Part 36

_Type._--Male, adult, skull and skin; no. 65930, U. S. Nat. Mus., Biol. Surv. Coll.; Siskiyou, Jackson County, Oregon; June 6, 1894; obtained by C. P. Streator; original no. 3905.

The skull (plates 19-21, 30) lacks the middle part of each zygomatic arch. The teeth all are present although much worn, probably from gnawing at the trap which captured the animal. The skin, in fresh summer pelage, is fairly well made.

_Range._--Transition and Boreal life-zones of Siskiyou and Trinity mountains in southern Oregon and northwestern California. See figures 29 and 30 on pages 221 and 314.

_Characters for ready recognition._--Differs from _M. f. nevadensis_ in lacking light color of underparts on tail and ankle and in greater average breadth across mastoid processes of skull (see measurements); from _M. f. oregonensis_ in lacking white nasofrontal spot, in having color of underparts interrupted at ankle; from _M. f. munda_ in lacking white nasofrontal spot, in smaller and relatively deeper skull of males and smaller skull of the female.

_Description._--_Size._--Male: Four adult males (the type, 1 from Mt. Ashland and 2 from Jackson Lake) yield average and extreme measurements as follows: Total length, 414 (402-437); length of tail, 150 (136-160); length of hind foot, 46 (43-50). Tail averages 57 (49-62) per cent as long as head and body. Length of hind foot more or less than basal length.

Female: One young from the summit of the Trinity Mountains east of Hoopa and one nontypical adult from 5500 feet elevation on South Fork Mountain, Humboldt County, measure respectively as follows: Total length, 330, 325; length of tail, 115, 123; length of hind foot, 37, 37. Tail is 53 and 61 per cent as long as head and body. Length of hind foot less than basal length.

Average differences in external measurements between the two sexes, indicated by the unsatisfactory material available, are: Total length, 86; length of tail, 31; length of hind foot, 9.

_Externals._--Longest facial vibrissae black or dark brown and extending beyond ear; carpal vibrissae same color as underparts and extending as far as apical pad of fifth digit; hairiness of foot-soles, in summer pelage, as shown in figure 19.

_Color._--Upper parts, in summer, Brussels Brown to near (_n_) Brussels Brown or lighter than tone 3 of Raw Umber of Oberthür and Dauthenay, pl. 301, usually darkest on nose and forehead. Chin white. Remainder of underparts Buff-Yellow to Warm Buff. Tip of tail black. Winter pelage unknown. Color of underparts extends distally on posterior sides of forelegs over toes onto antipalmar faces of feet and sometimes wrists, on medial sides of hind legs only to ankles, but toes sometimes with isolated white markings. Least width of color of underparts in the type and 2 adults from Jackson Lake averaging 35 (30-40) per cent of greatest width of color of upper parts. Black tip of tail averaging 54 (53-55) mm. long; thus longer than hind foot and averaging 37 per cent of length of tail-vertebrae.

_Skull and teeth._--Male (based on 4 adults: Type, Mt. Ashland, 1; Jackson Lake, 2): See measurements and plates 19-21, 30. As described in _Mustela frenata nevadensis_ except that: Weight, 3.8 (3.5-4.3) grams; basilar length, 44.4 (42.6-45.8); zygomatic breadth more or less than distance between condylar foramen and M1 or than distance between anterior palatine foramen and anterior margin of tympanic bulla; mastoid breadth more than postpalatal length; least width of palate less than medial length of P4 (except in one specimen).

Female (based on one adult possibly not typical, from 5500 ft., South Fork Mt.): See measurements. As described in _Mustela frenata nevadensis_ except that: Weight, 2.2 grams; basilar length, 38.1; zygomatic breadth less than distance between condylar foramen and M1 and less than distance between anterior palatine foramen and anterior margin of tympanic bulla; postorbital breadth more than width of basioccipital measured from medial margin of one foramen lacerum posterior to its opposite.

The skull of the male of _saturata_, relative to the basilar length, is broader across the mastoids and narrower across the rostrum and interorbital region than that of _nevadensis_. Skull not known certainly to differ from that of _oregonensis_. Compared with the skull of _munda_, that of the male of _saturata_ is smaller in every part measured except depth of tympanic bullae which averages 3.6 millimeters, rather than 3.5 as in _munda_. Also, the skull of _saturata_ has a less-marked postorbital constriction, is less heavily ridged, less angular, does not have the impressions of the temporal muscles carried so far forward on the frontal bones and is relatively much narrower across the zygomatic arches.

_Remarks._--In 1896, Merriam named _M. f. saturata_ as a distinct species on the basis of one specimen, taken by Clark P. Streator at Siskiyou, Oregon, and a second specimen taken the year previously by Allan C. Brooks at Chilliwack, British Columbia. On the basis of these two specimens, Merriam (1896:22) ascribed to the race a range ". . . on the Cascade and Siskiyou mountains of Oregon and Washington, reaching a short distance into British Columbia." Since that time, this name, _saturata_, has been employed for the dark-colored weasels, of the coastal region of Oregon, Washington, and extreme southwestern British Columbia, which here are arranged under the name _M. f. altifrontalis_. _M. f. saturata_ proves to be restricted to the humid mountainous region inland from the coast in northern California and in the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon. Its range is separated by that of _M. f. oregonensis_ from the range of the darker-colored, deeper-skulled, _M. f. altifrontalis_ of the humid costal region proper.

On May 5, 1933, Mr. Clark P. Streator, informed the writer that he remembered taking the type specimen of _Mustela frenata saturata_ (Merriam) in the town of Siskiyou, Oregon. The exact place, he said, was reached, at the time of his work there, by going one or two blocks east of the depot, then through a garden into the thick woods where there were springs and numerous burrows of the rodent, _Aplodontia_. Two other weasels labeled as taken at Siskiyou, on September 28 and 29, 1893, by Mr. Streator, are much lighter colored than the type of _saturata_ and have the color of the underparts extended distally on the hind legs to the tips of the toes and in other features of coloration are more like _nevadensis_, the subspecies to which they are referred, than _saturata_. Probably these did not come from exactly the same place that the type specimen of _saturata_ did. Although Mr. Streator does not remember the taking of these particular specimens in 1893, he does remember that on this visit to Siskiyou, he walked southward through the railroad tunnel and collected on the opposite side of the ridge from Siskiyou. Here on more southern exposures, the country was markedly different than in the thick forest at Siskiyou. Probably these two specimens taken in 1893, and referred to _nevadensis_, came from a little way south of Siskiyou and from a different habitat and life-zone than the type specimen of _M. f. saturata_.

Of the 6 specimens examined, only one, the type, shows malformation of the frontal sinuses such as result from infestation by parasites.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 6, as follows:

=California.= _Siskiyou County_: Jackson Lake, 5900 ft., 2, Mus. Vert. Zoöl. _Humboldt County_: South Fork Mt., 5500 ft., 1, Mus. Vert. Zoöl. _County_ in question, Trinity Mts., summit east of Hoopa, 5800 ft., 1, U. S. Nat. Mus.

=Oregon.= _Jackson County_: Mt. Ashland, 1, Univ. Oreg.; Siskiyou, 1, U. S. Nat. Mus.

=Mustela frenata altifrontalis= Hall

Long-tailed Weasel

Plates 1, 19, 20, 21, 34, 35 and 36

_Mustela frenata altifrontalis_ Hall, Carnegie Instit. Washington Publ. 473:94, November 20, 1936.

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

_Putorius saturatus_ Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 11:21, June 30, 1896 (part).

_Mustela saturata_, Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull., 79:98, December 31, 1912.

_Type._--Male, adult, skull and skin; no. 42093, Mus. Vert. Zoöl.; Tillamook, Tillamook County, Oregon; July 10, 1928; obtained by Alex Walker; original no. 717.

The skull is complete and unbroken. P3 on the left side is missing; otherwise the teeth all are present and entire. The skin is well made and the enlarged scrotal pouch shows the collector's sexing of the specimen to have been correct.

_Range._--Altitudinally from sea level up to at least 4800 feet (Mount Baker) in the Transition Life-zone of the humid, coastal region of Oregon, Washington and extreme southwestern British Columbia. See figure 29 on page 221.

_Characters for ready recognition._--Differs from _M. f. nevadensis_ in tone 4 of Brownish Drab, pl. 302, rather than tones 1-3, of Raw Umber, pl. 301, of Oberthür and Dauthenay of upper parts, in near (14 _a´_ to 16 _c´_) Ochraceous-Buff rather than Buff-Yellow to Straw Yellow of underparts, in that least width of color of underparts amounts to less than 37 per cent of greatest width of color of upper parts, in absence of color of underparts on ventral side of tail and on hind leg distal to knee, and in greater depth of skull through frontal region; from _M. f. washingtoni_ in darker color of upper parts and underparts, latter near (14 _a_´ to 16 _c_´) Ochraceous-Buff rather than ranging from Buff-Yellow to Naples Yellow, in deeper skull in both sexes (see measurements), in males a shorter preorbital region, broader skull with longer bullae and in females a larger skull with interorbital breadth averaging more than 24 per cent of basilar length; from _M. f. oregonensis_ in frontonasal white patch absent, color above darker (tone 4 of Brownish Drab, pl. 302, rather than tone 2 to 3 of Raw Umber, pl. 301 of Oberthür and Dauthenay), light-colored underparts narrower and not extended distally beyond knee, in females tooth-row shorter, amounting to less than 38 per cent of basilar length.

_Description._--_Size._--Male: Eight adult topotypes yield average and extreme measurements as follows: Total length, 426 (392-445); length of tail, 160 (148-170); length of hind foot, 47 (42-53). Tail averages 60 per cent as long as head and body. Length of hind foot averages more than basal length.

Female: Five adults from Tillamook and Blaine, Oregon, yield average and extreme measurements as follows: Total length, 347 (320-370); length of tail, 125 (114-131); length of hind foot, 38 (35-44). Tail averages 56 per cent as long as head and body. Length of hind foot less than basal length.

The average differences in the external measurements are: Total length, 79; length of tail, 35; length of hind foot, 9.

_Externals._--Longest facial vibrissae black, brown or white (often all three colors in same specimen) and extending beyond ear; carpal vibrissae same color as underparts and extending to or beyond apical pad of fifth digit; hairiness of foot-soles (in summer pledge) slightly less than shown in figure 19.

_Color._--Upper parts, in summer, near (_n_) Argus Brown or tone 4 of Brownish Drab of Oberthür and Dauthenay, pl. 302. Dark spot at each angle of mouth well developed; often fused with color of upper parts which sometimes covers lower lips. Chin white. Remainder of underparts near (14 _a´_ to 16 _c´_) Ochraceous-Buff. In winter, upper parts near (14) Argus Brown with smoked effect and Warm Buff to Naples Yellow below. Tip of tail at all times black. Color of underparts extends distally on posterior sides of forelegs over toes onto antipalmar faces of feet and usually all of wrists, on medial side of hind legs typically only to knee but sometimes to ankle. Tips of toes of hind feet almost always marked with color of underparts. Least width of color of underparts averaging in a series of 14 males from Blaine, Oregon, 23 (14-36) per cent of greatest width of color of upper parts. Black tip of tail in 8 adult males from Blaine, Oregon, averaging 59 (47-70) mm. long; thus longer than hind foot and averaging 37 per cent of length of tail-vertebrae.

_Skull and teeth._--Male (based on 9 adults from Blaine, Tillamook Co., Oregon): See measurements and plates 19-21; weight, 4.4 (3.3-5.3) grams; basilar length, 45.6 (42.4-47.7); zygomatic breadth more or less (usually more) than distance between condylar foramen and M1 or than between anterior palatine foramen and anterior margin of tympanic bulla; mastoid breadth more or less (usually more) than postpalatal length; postorbital breadth less (except in some instances of malformations of frontal sinuses which result from infestation by parasites) than length of upper premolars and more or less than width of basioccipital measured from medial margin of one foramen lacerum posterior to its opposite; interorbital breadth more or less 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 to 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 more or less than orbitonasal length; anterior margin of masseteric fossa directly below m2.

Female (based on 4 adults): See measurements and plates 34-36; weight, 2.2 (2.2-2.3) grams; basilar length, 38.1 (37.8-39.7); zygomatic breadth more or less (less in three of four specimens) than distance between condylar foramen and M1 or than between anterior palatine foramen and anterior margin of tympanic bulla; relation of postorbital breadth to other measurements in doubt because of malformation of frontal sinuses by parasites; least width of palate not less than greatest length of P4; tympanic bulla as far posterior to foramen ovale as width of 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 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.

Compared with the skull of _M. f. washingtoni_ that of each sex of _altifrontalis_ averages slightly larger in every measurement taken, except measurements of teeth which are approximately the same, and is relatively deeper through the frontal region and through the braincase as measured at the anterior margin of the basioccipital. Skulls of females of _altifrontalis_ have a relatively broader interorbital region. Skulls of males of _altifrontalis_ further differ in having relatively, as well as actually, longer tympanic bullae, relatively lesser orbitonasal length and a greater relative breadth across the mastoids and across zygomata. Compared with _M. f. nevadensis_, the skull of the male of _altifrontalis_ averages slightly larger and heavier although the skulls of females are of approximately the same size and weight. Relative to the basilar length, the skulls of both sexes are deeper through the braincase and narrower across the mastoids; the rostrum is broader, especially in males; the tooth-rows are shorter and the interorbital breadth less, especially in females. Comparison with the skull of _oregonensis_ is made in the account of that subspecies.

_Remarks._--Until the present study was begun, animals of this race have gone under the name _Mustela saturata_ (Merriam). The United States National Museum has a juvenile taken, in 1858, by Wayne at Astoria, O. T.; the Samuel N. Rhoads collection contained one specimen taken in 1891, at Tacoma, Washington; one in the Bangs' collection was taken at Chilliwack, British Columbia, in 1895, and the Field Museum has one taken on the Olympic Peninsula in 1898. The best material is that collected by Alex Walker, at Tillamook, Oregon.

Intergradation with _nevadensis_ is indicated by several specimens. The coloration of the one adult female, no. 90, Chas. R. Conner Mus., from Swamp Creek, Washington, has the color of the underparts extended down the hind legs over the feet, and over the proximal third of the ventral face of the tail as in _nevadensis_ although the other two specimens from the same place have the color pattern of _altifrontalis_. Of the four specimens from British Columbia referred to this subspecies, only the specimen from Chilliwack is typical as regards color pattern. The one from Cultus Lake has the color pattern of _nevadensis_ and might be referred to that race almost as well as to _altifrontalis_. The two specimens from Lihumption Park are intermediate between the two races in tone of color. Neither has the color of the underparts extended onto the tail or continuously over the hind feet as in _nevadensis_ but each does have the color of the underparts less restricted and of lighter hue than in _altifrontalis_. Only one of the specimens, no. 7848 Canad. Nat. Mus., from Lihumption Park is adult and it has a skull which agrees with that of _altifrontalis_ rather than _nevadensis_.

After writing the above, a good representation of the weasel population along the eastern side of Puget Sound was made available by friends in that area. Study of the weasels from there shows that their color is intermediate between that of _altifrontalis_ and _nevadensis_. On the whole, they (specimens from Bellingham, for example) resemble one subspecies about as much as the other. In cranial characters some specimens, in certain features, approach _nevadensis_ but most specimens agree with _altifrontalis_ and all are more nearly like _altifrontalis_ to which race all are referred.

The color of these animals is to me indistinguishable from that of _washingtoni_. The color of _washingtoni_ is merely intermediate between that of _nevadensis_ and _altifrontalis_. Nevertheless, the race _washingtoni_ has cranial characters (long narrow skull) which set it off from both _altifrontalis_ and _nevadensis_. This shape of skull is not found in the specimens from along the eastern side of Puget Sound; these animals have skulls like that of _altifrontalis_ and when departures from this occur they are in the direction of _nevadensis_ and not _washingtoni_.

The above, then, explains why specimens which are colored like those of _washingtoni_ are not referred to that race but instead to the race _altifrontalis_.

Of 23 adult skulls examined, 19 have the frontal sinuses malformed as the result of infestation by parasites.

_Specimens examined._--Total number, 80, arranged within states by counties from north to south. Unless otherwise indicated specimens are in the United States National Museum.

=British Columbia.= _Chilliwack_, 1[74], Lihumption Park, 4750 ft., 2[77]; Cultus Lake, 1[77].

=Oregon.= _Clatsop County_: Old Fort Clatsop, 1[74]; Astoria, 1. _Tillamook County_: Tillamook, 12 (7[14], 2[74], 2[2], 1[46]); Netarts, 1[46]; Blaine, 16 (13[14], 1[93], 1[76], 1[59]). _Lane County_: Reed, 1; Mercer, 1[46]. _Curry County_: Langlois, 1[46].

=Washington.= _Whatcom County_: Nooksack River, 2000 ft., 14 mi. E Glacier, 1; Swamp Creek, 2050 ft., Nooksack River, 3[10]; Lookout, 4800 ft., Mt. Baker, 2[10]; Bellingham, 8[25]; 5 mi. S Bellingham, 1[49]. _Skagit County_: Rockport, 300 ft., 1. _King County_: Bothell, 2[94]; N Seattle 1[51]; Seattle, 1[49]; Tye, 1[51], 2 mi. E Skykomish, 1[51]; 7 mi. E Kent, 1[76]; Auburn, 3[94]. _Pierce County_: Tacoma, 1[1]. _Clallam County_: Sequim, 1[49]; Soleduc Riv., near [_sic._] Sappho, 1[49]; Happy Lake, 1[60]; mouth of Boulder Creek, Elwha River, 560 ft., Olympic Mts., 1; Hume's Ranch, 1000 ft., Elwha River, 1; Bogachiel Riv., 1[49]. _Mason County_: Lake Cushman, 2; 4 mi. N Shelton, 1[51]. _Thurston County_: Olympia, 2[49]; Tenino, 1[51]. _Pacific County_: 2-1/2 mi. SE Chinook, 3[74].

=Mustela frenata oregonensis= (Merriam)

Long-tailed Weasel

Plates 19, 20, 21, 30, 34, 35 and 36

_Putorius xanthogenys oregonensis_ Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 11:25, June 30, 1896; Bangs, Proc. New England Zoöl. Club, 1:57, June 9, 1899.

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

_Mustela xanthogenys munda_, Grinnell, Univ. California Publ. Zoöl., 40:102, September 26, 1933 (part).

_Mustela frenata oregonensis_, Hall, Carnegie Instit. Washington Publ. 473:107, November 20, 1936.

_Type._--Male, subadult, skull and skin; no. 32019/43828, U. S. Nat. Mus., Biol. Surv. Coll.; Grants Pass, Rogue River Valley, Josephine County, Oregon; December 19, 1891; obtained by C. P. Streator; original no. 1404.

The skull (plates 19-21, 30) is complete and unbroken. P3 on the left side is missing. Otherwise the teeth all are present although worn probably as a result of gnawing at the trap which captured the specimen. The skin, in brown, winter pelage, is fairly well made.

Although the label on the skin and the label in the skull vial each give the sex of the specimen as female, and although Merriam (1896:25) regarded the specimen as a female, the present writer regards the specimen as a male.

It is as large as other undoubted males and larger than any known female of this subspecies. The labels with the skull and skin give the locality as "Rogue River Valley, Oregon." The listing here of the more restricted locality, Grants Pass, is made on the basis of Merriam's (1896:25) original description of the subspecies.

_Range._--Transition and Canadian life-zones along coast of northern California and southern Oregon from Humboldt County, California, north through Curry County, Oregon, thence inland, west of the Cascades, north to the Columbia River. See figures 29 and 30 on pages 221 and 314.