CARNARIA. 101 



about it is on the point of the chin, and sometimes a narrow 

 line under the throat it is a different species.(l) 



Warm climates also have their Polecats or Weasels. 



Put. nudipes, Fred. Cuv. Mammif. (The Javanese Ferret.) 

 Golden-yellow; head and tip of the tail white. 



Put. africanus, Desm. (The African Ferret.) Reddish 

 fawn colour above ; yellowish white below ; a red band reach- 

 ing longitudinally along the middle of the belly from the fore to 

 the hind legs. 



Put. striatus, Cuv. (The Striped Madagascar Ferret.) 

 Size of the European Weasel; reddish brown, with five longi- 

 tudinal white stripes; beneath and the tail nearly all white. 



Put. zorilla; ZonVZe, Buff.; Viverra zorrilla, Gm.; Buff. XIII, 

 xl, 1. (Cape Polecat.) Irregularly striped with black and white; 

 an animal that has been so far confounded with the mephitic 

 weasels as to receive the name of Zorillo, or little Fox, which 

 the Spaniards have applied to those fetid American animals. 

 It approaches them in its claws, which are fitted for digging, 

 but in every thing else resembles the Polecats. They indicate 

 a subterraneous habit, which might induce us to separate it 

 from the other species. 



MusTELA, Cuv. 



The true Weasels differ from the Polecats in having an additional 



false molar above and below, and in the existence of a small internal 



tubercle on their inferior carnivorous tooth, two characters which 



somewhat diminish the cruelty of their nature. 



There are two species in Europe closely allied to each other, 

 the 



M. martes, L.; Buff. VII, xviii. (The Common Marten.) 

 Brown; a yellow spot under the throat. Inhabits the woods. 



M.foina, L.; Buff. VII, xviii. (The Beech Marten.) Brown ; 

 the whole under part of the throat and neck white. Inhabits 

 houses. Both species are very destructive. Siberia produces 

 the 



M.zibellina, Pall. Spic. Zool. XIV, iii, 2; Schreb. CXXXVI. 

 (The Sable.) Highly valued for its rich fur; brown, spot- 



(1) When this page was written, 1 had no other knowledge of the Norek, or 

 Mink of Europe, than what the description of Pallas afforded me. Having since 

 then procured some specimens, I have ascertained that the white about the jaws 

 is not permanent, and that very frequently the only white to be seen is at the end 

 of the lower jaw, as in the American Mink. I now think they are both one spe- 

 cies. 



