MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF NORTH CARDIGANSHIRE. 385 



mere coincidence. The Marten, although well distributed, was 

 never common in Britain, and it is very scarce at the present 

 time. It is sometimes recorded in locahties where it has not 

 been seen for a great number of years, and because of this fact 

 some authorities are inchned to attribute to it a wandering habit. 

 This inference is prolsably correct in many cases, but, although 

 the Pine-Marten is still found in Merionethshire, there are 

 certain facts which tend to show that the parents of the specimen 

 herein recorded may have dwelt in the district. A keen naturalist 

 of this district told me that he had seen, and shot at, a Pine- 

 Marten, just north of Aberystwj'th, some years ago. The animal 

 made good its escape, and was not seen afterwards. Another, 

 residing in Aberystwyth, saw an animal that answered to the 

 descrij)tion of a Pine-Marten, some few years ago, in some 

 .stunted trees near Monk's Cave. I am inclined to believe that 

 this animal has managed to survive in North Cardiganshire, on 

 the edge of the High Plateau, or near the Teifi Lakes, but in 

 such small numbers that it is now very seldom seen. Mr. Forrest 

 found that the Merionethshire Martens, discovering that even 

 the large woods in that county failed to afford them adequate 

 protection, have now taken to the stony heights. This shows a 

 certain degree of adaptability to changing circumstances. The 

 presence of numerous obstacles in extreme north Cardiganshire, 

 and the almost total absence of timber there, would seem to 

 preclude the possibility of this young (probably in its second year 

 when killed) animal having wandered solitarily along the uplands 

 from Merionethshire to nearly mid-Cardiganshire. It certainly 

 did not come via the Coastal Plateau. Consequently, it would 

 seem not unlikely that this species also has been preserved from 

 litter extinction in the district through the agency of the High 

 Plateau. 



Some of the mammalian dwellers in the uplands are said to 

 differ slightly from their valley congeners. Mr. Hutchings states 

 definitely that he can distinguish a mountain Fox at sight, by 

 its greyness and denseness of fur. I recently examined a Fox 

 which had been killed near the summit of Plynlymon. Instead 

 of the usual white markings on the belly and chest, in this speci- 

 men these poi'tions were quite black. The rest of the body bore 

 a thick admixture of black and white hairs, which imparted a 



