4 Bangs The Weasels of Eastern North America. 



ardsoni cicognani, there is a wide range in size. Just how much 

 of this is due to age and how much to individual variation is 

 hard to tell, as there is in this subspecies a constant increase in 

 size from south north, examples from Minnesota and northern 

 New Brunswick and northward being much larger than those 

 from Massachusetts and Connecticut. 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE SPECIES. 



The first work that need be taken into consideration in study 

 ing our weasels is the Fauna Boreali- Americana of Richardson, 

 published in 1829. In this the author described two species 

 and gave them the names of the common European weasels, 

 vulgaris and erminea. The latter he divided into two varieties, a 

 large long-tailed one from Carlton House, Saskatchewan, and a 

 large short-tailed one from Fort Franklin, Great Bear lake. 



Bonaparte, in his Fauna Italica (fasciculus xxii), published in 

 1838, described a new weasel from the United States which he 

 called Mu&tda cicognani. This was the same animal that Rich 

 ardson had called M. vulgaris. The same year, in Charlesworth's 

 Magazine, Bonaparte named Richardson's two varieties of erminea 

 as distinct species, calling the long-tailed one from Carlton House 

 Mustela longicauda, and the short-tailed one from Great Bear lake 

 Mustela richardsoni. The next year (1839) Richardson, in the 

 ' Zoology of Beechey's Voyage,' accepted Bonaparte's conclusions 

 as stated above. 



De Kay in 1840, in his ' Report on the Zoology of New York,' 

 named a new weasel which he called Putorius noveboracensis. He 

 gave no description and his name is a nomen nudum. Emmons, 

 the same year (1840), in his 'Report on the Quadrupeds of 

 Massachusetts,' described P. noveboracensis^ attributing it to De 

 Kay. Of course the name must date from Emmons. It is rather 

 unfortunate, as Emmons gives no type locality. As he was 

 treating only of Massachusetts mammals, it seems advisable to 

 consider Massachusetts the type locality. 



Audubon and Bachman in 1842, in the ' Journal of the Acad 

 emy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,' described Mustela fusca, 

 which is the same as M. cicognani of Bonaparte. 



De Kay, in his ' Zoology of New York ' (1842), in addition to 

 P. noveboracensis gives M.fusca of Audubon and Bachman, and 

 describes another weasel that he calls Mustela pusilla. All but 

 the first are synonyms of cicognani Bonaparte. 



