1001 



MUSQUASH. 



MUSTELID^E. 



1002 



if. violated. Bill rich yellow, passing into crimson ; orbits naked, 

 and, like the compact velvety feathers of the crown, glossy-crimson ; 

 a white stripe beginning below the eye and extending above the ear ; 

 secondary and part of the primary quills carmine, with lilac reflec- 

 tions, margined and tipped with blackish-violet, which is the general 

 colour of the plumage, only that it changes into a very deep green on 

 the under parts, and is very rich on the tail; legs strong and black ; 

 gape wide, opening beneath the eyes. 



This magnificent bird appears to be the Cuculas regius of Shaw. 



It is a native of Africa Gold Coast and Senegal 





Musophaga violacea. 



MUSQUASH. [OXDATRA.] 



MUSSEL, a form of Conchiferoua Mottuica. 



MUSTARD. [SINAPIS.] 



MUSTARD-TREE. The plant referred to by this name in Scrip- 

 ture is, according to Dr. Royle, the Salvadora Persica of botanists. It 

 is a native of the East Indies. [SALVADORA.] 



MUSTELA. [MUSTELID.E.I 



MUSTELID^E, the Weasel Tribe, a family of Digitigrade Carnivo- 

 rous Animals, of which the Common Weasel is the type. 



The genus Muttela of Linnaeus, in the last edition of the ' Systema 

 Nature;,' which underwent his revision, comprised the following 

 species: M. Lutris, M. Lutra, M. Lutreola, M. barbara, M. Gitlo, 

 it. Martes, M. Putoriui, M. furo, M. Zibellina, M. erminea, aud 

 if. nivalit. The genua thus established consisted of the Otters and 

 Gluttons, as well as the true Weasels, and was placed between Viverra 

 and [,'nui. 



Cuvier divides the Martes (Mustela, Linn.) into the following sub- 

 genera : 



Putoriui (Cuv.). The animals of this sub-genus are, he observes, 

 the most sanguinary of all. The lower canine has no internal tubercle, 

 and their upper tuberculous tooth is wider than it is long ; they have 

 only two false molars above and three below. They may be recognised 

 by the extremity of their muzzle, which is rather shorter and stouter 

 than that of the Martes ; and they all diffuse a most disagreeable 

 odour. 



The species arranged under this sub-genus are the common Fitchet, 

 or Polecat (ifuitela Putoriui, Linn.), the Ferret (M. fwo, Linn.), the 

 Polecat of Poland (M. Sarmatica, Pall.), the Siberiau Polecat (M. Sibv- 

 rica, Pall.), the Weasel (M. vulgaris, Linn.), and the Stoat or Ermine 

 Weasel (M. erminea, Linn.). 



An approximated to these he records the Mink, Norek, or Polecat 

 of the northern rivers (M. Lutreola, Pall.), which frequents the banks 

 of waters in the north and east of Europe from the Icy Sea to the 

 Black Sea, feeds on frogs and crayfish, and has the feet a little 

 palmated between the bases of the toes, but which its teeth and round 

 tail approximate to the Polecats more than the Otters. It is reddish- 

 brown, and hag the circumference of the lips and under part of the 

 jaw white. Its odour is only musky, and its fur very beautiful. 



Some, Cuvier observes, think this the same as the Polecat of the 

 North American rivers (M. Viion, Gmelin), to which the name of Mink 

 has been transferred, and which has also the feet semi-palmated ; but 



this animal has generally white on the point of the chin only, and 

 sometimes a narrow line under the throat, and is a different species. 



Among the Polecats of warm climates, Cuvier notices the Javanese 

 Polecat (Putorius nudipes, F. Cuv.), the African Polecat (P. Africanus, 

 Desm.), the Striped Polecat of Madagascar (P. striatws, Cuv.), aud the 

 Cape Polecat (the Zorille of Buffon ; Viverra Zorilla. Gm.). 



The Martes, or Martens, properly so called (MusteJa, Cuv.). 



These, according to Cuvier, differ from the Polecats in having an 

 additional false molar above and below, and a small internal tubercle 

 on their lower canine; two characters which a little diminish the 

 cruelty of their nature. 



Belonging to Europe he notices, as very closely allied to each other, 

 the Common Marten (Mustela Maries, Linn,), and M.foina. 



As the production of Siberia, he calls attention to the Zibelline 

 Marten (M. Zibellina), so celebrated for its rich fur, which is brown, 

 with some gray spots on the head, and is distinguished from the pre- 

 ceding by having hairs even under the toes, a provision adapted to its 

 habitation in the most frozen mountains. The painful chase of this 

 species is laboriously followed in the midst of winter among frightful 

 snows, and to the pertinacity with which it has been persevered in, 

 notwithstanding the meteoric terrors that surround the hunter, the 

 discovery of the eastern countries of Siberia has been ascribed. 



North America, observes Cuvier, produces many Martes, which 

 travellers and naturalists have indicated under the names of Pekan, 

 Vison, Mink, &c. One of these, the White Vison of the furriers 

 (M. lutrocephala, Harl.), has the feet as hairy and the hair nearly as 

 soft as the Zibelline, but of a bright fulvous colour, and is almost 

 whitish on the head. That, he remarks, which he shall call Pekau 

 (M. Canadensis, Gm.), and which comes from Canada and the United 

 States, has the head, the neck, the shoulders, and the upper part of 

 the back mingled with gray aud brown ; the nose, the rump, the tail, 

 and the limbs are blackish. 



The Mouffettes (Mephitis, Cuv.). 



These, like the Polecats, have two false molars above and three 

 below ; but their upper tuberculous tooth is very large, and as long as 

 it is wide, and their lower canine has two tubercles on its internal 

 side, which approximates them to the Badgers, as the Polecats are 

 approximated to the Orisons aud the Gluttons. The Mouffettes have 

 besides, like the Badgers, the anterior claws long and adapted for 

 digging, and they are even half plantigrade : the resemblance is con- 

 tinued even in the distribution of the colours. Cuvier truly remarks in 

 conclusion, that in this family, remarkable for its foetid odour, the 

 Mouffettes are distinguished by a stench far exceeding that of the 

 other species. 



The Mouffettes, or Skunks, are generally striped with white upon a 

 black ground ; but the number of stripes varies in the same species. 

 The most common is the North American species ( Viverra Putorius, 

 Gm.), which is black, with white stripes more or less wide and nume- 

 rous, and the tip of the tail black. The odour of this suffocating 

 animal has been compared to that of the Polecat, mingled with an 

 overpowering stench of garlic, and nothing can be more intolerable. 

 Cuvier also notices the Chinche ( V. mephitis, Gm.), with the tail white ; 

 the stripes on the back sometimes occupy the whole of ita width. 



Mydaus (F. Cuv.). Cuvier considers that this may be made a 

 distinct sub-genus. With the teeth, feet, and colours of the Skunks, 

 it has a truncated muzzle in the form of a snout, and the tail is 

 reduced to a small pencil of hairs. 



Only one species, M. mdiceps, is known. 



The Otters (Lutra, Storr.). 



The Martes of Cuvier are placed between the Ratels and the Dogs. 

 The same position is assigned to this family by M. Lesson. 



Professor Bell, in his ' British Quadrupeds,' makes the Mustelidce 

 consist of the following genera : 



Lutra, ifustela, and Martes, Ray. 



He places the Muttdidce between the Ursidce and the Fdidce in the 

 same work. 



Dr. J. E. Gray arranges his sub-family Mustelina, the fifth of his 

 family Felidce, next to his sub-family Oanina. The Mustelina contain 

 the following genera : 



Martes, Mustela, Putorius, Gymnopus, Vison, Zorilla, Galera, Ratelus, 

 Gulo, ffelictis, Mephitis, Chinchia, Marputius, Conepatus, Mydaus, 

 Arctonyx, Meles, Taxidea, Lontra, Lutra, Aonyx, Pteronura, and 

 Enhydra. (' Synopsis : Brit. Mus.') 



We shall here confine ourselves to the Weasels, properly so called, 

 including the Martens, Skunks, and Mydaus. 



The dentition of the Common Weasel, the Zorilla, and the Marten, 

 is very similar ; aud indeed F. Cuvier unites the three, giving two 

 plates to show the slight variations. He observes, that the only differ- 

 ence that they present with reference to this part of their organisation 

 is that the Martens have in both jaws a rudimentary false molar more 

 than the Weasel and the Zorilla ; and that the Zorilla has the internal 

 tubercle of the lower canine more developed than it is found in the 

 analogous tooth of the Martens and Weasels, or Polecats. In other 

 respects their systems of dentition are quite identical. 



