12 
CANADA OTTER, 
of L. Canadensis, (Fauna Boreali Americana,) was that of a large animal; 
and the Mollis of Gray was, we think, a fine specimen of the Canada 
Otter, with fur of a particular softness. We have, after much deliberation, 
come to the conclusion that all these must be regarded as varieties of one 
species. In dentition, in general form, in markings and in habits, they are 
very similar. The specimen from Texas, on account of its lighter colour 
and somewhat coarser fur, differs most from the other varieties ; but it does 
not on the whole present greater differences than are often seen in the 
common mink of the salt marshes of Carolina, when compared with speci- 
mens obtained from the streams and ponds in the interior of the Middle 
States. Indeed, in colour it much resembles the rusty brown of the Caro- 
lina mink. In the many specimens we have examined, we have disco- 
vered shades of difference in colour as well as in the pelage among indivi- 
duals obtained from the same neighbourhood. In many individuals which 
were obtained from the South and North, in localities removed a thousand 
miles from each other, we could not discover that they were even varieties. 
In other cases these differences may be accounted for from the known effects 
of climate on other nearly allied species, as evidenced in the common mink . 
On the whole we may observe, that the Otters of the North are of a darker 
colour and have the fur longer and more dense than those of the South. As 
we proceed southward the hair gradually becomes a little lighter in colour 
and the fur less dense, shorter, and coarser. These changes, however, are 
not peculiar to the Otter. They are not only observed in the mink, but in 
the raccoon, the common American rabbit, the Virginian deer, and nearly 
all the species that exist both in the northern and southern portions of our 
continent. 
We shall give a figure of L. Mollis of Gray, in our third volume. 
