36 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 



figure droopiDg both before and behind, both tail and head being 

 carried low. The general appearance is strikingly that of a 

 'Bear cub, with the addition of a bushy tail, though there is 



f^ somewhat of the elongation which characterizes the Mustelidce. 



The head is broad and much rounded on every side, with rather 

 short and pointed muzzle, wide apart eyes, and low ears, 

 altogether not very dissimilar from that of Mustela pennanti. 

 The jaws, however, are rather Canine in appearance. The 

 muffle and septum of the nose are naked, the former for about 

 half an inch from the end of the snout. The eyes are remark- 

 ably small. The ears are low, much broader than high, obtusely 

 founded, well furred on both sides, scarcely overtopping the fur 

 of the parts. The whiskers are few and short : there are other 

 similar bristles about the head. The pelage, as usual, is of two 

 kinds ; there is a short under-far, a kind of coarse kinky wool 

 scarcely an inch long, which is mixed with the longer stiffer 

 and straightish over-hairs, which are about four inches long on 

 the sides, flanks, and hips, giving the animal a shaggy aspect, 

 like a Bear. On the fore parts, and especially the head, how- 

 ever, the coat is much shorter and closer. The tail is clothed 

 with still longer hairs, measuring some six or eight inches, 

 drooping downward and conferring a peculiar shape, as if this 

 member were deficient at the end. The tail- vertebrae are one- 

 fourth, or rather more, of the length of head and body. The 

 legs are very stout and the feet large ; the track of the animal 

 resembles that of a small ^ear, but it is less completely planti- 

 grade. The palms antTsoles are densely furry ; but the balls 

 of the digits are naked, and among the hairs may be discerned 

 small naked pads at the bases of the digits, as well as a larger 

 one beneath the carpus, the correspondent to which on the heel 

 is apparently wanting. The fourth front digit is longest j then 

 comes the third, fifth, second, and first, which last is very short. 

 On the hind feet, the third is longest, the fourth little shorter ; 

 then follow the second, fifth, and first. 



In color, the Wolverene is blackish, or deep dusky brown, 

 with a remarkable broad band of chestnut or yellowish-brown, 

 or even fading to a dingy brownish-white, beginning behind 

 the shoulders, running along the sides, and turning up to meet 

 its fellow on the rump and base of the tail, circumscribing a 

 dark dorsal area. There is a light-colored grayish area on the 

 front and sides of the head. On the throat, and between the 

 fore legs, there is a patch, or there are several irregular spots 



