62 MAMMALIA. 



DIGITIGRADA 



Form the second tribe of the Carnivora. The animals which compose it walk 

 on the ends of their toes. 



In the first subdivision there is only one tuberculous 

 )(" vjy tooth behind the upper carnivorous ; these animals, on 

 account of the length of their body, and the shortness 



of their legs, which permit them to pass through the 



smallest openings, have been styled vermiform. They are not torpid during 

 the winter. Linnteus placed them all in one genus, that of 



MUSTELA, Linneeiis. 

 Or the Weasels, which we will divide into four subgenera. 



FUTORIUS, Cuvier. 



The Polecats are the most sanguinary of all ; the lower carnivorous tooth 

 has no inner tubercle, and the superior tuberculous one is more broad than 

 long; there are only two false molars above and three below. These animals 

 are externally recognised by their muzzle, which is shorter and thicker than 

 that of the Weasel. They all diffuse a most horrible stench when provoked. 



Mustela putoriux, L. Buff. (The Common Polecat.) Brown; flanks 

 yellowish ; white spots on the head ; the terror of poultry yards and warrens. 



M. lutreola, Pall. (The Mink or Norek.) It frequents the banks of 

 rivers, &c., in the north and east of Europe from the Arctic Ocean to the 

 Black Sea, and lives on frogs and crabs. The feet are slightly palmated at the 

 base of the toes, but the teeth and round tail approximate it nearer to the Pole- 

 cat than the Otter. It is of a reddish brown ; the circumference of the lips 

 and the under part of the jaw white ; it exhales a musky odour, and is much 

 esteemed for its well known fur. It is the Mink of the United States. 



MUSTELA, Cuvier. 



The true Weasel* differ from the Polecats in having an additional false 

 molar above and below, and in the existence of a small internal tubercle on 

 their inferior carnivorous tooth, two characters which somewhat diminish the 

 cruelty of their nature. 



M.martes,\j. (The Common Marten ) Brown, a yellow spot under the 

 throat Inhabits the woods. Siberia produces the 



.If. zibellinu, Pall. (The Sable.) Highly valued for its rich fur, brown, 

 spotted with white about the head, and distinguished from the preceding ones 

 by the extension of the hair to the under surface of the toes. It inhabits the 

 coldest mountains, and the hunting to obtain it, in the midst of winter and 

 tremendous snows, is a perilous and painful undertaking. It is to the pursuit 

 of this animal that we owe the discovery of the eastern countries of Siberia. 



North America also possesses several Martens indicated by naturalists and 

 travellers, under the indefinite names of Pekan, t'ison, Mink, &c. 



