146 PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS: ZOOLOGY. 



Another skull, sex unknown, from Santa Cruz, slightly older, but with- 

 out any sagittal crest, measures as follows : Total length, 66 ; zygomatic 

 breadth, 42; mastoid breadth, 35.5; postorbital constriction, 17.5; upper 

 premolar-molar series, 17; lower jaw, length, 42, height at coronoid, 21 ; 

 lower premolar-molar series, 22. 



Milne-Edwards gives the principal dimensions of the skulls of his Santa 

 Cruz specimens (No. i), and of the three (Nos. 2-4) obtained by D'Or- 

 bigny, respectively as follows: Total length. No. i, 68; No. 2, 62; No. 

 3, 65; No. 4, 58; mastoid breadth. No. i, 38; No. 2, 32; No. 3, 32; 

 No. 4, 33. Only one of the four skulls has a sagittal crest; this is No. 

 2, in which it extends as a thin lamina of bone 22 mm. in extent. 



Represented by four specimens, collected by Colburn, as follows : Rio 

 Gallegos, 2 females, one very old, the other about one fourth' grown, Jan. 

 18, 1898; Basalt Canons, 50 miles southeast of Lake Buenos Aires, a 

 young female, about one half grown, April 7 ; Swan Lake, a female, about 

 two thirds grown, March 5. Also a skull, collected by Mr. Brown near 

 Santa Cruz. As already noted, the young are much darker than the 

 adults, but the pattern of markings is closely similar in all. 



This species seems to vary considerably in color individually among 

 adults, the specimen described and figured by Milne-Edwards, collected 

 by Mr. Lebrun near Santa Cruz, Patagonia, being much lighter in color 

 than Mr. Colburn's specimen taken near the mouth of the Rio Gallegos, 

 especially on the head and apical portion of the tail ; while this author 

 states that those collected by D'Orbigny and described by Gervais have 

 all the dark portions of the body, including the ventral surface and the 

 feet, light chestnut. 



According to Mr. Brown (MSS. notes) this animal is now quite rare in 

 southern Patagonia, though abundant at the time of its early settlement ; 

 "a few years ago, they were destroyed by some contagious disease." He 

 says "the Indians make beautiful capas or blankets from their skins"; 

 and adds : "I came across one of these animals one day eating an ostrich 

 and tried to drive it away; very much to my surprise, instead of taking 

 advantage of his natural means of defence, the little fellow bared his teeth 

 and came after me, whereupon I beat a retreat." 



Of this species Mr. Prichard says: "The Skunk is to be met with 

 throughout the whole country, but we saw perhaps more specimens of this 

 animal in the neighborhood of Bahia Camerones than elsewhere. I have 



