18 MAaOIALS. 



ff Teeth 34; body slender; feet digitigrade ; tail usually long; 

 sectorial tooth without internal tubercle. . PuTORros, 3. 

 f f f Teeth 38 ; body stout ; feet sub-plantigrade ; tail as long as 

 head, very full and bushy. . . . . Gulo, 3. 

 ** True molar of upper jaw very large, sub-triangular, tubercu- 

 lar ; fore claws much lengthened, for diggipg. (MELiNiB.) 



a. Body short and stout; tail very short; teeth 33. Taxidba, 4. 



*** True molar of upper jaw quadrangular, wide, very large, with 



an outer cutting ridge; claws non-retractile, fore claws 



lengthened, fossorial. (Mbphitin*.) 



6. Snout pointed; colors black and white; fetid glands highly 



developed ; teeth 34 Mephitis, 5. 



**** True molar large, quadrate ; teeth 36 ; body elongated ; toes 

 palmate, adapted for swimming. (Ltjtbin^.) Lutba, 6. 



/. MUSTELA, Linnaeus. Maeteits. 



1. M. americana, Turton. Sable. Pine Marten. 



Chiefly reddish yellow, clouded with black; legs and 



tail, blackish; length less than two feet. Maine to 

 Oregon, and northward. 



3. M. pennantii, Erxleben. Fishek. Black Cat. Color, 

 variable ; bfelly, legs, tail, and hind parts chiefly black; 

 length more than two feet. Northern N. A. 



2. PUTORIUS, Cuvier. Weasels. 



1. P. vulgaris, Cuvier. Least Weasel. Liver-brown, 

 white beneath ; usually white in winter ; tail never 

 really black at tip ; body 6 to 7 inches long. N. U. S. 

 and northward, also Old World. 



2. P. ermineus, Cuvier. Commojt Weasel. Ermine. 

 Colors various ; tip of tail usually black ; white in 

 winter, northward. Length of body 8 to 11 inches. 



