40 ME. OLBPIELD THOMAS 0]!T THE [Feb. 5 



I can offer no opinion as to whether this animal is a real Wild- 

 Oat or not. A specimen in Don Eiutort's collection looked as 

 if of rather doubtful ancestry, but was not examined very closely. 



14. Genetta genbtta L. 



Majorca and Iviza (Barcelo ; also in Don Eiutort's collection). 

 Does not occur in Minorca. 



The Genet is common in Majorca, but unfortunately, owing 

 to the bad weather, we were unable to procure any specimens 

 of it. 



15. MUSTELA MABTES L. 



a. 5 . San Cristobal, Minorca. 



The Marten is said to be by no means rare either in Majorca or 

 Minorca. At San Cristobal a hunting-party of three men and 

 eight dogs was organized in our interests, and succeeded in getting 

 the specimen mentioned above. It does not appear to differ in 

 any way from ordinary Southern specimens of M. martes. 



Barcelo records M. foina from Majorca, but I should hesitate to 

 believe that both species occur in so small a country. Three 

 Martens in Don Miguel Eiutort's collection were, like ours, refer- 

 able to M. martes. 



Barcelo also states that Eamis records the Polecat (Putorius 

 putorius) from Minorca. In the wild condition, however, it is not 

 known to the natives, although ferrets are used for rabbit-catching, 

 and it may have been these that were referred to by Eamis. 



16. PUTOBIUS SriVALIS BOCOAMELA Bochst. 



a-b. Inca, Majorca. 



The " Mostel " is common both in Majoi'ca and Minorca, 

 although in the latter island we failed to secure specimens. 



It is highly interesting to find that the Balearic Weasel is quite 

 distinct from that of Spain or at least Seville (P. n. ibericus 

 B.-Ham.), which has a sharp Ermine-like division of the brown and 

 white colours, and that it belongs instead to the group with this line 

 vague and wavy \ To this group belong the Weasels of Sardinia, 

 Italy, Malta, and Egypt, while those of Sicily and Spain are of the 

 other type. 



In the present group, which comprises P. n. boccamela, italicm, 

 and africanus, the diflPerences are rather baffling, and it seems to me 

 that the Balearic Weasel might be almost as well referred to one 

 as the other. But boccamela is the earliest name within the group, 

 and its locality, Sardinia, is the nearest to the Balearics, and I 

 therefore use that name. 



The occurrence of a Weasel of this type withiu the Spanish 

 dominions is a fact which should be borne in mind in connection 



^ Although much smaller than P. afriomm, a Weasel from Oporto, received 

 since the above was written, also proves to be of the same group ; so that both 

 wavy-liued and straight-lined Weasels occur in the Iberian Peninsula. 



