66 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. 



GENERAL HISTORY, HABITS, AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBU- 

 TION OF THE SPECIES. 



As this species is coDfiued to Xorth America, aud as it pre- 

 sents marked zoological characters, its written history is less 

 extensive and less involved than that of animals which have 

 a circumpolar distribution in both the Old and New World. 

 In tracing up this matter, we go back to the works of Buffon, 

 Brisson, and Pennant, all of whom appear to have described 

 the animal from the same specimen — one in the cabinet of M. 

 Aubry at Paris. It is the Pel'an of Buffon, 1765, and the 

 Fisher of Pennant, Syn. Quad. 1771. Pennant's account of 

 his Fisher is unmistakable; but he describes, in addition, the 

 Pekan of Buffon, not recognizing in it the same species. These 

 two accounts furnished for many years the bases of all the sci- 

 entific binomial names imposed by various authors. The 2Ius- 

 tela canadensis of Schreber, 1777. is the Pekan of Buffon ; the 

 M. pennantii of Erxleben, 1777, and J[. meJanorhyncha of Bod- 

 daert, 1781, are the Fisher of Pennant. This is perfectly plain ; 

 but a question of priority arises between the names pennantii 

 Erxl. and canadensis Schreb., owing to some uncertainty of 

 actual date of publication of the works of Erxleben and 

 Schreber, since the supposed earlier author quotes the other in 

 various places. Judging, however, by the printed dates of 

 publication, as the proper means of arbitration, pennantii of 

 Erxleben takes precedence. The question is, however, further 

 complicated by the fact that Erxleben has also a 2Iustela cana- 

 densis (p. 155), which included both the Vison and Pekan of 

 Buffon — the Mink and the Fisher: and many authors have 

 adopted the name for the latter. But, as Prof. Baird has 

 clearly shown, Erxleben's description of .1/. canadensis applies 

 solely to the Mink, and, indeed, will take precedence over M. 

 vison^ if Brisson be not quotable as an authority in binominal 

 nomenclature. As a summary of the subject, therefore, it may 

 be said that -1/. canadensis Erxl. goes to the Mink, while 21. ca- 

 nadensis Schreb. and authors sinks to a synonym of JT. pennantii 

 Erxl. 



In later years, various nominal species have been established 

 upon the Pekan, none of which, however, require special dis- 

 cussion. 



The name Fisher, very generally applied to this species by 

 others as well as authors, is of uncertain origin, but probably 



