HISTORY OF THE AMERICA.N OTTER. 309 



or may not have been the present species. The error of con- 

 founding the species with that of Europe was refuted before 

 the history of our species had been disentangled from that of 

 the Brazilian Otter, with which ours was confounded by vari- 

 ous French, and even American, writers, until a comparatively 

 late period. 



The first binomial name I have found for this species is the 

 MusteJa canadensis of Turton, p. 57.* This name, which ap- 

 pears to have been overlooked, I consider undoubtedly based 

 upon the North American species; it consequently anticipates 

 the name Lutra canadensis bestowed in 1823 by Sabine, who is 

 usually quoted as the authority for our species. In the same 

 year, Fr. Guvier is said to have separated the Canada Otter from 

 that of South America, and to have also described as distinct a 

 second North American species, under the name of Lutra la- 

 taxina^ which became current with several writers. A Lataxina 

 mollis was described by J. E. Gray in 1843, and his type-speci- 

 men was afterward figured by Audubon and Bachman as a 

 variety of L. canadensis. But it is certain that neither of these 

 names indicates anything ditferent from the common North 

 Amercan species. Of a certain ^'•2IusteJa hudsonica Lacepede", 

 quoted by some authors as pertaining to our Otter, I know 

 nothing. 



Prof. Wyman, in an article on the articulation of the jaw, 

 above cited, named our species Liitra americana in 1847. 



* lu quoting Sabine as the authority for the name ^' canadensis^', previous 

 compilers of the synonymy of this species appear to have altogether over- 

 looked the much earlier '''Mastela canadensis" of Turton's English version of 

 the fkjstema Naturce, p. 57. As Turton gives no references, I am uncertain 

 whether or not he is the originator of the name, as the animal was known 

 before his time ; but this is the earliest use of the name in binomial nomen- 

 clature that I have found. Turton, like Pennant and others of his prede- 

 cessors, refers to the American Otter in connection with the European 

 species; but this '-Miistela canadensis'' of his (p. 57) is additional to his 

 other notice of Mustda Intra as au inhabitant of Europe, Asia, and America. 

 The diagnosis is merely ''black; fur smooth; tail long, taper; inhabits 

 North America", which would do very well for the true Mnstela canadensis or 

 M.pennanti (Pekau, Fisher) ; but it is as pertinent as many of his diagnoses, 

 and further fixed by its coming under his section ^'A. Hind feet palmate. 

 Otters", as opposed to his " B, Feet cleft. Weasels". Uuder head of the 

 latter, he has, on page 59, another ''Mnstela canadensis ", which is the animal 

 so named by Schreber, the Pekau. Turtou's double employ of the same 

 name for two entirely different animals is to be carefully noted to prevent 

 confusion of quotations. ''Mnstela canadensis, Turton, p. 57 " is Lntra cana- 

 densis. ''Mnstela canadensis, Turton, p. 59" is Mnsftla canadensis. 



