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Show 1875.] MR. C A. WRIGHT ON THE WEASEL OF MALTA. 313 afterwards named Mustela boccamela by Bechstein. It is said to take the place of the C o m m o n Weasel (Mustela vulgaris) in that island*. In the * Rendiconti dell'Accademia Scientifica di Napoli' for 1865, pp. 32-33, Professor Costa described a variety of the Common Weasel from Southern Italy, which he names var. meridionalis; it is said to be intermediate between M. vulgaris and M. boccamela as regards the length of the tail, which is two fifths of that of the body in the Sardinian Weasel, two ninths in the common species, and two sevenths in the variety mentionedf. Dr. Gunther, however, thinks that Costa, in making this statement, has confounded M. erminea with M. vulgaris; and it is well known that not much dependence can be placed on the relative length of the tail as a distinctive feature, as it varies much in this group of animals. Doderlein does not include Mustela boccamela in his observations on the Vertebrates of Sicily, but alludes to a white-footed variety of the C o m m o n Weasel (Mustela vulgaris), which approaches the Boccamele in character J. It has been said that Mustela boccamela is found in Southern Europe and Northern Egypt. On the other hand, Professor Cor-nalia, in his recently published Catalogue of the Mammalia of Italy, states that this species is only met with in the island of Sardinia. It is said to emit no bad smell (but, in m y experience, this does not always hold good with the Maltese species), to be excessively fond of honey (as its name implies), to be lively, vivacious, and very easily domesticated §. Cetti is of opinion that the Mustela boccamela is the Ictis of Aristotle, and'gives very convincing reasons for thinking so ||. In Malta there is no tradition of its having been introduced, and it is never met with in a semi-domesticated state, as in the island of Sardinia. Professor Cornalia, in the work above cited, gives the dimensions of the C o m m o n Weasel found in Italy (Mustela vulgaris) at 20 centimetres, and tail 5 centimetres ; of M. boccamela 35 centimetres and tail 10. Dr. Gunther informs m e that the British Museum does not contain a specimen of Mustela boccamela. The species which had been bought for it is nothing but an example of Mustela erminea from Algeria. * Vide Cetti, ' Hist. Sard. Quadrup.'i. p. 211, tab. 5; Bechstein, 'Naturg. Deutschl.' p. 819. t Vide Zool. Eec. 1865, p. 37. I Vide Alcuni Generalita intorno la Fauna Sicula dei Vertebrati, per Pietro Doderlein, Direttore del Museo di Zoologia ed Anatomia Comparata nella Eegia TJniversita di Palermo, 1872, p. 4. § Vide ' Fauna d' Italia,' parte prima, p. 33. j| Vide Aristotle, Hist. Anim. lib. ix. cap. vi. |
