Part 13

Specimens examined.--Total 11, as follows: Yukon Territory: 6 mi. SW Kluane, 2559 ft., 1; Marshall Creek, 3 mi. N Dezadeash River, 6; Champagne, N side Dezadeash River, 3; 11/2 mi. E Tatshenshini River, 11/2 mi. S and 3 mi. E Dalton Post, 1.

Remarks.--Specimens obtained are skulls only, mostly taken in the winter months by trappers. One fox was found dead with porcupine quills stuck in and around its mouth.

Ursus americanus cinnamomum Audubon and Bachman

Black Bear

Ursus americanus var. cinnamomum Audubon and Bachman, Quadr. North Amer., 3; 125, 1854. (Type from Northern Rocky Mountains.)

Specimens examined.--Total 3, as follows: British Columbia: 10 mi. W Fort Nelson, 1; Buckinghorse River, 94 mi. S Fort Nelson, 2.

Remarks.--One large, unsexed skull from Buckinghorse River with part of the rostrum gone has the frontal shield strongly dished. A young adult female taken 10 miles west of Fort Nelson on August 23, 1948, has the following external measurements: Total length, 1345; tail, 65; hind foot, 256; ear from notch, 135.

Ursus species

Grizzly

Specimens examined.--Total 5, as follows: Yukon Territory: E side Aishihik River, 17 mi. N Canyon, 1; Unahini River, 5 mi. N and 1 mi. E Dalton Post, 1; Unahini River, 3 mi. N and 1 mi. E Dalton Post, 2. British Columbia: Buckinghorse River, 94 mi. S Fort Nelson, 1.

Remarks.--Of three specimens obtained at the Unahini River, two males resemble each other closely, while the third, an old adult represented by an unsexed skull with broken cranium, is markedly different, the skull being noticeably shorter with shorter rostrum and lower jaw and other distinctive features. It closely resembles the skull of an adult male taken at the Aishihik River. Furthermore, the first two animals show close relationships with an unsexed skull which Alcorn obtained at the Buckinghorse River in British Columbia.

Two males taken at the Unahini River in the Yukon Territory have the following external measurements: Total length, 1933, 1812; tail, 150, 96; hind foot, 262, 260; ear from notch, 129, 131. Other specimens, skulls only, obtained from native hunters, are partly broken. Alcorn writes that the local hunters always shoot a grizzly in the head to be certain that it is dead.

Mustela erminea arctica (Merriam)

Ermine

Putorius arcticus Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 11:15, June 30, 1896. (Type from Point Barrow, Alaska.)

Mustela erminea arctica Ognev, The mammals of U. S. S. R. and adjacent countries, 3:31, 1935.

Specimens examined.--Four from Alaska: N side Salcha River, 600 ft., 25 mi. S and 20 mi. E Fairbanks.

Remarks.--One ermine was caught in a rat trap; the others were taken within 50 yards of the trapped animal by attracting them with squeaking calls to within shooting range. One of the weasels approached to within ten feet of Alcorn, while he was making the mentioned call.

Mustela erminea richardsonii Bonaparte

Ermine

Mustela richardsonii Bonaparte, Charlesworth's Mag. Nat. Hist., 2:38, January, 1838. (Type from Fort Franklin, at western end of Great Bear Lake, Mackenzie district, Northwest Territories, Canada.)

Mustela erminea richardsonii Hall, Jour. Mamm., 26:180, July 19, 1945.

Specimens examined.--One from Yukon Territory: McIntyre Creek, 2250 ft., 3 mi. NW Whitehorse.

Mustela erminea alascensis (Merriam)

Ermine

Putorius richardsonii alascensis Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 11:12, June 30, 1896. (Type from Juneau, Alaska.)

Mustela erminea alascensis Hall, Jour. Mamm., 26:180, July 19, 1945.

Specimens examined.--One from Alaska: E side Chilkat River, 100 ft., 9 mi. W and 4 mi. N Haines.