THE SOUTTTEARTERN MINK. 



581 



valuable skin is made worthless. Nor is this robber easily captured. 

 He seems to have an instinctive knowledge of traps which enables 

 him to spring them without rumiing any risk of being caught.- In- 

 deed, only the strongest wolf or bear trap will hold him. 



The strong claws and powerful muscles enable him to dig with 

 great rapidity, and not only the homes of mice and other humble 

 creatures, but even fox dens are opened and the cubs of the latter 

 eaten. During the summer, he is less offensive, and frogs, snakes, 

 mice, birds and birds' eggs are the staple articles of food. 



The one redeeming character of this animal is the solicitude 

 which both parents exercise for their young. From three to six of 

 these are born each year, in June or July, in some sort of under- 

 ground burrow. The family remain together for several months, 

 and the young are defended with great courage. At other seasons 

 the wolverene is generally solitary. 



Genus Lutreola Wagner. 



Lutreola Wagner, Schreber's Saugethiere, Suppl., II, p. 239, 

 1841. 



(Lutreola has been regarded as a subgenus of Putorius by 

 writers in the past. I have followed Dr. Merriam and some other 

 recent authors in treating it as a full genus.) 



Dental Formula.— I, C, Pm, Ie^; M, ^^ = 34. 



Generic characters. — Color nearly uniform brown all over, with 

 a white spot on the chin and sometimes on the chest. Never white 

 in winter. Feet webbed. Size larger than that of the weasels, 

 smaller than the otters, to which the minks bear some resemblance. 



This genus is limited to the northern hemisphere. About six 

 forms are recognized in North America. Only one occurs in this 

 State. 



LUTREOLA VISON LUTREOCEPHALUS (Harlan). 

 SOUTHEASTERN MINK. 



Mustela lutreocephala Harlan, Fauna Americana, p. 63, 1825. 

 Putorius vison Evermann and Butler, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. for 



1893, p. 137, 1894. 

 Lutreola vison McAtee, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. 20, p. 6, 

 1907. 



Hahn, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. 32, p. 463, 1907. Vol. 35, 

 p. 576, 1908. 



