THE BRITISH MAMMALS I THEIR GENERA AND SPECIES. 6l 



but darker when young. In length its head and body measure about 

 one inch and three quarters, its tail is a trifle less, its ear and forearm 

 are about an inch and a half. Its range includes Ireland and Scotland, 

 and extends to the Himalaya. This species has the capricious 

 flight of the common bat, but is generally met with in open 

 country, and seldom near trees. 



Putorius. Plate vi. CAENIVORA. 



24. fcetidus, POLECAT. Tail blackish 

 grizzly brown, under 

 twelve inches. 



throughout ; colour 

 fur buff ; length 



dark 



25. erminea, STOAT. Tip of tail black ; colour reddish brown 

 above, yellowish white of under parts extending up the 

 sides ; winter coat wholly or partially white. 



26 hibemiciis, IRISH STOAT. Tip of tail black ; colour reddish brown 

 above, white of the underparts not extending up the 

 sides ; winter coat not white. 



27. vulgaris, WEASEL. Tip of tail reddish brown ; colour reddish 

 brown above, white below; length under eight inches. 



This genus has three incisors, one canine, and three premolars in 

 each jaw, and one molar in the upper jaw and two in the lower. In other 

 words, it has a premolar less in each jaw than Mustela. There is 

 no inner cusp to the lower flesh tooth, the flesh teeth being the last 

 upper premolar and the lower molar. All the species have long, 

 slender, supple bodies, with the tail less than half the length of the 

 head and body combined. The limbs are short, and the claws semi- 

 retractile. 



At all seasons there is an offensive odour about the Polecat 

 which is unmistakable. As a general rule the coat is a grizzly 

 blackish brown, owing to the whitish under-fur showing through the 

 long thin covering of dark hairs from which the artists' brushes are 



POLECAT. 

 (Putorius fcetidus.) 



made. There is always a certain amount of white near the ears 

 and mouth, but in summer the coarse outer coat is comparatively 

 thick, so that the general colour is nearly black ; in winter it is much 



