328 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID^. 



body is a swollen cylinder, abrupt behind, tapering before to a 

 small globose head without notable constriction of neck ; the 

 limbs are short ; the tail is short, terete-tapering, obtuse ; there 

 is a remarkable disparity in size and shape between the fore 

 and hind feet, not seen in any other si)ecies of Mustelidce. In 

 life, the skin is remarkably loose and ^'rolling"; the pelt of an 

 individual four feet long readily stretches to six feet ; and when 

 the animal is lifted up by the skin, a foot or so of ''slack" 

 gathers. The pelage is notable for the preponderance of the 

 woolly under fur, the longer stiffer hairs being very scanty. It 

 is of the same general character all over the body ; but on the 

 head, feet, and tail consists chiefly of a finer fur, with little or 

 no admixture of bristly hairs. The only naked parts are the 

 muffle and palms. 



The naked muffle, an inch broad, and deeper than this, is 

 lozenge-shaped, with acute superior and inferior angles, obtuse 

 lateral angles, straight or slightly sinuous upper sides, the 

 lower sides somewhat irregular for most of their length, owing 

 to the nostrils ; these open quite broadly upon the surface. The 

 face of the nasal pad is minutely papillate, and divided part 

 way by a vertical line of impression. The eyes, of moderate 

 size, are high up, forming a nearly equilateral triangle with 

 the apex of the muzzle. The ears are situated remarkably low 

 down — far below the eyes, and in fact little above the level of 

 the commissure of the mouth ; they are very small, flat, obtusely 

 pointed, sparsely and very shortly pilous outside, only partially 

 furry inside. The whiskers are few, short, extremely stout and 

 stiff, directed downward for the most part; there are a few 

 other bristles over the eyes, but none are noted on the chin or 

 cheeks. 



The fore feet are remarkably small, giving the limb an appear- 

 ance which suggests amputation at the wrist ; the digits are 

 very short and much consolidated ; the very small, short, and 

 much arched claws are almost entirely hidden in the fur. The 

 general contour of the foot is circular in front. The palm is 

 naked, and minutely granular, with small roughened tubercles. 

 The baldness reaches up to the wrist on the outer side in a nar- 

 row space. The hind feet, on the contrary, are notable for their 

 expansion and flattening into strong effective oars. The gen- 

 eral shape is trapezoidal — the longest side exterior, the side 

 represented by the ends of the digits next longest ; the inner 

 border shorter, while the angle represents the fourth and much 



