_Mustela rixosa eskimo_, Miller, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull., 79:96,
December 31, 1912; Swenk, Journ. Mamm., 7:327, November 23, 1926;
Hall, Univ. California Publ. Zoöl., 30:421, March 19, 1929.
_Type._--Female, age in question, no. 848 in Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philadelphia; Point Barrow, Alaska; July 25, 1898; obtained by E.
A. McIlhenny. Type not seen by me.
_Range._--Alaska and Yukon Territory. See figure 28 on page 180.
_Characters for ready recognition._--Differs from _M. r. pygmaea_
of eastern Asia in longer tail, averaging 11 rather than 16 per
cent of length of head and body, and in study skins reaching only
to heel instead of to point between heel and toes; from _M. r.
rixosa_ in shorter tail averaging 16 rather than 19 per cent of
length of head and body and not extending beyond outstretched hind
feet in study skins; white of underparts extending dorsally as a
reëntrant angle from upper lip to behind eye, rather than
delimited dorsally by a boundary between white and brown color
that extends straight across cheeks from upper lip to side of body
well below eye and ear; breadth of rostrum measured across
lacrimal processes more, instead of less, than 85.5 per cent of
orbitonasal length; from _M. erminea_ of same region by basilar
length of skull less than 32; tail less than 50 and lacking black
pencil.
_Description._--_Size._--Male: The original describer lists
measurements of topotypes as follows: Total length, 204, 230;
length of tail, 28, 31; length of hind foot, 20, 22. Allowing 5
per cent for shrinkage, the hind feet of 5 topotypes yield an
average measurement of 23 for the hind foot.
Female: Measurements of two topotypes are: Total length, 184, 180;
length of tail, 25, 25; length of hind foot, 24, 18. In four other
topotypes the hind feet, allowing 5 per cent for shrinkage, yield
an average of 21.
_Color._--Winter pelage all white, rarely with few white hairs in
tip of tail but no black pencil; summer pelage with upper parts
about Raw Umber and tone 3 of Chocolate pl. 343 of Oberthür and
Dauthenay; underparts white, extending over upper lip, insides of
limbs and over all four feet. Line of demarcation between
underparts and upper parts extends from upper lip posterodorsally
to behind eye down to base of ear, up behind ear for a third or
more of its height, and back along side of body. Tail unicolor all
around and same color as upper parts. Least width of color of
underparts averaging 83 per cent of greatest width of color of
upper parts.
_Skull._--Based on topotypes; see measurements and plates 14 and
15; weight, 0.82 (0.74-0.93) grams in males, and 0.80 and 0.84 in
two females; basilar length, 29.5 (27.6-30.1) in males and 27.8
(27.1-28.8) in females; otherwise as described in _M. e.
richardsonii_.
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