148 MAMMALIA OF INDIA. 
No. 189. MUSTELA (VISON) HORSFIELDI. 
HasiTat.—Bhotan. 
DeEscrRIPTION.—Uniform dark blackish-brown, very little paler he- 
neath; middle of front of chin and lower lip white; whiskers black ; 
tail slender, blackish at tip, half the length of head and body. 
No. 190. MUSTELA (GYMNOPUS) NUDIPES. 
Gymnopus leucocephalus of Gray. 
Hasitat.—Borneo, Sumatra, Java, but possibly Tenasserim. 
Description.—Golden fulvous with white head. 
As so many Malayan animals are found on the confines of Burmah, 
and even extending into Assam, it is probable that this species may be 
discovered in Tenasserim. ,; 
GENUS PUTORIUS—THE POLE-CAT. 
This is a larger animal than the weasel, and in form more resembles 
the marten, except in the shortness of its tail; the body is stouter and 
the neck shorter than in JZ/ws¢e/a ; the head is short and ovate; the feet 
generally hairy, and the space between the pads very much so; the 
under side of the body is blackish ; the fur is made up of two kinds, the 
shorter is woolly and lighter coloured than the longer, which is dark and 
shining. 
The disgusting smell of the common Pole-cat (Putorius fetidus) is 
well known, and has become proverbial. In my county, as well as in 
many parts of England, the popular name is ‘‘ foumart,” which is said 
to be derived from “foul marten.” The foumart is the special abhor- 
rence of the game-keeper ; it does more damage amongst game and 
poultry than any of the other A/uwstelide, and consequently greater pains 
are taken to trap and shoot it, in fact, so much so that I wonder that the 
animal is not now extinct in the British Isles. Professor Parker writes : 
“Tt has been known to kill as many as sixteen turkeys in a single 
night ; and indeed it seems to be a point of honour with this blood- 
thirsty little creature to kill everything it can overpower, and to leave no 
survivors on its battle-fields.” According to Bell, a female Pole-cat, 
which was tracked to her nest, was found to have laid up in a side hole 
a store of food consisting of forty frogs and two toads, all bitten through 
the brain, so that, though capable of living for some time, they were 
deprived of the power of escape. Now, this is a most wonderful 
instance of instinct bordering upon reason, Only the Reptilia can 
exist for any length of time after injury to the brain; to any of the 
— 
