ON THE GENUS LUTRA. 147 



Should it be admitted that E. Jacksoni is distinct from E.'pri- 

 migenius, then, we have no proof whatever that this latter species 

 ever lived so far south in America as the United states arid Ca- 

 nada. A large proportion of the remains, found in these two 

 countries, which have been heretofore referred to E. primigenius, 

 most probably belong to E. Jacksoni. 



No Remains of Man Found. 



No remains of man, or of his works, have been found in the 

 formation which holds the bones of the Elephant in Canada. In 

 allusion to the absence of human bones in the ancient river drift 

 of Europe, I may mention, that for the last fifteen years, I have 

 been in the habit of examining the bottom of the Ottawa and 

 other Canadian rivers every season, at the time of the lowest 

 water, in search of fossils ; and that, although I have seen the 

 bones of almost all the species of land animals now living in the 

 country, associated with innumerable works of man, I never yet 

 found a human skull in any of these streams. I speak of the 

 skull, because it is possible that some of the small bones may have 

 been those of the human frame, and not recognized as such by 

 me. But, as man is the only animal who removes the dead of 

 his own species from the water, and buries them on shore, thou- 

 sands of years may elapse without a single skeleton being imbed- 

 ded in a fluviatile formation ; and yet the same formation may 

 be full of the traces of his existence, associated with abundant re- 

 mains of contemporary animals. 



Art. XII. — Remarks on the Genus Lutra, and on the Species 

 inhabiting North America ; by George Barnston, Esq. 



(Presented to the Natural History Society. ,) 



The purpose of this paper is to introduce to the notice of 

 naturalists a rare variety, in all probability, I may say, a distinct 

 species of otter, yet undescribed by zoologists, and smaller than the 

 common otter of Canada. Experienced Indian hunters know it 

 as a different animal, applying to it the name of the pulliua-down 

 otter. In the Ojibiway tongue this term is PinaiMwcwkeeJe, 

 or PinahaiMioawkeek, which I have followed in adopting for it 

 the specific name of Destructor. 



A few prefatory remarks on the number of the species of the 



