﻿NO. 
  1965. 
  SYNOPSIS 
  OF 
  AMERICAN 
  MINKS— 
  H0LLI8TER. 
  473 
  

  

  MUSTELA 
  VISON 
  LUTREOCEPHALA 
  Harlan. 
  

  

  1804. 
  ? 
  Mustela 
  vnningus 
  Barton, 
  Trans. 
  Amer. 
  Philos. 
  Soc, 
  vol. 
  6, 
  p. 
  70. 
  (No- 
  

   men 
  nudum.) 
  

  

  1825. 
  Mustela 
  lutreocephala 
  Harlan, 
  Faun. 
  Amer., 
  p. 
  G3. 
  

  

  1858. 
  M[mtela] 
  rufa 
  Smith, 
  Jardines' 
  Nat. 
  Lib., 
  vol. 
  15, 
  p. 
  189. 
  (New 
  York.) 
  

   Not 
  Mustela 
  rufa 
  Desmarest, 
  1820. 
  

  

  1865. 
  Vison 
  lutreocephala 
  Gray, 
  Proc. 
  Zool. 
  Soc. 
  London, 
  1865, 
  p. 
  116. 
  

  

  1896. 
  Putorius 
  vison 
  lutreocephalus 
  Bangs, 
  Proc. 
  Boston 
  Soc. 
  Nat. 
  Hist., 
  vol. 
  27, 
  

   p. 
  4, 
  March. 
  

  

  1898. 
  [Putorius 
  vison] 
  lutreocephala 
  Trouessart, 
  Cat. 
  Mamm., 
  vol. 
  1, 
  p. 
  274. 
  

  

  1903. 
  Lutreola 
  vison 
  lutreocephalus 
  Prentiss, 
  Proc. 
  U. 
  S. 
  Nat. 
  Mus., 
  vol. 
  36, 
  p. 
  

   887, 
  July 
  6. 
  

  

  1905. 
  Lutreola 
  vison 
  lutreocephala 
  Oberholser, 
  Notes 
  Mamm. 
  and 
  Summ. 
  Birds 
  

   west. 
  North 
  Carolina 
  [Pub. 
  Biltmore 
  Forest 
  School], 
  p. 
  8, 
  September. 
  

  

  1905. 
  Lutreola 
  lutreorephala 
  Bailey, 
  North 
  Amer. 
  Fauna, 
  No. 
  25, 
  p. 
  196, 
  Octo- 
  

   ber 
  24. 
  

  

  1912. 
  Mustela 
  vison 
  lutreocepJiala 
  Miller, 
  Bull. 
  U. 
  S. 
  Nat. 
  Mus., 
  No. 
  79, 
  p. 
  101, 
  

   December 
  31. 
  

  

  Type-locality. 
  — 
  Maryland. 
  

  

  Geographic 
  distribution. 
  — 
  Eastern 
  United 
  States, 
  from 
  coast 
  of 
  New 
  

   England 
  south 
  to 
  North 
  Carolina, 
  and, 
  in 
  the 
  interior, 
  to 
  central 
  

   Georgia 
  and 
  Alabama; 
  westward 
  through 
  southern 
  Pennsylvania 
  and 
  

   Ohio 
  to 
  Missouri 
  and 
  northeastern 
  Texas. 
  

  

  Suhspecific 
  characters. 
  — 
  Larger 
  and 
  more 
  generally 
  robust 
  than 
  

   M. 
  V. 
  vison; 
  smaller 
  than 
  M. 
  v. 
  letifera. 
  Coloration 
  averaging 
  much 
  

   as 
  in 
  vison, 
  possibly 
  slightly 
  darker; 
  darker 
  than 
  in 
  letifera, 
  with 
  

   far 
  less 
  white 
  beneath. 
  Skull 
  much 
  heavier 
  and 
  more 
  angular 
  than 
  

   in 
  vison, 
  with 
  well-developed 
  sagittal 
  crest 
  in 
  adults 
  ; 
  smaller 
  than 
  in 
  

   letifera. 
  

  

  Measurements 
  of 
  sJcuUs. 
  — 
  ^Average 
  of 
  7 
  skulls 
  of 
  adult 
  males 
  from 
  

   Maryland 
  and 
  southeastern 
  New 
  York: 
  Condylobasal 
  length, 
  68.6; 
  

   zygomatic 
  breadth, 
  40.9; 
  least 
  postorbital 
  constriction, 
  14.8; 
  mas- 
  

   toid 
  breadth, 
  34.7; 
  length 
  of 
  upper 
  molar-premolar 
  row, 
  17.8 
  mm. 
  

  

  RemarJcs. 
  — 
  This 
  subspecies, 
  the 
  common 
  mink 
  of 
  eastern 
  United 
  

   States, 
  grades 
  into 
  letifera 
  wherever 
  the 
  ranges 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  forms 
  meet. 
  

   It 
  also 
  blends 
  without 
  break 
  into 
  the 
  smaller 
  Gulf 
  coast 
  form 
  vulgi- 
  

   vaga. 
  Its 
  intergradation 
  with 
  vison 
  and 
  with 
  lutensis 
  is 
  not 
  so 
  well 
  

   shown 
  in 
  the 
  specimens 
  at 
  hand, 
  though 
  the 
  evidence 
  seems 
  suffi- 
  

   cient 
  to 
  prove 
  that 
  they 
  must 
  run 
  together. 
  Specimens 
  from 
  the 
  

   Catskill 
  Mountains 
  seem 
  typical 
  of 
  vison, 
  while 
  from 
  Highland 
  Falls, 
  

   Smg 
  Smg, 
  and 
  from 
  Long 
  Island, 
  New 
  York, 
  are 
  skins 
  and 
  skuUs 
  

   equally 
  typical 
  of 
  lutreocepJiala. 
  In 
  specimens 
  from 
  Maine, 
  however, 
  

   I 
  believe 
  I 
  can 
  see 
  proof 
  of 
  intergradation. 
  Three 
  specimens 
  from 
  

   Smiths 
  Island, 
  Virginia, 
  are 
  certainly 
  not 
  typical 
  of 
  either 
  lutreo- 
  

   cephala 
  or 
  lutensis, 
  and 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  "mtermediates." 
  

  

  