Chapter XVIII: Introduction (17)

The males from the type locality are relatively uniform in size and shape of skull. The one exception is no. 137935, U. S. Nat. Mus., slightly younger than the others. Its skull is relatively more slender than any of the others and does not display several of the differential characters. The male, no. 127566, U. S. Nat. Mus., from Alila (= Earlimart) is intermediate in cranial features between _pulchra_ and _xanthogenys_ as known from specimens taken in the vicinity of Fresno. The skull of the female, no. 127565, from the same place, is too young to provide diagnostic characters. Since the skull of an adult female of topotypical _pulchra_ is unknown, doubt attaches to the identification of the adult, female specimen, no. 115895, U. S. Nat. Mus., from Delano. It has a relatively broad skull in comparison with the adult female of _xanthogenys_ from Los Banos. The adult female, no. 9998, San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist., from 2 mi. SW Simmler, shows approach to _nigriauris_ in slightly reduced size. The skin alone from Coalinga, a male, taken on April 10, 1935, measures 462, 179, 47. The adult female, with crushed skull, from 4 miles east of Coalinga, measures 350, 129, 40. In size, these specimens agree better with _pulchra_ than with _xanthogenys_. The skin alone from 3 miles south of Coalinga is unsexed and without external measurements. Skulls of adults from Coalinga are needed to permit of more positive identification of the subspecies found there. The female from 4 miles east of Coalinga, taken on February 21, 1936, is in process of molt on the underparts, and the longer hair which is near (20´) Naples Yellow contrasts strongly with the incoming shorter hair which is near (10 _c_) Salmon-Orange. The skin alone, no. 16270, Mus. Vert. Zoöl., from Isabella, was made up from a decayed animal and is of but little use. It is referred to _pulchra_ purely because of geographic nearness of Isabella to the type locality of _pulchra_. The most that can be told from the specimen is that it is a relatively light-colored, bridled weasel. The fact that the color is slightly darker than in _pulchra_ may or may not indicate intergradation with _nevadensis_. No. 54103/41042, U. S. Nat. Mus., consisting of crushed bits of skull and the skin of the head, is from Willow Spring, Kern County. This marginal locality is really in the Mojave Desert rather than in the San Joaquin Valley. The light color of the skin of the head suggests _pulchra_, but it is realized that a complete specimen might show the animal there to be unlike _pulchra_.

None of the skulls shows evidence of having had the frontal sinuses infested by parasites.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 18, listed by counties from
north to south. Unless otherwise indicated, specimens are in the
Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy.

=California.= _Fresno County_: Coalinga, 1[23]; 4 mi. E Coalinga,
1; 3 mi. S Coalinga, 1[8]. _Tulare County_: Alila (= Earlimart),
2[91]. _Kern County_: Delano, 1[91]; Buttonwillow, 9 (6[8],
2[91]); Isabella, 1; Willow Spring, 1[91] _San Luis Obispo
County_: 2 mi. SW Simmler, 1[87].

=Mustela frenata inyoensis= Hall

Long-tailed Weasel

Plates 22, 23 and 24

_Mustela frenata inyoensis_ Hall, Carnegie Instit. Washington Publ.
473:99, November 20, 1936.

_Putorius xanthogenys_, Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 11:25, June 30,
1896 (part).

_Mustela xanthogenys xanthogenys_, Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull.,
79:99, December 31, 1912.

_Type._--Male, adult, skull (with skeleton) and skin; no. 25907,
Mus. Vert. Zoöl.; Carl Walter's Ranch, 2 mi. N Independence, Inyo
County, California; June 26, 1917; obtained by A. C. Shelton;
original no. 3143.

The skull (plates 22-24) is complete and unbroken. All teeth are
present and entire. The skin is well made and in good condition.

_Range._--From 3700 feet (Lone Pine) to at least 4000 feet
(Alvord); Lower Sonoran Life-zone of the floor of Owens Valley in
Inyo County, California. See figures 29 and 30 on pages 221 and
314.

_Characters for ready recognition._--Differs from _M. f.
nevadensis_ in presence of white facial markings; from _M. f.
pulchra_ in near (_l_) Brussels Brown rather than near (16 _j_)
Buckthorn Brown to near (_h_) Yellow Ocher color of upper parts
and basilar length of less than 45 in males; from _M. f.
latirostra_ in brownish rather than blackish color of inside of
ear and orbitonasal length of more than 15.

_Description._--_Size._--Male: Two adults, the type specimen and
no. 25392/32805, measure, respectively, as follows: Total length,
423 and 390; length of tail, 170 and 145; length of hind foot, 42
and 44. Tail is 67 and 59 per cent as long as head and body.
Length of hind foot less than basal length.

Female: No. 12400, Field Mus. Nat. Hist., which is young, has the
following measurements: Total length, 390; length of tail, 150;
length of hind foot, 39. Tail is 63 per cent as long as head and
body. Length of hind foot less than basal length.

The differences in external measurements between the two sexes, as
represented by the male type specimen and by the young female,
are: Total length, 33, length of tail, 20; length of hind foot, 3.

_Externals._--Longest facial vibrissae black or dark brown and
reaching beyond ear; carpal vibrissae same color as underparts and
extending to apical pad of fifth digit; hairiness of foot-soles
(in summer pelage) slightly less than shown in figure 19.

_Color._--Large spot between eyes, band confluent with color of
underparts, on each side of head extending anterodorsally anterior
to each ear, upper throat, chin, lower lips and in some specimens
part or all of upper lips white; patch between eyes and bars in
front of ears tinged with some shade of yellowish in one specimen;
dark spot posterior to each angle of mouth present in four of five
specimens; tip of tail black; remainder of upper parts, in summer,
near (_l_) Brussels Brown or tones 1 to 2 of Raw Umber of Oberthür
and Dauthenay, pl. 301; slightly darker brown on forehead, nose
and about eyes. In winter near (_j_) Snuff Brown or lighter than
Brussels Brown with a smoked effect. Underparts Buff-Yellow,
winter and summer. Color of underparts extends distally on
posterior sides of forelegs over toes onto antipalmar faces of
feet and wrists and on medial sides of hind legs over antiplantar
faces of toes. Least width of color of underparts averaging, in 5
available specimens 34 (24-42) per cent of greatest width of color
of upper parts. Black tip of tail, in two adult males, averaging
53 (45 and 60) mm. Thus longer than hind foot and averaging 34 per
cent of length of tail-vertebrae.

_Skull and teeth._--Male (based on the type): See measurements and
plates 22-24. As described in _M. f. nigriauris_ except that:
Weight, 4.4 grams; basilar length, 44.7; postorbital breadth not
less than width of basioccipital measured from medial margin of
one foramen lacerum posterior to its opposite; length of tympanic
bulla less than length of lower molar and premolar tooth-row.

Female: Adult unknown.

Compared with the skull of the male of _nevadensis_, no single difference not covered by individual variation in _nevadensis_ has been detected. Selected differences of _inyoensis_ in comparison with _latirostra_ are larger size, less inflated tympanic bullae and relative narrowness of the postorbital, interorbital and preorbital parts of the skull. Comparison of the skull with that of _M. f. pulchra_ is made in the account of that subspecies.

_Remarks._--Although two specimens of this subspecies were taken during the Death Valley Survey conducted by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, only three additional individuals are known to have been saved as study specimens since that time.

_M. f. inyoensis_ as now known may be thought of as closely similar to _M. f. nevadensis_ except for the presence of well-developed white facial markings like those found in the weasels of the San Joaquin Valley and coastal region of California south of San Francisco Bay. The nonwhite areas of the head are almost the same color as the back and not distinctly blackish as in _M. f. latirostra_ and _M. f. nigriauris_. The one specimen in the winter coat, no. 25392/32805, U. S. Nat. Mus., from Lone Pine, is brown rather than white. The brown has the pale smoke-tinge common in the winter pelage of subspecies whose members are either brown or white in winter. The range of this subspecies is thought to include the floor and lower elevations of Owens Valley although it may occur in limited numbers southwestward along the base of the Sierra Nevada and through the mountains in places of low elevation like Walker Pass its range may meet that of _pulchra_.

The type specimen was taken in an alfalfa field by ranch hands, who, according to A. C. Shelton (MS), stated that the species was common at the type locality. None of the five specimens shows infestation of the frontal sinuses by parasites.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 5, listed by localities from
north to south.

=California.= _Inyo County_: Alvord, 4000 ft., 1 (U. S. Nat.
Mus.); 2 mi. N Independence, 1 (Mus. Vert. Zoöl.); Lone Pine, 3 (2
in Field Mus. Nat. Hist. and 1 in U. S. Nat. Mus.).

=Mustela frenata neomexicana= (Barber and Cockerell)

Long-tailed Weasel

Plates 1, 22, 23, 24, 34, 35 and 36

_Putorius frenatus neomexicanus_ Barber and Cockerell, Proc. Acad.
Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1898:188; Lantz, Trans. Kansas Acad.
Sci., 19:178, 1905.

_Mustela frenata neomexicana_, Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull.,
79:100, December 31, 1912; Bailey, Animal Life of Carlsbad
Cavern, p. 97, 1928; Hall, Carnegie Instit. Washington Publ.
473:108, November 20, 1936.

_Mustela frenatus neomexicanus_, Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, 35:19,
September 5, 1913.

_Type._--Male, adult, skull and skin; no. 10475, Mus. Comp. Zoöl.;
Armstrong's Lake, Mesilla Park, Dona Ana County, New Mexico;
February 1, 1898; obtained by A. C. Tryson; original no. 58 of C.
M. Barber.

The skull is imperfectly cleaned but unbroken. The right upper
incisors, right P2 and left p3 are broken away. The skin is
indifferently stuffed but in a good state of preservation except
that the distal part of the tail is missing. The animal's coat is
ragged, and this imperfect appearance is heightened by injury to
the posterior part of the body, probably at the time of capture.

_Range._--From 3800 feet (type locality) to 9000 feet (Cloudcroft,
N. Mex.); Upper Sonoran and Lower Sonoran life-zones of northern
México, southeastern Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas,
panhandle of Oklahoma, southeastern Colorado and southwestern
Kansas. See figure 29 on page 221.

_Characters for ready recognition._--Differs from _M. f. frenata_
and _M. f. texensis_ by Buckthorn Brown rather than Brussels Brown
color of upper parts, mastoid breadth of adult males ordinarily
more, rather than less, than postpalatal length; from _M. f.
leucoparia_ by Buckthorn Brown rather than Argus Brown color of
upper parts, distance from anterior margin of tympanic bulla to
foramen ovale less, rather than more, than four-fifths height of
tympanic bulla; from _M. f. arizonensis_ and _M. f. nevadensis_ by
Buckthorn Brown, rather than near (14 _n_) Brussels Brown or, in
winter, white color of upper parts, in presence of white frontal
spot continuous with color of underparts, in basilar length of
more than 46 mm. in males and 40 mm. in females; from _M. f.
longicauda_ by Buckthorn Brown rather than near (_h_) Clay Color
of upper parts, by presence of white facial markings on Argus
Brown head, and by length of tooth-rows amounting to less than 37
per cent of basilar length; from _M. f. primulina_ by Buckthorn
Brown rather than Brussels Brown color of upper parts, in presence
of white frontal spot and broad white bands on side of head, in
anteriorly truncate rather than anterolaterally rounded bullae and
zygomatic breadth of more than 30 in males and 24 in females.

_Description._--_Size._--Male: The type specimen (see Barber and
Cockerell, 1898:188) measured: Total length, 500; length of tail,
205; length of hind foot, 50. Tail 70 per cent as long as head and
body. Length of hind foot less than basal length.

Female: No. 21779 from Tombstone, Arizona, measured: Total length,
419; length of tail, 165; length of hind foot from dried skin, 41
(probably 43 in flesh). Tail 65 per cent as long as head and body.
Length of hind foot less than basal length.

The average differences in external measurements of the two sexes,
as known from these two individuals, are: Total length, 81; length
of tail, 40; length of hind foot, 7.

Compared with _M. f. frenata_, the size, proportions of parts and
difference in size of the two sexes, appears to be about the same.

_Externals._--Longest facial vibrissae colored like upper parts
[in the type specimen some of the "long bristles of the upper lip"
are white as pointed out by Barber and Cockerell (_op. cit._:
188)] and extending beyond ear; carpal vibrissae colored like
underparts and extending to apical pad of fifth digit; hairiness
of foot-soles as shown in figure 20.

_Color._--Broad white bands on sides of head, extending
anterodorsally anterior to each ear, confluent with white spot
between eyes and with color of underparts; posterior half or all
of each upper lip edged with white; usually few white hairs on top
of head between ears; remainder of top of head near Argus Brown of
Ridgway and Chocolate, tone 4, of Oberthür and Dauthenay; dark
spot posterior to each angle of mouth usually absent; tip of tail
black; remainder of upper parts varying, in different specimens,
from Buckthorn Brown to Dresden Brown of Ridgway, and Brown Pink
(tones 3 to 4, pl. 297, of Oberthür and Dauthenay); underparts
Antimony Yellow or near (_c_) Warm Buff of Ridgway, and Brown Pink
(tone 1, pl. 297, of Oberthür and Dauthenay); color of underparts
extends distally on legs over forefeet and hind feet. Least width
of color of underparts averaging 46 (41-55) per cent of greatest
width of color of upper parts; black tip of tail 35 to 45 mm. long
in females; 43 to 68 mm. long in males and averaging 21 (20-36)
per cent as long as tail-vertebrae.

No specimen of this subspecies in the white winter coat has been
seen. Animals taken in midwinter are available from Mesilla Park,
Willcox, and 10 miles east of Roswell.

From _M. f. frenata_, _neomexicana_ differs in: upper parts and
underparts much lighter colored; white facial markings more
extensive; color of underparts more extended onto feet. From _M.
f. leucoparia_, _neomexicana_ differs as follows: above and below,
much lighter colored, but white facial markings less extensive and
color of underparts less extended onto feet and legs.

_Skull and teeth._--Male (based on adults: the type; no. 131582
from Berino, New Mexico; and no. 1485 from Seward Co., Kansas):
See measurements and plates 22-24. As described in _Mustela
frenata frenata_ except that: Weight, 6.2 (4.9 and 7.5); basilar
length, 49.3 (48 and 50.5); mastoid breadth more than postpalatal
length; least width of palate less than length of P4; anterior
margin of masseteric fossa directly below m2 or heel of ml.

Female (based on three adults): See measurements and plates 34-36.
As described in _Mustela frenata frenata_ except that: Weight, 3.1
(2.6-3.5) grams; basilar length, 42.7 (40.8-45.5); zygomatic
breadth less than distance between condylar foramen and M1 and
more or less than distance between anterior palatine foramen and
anterior margin of tympanic bulla.

The skull of the female averages 50 per cent lighter than that of
the male.

As compared with the skull of the male of _M. f. frenata_, that of _neomexicana_ is decidedly more angular and ridged. The postorbital constriction is narrower, the mastoid breadth greater (it is less than the postpalatal length in some subadult males), the sagittal crest much higher with impressions of the temporal and masseter muscles carried farther forward on the frontals, rostrum shorter and tympanic bullae wider and more inflated. Similar, though less marked, differences exist between the females. As compared with _M. f. leucoparia_ and _perotae_, the same differences as noted above between _frenata_ and _neomexicana_ exist. In addition the tympanic bullae are so far removed from the foramen ovale that the distance from the anterior end of each bulla to the foramen ovale, instead of being less than the height of tympanic bullae, is in _leucoparia_ more than four-fifths this height and in _perotae_ more than the entire height. Also, in _perotae_, the squamosal, anterior to each tympanic bulla, is ventrally convex rather than ventrally concave as in _neomexicana_. Compared with _M. f. longicauda_, _neomexicana_ is relatively narrower in the interorbital region, has relatively shorter tooth-rows, a V-shaped rather than a U-shaped interpterygoid space and in males has the interorbital region flat rather than convex and the sagittal crest is higher. The same differences are to be noted in comparison with _nevadensis_ but here the difference in relative length of tooth-row is less. The same differences exist also in comparison with _M. f. arizonensis_ except that its interorbital breadth, relative to the rest of the skull, is about the same. Difference in size is especially marked here; even females of _neomexicana_ average larger than males of _arizonensis_.

_Remarks._--When Barber and Cockerell named this subspecies in 1898, they had three specimens. Only two others are known to have been taken before this time. These are a skeleton, without corresponding skin, taken at Lozier, Texas, in 1890 by Wm. Lloyd, and no. 21779/36482, U. S. Nat. Mus., taken on April 6, 1893, by R. D. Lusk at Tombstone, Arizona. On the back of a label recently attached to the last mentioned specimen the name C. K. Worthen appears and probably signifies that the specimen was purchased from this dealer in vertebrate specimens.

_M. f. neomexicana_ has a large geographic range. The old male from Liberal, Seward County, Kansas, extends the known range far to the northeast. Geographically, this occurrence is logical for the southwestern desertlike conditions extend to this part of Kansas. Probably the subspecies occurs in southeastern Colorado and in the panhandle of Oklahoma where conditions are similar. Bailey (1905:198) lists _neomexicana_ as a member of the mammalian fauna of Texas. As stated by him (_loc. cit._:198) this inclusion is based on geographic grounds and not on actual specimens. Strecker (1926:13) also includes _neomexicana_ in his list of Texas mammals but writes me, under date of January 9, 1928, that "I included _Mustela frenata neomexicana_ as a Texas mammal on the strength of its being mentioned by Bailey. . . ." On better ground, Bailey (1928:97) lists the subspecies as occurring in southeastern New Mexico at Carlsbad Cavern. However, Bailey (_loc. cit._) knew of the existence of weasels just below El Paso and at Langtry, Texas. An unsexed skeleton, no. 167891, in the United States National Museum, from Lozier, Texas, is not certainly identifiable to subspecies. If, as I think, the animal is a female, its skull is intermediate between that of _frenata_ and _neomexicana_ although when all features are considered it is seen to be nearest the latter. The large size (basilar length of 46.5 mm.) may reflect some relationship to _texensis_. The field notes of the collector furnished me by Dr. H. H. T. Jackson (MS), describe the color as brownish yellow above and sulphur below. The admission of this subspecies to the list of mammals of Texas is made certain by the female (no. 1572, Texas Cooperative Research Collection) taken on July 28, 1940, 1-1/2 mi. NW Kent, Texas, by C. E. Scull.

The skull alone from Durango (City of), extends the known range far to the south. This skull is typical of _neomexicana_. Skins from the same place would be especially interesting as showing the approach, if any, in color, of _neomexicana_ to _M. f. leucoparia_.

Mr. D. D. Stone of Casa Grande, Arizona, writes, under date of February 2, 1927, that a weasel was seen by an acquaintance of his in a field near Chandler, Maricopa County, Arizona. Probably this was _neomexicana_. If so, its range extends much farther west than collected specimens show.

Actual intergradation with _M. f. frenata_ is not shown by the material at hand. The two females from Albuquerque, although typically _neomexicana_ as regards color, have smaller, less prominently ridged skulls than females of _neomexicana_ of the same age from farther south and approach _M. f. nevadensis_.

Probably the geographic ranges of _M. f. neomexicana_ and _M. f. latirostra_ do not meet; the only evidence of the existence of weasels in all of the large area, comprising western Arizona and the deserts of eastern California, which intervenes between the ranges of the two subspecies is the skull of a young individual, no. 68842, Mus. Vert. Zoöl., from 10 miles northeast of Bard, Imperial County, California. There, on December 29, 1932, Jack C. vonBloeker, Jr., retrieved the weathered skull with some of the vertebrae attached, from the top of a wood rat's nest beneath a mesquite tree near the west bank of the Colorado River.

The idea that the carcass may have been washed down the river from far upstream gains no support from a comparison of the specimen itself for the tympanic bullae are larger than in _nevadensis_ and the skull is larger than the largest males seen of _arizonensis_, the two upriver races. On the basis of size the skull could be either a male of _latirostra_ or a female of _neomexicana_. These two subspecies, like _arizonensis_ and the skull in question, have much inflated bullae. However, the immaturity of the specimen conceals any other diagnostic cranial features, and prevents referring it certainly to either _neomexicana_ or _latirostra_. In any event the specimen provides no evidence of intergradation between the two forms last mentioned. Speculating on its identity, I should say that it might be either an intergrade between _arizonensis_ and _nevadensis_, from southern Utah or northwestern Arizona, or a member of an unnamed race resident in the lower part of the valley of the Colorado River.

Whereas _M. f. panamensis_ and _M. f. aureoventris_ are the darkest-colored weasels and occur in regions of heavy rainfall, _M. f. neomexicana_ is the lightest-colored American weasel and occurs in an extremely arid region where the rainfall and humidity are slight.

According to Barber and Cockerell (1898:189) "The type specimen was shot in the grass on the shore of Armstrong's Lake. . . ." Bailey (1928:97) found the tracks of one of these animals "in the great pit at the west entrance to" Carlsbad Cavern and supposes they "hunt the cave walls for mice and other small game." Data on the label attached to no. 230973 states that the specimen was taken, two miles west of Willcox, Arizona, in a prairie dog town.

Only two of the 23 skulls show evidence of infestation of the frontal sinuses by parasites.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 28, arranged alphabetically
by states and from north to south by counties in each state.
Unless otherwise indicated specimens are in the United States
National Museum.

=Arizona.= _Graham County_: Safford, 1. _Cochise County_: 2 mi. W
Willcox, 1; Willcox, 1; 8000 ft., Chiricahua Mts., 1; 6000 ft.,
Pinery Canyon, Chiricahua Mts., 1[33]; Tombstone, 1; Sulphur
Spring Valley, 1[74].

=Durango.= "Durango City," 1.

=Kansas.= _Seward County_: Liberal, 1[93].

=New Mexico.= _Bernalillo County_: 3 mi. NW Albuquerque, 2.
_Lincoln County_: 7800 ft., South Fork Eagle Creek, White Mts., 1.
_Chaves County_: Pecos River, 10 mi. E Roswell, 8[74]; Dexter,
1[74]. _Otero County_: Cloudcroft, 9000 ft., 1[90]. _Dona Ana
County_: Mesilla Park, 2 (1[75], 1[7]); Berino, 2.

=Texas.= _Culberson County_: 1-1/2 mi. NW Kent, 1[90]. _Terrel
County_: Lozier, 1.

=Mustela frenata texensis= Hall

Long-tailed Weasel

Plates 22, 23 and 24

_Mustela frenata texensis_ Hall, Carnegie Instit. Washington Publ.
473:99, November 20, 1936.

_Mustela frenata_, Strecker, The Baylor Bull., 27:14, September,
1924.

_Mustela frenata frenata_, Strecker, The Baylor Bull., 27:12,
August, 1926 (part).

_Type._--Male, adult, skull with skin of head, neck and tail; no.
14821, Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.; Kerr County, Texas; September 17,
1897; obtained by H. P. Attwater.

The skull (plates 22-24) and dentition are complete and unbroken.
The preserved parts of the skin are not stuffed.

_Range._--Lower Sonoran and possibly Upper Sonoran life-zones of
central Texas. See figure 29 on page 221.

_Characters for ready recognition._--Differs from _Mustela frenata
arthuri_ in possessing white facial markings and postorbital
breadth less than distance between posterior borders of P4 and P2;
from _M. f. frenata_ in larger size of body and skull, the basilar
length of which in adult males is more than 52.5; from _M. f.
neomexicana_ in Brussels Brown rather than Buckthorn Brown color
of upper parts and basilar length of skull more than 52.5.

_Description._--_Size._--Male: Measurements taken from the dried
skins of a young male, no. 15476, Mus. Comp. Zoöl., from Kerr
County, Texas, and a subadult male, no. 2017, Baylor Univ. Mus.,
from 5 mi. N Waco, Texas, are, respectively, as follows: Total
length, 600 and more than 510; length of tail, 200 and 225; length
of hind foot, 52 and 52.

Female: Skins unknown.

_Externals._--As described in _Mustela frenata frenata_.

_Color._--As described in _Mustela frenata frenata_.

_Skull and teeth._--Adult male: See measurements and plates 22-24.
As described in _Mustela frenata frenata_ except that: Weight, 8
grams; basilar length 54; least width of palate less than length
of P4; anterior margin of masseteric fossa anterior to middle of
m2.

Female: Skull unknown.

_Remarks._--The type specimen, taken by the veteran collector of Texan mammals, H. P. Attwater, appears to have been the first one of these animals to find its way into the collection of any museum or naturalist. The second specimen from Kerr County was secured by, or through, the well-known commercial collector, F. B. Armstrong. Two trade skins, from Kerr County, taken on December 10, 1938, are in the Texas Cooperative Research Collection, as is also the skeleton of a young animal from Fredericksburg. The two other specimens from McLennan County (both males contrary to the statement of Strecker, 1924:14), owe their preservation to the alertness of John K. Strecker, Curator of the Baylor University Museum, who has given a complete account of their history.

The range of this subspecies is thought to include much of central Texas.

The preserved parts of the skin of the type specimen show it to have been generally large. The part of the tail preserved measures 226 millimeters and the skin of the head and neck is correspondingly large. The skin alone, no. 427, from near Waco, Texas, has, as now stuffed, a body 365 millimeters long. Individuals of this race attain larger size than those of any other American member of the subgenus _Mustela_ with the possible exception of _Mustela frenata macrophonius_ from Veracruz, México. In addition to large size, _texensis_ and _macrophonius_ are analogous in that each has a small geographic range at the northern end of an extensive range of its similarly colored southern relative from which it differs mainly in size. Each of the two groups, _goldmani_ and _macrophonius_ on the one hand and _perotae_, _frenata_ and _texensis_ on the other, has relatively uniform color, color pattern and body proportions over a large region but at its northern extremity develops a "giant" population, _M. f. macrophonius_ and _M. f. texensis_, respectively. The skull of the type specimen of _M. f. texensis_ is the largest one seen of any American weasel. The type specimen of _M. f. macrophonius_ has a basilar length that is greater by one-tenth of a millimeter but in every other measurement taken the skull of _M. f. texensis_ is the larger. Its weight, 8 grams, also shows it to be larger.

The broad, white bands in front of the ears are confluent with the white patch between the eyes on both sides in two specimens and on one side only in one other specimen. A white patch between the ears is present in four specimens. The dark spot at each angle of the mouth is absent on both sides in four specimens and on one side only in one other specimen. Thus out of a possible twelve cases, the broad bands in front of the ears are confluent with the spot between the eyes in five cases. Four of the six specimens have a white spot between the ears. The dark spot at each angle of the mouth is present three out of a possible twelve times.

The skull of no. 2017, from five miles north of Waco, is smaller than either of the two skulls seen from Kerr County and in this respect approaches _M. f. frenata_. There is no actual evidence of intergradation with any other subspecies but intergradation probably does take place with _M. f. neomexicana_ and possibly with _M. f. arthuri_ and _M. f. primulina_.

Strecker (1924:14) remarks that of the two specimens obtained near Waco, one was taken in a trap baited for mink and the other was shot in a hen house. None of the four skulls had the frontal sinuses infested with parasites.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 7, arranged by counties from
north to south.

=Texas.= _McLennan County_: 5 mi. N Waco, 1[3]; Erath, 1[3].
_Gillespie County_: Fredericksburg, 1[90]. _Kerr County_: 4[75];
1[2]; and 2[90] trade skins.

=Mustela frenata frenata= Lichtenstein

Long-tailed Weasel

Plates 1, 22, 23, 24, 36, 37, 38 and 40

_Mustela frenata_ Lichtenstein, Darstellung neuer oder wenig
bekannter Säugethier, 1832, pl. 42, and corresponding text,
unpaged; Seton, Lives of game animals, 2:576, 1929.

_Mustela brasiliensis_ Sevastianoff, Mem. de l'Acad. Imp. Sci. St.
Petersburg, 4:356-363, tab. 4, 1813, name on plate only, the
description being in the text (not of Gmelin, 1788); Gray, Proc.
Zoöl. Soc. London, 1865:114.

_Putorius frenatus_, Baird Mamms. N. Amer., p. 173, 1858; Merriam,
N. Amer. Fauna, 11:26, pl. 3, figs. 1, 1a, 1b, June 30, 1896;
Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, 25:198, October 24, 1905.

_Putorius (Gale) brasiliensis aequatorialis_ Coues, Fur-bearing
animals, p. 142, 1877, part? ("merely as a substitute for Gray's
[supposedly] preoccupied name" that is, _aureoventris_).

_Putorius (Gale) brasiliensis frenatus_, Coues, Fur-bearing
animals, p. 142, 1877 (part).

_Putorius mexicanus_ Coues, Fur-bearing animals, p. 142, 1877,
[_nomen nudum_, cited by Coues in synonymy as "_Putorius
mexicanus_, Berlandier, MSS. ic. ined. 4 (Tamaulipas and
Matamoros)"].

_Putorius brasiliensis frenata_, Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., 3:219, April 17, 1891.

_Putorius brasiliensis frenatus_, Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., 6:197, May 31, 1894; Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington,
10:9, February 25, 1896; Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
8:74, April 22, 1896.

_Mustela frenata frenata_, Strecker, The Baylor Bull., 27:12,
August, 1926; Hall, Carnegie Instit. Washington Publ. 473:108,
November 20, 1936.

_Type._--Female, adult, skull and skin; no. 991, Berlin Zool.
Mus., México City, México; June, 1829; obtained by F. Deppe.

The specimen once mounted, now is remade into a study skin and
lacks the distal part of the tail. The skull (plates 36-38, 40)
lacks the basicranial region.

_Range._--Altitudinally, sea level (Brownsville, Texas) to 7600
feet (Tlalpam, México); from southern Texas as far south as México
City; Lower Sonoran to at least Transition life-zone. See figure
29 on page 221.

_Characters for ready recognition._--Differs from _M. f. perotae_
in nonextension of blackish over anterior fourth of neck, least
width of color of underparts more than 37 per cent of greatest
width of color of upper parts; height of tympanic bulla more than
distance from its anterior margin to foramen ovale; from _M. f.
leucoparia_ by restricted white facial markings that cover less
than half surface of head in front of ears, by nonextension of
black of head onto anterior half of neck and by wider (more than
7.8) tympanic bullae; from _M. f. neomexicana_ by Brussels Brown
rather than Buckthorn Brown color of upper parts and mastoid
breadth less than postpalatal length; from _M. f. texensis_ by
smaller size of body and skull (basilar length in adult males less
than 52.5); from _M. f. arthuri_ by white facial markings and
postorbital breadth less than distance between posterior borders
of P4 and P2; from _M. f. tropicalis_ by nonextension of blackish
over anterior fourth of neck, least width of underparts more than
37 per cent of greatest width of upper parts, postorbital breadth
of adult males less than distance between posterior borders of P4
and P2.

_Description._--_Size._--Male: Fifteen adults and subadults from
Brownsville, Texas, yield average and extreme measurements as
follows: Total length, 485 (430-556); length of tail, 202
(165-250); length of hind foot, 48 (40-55). Averages believed to
be reliable but extremes probably are not. Tail averages 71 per
cent as long as head and body. Length of hind foot less than basal
length. Corresponding measurements of an adult male (topotype, no.
50826) from Tlalpam, México, are: 505, 203, 53. Another adult
male, from Miquihuana, Tamaulipas, México, measures: 520, 215, 52.

Female: Six adults, subadults and young from Brownsville, Texas,
yield average and extreme measurements as follows: Total length,
420 (362-456); length of tail, 173 (126-200); length of hind foot,
41 (40-46). Tail averages 70 per cent as long as head and body.
Length of hind foot more (with possible exception of no.
36362/48732 U. S. Nat. Mus.) than basal length.

The average differences in external measurements of the two sexes
are: Total length, 65; length of tail, 29; length of hind foot, 7.

_Externals._--Longest facial vibrissae black and reaching beyond
ear; carpal vibrissae same color as underparts and extending to
apical pad of fifth digit; hairiness of foot-soles as shown in
figure 20.

_Color._--Spot between eyes, broad band, confluent with color of
underparts, on each side of head extending anterodorsally anterior
to each ear, and posterior two-thirds to one-half of each upper
lip, white; remainder of sides and top of head, posteriorly to
line connecting posterior margins of ears, blackish; dark spot
posterior to angle of mouth present on both sides in about half
the specimens; tip of tail black; remainder of upper parts
Brussels Brown; chin white; remainder of underparts near (16´_a_)
Ochraceous-Buff (same color in juveniles and young), which color
extends distally on posterior sides of forelegs over forefeet and
on medial sides of hind legs to feet and sometimes onto upper
sides of toes. Least width of color of underparts averaging, in a
series of seventeen males from Brownsville, Texas, 47 (extremes
38-53) per cent of greatest width of color of upper parts. Black
tip of tail, in same series, averaging 49 (extremes 40-55) mm.
long, thus about equal to length of hind foot and averaging 24 per
cent of length of tail-vertebrae.

_Skull and teeth._--Male (based on ten adults from Brownsville):
See measurements and plates 22-24; weight (three adults, one
topotype and two from Brownsville, Texas), 6.2 (5.3-7.2) grams;
basilar length, 49.8 (48.2-51.3); zygomatic breadth more than
distance between condylar foramen and M1 or than between anterior
palatine foramen and anterior margin of tympanic bulla; mastoidal
breadth less than postpalatal length; postorbital breadth less
than length of upper premolars (less than distance between
posterior borders of P4 and P2) and not greater (usually less)
than width of basioccipital measured from medial margin of one
foramen lacerum posterior to its opposite; interorbital breadth
not greater than distance between foramen opticum and anterior
margin of tympanic bulla; breadth of rostrum less than length of
tympanic bulla; least width of palate more or less than length of
P4; anterior margin of tympanic bulla as far posterior to foramen
ovale as width of 3 or 4 (including I3) upper incisors; height of
tympanic bulla more than distance from its anterior margin to
foramen ovale; length of tympanic bulla more than length of lower
molar and premolar tooth-row and longer or shorter (usually
longer) than rostrum; anterior margin of masseteric fossa just
behind m2.

Female (based on two adults from Brownsville, Texas): See
measurements and plates 36-38, 40; weight, 3.4 (3.3-3.5) grams;
basilar length (six, adult to young) 43.3 (41.3-47.3); zygomatic
breadth more or less than distance between condylar foramen and M1
and more than distance between anterior palatine foramen and
anterior margin of tympanic bulla; postorbital breadth less than
length of upper premolars and more or less than (about equal to)
width of basioccipital measured from medial margin of one foramen
lacerum posterior to its opposite; least width of palate less than
outside length of P4; tympanic bulla as far posterior to foramen
ovale as width of 2 to 3-1/2 (including I3) upper incisors; height
of tympanic bulla more than distance from its anterior margin to
foramen ovale; length of tympanic bulla more than length of lower
molar and premolar tooth-row and longer or shorter than rostrum.

The skull of the female averages 45 per cent lighter than that of
the average male.

Comparison of the skull with those of _M. f. arthuri_, _tropicalis_, _perotae_, _leucoparia_ and _neomexicana_ has been made in accounts of those subspecies. As compared with _M. f. texensis_ (known only from males), the only difference detected is smaller size.

_Remarks._--As Merriam (1896:27) has said: "In 1813 a Russian naturalist, Sevastianoff, gave the name '_Mustela brasiliensis_' to a weasel brought to St. Petersburg by Capt. A. J. Krusenstern on his return from a voyage around the world. The animal was said to have come from Brazil, but no definite locality was given." This name was long applied by many European naturalists to American weasels which had white facial markings, and several American naturalists adopted the name. However, Lichtenstein in 1832 applied the name _Mustela frenata_ to the weasels of the vicinity of México City and that name was used for bridled weasels from México and the southwestern United States by most subsequent German writers and by several Americans. In 1896 Merriam (1896:27) showed that Sevastianoff's _Mustela brasiliensis_, 1813, although probably the same as _Mustela frenata_, was preoccupied by Gmelin's _Mustela brasiliensis_, 1788, applied to an otter and that Lichtenstein's name must be used as the next available one. Since that time, 1896, _frenata_ has been the name applied to the large bridled-weasels of Texas and the high table land of México south to México City. It may be added that in 1937 search by the writer among the specimens and records at the Russian Academy of Sciences, in Leningrad, failed to reveal any trace of the type specimen of Sevastianoff's _Mustela brasiliensis_.

The geographic range of this subspecies is relatively large and, as might therefore be expected, specimens show geographic variation. The specimens from Tlalpam, which Merriam (_op. cit._:27) regards as topotypes, differ in certain respects from specimens from Texas. The skull of the adult male "topotype," no. 50826, differs from any other adult male seen in that the basilar length, the length of the upper tooth-rows, the orbitonasal length, the ratio of the same to the basilar length, the mastoidal breadth, the zygomatic breadth, the depth of the skull at the posterior margins of the upper molars, and the length and breadth of M1, are greater. The height of the tympanic bullae is less than the average height for these structures in more northern specimens. The specimens from Tlalpam have also larger external measurements than the average of more northern specimens. All of these features show an approach to the subspecies of more southern distribution. On the other hand, the blackish of the head is not more intense or more extended posteriorly onto the neck than in specimens from Brownsville, Texas. The skin, with skull crushed, no. 767, in the Paris Museum, from 3200 meters elevation near Toluca, does have the black color of the head extended 30 millimeters posteriorly to the ears. In this feature, and also in the extensively white face on which the white bar in front of each ear connects with the frontal spot, as well as with the color of the underparts, the specimen resembles _leucoparia_. Better material from the western part of the state of México may show the range of _leucoparia_ to extend eastward almost or quite to Toluca.

An adult male, taken on July 15 at Miquihuana, Tamaulipas, is unique in several respects. The top of its head is black, rather than blackish, and this color extends posteriorly on the top and sides of the neck almost halfway to the shoulders. All of the upper parts are much more darkly colored than in other specimens of this race. The least width of the color of the underparts is 63 per cent of the greatest width of the color of the upper parts; thus the color of the underparts is considerably more extensive than in any other specimen seen. The underparts are more intensely colored than in the average specimen. The mastoidal breadth is greater than in any other adult male and amounts to more than the postpalatal length. On available maps the elevation of Miquihuana is given as 1892 meters (about 6200 feet). Thus the dark colors can hardly be ascribed to more tropical conditions than those under which animals from Brownsville, Texas, live. Brownsville is only a few feet above sea level and only 235 miles farther north. The difference noted, therefore, seems to be of geographic significance. However, there is from Alvarez, San Luis Potosí, approximately 115 miles south of Miquihuana, a young (nearly subadult) female, no. 21968, which is as light colored as specimens from Brownsville, Texas, or Tlalpam, México. The only distinctive feature of this specimen is the much greater extent of its white facial markings; they are more extensive even than in the specimen from Miquihuana.

Finally, the series from Brownsville, Texas, indicates that the animal there is smaller than _frenata_ from the vicinity of México (city). The skull is similarly proportioned except that relative to the basilar length the orbitonasal length is more. Several other measurements of the skull of the adult male from Tlalpam, as pointed out above, are actually, although not relatively, greater than in any specimen from Brownsville. The similarities between specimens from the two localities, Tlalpam and Brownsville, are striking; since the two localities lie at opposite, extreme ends of the range more geographic variation would be expected. All that is known of the characters of populations from intermediate localities is that the one specimen from Alvarez shows no peculiarities whereas the one from Miquihuana suggests the existence there of a geographic variant.

None of the specimens seen shows actual intergradation with _M. f. neomexicana_ or with _M. f. arthuri_ but it is supposed that frenata intergrades with each of these subspecies. The difference between _frenata_ and _arthuri_ is greater than between _frenata_ and _neomexicana_. Bailey (1905:198) records tracks of a weasel seen just below El Paso which he supposed had been made by a weasel of the _neomexicana_ type. He also cited the taking of a weasel at Langtry which suggested to him (_op. cit._) ". . . a continuous range from the country of _frenatus_ up the Rio Grande to the type locality of _neomexicanus_ at Mesilla Valley," New Mexico. Other records of occurrence in Texas cited by Bailey, in addition to those provided by specimens examined by the writer, are San Diego, Beeville, and Port Lavaca. The Port Lavaca record is the easternmost one assigned to the subspecies _frenata_; possibly specimens from there would be referable to _arthuri_.

The series of thirty-four specimens from Brownsville, Texas, permits measuring the amount of individual and age variation in several features. For instance, the material is sufficient to show that external measurements of subadults and those that fall in the upper part of the category designated as "young" may be included with the measurements of adults, because the mentioned measurements are not appreciably greater in adults. The series of skulls, although not providing more than six of any one age, shows the range of variation in size and proportion of certain parts and enables the student the better to evaluate cranial characters of nearby races known from only a few specimens. For example, not one of the twenty skulls of males from Brownsville and immediate vicinity is as large as either of the two specimens of _texensis_ from Kerr County.

The white facial markings vary much in size and shape. In the series of thirty-four skins from Brownsville the broad white bands in front of the ears are confluent with the white patch between the eyes on both sides in three specimens and on one side only in six other specimens. These bands are confluent with the color of the underparts in all but two specimens. In one specimen the connection is lacking on both sides and in the other on one side only. A white patch between the ears is present in two specimens. The dark spot at each angle of the mouth is absent on both sides in eleven specimens and absent on one side only in ten others.

In six other specimens from parts of Texas north of Brownsville, the broad white bands in front of the ears are confluent with the white patch between the eyes on both sides in one specimen. A white spot between the ears is present in one specimen. The dark spot at each angle of the mouth is absent on both sides in six specimens and on one side only in three other specimens.

In eleven specimens from México, the broad white bands in front of the ears are confluent with the white spot between the eyes on both sides in two specimens and on one side only in one other specimen. The white spot between the ears is present in one specimen. The dark spot at each angle of the mouth is absent on both sides, in six specimens, and on one side only in one other specimen.

Thus, in 51 specimens the broad bands (one in front of each ear) are confluent with the white patch between the eyes in nineteen out of 100 instances, and not with the color of the underparts in three instances. A white spot between the ears is present in four specimens. The dark spot at each angle of the mouth is present 47 out of a possible 98 times.

Four juvenal specimens from Brownsville, Texas, with their dates of capture and probable age, are as follows: no. 58574, [F], three weeks old, taken on February 15; no. 17318/24239, [M], four weeks old, taken on March 16; no. 45899, [F], forty days old, taken on May 21; no. 21778/36481, [M], thirty days old, taken on October 20. In the order given, the dates of birth of these four juveniles would be approximately as follows: January 25, February 15, April 1, and September 20. The dates of birth of other specimens less than three months old as judged by the stage of development of the skull, and reckoning backward from the dates of capture, are as follows: April 1, April 30, May 25, October 12, and December 21. Thus, young appear to be brought forth at Brownsville, Texas, in the fall, winter and spring, that is to say from the latter part of September until the latter part of May.

_Mustela frenata frenata_ is either free of the parasites that infest the frontal sinuses of most weasels, or withstands their presence remarkably well, for only one skull shows a definite pathological condition of the frontal sinuses.

Allen (1896:74) quotes H. P. Attwater, with respect to this species in Bexar County, Texas, as follows: "Not common, but occasionally met within the chaparral and cactus lands, where Wood Rats, Rabbits and Quail abound. They were frequently met with around San Antonio during the great 'Tramp Rat' [= _Sigmodon hispidus texianus_, see Bailey (1905:116)] invasion of 1889-90."

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 63, arranged by counties, and
in México by states, from north to south. Unless otherwise
indicated specimens are in the collection of the United States
National Museum.

=Texas.= _Bexar County_: San Antonio, 2 (1[2]). _Goliad County_:
Charco, 1. _Nueces County_: Corpus Christi, 1[2]. _San Diego
County_ (not found), 1. _Hidalgo County_: La Hacienda, 1. _Duval
County_: San Diego, 2[7]. _County_ in question: Lower Rio Grande,
1. _Cameron County_: Brownsville, 34 (3[2], 4[1], 3[93], 2[75],
1[59], 1[60], 1[4]); no locality more definite than county, 2.

=Nuevo León.= Río Ramis, 20 mi. NW Montemorelos, 1[90].

=Tamaulipas.= Matamoros, 6; Miquihuana (now in Nuevo León), 1[75].

=San Luis Potosí.= Alvarez, 1[75].

=México=: Region montagneuse des environs de Toluca, Nevada
Toluca, 3200 M., 1[84]

=Distrito Federal.= City of México, 2 (1[4]); Tlalpam, 2. No
locality more definite than México, 4 (1[4], 3[7]).

=Mustela frenata leucoparia= (Merriam)

Long-tailed Weasel

Plates 1, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 36, 37 and 38

_Putorius frenatus leucoparia_ Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 11:28, June
30, 1896.

_Putorius brasiliensis frenatus_, Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., 2:165, October 21, 1889.

_Putorius frenatus frenatus_, Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
22:259, July 25, 1906.

_Mustela frenata leucoparia_, Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull.,
79:100, December 31, 1912; Hall, Carnegie Instit. Washington
Publ. 473:108, November 20, 1936.

_Type._--Male, adult, skull and skin; no. 34914/47179, U. S. Nat.
Mus., Biol. Surv. Coll.; Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, México; July 27,
1892; obtained by E. W. Nelson; original no. 2960.

The skull (plates 29 and 30) lacks most of the braincase; a
fragment, consisting of the supraoccipital and the coalesced
frontals and parietals remains. The rostrum, left zygomatic arch,
palate, left pterygoid, left glenoid fossa and right postorbital
process are intact. The teeth all are present and entire. The
lower jaw lacks the right coronoid process and the lateral part of
the articular condyle. The skin is well made and in good
condition. It differs from an adult male topotype (36855, U. S.
Nat. Mus.) and other referred specimens in having: the black of
the head extended farther posteriorly on the neck, the maximum
amount of white on the head, and a white stripe 50 mm. long
extending down the middle of the nape from a point between the
ears more than half way to the shoulders.

_Range._--Sonoran and Transition life-zones of mountains west of
México (city) in Michoacán and Nayarit. See figure 29 on page 221.

_Characters for ready recognition._--Differs from _M. f. goldmani_
in least width of color of underparts more than 47 per cent of
greatest width of color of upper parts, hind feet colored like
underparts rather than like upper parts; postorbital constriction
less than, rather than more than, combined length of upper
premolars; from _M. f. macrophonius_ by same details of coloration
as from _goldmani_ and by ventrally concave rather than ventrally
convex pretympanic part of squamosal; from _M. f. perotae_ by
least width of color of underparts more than 40 per cent of
greatest width of color up upper parts; height of tympanic bulla
more than three-fifths distance from its anterior margin to
foramen ovale; from _M. f. frenata_ by white facial markings that
cover half of surface of head in front of ears, by extension of
black of head onto neck halfway to shoulders and by narrower (less
than 7.8) tympanic bullae; from _M. f. neomexicana_ by Argus Brown
rather than Buckthorn Brown color of upper parts and distance from
anterior margin of tympanic bulla to foramen ovale more, rather
than less, than four-fifths of height of tympanic bulla.

_Description._--_Size._--Male: Two adults and one young from Los
Reyes and Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, yield average and extreme
measurements as follows: Total length, 514 (510-523); length of
tail, 206 (196-215); length of hind foot, 55 (52-58). Tail
averages 67 per cent as long as head and body. Length of hind foot
more than basal length.

Female: One adult from Artenkiki, Jalisco, and one subadult from
Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, measure, respectively, as follows: Total
length, 412, 400; length of tail, 159, 159; length of hind foot,
41, 42. Tail averages 64 per cent as long as head and body. Length
of hind foot equal to or greater than basal length.

The average differences in external measurements of the two sexes
are: Total length, 108; length of tail, 47; length of hind foot,
13.

_Mustela frenata leucoparia_ has a greater total length and length
of tail than either _M. f. frenata_ or _goldmani_. The hind foot
is longer than that of _frenata_ and approximately the same as in
_goldmani_. Relative to the body length, the tail averages longer
than that of _goldmani_ and shorter than that of _frenata_.

_Externals._--As described in _Mustela frenata frenata_.

_Color._--Broad white bands on sides of head, extending
anterodorsally anterior to each ear, confluent with white spot
between eyes and with color of underparts; posterior third of each
upper lip white; remainder of sides and top of head, and neck
posteriorly to point halfway to shoulders from ears, black; no
dark spots at angles of mouth; tip of tail black; remainder of
upper parts Argus Brown; chin white and sometimes also chest, neck
and medial sides of hind legs; remainder of underparts near (16´)
Ochraceous-Buff (near (_a_) Ochraceous-Buff in juvenal female),
which color extends distally over all of each foreleg (except its
lateral face proximally from about middle of forearm) and on
medial side of hind leg and over most of upper side of each foot.
Least width of color of underparts averaging, in eight specimens,
54 (extremes 44-61) per cent of greatest width of color of upper
parts; black tip of tail averaging, in four males, 52 (extremes
38-78) mm. long, thus averaging 25 per cent of length of
tail-vertebrae.

As compared with _M. f. frenata_ and _goldmani_: white facial
markings more extensive; color of underparts less restricted and
more extended on legs; black tip of tail relatively of about same
extent as in _frenata_ and thus much less than in _goldmani_;
black color of head extending farther posteriorly than in
_frenata_ but not so far as in _goldmani_.

_Skull and teeth._--Male (adult): See measurements and plates
24-26, 29, 30. As described in _Mustela frenata frenata_ except
that: Weight (no. 128972) 6.3 grams; basilar length, 51.2;
interorbital breadth less than distance between foramen opticum
and anterior margin of tympanic bulla; anterior margin of tympanic
bulla as far posterior to foramen ovale as width of 4 or 5 upper
incisors; height of tympanic bulla more or less than (about equal
to) distance from its anterior margin to foramen ovale; anterior
margin of masseteric fossa anywhere from slightly anterior, to
slightly posterior, to m2.