BANGS: NORTH AMERICAN MINK. 
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f) 
Putorius vison (Schreber). 
Little black or mountain brook mink. 
Mustela vison Schreber, Saugethiere, 3, p. 403, 1778. 
, Putorius nigrescens And. and Bach., Quad. N. Amer., 3, p. 104, 
1854. 
Type locality. Canada. 
Geographical distribution. Northeastern North America, south 
to the mountains of New York and Pennsylvania, and probably to 
the higher Allesdianies of Virginia and North Carolina. Not found 
along the sea coast south of New Brunswick. Apparently most 
typical in the interior of Canada north of the St. Lawrence, and in 
the higher mountains from there south. 
Inhabits the Boreal zone. 
General characters. Small, lightly built, and very weasel-like 
in general appearance. Coat soft and full. 
Color. Rich dark brown, in many examples almost wholly 
black. A spot of white of varying size on the chin, and often with 
some white spots on the chest and belly. 
Size. £ adult from Annapolis, N. S. Total length, 520 mm.; 
tail vertebrae, 179.5 mm.; hind foot, 60 mm. 
$ young adult from Lake Edward, Quebec. Total length, 
547 mm.; tail vertebrae, 194 mm.; hind foot, 63 min'. 
9 old adult from Digby, N. S. Total length, 497 mm.; tail 
vertebrae, 143.5 mm.; hind foot, 50 mm. 
9 young adult from Lake Edward, Quebec. Total length, 
489 mm.; tail vertebrae, 154 mm.; hind foot, 51 mm. 
The skull. Small and quite smooth without the well-marked 
sagittal crest of the following subspecies much flattened between the 
orbits; audital bullae Oat and shallow. Dentition light throughout. 
Remarks. The mountain brook mink is a little, lithe creature, 
and when seen in the liesh has a very different aspect from the 
large, clumsy, but powerful P. lutreoceplialus of the south. It is 
small, slender, and extremely active, with all the astonishingly quick 
movements of the small weasels. I have seen it on several occasions 
climb trees with great agility. Once, in the spring, I remember 
seeing two mink of this species chasing each other and playing 
among the branches of an old willow. So quick were their move¬ 
ments, that at first I mistook them for red squirrels, until upon 
