﻿A 
  SYNOPSIS 
  OF 
  THE 
  AMERICAN 
  MINKS. 
  

  

  By 
  N. 
  HOLLISTER, 
  

   Assistant 
  Curator, 
  Division 
  of 
  Mammals, 
  United 
  States 
  National 
  Museum. 
  

  

  No 
  complete 
  review 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  forms 
  of 
  the 
  subgenus 
  Lutreola 
  

   has 
  appeared 
  since 
  Mr. 
  Outram 
  Bangs, 
  in 
  1896, 
  pubUshed 
  his 
  Notes 
  

   on 
  the 
  Synonymy 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  American 
  Mink.^ 
  In 
  this 
  paper, 
  the 
  

   first 
  to 
  deal 
  v/ith 
  the 
  subject 
  from 
  the 
  modern 
  point 
  of 
  view, 
  with 
  the 
  

   geographical 
  races 
  treated 
  as 
  subspecies, 
  Mr. 
  Bangs 
  recognized 
  four 
  

   forms, 
  the 
  vison, 
  lutreocephala, 
  and 
  vulgivaga 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  revision, 
  

   and 
  a 
  new 
  subspecies, 
  energumenos, 
  horn, 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast. 
  This 
  

   latter 
  form 
  included, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  restricted 
  energumenos 
  of 
  later 
  

   workers, 
  the 
  minks 
  afterwards 
  described 
  as 
  ingens, 
  7nelampeplus, 
  and 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  publication 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Bangs's 
  paper 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  described 
  

   forms 
  of 
  American 
  minks 
  has 
  grown 
  to 
  ten, 
  including 
  one 
  species 
  

   known 
  only 
  from 
  the 
  bones 
  and 
  teeth, 
  and 
  probably 
  extinct. 
  

  

  A 
  careful 
  review 
  of 
  the 
  minks 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  

   National 
  Museum 
  has 
  shown 
  that 
  while 
  all 
  the 
  described 
  forms 
  must 
  

   be 
  recognized, 
  the 
  lack 
  of 
  revisionary 
  work 
  with 
  a 
  large 
  collection 
  has 
  

   kept 
  the 
  group 
  in 
  an 
  unsatisfactory 
  condition, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  ranges 
  and 
  

   characters 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  subspecies 
  were 
  imperfectly 
  known. 
  In 
  all 
  

   the 
  more 
  comprehensive 
  works 
  of 
  reference 
  the 
  ranges 
  are 
  incorrectly 
  

   given, 
  and 
  in 
  many 
  regional 
  lists 
  the 
  specimens 
  have 
  been 
  wrongly 
  

   identified. 
  It 
  has 
  seemed 
  important, 
  therefore, 
  that 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  

   the 
  examination 
  of 
  this 
  material, 
  some 
  370 
  specimens 
  in 
  all,^ 
  should 
  

   be 
  published. 
  

  

  Genus 
  MUSTELA 
  Linnaeus. 
  

  

  1758. 
  Mustela 
  Lestn^us, 
  Syst. 
  Nat., 
  ed. 
  10, 
  vol. 
  1, 
  p. 
  45. 
  Tyjpe. 
  — 
  Mustela 
  erminea 
  

   Linnaeus. 
  

  

  Subgenus 
  LTJTREOLA 
  Wagner. 
  

  

  1841. 
  Lutreola 
  Wagner, 
  Suppl. 
  Scl^reber's 
  Saugthiere, 
  vol. 
  2, 
  p. 
  239. 
  Type.— 
  

   Mustela 
  lutreola 
  Linnaeus. 
  

  

  I 
  Proe. 
  Boston 
  Soe. 
  Nat. 
  Hist., 
  vol. 
  27, 
  pp. 
  1-6, 
  March, 
  1896. 
  

  

  - 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  tlie 
  material 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  National 
  Museum 
  collection 
  proper, 
  a 
  few 
  especially 
  

   instmctive 
  specimens 
  from 
  the 
  Biological 
  Survey, 
  Department 
  of 
  Agriculture, 
  have 
  been 
  studied. 
  

  

  Proceedings 
  U. 
  S. 
  National 
  Museum, 
  Vol. 
  44— 
  No. 
  1 
  965. 
  

  

  471 
  

  

  