Wolverine 1 1 1 



survives throughout Northern Europe and Asia, although the extent of its 

 range to the southward has been much curtailed in the former continent. 

 In America both coexist, although the wolverine, by adapting itself to a 

 life in the mountains, extends much farther south on the western side of 

 the continent than does its larger compatriot. 



As regards its zoological affinities, the wolverine is a relative of the 

 martens, with which it agrees in the number (38) and general character 

 of its teeth. In common with the former, it differs from the bears by the 

 smaller number of true molar teeth, of which there is one pair in the 

 upper and two pairs in the lower jaw. In the bears, on the other hand, 

 there are two pairs of upper and three of lower molar teeth. 



Unlike the martens and weasles, however, the wolverine resembles the 

 bears in walking on the greater part of the soles of the feet, instead of on 

 the toes alone. But this is a feature of but little importance from the 

 point ot view of relationship, seeing that it is one inherited from the 

 primitive type of the Carnivora, and its retention depends probably more on 

 the habits of the animals in which it occurs than on their zoological 

 affinities. 



Were it not for its moderately long and bushy tail, which is about as 

 long as the body, the wolverine would present a certain resemblance to a 

 very small and long-haired bear. In the highly-arched back its form 

 recalls, however, to a certain extent the striped hyaena ; and its habits 

 are also in some degree hyasna-like. With the exception of the bare 

 callous pads, the whole of the soles of the feet are thickly coated with 

 hair. In length a wolverine will measure about 2^ feet to the root ot the 

 bushy tail ; the tail itself being about a foot long. The general build is 

 heavy, and the limbs are comparatively short. Although there seems to 

 be a considerable amount of individual, or perhaps local, variation in this 

 respect, the colour of the long and soft fur is mostly blackish brown ; but 

 a light-coloured ellipse of a greyish or yellowish tint across the shoulders 



