Archaeological records of the extinct Sea Mink, Mustela macrodon (Carnivora: Mustelidae), from Canada

Abstract

The extinct Sea Mink, Mustela macrodon, is reported from bones found in prehistoric archaeological sites in southern New Brunswick. The former range of this species, based on historical records and archaeological remains, is considered to have included coastal Maine, coastal New England as far south as Massachusetts, the southern coasts of the Maritime Provinces, and possibly Newfoundland. The association of some Sea Mink bones reported here with flaked lithic materials from geological sources in Maine suggests the bones were brought to New Brunswick by Native people, rather than representing a population of Sea Mink living on the New Brunswick coast in the past.