MAMMALIA. 485 
feet. The neck is elongated. The ears are short and rounded. The 
tail is long, but rarely bushy; generally diffusing a strong odor, which 
in some genera becomes a defensive weapon. Five genera of this family 
are found in North America: Putorius, Mephitis, Mustela, Lutra, and 
Enhydra. . 
The genus JJustela (the weasel proper) is characterized by a small and 
oval head; a snout rather large; ears short and round; a long and vermi- 
form body; a tail usually long and cylindrical; the legs short, each foot 
provided with five toes, armed with sharp, crooked, and slightly retractile 
claws. There is no anal pouch, but a small gland which secretes a thickish 
offensive fluid. The fur is very fine. There are four carnivorous teeth on 
each side of the upper jaw, and the last carnivorous tooth on the lower jaw 
has a round lobe on the inner side. Several species of this genus are found 
in North America, but the largest number belong to the old world. The 
weasel, fisher, or pekan (JZ canadensis), as all these names are indif- 
ferently applied, formerly very common in every part of the northern and 
middle States, has greatly diminished and is still diminishing in number 
with the increased population of the country. It frequents the water 
edges. 
The common marten, WZ. martes (pl. 116, fig. 8), inhabits the woods. 
It is extensively hunted in the Adirondack region of northern New York, 
where it is called sable. The beech marten of Europe, IZ foina (pl. 116, 
fig. 4). The sable (ML zzbellina), which inhabits Siberia, is highly valued 
for its rich fur. 
Of this genus several fossil species have been described, the remains of 
which are found in the Old World. 
The genus Puleogale comes nearest to Mustela, from which it is gene- 
rically distinct in the structure of the teeth. Two extinct species are 
found in Wirtemberg. 
The genus Putorius is composed of species generally small in size, which 
seldom climb trees like the martens. They emit a fetid odor, and have 
nocturnal habits. They differ from the martens in having one tooth less 
on each side of the upper jaw; their snout, short and blunt, is also shorter 
and thicker than that of the marten. Their head is small and oval; their 
ears short and round; their body long and vermiform; their neck elon- 
gated; their legs short. There are five toes on each foot, armed with 
sharp crooked claws; the tail is long and cylindrical. Five species of this 
genus inhabit North America, and twice that number are found on the 
eastern continent. The mink (P. vison) is spread nearly all over North 
America, inhabiting water courses, and exceedingly destructive to poultry. 
The ermine, P. erminea (pl. 116, fig. 8), which becomes white in winter, 
except the tip of the tail, which is always black, inhabits the northern por- 
tions of both continents. The American one has been described as a 
distinct species. 
The common polecat of Kurope, Mustela putorius (pl. 116, fig. 5); the 
European weasel, P. vulgaris (pl. 116, jig. 7); and the ferret, P. furo 
(pl. 116, fig. 6), belong to this genus. 
ICONOGRAPHIC ENCYCLOPADIA.—VOL. II. 44 689 
