429 



VORMELA PEREGUSNA Gueldenstaedt. 



1770. Peregusna, nova Mustelie species, Gueldenstaedt, Nov. Comm. Acad. 



Sci. Imp. Petrop., xiv, p. 441. 



1771. Mustela sarmalica Pallas, Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des 



Eussischen Reiehs, i, p. 453 (along the Volga in southern Russia). 

 1857. Fcetorius sarmaticus Blasius, Saugethiere Deutsehlands, p. 226. 

 1910. Putorius sarmaticus Trouessart, Faune Mamm. d'Europe, p. 77. 

 1910. Vormela peregusna Miller, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., xxxvin, p. 385, 



August 19, 1910. 



Type locality. — Banks of the River Don, southern Russia. 



Geographical distribution. — From central Asia west through 

 Asia Minor and southern Russia to Roumania, Bulgaria and 

 eastern Austria-Hungary (Bukowina). 



Diagnosis. — Size about as in Mustela putorius (head and body 

 in an adult male, 340 mm., condylobasal length of skull about 

 50 mm.) ; auditory bulla sub-triangular in outline. 



External form. — In general external characters (dry skins 

 only examined) the animal appears to agree closely with Mustela 

 putorius, except that the ear is relatively larger, the tail is more 

 bushy and less tapering, occasionally appearing somewhat 

 flattened, and the claws on front foot are more slender and 

 compressed. Soles and palms thickly furred except on the pads, 

 all of which are naked ; palm with two posterior tubercles, the 

 outer somewhat smaller than in M. putorius, the inner about 

 half as large as outer. Mammte : a 4-4, i 2-2 = 12. 



Colour. — Ground colour of upper parts raw-umber, most of 

 the hairs with darker tip and lighter subterminal band, a few 

 blackish throughout, the combination producing a slight effect of 

 variegation. Spots varying from a whitish buff to buff-yellow, 

 and arranged as follows : a large spot covering base of tail and 

 extending slightly on rump (often partly divided by a dark 

 streak along middle) ; a broad stripe extending obliquely down- 

 ward from middle of shoulder across side of body, and separated 

 from its fellow in median line above by a brown, irregularly 

 defined, or interrupted line; about thirty-five small spots in 

 region between shoulder stripes and base of tail, their boundaries 

 indistinct and tending to coalesce into transverse bands, then- 

 total combined area slightly less than that of brown background ; 

 a stripe extending from back of ear along side of neck nearly to 

 shoulder ; several small ill-defined spots on back of neck tending 

 to form a median longitudinal stripe ; underfur in dark area a 

 slaty-drab, in light areas similar to long hairs but paler, so that 

 the colour pattern becomes more sharply denned ou areas where 

 the fur has been nearly worn off. Head, feet, legs and under- 

 pays varying from dark seal-brown to black. Lips and inter- 

 ramia whitish or buffy. A broad white or buffy crescent crosses 

 forehead above eyes and extends downward and backward to 

 sides of throat behind ears. Dark crown area emphasized by a 



