CHAPTER V. 



MUSTELIN^E — Continued: The American Ferret. 



The subgenus Cynomyonax — Subgeneric characters— P<*<onii8 {Cynomyonax) 

 nigrijyes, the American or Black-footed Ferret — Synonymy — Specific char- 

 aQ,ters — Habitat — General account of the species — Addendum : On the 

 species of the subgenus Putorius — P. foetidus, the Polecat or Fitch — Syn- 

 onymy — Description — P. fipAidus var. furo, the Ferret — Synonymy — Re- 

 marks — Ferret breeding and handling — P. fmtidus var. eversmanni, the 

 Siberian Polecat — Synonymy — Remarks — P. sarmaticus, the Spotted Pole- 

 cat — Synonymy and remarks. 



IHAYE been obliged to establish a new subgenus for the 

 reception of the singular Putorius nigripes of Audubon and 

 Bachman, which curiously combines some features of both Gale 

 and Putorius proper, with others peculiar to itself. As indi- 

 cated by the name of American or Black-footed " Ferret", it is 

 the strict analogue in this country of the European Ferret, or 

 Polecat, with which it agrees so closely in some respects that I 

 was at first inclined to refer it to the subgenus Putorius itself. 

 But further examination has satisfied me that the sum of its 

 peculiarities ranks as high, at least, as that characterizing 

 other admitted subgenera of Putorius. I have already concisely 

 contrasted its characters with those of ofcher sections of the 

 genus (p. 99), and shall devote this chapter to further consid- 

 eration of the remarkable animal. 



The Subgenus CYNOMYONAX. (COUES, 1877.) 



The dental formula of this subgenus is the same as that of 

 the genus Putorius at large (pm. l^\ 



The details of the dentition agree most closely with those of 

 subgenus Putorius, though peculiar in one respect. The back 

 lower molar is a mere cylindrical stump, with hemispherical 

 crown, too small and weak to develop the little cusps seen plainly 

 in P. foetidus and P. vison. The inferior incisors, in the speci- 

 men examined, are so crowded that the middle one on each 

 side sets entirely back of the line of the rest, exactly as in a 

 specimen of P. foetidus before me. The dentelure of the upper 

 jaw might be described in terms identical with those applicable 



147 



