434 CONTRIBUTIONS TO A REVISION OF THE 



questions sure to be soon brought up in the active advance of monographic work in 

 American mammalogy. 



The synonymy of Pennant's Fisher has already been discussed under Lutra hud- 

 sonica, and I have there given reasons for my adoption of the plate-name canadensis of 

 Schreber as having priority over the long-accepted name pennanti of Erxleben for 

 this animal. 



Pennant's Fisher. Mustela canadensis Schreber. 



Mustela canadensis Schreber, Saugt., Ill, p. 492, PL CXXIV. Text published in 



1777, plate in 1776 (fide Sherborn). 

 Mustela pennantii Erxleben, Syst. An., 1111 , p. 470. 

 Mustela melanorhyncha Boddaert, Elench. An., 1784, p. 88. 

 Viverra piscator Shaw, Gen. Zo'dl., I, 1800, p. 414. 

 Mustela nigra Turton, ed. Linn. Syst. Nat., I, 1802, p. 60. 

 Mustela godmani Fischer, Syn. Mamm., 1829, p. 217. 



Type Locality. — " New York and Pennsylvania," Pennant. 



Geographic Distribution. — Northern North America, east of the Cascade moun- 

 tains, from the northern limit of trees to Colorado and North Carolina in the mountains. 

 Intergrading on the Pacific slope into subspecies pacifica, and probably in the southern 

 Rocky mountain region into a paler race. Probably represented in the Hudsonian 

 fauna! region by a subspecies.* 



Color. — From an adult, male, winter sjjeeimen taken near Lancaster, Pa., March 

 11, 1896, and in the possession of Dr. M. W. Raul), of that city, who furnished 

 the description : "Head and one-half of the length of body, gray and black mixed, gray 

 predominating; throat darkest, with snout from tip to line of eyes dark brown. The 

 hinder half of body gradually darkens into a deep chocolate color until it reaches the 

 tail, which is almost black with a tip entirely black. Hind legs and tail, viewed at a 

 distance of six feet, look very dark, almost pure black. The fore legs are black but not 

 so deep. Trps of ears, darkest." 



Two specimens from the Bangs collection, one from Moosehead lake, Maine, the 

 other from Idaho county, Idaho, seem to answer closely the above description. The 

 light upper and forward portions of body are a grizzled grayish brown, the long hairs 

 black tipped. The basal half of hairs of anterior back are hair brown. I can discover 

 no color characters to separate the Idaho specimen from the one from Maine, nor do the 

 skulls indicate any reliable differences. The Maine skin (of an animal two-thirds grown) 



* Typical canadensis must be restricted to the Allegheoian form. 



