Vol. XII, pp. 35-38 March 24, 1898 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND OTTER 



AND RED FON. 



BY OUTRAM BANGS. 



The following descriptions of the otter and the red fox of New- 

 foundland are based on material collected by Ernest Doane, 

 now in the Bangs collection. Of the otter, he has sent a fine pair 

 of adult skins with skulls, and two extra skulls; of the fox, six 

 skins with skulls, and nine extra skulls. In addition to these I 

 have examined a large series of unsexed otter skulls from New- 

 foundland in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge. 



Lutra degener sp. nov. 



Type from Bay St. George, Newfoundland, No. 6905, tf young adult, 

 Coll. of E. A. & 0. Bangs. Collected April 23, 1897, by Ernest Doane. 



General da in idem. — Size small, tail short, skull small and weak, with 

 very light zygoma and narrow frontal and rostral regions. 



Color. — Deep, lustrous seal brown to black all over, except cheeks, upper 

 lips, chin, and under side of neck, which are grizzled brown, palest on 

 cheeks ; under fur light grayish brown at base and gradually darkening 

 to deep rich brown at tips. 



Cranial diameters. — Skull as compared with that of L. hudsonica small 

 and weak; whole frontal and rostral region narrow; postorbital pro- 

 cesses long and slender; distance from last upper molar tooth to end of 

 pterygoid process short; zygoma short and very slender ; audital bullae 

 small ; dentition normal. 



Measurements. — $ young adult (type) ; total length 90S ; tail vertebrae 

 358 ; hind foot 126. 9 old adult, (topotype) No. 6966. Total length 

 990 ; tail vertebrae 352 ; hind foot 109. 



Skull, J' young adult, (type); basal length 94.6; zygomatic breadth 

 66.8; mastoid breadth 60; interorbital constriction 22.2; greatest con- 



8— Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XII, 1898 (35) 



