The Weasels of Eastern North America. 21 



garis (= P. nivalis). Richardson's P. vulgaris from Carlton House, 

 Saskatchewan (Fauna Boreali-Americana, I, p. 46). is clearly this 

 species. It was an adult female and the measurements given 

 were taken before skinning. Richardson himself positively states 

 this on page 10* of the Zoology of Beechey's Voyage.''^ 



Professor Baird, in 1857, gave a clear and accurate description 

 of P. cicngnani (Mammals of North America, 161-102), 1:)ut un- 

 fortunately he was not followed by subsequent authors. 



Although the extremes of richarchoni and cicognani are very 

 different-looking weasels, the evidence seems to prove that they 

 are only races of one species. The larger light-colored weasels 

 from Newfoundland and Labrador may safely be considered as 

 intermediate, though rather nearer cicognani, while the Fort 

 Albany specimen, referred to under richardsoni, is an interme- 

 diate, rather nearer to richardsoni. 



Putorius rixosus sj). nov. Least Weasel. 

 PL I, iig. 6; II, fig. 6; III, fig. 4. 



Putorius pusillus Baird, INIanim. N. Am., p. l.'iO, 1857 (not DeKay). 

 Putorius vulgaris Coues, Fur-Bearing Animals, p. 102, 1879 (in part). 



Type from Osier, Saskatchewan, No. G42, female, young adult, coll. 

 E. A. and 0. Bangs, coll. by W. C. Colt, July 15, 1893. " Original No., 79. 



Geogrupliic distributiou. — Arctic and boreal America from Alaska south 

 at least to Saskatchewan and jNIoose Factory. 



General characters. — Size very small ; tail verj^ short, without black ; 

 pencil short. 



Color. — Summer pelage : Upper j^arts rich reddish brown, from burnt 

 umber to Vandyke brown ; under parts pure white in every example but 

 the type. The type has the under parts a soiled white or pale drabbish, 

 that I attribute rather to staining than to coloring matter in the hair 

 itself, as many of the hairs when taken singly are white ; line of demar- 

 kation between colors of uj^per and under parts high up and even ; color 

 of under parts covering under side of arms and hands and inside of legs 

 and toes ; upper lips white ; tail to very end same color as back ; under 

 fur same color as the long hairs. Winter pelage : Entirely pure white all 

 over, including end of tail. The change to a white winter pelage prob- 

 ably takes place over the entire range of the species. 



Size. — Type (female yg. ad.): Head and body, 150; tail, 31 (taken in 

 flesh by collector, W. C. Colt). 



* In many worn midsummer specimens of P. cicognani the black tip to 

 the tail fades to a blackish brown, and is then not in very marked con- 

 trast to the rest of the tail. Specimens in this condition may have 

 strengthened the opinion, so generally held by early writers, that the 

 animal was identical with the European P. nivalis. 



