inside (the owner thought that they could gnaw like rats), where the poor things had lived for a month in their tilth. It was horrible enough to breed a pes- tilence ; in fact it did breed one for the ferrets. I told the owner so, but he thought not. Mr. Bergh should have seen that ! " They will keep very clean if they have a chance, but will drag food into their nests and store it if they have too much at any time. This can be «)!' % B?l * ^^ rcit j I i i 156 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. \i\ i: |i m "ii partially KO'^rdod aKuiiiNt, in the ciiho of boiios and lar^e i)iocKH, by miikin^; tho eutrauce an Hiiiall uh iioHNil)lo. Wo feud Nkiiuiiied milk, bcef-lieadH, and othur moats ; Halt muat Ih Haid to produce Ncurvy. Milk fatteus a ferret very rapidly, and tliey are ai)t to jjet too fat> on tliin diet. " My monuj;erie is run upon economical principles, and it \n a hard Hpocimon of either animal or vegetable that iIoch not find a consumer. A kin^lisher hovoriiiK over tlio ponds is apt to tumble in ; he is then skinned, and if the lish aio not hungry it goes to the ferrets. A fat woodchuck goes in — there's provision for several days. A hen-hawk " towering in his pride of place" over my young fowl, often finds a lasting repose in the ferret-yard ; while the refuse of fresh (ish is also eagerly devoured. Chicken Iieads often afford an occasional variety. I have a pair of mink who will eat as much in one day as two ferrets would in three ; they will devour the entire carcass of a muskrat in twenty-four hours. " In handling a ferret take it with tho hand around the ribs, and if it struggles let its fore legs go through the fingers ; they do not like to bo held below the ribs. Do not handle young ferrets until nearly grown ; do not handle a female about to have a litter. Their period of gestation is about forty-five days I think, — can't speak positively on this point, — it may be a few days more or less ; they usually have a litter of from five to ten in May or June. I have hoard of vhoir having two litters in one season, but it has never occurred with mo. When about to have young, put each female in a box by herself, and don't let the young run with the old male until they can use their teeth to defend themselves. I prefer to say male and female, though some call them dog-ferret ani bitch ; and last winter a man in Buf- falo said, ' In the hold country we calls 'em a 'ob and a gill.' " lu bandling wild ferrets put on a pair of leather gloves and pick tbem np, rub their heads and pat them, and in a few days you can take your bare hand. Now a word about 'trained' ferrets. That is all humbug. A fer- ret that is tame and well handled will go into a hole and go to the bottom of it, and come out if it finds nothing; hunting is their nature, and a little fasting stimulates them wonderfully. Those kept for rats are generally worked with dogs ; and although I have often run the rats out of my barn with them, it is especially for rabbit hunting that I keep them. They are of no use for the large white rabbit, but I used to find that the little gray fellow that abounds in the vicinity of Honeoye Falls had a very unsocial way of sitting in his hole under ground and declining to come out and have fun, but since I have used ferrets he has changed his habits. With the sneaking method of netting the rabbit at the mouth of the hole when driven out with a ferret I have no kind of sympathy, but as ' Molly Cotton ' clears the hole with a ten-foot bound after passing a ferret, and keeps going faster if possible, often into a thicket, it is sport to stop her. Some prefer a very small ferret, as they use them without a muzzle and they cannot hold a rabbit as a large one does ; but I prefer a good stout fellow, and if he is disposed to kill a rabbit (their dispositions vary) I muzzle him. A mnzxle is made of a small piece of leather shaped like a letter T, a little wider at the bottom however ; a string is put in each end of the top and one in each lower corner, the leather is put under his chin and the top piece tied aronnd his nose ; the other two strings are tied behind his ears. Some have the lips pierced, and after healing they are tied shut. I have never tried this, nor breaking the teeth, which latter practice is brutal. The ferret can PUTORIUH F(KTIDU.S, VAli. — P. 8ARMATICUS. 157 bo cftrried in a bajj, with drnwu Btrinjj. HtniiiK over tho Bhouldor, or in a tiglitly-buttoiictl coat pocket. Ah tho animal I'lijoys itH Hhort liberty when liuntin^ and, however tame it may be, does not want to go into the ba^ again wlille yon move on ; it is always best to lot it get ton feet or more from the hole before yon attempt to pick it np or it may dodge back and refuse to come out. Tn this case tie a rabbit on a stick and put it down and the ferret will follow out. " If the leather muzzle don't work, or gets lost, you can improvise one with u string by making a loop that will not get larger or smaller, and put it over his nose and then tie behind his ears, taking care to have the knot nr.ier his throat and the last tie on top of his head. " In England I believe they use small bolls on their rat-ferrets to tell their whereabouts. In conclusion I would say, if you use ferrets for rats don't trust a strange dog with them, and if for rabbits don't stand in front of the hole." l*". Var. evcrsmaniil.- /SiftcnVin VoU-cat. Mustt'ln puloriUNf, LicM. Eversm. Koisc, 23 ; ref. to Pallaa, i. Zook- 89, nnte, but not MuHeln eiliinca Pall. i6i(/. p. IK). MiiNlela pulorlus mr. everNmannI, FUcher, Syn. 182!), aio. Mustria evrrsmannl, Lam. Man. Wn, 144, nu. 3'9.-Sfhim, Syn. 1844, 339. PutoriUN evrrsmttniil, dray, P. Z. .S. 1865, 109; Cat. Carn. lit. Mub. 1869, 87. MuslriB pulorlUM, Blyth, "J. A. S. V xi. 281."— (Ornv) Mustelu putorius thlbelanlus, Hodgs. "J. A. S. B. xxili, 1849, 446,"— (flroy.) This is the Asiatic Polecat, which appears to have been tirst noted by Pallas, in text of p. 89 of the Zoograpbia, from Siberia. This is to be care- fully distinguished from the Mnniela sibirica of Pallas, p. 90, a very different anitnal, elsewhere noticed in the present work. It is apparently but little if any different from P. J'wtidiis, to which Blasius assigns it without query. Cer- tain cranial differences adduced by Gray may require confirmation. I have seen no speciuions of the supposed species. t. Pntorlns sarmatlciiH.— ^putft'd Polecat. .UuMela »tarmatlra, I'nll. Itln. i. 1771. 453 ; Spic. Zool. neO, xiv. 79, pi. 4, f. 1 ; Zoog. R.-A. i. ,1831, ed.—Frxl. Syst. Anim. 1777, 460, no. G.—Schreb. Siiug. iii. 1778, 490, pi. 133 (from Gnlden8tadt).-Zimm. Geogr^Qeeell. ii. 1780, 305, no. 201.— 0»». 8. N. 1. 1788, 97, no. 15.- Turt. S. N. i. 1806, 60.—Deim. Mamm. 1. 1820, 178, no. 204 j Nonv. Diet. xix. 371 ; Ency. M6th. pi. 88, f. i.—Fr. Our. Diet. Sci. Nat xxix. 1823, 252, no. 9.— Is. Geoff. Diet. Class, x. il2.— Fitch. Syn. 1829, 220.— icM. Man. 1827, 145.-,Sc/ii»»«, Syn. 1844, 3iO.—Oieb. Saug. 1855, 760. VIverra Narmatlca, Shaw, Gen. Zo81. i. 1800, 430 ("Sarmatla Weesel "). Fffitorlus ^armalicus, Keys. <£ Blas.Wirh. Ear. 1840, 08, no. UH.—Blaii. Wirb. Dents. 1857, 226. Putortus sarmaliCUS, Griff. Cuv. K. A. v. 1827, 121, no. 343.— Gmy, List Mamiu. Br. Mas. 1843, 64; P. Z. S. 1865, 110; Cat. Carn. Br. Mns. 1869, 88. MUNtrIa perfKUsna, Otild. N. Comm. Petrop. xiv. 1769, 441, pi. 10 (pereniuina is also found). MUHteia pricclncta, BzaczyntH, Hist Nat "ol. 1736, 328. Vormela, Gean. Quad. 1551, 768. Pereguzna, Prrewlaska, FrzewiaRka, FarH.'la!«ta, I'all. Itin. I. e. TlKeriltls, Orfleckte litis, German. Harmatler, MHU. Naturs. Suppl. 1776, 33. Peronasra, Bnff. Hist. Nat. xv. Putol8 4e Polognp, Ouv. R. A. i. 148. Marte <k celuture, Lest. I. c This remarkably distinct species is black, on the upper parts brown spotted with yellow, the ecrs and a frontal band white. It inhabits Eastern Europe, Poland, and Russia. ( s :j/ H::. m :,{-i ; * ii ' sU If I r "T- CHAPTEK VI. \m r-K MUSTELIN^E— Continued: The Mink. The subgenus Lutreola — Subgererlc characters and remarks — Putorius vison, the American Mink — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific characters — i,«!.8crip- tion of external characters — Measurements — Variation in external char- acters — Variation in the skull — Comparison with the European Mink — Notice of allied Old World species, P. hitrepla and P. aihiricus — General history and habits of tho Mink — " Minkeries". WE come now to consider a particular modification of the genus Putorius, in adaptation to an aquatic mode of life. Both the foregoing subdivisions of the genus comprehend ter- restrial and more or less arboreal species ; the present one, Lu- treola, consists of species which are scarcely less aquatic than the Otters themselves; and the consequent modifications, both in cranical and external characters, are decided. The Subgenus LUTREOLA. (Wagner.) The leading ]>eculiarities of this section have been already pointed out (p. 100), and contrasted with those of Qale, Cynomy onax, and Putorva proper. The skull of the Mink bears out the general points of "build" which distinguish Putorius at large from Mustela — such as the short, turgid, truncate rostrum, comparatively shallow inter- pterygoid emargination, position of anteorbital foramen, &c. As might be expected from consideration of the habits of the ani- mal, a resemblance to the cranium of an Otter is better marked in this than in other sections of the genus, the bullae auditoriie, in particular, being notably flattened, and the whole upper out- line of the skull being straightened. In its own genus, the ^semblances of the skull are with that of Putorius proper and of Cynomyonax, rather than with that of Qale, In addition to the absolutely much greater size in Lutrtola, the massiveuess of the skull, with the strong tlaring sagittal and lambdoidal crests defining temporal fossjv, contrasts strongly with the smooth condition of the parts in Qale. In L. visoUf there is, in 158 CHARACTERS OF SUBGENUS LUTREOLA. 169 addition to the comparative flatness of the auditory bullae, some constriction and outward prolongation of the meatus, which is not seen in Gale or Cynomyotiax, and scarcely indicated in Pu- to:iu8 proper. The frontal outline is nearly straight, and but little sloping (much as in Lutra). The pterygoids develop strong hamular processes, also seen in Putorius proper, but which are weak or wanting in Gale. There is much constric- tion of the skull near the middle, and the postorbital processes are well developed. The dentelure of Tmtreola is probably the strongest to be found in the genus P.t'orius at large, and there is reason to sup- pose that it reaiches a maximum in the largo North American species of this subgenus. In L. visoHj* the teeth, aside from the lesser number of premolars, are singularly like those of Mustela marten, as a matter of superficial resemblance ; and the supe- riority in size and strength over those of Putorius proper, or of Cynomyonax (not to mention Gale), is very evident on compari- son. In the American, if not in other species of Lutreola, the following points may be specially noted : — The back upper molar is of relatively large size, conspicu- ously exceeding that of Putorius foetidus or Cynomyonax nigripes in relative as well as absolute bulk. The inner moiety is much larger than the outer ;t its free border is nearly circular; it is divided from the outer by a strong constriction ; the outer is somewhat trefoil-shaped. The inner moiety presents a raised rim and a central tubercle ; the outer has a corresponding tubercle, but the border is divided into two prominences, mak ing three in all on this half of the tooth. The posterior upper premolar (sectorial tooth) shows certain characters not shared by any American species of the genus at large. There is devel- oped, at the auteroexternal corner of the tooth, a decided pro- cess or spur, only less in size than the ordinary unterointernnl one ; and the projection of this gives to the outer border of the tooth a decidedly concave outline.^ This process, together with the internal one, gives the fore end of the tooth a V-like re- *I hftve not been able to examine the teeth of any Old WoiUl species of thiH HnbgonuH. t This is not the case either with P. fwtidus or <', niyripes, but is scarcelj' a Nubgoueric chart'.cter, for it is said not to o«cur in the European species of Luiriohi. } There is a trace of this process in P./cetiditH and ('. nigripe^i, but it is not sufflciently developed to render the outer border of the tooth concave, nor to make a V-rerntranco at the fore end. H m If 1 5 t \ f i M A 160 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. entrance, into which the antecedent premolar is set. Moreover, the antero-internal process, instead of being a mere heel or spur standing off from the tooth, as in the other subgenera here compared, develops into a strong, conical, acute cusp, some- times with two points. The back lower molar, contrary to what might have been expected, is absolutely not larger than that of P./cetidns,* and therefore smaller relatively to the general de- velopment of the teeth. The anterior lower molar (siectorial tooth) develops on the inner side a slight but unmistakable 8ui)plementary tubercle, like that so evident in Mustela, but smaller ; the other species of Putoriua which I have examined have no trace of this lobe, or a mere rudiment. And, in gen- eral, it may be said of the molars and premolars of Lutreola, that their various cusps are better developed than in most, if not all, other sections of Putoriua. The details of external form of Lutreola are so fully given beyond in the description of L. vison that they may be here omitted. There is but one species known to inhabit North America, very closely related to the Mink of Europe. The al- leged differences between the two are presented further on, in concluding a discussion of their aflinities. The Aiii(;i*icaii Ifliiik. PntorlnH (Lutreoln) tIsoii. Plate IX. Mustela Vl*on, Urim. Quail. I7.5fi, 24fi, no. 6 (from Canadian specinion, same as described by Jlullou and Vennutt). —Schicb. Siiug. ill. 177S, 463, pi. 197 b.—Om. S. N. i. 1788, \H.—Turt. S. N. i. 1806, 58.— Our. R. A. i. 1817, 150.— Hart. Fn. Aiuer. 1825, 63.— Leu. Man. 1827, US.— Maxim. Roiso, i. 1839, 213.— Bfavnw. OsttJogr. Mustela, pi. 13 (teetb). -Thomps. N. n. Vorra. 1853, 31. Mustela (MartCN) vIson, Df»m. Manini. i. 1820, 183.— «ri/f. Cuv. R. A. v. 1827, 124. Muslela (Fulorlus) vtHon, Itich. V. li.A. i. 182<), 48, no. 16. MuHlela (Lutreola) vlson, IIV Supitl. Scbreb. ii. 1841, 341. Lnlra vNon, .Shaw, aeu. Zoai. i. i800, 448 (based on the Viton of Buifon). Putorlus vison, nai)p. Zool. Journ. v. 1830, Wi.-Emmont, Uep. Quad Mass. 1840, 43.— £)« K. N. V. Z. i. 1842, 37, pi. 11, f. 1 (animal), pi. 8, f. 3, A, n (skull).— 4ud. d Bach. Q. N. A. i. liH9, 2.'i0, pl.as.- JTfnn. Tr. 111. .State Af{ric. Soc. for 185i-4, 1855, 578.— 7Jee»J«y, Gool. Cape May, 1857, 137.— Brtuf/. M. N. A. 1857, 177, pi. 37, f. 2, 3 (skulls) —A'ewft. P. R. B. Rep. vi. 1857, 42.— Ooop. <f Suckl. N. H. "W. T. 1860, 93, m.-BiUing*, Cauad. Nat. and Geol. ii. 185t, 448.— i^»»(t, up. cit. vi. ItiCl, 29.— J/a«im. Verz. Am. Saug. 1865, 52.-- Snm. Am. Rop. Mass. Agrio. for 1861, 1802, l.%7, pi. 1, f. 8.— 6i7pin, Tr. N. Scotia Inst. ii. 1870, 12, i9.—Am«i, Bull, ilinu. Acad. >fat. Sol. 1874, 69.— Oouc* <£■ Tarrow, ZoiH. Kxpl. W. lOOMerid. v. 1875, 60. -^Jfe/i, Bull. U. 8. Geol. Sur. vol. U. no. 4, 1876,320 (Hkull). Mustela lutreola, F(>r«(. Phil. Trans. Ixii. 1772, TA.—Sah. Frank. Journ. 183.1, 6."i3.—rMcA. Syn. Ifait, 221 (partly).- (^ndm. Am. Xat. Hist. i. 1831, 906.— ifnU, Canad. Nat. & Geol. vi. 1861, 395. * As elsewhere stated, in Cynontj/o-.jr this tooth is siugularly minute. CHARACTERS OP PUTORIUS VISON. 161 PutoriUS Intreolas, ["Cud. "J Allen, Bnll. M. C. Z. i. 1869, 175 (critical^ iL 1870, 109 (Flor- ida).— iliJen, Pr. Boat. Soc. N. H. xill. 1«69, 18.1. Putorlus lutreolus var. vl80n, Allen, Bull. Ens. Inst vi. 1874, 54, 59, 63. Mustela (LulreoU) lutreola var. amerlcana, Sehim, Syo. Mamm. i. 1844, 347. Vifion lutreola, Oray, List Mamm. Br. Mux. 1843, 64 (pitrtly).— Oerr. Cat. Bones Br. Mas. 1862, 92 (partly). Mustela canadensis, Erxl. Syst An. i. 1777, 455 (mixed with synonymy of another species, but clearly referable here from the description, which can only apply to the Mink. See i^(i. M. K. A. text on p. 151). MuHtrla ranadoaNis var. vison, Jiodii. Elench. An. i. 17r)4. 86 (after Bulffln). MUHtcIa WlnlnKUH, Barton, Am. Pliil. Tr. vi. li-0(), 70 (nn doHcr. ; St. LouIh, Mo.). MUHtela minx, Turt. S. X. i. 180n, 5H —Ord, Guthr. Geo<;. 2d Am. ed. ii. 1815, 291, 298. MuHifIa lutreorcphala, Harl. Fn. Am<Nr. 1825, 63. VlH»n tnlreucepliala, Oran, V. /. .S. tH6.>, 116 ; Car. Cam. Br. Mns. 1869, 94. ; MUMtf la rufa, n. Smith. .Janl. Xat. Lil). xiii. Ih42, \t<.). PutorlUN nlKrescens, And. «£ liach. Q. S. A. iii. KtX !0I, pi. 124 (not in orig. od.).— BaiVd, M. N. A. IS.")?, inO.—Oilpin. Tr. X. Scotin Iimt. ii. 1870, 12, «C. Mink, Smith's Yir){inia,1624.-A'n;m, Itin. iii. 22. Mink, I'ommon Mink, Amerlrun Mink, Authors and others. MiUS, Lawson, Carol. 1709, lii.—lirickell, Xat. Hist. Xorth Car. 1737, 118.— Fenn. Arct. Zoiil. 17K4, 87, no. 35. may, SagardThiodat, Hist. Canad. 1636, 748 (ed. of 1866, iii. 680). Fnuterean, La Hontan, Voy. i. 1703, 81. Also of Freneh Canadian*. VUon, Huff. Hist. An. xiii. 1765, 304, pi. 43 (ba8>>d on specimen in Afus. Aubry, as wene the descrs. of Briss. &. Venn.).— Bomare, Diet. iv. 1768, 615.— i>«»n. Hist. Quad. 1781, uo. 20;>; Arct Zoiil. 1. 1784, 78, no. 89. VLtone , Scataglia, An. Quad. iv. 1775, pi. l.'iS, f. 3 (from Buffon). American vison, Oray, P. Z. S. 1865, 116. lesser Otter, Penn. Hist Quad. 1781, 228.— For«e. Phil. Trans. Ixll. 1773, 371. JatkaHh, Heame, Jonrn, , 376. MMkwieHliew or AUackashew, Oree Indiant (— '• Jackash"). Muuntaln-brook Mink, A ud. <e Bach. I. «. Little Black Mink, 7i<{.{.c. Mountain Mink of Hunters. Ha HIT AT. — North America, at large. North to the Arctic coast, but not abundant north of Fort Knsolution. Spkcikic ciiARACTKHR.— Larger and stouter than the Stoats ; ears shorter ; tail uniformly bushy, nearly as in Mustela; feet semipalmate; color dark cheHtnnt-brown; tail, and nsuitlly a dorsal area, blackish ; chin white, the cilgeH of the upper lip rarely also white, the throat, breast, and belly often with irregular white patches. Length 15-18 inches ; tail-vertebnc 6-8. Bescrijytion of external characters.* This animal, with the essential characters of dentition, &c., of Putorius, differs notably from the typical Stoats and Weasels {(idle) in its larger size and much stouter form, in which re- spects it approaches the true Martens. It shares with these the uniformly enlarged, bushy, and somewhat tapering tail, in- stead of » slenderly terete tail with enlarged busby tip, as in the Stoats. The tail-vertebrre are one-half (more or less) as * From numerous specimeus in the Smithsonian Institution from all parts of North America. 11 M ■•vi **j. V :!i 162 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. ^1 m Ih! long as the head aud body ; the terminal pencil is only as long as the hairs of the tail in general. Unlike the Martens, the Mink has small low ears, smaller than those of the Weasels. The ears are scarcely longer than the adjacent fur, though tbey overtop it a little, as the fur lies flat; they are rounded, and well furred both sides. The general shape of the head — long, low, flat, subtriangular — is as in other Putorii.- The small eye centres over the angle of the month, half-way between the nose and ear. The whiskers are in four or five series, the longest reaching opposite the occiput ; they are stiff and strong ; other bristles giow over and behind tbe eyes, ou the cheeks, and on the middle of the chin ; similar bristles are usually seen upon the wrists and ankles. The extremity of tbe snout is protub- erant and definitely naked. The feet are broad ; the hinder have a slightly oblique set; the fore have ten balls, the hind nine, as in other Putorii (five digital pads at the ends of the digits, five palmar, and four plantar). The palmar and plantar pads are not separated by hairy spaces (except the hindmost outer palmar one), there being only a crease between them. Ordi- narily, the pads are conspicuo isly naked, but in northern and some winter skins they must be searched for amidst the over- growing hair. This is a purely fortuitous circumstance. The palms and soles are always furry around the pads. On the top of the feet, the hairs reach to or rather beyond the ends of the nails. The digits are all webbed at bases for a considerable distance, especially the middle ones. The third and fourth fin- gers are subequal and longest ; the second and fifth not so nearly equal, and both much shorter; the first is quite short. The toes of the hind feet have almost the same relative propor- tions. The pelage consists of a dense, soft, matted under fur, mixed with long, stiff, lustrous hairs, on all parts of the body and tail. The gloss is greatest on the upper parts; on the tail the bristly hairs predominate. Northern specimens have tbe finest and most glistening pelage, though the long hairs are the stoutest; in southern specimens there is les^ difference be- tween the under and over fur, aud the whole peiage is coarser and harsher. In color, the Mink ranges from a light dull yellowish-brown, not very different from that of a Marten, or of some styles of the European P. foetidua, to a rich blackish chocolate-brown. These extremes (whicu will be presently considered) aside, the animal is ordinarily of a rich dark brown, scarcely or not paler DESCRIPTION OP PUTORIUS VISON. 163 below than on the general upper parts ; but a dorsal area is usually the darkest, and the tail is quite bla^kiBh. A strong mark of the species is the white chin ; this is rarely absent, but still its indeterminate character is shown in the fact that its extent and posterior contour are wholly irregular. As generally found, it occupies the whole under jaw about as far back as the angle of the mouth. It is sometimes prolonged as an irregular streak down the throat ; sometimes it is indicated only by a few specks, or it may be altogether absent. This white seldom invades the upper lip; that it sometimes, however, does so is attested by the specimens before me, one of the differences claimed from the European P. lutreola being thus obviously negatived. Besides the white on the chin, there are often, perhaps usually, other white patches on the under parts, par- ticularly on the chest, between the fore legs, and on the lower belly between the hind legs. These markings are wholly inde- terminate in extetit and contour. To recount their vagaries would be futile. In very rare instances, the tail is tipped with white. (r * i 1 ^T, 4l i\AH H i hi 1 I I mm 164 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. 03 M C at S S S "s* § nompads jo ojn^vx Alcoholic. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ■Ma JO topiM. SS : : : •qoioa 8S ; : : '8 A«p JO pno 0% 99ny[ S2 •8MWJ0 JO pno o? Moqig; ^ Si •(jooj pajH 1 •}ooj eao,^ f2g : i ;» •»i!«H ad od t^ o 00 oi of •sBjqeiJQA H r-: te t-! t-: TO OD i o a i •n«x §S?S28SS tri <d 0> iri CO ad H M ..< (H » n M rH •jndjooo ipssass 1 oJ rf ri ri ri ri •jua is i§si: • el IeJ»ld I •9.Ca 1 §S22SS 1 ^ C> *-•*-« ^ f" •xag i•o^^o"D ' £ i '5 E O 1 UN a • 1 • 5 : : i 9 . . • H 1 : : ■joqmiin i«nj3iJ0 ll ""'363 364 1595 1641 ■joq niua insxinQ EXTERNAL VARIATION IN PUTORIUS VISON. 165 Variation in external cliaracters. In the extensive series of Minks before me, two extremes of size and color are apparent. One of these, represented by a few skins from Washington Territory and the Upper Missouri, is rather larger than any others I have seen — some IS or 20 inches long, exclusive of the tail. (But the ordinary dark Mink has been found over 20 inches in length.) They are remarkably light-colored, pale dull yellowish-brown all over, the tail but little darker, with the usual white marks on the chin and else- where underneath. Such specimens are noted by Prof. Baird, p. 179, in text. Although by no means to be overlooked in any formal account of the species, the fact that this style shades insensibly into the ordinary state shows that it is merely one phase of individual variation, which need not be recognized by name. The other extreme has been described and figured as Putoriua nigrescens by Audubon and Bachman,* as above. *In order to set forth fully tbe characters claimed for this supposed species, the following digest of the original description is given : — Smaller than P. viaon; teeth in the under jaw larger than the correspond- ing teeth in the upper jaw; feet less deeply palmated than in P. vison; ears broader and longer ; fur softer and more glossy. Color dark browulsh- black. Id form, in dentition, and in the shape of the feet, this species bears a strong resemblance to a stout Weasel ; the head is broad and depressed, and shorter and blunter than that of P. viaon. Ears large, oval, and slightly acute, cov- ered on both surfaces with fur ; legs rather short and stout ; feet small and \ok-> webbed than in P. oUon. The callosities under the toes are more prominent than in that species, and the palms scarcely half as long. Toes covered with short hairs almost concealing the nails, and the hairs between the toes leaving only the tubercles visible. Fur blackish-brown from the roots to the tips; whiskers and ears blackish-brown ; a white chin-patch (not shown in the figures); under surface of body a shade lighter and redder than the back; tail blackish-brown, blackening on tite end. Length of head and body 11 inches; tail-vertebraj tJ, with hairs 7 ; polos "i,"; ; ear ^. Mountain Mink of hunters. Prom Pennsylvania, Now York, New Eng- land, and Canada, and supposed to be more northerly than P. rhon. "We have had abundant opportunities of comparing many specimens [with P. vison']. We have seen some with their teeth much worn, and females which from the appearance of the teats had evidently suckled their young. They were all of the size and colour of the specimen above described, and we can no longer doubt that the latter is a distinct species from P. rison. The comparison in fact is not recjuired to be made between these s|iecies, butbetweenthepresentspeciesandP.Iutreota of Europe We had no opportunity of placing this little species by the side of the European. We are iuoliued to believe, however, that distinctive marks will be found s;t M 1 , < U- ^^ iUM -.« * 166 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. It consists in the combination of small size and dark colors. The specimens representing it are a foot or little more in length, and of a rich blackish chocolate-brown ; the white on the chin and elsewhere is found as usual. It has been claimed that this cannot be merely a young " Mink", on the ground that it has been found breeding. Hunters and trappers practically recog- nize as distinct a " Mountain Mink'' of this character, the dif- ferences which result in the enhanced value of the pelt appealing to them strongly. But, in any event, the specimens before me establish one fact, namely, that it is impossible to draw any dividing line between " P. nigrescens^ and the common Mink. They melt into each other insensibly. The question is nar- rowed to whether the supposed species is a reasonably marked variety, or whether it is merely a fortuitous state under which the Mink may anywhere present itself. The latter is my present view. It is certain that young Minks are darker than the old ones, and that the animal increases in stature for some time after it is "mature", i.e., in possession of reproductive powers. The fact that the small blackish individuals are found breeding is therefore by no means conclusive. Nor is the supposed " nigrescens " characteristic of any particular faunal area. In this connection, the remarks of Mr. B. B. Boss in the paper above cited have much practical pertinence, and his opinion, based upon long experience, is entitled to weight. Speaking of the ordinary Mink, he remarks : — "The color of its pelt varies greatly. In winter its shades range from a dark chestnut to a rich brownish black. The tint of all the body is uniform, except that the belly is sensibly lighter, and that there is a series of white blotches, running with greater or smaller breaks from the end of the chin to some distance below the forelegs, and again continued with more regularity from the middle of the belly to the anus. In some skins these markings are of sn ,11 extent, but I have never seen them entirely wanting. There are commonly spots under either one or both of the forelegs,* but not invariably. I have remarked that the color- ation of this animal, as well as of the Otter and Beaver, grows in the siuall ruanded feet aad short tarsus of oar present species, in its longer and rather more pointed ears, its shorter head and longer lower incisors, together with a more general resemblance to oar comuion weasel (P. erminea) in sammer dress." CRANIAL VARIATION IN PUTORIUS VISON. 167 lighter an it advances in years, and that the whl.d blotches or spots are of greater size and distinctness in the old than in the young. The fur of a young Mink (uuder^ree years) when killed in season is very handsome: its coIoi^k often an almost pure black. The skin is thin and pliable, aAroaching nearly to the papery consistency of that of the Martin. When aged, the hide is thick and the color more rusty. The summer pelage is short, but tolerably close, and is of a reddish brown color, and the tail, though still possessing black hairs, shews dis- tinctly the under-fur of a decidedly rusty hue. Its feet are rather pointed and not large. Its legs are short but muscular, and its track in the snow is easily distinguished from that of the Martin, whose longer and well-covered paws do not sink so deeply. Indeed, when the snow is at all deep and soft, the Mink makes a regular furrow, similar to that made by an Otter under like circumstances, though of course smaller I am strongly inclined to the opinion that there is only one species of Mink on this continent, .ind consider it highly prob- able that the P. Nigrescentes of And. & Bach, are merely common Minks under three years of age. I have seen numbers of skins here of exactly the same color, size, and furring as those described under that head in Prof. Baird's work on North American Mammals, which were simply young P. visones. This gentleman also states that the American species of Mink never has the edge of the upper lip white. I have never seen the icliole of that part so colored, but in one specimen now on my table there is a white spot beneath the nostrils." To the above account of the variations in pelage must be added another source of change in specimens, namely, the fading by long exposure to the light. Some mounted individ- uals which have been in the Smithsonian museum for about twenty years are now bleached to a dingy white nearly all over. The time that the Mink requires to attain full stature is seen from the foregoing. As usual in this genus, the female aver- ages considerably smaller than the male. m^n if :ij Yariation in the skull of the MinJc, Having already given the principal characters of the skull in treating of the subgenus lAitreola, it only remains to note the variation presented by the present species. ■'^:■ '. - -HIS 168 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDwE. I Skulls of L. vison ordinarily range from 2.35 x 1.35 to 2.75 X 1.05,* but the extreme limits of variation are considerably furtlier apart than these. Mr. J. A. Allen t has tabulated and discussed the variations according to geographical distribution. I present his article in full : — " Eighteen skulls from the northern parts of the continent, mainly from Alaska, average 2.6G in length and 1.58 in width, the extremes being, length, 3.02 and 2.30; width, 1.00 and 1.40. Thirteen skulls from the highlands of Northeastern New York average 2.40 in length and 1.34 in width, the extremes being, length, 2,60 and 2.17. Three skulls from Pennsylvania (un- doubtedly males) average 2.49 in length and 1.48 in width. In the northern series, the sex of the skull is given by the collector, whence it appears that the twelve males have an average length of 2.81, and the six females an average length of 2.48, showing a considerable sexual variation in size. Yet the smallest males (2.64 and 2.63) full below the largest female (2.68), if the skulls are all correctly marked. None of the other females, however, exceed 2.55, and only three of the males fall below 2.70. In the New York series, the sex is not indicated; but, judging from the proportion of the small to the large skulls, the sexes are about equally represented in the two series, but in the New York series there is a very gradual decline from the largest to the smallest. The northern series of eighteen is selected from a series of twenty-three ; the New York series of thirteen from a series < f thirty. In each case only very old skulls were chosen, the immature specimens in each case being thrown out in order to have i> fair basis for comparison. The immature and middle-aged specimens greatly predominate in the New York series, owing, doubtless, to the s]>ecies being more closely hunted there than in the more unsettled districts of the far north. *' Taking these two series as a basis for a general compari- son, there is indicated a considerable decrease in size from the north southward, amounting to 0.26 in length and 0.24 in width, or about one-tenth of the average size of the New York * A akull of the commou Ferret, P. faitidita var. furo, before rae, ia ulmust exactly of the former ditueusionn. Tame Ferrets' skulls I have examined show a carious depression of the cranial portion — evea a concavity of the upper profile, which I have not observed in P. fwtidua. A skull of the latter measures 2.60 X 1.55. tliuU. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr. vol. ii. no. 4, 1876, pp. 327, 328. COMPARISON WITH PUTORIUS LUTREOLA. 169 series. A single specimen, marked < Brookbaven, Miss.', anil another marked 'Tuscaloosa, Ala.', however, have a length respectively of 2.60 and Ii.80, the former equaling the largest New York specimens, and the latter nearly equaling the aver- age size of the males of the northern series, wliile a single male skull from Fort Randall, D. T., 2.90 in length, is the sec- ond in si^o of the whole series; one Fort Yukon spccimea only being larger ! Other specimens from the Upper Missouri region, however, are mu(;h smaller, as are other specimens from Prairie Mer Rouge, La., indicating that the specimens above mentioned are much above the average for their re- spective localities. " MeaHitrenients of thirty-sereu Hkulh of FuTORllis viaoN. 5" 6530 8709 8797 87!I6 8707 8703 8708 fim SMS 8708 es3i 8704 8706 8705 3284 430<l 8133 4305 12915 3730 3824 110!) 3(ie5 30H4 382.3 382-J 3249 C243 3241 S344 8250 22tl7 1847 4834 4«i5 1804 11315 Locality. Fort Yukon, Alaaka . Alaska do do , do , do do do Ala.ska (Kadiak) , Aluaka do do do do Nelson River , Fort Simpson , do... do Fort Kandall Essex County, New York do .do. .do. .do .do. -do. Saranac Lake, Now York do do do do do I'ennsvlvauia do do Tuscaloosa, Ala . .. Brookhaveu, Miss. <2S d d d d d d d 9 ,1 3.02 2.82 3. 83 2.75 2.73 3.75 3.A8 2.64 3.63 9.68 55 45 32 30 86 8.70 8.90 2.55 2.90 8.60 8.60 2.40 2.40 8.40 8. 32 2.30 8.47 8.40 a. 35 8.80 2.40 8.17 3.50 8.50 3.47 2.80 3.00 1.00 1.64 1.68 1.61 1.68 1.57 1.68 1. .'>5 1.58 1.58 1.50 1.45 1.40 1.40 1.63 1.51 1.78 1. 46 1.61 1.48 1.38 1..32 1.38 1.31 1.32 1.23 1.37 1.30 1.31 1.18 1.48 1.311 1.48 1.48 1.48 1.61 1.50 Remarks. Vorv old. ...do. . . . do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. Old. ..do. Old. P. ' ntgraicens ' A. 4( B. ...do. ...do. Old. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do. . . . do. ...do. ...do. ...do. ...do." Comparison with the European Mink. I have only been able to compare my series of American Minks with one European specimen, which, being mounted, does not permit examination of the teeth. But as we have seen that the curious difference in the character of the molar a 'iu IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 5« // 4is tSn A i ^^ f/j m 1.0 I.I 11.25 £ IS 110 III 1.8 U IIIL6 %■ 0% ^;. "^14 ^j*" > 0» /A •^ Is l\ 170 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. and last premolar of Mustela martes and M. americana holds good, there is reason to presume that the same difference may constantly obtain in the Minks, as held by Dr. Gray. In this case, very curiously, it is the American animal which has the larger molar, not the European. This could never have been predicated by analogy ; it illustrates the constantly recurring lesson of the danger of this mode of reasoning in zoology, and the necessity of appeal to observed facts in every case. All the many skulls of American Minks examined (about forty) show the massive last molar with an inner moiety very much larger than the outer, as against the opposite which is alleged of the Old World species. A discrepancy in average size of the American and European Minks is obvious ; but the differ- ence is within the range of variation of the former. The white upper lip, the rule in the European species, is the rare excep- tion in the American. As far as external differences go, it would be impossible to separate the two forms specifically ; ■we could only predicate a geographical race upon the average superior stature and generally dark upper lip of the American form. Attending only to these superficial details, Mr. Allen * came to the justifiable conclusion of the specific identity of the two animals ; but had his able and pertinent discussion em- braced consideration of the dental peculiarities, his views would doubtless have been materially modified. I am unable to en- dorse his general statement {loc. cit) respecting the Lutreola group, that "we have here again but one circumpolar and widely dispersed species, with possibly two continental or geo- graphical races which may be more or less easily recognized". For aside from the question of P. vison, t'n P. sibiricus (see foot-note), which Mr. Allen would bring into the same connec- tion, is an entirely different species, to judge from the single excellent specimen before me. In justice to this writer, however, I should not omit to add that since his examination of the skulls he has presented P. vison as a distinct species. The comparative diagnosis of P. lutreola and P. vison would be as follows : — p. lutreolaA — Back upper molar small, quadrate, transverse, the inner moiety scarcely larger than the outer [fide Qray]. Averaging smaller; upper lip normally white. * Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. i. 18(39, pp. 175-177 — an article important as a contribution to the present discussion, and as satisfactorily showing that the external characters supposed to distinguish two species do not hold. 1 1 introduce short notices of the two Old World species allied to P. v'uon, as farther contributions to the history of the group. PUTOEIUS LUTREOLA— PUTORIUS SIBIRICUS. 171 p. vieon. — Back upper molar large, with great constriction across the mid- dle, making an hourglass-shape, the inner moiety of which is nearly twice as large as the outer [40 specimens seen]. Averaging larger; upper lip normally dark. Pntorlns (Lutreola) lutreola.— European Mink. Tlverra lutreola, L. Fu. Sueo. 2(1 ed. 1761, 5, no. 13.— Pall. Spio. Zool. xiv. 1781), 46, pi. 21, f. a ; Zoog. R.-A. i. 1831, 80, no. 23. Musleln lulrcola, L. 8. N. i. nati, 66, no. 3 (Finland).— ScAr. her, SttiiK. iil. 1778, 462, pi. 12.5.— Lepech. Itin. 1. , 176, pi. 12.— Gm. S. N. 1. 1788, 94, n. i.—Turl. S. N. 1. 1806, 5S.—Xils8. • Skand. Fn. 11, 152. -icM. Man. 1827, 147.— Fate*, Act. Soo. So. Feun. u. 1847, 583.— G»«6. Saug. 1855, 484. Mostela (Lutreola) lutreola, Schim, Syn. Mamm. L 1844, 346. Lutra lutreola, 8haw, G. Z. i. 1800, 443.— Olog. N. Act. Acad. Nat. Cnrios. xiii. 501. Pulorius lutreola, Griff. Cuv. R. A. v. 1827, 122, no. 347.— Brandt, Bern. Wiii). Nord. Eur. Russl. 1856, ^.—Anjubault, BuU.Soc. Agric. Sarthp, xiii; Rev. Mag. Zool. 1863, 77 (so© Mrehmer, Arch. Vereins Meoklenb. 1863, 291; Taragon, Rev. Zool. xv. 357; Heinzel, Verb. Ntrf. Vereins Biiinn. i, 1862, 18). FCBtorlUS lutreola, £^. <££. Wirb. Eur. 1840, 69, no. US.—liUu. Wirb. Dentschl. 1857, 234, no. 5 (der 'SoTz). —Struck. Arcb. Nat. Mecklenb. xiii. 1859, l:\9.—Krau»e, Poterm. Geog. Mittb. 1866, 425. TISOB lutreola, Oray, List Manini. Br. Mns. 1843, 64 (includes both species) ; P. Z. S. 1865, 117 Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, 94.—Oerr. Cat. Bones Br. Mu«. 1862, 92 (includes both species).- Jf. Schmidt, Zool. Gart. 1865, 168, flg. Intra minor, Erxl Syst. An. i. 1777, 451, no. 3 (mixed with P. titeon). Mauk, Nurek, Tuhcurl, Ncerza, Norz, Norz, Nnrz, Nurtz, Authors. Klelne FlHChotter, Sumpfotter, Oerm. Korz, Jlf arfe»«, ZooL Gart. xi. 1870, 278 (philological). The characters of this species are sufficiently indicated iu the text above. Gerrard gives the caudal vertebrui as 17. Patorlns (I^atreola?) slblrlcns.— iSt&erian Mink. Mustela Siblrica, Paii. Itin. ii. app. 701 ; Spic. Zool. 1780, xiv. 89, pi. 4, flg. 2; Zoog. R.-A. i. 1831, 90, pi. 7.— Erxl. Syst 1777, 471,no.ll.— -SteArefr. Sang. iii. 1778, 495, pi. 133 B.— Zimm. Geogr. Gescb. ii. 1780, 306, no. 202.— (Jm. S. N. i. 1788, 98, no. Id.—l'urt S. N. i. 1806, 61.— X>e«n». Mamm. i. 1820, 177, no. 272; Nouv. Diet. xix. 369.— Fr. Cuv. Diet. Sci. Nat xxix. 249.— i«. Geoff. Diet. Class, x. 212.— GFra^, List Mumm, Br. Mus. 1843, 66.— Oerr. Cat Bones Br. Mus. 1862, 94.—Gieb. Saug. 1855, 781. Tiverra siblrlca, Shaw, Gen. Zo&l. i. 1800, 431 . PutorlUS Hiblrica, Griff. Cuv. R. A. V. 1827, 122, no. 346. Tlson siblrica. Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, 117 ; Cat Carn. Br. Mus. 1869, 94. (?) " MiMlela Italsl, Temm. Fn. Jap. 34, pi. 7, f. 2 (nat»i by misprint on plate)."— (Omy.) Fatuls de liberie, Cuv. R. A. i. 148. fhorock, "<$onnt»i'8 Buffon, XXXV. 19." Kulon, Jar(ar«. i Kulonnok, Chorok, Suttian. (No. 1451, Mus. Smiths., from the Brem«n Museum.) This animal is a Pu- torius (teeth .34), and may come near the Minks, as the toes appear to be ex- tensively semi-palmate and the ears are very short. The general aspect, however, is that of a Ferret or Polecat, P. fwtidua, like which species, and like P. nigripes, it has dark facial markings contrasted with white surround- ings. The tail is long and bnshy, about as it would be in a Marten (Muatela) of the same size. The color is peculiar — a uniform, clear, rich, fulvous or tawny brown ("buff" or "fawn" color), scarcely paler below, the tail 172 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. General history and habits of the Mink. The history of the American Mink, to which we will confine our attention, begins at an early date, long before Linnaeus con- ferred precision upon zoological writing by establishing the binomial nomenclature. Says Sagard-Th^odat, in 1636, refer- ring to the Hurons : — " lis out vers les Neutres une autre espece d'animaux nommez Otay, ressemblaut ^ un escurieux grand comme un petit lapin, d'un poll tres-noir, & si doux, poly «& beau qu'il semble de la panne. lis font grands cas de ces peaux desquelles ils font des robes & couaertures, oil il y en entre bien une soixantaine qu'ils embellissent part tout lY I'entour, des testes, & des queues de ces animaux qui leur donnent bonne grace, & rendent riches en leur estime." Early in the seven- teenth century we find the animal unmistakably indicated under the name of Mink or Minx.* The derivation of these words — or rather of this terra, for the two are obviously the same — is from the original Swedish maenk^ applied to the P. lutreola of Eu- rope. The term otay had long been in use at that time, and foiitereau was an Early French designation, used, for instance, by La Hontan (1703) for " a sort of small amphibious weasels". Of the meaning of the term vison, generally adopted since Buffon as the specific designation, I have only to remark, on the authority of von Martens, it-* apparent relation with weasel, through veso. The word jaekash, sometimes found, is obviously a rendering by an English tongue of the Cree name, which is given by Richardson as Shakwceshew or Atjackasheic. " The Minx ", says Lawson, about the beginning of the last century, " is an animal much like the English Fillemart or thronghout the same. Throat aud soles of feet whitish. Forehead, cheeks, region around eyes, and naked nasal pad blackish-brown ; end of si^ut all around (isolating the dark nose-i)ad), edge of upper lip, and chin white. Length apparently about 15 inches; tail-vertebrsB 6 or 7; hairs at the end full 3 inches longer. Pallas says his animal is pecnliar to Farther Siberia, from the Yenisei River eastward to the sea, to the 60° parallel, but is not fouud in Kaiu- tschatka nor in the Tschuctschi region. Gray attributes it to the Himalayas, China, Japan, aud Formosa, quoting Temminck, as above. " The identity in form with the Euglish minx may possibly be more than fortuitous. Minx was a name of a female puppy, and subsequently signified a pert, wanton girl, doubtless through the same association of id»as tbat caused the vulgar name of a she-dog to beoome a shameful term of reproach for a lewd woman. There is something in the forward, prying, and spite- ful nature of the animal to render niinx applicable. HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE MINK. Polcat. He is long, slender, and every way shaped like him. His Haunts are chiefly in the Marshes, by the Seaside and Salt- Waters, where he lives on Fish, Fowl, Mice and Insects. . . . These arelikewise found high up in the Rivers, in whose sides they live ; which is known by the abundants of Fresh- Water Muscles Shells (such as you have in England) that lie at the Mouth of their Holes. This is an Enemy to the Tortoise, whose Holes, in the Sand, where they hide their Eggs, the Minx finds out, and scratches up and eats," — with more in the same quaint style. Button described " Le vison " in 1705 from a Canadian speci- men in M. Aubry's museum, the same apparently that served as the basis of Brisson's earlier and Pennant's subsequent ac- count. Pennant indeetl has also his Minx or Lesser Otter, but this is simply because ho did not recognize that this was the same as his riison. Since these earlier authors, the Mink, a very common animal of this country, has been frequently mentioned by writers, and taken its place in all the systematic works. It has served as the basis of several nominal species, but these have occasioned little if any confusion, the zoological characters of the animaV being well marked. The only question, indeed, is as to its re- lationships with the European P. lutreola. For many years a specific distinctness was seldom doubted, but of late the opin- ion has tended the other way. The Mink has been placed alternately in the genera Mustela and Putorius^ partly owing to a varying acceptation of these names by authors, partly to a misconception of its dental characters. It is a true " Weasel ", with 34 teeth, not a Marten, which has 38. It is of larger size, stouter form, and bushier tail than an average species of Pu- toriuH, approaching in these respects to the Martens, Mnstela. In those points in which it is modified for its eminently aquatic mode of life, namely, the half-webbing of the toes, short ears, and the close-set, bristly, glistening pelage, it makes an ap- proach toward the Otters. In fact, the specific term lutreola, " little otter ", applied to the European form by Linnreus, is highly appropriate. The non-essential modifications which the animal presents have been unnecessarily made by Dr. Gray the basis of a subgenus Vison. The peculiar odor which the animals of this genus hare in common attaics in this large and vigorous species a surpassing degree of fetor, though of the same quality. No animal of this countrv, except the Skunk, possesses so powerful, penetrating, '■J^''' 174 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. i '■mm 1 I^^l 'n H' ^H 1 1^1 fl 1 Hl^i ■ and lasting an efauviura. Its strength is fully perceived in taking the animal from a trap, or when the Mink is otherwise irritated. Ordinarily the scent is not emitted to any noticeable degree ; it is under voluntary control, and the fact that the Mink spends most of its time in the water is .another reason why its proximity, even in numbers, is not commonly perceived by smell. Both sexes possess the scent-bags ; they lie in the perinsBum, one on each side of the rectum, and open upuu a papilla on either side of the anus, just within the edge of the external orifice. As usual, the apparatus pertains primarily to the sexual relations, and, in fact, can have no other office of consequence, since the effluvium is not powerful enough to deter i)ursuit on the part of a determined enemy* as is the case with the intolerable emanations of the Skunk. Its service seems to be that of attracting the sexes. It is used with advan- tage, like the castoreum of Beavers, by trappers, to increase the efficacy of their bait. It belongs to the class of musky odors, which, in minute quantities, are not disagreeable to most persons; and, indeed, a moderate amount of mink scent is to me less undesirable than the ineffably rank odor of a hewolf for instance. The former is special and peculiar; the latter seems to convey all that is obscene in the nature of the animal. The distribution of the Mink in this country is scarcely limited. In a word, it is found in suitable places throughout North America. Sir John Richardson found it on Mackenzie's River as far north as 66° ; " and there is every reason to believe that it ranges to the mouth of that river, in latitude 69^". Audubon says that he has seen it *'in every State in the Union", and remarks its abundance in the salt marshes of the Southern States. Although he could at that time only speak at second hand of its occurrence in regions west of the Rocky Mountains, I have sufficient evidence in the way of specimens that it is there equally well represented. Its essentially aquatic nature leads it to seek, in general, well-watered sections, and it will never be found far away from water, except it be caught during the journeys it makes from one stream or pool to another. Nevertheless, I have found it in great plenty along the water- courses of some of the driest portions of the interior of the continent, as in Dakota and Montana. The very scarcity of water in such regions is one cause of the apparent abundance of certain aquatic animals in spots, as around the pools and along the few streams; they become HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE MINK. 175 aggregated in a few r)laces rather than generally dispersed over the country, so that their numbers appear greater than they really are. In the region last mentioned, there was scarcely any water, running or stagnant, even if enduring for only a part of the year, the muddy banks of which were not dotted with num- berless tracks of Mink, Muskrats, and Meadow Mice. All around the permanent pools, the entrances to the burrows of the first named were to be found. The holes were noticed more or less nearly at water-level, according to the state of evapora- tion of the water ; they were generally dug in a rather steep part of the bank, and from the entrance of the burrow a " way" led far out into the pool. Whilst encamped for a month or more in the autumn of 1873, on Mouse River, in Northern Dakota, a friend with me pro- cured a large number of Minks without difficulty. In addition to our steel traps, we built numerous deadfalls, and were equally successful with both means. The Minks were not at all wary about the traps. Any contrivance by which a small log could be made to fall against another on touching a trigger, the bait being covered so that the animal could only reach it from the desired position, sufficed perfectly well. Such a trap may be built, where there is wood, with a hatchet and pocket-knife in a few minutes. We set them at intervals for several miles along the stream, wherever, judging from the number of tracks, we were most likely to be successful. They were placed as near as convenient to the water's edge, baited with a duck's head or breast, and scented with the Mink's odor. In setting the steel traps, we placed them in the "ways" leading into the burrows, and in very shallow parts of the stream, where a little water rippled over pebbly shingle. It was found best, on the whole, not to bait the trap itself, but to build a little box of flat stones, with a narrow entrance, at which the trap was set, the bait being placed further in. The Mink of this region seemed to me rather smaller and darker than average, and they rarely showed white along the chest or belly. The tenacity of life of the Mink is something remarkable. It lives for many hours — in cases I have known for more than a day and night — under the pressure of a heavy log, sufficient to hold it like a vice, and when the middle of the body was pressed perfectly flat. Nay, under one such circumstance which I re- call, the animal showed good fight on approach. When caught by a leg in a steel trap, the Mink usually gnaws and tears the •• *' 'h. i' 176 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. captive member, sometimes lacerating it in a manner painful to witness ; but, singular to say, it bites the part beyond the jaws of the trap. This does not appear to be any intelligent attempt to free itself, but rather an act of the blind fury ex- cited by consciousness of capture. Some have averred that it is an instinctive means of lessening pain, by permitting a flow of blood from the portion of the limb beyond the point of seizure; but this seems to me very problematical. The violence and persistence of the poor tortured animal's endeavors to escape are witnessed in the frequent breaking of its teeth against the iron — this is the rule rather* than the exception. One who has not taken a Mink in a steel trap can scarcely form an idea of the terrible expression the aiiimal'ti face assumes as the captor approaches. It has always struck me as the most nearly diabolical of anything in animal physiognomy. A sullen stare from the crouched, motionless form gives way to a new look of surprise and fear, accomi>anied with the most violent contortions of the body, with renewed champing of the iron, till breathless, with heaving flanks, and open mouth dribbling saliva, the animal settles again, and watches with a look of concentrated hatred, mingled with impotent rage and fright- ful despair. The countenance of the Mink, its broad, low head, short ears, small eyes, piggish snout, and formidable teeth, is always expressive of the lower and more brutal passions, all of which are intensified at such times. As may well be supposed, the creature must not be incautiously dealt with when in such a frame of mind. The gun is not often used to procure Mink, not only because of the injury to the pelt which would ensue, but because its use is difiQcult and unsatisfactory. I have never secured one in this way, though I have more than once fired at them swim- ming in the water. If on the lookout, as they usually are, they may dive at the flash, and evade the shot. They immedi- ately disappear likewivse if only wounded ; and even if killed outright, which is not often the case, they sink, and are not likely to be recovered. Shots at a Mink on land but rarely o£fer ; I do not remember to have had but a single one, and then the animal escaped me. From what has gone before, the prime characteristic of the Mink in comparison with its congeners may be inferred : I mean its amphibious mode of life. It is to the water what the other Weasels are to the land or the Martens to the trees. It HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE MINK. 177 he I is as essentially aquatic iu its Labits as tbe Otter, Beaver, or Muskrat, and spends perhaps more of its time in the water than it does on land. In adaptation to this mode of life, the pelage has that peculiar glossiness of the longer bristly hairs and felting of the close under fur which best resists the water, much as in the cases of the other animals just mentioned. Were not fashion so notoriously capricious. Mink pelts would maintain a conspicuous place in the fur marts of the world ; certainly few surpass them in richness of color, gloss, and fine- ness. Yet they have been found under some circumstances not to repay cost of transportation, although it should be added, at times the price they fetch shows them to be better appreciated. The darkest colored samples are regarded as the most valuable — such as those coming from the so-cilled Fiito- riu8 nigrescena. As in other cases, the quality of the fur de- pends largely upon season, and other varying circumstances. Nova Scotian pelts have been regarded with particular favor. On this subject, the following extract from Dr. Gilpin's article above quoted is given : — " This fur once valueless has steadily increased in price, till last winter [ISGo] not seldom five dollars was paid for a single skin. Our Indians trap but very little now. The idle boys about the Aillages take many. The farmer, indignant at his slaughtered fowl yard, adds a few more. In every land and every village, there is a social gip- sey who loves sport and hates work ; who fishes, and fowls, and traps, eats his own trout or poached salmon or moose meat, taken out of season, and exchanges his little pile of fur for tea and tobacco at the country store. Many come from this source. Thus a gathering pile collects and dangles at the country store. The owner packs and sends them to the Hali- fax market, where of late years it has become the habit for the fur dealers to tender in writing for them. About six thousand are annually exported from Nova Scotia proper." Coincidentally with the aquatic habitat, the food ox the Mink is somewhat modified, in comparison with that of the land species of the genus. It is probably our only species which feeds habitually upon reptiles, fish, molluscs, and crusta- ceans — more particularly upon frogs, fresh-water bivalves, crawfish, and the like. Nevertheless, it is not confined to such diet, but shows its relationships with the terrestrial Wea- sels in a wide range of the same articles of diet as the latter secure. It is said to prey upon Mnskrats — a statement I have 12 M ik;il;l nil! mm m m lii Pi 178 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. uo besitatiou in believing, though I cannot personally attest it. A recent >vriter,* in an article vrhich I would quote were it written in a style suited to the present connection, narrates an incident which may be here briefly related, as showing that the Mink is a formidable enemy of the Muskrat, though yield- ing to the latter in weight. Whilst suipe-hunting on a marshy island below the Kickapoo Eapids of the Illinois Kiver, the writer noticed an object, which appeared like a ball some six or eight inches in diameter, rolling toward the water; and soon ascertained that it was a Mink and a Muskrat clinched together, and so completely covered with mud as not to have been at first recognized. At his approach, the Mink released its hold and made its escape ; but the Muskrat was already dying of severe wounds in the head and neck, from which the blood was flowing profusely. The Muskrat had evidently been captured and overcome in fair fight by broad daylight, and the Mink would have devoured its victim had not the hunter inter- fered. It is also destructive to our native rats and mice — the Arricolas, Hesperomys, Sigmodon, and Xeotoma; it is known to capture Rabbits, especially the Lepus 2y(thtstris, its associate in many marshy or swampy tracts ; while its not infrequent vis- its to the poultry-yard have gained for it the hearty ill-will of the farmer. Various marsh inhabiting birds are enumerated in the list of its prey, among them the rails and several smaller species ; and we may presume that it does not spare their eggs. But most birds are removed from its attack ; for the Mink is not a climber, at least to any extent. In respect to poul- try, its destructiveness seems to result rather from the regularly repeated visits of an animal that has located in the vicinity than the wholesale slaughtering sometimes accomplished by the Ermine. According to those who have excellent opportunity of judging, the Mink does not as a rule kill more than it eats. Still, the opposite case has been recorded. Its modes of hunt- ing oflfer nothing peculiar. Like the Weasel and Stoat, it has been known to pursue its prey by scent. The Mink often annoys hunters by stealing the game they have shot before they have an opportunity of bagging it. An incident related- by a recent anonymous writer in " Forest and Stream " is in point, and furthermore illustrates the wonderful energy and perseverance sometimes displayed by the Mink in *M. A. Howell, jr. ''The trapper not the only enemy of the Muskrat. <Fore8t and Stream of Dec. 21, 1876. ^-- , . ;^ j. ^ . r • v; HISTORY AND HABITS OF THE MINK. 179 securing its food. Speaking of a duckshootiag cxcursioQ, during which some of the birds that had been killed were not recovered till next day, the writer goes on to say : — " The tirst spot which claimed attention, was where our *hen mallard' had ' struck hard pan.' Here was a sight ! feathers and blood marked the scene of a terrific struggle for what remained of a duck's life. Here, for at least ten feet in circuit, the snow, grass and twigs, were whipped into a confused mass, here and there besprinkled with blood, and quite as often decorated with feathers ; then there was a trail, leading directly to the river bank, and out upon the ice ; the trail thence proceeded up the bank of the river on the ice for about half a mile, when it disappeared directly in line of a hole in the bank, where we discovered the bird half buried, head foremost, into a hole about one-half the size of the body, frozen stiff. When discov- ered we worked, not without difficulty, at the extrication of the bird. It required all our force to draw it out, when, as it broke from its fastenings, two large minks suddenly appeared, and darted back into their retreat, the last we saw of the varmints after a half hour of close watching. The ground along the shore was rough, covered with heavy grass, brush, drift wood, and many willows. Here the natural obstacles precluded the possibility of such a trip by land, and the little piece of engi- neering practiced by this one mink, in capturing and convey- ing home its prize was truly marvellous. That there was but one mink, the trail bore direct evidence throughout its entire length from the scene of the struggle. As we followed the line, we could easily trace the wide trail of the mallard, as it was dragged bodily along over the fresh snow, and the deep pene- tration of its «laws into the new ice, spoke volumes of the force exerted by that small animal in the completion of so severe an undertaking, and the excessive amount of minic power ex- pended in the completion ot a successful foraging expedition. Here and there throughout the line of trail were frequent halt- ing places, where our mink had stopped for a rest. Every time there appeared numerous tracks around the body of its victim, as though pleased to inspect its trophy before the next heat, and then as the distance shortened, the strokes of its tail at regular intervals of march, marked upon the snow upon either side of the trail the determined intention of the animal to go through with its meat before it was too cold to squeeze into a small space, where the sharp frost would soon fix it perma- >; •■' 'i^ ml m\ iMwn '^ -'SI h i1 180 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. ueutly. Wlieu drawu out, we fouud that a coui»le of 'square meals' had been made frum the head, neck aud breast, and enough left for several da.ys to come." This acconut of the Mink's theft called forth shortly afterward in the same pajjcr the following instance of its stealing fish; the editor, Mr. Charles Uallock, remarking that he had known Minks to carry ofi fish weighing no less than twelve pounds: — "We were spending our vacation in the woods of Maine, fish- ing, and traveling about for a good time in general. One day we came across an old dam made to flood a piece of lowland. As this looked like a good place to fish we stopped, seated our- selves upon theedge of the dam, aud cast in our line. The fish were quite plenty, aud as fast as we caught one we threw it behind us upon the scaifolding. After a dozen or so had been caught, I thought I would light my pipe, pick up the fish and put them in the shade, aud I started to do so. I accom- plished the first object, but upon looking for the fish I could not find a single one. I thought that my c): im must have re- moved them, and was playiug a joke upon me, but on mention- ing it to him he was as much surprised as I was. They could not have fallen through the cracks, nor leaped over the side without our knowing it. Where were they ? That was the question. He returned to fish, and I seated myself upon the bank to digest the subject. Presently he caught another fish and threw it upon the boards. Immediately I saw a Mink run out from a hole near by, snatch the fish and carry it off. This explained the mysterious disappearance of the others." The movements of the Mink on land, though sufficiently active, lack something of the extraordinary agility displayed by the more lithe and slender-bodied W^easels, as a consp quence of the build of its body ; while, for the same reason, it does not pursue the smaller animals into their extensive under- ground retreats, nor so habitually prowl about stone heaps and similar recesses. It is altogether a more openly aggres- sive marauder, though not less persistent aud courageous in its attacks. It appears to be more perfectly at home in the water, where it swims with exactly the motions of an Otter, and in fact appears like a small specimen of that kind. It swims with most of the body submerged — perhaps only the end of the nose exposed — and progresseis under water with per- fect ease, remaining long without coming to the surface to breathe. This may be partly the reason of its long survival under the pressure of a deadfall. " MINIvERIES.'' 181 The Mink is not properly a migratory animal. In moat sec- tions it remains permauently where it takes np its abode. In others, however, it may be forced to remove at times, owing to scarcity or failure of its food-supply, such as may ensue from the freezing of the waters in northern parts. Under such cir- cumstances, it may perform extensive journeys overland. Trap- pers have indeed spoken to me of a <" running'' time with the Minks, but I cannot satisfy myself that reference is here had to anything more than periods of sexual activity, when the ani- mals are hnnting mates. I do not think that whatever " migra- tion" may take place is anything more than casual. The rutting season begins early — generally in February— and April is for the most part the month of reproduction. Five or six young are ordinarily produced at a birth. Litters have been found in the hollow of a log, as well as in the customary bur- rows. The Mink has been frequently tamed, and is said to become, with due care, perfectly gentle and tractable, though liable to sudden fits of anger, when no one is safe from its teeth. With- out showing special affection, it seems fond of being caressed, and may ordinarily be handled with perfect impunity. The following account of the semi-domestication of Minks on an extensive scale will be read with interest, not alone for its novelty, but also because it gives some precise information respecting the reproduction of the species. "il//Hte>v'e.s." The Mink appears to be the only species ot its genus which has been systematically reared and trained for ratting in this country as the Ferret is in Europe. The relationship of the two animals at once suggests the feasibility of an experiment, which has been tried with complete success, as we learn from an in- teresting article lately published in "Forest and Stream" (Oc- tober 23, 1874 — apparently taken from "Fancier's Journal and Poultry Exchange" of October 15, 1874). I reproduce the pas- sage in substance. Mr. H. Eesseque, of Verona, Oneida County, N. Y., has fre- quently exhibited at fairs two tame female Minks, which he hands to the by-standers to be caressed and passed from one to another. The animals were ectly gentle, submitting to be handled, but it was noticed that they kept their eyes on their IP 4m' i I 182 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. keeper, to wLoiu they would frequently extend their paws like a child wishing to be taken to its parent. Seven years ago, Mr. Resseque came in possession of a live wild Mink, and through her progeny his stock has on some occasions amounted to ninety individuals, besides the numerous specimens disposed of. At the late Albany County iiiir, his " niinkery " was one of the novel features. Mr. Resseque's minkery consists of twelve stalls, each twelve feet S(]uare, of stale soil, and surrounded with a fence and some special precautions to prevent the escape of the animals. In 'ach stall is placed a dry-goods' box for the home of the female; it has two openings for ingress and egress, opposite each other, besides a door on top to allow of inspection and cleaning. The animals are fed on sound, fresh meat, as they do not relish tainted tiesh. In summer it is given to them daily, but in cold weather a large quantity is thrown in at once and allowed to freeze, the Minks helping themselves at pleasure. In February, their allowance is shortened, to get them into condition for breeding. Mr. Resseque claims that this slight degree of fast- ing makes them more lively and playful, and it is a part of his plan to imitate nature as closely as possible — their supply of food, in the wild state, being restricted at this season. In the minkery, the sexes are not allowed to run together ex- cept during the month of March, which is considered the run- ning season in a state of nature. If allowed together for a longer period, the male teases and annoys the female. At this time, the males light desperately, and if not soon separated one always gets the mastery. The females come in heat with great regularity, all being ready for the male within tea days; and the period of excitement lasts about four days. One male serves six females. The females.reproduce when one year old. The duration of gestation scarcely varies twelve hours from six weeks. There is but one litter annually. The litters run from three to ten in number; the young are born blind, and remain so for five weeks. When newly born, they are light-colored, hairless, and about the size and shape of a little finger. By the time the eyes are open, they are covered with a beautiful, coat of glossy hair. The young females develop sooner than the males, attaining their stature in ten months, while the males are npt full-grown until they are a year and a half old. It is noted that in every litter one or the other sex predominates in numbers, there being rarely half of them males and the other d< V "minkeries." 183 IiaK females. If taken in haiul when their eyes are first open, they are readily tamed ; they shouhl not subsequently be al- lowed to remain with the mother or iu each others' society. By continual petting and handling, they become like dcnestic rat- ters, and have all the playfulness of the young of the feline tribe. They may be handled, without fear of their sharp teeth, but they prove extremely mischievous, their scent leading them to food not intended for them. Their fondness for bathing will prompt them to enter a teakettle or any open vessel; and when wetted they will roll and dry themselves in a basket of clothes fresh from the laundry, or even upon a lady's dress, occasion- ing much inconvenience. Minks are not burrowing auimcals in a state of nature, but freely avail themselves of the holes of Muskrats and other ver- min. They cannot climb a smooth surface, but ascend readily where there is roughness enough for a nail-hold. The grown male will weigh about two i>ouuds ; the female is heavier than she looks, averaging between one and a half and one and three- fourths pounds. These tame Minks make excellent ratters, hunt vigorously, and soon exterminate the troublesome pests. Kats will make oft" on scenting them ; they are so bewildered in flight that they give no battle, but yield at once; and the Mink severs the main vessels of the neck so quickly and skil- fully that an observer would (licarcely imagine the deed had been done. When wild Minks are confined with the tame ones, the latter always prove stronger than the former, and come oil' victorious in the contests that ensue. Tuey have been observed to beat off a cat that imprudently invaded the miukery in quest of food. So completely domesticated are the animals that a person may enter the inclosure with impunity, and observe the animals playing about him like kittens. Mr. liesseque states that he finds ready sale for his Minks — in fact, that he cannot supply the demand. His prices are $30 per pair — $20 for a female, $10 for a male, and $25 for an im- pregnated female. It is to be hoped that this novel branch of industry will be perpetuated and extended. There are plenty of Minks in this country, the services of which are available without difticulty for the purpose of destroying vermin, and in the aggregate their good services would have a very decidedly appreciable result. They have a great advantage over terrier dogs iu being able to enti r any ordinary rat-hole and drive their prey from its hidden resorts. IT } h 184 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. From the "Forest and Stream" of July 2, 1874, the following article is extracted in further illiistratiou of this branch of industry: — "Messrs. Phillips & Woodcock, of Cancadea, New York, commenced two years ago the business of breeding mink for their fur. A correspondent of the Baflfalo Express describes the 'Minkery' in the following terms: — "'The "Minkery," designed to accommodate on.e hundred minks for breeding, consists first of an enclosure about forty feet square, made by digging a trench one foot deep, laying a plank at the bottom, and from the outer edge starting the wall, which consists of boards four feet high, with a board to cap the top, projecting upward eight or ten inches to prevent their climbing over. Within this enclosure is a building 14 by 24, supplied by running water, from which the mink catch living fish, that are often furnished, with the greatest delight. "'The building is constructed bj* an alley three feet wide around its circumference. Within are two rows of cells four feet deep and two and a half wide, each having a door venti- lated at the top and bottom with wire screens, as is also the front entrance, what the proprietors call the anteroom, four by four feet, which must be fastened within every time the building is entered, to prevent the escape of the imprisoned animals. On entering the main hall, which the minks have access to (when not rearing their young), they present a very playful group. "'The person feeding them is often mounted, for their food and their tenacity of hold is so strong that they may be drawn about or lifted without releasing their hold upon the food. The nest of the female is very peculiarly constructed with grass, leaves, or straw, with a lining of her own fur so firmly com- pacted together as to be with difficulty torn in pieces. The aperture leading to the nest is a round opening, just sufficient to admit the dam, and is provided with a deflected curtain, which covers the entrance and effectually secures her against all invasion when she is within. About the middle of March the females are separated from the males until the young are reared. The necessity for this arises from the fact that the males seem inclined to brood the young almost as much as the dam, when both are permitted to remain together. "'The expense of feeding these animals is almost nominal, being supplied pretty much entirely from the usual offal of a farm yard, with occasional woodchucks and game in general. " MINKERIES." 185 5 A They eat this food with equal avidity after decomposition baa taken place, devouring every particle of flesh, cartilage, and the bones. The flesh and bones entire of the woodclmck are con- sumed often at a single meal. While the expenst of keeping is thus trivial, the profitable yield of the animal is compara- tively immense, it being considered a moderate estimate or claim that the miuk with her increase will equal the avails of a cow ) n We find in Audubon and Bacbman several paragraphs upon the same subject, which will be transcribed : — " The Mink, when taken young, becomes very gentle, and forms a strong attach- ment (?) to those who fondle it in a state of domestication. Kichardson saw one in the possession of a Canadian woman, that passed the day in her pocket, looking out occasionally when its attention was roused by any unusual noise. We had in oar possession a pet of this kind for eighteen months; it regularly made a visit to an adjoining fish-pond both morning and evening, and returned to the house of its own accord, where it continued during the remainder of the day. It waged war against the Norway rats which had their domicile in the dam that formed the fishpond, and it caught the frogs which had taken possession of its banks. We did not perceive that it captured many fish, and it never attacked the poultry. It was on good terms with the dogs and cats, and molested no one unless its tail or foot was accidentally trod upor when it inva- riably revenged itself by snapping at the foot of the offender. It was rather dull at midday, but very active and playful in the morning and evening atid at night. It never emitted its dis- agreeable odour except when it had received a sudden and severe hurt. It was fond of squatting in the chimney corner, and formed a particular attachment to an armchair in our study. " The latter end of February or the beginning of March, in the latitude of Albany, N. Y., is the rutting season of the Mink. At this period the ground is usually still covered with snow, but the male is notwithstanding very restless, and his tracks may everywhere be traced, along ponds, among the slabs around sawmills, and along nearly every stream of water, lie seems to keep on foot all day as well as through the whole night. Having for several days in succession observed a number of Minks on the ice hurrying up and down a miilpoud, where we had not observed any during the whole winter, we took a position near a place which we had seeu them pass, in order to 186 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. \l procure some of them. "We shot six in the course of the morn- ing, anil ascertained that they were all large and old males. As we did not find a single female in a week, whilst we obtained a great number of males, we came to the conclusion that the females, during this period, remain in their burrows. About the latter end of April the young are produced. We saw six young dug from a hole in the bank of a Carolina rice-field ; on another occasion we found five enclosed in a large nest situ.' t. id on a small island in the marshes of Ashley river. In the State of New York, we saw five taken from a hollow log, and we are inclined to set down that as the average number of young the species brings forth at a time." •,1 r \ CHAPTER VII Subfamily MEPHITIN.E : The Skunks. General coDsiderationa — Cranial and dental characters — The anal armature — Divieiou of the Bubfaaiily into genera — Note on fossil North American species — The genus Mephitis — Jlvphitia mephitica, the Common Skunk — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific characters — Description of external charac- ters — Description of the skull and teeth — Variation in the skull with special reference to geographical distribution — Anatomy and physiology of the anal glands and properties of the secretion — Geographical distri- bution and habits of the Skunk — History of the species — Addexduji : ou bydroi)hobia from Sk ak-bite, the so-called " rabies mephitica ". General considerations. A CONCISE diagnosis of this subfamily will be found ou p. 10, where the characters of the group are contrasted with those of the other North American subfamilies. The subfamily is confined to America, its nearest Old World representatives being the African Zorillimv. It is a small group, of only two or three genera and perhaps not more than four or live really good species, among the great number of nominal ones indicated by authors. More precise knowledge than we now possess will be : equired to fix the number of species, espe- cially in the genus C nepatus. No more than three species are known to inhabit North America north of Mexico, each one typical of a different genus or subgenus. There is a Mexican species of Mephitis proper, apparently perfectly distinct from M. mephitica. One North American and Mexican species of a sec- ond allied subgenus, Spilogale, and one or several North, Cen- tral, and South American species of the very different genus, Conepatiis, complete the list as far as known. In entering upon the Mephitinw, we pass to a group quite 187 188 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. different from tbe Mustelinm in general external appearance as well as in structural characters. The closest relationships ot the Skunks are with the Badgers (subfamily Melince); the affinities of these two being so well marked that some authors have combined them in the same subfamily. The Skunks and Badgers agree in many points of external conformation; in fact, Conepatua majntrito, one of the Skunks, is almost as much of a Badger, to all outward appearance. They are terrestrial ani- mals, of more or less perfected fossorial habits ; the walk is plantigrade; the fore claws are enlarged, straightened, and well fitted for digging. The general form is very stout; tbe legs are short, and the body consequently low ; the tail is more or less bushy, and the whole pelage is loose. The physiognomy is somewhat hog like, especially in the Badgers and in Conepatus, owing to the production and enlargement of the snout. These animals neither climb trees nor swim in the water; their gait is comparatively slow and lumbering ; their retreats are bur- rows in the ground, dens in rocks or logs, or sometimes the shelter aiforded by out-of-the-way nooks in human habitations. Some of the species hibernate. Cranial and dental characters. There is also a singular cranial character by which the Skunks and Badgers may be collectively distinguished from any other North American Mustelida;. The conduit of the posterior nares is completely separated into right and left passages by a vertical bony septum, which extends to the hind end of the palate. lu all the other Miistelidw treated in this work, the posterior nares are thrown into one channel by total lack, posteriorly, of any such partition. Nevertheless, the structural characters of most weight in classification are abundantly sufficient to mark off Mephithw and Melinw as groups differing from each other as much as most other subfamilies of the Mustelidee do. Reference to the tables of characters already given (pp. 7, 8) will show this. Here I may recall some of the leading peculiarities of the Mephitina'. The skull of any Skunk may be known at a glance, on com parison with that of any other Musteline animal, by the depth of the emargination between the pterygoids, which is always much greatei than the distance from the end of this emargina- tion to the molars. The post-molar portion of the bouy palate CRANIAL CHARACTERS OF MEPHITIS.E. 189 in Mephites and Sxnlogale is mj/, or almost so ; that is, the palate ends nearly or exactly opposite the posterior border of tho last molar. lu Conepatu8, the palate reaches a little farther back, but still not nearly halfway to the ends of the pterygoids. In other North American Mustelkkv, the palate usually extends half-way or more to the extremities of the pterygoids. The cranium of the Mephitinw is further peculiar in the periotic region. The auditory bulljB themselves are small, and but moderately inflated at the base, with well-marked constriction of a tubular meatus;* while the parts lying behind the bulhi? are nuusually expanded, presenting a flattish and more or less horizontal large surface, which widely separates the paroctip- itai processes from the bullfe.t In Lutrimv and Enhydrina; the paroccipitals are remote from the buUie, but there is no such inflation of the mastoid region as is witnessed in some of the Mephitinw, as in Spilogale, where the swelling of the mastoid cells results in a convexity of the parts only less than that of the bullfe themselves. The anteorbital foramen is remarkably small, circular, canal-like, and occasionally divided into several smaller openings. The postorbital processes are small or obsolete; the postorbital constriction of the skull is compar- atively slight. The glenoid fossa is shallow, presenting much forward as well as downward, and never locks the condyle of the jaw, as so often happens in Melina: The coronoid process of the mandible is variable in Mephitinw, for while in Me2)hitis and Spiloyale it is erect and conical, as usual in Mustelida', in Conepatus it takes a backward slope, and is obtusely falcate, as in Enhydrince. The teeth of Mephitina are also diagnostic in the combina- tion of a large quadrate back upper molar with pm. ^ or ^^^^ (the latter formula peculiar to Conepatus, but not always obtaining, even in that genus)4 The detailed descriptions of the skull and teeth given beyond under heads of the several genera of Mephitinw render further account unnecessary here. I would, however, advert to the extraordinarily high rate of variability inherent in the crania of these animals. In other groups, genera might very well be * In Melina, the iuflatiou of the bulhe is at a maximum for the family. tin Melince, and also in JJut)teUn<r, the paroccipitals are close to, or in con- tact with, the bulla;. tMelin.. with pm. ^-, have a perfectly triangular back upper molar: 3-3 Lutrhm, with quadrate back upper molar, have pm, 4-4 ■i-V 190 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. established upon diflferences which are here nothing but fortu- itous individual Tariations, or even the progressive changes with age during the life of the same individual. A Skunk's skull is as variable in shape as its pelage is in color. (Oominre riate X with XI, or Plate XIII with XIV, and see what ex- traordinary differences skulls of the same species may show.) The general pattern of coloration, and the colors themselves, are likewise diagnostic of this subfamily, as all the species are 1)lack and white. The anal armature. No general sketch, however cursory, of leading features of this subfamily should fail to note the point which renders the Skunks infamous, makes their very name an opprobrious epi- thet, and almost forbids its use in the ordinary conversation of the polite. The matter is so notorious that comment may be confined to the zoological aspects of the case, including a refu- tation of various absurd notions still current among the vulgar. Special interest attaches to the subject, since it seems probable that there is some occult connection between failure of the sup- ply of the fluid and a state of the system in which the saliva of the animals is capable of inoculating a disease similar to hydrophobia. It was supposed for many years that the intolerably oflfensive fluid was the animal's urine, voided by an ordinary act of mic- turition, but with malice prepense. Its wide diffusion was sometimes fancied to be secured by means of the bushy tail, which, charged with the liquid, served as a mop to flirt it around. The obvious diflflculties in the way of anatomical in- vestigation long kept the facts in the case concealed. The fluid is the secretion of certain glands situated in the perinceum, on each side of the rectum. So far from being pecu- liar to Skunks, similar glands exist throughout the Mustelida;, and are, in fact, among the characteristic structures of the fam- ily. In the Mephitince, however, they reach the maximum of development, and their secretion acquires qualities which make it the most penetrating, diffusible, and intolerable of animal effluvia. The anatomical structure is fully described beyond ; here I need only advert to some leading features. Each gland is a secretory sac enveloped with a muscular tunic, and furnished with a duct to convey the secretion ; the orifice GENERIC SUBDIVISION OF MEPHITIN.K. 191 of this duct is u])Ou a papilla, which is situated on the side oi the anus, just withiu the verge. Contraction of the muscular investment comprepses the sac, and causes the fluid to spirt from the anal pore ; the actiou is precisely that of a syringe with compressible bulb. The Skunk is as cleanly as any other animal, and the peculiar actiou observed at the moment of the discharge prevents the wettiug of the fur. Forcible erection of the tail is accompanied by a tension of the periuanim, and an eversion of the anus, most favorable to forcible, unim- peded, and direct evacuation of the contents of the sac. The operation is wholly under the voluntary control of the animal, and seems to be chiefly resorted to in self-defenc;., although there is reason to suppose that the evacuation must recur at intervals simply to avoid over-distension of a continually secret- mg organ with its own products. Ordinarily, however, the iSkunk is not more odorous than maiiy other animals ; it may even be captured, under some circumstances, without provok- ing an emission ; nor do the horrible possibilities of the stench always render the flesh of the animal uneatable. In contem- plating this singular provision of nature for the protection of an otherwise inoft'ensive and almost defenceless creature, we cannot but admire the simplicity of the means employed. Some little further development of glands common to the MusteUda, and some inscrutable modification of the operations of the secretory follicles, which gives a peculiar character to the fluid elaborated, result in means of self-preservation as singular as it is efficacious, habitual reliance upon which changes the economy of the animal aud impresses its whole nature. Division of the subfamily into genera. There are two strongly marked generic types of the Mephitina;, one of them susceptible of subdivision into two subgenera. In a former paper,* in which the skulls and teeth of the Mephitinm were described, I allowed three full genera, following Dr. Gill jt but I am now rather inclined to consider Spilogale as only a subgenus. It certainly diff'ers much less from M^hitis proper than Conepatus does, and the degree of differentiation seems to me to accord closely with that subsisting, for example, among the subdivisions of the genus Putorins. * Bull. U. S. Geol. & Geogr. Surv. Terr. 8d ser. no. 1, 1875, p. li. , t Arrang. Fam. Mamm. 1872,66. ■r^ 192 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. I The (livisious of Me})hitin(v are expressed iu tbe foUowiug diagnoses: — A. Teetb 34; ptii. ^^^. Dorsa! ontline of skull not in one coutiuuons curve. End of muzzle truncate vertically, or with little obliquity. Palate euding opposite Inst molar (more or less exactly). (Periotic region varyinfj with the subgenera.) Corouoid process of Jaw coni- caf, erect, its fore aud hind borders converging to a vertical apex in advance of condyle. Angle of mandible not exflected. Snout not notably produced nor depressed. Nostrils lateral. Tail very long and very bushy. Soles comparatively narrow, hairy at least in part. North, Middle, but probably not South Americau. Gtxtta Mephitis.* a. Skull not depressed, the dorsal outline irregularly convex, highest over the orbits. Zygomata moderately arched upward, highest be- hind. Postorbital processes usually obsolete. Mastoid processes tlaring strongly outward, much beyond orifice of meatus. Periotic region not particularly indated. Size large. Colors massed in large areas Snhg. Mephitin. b. Skull depressed, the dorsal outline approaching straightuess, particu- larly over the orbits. Zygomata strongly arched upward, highest in the middle. Postorbital processes well developed. Mastoid pro- cesses slight, scarcely produced beyond orifice of meatus. Periotic region peculiarly intlated by development of mastoid sinuses, the under surface swolleu, and giving a quasi appearance of a second bulla anditoria behind the real one Suhg. SpilogaleA B. Teeth normally 32; pm. |7 3 > sometimes, however, ~y, from presence of an additional minute premolar,t corresponding to the anterior one of Mc phitia. Dorsal outline of skull one contiDuons curve, more or less regular, from occipital protuberance to ends of premaxillaries, owing to the great obliquity of truncation of the end of the rostrum, which brings the profile of nasal orifice into line with that of the forehead ; skull highest in parietiil region. Palate produced decidedly past the last molars, yet not half-way to ends of pterygoids. Periotic region much as in Meplniia proper, but the mastoids rather as in Spilogale, projecting more downward than outward. Postorbital processes usually obsolete. Zygomata slightly arched upward. Coronoid pro- cess of jaw sloping backward, obtusely falcate, with convex anterior and concave posterior margin, the apex nearly overtopping condyle. Angle of the mandible strongly exflected. Of large size, extremely stout form, and somewhat Badger-like appearance. Snout strongly produced, depressed. Nostrils inferior. Tail short and little busby (for this subfamily). Soles very broad, entirely naked. Coloration massed in large areas. South, Middle, and (scarcely) North Ameri- can Genus CoNEPATUS.iJ ' Etym. — Lat. mephitis, a foul or noxious exhalation. t Etym. — Greek am}.og, a spot; }n?.r), a kind of Weasel. t The anterior lower premolar is said to be sometimes wanting. $ A barbarous word, like many other of J. £. Gray's genera, derived from Gonepatl or Conepate, the name of the animal in the vernacular (probably Mexican) of countries it inhabits. MEPIIITES PKONTATA (fOSSIL.) 193 Note on fossil North Anierioan species of Mephitis. Mephitla fronlnta, Ootiet. MephiliN frontata, aoue», Bull. n. S. Gool. aud Gcog. Snrv. Terr. 2d ser. uo. 1, lelTS, 7, with woodcut. From the bone-caves of Pennsylvania. Post-pliocene. Si'KCiKic CHARACTKH8. — SkuU extreinoly high in the middle ; the profile of the npper outline very rapidly descending in a nearly straight line from this point to the occiput and uiuzzlo. Greatest depth of skull without jaw little 1<!8H than half its length. Zygoma highly arched; the bone in frout com- pressed vertically instead of laterally. This species is founded on a skull, No. 2332 of the Smith- sonian Museum, obtained by Prof. Baird in the bone-caves of Pennsylvania. The animal was a true Mephitis, closely related to M. mephitica, if reallj' different. Though the frontal region is always tumid in Mephitis, there is seen in the recent species nothing like the protuberance and angulation of the vertex of M. frontata. The prominence is also decidedly more posterior ; it is something over and above the general tumidity of the inter- orbital region of recent Mephitis; the shape is rather as in GulOf but even the profile of the latter is here exaggerated. The prominence appears to be mainly due to enlargement of the frontal sinuses, as may be seen in this specimen, in which the outer tablet of the skull is abraded in places, exposing the interior. With this general elevation is associated a notably higher arch of the zygoma, and the malar is slenderer than in recent species at its anterior portion, where it is curiously nar- rowed vertically instead of being laminar throughout. None of these characters obtain in any of the numerous recent skulls examined, notwithstanding the great variability of the latter. The animal was of the size of the common species. The skull in general bulk is intermediate between various specimens of that of M. mephitica. Mr. J. A. Allen* takes exception to the specific validity of the species in the following terms : — " Dr. Coues has ventured to describe a * new species ' {M. frontata), based on a fossil skull from one cf the bone-caves of Pennsylvania, as it seems to me, unadvisedly. The specimen, though that of a very aged individual, is scarcely larger [....] than the average of specimens from the Eastern States, its chief difference from the average skull con- * Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Terr. vol. ii, no. 4, 1W6, p. 333. 13 m 194 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. .sintiii^ ill an abnormal tumidity of the frontal region, arii^ing evidently from disease. It is a feature by no means confined to the present example, but is merely an extreme enlargement of the sinuses of the frontal region often seen in specimens of the existing animal, evidently resulting from disease. In No. 917 (Albany, N. Y.), No. 8099 (Fort Cobb, Ind. T.), No. 1878 (Calcasieu Pass, La.), and No. 1G20 (Indianola, Tex.), the same tendency is strongly marked, which, in some of these speci- mens, had they attained equal age, must have resulted in a malformation nearly or quite as great as is seen in the fossil skull in question. ^' In this connection, I may add that a pretty careful exam- ination of the fossil remains of Carnrvora, collected by Profes- sor Baird many years since from the bone-caves of Pennsylva- nia (of which thiH fossil skull of the 3kunk forms a part), has failed to show any of them to be specifically different from the species now or recently living in the same region. Many of them are remains of individuals of large size, but not exceed- ing the dimensions of the specimens of the recent animal from the same or contiguous regions. These remains include, among others, the following species : — Lynx rufus, Urocyon virginiamts, Mustela pennanti, Mustela amerieana, Putorius viaon, Lutra cana- dtmis, Mephitis mephitica (other specimens than the ^frontata^ skull), Procyon lotor, Ursm amcricanus, etc." Granting that the probabilities are against the validity of the species, it may be observed that the disease theory is not proven, and that no recent specimens of Mephitis have been found to match this one. This species, so far as I am aware, is the only fossil Skunk described as such ; but compare antect, p. 18, on the question of " Oalera " perdieida. The Genus MEPHITIS. (CuviER.) X Viverra «p., of some early aathors. < Mephitis, Cuvier, "Lemons 4'Anat. i. 1800" (coextensive with the subfamily), and of aathors (generally.— Batrd, M. N. A. 1857, 191. < ChiBChil, Lets. Konv. Tab. K. An. 1843. > Spilogalf , Gray, Proo. Zoiil. ttoc. 1865, 150. (Type, 8. interrupta = M. putoriui.) > Mephitis, CHll, Arrang. Fani. Mamin. 1872, 66 (restricted to snbg. Mephitis as char- acterized in this paper) .—Cowe4, Ball. IT. S. (}eol. Snnr. 3d ser. i. 1875 (same n- striotion). For characters, see a preceding page (p. 192). ' The several North American species of Mephitis proper (as restricted to exclude 8pilogale) indicated by authors are re- ChliiKa, , SYNONYMY OP MEPHITIS MEPIIITICA. 195 (Incible to one, possibly divisible into two or three geograph- ical races. There is a second Mexican species, apparently valid, which will be brought into the present connection to complete a review of the genus. A fossil species is also de- scribed in the foregoing pages. Mephitis proper and SpHoijalc are both conAned, as far as known, to North and Middle America, Conepatus being the only South American type of McphitinWy but also extending through Middle America to the Mexican border of the United States. The Hoiiinioii Skunk. Mephitis niopliitlcu. Plateh X, XI. (a. mephitica.) VIrcrra mephitica, Shaio, Mug. Lovor. 1793, 173, no. 4, pi. 6; Gen. Zo<il. i. IROO, 390, pi. 94, mid- dle fi;:. McphUh aephlllca, Bd. M. N. A. 1857, 195.— <7ooi>. rf Suckl N. II. W.T. 1860,94.— //a j/rf. Trans. Am. Pbiloa. Soo. xii. Icl63, IVi.—SamwU, Ninth Ann. Rep. MasB. Agrio. for letll, 18C3, IGl.— Oerr.Cat. Bunea Br. Mua. 1863, 97.— A {!«}», Bui I. M.C. Z. i. 1^9, 178; il, 1871, 169 (critical).— Alien, Pr.Bost. Soo. xlii. 1869, 183.— Oiipin, Proc. and Tr. N. Scotia Inat. ii. 1870, 60.— fiftee. U. S. Oeol. Surv. Terr, for 1870, 1871, 481 Parker, Am. Nat. v. 1871, 246 (anal. of aual glands, tLC.).—AUtn, Bnl!. Ess. Inst. vi. 1874, 46, 54, 59, 63.— AU«n, Proc. Boat. Soc . xvii. 1874, p. 38.— AmM, Bull. Minn. Acad. Nat Sci. 1674, 69.— Oot<«»,Bull.U.S. Oeol. and GooRP. Surv. Terr. 2d ser. no. 1, 1875, 8 (skull and teeth).— Oou«8 <£ Yarrow, Zool. Ezpl. W. 100 Merid. v. 1875, 63.-.AHen, Bull. U. a Geol. Snrv. vol. ii. na 4, 1876, 332 (akall). Mephitis Chlnga, Tied. Zool. 1. I8O8, 363 (partly).— £toA(. Darstell. Siiuj;. 1837-34, pi. 45, f. 1 ; Abh. Akad.Wiss. Berl. for 1836, 1838,280.— J/oorim. Reise N. A. i. 1833, 250; Arch. f. Naturg. 1861,— ; Verz. N. A. Sang. 1863, i'i.— Wagn. Snppl. Sohreb. ii. 1841, 198 Sehim, Syn. i. 1844, 333, no. 13.— Aud. rf Baeh. Q. N. A. 1. 1849, 317, pi. 43.— OiebeJ, SSug. 1855, 766.— Fitiinger, Naturg. Sttag. i. 1861, 315, f. 63. Mephitis amerlcana var. K, De»m. Mamm.i. 1820, 186 ("Mugtela", laptu. Includes all the American Slcunks, vara. A — R) ; Nout. Diet xzl. 515 (var. 7). — •/. iSTab. App. Frankl. Jonrn. 1823, 653.— ITarl. Fn. Am. 182.i, 70.— Gri/. An. Kingd. v. 1827, 127, no. 358 (partly). Lets. Man. 1827, 151, no. iW.—Qodm. Am. Nat Hist. i. 1831, 313, pi. - f. l.—Doughty'g (Jab. N. H. ii. 1832, 193, pi. 17. —Rich. Zoiil. Beechey 'a Voy. 1839, 4.— Emmons, Rep. Quad. Mass. 1840, 49.— Z)e£^ay,N.T. Znol.i. 1842, 29, pi. 12, f. l.— Wyman, Pr. Boat. Soc. 1844, 110 (anat.).— TTarren, Pr.Bost Soo. Hi. 1849, 175(anat).— ITiojnp*. N. H. Vermont, 1853,33.— WoodL Sitgr. Rep. 1853, 4i.—Kenn. Tr. Illinois Agric. Soc. for 1853-4, 1855, 578.—Beeg- ley, Geol. Cape May, 1857, l37.—BiUing$, Canad. Nat and Geol. i. 1857, 360.— 2aU, Canad. Nat. and G«oL vi 1861, 396. Mephitis amerieana var. hudsonlca, Rich. F. B.-A. i. 1829, 55, no. 19. Chincha amerlcana, 2^«. Nonv. Tabl. R. A. 1842, 67. " Mephitis chllicl:e« Piseh. Syn. 1829, 160 (includes other species ; quotes Tiedemann primarily). Mephitis Tarlans var. chinga, Oray, P. Z. S. 1865, 148 ; Cat Cam. Br. Mas. 1869, — . t'hinche, Shaw, I. c—Qeoff. <£ Ouv. " Hist Mamm. ii. 1819, — , pi. —(Louisiana)." .Mephltic Weesel, Shaw, Mas. Lever. Ouinesque, Sag.-thiod. Hist Canad. 1636, 748 (ed. of 1866, ill. 680). Enfan du Diabie, CAarlev. N. France, V, 1744, 196. ' ''' Polecat, JTolm, Yoy. ,452. Siinnli, Font. PhiL Trans. Ixil. 1773, 374.— Penn. Arct Zool. 1. 1784, 85, no. 33.— flear. ^owm. , 377. Chinga, <ScA<n2, 1. & * tft f >j .- 196 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. Mourctie d'AitiCrlqiic, Le»». ftc. &c. l<'l!«kKlla, Swedish. > Itfte puiinf*', French, >4(iiikthter, Oermaiu (Ii. mesonielns.) Mcphi(lf)ine8ompiai4,/>tc/iM)nr8t. KSHug. 1827-34, pi. 55, f.2; Abh.Ak.Wiss. Bcrl. for 18.')6,183S, 277.— .Vrt«m. Keise, i. 1S39, 240; Arch. NaturK. xxvii. 1861, 218 j Verz. N. A. Siing. 1862, ■iC,.—iichi>u,Syn. i. 1844, 32*2, uo. li.— St. Hil. Zool.Voy. V6nu», i. 1855, 133, pi. —.—Bd. M. >'. \. 1857, laa (alter Licht.). Mephitis mesomoles, Oerr. Cat. Bones Hr. Mu». If'fi2, 97. Mephili»orri<lentallS,£(I. M. N. A. 1857, \U.—Nowb. V. R. U. Rep. vl. 1857, 44.— Coop. <« Suck. K.n.AV.T. 1860, 116. Mepliltis meplillica imr. orcldcntails, Mernam, U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr, for 1872, 1873, 662. Mepliitis varians txcr. a, Oray, P. Z. S, 18(>5, 148 ; Cat. Carn. lir. Miia. 1869, — . (e. varians.) Mepliltis varlans. Gray, Mag. N. II. i. 837, SSI.— Oray, List Maram. Br. Mas. 1843, 6S.—Bd. M. N. A. IMV, 193; Mox. B. Surv. ii. pt. ii, 18.'>9, Maiiiiii. VJ.—Gen: Cat. Bones Br. Mas. 1862, 97.-<}roj/, P. Z. S. 186!), 148 ; Cat. Cam. Br. Mns. 1869, — . Mcphilis mnrroiira, Aud. a Jtach. q. K. A. ill. 1853, 11, pi. 102.— Woodh. Sitgr. Rep. 1853, 44. (But not of Liolitoustbin.) Hab. — Eutiro temperate North America. North to Hiidsou'a Bay and Great Slave Lake. South into Mexico (Matamoras, Monterey). Spkcikic ciiAKACTKits. — Black or blackish ; a frontal streak, nuchal spot, and two dorsal stripes white; tail black, more or less mixed with white or white-tipped. Tail with hairs not as long as head and body ; the vertebnu about iialf this dimension. Length from nose to root of tail over one loot ; 8ules about 2lt inches. Description of external characters.* The Skunk is a stoutly built animal, with a small head, low ears, and short limbs, the trunk thick-set and especially large behind, the back naturally arched as well as broad ; tail long and very bushy. The head is pointedly couoidal, with a con- vex frontal profile and sloping occiput ; there is little of tiie breadth and depression characteristic of the Weasels, the regular conoid being nearly expressed. The eye is small, and nearer the nose than ear. The nasal pad is of considerable size, and protuberant, definitely naked for a closely circumscribed area, the outline nearly circular; the face of the muffle is bevelled a little obliquely downward aud backward; the nostrils are chiefly lateial, but their anterior extremity is visible from the front. The ears are low, though the piuua is decidedly better developed than in Conepatus ; the general set of the conch is rather bfickward than upward, as its anterior extremity is inserted little below the highest point of the brim ; the contour * From a large series of specimens in the Smithsonian Institution from various portions of North America. "'u EXTERNAL CHARACTERS OP MEPHITIS MEPHITICA. 197 of the free edge is nearly orbicnlar, with, however, a slight obtuse angulation. The feet are not so broad and flat as in Conepatus, yet they show large plantar and palmar surfaces. These are usually naked, except for a varying distance behind ; the soles, in particular, being generally hairy for about a third way from the heel. The palms present behind, just in advance of the wrist, a padded prominence, more or loss completely divided lengthwise; in advance of this is a crosswise depres- sion ; at the bases of the digits is a cresocptic padded area, divided more or less evidently in different specimens into three or four smaller pjnls. This divisiou is sometimes very evident, the lines of impression being deep and sharp ; in other cases, little more than a general horseshoe-shaped padded area is recognizable. There is u) constancy about this ; and the differ- ence which has been claimed between Mephitis and SinloQah cannot be satisfactorily substantiated. The digits are short — in fact, they are exceeded in length by the longer ones of the claws they bear. Of these, the third and fourth are sube<iual and longest, the second is little shorter, the lifth reaches hardly half-way along the fourth, and the first scarcely attains the base of the second. The middle three claws are very long, strong, compressed, little curved, acute and fossorial in cliar- acter; the lateral ones are shorter, stouter for their length, and more curved. The claws of the hind feet are quite different, being all short, stout, and obtuse, and covered with hairs ; the middle three are approximatetly equal in length, the fifth is much shorter, and the drst falls short of the base of the second. The naked part of the sole presents a general broad flat area behind, succeeded by an irregular depression, and this by the padding at the bases of the toes, which is imperfectly divided into three. The terminal balls of the toes almost immediately succeed, these digits being very short and extensively connected together. The tail of the Skunk is remarkably bushy, with long harsh coarse hairs, almost like a kind of tow. Tlie hairs are loose and flaccid, their '*set" depending in a great measure upon the inov^ements or position of the member. In the bushiest-tailed examples, the hairs fall loosely all around when the tail is ele- vated, like the plumes of a pompdn,as well represented in Audu- bon's plate of his so-called ^^maorvra^'' {neo Licht). lu other cases, the set of the hairs is more stable. No distichous arrange- ment is recognizable. There is no fine under fur on the tail. '' iili hi 198 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. 1 1 1 1 The haira of the tail which are entirely white (all are usually white basally) are somewhat diflferent in texture from the rest, being even coarser and looser. They appear at the end of the tail in a white tuft that seems to have little connection with the general pelage, and may be early deciduous; or, more curiously, they grow irregularly in various places along the tail, in some- what isolated fascicles. These singular little bundles are also likely to exceed the rest in length, measuring sometimes seven or eight inches in length. Even without taking these into consideration, the bushiness of the tail is sometimes so great that the width when the hairs are extended sideways rather exceeds the total length. The strictly terminal hairs of the tail are ordinarily not so lo;ig as soine of those along the sides. Notwithstanding the endless diversity in the extent and de- tails of the white marking, a certain pattern may be indicated as one of reasonable constancy. This is essentially a sharp, narrow, frontal stripe, and a broad nuchal area, from which last proceed obliquely backward a pair of stripes toward or to the tail, continued or not upon this member, and whiteness, to a greater or less extent, of nearly all the hairs of the tail at base, even when this member is blackest and least bushy. I have not found the frontal stripe either wholly wanting {Cone- pattts) or enlarged into a 8i>ot {Spilogale); but it varies from a mere trace to a long streak continuous with the nuchal area, and, doubt'ess, sometimes fails altogether. This last is usually a large spot, beginning squarely and broadly on the occiput in a line between the ears. From the back of it, the two oblique stripes may immediately diverge, forming a V, or it may con- tinue for a considerable distance as a single median stripe be- fore forking into two. The nuchal spot may be again entirely disconnected with the dorsal stripes (rare), or may be broken up into a pair of spots ; i. e., the dorsal stripe extended sepa- rately on to the nape. The dorsal stripes may extend scarcely any distance beyond the nape; i. e., may be represented by only a slight prolongation of a pair of nuchal spots. They may start over the shoulders independently of the white nuchal area. Ordinarily, they reach, widely divergent, more than half- way along the back ; again, they are more nearly parallel, and reach to the tail. They may curve toward each other over the flanks, and even meet there, then completely enclosing an oval vertebral area ; or may be interrupted to resume again. They may extend along either side of the tail, in such cases ordina- rily being broken into the curious isolated fascicles of white EXTERNAL CHARACTERS OF MEPHITIS MEPHITICA. 199 bairs already described, but beiug sometimes continuous, when the tail is mostly white. In the blackest tails seen, there is always more or less white on the bases of the hairs. Tlie foregoing may indicate the genera! range of variation in color. Reference to Audubon's figures of this species and his supposed "wa^nfra" will give a fair idea of two conditions very nearly extreme. I have never seen an entirely black Skunk, but in some specimens before me the white is reduced to such mere traces that I have no doubt it may occasionally disappear, as i« stated by some. One young specimen has the entire upper half of the body pure white, as in the strongest cases of Gonepatiis, except a slight emargination from behind, just at the root of the tail. Fully aware, as I am, of the end- less variability, even in individuals belonging to the same litter, I am satisfied that there is nevertheless .^ tendency, generally well expressed, to increase of white, in a measure according to certain geographical areas. An average in this respect is the rule in the Eastern and Middle States, where we have a fair frontal stripe and nuchal area sending out obliquely stripes which do not reach the tail, this being black, only white Jit the end or among the roots of the hairs. In Florida and the South Atlantic and Gulf States generally, the white is at a niinimum,frontalstripea mere trace,nuchal spot small or broken in two, and the stripes almost wanting. Throughout the West, and in British America even as far east as Hudson's Bay, pro- longation of the lateral stripes to the tail, or on this member to its end, is the rule; and the stripes do not usually at once diverge from the nuchal spot, but more gradually separate from a single vertebral stripe, into which tlie nuchal spot is prolonged. As- sociated with such a condition of the white, we find, almost invariably, in the western forms, a much bushier tail, its width across equalling or even exceeding its total length. Such cases as these, in their minor diversities, have furnished the meso- melaa of Lichtensteiu, varians of Gray, occulentalia of Baird, and ^^maeroura^^ of Audubon. The figure ot the last named represents an extreme of white, with length and bushiness of tail, and might readily be mistaken, as it was, for the altogether different M. maorura of Lichtensteiu. Independently of the size of the tail, we may observe a gen- eral decrease in stature with latitude. Floridau specimens are notably smaller than those from New England, some, appar- ently full-grown, being little larger than Spilogale at its maxi- mum, about thirteen or fourteen inches long. iLi 1 • .•■.-.? 200 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. Descrijition of the skull and teeth. {See PUitea X, XI.) The cranium of no tnal with which I am acquainted varies more than that the Skunk, and few exhibit such re- markable differences, i.alependently of age and sex. Some specimens are more than a fourth larger than others, and twice as heavy; and there is a corresponding range of varia- tion in contour. Compared with an ordinary ratio of osteo- logical variability, the discrepancies are almost on a par with those exhibited by the coloration of the animal when set over against the more constant markings of most animals. In the eries of twenty or thirty skulls examined, I find that the western ones, and especially those from the Pacific coast, representing occidentalis of Baird, are, as a rule, larger and heavier than others, more widened and flattened behind, with stronger and more flaring sagittal and especially occipital crests. But these extremes shade insensibly into an ordinary pattern, and I. can draw no dividing line. Tables of meas- urements would show^ these variations, though they would scarcely render that realizing sense of the discrepancies that is gained by laying the two extremes side by side. An average cranium. No. 381G, from New York, is selected for doscripiion, in the course of which the variations of the whole senes w;d be brought under review. The greatest zygomatic width is to the length as I to 1.55, or slightly less than two-thirds such length. A similar pro- portion is generally preserved. Viewed from above, the cra- nium presents a short, tumid, rostral portion, higli at the nose, tapering ou sither side, but with a protuberance indicating the course of the canine tooth in the bone, subtruncate in front, with large subcircular nasal aperture, in this view much fore- shortened. The rostrum is about a third of the whole length, if measured from extreme front to anterior root of zygoma ; the zygoma, and then the rest of the skull, being respectively another third. In other skulls, the rostrum is shorter than this, and less vaulted. The general convexity of the rostrum continues on to the forehead in the broad, smooth, interorbital space. Supraorbital processes are very slight, being only indi- cated in a little bulging at the front, where the anterior forks of the sagittal crest come to the brim of the orbit. There is thus scarcely any definition of the orbit from the general tem- poral fossa. The point of greatest constriction of the skull is SKULL AND TEETH OF MEPHITIS MEFHITICA. 201 considerably behind the supraorbital process, just about half- way from end of rostrum to occiput, and opposite the apex of the mandibular coronoid, when the jaw is closed. It is a gradual pinching- together of the sides of the cranium for some distance, rather than an abrupt constriction at a particular point. It is sometimes unsym metrical, one side being more emarginate than the other; is sometimes scarcely narrower than the interorbital space, sometimes about three-fourths as 'Tiuch. Back of this point, the skull widens rapidly to the hinder root of the zygoma and mastoid ; the latter being the broadest point of the skull proper, separated from the former by an emargination, in which lies the opening of the meatus auditorius, not visible from above. From each mastoid, the skull narrows in an approximately straight line backward and upward for a distance, and then ends with a straight-across contour, more or less emarginate on the median line. This whole posterior boundary, representing the lambdoidal crest, is extremely variable, not only according to age, but fortui- tously. In some skulls — those with the broadest back part and most flaring occipital crest — there is a deep emargination m the middle line of the skull, boldly salient angles on either side of this, and a concave outline thence to the mastoid. This occipital flange hides all the parts beneath it. For the rest, the top of the skull shows a sagittal crest (only in very young skulls a raised tablet), well marked in all but young ex- amples, forking anteriorly (at or a little in advance of the point of greatest constriction) to send a curved leg outward to either supraorbital process. Aside from this crest and the occipital one, the general cranial surface is vaulted. The zygomatic arches, viewed above, show the point of widest divergence near their posterior roots, whence they gradually and regularly con- verge forward with slight curve. Viewed in profile, the skull shows its highest point at the interorbital space, whence it^^ slopes gradually with a general slight convexity to the ^juzzle and occipital protuberance. This highest point is generally a little, sometimes decidedly, in advance of the middle of the skull. The frontal profile may acquire a slight concavity, and the opposite one may be slightly sinuous, owing to irregularity of the sagittal crest. The muzzle is cut squarely off, with an obliquity of perhaps 30 degrees from the perpendicular. The zygoma shows but a slight upward arch, and no bevelling or special curve to define if' 202 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. the portion of the orbit which it represents. It is laminar, narrowing midway, stoutest near posterior root. The ante- orbital foramen* is a short perforation of a, thin upper plate of its anterior root; behind, the glenoid fossa presents rather for- ward than downward. The prominent orifice of the meatus presents laterally between the root of the zygoma and the mastoid, which latter is a protuberant but bluut process imme- diately behind the meatus. Behind this, there is an emargi- nation, terminated by the prominent downward-projecting par- occipital; back of this, the semicircular outline, foreshortened, of the occipital condyle appears. The back of the skull is a subtriangular face, flat and perpendicular in general superficies, bounded above by the overhanging sagittal crest; either lateral corner being the prominent paroccipital, between which appear the faces of the oblique condyles, the upper border of the foramen being trans- verse with a slight curve. The skull from below shows a broad, flat, palatal surface for about two-fifths of its total length. The palate ends about opposite, or a little back of, the posterior molars. This terminal shelf, representing the emargination between the pterygoids, is always broad and quite transverse ; but the edge varies greatly in detail. It is commonly transverse, with a small median, backwardly-projecting point, producing a double emargination. It may be simply a broad curve, or it may present a median nick. The latter case is oftenest observed in specimens from the West, and constituted a chief character upon which M. occidentalis rested ; but, with a larger series than Prof. Baird examined, it is shown to be wholly fortuitous. The general shape of the palate is triangular; including the teeth, its great- est width behind is about as much as its length; anteriorly, it presents broad but short incisive foramina, scarcely reaching opposite the molars. The depth of the pterygoid emargina- tion is considerably less than the length of the palate. The pterygoids are simply laminar, with strongly hamulate ends. They are usually parallel, but sometimes converge a little poste- riorly, making the inclosed space club-shaped. The general sur- face of the base of the skull behind is quite flat, owing to slight *A8 a carious but not very iufrequent anomaly, this foramen is aome- times divided into several separate canals, through which branches of the faciiil nerve pass out apart fiom each other, thins in Conepatus. I have observed the same 1 SKULL AND TEETH OF MEPHITIS MEPHITICA. 203 inflatiou of the bullae. These are decidedly convex only at one place, interiorly, elsewhere flat, and outwardly produced to foi'n a tubular meatus. Traces of separation from surrounding parts long persist, at least in front. About the buUre are seen the following foramina: one iu advance, just inside the glenoid fossa ; two at the anterior extremity of the bulla ; three along its inner border; one more exterior, near the mastoid; one far posterior, in the occipital. The basi-sphenoid suture, early obliterated, is straightly transverse in advance of the middle of the bullae. The general basilar area is flat, narrowing for- ward, unmarked, or with merely a slight median ridge. The border of the foramen magnum represents a deep emargination of the posterior border of this area, with the condylar protuber- ance on either side. All the bones of the skull finally coossify, excepting, of course, the mandible, and most are joined at a comparatively early age. The periotic and internasal sutures persist the longest; the latter after the nasals are consolidated with the maxillaries, and the former after the basi-spheno-occipital suture is obliterated. When found separate, the nasals are seen to be regularly con- cave along their exterior border, truncate anteriorly, with a produced anterolateral corner, and received by a pointed pro- cess in a recess of the frontal. The intermaxillary bone forms less thai) half of the general naso-maxillary suture. The max- illary ei cCnds within a short distance of the supraorbital pro- tuberance. The malar is rather small, and fuses early with the rest of the zygomatic arch. The occipital bone is rather late to coossify; the supraoccipital is then seen to represent most of the lambdoidal crest, reaching, on either hand, from the median line half-way to the mastoid process ; thence crossing this crest to the paroccipital, whence the suture runs on the floor of the skull along the border of the periotic by the foramen lacerum posterius to the basi-sphenoid ; thence straight across the me- dian line. The lower jaw in MepMtince is never locked, as far as known, in the glenoid by the clasping of the condyle in the embrace of the fossa, as is the rule, in adult life, in Melea and in Taoei- dea, and as sometimes occurs in the Otters {Lutrin(B). The ramus of the mandible is stout and nearly straight along the tooth-bearing portion ; the symphysis is thick, short, abruptly ascending obliquely forward. Between the ramus proper and the angle of the jaw, the lower border is decidedly emarginatet ;! '«;; 204 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. and the angle itself is scarcely or not at all exflected (cf. Cone- patus). The angle itself is obtuse, and there is a decided neck in the oatline thence to the condyle. The condyle is horizontal, transverse, very narrow, and acute internally; on the onter half, its articular surface looks upward ; on the inner half, backward. The coronoid process rises straight and high, nearly uniformly tapering to the apex, a perpendicular from which falls decidedly in advance of the condyle (cf. Conepattis). The general muscular impression on its outer face is well marked. It is pointed below, and reaches forward on the ramus to a point underneath the last lower molar (cf. Conepatus).. As remarked under the head of Gonejyatus, the dental formula of the genera of Mephitince does not, in point of fact, differ. The difference is nil as betweeii Mephitis and Spilogale, while in Conepatus a supposed lesser number of teeth is only true in the very small size of the abortive, deciduous, or, at any rate, not functionally developed anterior upper premolar. In Mephitis, also, the tooth may be very small, or even abortive, on one or both sides of the jaw : it is, however, normally present and readily recognizable. Selecting an average skull, of middle age, with fully devel- oped, yet little-worn, dentition (for in very old skulls the teeth are so ground down as not to furnish fair characters), we ob- serve the following points : — The back upper molar is the largest of the grinders, about as long as broad, quadrate, with rounded inner corners, and en- tirely tuberculous. It is completely divided across lengthwise by a sulcus, on the outer side of which is a narrow portion, much higher than the broad inner portion, and separated from it not only by the groove across the face of the tooth, but by a nick in the hinder border. This elevated outer moiety is oblique on its face from the general level of the dentition ; it runs to a point at its fore and hind ends, and has a central, slightly exca- vated field, with irregular-raised boundai:y. The flatter inner moiety of the tooth is chiefly occupied by a large antero-internal tubercle, separated by a curved sulcus from a posterior raised margin. The next tooth — back premolar — differs altogether from the same flesh-tooth in the Mustelince. It is relatively smaller, and has not a prominent isolated antero-internal fang. On the contrary, it is triangular in general outline, the inner corner of the triangle representing the fang of the Mustelince just named; this is cuspidate, but this whole inner moiety is SKULL AND TEETH OF MEPHITIS MEPHITICA. 205 low and " tuberculous " in comparison jvith the elevated and truly sectorial character of the rest of the tooth ; for, viewed in l)roflle from the outside, the tooth seems wholly sectorial, with two cusps, an anterior, produced, acute one, and a posterior, shorter and obtuse, separated from the other by an acute re- entrance. Taken together, these two external cusps make the trenchant edge of the tooth. The next premolar is immediately and very markedly reduced in size ; it is a small, simple, two- rooted, conical, acute cusp; with a slight posterior **heeP and well-marked cinguhira on the inner side. The next — anterior — premolar is exactly like the foregoing,, but very much smaller still, and single-rooted ; it sometimes aborts. In very old skulls, the foregoing descriptions can hardly be verified. The back molar wears down to a perfectly smooth face, with raised inner and outer borders; the flesh-tooth loses its edge and inner cusp, and becomes almost tuberculous throughout; the other pre- molars become mere stumps. The canines ofifer no points for remark. Of the upper incisors, the lateral pair is much larger than the rest, though not longer. I fail to appreciate any tan- gible difference in this respect between Conepatus and Mephitis. The tips of the teeth all fall in the same line; they are even and regular; the ends are obscurely lobate. These teeth start from the sockets quite obliquely, but soon turn perpendicularly down- ward, with an appreciable elbow. In the lower jaw, the back molar, as usual, is small, simple, circular, single-rooted, with a central depression and irregu- larly raised margin. The next molar is much the largest of the series, and very notably different from the same tooth in Miis- telince. It is fairly sectorial throughout; for the back portion, though lower than the rest, is decidedly of the same character as the other part. This tooth consists of five cusps : a posterior pair, side by side, inner and outer, of equal size and similar shape; a middle pair, side by side, the outer of which is larger and sharper than the inner ; and a single anterior cusp. The latter forms, with the exterior middle cusp, the main trenchant edge of the tooth. The interior middle cusp is a higher devel- opment of the "heel", more or less prominent on the inner face of the main cusp of the Musteline tooth. The posterior pair of cusps is the low tuberculous part of the tooth in MmtelincB. The first premolar from behind is a simple conical cusp, two- rooted, with evident heels, both before and behind, and a well- marked cingulum. The next tooth is similar, but smaller, with ■ -f : 206 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. less of a girdle, and scarcely an anterior heel. The anterior pre- molar is like the last, but smaller still, and single-rooted. I have not seen its abortion. In very old skulls, the two molars become ground almost perfectly flat, and the premolars become stubby cones. The lower canines are shorter, relatively stouter, and more curved than the upper ones ; there is usually quite an elbow at the point of greatest curve. The inferior incisors are more nearly of a size than is usual in Mu8telina\ and more regular, i. «., none are crowded out of the general plane ; but this is a matter of degree only. The outer pair is larger than the rest ; viewed from the front, they widen from base to tip, and the apex is emarginate. The next pair sets a little back from the general plane ; for, though their faces are generally quite flush with the others, yet their greater thickness causes them to protrude behind. All the under incisors are approxi- mately of one length. The cutting edge of the outer pair is oblique; of the others, horizontal. The cutting edge of the outer pair is nicked, as already said, and the front faces of the rest are marked by a sulcus ending in a slight bilobation of their cutting edges. Variation in the skull with siiecial reference to geographical distri- bution. Having already called attention to this matter in a general way, I cannot do better than continue the subject with Mr. J. A. Allen's tables of measurements and critical comment, which set forth the subject in more precise detail:* — " The twenty-nine skulls of this species of which measure- ments are given below show a wide range of variation in size, and a decided decrease southward. The localities embrace such distant points as California and the Atlantic seaboard on the one hand, and Maine and Texas on the other ; but, with one or two exceptions, the specimens from any single locality are un- satisfactorily few. The specimens range in length from 2.60 to 3.50, and in width from 1.60 to 2.25 ! Yet there is not a speci- men included in the series that is not so old as to have all the cranial sutures obliterated. A portion of the difference is doubt- less sexual, but the specimens, unfortunately, have not the sex indicated. Ten of the specimens may be considered as western, coming mainly from Utah and California ; ten others are from • Ball. U. S. Geol. and Gteog. Sarv. Terr. vol. ii. no. 4, 1876, pp. 332-334. CRANIAL VARIATION IN MEPHITIS MEPHITICA. 207 Maine mid Massachusetts, and one from Northeastern New York ; three are from Pennsylvania ; and of the remaining five, four are from Texas, and one from Louisiana. The western series of ten average 3.10 in length and 1.95 in width, ranging in length from 2.85 to 3.50 and in width from 1.70 to 2.25. The New England series of ten average 2.88 in length and 1.72 in width, ranging in length from 2.70 to 3.25 and in width from 1.53 to 1.85. The single New York specimen scarcely varies from the average of the New England series, while the Penn- sylvania specimens fall a little below. The five southern speci- mens average 2.73 in length, or a little below the New England series, ranging in length from 2.G0 to 2.90.* " It thus appears that the western specimens are decidedly the largest of all, and that the northern are somewhat larger than the southern, the specimens compared being of correspond- ing ages, though of unknown sex, but doubtless comparable in this respect also. *'The difference in size amounts to above one-fourth the size of the largest specimen and above one- third the size of the smallest. Between the western and southern series, the aver- age difference amounts to one-third of the average size of the larger series! The western series includes the so-called Me- pliitia occidentalis of Baird, based on California specimens, and whose chief difference is merely that of larger size ; yet the four specimens from Ogden, Utah (GoU.Mus. Oomp. Zool.), con- siderably excelled in size the three from California. The south- ern series represents the so-called M. variana of Gray and Baird. "The unsatisfactory character of the several species of North American Skunks of the mephitica group, and the wide range of color-variation among individuals from the same locality, I have previously had occasion to notice, t and a re-examination of the subject confirms the conclusions then announced, which, I am happy to find, have recently received the support of Dr. Coues, who has lately made a study of this group.j; As Dr. Coues has remarked, and as the subjoined measurements show, few species of animals vary so much in size and in cranial char- acters as the present, independently even of sex and age. iSome * " The range in vridth ia not fairly indicated, owing to two of the smaller specimena being imperfect." t " See Bull. Mua. Comp. Zotil. vol. i. pp. 178-181, Oct. 1869." t " Bull. U. S. Greol. and Geog. Sarv. of the Territories, vol. i. no. 1, pp. 7-15, 1875." iuti' '• ,11 f'" 208 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.T!. Pi lili specimens are not only more than one-fourth larger than others, but Hhere is a corresponding range of variation in contour. Compared with an ordinary ratio of osteological variability,' says Dr. Coues, *the discrepancies are almost on a par with those exhibited by the coloration of the animal when set over against the more constant markings of most animals.' " Meaaitremenfa of twenty-nine skulls o/Mki'IIITIS MEriiiTiCA. II 55 Locality. 1 3.30 3.08 3.93 3.85 3.13 3.50 a 10 3.98 3,15 3.96 3.35 3.00 2.87 2.85 3.00 3.70 3.87 3.70 3.75 3.73 3.88 3.90 2.87 3.60 3.80 2.60 2.68 3.90 2.68 1 3.07 3.04 1.70 i.'87' 3.35 1.90 1.85 3. 0,5 1.78 i.'ss' 1.75 1.73 1.75 1.70 1.78 1.53 i."76' 1.78 i.'es' 1.78 i.'eo' 1.90 Remarks. 3617 Petalama, Ual 3371 do 3434 Port Townsend, Oreg 4105 Fort Crook, Cal 417 Ogden, Ut.il 419 Very old. 416 do 418 do 10008 Wyominit Territory . 3327 Fort Laramie 575 Upton, Me Very old. 580 do 577 do 574 do 583 Norway, Mo 578 do 569 do 567 MnflBAohn <etta 568 do 576 do 3816 Bsiiex Ootintv. New York 3233 fione-oavea. PeniiAvlvAniA ........ Fossil i M. frnntata Coues. Imperfect. 610 Carliale.Pa 4e33 Chefiter Conntv. PeiiiiBvlT'Aiiift 1630 Indiunolft. Tex 1004 Eagle Pass, Tex Imperfect. 1113 do 1395 Mfttamoran. Tex 1878 Calouieu, La Imperfect." Anatomy and physiology of the anal glands and properties of the secretion. The almost insuperable repugnance which the Skunk natur- ally excites has always been an obstacle to the investigation of its peculiar defensive organs. Until quite recently, when M. Ghatin minutely examined the anal glands of Conepatus mapu- rito, no adequate account of any species had been rendered, though these parts in M. mephitioa had long since been briefly noticed. The first, and for a long time the only accurate, record, was that given by Dr. Jefltries Wyman in the first volume of the Boston Natural History Society's Proceedings (1844, p. 110). This indicated, though briefly, the general structure of the parts which obtains throughout the family, as far as known. THE ANAL GLANDS OF THE SKUNK. 209 The organ is a true aaal glaad, without cauuectiou with tUo geuito-uriuary system, nor yet of a special character ; being upon the same plan as other anal glanO \ throughout Muntelida; though more muscular, with more capacious reservoir, and more abundant secretion. It consists of a strong central cap- sule, enveloped in muscular tissue, and by the same connected with a bone of the region, the reservoir of a tluid secreted by several small glandular bodies by which it is surrounded, and which is voided by voluutary]muscular effort through an ori- fice on top of a nipple-like eminence, situated on each side of the anus, just within its verge, partially concealed when not in use by a fold of integument. The organ is paired with a fellow on the opposite side. Dr. Wyman's original remarks may be here transcribed : — " The anal pouches ", he writes, "consist of two glandular sacs of an oval shape, about three- quarters of an inch in diameter, covered with a muscular en- velope, and opening into the rectum, quite near to the anus, by two papillic. These last, when not protruded, are sur- rounded by a fold of mucous membrane, and very nearly con- cealed by it. The fluid is ejected by the contractions of the muscular covering. A small band passes from each sac to the ischium, which rotates these bodies on themselves, and serves to bring their orifices to the anus. The fluid is a peculiar secretion like that of the Civet, and not the urine, as is com- monly thought. The common opinion, that the animal scatters it with its tail is erroneous. The fluid is limited in quantity ; and, having been discharged, the animal is harmless until the sacs are again filled by gradual secretion." This account was shortly supplemented in the same publica- tion (vol. iii. p. 175) by a notice from Dr. J. M. Warren, which adds further particulars, though not strictly of an anatomical character. The passages are transcribed as part of the history of the species :*— "Dr. J. M. Warren exhibited, preserved in alcohol, the glands which secrete the acrid fluid which furnishes a means of defence to the American Skunk, Mephitis Americana. These glands are situated on either side of the intestine, at the root of the tail, just within the anus, and are about an inch in diameter. When the animal is pursued, the lower part of the intestine is prolapsed through the anus, the tail is ele- vated over the back, and by the contraction of the muscles of the anus the acrid fluid is ejected in two streams to the dis- tance of six or eight feet. ;4m 1: i; n I- III <l 210 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. I f !■- I "Dr. Warren also exhibited to the Society a living specimen of Mephitis Americana, which had been deprived of its power oi' annoyance by a snrgical operation. The animal was first made partially insensible by enclosing him in a barrel in which was placed some chloric ether. As he became stupefied, a sponge containing the ansesthetic agent was placed over the nostrils and kept there until entire insensibility was produced. Dr. Warren then cut down, on the outside of the intestine, upon the ducts Oi' the glands and divided them, suffering the glands to remain in situ. The animal recovered, being en- tirely deprived of his means of annoyance by the adhesive inflammation following the operation." Here the matter rested (so far as I am acquainted with the record) until 1871, when Dr. J. S. Parker published an account of a dissection in the American Naturalist, as above quoted. Besides being not quite accurate in effect, though the observer really recognized the condition of the parts, the account is too diffuse to justify transcription as a whole ; yet it is particularly noteworthy as giving the first and probably the only account to date of the physical properties of the fluid itself : — " .... I dipped the point of my scalpel in the yellow fluid, put the tenth or twentieth of a drop of it on a glass, covered it with another strip of glass, and i»laced it under a power of forty diameters in my microscope. The appearance was peculiar. It looked like molten gold, or like quicksilver of the finest golden color. Pressure on the strips of glass made it flow like globules of melted gold. By a power of sixty diameters the same color still appeared, bat seemed as if it would by a higher jiower resolve itself into globules, with some peculiar mark iugs To the eye, the peculiar and odoriferous secre- tion of this animal is of a pale bright or glistening yellow, with specks floating in it. By the microscope it looks like a clear fluid, as water with masses of gold in it, and the specks like bubbles of air, covered with gold, or rather bags of air in golden sacks. The air I take to be the gas nascent from the golden fluid. Had I known that my interest in the dissection would have rendered me so forgetful of the pungent surround- ings, I would have had chemical reagents to test the substance so easily obtainable. "Another thing was a matter of interest. If I correctly made out the capsule of fluid, the commonly called < glands ' are the muscular tunic enveloping and capable of eomprtssing the THE SCENT OF THE SKUNK. 211 :-V|- reservoir, and tbeir sole use is to eject the li<|uid. The teat- like projections have one large oritico for a distant jet of the substance, and also a strainer, with numerous holes — like the holes in the cones in the human kidney — for a near but diffu- sive jetting of the matter [?]. The substance is secreted by small glands, dark in color, and of small calibre, connected with the capsule by narrow ducts." We gather from these accounts that, as already intimated, the secretory apparatus of this species is essentially the same as that of Conepatus, described at length by 31. Chatin. It is, of course, no longer necessary to refute the vulgar notions once prevalent, that the secretion was that of the kidneys, whisked about by the bushy tail. There remains little to be said on this subject. The fluid is aHogether peculiar and indescribable in odor, pun- gent, penetrating, and persistent to a degree, perhaps, without parallel, outside this subfamily, in the animal kingdom, though probably not more subtilely diffusive than some other analogous emanations. It has been called "garlicky", but this is a mild term. The distance to which the substance, in liquid form, can be ejected, is, in the nature of the case, ditlicult to ascertain with precision, and doubtless varies with the vigor of the ani- mal and amount of accumulation in the reservoir. Hut there is no doubt that the squirt reaches several (authors say from four to fourteen) feet, while the aura is readily perceptible at distances to be best expressed in fractions (»f the mile. The appearance of the animal during the act of emission is unmis- takable, as I have observed on several occasions. The /-igzag course, with mincing steps, by which it leisurely recedes from a pursuer, is arrested for a moment, when the hinder parts are raised and the tail elevated over the back, so that the long hairs, heretofore trailing in one direction, fall in a tuft on all sides, and the sense of smell immediately indicates what has taken place. The discharge is ordinarily invisible in the daytime, but several observers attest a certain phosphorescence, which renders the fluid luminous by night. This is doubtless true, though I have not verified it by actual observation. State- ments to the effect that emission is impossible when the animal is held suspended by the tail are, in the nature of the case, not likely to be often proven by experiment. Nor have I found that instantaneous death is always a sure i>revent»ve of escape of effluvium. A Skunk which I shot with my pistol, held within a foot of its head, the bullet traversing the .vhole .i if aafta ' • ■ 1i •, • h i| ■■• wi 212 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. i body from the forehead to the groiu, was too otiensive to be skinned, though it died without a perceptible struggle, and had certainly not opened its reservoir up to the moment when shot. Nevertheless, there is abundant evidence that life may be taken in such manner that the flesh is eatable, with due care in the preparation of the carcase ; and the meat is said to form a regular part of the food of some savage tribes and semi- civilized people. I have seen it stated that emission does not take place when the animal is captured in a deadfall in such way that the small of the back is broken by the falling weight. The "staying" qualities of the ettlnvium are certainly wonder- ful ; some of the accounts seem incredible, yet they are well attested. Audubon says that at a place where a Skunk had been killed in autumn, the scent was still tolerably strong after the snows had thawed away the following spring. The same author adds that the odor is stronger by night and in damp weather than under the opposite circumstances ; and, in speak- ing of tainted clothes, he continues : — " Washing and t posure to the atmosphere certainly weaken the scent, buo the wearer of clothes that have been thus infected, should he accidentally stand near the fire in a close room, may chance to be mortified by being reminded that he is not altogether free from the con- sequences of an unpleasant hunting excursion." The persist- ence of the scent in museum specimens depends Utogether upon circumstances. Some specimens, in which the fluid had apparently not been discharged at death, and in which care had been taken in the preparation, come directly into our hands with little or no scent ; in others, those probably in which the pelage had become impregnated, or in which the fluid had escaped upon surrounding parts, retain their characteristic odor for many years, whether immersed in alcohol, or dried and buried in tobacco-leaves, insect-powder, and other vegetable aromatics. I have also noticed that the scent may be drawn out of seem- ingly odorless specimens, after several years' keeping, by plac- ing them in the sun. But in proof of the possibility of absolute freedom from scent may be instanced the use, especially of late years, of Skunk furs as wearing apparel, immunity being gained by processes similar to those used by furriers in purifying the pelts of other Mustelidw, as well as of Wolves, Foxes, &c. The enduring and mortifying consequences of actual contact of the fluid with the person or the clothing, as well as of its dissemi- nation in dwellings and outhouses, can hardly be exaggerated. i;i; THE SCENT OF THE SKUNK. 213 bat require no further comment, as these matters have fur- nished standing aecoauts since the history of the spacies began. It seems, however, that the disgusting qualities of the sub- stance have been given undue prominence, to neglect of a much more important and serious matter. The danger to the eye- sight, should the acrid and pungent fluid actually fall upon the eyes, should not be forgotten. Dogs are not seldom perma- nently blinded by the discharge, and there are authentic cases in which human beings have lost their sight in the same way. Sir John liichardson alludes, on the authority of Mr. Graham, to the cases of " several " Indians who had lost their eyesight in consequence of inflammation resulting from this cause. The effect upon dogs is described by Audubon and Bach- man: — " The instant'', they say, "adoghas received a discharge of this kind on his nose and eyes he appears half distracted, plunging his nose into the earth, rubbing the sides of his face on the leaves and grass, and rolling in every direction. "VVe have known several dogs, from the eyes of which the swelling and inflammation caused by it did not disappear for a week." These authors also speak of the nauseating qualities of the etfluvium. "I have known a dead Skunk'', says Sir John, "thrown over the stockades of a trading post, produce instant nausea in several women in a house with closeil doors upwards of a hundred yards distant." " We recollect .an instance," write Audubou and Bachman, " when sickness of the stomach and vomiting were occasioned, in several persons residing in Sara- toga Comity, N. Y., in consequence of one of this species having been killed under the floor of their residence daring the night." The fluid has been put to medicinal use in the treatment of asthma. One invalid is said to have been greatly benefit- ed by the use of a drop three times a day ; but he was soon obliged to discontinue the use of the remedy, owing to the in- tolerably offensive character which all his secretions acquired. The story is told* of an asthmatic clergyman who procured the glands of a Skunk, which he kept tightly corkeil in a smelling- bottle, to be applied to his nose when his syaiptoms appeared. He believed he had discovered a specific fur his d.stressing malady, and rejoiced thereat ; but on one occasi«^n he uncorked his bottle in the pulpit, and drove his congregation out of church. In both these cases, like many others, it is a question of individual preference as between the remedy and the disease. " By Audubon and Bacbuiiui, (juad. N. A. i. '6'i'6. rJ hi v\ w 214 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTE-' ID^E. The supposed counectiou betweeu the suppreasiou of .the secre- tion and the possibility of inoculating hydrophobia is treated beyond under head of "rabies mephitica". There is one point connected with the varying oflFen8i\ ess of the substance which has received little attention. It is cer- tain that if its penetration were correspondent with actual quantity of the substance present, no dissection of the parts of a vigorous animal would be reasonably practicable. But the fluid, like other highly odoriferous substances, is perceptible in degree according to its diffusion in the air by minute division of particles. This is well illustrated under the annoying and too frequent circumstance of a Skunk taking up its abode be- neath dwelling-houses for the winter, which season is passed in a state of incomplete hibernation in some latitudes. At irregular intervals, the animal arouses, and, to judge from the effluvium, empties its distended pouches; but the stench, when thus caused, soon ceases, as is not the case when it is spirted under irritation or in self-defence. Chloride of lime has been recommended as the most effectual disinfectant, and there are doubtless other agents which, by chemically decomi)osiug the substance, deprive it of its often- sive properties. The professional "earth treatment", of late extensively employed in hospital practice, was long anticipated in this connection, it being a common custom to bury clothes in ground tp rid them of the scent. There is also said to be a belief among trappers that the odor may be dispelled by pack- ing the clothes for: a few days in fiesh hemlock boughs. The physiological role of this special secretion is obvious. Its relation to the perpetuation of the species, though over- shadowed by its exaggeration into a powerfully effective means of preservation of the individual, is evidently the same as in other species of Mustelidw, each one of which has its own ema- nation to bring the sexes together, not only by simply indicat- ing their whereabouts, but by serving as a positive attraction. In the case of the Skunk, it would seem that the strong scent has actually tended to result in a more gregarious mode of life than is usual in this family of mammals; and it is certain, at any rate, that the occupancy by one animal of a permanent winter abode serves to attract others to the same retreat. Burrows are sometimes found to contain as many as a dozen individuals, not members of one fiimily, but various adult animals drawn together. One other effect of the possession of 1 1 ^m DISTRIBUTION AND HABITS OF THE SKONK. 215 such unique powers is seen not so much in mode of life as iu the actual disposition of the creature. Its heedless familiarity, its temerity in pushing into places which other animals in- stinctively avoid as dangerous, and its indisposition to seek safety by hasty retreat, are evident results of its confidence in the extraordinary means of defence with which it is provided. In speculating upon the development of this anal armature to a degree which renders it subservient to purposes for which the glands of other Mustelinw, though of similar character, are manifestly inadequate, it may not be amiss to recall how de- fenceless the Skunk would otherwise be iu comparison with its allies. A tardy terrestrial animal of no great strength or spirit, lacking the sagacity and prowess of the Wolverene, the scau- sorial ability of the Martens, the agility, su)all size, and tenuity of body of the Weasels, the swimming and diviug i'owers of the Otters, and even much of the eminent fossorial capacity of its nearest relations, the Badgers — lacking all these qualities, which in their several exhibitions cohduce to the safety of the respective species, it is evident that additional means of self-protection were required ; while the abundance of the animal in most parts of the country, and its audacity iu the face of danger, show that its confidence in the singular means of defence it possesses is not misplaced. Geographical distribution and habits of the Skunlc. Leaving now that portion of the subject which is properly most prominent in the history of the species of this subfamily, we may turn to other matters. Skunks are common in most portions of temperate North America, and very abundant in some districts. I am not aware that any qualification of the broad statement of their general distribution iu this country is required ; for the animalr seem to be independent of those matters of physical geography, such as mountain or valley, woodland or prairie, which impose restrictions upon the distri- bution of many quadrupeds. Skunks, moreover, are obviously less affected by the settlement of a country than the more defenceless, wary, and instinctively secretive carnivores, which are sure to be thinned out and gradually forced awaj' by the progress of civilization. In some parts of the West, indeed, I have found Skunks more numerous in the vicinity of the sparse settlements than they are in regions still primitive; they seem to be actually attracted to man's abodes, like some other quad- 'i! I'li' ■■;r': 216 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. rupeds and not a few birds, which are more abundant in "clearings" than in ihe depths of the forest or in the loneliness of unreclaimed prairie. I was struck with this circumstance during my recent travels in Colorado, where Skunks were a never-failing nuisance about the ranches, though I never saw or smelled one, to my present recollection, in the uninhabited mountains of that State. Their entire absence, however, is not to be predicated on this score, but simply their relatively lesser numbers; and I have rarely found Skunks more numerous in the West than they were in the entirely unsettled stretches of country in Montana northwest of Fort Benton, and thence to the region of the Saskatchewan. Eichardson notes their fre- quency in this latter portion of the country, and fixes the north- ern limit of the species at about 56° or 57° North latitude. In the opposite direction, the habitat of the Skunk overlaps that of the Conepate, reaching into Mexico ; but exactly how far remains to be ascertained. It is i)robably replaced, southerly in Mexico, by the closely .allied though apparently distinct M. macrura of Lichtenstein, treated on a following page. A recent local writer on the quadrupeds of one of our States noted that out of the large number of Skunks attributed to North America only one, the present species, was found in his locality, humorously adding that one, however, was generally considered sufficient. Through- out British America, and most of the northern tier of States, New England, the Middle States, and some of the Southern States, the present is the only species of the subfamily certainly known to occur ; in most parts of the West, and some of the South, it is associated with the smaller species, Spilogale putorius; while the extreme Southwest may rejoice in the possession of all three of the United States species. The Skunk yields a handsome fur, lately become fashionable, under the euphemism of "Alaska sable" — for our elegant dames would surely not deck themselves in obscene Skunk skins if they were not permitted to call the rose by some other name. Pelts to the number of a thousand or more have annually passed through the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company ; and this kind of "sable" is one of the staples of American furriers, many thousands being yearly exported to Europe. The black furs are the most valuable, ranging in price, according to qual- ity, up to $1 apiece for prime; the " half-stripe" and the white bring much less. The trapping of the animal seems to be an easier matter than the subsequent disposition of the prize; for HABITS OF THE SKUNK. 217 the Skunk is far from cuuniug, and no special skill is required for its capture. A variety of traps are used with success ; the deadfall is particularly recommended, since, if properly con- structed, it causes the death of the animal without emission of the fluid.* Audubon and Bachman's statement that the fur " is * Gibson's " Complete American Trapper "', pp. 198, 2d2-3, 286. The following on the subject of trapping Skunks was contributed by C. L. Whitman, of Weston, Vt., to Forest and Stream of February 17, 1876: — " I am often asked by friends and brother trappers how I manage to rid my fox traps of skunks without being defiled by their odor. For the benefit of the uninitiated I will state that if there are any skunks living in the vicinity where fox traps are set they are sure to be taken, and till all are thus disposed of there is little chance of capturing foxes. When there is reason to suppose the presence of many skunks, it is best to set the traps early, in order to get them out of the way at once ; setting in a manner not to take the fox — that is, less skillfully. To the fox trapper this animal is a pest and annoyance, for where the trap is made fast — as in dirt trapping is desirable — he will in a brief time with teeth and claws greatly impair, if not wholly ruin a good setting-place. Sometimes he frees himself by self- amputation ; in such case it is good riddance. They seldom get in a second time, as in their weak and mutilated condition they fall an easy prey to the fox, who is fond of their flesh ; so much so that he will sometimes gnaw off the leg by which the skunk is held in the trap, and carry off his booty to be eaten at his leisure. Trappers cognizant of the above trait do not fail to use skunk's flesh for bait. Sometimes he is found asleep after a night of ceaseless toil to get free, when, if in good position, he may be carefully ap- proached from the leeward, and by stepping upon his tail, at the same time dealing a smart blow upon the head with a club, he is easily and safely dis- patched. But this seldom occurs, and the attempt to dispatch him when on the alert with clubs or stones, is to risk and often receive defilement. Fire- arms are out of the question, as a good trapper is chary of their use on his rangfe. " My favorite method of dealing with them is as follows : With a tough annealed No. 15 or 16 iron wire I form a slip noose about five inches in diam- eter on one end, aud a standing loop of two inches on the other, and a space of five inches between. The loop is attached to the smaller end of a light, stiflf pole of eight or ten feet in length. With this firmly grasped in both hands I slowly and carefully approach, and slip the noose over his head, and with a quick jerk backwards and upwards lift him as high as the chain of the trap will allow, and thus hold him until he is strangled. The butt end of the pole may be brought to the ground and there held by a foot, the hands moved further in advance for greater ease. When taken by a hind leg I at once lower the trap to the ground and release the same with one foot pressed upon the spring ; the pole may then be set in a secure position against a rock or other support while the trap is being reset. If the jerk upward has not been adroitly made, the wire may not draw as tight as it ought, in which case a discbarge of the pungent odor will usually follow ; but in this per- pendicular position the discharge descends directly downwards, so that if the attack has been made from the windward, as it ought, there is no danger. IT? 1 ; I . < nillgiij if ,h't 218 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. seldom used by the hatters, aud never we think by the furriers ; and from the disagreeable tas ' .repariug the skin, it is not considered an article of cor j" was wide of the mark, unless it was penned befc ..iska sable" became fashion- able. Like other animals ot present family — like most carni- vores, in fact — the Skunk is somewhat nocturnal in habits, chiefly prowling for food in the dark, though often abroad in the daytime. In northern portions of its range, it hibernates to some extent, but its torpidity is very incomplete ; it appears, moreover, to be under some necessity of arousing itself, perhaps for the periodical evacuation of its reservoirs. In the South, it ranges freely at all seasons. In instances in which the animal has taken up its abode for the winter about dwelling-houses, its temporary activity, during warm spells of weather, is not likely to be overlooked. This propensity to seek retreats in human habitations is strikingly at variance with the disposition of other Musteline quadrupeds, which instinctively shun man's abodes, except when, in foraging for food, the poultry-yard tempts their appetite and their courage. In travelling in some portions of the West, it flid seem as if I never could approach a ranch without being aware of the visit, past or present, of some prying Skunk ; and the outhouses I entered were almost invari- ably scented. The Skunk is an occasional robber of poultry and eggs, and is said to be fond of milk. Wben away from human habitations, the retreats of the Skunk are underground burrows, the hollows of decayed logs and stumps, the crevices among rocks — in short, any natural shelter not away from the ground. Audubon and Bachmau describe the underground burrows which the Skunk excavates for itself as less difficult to dig out than those of the Fox, generally running near the surface of flat ground for six or eight feet, and ending in a chamber lined with leaves, where may be found during winter from Ave to fifteen individuals huddled together. Sometimes, these authors add, the burrow divides into two or three galleries. The ani- " The approach is sometimes resented at tirst, but the gradual arcbiug of the tail gives timely warniag, aud a careful retreat is necessary for a moment. The second or third attempt is successful. The animal by that time recovers from the alarm, and at most will merely sniff the air iu your directiou. With this device I have destroyed many hundred during the past thirty years, and do not recollect an instance where I bore any of the odor about nie, except I had inadvertently trod upon dirt that was defiled, and now oft'er it for the consideration of brother trappers." DISTRIBUTION AND HABITS OF THE SKUNK. 219 mala are evidently more gregarious than other Mnstelida'^ and the numbers which congregate in one burrow are not neces- sarily members of the same family. They are very prolific, bringing forth in May, it is said, to the number of eight or ten ; the period of gestation is probably unknown. Their natural increase is at so high a rate that were they not systematically persecuted, not only for the value of their furs, but on account of their peculiar offensiveuess, they would become a serious pest. The reaction of their principal means of self-preservation, in fact, becomes one of the factors in the problem of their undue increase, so nicely are the balances of Nature adjusted. Skunksareattacked bydogsand othercaninequadrupeds, who destroy and devour them in spite of their scent ; and some of the larger birds of prey, like the Bitbo vh'ffinianus, or Great Horned ( )wl, have been observed to capture and eat them. Their own food is of rather an humble nature in comparison with that of other Mustelidfi' of corresponding size and strength; for they have neither the speed nor the address required to effect the destruc- tion of many animals which the Martens and Weasels, for instance, prey upon. They feed largely upon insects, birds' eggs, such small reptiles as frogs, and small quadrupeds, such as the various species of mice. They are also said to capture rabbits in the burrows into which these timorous beasts some- times take refuge, though they are manifestly incapable of securing these swift-footed animals in the chase. The depre- dations committed by the Skunk in the poultry-house have been already alluded to. I recur to the fact to note the way these awkward animals conduct themselves under such circum- stances, when their blundering pertinacity and apparent neglect of the most obvious precautions against detection contrast strongly with the stealth, cunning, and sagacity of the Fox, Mink, or Stoat when engaged in similar freebooting. Even after discovery, the Skunk seems to forget the propriety of making oflf, and generally falls a victim to his lack of wit. I once tested the speed of a Skunk in a fair race over open prairie. The wind was blowing "half a gale" at my back, and my courage was consequently unchallenged. The animaj seemed to be aware of its powerlessness under these circum- stances, and, after once or twice vainly discharging its battery, as I saw by its peculiar motions, though the wind carried off the effluvium, made oft' at its best pace. But I had no difliculty in keeping up with it at an easy jogtrot, scarcely faster than rapid ! ■;.. 14! •!i:i W '*! M 4 i:m 220 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. walking, aud, after noting its gait and otiier actions, I 'lot it dead. The specimen was too oflfensive to be skinned, however, as some of the fluid had been blown npon its fur. In the conrse of my varions campaigns in the West, I have witnessed not a few ludicrous scenes, aud have known the startling cry of " Skunk !*' to throw a camp into as great commotion, to all out- ward appearance, as that other graver, yet not less sudden, warning of Indians. But to recount stories of Skunks would be to go on indefinitely ; like the pelt to the furrier, anecdotes to the historian are " staple", and may be read in all the books, such is the facetiousuess which this subject seems to inevitably call forth. History of the species. The Skunk has figured in literature for more than two cen- turies, as can be said of comparatively few American animals. The earliest account I have found, one which Eichardson also said was the first he had met with, is that given by Gabriel Sagard-Theodat, "Mineur Recollect de la Prouince de Paris", in his History of Canada, 1030. The quaint passage runs as follows : — "Les enfans dn diable, que les Hurons appellent Scangaresse, & le eommun des Montagnais Babougi Mauitou, ou Ouinesque, est un beste fort puante, de la grandeur d'un chat ou d'un ieuue renard, mais elle a la teste un pen moins aigue, & la peau cou- uerte d'un gros poll rude & enfum^, et sa grosse queue retrous- see de mesme, elle se cache en Hyuer sous la neige, & ne sort point qu'au commencement de laLunedu mois de Mars, laquelle les Montagnais nomment Ouiniscon pismi, qui signifle la Lune de la Ouinesque. Get animal, outre qu'il est de fort man uaise odeur, est tres-malicieux & d'un laid regard, ils ietteut aussi (j\ ce qu'on dit) parmy leure excremens de peiits serpens, longs & deliez, les quels ne viuent neant moins gueres long temps. I'en pensois apporter une peau pass^e, mais un Fran- cois passager me I'ayant demandee ie la luy donnay." From the way in which this passage opens, we may presume or infer that "enfan du diable" was already a recognized name among the French, in spoken at least, if not also written, lan- guage. The "devil's own" beast is also mentioned by various other early writers, amongst whom Gharlevoix may be cit^d. It was the "Fiskatta" of Kalm (17 . . ); but the date of the introduction of the term " Skunk" 1 have not been able to as- HISTORY OF MEPHITES MEPHITICA. 221 certain, nor do I know its meaning. A likeness to the word most suggestive of tlie animal, and which appears in the Ger- man Stinkthier, is too obvious to require comment, but the resemblance may be fortuitous. It may be observed that the Creo or Knistenaux word is seccawk, which is quite likely the origin of the name, as the sound i* not so very different, though the literal discrepancy is great. The American-English name "pole-cat" or "pol-cat", by which the Swedish of Kalm is rendered, and which has long been an appellation of this and other species of Skunks, is simply a transferring of the Euro- pean-English name of the Fitch, Putorius f<xtklus, the worst- smelling species of its own continent, to the Western animal, which has the same enviable notoriety. The terms pol-cat or pole-cat and skunk were both used by Lawson about the be- ginning of the last century. " Polcats or Skunks in Amer- ica," says he, " are different from those in Europe. They are thicker and of a great many Colours; not all alike, but each differing from another in the particular Colour. They smell like a Fox but ten times stronger. When a Dog encounters them, they void upon him, and he will not be sweet again for a fortnight or more. The Indians love to eat their Flesh, which has no manner of ill smell, when the Bladder is out." " Skunk" was formerly used adjectively, as we see in the " Skunk Wee- sel" of Pennant, which may be deemed exactly equivalent to the "Mephitic weesel" of Shaw. "Chinche" was a term ap- plied by early French zoologists to this and other Mephitimv, and in its various forms of chinche or chincha^ chinge or chinga, was long current. The last-named form, indeed, became with many authors, after Tiedemauu, the specific name of the spe- cies in binominal nomenclature. The early history of the species in technical nomenclature, as distinguished from that of the animal in non*scientiffc accounts, is much involved. It may be well to state that authors have gone to opposite extremes in treating of Skunks as species. Some, like Cuvier, " lumped " them all together, whilst others made every streak or spot the basis of a species. We do not find the present species clearly and unequivocally indicated by the founder and earliest supporters of the binomial system ; on the contrary, the Linn.-Gmel. accounts, though undoubtedly cov- ering this even then well-known species, are so infiltrated with reference to other species as to be not properly citable in this connection. Linnteus put the Skuiks in his genus ViverrUj ,yrm -'4 -I '^'l i "m 222 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.t:. f 8 1 traiKst'erriug this Plinian uame of certain Musteliue ani- mals to those of the Civet-cat group, and in 1758 named a species Virerra putorlm. Hi.s species at this date was partly based on Kalm's Fi«JiaUa, and in so far means the i)resent animal, but the primary reference is to Catesby's Polecat, and the description rather suits the Spilofiale. In 17C0, Linnteus made confusion worse confounded by resting his Viverm puto- rim not only upon Catesby and Kalm, as he had done in 1758, but by citing also Hernandez, Kay, Seba, and Brisson, his species being consequently a conglomeration of animals not only specifically but generically distinct from each other, though the drift of his descriptive text is toward the present species.* These accounts, and such as hang upon them, are not properly citable in the present connection. About the end of the last century, Dr. G. Shaw introduced a species, Viverra mcphitica, which indicates the present animal with sufficient pertinence and exclusiveness, and furnished a specific name, the first tena- ble one I know of. In consequence, however, of its literal re- semblance to the name of the Cuvierian genus Mephitis, the term slept until revived by Baird in 1857, when, with those to whom the alteration is not objectionable, the binomial name Mephitis mephitica became current. Shortly afterward, in 1808, Tiedeniann introduced a species, M. chinga, adapted from the earlier chinche as a specific name. This was adopted by Lichteustein in his special memoirs, by Aubudon and Bachman, and by others. It undoubtedly refers to the juesent animal, though vitiated to some extent by in- applicable expressions. Desmarest called all the Skwuks Mephitis f Americana, hav- ing a long array of varieties, from A to R, his var. R being the one which more particularly refers to the present species. In 1829, Fischer rendered the " chinga" of Tiedemann as chinche, reverting to the more customary orthography. The same year Richardson introduced a new term, hudsonica. Later, nominal species multiplied, not that there were not already names * "Habitat in America septentrionali. Colore variat. Irritatus (cum urina forIC') balitum explodit, quo nihil fcttidiue ; incessa tardus, nee Homines nee Feras metuens; vestes fcetore inqninatie purgantur sepeliendo per diem. A. Knhn." (p. 65.) Linnaeus's next Hpeciee, Viverra zibetha, the Civet-cat of the Old World, is also tinctured with Bkunk, or some other American animal not distantly related. . ., . t Written " Mnstela " by an obvious slip. . HYDROPHOBIA FPOM SKUNK-BITE. 223 enoiigb, but apparently in the impossibility of sifting and fixing earlier accounts. M. rarians was proi)osed by Gray in 1837 for the southwestern variety, afterward called macroura by Aubudou and Bacliman; and in 1805 Gray had the assurance to set his term over all the prior ones as the specific designa- tion, recounting numerous varieties of the species. MephitlH mesomelas of Lichtenstein and M. occidentaUs of Baird are names of the western strain of ordinary mephitica. Other points in the history of Skunks are reviewed under heads of species to follow. ADDENDUM TO CHAPTElt VJI. ON nYDROrilOBIA FROM SKUNK-BITE, OR THE SO-CALLED "RABIES MEPHITICA". The importance of this subject induces me to present such facts as have come to my knowledge. Though it has long been known that the bite of the Skunk under certain condi- tions, like that of various other animals, is capable of inoculat- ing a disease like hydrophobia, it seems that only lately has the subject been thoroughly investigated and adequately pre- sented. This has been done, notably, by two writers, whose respective accounts are here transcribed in full, without fur- ther comment. The points that the Eev. Mr. Hovey makes are these: — That hydrophobia from Skunk-bite is a different species of the disease from rabies canina ; the term rabies mephitica being proposed for it. That rabies mephitica is caused by a special hydrophobic virus generated by Skunks. That "possibly there may be a causative connection between inactivity of the anal glands and the generation of malignant virus in the glands of the mouth". That the bite of Skunks in apparently normal state of health (i. e., not rabid in the usual sense of the term) is usually fatal. That " we might go further and seek a solution of the whole dread mystery of hydrophobia in the theory that this dread malady originates with the allied genera of Mephitis^ Putorim, and Mustela^ . . . being from them transferred to the Felidas and Canidte and other families of animals". He also suggests that the mephitic secretion might be found to be the natural antidote to the salivary virus. . . m 224 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^E. The article attracted considerable attention, from the nov I'lty of the views put forth, and the intrinsic importance of the subject. Some months afterward Dr. Janewaj' replied in an elaborate article, detailing cases and criticising Mr. Hovey's views, com- ing to the conclusion " that the malady produced by mephitic virus is simply hydrophobia". Following are the two articles in question in full . — ;i. iS [From Amor. Jouru. Scl. ami Ait, M sor. vol. vii. no. II, art. xliv. pp. 477-4*1, May, 1874.] 4 "Bahh-it Meithitica ; by Ilvv. Homir C. Ilorey, M. A. "My subject coHcoriiH alike lueiliciil suieuco and natural history. For wbilo proviujj the existoiiv.o of a uow disease, soule singular facts will ho brought to light about a I'aiuiliar meiuber of the Anvsrican Fauna. It i.s cruel to add aught to the odium already attached to the common skunk (Mephitis mephitiva iShaw ; M, chinga Tiedenmnn). But, clearly, he is as dan- gerous as ho is disagreeable. In a wild state he is by no means the weak, timid, harmless creature commonly described by naturalists; although it is said that, if disarmed of his wea))ons of ortonce while young, ho may bo safely domesticated. "A peculiar poison is sometimes contained in the saliva of animals be- longing to the cauiuo and feline families, the production of which, it has been generally suppo.scd, is limited to them. Other animals, of the same or of diil'erent species, may be inoculated with this virus; the result being a mysterious malady, which men have observed from the days of Homer and Aristotle, but which has never been either cured or understood. This frightful disease has been called, from its origin, Rabkn caninn, and from one of its symptoms, hydrophobia. Probably it is not communicable by any species but those with which it originates. A few instances have been re- corded to the contrary ; but they were so imperfectly observed as merely to stimulate ns to further investigation. It is stated by the best medical writers (e. g., Watson, Qros.% and Aitken), as an undeniable fact, that no instance is known of hydrophobia having been communicated from one human being to another, although many patients, in their spasms, have bitten their attendants. An interesting cose, but inconclusive, being the only one of its kind, is reported by M. Quillery, in which an aged man expe- rienced spontaneous hydrophobia (Bulletin of Belgian Academy, No. S, 1871). In such exceptional instances there may have been previous iuooula- tion, unnoticed or forgotten ; for the least particle of this deadly poison will be efficient, and yet it is always tardy in its period of incubation. "The facts uow collated will show, it is thoight, one of two things, either that the hydrophobic virus is both generated and communicated by some of the Munfelidw as well as the Felidw and Canidiv ; or else, that a new disease has been discovered, which generioal'y resembles Bahiet canina, while differing from it speciilcall5^. My judgntuut favors the latter opinion, de- cidedly, for reasons to be adduced ; and accordingly I may name this now malady, from the animal iu whose saliva it is generated, Rabie* Mephitiva, IIYnROPHORIA FROM SKUNK-BITE. 225 " Tlio viirioticH of MvpliitiH are iiotoriouH for tlio Hinjriilttr buttery with which tliey are provi(hMl by iiatiir*>. It voiiHiHtH of two anal k^'^"*!'* from whicli, by tlio coiitiactioii of Niib-caiidal iiuiHch^s, an otfoiiHive lliiid can bo (li.scharjfoil in tlin>a<l-liV'« Htroanis, witli H\u;h accuracy of aim as to Htriko any olijoct wiiliin tiftoon f«!<«t. TiiiM 8ccretion is uithur colorless, or of a pale yolltiw hue. It is i»h<M|>horcHccnt. Viuwod from a safe distanco, its <li.scliur)i(c IooIvh like a puff of Ntoain or white Niuoko. Its (»dor is far more ]K rsiHtonttlum that' of musk. If too frocly inlialod it causoa intense nanson, followcil by distrussin^ gastric cramp. In minute doses it is said to be a valuable anti-spasmodic. If so, why not experiment with it as a euro for hydrophobic convulsions? It is not known what the effect would be of injecting this tinitl beneath the skin. Interesting results might be attained by any one who is willing, in behalf of science, to investigate further in this inviting path! There certainly seems to be some connection between it and the disease under (Mmsideriition; for, in every instance, the rabid skunk has either exhausted his mcphitic; battery, or else has lost the projec- tile force by which it is discharged. Perhaps the secretion is only checked by the feverish state of the system. Possibly there nnvy be a causative oi»u- nection between this inactivity of the anal glands and the generation of nnilignant virus in the glands of the numth. "An adventure, while on a summer tour amid the Rocky Mountains, first called my attention to the novel class of facts about to bo presented. Our camp was invaded by a nocturnal prowler, which proved to be a large coal- black skunk. Anxious to secure his fine silky fur uninjured, I attempte«I to kill him with small shot, and failed. He made characteristic retaliation; arid then, rushing at me with fer(»city, he sei/.ed the muzzle of my gun between his teeth ! Of course the jtenalty was ins;ant deai.h. An experienced hunter then startled us by saying that the bite of this animal is invariably fatal, and that when in perfect appurcnt health it is always rabid. He re- sented our incredulity and coiilirmed his statement by several instances of dogs and men dying in convulsions shortly after being thus bitten. "On mentioning this adventure to H. li. Payne, M. D., who had been cam|iing with miners near Cailon City, Col., he said that at night skunks would come into their tent, making a peculiar crying noise, and threatening to attack them. His companions, from Texas and elsewhere, had aooouuts to give of fatal results following the bite of this animal. " 8inco returning to Kansas City, I have had extensive correspondence with hnniiors, taxidermists, surgeons and othors, by which means the particulars have been obtai ;ed of ftuty-ono cases of ral)ien mcphitica, occurring in Vir- ginia, Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado and Texas. All were fatal except one ; that was the case of a farmer, named Fletcher, living near (iainsville, Texas, who was twice bitten by M. macroum [of And. <& liiich.=: .If. mcphitica var. — E. C], yet recovered and is living still. On further inciairy it was found that he was aware of his danger, and used prompt preventive treatment. Another case was alleged to be an exception ; that of a dog which was severely bitten in a long fight with a skunk, but whose wounds healed readily and without subsequent diuease. It seems, however, that this dog afterward died with niysteriou i sya.^ ' '^ms like those of hydrophobia in some of its less aggravated forms. ^ " Instead of burdening this article with a ma^-' of oiroumstautial details, 15 M ' :; 226 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E - f ' a few cases only will be given bnst fitted to show the poculiarlties of the malady; and Miose are preferred that are located on the almost utiinh.ibitetl plains of western Kansas, because there the mephitic weasels would be least liable to be iuocnlated with canine virus. "A veteran hunter, Nathaniel Douglas, was hunting butfalo, in June, 187'i, fourteen miles north of Park's Fort. While asleep he was bitten on the thumb by a skunk. Fourteen days afterward singular sensations caused him to seek medical advice. But it was too late, and after convulsions lasting for ten hours he died. This case is reported by an eye-witness, Mr. E. S. Love, ot Wyandotte, Kansas, who also gives several siniilar accounts. " One of the men employed by H. P. Wilson, Esq., of Hayes City, Kansas, was bitten by askuuk at night, while herding cattle on the plains. About ten days afterward he was seized with delirium and fearful con vuLsious, which fol- lowed each other until death brought relief. Mr. Wilson also rtipo' '^i other cases, one of which is very receut. In the summer of 1873, a Swedis. girl was bitten by a skunk while going to a neighbor's house. As the wound was slight and readily cured, the affair was hardly thought worthy of re- membrance. But on .Ian. 24th, 1874, the virus, which had been latent for five months, asserted ,its power. She was seized with terrible paroxysms. Large doses of morphine were administered, which ended both her agony and her life. " In October, 1871, a hunter on Walnut Creek, Kansas, was awakened by having his left ear bitten by some animal. Seizing it with his hand, he found it to be a skunk, which after a struggle he killed, but not until his hand was painfully punctured and lacerated. He presented himself for treatment to Dr. J. H. Janeway, army surgeon at Fort Hayes, from whom I have the facts. The wounds in the hands were cauterized, much to the man's dis- gust, who thought simple dressing sufficient. He refused to have the wound in the ear touched, and went to Fort Harker to consult Dr. R. C. Brewer. Twelve days afterward the latter reported that his patient had died with hydrophobic symptoms. "Another hunter, in the fall d 1872, applied to Dr. Janeway to he treated for a bite through one of the alae of the nose. He had been attacked by a skunk, while in camp on the Smoky River, two nights previous. He had been imbibing stimulants freely and was highly excited and nervous. A stick of nitrate of silver was passed throUif^h the wound several times. He was kept under treatment for two days, when he left to have a ' madstoue ' applied. He afterward went home to his ranch, and died in convulsions twenty-one days from the time he was inoculated. " I give but one more of the cases reported to me by Dr. .laneway. In October, 1871, he was called to see a young man living in a ' dug-out,' a few , miles from the fort. He had been bitten by a skunk, seventeen ilays previ- ous, in the little finger of the left hand. His face was flushed, and he com- plaintd that his throat seemed to bo turning into bone. On hearing the sound of water poured from a pail into a tin cup, ho went into convulsions, that followed each other with rapidity and violence for sixteen hours, ter- minating in death. This man's dog had also been bitten, and it was sug- gested that he had better be shut up. He chanced at the time to be in the hog-pen, ftud he was confined in that enclosure. Ere long he began to gnaw furiously »t the rails and posts of the pen and to bite the hogs ; until the by- HYDROPHOBIA FROM SKUNK-BITE. 227 standers, convinced that he was mad, ended the scone by shootint; all the animals in the pen. "It is evidently the opinion of Dr. Janeway that the malady produced by raephitic virus is simply hydrophobia. Should he be correct, then all that is established by these facts would be this, viz : that henceforth the varie- ties of Mephitis must be classed with those animals that spontaneously j;en- erate poison in the glands of the mouth and communicate it by salivary inoculation. From this, as a starting-point, we might go further and seek a solution of the whole mystery of hydrophobia in the theory that this dread malady primarily originates with the allied genera of Mephitis, Pulorius and Muatela, widely scattered over the earth :* being from them transferred to the Felidte and Canida and other families of animals. And then, if it could be proved experimentally that the ch.aracteristic mephitic secretions con- tained an antidote for the virus of the saliva, we should have the whole subject arranged very beautifully ! " I am favored by Dr. M. M. Spearer, surgeon in the 6th U. S. Cavalry, with notes from his case-book, of four cases in which persons have died from the bite of the skunk ; and he also mentions additional instances reported to him by other observers. He thinks there is a marked differ- ence between the symptoms of their malady and those of hydrophobia. 1 uhall refer to his testimony again, but pause for a moment to notice bis final conclusions, from which, original and interesting as they are, I must dissent. He says: ' I regard this virus as being as peculiar to the skunk as the venom of the rattlesnake is to that creature ; and not an occasional out- break of disease as the ajstus veneris of the wolf or the rahiea canina.' Singu- lar as this theory may seem, it is not wholly without support. It is remark- able that of all the cases thus far reported to me there is but one instance of recovery. It is stated in Watson's Physic (vol. i, p. 615) that of one hundred and fourteen bitten by rabid wolves only sixty-seven died ; and of those bit- ton by rabid dogs the proportion is still less. But mephitic inoculation is sure death. Then agaiu it is to be observed that the only peculiarity notice- able in these biting skunks is the arrest of their effluvium. They approach stealthily, while their victims are asleep, and inflict the deadly wound on some minor member — the thumb, the little finger, the lobe of the ear, one of the alo) of the nose. How different from the fierce assault of a mad dog ! How subtle and snako-like! It may be remarked, also, that dogs are gen- erally as cautious and adroit in attacking these odious enemies as they are in seizing venomous snakes. But we must remember, on the other hand, that thousand** r-f skunks are killed annually, partly as pests and partly for the fur trade ; and it is incredible that an animal whose ordinary bite is as " " Since forwarding this article for publication, I have obtained an answer to my inquiries made in California through my friend, Dr. J. G. Tidball, respecting the Me2>hitis zorilUi [i. c, M. (Spilogale) piitoriiu — E. C.]. He de- scribed it as a very pretty animal which usually allows itself to be killed without resistance. But he adds that its bite is highly dangerous, causing a fatal disease like hydrophobia. " I regret that he gives no particulars of actual cases ; but bis testimony is interesting, as it brings into coudemaatioD a species of Mejthilis quite dif- ferent from M. chinga." i#l ill > '8 ,1 I ,"i 1 at itr- ill. i28 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. venomous as that f^' a rattlesnake, should so seldom resort to that mode of defence, if it be his. " The resulting disease resembles hydrophobia more than it does the effect of ophidian venom. But here, as observed at the outset, the likeness is only generic, while specifically there are marked differences. These have pur- posely been kept in the back-ground until now. And in giving a differential diagnosis, I shall avoid repetitious details, and combine facts gathered from many sources \«ith the close and accurate observations which Dr. Shearer has put at my disposal. "1. The period of incubation is alike in raMea canina and. rabies mcphitica. That is, it is indefinite, ranging from ten days to twelve months, with no opportunity meanwhile for subsequent inoculation. But during the incu- bative period of /?. mephitica, no perceptible changes take place in the con- stitution as in hydrophobia. In only one instance was there unusual nerv- ousness, and that might have been due to alcohol. In every case where there was time for it, the wounds healed over smoothly and permanently, and in several instances not even a scar was visible. In no case was there recrudescence of the wound, always seen in hydrophobia. Indeed, there were so few premonitions of any kind that, in most instances, the attending physicians themselves supposed the ailment to be simple and trivial, until the sudden and fearful convulsions came on to baffle all their skill. "2. Characteristic pustules form in hydrophobia beneath the tongue and near the orifices of the snb-maxillary glands. (See Aitkeu, Sci. and Pract. Med., vol. i, p. 653.) These were not reported in a single case of B. mephilica. Dr. Shearer looked for them carefully in all his cases, but did not find them. "3. The specific action of hydrophobic virus affects the eighth pair of cranial nerves and their branches, especially the (esophageal branch, the result being great difficulty in swallowing ; and the motor nerve of the layx [larnyx — sic], causing sighing, catching of the breath, and difficulty in expelling the frothy mucus accumulated in the throat. These invariable accompaniments of B. canina are usually wanting in B. mephilica; the ex- ceptions being in the case of the Swedish girl, who complained of pain in her chest; and the young man. Dr. Janeway's patient, whose constriction of the throat was decided, as well as his sensitiveness to water. Dr. Shearer's patients had no such trouble. A taxidermist, who has seen four dogs die from B. mephitica, in Michigan, says they did not seem to have any fear of water, or other signs which he had supposed were characteristic of B. canina. Ordinary hydrophobia, again, is marked by constant hypertesthesia of the skin, so that the slightest breath of air will precipitate convulsions. But, in B. mephitica, faiming the face affords relief, and even cloths dipped in water and laid on the forehead were soothing ! " 4. In hydrophobia the perceptions are intensified, so that even the deaf are said to have their hearing restored ; the pupils are strongly dilated, im- parting to the eyes a wild, glaring expression ; the spasms are tonic, i. e., steady and continuous; the pulse is feeble; and delirium Is occasionally relieved by lucid intervals. But the symptoms are wholly different in B. mej)hitica: there is oscillation of the pupil; the spasms are clonic, i. e., markevl by rapid alternate contraction and relaxation of the muscles ; small, but wiry radial pulse and rapid carotids ; positive loss of perception and volition throughout, until delirium ends in persistent nnconsciousness, simultaneonsly with cold perspiration and relaxation of the sphincters. :'* HYDROPHOBIA FROM SKUNK-BITE. 229 "5. The mode of death is by asthenia in both forms of rabies; bat in R. canina the frightful strugjrles of nature to eliminate the poison are more prolonged than in 72. mephiiica; and in the latter they may, on occasion, be still further abridged by the use of morphine, which has no narcotic effect upon the former, even in the largest doses and injected into the veius ! "I have thus endeavored to de.Hcribe, and also to explain, these strange and painful phenomena. I must leave the reader to form his own decision, only hoping that some one may be induced to follow this pioneer worlc iu a new path, by further and more able investigations of his own. "Kansas City, Mo., Feb. '24th, 1874." [From the New York Medical Record, vol. x. no. 827, pp. 177-lCO, Mar. 13, 1875.] "On Hydrophobia. — By John G. Janeicay, M. D,, Assiatant Surgeon, U. S. A, "A writer* in the American Journal of Science and Art, May, 1874, states that ' it is evidently the opinion of Dr. Janeway that the malady produced by the mephitic virus is simply hydrophobia. Should he be correct, then all that is established by these facts would be this, viz.: that henceforth the varieties mephitis must be classed with those animals that spontaneously generate poison in the glands of the mouth and communicate it by salivary iiioculation.'[t] The personal observation of fifteen fatal cases of hydropho- bia, produced by the bite of rabid animals, skunks, wolves, and hogs.t and the reliable statements of a number of other cases, has fully couHrmed me in the opinion above stated, that the malady produced by mephitic virus is simply hydrophobia. " The following five cases are taken from the iifteeu fatal cases that have fallen under my observation : "Case I. Bite of Skdnk. — Was called to visit Wm. P., aged nineteen, a herder, whom I was told by the messenger had been acting strangely all the morning. I found him lying on a bed iA a sod-house, dressed, with several of his companions around him. Face Hushed, pulse very rapid, the heat of skin intense and dry, eyes brilliant and pupils dilated rather more than natural, extremely restless and frequently catching at his throat ; upon questioning, replied that his throat was turning into bone. Hud not felt well for two or three days ; did not know what wds the matter with him. Upou pouring out some water from a pail near by, to admiuister morphia to him, he went suddenly into convulsions. " Suspecting hydrophobia immediately, aa soon as he regained conscious- ness I learned that he had been bitteu by a skunk, just before daybreak, seventeen days before, in the little linger of the left hand ; that the wound was small and soon healed ; that for two days preceding my seeing him bis * " Rev. Horace C. Hovey, M. A." t [There is some typographical confhsion in the quotation-marks at the opening of Dr. Janeway's article ; and Dr. Janeway does not quote Mr. Hovey's literally, leaving it liable to be misunderstood whose opinion is be- ing quoted. I have slightly altered the text in this place, to reproduce the quotation literally from the original. — E. C] f'Skunks 10, wolves 3, hogsa." ;.. i -^ , .^ v.. •. -. » -■;,siA» ) f '} V '■ » !• S-ll-i^li' 'I 1 # T " { •i-!. 1. •)!/•* ♦ Ml i 230 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. I finger and arm had felt iinmb. Upon examining the finger, slight redness was observed at the place bitten, tongue slightly furred and somewhat swollen, no so-called ' characteristic pustules ' were to be seen. Thirst in- tense and begged for water, but the sound of dipping the water from the pail throw him immediately into still more terrible convulsions, frequent sighing, aud catching his breath. Administer hypodermic injections of morphia without avail. Upon the arrival of chloroform, which I had sent fur, its administration gave partial relief for a short time. His endeavors to free himself of the tenacious mucus were terrible, when the incautious upsetting of a pail of water again threw him into convulsions, opisthotonous in character, followed by attempts at biting those holding him, and when consciousness was regained, asking pardon for so doing. Hyperussthesia existed in a very marked degree iu this case. Death came to his relief in about eighteen hours from the time of his first convulsion. " Cask II. Brrn of Skunk.— An emigrant from Wisconsin, camped on the north fork of Big Creek, about seven miles from Hays, applied to me in the fall of 1872 for dressing for his hand, which had been bitten between the thumb and index finger of his left hand, the night previously, by a skunk. Cauteri/ed the wound well, and directed him to repeat the cauterization twice a day. Saw nothing of him for twelve days, when I was sent for, and upon arriving at his camp found him iu convulsions, which were repeated rapidly. Face flushed, eyes brilliant, pupils rather contrticted, skin hot and dry, pulse small and rapid, 120, no so-called ' characteristic pustules ' under the tongue. When not in convulsions, mind clear and fully aware of the fate that jiwaited him. From his wife I learned that after the third day of using the caustic the wound healed and gave him no further trouble ; that for three days he had been complaining of some fulness in the head, and a general ' malaise,' neither sick nor well ; that the convulsions came on about seven hours previous to my seeing him, suddenly, upon attempting to take a drink from a spring close to their camp; that he would go into con- vulsions whenever water or tea was offered him, and that the faintest breath of air would cause him the greatest anguish, so that she had to put a blanket up before the door. Death followed in twenty-one hours after seizure. " Cask III. Bite of Skunk.— A hunter, in the latter part of October, 1872, applied to me to be treated for a bite through the right ala of the nose. He had been attacked by a skunk while iu camp on the Smoky Hill river two nights previous. Having learned, previous to my seeing him, that skunk-bites would produce hydrophobia, he had imbibed freely, and was decidedly under the influence of liquor when I saw him, evidently nervous about himself, but trying to conceal the fact. "A stick of nitrate of silver was passed repeatedly through the wound. Actual cautery was proposed, but be would not consent to its use. After being under treatment two days he left aud went to Missouri, to have the mad-stone applied ; returning from there, he followed his occupation. Twenty-one days after he was bitten he was taken with convulsions, and died about an hour after I got to his ranch, nearly thirty hours after the seizure. From one of his companions I learned that after his return from Missouri he was cheerful and in apparent health up to the day before his seizure, when he complained of pain in his nose and face, headache, chilly. I! HYDROPHOBIA FROM SKUNK-BITE 231 and feeliu); tired, but bad no apprebenHioa concerning biniself. Tbe Arst symptom, t be morning tbe disease developed itself, was a feeling of con- striction in tbe tbroat, togetber with dryness, opisthotonos, with decided mania preceding the spasms. " Case IV. Bite of Wolf. — A private of Co. F, Sixth Cavalry, was bitten by a wolf one evening, just after be had come off post, in tbe lobe of the left ear, in tbe early part of October, 1873. Tbe wound was freely cauter- ized with nitrate of silver by tbe surgeon of the camp. On tbe 'i8th of tbe same month be applied to me for medicine for headache, which was given to him. On the 30th he again applied for medicine, stating that be did not feel sick enough to go on the sick report. Knowing tbe man's history, I cautiously examined him, and questioned him in such a way as not to ex- cite his fears. I found that tbe lobe of the ear that had been bitten was quite numb to tbe touch. No other symptoms presented themselves promi- nently. There was, however, a general malaise. Tbe day following, the man was in tbe ranks for muster and inspection. Observing him, I saw at once that something was wrong, and upon reporting bis case be was ordered to his quarters, by the commanding officer. Fifteen minutes later I was sent for to see him, and found him in convulsions, which the orderly in- formed me came on upon bis attempts to take a drink of water. He was at once removed to the hospital. He suffered from cold, he told me, whilst being conveyed there. Examination revealed alternately contracting and dilating pupils ; skin very hot ; temperature 102°, 102.5°, 100°, by three examinations, with the thermometer in the axilla ; pulse 120-125, alternat- ing in volume before and after a spasm, but constantly rapid. Tongue some- what swollen and indented by tbe teeth on the edge; thick, whitish fur ; no so-called 'characteristic pustules' under the tongue. Tiiirst intense; no irritability or sensation in tbe wound of the ear ; constriction of the pharynx; increasing violent attempts to relieve himself of tbe thick and tenacious saliva ; sound produced resembling more tbe bark of a wolf than any sound ever heard. Complete inability to swallow any liquid, the at- tempt ending in a convulsion. Mental faculties perfect when not in spasm ; fully aware that death must end the scene. Towards the close the convul- sions were longer and of greater strength, with frequent furious attempts to bite his attendants, for which he would beg their pardon time and again. Death took place suddenly in thirty hours. " Case V. Bite of Dog. — A man, aged about 46, attached to a bay-camp, applied to me in August, 1873, to dress his band, which bad been terribly lacerated by a favorite hound that day. He stated that bis dog bad been acting rather strangely for several days, but that up to that time had always come to him when called, and had appeared as affectionate as ever ; that a strange dog bad appeared in camp, and that his dog had attacked it furiously ; he attempted to separate them, when his dog turned and bit him through the hand, his teeth passing completely through from side to side ; that immediately after biting him be (dog) bad run off a short distance and laid down in a pool of water. Cauterizing the wound freely I directed him to report at the hospital next morning, when the eschar was removed and bis hand was again cauterized. Tbe following day he called at the hospital and stated that he had shot his dog, and was satisfied that be was mad, and that be was going that day to Missouri to have a mad-stone applied. Ue jSfl m Pi mm ;! Ml 1- ■i^ 1 ii!: I 'fi'fV" 232 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. .'■ ' i1' renmined there a week, and then returned and rejoined the hay-camp. On the twenty-f(inrth day after he was bitten, I whh sent for to visit him at the hay-camp, on the Smoky Hill river, lying in a wagon-bed, and was saluted with, 'Doctor, that dog has killed me ; I know that I have got the hydro- phobia, and that I shall die.' His face flushed ; skin hot ; pnlse very ra})id and small, liio; tongue furred, brownish, swollen; complained that his throat was turning into bone, and that he could not swallow; if he saw any liquid, thought he would like to drink a bucketful of water just once. On attempting to give him some morphia in solution the convulsions were ushered in. He had been well up to the morning he sent for me. The first symptom he noticed was the feeling of constriction in his throat, and he noticed a slight increase of redness in the wounds on his hand, though there was no pain. Had seen several cases of hydrophobia, and at the earnest solicitation of his wife had sent for me. Left him powders, of twenty grains each, hydrate chloral, to be given in moist sugar every three hours, and promised to see him next morning. I saw him the following morning, and found him decidedly worse; convulsions more frequent and stronger; pulse smaller and extremely rapid ; tongue more swollen ; no so-called ' charac- teristic pustules' to be found after caieful search; eyes brilliant, with rather a contracted pnpil ; great difficulty of swallowing, though he was able to sup up a little water through some straw from a covered cup ; had considerable sleep from the chloral, but his stomach had rejected the last dose, and he was unable to take any more ; mental faculties clear, could tell the approach of a convulsion, and begged his wife and attendants to take care ; much increase of the thick tenacious saliva, and greater difficulty in freeing himself of it. No alteration in appearance of wound. The con- vulsions became more frequent, stronger, and longer in duration. He in- sisted upon being chained down to the wagon bed to prever^ his injuring any one. Chloroform was left, with directions as to use. T a day follow- ing I found him barely alive, unconscious, with frequent feeble spasms. Death ended the terrible scene after thirty-seven hours of sufl'erings. In this case there was no marked hypero^sthesia of the skin complained of. "Neither can I agree with the writer of the paper mentioned above, that niephitic inoculation is sure death. For the result of one case of bite from a rabid skunk, which will be detailed more fully hereafter, the report of eight others (six hunters and two soldiers) that were bitten, and also from having in my possession two dogs, one a setter and the other a black-aud- tan, which have been repeatedly bitten in encounters with these animals and have as yet never evinced any symptom of the disease, will not permit me to concur with him. That more cases, proportionally, may result fatally from the bite of this animal, than from the bite of rabid dogs or wolves, is probably, if not actually, the case ; still, there are obvious reasons for it to be so. An animal nocturnal in its habits, generally timid, but armed with a powerful battery to resist any injury or affront ; one that will not attempt to bite in defence until the secretion provided for it by uature is exhausted, loses that secretion by the disease. It is a well-authenticated fact that rabid skunks are entirely free from the odor so characteristic of these ani- mals, which could not occur if the secretion was not exhausted, and forget- ting its normal timidity will attack any person or animal he may come in contact with, biting the most exposed art of the body, the alte of the nose, ■ •4 f'/'J. HYDROPHOBIA FROM SKUNK-BITE. 233 ilie lobo of the ear, the thumb, or one of the flofcers, and passes on. Here iH probably the reason these bites are more fatal than those of other ani- mals— always in a vascular part not protected by clothing, which prevents by wiping away the poisonous saliva in the fierce attacks of the mad dog or wolf, and thus saves the life of the one bitten. At a frontier post* this was well illustrated. A mud wolf suddenly sprang upon the officer of the day, who was making his round, and bit him on the arm, through his cloth- ing; p&ssing on, he bit a sentinel on post in the wrist, between the sleeve of his coat and glove, and then sprang upon a woman who was nursing a child near by, and bit her on the shoulder through a thick woollen shanl. All the cases were treated the same. The officer and the woman escaped the dread disease, but the soldier died of hydrophobia. A recent writer t says m reference to bites of rabid dogs : 'The documents of investigation furnish indications full of interest in regard to the more or less iunocnous- uess of bites, according to the different parts of the body upon which they were inflicted. If we compare the fatal with the harmless bites made upon the same region, we find that out of thirty-two cases where the face was bitten, twenty-nine proved fatal, which gives these wounds a mortality of ninety per cent. Out of seventy-three cases, in which the wonnds were upon the hands, they have been fatal in only forty-six cases, harmless in twenty-seven, giving an average mortality of sixty-three per cent. In comparing wounds of the arms and logs with those of the face and hands, the ratio is inverted; twenty-eight wounds upon the arms were followed by only eight fatal terminations, and twenty-four bites upon the lower limbs gave only seven fatal cases ; seventeen remained harmless, showing a mor- tality of twenty eight to twenty-nine per cent., and an innocuousness of seventy to twenty-one per cent., and, lastly, the ratio mortality for wounds upon the body is shown as f<dlows : Out of uineteeu bitten, twelve cases were fatal and seven bites proved harmless.' "These facts are confirmatory of those afforded by other statistics, demon- strating also that rabid wounds upon uncovered or unprotected parts, such as the face and hands, are mnch more readily contagious than those of the arms and legs, which the teeth of the animal cannot reach without passing through a portion of the clothing, which wipes ofl' the virulent moisture from the teeth. It is true the consequences of bites upon the body seem to conflict with this statement : but we must remember that generally these wounds are more severe, and among them some are uncovered parts, such as the neck and chest, and that, when a man is attacked by a rabid animal and bitten upon the body, he ;> also bitten upon his hands, which are his material means of defence. Anoi^ner reason for the apparent large propor- tion of fatal cases from skunk bite is, that it is only since 1871 that these cases have been collected, or that the fact of hydrophobia existing in and following the bites of these animals has been generally known, and only those cases proving fatal have been reported, the non-fatal cases, from the trivial character of the wound, not being considered of sufficient importance to report. . V! .V "a cask of skunk bite VOt FATAL. (.'-•*•<? .^'l;v..■ .1, ;,,.;* " W., a young man, twenty-two years old, born in Missouri, commonly known *" Fo>t Lamed, Kansas." ■ • } ■ t " H. flv.uley, Gt-n. Inspector Vet. Schools of France, etc., etc." ■m 'A I ■ * ' 13 H''' f ii! 234 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. ■.*■/.', by the Honbriqnot ' Pike County,' driving a team for a party of enngrants for Colorado, waa bitten at night, in the early part of May, ld74, upon lott cheek, by a sknnk, whilst camped at Park's Fort,* Kansas. A companion, who was bitten by the same animal, freely cauterized the wound. Early the next day he presented himself at the hospital for treatment. Removing the eschar I cauterized it again freely with caustic, and directed that he take i^th grain of strychnia every three hours during the day, with vegetable tonics and full diet, the wound to be cauterized morning and night, and a poultice to bo applied one hour before retouching to remove the eschar and promote sup- puration. No cbaraoteristic symptoms being produced by the strychnia on the fourth day, it was increased to T^th grain dose, given as before. Sup- puration was fairly set up in the wound and continued ; four days after, Htryclinia increased to grain ^th, and continued at that for four days without any symptoms of its toxic effects. The dose was then increased to grain ^th, and continued for six days without the patient being conscious of any jerkings, though the night nurse and some of the patients stated that ho jerked somewhat more than natural when asleep. Suppuration of the wound continued free under the caustic and poultices: the dose of strychnia was then increased to grain i, and I watched him very carefully, for the slightest appearance of the eifcct of the medicine, for six days. On the last day I detected some slight iu' ^luntary twitching of the muscles of the face, and reduced tlie dose. Two days after reducing he remarked that he guessed that he was safe from hydrophobia, as the strychnia bad not killed him. The wound was allowed to heal up, which it did rapidly, and a few days after he left the hospital, and I saw him three mouths after perfectly well. " The above case shows either, first, that the man was not inoculated by the virus when bitten ; second, a wonderful tolerance for the drug if he was not so inoculated ; or, third, that acting primarily as a tonic to the nerve elements it enabled them to resist the invasion of the disease, and together with the frequent cauterization and free suppuration, to eliminate the poison from the system. (That the strychnia used was a good article was proved by the effect of a small dose upon an obnoxious cur of medium size.) I am inclined to the latter, for that the animal causing the wound was undoubt- edly rabid is proved by the fact that the companion who was bitten by the same animal, in the camp, on the same evening, was reported to have died from hydrophobia about ten days after being bitten, and should another case present, would adopt the same treatment and push the drug until its char- acteristic effects upon the system presented. " Rabies Mephitica, like Rabies Canina, is evidently epidemical, no cases of it having been reported previous to 1870 in this region. " The period of incubation is alike in Rabies Canina and Rabies Mephitica (so called), that is, it is indefinite, ranging from ten days to ninety days, no opportunity in the meanwhile being afforded for subsequent inoculation of hydrophobia. Statistics show that the manifestations of the disease have been most numerous during the first sixty days, and that after a bite from a rabid animal the probabilities of escape increase considerably when sixty days have passed and no symptoms of the disease have shown themselves, and that after the ninety days entire immunity is almost certain. Still, I am aware that cases are reported of a longer period of incubation. These ~~~' "~~ -""Park's'Fort" KfR R. W." ,. , HYDROPHOBIA FROM SKUNK-BITE. 235 are exceptional, and when reported to extend beyond the fonrth month it may be qnestioned whether the patient has not been unconsciously inocu- lated by the careHses of a pot dog, suft'oring from the disease unsuspected, from tetanus, or, as Baron Larrey* remarked, when coramentatiuK upon Dr. Ferool's case of hydrophobia with two years and a half incubation : * For my part I should be disposed to regard his case not as an example of rabies, with an incubation of two years and a half, but as one of cerebral hydro- phobia or symptomatic of acute delirium, provoked or aggravated by the coincidence of the bite of a dog presumed to be mad.' In all the cases from the bite of a skunk the prodromic stage of the disease was more or less marked, though none of them amounting to acute melancholy. An indefinite feeling of dread and a general malaise — the most prominent symptoms, together, in most cases, with pr:n or numbness at the seat of the wound, were present from one to three days. To most of these unfortunates the fearful result of the trivial wound they had received was unknown, and unaware of their perilous condition were not incessantly tormented with sad forebodings or dread of the onset of the malady. " 2. The characteristic pustules which the writer of Rabies Mephitica lays stress upon were not found in any of the ccses of hydrophobia produced either by the bite of the skunk, wolf, or dog. Niemeyer t states that ' the assertions of Marochetti, who claims that during the incubation stage vesi- cles form beneath the tongue, and that by destroying these vesicles the out- break of the disease can be avertefl, have not been substantiated.' " 3. That the invariable accompaniments of Rabies Canina were not want- ing in the cases of R. Mephitica. The specitic actit)n of the poison was made manifest first by the oesophageal branch of the eighth pair, gi :'ing rise to the characteristic symptom of the disease, or to the extreme difficulty of swallowing, especially of fluids ; then the frequent catching of breath no- ticed in all cases, showing that the recurrent nerve was also affected ; later brilliant eye, and the sense of touch becomes painfully excited, hyperajsthe- sia existing in a marked degree, with the exceptiou,of the case reported of R. Canina, all of which point to some lesion of the central and spinal nerves. That the brain itself, and especially the region of the medulla oblongata becomes affected by the terrible convulsions and delirium in the more ad- vanced stage of the malady. The spasms in all the cases were unlike' those of tetanus, less continuous, remittent, and often intermittent. In none of the cases produced by the skunk bite was there any loss of perception. In no case that I saw did morphia have any effect in abridging the fearful struggles; death either ended with convulsions, or exhausted by the terrible exertions a sudden calm took place, and, as if nature gave up the conflict, died without a groan." * " Loudon Medical Times and Gazette, Aug. 8, 1874, p. 159." t " Niemeyer, Pract. of Med," m I !' I mm CHAPTER VIII. ME PHITINzE— Continued: Skunks. The genus Mephitis, continued — Mephilis macrura, the Long-tailed Mexican Sltiink — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific cliaracters — Description — Tlieaiib- genwi Spilogale — Mephitis (Spilogale) pnforitia, the Little Striped Skunk — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific charactera — D.^^cription of external char- acters — Description of the sknll and tenth — History of the species — The ({eniis Conepatus — Conepatus mapurilo, the White-backed Skunk — Synon- ymy — Habitat — Specific characters — Description of external characters — Description of the skull aiul teeth — Descriptiou of the anal ((lauds — Geo- (rraphical distribution and habits. THE length of the foregoing chapter having rendered a division of the parts of the work relating to Mephinnrc ndviisable, I continue directly with an acconnt of the other Bpecies of the genus Mephitis, and of the genus Conepatus. Iioiiff-tailefl Ulexican iSkiink. 9I«phitis macriira. Mephilis mafroura, liicR Darst. Siiug. isa7-;i4, pi. 46, "f.l,2"; Abh. Alt. Wis8. Berl. 1*36 (IH3S),277.— M'aj/>i«r, Suppl. Sehrehur, ii. 1841, IdS.—Sehim, S.yn. i. 1844, 323, no. li.— Buifdy M. N. A. 1857, 200.— To»ft«», V. Z. S. 188 1, 280.— (/ere. Cut. Bones Br. Mils. 18oi, 97. [Nut nacrours of And. &. Bnch., nor of Woodhonse.] Mephilis mcxlcana, Gray, Mag. N. H. i. 1837, 581; P.Z.S. 18G3, 149; Cat Cam. Br. Miis. 1869, — . ? .Uemiltillls edulls, Iterlandier, MSS. ined.* ' . Quid Mevhltis lUDKlcandata, Tomes, P.Z. S. 1861,280 (Quatemala) t * Tho animal referred to by Burlaudier is probably this species. " Smaller than the Polecat. Length of head and body 13 inches; tail 11; black ; a white frontal line; another on the uape, dividing into two lateral ones, after- ward converging near the root of the tail, on which they unite ; tail white- tipped. Inhabits most of Mexico. I have found it about Sau Fernando de Bexar, and in eastern interior States, where it is improperly called Zorillo. It may be tamed ; is rather nocturnal; hunts various small animals ; is slow and heavy in its movements, and bites forcibly. The fluid is highly phos- phorescent by night. The natives are fond of its flush; they kill it, taking care not to irritate it, remove the anal glaads entire, cut otf the head and feet, singe off the hair, and broil the flesh. I overcame my repugnance on one occasion and tasted the meat, which I found not disagreeable; it re- sembled young pork." (Freely translated with abridgment from the original MSS.) 236 ~~ DESCRIPTION OF MEPHITIS MACRUHA. 237 Hah. — Mexico. (Not known to occur in tlm United StatoH.) Si'KCIkk; ciiAi<ACTKR8. — Tail very lonjj, tiio veitoltim alone nearly as lon;j nn tlio lieail and body; tail with liali-a not Hliortur than the heai' "nd body. A broad undivided white docHal area (as in Convpalitu), with laic'ral Mtripo and frontal streak (iu the Hpccimen examined). Description.* The specimen wliicli I refer without hesitation to thi.s species is considerably smaller than M. mephitica, in fact little exceed- ing Spihgale jmtoriiiH, with a tail (including hairs) longer than the head and bmly, and other characters indicating specific validity. I have no doubt that this specimen represents Lii'htcnstein's animal, described as above cited, from IMexico. The M. rittata of the same author, op. cit. pi. 47 (also Abhand. Akad. Wiss. Berlin for .1836, 1838, 278; Wagner, Suppl. Schreb. ii. 1841; Baird, M. N. A. 1857, 200), from Oaxaca, is based upon certain slight peculiarities of color, and does not seem to be specifically f'istr'iguishable. But I have seen no specimens corresponding with Lichtenstein-s descriptions, and consequently do not ven- ture to commit myself in the matter. The general physiognomy is that of true Mephitis, the snout very acutely pointed but not produced, and closely furred to the sm all, rounded, definitely naked nasal pad. The nostrils are antero-lateral. The ears are much as in M. mephitica — perhaps rather smaller. The fore claws seem to be remarkably long, slender, and curved ; the outer reaches more than halfway to the end of the fourth, while the first barely attains the base of the second. There may be some peculiarity in the tubercula- tion of the soles, but this cannot well be made out in the dried specimen. The palms are perfectly naked ; the soles the same, excepting a little space on the side of the heel. The tail-ver- tebrae appear just to about equal in length the head and body, which is not the case in any other species of the family I have seen. The tail is much less bushy than usual in Mephitis proper, but seems to have been in this specimen somewhat worn away. In coloration, this species curiously combines the broad white dorsal area of Conepattts with lateral dorsal stripes and frontal streak of Mephitis mephitica. The white dorsal area begins squarely on the UHpe and continues uninterrupted to the tail, but is only pure white anteriorly, being elsewhere of a grayish * Fruui No. do60, Mus. Siuiths., Orizaba, Mexico, Botteri. 1 ! ■ >' 1 li! !' jf 238 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. cast, aad between tbe shoulders a small irregular blrck spot appears, leading to tbe supposition tbat tbe wbite dorsal area in this species is liable to tbe same variations tbat are known to exist in otber specie s. In addition to tbis general white area, a slight wbite lateral stripe starts independently over each shoulder and is continued for a little distance along tbe sides — in this specimen fuii<her on one side than on tbe other. The frontal streak is short and slight. There is a white area on the breast between the fore legs, prolonged backward as a streak — it is probably not constant, but then I have never seen any wbite on the under surface of M. mephitica! (compare expression in Linnseus's diagnosis of his Viverra memphitia of the lOtb edition— "»M6tw« ex albo et nigro variegatus"). Tbe tail is entirely and intimately mixed black and white — viewed from below, we see chiefly hairs pure white at base and black at end, from above, mixed white and black-and-white hairs, {)roducing a grizzled gray cast, and in direct continuation of the dorsal stripe. (This is exactly as given by Lichtenstein ; Gray's description gi^es the tail as black ; the variation is thus seen to be as in tboi allied species.) The dimensions of a dried but fairly well-stuffed specimen are as follows : Nose to root of tail about 13 inches (Lichten- stein says 14) ; tail-vertebrte nearly the same, but rather less (13 inches — Licht.), the hairs in this instance under three inches longer (5 inches — Licht.). Fore foot 2 inches, of which the longest claw is 0.65 ; hind foot 2.25. This species was supposed (but erroneously as far as known) to inhabit the United States by Audubon and Bachman and by Woodhouse, the animal described by these authors being simply the common M. mephitica under one of its interminable color- variations. ; The Subgenus &r>ILOGALE. (Gray.) The characters of this subgenus having been indicated on a preceding page (p. 192), we may at once proceed to consider the single known species. .'- , ■*•» t SYNONYMY OF MEPHITIS PUTOKIUS. 239 The Little Striped Skiinii. ; Mephitis (Siillogale) pntorlns. (L.) 'ly '■''•'' Plates XII, XIII. XIV. Vlverra putoriUS, L. & N. I. lOth ed. 1758, 44, no. 3 ; 1. 1766, 64, no. 4 (partly. Baaed primarily upon Putiirius atneriranug striatus, Catesb. Car. ii. 1731, 63, pi. 6'i- Quota's also Kalm, ' Itlu. ii. 378. Includes syns. and descr. of T. memphitis of 10th ed. DiaRnosis agrees sufficiently with Spilogale ; general bearing rather upon MephitU mephitiea).—Qm. S. N. i. 1788, 87, no. 4 (partly). Rpllogale piitorlUH, Couet, Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr. 2d ser. no. 1, 1875, p. 12 (skull and teeth). MephltiN Interrupta, i?a^. Ann. Xat. 1818, 3, no. 4 ("Lonisiana ").— Z««». Man. 1827, 152, no. ill.— Griff. An. Kingd. v. 1827, 1'JQ, no. 35f>r.— Finch. Syn. 1829, \6i.—Licht. Abh. Akad. Wiss. Berl. 1836 (1838), 2t3, pi. 2, f. l.—Schim, Syn. i. 1844, 325, no. 16. (All after liaji- neiique.) Rpilogale interrupta. Gray, P. Z. S. 1P65, 150; Cat Cam. Br. Mus. ISfiO, — . Mephitis birolor. Gray, Mag. N. H. i. 1837, 581.— Botrd, M. X. A. 1857, l9^.—^arker, Am. Nat iv. 1870, 376 ; iv. 1871, 761 (Iowa, and probably New York).— 4 Uen, Bull. M. 0. Z. ii. 1871, 169 (Florida, common).— Jlferr. U. S. Geol. Saw. Terr. 1872, 662 (Idaho). Mephitis zorilla, LicKt. Abh Akad. Wiss. Beriin, 1836 (pub. 1838), pi. 2, f. 2 (not of Licht., Darst. pi. 48, f. 2, which is an African species— whether the Zurille of Bnft"., xiii. 1765, 302, pi. 41 ? } }.— \ragn. Suppl. Schreber, ii. 1841, 199, pi. IZi.—Schinz, Syn. i. 1844, 325, na 15.— And. <fi Bach. Q. N. A. iii. 1854, 276 (tab. nulla). Mephitis amerirana var. R., Desm. Mamm. i. 1820, 187 (= interrupta Raf). Mephitis quaterliHearls,' E. IT. Winans, writing from Williamsport, Kaus., in a (Kansas?) newHpa|)eT, name unknown, date 18.59.* *My eudeavurs to couiplete the reference, and thus place the synouyui properly on record, have been unavailing. The newspaper clipping which came into my possession does not include even the name of the paper — nothing but ii date, " 1859", in MS., which I recognize as that of Prof. Baird, who, however, has no recollection of the source of the clip. The following is the article in full, with typography copied as closely as possible : — "Mephitis Quaterlinearis.— Win.— Four>striped Skunk. "dental FORM ALA. . . " Incisive 6-6 ; Canine 1-1— l-l ; Molar 4-4—5-5 = 34. " From point of nose to end of tail, vertebrae, S2j^ inches. " From heel to top of shoulder, 4^. " Length of hair in end of tail, . ^ " Middle toe nail, {. " General color, pure black ; a spot of white on either side of the bead be- tween the eye and ear, another between the eyes, making three on the bead. Four parallel lines of wliite about one fourth of an inch in breadth and three- fourths of an inch apart, have their origon about the posterior part of the head, the two upper originally on either side of the occiput, while the two lower have their commencement behind and at the lower part of each ear, all of which are carried directly backward to the posterior ribs, where the lower lines terminate and the upper curving downward and forward then rather ascend to the hind part of the shoulder where they descend one inch to the elbow joint. A transverse band of white crosses the fore part of the hips with an interruption of one inch at the side of the back. A spot of m I lill! ij 1 ' Ml! t 240 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. f f f MepbltiN myotlH, Fiseh. Syn. 1829, 162 (baoedon lietepiiante, Da Pratz, Lonla. ii. 97, flg. (not identiflable, but very likely belonging here). Little Striped Skunk, Auf/iorj. Moufette Intcrrompue, Less. l.e. Stinkthler mit unterbrochenen Blnden, iSTeMnz, {. e. Hah. — United States, southerly. Carolina, Georgia, Florida. Iowa, Kan- sas, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado. Washington Territory. Southwestern States and Territories. Cape St. Lucas, (f New York.) Specific charactkrs. — Black or blackish, with numerous white stripes aud spotp, and tail white-tipped. Small; a foot or less long; tail (with 1 airs) obviously shorter than the body. I! Description of external characters.* This animal is the smallest of the American species, as fully indicated by the measurements given beyond. In form, it agrees closely with the common species, excepting in the shortness of the tail, in which there is a decided approach to Conepatus. The tail- vertebrae are considerably less than half as long as the head aud body, the tail with its hairs being obviously less than the length of the head and body, although this member is full and bushy. The pelage differs from that of M. mephitica in being notably finer, softer, and closer. In other respects of external form, the species agrees closely with M. mephitica — so closely that further details are not required. white on the upper part of each thigh ; one on either side of the root of the tail; and a tuft of white hair arises from the tip of the tail; nose covered with short hair which is naked. More or less fur is interspersed with the long hair to the extremity of the tail differing in respect from the common American Skunk (Mephitis Chinga); and, also in being less in size and weight and having a finer and denser pelage differently striped and spotted and being of a more slendor form. Its habits, so far as they are known, agree with those of the last named species. " Its geographical distribution is not yet determined the specimens which I have examined were obtained in Kansas and vary in their markings as oth- ers of the genus. The abovo specimen was a male taken on the 16th of Dec, 1858, excessively poor and weighed only one pound three ounces avoirdupois. "/Another malespecimen which I examined weighed two pounds; his meas- nremeuts being rather less thau the above ; his markings were similar ex- cepting they were hner. The three white spots about the head and the tuft of white hair in the end of the tail do not appear to be subject to any varia- tion. The female differs from the male in being smaller. — After a careful in- vestigation I DOW venture to introdace this u amiual as here-to-fore being a nondescript. "EDGAR W. WINANS. " Williamsport, Shawnee Co., K. T." * From No. 11£ ' Mus. Smiths. last.^ Fonntaiu, Colorado, C. E. Aiken. ^mn DESCRIPTION OF MEPHITIS PUTORIUS. 241 lu color, this animal is black or blackish, relieved with white, like the other species. But the number and disposition of the markings are peculiar, affording specific characters in spite of an almost endless diversity in detail of the numerous white spots and stripes by which it is superficially distinguished from all its allies. The fantastic harlequin-liko coloratiou is scarcely duplicated in any two specimetfs; in fact, the opposite sides of the same specimen show sometimes an appreciably different pattern. The markings are difficult of adequate expression in words that shall cover all their modifications; and those of the same specimen might easily be described in such different ways as to convey an impression of distinct species — as indeed has been done. The following formula, drawn from the most com- monly observed state of the markings, probably covers most cases : — Black. A white spot on forehead between eyes. A white spot on each cheek in front of ear more or less confluent with a white stripe which starts behind the ear. Indefinite white touches on chin and about angle of mouth. Four parallel equi- distant white stripes on fore part of body above, beginning op- posite the ears; the lower, lateral or external pair of these end- ing back of the shoulder, the median pair curving around the end of the lateral pair, downward and then forward to the fore leg. A white stripe transversely across the flanks, broken in two by an interruption on the median line of the back. A pair of white spots on the middle of the back Just in advance of the last named stripe. A white spot over each hip. A pair of white spots at base of tail. A white tuft at end of tail. The notorious inconstancy of the white markings of Skunks, even of those in which the pattern is normally simplest, find) room for exaggeration in the highest degree in this case where the normal markings are numerous and complicated. In some cases, owing to interruption of the usual stripes, I have counted DO less than eighteen separate white marks, exclusive of tail- tip and the vague chin-spots. The three head-spots and the four parallel dorsal stripes on the anterior part of the body are the most constant, and may, so far as I have seen, be always traced, though the median pair of stripes are liable to ulight interruption. The lateral pair are the firmest of all the mark- ings. There is special liability to a break in these stripes where they begin to curve downward on the side. Complete break here, fusion of the solitary pair of dorsal spots with the trans- 10 M Ki ■■\::i.' ! ■ I) ■ i Mil .•■1 . ; ■ .,,vl ■ " 'l 1 : ; !M. If m m 242 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. Eli I - verse flank stripe, and lengthening into a stripe of the hip-spot, result in three vertical crescentie stripes succeeding each other behind the end of the main lateral stripe, that runs from the ear over the shoulder. Interruption of these transverse crescents may give a set of numerous spots, without traceable stripes, on the hinder half of the body ; indeed, the markings of this part of the body are wholly indefinite. The lateral spots at the root of the tail often fuse into one. The tail is ordinarily black with definite white tip, but may have white hairs mixed with the black throughout, or be all black or all white. The slioulder- stripe sometimes sends short spurs around toward the throat and breast. The chin and upper throat may be perfectly black, or streaked throughout with white. The part of the ear corre- sponding to the white markings about it is commonly light- colored ; the rest of the ear is black. The naked muffle is dark-colored. The claws are dull horn-color. The black of this animal is generally quite pure and glossy on every part; but sometimes it has a brownish tinge, espe- cially notable in old museum specimens. In this connection, the reader will refer, if he is snflBciently interested to do so, to Plate XII, on which is a wood-engraving of a photograph of two skins, showing the complicated mark- ings very clearly. Description of the shull and teeth. Numerous specimens before me, labelled "Incolor^^ and "zo- r/Wa", exhibit surprising variation in size and shape, without, however, warranting presumption that they are not all of the same species. Independently of the usual differences accord- ing to age, there is a remarkable range of variation in the width and depression of the skull behind and development of the occipital crest. An average specimen is selected for de- scription, in which the range of variation will be also noted. Comparative expressions used have reference to the skull of Mephitis mephitica. The skull is smaller than that of mephitica; excepting one abnormally large example, all are much less in every dimension than the smallest (adult) skulls of mephitica which I have seen. Viewed from above, the muzzle appears more tapering, if not also relatively shorter; the angle of obliquity of truncation of the nasal orifice is much the same. Supraorbital processes are small, but well defined, as acute eminences, prolonged from CRANIAL CHARACTERS OP MEPHITIS PUTORIUS. 243 well-defined ridges of bone divaricating from the sagittal crest. This crest is a single and acute ridge in adnlt skulls; in young ones, it is a tablet of bono, the sides of which separate almost at once from the occipital protube'ance. There is little post- orbital constriction of the skulls the least width there bein g little, if any, less than the interorbital width. The lateral divergence of the zygomata is much us in the last species; but their upward convexity is usually greater, and the summit of the arch is at its middle. Behind, the skull is notably widened and flattened, almost as in Taxidea, the intermastoid diameter being relatively much greater than it is in either Conepatus or Mephitis; in fact, it is not very much less than the interzygo- matic width, in some cases at least. Nevertheless, the mastoid processes are themselves less developed than in Mephitis proper, extending little, if any, beyond the orifice of the meatus, instead of flaring widely outward. The occipital crest is strongly de- veloped, and its outline is characteristic in the great convexity of contour on each side and deep median emargination ; in other genera, the median emargination is always slight, sometimes nil; and the lateral outline from the mastoid to the point whore the supraoccipital bones leave the general occipital crest is about straight — if anything, concave. A notable peculiarity appears in the profile view of the skull. The dorsal outline in Mephitis mephitica is strongly convex, with a high point about the middle, and this is carried to an extreme in M, frontata ; in the present case, the same outline is nearly straight from the ends of the nasals to near the occipital pro- tuberance ; in fact, the skull ift as flat on top as an Otter's, and flatter than a Badger's. The zygomata are strongly arched upward, with a regular curve throughout, instead of being highest behind; the prominence of the bulla ossea on the floor of the skull is sufficient to bring this part fairly into view from the side, as is scarcely the case in M. mephitica; this feature is also due, in part, to an abbreviation of the mastoid process, which is hardly at all produced downward. , On the floor of the skull, the principal feature is the width behind, which, being simply coordinate with the general lateral dilatation already noticed, requires no further comment. The paroccipitals are very small — in fact, mere nibs of bone, hardly able to bear the term '^ process". There are also strong points in connection with the bullee auditoria> and periotic region gen- erally. The bullsB are not only more swollen at the usual point U' i^j ''t' I' 1 i' n 't , i li I ill If, 1/ 244 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. of greatest iiifliitioii, but, behind them, the part that reaches between the lateral elements of the occipital bone and the lateral portion of the lambdoidal crest is also turgid, having a general smooth convexity instead of an irregular concavity. The general turgescence is due to the greater development of the mastoid sinuses. The bony palate ends in the same rela- tive position as in M. mephitica, and shows the same variation in the character of the edge of this shelf. The mandible, though, of course, proportionally smaller than in M. mephitica, is identical in shape, contrasting equally well with the peculiarities of Gonepatm, elsewhere mentioned. The smaller size aside, there is scarcely anything in the dentition of this species calling for comment in comparison with Mephitis. The anterior premolar is well developed, and, as far as I can see, the dentition is, in other respects, nearly identical with that of Mephitis; the upper sectorial tooth (pos- terior premolar), however, has the cusp of its inner moiety rather a pointed process of the border itself than a conical cusp, surmounting this inner part. It should be noted that in one specimen, as an abnormality, the anterior upper premolar has aborted entirely on the right side, though present ou the left; while the lower jaw of the same specimen shows an abortive posterior i^remolar on the left side. But, in general, in Mephitinw, abortion or other irreguliirities of dentition are less frequent than in the Muste- linWf where the smaller teeth are more crowded. - ■(;;. \''^' ■ > ■■,'. ■ ■ ■'■ ,-•-'.. „ rr.;|. I ,,, ... History of the species. .^ , . ... In the case of an animal whose markings are so variable as those of the Striped Skunk, recognition of the species in nature becomes a matter requiring some judgment and experience ; and it is not in the least remarkable that compilers of vague and often conflicting descriptions, or of inaccurate figures badly drawn from stuffed specimens, or oven prepared from poor descriptions, should have made inextricable confusion. In an attempt to trace the written history o( Mephitis putorius, it is probably not possible to identify all the names which have been imposed upon it, nor even to fix the date of its first appearance in literature. It is certain, however, that the animal was known to the earlier writers ; its characters being clearly traceable in some of the descriptions of the last century, long before the period when Rafinesque and Gray respectively bestowed those HISTOUY OF THE LITTLE STRIPED SKUNK. 245 names which have become most extensively current. Referring to the above synonymatic list as a renund of the views enter- tained concerning the record of the species, some points of special pertinence to M, putorins may be here noticed. Le Zorille of Buffon (Biat. Nat. xiii. 1765, pp. 289, 302, pi. 41) is a starting-point of a number of compilations, as at the hands of Erxleben, Gmelin, Shaw, and others ; it does not reappear in Linnieus, who carried his grudge against his French rival so far as to ignore him in the "Systema Naturre'', thereby hurting only the book. It is described from South America, and is to be carefully distinguished from an African species, of an entirely different group, also called Zorilla. Descriptions of a Vimrra or Mephitis zorilla agree substantially in points of small size and much variegation with white ; and thus, perhaps without exception, bear hard upon the present species, if tliey may not actually represent it. In many cases, however, the accounts are complicated or negatived by introduction among the synonyms of some names which apparently appertain to Gonepatua^ or to Mephitis proper. Whether or not we agree with Prof. Lichten- stein that Buffon's Zorille was this species, various indications of Yiverra zorilla which flow from it cannot be satisfactorily and exclusively located here, and are to be passed over. They are, in effect, as they stand upon the pages^ compounds which have no actual existence in nature. . * ■ The Pol cat of Catesby, as above quoted, described with five narrow white lines, is a species which authors have found it difficult to locate, as the Oomtuon Skunk, M. mephitica^ the only one supposed to inhabit Carolina, presents no such character. But since the discovery of the existence, in this portion of the United States, of a Spilogale, which is the only species having several white lines, the pertinence of Oatesby's reference here is evident. Catesby is primarily the basis of Viverra putorius, the only species of Skunk in the 12th edition of Linnseus; and LinnsBUs's diagnosis '^F. fusca lineis quatuor dorsalibus nlhis parallelis^^ is exactly and exclusively pertinent to the present species, which is, moreover, the only animal that presents this character. The four white stripes upon the anterior half of the body are its strong and coustant character. It is true that the remainder of Linuiieus's account does not agree well, but neither does it agree with any Skunk known to me ('' subtus ex albo et nigro variegatus^^ &c.) ; and he also cites some refer- ences that probably belong elsewhere. In adopting the name 'rl f ..-; ^ 'B9 'H ■ j ;fl i ' i 1 jH > ■ , * ' i 1 1 1 1 246 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. hi 8. putoritia from LIddsbus, as I recently did {I. s. o.), 1 rested upon the exclusive pertiueuce of his diaguosis, and his quota- tion of Catesby. The Mephitis interrupta of pafinesque may or may not have been "a pure figment of his imagination". It probably, how- ever, had some basis, and if his account does not wholly agree with specimens of Spilogale putorius examined, it will be re- membered that even his elastic imagination would be put to the stretch to describe a spotted and striped Skunk in terms too exaggerated to be met by the reality which this species offers. We may accept his name as undoubtedly belonging here, and in fact we should adopt it, as a more definite appella- tion than zorilla, were it not anticipated by Linnajus, as just shown. Among earlier accounts, the best description I have seen is that presented by Shaw, page 389, vol. i. of the General Zool- ogy under head of " var." of his Striated Weesel. Shaw refers *:■■ )me miscellaneous plates of animals published a short time previously by Mr. Catton, among which is a representation of an animal " having only four white bands on the back, and the tail almost entirely white ; a patch of white appears below each ear, and a small triangular white spot on the forehead. In the description accompanying the plate the animal is said to have measured twelve inches from nose to tail, and to have been brought from Bengal." The probably erroneous locality aside, the whole account is perfectly, and indeed exclusively, pertinent to Spilogale putorius. In Du Pratz's Louisiana, there is a description of a " bete puante", which certainly conforms to no known species, but which was probably meant to be this one, to judge from the locality and the ascribed size. It is the basis of Mephitis myotis Fischer, I. c. In 1837, Dr. J. E. Gray bestowed upon this species the name of M.bicolor, by which it has been generally known of late years. About the same time, Lichtenstein adopted the name of M. zorilla, after Buffon, in which he was followed by Wagner and Audubon. Lich ten stein's earlier M. zorilla, of the Darstellun- gen neuer Saugethiere, u. s. w., is ihe entirely different African animal. The only description I have seen in which /oMr white lines are prominently indicated since those of Linnaeus and Shaw is an account given in 1859, when a certain Mephitis quaterlinearis HABITS OF THE LITTLE STRIPED SKUNK. 247 was formally named and dei^cribed in a Kansas (?) newspaper, as above quoted. It is singular that upward of a century inter- vened between these two curiously concordant accounts. Mr. Winans's description is accurate in the minutest particulars ; it was evidently taken from a specimen exactly like some of those now before me. ! , jit is I! Geographical distribution and habits. The geographical distribution of this species is much more extensive than has been generally supposed. Thus, Prof. Bainl, in 1S57, gave its habitat as merely "Southern Texas and Cali- fornia", and the indications of most authors are of a western and southwestern animal. But there is no doubt now of its inhabiting the greater part of the Southern States, aud of the United States west of the Mississippi. I have examined speci- mens from Georgia and Florida, in which last State Mr. Allen considers it common, from various portions of the West, and from Cape St. Lucas. Mr. H. W. Parker, in his notes in the American Naturalist, as above quoted, records the species from Iowa, where at least fifty pelts were obtained one season, near Des Moines, and as probably occurring in the State of New York: — " There is reason to believe that the species may be found even in central New York. Dr. S. J. Parker, of Ithaca, N. Y., has twice seen by the roadside, in that region, a small, many-striped skunk, very different from the common one." Respecting the habits of the species, I have no information to offer. It is not to be presumed that it differs materially from the common species in this regard. Mr. Maynard has stated that in Florida the animals are domesticated and used like cats, the scent-glands being removed at an early age ; they become quite tame and efficient in destroying the mice {Rvsperomya) that infest the houses. The different species of Skunks, in fact, seem to be suscep- tible of ready semi-domestication, in which state they are, like the Fitch ot Ferret, useful in destroying vermin, if they do not also make agreeable pets. Writers speak of the removal of the anal glands in early life, to the better adaptation of the ani- mals to human society, and such would appear to be an emi- nently judicious procedure. For, though Skunks may habitu- ally spare their favors when accustomed to the presence of man, yet I should think that their companionship would give rise to '■■'.:\i\ 248 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. a certain sense of insecurity, unfavorable to peace of mind. To depend upon the good will of so irritable and so formidable a beast, whose temper may be ruMed in a moment, is hazard- ous — like the enjoyment of a cigar in a powder-magazine. ^ The Genus CONEPATUS. (Gray.) X VIrerrii sp^ Gulo »p., of some authors. < MrphUlN uf most aiithorti. < MarpulluM, O'-at/, Charleaw.HaK-N. B.i, tS-Tr, sat. ' ' = €»nepatUN,6Va;/, Cbarlenw. Mag. X. H. i. 1837, 5tit. >= TtaiOHmUN, Lichteustevn, Abh. Akod. Berl. for le36, 1838. The very well-marked characters of this genus have already been given (p. 192). The pecnliarities of the skull and teeth are correlated with certain modifications of external contour, which give the animal a somewhat Badger-like aspect, though there is no mistaking it for anything but a Skunk. It is the only known representative of the subfamily in South America. I have not been able to examine any specimens of this genus from other than United States and Mexican localities, represent- ing in strictness the Mephitis {Thiosmus) mesoleucm of Lichten- stein and late American writers, the iewcouofMsof Lichtenstein, and the M. nasuta of Bennett. The synonymatic list given beyond must be regarded as somewhat tentative or presump- tive, indicating tliat I see nothing in the deaeriptions of authors forbidding the supposition that the seemingly interminable list of nominal species really refers to more than a single good one. In adopting a name for the "Conepatl'*, I simply take the oldest one I find. Should there prove to be more than one species of this genus included in the synonyms given, my article is to be held to refer solely to that one which occurs in Mexico and the southwestern portion of the United States, and upon which the descriptive matter herewith given is exclusively based. Nowhere, perhaps, in the literature of mammalogy have greater confusion and uncertainty prevailed than in that por- tion which relates to the Skunks, and the history of the Cone- patl is certainly not less hopelessly involved than that of other Skunks. Views of authors have oscillated between such ex- tremes as those held by Guvier and his imitators, for whom a Skunk was a Skunk, and those of other persons for whom an inch of tail or a speck of color was a good specific character. Into the tedious discussion of the names cited below I do not propose to enter, but shall content myself with giving a faithful description of the United States animal. SYNONYMY OP C0NEPATU8 MAPURITO. 249 Gray's barbarous term for tbis geniis^ Conepatu8, is obviously the same as the old Mexican Conepatl. Of its meaning I am not certain ; but it probably refers to the burrowing of the ani- ]nal ; for, it may be observed, nepantla in the Nahuatl language signified a subterranean dwelling.* Gray'^ other generic name, Marputius, is similarly related to Mapurito. This word may be compared with Mephitis itself through such forms as Maftiti- liqiH, Freuiih Mou/ette, &Q. .*. . ,.,.,. .bif ••v>i .... The Hrhite-backed §kiink. Conepatns niapnrlto^ Plate XV. ' •;'•'•'■''•'' "'-' ■'• ''r " Vlverra pntorlOS, 3luti», "Act. Holm, xxxii. 1760, 68" (non Linn). Vlverra mapurito, Cm. S. N. 1. 17f8, 88, no. 15 {ex Mutls).— <$/iai«, G. Z. 1. 1800, XH.—Turt. S. N. i. 1806, .53. Gulo mapurito, llumb. " Roo. Obn. Zonl. , i. 350". MephltlH mapurito, Lesn. Man. 1837. 151, no. 401.—Ft»eh. Syn. 1839, 16\.—Schim, Syn. {. 1844, 318, no. l.-Licht Abh. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1836 {IS36), 210 {rhwsmu»).—T»ehudi, Fo. Peru. 1844-46, 113.— Oiebel, Siiiiu. 1:855, 764. t'onepatus mapurito, Cottes, Unll. cr. S> Geol. and Oeogr. Snrv. Terr. 9d sor. no. 1, 1875, 14 (Rkull and teeth). rVirerramephititt, Gfm.S.N. i. 1788, ,— C'CMncAe, Buff., xiii.pl. 39").— 72Vr(on,S.K. i. 1806, S3. TiTerra conepatl, Gtn. S. N. i. 1788, 88, no. 13 (Oon«paW, Hem., Mex. 338). MephltlH conepatl, FUch. Syn. 1839, 160. tMephitlNCliilenslM, " Oeo/T. Cat. Mus." (.Mov/ette du Chili, Buff. H. K SuppL vii. 33.3, pi. 57).— Fr. Ouv. "Diet. Sc. Nat. xiil, 18—, 136".—" Oriff. Anim. Kingd. ii. , — , f. -."— Less. Man. 1837, 153, no. 40S.—FUeh. Syn. 1839, 160.— I^cAt. Abh. Ak. Wisa. Berlin, 1836 (1838),378(7'Aio«mu«).— ScAiTW,8yn. i. 1844, 319, no. 4.—" Gray, P. Z. S. 1848, ,— ." — Oieb. Saug. 1853,765. Marputiuschllensls, Oray, "Mag. KH. 1.1837 '. • . ..;• ConepatU» "chlnensls", Gerr. Cat Boneo Br. Mas. 1863, 97 (by typog. err. for chiletuvi). tiulo quitensi!*, Humb. " Ree. Oba. Zool. i. , 346 l.or}347 " {A.tok, Zorra, Qloutm de Qitito). f Mephitis quItenNlsXm. Man. 1837, 153, no. WO.—Fiseh. Syn. 1839, 161.— £icA(. Abb. Akad. Wiai. Berlin, 1836 (1838), 373 {thio»mus).—Sch.\m, Syn. i. 1844, 319, no. 4. YGHl0 8Ufrocan8»"/U. Verb. BerL Akad. Wiasenacb. 1811, 109 (Yag\tar6, Azara, i. 311. of French transL—CAificAe, FeuilUe, Jonm.Obs.Phy8. 1714, 872)" (Braziland Paraguay). ? Mephitis SUffocans, Licht Darst. Sb'ng. 1837-34, pi. 48, f. 1 ; Abh. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1836 (f838), p.—{ThiotmMS).~Seki7ui, Syn.i.l8i4, 380, no.5(Thiosr»us).—aieb.S&as. 1855v76Sl t;HephitlH feulllel, , "Zool. de la Bonite, ,— , pi. 3, f. 1-3" {Schim). tConepatUH humhOliUII et var., Qray, Mag. N. H. i. 1837, 581; List Mamm. Br. Mns. 1843, m.—Oerrard, Cat. Bones Br. Mas. 1863, 97. r .Mephitis humboldtii, Itlainv. "Osteog. Mxistela, pi. 13, f. — (teeth)". f Mephitis patagonica, lAeht Abb. Akad. Wiss. Bert. 1836(1838), 3*5 {Thiosmm) (" Yagxiari, Maikd, Falk. PaUg. tiS").—8ehim, Syn. i. 1844. 330, no. 6 {ThiMtntu).—" Burm. L» Plata. iL , 400."-Gm6. Sftug. 1855,. 765. .;. t .Mnstela (Lyncodon) patagonica, D' Orb. " Voy. Ani6r. M6rid." f Mephitis amazonica, Lieht Abh. Ak. Wiss. Berl. 1836 (1838), 2T5(Thiosmtu).—Sehim, Syn. 1. 1844, 331, na Ti.—Tehudi, Fn. Pern, 1844-46, 115. TConepatus amazonica. Gray. List Br. Mua. 1843, 69. f Mephitis molinie, lAeht Abh. Akad. Wiaa. Berl. 1836(1838), 373 (Thiosmus) {"Ohinehe. Molina, Hial. Kat. Chili, 340") (Chili).— ScAinz, Syn. 1844, .ISl, no. 8. * Fide Prof. G. liarroeta, of Sau Luis Putoai, Mexico, to whom I appliea per- 8oual]y for tbia iuforiuation. 250 NORTH AMERICAN MITSTELID^E. tMephlllNgumlllir, £<()A(. Abh. Ak. Wisa Bnrl ism (IS38) C Jlonfelte mnpurita or Majn- taiqui, Gtiruilla, OHdooo, li. in6").— «oAiru. Syn. 1. 1844, »31, uo. 10. MephltiN meiioleuca, Z.ieA(. Dant SUuk- 18:17-34, , pi. 44, f. 8; Abh. Akad. WIm. Berl. 1636 (1838), 311, pi. 1, f. 1 {Thioimui) (Chloo, Mexico).— iraf;n. Siippl. Schrxb. ii. 1841, IDi), pi. 131 X.-ScMm, Syn. i. 1844, 319, no. X—A.ud. it Back. Q. X. A. it. 1851, 18, pi. 53.— aUb. Sttag. 1855, llH.—Baird, M. X. A. 1857, 1U3 (aubg. Thiotmu»)—Tomei, P. Z. S. Itltil, 380 (Ouatoiuala).— Jfoxint. Aroli. f. Naturg. xxvii, Idfil, 213. ThIosmaH neHolearii, Lm». Kouv. Tab), R. A. 1843. 06. ThlosHHR metiOleucOR, Ohatin, Ann. Scl. Nat. 5th ser. xix. 1874, 100, pi. 6, f. S»-63 (anat.). Meptaltiii leucunota, Lieht Darat. Sttug. 1837-34, , pi. 44, f. 1 ; Abh. Akad. WImm. Borl. 1836 (1638), 371 (r/(to«mu<) (Alvaradu, Mexico).- /ScAin2, Syn. i. 1844,310, no. S.-OJfb.Sttng. 1853, 764.— BatVd, M. N. A. 1857, 'iOO.—Tomet, P. Z. S. 1861, 380 (Quateiuala). Mephitis leucunoU Intermedia, D» Sauit, R. M. Z. 1860, 6. MepbltlH BASUta, Bennett, P. Z. S. i. 1833, 3<J (Califoruia).— <7rai/, Mag. N. H. i. 1837, Fraeer, Zodl. Typ. no. 4, pi. — . MarputlHH nattuta. Gray, Mag. N. H. 1. 1837, 581. Thiosmus nasuta, Lest. Nouv. Tabl. K. A. 1843, 66. VonepatuN nasutu, vars. naNUta, humboldtll, rhlleiiHlH et llriitenstelntl, Gray, P. Z. 8. 1865, 145, 146, 147; Cat Cam. Br. Mub. 186tf, — . f T"Mephltltt caNtaneUM, D'Orbig. Voy. Am6r. M^rid. 31, pi. 13, 13, f. 3."—" Giebel, Odontog. 35, pi. 13, f. 7."— fift«b. Sfiug. 18.55, 765 (Southern South America). ?"HepllltlH nircata, irapn.Suppl. Sohreb. ii. 1841, 193" (Chili).— TmA. Arch. Katurg. 1843, 948) Fn. Peru. 1844-46, 114 (Peru), t Mephltltt weHti'rmannI, Reinh. Vid. Selak. Forb. 1856, 370. t Mephitis amerlcana, vara. DT , E, F, 0, H, I, M.f , Q, Desm. Marom. i. 1830, 166-167.* f Mephitis amerlcana, varg. a, d? , h, m, n, o, p, s, OriJ, Au. Kingd. v. 1837, 137, no. 358. fMalkcl, Patagonlan Malkel, Gray,!, c. i-v - " • Hab. — Sonthwestera border of the United States aud southward through Mexico aud Central and Sonth Aiuerica. Specific characters. — Black or blackish, with a white dorsal area sonie- tiuies divided by a black vertebral stripe, rarely broken into several por- tions; tail white, or black and white. . • ^.^ ' Description c^ external characters.* This species differs materially from the Xorth Americaa and Mexican Mephitis proper, in many points of external anatomy, as well as the more essential structural peculiarities upon which the genus Conepaius primarily rests. These secondary generic characters are the same, as far as 'mown, in all the several slight varieties of the (probably) single species which represents the genus. The general configuration of the body and limbs is much the same as in Mephitis; but the physiog- nomy is wholly peculiar, while the short scrubby tail, almost rudimentary ears, and a particular arrangement of the sole- pads, are all highly characteristic. The Conepate is the largest of the Skunks, some specimens attaining a length of about two feet, exclusive of the tail; but an ordinary dimension is about a foot aud a half from the nose to * From specimens from Texas and Mexico, with uninterrupted white dorsal area and white tail. DESCRIPTION OF CONEPATUS MAPURITO. 251 the root of the tail. The head ii more leugthened and nar- rowly conical than in Mephitk The facial aspect is highly characteristic in the production and attenuation of the snout and lownesB of the ears. The long snout is broad and de- pressed on top, obliquely truncated in front, with a backward bevelling, so to si)eak, which brings the nostrils anteroinfe- rior — they are not at all visible from above. The mu?zle is almost a little retrousse, and recalls that of a Pig rather than of a Weasel or Badger. It is furthermore peculiar in being entirely bald and callous on top for nearly an inch, this ..aked part narrowing to a point behind. Underneath, the nasal pad is closely and definitely circumscribed by the line of fur which closely approaches the nostrils. There is no sign, on the front of the snout, of the usual vertical groove, nor of such a division of the hairy part thence to the middle line of the lips. The organ looks as if it were fitted for rummaging among fallen leaves, or even for " rooting" in the ground. The whole muzzle is beset with sparse short bristles, apparently growing irregularly in no determinate direction ; the longest moustaches scarcely reach to the eyes. There are similar bristles over the eyes and on the cheeks and chin. The proper pelage of the cheeks and snout is scanty, and it grows upward and forward from the lips. The external ears are so slightly developed that they have been described as wanting. The pinna is a mere low orbicular rim completing about two-thirds of a circle, lower than the surrounding fur. The entrance of the ear remains broadly open. The eye is considerably nearer to the ear than to t'ue end of the snout. The mouth is wholly far inferior, with short gape ; it is nearly au inch from the end of the lips to the ex- tremity of the snout. The short and rather close-haired (for this group) tail is quite different from the long, full, bushy member in Mephitis and Spilogale — iu fact, it is only superior in these respects to the stumpy tail of Taxidea. It is difficult to estimate its relative leujjth accurately, owing to the character of the base ; but the vertebras are certainly less than half the length of the head and body, and with the hairs the whole member is only about half such dimension, more or less. The terminal pencil of hairs is from only about two to four or five inches in length, iu dif- ferent specimens; the width of the hairs in the middle, pressed flat sideways, is from six to ten inches. The tail, especially when white, or the white portion of it when black and white, ' m ,- 3 1 : f ■ ! !U 252 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. frequently presents a worn scrubby appearance, as if abraded ; and th« white tip, when » "ourring in connection with black, may seem as if imperfectly connected with tho remaining por- tion. .^: ere is something very peculiar in the character of the white hairs of the tail of this or other Skunks; it is very coarse, stiff, yet weak and brittle, almost like Antelope hair, to which it has beeu aptly compared; it seems as if partiaJy de- vitalized, and readily falls or breaks off. The same character is observable in the white portion of those hairs which are black at the end. In general shape, the tail is rather depressed, or slightly distichous, than uniformly cylindrical or bushy. The soles of the fore feet are perfectly naked from the wrist- joint, but overhung along the sides with a fringe of long hairs. The tuberculation is not well utarked ; but at the bases of the digits, in advance of a general broad bare area, two incom- pletely divided pads are observable. The fore claws are very large, long, strong, compressed, little curved, not excavated underneath, and eminently fossorial. The middle three claws are of approximately the same size, though they are a little graded in length from fourth to second; the tifth is notably smaller, reaching to tue middle of the fourth ; the first is much shorter and more curved, reaching little beyond the base of the second. The terminal bulbs of all the toes are large. The scles of the hiud feet, like the palms, are perfectly naked from the heel in all the specimens examined, fringed along the side with long hairs. The tuberculation of the soles is better marked than that of the palms, and somewhat pecu- liar, but not to the extent which Dr. Gray's remarks would indicate. The general broad flat area of the posterior part is divided by a transverse sulcus ">^ variable depth and distinct- ness from tho bulbous part at th«. ^dse of the toes. This latter is not a continuous pad, as indicated by Dr. Gray — not always at any rate; even in the dried specimens before me it is dis- tinctly divided into three bulbs, much as in Mephitis — one at the bases of the three middle toes, and another at the base of each lateral toe. The clawH are very much smaller than those of the fore feet, short, stout a^ base, moderately curved, obtuse, excavated beneath. The third and fourth are subequal and longest^ the second is little shorter, the fifth much shorter, and the first shorter still. The pelage is very coarse and harsh throughout. Tlie pecu- liarity of the white hairs of the tail has beeu already indicated. DESCRIPTION OP CONEPATUS MAPURITO. 253 In coloration, this auitnal presents greater variations than those of Mephitis mephiticaj in which the differences are mainly in the extt^ut or restriction of the two normal white stripes. The pattern is essentially a white dorsal area, which \i;iy in- clude all or most of the tail. The white, in all the specimens I have seen, begins fairly on the sinciput, in advance of the ears, instead of on the nape, as in M. mephitica. This may be the only point of detail that is constant. The white begins squarely in a transverse line, or in a curve, or in a point; it is broad and uninterrupted to the end of the tail, or fails to reach the tail (which then usually only has a white brush at the end), or is divided by a median vertebral stripe of varying width, or, tinally, may be interrupted in its continuity. >.. • i . • Viewing the wholly indeterminate character of this white area, and comparing it with corresponding variations in Mephitis mephitica, it is easy to account for the extraordinary confusion which prevails in the accounts of this group, by authors who sought to establish species upon the character of the markings. These masses of black and white distracted the attention of all the early authors from the essential generic and specific characters; in fact, it is only about forty years since the true points of distinction were perceived at all, and even subse- quently species continued to be made upon a wrong under- standing. Some repugnance to handling and closely exam- ining the noisome beasts may not have been entirely inoper- ative in perpetuating error and confusion ; and certainly the group as a whole is not among those best represented in muse- ums, owing to the obviously disagreeable task it becomes to capture and prepare the animals. Once again, the perfect ease with which a fair description will answer to Conepatus and Mephitis has had its weight in provoking and perpetuating confusion. Let me illustrate this last point with the following example of fair diagnosis based upon color: — ' " Black ; back with two broad white stripes meeting on the head ; tail end wMite." This is a perfectly applicable and exact description of both Mephitis mephitica and Conepatus mapnrito when the latter has the dorsal area divided. Again : — ' "Black; back with a single broad white stripe; tail black and white." ' ^ "' ^■ :v if 1 1 t-ir T ■ r-r- i. '^\ 1 ; el "'•■ ■» ■■'" :,j 254 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELlDiE. This is entirely pertinent to both Mephitis rnacrura and Cone- patus mapurito when the latter has the dorsal area undivided. I tlo not know where to look for the parallel to this curious well- spring of error. Even after the full re(!Ognition by Lichtenstein and Gray of the diflferent genera of Skunks, many nominal species endured, upon the basis of CDloration alone. In the case of Conepattis, these have all latterly been reduced to varieties by Dr. Gray, because, as he very truly says, " the differences in the colora- tion appear to pass into one another". This is a step in the right direction, but, as it appears to me, does not go quite far enough. The ascribed differences are not of the character to which recognition by name is usually granted ; they are appar- ently not characteristic of particular geographical areas ; nor are they accompanied, for all that appears, by any other char- acters. I see no alternative to regarding them ao wholly within the normal range of individual variability of th^ species. Nor are the ascribed differences, when sifted of generalities and cleared of mere verbal discrepancies, anything remarkable. I can make nothing more of them than this : the white dorsal area may be entire, or divided by a line of black of varying length or width (giving the "two" stripes of authors); it may stop short of the tail, or go to its end, or may be broken up in its continuity. This is the whole sum of the various accounts I have seen. In compiling t*"e foregoing extensive synonymy of Couepatm, I have not been unmindful of Dr. Gray's judicious caution : — "When we have the power to compare the living animal and the skeleton of each [of his nominal varieties], we may discover that some of them are distinct species, having a peculiar geo- graphical range." This is improbable, yet quite possible; and its prudence impresses me especially, as I have not inspected specimens from South America. But I would urge these points iu defence of the synonymy I have prepared: that all the supposed species whose names I have cited rest upon no other basis than that variability which is proven to be merely indi- vidual, and that, therefore, they are ipso facto synonymous ; that should the synonymy be ever shown to embrace more than one species, an attempt to distribute it among two or more species, and to tix upon the proper na*' .e for each, would be well-nigh futile, so inextricably blended has it become; that should a second species of Gonepatm be hereafter estab- I SKULL AND TEETH OF CONEPATUS MAPURITO. 255 lislied, it should properly receive a new name upon the new basis, as the best means of avoiding further confusion. It may not be amiss to add, that all the recognized South American references are^ to Conepatus alone, Mephitis proper being not known to occur on that continent. This is a simplifi- cation of matters which does not hold for Central America and Mexico, where the two genera are found together. Neverthe- less, the supposed absence of Mephitis proper from South America rests upon negative evidence. Description of the skull and teeth. In the following description, reference is had to the same parts of M. mephitica, to which all expressions of comparison apply. The account is based mainly upon No. ^, Mus. Smiths. Inst., from Texas, but several other specimens are examined at the same time. Viewed from above, the rostrum is notably tapering — decid- edly more so than in M. m^Mtica, though the calibre at the base of the zygomata is even greater. 1?he nasal aperture is much less foreshortened in this view. Supraorbital processes are barely, or not at all, recognizable; the prongs of the sagittal crest are faintly indicated or entirely inappreciable, fhe point of greatest constriction of the skull (about midway between muzzle and occiput) is well marked and abrupt ; the skull im- mediately swelling behind it, forming a decided projection into the temporal fossa, hardly or not seen in M. mephitica. The cranial dome is rather higher and fuller. The zygomatic arches are comparatively shorter, more divergent, and more regularly curved. In profile, the differences are more striking. The highest part of the skull is back over the cranial dome, not at the interorbital space ) the slope is but slight thence to the occipital protuberance, but is long and regular from the same spot to the incisor teeth ; for so great is the obliquity of the nasal orifice that the end of the muzzle comes into this general curve, instead of rising, with slight obliquity, from the teeth to then bend abruptly backward at an angle. None of tne specimens, unluckily, are young enough to show the nasal sutures ; but I have no doubt that these bones, if not also the neighboring part of the maxillaries and intermaxillaries, will be found to afford good characters. The anteorbital foramen (as in other species, sometimes subdivided into several separate canals) is farther forward and higher up, .piercing a thicker ' !■'!« ;:;] li \ ■' ■ li' ' \ \ ■■:•[' ' i|' i . ■ % ( -^ , t ■ ■'- 'M It ;1: 111 256 NORTH AMERICAN MU8TELID.E. zygomatic root, and consequently being rather a tube than a hole. The zygomatic bones are slenderer and less laminar than in Mephitis. Tlie arch, as a whole, is shorter and more an- terior ; in skulls of the same length laid together, the back roots of the arch in Conepatus fall in advance of the other when the muzzles are together. Viewed from behind, the occipital surface is much higher and narrower; thus the distance from the bottom of the foramen magnum to the occipital protuber- ance is greater than tlie interparoccipital w'dth ; in Mephitis, it is, if anything, less. Beneath, the palate is seen to end some distance back of a line drawn across behind the molars \ the pterygoids and contained interspace are correspondingly shorter than in Mephitis, in which the palate ends more nearly opposite the back molars. The edge of the palatal shelf is simply trans- verse in some specimens, while in others it shows a little median process backward, and we may presume that in other cases it is nicked, for all this variation is now well known to occur iu both Mephitis ahd Spilogale. The lower jaw gives excellent characters. The angle of the mandible is strongly exficcted and the emargiuation between this and the condyle is slight. The coronoid process rises with considerable backward obliquity, with a very convex anterior border, and concave posterior one, carrying the apex of the bone backward to a point nearly or directly over the condyle. A peculiarity of the dentition of Conepatus has been unduly exaggerated by some authors, who assign a different dental formula {pm. ^, as against pm. ^ in Mephitis). But the sup- posed wanting anterior premolar is often present ; though it is always minute, probably never functionally developed, and deciduous or abortive on one or both sides. I see this small tooth plainly in two skulls before me, but do not find it in a third ; in which last there is instead an unusual diastema be- tween the canine and the nearest premolar. This point dis- posed of, nothing in the dentition of Conepatus calls for special remark. The detailed account given under the head of Mephitis mephitiea is here equally applicable. Vertebr* : 0. 7 ; D. 16 ; L. 5 ; S. 3 ; Cd. 18 (Oermrd). Description of the anal glauds. The anal armature of this species has been investigated by M. Ghatin, who has published a thorough description, illustrated with excellent figures, in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, as ANAL GLANDS OP CONEPATUS MAPURITO. 257 I above quoted. Although the specimen bad been preserved ia i'lcohol for several years, it was still extremely ofteusive, and the preservative fluid was tainted with the same fetor. M. Chatin's account is substantifilly as follows : — The anus presents 56""" behind the root of the penis, in a large irregularly elliptical depression, crossed by numerous grooves; the sur- rounding integument forms a sort of flap folded about the anus and excretory pores of the glands. These appear as openings pierced in the centre of two thick, prominent, umbilicated papilliB, situated on each side of the anus, about 9""" from the middle line. Moderate pressure suffices to bring up to these orifices the dirty brown fetid liquid which has made Skunks famous. Kemoval of the cutaneous fold which partially covers these nipples shows that they are situated in a kind of recess rising about 5'"™ above the floor of this small pouch; the calibre of the pore which opens at the summit is suflicient to admit a probe about a millimetre in diameter. Dissection of the perinieum brings to view the whole secretory apparatus, the size of which is so considerable that it is surprising Cuvier had nothing to say on the subject in his chapter upon anal glands and those of neighboring parts. Stannius and Siebold were also silent, while Owen confined himself to mere mention of the anal glands of the Skunks. The glandular mass is nearly trapezoidal; it begins 33""" from the prostate, on a level with the origin of the corpora caver- nosa, the roots of which thus extend upon the posterior or pro- static portion of the gland; superiorly it lies in relation with the urethra, which passeti 'over it. It is enveloped in a thick muscular tunic, the origin of which may be readily determined. It iii c. ell known that the ischiocavernous muscle (ischiopenial of German authors) passes obliquely downward and inward to the root of the corpus cavernosum, where it ends in tendinous or muscular fibres. "But sometimes", says Leyh, "there are found below this muscle some isolated muscular fibres which appear to have no function." They may be so regarded in domestic animals ; but, in the present case, nature furnishes another instance of her economy in giving them no inconsider- able part to play. These same fascicles form a large part, but not the whole, of the muscular envelope of the gland ; the bulbo- cavernous muscle is equally concerned in the for jiation of the tunic ; nor can we entirely separate from it the prostatic muscles which are blended with it, and which cover the upper portion 17 m 258 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. I I ' of the urethra iu those animals that, like the present species and the Dog, have no Cowper's glands. The muscular coat, about 3""" thick, is composed of two layers readily distin- guished by the direction of their fibres ; those of the superlicial layer being transverse, that is to say, perpendicular to the median or antero-posterior axis of the gland, while the fibres of the deep layer run in the opposite direction, parallel with the same axis. Below these muscular layers, that is to say, within the general muscular envelope, is found the follicular or glandular portion proper of the organ ; it is not regularly distributed around the central reservoir, as in most Carnirora, but occupies only a limited portion of the surface of this receptacle. The follicles are rather large, and of a reddish-brown color; their numerous well-developed culsde-sac measure on an average 0""".55 iu diameter, and are variously rounded, ovoidal, club-shaped, &c. The reservoir, which is of great size, is covered with a thick whitish tunic composed of dense laminated tissue and elastic fibres, the presence of which is readily determined by means of acetic acid. In the specimen examined, the receptacle was empty, containing only a few dirty brown pellicles, which showed under the microscope nothing but laminated fibres and fine granules. « Toward the anterior extremity of this cavity is found the opening of a duct, through which the fluid secreted is conducted to the lateral anal pore, as may be easily ascer- tained by passing a probe. The surface of the reservoir, marked with numerous folds and furrows, resembles to some extent that of Herjyestes fmciatus. It is an established fact, then, that the fetid humor which was long supposed to be urine is the secretion of true anal glands. It is to be regretted that the anatomy of the various species of Mephitis is not better known, for it would be interest- ing to compare them in the details of this structure. Much is still required to complete their history, and it is to be hoped that the missing links may be soon supplied. < Oeographical distribution and habits. The general extra-Iimital dispersion of the species southward has been already indicated. Lichtensteiu's M. mesoleuca was procured by Deppe, in 1825, near Ghico, Mexico ; his leueonota was from the Rio Alvarado, Mexico. Bennett's M. nasuta came HABITS OF THE WHITE-BACKED SKUNK. 259 from "California". Audubon and Bachman describe the ani- mal from Texas. The only specimen Baird had seen in 1857 was also from this State (Llano Estacado), beyond which I am not aware that the animal has been actually observed north of the Mexican border. I obtained no evidence of its presence in New Mexico, Arizona, or Southern California during my resi- dences in those regions, and the species may be confined, in the United States, to the valley of the Lower Rio Grande, like vari- ous other quadrupeds and birds. From Audubon's account, it is to be inferred that the animal is not rare in portions of Texas, where the specimen which is figured in his work was procured by his son, John Woodhouse. His notice of its habits is as follows : — "The Mephitis mesoleuea is found on the brown, broomy, sedgy plains, as well as in the woods, and the cultivated dis- tricts of Texas and Mexico. Its food consists in part of grubs, beetles, and other insects, and occasionally a small quadruped or bird, the eggs of birds, and in fact everything that this carnivorous but timid animal can appropriate to its sustenance. " The retreats of this Skunk are hollows in the roots of trees or fallen trunks, cavities under rocks, &c. ; and it is like the northern species, easily caught when seen, (if any one has the resolution to venture on the experiment,) as it will not endeavour to escape unless it be very near its hiding place, in which case it will avoid its pursuer by retreating into its burrow, and there remaining for some time motionless, if not annoyed by a dog, or by digging after it. " The stomach of the specimen from which our drawing was made, contained a number of worms, in some degree resembling the tape-worm at times found in the human subject. Not- withstanding this circumstance, the individual appeared to be healthy and was fat. The rainy season having set in (or at least the weather being invariably stormy for some time) after it was killed, it became necessary to dry its skin in a chimney. When first taken, the white streak along the back was as pure and free from any stain or tinge of darkness or soiled color as new fallen snow. The two glands containing the fetid matter, discharged from time to time by the animal for its defence, somewhat resembled in appearance a soft egg. "This species apparently takes the place of the common American skunk {Mejthitis chinga), in the vicinity of the ranches and plantations of the Mexicans, and it is quite as destructive :1 ^m w /if '■: m ::: i i u 260 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. to poultry, eggs, &c., as its northern relative. We have not ascertained anything about its season of breeding, or the time the female goes with young ; we have no doubt, however, that in these characteristics it resembles the other and closely-allied species. " The long and beautiful tail of the Skunk makes it conspic- uous among the thickets or in the musquit [mezquite] bushes of Texas, and it most frequently keeps this part elevated, so that in the high grass or weeds it is first seen by the hunter who may be looking for the animal in such x^laces." ^■^ I CHAPTER IX. Subfamily MELIN^E: The Badgers. The genus Taxidea — Generic characters and comparison with ^^de8 — Taxidea americana, the American Badger — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific charac- ters — DeHcription of external characters — Description of the skull and teeth — Geographical variation in the skull — History of the American Badger — Its geographical distribution — Habits — Tcaidea americana var. herlandieri, the Mexican Badger — Synonymy — Habitat — 8ul)specific char- acters — General remarks. — Addeji'dum : Description of the perinieal glands of the European Badger, Melea vulgnris, ANIMALS of this subfamily inhabit Europe, Asia, and America. There are four well-marked genera, though the species are so few : the European Meles, the Asiatic My- daus and Arctonyx, and the American Taxidea, long time con- founded with Mele8. I have already (p. 10) given the characters by which the North American representative of the Melinw is distinguished from our other subfamilies. The expressions used, however, are rather diagnostic of the particular genus Taxidea than of the subfamily Melinw at large, the various members of which differ sufficiently to require greater latitude of definition. It being not to my present purpose to consider the Melinw fur- ther than as represented by the American genus, we may at once take np the latter. The Genus TAXIDEA. (Wateeh.) X I'rsus, pt., of Schreber. < Meles, TaxuN, of anthors referring to the Kortli American Badger. = Taxidea, Waterhoune, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. vi. 1838, 154 ; Trans. Zo81. Soc. Loud. ii. pt. ▼. 1841, 3i3.—Baird, Mamm. N. A. 1857, 301, and of late antbora generally. 3-3 1 1 Generic characters. — Dental formula : i. i,--„,c.~ 3-3 1-1 34.* _!«_ 3-3' "' l-l' ^""' 3-3' "*• a-2 ~ 18~~ Back npper molar a right-angled triangle, with hypothenuse postero- *Prof. Baird (M. N. A., 201), after correctly stating the dental formula, makes the total "32" instead of 34, by an obvious slip of the pen. He further states, "In young specimens there is an additional premolar, (first,) 261 y ■ ,1 ' • i' 1 i •; . I):' ^m 262 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. u external. Back upper premolar similar iu si/e and shape (though the euii- iiences of the crowu very dirt'ereiit), but the hypothenuso postero-intcnial. Back uuder premolar with two tubercles. Anterior uuder molar compara- tively small, not dilated behind, mostly opposing the back upper premolar (instead of the upper molar as in Melen), Cerebral portiou of skull de- pressed-cuneiform, very wide across the flaring occipital crest; the inter- mastoid diameter nearly equalling the inter-zygomatic ; sides of the brain- case straightened and strongly convergent anteriorly. Bony palate reach- which soon disappears ; this will add 1-1 premolar to the lower jaw, making 34 in all." But such additional under premolar of the early dentition (which I have not seen, though I have examined skulls with the teeth scarcely cut) would make 36 in all, not " 34 ", the latter being the correct total of the adult formula. Audubon and Bachmau state (Quad. N. Am. i. 361) that " the present spe- cies has one tooth less than the latter IMeha rulgarW] on each side in the lower jaw", which is certainly not the case, as the dental formula is the same in the two genera. (Quoting Waterhouse, Trans. Zool. Soc. ii. pt. v, p. 343, these authors continue : — "' The subgeneric name, Taxidea, may be ap- plied to the American Badger, and such species as may be hereafter dis- covered with incisors^; canines j~j; false molars g^g, ... molars ^^^ . . . '" I have not Waterhouse's article at baud to verify the quotation ; if his words and figures are correctly quoted, Waterhouse did not give the right fornmla, for his total is only 32, instead of 34 ; besides which he reckoned the upper sectorial tooth as a molar, instead of a premolar, as it is. Making this change, but retaining his original numbers, Waterhouse's formula becomes J)«i. ~^, m. ^. But there are live grinding teeth on each side of the lower jaw of Taxidea, I have never seen an American Badger's skull with teetli otherwise than as given in the text above. A peculiarity in dentition of A/eha vulgaris, which may account for dis- crepant statements of the dental formula, has been pointed out by Professors Moseley and Lankester ( Jouru. Auat. and Phys. iii. 1868, 79) : — " Mr Flower, in his recent admirable paper on the Dentition of Marsupials, has laid sonic stress on the fact that, in several diphyodont mammalia, some of the anterior maxillary teeth never have any predecessors, as in the case of the second an- terior maxillary teeth of the dog, and the corresponding lateral mandibular teeth, and iu the hog also. We are led to believe, from the examination of a line series of Badgers' skulls in the university museum, that this animal furnishes an additional example. In three skulls, possessing the permanent dentition, we fouud a small peg-like tooth implanted in the jaw immediately behind the caniniform maxillary, and somewhat internally to the general line of the teeth, and obviously corresponding to the small anterior lateral tooth (pra'molar) of the lower series abutting against the large caniniform. We found no trace of this tooth in a young skull with the perfect deciduous dentition, nor in De Blainville's figure of the same. It is described neither by Owen nor De Blainville, and is evidently easily lost, since it has dropped out of one skull, leaving only its alveolus as evidence of its former pres- ence ; and in two other skulls no traces of it were to be seen at all. The addition of this tooth makes the dentition of the Badger the same as that of the Glutton." THE GENUS TAX IDEA — T. AMERICANA. 263 Ing httlf-way to ends of pterygoids. Biillii- anditoriip at a maximum of influtiou, impinging behind upon pnroccipitals. Condyles of jaw often locked in the glenoid. Coronoid of jaw erect, pointed, its posterior edge angulated by the meeting of two straightish lines. (For further cranial char- acters see page 2f)t). ) Body extremely stout, squat, and clumsy, owing to great deiiression ; tail short, broad, flattened; pelage loose; coloration ditl'use; fore claws ex- tremely' large, highly adapted for digging. Habits thoroughly terrestrial and fossorial. Taxidea is confined to North and Middle America. " Tliis genus," as Prof. Baird* has remarked, " is so strikingly differ- ent from MeleH as to render it a matter of astonishment that the typical species were ever combined." It is represented by a single species, divisible into two geographical races. The American Bacl^irer. Taxidea americana. Plate XVI. I'rsus taxus, SchreU. "Snug. Hi. 1778, 520, f. 14211. (After Buffou.)" Mcles Uxus var. amerlranus Bodd. Ehtnoh. Anim. i. 1784, 130. Meles amerlcanuM, Zimm. Peun. Arktischo Zool. i. 1787, 74. (Qaotes Boddaert.) * Mamni. N. Am. p. '201. From direct comparison of skulls, which I have not made, this author has concisely set forth many leading points of dissim- ilarity. I quote his article, with some abridgment:— " The most striking peculiarity of TaxiAea consists in the great expanse of the occipital region, the width of the occiput being [nearly or about] ei|ual to that of the skull, measured between the outer surfaces of the zygomatic arches. Thus the geuersil shape is that of a depressed wedge, widest behind and truncated anteriorly, instead of being very much widest across the zygomatic arches, as in Miles. . . . The occipital crests are well developed in Taxidea, the sagittal very moderate. The auditory bulla* are very largo and convex. The processes of the glenoid cavity are not so well developed as in Meles, though occasionally sufticiently developed to lock the condyles of the lower jaw. The coronoid process has its apex pointed instead of rounded or truncated ; its posterior margin is formed by two lines, the lower rising nearly perpendicularly a little in advance of the condyle, the other rather longer than the lirst, making a very obtuse angle with it. The differ- ences in the character of the teeth are equally striking, though their number is the same. The penultimate or sectorial upper molar [last premolar] is very large and triangular ; fully eiiual in size to the last molar, instead of being much smaller ; it has likewise a large tubercle on the inner lobe, scarcely observable in Meles. The last molar is also triangular, (nearly right- angled,) somewhat resembling hiilf of the quadrilateral tooth of Mele^. In the lower jaw the last premolar is larger than iu Meles, and has two tubercles. The penultimate molar is smaller and not dilated behind. The portion of its crown which is applied agaiust the upper sectorial molar [premolar] is larger than that in contact with the last upper molar, instead of being smaller, as in Meles." h^^ |;;v Kill a M M IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 5< A i. « %^ U.s 1.0 la ■■■ " I.I 2.5 1^ 12.2 1.25 nil 1.4 20 1.6 v%^ Ta /a 'V^) ^^^^ ifc^'*',^'^ V ^5. y ■^ WJ^wW!T)>WWW»"i 264 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. I •'' i:>! Tttxidra amt'ricana. Baud, M. N. A. 1857, 202, pi, H9, f. Q.—Xewb. P. R. R. Rep. vi. 1857, 45 (habits).— Coo^j. X. 11. W. T. 1860, n.—SyMeit, ibid. ^J4.—Sucklcy it (Hhhs, IMd. 117.— Hayd. TranB. Am. Philos. Soc. xii. 1862, 134 (Upper Missouri country).— Gcrt//, P. Z. S. 1865, 141 ; Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, —.—Coop. Am. Nat. ii. 1868, 529 (Montana).— Stci,'. TJ. S. Geo!. Surv. Terr, for 1870, 1871, 461.-^1 Hen, Pr. Boat. Soc. N. H. xiii, 1869 (publighfii February, 1870), 183 (Iowa, still numerons) ; Bull. Ess. Inst. vi. 1874,46 (Kausas), 54 (Colorado), 59 (Wyomintj), 63 (Utah) j Pr.Bost. Soc. xvii. 1874, 38.— Awe*, Bull. Miun. Acad. Nat. Sci. 1874, 69 (Minnesota).— Cokc? d: Yarrow, Zoiil. Expl. W. 100 Merid. v. 1875, G3.— Allen, Bull. U. S. Gool. and Geogr. Surv. Terr. vol. ii. no. 4, 1875, 330 (skull). iTSUS labradoriUN, Om. S. K i. 1788, 102, n. l.—Kerr, H. N. i. 1792, 187.— Shaw, G. Z. i. 1800, 469, pi. lOe.-TMC*. S. N. i. 1806, 63. MeleH labradurla, Meyer, " Zool. Arch. ii. 1790, io.'—J. Sab. App. Franklin's Jonm. 1823, 649 (compared with European).- ZTarJ. Fn. Anier. 1825, SH.-Oriff. An. Kingd. v. 1827, 116 {"labradorica").—Le8s. Man. i. 1827,141, no. 372 {"labradorica"). — Finch. Syn. 1829, l^X.-lUch. F.B. A. i. 1829, 37, no. 12, pi. i.—Qodm. Am. Nat. Hist. i. 1831, 179.— 7Ji</i. Zoiil. Becchey's Voy. 1839, i.-Wagn. Suppl. Schreb. ii. 1841, 182.— Z)c Kay, N. Y. Zoiil. i. 1842, Sa.—Schim, Syn. i. 1844, 315 (" labrndonia").—Axid. d- Bach. Q. N. A. i. 1840, 360, pi. 4T.—Bd. Stansbury's Rep. 1852, 311.— iioin. Tr. Illinois Agric. Soc. lor 1853-4, 1855, 578.— OwhcJ, Siiug. 1855, 761 <,"labradoriuii").—IIall, CanAA. Nat. and Geol. vi. 1861, 294 ("labradoricm").— Maxim. Arch. Naturg. 1861, — i Verz. Siiug. 1862, 33. Taxus labradorirus, Say, Long's Exp. i. 1823, 261, 369. Taxidca labrudoria, H. Smith, Nat. Lib. xiii. 1842, 210.— Gray., List Mamm. Br. Mus. 1843, lO.-Baird, M. N. A. 1857, 745 (expl. of pls'.).-0(')v. Cat. Bonces Br. Mus. 1862. 99. 1 Taxidea labradoria. Waterh. P. Z. S. vi. 1838, 154 ; Tr. Z. S. ii. 1841, 343, pi. 59 (may be the other subspecies). Meles Jeffersonil, Harl. Fn. Amer. 1825, 309 (based on Lewis and Clarke). Ameril'un Badger, Penn. Syn. Quad. 1771, 202, no. 143; Hist. Quad. il. 1781, 15, no. 998 //.— ICrxl. Syst. i. 1777, 164 (in text).— And of authors generally. Common Badger, Penn. Arct. Zoiil. i. 1784, 71, no. 23 (in part; includes the European). Blaireau d'Amerlqiie, "F. Cuu. Hist. Nat. Mamm. " Blalreau du Labrador, £«««. I. c AmcrlkanlNrhc Darhs, Schim, I. c. {Dachs, cf. Martens, Zoiil. G art. xi. 1870, 251, philological). Braro, Lewis rf Clarke, Trav. Allen's ed. ii. 1814, 177; Rees'sed. 4to, 471 ; Rees's ed. 8vo, iii. 40 (also called "badger" passim in this work ; rendered "blaireau" in the McVickar ed. ii. 349; basis of Meles jeffersonii, Harlan). Prarow, " Gass's Journ. p. 34."— (Richardson.) Brairo or Lacyotl, Gray, List Mamm. Br. Mns. 1843, 70. Bralbo or LaryotI, Gerr. I. c. I'arcajou, Buff. "Hist. Nat. Suppl. iii. 242, pi. 49" (cf. Desm., Mamm. i. 1820, 173; Eucy.pl. 38, f. 2). rarrajou ou Blalreau am^rlraln, F. Cuv. Suppl. Bufl'. i, 1831, 267. Carkqjou ou Blalreau d'Amerlque, Gervais, Proc. Verb. Soc. Philom. Paris, 1842, 30. Brairo et SIflleur, French Canadians. NannaspachiC'neeNkieshew, Ml!«lonusk, Awawteekipoo, Oree Indians (Richardson). Hab. — United States, from Wisconsin, Iowa, and Texas westward. Brit- ish America, east to Hudson's Bay at least, north to 58°. Replaced near the Mexican border by var. berlandkri, whicli extends into Mexico. Formerly further east (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois). " Ohio, near Toledo, abont 20 years since ; now extinct" (Edw. Orton, in epist.). Specific characters. — Top of head darker than other upper parts, with a median white stripe ; sides of head below the eyes, and its under surface, •white, with a dark patch before the ear; limbs blackish; body-coloration above a grizzle of blackish with white, gray, or tawny, or all of these ; be- low uniform whitish, shaded or not with gray or tawny. Length about 24 inches to root of tail ; tail 6 ; head 5i ; longest fore claw 1^. DESCRIPTION OF TAXIDEA AMERICANA. 265 Description of external characters.* Form stout, thick-set, indicative of great strength and little agility ; body broad depressed ; head flattened, conoidal ; tail and limbs short ; feet broad and flat ; fore claws enormous, highly fossorial. Pelage of body and tail long, loose, shaggy, and of coarse texture ; shorter and closer on the head and feet. Coloration blended, diffuse, grizzly above ; below, uniform ; on the head definitely marked in certain areas. The head is nearly one-fifth of the total length exclusive of the tail ; it is conoidal, but depressed very broad across the temples and cheeks, contracting gradually to the prominent snout. It is covered with short, close, coarse hair, only length- ening about the ears. The muzzle is completely furry, except- ing the nasal pad itself; this is completely anterior, with a downward-backward obliquity ; there is a median vertical fur- row ; the nostrils, not at all visible from above or laterally, are pyriform, lengthening slitwise at the lower outer corner. The naked pad is black ; below it, the upper lip is completely furred across, and the fur elsewhere extends to the very edges of the rather thin lips. The rictus is ample ; the canines are visible in life. The eye is remarkably small, and rather high up, a lit- tle back of the angle of the mouth. The vibrissa} are sparse and short, the longest scarcely or not attaining the eye ; here and there other bristles grow about the eyes and on the chin. The ears are low, rounded, and very broad, with remarkably large external meatus, partly defended by long loose hairs growing in front, completely hairy outside and for some dis- tance inside around the border ; but most of the concavity of the conch is naked, with some sparse isolated tufts. The fore limbs are short, stout, and the fore feet very large, broad, and flat, bearing immense claws. The digits are much abbreviated and consolidated, appearing from above almost entirely grown together, from below as five closely appressed oval pads. Thej' are shorter than the claws they respectively bear ; the 2d-5th, are subequal and longer than the 1st or 5th, which are mere claw-bearing bulbs. The back of the hand is hairy to claws, the bases of which are overhung by the longer anterior hairs ; the palm shows the following disposition : a crescent of five large closely apposed naked digital bulbs, sep- arated by a profound excavation from a single large irregu- * From uunieruus Hpeuimeus iu the Smithsonian MuHeum. h;-i:; h If :• ,il M , ■VI. :S •■.*«VS!»,W»(H^JSi,' 9,jv^fp?v:^ ■JIfflP 266 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDyE, larlj' shaped palmar pad, either entirely naked or partly over- grown with coarse hair extending crosswise from the inner border over more or less of its extent ; this main pad divided by a decided transverse groove from a much smaller postero- exterior one, which is entirely hairy, or partly so, or perfectly naked, in difterent cases. The claws are all compressed, arched, with rounded ridge and sharp edge underneath, origi- nally acute but generally blunted with use. The three middle ones are subequal in length, much longer than either of the lateral ones, and project still further, owing to the shortness of the lateral digits ; they are also stouter tuau the others. The lateral claws are subequal to each other, and they reach half- way (more or less) to the ends of the middle ones ; they are more compressed and not so strong, the inner one especially being thin, sharp, and falcate. As usual in such cases of spe- cial developments of parts, the rate of variation in size, both absolute and relative, is high, not permitting more strict state- ments than the above. Either one of the three larger middle claws may exceed the other two in size, and, of the lateral ones, either may surpass the other. The inner claw, however, appa- rently preserves its decidedly thin and falcate condition. The hind feet are much like the fore, on the whole, with, how- ever, a decided reduction in size, and especially in the develop- ment of the claws. The foot is about four titues as long as broad, of nearly equal width throughout, hairy above and completely so below, more than half-way from the heel to the ends of the toes. Much as in the fore foot, the digits under- neath present a crescent of five bald pads, of which the lateral ones, and especially the outer one, are somewhat disconnected ; with a deeply excavated interval, these pads are succeeded by a single large bald callosity, heart-shaped in general contour, incompletely divided by several radiating impressions into four, sometimes five parts. These grooves are not constant, nor are the resulting partitions always of the same size and shape. The relative lengths of the digits, and of the claws they bear, are essentially the same as in the fore foot ; but all the claws are very much smaller, and the lateral ones scarcely or not attain the base of the 2d and J:th respectively. These hind claws, however, as compared with the fore, differ remark- ably in construction, though of much the same shape ; they are less compressed, and, instead of being sharp-edged along the median line below, they are deeply excavated underneath — DESCRIPTION OF TAXIDEA AMERICANA. 267 sometimes so deeply as to be merely a thiu shell of horn, the edges of which ouly unite at the base of the claw. The short, broad, flattened tail has no sharp distinction from the body at its base, but the body tapers toward it somewhat as in the Porcupine. It is densely covered, in a somewhat dis- tichous manner, with long coarse hair like that of the body ; the end is obtusely rounded. The perimeal region shows, immediately beneath the root of the tail, a large transverse fissure leading into the peculiar sub- caudal pouch of the Melhuc, and, in advance of this, a large hemispherical protuberance, more or less naked, or covered with a few sparse hairs, and imperfectly divided by a mediau raph6 into lateral oval masses. (The anatomy of the peculiar organs of these parts, as illustrated in the European Meles taxtis, is given beyond.) The Badger varies greatly in color, as a fortuitous matter of age, season, or condition of pelage, aside from certain geo- graphical dift'orences, to be shown in the sequel. The varia- tion, however, is mainly m the relative amounts of the black- ish tawny-gray and white 'which produce the general grizzle, the pattern of coloration being well preserved, especially as to the m irkings of the head. The top of the head is dark brown or blackish, generally increasing in intensity and purity from the nape to the snout, since it is commonly more or less blended with gray or hoary encroaching from behind. This dark area is divided lengthwise by a sharp white or whitish mediau stripe, which runs from the snout, or from just back of the snout to the nape, where it is gradually lost in the grizzle of that part. I have never known this stripe to be entirely wanting ; but it varies much in extent, both laterally and longitudinally. The sides of the extreme muzzle are dark, like the top of the head ; from about opposite the canines, the sides of the head and the ears are white, continuous with the white of the chin and throat, but interrupted by a large (gen- erally crescentic) dusky patch in front of the ear. Another dark patch usually shows, though less conspicuousily behind the ear. The whole body and tail above are an intimately blended mixture of blackish with white, hoary gray, and tawny, or pale dull fulvous (dilut'j lidvohis). The individual hairs are for the greater part of their length of one of the lighter colors above mentioned, then black or blackish for a distance, and finally tipped with hoary gray or whitish. This ':''] -■4-f-i 268 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. pale eudiug of the hairs seems constant, even when there is most tawny in the body of the furs. Owing to the length and coarseness of the pelage, the animal usually presents, when prepared for the museum, a patchy or streaky appearance, the completely blended grizzle being interrupted by the slightest disturbance of the set of the hairs. Beneath, the animal is uniformly as above, minus the black or blackish. The feet are dark brown or blackish ; the claws are generally light-colored, especially those of the fore feet. In examining a large suite of specimens from various locali- ties in the United States west of the Mississippi, I find decided expression of a variation dependent upon climatic influences. Specimens from the comparatively fertile and well-watered regions upon the eastern border of the great central plateau are identical in tone with others from the Pacific slopes, and both much more heavily colored than those from the arid intermediate region. In the former, the fulvous or tawny tinge predominates among the lighter colors, mixed with a large amount of nearly pure black. As remarked by Prof. Baird, the resemblance of these specimens to the Woodchuck {Arc- tomys monax) is striking. In all the specimens from the inte- rior dry region, and especially from the Upper Missouri, where the animal is extremely common, there is little if any of the fulvous. At a distance, the animal appears nearly white ; the general color is white, soiled with a faint tawny or dirty yel- lowish-tinged and mixed with but little blackish, the dark part of the individual hairs being less extensive than even the terminal hoary portion, and the area where the black occurs at all being restricted. In these cases, also, the general grizzle encroaches most on the head, and the frontal white stripe reaches farthest along the nape. Under these conditions, the animal very closely resembles in coloration the brindled gray Wolves of the same geographical area. It is almost needless to add that the gradation between the extremes above noted is unbroken and insensible. None of the specimens now under consideration show the slightest trace of a vertebral white stripe beyond the nape. Those exhibiting this peculiarity are treated under the next head. Without alcoholic specimens, or measurements taken in the flesh, I cannot give the dimensions with desirable precision, as all the dried skins before me are more or less distorted. The ^m SKULL AND TEETH OF TAXIDEA AMERICANA. 269 range of variation in size, though considerable, is nothing un- usual. To the figures above given may be added : Nose to eye about 2i inches ; to ear about u ; fore foot from the posterior callosity, and including claws, 3i ; hind foot from heel, includ- ing claws, 4. Lowest hairs of the back 3 or 4 inches ; of the tail, 2 or 3. Height of the ear above the bottom of the meatus Penis hone 4 inches long, clubbed at one end, compressed, and with shallow sulcus in the continuity; the other end bent nearly at right angle, abruptly and irregularly flattened and grooved. It is surprising that this animal should ever have been con- founded with the MeJes tamis of Europe, since the decided structural characters upon which the genus Taxidea rests are coordinated with readily appreciable superficial distinctions. In the European Badger, the snout is much larger, more pro- tuberant, more extensively naked, and differently shaped, be- ing not very dissimilar to that of a hog in miniature. It is def- initely naked on top for some distance, as well as in front for a space below the nostrils ; these occupy but a small part of its subcircular front. The fore claws are much smaller and weaker. There are some differences in the details of the pads upon the palms and soles. The general body-color above is not dissimilar ; but the under parts are black like the limbs, this color extending on the chin, where our species is white. The head is otherwise white, with a broad black stripe begin- ning on each side opposite the canines, running back, embrac- ing the eye and ear, and losing itself on the side of the nape. The edge of the ear is white in this otherwise uninterrupted black bar. In the dried specimen before me, the naked part of the snout appears to have been flesh-colored, and the claws are dark. Description of the sJcuU and teeth. I have no skull of Meles in hand for direct comparison, but this is less to be regretted in view of the numerous striking differences which any accurate and detailed description will show, even without use of strictly antithetical expressions. (See also antea, p. 263, note.) A striking peculiarity of the adult skull is perceived in a view from above, in the great width behind, the distance across the terminations of the occipital crest being equal to (a Httle more or less than) the iuter-zygomatic width ; the lateral out- f W- »f J ■ ■ rfi -■'- ¥^^ m 'il ■■ymif^T^ 270 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDyE. line in general is therefore wedge-shaped. The rostral part of the skull (all that in advance of the zj'gomatic arches) is about one-third, or rather less, of the total length. The sides of the rostrum are approximately parallel in old skulls, owing iu a measure to the swollen tract of rooting of the canines, in young specimens somewhat tapering; the nasal extremity is abruptly narrower than the rest ; the obliquity of bevelling of the nasal aperture is about 45°. In old skulls, the nasal and maxillary sutures are obliterated ; in young ones, the nasal bones are seen to be narrow, with approximately parallel edges for the anterior half of their length, where they begin to narrow, and extend as slender acute processes very far back — to opposite the middle of the orbits. Their suture with the superior niax- illaries is very brief; for the intermaxillaries reach far up, and for nearly all the rest of their extent they are received betwixt long, pointed processes of the frontal. Similarly, the superior maxillary runs up in a recess of the frontal to a point opposite the ends of the nasals. This deep wedging of lateral processes of the frontal between processes of the nasals and maxillaries forms a complete letter W, better marked than in any other North American genera of the family, though they all, excepting Lutra and Enkydris, show an approach to the same character. The anteorbital foramen is large and rather triangular than cir- cular. The orbits are much better defined than in Slustelbuv and Mej)hitm(c — not that supraorbital processes are stronger than usual, but because the zygoma sends up a spur to mark the orbital brim below — much as in the others. The approxi- mation of these two (zygomatic and supraorbital) processes completes about two-thirds of a circle. The point of greatest constriction of the skull is a little back of the supraorbital pro- cesses, at a point about midway in the whole length of the skull ; except in some very old skulls, the constriction is little, if any, greater than that of the interorbital space. The top of the skull is marked with an average sagittal crest, whence forks curve outward to the supraorbital processes. In young specimens, there is little or no trace of these ridges. The occip- ital crests appear more flaring than they really are, owing to the general breadth of the skull behind ; they are in fact only moderately developed in the oldest specimens, excepting at their lateral extremities. From a moderate median emargina- tion, the crests proceed on either hand with a moderate con- vexity, which suddenly increases at the bend around to the SKULL AND TEETH OF TAXIDEA AMERICANA. 271 mastoid. The cranial dome considered alone has little infla- tion ; the lateral outlines run nearly straight from the point of greatest constriction to the back root of the zygoma. This wedge shape contrasts with the greater inflation of the cranial dome in most other Mustelklfv, notably Lutra and Enhydris. The back of the skull has a general triangular shape, with perpendicular flat face and irregular strong muscular impres- sions. The paroccipital processes are rather short, wide, and blunt; they descend to the level of the lower border of the foramen magnum, which latter is low and broad across. The condyles are short and very broad, their articular surfaces being prolonged toward the paroccipitals. In profile, the skull shows a single general declivity from near the occiput to the end of the nasals, thence an abrupt bend down to the teeth. This general curve is sometimes a little sinuous, owing to slight depression just beliind the orbits, and elevation over them. The jiosterior outline is truncate, with the occipital crest curving into full view below. The zygomata are very little arched indeed — almost straight ; they are stoutly laminar, with a strong superior orbital process an- teriorly, and remarkably developed borders of the deep glenoid fossa. Such development of the glenoid, in connection with its peculiar shape (the front border overlaps on the outer ' alf, the hinder on the inner half), is suflQcient to ordinarily lock the jaw in old age. But this peculiarity is not so strongly pro- nounced as it is said to be in Melcs. The same thing occasion- ally occurs in old Otter skulls. The orifice of the meatus au- ditorius lies wholly between the border of the glenoid and the well-developed mastoid process. The floor of the skull, aside from its mere shape, resembler that of the Mustelinw in the two prominent features of far back- ward extension of the bony palate and great inflation of the bullfe. In the skulls, with moderately inflated bulhe, the ptilate ends nearly opposite the last molars; in the Otters, with the same extent of palate that Taxidea shows, the bullfe are quite flat. The palate reaches considerably more than half-way from the incisors to the foramen magnum ; about half-way from the molars to the end of the pterygoids the palate is quite plane ; the incisive foramina are very short and broadly oval. The palate ends behind with a simple concave edge, or nearly straight transverse one, indifferently nicked on the median line or with a little median process. The alvelolar borders are ap- I ,' I '.a pwi,«W'f'>|»i"i||iV'l'ia''i'>' K'" I !' 272 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID/IC proximately parallel — more uearly so than usual iu this family. The spread of the zygomata is rather more thau three-fifths the total length of the skull; the outward eurvature is greatest behind. The great width of the skull behind loaves a very broad basilar space, notwithstanding the size of the bulla'. This space narrows but little as it advances between the ptery- goids, and is uearly tiat throughout. A curious character is seen iu the division of the posterior nares into two by a ver- tical bony septum running to the very edge of the palate, and thence projecting into view. Skunks and Land Otters have such a septum, but it is not complete to the end of the bony palate. In the Sea Otter, it is represented by a lamina depend- ing from the roof of the nares, but not reaching the palate for about an iuch from the end of the latter. In the Martens, Weasels, and Wolverene {Mustelinw), there is nothing whatever of the kind. The pterygoids are simply laminar, with some little irregularity outside, as usual ; they are moderately hamu- late. The (comparatively) immense inflation of the large buUaj occupies uearly all the extent of the periotic bones ; the swell- ing is immediate all along the interior border; outwardly it subsides in a moderately tubular meatus, and behind it is re- placed by a concavity around the foramen. The mandible is massive; the ramus lower and thicker before than behind ; the symphysis long, strong, and early completed ; the coronoid low and of peculiar shape. Its apex is obtuse; its front border nearly straight, but its hinder border divided at an abrupt angle into a lower perpendicular jjart and an upper strongly oblique portion. The lower border of the ramus is a gentle curve along the symphyseal portion, thence a straight line to a considerable angle abreast of the last molar, thence straight again to the proper angle of the jaw, which is small and not at all exflected. In young animals, the same border is more nearly a continuous slight curve from symphysis to the end. The condyle is very broadly transverse ; its articular sur- face is extensive, with a peculiar twist to correspond with the above described formation of the glenoid fossa. A young animal should be examined with reference to the teeth, as the characters of the molars become much obscured by wear. The back upper molar is neither narrowly transverse as in the Martens and Weasels, nor quadrate as in the Skunks and Otters, but triangular; and iu size and shape it is not very dissimilar to the last premolar. Details aside, it is a right-an- 1 ,1 SKULL AND TEKTH OF TAXIDEA AMERICANA. 273 gleil triangle of nearly ecjiial base autl perpendicular, tUe right angle being antero-internal, the longest side posteroexternal. When entirely unworn, it shows six or eight irregularly dis- posed tubercles, all small, the general surface being (juito flat, and there being no notable division, by sulcus or otherwise, into different portions, such as the crown ol this tooth presents in most Mitstelida: The lowest [)art of the tooth is a small cir- cular area posteriorly. This tooth roots by a long fang exte- riorly, but is otherwise simply set in an irregular shallow depression. The last premolar is likewise approximately an ecpiilateral right-angled triangle ; but in this case the right angle is anteroexterior, the hyi)othenuse postero-interior. It is well divided into an outer and inner moiety. The former is produced into a large main cusp, with prominent heel on its front base, and a smaller posterior cusp. The low inner moiety shows two perfectly distinct conical cusps; one anterior, the larger, with a cinguluni around its base, and a smaller posterior elevation directly from the border of the tooth. The middle premolar is a simple conical cusp with a slight heel posteriorly; it is two-rooted. The front premolar is like the last named, but still smaller. I have never seen, In the adult dentition, the small first premolar which is said to occur " in young ani- mals", nor do I observe anj'^ trace of such tooth in a young specimen which was just shedding when killed. In this one, the first and last permanent premolars have just displaced the earlier ones, but the middle milk-premolar is still present, with the future one visible below it, about to push it away. The presence of four upper premolars can, therefore, only charac- terize the milk dentition.* The upper canines offer no special points. Of the incisors, the outer is very much larger than the rest; indeed, it is hardly more exceetled by the lower canine than ihe latter is by the upper canine, and its superficial resemblance to a canine is striking. The other incisors are of the same size, regular, with dilated trilobate ends. The back lower molar, as elsewhere in the family, is small, circular, with a border a little higher before and behind than at the sides. It abuts against the depressed back part of the * The small anteriur upper premolar is the most variable tooth iu Muatelidw. It persists in the Lutra,- Enhydris, Gulo, Mnatela, and usually for a time iu Conepatua; it is absent in the adult dentition of Taxiilea, Mejihilis, S^nlogalc, Putorlm. 18 m \ I f' i I'll i' f 274 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. Upper molar. The next molar is large and more complicated than usual. It presents, in front, a large cusp, which, with the outer one of a i)air of median cusps, constitutes the trenchant edge of the tooth ; the inner cusp of the median pair is little smaller than the other. The lower back part of this tooth, or its tuberculous portion, which abuts against the back upper molar, is seen, when entirely unworn, to present four cusps, three transversely abreast, whereof the niiddle one is the largest, and a posterior one. These all wear down level in the course of time, and indeed very old skulls show this whole tooth almost flat. The next tooth— last premolar — is a strong conical cusp, with a secondary cusp halfway up its back border, and well- developed posterior heel; the anterior border is straight. The remaiulng premolars, successively decreasing in size, are like the last, but without the secondary cusp. The lower canines are not peculiar. The lower incisors are smaller than the upper; the exterior pair are little larger than the rest, and obscurely trilobate. The next pair reach backward further than the rest, but all are flush on the front face; the four inner teeth are slightly bilobate. Geographical variation in the skull. Like other species of the present family, the Badger has been discussed in this regard by Mr. J. A. Allen.* His results are here transcribed : — "The subjoined measurements of eleven skulls of this species (embracing all at present available) show also a well-marked southward decrease in size. A fuller series would be more satisfactory, but would doubtless only confirm what is here in- dicated. Six of the specimens are from rather northern locali- ties and five from rather southern localities, the region repre- sented extending from the Upper Missouri southward to the Lower Kio Grande. The specimens composing the two series are of very nearly corresponding ages. The northern series (four from different points on the Upper Missouri, one from Iowa, and one from Oregon) average 5.00 in length and 3.18 in width, the extremes being, in length, 5.22 and 4.92 (4.75 if we include one rather young example), the width ranging from 3.50 to 2.97. The southeru series (including two or three from the vicinity of Matamoras, Mexico, and one each from New * Bull. U. S. Oeol. and Geo;;r. Siuv. vol. ii. no. 4, pp. 330, 331. mm HISTORY OP THE AMERICAN BADGER 275 Mexici> aiid C.ilifornia) avenvjfv^s 4.02 in loiijEftli anil 2.92 in widtli, the exf.reinos belli-?, in length, 4.75 and 4..'»0, and in width, 3.07 nd 2.80. "Tlie sktills, and especially the molar teeth, in the American Badgers, vary considerably in different individuals, as long since pointed out by Professor Baird.* Sonthern specimens differ from northern ones not only in being smaller, but some- what in color, so that the T. herlaniUeri of Professor Baird may perhaps be entitled to snbspeciflc rank [T, americana snbsp. herlandieri), though the material at hand indicates that the two forms will be found to thoroughly intergrade. The chief differences in coloration consist in the more reddish-gray tint of the southern form, with a decided tendency to a continuous light dorsal stripe, instead of this stripe being restricted to the head. " Mcasuremeiita of eleren mIciiUs of Taxiuea amkUicana. 11505 1178 3148 2078 12908 •20:)3 4 1 on ;t7ti7 lliilO 1135 Locality. ja a o JO Kemarka. 3. 50 3.12 3.07 IJitppr Missouri | ! 5. 32 do ; '5.12 rlo ! I 4.75 Quisciuntoii, Iowa ' j 5.06 FortKandall. Dak | \ 4.95 Vpper Des Chutes, Orog 1 4. 92 Fort Crook, Cal.... \ 4.60 Xew Mexico 1 ■ 4.50 HatnuKiras, ^[exico 1 i 4.75 j 2.94 do , 4.66 2.85 Texas 1 4.57 8.94 3.25 2.97 3.07 2. fO Ratlier young, luipeii'e'ct. Rather young ; Iwi-Utndicri. Iiedandien. do. -.do.' Uistory of the American Badger. The early history of the American Badger is curiously in- v"' ^.1, not only with that of the European species, but with several entirely different animals. The celebrated traveller, Kalm,+ speaks of the occurrence of the common Badger in Pennsylvania, where, he adds, it is called "ground hog*'. But this is a common appellation of the Woodchuck, Arctomys mo- nax, to which, doubtless, Kalm's note is to be considered to apply. In 1750, Brisson| describes A'-^Meles a^&rt" from New York ; but this, it seems, proved to be an albino Baccoon, Pro- cyon lotor. '"fiuffon," (says Sir John Eichardson,§) "in the body of his great work, doubts whether the Badger be an inhabitant of the American continent," .... "but afterwards, in tl "st *" U. 8. and Mex. fiounil. .Survey, Zool. p. ai." i Rfegne Auitn. p. S-'if). t Trav. i. p. I«y. ^ F. B.-A. i. p. :]8. m :-'|t : ■■: J* #' 276 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. !i I: additiou to Lis article on the Glutton, described the skin of a true Badger, which he received, it is said, from Labrador, under the misapplied name of Carcajou." "We find the same confusion with a vernacular name of the Oulo luseus or Wolverene to con- tinue for many years among French naturalists; thus, in 1842, Gervais still speaks of the "Carkajou, ou Blaireau d'Am^rique". I am not able, at the time of present writing, to consult Bution's work. His figure, given in the supplement of the llistoire Na- turelle ("pi. 49"), is stated to. have been afterw<ard given by Schreber, in 1778, as plate 142 B of the " Siiugthiere". Schre- ber's work is not ju.^ lovv accessible to me. Ho is cited for a name, ^^Ursus taxus''', as applicable to the American Badger, though quoted as considering our species as distinct from the European. Pennant, one of the more accurate and reliable among the early writers, is sadly at fault in the present case. After treat- ing of an "American Badger" in his earlier works, he afterward, in the xVrctic Zoology, as above quoted, united it with the Eu- ropean Meles, and, besides thus confounding it with a totally different species, he perpetuates several ecrors. , Thus he quotes Kalm (see last paragraph) for its supposed occurrence in Penn- sylvania, and si)eaks of its being " sometimes found white in America", evidently having Brisson's albino Itaccoon in view. Boddaert, in 1784, seems to have been the first to bestow a technical appellation upon our animal, calling it Meles taxus var. americanus. Zimmermann, citing Boddaert, adopted the name Melcs americanus in his German translation of Pennant's Arctic Zoiilogy. This name has priority over all others that have come to my knowledge, though it was suffered to rest almost unno- ticed until very recently, when, in 1857, it was formally adopted by Prof. Baird, whose example has been generally followed by subsequent writers. Linnanis (17GG) makes no mention whatever of an American species of Badger. Supposing him to have had any knowledge of the animal from Buffon, his unworthy jealousy of the great French naturalist would have led him to studiously ignore the fact, in gratification of his absurd and puerile whim. The name labradoria, or labradorius, by which our Badger has been usually known, was imposed by Gmelin in 1788. His Ursus lahradorms is based primarily upon Schreber's plate 142 P. Other citations given by him are, the "American Bad- ger of Pennant, Quad. no. 143, and the " Carcajou " of Buffon, HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN BADGER. 277 Snppl. pi. 40. The habitat is given as " Labrador to Iludson's Bay". But there is grave reason to doubt that Buffon's animal, which furnished the material for his and Schreber's plate, came from Labrador, as implied in Gmelin's name. This point was brought up b}' Richardson, who, quoting Baffoii's words "qu'il venoit du pays des Esquimaux", adds, "but in fact it may have been brought actually from the banks of tlie Saskatche- wan by souje of the Canadian fur hunters." In this uncer- tainty, it is fortunate that Gaielin's name, most probably ob- jectionable on the score .of geographical inapplicability, is also anticipated in point of date. Gmelin's diagnosis is also incor- rect, for it st'ems that his phrase "palmis tetradac;tylis" arose in the circumstance that Buffbn's specimen had accidentiiUy lost one of its fore toes. Early in the present century, the Badger attracted the atten- tion of Lewis and Clarke, being then as now extremely abundant in the regions traversed by these intrepid explorers. Under the curious name of ''braro", the animal is fully described by them in the narrative of their journey, published under the editorship of Paul Allen in 1814, for the first time, and in liuiny subsequent editions. This word " braro" is obviously a corrupt rendering of the French "blaireau", like "brairo", by which nan\e the animal was known to the Canadian voyageurs; the orthography is corrected in the McVickar edition. It is curious to trace the further typographical mangling of this word, originally written wrong by the travellers, being phonetically rendered according to the sound which caught their ears. It is spelled "brarow" or "prarow" in the Journal of Gass, one of their companions; and "braibo" is found in Gerrard's work above cited.* The animal described by Lewis and Clarke fur- nished Harlan, in 1825, with the basis of a nominal species, Melcs jefersonii, considered distinct from Jf. lahradoria, which is also given by this author. In 182.3, Thomas Say treated of this species, under the name of Taxiis InhrnAoricus ; and the same year Mr. Sabine gave us a detailed and the first satisfactory account of the actual diflfer- ences in external characters between the American and Euro- pean Badgers. His comparison was transcribed by Sir John Itichfudson, in rhe Fauna Boreale Americana, 182!). The latter •The old ilexicun name of tbe soutlicrii Hii(l;;er, Muifi to lie reiKk-rud "Tla- coyotl" hy Fernandez, lias snT-'ercd as 1 ally, 1 ein .; rendered " Lafiyotl" and " riacovoli.'"' by som(! lati; writers. ^'- •■' > 'vc,- .i!ii ■iV'm li !l 1 1- 1- fl ^rti m 278 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. W author's a tide remains to-day one of the best, on the whole, that has appeared, covering as it does the then liuowu ground, with a history, description, account of habits and geographical distribution, a sj onymy, and a very characteristic plate, drawn by Landseer. Sir John, however, noted none of the characters by which our animal is geuerically distinguished from the Euro- pean Meles, the establishment of a genus Taxidca being left to Waterhouse, 1838. An index to the general later history of this species is afforded by the synonymatic list given on a preceding page (p. 2G3) ; it is unnecessary to recite the various authors who have contributed to our knowledge of the subject. Audubon and Bachman's article, however, is specially noteworthy as illustrating the habits of the animal in confinement. Portions of it are quoted beyond. Baird's notice of the species enters very fully into the technicalities of the case. J. A. Allen has discussed the variability of the skull, with special reference to geographical distribution. Geographical distribution. lam not aware that the Badger has ever been traced north- ward beyond the limit of its distribution long ago assigned by llichardsou, namely, latitude 58° north. " The Meles lahradoria ", says this author, " frequents the sandy plains or prairies which skirt the Rocky Mountains as far north as the banks of the Peace River, and sources of the River of the Mountains, in latitude 58°." The doubts respecting its extension in British America to the Atlantic Ocean have already been expressed. Mr. Don- ald Gunn, in some inedited MSS. which have come into my possession, temporarily, through the Smithsonian Institution, speaks of the animal in the following terms: — "The Badger, called by the Indians 'Weenusk', inhabits all the woody dis- tricts south and west of Hudson's Bay. It hybernates duri»T the long winters, entering its retreat early in October and remaining under ground until the middle of May. It is not often met with on the shores of the Bay, but is found at a dis- tance of thirty to fifty miles. It does not appear to inhabit the woody districts east of Lake Wiuipeg, but is found in open places to the westward of that lake, and is occasionally met with along the river of the same name." It is well known to abound in the region of the Saskatchewan, and the British territory in general lying immediately uOrth of Dakota and Montana Territories. ■ GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OP THE BADGER. 279 Audubon and Bachman, writing in 1851, state that they were not able to trace the Badger within a less distance from the Atlantic than the neighborhood of Fort Union (which stood at the southeastern corner of the Territory of Montana as at present bounded). But there is abundant evidence that the species formerly occurred far east of the Mississippi ; and even now its range extends to that river. One of the States along the Mississippi has in fact acquired a cant name from this animal, being known by the soubriquet of the " Badger State ". In 1858, Prof. Baird gives the habitat as " Iowa and Wisconsin to the Pacific coast, and from Arkansas to 49° N. lat. (To 58° N. lat.. Rich.)" • The animal formerly extended eastward in the United States to Ohio at least. A letter ad- dressed by Mr. Edward Orton, not long since, informs me of its occurrence near Toledo in that State, about twenty years previously, and of its extinction there Mr.. Robert Keunicott, in 1853-54, has the species among the mammals of Illinois ; while in Iowa, writes Mr. Allen in 1869, " the species is probably nearly as numerous as formerly." The eastward range in the United States to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Mich- igan, Iowa, and Minnesota, as well as the oblique trend in British America to Hudson's Bay, thus makes the distribution of the animal more or less closely coincident with that of some of the Spennophiles; these animals, with the Badger and Kit Fox, being highly characteristic species of the central treeless region of the United States, where they occur in countless multitudes. To the southward, the range of the typical Badger cannot be precisely given, for the reason that there the characters of the animal melt insensibly into those of the Mexican subspe- cies herlandieri. The change becomes marked in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern and Lower California. I have personally traced the typical form into Colorado, and it is said by Drs. Coues and Yarrow to be very common throughout Western Utah and Eastern Nevada, but less abundant in New Mexico and Arizona. To the extraordinary abundance of the animal in the Upper Missouri country I shall again refer in speaking of its habits. Dr. J. S. Newberry has indicated its abundance in Eastern California, Utah, and Oregon. Mr. George (Jibbs says that the Badger, called bj' the Yakima In- dians Weehtlila, was not seen by him west of the Cascade Mountains of Washington Territory, though very common on ■*i:: i:: m t II. Wi>'< % n 280 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. the dry barreu plaius on tlie Yakima Kiver, and also on the timberless mountains between the Yakima and the Columbia. In certain sections of that Territory, as for instance the Sim- coo Valley, the species is represented by Dr. Snckley as so abundant that riding becomes dangerous from the number of the burrows. The writer last mentioned adds a paragraph on the general east and west distribution of the species, as fol- lows : — "Found sparingly in the eastern portion of Minnesota; be- ing mort abundant i>ear the Missouri. From thence, after entering Nebraska [L e., the present Territories of Dakota and Montana], it extends almost all the way to the dividing ridge of the Cascade Mountains, near the Pacific coast. Farther w^est it does not go, at least north of the Columbia. 1 have seen it in the St. Mary's Valley, at the western base of the main chain of the llocky mountains, and as far south in Oregon as the vicinity of Fort Bois6 on the Snake or Lewis river. They are most abundant (north of Utah) in the vicinity of Powder river, Oregon, and the Yakima, one of the northern tributa- ries of the Columbia." Hahitn. The Badger is one of the most secret animals of this country — one whose habits and whose whole nature tend to screen it from observation so thoroughly that much of our knowledge is a re- sult of reasonable inference rather than a matter of actual expe- rience, while some of the most important points respecting its economy remain to be ascertained with precision. As will have been gathered from what has preceded, it lives altogether in holes in the ground, for the excavation of which its whole struct- ure is adapted. Other animals are as decidedly fossorial as the Badger, and like it live underground, but the Badger, un- like its usual associates, the Prairie-dogs {Cynomys) and other Spermophiles, does not continually appear in view; rather, it leads a life almost as completely subterranean as that of the Gophers ( Geomys and Thomomys)^ or even of the Mole itself. In the colder latitudes, moreover, it hibernates during a consid- erable portion of the year. I have travelled for days and weeks in regions where Badgers abounded, and where their innumer- able burrows offered the principal obstacle to progress on horse- back or by wheeled conveyance, yet the number of Badgers I have actually seen alive, in a state of nature, might be told oft' HABITS OF THE BADGER. 281 on the fingers of either hand. Most of the individuals I have laid eyes on were in sight but a few moments, as they hurried into the nearest hole.*" On one occasion, however, a Badger, croucb'ng at the mouth of its burrow in fancied security, allowed me to approach and kill it with a shot ; but I should add that this imprudent individual was but half-grown, and probably had never seen a man before. I -lave found Badgers in countless numbers nearly through- out the region of the Upper Missouri Kiver and its tributaries. I do not see how they could well be more numerous anywhere. In some favorite stretches of sandy, sterile soil, their burrows are everywhere, together with those of Kit Foxes, Prairie-dogs, and Sperniophiles, and, as already said, these holes are a source of annoyance and even danger to the traveller. In ordinary jour- neying, one has to keep constant lookout lest his horse suddenly goes down under him, with a fore leg deep in a Badger-hole; and part of the training of the western horse is to make him look out for and avoid these pitfalls. In the Buffalo country particularly. Badgers live in extraordinary numbers, attracted and retained by the surety of abundant food-supply; and there are places where the chase of the Buffalo < i horseback is abso- lutely impracticable, except at a risk to life or limb which few are willing to run. The burrows of the Badger are known from those of the Prairie-dog and other Spernopbiles by their greater dimensions ; besides, they differ from the former in never being built up around the entrance into the regular mound or circular buttress which usually surmounts the well-kept domicile of the Cynomys. From the holes of Kit Foxes and Coyotes, they are not dis- tinguishable with any certainty ; in fact, it is probable that these animals frequently or almost habitually occupy deserted bur- rows of the Badger, remodelled, if need I e, to suit their con- venience. But it must not be supposed th. t all of the innumer- able Badger-diggings are the residences of these animals. The Badger, too slow of foot to capture the nimble Rodents which form its principal food, perpetually seeks them in their own retreats; and it is the work of a few minutes for this vigorous miner to so far enlarge their burrows that it can enter and reach the deepest recesses. In places where tjie Badgers and Spernio- philes most abound, the continual excavation of the soil by these animals fairly undermines and honeycombs the ground. The Bfidgers, though not migratory, are sometimes attracted km ;j. hi. rill ' m 282 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. 1 1 it iJs! I M ij ir i; or focussed as it were, from a large area ia some particular spot which temporarily offers special attraction in the way of a food- supply. Thus, I have in mind a place on the Mouse River, Dakota, where there had been not long before a grand battue of Buffalo by the Indians, and where the number of Badger- holes, then deserted, exceeded anything I La J before seen or have since witnessed. The abundance of the Badgers might bo expected, in view of the fact that they have very few enemies. The animals are stout and determined enough to stand off Wolves and Foxes ; they seldom vfvture far from their secure retreats; and in fact I know of no indigenous mammal which habitually preys upon or otherwise destroys them. A Badger ensconced in its hole would be a formidable antagonist which few animals would care to molest. Their immunity from danger, part'y the result of their physical prowess, part'y secured by the practically impreg- nable nature of their resorts, together with the abundance of food and the ease with which it is secured, tends to the firm per- petuation and continual increase of the species in all unsettled portions of the country. Man is the principal enetfiy of the Badger, destroying thousands annually for his convenience or luxury. Besides the Spermophiles, Arvicolas, and other small quadru- peds which furnish its staple diet, the Badger is said to prey upon a variety of humbler animals, even insects and snails, and to eat birds' eggs. As to the last named, there is a large sup- ply on the western prairies, where many kinds of small birds, in great multitudes, nest upon the ground. Mr. W. H. Gibson refers to an especial fondness of the Badger for the stores of wild bees ; the honey, wax, and grubs being alike devoured.* Audubon has figured the Badger with a Shore Lark [Eremo- phila alpestris) in its grasp. Mr. J. A. Allen speaks of finding * I am not sure, however, that the actual reference is not to the European Badger, whose apivorous habit has long been known. " Buifon states that it tligs up wasps' nests for the sake of the honey ; — a fact which has received an interesting confirmation from the observation of a correspondent of Lou- don's Magazine of Natural History, who seems, however, to attribute the destruction of these nests to the fondness of the Badger for the larva> of the wasp, as he says that the combs were found scattered about, but none were left that contained the maggots. This predilection of the Badger for honey offers a striking analogy to several others of the group, psirticularly to its Oriental relation the Ratel, MeUivora Capensis, which is known to live principally upon it." — (Ukm.'s Jiritish Quadrupeds, ed. of 1837, pp. 123-4.) 'TO HABITS OF THE BADGER. 283 the bones and wool of lambs iu its burrows, though the unimal is not generally regarded as injurious by the farmers. The Badger has been called a " timid " animal. So it is, in the sense that it avoids rather than confronts impending danger ; but this is simply the instinctive prudence and discretion of a creature which prefers the absolute immunity of its subterra- nean resorts tc the chances of unequal combat in which it is at disadvantage. Certainly, no lack of courage, determination, and physical endurance is seen when the creature, captured or cut off" from its retreat, is brought to bay. Its pluck is then as conspicuous as its really formidable strength. The cruel sport of "Badger-baiting" is sometimes indulged in the West ; and if the animal be given a barrel or similar retreat in which it is secure from attack in the rear, it may prove more than a match for a strong dog. Indeed, the fighting qualities of the Badger, and stubborn resistance it offers at whatever unfair odds, have supplied our language with a word of peculiar sig- nificance : to " badger" is to beset on all sides and harass and worry. The stout, thick-set, and depressed shape of the animal is greatly in its favor, combining with the long loose hair to prevent a dog from reaching vulnerable parts, and to embarrass it in attempting to take hold ; the snap of the jaws inflicts a serious wound; and, finally, the tenacity of life is at a high rate. . A sketcli of this animal, from the pen of Dr. J. S. Newberry, gives corroborative evidence of the Badger's powers of self- defence; I transcribe the passages at some length, as they afford other items iu the natural history of the species: — " In traversing the arid surfaces of the sage plains of eastern California, Utah, and Oregon, there is, perhaps, no one thing which the traveller may be more sure of seeing every day of his journey than the burrow of a badger ; and, after cursing the country, and the folly which led him to cross these barren, hot, and dusty surfaces, there is nothing he will more certainly do, whether on foot or mounted, than tumble into one of these same badger holes, and yet the chances are more than equal that he never sees a living badger on which to revenge him- self; for the badger is a shy and tiujid animal, and the country he inhabits is so open, it rarely happens that he is surprised at a distance from his burrow. During our march of several hundred miles through the country inhabited by the badger this did occur, however, on one or two occasions, and gave rise Hi: 111 : m 284 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.K w Bfr to some liulicron8 scenes. The badger, tlioiigh far from formi- dable, is too well provided with teeth to be handled without gloves ;^ and knowing that hia only safety when attacked is in plunging to the bottom of his barrow, his pig-headed pertinacity in endeavoring to reach it is such, that an unarmed man finds it difficult to stop him. " Mr. Anderson^ who gave me most efficient aid in collecting, came one day suddenly upon a badger at some distance from his hole; of course he made for it with all possible speed, which, it should <»o said, is not so great but that a man could easily overtake one. Mr. Anderson at first endeavored to trample him under his horse's feet, but, though he ran over him several times, the badger avoided the hoofs and received no injury. As we had not then obtained a specimen, he was particularly anxious to secur '.is one, so he drove his horse before him, and brought him to bay. He then jumped off, hoping, by means of kicks and his sheath-knife, to dispatch him ; but the badger, instead of retreating, came at him open-mouthed, and with such a show of ferocity that he was tain to let him pass, trust- ing to fin<l a club to kill him with ; but in that region clubs do not 'grow on every bush,' for most of the bushes are sage bushes, and before he found any sort of stick the badger had reached his hole. Two days after I became indebted to him for a fine specimen, which a long rifleshot had dropped at the entrance of his burrow. Another, while leisurely following an old trail, apparently on a journey, was overtaken and killed by some of our soldiers. Seeing, perhaps the hopelessness of the attempt, he made no effort to escape, but a vigorous defence, and was only dispatched with some difliculty." Sir John Richardson narrates an incident which, further illus- trates the prowess of this stubborn, sullen customer. " The strength of its forefeet and claws is so great," says he, " that one which had insinuated only its head and shoulders into a hole, resisted the utmost endeavors of two stout young men who endeavored to drag it out by the hind legs and tail, until one of them fired the contents of his fowling-piece into its body." This is quite a match for the stories told of the Arma dillo itself. " Early in the spring, however," the author con- tinues, '' when they first begin to stir abroad, they may easily be caught by pouring water into their holes ; for the ground being frozen at that perio I, the water does not escape through Tm HAIIITS OF TIIK BADGER. 285 the saiul, but soon tills the hole, and its teiiiuit is obliged to come out." The author of the "Complete American Trapper " also refers to this method of taking Badgers, and adds others: — "Although his general appearance would not indicate it, lie is a sly and cunning animal and not easily capturetl in a trap of any kind. He has been known to set at defiance all the traps that were set for him, and to devour the baits without suffering from his audacity. He will sometimes overturn a trap and spring it from the under side, before attempting to remove the bait. Although not quite as crafty as the fox, it is necessary to use much of the same caution in trapping the badger, as a bare trap seldom wins more than a look of contempt from the wary animal. The usual mode of catching the creature is to set the trap, size No. 3 [the so-called fox-trap, with springs at each end], at the mouth of its burrow, carefully covering it with loose earth and securing it by a chain to a stake. Any of the methods used in trapping the fox will be found to work ad- mirably. The dead-fall or garrote will also do good service. Bait with a rat, mouse, or with whatever (,'.se the animal is specially fond, and scent with oil of anise or musk. In early spring, while the ground is still hard, badgers are easily cap- tured by flooding." The .reproduction of the species does not appear to be fully known. I have no personal information on this score, beyond the fact that I once secured a still ungrown animal in Colorado during the latter part of August. The writer last (luoted says that the nest is made in the burrow (as indeed is unquestion- able), and that the young are three or four in number. Eich- ardson, referring to the hibernation of the Badger in British America from November to April, states that, like Bears, the animals do not seem to lose much flesh during the winter, for they are observed to be very fat when they come abroad in the spring; and adds that, as they pair at once, they soon become lean. The periods of gestation and lactation are probably un- known. ■ • * The habits and manners of the Badger in confinement, to which we will next turn attention, have been attentively studied by Audubon and Bachman, who have given an interesting ac- count, here transcribed in full: — " During our stay at Fort Union, on the Upper Missouri Ri ver^ in the summer of 1843, we purchased a living Badger from a iia ' '■> m 286 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID/E. n squaw, who had brought it from soino (listance to the fort for sale ; it having been cantrht by aiiother squaw at a place nearly two hundred and tifty miles away, among the Crow Indians. It was Hrst placed in our common room, but was found to bo so very mischievous, pulling about and tearing to i)ieces every article within its reach, trying to dig up the stones of the hearth, «S:c , that we had it removed into an adjoining apartnient. It was regularly fed morning and evening on raw meat, either the tiesh of anitnals procured by our hunters, or small birds shot during our researches through the adjacent country. It drank a good deal of water, and was rather cleanly in its habits. In the course of a few days it managed to dig a hole under the hearth and fire-placo nearly large and deep enough to conceal its body, and we were obliged to drag it out by main force when- ever we wished to examine it. It was provoked at the near approach of any one, and growled continuously at all intruders. It was not, however, very vicious, and would suifer one or two of our companions to handle and play with it at times. "At that period this Badger was about Ave mouths old, and was nearly as large as a full grown wood-chuck or ground-hog, {Arctomys monax.) Its fur was of the usual colour of summer pelage, and it was quite a pretty looking animal. Weconcluded to bring it to New York alive, if possible, and succeeded in doing so after much trouble, it having nearly made its escape more than once. On one occasion, when our boat was made fast to the shore for the night, and we were about to make our 'camp,* the Badger gnawed his way out of the box in which he was con- lined, and began to range over the batteau ; we rose as speedily as possible, and striking a light, commenced a chase after it with the aid of one of the hands, and caught it by casting a buf- falo robe over it. The cage next day was wired, and bits of tin put in places where the wooden bars had been gnawed through, so that the animal could not again easily get out of its prison. After having become accustomed to the box, the Badger became quite playful and took exercise by rolling himself rapidly from one end to the other, and then back again with a reversed move- ment, continuing this amusement sometimes for an hour or two. "On arriving at our residence in New ^ork, we had a large box, tinned on the inside, let into the ground about two feet and a half and filled to the same depth with earth. The Badger was put into it, and in a few minutes made a hole, in which he seemed quite at home, and where he passed most of his time wm IIAIJITS OF THE BADGER. 287 during the winter, altbou|j;li be always came out to tJike his food and water, and did not appear at all sluggish or inclined to hibernate even when the weather was so cold as to make it necessary to pour hot water into the pan that was placed within his cage, to enable him to drink, as cold water would have frozen immediately, and in fact the pan generally had a stratum of ice on tbe bottom which the hot water dissolved when poured in at feeding-time. •' Our Uadger was fed regularly, and soon grew very fat ; its coat changed completely, became woolly and a butfbrown color, and tbe fur hy the month of February had become in- deed the most ellectual protection against cold that can well be imagined. " We had an opportunity in Charleston of observing almost daily for a fortnight, the habits of a Badger in a menagerie ; he was rather gentle, and would sutter himself to be played with and fondled by his keeper, but did not appear as well pleased with strangers; he occasionally growled at us, and would not suffer us to examine him without the presence and aid of his keeper. " In running, his fore feet crossed each other, and his body nearly- touched the ground. The heel did not press on the ground like that of the bear, but was only slightly elevated above it. He resembled the Maryland marmot in running, and progressed with about the same speed. We have never seen any animal that could exceed him in digging. He would fall to work with his strong feet and long nails, and in a min- ute bury himself in the earth, and would very soon advance to the end of a chain ten feet in length. In digging, the hind, as well as the fore feet, were at work, the latter for tiie purpose of excavating, and the former, (like paddles,) for expelling the earth out of the hole, and nothing seemed to delight him more than burrowing in the ground ; he seemed never to become weary of this kind of amusement ; and when he had advanced to the length of his chain he would return and commence a fresh gallery near the mouth of the first hole ; thus he would be occupied for hours, and it was necessary to drag him away by main force. He lived on good terms with the rac- coon, gray fox, prairie wolf, and a dozen other species of animals. He was said to be active and playful at night, but he seemed rather dull during the day, usually lying rolled up like a ball, with his head under his body for hours at a time. ,.; ; ' .( V ■'■>.' ff •;., .if , i--' 288 NORTrt AMERICAX MUSTELID.T:. " The IJadj^'tT did not refuse bread, but preferred meat, making two meals during the day, and eating about half a pound at eacli. " We occasionally saw him assuming rather an interesting attitude, raising the fore part of his body from the earth, drawing bis feet along bis sides, sitting up in the manner of the marmot, and turning his head in all directions to make observations." The assuming of this attitude may have been a result of confinement, as I have not observed it when I have seen the animal in a state of nature, nor does it appear to have been noticed by others. The Badger, above all our other animals, is notable for its flatness ; aven when running it looks broad and flat, and the belly seems to sweep the ground during its rather slow, heavy, and awkward progress. Seen when crouching in fancied security or hoping to escape observa- tion (and it will sometimes remain long motionless in this posture, permitting near approach), the animal might easily be mistaken for a stone or clod of earth ; the very hairs lie flat, as if "parted in the middle", and form a fringe along citlier side, projecting, as one writer has remarked, like the shell of a turtle or the eaves of a house. The peculiar pattern of coloration is then disi)layed to best advantage. Under anger or irritation, the animal bristles up its hair, and appears much larger than it really is. The flesh, of tbe Badger, like that of the Skunk, is eatable, and doubtless often eaten by savage tribes, though not to be recommended to a cultivated palate. The specimens I have skinned, even the young one before mentioned in this article, emitted during tbe process such rank and foul odor as to be simply disgusting. The Badger yields a valuable and at times fashionable fur, used for robes, and for mufl's, tippets, and trimmings. Thousands of shaving-brushes are said to be an- nually made from the long bairs, which are also extensively used in the manufacture of artists' materials, one of which is a " badger-blender ". In 1873, tbe London sales of Badger skins by the Hudson's Bay Company were 2,700, at prices varying from one to seven shillings, averaging Is. Qd. The lead- ing American journal of the fur trade in 1876 quoted Badger skins at $1 for prime, 50 cents for " seconds", and 10 cents for " thirds". The colors of the Badger pelt, though not striking, are pleasing, being an intimate and harmonious blending of gray, tawny, black, and white, the colors ringed in alternation TAXIDEA AMEKICANA BERLANDIERI. 289 pray, tawny, black, and wliiti', tlui ctolors rin^jcd in alternation on individual hairs. The {jray pnMloniinatt's, the {icniTal ♦' tone" or effect beinjj a gr'^-^l*'*! H^'^yi wiiieh has given rise to the well known adage, "an gray as a Badger". The I?Iv\ican Badger. Taixi«l<>n nin«irleaiia berlniMllerl. Mrlcs labrndorln, lii-nnctt. V. '/,. S. ISHn, 43 ("Ciilifornia". Vurtfibrnl Btripe contlnuous).- nieh. Zool. nueclitw'H Voy. 18;»9, p. 9*. fTuxidea Ubrodorla, Waterh. V. Z. 8. I83H, 1S4. Tax Idea blTlundicrl, liairA, M. N. A. 1857, 905, pi. 39, f. X.—Hd. Mox. V,. Siirv. li. pt. li. 1859, Mniiitii. 91. Taxidcii amerlrHim mt. cuHrornicil, Qrayy P. Z. S. 1665, 141 (from Bonuott) ; Cat. Carn. Br. MiiH. IbO!), p. — . Taxidea amerlrana ran bcrlandlerl, (Iray, V. Z. S. 1865, 141 (from Bainl); Cat. Cam. Ilr. MiiR. le'«9, p. — . Taxidea amerlrana «ut/»p. bcrlandlcrl, AUm, Bull. U. S. Geul. and Geog. Surv. Tdrr. vol. 11. no. 4, 18:6, y;u. Mf les tiacoyoltf, BtrX. HSS. ined. TIalcoyotI, Aakuatl. Tlaeoyntl, " Fernandez." TIacoyotf, Hex. Vitlg. Texon or Tejou, Mex. (of. Taxus, Taano, Taisann), Hau. — Southwestern border of the United States and southward. Llano Ebtacado, Texas, Pope; Canton. Biirj^wyn, N. M., Irwin; Capo St. Lucas, Xantu«. "Interior and Eastern States of Mexico, especially Nuevo Leone and Taraaulipas. — (JierUiiidier, MSS.) SuHSPECii'ic CHAHACTKua.— Similar to T. americana, but with a white dorsal stripe, soiuetiuies interrupted, from nose to tail. Oeneral remarks. The extreme manifestation of this form of Taxiden which I have seen is exemplitted in a specimen in the Smith.sonian Museum, collected at Cape St. Lucas by Mr. John Xantus. Here the white frontal stripe is remarkably broad, nearly eqnall»''nr iu width the dark part of the head, and it continues uniuterrtipted thence to the tail as a sharp white vertebral line. This is a conspicuous character, and, were it constant, there would need be no hesitation in recognizing a second species, even in default of correlated difference from T. ameri- cana. But it is not constant; on the contrary, other speci- mens show various degrees of interruption of the white dorsal line. Thus, the one frojn Texas noticed hy Prof. Baird in the works above cited shows a prolongation of the white frontal illl 290 NORTH AMKRIHAN MTSTEMD.E. i I 1 lino past the nape to a point opposite the sliotildera, its intoi- ruption tliere for about tliroe inches, and its reappearance for about four inches at tiie middle of the back. I fail to appre- ciate any other decided peculiarities of this form, thougii it may average rather smaller, and somewhat more heavily col- ored, owinjf to its southern habitat. Certain cranial charac- ters noted by Prof. liaird, according to the material then in hand, are negatived in the later examination I have made of huuth larger series of specimens. This is clearly the animal referred to by Bennett, as above, as a Calir»)rnian variety, with darker grotind-color, and a white lino showing in several places along the back, or continuous to the tail. In the United States it has only been noticed, to my knowledge, in the localities alreatly indicate<l; but there is no doubt that this form, more or less decidedly pronounced, ranges over the intermediate groun«l. I find it noticed at considerable length, with an unmistakable description, under the name of ^feles Uacoyotr, in Dr. Berlandier's nianuscripts, wh re it is con- sidered to be the TIacoyotI of IJernindez. The fore cfaws are di'scribed as "blackish"; otherwise the account agrees exactly with the specimens before me named herlandieri by Baird. Dr. lierlandier was evidently familiar with the animal, which he represents as common in Northeastern Mexico, and gives sev- eral biographical notices — nothing, however, to indicate any di Terences of moment in its habits as compared with those of 7. americana. The following are his measurements of a female in the flesh : — Nose to end of tail 24 inches ; head o ; tail o.] ; whole fore leg (5; hind leg r>^; stature at shoulders 7. . ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER IX. Description of the perinwal glands of the European Badger, Meles vulgaris. Tlio American nad^or Iioh not, so far an I ntn aware, boon <«xatninu<l ana- tomically with roforonco to tlio peculiar organs of thu puriiuniini and nei^li- boriiij^r partH. Those, however, have Uann Htndied in the European Hpeoies by M. Chatin, whose results may be here reproduced in substance, in default of information respectin^rour own species, as it is improbable tbat any mate- rial diflerence in these respects subsists between the two. It does not appear that the Melvs rulyaris itself had been snillciently studied prior to M. Cha- tin's investiKivtions. The 13ad)<;er is found to. b« peculiar* in the presence not only of anal ^I'^odsof an ordinary character, but also of another, per- * But is the anatomy of Mydaiia and Arvtomjx knuwu f PKRIN/EAL GLANDS OP MELES VULGARIS. 291 «<^,l foctly (listiiK't Kliin<1> tim socrctioii of whicli is «niiitie(l into a poekot buck of th«t aniiH, jiiHt IxMiiNiitli tlio mot of tlio tail. 1. Anal fjlaii<l8.—T\\o parts proNeiit, iioar tli« twrmiiiation of tin* reotnm. iiH apputi<]a){(W at itn Hides, two oviil Hli^htly routirvoil inaHS(\s, 'J()">in loii^ and about half uh broa<l in tli« niiddlo. Upon tlio Hli);htet4t pii^NHtiiv, a liijiiid ^uhLoh from tlio two uxcrutory |>oros, which open at tlio HidoH of tlu* iiiiurt at tho bottom of wcll-niark«id roccssoH. TIiIh Hiilistaiico in vory viMcid, of arosy- yollow color, and cxtroincly fetid ; it in almost entirvly Noliiblo in nulidinric ether, and contains nnmoroitH fatty particloH and opitholial reinains. The two glands aro einbeddod In adipimo tissue, and entirely covereil with a miiHciilar tunic arisinj; from th<^ anal mnscdes, especially the retractor. The secretory ]iortion is of the same general charact«H' as in allied species ; the tissue envelo[>ing the ciils-ile-sac is princiiially o. laminated filircs, strength- ened, however, by elastic ones; tim diameter of the ciils-de-sac is from (•.(••! to O.On""". On longitudinal si^ction of the gland, the centre is seen to be occu- pied by a large reservoir lined with a delicate brownish membrane, much as in other Carnivores. The product of si^cretion is turned by a small op(Mi- iiig into a rattier narrow duct, leading to the external uriliuo already indi- cated. 2. (llandH of the mihraiidal pouch. — In tlio Badger, as in the Porcin atid doir.esticatcd ('arnivonvs, the rectum is attached to the sacrum and tiist coc- cygeal bon<!S by a strong mnsnular band, which, in the present species, leaves the rectum at a point 'i.'>'"'" from the insertion of the anal glands, at an angle of about (iU'-' from the axis of the intestine, and proct^'ds to its inst^r- tion uiioii the sacro-coc(!ygcal bones. At a ptiint in front of (he insertion of this miiHcl<< is Ibund a. dei^fily bilobate mass, apparently formed of two sepa- rate glands, each of oval shape, and appoHtnl along a (hit internal face, the exterior surface being convex and lobate ; but (he organ is really single, as it has but one receptacle for the product of all the follicular portion of the a|iparatus. This is a new glandular organ peculiar to the coccygeal re<rion. Each moiety niiiasurosiil""" in depth with an averag" iireadth of U"""; (or the rest, they are embedded in abundant adipose tissue, and (he siirfiu^e is whitish and papillate. The secretory portion is about "i""" (hick ; it is com- posed of follicles, each comprising a large number of ciils-de-sac, of an aver- age diameter of U.U(i*""', lined with polyhedral epithelial cells. The product of H»(cretion is receiveil in an extremely large central sac, the surface of which is furnished throughout with numerous short, stiff, brownish hairs. Tliissac is distended with a yellowish fetid substance mixed with numerous hairs, like tlll^ viverreuin of the Civet. This central reservoir may be regarded as the beginning of the pocket which opens beneath the tail ; it uomiiuinicales freely, and, in fact, is part of one and the same cavity. In the female, it is observed that the end of the genital organs and the rec- tum form, by tlitdr union, a kind of cUiacal vestibule, in fnnit of which is the clitoris, with the urethra immediately below. lieneath this sexual por- tion of the vestibule is the oridco by which the rectum opens ex(eriially, after receiving at its sides the excretory ducts of the anal glands. Finally, back of these parts, is a broad transverse depression, — the Huh(-au*lal pouch ; it measures 2',\""" across. The anal glands are 1H""'< long and about '.'""" broad ; they are club-shaped, and (|uite similar to those of the male. To the Hiibcaudal pouch there is also attacluHl a secretory apparatus like that already described, but smaller; its lutenial structure is the same. 292 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. I I Briefly, then, the Badger possesses perinseal glands, remarkally pecnliar not only in their formation, but in their general relations, since the true anal glands are supplemented with another special glandular mass. This lattiM- ib not situated between the genitalia and tlaeanus, as in Fiverra, but between the tail and the anus, so that it is behind the latter and not in "front of it, like the scent-bags of tlie Civets. We cannot, however, deny their analogy, as seen in the central otiVity, clothed with hairs, and the bilobation of the gland ; but they differ in situation, in the nature of the product, and to a certain extent in histological structure, thus warranting, from the present standpoint, recognition of two quite distinct types. I >:-:: f. ( -- \---.\ ^J: .\,i:.i^: '.■!,■■■■ ;/.>:. Jv j'>; ■ .' t] :: , u Wi CHAPTER X. m ■ Subfamily LUTEINS: The Otters. General considerations — The genns Lutra — Generic characters and remarks— The North American Otter, Lutra canadensis — Synonymy — Habitat — Specific characters— Description of external characters — Description of the Hkiill and teeth — Variation in the skull — History of the species— Geo- graphical distribution — Habitsof Otters— Extinct species of North Amer- ican Otter. m ill IN the Otters, we encounter a fourth decided raodificatiou of the family characters iu adaptation to a highly aquatic mode of life. Among the true Mustelinw, iudee<l, we found some aquatic species, like the Mink, Piitorius vlson; but in none of the foregoing subfamilies is the structure modified to any great extent with reference to natatorial abilities. The short, broad, fully webbed feet of the Otters, the cylindrical body, the stout tapering tail, aad very turgid blunt muzzle result in an unmistakable physiognomy, as characteristic of the Lutrince as are the more important structural modifications of the skull aiul teeth. The Lutrince have been defined as Mustelidcc with the number of teeth equal in both jnws. Tliis expression, however, is equally applicable to the Etihydr'mce, or Sea Otter, iu which, very curiously, lack of one pair of under incisors brings about the same adjustment of total teeth of the two jaws, though the grinders are unequal in number. The Lutrince as here limited to the exclusion of Eiihyclris may be recognized as the only Mustelidce in which the number of grinding teeth (molars and premolars together) is the same in both jaws, the formula being J'^-yl^; ^^•^'^TS' '^''^ ^^^^^ of the teeth is \l = 36. The upper molar is large and quadrate iu shape. '■■-'" - .-•s^::-vr- -:-■■<■;.;;. .v -.-^^;:■,;v,. After throwing out the very different geuns Enhydris as type of a separate subfamily, the Lutrincv still include a number of well-marked genera. Of these, Lutra is the principal genus, 293 f I 294 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. E i with the greater number of species and most general distribn- tiou, occurring in both hemispheres. !Nearl} Hied genera, by some considered only as subgenera, aio ' d chiefly ujmn modifications of the claws, which, in somt the Old World Otters, are small, rudimentary, or even wanting, as in Lep- ionyx and Aonyx. The most remarkable genus is the South American Pterura or Pteronura, peculiar in the lateral dilata- tion of the tail. Lutra itself is the only North American genus of the sub- family, our species having been unnecessarily, if not unwarrant- ably, distiuguis *>y generic name from the European type of Lutra. The Genus LUTRA. (Linn.) Grxeuic chakacters. — Dental formula: i. 3-3 , j,m. *J^ 3 — 3 ' ^' 1 — 1 ' J'"" 3_3 m. ^^;=:Jy='3G. Teeth of ordinary carnivorous pattern. Molar of upper jaw large, quadrate. Back upper premolar with a large internal shelf, mak- ing the contour of the whole crown triangular. Skull much depressed and flattened on top, the dorsal outline more or less nearly straight and hori- zontal ; rostrum extremely short, bringing the foro ends of the nasals nearly opposite the anterior root of the zygoma, the sides of the rostrum erect, the top flat. Cerebral portion of the skull swollen backward, with strongly con- vex lateral outline. Postorbital processes variable (well developed in some species, as in the North American, wanting iu others). Anteorbital foramen very large, bounded above by a slender bridge of bone. Posterior nares throwu into oue conduit." Palate extending far back of molars. Ptery- goids strongly hamulate. Body stout, but lengthened and cylindrical ; muzzle very obtuse; ears very small. Feet short, broad, naked, or partly hairy ou the palm and sole, the digits full-webbed. Tail long, tapering, cylin- dricodepressed, but without special lateral dilatatiou. Claws, though small, well formed. Pelage without striking cc. r-contrasta. Many of the foregoing expressions are applicable to the sub- family at large, as well as to the present genus. Particular points of Lutra proper are the presence of perfect claws, iu comparison with their absence or rudimentary condition in some other genera, and the lack of special dilatation of the tail. The uniformity of coloration and the great individual varia- bility iu size throughout this genus render the determination of the species difficult. The points which I have found most available in specific diagnosis, when cranial and dental charac- ters fail, are, the size and shape of the nose-pad and the con- * In some species, there is an incomplete septum extending further back than iu Mimtdinw, but never, so far as I know, to the very end of the bony palate, us in Mephitinw and Melinm. SYNONYMY OP LUTEA CANADENSIS. 295 (lition of fiirriiiess or nakedness of the soles, together with the special tuberculation of the latter. The various American species may readily be determined by attending to these par- ticulars. There is but a single well-determined North American species of this genus. This is so distinct from the European, with which it was long confounded, that 1 am tempted to place it in a different subgenus, grounded on various cranial peculiarities that mijL;ht be enp-:;-c:'ited, and only refrain from so doing in my ignorabce of what intermediate forms of crania other species may present to connect the extremes seen in L. vulgaris and L. canadensis. Other American species agree closely with L. canadensis in cranial characters ; and it is not improbable that the species of this hemisphere may all be subgenerically different from those of the Old World. I shall, however, con- sider them as simply iu^ra. Besides L. canadensis, moreover, there is a perfectly distinct Mexican species, Lutra californica of Gray (not of Baird), which is said, and I believe correctly, to extend into the United States along the Pacific side. I think it will be found, as already supposed by some, to be very extensively dispersed along the western shores of North, Middle and South America. It appears to be as distinct from the L. brasiliensis as it is from L, canadensis, and I have no doubt will ultimately be estab- lished as a second good species of Otter of the United States, though under a name long prior to that imposed by Gray. But as I have seen only Mexican skins of this animal, I cannot now introduce it to our fauna. The point is discussed beyond. 1 ;i\ The Mortli American Otter. liUtra cnnadensis. Plate XVII. MuNtela ranadenHls, Turton, S. N. 1. 1806, 57 (not ifiutela eanadensif id. ibid. SP, which is M. pennanti, the I'ekan. Not of Schrobor uor of Brxlebon n' •■ of authors). lutra ranadenfilN, "F. Cuo. Diet. So. Nat. xxvii, 18-23, 242.- fn. llfj. Diet. Class, ix. !>20."— J. Sab. App Frankl. Jourii. 1823, (i:>X—Les». Man. 1827, 154, no. 4H.—0rif. An. Kingd. V. 1827, 1.30, no. 3&i.— Finch. Syn. 1829, 225.— TJicft. F. B.. A. i. 1829, 57, no. 20.~Einm(m», "K«'p. Quad. Mass. 183^25"; Uup. Quad. Mass. 1840, 46.— ijicfc. ZoiJl. Voy. Uueehoy, 1839, i.— Maxim, lleiso N. Am. i. 1839, 211 ; Arch. Nalnrg. 1861, 236; Verz. N. A. Sauf;. 1862, 60, pi. 8, f. 6 (08 penis).- /)« Kay, N. T. Zool. i. 1849, 39, pi. 3, f. 1, pi. 33. f. 1, 3, 3 (»knl\}.—Liniiley, Am. Jonrn. Soi. xliii. 1842, —.—Schiiu, Syn. i. 1844, 34!), no. 5.— And. <e Jiach. Q. N. A. il. 1851, 3, pi, 51.— TToodA. SitKreaves's Rep. 18.'i3, Ai.—Kenn. Tr. Illinois ARric. Soc. for 1853-4, 1855, 578.-(?ie6«J, Siiiig. Itf.-i^ 789.— lieenlty, Geol. Capu May, 1«57, Vil.— lid. ?J. N. A. 1857. 184, pi. 38, f. a, b, c, d, e.— killings, Cauad. Nut. and Ueol. i. 1857, iiii.—SainueU, Ninth Ann. Uep. Mass. Aj<rio. I if 296 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 11 ■i) ^11 I for IPfil, 1?62, UO.—ITnyd. Tr. Amer. Pliil. Soc. xii. 18fi2, U[i.-Hall, Catmd. Nat. and Geol. vi. 1801, Sif?.— iJo«», Caiiad. Nat. and Geol. vi. ISfil, SH.—Barnston, Canad. Nat. and Geol. viii. 1863, , f. —.—Oerr. Cat. Bones Br. Mus. 18fi2. \0l.— Allen, Vr. Bost. Soc. xiii. 1869, 183.— BuJJ. M. C. Z. i. 1H6'J, 178; ii. 1871, 109 (Florida).— (JiJpin, Proc. and Tr. N. Scotia Inst ii. 1870, m.—All. Hull. E»8. Inst. tI. 1874, 46, 63 (Kuiisan and Utali).— Ar/ics, Bull. Minn. Acad. Nat. Sci. 1874, m.—Oouet <£• Tarrow, Zoiil. Espl. W. 100 Morid. v. 1875, 63.— Allen, Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Terr. vol. ii. no. 4, 1876, 331 (skull). llltra canadciiNiH var., Aud.d Bach. Q. N. A. ill. 1853, 97, pi. 122 (figure of Gray's typo of Lalaxina inollin). Lntax canadenHl8, Orai/, P. Z. S. 186.5, 133,- Cat. Cam. Br. Mus. 1869, — . Lutra vuleariH var. canadenHis, Wagn. Suppl. Schreber, ii. 1841, 256. MuMtela hiidsoniru, "LacepMe". lutra hiidsonica, F. Cw. Snppl. Biiflfon, 1. 1831, 194. flutra graclliis, Oken, Lebrb. Naturg. Th. iii. Abth. ii. 1810, 986<"Staatenland,Iu8el an Anierika boi New- York"). Intra braNlltcnRis, Desm. Manim. i. 1820, 188 (in part).— ITar;. Fn. A.ner. 1825, 71 (in part).— Godm. Am. N. H. i. 1831, 222, pi. — , f. 2 (in part).— T/iowip-. N. H. Vermont, 1853, 33. intra lutUXtna, F. Cm. "Diet. Sc. Nat. xxvii. 1823, 242"; Suppl. Button,!. 1831, 203.— "7«. Omf. Diet. Class. ix.R-iO."— Griff. An. Killed, v. 1827, 131, no. 364.— Le»«. Man. 1827, 154, no. 416 —Fisc;*. Syn. 1829, 226, no. 4.— i>e Eay, N. Y. Zofil. 1. 1842, il.—Schinz, Syn. i. 1844, 350. latax lalaxina, Gray, Ann. Mag. N. n. i. 1837, 119. Lataxina mollis, Gray, List Mamm. Br. Mus, 1843, 70 (type figured by Aud. & Bach. I. e.). Lutra amcricana, Wi/man, Pr. Bost. Soc. ii. 1847, 249 (on articulation of mandible). Lutra californica, lid. M. N. A. 1857, Idl.—Xewb. P. R. R. Rep. vi. 1857, 42.— Coop. <£ Suck. N. H. W. T. 1860, 115. (Probably not of Gray.) intra destructor, Barnst. Canad. Nat. and Geol. viii. 1863, 147, f. — (Lake Superior). iOUtre du Canada, Buff. "Hist. Nat. xiii. -^, .328, 326, pi. 44 (4to ed.); ed. Pillot. xv. p. SQ".—Fr.Ouv.l.c. iontre de la Caroline, F. Cuv. l.e. ioutre d'Am^rlqne, Cuv. (in part; unites the Braz.ilian species). Common Otter, Pennant, Arct. Zoill. i. 1784, 86, no. 34 (in part; unites the European). land Otter, Warden, United States, i. 1819, 206. American Otte?*, Godman, I. c, Baird, I. c, and of authors. Canada Otter, Sabine. Rich. I. c, Aud. & Bach. I. c, and of autliors. (Otter, see Martens, Zool. Gart. xi. 1870, 279 ; philological.) Neekeek, Oree Indiana. ■ Hab. — North America at large, being rather sparingly distributed over most of the waters of the continent. Said to occur iu Central America (Costa Rica, v. Frantzius). Specific ciiaractkhs.* — Orbits well defined by prominent conical post- orbital processes, the distance between the tips of which is one-half or more of the intermastoid width of the skull. Inner depressed moiety of posterior upper premolar as large and nearly as long as the main outer moiety ; gen- eral dentition strong. Naked nasal pad large (upward of an inch long or broad iu full-grown individuals), extending back above the nostrils in a /^-shaped outline, reaching below the nostrils with a straight transverse border, which sometimes sends a slight spur part way down the median line of the lip. Palms hairy between the digits, isolating the individual bald digital bulbs, and having an isolated patch or carpal peninsula of hair posteriorly. Soles hairy between the digits, isolating the individual digital bulbs, much encroached upon by hair from behind, aud having three or four peculiar small circular elevated callosities arranged around the posterior * Drawn up with special reference to antithesis with L, vtilgarit of Europe. ■n EXTERNAL CHARACTERS OF LUTRA CANDADENSIS. 297 border of the main bald plautar surface. (Form, stature, and coloration not diagnostic.) Finally attaining a total length of four feet or more; liver- brown, with purplish gl^ss, i.a)er on the under surface of the head, throat, and breast. Description of external characters.* This Otter shares the well-known form common to most species of the genus — the massive columnar body, without con- striction of neck, small globose head, small eyes and ears, long taper tail, short stout limbs, and broad webbed feet, with close- set glossy fur and abundant woolly under-fur. Externally, the special form of the nose-pgd and the state of furring of the palms and soles are the chief, if i.^ot the sole, characters dis- tinguishing the species from several of its congeners. The nose-pad is remarkably well developed — almost as much so as in Mnhydris — perfectly bald, and in adult life tessellated by subdivision into very numerous small flat-topped papilhe. In general shape, it is an equilateral penta- gon, with one side inferior, horizontal, and straight Rcross, the next side on either hand irregular, owing to the shape of the nasal apertures, the two remaining sides coming togethc r obliquely above to a median acute angle, ligh above a line drawn across the tops of the nostrils. It somewhat resembles the ace of spades.t The lov dr horizontal border is below a line drawn across the bottom of the nos- trils; it sometimes sends down a small naked spur vertically towards the tip, sometimes not ; either of the borders not oc- cupied by the nostrils may be a little convex or a little con- cave, or sigmoidal. (In Lutra vulgaris, the uosepad is very small, and entirely contined between the nostrils. In a com- mon species of Mexico, said also to inhabit California, and in fact to extend from Chili to Kamtschatka, the nose-pad is con- siderably more developed than in L. vulgaris, yet much less so than in canadensis; the upper outline is deeply double-concave, like w^, and the lower outline, which does not reach below the nostrils, is concave, like ^. In the Saricov.ienne, Lutra hrasilien- * From various specimens in the National Museum from different portions of North America. tThe figure, coi>ied from Baird, is perhaps rather too near an ace-of-clubs shape; according to the dried specimens from which I drew my text, the top of the figure should be more pointed, and the lines thence rather less curved. Nose-pad of L. eanadenais, Nat. size. f 1 li i:tr m II 298 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. sis, with which ours used to be confounded, the nose-pad isde- scribed as divided by a line of hair coming down from above.) The upper border of the nostrils is in L. canadensis repre- sented by a ])roniinent overhanging bulb. The whiskers are short, stout, stift" bristles, arranged in numerous series ; others equally long and stiff grow from the sides of the chin near the angle of the mouth, and in front of the ears; others again spring over the eyes, and at the point of the chin. The eyes are small, far forward, nearer to the muzzle than to the ear. The ears are comparatively minute, with a thin, obtusely pointed conch, about as long as the surrounded fur, though they project somewhat, since the hairs lie flat ; the entrance of the meatus is completely occluded with fur. The tail is about half as long (more or less) aa the head and body ; regularly tapering from base to tip, elliptical in trans- verse section. The short fore limb is succeeded by a stout wrist and broad flat hand. The fingers are very short, and when divaricated their tips describe nearly a semicircle around the centre of the palm. The toes are almost completely webbed by membranes reaching out to about the middle of the conspicuous digital bulbs — the median digit is a little freer than the rest, the lateral ones most completely united. The hand is entirely hairy above; below, the bulbs of the digits are perfectly bald, but the con- necting membranes are more or less completely hairy, separat- ing the naked bulbs from each other an4 from the main palmar surface. After this hairy membranous surface comes the single large palmar pad, naked for the most part, but having poste- riorly a scant patch of hair, either isolated or connected by a hairy isthmus with the fur upon the wrist. In life, this main pad has no decided subdivision, though it sometimes shows cer- tain lines of impression which in the dried state may be exag- gerated into partitions. All the bald parts of the palm and the digital bulbs are tessellated with minute papillsB. The soles, in general, resemble the palms in the webbing of the toes by a hairy membrane, and encroachment from behind of hairs upon the main plantar pad ; but the shape of the hind foot is quite different. The 4th digit is much elongated, the 3d a little shorter, the 2d and 1st rapidly much graduated, with the 5th intermediate between the 3d and 2d. The terminal bulbs of the toes are naked and papillate, and completely iso- lated, by the hairiness of the iuterveuing membrciue, bjth from EXTERNAL CHARACTERS OF LUTRA CANADENSIS. 299 m each other and from the main plantar pad. This last la per- fectly naked and papillate for a broadly crescentic space, there being a central furry projection from behind. But the most remarkable feature, peculiar to this epeoles, as far as is known, is the presence of three or four small, definite, circular, elevated papillte, arranged along the posterior border of the naked space. I do not understand these singular structures, the appearance of which almost forces the presumption that they are the excre- tory pores of glandular organs beneath the integument. The claws are similar on both fore and hind feet. They are short, stout, compressed, much arched, rapidly contracted from the thick base to an acute point. Those iu front are rather larger, sharper, and more arched than the hinder ones. The fur of the Otter is of great beauty, very thick, close, short, and shining, an exaggeration, in correspondence with the completely aquatic habits of the animal, of that of the Mink or Muskrat. The longer hairs are stout and glistening ; the very copious under fur is lanuginous and lustreless. The sheen is only visible in its perfection when the pelt is viewed with the lay of the hairs; from the other direction the color is plain. As in most other species, the color is a rich dark liver-brown, or deep chestnut-brown above, more or less blackish or with a purplish gloss ; paler below, especially anteriorly, on the under l)art8 and sides of the head, the throat, and breast. This pale- ness is very variable, from a slight lightening of the general tone to a pale dull brownish or grayish, or even muddy white. The change is insensible, and there are no special markings anywhere. The roots of the hairs, even on the darkest parts of the pelage, are quite light brown, or often even dingy white, but the fur is so close that this does not appreciably affect the tone of the surface. The top of the tail is ordinarily the darkest part of the animal. The whiskers are partly colorless, partly brown. The nasal pad, palms, and soles are dark-colored. Beneath the root of the tail are two glandular eminences. Few animals vary more in stature than the Otter. Some individuals are, in round terms, twice as large and heavy as others apparently equally mature, and, at any rate, capable of reproduction. An average total length of full-grown individu- als is 4 to 4i feet ; some specimens, however, touching 5 feet, while others fall short of the first-named dimension. The spe- cies appears to grow several years after puberty. Nose to loot of tail 3 feet; tail 1^ feet; nose to eye I5 to 2 inches; nose ir -'f -4 M mf 300 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. to ear 3^ to 4 inches; etu* leas than an inch hij^h, and about as broad; fore foot trom wrist 3J inches; hind foot 4 inches; girth of body about 1 J feet; stature a foot or less; weight ordinarily 20 to 25 pounds. I have recognized no particular sexual dif- fereiices, though the female may, as usual in this family, aver- age smaller than the male. Comparison with allied species. (See plates XVII, XVIII.) The difterences between the present species and L. vulgaris of liJurope are decided and unmistakable, in fact much stronger than those usually subsisting in this intricate group, where recognition of species is rendered difficult by similarity in form and color. Some of the characters of L. vulgaris have been already noted. It is a much smaller animal ; the nasal pad is reduced to a small bald spot strictly confined betwixt the nos- trils ; and there is uo hair on the soles or palms. The cranial characters are still stronger. A great many details of differ- ence that might be adduced may be summed in the stat<'ment that the skull of L. vulgaris is less massive, narrower for its leagth, and with weaker dentition. The prominent peculiari- ties are these : There are no decided postorbital processes defining the orbit above. The postorbital constriction is great, the skull being at this point less than one-fourth as broad as it is across the mastoids, instead of nearly one-third such measurement, as in L. canadensis. The zygomatic width is contained one and four-fifth times in the total length, instead of only about one and two-fifths, as in L. canadensis. The ros- trum is decidedly more produced and narrower, and the nasal bones are of a correspondingly different shape. The inner spur of the posterior upper premolar in L. vulgaris is a semi- circle, only about half as long as the tooth ; in L. canaden- sis, the same part of this tooth is developed along the whole inner border of the main moiety. There are other minor den- tal peculiarities. (Compare Plates XVII and XVIII.) A skull of the Mexican Otter above mentioned as entirely distinct from L. canadensis, and which is probably the species named L. cali/ornica by Gray (but certainly not the one so called by Baird), is of the same general character £vs that of L, canadensis, in fact presents no very strong points of differ- ence. The inner part of the back upper premolar, however, is rather triangular than quadrate, lacking the bulge of the pos- terior part, conspicuous in L. canadensis, which causes the part COMPARISONS OP OTTERS. 301 to be closely apposed to the succeeding molar, wberetis in this ^Mexican example there is a decided angular interval at the .same place. The point is difficult of expression on paper, but is readily perceived when the specimens are laid together. The whole skull is rather broad and massive. The same characters of skull and teeth are witnessed in a large series of Otters' skulls before me from the coast of Alaska and some of the adjacent islands. The skulls, unfortunately, are unaccompanied by skins; but they lead me to suspect that thej' may be those of an animal the same as the Mexican species. This would accord with the ascribed range of the species (from Chili to Eamtschatka); but the point cannot be determined until skins are examined from this region, as the skulls alone do not furnish grounds for separation. The Mex- ican animal is entirely distinct, as already noted, in the smaller and differently shaped nose-pad, perfectly naked palms and soles, and absence of the peculiar callosities seen on the latter in L. canadensis. If the ascribed range of this Otter prove to hold, we have, in North America, a second perfectly good species, the characters and supposed synonymy of which are presented in the accompanying foot-note.* *"lulrii feUna. Molina, Hist Nat. Chili." "Lutra Chllensis, Bennett, Proc. Zoiil. S. ii, 1832, p. l."—Tschudi, Fn. Peru. 1844-46, 113. "Lfitra plateiisis, WaUrh. Zoiil. Voy. Beagle, i. 2i.—D'0rbig. Voy. Amur. M6iid." Liitra californira, Gray, Mag. Nat. Hist. i. 1835, 580, nee Baird. Kutria feUna, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, 128. Description (No. 9435, Mus. Smiths. Inst. $ , Jan. 15, 1869, Santa Efijj^enia, Tebuantepec, F. Snmichrast). — Of abont the size and with much the general appearance of L. canadensis. Tail very long, at least i the bead and body. Feet notably small. Nose-pad contracted, broader than deep, not deeper than the length of nostril, the lower border lightly concave, the upper border strongly doubly concave, with a central pointed projection upward, and similar acute produced lateral upper corners. Soles and palms naked, the palmar pad divided into^ posterior circular part and a larger anterior portion, the latter subdivided by several lines of impression. Soles without peculiar circular callosities, with several well-marked subdivisions by lines of impression. Color above a lighter and more chocolate-brown than in L. canadensis; below, decidedly paler and grayer brown than usual in L. cana- densis, becoming dingy whitish anteriorly. Estimated length 2^ feet to root of tail ; tail about 1| feet ; nose to ear perhaps 3^ inches ; fore foot, measured from beginning of the naked part, only 2^ inches ; hind foot about the same. Additional specimens from the same locality, with others from Orizaba and Central Guatemala, appear to be identical. A skin from Buenos Ayres is not materially diflerent, though the upper outline of the nose-pad is less de- cidedly double-concave above ; the size is less, the coloration lighter, and of a peculiar yellowish-brown on the under parts; the whole pelage is remark- ably harsh and hispid. ifl 302 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.T:. Dt'Hcription of the skull and teeth, (See Plato XVII.) The Irtti'ial view of the skull shows its most cluiracteristic shape ill its f^eneral depression, the tlatnesaon top, and the short- ness of the blunt muzzle. In the adult, the dors.il profile, from oceipiit to end of imsals, approximates to a straight line; in .younger examples, the frontal outline is also about straight, but the cranial ixution arches a little, and then curves (Town to the occiput. The profile of the nasal orifice is sinuous, convex abtive, concave below. The rostrum is only about one-fifth of the total length of the skull. The anteorbital foramen is widely open, obliquely elliptical iu shape, and only bridged over by a slender process of the root of the zygoma ; its obliquity of posi- tion is so great that, viewed from above, it presents within the orbit instead of before it. The orbit is small, subclrcular, and well defined, not only by an acuie malar process of the zygoma, but by a very prominent supraorbital process, these two to- gether completing more than two-thirds of the circumference of a circle. The zygoma is not very strong; it is moderately arched upward, with quite an abrupt rise near the middle, rather than a regular general curve. The glenoid appears rather far forward on its posterior root, i'he orifice of the meatus audi- torius is small, and high up in a deep recess between the glenoid and mastoid ; the latter is notably large and prominent. Viewed from above, the skull displays the great brevity and obtuseuess of the rostrum already mentioned. This seems to be due, in a measure at least, to the anterior position of the orbits, and the forward encroachment of the broad flat anterior roots of the zygoma; other topographical points are less dif- ferent from an ordinary Musteline type. The sides of the ros- trum are about parallel, its width is fully equal to its length. Just in front of the orbital brim, at its upper corner, is seen a well-marked depression. The interorbital area is a broad ele- vated tablet, perfectly smooth and flat, bounded behind by the forks of the sagittal crest, proceeding in curved lines from the termination of the sagittal crest to the supraorbital processes. All the surface of the skull behind these is roughened by muscular impressions. Supraorbital processes are much more largely developed than usual, acute, directly transverse. The skull is nery narrow just behind these, the point of greatest constriction being decidedly in advance of the middle of the skull. From this point backward, the skull bulges considvirably, '^m SKULL OF LUTRA CANADENSIS. 303 with a goneral ovoidal contour. The occipital crest ia iiioder' atdy developed ; the line of contour it repre8ent.s is eniargi'iate on the middle line, then strongly convex on eattli side, thence about straight to itH teruiiiuition at the nuiHtnidH. There is rarely, if ever, even in the oldest skulls, a decided sagittal crest, the median line being in fact rather a groove, at least behind ; in front, however, there is a slight raised lino. In young animals, there are several parallel grooves and stria; uloug the median line. . The occipital face of the skull is in general flat, with various muscular irregularities, curving around laterally to the mastoid region. It is bounded above by the occipital crest, the general contour of which, in this view, resembles the dorsal profile of a military chapoau. The condyles are large, and the region around the foramen magnum is prominent; it descends far below the level of the slight obtuse paroccipitals, the apices of which fall on the level of a line drawn from the mastoid to the middle of the foramen magnum. The articular surfaces of the con* dyles are obliquely oval, with no outward prolongation, but, on the contrary, an extension toward the median line till ihey nearly meet each other beneath the foramen magnum. This aperture, in general outline, is transversely elliptical, broader than deep, with a strong emarginatiou posteriorly. The zygomatic width of the skull, best viewed from below, is seen to be not much less than three-fourths the total length (2.90 X 4.2U inches for example) ; the intermastoid width is about three-fifths the leugth. The zygomata are widest apart behind, thenco approximately moderately in a nearly straight line. The alveolar borders of the palate are about parallel anteriorly, and, though divergent behind, this is mostly due to the size of the back teeth themselves, the general palatal mar- gins inside the teeth being parallel. The palate extends far back of the last molars (not so far, however, as in Taxidea), ending about halfway to the ends of the pterygoids. The incisive foramina, very short and broadly oval, are directly be- tween the canines. The emarginatiou between the pterygoids is broad, and ends with a rounded outline (with a median process or median emarginatiou indifferently); these bones are laminar, smooth inside, thickened with various muscular ridges outside, end in long hamular processes. The glenoid fossa is deep; it develops a broad overlapping shelf at its inner back corner, and a similar but slighter one at the outer anterior corner, 304 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. ii! ■:. together frequently sufficient, in old individuals, to lock the jaw. The posterior 'lares are only separated by a vertical median septum for a short distance ; they debouch together at the edge of tlie bony palate as a single orifice, as in Afustelidw generally, but not as in Taxidea (q. v.). The bullfe osscjb are tiattish, about as in Mephltincc, strongly contrasting in this re- s[)ect with Miistelinw and Melincc. They are most vaulted at the apteroiuternal angle ; exteriorly they are produced into a Jong slender tubular meatus. The basilar space betwixt these periotic bones is very broad, with its sides little convergent anteriorly. The foramen hicerum posterius sometimes appears as several distinct circular foramina through which the cranial nerves respectively emerge separately, a state I have not noticed elsewhere in the family, though it may occur ; it is analogous to the division of the auteorbital foramen frequently seen in the Skunks. This state of the lacerate fissure is usuallj' un- symmetrical; that is, it is not alike on both sides cf the same skull. The bones of the skull are early confluent in Lutra. Thus even the nasal sutures, usually among the most persistent in ]i[usteUda\ are obliterated at an age when the skull is still thin and i)apery. In a very young specimen in which the bones are still mostly distinct, I observe the following disposition of the sutures: The nasals are received behind in a shallow semi- circular recess of the frontal; their sides are approximately parallel; the intermaxillary and maxillary form each about half of the rest of the nasal boundary. The maxillary ends about opposite the middle of the orbit ; there is but a begi,nning of wedging of a process of the frontal between the nasal and superior maxillary (cf. Taxidea). The coronal suture is ex- extremely irregular; it lies altogether back of a line drawn across the apices of the ccronoid processes when the jaw is in hHu. Nearly all the dome of the cranium is parietal, the squamosal forming only a low irregular border along the side, not a fourth of au inch above the root of the zygoma, though it occupies much surface beneath the skull. Owing to the width of the glenoid, it is entirely separate from the sphenoid. Tlie occipital crest is also chiefly parietal, as the lambdoidal suture passes across it to gain the back aspect of the skull at a point nearer tc the median line than to the mastoid. The latter is a sizable element, wedged between the parietal and squamosal above, periotic below and in front, and a small piece of the SKULL OF LUTRA CANADENSIS. 305 oc'Mpital behind; it is already partly contUieiit with the periotic. The basilar suture is distinct, directly transverse, near the an- terior end of the bulhe. Sijnilarly, the spheno-vomerine suture is open ; it appears back of the end of the palate. The ptery- goids arc already lost in the sphenoid, but the pterygo palatal suture is evident, ojjposite the spheno-vomerine. The contour of the palatine bones may be traced all around, though their p datal plates are fused with each other. The niaxillopalatine suture is opposite the anterior portion of the last premolar. The palatal plate extends far backward, as already twice indicated la noticing other points, and its orbital portion curves over into the temporal fossa, though it forms but an insignificant portion of the orbit i)roper, being only prolonged by a slight i)rocess fairly into the orbit. The orbito sphenoid remains instruct- ively distinct from all surroundings, bounded Jibove and in front by the frontal, behind and partly below by the alisj)he- noid, for the rest below by the palatal. The lachrymal is similarly distinct, except anteriorly. The malar is seen to form most of the zygomatic arch ; though the pointed process of the squamosal overlies it nearly- halfway, its bevelled posterior extremity reaches almost to the glenoid fossa ; its anterior ex- tremity runs along on top the maxillary to the lachrymal, form- ing an upper layer of the bridge over the anteorbital foi-amen. The palatal plates of the intermaxillaries extend in a V past the canines to a point on the median line opposite the second premolar; the incisive foramina are not pierced entirely in these bones, their posterior periphery being completed by a nick in the corresponding border of the palatal plate of the superior maxillary. Keturning to the adult skulls for examination of the mandi- ble, we find that this bone has a stout thick ramus, with long slanting symphysis, an irregular continuous curve froui incisors to angle, with a slight emarginatiou just in advance of the latter, an«l a rather low broad obtuse coronoid, the front border of which is nearly straight and verti(!al, the posterit)r border curving forward with quite an elbow to the apex. The condyle is wide across, but narrow in the other direction; it slants oblique both to the horizontal and vertical plane, its inner end being both higher and further back than the other. There is a deep notch between the condyle and angle of the jaw, which last is not exllected. The miiscular impression on the outside of the jaw is, as usual, well marked ; it ends below in a rounded* outline beneath the list molar. 20 M .it. ■if li ', M 30G NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. For tbe deutitiou, a .voung subject is preferably selected, iu which the teeth are fully formed but entirely unworn. The back upper molar is quadrate in general contour, as in Mephi- iimv {cf. Melbuvj Mustcllncv), but rather lozenge-shaped, the inner posterior and outer anterior corners being less than a right angle, while the opposite ones are obtuse. All the corners are rounded ott". The tooth is, if anything, a little smaller than the next one. Its face presents an exterior, narrow, longitudinal, raised portion, in the closed jaw wholly external to the anterior lower molar. The exterior moiety is divided across by a sulcus ; its inner border is deeper and more trenchant than the outer ; its front part is also deeper than its back part. The rest of the face of the tooth is depressed, and presents a general slight excavation, with a very prominent acute tubercle antero-inte- riorly, and a general raised border; this portion is applied against the similar depressed back part of the anterior lower molar. The back upper premolar is essentially triangular iu contour, but with a bulge of the postero internal border, which nearly gives it a trapezoidal shape. It consists of the outer deep por- tion, made up of a single very prominent acute cusp, connected by a trenchant edge with a smaller posterior cusp, which ends the tooth behind, and of an inner low portion presenting a general slightly excavated surface marked with a slight central prominence and bounded by a well-developed sharp edge. The great develoi»ment of this inner moiety along the whole of the tooth is the strongest dental character of the species in com- parison with L. vuJffaris. The cuspidate part of the anterior lower molar abuts against this portion. The next upper pre- molar is a stout two-rooted conical cusp, with .\ cingulum and well-developed heel fore and aft, and, in addition, a postero- internal depressed part, against which the apex of the posterior lower premolar is apposed. The next premolar is altogether similar, but smaller. The anterior premolar is single-rooted, very small, and in peculiar position, altogetaer internal to the canine, with Mhich it is in close apposition; both of the ante- rior premolars, in fact, are in close relation with the canine ; the first one being thrown entirely to one side of the general dental axis. This small tooth not seldom aborts on one side ; but I have not happened to find it absent, altogether. The upper canines are not peculiar ; they are jjerhaps shorter and stouter for their length than usual in this family. The lateral pair of f incisors moderately surpass the rest iu size ; the others are on CRANIAL VARIATION IN LUTRA CANDENSIS. ;507 a par with each otlier ; the euds of all are obtusely rounded, without obvious lobation. The back lower molar is small aud circular, as usual ; it shows no special points. The front lower molar consists of an anterior tricuspidate half and posterior depressed portion. The three cusps are very prominent, subequal in size, forming a triangle, with one angle anterior and median, the two others posterior and lateral ; the posterointernal cusp is rather smaller than the two others, the ridge connecting which forms the trenchant edge of the tooth. The back part of tlie tooth is a simple de- pression, with raised periphery, which, at its outer part, is twice nicked, with slight marginal cusps as a consequence. The pos- terior premolar is a stout conical cusp, well heeled fore and aft, with a secondary cusp half-way up its back border, as in Taxldea. The next premolar is smaller, but similar, except in lacking the secondary cusp. The front premolar is again simi- lar, but smaller still, and w ithout an anterior heel, being closely apposed to the canine. The latter is short, very stout, aud much curved. The inferior incisors are much crowded and very irregular, even more so than in Mmtclinw, offering an interesting approach to the condition which culminates in Enhydris in the disappearance of one pair. The outer pair are moderately larger than the rest ; the next pair — the middle tooth on each side — set almost entirely back of the general incisor plane ; they are quite deep, though little of their face appears in front. The middle pair are narrow, and closely approximated. The ends of the outer pair are lobate ; of the others, not appreciably so. Vfiriations i>i the alcidl of the Otter. As in other cases, I present under this head Mr. J. A. Allen's measurements and comments, extracted from the paper above cited in the synonymy : — " Specimens of this species from northern and southern locali- ties do not differ materially in size ; skulls from Newfoundland, Maine, Lake Superior, Washington, and Georgia agreeing very closely in dimensions. In a series of eighteen (mainly from northern localities), nine attain or exceed a length of 4.25, and three reach 4.50, while two only fall as low as 4.00. Seven speci- mens from the vicinity of Lake Umbagog, Maine, (in Mus. Corap. Zoiil.) average 4.28 in length and 2.93 in width ; two of these reach 4.50 in length and two fall slightly below 4.00 (3.90 and 3.97). Two specimens from Washington, D. C, have a ■!. l 308 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. length respectively' of 4.45 and 4.50; oue specimen from Saint Simon's Island, Georgia, is nearly as large (4.32), while a Fort Cobb specimen has a length of 4.22. These four are the only ones from very southerly i)oints. Four other specimens, from as many localities, range from 4.05 to 4.15; while three speci- mens from Newfoundland range from 4.03 to 4.25. While these specimens are too few to warrant positive conclusions as to geographical variations, they seem to point to a great constancy of size throughout a wide range of latitude." Menaiirements of eii/hteen skulls of Luru.i canadkxsis. Locality. s 4.20 4.03 4.15 4.33 4.40 4.27 4.50 3.97 3.96 4.50 4.15 4.25 4.05 4.06 4.22 4.50 4.45 4.32 501 498 Newfoundlan'il do 2.75 2. 53 500 do 2 57 490 do 2 90 555 Umbazos Lake, Maine 3.00 556 do 2. 85 557 do 2.00 559 do 2.7(1 558 do 2. 7(1 489 do 3.00 4446 Lake Superior 2. 85 11H39 2247 13671 Fort Bertlwld, Dak Saranac Lake, N . Y Bayfield, Wis. 2. Hi 2. 57 2.8-2 8097 Fort Cobb, Iiid. Ter 2.87 Washington, 1). C 2. 95 433 do , 3142 Saint Simon's Island, Georgia 2. 7o History of the species. The existence of a true Otter in North America was known to the earliest systematic writers. Thus, Buflfou described an Otter from Canada, noting its larger size in comparison with the European species, and a difference in the color of the fur. But all the authors of the last century i)ersisted in confounding it with either the European L. vulf/aris, or with the South Amer- ican Carigueibeju, Sarigovion, or Saricovienne, both totally distinct. Pennant had also a certain "Slender Otter" of North America, which became a Lutra gracilis* of authors, and may ' lu establishing, in 1816, tlie {^emis I'lisa for the Sea Otter, afterward called Enhydra by Fleming, Oken has two species (Lehrb. Naturj;. ISKi, p. 98G) : one of these, which he calls Pusa orientalis, is Enhydra marina of authors ; iu the other, L. gracilis, we see the old " Slender Otter " of Pen- nant, Luira gracilis Shaw, referred by Fisclier with a query to his genus Enydris {^^Enliydra Flem.). Pennant's beast came from "Statenland"; Oken says "Staatenlaiid, Insel an Anierika hd New-York". If he means by thi.s iivhat is known now as Staten Island, New York, it would make his animal to be Lutra (anadensis ; perhaps, however, his geography was at fault. HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN OTTER. 309 or may uot have been the present species. The error of con- founding the species witli that of Europe was refuted before the history of our species had been disentangled from that of lie Brazilian Otter, with which ours was confounded by vari- ous French, and even American, writers, until a comparatively late period. The first binomial name I have found tor this species is the Mustela canadensis of Turton, p. 57.* This name, which ap- pears to have been overlooked, I consider undoubtedly based upon the North American species; it consequently anticipates the name Lutra canadensis bestowed in 1823 by Sabine, who is usually quoted as tbe authority for our species. In the same year, Fr. Cuvier is said to have separated the Canada Otter from that of South America, and to have also described as distinct a second North American species, under the name of Lutra la- tajoina, which became current with several writers. A Lataxina mollis was described by J. E. Gray in 1843, and his type-speci- men was afterward figured by Audubon and Bachmau as a variety of L. canadensis. But it is certain that neither of these nataes indicates anything different from the common North Amercan species. Of a certain ^'Mustcld hudsonica Lact'pede", quoted by some autliors as pertaining to our Otter, I know nothing. Prof. Wyman; in an article on the articulation of the jaw, above cited, named our species Lutra americana in 1847. * In (luoting Sabiue as the authority for the naiiio "canarfews/s", previous compilers of the synonymy of this species appear to liave altogether over- looked the much earlier "Miwtela cunadensia" of Turton's English version of the Systema Xdturw, p. Tu. As Turton gives no references, I ara uncertain whether or not he is the originator of the name, as the animal was known before his time; but this is the earliest nse of the name in binomial nomen- clature that I have found, Turton, like Pennant and others of his prede- cessors, refers to the American Otter in connection with the European species; but this '' MmteJa caiiadennin" of his (p. 57) is additional to his other notice of Mmtda lutra as an Inhabitant of Europe, Asia, and America. The diagnosis is merely "black; fur smooth; tail long, taper; inhabits North America", which would do very well for the true Mnsfela canadensis or M. pennanti (Pekan, Fisher) ; but it is as pertinent as many of his diagnoses, and further fixed by its coming under his section "A. Hind feet palmate. Otters", as opposed to his " B. Feet cleft. Weasels". Undor head of the latter, he has, on page 59, another "J/«s^t7(( caiiudensh ", which is the animal so named by Schreber, the Pekan, Turton's double employ of the same name for two entirely different animals is to be carefully noted to prevent confusion of ([notations. '^Mimlela ranadcnuts, Turton, p. .')7 " is Littra cana- densis. " Mnstela Cfinadensis, Tnrton, \^. it'J" is Mnxlela cunndemtis. ■' I ■ ,i:h" ■m m 310 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTKLID.E. Two lately introduced names require special notice : these are Lutra californica Baird {nee Gray) and Lntra destructor Barnston. The specimen which Prof. Baird referred incor- rectly to L. californica of Gray, taken by Dr. Newberry in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, is now before me. The palms and soles are rather less hairy than is usual in L. canadensis; still they are decidedly furred between the digits of both feet ; the soles show the curious callosities diagnostic of L. canaden- sis, and the characteristic large nasal pad of L. canadensis is well exhibited. Other Otters from the same region show as fully furred feet as any from the Eastern States, and the pecu- liarities of tlie one from the Cascade Mountains can only bo regarded as those of an individual, within the normal range of variation of L. canadensis, to which it must unquestionably be referred. Prof. Baird indeed separated it with much evi- dent hesitation, and mainly because it was supposed (though erroneously) to represent a species already instituted by an- other author {of. op. cit. p. 188). /Ilie true californica of Gray is elsewhere discussed. The Lntra destructor is represented in the National Museum by specimens received from Mr. Barnston as typical examples of his supposed species. They are rather smaller than usual, and perhaps not full-grown, even though already in breeding condi- tion ; but they possess all the essential specific characters of L. canadensis, to which I have not the slightest hesitation in referring them. L. canadensis is so strongly marked a species in certain respects, already fully detailed, that there is no diffi- culty in recognizing it, notwithstanding its great variability in non-essential particulars. The skin and skull of L. destructor exhibit nothing beyond the normal range of variation of L. canadensis. Geographical distribution. The Otter is generally distributed over North America, ap- parently nowhere in great abundance, yet absolutely wanting in few, if any, localities adapted to its habits. Being a shy and rather solitary animal, it is among those that decrease rapidly in numbers with the settling of a country ; but its very wildness, together with its wariness and sagacity, stands between it and total extirpation, even in populous districts; while the nature of its haunts further conduces to its persistence. Writing about twenty-five years ago, Mr. Audubon speaks of the Otter as being no lonj;er found abundantly in many parts of the 'li-i DISTRIBUTIOX OF THE AMERICAN OTTER. 311 country where it was formerly numerous, and as having beea nearly extirpated in the Atlantic States east of ^Maryland. Such statement, however, seems stronger than the facts would warrant ; for Mr. Allen speaks of the animal as still "not rare" in Massachusetts as late as ISGD, he having known of some half dozen specimens which were taken near Springfield during the ten preceding years. The "Eastern Shore "of Maryland appears to have always been a favorite locality with the Otter; Audubon specially mentions this region, and specimens are still taken there or in other spots along the Potomac, not far from Washington City. The last one I saw from this region was brought freshly killed to the Smithsonian Institution in 1874. Northerly the Otter extends, according to llichardson, nearly to the Arctic Ocean, along the Mackenzie and other rivers; and it also inhabits the northern- most system of lakes. In the times of the author just men- tioned, some seven or eight thousand pelts* were annually ex- ported from British America to England, and the trade does not appear to have decreased to this day, for I find among the quotations of sales of Otters within two or three years by tie Hudson's Bay Company, in London, over eleven thousand set down for 1873. If the skulls, unaccompanied by skins, which I have examined from Alaska, are really of this species, the Otter is abundant in that new portion of United States ter- ritory. According to Messrs. Gibbs and Suckley, writing in 1859, the Otter, called by the Yakima Indians nooJcshi, in- creased in abundance in Oregon and Washington with the decline of the fur trade, and were numerous in the waters of the Cascade Kange. Dr. J. S. Newberry (1857) attests the presence of the Otter " on all parts of the Pacific coast, both on the sea shore and in the inland streams and lakes. In the Cascade Mountains, where neither otter nor beaver had been much hunted, and where both were abundant, we found the beaver in the streams, but the otter in great abundance in the mountain lakes where the streams take tlieir rise. There they subsist on the western brook-trouts and a Corcgonus with a 'This stateiimnt, liowever, it should l)e obsorveil, is widely discrepant frim some others, iinlens only some special lines of importation are here re- ferred to hy the .uithor. Accordii)jr to Rell, there were imported into Eng- land, of the skins of the North American Otter, 713,115 in 1^30, 494,067 in l'*31, 'i'2'i,iO:\ in lH3i», thonjrh only 'r.\fi>ii) in 1833. "After September 1, 1K!3, the dnty was reduced from ^d. each to In. per hnndred, since which I believe the importation has <;rndnally increased."— (/)Vi^!s/i QuadrupcdK, lH37,p. 130).) II'! if ;?fe u ^1 ,i| P 1 312 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE craytisli, Astaciis Klamathcnm ... lu Klaiuath lakes the otter is quite eoinmoii .... their food is a la''P"» sucker {CatastomuH occidentaUs) and a species of Gila, both r slug- gish fish, and such as would be easily caught" — uni" i very active Salmonidw just mentioned. At the tirar .lich the writer refers, the i)elts were much more in dem uan those of the Beaver, $2.50 being paid in goods by the ludson's Bay Company at Vancouver, while Beaver brought only one-fifth as much. In the muddy waters of the Missouri Basin, not overstocked with fish, the Otter seems to exist but sparingly. Audubon only "observed traces" of their presence in his journey up to the Yellowstone, llayden includes the species among the animals observed in the Upper Missouri country, where, however, it does not appear to have come under Mr. Allen's observation. North of this area, in the region of the lied Kiver and other streams, thence westward to the llocky Mountains, I ascertained the general, though probably not abundant, occurrence of the spe- cies. Mr. Allen found the Otter to be, in Jowa, "common on the Baccoon Rivers, and generally more or less so throughout the State"; — "occasional along the streams" of Kansas; — and " more or less frequent in Salt Lake Valley, and in the adjoining mountains". Drs. Coues and Yarrow give the species as found sparingly in various portions of the Southwestern Territories. My recent exploration of portions of Colorado did not reveal the presence of the Otter, but I do not on this account deny its ex- istence, perhaps in abundance, in the numerous mountain lakes and streams of that State, which harbor countless Beavers, and seem in every way suited to the requirements of the Otter.* In Audubon's time, the Otter was "still abundant in the riv- ers and reserve-dams of the rice fields of Carolina", and was "not rare in Georgia, Louisiana and Texas", According to Mr. Allen, it is still "abundant" in Florida, where it is little hunted, its fur being, in this southern region, of comparatively little value. But the southern limits of the distribution of the species remain to be determined. A Mexican Otter is certainly of a diiferent species from ours, whether or not the latter also exists in that country; and I am not aware of any unquestion- able citation of true canadensis as Mexican. I am therefore much surprised at Dr. von Frantzius's recent citation of this spe- *Siuce this paragraph w.xs i)eDnu(1, 1 havo seen a speciuieii In Mrs. Max- well's collection, from the vicinity of Honldcr, Colorado. i HABITS OF OTTERS. 313 cies from Costa liica,* which is considerably beyond the usually recognized range of true canadensis, the actual occurrence of which so far south may possibly be still open to question. With this single exception, I do not know of, at least I do not recall at present writing, any special indication of the presence of L. canadensis proper south of the United States, though in a general way it has been often accredited with a range coexten- sive with the continent of North America, and has even been ascribed, with a query, to South America. Habits of Otters. Although I have observed the " seal " of the Otter and its curious " slides" in various parts of our country during the years I have been a student of our animals, I cannot truly aver that I have ever laid eyes upon a living individual ; and to speak of its habits, I must give information at second hand. Pre- suming upon the reader's knowledge of the thoroughly aquatic and highly piscivorous nature of the animal, 1 turn to the vari- ous histories at our disposal in further elucidation of its habits. According to Richardson, one of the earliest authors giving accounts of the species with precision, "the Canada Otter re- sembles the EuropeJin species in its habits and food. In the winter season, it frequents rapids and falls, to have the advant- age of open waterj and when its usual haunts are frozen over, it will travel to a great distance through the snow, in search of a rapid that has resisted the severity of the weather. If seen, and pursued by hunters on these journies, it will throw itself forward on its belly, and slide through the snow for sev- eral yards, leaving a deep furrow behind it. This movement is repeated with so much rapidity, that even a swift runner on snow-shoes has much trouble in overtaking it. It also doubles on its track with much cunning, and dives under the snow to elude its pursuers. When closely pressed, it will turn and de- feud itself with great obstinacy. In the spring of 182G, at Great Bear Lake, the Otters frequently robbed our nets, which were set under the ice, at the distance of a few yards from a piece of open water. They generally carried otf" the heads of the fish, and left the bodies sticking in the net. "The Canada Otter has one litter annually about the middle of April of from one to three young." -,\m Will, *Aicl), liir Niiturg. 1869, p. gr-y. 314 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. In tlie Middle and Southern States, Audubon says they are about one month earlier.* The slidingof the Otter, which Sir John describes, is not alone resorted to in the endeavor to avoid pursuit; and again, it is something more than simply an easy way of slipping down a wet sloping bank into the water. It seems to be a favorite amusement of this creature, "just for fun''. Godman speaks of the diversion in the following terms:— "Tlieir favorite sport is sliding, and for this purpose in winter the highest ridge of snow is selected, to the top of which the Otters scramble, where, lying on the belly with the fore-feet bent backwards, they give themselves an impulse with their hind legs and swiftly glide headforemost down the declivity, sometimes for the distance of twenty yards. This sport they continue aj)parently with the keenest enjoyment until fatigue or hunger induces them to desist." Statements of similar import are made by various writers, and accord with Audubon's personal observations, as rendered by him in the following language: — " The otters ascend the bank at a place suitable for their diversion, and sometimes where it is very steep, so that they are obliged to make quite an effort to gain- the top; they slide down in rapid succession where there are many at a sliding place. On one occasion we were resting ourself on the bank of Canoe Creek, a small stream near Henderson, which empties into the Ohio, when a pair of Otters made their appearance, and not observing our proximity, began to enjoy their sliding pastime. They glided down the soap-like muddy surface of the slide with the rapidity of an arrow from a bow, [t] and we counted each one making twenty-two slides before we dis- turbed their sportive occupation. "This habit of the Otter of sliding down from elevated places to the borders of streams, is not confined to cold coun- tries, or to slides on the snow or ice, but is pursued in the Southern States, where the earth is seldom covered with snow, or the waters frozen over. Along the reserve-dams of the rice fields of Carolina and Georgia, these slides are very common. ' According to Bell, the European Otter goes with young nine weeks, and produces tbreo to live young ones iu March or April (Brit. Quad. 1837, 130). The period of gestation of our species, it' diit'erent, probably remains to bo ascertained. t [A statonient certainly too figurative for literal acceptiitiou,] HABITS OF OTTERS. 315 From the fact that this occurs in most cases diuiu'^ winter, about the period of the rutting season, ve are inclined to the belief that this propensity may bo traced to those instincts which lead the sexes to their periodical associations.'' The food of the Otter, and the manner in which it is pro- cured, are noted by the same author in the following terras: — "The Otter is a very expert swimmer, and can overtake almost any fish, and as it is a voracious animal, it doubtless destroys a great number of fresh water fishes annually. We are not aware of its having a preference for any particular species, although it is highly probable that it has. About twenty-five years ago we went early one autumnal morning to study the habits of the Otter at Gordon and Spring's Ferry, on the Cooper River, six miles above Charleston [S. C], where they were represented as being quite abundant. They came down with the receding tide in groups or families of five or six together. In the space of two hours we counted forty-six. They soon separated, ascended the dift'erent creeks in the salt marshes, and engaged in capturing mullets {Mugil). In most cases they came to the bank with a fish in their moiith, des- patching it in a miiuite, and then hastened back again after more prey. They returned up the river to their more secure retreats with the rising tide. In the small lakes and ponds of the interior of Carolina, there is found a favourite fish with the Otter, called the fresh-water trout {Grystes sahnoicles). "Although the food of the Otter in general is fish, yet when hard pressed by hunger it will not reject animal food of any kind. Those we had in confinement, when no fish could be procured were fed on beef, which they always preferred boiled. During the last winter we ascertained that the skeleton and feathers of a wild duck were taken from an Otter's nest on the banks of a rice field reserve-dam. It was conjectured that the duck had either been killed or wounded by the hunters, and was in this state seized by the Otter, .... " On throwing some live fishes into a small pond in the Zoological Gardens in London, where an Otter [presumably, however, of another species] was kept alive, it immediately plunged off the bank after them, and soon securing one, rose to the surface holding its prize in its teeth, and ascending the bank, rapidly ate it by large mouthfuls, and dived into the water again for another. This it repeated until it had caught and eaten all the fish which had been thrown into the water for W m f,:i| 31fi NORTH AMEUIC'AN MUSTELID.E. its use. When thus euyaged in (levouriiig the luckless fishes the Otter bit throngU them, crushing the boues, which we could hear snapping under the pressure of its powerful jaws." The nest of the European Otter is said to be formed of grass and other herbage, and to be usually placed in some hole of a river's bank, protected either by the overhanging bank or by the projecting roots of some tree. Its fossorial ability, and the general intelligence it displays in the construction of its re- treats, have been greatly exaggerated by some writers, to judge by the more temperate language used by the distinguished author of the History of BritiHh Quadrupedn. " ^V'e read of its excavating a very artidcial habitation," says Bell, " burrowing under ground to a considerable distance ; making the aperture of its retreat always under water, and working upwards, form- ing here and thei:e a lodge, or dry resting-place, till it reaches the surface of the ground at the extremity of its burrow, and making there a breathing-hole, always in the middle of a bush or thicket. [*] This statement is wholly incorrect. The Otter avails itself of any convenient excavation, particularly of the hollows beneath the overhanging roots of trees which grow on the banks of rivers, or any other secure and concealed hole near its fishing-haunt; though in some cases it fixes its retreat at some distance from the water, and when driven by a scanty supply of flsh, it has been known to resort far inland, to the neighbourhood of the farm-yard, and attack lambs, sucking pigs, and poultry, — thus assuming for a time the habits of its more terrestrial congeners." I am not aware that such extrav- agant statements have been made, with any authority at least, respecting the American Otter; and indeed one has only to regard the general configuration of the animal, and particu- larly the shape of the fore limbs and condition of the claws, to become convinced that the mining operations of the animal are necessarily limited. It does not appear that the under- ground retreats of the Otter are constructed with the skill and ingenuity of even those of the Muskrat. A retreat examined by Audubon has been thus described by this author: — " One morning we observed that some of these animals re- sorted to the neighbourhood of the root of a large tree which * [The author remarks the similarity of such an account with that given by Mr. George Bennett in describing the retreats of the Ornithorhtfnvhtta of Australia, though tlio former is found in books published long prior to the discovery of the latter animal.] TIAHiTS OF OTTKRS. 317 Stood OH the side of the pond opposite to us, and witli its over- hanging branches shaded the water. After a fatiguing walk through the tangled cane-brake and thick under-wood which bordered the sides of this lonely place, we reached the opposite side of the pond near the large tree, an<l moved cautiously through the mud and water to its roots: but the hearing or sight of the Otters was attracted to us, and we saw several of them hastily make otf at our approach. On sounding the tree with the butt of our gun, we discovered that it was hollow, and then having placed a large stick in a slanting position against the trunk, we succeeded in reaching the lowest bough, and thence climbed up to a broken branch from which an aperture into the upper part of the hollow enabled us to examine the interior. At the bottom there was quite a large space or cham- ber to which the Otters retired, but whether for security or to sleep we could not decide. Next morning we returned to the spot, accompanied by one of our neighbours, and having ap- proached and stopped up the entrance under water as noise- lessly as possible, we cut a hole in the side of the tree foar or five feet from the ground, and as soon as it was large enough to admit our heads, we peeped in and discovered three Otters on a sort of bed composed of the inner bark of trees and other soft substances, such as water grasses. We continued cutting the hole we had made, larger, and when sufficiently .widened, took some green saplings, split them at the but-end, and man- aged to fix the head of each animal firmly to the ground by passing one of these split pieces over his neck, and then .press- ing the stick forcibly downwards. Our companion then crept into the hollow, and soon killed the otters, with which we returned home." Their structure being identical, the American and European Otters cannot difi'er in their general movements and attitudes. In speaking ot the conformation of the latter species, Bell remarks that evidently every facility cojisistent with the preser- vation of its structural relations with the rest of the group is given to the Otter for the pursuit and capture of its proper food. " It swims and dives with great readiness and with pecu- liar ease and elegance of movement; and although its action on land is far from being awkward and difficult, yet it is cer- tainly- in the water that the beautiful adaptation of its structure to its habits is most strikingly exhibited. It swims in nearly a horizontal position, and dives instantaneously after the fish 318 NOliTJI AMEKICAN MUSTELID.E. that may glide beneath it, or pursues it under water, changing its course as the tisli darts in various directions to escape from it, and when the prey is secured, brings it on shore to its retreat to feed." Yielding a pelt of great beauty and value, from the ex(jui- site softness and rich warm color of the fur, as well as from the size of the animal, the American Otter is .systematically pursued by professional trappers. I hf.re alrert<ly given some figures showing the thousands annuaily destroyed, and will condense from Mr. Gibson's work, already olten quoted, the ac- count of the various methods employed — for every trapper has his own notions and ways of doing things, and in the pursuit of so valuable and so wary a creature as the Otter there is room for large and varied experience. The animal seems to be taken in this country usually, if not invariably, with the steel trap, a special size and make of which, with two springs, goes by the name of " Otter trap". Searching for a " slide ", or place where the animal habitually crawls from the water up the bank, the hunter sets the trap on the spot, a few inches under water. No bait is here required ; and devices are used in se- curing the trap l)y which the animal may be led into deep water when caught, or lifted upward, the design in either case being to prevent the animuFs escape bj' gnawing off the im- prisoned lim'\ The trap may also be placed at the top of the slide, two or three feet back of the slope, in a place hollowed to receive it, and covered with snow. Under such circum- stances, care is taken not to handle the trap with the bare hands. It is scented with various animal odors, and, to fur- ther insure success, a " way " is made to the trap by means of parallel logs. The trap is sometimes simply set in the beaten track made in the snow, carefully hidden ; or at the entrance of the burrow ; or at the base of a slanting log with one end under water, the Otter being attracted by bait or odor placed beyond on the other end; or a ),ock which projects over a stream is utilized in the same way. In all these methods, the utmost care is necessary to obliterate traces of the trapper's presence, as the sight and smell of the Otter are acute, and hit, wariness, caution, and sagacity at a very high rate. " In win- ter when the ponds and rivers are frozen over the otters make boles througli the ice at which they come up to devou" their l)rey. Where the water is a foot deep beneath any of these boles the trap may be set in the bottom, the chain being se- HABITS OF OTTERS 319 cured to a heavy stone. When the otter endeavors to emerge from the hole he will press his foot on the trap and thus be caught. If the water is deep enough beneath the hole the trap may be baited with a small tish attached to tliC pan, and then carefully lowered with its chain and stone to the bottom. For this purpose the Xowhouse, No. 3, is b«st adapted, as the otter is -in this cavse caught by the head." Audubon speaks of the latter method as one very commonly employed in Carolina. Ilis flgure of the Otter represents the animal as caught by the fore foot in a trap, baited with a tish on the pan, i)laced on a slanting log just out of the water. IJut traps baited on the pan are not set by experts in this mode of trapping. Audubon has also drawn his animal as coming down the log from the upper end, which the animal could not have reached without passing over the trap in the other direction. Though drawn, furthermore, "to represent the pain and terror felt by the creature when its foot is caught by the sharp saw-like teeth of the trap", the Otter is nevertheless holding its foot quietly la the trap, and resting very composedly upon the log, as if it feared to displace the trap. In reality, however, an Otter so caught would be off the log and into the water, trap and all, in a fraction of a second after the jaws snapped. In writing the text to this fancy sketch, moreover, Audubon appears to have forgotten that the trap had no '' sharp saw-like tee<^h ": it is correctly drawn with slraight-edged jaws, as usually manufac- tured. For commercial purposes, the skin of the Otter is removed by a cross-slit down the hind legs, and withdrawn whole, with- out splitting along the belly, the tail, however, being slit its whole length along the under side. The skin is stretched with the hair inside, the tail alone being spread out flat. The hunting of the Otter for sport does not appear to be practiced in this country, at least to any extent, and the gun is only incidentally and rarely used for its destruction. The mode of hunting the European aninml has been graphically described by Bell, to whom I return for this portion of the subject: — "Otter-hunting, formerly one of the most interesting and exciting amusements of which the English sportsman could boast, has of late years [1837] dwindled into the mert ''ase of extirpation. It was in other days pursued with much oi ^ho pomp and circumstance of regular sport : the Dogs were chosen 320 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. for tlit'ir perseverance and resolution ; ' good Otter-hounds/ says an old sportsman, . . . ' will come chaunting and trail- ing along by the river side, and will beat every tree-root, every osier-bed, and every tuft of bulrushes: — nay, sometimes they will take the water, and beat it like a Spaniel.' The huntsman and others of the party carried Otter spears, to strike the Otter when driven within their reach; horsemen and footmen joined in the chase ; and the whole company formed a cavalcade of no inconsiderable extent and importance. These scenes are now no longer w'lnessed, or but rarely, in England ; but in WaleJi the chase of the Otter is still kept up with some spirit, in cer- tain romantic districts of that roniantic country . . . In beat- ing for an Otter, it is necessary to mark the character and direction of his 'seal,' or footmark in the mud or soil, as well as the recent or older appearance of his ' spraints,' or dung. These signs of his having been either remotely or more recently on the spot will afford a tolerably certain indication whether the animal be still in the neighbourhood, or whether a further search must be made for later marks of his presence. When the Otter is found, tiie scene becomes exceedingly animated. He instantly takes the water, and dives, remaining a long time underneath it, and rising at a considerable distance from the place at which he dived. Then the anxious watch that is kept of his rising to ' vent,' the steady purpose with which the dogs follow and l)ait him as he swims, the attempts of the cunning beast to drown his assailants, by diving whilst they have fast- ened on him, the baying of the hounds, the cries of the hunters, and the fierce and dogged resolution with which the poor hope- less quarry holds his pursuers at bay, inflicting severe, some- times fatal wounds, and holding on with unflinching pertinacity even to the last, — must altogether form a scene as animated and exciting as the veriest epicure in hunting could desire. The return from such a day's sport as this in the county of CarK arthen is thus described by a correspondent of the Sport- ing Magazine: — 'Sitting near the window, I beheld approach- ing the bridge a cavalcade, and found it was Squire Lloyd of Glansevin, escorted by the gentlemen of the neighbourhood, returning t, )m Otter-hunting. The gentlemen in the front rank were mounted ; and next the horsemen were three men neatly dressed in scarlet coats a»ul white trousers, with long spears, on which were suspended three hnge Otters. Now the hunts- man appeared with his well disciplined hounds; and then fol- I :,i.j; HABITS OF OTTERS. 321 lowed the cart, with nets, spears, and other paraphernalia, and an old ballad-singer appeared in the rear, who sung the praises of the high-bred hounds and their worthy master.' " The general intelligence of the Otter is of a high order, and his docility is such that he may not only be thoroughly tamed, but taught to work for his master. Audubon speaks of four American Otters which a gentleman had tamed so completely that they never failed to come like dogs when whistled for, crawling slowly with apparent humility toward their master ; and also gives his own experience in domesticating several Otters, which became so tame that they would romp with him 'I his study. These, he says, were taken when quite young, ana became as gentle as puppies in two or three days ; they preferred milk and boiled corn-meal, refusing fish or meat till luey were several months old. On this subject I shall once more quote the attractive page of Bell, and conclude this lengthy compilation with some quaint and interesting para- graphs respecting the use of the Otter as food ; the actual refer- ence being, it will be understood, to the European species : — " That the Otter may not only be readily and easily tamed and domesticcated, but taught to catch and bring home fish for its master, is a fact which is so well known, and has been so often proved, that it is surprising it should not have been more fre- quently acted upon. From Albertus Magnus down to the late excellent Bishop Heber, instances have been continually nar- rated, some of which have gone no further than the domestica- tion of pet Otters, while in others the animal has been rendered a useful purveyor of fish for the family table. Amongst other writers who have attested similar facts, honest Izaak Walton says, ' I pray, sir, save me one [young Otter], and I'll try if I can make her tame, as I know an ingenious gentleman in Leicester- shire, Mr. Nicholas Seagrave, has done; who hath not only made her tame, but to catch fish, and do n\uuy other things of much pleasure.' Albertus Magnus, Aldrovandus, Gesner, and others, had asserted it ; yet Buffon, losing for once his accustomed credulity, and running to an opposite extreme, refuses to be- lieve in the susceptibility of the Otter to be brought to a state of domesticity. The former of these writers states that, in Sweden, Otters were kept in the houses of the great for the ex- press purpose of catching fish, which they would do at a signal from the cook, and bring home their provender to be dressed for dinner. Numerous instances have been recorded in later 21 M iJ'Siiil 322 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. times, by Daniel, Bewick, Shaw, and others ; in one of which an Otter had been known to take eigi-t or ten salmon in a day : and the following passage in the journal of Bishop Heber con- firms some previous statements, that one of the Asiatic species, probably Lutra nalr, (Fr. Cuv.) may be rendered similarly use- ful : — ' We passed, to my surprise, a row of no less than nine or ten large and very beautiful Otters, tethered with straw collars and long strings to bamboo stakes on the banks (of the Malta Colly). Some were swimming about at the full extent of their strings, or lying half in and half out of the water; others were rolling themselves in the sun on the sandy bank, uttering a shrill whistling noise, as if in play. I was told that most of the fishermen in this neighbourhood kept one or more of these animals, who were almost as tame as Dogs, and of great use in fishing; sometimes driving the shoals into the nets, some- times bringing out the large fish with their teeth. I was much pleased and interested with the sight. It has always been a fancy of mine that the poor creatures whom we waste and per- secute to death, for no cause but the gratification of our cruelty, might by reasonable treatment be made the sources of abun- ant amusement and advantage to us.' This interesting account justifies the conclusion drawn by the good prelate from the scene that so much delighted him, that * the simple Hindoo shows here a better taste and judgment than half the Otter hunting and Badger baiting gentry of England.' With such instances as these before us, there seems to be no reason why this animal, so tractable and docile as it is proved to be, should not be very generally domesticated for the purposes of sporr, or employed by fishermen as a means of assisting them in their calling. " The method which has been recommended to train them for this purpose is as follows : — They should be procured as young as possible, and they are at first fed with small fish and water. Then bread and milk is to be alternated with the fish, and the proportion of the former gradually increased till they are led to live entirely on bread and milk. They are then taught to fetch and carry, exactly as Dogs are trained to the same trick ; and when they are brought to do this with ease and docility, a leather fish stuffed with wool is employed for the purpose. They are afterwards exercised with a dead fish, and chastised if they diMtliey or attempt to tear it ; <tnd finally, they are sent into the water after living ones. In this way, although the process is EXTINCT NORTH AMERICAN OTTER. 323 somewhat tedious, it is believed that the Otter maybe certainly domesticated, and rendered subservient to our use " The habits of the Otter, and its rank fishy taste, have pro- cured for it the distinction of being permitted by the Church of Eome to be eaten on maigre days. The quiet humour of good old Izaak Walton could not rest without a sly hit at this fact: — " Piscator. I pray, honest huntsman, let me ask you a pleasant question: do you hunt a beast, or a fish ? " fftmt. Sir, it is not in my power to resolve you ; yet I leave it to be resolved by the College of Carthusians, who have made vows never to eat flesh. But I have heard the question hath been debated among many great clerks, and they seem to diflfer about it ; yet most agree that her tail is fish, and if her body be fish too, then I may say that a fish will walk upon land (for an Otter does so), sometimes five or six or ten miles in a night. "Now, were we to adopt the reference recommended by honest Izaak, the description of this animal would have fallen within the proviuce of my good friend Mr. Yarrell rather than mine; for, says Pejinant, 'in the kitchen of the Carthusian Convent near Dijon, we saw one preparing for the dinner of the religious of that rigid order, who, by their rules, are prohibited during their whofe lives the eating of flesh.' " |i^ if' .t. JCxtiiict species of North American Otter. fjiitra piMciiiarin. fjr,!dif. hum . Leldn. (Jon t rib. Extinct. Vert. Fn. of the Western Xerr. (4to Rep. TJ. S. Geol. S'irr. viil. 1 I i7.<, |>. 33(1. Lu*.r.l piSCiaiJ*!!, id. ibU p. J16, pi. xsxi, f..4 (tibia, { nat. size, from Idaho). B ised on a tibiji submitted to Dr. Leidy's inspection by the S iiithHotiidii Institution, procured by Clarence King on Sinker Oieek, lduh<>, iii association with remains of Eqtms excelsus and MofttodiUi mirijictu. "Tiie tibia pertains to a c<arnivore, and resembles that of an otter more than that of any other animal with which I have had an opp(utnnity of comparing it. Its ditterenoes, excepting dzo, are trifling. The tubercle ice insertion of the quadriceps extensor is less prominent, so as to give the head of the bone proportionally less thickness in relation with its breadth. Th» ridge fot the attachment of the interosseous membrane at tlio lower part of the bone is more prominent and sharper. The 324 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDJE. distal end in front just above the articulation is flatter, and the groove lor the flexor tendons behind is deeper. Lines. " Length of the bone internally 59 "Widthof thehead 15 " Thickness at the inner condyle 10 J " Width of the distal end between the most prominent points , 11 " Thickness at the inner malleole . - 8" fM- ' -filis-p: CHAPTEE XI Subfamily ENHYDRIN^: Sea Otter. General considerations — The genns Enhydris — Generic characters — Enhydria lutri8, the Sea Otter — Synonymy— Habitat — Specific characters — Descrip- tion of external characters — Description of. the skull and teeth — History of the species — "The Sea Otter and its hunting" — ^The habits of the Sea Otter. LASTLY, we come to consider a particular modiflcation of the Musteline type of strncture, which may be regarded as an exaggeration of various features characterizing the Lutrinas^ with the superposition of others not elsewhere found in the family. With the general aspect of an ordinary Otter, the JEnliydrinw present a special modification of the limbs, more particularly of the hind limbs, which are developed into flipper- like organs, not very dissimilar to those of some Seals. There is also a special condition of the pelage. The cranium, in gen- eral, is like that of the Liitrince, but the teeth are unlike any- thing else seen in the family Mustelidce. One pair of incisors is wanting, which makes the dental formula unique. Moreover, the whole dentelure is modified in adaptation to a piscivorous regimen. The sectorial teeth are defunctionalized as such; if the teeth of ordinary carnivorous quadrupeds be likened to fresh-chipped, sharp and angular bits of rock, those of the Enhydrinie are comparable to water- worn pebbles. The Enhydrinm are represented, as far as known, by a single genus and species, inhabiting the coasts and islands of the North Pacific. It is the only thoroughly marine species of the family ] it furnishes one of the most valuable of all pelts in a commercial point of view, and its chase is an important indus- try. The Genus ENHYDRIS. (Fleming.) < MUHteia ep. Linnmus, Syst. Nat. 1758-86. v < PhOCft up. PaUa«, Zoog. R.-A. 1831. < Lutrn sp. of various authors. -■ Pusa, Oiken, Lehrb. Naturg. 1816. (Not of Scopoli.) — Rnhydra,* Fleming, Philos. Zool. 1822. (Also written Enhydris, Enydris.) — Latax, atoger, N. Act Nat. Cur. 1897. (Not of Gray.) * Etyin. — See anteA, p. 29, for discussion of the philological bearings of this word. 325 i H 1 ?:■ ' ii' 326 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. Generic ciiakacters. — Dental formula: i. ^~', o, j^', pm. g£g ; m. ^ly = \ y =32.* Grinding teeth very peculiar in Hhape, without trench- ant edges or acute angles, all being bluntly tuberculous on the crown, and rounded off in contour. Molar of upper jaw irregularly oval. Last upper premolar not dissimilar in shape, and but little smaller ; others abruptly less in size. Anterior under molar much the largest of the lower teeth ; posterior premolar and posterior molar next in size. Skull generally as in Lutrince, in straight upper outline, very short rostrum, truncate in fi'ont and flat on top, backwai'd production of palate, size and shape of ante- orbital foramen, &.O., but much broader for its length ; thus, the interptery- goid emargination is, if anything, broader than deep. Sagittal and occipital crests and mastoid processes very salient. Glenoid not locking condyle. Coronoid of mandible sloping backward with convex fore and straight or slightly concave posterior border, its bluntly rounded apex in the veVtical line over condyle. General external aspect of Lutrinw, but limbs modified. Fore legs short, with small paws ; digits webbed ; palms naked. Hind feet with elongated digits, flipper-like, webbed, and furry both sides; claws small, hidden in the fur. Habits aquatic ; habitat marine. The character of the genus is so fully exhibited in the fol- lowing account of the only species that further remark is not required in this connection. Tlie Sea Otter. EnbydrlM Intris. Plates XIX, XX. Intra mitrtna , SUUer, N. C. Petrop. ii. 1751, 367, pi. I&.—Erxh Syst Anim. ITH, 445 (desorip- tioD pertinunt, but aynouymy mixed with that of another species).— iScAreb. Saug. ill. 1776, 465, pi. 138 (SteUer).— 2imm. Geog. Gesch. U. 1780, 313, no. 1tn.—8haio, Gen. Zool. 1. 1800, 444, pi. 101.— De«m. Manim. i. 1820, 189, no. 291 ; " Nonv. Diet, xviii, 216 ; Ency. M6th. pi. 79, f. 3."— Harlan, Fn. Amer. 1835, n.—Ologer, N. Act. Nat. Cnr. xiiL pt ii- 1827, 510 (proposes Latax as a better name than Puia), 875 seq.; " Isis, ii. 1839, 132 leq.; Sdmas. Ball. XV. 136 yeg."- 6odm. Am. K H. i. 1831, 228. pi. — , f. i.—Wagn. Arch. f. Natnrg. ii. 183S, 281. Btttra [»ie] marina, H. W. Elliott, Amer. Sportsman, Sept. 12 and 19, 1814 (biogtaphy; nnder pseudonym of "Alaska"). Intra (Enhydra) marina, Rich. F. B.-A. i. 1829, S9, no. 21 ; Zo51. Beechey's Toy. 1839, 5. Enhydra marina, Flem. Philos. Zo«l. ii. 1822, IffJ.—Orif. An. Kingd. v. 1827, 133, no. 369.- JilarHn, P. Z. S. iv. 1836, 59 (osteology).— Awd. <£• Bach. Q. N. A. Hi. 1853, 170, pi. 137.- Newb. P. R. R. Kep. vi. 1857, 43.— Bd. M. N. A. 1857, 189.— Ooop. <6 Suck. N. H. "Wash. <■ Terr. 1860, Il5.—Dall., Alaska and its Res. 1870, 489 (habits).— S^, W. Elliott, Condition of Affairs in Alaska, 8vo ed. chap. v. 1875, pp. 54-62 (history, habits, the chase, eco- nomic and commercial relations). ^ , like all other Muatelidai. Prof. * It is said that the young Sea Otter has t. | The middle pair of incisors are those that are wanting in the adult, Baird (M. N. A. 1857, 189), overlooking the peculiarity of the incisor formula of the adult, but correctly noting the one less jiremolar than in Lutrinw, gives a wrong total of 34 teeth in all, instead of 32. n SYNONYMY OF ENHYDRIS LUTRIS. 327 Enydrls inarlnn, Licht. Darstoll. Sitng. 1837, 34, pla. 49, SO.—Ennan, Reiae, , — , pL 11, 12.— " iraj/rt. Gelohrte Anzeigen, i. , 555; Siippl. Sclireber, ii. 1811, 274." EnhydrlH marina, Sehim, Syn. 1844, 'i51.—Giebjl. Siiug. 1855, TJi.—aervaia, Journ. de Zool. iv. 1875, pp. 200-206 (osteology). Latax marina. Less. Nouv. Tabl. K. A. 1842, 71. MUMtCia liitrls, L. S.N. i. 1758, 4,5, no. 1 (ex Act. I'etrop. 1749, 267) ; 1766, 66, no. l.-8ehreb. Stiug. iii. 1777, pi. 128 (name on plato).— Om. S. N. i. 1788, 93, no. 1 (exul. var. B, which = brniiilien8is}.—Turt. S. N. i. 1606, 57. Phoca lutriti, PaU. Znog. S.A. i. 1831, 100, no. 34. Llltra lutrls Less. Man. 1827, 155, no. 419.— Fr. Ow>. "Diet. Sol. Nat. xxvil. 245"; Suppl. Buir. i. 1831, 204.—/*. Oeof. "Diet Class, i.x. 5l»".-Fisch. Syn. 1829, 227, no. 7. EnhydrlH lutrls, Gray, P. Z. S. 1865, 136, pi. 7 ; Cat. Cain. Br. Mas. 1889, — . Knhydra lUtrlN, De Kay, N. Y. Zool. 1842, 41.— Gray, Cat. Mamm. Br. Moa. 1843, li.—Qerr. Cat. Bones Br. Mus. 1862, 102. PUSK orientaliH, Oken, Lehrb. Naturg. Tli. iii. Abth. ii. 1816, p. 966. Lutril fttellerl, Less. Man. 1827, 156, no. 423. ' Enydris stellcri, FUch. Syn. 1820, 229. TLutra gracilis Shaw, G. Z. i. 1800, 447 (baaed on "Slender Otter" of Pennant Quad. ii. 83., North America, Staten Laud). TLutra gracilis (sub Piisa), Oken, Lehrb. Naturg. Th. iii. Abth. ii. 1806, 986. rEnydris gracilis, Fisoh. Syn. 1839, 229 (from Shaw, {. c). Meerotter, SteUer, " Hamb. Mag. xl. 460, with &g."—MuU. Natura. i. 1773, 359. Beeotter, Hallen, "Naturg. vierf. Th. 1757, 567 ". Seebiber oder Seeotter, "SUUer, Kamtsch. 1774, 97 ". Seebiber, MUU. " Samml. iii. , S44 ". KamtHchatltische Bieber, id. "ibid. 529". Hea Otter, Pmn. Syn. Qnad. 1771, 341, no. 175 (In part) ; Hist Quad. 17S1, — , no. 330| Arct. Zool. i. 1784, 88, no. 36.— Ooo*, " Third Voy. 1874, ii. 895, pi. 43 ; Mearea'a Voy. 1790, pp. 241 , 260."— flttwK <f. Mtmi4», Phil. Trana. 1796, 38.5 Seammon, Am. Nat Iv. 1870, 65 (de- tailed biography); "Overland Monthly", iv. 85 (biography); Marine Mamm. 1874, ohap. vi. pp. 169-175, woodoata, pL xxiL lower flg. (biography, etc.). Sea Beaver, KroMoh. "Hist Eamts. (Grieve's transl.), 1764, 131." Eamtschatskoi Bobr or Bobr morskoi Rwsian. Kalko, Aliq. Kaian, SteUer, I. c. Gray, I. e. C astor marin, Krasoh. " Hiat Eamtach , 444 ". loutre de mer, Oook, "Third Toy. (French transl.), pi. 43." Loutre marine, Desm. I. e.. Ft. Guv. I c Loutre du Kamtciiatka, Geoffr. "Collect Mus. d'Hiat Nat"; Lesson, I e. Loutre marine k t£te blanche, "DiotSc.Natfaac.TiLpl.l9,f.3 '.— .penn.{.e. Tar. L. marina with a white head. Earl op. eit 74. Lo utre de Stel ier. Less. I. e. Sarlcovienne, Buff. " Suppl. vL 4to, 287 " (in part). HAB.--The North Pacific. On the American side, south to Lower Califor- nia. Specific charactebs. — Hind feet broad, like a Seal's u.^pers, the soles furry ; fore feet small, like a Cat's paws, the palina naked ; tail terete, obtuse, about i the length of head and body. Form massive. Color dark liver* brown, bleaching on the head, everywhere silvered with hoary ends of tho longer hairs. Length overall about 4 feet, of which the tail is a foot or less ; hind foot about 6 inches long by 4 broad. Qirth about 3^ feet. Description of external characters.* In general superficial aspects, the Sea Otter is not unlike a Seal — a resemblance increased by the flipper-like hind feet. The * From No. 9457, Mus. Smiths. Inst., Alaska, Dr. Minor. ,!3 m W 328 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. body is a swollen cylinder, abrupt behind, tapering before to a small globose head without notable constriction of neck ; the limbs are short ; the tail is short, terete-tapering, obtuse ; there is a remarkable disparity in size and shape between the fore and hind feet, not seen in any other species of Mmtelidce. In life, the skin is remarkably loose and "rolling"; the pelt of an individual four feet long readily stretches to six feet ; and when the animal is lifted up by the skin, a foot or so of "slack" gathers. The pelage is notable for the preponderance of the woolly under fur, the longer stitfor hairs being very scanty. It is of the same general character all over the body ; but on the head, feet, and tail consists chiefly of a finer fur, with little or no admixture of bristly hairs. The only naked parts are the muffle and palms. The naked mufile, an inch broad, and deeper than this, is lozenge-shaped, with acute superior and inferior angles, obtuse lateral angles, straight or slightly sinuous uppBr sides, the lower sides somewhat irregular for most -*' their length, owing to the nostrils ; these open quite broadly upon the surface. The face of the nasal pad is minutely papillate, and divided part way by a vertical line of impression. The eyes, of moderate size, are high up, forming a nearly equilateral triangle with the apex of the muzzle. The ears are situated remarkably low down — far below the eyes, and in fact little above the level of the commissure of the mouth ; they are very small, flat, obtusely pointed, sparsely and very shortly pilous outside, only partially furry inside. The whiskers are few, short, extremely stout and stiff, directed downward for the most part ; there are a few other bristles over the eyes, but none are noted on the chin or cheeks. The fore feet are remarkably small, giving the limb an appear- ance which suggests amputation at the wrist ; the digits are very short and much consolidated ; the very small, short, and much arched claws are almost entirely hidden in the fur. The general contour of the foot is circular in front. The palm is naked, and minutely granular, with small roughened tubercles. The baldness reaches up to the wrist on the outer side in a nar- row space. The hind feet, on the contrary, are notable for their expansion and flattening into strong effective oars. The gen- eral shape is trapezoidal — the longest side exterior, the side represented by the ends of the digits next longest ; the inner border shorter, while the angle represents the fourth and much DESCRIPTION OP ENHYDRI8 LUTRIS. 329 the shortest side. The digits are entirely webbed by membranea stretching from tip to tip of all the toes. When widespread, the ends of the toes describe a slight curve, the inner one being a little shorter than the next, the rest regularly graduated. The claws are short, stout, arched, and rather obtuse, hidden in the dense fur, which completely invests the foot above and below. The tail is short, stout, and terete, with a slight taper through- out, at the end rather abruptly contracting to an obtuse tip. The coloration varies greatly with age and season. When the animal is in good state, like the specimen now under par- ticular consideration, it is deep liver-brown, about the same above and below, everywhere silvered or "frosted" with the hoary tips of the longer stiff hairs. These colorless hairs are rather more numerous below than above, giving a lighter tone to the under parts, the body of which, however, is of much the same color as the back. There are fewer or none such lijht- tipped hairs on the tail and limbs, which consequently appear of a more uniform liver-brown. On the fore part, just in advance of the shoulders, the color lightens rather abruptly into a gray- ish or light muddy brown, and the bleaching increases on the head, which is of a brownish-white. The whiskers are color- less ; the muffle black ; the claws dark. Among the numerous specimens examined, including some not " in condition", great variation is es^hibited in the extent to which the ground color is overlaid with the hoary. The longer hairs are sometimes so numerous and so extensively bleached that the animal appears mostly grizzly, completely bleached upon the neck and head. The light hairs, instead of being purely hoary, are frequently of a yellowish tint, as if soiled. The variations in the ground color are chiefly due to presence or absence of a "red" shade, which, in the best specimens, pro- duces the rich liver-brown hue or chocolate-shaded color, and the absence of which leaves the brown of a plain dark charac- ter. There is often a noticeable blackish area between the fore-legs.* The variability of this species in size, though great, is only on a par with that of its allies. The dimensions may be gath- ered from the measurements already given ; but, though these are incomplete, they are not here supplemented with others, * The tendency to special particoloration on the throat and breast is strong in Mnstelidce. It is fully carried out in Gulo, Afustela, Putorius vison, Ac, and even indicated here in Enhydris. m Ml f| 330 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. siuce suck as could be ^Wqu from the dried skins before me would be only approximate. Tlie ear is about an inch long, measured from the notch in front, and about two-thirds as wide. Young (a very young individual, under two feet long, also collected by Dr. Minor in the Aleutian Islands). — The coat is comparatively much longer than that of the adult, loose, rather harsh, and of a peculiar iiutt'y character, with kinky fibre. The naked muffle is much as in the adult, but quite smooth ; the ears are entirely hidden in the abundant wool of the parts ; the hind feet scarcely show their proper shape ; the tail is clubbed, rather thicker at the abrupt end than at the base ; a decided constriction of the neck appears in the speci- men as mounted. The feet are quite blackish ; otherwise the animal is dull grayish-brown, everywhere strongly frosted with hoary, lighter, and more uniformly brownish-white on the head and neck, bleaching to dingy white underneath the head and before the shoulders. To sum the salient external peculiarities of this species in comparison with Lutra, it is only necessary to mention the more massive form, the much shorter, more uniformly terete and obtuse tail, and wholly peculiar structure of the feet. To exhibit the characters of the species in the clearest light, I add to the foregoing technical description the following account from Meares's Voyage (1790), showing how the appearance of the animal would strike an unscientific observer : — " The Sea Otter is furnished with a formidable set of teeth ^ its fore paws are like those of the Biver Otter, but of much larger size, and greater strength ; its hind feet are skirted with a membrane, on which, as on the fore feet, there grows a thick and coarse hair. The fur varies in beauty according to the age of the animal. The young cubs, of a few months old, are covered with a long, coarse, white hair, which protects the fine down that lies beneath it. The natives often pluck off this coarse hair, when the lower fur appears like velvet, of a beau- tiful brown colour. As they increase in size, the long hair falls off, and the fur becomes blackish, but still remains short. When the animal is full grown, it becomes of a jet [?J black, and in* creases in beauty; the fur then thickens, and is thinly sprinkled with white hairs. When they are past the age of perfection, and verge towards old age, their skin [furj changes into a dark brown, dingy colour, and of course diminishes in value. The skins of those killed in the winter are of a more beautiful ^^ SKULL AND TEETH OF ENHYDRIS LUTRIS. 331 black, and iu every respect more perfect thau those which are taken in the summer and autumn. The male Otter is beyond all comparison the more beautiful than the female and is dis- tinguished by the superior jetty colour, as well as velvety appearance of his skin ; whereas the head, throat and belly of the female, are not only covered with fur that is white, but which is also of a very coarse texture. The skins in the highest estimation are those which have the belly and throat plentifully interspersed with a kind of brilliant silver hairs, while the body is covered with a thick black fur of extreme tlneness, and a silky gloss." Among other earlier descriptions, that of Dr. Pallas, mod- estly styled "ad complementum Stelleriauo)", in delicate com- pliment to the previous traveller, may be cited in illustration of some of the more infrecpient variations. Pallas speaks of a specimen from Kodiak, which was yellowish-white, shaded on the back with gray (e flavescentialba, medio dorso grysea nebula enumbrato). The old animal, he says, is glossy black, with somewhat reddish unuor fur, and often over five feet long; the young are rather dark grayish. Description of the sTcull and teeth.* (See Plates XIX, XX.) With a general resemblance to that of Lutra^ the skull of the Sea Otter differs not only in its superior size, but in its massive- ness, depth, breadth behind, truncation anteriorly, and several details which will appear in the sequel. There is a general condition which would suggest, in common parlance, such terms as "huge", "bulky", "misshapen", and a superficial likeness to the skulls of some of the Pinnipedia, with which the Sea Otter is intimately associated in its mode of life. As evidenced by the sutures in some very young skulls before me, the disposition of the several bones is much as in Lutra^ but there are some peculiarities. The malar bone is, as it were, shifted bodily backward ; it reaches to the glenoid fossa, and, in fact, just misses a share in the articulation of the lower jaw, while in front it stops altogether short of the bridge over the anteorbital foramen, which is thus circumscribed only by a very slender rod from the maxillary. The intermaxillary bones are so short and deep as to be almost vertical; their apices merely 'The osteology of this species has been specially studied by Martens (P. Z. S. 1836, 59) and Gervais ( Journ. de Zool. iv. 1875, 200-206). Gerrard gives the vertebral formula as C. 7; D. 14; L. 6; S. 3 ; Cd. 18. i .h*\ 332 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. meet the extiemity of the nasals. More than a third of the in- cisive foramen is maxillary, not intermaxillary. The orbito- sphenoid recedes deeply in its surroundings. Other points will appear in a topographical account of the skull. Viewed from above, the cranium differs from that of Lntra in greater inflation of the cerebral walls, especially anteriorly, where the encroachment upon the temporal fossse is decided. Supraorbital processes are not so well developed (about as in a Badger or Marten; the development in Lutra is exceptional). The nasal orifice is greatly foreshortened in this view, owing to the abrupt truncation of the mandible. It is difficult to say how long the rostrum is, owing to the configuration of the parts, but it may be estimated at about one-sixth of the total length of the skull. Owing to its verticality, the anteorbital foramen is scarcely seen in this view (it comes into sight inside the orbit in Lutra). In old specimens, there is a strong sagittal crest wanting in Lutra; in young ones, an irregular elevated tablet. The top of the rostrum and adjoining interorbital space is a smooth, flat tablet, as in Lutra. The occipital contour is much as described in Lutra. In profile, the skull shows the same flatness on top as is seen in Lutra., with the additional feature of an almost vertical an- terior truncation from the ends of the nasals, at little more than a right angle, and almost straight down to the incisors. Such contour is highly characteristic, and reminds one of the same part in a Walrus. Owing to the slight supraorbital process and little marked malar protuberance, the orbit is not well defined; no*^ so well as it is in the other subfamilies, excepting MepMtmce. The zygomatic arch rises abruptly behind. Its upper border is then about straight and horizontal to the orbit ; its lower border is a strong regular curve throughout. Other matters to be noted in the profile view are much as in Lutra. From below: The zygomatic width is about three-^^urths the length; the intermastoid diameter but slightly less. The palate reaches back of the molars about half-way to the ends of the pterygoids. The emargination between these bones is extremely wide and shallow. Perhaps here only in the family, the depth of the emargination is no greater, or less than, its width. The recess is sometimes almost semicircular, though the sides are usually more nearly parallel, and the end transverse. In detail, the shelf of the palate is altogether irregular. The walls of the glenoid fossje are rarely, if ever, so much developed as to lock SKULL AND TEETH OP ENHYDRI8 LUTRIS. 333 the jaw. I have not witnessed such case. The back wall, in- stead of overlapping strongly at its outer angle, is regularly produced into a border all along. The inflation of the bullae is about as in Lutra. The posterior foramen lacerum is a large circular hole. The articular surfaces of the condyles differ from those of Lutra in not being produced toward each other; they are simply oval. The great foramen is irregularly circular rather than transversely elliptical, having a strong median supe- rior as well as inferior emargination. In the under jaw, the symphysis is shorter and apparently less solid than usual. I find the union incomplete in some middle-aged specimens. The ramus of the under jaw is deep and thick, and has a decided twist, scarcely or not recognizable in other genera, by which the lower part is exflected posteriorly. The coronoid is very broad to the rounded end ; the hind border rises straight and a little obliquely backward, so as to overhang the condyle ; the front border is strongly, somewhat irregularly, curved. The muscu- lar impression on the outside of the coronoid is deep and exten- sive, roaching below to the very edge of the jaw, and forward to a point below the last molar. The dentition of Enhydris is peculiar in several respects. As in Lutrinw, but not as in any other subfamily of Mmtelidw, there is the same number of teeth in both jaws (16) ; but this equality is brought about in a curious way, loss of the upper anterior premolar being rectified, so far as preserving equality of teeth in the two jaws is concerned, by lack of one pair of inferior incisors. Thus there are four fewer teeth than in Lutrinw (|| instead of jf ). This is the only instance in the family of less than six incisors below, or of an unequal number of incisors in the two jaws. In the presence of an equal number of premolars above and below, ^nAv^m agrees with all the other North Amer- ican genera excepting Lutra (^) and normal Conepatus (|^) ; in the presence of three premolars above and below, it agrees with all but Lutra, Conepatus, Mu^tela, and Gulo (the two last having ~); in the presence of three premolars below, it agrees with all excepting Mustela and Oulo. In thQ physical character of the teeth, as well as in the dental formula, Unhydris is peculiar in its family. All the grinders are of a singularly massive, tubercular, almost bulbous character, with no trenchant edges, acute cusps, or even angular edges. This is in evident adaptation to the piscivorous regimen^of the animal. The teeth of even the youngest specimens^have an 334 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. appearance of being greatly worn, as is not, however, the case. In fact, there is less difference with age here than elsewhere in the family. The back upper molar is the largest tooth of all, being as wide as, and much longer'than, the sectorial tooth. It is irregularly oval in shape, its long axis oblique; its face is studded with obtuse tubercles in a manner scarcely admitting of detailed Jdescription. The back upper premolar is squarish, with rounded-oflf angles, and presents outwardly a pair of large obtuse tubercles, whereof the anterior one is the larger, sepa- rated by a groove from an interior lower portion of the tooth occupied by a single large, blunt, conical tubercle. The next premolar is a blunt cone with a heel behind. The apterior pre- molar is entirely similar, but much smaller, and crowded inward from the general axis of dentition. It has but one fang; the tooth behind it is two-rooted; the sectorial tooth roots by three fangs, two external, one internal; the upper molar is set in three irregular shallow sockets. The back lower molar is trans- versely elliptical rather than circular; its face is smooth and flattened, with a crosswise central depression. The anterior lower molar is completely and bluntly tuberculous, showing only traces of its likeness to the same tooth elsewhere in the family in a slightly elevated, tri-tuberculous, anterior part, and a flat- tish, depressed hind part. The back lower premolar is an irreg- ular, low, blunt cone, with a secondar;, eminence part way up its inner aspect. The other premolars are successively smaller and simpler. The front premolar and back molar are single- rooted; the anterior molar has four roots; the nt'xt tooth three; the next two. The canines, both above and below, are rather small, comparatively; the latter is not much curved. Of the superior incisors, the lateral pair are moderately larger than the rest, and taper somewhat toward the end from an elbow near the base. The others are smaller, especially nnrrow, and some- wha*: club-shaped; none are obviously lobate. Of the inferior incisors, it is seen to be the median pair that are missing, for the next pair (here the middle pair) have the backward set, which usually distinguishes them in other genera. These incisors are all strongly clubbed at their extremities, which are irregularly nicked. Ei%tory of the species. ■■. v.m - «>r ij ^ The history of this species may be considered to have begun ia the middle of the last century. C of the earliest ac- HISTORY OF THE SEA OTTEK. 335 « counts, if not the first one of any scientific pretensions, was that of the celebrated navigator Steller, who described the animal, in 1751, under the name of Lutra marina, a term not yet wholly obsolete, though untenable under the rules of nomen- clature. This may have been the first introduction of the spe- cies to the notice of civilized, or at least of scientific, men, though the animal had, of course, long been known to the na- tives of the countries along the shores of which it was found. It was known to the Kussians as the Sea or Kamtschatkan Beaver (Bobr morskoi and Kamtschatskoi Bobr), and to the Kamtschatkans themselves as the Kalan ; while other barbar- ous nations had their own equivalent terms, or several such, to indicate ditl'erent ages or states of pelage. Notwithstanding the accuracy of Steller's account, which is quoted and some- times consulted to the present day, and in spite of the numer- ous striking peculiarities which the animal offers upon the most casual inspection, the compilers of various systematic treatises soon suffered under a confusion of ideas, and perpe- trated blunders that were not for many years eradicated. LinnfBUs confounded it with the Saricovienne or Brazilian Ot- ter, Lutra hrasiUensis; and the same iriistake was even made by several much more accomplished therologists, like Brisson and Pennant. It would be presumed that its remarkable fea- tures would have prevented this; instead, however, we find that the singular couHtructiou of the hind feet, general aspect, and mode of life have caused it to be classed among the Seals — Pallas indeed, an emiuetit naturalist and observing traveller, calU it a Phom: and in the latest publication upon the snbjt'ct, Capt. 0. M. Sv^amnion's Marine Mammals (1874), it is lo<;ated again in the midst of Vinnipedia. It is, of course, unueuussary to scr ously dttscuss a procedure which, like this, is indefensible u\utn any but rhe most superficial and unscien- tiflo condidomtloiis, drawn tVuin rhe aquatic habits of the ani- mal, and the modificatiouM required for this end. Its relation- ships with the Pinnii>edH aiv entirely those of analogy. LinnaBUH was right, according to the terms of classification of his day, in placing it in the genus Mustela, a group nearly equivalent to tliPi family Mmtelidw as now understood. Over- looking or igunoring Steller's name of Lutra marina, which j though biDomial in the letter, was merely a Latin translation of a vernacular term, and not binomial ui>on any system, he called the species Muntela lutris, a name the specific portion of >i 111 t i», 336 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. which must stand, even though, as already intimated, it in- cludes an altogether different animal, Liitra brasiliensis ; for the Stellerian name marina was not used by any binomial writer until after Linn^us had applied lutris. Steller's more obviously appropriate designation of marina was, nevertheless, adopted by Erxleben, Schreber, Desmarest, and other distin- guished naturalists of various countries, and became generally current. In consequence, doubtless, of the very marked char- acters which the species affords, only two or three nominal species have been based upon it. The first of these, instituted by Oken, the famous anatomist and naturalist, is, in fact, scarcely a nominal species in the usual acceptation of the term, being merely, like the Mustela lutris of Liunieus, a re- naming of the well-known animal, without intention of sep- arating from it a second species. Oken called it Pusa orien- talis, in 1816,* in the work above cited, apparently inventing both the generic and specific term, in this application at least. E.-P. Lesson is responsible for another synonym, having, in 1827, renamed the species Lutra sMleri, a compliment to the distinguished navigator who gave us the early account, but one which the rules of nomenclature forbid us to adopt, however we might incline to such course. Lesson appears to have fan- cied that the Kamtschatkan Otter, Lutra or Mustela lutris of authors, and Lutra marina of Erxleben, was a true Lain Otter, different from Steller's animal, and, in fact, such was partly the case. We have yet to consider a very problematical animal, the Slender Otter of Pennant, which became the Lutra gracilis of Shaw, the Enydris gracilis of Fischer, and is mentioned under Pnsa by Oken, said to be from Staaten-Land, Nord- Amerika. It is impossible to determine what this is, owing to the imperfection of the description, but it was probably based upon a Sea Otter ; Pennant himself appears to have given it up, as it does not figure in his later work, "Arctic Zoology ". Oken speaks of " Staaten-Land, hei yew-York^, evidently hav- ing what is now known as Staten Island in view ; but it is safer to presume upon a geographical error here than to refer the animal to Lutra canadensisj which, as is well known, is the only Otter of the Eastern United States, where the Sea Otter certainly does not occur. t These specific names are the only ones I have come upon in * De Blainville gives the date of the name as ltil4, but I have not been able to trace it back of 1816. 11 HISTORY OF THE SEA OTTER. 337 searching the literature of the species; but we have still to consider the several designations resulting from their combina< tion with various generic designations, some of which sre old, and belong to other groups, while others were newly iD<rented for this particular species. The former are, in the order of their successive use, Lutra, Muatela, and ^hoca, after Steller, LinniBus, and Pallas respectively ; these need not detain us. It was three-quarters of a century, nearly, from its original intro- duction to the system, before the strongly marked characters of the species were made typical of a new genus — Pusa of Okeu, already mentioned, being the first-named of this sort. Pusa had, however, already been used by another writer in connection with a genus of Seals now commonly known as Ralichcerusy but in such a peculiar way as to raise one of those technical questions of synonymy which authors interpret difterc ntly, in absence of fixed rule. Scopoli based his Pusa upon a figure of Salomon MUUer's, recognizable with certainty as Halichceru8j»nil gave characters utterly irreconcilable with those of this animal. This is the whole case. Now it may be argued that there being no such animal whatever as Scopoli says his Pusa was, his name drops out of the system, and Pusa of Oken, virtually au entirely new term, is tenable for something else, namely, for the Sea Otter. On the other hand, Scopoli's quotations show exactly what he meant, in spite of his inept diagnosis ; his name Pusa therefore holds, and cannot be subsequently used by Oken in a different connection. This is the view I take in this and all similar cases, when a name can be identified by any means whatsoever, intrinsic or circumstantial, no matter how wide of the mark the ascribed characters may be. And even if it be not the first tenable name of a genus — in other words, if it be only a synonym of a prior name — it cannot be used again as a tenable name for a different genus. This name Pusa thus disposed of, another to be similarly treated is Latax of Gloger. Though applied by some authors, particularly J. E. Gray {more «tto, with little regard for the obvious requirements of the case), to species of Lutra proper, Latax was nevertheless based by its founder upon the Sea Otter, Lutra marina, in the xiiith vol. (1827) of the N. Act. Nat. Curios, p. 511 (reprinted in the Isis for 1829, and in F^russac's Bulletin). This well-identified name* is, how- * It is, however, doubtful whether Latax oaa be considered aa eetabliahed at all ; for Gloger, treating of the Sea Otter under the name Lutra marina, simply takes occasion to criticise the fitness of Oken's term Pu«a, and to suggest that Latax might be a more apt designation. . ^ 22 M w 338 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. ever, an UDquestionable synonym of Enhydra of Fleming, insti- tuted in|1822, in that author's "Philosophy of Zoology", and which, under its various i'oTmsofEnhydris, Enydris, and Enhydra, has been most generally employed of late years. Besides the technical accounts of very numerous authors who never saw the animal alive, there are many other notices of more general interest, in unscientific works, giving informa- tion upon its h{>bits and manners, and various figures, more or less true to life, are extant. The famous navigator Cook treats of the Sea Otter, and gives a fair representation. The description from Meares's Voyage, accurate, though nntechnical, is frequently quoted. Meuzies's article in the Philosophical Transactions for 1796 may be noted in this connection. Pen- nant, as usual, has an extended biographical notice. Probably the first anatomical article of any note is Martins's, upon the osteology of the species ; that of M. Gervais is specially im- portant. In late times, detached notices of its habits have Biultiplied, from the pens of a number of naturalists who have visited the northwest coast, and largely contributed to a com- plete history. Capt. Scammon's several articles above quoted, all to much the same eflfect, are specially noteworthy, though certain points may require to be scrutinized and checked by the observations of others. The author last mentioned also repro- duces the figure by Wolf, which accompanied Dr. J. E. Gray's paper on the Mustelidce, in Zoological Society's Proceedings for 1865 ; this is probably the most life-like representation of the species extant. J. W. Audubon's plate, t)ubli8hed in the work of his father and Dr.Bachman,is afinished drawing of unmistak- able character, probably the best one generally accessible to American students. Neither Sir John Richardson nor Audu- bon had met with the species alive, and their biographies, the principal ones which until lately had appeared in works upon American Mammals, are necessarily at second hand. The only American biographies, indeed, at all approaching completeness are those of Mr. Elliott and Capt. Scammou, already cited. .; ^^ The Sea- Otter audits Hunting J"* [By H. W. Elliott.] ' " The sea-otter, like the fur-seal, is another illustration of au animal long known and highly prized in the commercial world, * iiaviDg DO original iuforinatiou to offer respectiug the commercial bii»- tory, the chase, or the habits of the Sea Otter, I extract an aooount which there is reason to believe to be the roost complete, accurate, and reliable at "the sea-otter and its hunting." 339 i\ yet respecting the habits and life of which nothing definite has been ascertained or published. The reason for tbis is obvious, for, save the natives who hunt them, no one properly qualified has ever had an opportunity of seeing the sea-otter so as to study it in a state of nature, for, of all the shy, sensitive beasts, upon the capture of which man sets any value, this creature is the most keenly on the alert and difficult to obtain ; and, like the fur-seal in this Territory, it possesses the enhancing value of being principally confined to our country. A truthful ac- count of the strange, vigilant life of the sea-otter, and of the hardships and perils encountered by its hunters, would surpass in novelty and interest the most attractive work of fiction. " When the Russian traders opened up the Aleutian Islands, they found the natives commonly wearing sea-otter cloaks, which they parted with at first for a trifle, not placing any especial value on the animal, as they did the hair-seal and the sea-lion, the hair and skin of which were vastly more palatable and serviceable to them ; but the offers of the greedy traders soon set the natives after them. During the first few years the numbers of these animals taken all along the Aleutian Chain, and down the whole northwest coast as far as Oregon, were uur Hervice. The ioUowiug uiatter coustitutes Chap. V, pp. 54-62, of^Mr. Henry W. Elliott's " Report on the Condition of Affairs in the Territory of Alaska", 8vo, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1875. Mr. Elliott has proven a trustworthy observer and zealous naturalist, and had excellent opportunities of studying the whole subject during his long residence in Alaska as special agent of the Treasury Department, charged with the Gov- ernment interests in the Fur Seal Fisheries. A quotation from Sir John Richardson (Fn. Bor.-Am. p. 59), touching the early aspects of the Sea Otter business, will not be here out of place : — " The fur of the Sea Otter being very handsome, was much esteemed by the Chinese, and, nntil the market at Canton was overstocked, prime skins brought extraordinarily high prices. The trade for a considerable period was in the hands of the Russians, who soon after the discovery of the north- west coast of America, by Beering [sic-] and Tschirikow, sent mercantile expeditions hither. Captain Cook's third voyage drew the attention of English speculators to that quarter, and vessels were freighted both by private adventurers and the India Company, for the purpose of collecting furs and conveying them to Canton. Pennant, alluding to this traffic, says, ' What a profitable trade (with China) might not a colony carry on, were it possible to penetrate to that part of America by means of rivers and lakes.' The event that Pennant wished for soon took place. Sir Alexander Mac- kenzie having traversed the continent of America, and gained the coast of the Pacific, his partners in trade followed up bis success, by establishing fur posts in New Caledonia, and a direct commerce with China; bat the influx of furs into that market soon reduced their price." 340 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. very great, and compared with what are now captured seem perfectly fabulous; for instance, when the Prybilov Islands were first discovered, two sailors, Lukannon and Ka^ekov, killed at St. Paul's Island, in the first year of occupation, jftre thousand, the next year they got less than a thousand, and in six years after not a single sea-otter appeared, and none have appeared since. When Shellikov's party first visited Cook's Inlet, they secured three thousand; during the second year, two thousand ; in the third, only eight hundred; the season following they obtained six hundred; and finally, in 1812, less than a hundred, and since then not a tenth of that number. The first visit made by the Bussians to the Gulf of Yahkutat, in 1794, two thousand sea-otters were taken, but they diminished so rapidly that in 1799 less than three hundred were taken. In 1798 a large party of Bussians and Aleuts captured in Sitka Sound and neighbor- hood twelve hundred skins, besides those for which they traded with the natives there, f !y as many morej and in the spring of 1800 a few America ad English vessels came into Sitka Sound, anchored off the small Bussian settlement there, and traded with the natives for over two thousand skins, getting the trade of the Indians by giving firearms and powder, ball, &c., which the Bussians did not dare to do, living then, as they were, in the country. In one of the early years of the Bussian American Company, 1804, Baranov went to the Okotsk from Alaska with fifteen thousand sea-otter skins, that were worth as much then as they are now, viz, fully $1,000,000. " The result of this warfare upon the sea-otters, with ten hunters then where there is one to-day, was not long delayed. Everywhere throughout the whole coast-line frequented by them the diminution set in, and it became difficult to get to places where a thousand have been as easily obtained as twenty- five or thirty. A Bussian chronicler says : ' The numbers of several kinds of animals are growing very much less in the present as compared with past times ; for instance the Company here (Ounalashka) regularly killed more than a thousand sea- otters annually ; now (1835) from seventy to a hundred and fifty are taken ; and there was a time, in 1826, when the returns from the whole Ounalashka district (the Aleutian Islands) were only fifteen sMns.^ " It is also a fact coincident with this diminution of sea- otters, that the population of the Aleutian Islands fell off almost in the same proportion. The Bussians regarded the] lives of " THE SEA-OTTER AND ITS HUNTING." 341 these people as tbey did those of dogs, and treated them accord- ingly ; they took, under Baranov and his subordinates, hunting- parties of five hundred to a thousand picked Aleuts, eleven or twelve hundred miles to the eastward of their homes, in skin- baidars and bidarkies, or kyacks, traversing one of the wildest and roughest of coasts, and used them not only for the severe drudgery of otter-hunting, but to fight the Koloshians and other savages all the way up and down the coast ; this soon destroyed them, and few ever got back alive. '^ When the Territory came in our possession, the Bussians were taking between four and five hundred sea-otters from the Aleutian Islands and south of the peninsula of Alaska, with perhaps a hundred and fifty more from Kenai, Yahkutat, and the Sitkan district ; the Hudson's Bay Company and other trad- ers getting about two hundred more from the coast of Queen Charlotte's and Vancouver's Islauds, and oflf Gray's Harbor, Washington Territory. ** Now, during the last season, 1873, instead of less than seven hundred skins, as obtained by the Bussians, our traders secured not much less than four thousand skins. This immense differ- ence is not due to the fact of there being a proportionate increase of sea-otters, but to the organization of hunting-par- ties in the same spirit and fashion, as in the early days above mentioned. The keen competition of our traders will ruin the business in a comparatively short time if some action is not taken by the Government; and to the credit of these traders let it be said, that while they cannot desist, for if they do others will step in and profit at their expense, yet they are anxious that some prohibition should be laid upon the business. This can be easily done, and in such manner as to perpetuate the sea- otter, not only for themselves, but for the natives, who are dependent upon its hunting for a living which makes them superior to savages. " Over two-thirds of all the sea otters taken in Alaska are secured in two small areas of water, little rocky islets and reefs around the island of Saanach and the Chernobours, which proves that these animals, in spite of the incessant hunting all* the year round on this ground, seem to have some particular preference for it to the practical exclusion of nearly all the rest of the coast in the Territory. This may be due to its better adaptation as a breeding-ground. It is also noteworthy that all the sea-otters taken below*the Straits of Fuca are shot by II' ," 342 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. the Indians and white hunters oflf the beach in the surf at Gray's Harbor, a stretch of less than twenty miles ; here some fifty to a hundred are taken every year, while not half that number can be obtained from all the rest of the Washington and Oregon coast-line; there is nothing in the external appearance of this reach to cause its selection by the sea-otters, except perhaps that it may be a little less rocky. "As matters are now conducted by the hunting-parties, the sea-otters at Saauach and the Ghernobours do not have a day's rest during the whole jear. Parties relieve each other in succes- sion, and a continuous warfare is maintained. This persistence is stimulated by the traders, and is rendered still more deadly to the sea-otter by the use of rifles of the best make, which, in the hands of the young and ambitious natives, in spite of the warnings of the old men, must result in the extermination of these animals, as no authority exists in the laud to prevent it. These same old men, in order to successfully compete with their rivals, have to drop their bone-spears and arrows, and take up fire-arms in self-defense. So the bad work goes on rapidly, though a majority of the natives and the traders deprecate it. With a view to check this evil and to perpetuate the life of the sea-otter in the Territory, I offer the following suggestions to the Department : " 1st. Prohibit the use of firearms of any description in the hunting of the sea-otter in the Territory of Alaska. "2d. Make it unlawful for any party or parties to hunt this animal during the months of June, July, and August, fixing a suitable penalty, fine, or punishment. " The first proposition gives the sea-otter a chance to live ; and, with the second, may possibly promote an increase in the number of this valuable animal. "The enforcement by the Government of this prohibition will not be difficult, as it is desired by a great majority of the natives and all the traders having any real Interest in the per- petuation of the business. A good deputy attached to the customs, whose salary and expenses might be more than paid by a trifling tax on each otter-skin, say $1, could, if provided with a sound whale-boat, make his headquarters at Saanach and Belcovski and carry the law into effect. The trade of the Kodiak district centers at the village of that name, and the presence of the collector or his deputy will exert authority, and cause the old native hunters 'and many of the younger who HABITS OF THE SEA OTTER. 343 have reflectiou to complj with his demands. The collector theu being provided with the small revenue-steamer spoken of in my chapter upon the duty of the Government toward the Territory, can insure compliance with the instructions given him, and punish violations. "This proposed action on the part of the Government is urgent and humane, for upon the successful huntijig of the sea-otter some five thousand christianized nati\ es are entirely dependent for the means to live in a condition superior to bar- barism. ^^ The habits of the sea-otter. {Enhydra marina.) "I have had a number of interesting interviews with several very intelligent traders, and an English hunter who had spent an entire winter on Saanach Island, shooting sea-otters, and enduring, while there, bitter privation and hardship; and chiefly from their accounts, aided by my own observation, I submit the following: ^^Saanach Island, Islets, and Eeefs, is the great sea-otter ground of this country. The island itself is small, with a coast- line circuit of about eighteen miles. Spots of sand beach are found here and there, but the major portion of it is composed of enormous water-worn bowlders piled up by the surf. The interior is low and rolling, with a ridge rising into three hills, the middle one some 800 feet in height. There is no timber on it, but abundant grass, moss, &c., with a score of little fresh- water lakes, in which multitudes of ducks and geese are found every spring and fall. The natives do not live upon the island, because the making of fires and scattering of food- refuse alarms the otters, driving them off to sea ; so that it is only camped upon, and fires are never built unless the wind is from the southward, for no sea-otters are ever found to be uorth of the island. The sufferings to which the native hunt- ers subject themselves every winter on this island, going for many weeks without fires, even for cooking, with the ther- mometer down to zero, in a northerly gale of wind, is better imagined than described. '• To the southward and westward, and stretching directly out to sea, some five to eight miles from Saanach Island, is a suc- cession of small islets, bare, most of them, at low water, but with numerous reefs and rocky shoals, beds of kelp, &c. This is the great sea-otter ground of Alaska, together with the '^i 344 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^.. CberDobour Islets, to the eastward about thirty wiles, which are similar to it. The sea-otter rarely lands upon the main island, bat it is found just out of water on the reef-rocks and islets above mentioned, in certain seasons, and at a little dis- tance at sea during calm and pleasant weather. The adult sea-otter is an animal that will measure from three and a half to four feet at most, from nose to tip of tail, which is short and stumpy. The general contour of the body is closely like that of the beaver, with the skin lying in loose folds, so that when taken hold of in lifting the body out from the water, it is as slack and draws up like the hide on the nape of a young dog. This skin, which is taken from the body with but one cut made in it at the posteriors, is turned inside out, and air-dried, and stretched, so that it then gives the erroneous impression of an animal at least six feet in length, with girth and shape of a weasel or mink. There is no sexual dissimilarity in color or size, and both inanifest the same intense shyness and aversion to man, coupled with the greatest solicitude for their young, which they bring into existence at all seasons of the year, for the natives get young pups every month in the year. As the natives have never caught the mothers bringing forth their off- spnug on the rocks, they are disposed to believe that the birth takes place on kelp-beds, in pleasant or not over-rough weather. The female has a single pup, born about fifteen inches in length, and provided during the first mouth or two with a coat of coarse, brownish, grizzled fur, head and nape grizzled, grayish, rufous white, with the roots of the hair growing darker toward the skin. The feet, as in the adult, are very short, webbed, with nails like a dog, fore-paws exceedingly feeble and small, all covered with a short, fine, dark, bister-brown hair or fur. From this poor condition of fur they improve as they grow older, shading darker, finer, thicker, and softer, and by the time they are two years of age they are ' prime,' though the animal is not full-grown until its fourth or fifth year. The white nose and mustache of the nup are not changed in the adult. The whiskers are white, short, and fine. The female has two teats, resembling those of a cat, placed between the hind limbs on the abdomen, and no signs of more ; the pup sucks a year at least, and longer if its mother has no other; the mother lies upon her back in the water or upon the rooks, as the case may be, and when she is surprised, she protects her young by clasping it in her fore-paws and turning her back to the danger HABITS OF THE SEA OTTER. 345 they sbed their fur just as the hair of inan grows and fdlls oat; the reason is evident, for they must be ready for the water at all times. " The sea otter mother sleeps in the water on her back, with her yonng clasped between her fore-paws. The pup cannot lite without its mother, though frequent attempts have been made by the natives to raise them, as they often capture them alive, but, like some other species of wild animals, it seems to be so deeply imbued with fear of man that it invariably dies from self-imposed starvation. '^ Their food, as might be inferred from the flat molars of dentition, is almost entirely composed of cl.ims, muscles, and sea-urchins, of which they are very fond, and which they break by striking the shells together, held in each fore-paw, sucking out the contents as they are fractured by these efforts ; they also undoubtedly eat crabs, and the juicy tender fronds of kelp or sea- weed, and fish. '* They are not polygamous, and more than an individual is seldom seen at a time when out at sea. The tiesh is very un- palatable, highly charged with a rank smell and flavor. " They are playful, it would seem, for I am assured by several old hunters that they hav^e watched the sea-otter for half an hour as it lay upon its back in the water and tossed a piece of sea- weed up in the air from paw to paw, apparently taking great delight in catching it before it could fall into the water. It will also play with its young for hours. '^ The quick hearing and acute smell possessed by the sea- otter are not equaled by any other creatures in the Territory. They will take alarm and leave from the effects of a small fire, four or five miles to the windward of them ; and the footstep of man must be washed by many tides before its trace ceases to alarm the animal and drive it from landing there should it approach for that purpose. " There are four principal methods of capturing the sea-otter, viz, by surf'ShooUngf by spearingsnrrounds, by cltthhing, and by net8. *' The surf-shooting is the common method, but has only been in vogue among the natives a short time. The young men have nearly all been supplied with rifles, with whioh they patrol the shores of the island and inlets, and whenever a sea-otter's head is seen in the surf, a thousand yards out even, they fire, the great distance and the noise of the surf preventing the sea- 346 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELIDiE. Otter from takiug alarm until it is bit; and in nine times out of ten, when it is bit, in the bead, which is all t: "t is exposed, the shot is fatal, and the hunter waits until the surf brings bis quarry in, if it is too rough or him to venture out in his ♦ bidarkie.' This shooting is kept up now the whole year round. "The spearingsurround is the orthodox native system of cap- ture, and reflects the highest credit upon them as bold, hardy watermen. A party of fifteen or twenty bidarkies, with two men in each, as a rule, all under the control of a cbief elected by common consent, start out in pleasant weather, or when it is not too rough, and spread themselves out in a long line, slowly paddling over the waters where sea-otters are most usually found. When any one of them discovers an otter, asleep, most likely, in the water, he snakes a quiet signal, and there is not a word spoken or a paddle splashed while they are on ilio hunt, lie darts toward tbe animal, but generally the alarm is taken by the sensitive object, which instantly dives before the Aleut can get near enough to throw his spear. The hunter, however, keeps right on, and stops his canoe directly over the spot where tlie otter disappeared. The others, tak- ing note of the position, all deploy and scatter in a circle of half a mile wide around the mark of departure thus made, and patiently wait for the reappearance of the otter, which must take place within fifteen or thirty minutes, for breath ; and as soon as this happens the nearest one to it darts forward in the same manner as his predecessor, when <all hands shout and throw tlieir spears, to uiake the animal dive again as quickly as possible, thus giving it scarcely an instant to recover itself. A sentry is placed over its second diving- wake as be' ~^, and the circle is drawn anew ; and the surprise is often retreated, sometimes for two or three hours, until the sea-otter, from interrupted respiration, becomes so tilled with ai^ or gases that he cannot sink, and becomes at once an easy victim. " The coolness with which these Aleuts will go far out to sea iu their cockleshell kyacks, and risk the Jipproaoh of gales that are as apt to be against them as not, with a mere handful of food and less water, is remarkable. They are cer- tainly as hardy a set of hunters, patient and energetic, as can be found in the world. " The clubbing is only done in the winter-season, and then at infrequent intervals, which occur when tremendous gales of HABITS OF THE SEA OTTER. 347 wind frotti the northward, sweeping down over Saauach, have about blown themselves out. The natives, the very boldest of tUem, set out from Saanach, au^ skud down on the tail of the gale to the far outlying rocks, just sticking out above surf- wash, where they creep up from the leeward to the sea-otters found there at such times, with their heads stuck into the beds of kelp to avoid the wind. The noise of the gaio is greater than that made by the stealthy movements of the hunters, who, armed each with a short, heavy wooden club, dispatch the animals, one after another, without alarming the whole body, and in this way two Aleuts, brothers, were known to have slain seventy-eight in less than an hour and a half. " There is no driving these animals out upon land. They are fierce and courageous, an«l when surprised by a man be- tween themselves and the water, they will make for the sea, straight, without any regard for the hunter, their progress, by a succession of short leaps, being very rapid for a small dis- tance. The greatest care is taken by the seaotter hunters on Saanack. Tliey have lived in the dead of a severe winter six weeks at a time without kindling a fire, and with certain winds they never light one. They do not sujoke, nor do they scatter or empty food-refuse on the beaches. Oi all this I am assured by one who is perhaps the first white eye-witness of this winter-hunting, as he lived on the island through that of 1872-'73, and could not be induced to repeat it. "The hunting by use of nets calls up the strange dissimilar- ity existing now, as it has in all time past, between the prac- tice of the Atka and xVttou Aleuts and that of those of Ouna- lashka and the eastward, as given above. These people cap- ture the sea-otter in nets, from 10 to 18 feet h)ng and (5 to 1(> feet wide, with coarse meshes made nowadays of twine, but formerly of sinew. *' On the kelp-beds these nets are spread out, and the na- tives withdraw and watch. The otters come to sleep or rest on those places, and get entangled in the meshes of the net.s, seeming to make little or no eft'ort to escape, paralyzed as it were by fear, and fall in this way easily into the hands of the trappers, who tell me that they have caught Jis many as six at one time in one of these small nets, and fre«iuently get three. They also watch for surf-holes or caves in the MulVs, and, when one is found to which a sea-otter is in the liabit of re- u 348 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. sorting, they set tbis net by spreading it over the entrance, and usually capture the animal. " No injury whatever is done to these frail nets by the sea- otters, strong animals as they are ; only stray sea-lions destroy them. The Atka people have never been known to hunt sea- otters without nets, while the people of Ounalashka and the eastward have never been known to use them. The salt-water and kelp seem to act as a disinfectant to the net, so that the smell of it does not repel or alarm the shy animal." U. S. Geological Survey. MustelidsB. PLATE I. 44iilo IiiNt'iiot. <H«-i\ucfil.) •M U. S. Geological Survey. MnsteUdsB. PLATE II. if ITIiistela peiinnnti. (Nnt. nlze.) U. 8. Geolojiical Snrvey. MiuteUdflB. PLATE III. : I ii MnHteln martmi. (Xat. size.) u. U. 8. Geological Survey. MustelidsB. PLATE IV. 1 1' Sin itela f eina, (Kat. size.) :m ^V''" U. 8. Oeologieiil Survey, MttitelidsB. PLATE V. MiiMtela aiiierlcHiia. (Nat. size.) I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4fj 1.0 I.I 11.25 2.0 Ki 114 1.8 U 11.6 ^y^"^"^^ ki^r- -m m U. S. Gteological Survey. MusteUdse. PLATE VI. PatoriHS erininen. PntorluM vnlnnris . Figa 1. 3, 5, fi. ) ^^^ ^i,, ) I. FiRB. 9, 4. y : m #; •^v. u. s .';?%»- U. S. Geolojjical Survey. MustelidsB. PLATE VII. •*utoriii« nlffrlpett. (Nat. size.) u. ■-« ,^ .„-.•"<.„, !%■ U. S. Geological Survey. MustelidsB. PLAIE VIII. Fntorini* t'oetldn*. (Nat. size.) ifif*,. ,v- i U. S. Geological Survey. MusteUdsB. PLATE IX. Hntorlus viaon. (Nat. size.) u, '•'1^;; ^■•^i'- M U. 8. Geological Survey. MniteUdflB PLATE Z. Mepliitls mepblticn. (Nat. size) u U. 8. Oeological Survey. MustelidsB. PLATE XI. Mei»hltl« meplil (Nat. size.) \ U. 8. Geological Survey. Mustelids. PLATE XII. Mephitis (Spllovale) pntorlas. (8kin«, greatly redaoed.) u 4 ' :;«?■%; U. S. Geol()}!ical Survey. MnstelidsB. PLATE XIII. m Till Mephitis (M|illovMle) putvrlNS, (Nat. size.) u. ^B^ U. S. Qeological Snrvey. HnstelidsD. PLATE XIV. Mephitis (Spllovalc) pntorlan. (Nat. size.) U. 8. Geological Survey. Mustelids. PLATE XV. Conepatns mapurlto. <Xat. size.) i-^'ViiS^*- U. S. Geological Siirver. MusteUdsB. PLATE XYI. 'I'Hxiden Biuerlcnua. (UvUuued.) U. S. Geological .Sntvey, Mustelidse. PLATE XVII. I^uira canadensiM. (Nat. size.) U. 8. Oi'olonicttl Survey. MuBtelidee. PLATE XVIII. l^ntra valKaris* <Nat. size.) U. S. Geolofjical Survey. MustelidsB. PLATE XIX. '^^^^ iffi^ mm ^^ "^ r^'^'-— ji^'^g'I'll iiin "^^ ^1 ^^^ ^W^ «^3 ^^ ^mi ^^p'^lR ^S9 :: ^**^,-^^ m^jr '■ ■-■-' ■■ ■■ • Enhydrls Intrfs, (Keduoed.) U. S. Geological Survey. Mustelidse. PLATE XX. Enbydrla IntrlH. (Upper fig. reduced. Lower &g. nat. size.)