SECOND YARKAND MISSION. 



and pale ashy grey elsewhere. Face the same colour as the back ; ears with short white 

 hairs round their margins, brown outside, brownish white within ; feet and tail dark sepia- 

 brown, the hair on the latter longer than on the back ; soles of feet hairy, except on the 

 small pads. Whole throat and breast, with the chin and upper lip close to the gape, white, 

 except two or three brown spots in the middle of the throat ; fur very soft, the longer hairs in 

 the middle of the back nearly 1^ inches long ; woolly underfur about If inches in length. 

 In the stretched skin the head and body measure about 15 to 18 inches, tail 9 ; hairs at end 3^ ; 

 total 30 inches. 



Mention was made in the preceding notes on Martes leucolaclmma of a specimen from 

 Sikkim (and probably brought from Tibet) that agreed somewhat in colouration with the 

 description of M. toufa?a. This skin resembles that from Leh so closely that, so far as species 

 of martens can be determined by the skin alone, I have but little hesitation in considering 

 both the same ; both have the same amount of white on the breast,, extending to the 

 fore legs in one direction, and to the chin in the other, or much further than in M. leucolach- 

 na?a ; but this character is very probably variable. 



The skull of this Eastern Tibetan specimen is imperfect, only the anterior portion 

 having been preserved in the skin. This part, however, despite a considerable resemblance 

 to that of the other skulls from Central Asia noticed under M. leucolachncea, is distin- 

 guished by being considerably smaller in size with much smaller teeth. The teeth and the 

 sutures show the animal to have been adult, and even aged. The breadth across the 

 zygomatic arches is 1*8 inches, and behind the post-orbital processes 0'7. The length of 

 the penultimate upper molar or flesh-tooth is 0 - 31, and the breadth of the last or tubercular 

 molar 0"3. The nearest approach in form is made by the skull from Western Tibet, the 

 measurements of which are given under (c.) on p. 28 and both have the same characteristic 

 convexity of the frontal region between the orbits, so that it is possible that the differences 

 in size, both of the skull and teeth, may be sexual. The colouration of the skins is, however, 

 widely different. 



20. Mustela stoliczkana. PI. I a, fig 3, and PI. II b. 



W. Blanf., J. A. S. B., 1877, xlvi, Part 2, p. 260. 

 Ac/ha Makan, Turki of Yarkand. 



Mustela ad M. vulgarem proxime accedens, sed valde major, superne fusco-arenaria, 

 subtus alblda, Cauda longiore, quartern partem totius longitudinis suba?quante, cum dorso 

 concolore ; labris ambobus genisque inferioribus albis, macula utrinque post angulam oris 

 fulvd, alterdqne ante oculum utrumque alba, palmis plantisqne confertim pilis indutis. Long, 

 tota cum caudd 12 2, caudal, pills inclusis, 3, cranii 1'8, pedis posterioris a calcaneo 14 

 poll. Angl. 



1, dried skin purchased at Yarkand. 



Colour pale sandy-brown above, the hairs rather paler and whitish at the base, white 

 below. Eur short, dense and soft. Tail throughout the same colour as the back. There is 

 a small white spot close to the anterior angle of each eye, and a rather larger sandy-brown 

 spot a little behind the gape in the lower part of the cheeks, which are white to within a 

 short distance below the eye. Upper whiskers dark brown towards the base, and of about 



