﻿18 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[No. 11. 



and greater leagtli of tlie black terminal part. Females of novcbora- 

 cemis, liowever, sometimes resemble males of cicognani rather closely. 

 They may be distinguished not only by the greater length of the tail 

 but also, if in summer pelage, by the absence of yellow from the under 

 side of the tail and inner sides of the hind feet, which x:)arts in cicognani 

 usually show more or less yellow. 



Measurements. — Average of 10 males: Total length, 407; tail ver- 

 tebra^, 140 5 hind foot, 47. AA^erage of 10 females: Total length, 324; 

 tail vertebrie, 108 ; hind foot, 34.5. 



PUT0K1U8 WASHINGTONI sp. uov. Washington Weasel. 



(PL IV, figs. 3, 3a, 4, 4a.) 



Type from Trout Lake, base of Mount Adams, State of Washington. No. 76^^22, ^ 

 ad., U. S. Nat. Mus., Dept. Agriculture collection. Collected December 15, 1895, by 

 D. N. Kaegi. 



General characters. — Similar to P. novel) or acensis in size and general 

 ai^pearance, but with longer tail and shorter black tip. Female very 

 much smaller than male, as in novehoracensis. 



Color. — Color in summer pelage unknown (probably dark chocolate 

 brown). There are two winter x)elages, probably dependent on alti- 

 tude. In drab winter pelage: Upi^er parts uniform diab brown; end 

 of tail black; under i^arts white, more or less suffused with pale yel- 

 lowish. The color of the upper parts encroaches on the sides of the 

 belly as in novehoracensis, and a brown spot is present behind the cor- 

 ners of the mouth, which may or may not be confluent with the brown 

 of the cheeks. In the type and two other specimens the hind legs and 

 feet are the same color as the upper parts except that the toes are 

 tipped with whitish and the tips of the fore feet are white. In another 

 specimen, collected January- 22, the white is more extensive, covering 

 all of the fore feet and about half of the hind feet. In summer pelage 

 the legs and feet are doubtless the same color as the upper parts, the 

 white of the belly stopping high up on the thighs. In wJiite winter 

 pelage: White all over except black tip of tail; tail, rump, and belly 

 strongly suffused with yellow. In one specimen (No. 76604, male, 

 February 7, 1896) the yellow reaches forward over the back nearly to 

 the shoulders; in another (No. 76588, male, February 4, 1896) the whole 

 back is white. 



Cranial characters. — The skulls of the two sexes differ greatly: that 

 of*the male resembles novehoracensis closely in size and general char- 

 acters, but differs In having the audital bulhie much shorter and the 

 postorbital processes less strongly developed. The postorbital constric- 

 tion is equally marked. The skull of the female is very much smaller 

 than that of the male, averaging about 38 mm. in length, while the 

 male averages 45 mm. Contrasted with the female of novehoracensis 

 the brain case is broader»posteriorly and less cylindric. The audital 

 bullae are more sharply separated from the squamosal inflation and the 

 latter is only slightly marked, not reaching the plane of the bullae. The 



