100 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



THE MAKTEN IN IRELAND. 

 By the Editor. 



When discussing the question whether there is more than 

 one species of Marten in the British Islands (Zool. 1891, p. 403), 

 we pointed out that the elder Macgillivray, who had good oppor- 

 tunities for examining specimens in Scotland, came to the con- 

 clusion that the young animals have yellow throats, and are the 

 "Pine Martens" of authors; while in old individuals the fore 

 part of the neck and breast are white, or greyish white, or pale 

 grey mottled with brownish. The Irish naturalist, William 

 Thompson, of Belfast, arrived at similar conclusions, remarking 

 that all the native specimens which had come under his own 

 notice were yellow-breasted,* with the exception of one, which 

 had the breast white, and was killed in the Co. Antrim. He 

 had, moreover, observed that the yellow colour gave place to 

 white with advancing age, and explained the greater number 

 of yellow-breasted specimens obtained by their comparative 

 immaturity.! 



It remains to be proved whether, as is likely, Martes sylvatica, 

 Nilsson, is the only species of Marten indigenous to Ireland; but 

 there is no doubt that the animal was at one time comparatively 

 common there, particularly in the north and west, since a 

 lucrative trade in Marten skins was formerly carried on. 



Writing on Irish mammals in 1857, the late Sir William 

 Wilde remarked;: — "The Marten formerly abounded in our 

 woods, and a few still exist in some localities where portions 

 of the ancient forests remain, among which I may specify Ballykyne, 

 near Cong, Co. Mayo, and Kylemore, Connemara, Co. Galway." 



To these localities might be added the woods and crags near 

 Loughs Mask and Corrib in Mayo and Galway. Martens were 

 also formerly common on the borders of Clare and Galway, 

 where they were preserved in the woods on the estate of Raheen 



* This remark has been confirmed by other observers, e. g., see Eyton, 

 Ann. Nat. Hist. 1840, p. 290. In 1870 Mr. Glennon, the taxidermist of 

 Dublin, received for preservation no less than thirteen Martens from 

 different parts of Ireland, not one of which had a white breast (Zool. 1870, 

 p. 2282). See also ■ The Field,' March 18th, 1874. 



f In museum specimens the yellow colour of the throat fades so much as 

 to become at length hardly perceptible. 



| Proc. Koy. Irish Acad, vol, vii. p. 194, 



