Full text of "Synopsis of the weasels of North America"

Frontispii 




Bridled Weasel, Putorius frenatus. 

Valley of Mexico. 







Black-footed Ferret, Putorius mgripes. 

Western Kansas. 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

DIVISION OF ORNITHOLOGY AND MAMMALOGY 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 



]STo. 



[Actual date of publication June 30, 1896] 



: ^ 



SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA 

C. HART MERRIAM 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
189G 



no. 1 1 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

Wa-thingtoiij I). C., May 0, 1896. 

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication, as No. 
11 of North American Fauna, a Synopsis of the Weasels of North 
America. 

Bespeetfully, C. HART MERRIAM, 

Chief of Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy. 
Dr. CHAS. W. DABNEY, Jr., 

Acting Secretary of Agriculture. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Introduction 5-7 

.Subjxen us Putorius (the ferrets) 7-9 

Subgeuus Ictis (the weasels) 9 

List of North American weasels -. 10 

Descriptions of species f 10-32 

Table of cranial measurements 33 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

(All natural size.) 



PLATES. 

Frontispiece. Heads of Black-footed Ferret and Bridled Weasel. 

1. Skulls of Putoriitx nigripes and /'. putorius. 

2. Skulls of Putorius arcticus, alascensis, cicognani, streatori, and risosus. 

3. Skulls of Putorius frcnatus, longicauda, and tropicalis. 

4. Skulls of Putorius noveboracensis, washingtoni, and peninxuln . 

5. Skulls of Putorius longicauda, cicognani, noveboracensis, rixosus, ptninyulir, and 

arcticus. 

TEXT FIGUKES. 

1. Putorius nigripes, $ old. Trego County, Kaus. 
2,3. Putorius cicognani, $ ad. Elk Itiver, Minnesota. 
4-6. Putorius noveboracensis, <$ ad. Adiroudacks, New York. 
7-9. Putorius longicauda, $ ad. Fort Sisseton, S. Dakota. 
10, 11. Putorius longicauda upadix, 9. Elk River, Minnesota. 
12-14. Putorius arlzoncnsis, $ ad. Boulder County, Colo. 

15. Putorius frenatus, 9 ad. Cofre de Perote, Vera Cruz, Mexico. 

16. Putorius tropicalis, 9 ad. Jico, Vera Cruz, Mexico. 

4 



No, 11, NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA, June, 1896. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA, 

By C. HART MERRIAM. 

The present synopsis includes the one ferret and all of the weasels 
yet discovered in North America north of Panama. Of the true weasels 
(subgenus Ictis ) no less than 22 species and subspecies are here recog- 
nized, 11 of which are described for the first time. 

Until very recently the group has been in a state of chaos, but now,, 
thanks to Outram Bangs's excellent paper entitled <A review of the 
weasels of eastern North America,' 1 the obscurity that lias so long 
surrounded our eastern species has been cleared away and the task of 
revising the whole group is rendered comparatively easy. Additional 
material is needed from certain parts of the West, particularly from 
southeastern Alaska and the middle and northern parts of the Great 
Basin, and much remains to be learned respecting the extent to which 
jtntergradation exists between allied forms having contiguous ranges. 

Excepting the circurnpolar type, represented in America by the weasel 
of the barren grounds (Putorius arcticus nob.), and in Eurasia by the 
closely related P. erminea, the weasels of North America fall naturally 
into two groups, characterized by important cranial differences, and 
having complementary geographic ranges. The first is a boreal group 
comprising five forms: richardsoni, alascensis, cicoynani, streatori, and 
rixosns, the southernmost of which (cicognani) reaches only the northern 
United States. The other is an austral group comprising tliefrenntttn 
and longicauda series and including P. peninsiilcc, of Florida. Of this 
series only a single species (P. arizonensis) reaches the lowermost of the 
boreal zones, and this only in the mountains. 

Between these two groups are two very interesting species, novebora- 
censis and Iropicnliss the former inhabiting the eastern United States, 
the latter the tropical belt of Mexico. Mr. Bangs has already shown 
that the female of P. noveboracensis resembles P. cicognani, while the 
male resembles P. longicauda. The case of P. tropicalis is exactly 
parallel, the female resembling ctcognani, while the male resembles 
frenatus. 

1 Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, X, pp. 1-24, Feb. 25, 1896. 



6 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 

Among mammals the female is often less specialized tlian the male 
and consequently bears more resemblance to the ancestral stock, thus 
giving a clew to the line of descent when this can not be determined 
from the male alone. In the present instance the females of norchora- 
censisunA tropical is have small, smoothly rounded skulls without sagit- 
tal crests and with narrow audital bulhe and inflated squamosals, as 
in the cicognani series, while the males have large angular skulls with 
well-developed sagittal crests, relatively broad audital bulla-, and flat 
squamosals, as in the longicauda-frenatus series. The inference is that 
the austral longicauda-frenatus series was derived from the boreal 
cicognani stock, and that the differentiation took place in the South. 
P. noveboracensis occupies middle ground geographically, and may have 
become differentiated from cicognani under existing conditions in the 
area it now inhabits; but P. tropicaMs, which inhabits tropical Mexico, 
must either have originated from the cicognani stock when the latter 
was driven southward by the cold of the Glacial epoch, or must have 
accomplished a very remarkable migration. 

Turning now to the weasel of the tundras (P. arcticus], the female is 
also found to resemble the cicognani type, indicating at least so far 
as the American species go that the whole group (subgenus Ictu-) has 
sprung from an ancestral type related to /*. cicognani. 

Probably cicognani itself is a strongly specialized type, although the 
specialization took place a long time ago and seems to have been in 
the direction of greater simplicity. The tendency has been toward a 
narrowing of the skull as a whole and the obliteration of its promi- 
nences and angles. The zygomata have been reduced and drawn in 
close to the sides of the cranium, and the brain case has been nar- 
rowed, elongated, and smoothly rounded off, as if to enable the head to 
pass through small openings. The body as a whole has undergone 
parallel modification, presenting the extreme degree of slenderuess 
known among the mammalia. This type of weasel seems to have been 
developed for the express purpose of preying upon field mice or voles, 
its narrow skull and cylindrical body enabling it to enter and follow 
their runways and subterranean galleries. The extreme development 
of the type is presented in. P. rixosus and P. streatori, whose exceed- 
ingly small size and almost serpentine form make it possible for them 
to traverse the burrows of even the smaller mice. 

It is an interesting fact that the geographic range of the cicognani 
group is almost coincident with that of the field mice of the subgenus 
Microtus. Farther south, where these mice occur sparingly or not at 
all, the cicognani series of weasels is replaced by the larger and more 
powerful longicauda-frenatus series. Where the ranges of the two 
overlap, as on the northern plains, the large weasel (P. longicaurfa) 
preys chiefly on pocket gophers (Thomomys and Geomys] and ground 
squirrels (Spermophilm franldini and 8. 13-lineatuft), while the smaller 
species (cicognani and rixosus) prey chiefly on mice. 



JUNK, 1896.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 7 

Similarly in the far North, where the frozen tundras are inhabited by 
lemmings as well as voles, two weasels are present: the tiny, narrow- 
skulled rixosus, which feeds mainly on mice, and the large, broad-skulled 
arcticus, which feeds chiefly on lemmings and rabbits. 

It seems clear, therefore, that the different types of weasels have been 
developed by adaptation to particular kinds of food. 

It is much to be regretted that specimens of the South American 
weasels are not available for study in connection with the North Amer- 
ican species. The only one I have seen is P. affinis Gray, which ranges 
from Costa Rica to northern South America. While differing specif- 
ically from frenatus it clearly belongs to the same group. 

Except in winter, weasels are usually so difficult to procure in any- 
thing like satisfactory series that but few are available from most of 
the localities represented in collections. As a rule, the number is too 
small to afford reliable average measurements; hence the averages here 
given are subject to correction. 

The skull drawings in PI. I and those in the text (except figs. 10, 
11, 15, and 16) were made by Benjamin Mortimer. Those in Pis. II to 
V, inclusive, were drawn by Dr. James C. McConnell under the super- 
vision of the author. About half of the skulls shown in the latter 
plates were used by Mr. Bangs in his paper already referred to. 

Except where the contrary is distinctly stated, all the measurements 
in this paper were taken in the flesh by the collector. It is hardly 
necessary to add that all measurements are in millimeters. 

Genus PUTORIUS Cuvier, 1817. 

Key to subgenera (for American forms only) : 

Size large, about equaling the mink (Lutreola); facial bar black; legs and feet 
abruptly darker than upper parts subgeuus Putorius. 

Size medium or small, never more than half as large as the mink (Lulreola); 
facial bar white or absent; legs and feet concolor with or paler than upper 
parts subgeuns Ictia. 

Subgeuus PUTORIUS Cuvier, 1817. 

Putorius Cuvier: Ri-gne Animal, I, 147-149, 1817. 
Cynomyonax Coues: Fur-Bearing Animals, 99, 147-148, 1877. 

PUTORIUS NIGRIPES Aud. & Bach. Black-footed Ferret. 
(PL I, figs. 1, la, Ib.) 

1851. Putorius nigripes Aud. & Bach. : Quadrupeds N. Am., Vol. II, pp. 297-299, pi. 

93, 1851. 
1877. Coues: Fur-Bearing Animals, 149-153, 1877. 

Type locality. Plains of the Platte River, in Nebraska. 

Geographic range. Great Plains, from western North Dakota and 
northern Montana to Texas; not known west of eastern base of Rocky 
Mountains. 

Characters. Size of the mink; ears rather large; color buffy, with a 



8 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[Xo.ll 



dark area in middle of back; fore and hind feet, end of tail, and band 
across tare including eyes) black. 

Color. Ground color pale yellowish or bufl'y above and below, 
clouded on top of head (and sometimes on neck also) by dark-tipped 
hairs; face crossed by a broad band of sooty black, which includes the 
eyes; feet, lower part of legs, terminal third of tail, and preputial 
region, sooty black; back, about midway between fore and hind legs, 
marked by a large patch of dark umber-brown, which fades insensibly 
into the buffy of surrounding parts; muzzle, lips, chin, a small spot 
over each eye, a narrow band behind black facial bar. and sides of 
head to and including ears, soiled white; anterior margin of ear near 
base clouded with dusky. 

Cranial characters. Skull large and massive, very broad between 
orbits, and deeply constricted behind postorbital processes, 1 which are 
strongly developed; zygomata strongly bowed outward; audital bulhe 
obliquely flattened on outer side; a prominent bead over lachrymal 
opening. 

Compared with our American weasels, the skull of 1'utorins H if/ ripen 

may be told at a glance 
by its great size, the 
basilar length in adult 
males averaging about 
05 mm., and in females 
about 02 mm. Compared 
with P. crersmanni of 
southern Siberia, it may 
be distinguished by the 
greater postinolar pro- 
duction of the palate, 
and by other minor cra- 
nial characters. From 
the common polecat of Europe (Putorius putorius) it differs in several 
important characters, as may be seen by reference to PI. I. In P. puto- 
rius the postorbital region is very broad, the postmolar part of the 
palate exceedingly long, and the anterior part of the audital bullse very 
different. 

Remarl-s. The black-footed ferret bears no resemblance whatever to 
any other American mammal, but is very closely related to the Sibe- 
rian Putorius erersmanni. It differs from the latter in having much 
shorter and coarser fur, larger ears, and longer postmolar extension 
of the palate. 

In some specimens of Putorius nigripes the pale buffy of the under 
parts is clouded across the breast between the fore legs, suggesting the 
dark breast of P. erersmanni. The dark facial mask encircles the eyes 

'This constriction deepens with age, as in all the weasels. It is very deep iu the 
skull shown in the accompanying text figure (fig. 1), which is that of an old indi- 
vidual; much less deep in the younger specimen shown on PI. I, lig. 1. 




FIG. ll'utf,rius nigripes <f ad. Trego County, Kans. 



JUNE, 1896.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 9 

(including the whitish supraorbital spot) and dips slightly forward 
before passing transversely across the face, so that its posterior border 
is in front of the plane of the outer angles of the eyes. Its anterior 
border sometimes extends forward almost to the nasal pad, but this is 
unusual. The black of the feet reaches up and covers the fore leg to 
the elbow, except along the outer side, and the hind leg to near the 
knee, except posteriorly. 

Measurements.* Average of 3 males: Total length, 570; tail verte- 
bra, 133; hind foot, 60. Average of 2 females: Total length, 500; tail 
vertebrae, 120; hind foot, 55. 

Cranial measurement*. Average of 4 skulls of adult males: Basal 
length, 04; basilar length of Hensel,C2.5; zygomatic breadth, 43; mas- 
toid breadth, 37; breadth across postorbital processes, 22.5; interor 
bital breadth, 18; breadth of constriction, 12.5; palatal length, 33; 
postpalatal length, 31.5. Average of 2 skulls of adult females: 
Basal length, 60.5; basilar length of Hensel, 58.5; zygomatic breadth, 
39; inastoid breadth, 34.5; breadth across postorbital processes, 20; 
iuterorbital breadth, 16.5; breadth of constriction, 12; palatal length, 
31; postpalatal length, 20. 

Subgenus ICTIS Kaup, 1829. 

Ictis Kanp: Entwickelnngs-Geschichte und Naturliches System der Europaischen 

Thierwelt, pp. 40-41, 1829. (Contains only a single species, Muslela rulyarin.') 

Schulze: Fannie Saxonicse, Mammalia, p. 170, 1893. 
Arctogale Kaup: Entwickeluugs-Geschichte nnd Naturliches System der Enropiii- 

sclien Thierwelt, p. 30, 1829. (Contains two species, erminea and boccamela.) 
Gale Wagner: Supplement Schreber's Siiugthiere, II, p. 234, 1841. (Contains four 

species, frenatus, ermivea, boccamela, and vulgaris.) 

The names Ictis and Arctogale were proposed simultaneously in the 
same publication. Each is accompanied by a diagnosis and included spe- 
cies. The two names, therefore, according to Canon 18 of the A. O. U. 
Code of Nomenclature, are equally pertinent. In sequence of pagina- 
tion Arctogale comes 10 pages ahead of Ictis. Ictis contains a single 
species (vulgaris = niralis Linn.), while Arctogale has two (erminea 
and loccamela). The reasons for choosing Ictis instead of A rctogale are : 

(1) The type of let-is is fixed beforehand, since it contained only a single 
species, while in Arctogale the type must be established arbitrarily; 

(2) Arctogale is now in current use for another genus of small carniv- 
ora; 2 to transfer it to a diiferent group would lead to much confusion, 
and would be a great and seemingly unnecessary calamity. Hence, 
since there is no rule to the contrary, the better course seems to be to 
adopt Ictis and allow Arctogale to fall into synonymy. 

1 The number of specimens of which reliable flesh measurements are available is 
too small to afford satisfactory averages. 

*ArctogaU Peters, 1864, a gemi.s of Viverridsr ; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864, 
pp. 508, 542-543; Blanford, Fauna British India, Mammalia, p. 114, 1888; Flo\v-r and 
Lydekker, Introduction to Study of Mammals, p. 533, 1891; Lydi-kk.-r, Royal Nat. 
Hist., I, p. 461, 1893-94. 



10 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 11. 

Furthermore, Ictls has been already revived by Schulze (Faume 
Saxonicfe, Mammalia, 170, 1893), though used by him in a much more 
comprehensive sense than that originally intended. 1 

List of North American Weasels with type localities. 



No. 



Type locality. 



Northeastern North America (north of lat. 41) 

Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake. 

Juneau, Alaska. 

Skagit Valley, Washington. 



* cicognani 

cicognani richardsoni 

riehardsoni alaseensis 

streatori 

rixosus Osier, Saskatchewan. 

arcticut Point Barrow, Alaska. 

arcticuf kadiaeensis Kadiak Island, Alaska. 

noveboracensis State of New York. 

washingtoni Trout Lake, Mount Adam?, Washington. 

peninsulce ' Tarpon Springs, Florida. 

longicauda \ Carl ton House, Saskatchewan . 

longieauda spadix I Fort Snelling, Minn. 

saturatus Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon. 

arizonensis Flagstaff, Arizona. 

alleni I Black Hills. South Dakota. 

xanthogenys ' Southern California. 

xanthogenys oregonensis ; Rogue River Valley, Oregon . 

frenatus j Valley of Mexico. 

frenatus goldmani | Pinabete, Chiapas, Mexico. 

frenatus leucoparia ' Patzcnaro, Michoacan, Mexico. 

tropiealis Jico, Vera Cruz, Mexico. 

ajfinis , ; Colombia, South America. 



PUTORIUS CICOGNANI Bonap. Bonaparte's Weasel. 
(PI. II, figs. 3, 3a, 4, 4a.) 

1829. Mustela (Putorius) vulgaris Richardson: Fauna Boreali-Americana, Mammalia, 
pp. 45-46, 1829. 

1838. Mustela cicognanii Bonaparte : Iconografia Fauna Italica, I, fasc. XXII, p. 4, 

1838; Charlesworth'8 Mag. Nat. Hist., II, p. 37, Jan., 1838. 

1839. Putorius cicognanii Richardson : Zoology Beechey's Voyage, p. 10*, 1839. 
1857. Baird : Mammals North America, pp. 161-163, 1857. 

1891. Mearns: Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., N. Y., Ill, p. 235, May, 1891. 

1896. Putorius richardsoni cicoynani Bangs : Proc. Biol. Soc.Wash., X, pp. 18-21, Feb. 25, 

1896. 
1877. Putorius vulgaris Coues: Fur- Bearing Animals, pp. 102-109, 1877. Merriam: 

Mammals Adirondacks, pp. 54-56, 1882 (habits) ; and most recent authors. 

Type locality. Northeastern North America. 

Geographic distribution. Boreal forest covered parts of North Amer- 
ica from New England and Labrador to coast of southeastern Alaska 
(Juneau, Wrangel, and Loriug), and south in the Rocky Mountains to 
Colorado (Silverton). It occurs in the interior of British Columbia (at 
Sicamous), but in the Puget Sound region is replaced by a smaller and 



1 Schulze included in Ictls the two European weasels, nilgaris and erminea, and 
also the mink, lutreola, and polecat, putoria. 



JUNE, 1896.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



11 



darker form, P. fijrentori. In the United States it is common in New 
England and New York, and in the forest-covered parts of Minnesota. 
It probably occurs also in northern Michigan and Wisconsin. 

General characters. Size small; tail slender and rather short; color 
of under parts covering toes and inner sides of both fore and hind feet; 
color of upper parts never encroaching on belly, but ending along a 
straight line. 

Color. Upper parts in summer pelage : uniform dark brown, hardly 
darker on head; end of tail blackish ; no dark spot behind corners of 
mouth; under parts, usually including upper lip, white, more or less 
tinged with yellow. In ic inter pelage: pure white with a strong yellow- 
ish tinge on rump, tail, and under parts; end of tail black. 

Cranial cliaraclcrx. Skull small, light, narrow, and elongated with- 
out marked postorbital processes, and only a slight postorbital constric- 
tion; xygomata narrow, and not bowed outward ; brain case elongate 
and snbcylindric; audital bulhe small, narrow, and subcylindric, almost 
continuous anteriorly (except in old age) 
with the greatly inflated squamosals; 
palate narrow; the tooth rows more 
nearly parallel than in the other spe- 
cies; skull of female similar to that' 
of male, but smaller. Contrasted with 
richardxoiti. the skull of cicognani is 
smaller, the audital bulla; decidedly 
smaller, and the dentition lighter. In 
nearly every series of cicognani there are 
one or two old males whose skulls arc 
abnormally large and closely resemble 
skulls of riehardsoni, except that the 
audital bulla- are always smaller. 

Measurements. Average of 5 males from Ossipee, N. H. : Total 
length, 278; tail vertebra 1 , 80; hind foot, 3G.5. Average of 3 females: 
Total length, 230; tail vertebrae, 69 ; hind foot, 30.5. 

PUTORIUS CICOGNANI RICHARDSONI (Bonap.). Richardson's Weasel. 

1820. Mnstela (Puior'ms) crminea Richardson: Fauna Boreali-Americana, pp. 46-47, 
1829. (In part: specimen from Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake. Not M. 
crminea Linn.) 

1838. Mmlela richanlsoni Bonap. : Charlesworth's Mag. Nat. Hist., Vol. XI, p. 38, 

1838. (based on Richardson's specimen from Great Bear Lake). 

1839. I'nloriiiHrichardsoni'Ricli.: Zool. Beechey's Voyage of Blossom, Mammalia, 10% 

1839. 
1896. Bangs: Proc. Biol. Soc. Waskn., X, pp. 1-24, Feb. 25, 1896. (In part.) 

Type locality. Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake. 

Geographic distribution. Ilndsoniau timber belt from Hudson Bay 
to interior of Alaska and British Columbia. 

General character*. Similar to P. cicognani but larger; tail of 
medium length, its terminal third 'black. 




FIGS. 2 and 3. P. cicognani tf ad. Elk 
River, Minnesota. 



12 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 

Color. Upper parts dull chocolate brown, this color reaching down 
on both fore and hind feet to base of toes: underparts whitish, more 
or less suffused with yellowish, the pale color extending out in a very 
narrow aud sometimes interrupted strip along inner side of hind feet 
to toes; tail concolor all around except at tip, which is black for about 
one-third the total length of tail. In irinler pelage: white all over 
except terminal third of tail, which is black; rump and belly more or 
less tinged with yellowish. 

Cranial characters. Skull long, narrow, and subcylindric like that of 
cicognani, from which it differs chiefly in larger size, larger audital 
bulhe, and heavier dentition. 

Remarks. P. richardsoni, as pointed out by Mr.Bangs. is simply a more 
northern form of cicognani, with which it intergrades completely. It 
inhabits the Hudsonian timber zone while cicoginini inhabits the Cana- 
dian. On the north, where the timber ends and the tundra begins, the 
range of richardsoni meets that of arcticus. The two species differ 
widely in both cranial and external characters. The light subcylindric 
skulls of richardsoni, with the narrow frontals and appressed zygomata, 
require no comparison with the broad massive skulls of arclints with 
their broadly flattened frontals and widely spreading zygomata. The 
external differences are almost as marked. In richardsoni the under- 
parts are nearly white or, at most, only tinged with pale yellowish; the 
color of the upper parts covers both fore and hind feet, reaching the 
base of the toes; the tail is relatively long, concolor except at the tip, 
which is black for about one-third its length. In arcHcus the under 
parts are deep yellow; the color of the upper parts stops short of the 
fore feet and reaches only halfway down the hind feet; the tail is short, 
yellow below on its basal half, and has a long, black pencil covering at 
least half its entire length. 1 

Measurement*. (From dry skin of male from Fort Simpson): Total 
length, 300; tail vertebra', 05; hind foot, 43 (probably 45). 

PUTORIUS RICHARDSONI ALA8CENSIS subsp. nov. .Tuneaii Weasel. 
(PI. II, Jigs. 2. 2a.) 

Type from Jnnean, Alaska. No. 74423, $ ad., U. S. National Museum, Dept. Agrir. 
coll. Collected August 22, 1895, by Clark P. Streator. Original number 4806. 

General characters. Similar in size and general appearance to P. 
richardsoni, but white tips of fore aud hind feet more extensive and 
interorbital region very much broader. 

Color. Upper parts dull chocolate brown, this color reaching down 
on fore legs to wrists and on hind legs to middle of upper side of feet; 



'It is not strange that Mr. Bangs failed to discriminate between ardicun and 
richardsoni. The available material is scanty and mostly of poor quality, and most 
of the skins had the skulls inside. Through the kindness of Mr. F. W. True, cura- 
tor of mammals in the United States National Museum, the skulls have been removed 
and placed at my disposal. 



JUNE, 1896.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 13 

terminal third of tail black; under parts, including upper lip, fore feet, 
and distal half of hind feet, soiled white, tinned with yellowish. Winter 
pelage probably white. 

Cranial characters. Skull similar to that of P. richardsoni, but very 
much broader between orbits and across muzzle; postorbital processes 
more strongly developed; constriction deeper. 

Remarks. Mr. Streator obtained two males of this new weasel at 
Juneau in the latter part of August. He obtained also, at the same place 
and time, three females, which in color and markings agree with the 
males, but are hardly half as large. Their skulls are as small as those 
of true cicognani, which they closely resemble. If they are the females 
of alascensis, as seems probable, then this weasel exhibits as great 
sexual difference in size as P. noveloracensis, in which respect it stands 
unique as a member of the cicognani group. The only alternate possi- 
bility is that cicognani and alascensis occur together at Juneau, and that 
of the 5 specimens collected there by Streator the 2 males are alascensis 
'and the 3 females cicognani. 

Measurements. Average of two males from Juueau, Alaska: Total 
length, 335; tail vertebrae, 95; hind foot, 48. Average of three females 
from same place: Total length, 270; tail vertebrae, 77; hind foot, 34. 

PUTORIUS STREATORI sp. nov. Puget Sound Weasel. 

(PL II, figs. 5, 5, 6, 60.) 

Type from Mount Vernon, Skagit Valley, Washington. No. 76646, $ ad., U. S. Nat. 
Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. Coll. Feb. 29, 1896, by D. R. Luckey. (Original number 3 ) 

Geographic distribution. Puget Sound and coast region of Washing- 
ton and Oregon; south at least to Yaquina Bay (Newport), Oregon. 
Confined to a narrow strip along the coast. 

General characters. Similar to Putorius cicognani, but smaller and 
darker, with color of upper parts encroaching on belly. 

Color. Upper parts, including upper lip ami fore and hind feet, 
uniform dark chocolate brown, darkest on head, and encroaching far 
on belly and throat (often meeting along middle of belly); terminal 
third of tail black; under parts narrowly and irregularly white, faintly 
tinged with yellowish. In iv inter pelage at low altitudes the color of 
the upper parts is paler (almost drab brown) and the toes may become 
white; at higher altitudes the whole animal changes to white, 1 except 
the end of the tail, which always remains black. 

Cranial characters. Skull of male similar to that of male cicognani, 
but smaller, slightly broader interorbitally, and with somewhat more 



'Mr. R. E. Darrell, of Port Moody, British Columbia, writes me : "I have discovered 
that, although the weasels do not change color down near salt water, they do change to 
the white winter coat in the mountains." Specimens in the Department collection 
from Mount Adams, Washington, killed in February and March, are in the white 
winter pelage. The typo and a female from the same locality (Mount Veruou, 
Skagit Valley) are in the drab-brown winter pelage. 



14 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA.- 

promineiit postoi'bital processes and smaller autlital bulhe. Skull of 
female very much smaller and more delicate than that of male, 
resembling female ofcieognani, but smaller. 

Remarks. Putorivs streatori is a dark Pacific Coast form of cicognani, 
with "which it may be found to intergrade. It differs conspicuously 
from cicognani in the color of the under parts, the dark chocolate brown 
of the back and sides encroaching far on the throat and usually meet- 
ing along the median line of the belly, thus reducing the white to a 
narrow and irregular strip, which expands on the anterior part of the 
throat, on the breast behind the fore legs, and immediately in front of 
the hind legs, and stops abruptly on the under surface of the thighs. 

Five winter specimens from Sumas, British Columbia, kindly loaned 
by Mr. Outram Bangs, point toward intergradation with cicognani. In 
three out of the five, the toes of both fore and hind feet are white, and 
the color of the upper parts is much paler than in summer pelage. 
Two of these specimens have the bellies broadly white, as in cicognani. 
They are also much larger than streatori. Specimens from Sicamous, 
in the interior of British Columbia, are fairly typical cicognani, having 
the under parts broadly white; the upper lip, a strip along the inner 
border of the hind feet, and the toes of both fore and hind feet, white. 
Specimens from southeastern Alaska (Juneau, Wraugel, and Loring) 
must also be referred to cicognani, and not streatori. 

Measurements. Unfortunately, no flesh measurements are available 
from the type locality. Specimens from Trout Lake, near Mount Adams, 
Washington, are slightly smaller than the Mount Vernon specimens, 
and measure as follows: Average of two adult males: Total length, 
270; tail vertebra?, 83; hind foot, 33. An adult female: Total length, 
210; tail vertebra, 51; hind foot, 24. 

PUTORIUS RIXOSUS Bangs. Bang's Weasel. 
(PI. II, figs. 7, 7a.) 

1857. Putorius pusillus Baird: Mammals N. Am., pp. 159-161, 1857. (In part: speci- 
men from Pembina.) 
1896. Putorius rixosus Bangs: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. X, pp. 21-1'2, Feb., 1896. 

Type locality. Osier, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Geographic distribution. Boreal America from Hudson Bay to coast 
of Alaska (St. Michaels); south to northern Minnesota (Pembina) and 
Montana (Sun Eiver). 

General characters. Smallest weasel known; tail short and without 
black tip; only American weasel lacking the black tip. 

Color. Summer pelage: Upper parts dark reddish brown; tip of tail 
not darker ; under parts white. In winter pelage: Pure white all over, 
including end of tail. 

Cranial characters. Skull (of type specimen, 9 ad., No. 642 Bangs' 
Coll. 1 ) very much smaller than the smallest female of any other known 



1 1 am indebted to Mr. Bangs for the privilege of exam in ing this specimen. Unfor- 
tunately, the basioccipital is broken off; hence the basilar length is estimated. 



JDNE.ISOG.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OP NORTH AMERICA. 15 

species (total length from occiput to front of premaxilhio, 28.5; basal 
length, 26.5; zygomatic breadth, 14; length of palate, 11; interorbital 
breadth, 5.5; breadth across postorbital processes, 7.5; length of andi- 
tal bullse, 9.5). The skull is a miniature of P. cicognani except that the 
postorbital processes are more prominent, the brain case more com- 
pressed, and there is a distinct sagittal ridge. 

Measurements. Type specimen, female, measured in flesh: Total 
length, 150; tail vertebra^, 31; hind foot in dry skins, 20-22. 

PUTORIUS ARCTICUS sp. nov. Tundra Weasel. 
(PL II, figs. 1, la; PL V, figs. 6, 60.) 

Type from Point Barrow, Alaska. No $f flf J $ ad. U. S. Nat. Mus. Collected July 
16, 1883, by John Murdoch. Original number, 1672. 

Geographic distribution. Arctic coast and tundras. Specimens ex- 
amined from Anderson Kiver, Franklin Bay, old Fort Good Hope, lower 
Mackenzie Eiver, Point Barrow, and St. Michaels. 

General characters. Size large; ears small; tail short but with very 
long black pencil; underparts yellow (including underside of basal half 
of tail). 

Color (Type specimen, male adult.) Upper parts, including upper 
lip, dark yellowish brown ; chin white ; under parts deep ochraceous yel- 
low, broadly including inner and posterior sides of fore legs, whole of 
fore feet, distal half and inner side of hind feet, and under side of tail 
to or nearly to black tip; black tip very long, covering at least half of 
tail (including long terminal hairs); color of upper parts not encroach- 
ing on belly. In winter pelage, white all over except long black tip of 
tail; the white tinged with yellow posteriorly. 

Cranial characters. Skull rather large, broad, and massive; frontal 
very broad interorbitally; muzzle broad and blunt; postorbital proc- 
esses moderately developed; postorbital constriction marked; zygo- 
mata strongly bowed outward; brain case subtriangular and rather 
short; audital bulhe subcylindric; postglenoid space smaller than in 
richardsoni and hardly inflated except in female. Contrasted with 
P. richardsoni, the skull of P. arcticus is somewhat larger, much broader, 
and more massive; brain case subtriangular instead of subcylindric; 
zygomata bowed far outward instead of appressed; postorbital pro- 
cesses more prominent; postorbital constriction much deeper; frontal 
much broader iuterorbitally; palate broader posteriorly; dentition 
heavier. Adult male skulls of P. arcticus resemble certain old males 
of ivashingtoni, but differ in much greater breadth of frontal between 
orbits, broader muzzle, and blunter postorbital processes. P. arcticus 
resembles true erminea of Sweden much more closely than it does any 
American species. 

Remarks. Putorius arcticus, which has been heretofore confounded 
with erminea or richardsoni, is one of the most strongly characterized 
species of the genus. It is a large animal with deep ochraceous yellow 



16 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 

under parts and a rather short tail which ends in a remarkably long 
black pencil. The skull differs from all other American weasels in the 
great breadth of the frontal region and the breadth and bluntuess of 
the muzzle, in both of which respects it resembles true erminea. The 
only American species whose skull approaches it at all is P. washlng- 
toni, as mentioned above. In external characters the differences are 
too great to require comparison. 

It is interesting to find in this country an Arctic circumpolar weasel 
which, though specifically distinct, is strictly the American representa- 
tive of the Old World erminea. The pattern of coloration, as described 
above (under color), is precisely as in erminea, but the tints differ 
materially. The upper parts in erminea lack the golden brown of 
arcticus, and the under parts are very much paler and of a different 
tint, being pale sulphur yellow instead of ochraceous. Moreover, 
arcticus lacks the whitish border to the ear which is present in erminea. 
In winter pelage the two seem to be indistinguishable except by cranial 
characters. 

A small form of arcticus occurs on Kadiak Island, Alaska. It has 
smaller and narrower audital bulhe, less spreading zygomata, less 
divergent tooth rows, and decidedly shorter postmolar production of 
palate. It is probably worthy of recognition as subspecies kadiacensis. 
An adult male (No. G5290) collected April 25, 1894, by B. J. Brethertou, 
measured in the flesh: Total length, 318; tail vertebrae, 80; hind foot, 
44. It is in the white winter pelage, just beginning to change, and the 
terminal half of the tail is black. 

Measurements. From dry skin of type, male adult, Point Barrow, 
Alaska: Total length, 380; tail vertebrae, 75; pencil, 55; hind foot, 48 
(at least 50 in the flesh). 

PUTORIUS NOVEBORACENSIS De Kay. New York Weasel. 

(PI. IV, figs. 1, la, 2, 2a; PL V, tigs. 3, 3a. 
1840. Putorius noveboracensisDe Kay : Catal. Mammalia New York, p. 18, 1840 (women 

nudum); Zoology of New York, Mammalia, p. 36, 1842. 
1840. Emmons: Rept. Quadrupeds Massachusetts, p. 45, 1S40. 
1857. Baird : Mammals N. Am., pp. 166-169, 1857. 
1896. Bangs: Proc. Biol. Sor. Wash.,X, pp. 13-16, Feb. 25, 1896. 
1877. Putorius (Gale) erminea Cones : Fur- Bearing Animals, pp. 109-136 ( in part), 1877. 
Putorins erminea Thompson, And. & Bach, (part), Allen, Merriam, and most recent 
authors. 

Type locality. New York State. 

Geographic distribution. Eastern United States from southern Maine 
to North Carolina, and west to Illinois. 

General characters. Male large; female small; tail long and bushy, 
much longer than in cicognani, but shorter than in longicauda; the 
black terminal part longer than in any other species except arfi<-HN, 
covering one-third to one-half the tail and measuring 50 to 75 mm. 
Animal turns white in winter in northern part of range. Extraordinary 
sexual difference in size a.nd cranial characters. 



JUNE, 1806.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



17 



Color. Summer pelage: Upper parts, including fore and hind feet 
and anal region, and often encroaching irregularly on belly, rich dark 
chocolate brown, sometimes suggesting seal brown ; under parts (usually 
including upper lip) white, more or less washed with yellowish; no 
yellow on under side of tail or on hind feet, the color of under parts 
stopping short of ankle. Winter pelage: In southern part of range 
similar to summer pelage, but upper parts paler, nearly drab brown. 
Northern specimens white all over except terminal third of tail, which 

is jet black; throat, belly, posterior 
half of back and tail always suffused 
with yellowish. 

Cranial characters. Skull of male 
large, heavy, and elongate; sagittal 
ridge present in adults; postorbital 
processes and constriction mod- 
erately developed; zygomata not 
bowed outward; audital bullw rather 
narrowly oval, usually rounded an- 
teriorly as well as posteriorly. Skull of female very small, light, and 
narrow, with brain case elongate and subcylindric, much as in cicognani; 
audital bull* small, narrow, and not rising abruptly anteriorly from 
inflated squamosals, which latter are elongated and strongly inflated as 
in cicognani. Skulls of males may be distinguished from those of male 
longicanda by shorter postorbital processes, less marked postorbital 
constriction, less triangular brain case, lower sagittal ridge, very much 
narrower zygomata, which are not bowed outward, narrower palate, and 
narrower audital bulhe, which are more rounded anteriorly. The resem- 
blance to P. washingtoni is very much closer, bufr male skulls of novebo- 




1?IG. 4. Putorius novebiiracensi,? c 
dacks, New Tork. 




FIGS. 5 aiid 0. I'uturiut, north 



Adiroadacks, Xew York. 



racensix may be distinguished by larger size and much larger audital 
bullfe. The female skull, owing to the inflation of its squamosals 
inferiorly, needs no comparison with either washingtoni or longicauda, 
but is with difficulty separated from cicognani in regions where the two 
species overlap. The postorbital processes are longer and the car- 
nassial and sector ial teeth larger in the females of novebwacensis than 
in cicognani from the same localities. 

Remarks. Putorius noveboracensis may usually be distinguished from 
P. cicognani by larger size and also by the longer and more bushy tail, 
1G932 No. 11 2 



18 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 

and greater length of the black terminal part. Females of norcbora- 
ccnxix, however, sometimes resemble males of cicognani rather closely. 
They may be distinguished not only by the greater length of the tail 
but also, if in summer pelage, by the absence of yellow from the under 
side of the tail and inner sides of the hind feet, which parts in cicoynait i 
usually show more or less yellow. 

Measurements. Average of 10 males: Total length, 407; tail ver- 
tebra-, 140; hind foot, 47. Average of 10 females: Total length, 324; 
tail vertebra?, 108; hind foot, 34.5. 

PUTORIUS WASHINGTONI sp. nov. Washington Weasel. 
(Pl.IV,fig8.3,3a,4,4a.) 

Type from Trout Lake, base of Mount Adams, State of Washington. No. 7(>M'2, 
ad., U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agriculture collection. Collected December 15, 1895, by 
D. N. Kaegi. 

General characters. Similar to P. noveboraccnsis in size and general 
appearance, but with longer tail and shorter black tip. Female very 
much smaller than male, as in noveboracensis. 

Color. Color in summer pelage unknown (probably dark chocolate 
brown). There are two winter pelages, probably dependent on alti- 
tude. In drab winter pelage: Upper parts uniform drab brown; end 
of tail black; under parts white, more or less suffused with pale yel- 
lowish. The color of the upper parts encroaches on the sides of the 
belly as in noveboracensis, and a brown spot is present behind the cor- 
ners of the mouth, which may or may not be confluent with the brown 
of the cheeks. In the type and two other specimens the hind legs and 
feet are the same color as the upper parts except that the toes are 
tipped with whitish and the tips of the fore feet are white. In another 
specimen, collected January 22, the white is more extensive, covering 
all of the fore feet and about half of the hind feet. In summer pelage 
the legs and feet are doubtless the same color as the upper parts, the 
white of the belly stopping high up on the thighs. In white winter 
pelage: "White all over except black tip of tail; tail, rump, and belly 
strongly suffused with yellow. In one specimen (No. 76004, male, 
February 7, 189G) the yellow reaches forward over the back nearly to 
the shoulders; in another (No. 76588, male, February 4, 1896) the whole 
back is white. 

Cranial characters. The skulls of the two sexes differ greatly: that 
of'the male resembles noveboraccnsis closely in size and general char- 
acters, but differs in having the audital bulhe much shorter and the 
postorbital processes less strongly developed. The postorbital constric- 
tion is equally marked. The skull of the female is very much smaller 
than that of the male, averaging about 38 mm. in length, while the 
male averages 45 mm. Contrasted with the female of iwveboracemia 
the brain case is broader "posteriorly and less cylindric. The audital 
bulhc are more sharply separated from the squamosal inflation and llie 
latter is only slightly marked, not reaching the plane of the bulla-. The 



JUNE, 1896.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 19 

resemblance therefore to P. cicognani is much less marked in the female 
u'ashingtoni than in the female noveboracensis. 

Remarks. This new species is represented in the collection by 14 
skulls and 6 skins, of which the greater number are males. The female 
is darker than the males, and the top of the head is darker anteriorly 
than the rest of the upper parts, while in the males it is concolor with 
the back. These differences are probably seasonal, the female not 
having completed the change from summer to winter pelage, though 
collected December 11. All are from the Mount Adams region. 

Measurements. The skins, which are well made, afford the following 
approximate measurements: Male, total length, 240; tail vertebne, 155; 
hind foot, 44. Female, total length, 300; tail vertebra;, 120; hind foot, 37. 

PUTORIUS PENINSULA Rhoads. Florida Weasel. 
(PI . IV, figs. 5, 5a; PI. V, fig. 5.) 

l'i< toriun peninsula Rhoads: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., June 1894, 152-155. 
. Bangs: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, pp. 10-13, Feb. 25, 1896. 

Type locality. 'Hudsous,' 14 miles north of Tarpon Springs, Fla. 

Geographic distribution. Peninsula of Florida; limits of range 
unknown. 

General characters. Size rather large, about equaling male of Puto- 
rins noveboracensis ; skull similar to that of longicaitda, but with very 
large audital bnlla>. 

Color. Upper parts dull chocolate brown, darkest on head; upper 
lip and chin whitish; rest of under parts, including fore feet and toes 
of hind feet, yellowish ; a brown spot behind corners of mouth; a small 
tuft of white hairs under anterior root of ear. The color of the under 
parts covers the belly broadly and is not encroached upon by the color 
of the upper parts. Irregular and inconstant white markings are some- 
times present between and behind the eyes. 

Cranial characters. Skull rather massive, resembling that of longi- 
cauda, but with higher sagittal crest; less spreading zygomata; narrower, 
higher, and more swollen audital bulhe, and less prominent postorbital 
processes. Contrasted with P. noveboracensis the postorbital constric- 
tion is deeper, the brain case higher and moresubtriangular, the audital 
bulhe higher and more swollen, the upper carnassial tooth decidedly 
larger, and the molar smaller. The upper molar is peculiar : It is short, 
hardly expanded at either end, and implanted at right angles to the 
premolar series. 

Measurements. An adult female from Tarpon Springs, Fla. : Total 
length, 374; tail vertebra?, 127; hind foot, 44.5. 

PUTORIUS LONGICAUDA Bonaparte. Long-tailed Weasel. 
(PI. Ill, figs. 3, 3a, 4, 4a; PI. V, figs. 1, la.) 

1829. Mustela (Putoriua) erminea Richardson: Fauna Boreali-Amerioaua, pp. 46-47/ 

1829 (in part: Specimen from Carlton Hotise). 
1838. Mustela longicauda Bonaparte: Charlesworth's Magazine Nat. Hist. N. S., 

II, p. 37-38, 1838 (based on Richardson's long-tailed variety of erminea from 

Carltou House). 



20 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 




FIG. 7. Putorhu Ivngicauda. Fort Sisseton, 
S. Dak. 



1839. Putorim longlcauda Rich. : Zool. Beechey's Voyage of Blossom, p. 10/ 18' <f >. 

1857. Baird: Mammals N. Am., 'pp. 169-171, 1857. 

1877. Cones: Fur-Unarm-; Animals, pp. 136-142, 1S77. 

1896. Bangs: Proc. Kiel. Soc. Wash., X, pp. 7-8, Feb. 25, 1896. 

Type locality. Carlton House, on North Saskatchewan River, 
Canada. 

Geographic distribution. Great Plains from Kansas northward. 
General characters. Size large (adult males averaging about 450 mm. 

in total length); tail very long (ver- 
tebra' 155 mm. or more in males), 
its black tip rather short; under 
parts always strongly yellowish or 
ocfaraceous. 

Color. Upper parts pale yel- 
lowish brown, or pale raw-umber 
brown, becoming darker on head; 
terminal part of tail black; chin 
and upper lip all the way round 
white; rest of under parts varying 
from strong buify yellow to ochraceous orange, the color extending from 
throat posteriorly, including upper side of fore feet, inner side of hind 
feet, and upper side of hind toes ; under side of tail more or less suffused 
with yellowish; soles of hind feet brownish. In worn summer pelage 
the color of upper parts is decidedly paler, and in some old specimens 
the upper and lower surfaces are not sharply differentiated. The 
orange tinge of the under 
parts is strongest on the 
throat. 

Cranial characters. 
Skull large, broad, and 
massive, with well-devel- 
oped postorbital proc- 
esses, strongly marked 
postorbital constriction , 
and a moderate sagittal 
crest; zygomata bowed 
strongly outward; brain 
case subtriangular as seen 
from above; audital bullre 
rather broad and subrect- 
angular; palate broad; 
dentition heavy; audital bulla? anteriorly rising abruptly from squa- 
mosal, which is not inflated in either sex; skull of female similar to 
male, but smaller, and with only a slight sagittal ridge. Contrasted 
with male skulls of noveboraccnsis and trash inyloni, the male of lonyi- 
cauda is broader and relatively shorter, with more spreading zygoinatic 
arches, longer postorbital processes, deeper postorbital constriction, 




FIGS. 8 and 9. P. longicauda tf ad. Fort Sisseton. S. Dak. 



JUNE, 1896] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OP NORTH AMERICA. 



21 



and much broader and more rectangular andital bulla>, which as a rule 
are broadly truncate instead of narrowly rounded anteriorly. 

Measurements. Average of 4 males from plains of Saskatchewan and 
Alberta : Total length, 450 ; tail vertebra^, 1 65 ; hind foot, 51. Average 
of 3 females: Total length, 387; tail vertebrae, 144; hind foot, 44. 

PUTORIUS LONGICAUDA SPADIX Bangs. 
I'utorluH loiif/icauda xpailir Banjfs: I'roc. I'iol. Hoc. Wash., X, pp. 8-9, Feb. 25, 1896. 

Type locality. Fort Snelling, near Minneapolis, Minn. 

Geographic distribution. Edge of timber belt in Minnesota, along 
boundary between Transition and Boreal zones. 

General characters. Similar to P. longicauda, but much darker. 

Color. Summer pelage : Upper parts chocolate brown, darkest on the 
head, but paler than in nove- 
boracertvis; chin and upper lip 
whitish all round; restof under 
parts, including upper surfaces 
of fore feet and toes of hind 
feet, buflfy yellow ; terminal part 
of tail black. Winter pelage: 
Snow-white everywhere except 
black tip of tail and a yellow- 
ish suffusion on rest of tail, and 
sometimes also on under side of 
hind feet. 

Cranial characters. As in P. 
longicauda. 

Measurements. 1 Average of G 
males from Fort Snelling, Minn. : Total length, 460; tail vertebrae, 1G6.5; 
hind foot, 54.5. Average of 3 females: Total length, 35G; tail verte 
bra?, 132; hind foot, 43.5. 

PUTORIUS SATURATUS sp. uov. Cascade Mountain Weasel. 

Type from Siskiyou, near southern boundary of Oregon (altitude, about 4,000 feet). 
No. 65930, 3 ad., U. S. Nat. Mus., Department of Agriculture collection. Collected 
June 6, 1894, by Clark P. Streator. Orig. No. 3905. 

General characters. Similar to P. arizonensis, but larger and darker, 
with belly more ochraceous, and with distinct spots behind the corners 
of the mouth. 

Color. Color of upper parts in summer pelage (June) dark raw- 
umber brown, becoming much darker on the top of the head and nose; 
terminal part of tail black; a brown spot at corner of mouth which 
may be confluent with brown of cheeks ; color of upper parts extending 
over outer side of forearm to wrist, and over hind foot to toes; chin 




FIGS. 10 uiid ll.-Putorius 1. epailix ? ad. Elk liiver, 
Minnesota. 



'These measurements were taken in the ilesh by Dr. E. A. Mearus, to whom I am 
indebted for them. 



22 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. fNo.il. 

white; rest of under parts oehraceous or orange yellow, including the 
forefeet, and reaching narrowly down the under side of hiud leg to 
ankle, whence it may or may not extend in a narrow line along inner 
side of foot to toes; under side of tail more or less suffused with golden 
chestnut; anal region chestnut brown; in worn pelage the colors are 
everywhere much paler. 

Cranial characters. Skull similar to that of P. arizonensis but with 
postorbital processes broader at base and less peg like. 

Remarks. This handsome Aveasel replaces longicauda on the Cascade 
and Siskiyou mountains of Oregon and Washington, reaching a short 
distance into British Columbia. The only specimens examined have 
come from Siskiyou, Oregon, and Chilli wack, British Columbia (the 
latter, No. 3553, collection of E. A. and O. Bangs). 

Measurements. Average of 2 males from Siskiyou Mountains, Ore- 
gon: Total length, 423; tail vertebrae, 164; hind foot, 48. 

PUTOBIUS ARIZONENSIS Mearns. Mountain Weasel. 

Putorius arlzoncnsls Mearns : Bull. American Museum Nat. Hist., Vol. Ill, No. 2, pp. 

234-235, May, 1891. 
Putorius longicauda Merriam : Mammals of Idaho, N. Am. Fauna, No. 5, pp. 83-84, Aug. 

1891 (from mountains of Idaho). 

Type locality. San Francisco forest, Arizona (a few miles south of 
Flagstaff). 

Oeoaraphic distribution. Broadly, the Sierra Nevada and Eocky 
Mountain systems, reaching British 
Columbia in the Kocky Mountain re- 
gion, but not known north of the Sis- 
kiyou Mountains in the Sierra-Cascade 
system. 

General characters. Similar to Puto- 
rius longicauda in color and markings, 

FIG. 12.-P. arizonensis rf ad, Boulder ^ ut n^h smaller in size. 




County, Colo. 

Color. Upper parts from occiput to 

black tip of tail, raw umber brown; head decidedly darker; end of tail 
black; chin and upper lip all round white; rest of under parts includ- 
ing upper surfaces of fore feet and inner half of hind feet and upper 
surfaces of hind toes oehraceous or oehraceous yellow, varying in tint. 

Cranial characters. Skull similar to that of longicauda but decidedly 
smaller and less triangular; narrower across inastoids and more bulg- 
ing in parietals. 

Remarks. Putorius arizonensis is a mountain form of longicauda, 
which it closely resembles except in size. The type specimen, collected 
by Dr. Mearns on the pine plateau of Arizona a few miles south of 
Flagstaff, is an immature female and is of unusually small size. A 
male obtained by him near the same place is of the normal size, as is 
another male in the Department collection from Springerville, Ariz., 



JUNE, 1896.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



23 



collected by E. AV. Nelson. Specimens from the northern Rocky 
Mountain region (St. Mary Lake, Montana, and Salmon River and 
1'ahsimeroi Mountains, Idaho) differ in color from the typical animal 
from Arizona and Colorado, and agree with alleni from the Black Hills 
in having the upper parts strongly suffused with golden brown, the 
yellow of the under parts yellow rather than ochraceous, and the under 
side of the tail strongly yellow on the basal half or two-thirds. The 
skulls, however, lack the flattened audital bulla? of alleni. Specimens 
from the Sierra Nevada in California are hardly distinguishable from 
the Rocky Mountain animal. The only apparent external differences 
are that the yellow of the under parts reaches up farther under the 
chin, the white of the upper lip is less extensive, and the under side of 
the tail is more suffused with yellowish. But none of these characters is 
constant. In one specimen from Donner, Calif. (No. 2G50, female, Mer- 
riam Coll.), even the white upper lip is as marked as in Rocky Mountain 
specimens; it reaches all the 
way round, fills the space under 
the nasal pad to the nostrils, 
and broadens strongly under 
the eyes. In cranial charac- 
ters also the differences are 
slight and inconstant. The 
postorbital processes are longer 
and more slender, often becom- 
ing peg-like in old males. The 
audital bulhe average smaller 
and more convex anteriorly, 
and in the female are decidedly 

narrower and more Subcylin- FlGS - 13 and U P - arizonensis J ad. Boulder County, 

dric. But in an adult female 

from Fort Klamath, Oreg., the bulhe are nearly as broad as in Rocky 
Mountain females. The three female skulls I have seen of the Sierra 
form are decidedly smaller than females from the Rocky Mountains. 

The Sierra specimens show a strong tendency to grade into, or at 
least toward xanthogenys. In nearly half the specimens examined white 
hairs are present between the eyes, and in several they are sufficiently 
numerous to form a conspicuous white spot, though the spot is not 
large and rectangular as in true xanthogenys. The white cheek spots I 
have not seen in Sierra specimens, but the brown spots behind the cor- 
ners of the mouth are sometimes present (as in No. 30G55, male, from 
Upper Cotton wood Meadows, near Mount Whitney, Calif.). 

A specimen from St. George, Utah, an old female, differs in some 
respects from typical arizonensis. The skull is small and relatively 
short, and the shortening is mainly in the palate and rostral part, which 
measures 2 mm. less than the average of adult females of arizonensis of 




24 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 11. 

the same, si/e. Moreover, the ]>ostorl>it;il processes are longer and more 
slender than in any female, of arizonenttiH I have examined from either 
the Rocky Mountain or Sierra systems. Externally the St. George 
specimen differs from typical ar/.:o;/n/.s-/.s in the following particulars: 
Yellow of underparts more strongly tinged with ochraceous; white of 
upper lip narrow and not reaching around anteriorly; brown of upper 
parts reaching down on outer side of arm to wrist; a small brown spot 
bearing two bristles just behind each corner of mouth. In this respect, 
and this only, it resembles axmthogenys; there is no trace of white on 
the cheeks or between the eyes. 

MeamtreiHcnts. Average of 5 males from the Rocky Mountains: 
Total length, 385; tail vertebne, 144; hind foot, 44.5. Average of 4 
females: Total length, 358; tail vertebne, 130; hind foot, 40. 



PUTORIUS ALLENI sp. nov. Black Hills Weasel. 

Type from Ouster, Black Hills, South Dakota. No. *|j6, $ ad., Merriani collection. 
Collected July 12, 1888, by Vernon Bailey. Original No. 90. 

Geographic distribution. Black Hills, South Dakota. 

Characters. Similar to P. arizoncnxift in size and general characters, 
but upper parts more suffused with yellowish and andital bulhe flatter. 

Color. Upper parts from occiput to black tip of tail golden or yel- 
lowish-brown, in some lights with an olivaceous tinge; head dark 
brown, without yellowish tinge; upper lip and chin white; rest of 
underparts, including inner sides of legs, whole of fore feet, toes of 
hind feet and under side of basal part of tail, intense butty yellow. 

Cranial characters. Skull similar to that of arizoHCHHix, but audital 
bailee much flatter and somewhat smaller; brain case slightly flatter 
and bulging laterally immediately behind constriction; frontal some- 
what broader interorbitally; skull as a whole shorter. The skull of an 
old female (No. 7441, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.) is much smaller than the 
male, and the audital bulla 1 are narrow and not flattened. In both 
sexes the postorbital processes are strongly developed. 

Remark*. Futorius alleni is an isolated and only slightly differen- 
tiated form of P. arizoncnsis, from which it is completely cut off geo- 
graphically. It is surrounded on all sides by the large weasel of the 
plains, P. lon<jicau<la. In worn summer pelage the color differences 
that distinguish it from arizonensix are not apparent. 

I take pleasure in naming the species in honor of Dr. J. A. Allen, 
of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, who has 
recently published an important paper on the mammals of the Black 
Hills, and to whom I am indebted for the loan of three additional 
specimens. 

Measurements (of type specimen, male adult). Total length, 37H; tail 
vertebra?, 137; hind foot, 44. 



JUNE, 1896.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 25 

PUTORIUS XANTHOGENYS (Gray). California Weasel. 

1S43. Mustela .runlhoyaius Gray : Annals and Maga/ino Nat. Hist., XI, pp. 118, 1843. 
1857. Pulorius xaniJioyi-nys IJaml: Mammals N. Am., pp. 176-177. 1857. 
1877. Pulorius (Gale) brasH'iendix f remit us Cones: Fur- Hearing Animals, ]p. 142-146, 
1877 (in part). 

Type locality. Southern California, probably vicinity of San Diego. 

Geographic (listribtitron. Sonoran and Transition faunas of Califor- 
nia, on both sides of the Sierra Nevada. 

General characters. Si/,e medium; tail long; face conspicuously 
marked with whitish, but rest of head not black; under parts 
ochraceous. 

Color. Upper parts from back of head to terminal part of tail in 
summer pelage raw-umber brown, tinged with golden; in winter pelaye, 
drab brown, without yellowish suffusion; head always darker, becom- 
ing dusky over nose; a large rectangular spot between eyes, and a 
broad oblique band between eye and eir, whitish; end of tail black; 
a' brown spot behind corners of mouth ; chin white ; rest of under parts, 
including fore feet all round and inner side and toes of hind feel, vary- 
ing from buffy ochraceons to ochraceous orange. In some specimens 
the ocliraceous covers the greater part of the hind feet as well as the 
toes. 

Cranial characters. Skull of the lonyicauda type and practically 
indistinguishable in size and characters from P. arlzonensls; skull as a 
whole short and broad; zygomata bowed outward; postorbital processes 
strongly developed; sagittal ridge distinct; audital bulLe moderate, 
usually truncate anteriorly; skull of female similar to that of male, 
but smaller. 

Remarks. Putorius .vanthogenys inhabits the San Joaquin and Owens 
valleys and the whole of southern California except the higher moun- 
tains. In ascending the mountains it gradually loses the facial mark- 
ings and seems to grade into P. arizonensis, the weasel of the mountain 
summits. 

Measurements. Average of 7 males from southern California: Total 
length, 402; tail vertebrae, 15G ; hind foot, 43.5. Average of 3 females : 
Total length, 368; tail vertebrae, 135; hind foot, 40.5. 

PUTORIUS XANTHOGENYS OREGONENSIS subsp. nov. Oregon Weasel. 

Type from Grants Pass, Rogue River Valley, Oregon. No. f|gi, 2 ad., U. S. Nat. Mus., 

Dept. Agric. Coll. Collected December 19, 1891, by Clark P. Streator. Original 

number 1404. 

Geographic distribution. Kogue lliver Valley, Oregon; limits of 
range unknown. 

General characters. Similar to P. xanthogenys but decidedly larger, 
darker in color, and with face markings much restricted. 

Color. Upper parts in winter pelage pale chocolate brown, slightly 
darker on head; a small and ill-defined patch between eyes, and a nar- 



26 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 

row vertical bar between eye and ear, white; throat white: rest of 
under parts, including fore feet and inner sides and distal half of hind 
feet, pale yellowish; terminal one-fifth of tail black; rest of tail above 
and below concolor with back and without the yellowish tinge which 
is characteristic of xanthogenys. 

Cranial characters. Skull similar to that of xanikogenys but larger 
and decidedly broader. The skull of the type, an adult female, com- 
pared with skulls of xanthogenys of the saiue sex and age from south- 
ern California, differs in the following particulars: Skull everywhere 
broader; muzzle, palate, interorbital breadth and constriction very 
much broader; zygomata more spreading. 

Measurements. Type specimen, female adult: Total length, 412; tail 
vertebra^ Io5; hind foot, 44. 

PUTORIUS FRENATUS (Lichtenstein). Bridled Weasel. 
(PL III, figs. 1, la, Ib, 2.) 

1813. Musiela Irasilienaix Sevastianoff : Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersburg, IV, 
356-363, Table iv, 1813. (Name on plate only; diagnosis in text.) Preoc- 
cupied by Musiela brasiliensis [an otter] Gmelin, 1788. 

1832. Mustda frenatu Lichtenstein : Darstelluug neuer oder wenig bekannter Sau- 
gethiere, PI. XL1I and corresponding text (unpaged), 1832. 

1857. Putorius frenatu s Bnird: Mammals N. Am., 173-176, 1857. 

Type locality. Valley of Mexico, near City of Mexico. 

General characters. Size large; tail long; its black tip relatively 
short; head black, Avith conspicuous white markings. 

Color. Top of head blackish, interrupted between eye and ear by a 
broad, whitish band, which is nearly confluent with a patch of same 
color between the eyes; rest of upper parts brown; a dark spot behind 
corners of mouth; chin and throat whitish; rest of under parts ochra- 
ceous yellow; forefeet to or above wrists whitish or pale buffy yellow- 
ish, continuous with and shading into ochraceous of under parts; color 
of under parts extending down on inner side of hind legs and feet to 
toes, which are whitish or yellowish white. 

Cranial characters. Skull large aiid massive, with strongly devel- 
oped postorbital processes, deep postorbital constriction, marked sagit- 
tal crest, and peculiar audital bull a? , which are obliquely truncated 
anteriorily (the inner side reaching farthest forward) and abruptly 
highest on inner side, falling away suddenly on outer side so as to 
form a rounded ridge along the inner side of the longitudinal axis of 
the bulla. The skull of frenaius resembles that of longicauda, but is 
considerably larger, and differs in the form of the audital bulhe just 
described, and also in the extent of the postglenoid space, which is 
much larger than in longicauda. The dentition is heavy and the 
upper carnassial tooth relatively shorter than in longicauda. The 
ramus of the under jaw is much more convex inferiorly. 

Remarks. Lichtenstein, in his original description of Mvtstelafrenatdi 
states that the tail is about one-third longer than that of the European 



JUNE. 1896.] SYNOPSIS OP THE WEASELS OP NORTH AMERICA. 27 

weasel (erminea) ; that only its extreme tip is black ; that the head, ears, 
aod crown are black, this coloring fading into the reddish brown of the 
upper parts on the back of the head behind the ears; that the facial 
markings, throat, and breast are Avhite; the remainder of the under 
parts ocher yellow. The white spot between the eyes is described as 
heart-shaped, and in the colored plate it is shown to be nearly, but not 
quite, confluent with the white patch between the eye and ear. The 
colors in the plate are not good, as the whole tinder parts are white 
instead of ocher yellow, and the black tip of the tail is not shown. The 
specimen seems to have been in worn pelage. Lichtenstein had two 
specimens, both collected by Deppe near the City of Mexico. 

Fortunately, the Department collection contains two specimens col- 
lected by E. W. Nelson at Tlalpam, in the Valley of Mexico, which may 
be considered topotypes of frenatus, for they not only came from the 
same locality as Lichteu stein's types, but also agree essentially in every 
detail with his excellent description. The only points in which the 
description fails to agree absolutely with the specimens is that in the 
latter the white of the throat is less pure and the black tip of the tail 
perhaps a trifle more extensive than one would infer from the descrip- 
tion; but the throat is white in contrast with the strongly ochraceons 
yellow of the rest of the under parts, and a specimen in the United 
States National Museum from the City of Mexico (No. 10GO, 9 ad., 
J. Potts) has both throat and breast white, as in the original description. 

The statement that only the extreme tip of the tail is black was made 
in comparison with the European weasel (erminea), in which nearly half 
of the tail is black. Hence the description agrees entirely with the 
specimens in hand. One point not mentioned in the description is 
shown in the plate, namely, that the hind feet and toes are in large 
part whitish or yellowish white. The quantity of white is variable. 
In a young male from Tlalpam (No. 50827) it is restricted to the inner 
side of the foot, hardly reaching the toes, while in an adult male from 
the same locality (No. 50826) it includes the toes. The whitish spot 
between the eyes is also variable, both in form and extent. Lichtenstein 
described it as heart-shaped, and his figure shows that it is narrow 
where it approaches closest to the stripe between the eye and ear, with 
which it is nearly, but not quite, confluent. This is precisely its con- 
dition m the adult male from Tlalpam, which may be considered a 
duplicate type of the species. In this specimen the median white spot 
is almost divided by the dark color of the forehead, which pushes down 
between the eyes, so that the whitish spot might be described as a 
narrow stripe over each eye, the two becoming confluent below. In 
the young specimen the white spot is subrectangular and not divided 
by the black of the forehead. 

Note on Putorins braMliensis. In 1813 a Russian naturalist, Sevas- 
tianoff, gave the name 'Mustehi brasiliensis' to a weasel brought to 
St. Petersburg by Capt. A. J. Krusenstern oai his return from a voyage 



28 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 11. 

around the world. The animal was said to have come from Brazil, hut 
no definite locality was given. In the numerous publications that have 
since appeared relating to the mammals of Brazil and adjacent terri- 
tory, no weasels are mentioned as inhabiting that country, and the 
species described from the mountains to the westward differ so widely 
from SevastianofPs brasiliensis that it is almost certain his animal did 
not come from Brazil. The original description (including measure 
merit!?) agrees in every respect with P. frenatus of Lichteustien from 
the Valley of Mexico, indicating that the two animals are identical. 
On this assumption the well-known and appropriate name f remit its 
would have to fall before the earlier and inappropriate 'brasiliensixS 
Fortunately, however, Sevastianoff placed his animal in the genus 
Mustela, and the name Mustela brasiliensis is preoccupied by Gmelin 
for a South American otter. (Syst. Nat., ed. 13, p. 03, 1788.) Hence, 
unless some earlier name is found, frenatus will stand for the Mexican 
bridled weasel. 

Measurements. An adult male from Tlalpam, Valley of Mexico (type 
locality) : Total length, 505; tail vertebra, 203; hind foot, 53. Average 
of G males from Brownsville, Tex. : Total length, 488; tail vertebrae, 192; 
hind foot, 51. Average of 3 females from Brownsville: Total length, 
438; tail vertebra?, 187; hind foot, 41.5. 

PUTORIUS FRENATUS GOLDMANI subsp. nov. 

Type from Pinabete, Chiapas, Mexico. No. 77519, $ ad.. U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. 
coll. Collected Feb. 10, 1896, by E. A. Goldman. Altitude about 8,200 feet ( = 2,500 
meters). Original number 9279. 

Geographic distribution. Mountains of southeastern Chiapas; limits 
of range unknown. 

General character*. Similar to P. frenatus in size and general char- 
acters, but tail and hind feet longer; light markings more restricted; 
black of head reaching much farther back on neck; color of upper parts 
darker and more extensive, encroaching on sides of belly and covering 
fore and hind feet; black tip of tail longer. 

Color. Upper parts, including whole of fore and hind feet, dull, dark 
chestnut brown, washed with black on the neck from shoulders forward, 
and becoming pure black on the head; face marked by a whitish patch 
between the eyes, and a narrow, oblique band between eye and ear; a 
blackish spot behind angle of mouth; color of under parts salmon 
ochraceous, reaching wrists inferiorly, but not reaching heels; terminal 
third of tail black. 

Cranial characters. Skull rather large; zygomata moderately spread- 
ing: squamosal inflation moderate, but large for a member of the Jre- 
natus series; audital bulla 1 small, steep on inner side, and only slightly 
elevated anteriorly above squamosal inflation. The skull as a whole 
resembles that of frenatus, but differs conspicuously in the greater 
length and inflation of the postglenoid part of the squamosal, greater 
breadth of the basioccipital, and in the size and form of the audital 



JUNE, 1896.] SYNOPSIS OF THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 21) 

bailie. The latter are very narrow, low anteriorly where they meet the 
inflated squamosal without an abrupt step, and high along the inner 
side. 

Remarks. Mr. E. W. Nelson writes me that this fine weasel is found 
sparingly in the forest about Pinabete, Chiapas, at an altitude of 7,000 
to 8,000 feet (2,100 to 2,500 meters). The type specimen was shot in 
the afternoon while hunting on a heavily wooded hill slope. It was 
hoard making long, slow leaps over the dry, crisp leaves. Coming to a 
log, it stood up and rested its fore feet on the log, in which position it 
was shot by Mr. Goldman. 

A specimen from Cerro San Felipe, Oaxaca, is intermediate, both 
in coloration and cranial characters, between typical frenatus and 
goldmani; hence there is little room for doubt that complete inter- 
gradation exists between the two. 

Measurements. Type specimen, male adult: Total length, 504 ; tail 
vertebra, 201 ; hind foot, 58. 

PUTORIUS FRENATUS LEUCOPARIA subsp. nov. 

Type from Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. No. Jj^H, <? ad., U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. 
Agric. coll. Collected July 27, 1892, by E. W. Nelson. Original number 2960. 

General characters. Similar to Putorius frenatus, but slightly larger; 
black of head extending posteriorly over neck; white face markings 
much more extensive; the spot between the eyes very much larger and 
broadly confluent on both sides with whitish area between eye and ear, 
which area also is much more extensive in all directions than in 
frenatus. 

'Color. Upper parts from shoulders to black tip of tail, dark brown; 
neck, crown of head, nose, ears, and sides of face to a little behind the 
eye, black ; black of head between eyes and ears divided by a broad 
band of buffy white which is broadly confluent with buffy yellow of 
throat and chin; a narrow border of whitish on upper lip; rest of 
under parts ochraceous yellow (including whole of forefeet, inner sides 
of hind legs and feet, and terminal half or nearly half of upper surfaces 
of hind feet, where the color becomes paler, being buffy ochraceous, as 
on the throat). 

Cranial characters. Skull similar to that of frenntus, but larger; 
audital bulhe much narrower; postorbital processes less strongly 
developed. 

Remarks. This handsome weasel presents the maximum of black 
and white markings known in the frenatus group, the black of the head 
reaching back over the neck and the white face markings covering a 
large area. In the type specimen a white stripe 50 mm. in length 
extends down the middle of the nape from a point between the ears 
more than halfway to the shoulders. This, however, is probably ab- 
normal, though a trace of it exists in a female from the same locality. 
This form is the poorest subspecies described in the present paper. 



30 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 

Measurements. Average of 2 males from Pat/cuaro (type locality) : 
Total length, 510; tail vertebra 1 , 201; bind foot, 53. An adult female 
from same place: Total length, 400; tail vertebra}, 15!); hind foot, 42. 

PUTOKIUS TKOPICALIS sp. nov. Tropical Bridled Weasel. 
(PL III, figs., 5, 5a, 6, 60.) 

Type from Jico, Vera Cruz, Mexico No. 51994, $ ad., U. 8. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. 
coll. Collected July 9, 1893, by E. W. Nelsou. Altitude 6,000 feet ( -^1,800 meters). 
Original number 5195. 

Geographic distribution. The tropical coast belt of southern Mexico 
and Guatemala from Vera Cruz southward. 

General characters. Similar to Putorius frenattis, but much smaller 
and darker, with the white face markings less extensive, the belly pale 
orange instead of ochraceous, and under side of tail very much darker. 

Color. Upper parts deep umber brown with a fulvous tone; head, 
ears, and neck, black, passing gradually into brown of back just in 
front of the shoulders; terminal one-fourth (or a little more) of tail, 
black; face markings as m frenatois, but less extensive and whiter; 
under parts ochraceous buff on throat and fore feet, becoming rich 
orange buff on belly and inner side of thighs, whence (becoming paler) 
the color reaches out in a narrow interrupted stripe along the inner 
side of the hind feet to the toes, which are irregularly buffy. 

Cranial characters. Skull of male similar in general to that of fre- 
natus, but smaller, relatively longer, with less spreading zygomata, less 
strongly developed postorbital processes, and probably broader postor- 
bital constriction (the type skull was infested with parasites) ; audital 
bullaB smaller and very much narrower; carnassial teeth and upper 
molar smaller. The skull of the female is very much smaller than that 
of the male, and has the smoothly rounded brain case of the cicognani 
group, without trace of a sagittal ridge. The squamosals are strongly 
inflated, resembling those of cicognani and the female of noveboracensis. 
It differs from the female frenatus in much smaller size, very much 
smaller audital bullaj, more inflated squamosals, smoothly rounded 
brain case without trace of sagittal crest, and broader interorbital 
constriction, which is immediately behind postorbital processes instead 
of one-fifth the distance from the processes to the occipital crest (fig. 15). 

Remarks. On first examining the skins of this weasel sent home by 
Mr. Nelson, I supposed it to be merely a tropical subspecies ofJrei>tHn; 
but on comparing the skulls I am forced to accord it full specific rank. 
The difference is greatest in the females, and is really very remarkable, 
as may be seen from the accompanying figures (figs. 15 and 16). The 
female of frenatus (fig. 10) resembles the male of the same species (pi. Ill, 
fig. 1), while the female of tropicalis (fig. 1.5) resembles the cicognani 
group representing another section of the genus. The case is parallel 
to that of P. noveboracensis already described. The female of tropicalis, 
like that of noveboracensis^ shows arrested development or absence of 







JUNE, 1890.] SYNOPSIS OP THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA* 31 

the specialization that characterizes the male, while the females of 
H*ashhiyt<tni and frenatux have advanced further and are more like 
the male. In the case of the female skulls of frenatus and tropicalis 
here figured, it is interesting to know that they were taken within 
a few miles of one another frenatus on Cofre de Perote. at an 
altitude of about 12,500 feet; 
tropical!* at Jico on the plain 
below, at an altitude of 5,000 or 
0,000 feet. 1 

The Department collection 
contains four specimens of this 
weasel, all collected by Mr. Nel- 
son in Yera Cruz. Three of 
t-hem, two adult males and one 
old female, are from Jico; the 
fourth, an immature female, is 
from Catemaco, and presents the 
extreme of differentiation in in- 

, n i m , . FIG. 15 P. frenatus'}. FIG. 1C. P. trox>icalis 9 . 

tensity of color. The hind feet 

are dark throughout and the color of the upper parts is peculiarly dark 

and rich, as in P. affinis. 

Measurements. Average of two adult males from Jico, Vera Cruz 
(type locality): Total length, 442; tail vertebrte, 175; hind foot, 50. 
An old female from same place: Total length, 333; tail vertebra, 121; 
hind foot, 37. 

PUTORIUS AFFINIS (Gray). . 

Mustela affinis Gray: Annals & Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., XIV, p. 375, Nov., 1874. 

Type locality. "New Granada" [= Colombia]. 

General characters. Size large; tail long; color very dark, almost 
black anteriorly; facial markings obsolete or nearly so. 

Color. Upper parts nearly pure black on head and neck, fading 
imperceptibly to rich blackish brown on back, rump, and tail; black 
tip of tail long, but not strongly contrasted with dark color of rest of 
tail; under parts narrowly ochraceous orange, narrowest behind'augle 
of mouth, where it is encroached on by the blackish of the cheeks. Face 
usually unmarked, but a whitish streak sometimes present in front 
of ear. 

Cranial characters. The only skull of this weasel I have seen is from 
a skin (No. 13770, U. S. Nat. Mus.) collected by Dr. Van Patten, at San 
Jose, Costa Eica. It is immature, but differs strikingly from frenatus 
in the greater breadth of the frontal region and the flatness of the 
audital bullus. The constriction is little marked, which may be due to 



'The difference in size of the two species is well shown by the flesh measurements 
of these two specimens. Female frenatus, Cofre do Perote: Total length, 418; tail 
vertebra, 160; hind foot, 45. Female tropicalis, Jico: Total length, 333; tail verte- 
bra-, 121; hind foot, 37. 



32 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [Xo.iL 

parasites in the frontal sinuses. The young skull affords the following' 
measurements: Basal length, r>0; /ygomatic breadth, 29; postpalatal 
length, 20; palatal length, 21; interorbital breadth, 12; breadth across 
postorbital processes, 15; breadth of constriction, 14. 

General remarks. There are several specimens from Costa Rica in 
the National Museum collection which apparently belong to this 
species. In these specimens the color of the upper parts is exceed- 
ingly dark from the color of the tips of the hairs; but the color imme- 
diately underlying the black tips is deep fulvous brown, giving a very 
rich tone to the pelage. The orange of the under parts is narrow and 
does not reach the feet; on the hind legs it stops on the thighs, and on 
the forelegs it stops short of the wrists. 

Measurements (from dry skins in U. S. Nat. Mus.). Total length, 
about 010; tail vertebra', about 180; hind foot, about 52. 



JUNK, 1890.] SYNOPSIS OP THE WEASELS OF NORTH AMERICA. 33 
Table of average cranial measurements of North American Weasels. 


Name. 


Locality. 


1 


i 


is 
l w 

i 


5 
1 

N 


1 

a 


Breadth across post- 
orbital processes. 


Interorbital breadth. 


Foramen magnum to 
plane of last molars. 


Palatal length. 


Postpalatal length. 


Number of skulls in 
average. 


P. cicognani 

P. richardsoni. . . . 
P. alascensis 
P. streatori 


Ossipee, N. H 
Elk River Minn 


d 
d 

9 

d 
d 
<f 
9 

9 
9 

<f 

' 
, 
rf 

cf 

9 
<f 
9 
9 

9 
d 
9 
<f 

ef 

9 

<f 
9 

tf 

9. 
d 
9 
d 
9 


38.5 
40.2 
33.5 
32.5 

41. r. 

43 
35 
30 
33.5 
28.5 
26.5 
44.5 

43.5 
43 
38 
'42 
47 
38.5 
44.2 
38.3 
45.5 
48 

43.5 
48 
44 
45 

42 
44 
44.5 
39.5 
42 

44 
42 
52.5 
45 
49 
37.5 


37.5 
39 
32.5 
31.5 
40 
42 
34 
29.5 
32.5 
28 
'26 
43 

42 

42 
37 
'41 
45.5 
37.5 
43 
37.5 
44 
47 

42.5 
46.5 
43 
44 

41 
43 
43.5 
38 
40.8 
37.5 
42.5 
41 
51 
43.5 
47.5 
3,5 


21 

18 
17.5 
24 
24.5 
20 
16.5 
18 
15.5 
14.2 
29.5 

27.5 
26.5 
22.5 
24 
27 
20 
26 
21.5 
27 
30.5 

26 
29.5 
26 

: 

:. 

27 
23 
27.5 
24 
33.5 
25.5 

H 


18.5 
19.5 
16 
16 
20.5 
21 
18 
15 
1C. 5 
13.5 
13.5 
23 

22.5 
22.5 
19 
20.5 
23.5 
18.5 
23 
20 
24 
26 

23 
26 
23.5 
25 

23 
23 
23 
20.5 
22 

23." 5 
22.5 
27.5 
23 
24.5 
19.5 


10.5 
11 
10 
9 
11.5 
14 
11 
10 
9.8 
8.5 
7.5 
14.5 

L 

12 
12.5 
14.5 
11 
12.5 
10.5 
14 
15.5 

12 
14.5 
13 

14 

12.5 
13 
14.5 
11.3 
13.2 
12 
13.5 
12 
15.5 

i 

12 


8.7 
9 
7.8 
7 
9.7 
11 

r 
i: 

12.5 

11 
12 
10 
10.5 
11.3 
8.5 
10.2 
8.7 
11 
11.5 

10.5 
11.5 

10.5 
11 

10.5 
10.5 

f 

9 
9.5 
9.5 
12 
10 
10.5 
9 


25.5 
26.5 
22 
21.5 
27 
28.5 
23 
20 
22 
19 
17.5 
29 

28.5 
28 
24.5 
'27 
30 
25.5 
27.5 
24 
29 
30 

26.5 
30 

28 
28.5 

26.5 
27 
28 

26.2 
24.5 
27.5 
26 
33.5 
29 
32 
24.5 


16.5 
17 
14 
14 
18 
19 
15 
12 
14.5 
12.5 
11 
20.5 

19.5 
19.5 
16.5 
17.5 
21.5 
16 
21 
17.8 
21 
23 

20.5 
23.5 
20.5 
21 

20 
20.5 
21 
18 
20 
18 
20.5 
19.5 
24.5 
19.5 
22 

10 


22 
22.5 
19.5 
18 
23 
24 
20 
18 
19.5 
16.5 
'15 
24 

24 
24 
21 
'24 
25.5 
22.5 
23 
20.5 
24.5 
25 

22.5 
24 
23.5 
24 

22 
23.5 
23 
21 

20.5 
23.2 
22 
27. 5 
25 
27 
21.5 


4 
4 

1 
1 
.3 
1 
1 
1 
3 
1 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
1 
5 
1 
7 
.4 
1 
1 

1 
1 
1 
2 

1 
1 
4 
8 
8 

2 

1 
1 
1 
1 

1 


Do 


Mount Forest, Ontario. . 
Great Slave Lake 
J uneau, Alaska 
Skagit Valley, Wash . . . 
Do 


Trout Lake, Wash 
Do 


Osier, Saskatchewan . . . 
Point Biirrow, Alaska . . 
Franklin Bay, Arctic 
Coast. 
St. Michaels, Alaska... 
Do 
Kadiak Island. Alaska. . 
Adirondacks, X. T 
Do 
Trout Lake, Wash 
Do 


P. kadiacensis 
P. noveboracensis . 

P. washingtoni 

P. peninsula; 
P. longicauda 

P. spadix 
P.saturatus 
P. arizonentis 

P. alleni 


Tarpon Springs, Fla 
Carlton House, Sas- 
katchewan. 
Do 


Elk River, Minn 


Do 


Siskiyou Mountains, 
Oregon. 
Springerville, Ariz 
Boulder County, Colo. .. 
Sierra Nevada, Cal 
Do 
Black Hills, S. Dak 
Do 


P. xanthogenys 
P.frenatus 
P.tropicalis 


Southern California 
Do 


Tlalpam, Mexico 
Cofre de Perote, Mexico. 
.Tico, Vera Cruz, Mexico. 
Do 





10932 No. 11- 



X. 



[Synonyms in italics. 



Aretogale, 9. 

Cynomyonax (synonym of Putorius), 7. 

Gale (synonym of Ictis), 9. 

Ictis, subgenus, 9. 

list of species, 10. 
Mustela braMiensit, 26. 
cicognani, 10. 
enninea, 9. 
erminea, 11. 
frenata, 26. 
longicauda, 19. 
richardsoni, 11. 
vulgaris, 9. 
vulgaris, 10. 
xanthogenys, 25. 
Putorius, genus, 7. 

key to subgenera, 7. 
list of species with type localities, 10. 
subgenus, 7. 

table of cranial measurements, 33. 
Putorius affinis, 31-32. 

alaseensis, 12-13. 
alleni, 24. 
arcticus. 15-16. 
arizonensis, 22-24. 



Putorius boccamela, 9. 

cicognani, 10-11. 
erminea, 15, 16. 
erminea, 16. 
eversmanni, 8. 
frenatus, 26-28. 
goldmanni, 28-29. 
kadiacensis, 16. 
leucoparia, 29. 
longicauda, 19-21. 
nigripes, 7-9. 
noveboracensis, 16-18. 
oregonensis, 25-26. 
peninsula, 19. 
pusillut, 14. 
putorius, 8. 
richardsoni, 11-12. 
rixosus, 14-15. 
saturatue, 21-22. 
spadix, 21. 
streatori, 13-14. 
tropicalis, 30-31. 
vulgaris, 10. 
Washington!, 18-19. 
xanthogenys, 25. 



PLATE I. 

FIG. 1. Putorius nigripts, $ ad., Trego County, Kans. 
(No. 4143, Merriam coll.) 

1. Upper side of skull, 
la. Under side of skull. 
Ife. Side view of skull. 

2. Putorius putorius, $ ad., Brunswick, Germany. 
(No. 4661, Merriam coll.) 

2. Upper side of skull. 
2a. Under side of skull 



North American Fauna, No. 11. 



PLATE I. 




1. Putorius nigripes <$ ad. Trego County, 

2. Putorius putorius d" ad. Bnmswick. Germany. 



PLATE II. 

FIG. 1. Putorius arcticus. Point Barrow, Alaska (type). 

$ ad., No, 23010, U. S. Nat. Mus. 
2. Putorius ailascensis. Juneau, Alaska (type). 

$ ad., No. 74423, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. colL 
3 and 4. Putorius cicognani. 

3. $ ad., Bucksport, Me., No. 4247, Bangs coll. 

4. $ ad., Mount Forest, Ontario, No. 789, Bangs coll. 
5 and 6. Putorius streatori. Mount Vernon, Skagit Valley, Wash. 

5. $ ad., No. 76646, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. (type). 

6. 2 ad., No. 76623, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. 
7. Putorius rixosus. Osier, Saskatchewan. 

$ ad., No. 642, Bangs coll. (type). 



North American Fauna, No. 11. 



PLATE II. 




is? 4 * 



1. Putorius arcticus. 

2. P. alascensis. 



3,4. P. cicognani. 
5, 6. P. streatori. 



PLATE III. 

FIGS. 1 and 2. Putorius frenatus. 

1. $ ad., Tlalpam, Mexico, No. 50826, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. 

Agric. coll. 

2. 9 ad., Cofre de Perote, Vera Cruz, Mexico, No. 54278, U. S. 

Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. 
3 and 4. Putorius longicauda. Carlton House, Saskatchewan (type locality). 

3. $ ad., No. 73183, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. 

4. 9 ad., No. 75483, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. 
5 and 6. Putorius tropicalis. Jico, Vera Cruz, Mexico. 

5. $ ad., No. 54994, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. (type). 

6. 9 ad., No. 54993, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. 
40 



North American Fauna, No. 11. 



PLATE III. 




2. Putorius frenatuc. 3, 4. P. longicauda. 5, 6. P. tropicahs. 



PLATE IV. 

FIGS. 1 and 2. Putorius noreboracensis. Adirondacks, New York. 

1. j? ad., No. 3843, Merriam coll. 

2. 9 ad., No. 5598, Merriam coll. 

3 and 4. Puiorius ivashingtoni. Trout Lake, Washington. 

3. $ ad., No. 76322, U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agric. coll. (type). 

4. 5 ad. No. 67321, U. S. Nat. Mua., Dept. Agric. coll. 
5. Putorius peninsula'. Tarpon Springs, Fla. 

$ ad., No. 2379., Rhoads coll. 
42 



North American Fauna, No 



PLATE IV. 




1, 2. Puturius noveboracensis. 3, 4. P. washingtoni. u, P, jjeninsuli. 



PLATE V. 

FIG. 1. Putorius longicaitda (Bonap.). 

1. $ ad., Carltoii House, Saskatchewan, No. 73183, U. S. Nat. Mns., 

Dept. Agric. coll. 

la. 9 ad., Carlton House, Saskatchewan, No. 75483, U. S. Nat.Mus., 
Dept. Agric. coll. 

2. Putorius cicognani (Bouap.). 

2. <?, Bucksport, Me. No. 4247, Bangs coll. 

2a. 9 , Mount Forest, Ontario No. 789, Bangs coll. 

3. Putorius noveboracensis De Kay. 

3. $ ad., Adirondack*, New York No. 3843, Merriam coll. 
3a. 9 ad., Adirondacks, New York No. 5598, Merriain coll. 

4. Putorius rixosux nob. 

9 ad. (type), Osier, Saskatchewan, No. 642, Bangs coll. 

5. Putorius peninttida; Khoads. 

9 old, Tarpon Springs, Fla. No. 2379, Khoads coll. 

6. Putorius aiclicus sp. nov. 

6. <?, St. Michaels, Alaska No. 36243, I*. S. Nat. Mus. 
6a. 2, St. Michaels, Alaska No. 36246, U. S. Nat. Mus. 
44 



North American Fauna, No. 1 



PLATE V. 




Date Due 



* 






nci 






1 6 1977 



2 3 1977 




iSE 



RECOAL 

-sfM- 






W 



CAT. NO. 24 161 



3 1970 00525 6265 






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