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MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. ~ 117 
.with a sudden move, he sprang upon his victim, already par- 
alyzed with fear, laid open the back of the head with a single. 
bite, ate the brains, and left the quivering carcass untouched.” 
In connection with the above vivid picture of the effect pro- 
duced upon its victims by the appearance of the weasel, we. 
may quote from Coues a passage showing how his aspect 
affects a more dispassionate and unbiassed observer: 
‘*A glance at the physiognomy of the weasels would suffice. 
to betray their character. The teeth are almost of the highest 
raptorial character ; the jaws are worked by enormous masses 
of muscles covering all the sides of the skull. The forehead is. 
low, and the nose is sharp; the eyes are small, penetrating, 
cunning, and glitter with an angry green light. There is 
something peculiar, moreover, in the way that this fierce head 
surmounts a body extraordinarily wiry, lithe and muscular. 
It ends in a remarkably long and slender neck, in such a way 
that it may be held at a right angle with the axis of the latter. 
When the creature is glancing around, with the neck stretched 
up, and the flat triangular head bent forward, swaying from 
one side to the other, we catch the likeness in a moment—it is 
the image of a serpent.” 
(?) Putorius longicaudata BONAPART. 
LONG-TAILED WEASEL. 
This species is noticed by Dr. Coues from Minnesota, though 
we have never seenit. The only external differences between 
this and the Ermine are the greater length of the tail (#— 4 as 
long as head and body) the terminal black portion of which is 
reduced, and the substitution of a salmon for a sulphur yellow 
on the under parts. The habitat is said to be the Upper Mis 
souri region. It would seem that a geographical variety or 
race is as high a distinction as the form deserves. In addition 
to the above external differences, it is true, the skull is said to 
be much wider—half as long as wide, the anteorbital foramen 
smaller, the upper posterior premolars inclined forward. 
The species occupies the burrows of the Richardson’s sper-- 
mophile. 
