MUSTELA 415 



Sub-Genus LUTREOLA Wagner. 



1841. Lutreola Wagner, Sohreber's Saugthiere, Suppl., n, p. 239 (lutreola). 

 1843. Vison Gray, List. Spec. Mamm. Brit. Mus., p. 64 (vison). 

 1857. Fcetorius Blasius, Saugethiere Deutsohlands, p. 219 (part). 

 1871. Hydromustela Bogdanow, Tpyfl. OCm. EdecTB. Ka3aHci;. J'miBepe. I, 

 Mem. i, p. 167. 



Type species. — Mustela lutreola Linnaeus. 



Geographical distribution. — Northern portion of northern 

 hemisphere from eastern Germany to the Atlantic coast of North 

 America. 



Characters. — Form moderately slender ; tail bushy ; fur modi- 

 fied for aqua.tic life ; skull without noticeably projecting mastoid 

 processes ; auditory bullae sub-triangular ; premolars more prehen- 

 sive than in Putorius ; inner lobe of upper carnassial functioning 

 against apex of pm i ; anterior border of pm 3 shearing against pos- 

 terior border of pm s ; point of pm 2 opposed to posterior border of pm 2 . 



Remarks. — Though well characterized in its extreme develop- 

 ment, as represented by the type species and the American forms, 

 the sub-genus Lutreola grades insensibly into true Mustela through 

 such Asiatic members of the genus as Mustela sibirica, M. cani- 

 gula and others. So complete is this intergradation that it may 

 well be questioned whether the name Lutreola should be allowed 

 to remain in use. The only typical Old World species ranges 

 westward into south-western France. 



MUSTELA LUTREOLA Linnasus. 



1766. [Mustela] lutreola Linmeus, Syst. Nat. i, 12th ed., p. 66 (Finland). 

 1777. [Lutra] minor Erxleben, Syst. Begni Anim., i, p. 451 (Benaming of 



lutreola). 

 1792. M[ustela] Lutra fulva Kerr, Anim. Kingd., p. 17.3 (Benaming of 



lutreola). 

 1839. ? [Mustela lutreola] var. alba De Selys-Longchamps, Etudes de 



Micromamm., p. 46 (nomen nudum). 

 1857. Fmtorius lutreola Blasius, Saugethiere Deutsehlands, p. 234. 

 1863. ? Putorius alpinus Ogerien, Hist. Nat. du Jura, in, p. 59 (highest 



portions of the Jura). 

 1879. Lutreola europsea Homeyer, Zool. Garten, xxvi, p. 184, June, 1879 



(Substitute for lutreola). 

 1910. Putorius (Lutreola) lutreola Trouessart, Paune Mamm. d'Europe, 



p. 75. 



Type locality. — Finland. 



Geographical distribution. — Northern Asia, westward to Fin- 

 land and south-western France, southward to eastern Roumania ; 

 limits of range not known. European distribution less extensive 

 than formerly. 



Diagnosis. — General characters as in the sub-genus Lutreola ; 

 colour throughout a rich dark brown, the region about the mouth 

 whitish, the tip of tail blackish ; head and body about 350 to 



