Part 34

The application of the name streatori is difficult because it was based on a specimen from a place where two clines cross. The north-south cline is one of size which decreases to the south. The east-west cline is one of intensity of color, the westernmost (coastal) population being the most intensely colored. The type locality of streatori is at the place where two lines perpendicular to one another, and representing the two clines, cross. This intersection is near the place where the ranges of several subspecies meet. The nomenclatural question is, to which one of 6 subspecies should the name streatori apply. Specimens from barely within the geographic boundaries of four of these subspecies so closely resemble topotypes of streatori that a student with material at his disposal from only the area about Puget Sound naturally would apply the name streatori to all of his specimens, and knowing even of the arrangement adopted in the present account the student will have difficulty in identifying his specimens according to it. Not only will the student find the arrangement difficult, but probably unsatisfactory if he thinks of streatori as being the kind of animal represented by topotypes. I conceive of topotypes of streatori as being nontypical of the subspecies; they are intergrades with fallenda. My aim was initially to work out the geographic ranges of subspecies and only subsequently to apply names, according to which type localities fell within the previously determined geographic ranges. By this procedure no greater weight was given to a holotype and to topotypes than to specimens from any other locality.

Of the 40 specimens seen in winter pelage, only one is white. It is from Darrington in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. The 39 others are brown and I doubt that the white pelage ever occurs in the low coastal territory included within the geographic range of streatori. This subspecies resembles anguinae and olympica in the great extension of area of the dark-colored upper parts at the expense of the area of the light-colored underparts. The usual arrangement is one where the brown of the two sides nearly meets on the midventral line leaving a sizable, inguinal area of light color connected by a thin line to the sizable area of light color on the pectoral region. The light color of the pectoral area ordinarily is continuous with the light-colored area of the throat and chin but the dark color of the upper parts extends around in front of each foreleg. These extensions of dark color meet on the chest in only 2 of the 56 specimens examined in this regard. Across the abdomen the dark color is continuous in 4 of the 56 specimens. The lower lips are brown instead of white in only 3 individuals and in 2 of these the lip of one side is brown and its opposite is white. The variation in color-pattern is less than in anguinae or than in fallenda.

Specimens examined.--Total number, 63, arranged alphabetically by states, then by counties from north to south in each state. Unless otherwise indicated, specimens are in the U. S. National Museum.

=California.= Humboldt County: 10 mi. NE Carlotta, 1. Mendocino County: Russian Gulch State Park, 1. Sonoma County: Mouth of Gualala River, 1.

=Oregon.= Clatsop County: Astoria, 1. Tillamook County: Tillamook, 16 (14, 1); Blaine, 12 (7, 2, 1, 2). Washington County: Beaverton, 1; Forest Grove, 1. Clackamas County: Oregon City, 1. Lincoln County: Newport, 1. Linn County: Sico, 1. Lane County: Vida Fish Hatchery, 2; McKenzie Bridge, 1; Mercer, 1. Klamath County: Deschutes River, 6 mi. E Crescent Lake, 1. Douglas County: Gardiner, 1. Curry County: Port Orford, 1; Gold Beach, 2.

=Washington.= Skagit County: N end Whidby Island opposite Deception Pass, 1; Hamilton, 4; Mt. Vernon, 3. Snohomish County: Oso, 550 ft., 1; Darrington, 600 ft., 1. Pacific County: Wallicut River, 2 mi. E Ilwaco, 1. Wahkiakum County: 4 mi. E. Skamokawa, 3. Cowlitz County: 4 mi. E mouth Kalama River, 2; 6 mi. E mouth Kalama River, 1. Skamania County: 15 mi. N Govt. Springs, 1300 ft., 1.

=Mustela erminea gulosa= Hall

Ermine

Plates 5, 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14

Mustela erminea gulosa Hall, Journ. Mamm., 26:84, February 27, 1945; Hall, Journ. Mamm., 26:181, July 19, 1945.

Putorius streatori Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 11:14, June 30, 1896.

Type.--Male, subadult, skull and skin; no. 81998, U. S. Nat. Mus., Biol. Surv. Coll.; Trout Lake, Klickitat County, Washington; February 3, 1897; obtained by P. Schmid, original no. 147.

The skin is in brown winter pelage, and appears to have been made up from a skin split along the midventral line from the anus to the forelegs. It probably was dried by a trapper, is well made, and lacks a patch of hair on the left flank but otherwise is in good condition. The skull lacks the central part of the left zygomatic arch and the posterior two-thirds of the right one. The right m2 is represented only by an abortive stump or the broken root, and i1 and i2 on each side are absent; otherwise, the teeth all are present and entire.

Range.--Cascades of Washington from northeastern King County south to Mount Adams. See figures 25, 27 on pages 95, 149.

Characters for ready recognition.--Differs from M. e. invicta and fallenda, in both sexes, by anterior margin of tympanic bulla flush with squamosal rather than projecting below floor of braincase (difference slight in females), in males hind foot less than 33.5, weight of skull less than 1-1/4 grams, basilar length less than 33.9, in females by total length less than 222, hind foot shorter than 26, weight of skull less than 0.7 grams, basilar length less than 29; from M. e. muricus, in both sexes, by upper parts darker, tone 4 of Chocolate or darker (see description of color) least width of light-colored underparts averaging one-third instead of approximately two-thirds of greatest width of dark-colored upper parts, in males, on the average, tail more than 65, weight of skull more than 0.90 grams, basilar length more than 30.8 mm.; from M. e. streatori, in both sexes, by upper lips white (not brown), light color of underparts extending down hind legs below knee, depth of skull at posterior border of upper molars less than 7.7 in females and ordinarily less than 9.6 in males.

Description.--Size.--Male: One adult and four subadults from Mount Rainier yield average and extreme measurements as follows: Total length, 253 (238-266); length of tail, 75 (70-83); length of hind foot, 31.5 (30-33). Corresponding measurements of 9 subadults from Trout Lake are: 257 (233-282); length of tail, 76 (56-83); length of hind foot, 30.2 (26-33).

Female: Of adults, 2 from Mount Rainier and 2 from Trout Lake measure as follows: Total length, 202, 203, 216, 210; length of tail, 54, 52, 57, 51; length of hind foot, 24, 24, 25, 24. The averages for these females are 208, 54, 24.3.

Color.--As described in Mustela erminea richardsonii except that color sometimes brown in winter (with more smoky tinge than summer coat); upper parts ranging from tone 2 through tones 3 and 4 of Dark Chocolate (pl. 342) into tone 4 of Chocolate (pl. 343) of Oberthür and Dauthenay; underparts (always white in winter) in summer Sulphur Yellow or more whitish; least width of color of underparts averaging, in 5 males from Mount Rainier, 31 (18-45) per cent of greatest width of color of upper parts. Black tip of tail, in same series, averaging 34 (29-40) mm., which is 45 (41-50) per cent of length of tail-vertebrae.

Skull.--Male (based on 2 ad. and 13 sad.): See measurements and plates 5-7. As described in Mustela erminea richardsonii except that: Weight, 1.0 (0.95-1.16) grams; basilar length, 32.3 (30.9-33.4); length of tooth-rows more or less than (about equal to) length of tympanic bulla.

Female (illustrated by 5 adults): See measurements and plates 12-14. As described in Mustela erminea richardsonii except that: Weight, 0.59 (0.53-0.65) grams; basilar length, 28.1 (27.8-28.4); breadth of rostrum ordinarily more than 30 per cent of basilar length.

In comparison with streatori, skulls of males and females average smaller in every cranial measurement taken. Teeth of about same size and males 9 per cent, and females 8 per cent, lighter. In relation to basilar length, skull of female shallower, tympanic bullae slightly shorter and, on the average, zygomata less expanded.

In comparison with muricus, males average larger in every measurement taken; 23 per cent heavier; in relation to other dimensions, braincase shallower at anterior end of basioccipital. Females are of about equal size; in relation to other dimensions, braincase shallower and mastoid and zygomatic breadths less.

Comparisons with invicta and fallenda have been made in the accounts of those subspecies.

Remarks.--This is not a strongly marked race and in most of the characters used for differentiating it from other races it resembles either streatori to the west or muricus to the southeast. Nevertheless, there is a geographic area, the southern Cascades of Washington, throughout which individual characters are combined in essentially the same way and there are a few features, for instance, smaller skull of the female, in which gulosa differs from either of its close relatives. In view of these circumstances and because the animals can not well be included in the subspecies streatori or muricus, gulosa is recognized as distinct. The races gulosa and olympica are what might be termed weakly differentiated subspecies in contrast to the strongly differentiated subspecies streatori and muricus.

Of the 21 specimens in winter pelage, 17 are white and four are brown. The brown winter coat is distinctly paler, with more of a smoky tinge, than the brown summer pelage. The light-colored underparts are narrower than in the subspecies immediately to the east but are wider than in the coastal forms to the west. The dark color of the upper parts extends onto the chest in front of the forelegs, as in the coastal forms, in only one of the 13 specimens in summer pelage and in it on one side only. The black tip of the tail is short as in the coastal forms. One specimen is in transitional pelage. It has acquired approximately half of the white winter pelage and was taken on October 12, 1897, at Keechelus Lake.

Specimens examined.--Total number, 38, arranged by counties from north to south. Unless otherwise indicated, specimens are in the U. S. National Museum.

=Washington.= King County: 2 mi. E Skykomish, 2. Kittitas County: Keechelus Lake, 3 (1); Martin, 1; Easton, 3. Pierce County: James Lake, 4370 ft., Mt. Rainier, 1; Glacier Basin, 5935 ft., Mt. Rainier, 1; Meslers Ranch, 2000 ft., 1 mi. W Rainier Park, 1. Lewis County: Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park, 5 (1 each from: Paradise Park, 5400 ft.; Reflection Lakes, 4900 ft.; Ohanapecosh Springs, 2000 ft.; Tahoma Creek, 1; Bear Prairie); also in Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park, Longmire, 3 (1, 1). Skamania County: Mt. St. Helens, 6000 ft., 1. Klickitat County: Trout Lake, 18.

=Mustela erminea muricus= (Bangs)