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PUTORIUS NIGRIPES.— Aud. and Bach. 
Black-Footed Ferret. 
PLATE X C 1 1 1 .—Male.— Natural Size. 
P. Magnitudine mustelam martem equans, fronte, caudae, apice, pedi- 
busque nigris; supra e flavido fuscus infra albus. 
CHARACTERS. 
Size of the pine martin ; forehead, feet, and extremity of tail, black ; 
yellowish-brown above, white beneath. 
SYNONYME. 
Pdtorius Nigripes. Aud. and Bach, Quadrupeds of North America, vol. 2, 
pi. 93. 
DESCRIPTION. 
In its dentition this species possesses all the characteristics belonging to 
putorius and from the number and disposition of the teeth, cannot be 
placed in the genus, mustela. The canine teeth are stout and rather long, 
extending beyond the lips ; they are slightly arched and somewhat blunt ; 
the two outer incisors in the upper jaw are largest, the remainder are 
smaller, but regular and conspicuous. The first false molar is small but 
distinctly visible, it is without a lobe ; the second is larger and has a 
slight lobe on each side. The great tuberculous tooth has two points and 
an external lobe ; the last molar is rather small. In the lower jaw the 
incisors are small, and much crowded together. The three false molars 
on each side increase in size from the first, which is smallest and simple, 
to the third, which is largest and tuberculated. The great internal tooth 
has three lobes but no tubercle on the inner side, as is the case in the 
genus mustela ; the last, or back tooth, is small but simple. 
Body, very long ; head, blunt ; forehead, arched and broad ; muzzle, 
short; eyes, of medium size ; moustaches, few ; ears, short, erect, broad at 
base, and triangular in shape, clothed on both surfaces with short hair ; 
neck, long ; legs, short and stout ; toes, armed with sharp nails, very 
slightly arched ; the feet on both surfaces covered with hair even to the 
soles, concealing the nails. 
voL. II. — .38 
