44 NOKTII AMKHK^AN FAUNA. (noIIi. 



Remarhs. — This form is tlu' liir<i('st of the sul).s]KH'ics o'i Musfrla 

 miierlcami. M. h/'iimaHs is ulso hir*j;"e, but does not equal dctiiosa^ jukI 

 notwithstiindiuo- its .smaller size has heavier" dentition. The enor- 

 mous audital bulhe of acUiom are not equaled b}^ those of any other 

 member of the j^roup. The skulls of americana (Plate VII, lig. ^^') 

 and cavrina are so very much smaller than those of hnnnalix and ncin- 

 osa that they do not need to be closely compared. In a good series of 

 actuosa from Fort Yukon and Fort McPherson the characters are very 

 constant. A large num))er of skins from these localities present ver}' 

 little variation, and nearly all are (juite light colored like the one 

 described above. 'I'he maiten is still the commonest fur-bearing 

 animal of Alaska, notwithstanding the hundreds of thousands that 

 have already l)een taken. Trappers are always contident of a harvest 

 of martens whether other animals are abundant or not. 



Mustela pennanti Erxleben. Fisher. 



Dr. Elliott Coues'^ states that he has examined specimens of the 

 fisher from Alaska, but does not give the exact locality. At present 

 no specimens are at hand to corroborate this record, but there is little 

 doubt that the animal occurs along the Upper Yukon, as it is known 

 from similar latitudes to the eastward. It was not met with by our 

 party, and I received no reliable information in regard to it. 



Gulo luscus (Linnaeus). Wolverine. 



Wolverines seem to be quite common in the Yukon region. They 

 were often reported, and I saw a number of skins among the natives 

 on the lower river. One was said to have been trapped at Tagish in 

 the winter of 1898, and others were seen in the vicinity. They arc 

 seen frequently a])out Lake Lebarge in winter, and trapj)ei-s fi-om the 

 MacMillan River say they are abundant in that region. 



Sorex personatus streatori Merriam. Streator Shrew. 



Specimens of this shrew were secured as follows: Haines 1, Skag- 

 wa}^ T), Glacier 1, Bennett 3, Caribou Crossing 2, Lake Lebarge 1, .50 

 miles below Fort Selkirk 1, mouth of Chanclindu River 1, and 40 miles 

 above Circle 1. Although the conditions along the Yukon seem to be 

 ideal for shrews, 1 was unable to secure many specimens, ajid could 

 only conclude that they were not common there, for the same mi^thods 

 of trapping were much more successful in the coast regions. 



Sorex personatus arcticus Merriam. Arctic Shrew. 



Sorex personatus arcticus Merriam, Proc. Wasli. Acad. Sci., II, 17, ]\Iar. 14, 1900. 



Twent}' specimens were taken at St. Michael. They occur through, 

 out the tundra in much the same situations as S. tund7vnsift, l)ut were 

 also found in the lava heaps and along high banks near the coast. 



'No. 4934, Merriam collcclion, fmin the Adirondack^, New York. 

 ^Fur-bearing Animals, 69, 1877. 



