MINK. 251 



SYNONYMES. 



The Mink, Smith's Virginia, 1624. Quoted from Pinkerton's Voyages, vol. xiii., p. 31. 



Otat, Sagard Theodat, Hist, du Can., p. 749, A.D. 1636. 



FouTBREAU, La Hontan, Voy. 1., p. 81, A.D. 1703. 



Mink, Kalm's Travels, Pinkerton's Voy., vol. xiii., p. 522. 



Le Vison, Butfon, xiii., p. 308, t. 43. 



MusTELA VisoN, Linn., Gmel., i., p. 94. 



Minx, Lawson's Carolina, p. 121. 



Mhstela Lutreola, Forster, Phil. Trans., Ixii., p. 371. 



Minx Otter, Pennant, Arct. Zool., i., p. 87. 



VisoN Weasel, Ibid., i., p. 78. 



Jackash, Hearne's Journey, p. 376. 



McsTELA Vison, Cuv., Regno Anim., vol. i., p. 150, t. 1, fig. 2. 



MnsTELA LuTBEOLA, Sabine, Frank Journ., p. £52. 



MusTELA Vison and M. Ldtreocephala, Harlan, Fauna, p. 63, 65. 



Mink, Godman, Nat. Hist., vol.!., p. 206. 



PuToRiDs VisoN, Dekay, Nat. Hist. New-York, p. 37, fig. 3, a. b. skull. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Body, long and slender ; head, small and depressed ; nose, short, flat, 

 and thick ; eyes, small, and placed far forward ; whiskers, few. and reach- 

 ing to the ears ; ears, broad, short, rounded, and covered with hair ; neck, 

 very long ; legs, short and stout. The toes are connected by short hairy 

 webs, and may be described as semi-palmated. There are short hairs on 

 the webs above and below. Claw^s, very slightly arched, and acute. On 

 the fore-feet, the third and fourth toes, counting from the inner side, are 

 about of equal length ; the second a line shorter, the fifth a little less, 

 and the first, shortest. On the hind-feet, the third and fourth toes are 

 equal, the second and fifth shorter and nearly equal, and the first very 

 short. There are callosities on the toes resembling in miniature those 

 on the toes of the Bay lynx. The feet and palms are covered \vith hair 

 even to the extremity of the nails ; tail, round, and thick at the roots, 

 tapering gradually to the end ; the longer hairs of the tail are inclined 

 to stand out horizontally, giving it a bushy appearance. There are two 

 brown-coloured glands situated on each side of the under surface of the 

 tail, which have a small cavity lined by a thin white ^vrinkled mem- 

 brane ; they contain a strong musky fluid, the smell of which is rather 

 disagreeable. Mammae, six, ventral. 



The coat is composed of two kinds of hair : a very downy fur beneath, 

 with hairs of a longer and stronger kind interspersed. The hairs on the 

 upper surface are longer than those on the lower. They are smooth and 



