136 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



SUBSPECIES OF PUTORIUS NOVEBORACENSIS 



Under parts white P. noyeboracensis noveboraeeusis 



Under parts yellow...... P. novelboracensis notius 



Putorius noveboracensis noveboracensis Emmons White- 



bellied New York weasel 



1840 Putorius noveboracensis Emmons, Report on the quadrupeds of 



Massachusetts, p. 45. (Soutbera New York) 

 1896 Putorius noveboracensis Merriam , North American fauna. 30 



June 1896. no. 11, p. 16. (part) 

 Under parts always pure white; winter coat white, (noveboracensis; 

 N. Lat., pertaining to New York) 



The white-bellied New York weasel occupies the range of the species 

 north of the upper austral zone. 



Putorius noveboracensis notius Bangs Yellow-bellied New 



York weasel 

 1896 Putorius noveboracensis Merriam, North American fauna. 30 



June 1896. no. 11, p. 16. (part) 

 1899 Putorius noveboracensis notius Bangs, Proc. New England 

 zoological club. 9 June 1899. 1:53. (Weaverville, Buncombe co. N. C.) 



Under parts always pale yellow; winter coat drab, (n 6 tins; Lat., southern) 



The yellow-bellied New York weasel is confined to the austral zones 



of the eastern United States. The exact limits of its range are not 



known. 



Genus Mephitis Cuvier 



1800 Mephitis Cuvier, Lemons d'anat. eomp., 1, Tab. gen. des classes des 

 anim. (facing p. 522). Based on " les Moufettes". Described in Tab. elem. 

 d' hist. nat. des anim. 1798. p. 116. 

 Tart of sole applied to ground in walking ; body stout ; claws large, curved and 



strong; ears short; tail very long and lusliy ; teeth 34; secretion of anal glands 



(not urine as commonly supposed) so copious and offensive as to he the animaVs chief 



weapon of defense. (Mephitis; Lat., a bad odor) 



The genus Mephitis is peculiar to America, where it is very gener- 

 ally distributed. It probably contains a dozen or more species, half of 

 which occur in North America. Only one is found within our Hmits. 



Mephitis mephitica (Shaw) Common skunk 

 Black, with a white stripe on forehead; a white patch on nape; a white stripe 

 extending backward from nape patch for a varying distance on each side of 

 body; and a white tip to tail; tail slightly more than one third of total length, the 

 terminal brush tapering, (mephitica; Lat., having a bad odor) 



The common skunk inhabits both forests and cleared lands throughout 

 the greater part of eastern North America. It is divisible into two sub- 

 species. 



