Part 75

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; Tombstone, 1; Sulphur Spring Valley, 1.

=Durango.= "Durango City," 1.

=Kansas.= Seward County: Liberal, 1.

=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; Dexter, 1. Otero County: Cloudcroft, 9000 ft., 1. Dona Ana County: Mesilla Park, 2 (1, 1); Berino, 2.

=Texas.= Culberson County: 1-1/2 mi. NW Kent, 1. 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.