1902.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 445 



America." Undoubtedly his material was based ou gpecimeus 

 from eastern Canada or the northeastern United States. He describes 

 a light tawny, white-headed forai, which applies more distinctively 

 to the martens of southeastern Canada and the eastern United 

 States as contrasted with those from farther north or from New 

 Brunswick and Labrador. On this basis and to more intelligently 

 map out the distribution of the subspecies already described 

 without overturning names i-ecently proposed, I restrict the type 

 locality of americaiia to the region occupied by the small pale mar- 

 tens of southern Canada and the northern United States. The 

 type specimens on which Turton based his species probably came 

 from Ontario or Quebec through the Hudson Bay Company. 



Faiuial Distribution. — The habitat of Mmlela americana ameri- 

 cana is restricted to the forested areas enclosed by the following 

 localities: Hudson bay, Northeast territory (of Labrador), 

 Quebec, Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, northern Pennsylvania, south 

 in the mountains to Colorada, Utah, eastern Oregon and Washmg- 

 ton, eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern 

 Kewatin, south of latitude 55°. 



DescrijAion of Species. — Smallest and palest of the American 

 martens. Pelage relatively short. Colors most variable of the 

 group, ranging from white-headed, yellow-bodied individuals to 

 blackish brown ones. Color of throat and breast patch varying 

 from white to pale-orange, sometimes reaching from chin to ster- 

 num and from base of ears to insertion of forelegs, sometimes con- 

 fined to a stripe or scattei'ed spots across lower neck. These remarks 

 in part apply to all our martens. The distinguishing color char- 

 acteristics of typical americana may be stated to be the average 

 paleness and yellowness of outer fur and the clear ash of basal 

 under fur, as contrasted with all other races, and in the strongly 

 contrasting colors of the fore parts with the hinder parts. The 

 upper head, ears and neck are generally a j)ale drab-gray (Riclg- 

 way's Nomenclature of Colors), this often reaching half-way down 

 the back ; the lower back, thighs and rump are tinged with an 

 unnamed shade of color combining pale-orange, rufous and yellow 

 in an indescribable combination not found in other geographic 

 races. This whole area is sparingly tipped with black. The bases 

 of hairs are pale smoke-gray. The darker parts of fore and hind 

 feet and logs and tail-brush arc 1)lackish seal brown. Certain areas 



