26 FERJ. THE WEESEL TRIBE. 



THE WEESEL TRIBE. Front-teeth in each jaw six, 

 sharpish: canine-teeth longer: tongue in some smooth, 

 in others rough, with prickles that point backwards : body of 

 a lengthened form. VIVERRA. Shaw's Gen- Zool. i. p. 

 378. 



Head small ; and muzzle generally somewhat slender. Of the six 

 front-teeth in each jaw two are placed interiorly, within the line of 

 the rest. Ears short. Legs very short: toes five on each foot, both 

 before and behind. The feet rest upon the toes only. W. B. 



Obs. I have followed the example of Mr. Pennant and Dr. Shaw, 

 in uniting under one tribe the two Linnean genera of Mustela and 

 Viverra, and in rejecting, (with Erxleben and Shaw,) the Otters from 

 the genus Mustela. 



12. THE COMMON OR WHITE BREASTED MARTIN. 



Body dusky, throat white. Viverra foina. Shaw. 



Length^ to the origin of the tail, about 18 inches; and of the tail 

 about 10 inches. Head small: muzzle pointed, eyes prominent and 

 lively. Ears broad, rounded, and open. Legs, and particularly 

 the fore-legs, so short that the animal seems rather to creep than to 

 walk, feet broad, and covered, even on their toes, with a thick 

 down. Claws white, large, and sharp. 



Fur of blackish tawny colour on the upper parts ; dusky brown on 

 the belly, and white on the throat and breast. Hair of the tail very 

 long, especially towards the end, where it is both thicker and more 

 dark, than near the origin. W. B. 



Not very uncommon in some of the southern parts of Great Britain 

 and Ireland. It inhabits woods in the neighbourhood of villages 

 and farm yards: in Wales it resides also amongst rocks. 



Mustela pedibus jissis, corpore fulvo nigricante, guld 

 alba. Mustela foina. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. i. p. 95. 

 Erxleben, Syst. regn. animal, gen. 42, sp. 5, p. 458. 



Mustela 



