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Show 1879-] MR. E. R. ALSTON ON THE BRITISH MARTENS. 473 are the Pine Martens of authors; while " in old individuals the whole fore-neck and part of the breast are white, or greyish white, or pale grey mottled with brownish. The yellow colour on the throat fades in specimens kept in Museums, so as at length to be scarcely perceptible" '. In Ireland W . Thompson came to similar conclusions, observing that " all the native specimens which have come under m y own notice were yellow-breasted (Martes abietum), with the exception of one, which had the breast white (M. foina), and was killed in the county of Antrim." He adds that he had long since remarked that the yellow colour gave place to white with advancing age, and explained the greater number of yellow-breasted specimens obtained by their comparative immaturity 2. The author who has most recently treated of the question is Mr. Bell. In his revised second edition of the ' Quadrupeds' he fully accepts the specific distinction of the two forms, regarding which he was formerly so doubtful, and quotes a letter from Mr. R. T. Vyner, who " concludes that the Beech Marten is at present much less common than the Pine, and is, indeed, very nearly extinct in England, which is accounted for by its habit of leaving its summer haunts of woods and rocky places, to inhabit, in the winter, farm buildings, faggot-stacks, and other similar localities, and thus becoming exposed to various means of destruction. The Pine Marten, on the contrary, continues to inhabit, at all seasons of the year, its accustomed retired haunts, rarely, if ever, intruding into the immediate purlieus of human habitations" 3. It will thus be seen that the later and better-informed English faunists gradually approached agreement as to the existence of only one species of Marten in Britain, and that some of them drew the natural though erroneous deduction that Martes sylvatica and 31. foina were specifically identical. The fact is, as I believe, that M. foina is not, and never was, a member of the British fauna. During the last ten years I have missed no opportunity of examining native Martens, and have endeavoured to trace out every supposed " Beech Marten " that I could hear of. 1 have thus seen a very large number of specimens from various parts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland; and every one has proved to be M. sylvatica. The late Mr. Blyth, who paid some attention to this question, assured me, shortly before his death, that his investigations had led him to the same result; and I have been unable to find any competent observer acquainted with the true characters of the species, who has ever seen an authentic British-killed specimen of 31. foina. Mac-gillivray and Thompson were certainly correct in saying that the pale-chested individuals which have usually received that name in this country are merely aged examples of the Pine Marten, or specimens which have faded in museums. Nor does there appear to be the slightest evidence in favour of Mr. Vyner's suggestion that M. foina has been recently exterminated in this country. Such a fate has not overtaken the species on the Continent, where it holds 1 Brit, Quadr. (Nat. Libr. xx. 1838), pp. 166-173. a Nat, Hist. Ireland (1856), iv. p. 9. 3 Brit, Quadr. 2nd ed. (1874). p. 212. |