Catalogue of the Mammalia of Connecticut 349 



Family Mustelid^. The Weasel Family. 



*25. Mnstela Canadensis, Linn., the Fisher. ? 

 *26. M. Martes, Linn., Pine Marten. ? 

 *27. M. pusilla, Dekay, Little Weasel, Northford. 

 *38. M. fusca, Bachman, Brown Weasel, Northford. 

 *29. Putorias Noveboracensis, Dekay, New York, Ermine, 

 Stratford. 



30. P. Vison, Emmons, the Mink, common, O. L. 



31. Mephitis Americana, Desmarest, the Skunk, O. L. 



32. Lutra Canadensis, Richardson, Otter, Housatonic. 



Family Phocid^. Seal Family. 

 *33. Phoca concolor, Dekay, Common Seal, Housatonic. 



*25. Dr. Godman supposes the Fisher to be nothing more than " an over-stuffed 

 specimen of the common mink." But Dr. Emmons says — " the animal is found 

 in the vicinity of Williamstovvn, Mass." 



*26. Dr. Emmons adds to the above note, that the pine marten is found in, the 

 mountainous districts of Berkshire in that state ; hence it is probable, the distance 

 being small, they may both occasionally stray into Connecticut. 



*27. The name oi M. pusilla, is given to our little weasel by Dr. Dekay, because 

 he has ascertained it to be a distinct species from M. vulgaris of Europe. Tail ^ 

 the length of the whole animal, 12 to 13 inches. 



*28. M. fusca of Bachman, I have often seen and taken in North ford,, and agree 

 fully with Dr. Dekay, that it is a distinct animal from the preceding species, 

 though they are nearly allied. Both species are common in Connecticut. Tail \ 

 the length of the whole, usually about 12 inches total. 



*29. I have a specimen of the New York ermine, or black weasel, in summer 

 dress, taken in Stratford, 20^ inches in length; head and body 13 inches, tail 7^. 

 This is the weasel which changes to pure white in winter, except the tuft of the 

 tail. The other species remain unchanged. There is great discrepancy in the 

 books on this subject, but this is the true history of facts as they are now known. 

 I was well informed at the time, by a very respectable family in New Ca- 

 naan, being myself then a resident in the place, that no less than seventy white 

 weasels were counted by them in one gang, crossing the road in a westerly or 

 southwesterly direction in the autumn of that year ; and to my own mind it was 

 satisfactory evidence that these animals, in some seasons at least, migrate south- 

 erly. 



*33. No winter passes in which the common seal is not seen near the mouth of 

 the Housatonic; and a few years since one was killed by a Mr. Curtis of Strat- 

 ford, eight miles up the river. One which I saw taken alive at Guilford, when 

 irritated disengaged a sort of thin mucus from the nostrils, in the same manner as 

 a common cat when alarmed — rousing himself and making at the same time a 

 grunting noise, like a kind of bark. And Dr. Dekay justly remarks, that " our 

 common seal is uniformly dark slaty gray, unspotted, and therefore entirely a dis- 

 tinct species from the vitulina of Vampe :" length four feet. 



