106 BULLETIN NO. VII 



and perseverance in following up his line to eat the bait, and 

 even the sables themselves may be captured. I have accounts 

 from Hudson's Bay trappers of a sable road fifty miles long, 

 containing 150 traps, every one of which was destroyed through- 

 out the whole line twice once by a wolf, and once by a wolverine. 

 The marten is exceedingly shy, and never ventures into human 

 enclosures; nevertheless, when captured, it makes a rather 

 amiable pet and has little of the offensive odor of the family." 



GENUS PUTORIUS. 



Dental formula: i, I; c, 1; pm. |; m, |x2=34. Sectorial of lower 

 jaw without an internal cusp. Skull flat, rostral portion short 

 and turgid. Zygomatic arch usually not higher behind than in 

 front. Periotic region, bullae, etc , little inflated. 



The body is usually very slender and lithe, the head short 

 and fierce, with orbicular ears. The legs are short and stout, 

 the tail uniformly terete. The genus is divided into four 

 sections : Gale (ermines and weasles), Cynomyonax (American 

 ferret), Putorius (ferrets), and Luireota (minks). The Amer- 

 ican ferret is confined to the central plateau. The ferrets 

 proper are stout-bodied forms confined to the Old World, thus 

 leaving two of the groups to be considered. 



The weasels proper are grouped under Gale, and have the 

 following characters: The skull is smooth, with no sagittal 

 crest. Frontal profile strongly convex and declivous. Ptery- 

 goids with small hamular processes, or none. Bullae auditorise 

 nicked at end by orifice of meatus. Skull moderately abruptly 

 constricted near the middle ; post orbital processes slight. 

 Small animals of slender, serpentine form, of terrestrial habit. 

 Most northern species become white in winter. We have in 

 Minnesota two species. 



Putorius vulgaris ALDROV. 

 LESSER WEASEL. 



(FIG. 8B.-OOMMON ERMINE WEASEL.) 



Mustela vulgaris, Earlier authors generally. 



Fcetorius vulgaris KEYSOR and BLASIUS. 



Mustela gale PALLAS. 



Mustela nivalis FORSTER. 



Mustela pusilla DEKAY. 



Putorius pusillus AUDUBON. 



Putorius cicognani RICHARDSON. 



