10 Bangs The Weasels of Eastern North America. 



the eyes and two larger bands extending from the throat up between the 

 ear and the eye, white. These markings are very variable. Sometimes 

 the bands are very broad and meet the white spot between the eyes, mak 

 ing a continuous white band around the head ; sometimes they are reduced 

 to a few white scattering hairs between the eyes and narrow and broken 

 bands of white in front of the ears. The rest of the head, the ears, nose, 

 and whiskers are black ; under parts uniform, strong orange buff, some 

 times tinged with ocher yellow ; line of demarkation between colors of 

 upper and under parts a little irregular and rather high up ; hands, toes, 

 and inside of feet a shade or two lighter than the under parts, but not 

 white ; chin and a very narrow border to upper lips white ; tail same 

 color as upper parts, its black tip short ; under fur same color as long 

 hairs ; no seasonal change in color. 



Size. Average measurements of five adult males from Brownsville, 

 Texas: total length, 499; tail vertebrae, 224; hind foot, 46. Average of 

 three adult females from Brownsville, Texas : total length, 412.5 ; tail 

 vertebra. 172; hind foot, 36.5. 



Skull. Large and massive, but not differing in any essential characters 

 from that of P. longicauda ; it is larger and even more constricted back 

 of the postorbital processes, and has a tendency to become more rough 

 ened in old age by muscular impressions. 



This weasel, like all the longicauda group, is very free from the parasite 

 that preys on the frontal bones ; dentition normal, but heavy. 



Remarks. The geographic distribution of this weasel is still 

 imperfectly known. In all probability the form has a much wider 

 range than is actually shown by existing specimens. Probably, 

 like many Mexican mammals, it extends east along the Gulf 

 coast to the shores of Louisiana. Its western limit is not known. 



Putorius peninsulas Rhoads. Florida Weasel. 

 PL I, fig. 5; II, fig. 5; III, fig. 5. 



Putorius peninsula Rhoads, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 152, 1894. 



Chapman, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., p. 345, 1894. 

 Putorius erminea Chapman, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., p. 345, 1894. 



Type locality. Hudson's, Pasco Co., Florida. 



Geographic distribution. The whole of peninsular Florida and probably 

 north into Georgia and the lowlands of South Carolina; inhabits the 

 tropical fauna of Florida and perhaps the Austroriparian zone also. 



General characters. Size medium ; tail short ; very much shorter than 

 in any other member of the longicauda group (less than one-third the 

 total length) and tipped with black for about one- third its length ; hair 

 on the tail very short, making the tail look slender ; feet slender and 

 sparsely haired; the nails very conspicuous; coat everywhere short, 

 coarse, and very lustrous. 



Color. Upper parts, hair brown, with a slight olivacious tinge in a fine 

 specimen from Tarpon Springs (No. 2379, coll. S. N. Rhoads); burnt 



