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MOUX3Y LJBBAtt

DOGS, JACKALS, WOLVES, AND FOXES:

MONOGRAPH

THE CANIDJE.

ST. GEOEGE MIVAET, F.K.S.

WITH WOODCUTS, AND 45 COLOURED PLATES
DRAWN FROM NATURE BY J. G. KEULEMANS AND HAND-COLOURED.

LONDON:

R. H. PORTER, 18 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W.,

AND

DULAU & CO., 37 SOHO SQUARE, W.
1890.

AI,KRK

FLAMMAM.

PRINTKT) BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,
RED LION COURT, FLKET STKEET.

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PREFACE.

MANY years have now elapsed since any general work was published on
the subject to which this volume is dedicated. Its object is to make
known and describe the species and leading varieties of existing wild
Canida.

For this purpose the rich and unrivalled stores of Canine animals
accumulated in the British Museum of Natural History have been
most liberally and kindly placed at the disposal of the author by the
authorities of that Institution. The writer cannot hope to have in
all cases rightly determined the vexed questions as to the limits of
species and varieties and those of synonymy. He trusts, however, by
means of his studies, by full references to the literature concerning
each species, and by carefully drawn figures from nature, and some-
times from life, to have at least provided a fresh starting point whence
new explorations into the Natural History of the group may fruit-

PREFACE.

fully take place. To facilitate this, he has been careful to have
drawn, when possible, the actual types of original descriptions, and
no less than fourteen representations of such types have been here
figured.

The author desires to express his warm thanks for the kind aid given
him by his scientific friends; especially by Professor Flower, C.B.,
F.R.S., Dr. Giinther, F.R.S., Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., Mr. Blanford,
F.R.S., Mr. Oldfield Thomas, F.Z.S., and Mr. R. Lydekker, F.G.S.

He also desires to record his grateful sense of the zeal, patience,
and skill with which his Plates have been executed by Mr. J. G.
Keulemans.

Hurstcofce, Chilworth,
April 29th, 1890.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

LIST OF PLATES.

„ WOODCUTS.
ERRATA.

INTRODUCTION i

CHARACTERS OF THE FAMILY CANID^E 1

„ GENUS CANIS 2

, CANIS LUPUS 3

„ SIMENSIS 18

„ JUBATUS . 21

„ ANTARCTICUS 26

x „ LATRANS 30

„ „ AUREUS 35

„ ANTHUS 41

„ MESOMELAS 45

„ ADUSTUS 49

„ MAGELLANICUS 52

„ CANCRIVORUS 57

„ MICROTIS 62

„ AZARJB 66

PARVIDENS . 7(>

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page

CANIS UROSTICTUS 81

„ VIRGINIANUS 85

„ VULPES 92

„ VELOX 104

„ LAGOPUS 108

„ CORSAC 117

„ FERRILATUS 121

„ LEUCOPUS 123

„ BENGALENSIS 127

„ CANTJS 132

„ PROCYONOIDES 134

„ CHAMA 140

,, PALLIDUS 142

„ FAMELICUS 144

„ ZERDA 147

„ DINGO ..... 153

„ FAMILIARIS 161

CHARACTERS OF THE GENUS CYON 177

CYON JAVANICUS 179

„ ALPINUS 186

CHARACTERS OF THE GENUS ICTICYON 189

ICTJCYON VENATICUS 190

CHARACTERS OF THE GENUS LYCAON 195

LYCAON PICTUS 196

CHARACTERS OF THE GENUS OTOCYON 201

OTOCYON MEGALOTIS 202

INDEX , 209

LIST OF PLATES.

PLATE

I. The Common Wolf. Cants lupus.

II. „ „ Variety niger. (Type.)

III. „ „ Variety chanco. (Type.)

IV. „ „ Indian variety pallipes.

V. „ }) American variety occidentalis.

VI. The Abyssinian Wolf. C. simensis. (Type.)

VII. The Maned Wolf . C.jubatus.

VIII. The Antarctic Wolf. C. antarcticus.

IX. The Prairie-Wolf. C. latrans.

X. The Indian Jackal. C, aureus.

XI. The North-African Jackal. C. anthus.

XII. The Black-backed Jackal. C. mesomelas.

XIII. The Side-striped Jackal. C. adustus.

XIV. The Colpeo. C. magellanicus. (Type.)

XV. The Carasissi. C. cancrivorus.

XVI. The Small-eared Dog. C. microtis. (Type.)

XVII. Azara's Dog. C. azara. (Type.)

XVIII. The Small-toothed Dog. C. parvidens. (Type.)

XIX. The Striped-tailed Dog. C.urostictus. (Type.)

XX. The Colishe. C.mrginianus.

XXI. The Common Fox. C. vulpes.
XXII. „ „ Variety montanus. (Type.)

XXIII. „ „ „ flavescens. (Type.)

XXIV. „ „ „ argentatus.

LIST OF PLATES.

PLATE

XXV. The Kit Fox. C. velox.

XXVI. The Arctic Fox. C. lagopus.

XXVII. The Corsac Fox. C. corsac.

XXVIII. The Thibet Fox. C.ferrilatus. (Type.)

XXIX. The Desert-Fox. C. leucopus.

XXX. The Indian Fox. C. bengalensis.

XXXI. The Hoary Fox. C. canus. (Type.)

XXXII. The Raccoon-like Dog. C. procyonoides.

XXXIII. The Asse Fox. C. chama. (Type.)

XXXIV. The Pale Fox. C. pallidus.
XXXV. RiippelFs Fennec. C. famelicus.

XXXVI. The True Fennec. C. zerda.

XXXVII. The Dingo. C. dingo.

XXXVIII. The Esquimaux Dog. C. familiaris.

XXXIX. The Mexican Lap-Dog. C. familiaris.

XL. The Southern Dhole. Cyonjavanicus.
XLI. „ „ Variety dukhunensis. (Type.)

XLII. The Northern Dhole. Cy. alpinus.

XLIII. The Bush-Dog. Icticyon venaticus.

XLIV. The Hysena Dog. Lycaon pictus.

XLV. The Large-eared Cape Dog. Otocyon megalotis.

LIST OF WOODCUTS.

Figure page

1. Under surface of fore foot of Icticyon venaticus xv

2. „ hind „ „ xv

3. Cervical vertebrae of Dingo xvi

4. Skull of Wolf : side view xvii

5. „ dorsal view xvii

6. „ ventral aspect xvii

7. Details of basis cranii of Wolf xviii

8. Section of auditory bulla of Dog xix

9. Skeleton of fore paw of Dingo xx

10. „ hind paw „ xx

11. Abnormal teeth of Cants cancrivorus xxiv

12. Teeth of Wolf xxv

13. Caecum of Dog xxviii

14. „ Icticyon venaticus xxviii

15. Brain of Icticyon venaticus, dorsal view xxx

16. „ „ lateral view xxx

17. Canis hodophylax (facsimile of Japanese drawing) 14

18. Skull of C. simensis 19

19. „ C.jubatus 24

20. „ C. anthus 43

21. „ C. mageUanicus 55

22. „ C. microtis 63

23. Upper molars of C. microtis 63

24. Lower „ „ 63

25. Skull of C. azarc& (var. fulvipes) 70

26. Upper molars of C. azara: 70

27. Lower 70

LIST OF WOODCUTS.

Figure Page

28. Skull of C. parvidens 78

29. Upper molars of C. parvidens 78

30. Lower „ „ 78

31. Skull of C. urostictus 82

32. Upper molars of C, urostictus 82

33. Lower „ „ 82

34. Skull of C. virginianus (dorsal view) 89

35. Side view of lower jaw of C. virginianus 89

36. Skull of C. lagopus 115

37. „ C. leucopus 125

38. „ C. bengalensis 130

39. „ C. procyonoides . 137

40. „ C. serda (side view) 150

41. „ „ (basis cranii) 150

42. „ Bull-dog 164

43. „ Japanese Pug : side view 166

44. Foramen magnum of Japanese Pug 166

45. Fontanelle of Japanese Pug 166

46. Front view of skull of Japanese Pug 166

47. Skull of Cyonjavanicus 182

48. Upper molars of Cyonjavanicus 182

49. Lower „ „ 182

50. Upper molars of Cy. alpinus 187

51. Lower „ „ 187

52. Skull of Icticyon venaticus 192

53. Upper molars of Icticyon venaticus 192

54. Lower „ „ 192

55. Skull of Lycaon pictus 198

56. }) Otocyon megalotis (dorsal view) 204

57. „ „ (side view) 205

58. Upper molars of Otocyon megalotis 205

59. Lower 205

ERRATA.

Page xii, line 5 from bottom, for javauicus read venaticus.

On pages 47, 51, and 83, instead of " Ovalion to sphenoideum/
read " Basion to sphenoideum."

INTRODUCTION.

(THE whole group of animals to the Natural History of which this
volume is devoted, may possess an interest for many readers who are
not zoologists, as well as for men of science.; "There is no animal which
has been from such ancient times so closely associated with man as the
Dog, or one which now holds so high a place in his affection and
esteem. The habits and modes of life of various wild Canine species
present interesting analogies with those of our domestic breeds, instinc-
tively associating as they do in packs, and jointly pursuing a prey which
would escape or defy them if pursued singly. Curious abnormalities
of structure have also been occasionally observed which seem to thro\v
light on the origin of . very exceptional characters possessed by certain
domestic breeds. Such facts may also suggest a hope of our discovering
what was the first origin of the Domestic Dog, but as yet that problem
seems to us insoluble. Yet, however insoluble it may be, one thing is
certain : either, in a very brief period (geologically speaking) descend-
ants of the same stock have become extraordinarily diversified in form
and habit, or the blended offspring of species ^originally distinct have
commingled to form one universally prolific race. Each of these alter-
natives is full of interest and highly suggestive. But to the zoologist
the group of the Dogs is especially interesting, both on account of the
remarkable divergence of its members from all those other animals to
which they are most nearly allied, and also because of their close struc-
tural agreement one with another.

All the various kinds and varieties of Dogs, Jackals, Wolves, and
Foxes which now exist are considered by naturalists to form one natural

ii INTRODUCTION.

" family " of Beasts, the family Canidcs. This family is one of several
others which together make up the " Order " of " Beasts of Prey " or
Carnivora, which, with some fifteen other orders, constitute the "Class"
of " Animals which suckle their young," the Class Mammalia.

The other families which comprise the order Carnivora are : the
family of Bears ( Ursida), the family of Weasels and Otters (Mustelida),
the family of the Raccoon and its allies (Procyonida], the family of the
Civets (Fiverrida), and the family of the Cats (Felidte), in which last
family the character of a " Beast of Prey " appears to find its highest
and most developed expression*.

From all these other families, the existing Canidce, as already said,
widely diverge, while amongst themselves they agree in structure to a
very remarkable extent, apart from the modifications which occur
amongst Domestic Dogs.

Attempts have been made to divide the different species of the family
amongst upwards of a dozen genera, but we have found it impossible

* It was on this account that, in a previous publication, we selected the Cat as our
type. The work referred to was designed to supply a want of which we had for a
long time felt the need, — the want of a work, in one volume, designed to impart a
sufficient knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, classification, development, and geo-
graphical and geological relations of some animal of the highest class, to fit its readers
for the fruitful study of any group of animals. In this work (' The Cat : ' John Murray,
London ; and C. Scribner and Sons, New York) there will he found (p. 449) a state-
ment of the principles of zoological classification, and of the values of the terms
employed therein. At p. 392, zoological nomenclature is explained ; while at its com-
mencement (pp. 8-12) the different ways in which a living organism may be regarded
are set out, and the various sciences enumerated which are included within, or are
subsidiary to, the science of Living things, or Biology, for the study of which the work
was intended to serve as an introduction. The dermal structures, skeleton, muscles,
alimentary, circulating, and respiratory organs, the nervous system, the process of
development, and relations of the chosen type with the living and inorganic worlds, past
and present, are described in successive chapters. Obviously in a work such as our
' Monograph of the Canidce' space cannot be devoted to making known matters of the
kind to readers as yet unacquainted with them. It will therefore be convenient, as
the occasion arises, to refer such readers to the pages of our preceding work, wherein
will be found the explanations th«y may require.

INTRODUCTION. iii

to divide them amongst more than five, and for even those five genera
only small distinctive characters can be assigned.

The whole of the Camdce are either much like the Common Wolf or
the Common Fox, though with much divergence as to size. The legs
may be somewhat longer or shorter, and the tail may be shorter than
the Wolf's, though it is never longer than is the Fox's " brush." The
ears are occasionally very large, though always erect in undomesti-
cated forms. The coloration generally varies from grey to yellowish or
reddish brown. The back, the upper surface of the head, and some
parts of the limbs are mostly darker than the flanks. The underparts
are almost always paler or even white, and the tips and inner margins
of the ears are also often white, while the external aspect of the ears is
sometimes characteristically coloured. Frequently a dark mark occurs
between the eye and the tip of the nose, and on the dorsum of the tail not
far from its root ; while the end of the tail is often either white or black.
But stripes or patches of dark or light colour are mostly rather ill-
defined, though they may be distinctly marked. With the single
exception, however, of the Hyaena Dog (Lycaon pictus] no canine species
presents varied markings comparable with those found amongst the Cats
(Fetid*} or Civets (Viverrida).

The coloration of each species is subject to much individual variation,
even apart from those seasonal changes which seem to commonly occur.
The hairy coat is longer and more abundant in the winter, and in indi-
viduals which inhabit cold mountain-heights. It is also generally paler
in winter than in summer, and in one species, the Arctic Fox (C. lago-
pus), habitually turns white during £e coldest part of the year. Occa-
sionally other species (the Wolf and the Fox) have been found quite
white ; while an opposite tendency to blackness (" melanism ") affects
various individuals, and black wolves have been found in both hemi-
spheres.

Inconstancy of hue is favoured by the varied coloration of the indi-
vidual hairs which make up the coat, and which differ in different parts
of the body and in different seasons of the year. There may or may
not also be a soft woolly underfur beneath and amongst the long hairs

which make up the externally visible coat.

iv INTRODUCTION.

Thus sometimes one and the same species may be greyish or reddish
or yellowish, or light, or dark ; and not only colour, but absolute size
may vary, individuals from Northern or Southern regions often differing
in this respect no less than in colour.

The members of the family present also a very remarkable uniformity
in their internal structure as well as in their external conformation. If
we except the four species which form the three genera Cyon, Icticyon,
and Otocyon, an almost complete uniformity exists in the dentition,
although certain teeth may present differences in relative size and in
the details of their conformation.

Dental characters are amongst the most constant which can be found
in the Canidcz \ nevertheless even these vary somewhat from individual
to individual, so that such minute characters, taken by themselves
absolutely, can rarely, if ever, afford a satisfactory basis for the distinction
and definition of a species.

The general uniformity which exists in the external and internal con-
formation of all the species of the family is the more noteworthy, on
account of the exceedingly wide geographical distribution of the group ;
for some or other species of the Dog-family are to be found over the
greater part of the habitable globe, in addition to those which have been
disseminated by the civilized races of mankind.

Although the existing Canidce differ so much from the other Carni-
vora which now inhabit the world, they show, as we shall see later, some
very curious resemblances to creatures of a very different kind —
belonging to a most distinct order. These resemblances suggest various
questions as to the origin and affinities of the family : questions as to
which we have but little to say, but that little must be deferred to the
end of this introductory chapter.

As already remarked, different naturalists have tried to divide the
CanidfB into a variety of genera, and they have also enumerated many
species distinguished by small differences of colour or size. Till within
the last thirty years very little attention was paid to variation, and
there was a general disposition to accept any single exceptionally
coloured skin as sufficient evidence of the existence of a new and distinct
species. Until a considerable number of skins and skulls of one and

INTKODUCTION. v

the same species could be compared together, the amount of variability
to which one species may be liable could not be properly appreciated.

We have arrived at the conclusion that only five genera can be
distinguished. Of these Icticyon, Lycaon, and Otocyon each contain
but one species, while Cyon may be taken as consisting of two. All
the rest of the Canida we place in the typical genus Canis. Such
animals as the Common Fox and the Fennec would seem at first sight to
be without any doubt generically distinct from the Jackal and the Wolf.
Nevertheless, when all the series of intermediate forms are examined,
the difficulty of drawing any valid generic distinction will, we think,
be found insuperable. The shape which the pupil of the eye may
assume is a character which is practically of little use, since, with
regard to various species, we have no evidence on the subject. More-
over the character itself, if it could always be ascertained, appears to
be a rather trivial one, since amongst the Cats, which undoubtedly
form one genus, it may be either linear or oblong, or round, according
to the species *.

As the result of our studies, we offer the following list (p. vi) of what
we deem probable species ; although, as in some cases, we have been
able to examine only a few specimens of one kind, it may well happen
that some forms we have treated as species may ultimately prove to
be but well-marked varieties.

Indeed, so great is the variability of many of these animals that in
some instances whether a form is to be reckoned as a species or a
variety can only be matter of individual opinion. Our own tendency
is rather to unite doubtful forms than to separate them as distinct kinds.
Nevertheless we willingly adopt, provisionally, even a mere difference
of hue, if there appears to be any good reason for thinking it may be a
constant difference. We shall also rank as distinct, any two forms which
exhibit definite and peculiar markings of diverse kinds, even though
there may be individuals in which the markings are so indistinct that
they can only doubtfully be referred to either. Such may not be truly
" transitional forms," but only individuals with the characters of their
kind very imperfectly developed. We do not ourselves doubt that
* See the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1882, pp, 141 and 517.

INTRODUCTION.

true species exist, but from the existence of species it by no means
follows that we must always be able to define them. We place, then,
in the genus Cams the Wolves, Jackals, South-American Wild Dogs,
Foxes of all kinds, and Eennecs, as well as the Dingo of Australia and
the truly Domestic Dog.

In the following list we have not given names to forms which we
regard as being most probably mere varieties : —

(1) Canis lupus.

(2) C. simensis.

(3) C. jubatus.

(4) C. antarcticus.

(5) C. latrans.

(6) C. aureus.

(7) C. anthus.

(8) C. mesomelas.

(9) C. adustus.

(10) C. magellanicus.

(11) C. cancrivorus.

(12) C. microtis.

(13) C. azarcK.

(14) C. parvidens.

(15) C. urostictus.

(16) C. mrginianus.

(17) C. vulpes.

(18) C. velox.

(19) C. lagopus.

(20) C. corsac.

(21) C. ferrila tus.

(22) C. leucopus.

(23) C. lengalensis.
(21) C. canus.

(25) C. procyonoides.

(26) C. chama.

(27) C.pallidus.

(28) C.famelicus.

(29) (7. zerda.

(30) C. dingo.

(31) Cyon javanicus.

(32) Cy. alpinus.

(33) Icticyon venations.

(34) Lycaon pictus.

(35) Otocyon megalotis.

All the species of the family feed naturally, by preference, on animal
substances, in common with most species of the order Carnivora.

Various species, including, as every one knows, the Wolf, hunt their
living prey in packs, and some will thus destroy and devour both
cattle and men. But not all the largest species are thus ferocious, for
the South- American Wolf (C. jubatus) is by no means dangerous — living,
as it does, a solitary life, and only attacking small game. Some kinds,
like the Jackals, live largely on carrion, and full-grown or young birds
and eggs are generally welcome ; while many species will devour

INTKODTJCTION. vii

lizards, mice, snails, and insects, including white-ants and moths.
Species which frequent the margins of rivers or the sea-shore will eat
various forms of Crustacea and Mollusca, and may be, like the Arctic
Fox (C. lagopus), devourers of fish. Various species will also eat vege-
table substances and greedily devour fruits of various kinds.

All the Canidfs, so far as we know, pursue their prey largely by
scent, though some do so more than others. In all, the olfactory organs
are largely developed, though the senses of sight and hearing are also
acute. Almost all, if not all, are active during, at least, part of the
night, though many are abroad also during some portion of the day.
Though none possess modifications of structure fitting them for an
arboreal life, yet some manage to ascend trees, the branches of which
are conveniently disposed, by a succession of dexterous jumps. Some
domestic breeds take readily to the water, but beyond a slight degree
of web-footedness no structure fitting them for an aquatic life is
found amongst the Dog-family.

The Canida generally give out cries which may be called " howls,"
but some wild kinds emit a yelping bark. Wild species which do
not naturally bark at all, will soon learn to do so when confined in the
vicinity of barking dogs, which they will spontaneously imitate.

Not only the Wolf and the Jackal, but various other species, may
be perfectly tamed, even wild kinds from the Brazilian forests, such as
C. cancrivorus. There is, however, much individual difference between
members of the same species, as regards their susceptibility to domesti-
cating influences.

The odour which various species diffuse is exceedingly offensive to
most persons in civilized countries, but this scent varies greatly from
species to species. Thus, though all varieties of the Common Fox
possess a rank odour, the Arctic Fox is altogether free from it, nor does
the Bengal Fox possess it.

The wide distribution of the family over the earth's surface proves
that the constitution of the group is naturally susceptible of enduring
great differences of climate, and this faculty must have greatly facilitated
the domestication of wild species during any migrations which may
have taken place amongst the earliest races of mankind.

viii INTRODUCTION.

All the CanidcB, the habits of which are known, either make use of
burrows which they themselves excavate, the deserted burrows of other
animals, caves or cavities amidst rocks, or hollow trees. The burrows
may be quite solitary, or so associated as to form a sort of underground
canine village.

A litter generally consists of from three to a dozen young, which, so
far as known, are brought forth blind, as in the Domestic Dog. The
period of gestation is supposed to vary within narrow limits — from
about sixty-two to sixty-eight days.

The mammary glands are from six to ten in number, but the varia-
tion which is found in the Domestic Dog as regards this character may
lead us to anticipate that it may not be a constant one in wild species.

There is no doubt that species universally ranked as distinct — such
as the Wolf and the Jackal — can produce hybrids ; but we have no
evidence of the fertility of such hybrids inter se. Hybrids between the
Dog and the Wolf on the one hand,, and the Dog and the Jackal on the
other, have, however, been proved to be thus fertile, though for no
long period.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

As we have said, the wild Canidce are distributed over the greater
part of the habitable globe. In the Old World they are found from
Spitzbergen and Siberia to the Cape of Good Hope and Java.

In the New World they are to be met with from the shores of the
Arctic Ocean to Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands. The far
greater number of kinds — twenty of our list of species — are found
in the Northern Hemisphere, while only twelve are peculiar to regions
south of the equator, three at the least being common to both.

Certain regions of the world are conspicuous from the circumstance
that none of the Canida inhabit them except the Dingo, which has
probably been introduced by man. We have included it in our list,
because we treat of existing Canidce, and it is now certainly to be
reckoned a wild form ; but if we exclude it, then in the whole conti-
nent of Australia, the vast island of New Guinea, with Tasmania, New

INTRODUCTION. ix

Zealand, Celebes, the Philippine Islands, and Ceylon, no members of
the family are naturally indigenous.

When we recollect how very peculiar the fauna of Madagascar is, and
how distinct are its animal inhabitants from those of Africa, it may
seem at first to be in no way surprising that none cf the Canida
inhabit it. But when we further reflect that there are wild Canines in
South America as well as in South Africa, then the fact does become
noteworthy, seeing that so many Madagascar animals of different kinds
closely resemble others which inhabit the southern section of the New
World.

No wild Dogs are to be found in the West Indies, but that is not
remarkable since so very many animals of the American Continent are
wanting in those islands. Such is the case, for example, with the
Monkeys — Trinidad not being really a West-Indian island, but a
detached portion of the South- American continent.

If our views as to the specific identity of the various forms of the
Wolf on the one hand, and of the Fox on the other, be correct, then
C. lupus, C. vulpes, and C. lagopus are species which are common to
both the Old and the New Worlds. Of the remaining thirty-two
species, twenty belong to the former, while only twelve are peculiar to
the latter.

Of the three species common to both worlds, C. lagopus has but a
very restricted range southwards from the Arctic regions ; while both
the Wolf and the Fox extend far southwards in both Asia and North
America, though the Wolf is absent from Africa.

Including these three species, thirteen are found in Europe or in
Asia north or north-west of the Himalaya, or in Africa north of the
Sahara and west of Egypt, — that is, in what is called the Palaearctic
Region. Only six are found in the Indian Region, whereof two also
enter the Palsearctic area. Africa south of the Sahara, with Egypt
and the Nile Valley, is known as the Ethiopian Region, and three Palae-
arctic African forms (C. anthus, C. vulpes, and C. zerda) extend into
it, while there are eight other African forms, whereof one may extend
into South-western Asia.

South and Central America, with the West Indies, are commonly

INTEODUCTION.

spoken of as the Neotropical Region, and the rest of America as the
Nearctic, but it will be more convenient for us to divide America
into North and South by the Isthmus of Panama.

Apajt from the three forms common to both worlds, three species
are thus North-American, and nine are South- American. Only one,
the Dingo, is Australian.

Thus the species may be arranged in lists as follows, those with an
asterisk being found in two or more categories: —

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE.

Canis lupus.

C. simensis.

C. latrans.

C. aureus.

C. anthus.

C. mesomelas*.

C. adustus *.

C. virginianus.

C. vulpes.

C. velox.

C. lagopus.

C. corsac.

C. ferrilatus.

C. leucopus.

C. bengalensis.

C. canus.

C. procyonoides.

C. pallidus.

C. famelicus.

C. zerda.

Cyon javanicus *.

Cy. alpinus.

Lycaon pictus*.

OLD WORLD.

Canis lupus *.
C. simensis.
C. aureus.
C. anthus.

SODTHERN HEMISPHERE.

Cauis jubatus.
C. magellanicus.
C. cancrivorus.
C. microtis.
C. azarse.
C. mesomelas *.
C. adustus *.
C. parvidens.
C. urostictus.
C. chama.
C. dingo.

Cyon javanicus*.
Icticyon venaticus.
Lycaon pictus*.
Otocyon megalotis.

NEW WORLD.

Canis lupus*.
C. jubatus.
C. antarcticus.
C. latrans.

INTRODUCTION. xi

OLD WORLD. NEW WORLD.

C. mesomelas. C. magellanicus.

C. adustus. C. cancrivorus.

C. vulpes *. C. microtis.

C. lagopus*. C. azarae.

C. cor sac. C. parvidens.

C. ferrilatus. C. urostictus.

C. leucopus. C. virginianus.

C. bengalensis. C. vulpes *.

C. canus. C. velox.

C. procyonoides. $. lagopus*.

C. chama.

C. pallidus.

C. famelicus.

C. zerda.

C. dingo.

Cyon javanicus.

Cy. alpinus. Icticyon venaticus.

Lycao.n pictus.

Otocyon megalotis.

PAL^EARCTIC FORMS.

Common to Europe, Asia, and Africa.
C. vulpes.

Common to Europe and Palcearctic Asia.
C. lupus, C. aureus, C. lagopus, C. corsac.

Peculiar to Asia.

C. ferrilatus, C. leucopus, C. bengalensis, C. canus.
C. procyonoides, Cy. alpinus.

Common to Palaarctic Africa and Europe.
C. vulpes.

Common to Palcearctic Africa and Asia.
C. vulpes, C. famelicus.

Peculiar to Africa.
C. anthus, C. zerda.

xii INTRODUCTION.

ETHIOPIC AFRICAN FORMS.

Canis simensis, C. anthus, C. mesomelas, C. adustus, C. vulpes, C. chama,
C. pallidus, C. famelicus, C. zerda, Lycaon pictus, and Otocyori
megalotis.

Ethiopic African forms also found in the Palaarctic Region.
C. anthus, C. vulpes, C. famelicus, C. zerda.

FORMS OF THE INDIAN REGION
(i. e. in Hindostan and South-eastern Asia).

C. lupus, C. aureus, C. vulpes, C. bengalensis, C. canus, Cyon javanicus.

AUSTRALIAN REGION.
C. dingo.

NORTH AMERICA.
C. lupus, C. latrans, C. virginianus, C. vulpes, C. velox, C. lagopus.

SOUTH AMERICA.

C. jubatus, C. antarcticus, C. magellanicus, C. cancrivorus, C. microtis,
C. azarae, C. parvidens, C. urostictus, Icticyon javanicas.

VJi^fili (2 w.^ &.i

Form common to Europe, N. America, Palaarctic Asia and Africa,
and to the Indian Region.

C. vulpes.
These facts may be expressed in a tabular form, as follows : —

INTEODTJCTION.

xin

Europe
with
Spitz-
Dergen.

Northern
nd North-
western
Asia.

lindustan
nd South-
eastern
Asia.

False-
arctic
Africa.

Sthiopic
Africa.

. Ame-
rica.

3. Ame-
rica.

Aus-
tralia.

Canis lupus

•

C iubatus

C. antarcticus ....

••

•

C aureus

C anthus

C mesomelas ....

C adustus

C. magellanicus . .
C. cancrivorus . .
C. microtis
C azarjfi

• •

••

. .

*
*
*
*

C. parvidens . . .
C urostictus ....

*
*

C virgin! anus ....

C. vulpes

C. velox

(

C. corsac

C ferrilatus ....

C leucopus

C. bengalensis . . .
C. canus
C. procyonoides .
C. chama
C. pallidus
C. fatnelicus . . .

••

*
*

*
*
*
*

C. dingo
Cyon javam'cna .
Cy. alpinus
Icticyon

••

Otocyon

••

xiv INTKODUCTIOK

ANATOMY OF THE CANIDJE.

In their external anatomy all the wild Canidce are similar to the
Common Wolf, save as regards size and greater or less relative length
of ears, tail, and muzzle. Only in Icticyon venaticus is the tail really
short, and only in C. zerda and Otocyon megalotis are the ears exces-
sively long, but even in them they do not droop as in most domestic
dogs. The length and quality of the fur often varies much, even in the
same species, according to the season, as has been already mentioned .
In no natural form is the skin hairless, as in some American domes-
ticated breeds, and the so-called " Turkish " breed of dog.

Abnormalities, of course, may from time to time be met with, as a
Fox has been found with a muzzle so deformed as to resemble that of
a Pug Dog.

The tip of the nose is always naked, and the pads beneath the feet
also. There is a more or less trilobate cushion beneath the roots of
the toes, and a single one beneath the end of each digit, including a
minute one beneath the small thumb, or pollez, and another beneath
the wrist. The hair between the pads is mostly but moderately deve-
loped ; but in some forms in winter, especially in the Arctic Fox (C.
lagopus), the feet (as its scientific name implies) are densely furred
below.

No hallux (i. e. no digit answering to our great toe) is visible exter-
nally on the hind foot of any wild species, though in domestic breeds it
is often developed, frequently in an imperfect manner, its component
bones not being directly connected with those of the rest of the foot, so
that it hangs loosely, and is familiarly known as a " dew-claw."

In the fore foot, a short thumb or pollex (not reaching the ground)
is always present, save in the genus Lycaon, which has but a rudiment
of it concealed beneath the skin. The toes are each provided with a
slightly curved, non-retractile, and more or less blunt claw.

All the Canida are " digitigrade," that is they walk upon their toes,
and not upon the soles of the feet as we do, and as do various Carni-
vorous animals, such, e. g., as the Bear and the Coatimondi, which
are said to be " plantigrade." In plantigrade animals the parts on

IXTKODUCTION.

which they walk are naked, but in digitigrade animals the correspond-
ing parts— the metacarpus* of the fore limb, and the metatarsus of the
hind limb, — which are raised above the ground, are hairy.

Fig. 1. Fig. 2.

Fig. 1. — Under surface of right fore foot of Icticyon venaticus. (Natural size.)
Fig. 2. — Under surface of right hind foot of same. (Natural size.)

(After Flower.)

The Skeleton.

The bones which compose the vertebral column, spine or " back-
bone," consist of seven cervical vertebra (as in almost all mammals),
thirteen dorsal, seven lumbar (rarely six, as we have found in C.jubatus),
three or four sacral, and from eleven to twenty-two caudal vertebra?.

* For an explanation of these terms the reader is referred to the Author's book on
' The Cat,' pp. 98 and 115, and therein will be found full particulars as to the names of
the bones, parts of bones, muscles, and other organs and anatomical structures herein
referred to. Space cannot be afforded for such explanations in the present work.

XVI

INTRODUCTION.

The bones of the neck, or cervical vertebrae, are larger than in feline
beasts of the same size. Certain processes, known as hyper apopJiyses,
are strongly marked in them, while others, termed metapophyses *, may
be traced forwards from the lumbar region to the third cervical
vertebra.

The most anterior (or atlas] vertebra has its large transverse pro-
cesses perforated towards its hinder margin by the vertebral artery.

Fig. 3.

The cervical vertebrae (except the atlas) and first three dorsal vertebrae of C. dinyo,
seen laterally, m, metapophyses ; h, hyperapophyses.

The skull has its facial portion or snout much more elongated than
in the Cat family. The lateral arches of the skull, or zygomata, project
strongly outwards, and a transverse elevated ridge of bone, the larnb-
doidal ridge, crosses transversely the hinder part of the cranium. There
may or may not be an antero-posteriorly directed ridge, called a sagittal
ridge, projecting upwards from the middle of the cranium. It is well-
marked in the Wolf. In its place there may be a flattened tract of
bone, as in C. mrginianus.

The bony orbits never form a complete ring, or arch, enclosing the
eyeball externally, but the postorbital process of the frontal bone always

* For full details as to these structures, see the Proc. Zool. Soc. 1805, pp. 574 &
579, fig. 9.

INTRODUCTION".

xvu

remains widely separated from any postorbital process sent upwards
from the malar bone. The nasal bones are considerably elongated, and

Fis. 4.

Fig. 5.

Pig. 4.— Side view of the skull of the Wolf.
Fig. 5.- — Dorsal view of the skull of the Wolf.
Fig. 6. — Ventral aspect of the same.

may or may not extend further backwards than do the orbital processes
of the maxillary bones. They are never entirely separated from the

XV111

INTRODUCTION.

maxillae by the junction of the premaxillae with the frontals. When the
skull is viewed in profile, the interorbital region is generally prominent,
with a marked concavity in front of it, though this may be absent.

On the basis cranii there is to be noted a simple, smooth, and
rounded auditory bulla *. As a rule its size varies inversely with that
of the species, and thus it is exceedingly prominent in C. zerda f. It is

Skull of the Wolf (after Flower).

«, alisphenoid canal, its hinder end ; «', ditto, its anterior end ; am, external auditory
meatus ; c, condyloid foramen ; car, carotid canal ; e, Eustachian earial ; y, glenoid
foramen ; I, foramen lacerum posterius ; m, mastoid process ; o, foramen ovale :
/>, paroccipital process.

always partially divided within by a very incomplete septum (fig. 8, s)
which springs from its anterior wall in exactly the same situation as does

* See ' The Cat,' p. 57. f See below, description of the species.

INTBODUCTION. xix

that of the Cat *. The meatus auditorius externm has a rather prominent
inferior margin at its outer aperture. There is no conspicuous carotid
foramen, because the carotid canal f opens posteriorly into the foramen
lacerum posterius \. Thence it runs forwards through the inner wall
of the bulla, and opens anteriorly close to the inner side of the groove
for the Eustachian tube §. Upon emerging from the anterior end of
the canal, the artery turns upwards, and, after forming a loop, enters
the skull through the foramen lacerum medius. The paroccipital
process (/j) is very peculiar in shape. It is long, prominent, and
laterally compressed. It is somewhat applied to the bulla, though to
a less extent than in the Cats or Felidte || . The mastoid is moderately
prominent. The condyloid foramen is very conspicuous, opening as it
does on a ridge which extends from the paroccipital to the condyle ^[.
That small channel in the skull, known as the alisphenoid canal **, is

Section of auditory bulla of Dog (Flower).

am, external auditory meatua ; BO, basioccipital bone ; car, carotid canal ; e, Eustachian
canal ; g, glenoid foramen ; s, septum ; Sq, squamosal bone ; T, tympanic bone :
t, tympanic ring.

constantly present, and there is also a large glenoid foramen. The
bony palate is but very rarely prolonged backwards beyond the hind-
most molars. The ethmoid and ethmoturbinal bones are always very
large and extremely convoluted (in relation with the highly developed

* Op. cit. p. 67, fig. 36. t Op. cit. p. 83.

£ Op. cit. p. 62. § Op. cit. pp. 66 & 298.

|| Op. cit. p. 82. H Op. cit. pp. 57 & 58, fig. 29.
** Op. cit. p. 447.

INTRODUCTION.

faculty of smell), but the frontal bones may or may not contain air-
cavities or " frontal sinuses."

The bone of the lower jaw, or mandible, may * or may not present
the appearance of a lobe or process at its postero-inferior margin,
causing it to look as if the angle of the mandible had been pushed up
towards the mandibular condyle.

Fig. 9.

Fig. 10.

Bones of the extremities of Canis dingo.
Pig. 9. — Skeleton of the manus or fore paw. fa '&^
Fig. 10. — Skeleton of the pes or hind paw. '* tlHf)

Bones of the Limbs. — The blade-bone, or scapula, is narrower in
proportion to its length than in the Felida, and the fossa for the supra-
spinatus muscle is relatively smaller, while the metacrornion process t
is quite rudimentary. The collar-bone, or clavicle, is, almost always,

* See below, the description and figure of the skull of C. procyonoides.
t Op. cit. pp. 90 & 01, figs. 51 & 52.

INTRODUCTION. xxi

only represented by a small cartilage imbedded in the flesh, but it may
be considerably larger in Lycaon pictus *.

The upper arm-bone, or humerus, has a large olecranal perforation,
but no supra-condyloid canal f. In the forearm the radius and ulna
are placed more one in front of the other than in Feline animals, the
paw in the Canida not being susceptible of being so turned in different
directions as in the Cat, which in this matter more approximates to the
human structure.

The bones of the wrist and ankle, the carpus and the tarsus, are
much as in most Carnivora |, but the metacarpal and metatarsals §
are relatively long, and the terminal bone, or phalanx, of each digit
has a much less prominent lamella for sheltering the root of the claw
than have those Carnivora the claws of which are retractile.

The pollex has always two phalanges, save in Lycaon. The hallux
is generally represented by a rudimentary metatarsal bone, and siill
more rudimentary phalanx, which latter may be wanting altogether.
By rare exception there may be two phalanges, the metatarsal being
attached to the tarsus as usual. In that abnormal structure called a
" dew-claw," often found in Domestic Dogs, there is a rudimentary
metatarsal bearing two phalanges, the whole being detached from the
tarsus, and lying beside the median part of the second, or index, meta-
tarsal.

A triangular plate of fibro-cartilage, or of dense fibrous structure
only, is often or always attached to the anterior margin of the pubis,
and is a noteworthy and interesting structure || .

* See Hartmann in Sitzungsb. d. Gesellsch. natur. Freunde Berlin, 1876, p. 168.

t See ' The Cat,' pp. 91 & 92, fig. 53.

i The extra carpal ossicle has been found, by Professor Flower, between the
scaphoid and lunare and the more distal carpals (see ' Journal of Anatomy and Physio-
logy,' 1871, p. 62). See also a paper on the Carpus by Dr. Burt G. Wilder in the
Bulletin of the Cornell University (Science), vol. i. no. 3, p. 301 (1874).

§ See ' The Cat,' pp. 96 & 113.

II It was described by Professor Huxley (see his 'Anatomy of Vertebrates,' p. 417) as
a fibro-cartilage. He subsequently found this represented by fibrous tissue only, in a
male and female Dog and a male and female Fox (see Proc. Koyal Soc. vol. xxx.
1881, p. 162). He also found it in G. mesomelas and C.bengalensis (see Proc. Zool.
Soc. 1880, p. 264).

XX11

INTRODUCTION.

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INTBODTJCTION.

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xxiv INTRODUCTION.

Dentition. — The Canidcs, in common with almost all Carnivora, have
six incisors and two canines* above and below. They have also four
premolars on either side of either jaw. One true molar f, at least, is
present in the upper jaw, and at least two in the lower. There may be
no more, as is normally the case in Icticyon. In Cyon we find two
true molars, both above and below ; while in Otocyon there are three,
or even four, true molars above and four below. In all the rest (that is,
the overwhelming majority of the Odnida) there are two true molars
above and three below, so that their dentition may be thus expressed :

T 3 n * T> 4 -\/r 2 10

I. 3, C. if Pm. 4, M. 5=n.

In the dentition, however, as in every part of the body, abnormalities
are occasionally to be met with. Thus we have found a specimen of

Fig.

Abnormal denticles in C. cancrivorus. (Twice the size of nature.)

Cyon javanicus to be destitute of the second upper molar on each side ;
a C. lateralis with five premolars on one side ; and both a C. magel-
lanicus and a C. cancrivorus with one extra molar on each side of the
lower jaw.

* For an explanation of all terms used in describing the dentition, see * The Cat,'
pp. 27-33, and figs. 12-15.

t A true molar is a tooth which has no milk predecessor, but is behind other teeth,
the premolars, which (except the first) have milk predecessors; A " true molar " is
often called a " molar" simply.

INTRODUCTION.

xxv

In another specimen of C. cancrivorus there was no third lower molar,
but a rosette made up of five very small denticles in its place (fig. 11,
p. xxiv). A third upper molar has also been found in C. cancrivorus,
and Professor Mower, C.B., has observed a second upper molar in a
specimen of Icticyon venaticus.

In Domestic Dogs abnormalities are more frequent, especially in the
form known as the Japanese Pug, in which the teeth may be extraordi-
narily defective, as will be noted when we come to treat of the domestic
Dog.

Almost always the fourth upper premolar and the first lower molar
are larger than the others, with sharp cutting-blades which play one
against the other, on which account they are often spoken of as the
" sectorial " or " carnassial " teeth. In Otocyon, however, they hardly
differ in this respect from those adjacent to them. Taking the teeth of

Fig. 12.

Side view of the teeth of a Wolf.

such a form as the Dingo or the Wolf as a type of the Canida, we find,
if we compare it with the teeth of one of the Felidce, or Cats, that the
incisors are larger relatively both above and below. The four median

xxvi INTRODUCTION.

teeth in each jaw have each a crown consisting of one median and two
small lateral lobes ; but in either outermost incisor the inner lobe is
obsolete. In the upper jaw the first premolar has but a single fang.
All the teeth behind it have two fangs each, while the last three upper
teeth have each three. In the lower jaw the first premolar and the third
molar have each only one fang, while all the intermediate teeth have
two fangs.

The upper sectorial tooth has a very large anterior external cusp,
the apex of which is directed backwards as well as downwards,
while on its inner side is a very small antero-internal cusp. A second,
broad, external cusp is placed behind the anterior one, but does not
extend so far downwards. In the Felidte, however, there are three
external cusps, whereof the most anterior is obsolete in the Dog.

The first upper true molar has a very extensive grin ding-surface,
with two large external cusps, two smaller internal ones, with also
a very large internal band of tooth-substance or " cingulum." The

v O

second upper true molar is formed like the first, but is only about
half its size.

The first lower premolar consists of one conspicuous cusp with a
rudimentary one behind it. The next three teeth have each a large
anterior cusp with two small ones behind it, whereof the anterior is the
larger and more elevated.

The lower sectorial tooth consists of a large anterior cusp, followed
by one still larger (whereas in the FeHdte they are of nearly equal size),
with a minute cusp postero-internal to it. These last two cusps play
against the inner surface of the two large cusps of the upper sectorial.
Behind the three cusps just described, the lower sectorial possesses a
very large posterior prolongation, or "talon," which bears two cusps,
whereof the external one is the larger. The surface of the talon bites
against that of the anterior, upper true molar.

The second true molar of the mandible has a quadrate grinding-
surface with two transverse ridges, the anterior one being divided into
two subequal cusps. The third true molar is very small with a rounded
crown.

Each milk-molar resembjes, not the tooth which replaces it, but the

INTRODUCTION. xxvii

one which comes behind it in the permanent dentition. The first pre-
molar above and below, and the true molars, have no milk-predecessors.

In most species the upper sectorial is much longer than the first
upper molar, but in this respect there are many degrees of difference ;
nor are the relative sizes of the various teeth always quite constant even
in the same species.

Myology. — The muscles* of the Dog are formed and arranged, for
the most part, as in the Carnivora generally. Comparing them with
those of the Feline Carnivora, it may be mentioned that there is but a
single dorso-epitrochlear and no supinator longus. The latter fact is in
harmony with the habitual action of the Dog's fore limb, which is almost
exclusively used for running and walking, and not for climbing or
movements which require the paw to be bent sole upwards. The ex-
tensor communis digitorum gives off only four tendons. The plantaris
is large, and its tendon gives origin to \hsflexor brevis. The tendons
of the flexor longus digitorum pedis and of the longm hallucis unite
together as in the Cats, and, as in them, an elastic ligament connects
the last phalanx of each digit with the penultimate phalanx, so that
when the foot is dissected the claws are seen to be slightly retracted
in fact, although their retraction is not visible externally.

The rectus muscle takes origin from the triangular fibrous or fibro-
cartilaginous structure before described! as attached to the brirn of the
pubic part of the pelvis. The tendons of bolh the external and
internal oblique muscles — forming the inner pillar of the abdominal
ring — are inserted into the inner side of the same fibrous structure,
while the outer pillar of the abdominal ring is formed by part of the
external oblique inserted into the outer margin of the same, the
pectineus being attached to its ventral surface.

Splanclmokgy\. — The mucous membrane of the edges of the lips,
especially of the lower lip, is developed into a number of delicate
sensitive processes. The lower lip is firmly bound down to the gum in

* For information concerning muscles, see ' The Cat,' chapter v.
t See above, p. xxi.

t See ' The Cat,' chapters vi. to ix. The viscera have been described by Professor
Flower, C.B., in the ' Medical Times ' for 1862, p. 621.

xxviii INTRODUCTION.

the interval between the canine and the first premolar. The hard
palate has curved transverse ridges, notched at the edge. The thin soft
palate hardly forms a uvula.

The tongue is long and very movable. It is narrow towards its
hinder end, rounded in front, with thin edges and a median longitudinal
depression. The conical papillae are generally small and closely set,
but are larger at the tip, edges, and base of the tongue. The fungiform
papillae are numerous, and scattered over the sides and front of the
tongue, but they are not conspicuous. There are but two, moderate-
sized circumvallate papillae. Beneath the front of the tongue is what is
known as the " worm " or Ly tta*. It is about a quarter of the length
of the tongue. The belief that this structure is in any way prejudicial,
and that it should be removed is, of course, utterly absurd and
groundless.

The oesophagus, or gullet, extends about two inches (in a good-sized
dog) beyond the diaphragm. The stomach has its cardiac and pyloric

Fig. 13. Fig. 14.

Caecum of Dog Caecum of Icticyon venaticus.

(as in most species). (After Flower.)

* For a description of the structure of this organ, see a paper by Dr. Scott in the
' Journal of Anatomy and Physiology,' vol. xiv. p. 288.

INTRODUCTION. xxix

portions separated by a well-marked constriction, and there are many
permanent folds in the pylorus. Generally, the small intestine is nearly
six or seven times the length of the large intestine, which is about as
long as the body. The length is increased by domestication in the Doo-s,
as in various other beasts. The small intestine is lined with lono-

filiform villi. Peyer's patches are usually small and confined to the
middle of the intestine. The caecum is a moderate-sized, cylindrical
body, rounded at its end, and in the great majority of species curiously
contorted (fig. 13). In some species, however, as in C. jubatus, C.
cancrivorus, C.azara, C. procyonoides, and Icticyon venaticus (fig. 14),
it is almost or quite straight.

The liver has an undivided left lateral lobe, and slightly smaller left
central one, compared with that of the Cat, and a very much smaller
right central lobe as regards that part of it which is placed on the right
side of the gall-bladder. The right lateral lobe, however, is much
larger. The caudate lobe is also relatively larger, and the Spigelian
lobe is divided into two lobules by a notch*.

The brain shows four generally distinct and regular gyri surrounding
the short, nearly vertical Sylvian fissure. The first and second gyri have
their limbs — anterior and posterior to the Sylvian fissure — nearly equal.
The parietal (often called the " middle lateral ") gyrus has its posterior
limb broad and bifurcate. The sagittal gyrus (often called the " supe-
rior lateral gyrus ") is single. The hippocampal gyrus is divided from
the sagittal one by the junction of the calloso-marginal sulcus with the
largely developed crucial sulcus. The crucial sulcus, so characteristic
of the Carnivoraf, is very plainly marked (figs. 15 & 16).

Some individual variation exists as to the extent of the bifurcation of
the parietal gyrus (m], and the separation between the first and second

* In C. procyonoides the Spigelian lobe is very large, and various small differences
exist in different species. See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, pp. 374 and 375, and 1880,
p. 74.

t For further information on this subject, see our paper in the ' Journal of the
Linnean Society,' vol. xix., Dec. 18, 1884, " Notes on the Cerebral Convolutions of the
Carnivora."

XXX

INTRODUCTION.

Sylvian gyri (i, i') may be incomplete, as was found to be the case on
one side of a brain of Icticyon venations, as here figured, and sometimes
the sagittal gyrus is longitudinally grooved on its dorsum (as on one
side in the figure) or on its inner side. The olfactory lobes are very
large, as might be expected in animals with so acute a power of smell.

Fig. 15.

Fig. 16.

Fig. 15. — Brain of Icticyon venaticus, nat. size (after Flower). Dorsum : C, crucial
sulcus ; s, sagittal gyrus ; 7n, parietal gyrus ; i, second gyrus.

Fig. 16. — Brain of Icticyon venaticus, nat. size (after Flower). Lateral view : C, crucial
sulcus; S, Sylvian fissure; i', first gyrus; ?', second gyrus; m, parietal
gyrus ; s, sagittal gyrus.

The generative organs are remarkable for their salient prostate, and
for not possessing Cowper's glands. The ossicle is of considerable size,
straight and grooved.

The ovum is spindle-shaped at an early period, as is also the umbi-
lical vesicle.

The placenta has the form and structure normal in the Carnivora, but
its maternal portion cannot be so well defined and separated as in the
Felidce.-

For further anatomical details, to describe which would be foreign to

INTKODUCTIOK xxxi

the purpose of this Monograph, the reader is referred to the various
publications, the titles of which he will find given in the Bibliography
and in the notices of the various species herein described.

PALAEONTOLOGY AND AFFINITIES OF THE CANUTE.

The Dog has been a domestic animal from time immemorial. Re-
mains in Denmark and Switzerland prove that such was the case in the
Neolithic and Bronze periods, as also that one kind of domestic Dog
was succeeded at a later period by a larger one of a distinct breed.
Moreover, in very ancient times, as also in the Pacific Islands and else-
where recently, the Dog was used for human food. But a yet greater
antiquity for this species as a companion of man seems implied by the
fact that the remains of the Dingo have been obtained* from Pleisto-
cene deposits, which have also yielded us the relics of various extinct
animals. Of course it is probable that the animal may have found its
way to Australia in some way independent of man, but it seems impos-
sible to imagine such, while if it did owe its introduction to human
agency, such a fact is enough to prove that even when its fossil contem-
poraries existed, man was in a relatively advanced social and intellectual
condition.

Remains of other Canidcs have been found in caverns of the Quater-
nary period and in strata of Pleistocene times, and relics of the Common
Fox (C. vulpes) have been found in the Upper Pliocene f. The African
genus Lycaon seems then to have existed in Glamorganshire • and still
surviving species of the genus Canis, as well as the yet living species
Icticyon venalicus, existed in Brazil. The genus Cyon has been found
in Pleistocene deposits in a cavern in Europe.

For the latest account known to us of fossil Canidce, the reader is
referred to the labours of Max Schlosser, Woldrich, Lydekker, Filhol,
and Cope, as also to the well-known works of Cuvier, De Blainville,
Gervais, Gaudry, Lund, Leidy, and others!.

* See below, cmr description of the Dingo.

t In the Suffolk Crag. See Lydekker, Geological Mag. decade iii. vol. ii. p. 443

(1884).

£ See below, the Palseontological section of our Bibliography.

xxxii INTRODUCTION.

A great number of fossil forms, presumed to be distinct species, have
been distinguished by many specific and some generic names. But we
must exclude their consideration from the present work as not coming
within its professed scope. Moreover, without any disrespect to the
distinguished palaeontologists who have described them, we must also
confess to a good deal of scepticism with respect to various fossil species.
The examination of many skulls belonging to one existing kind has con-
vinced us that though the form of the teeth is about the most constant
character, it is nevertheless so subject to individual variation that
definitions reposing upon almost any single, more or less imperfectly
preserved, skull have little value in our eyes. But we by no means
intend by this remark to slight or undervalue the labours of Palaeonto-
logists. They must work, with the relatively poor materials they have,
in the only way possible to them, i. e. by most careful discrimination
between all the fossil specimens they can procure. Palaeontology and the
Zoology of living forms seem to us such very distinct, though closely
allied, sciences, that the mental attitude of the student of the one must
necessarily diverge from that of the other, in spite of the single aim
common to them both.

A genus of Mammals named Cynodiclis (in which the genera Gale-
cynus of Cope * and Cynodon of Eilhol should probably be included) is
found in the Lower Miocene and Upper Eocene of Europe, and in the
Miocene strata of North America. This genus, however, cannot be
affirmed to belong to the Canidte, as it seems to be intermediate between
the Dogs and the Civets.

The genus Ampliicyon\, the dentition of which has much resemblance
to that of the Dogs, differs greatly from them in the structure of its feet,
which approach those of the Bears and are plantigrade.

The interest of the Palaeontology of the group largely reposes upon
any light which may thence be thrown upon the origin and evolution of
the CanidcK.

We have ever affirmed our conviction in the truth of Evolution, and

* The Galecynus of Owen is merely Canis. It is the well-known fossil Fox of (Eningen.
t See below, Bibliography.

INTRODUCTION.

our belief in it tends to increase with study and experience. Simulta-
neously with the growth of that conviction, however, we also experience
a simultaneous growth of scepticism with respect to our power of deter-
mining the precise course which specific evolution has followed. Phylo-
geny, or the science of such evolution of forms of life, seems to us to be not
merely in its infancy but rather at a low stage of embryonic development.
We have already seen the overthrow of a great many promising and
carefully drawn out genealogical trees of life, and therefore feel little
inclined to attempt now to construct the pedigree of the Dog family.

The palaeontological history of the Canidcs is as yet very incomplete
and unsatisfactory, and only permits the formation of speculative opinions
which appear to us to be of very doubtful value. Moreover, as we have
said, this work is intended to make known living Canidce — that is to
say, the most divergent forms into which the group, whatever its origin,
has become differentiated. For this end, Palaeontology affords no help,
since the further we go back the less differentiated we must expect such
remains, as may be discovered, to be. So far as we yet know, no fossil
Canidce present us with nearly such exceptional forms as are found
amongst fossil Feline animals*. Had such been found, they would have
demanded careful description here.

The most diverging groups of the existing terrestrial Carnivora,
besides the Dogs, are the Bears, Weasel-group, Civets, Hyaenas, Raccoon-
group, and Cats. In the world as we see it, the Dogs stand quite aloof
from all the others. The once supposed affinity of the Hyaena-Dog (Lycaon
pictus] to the Hyaena, and the Raccoon-Dog ( Canis procyonoides) to the
Raccoon, was due to mere superficial resemblances in external aspect.
But the triangular fibrous structure attached to the pubis strongly
reminds us of the marsupial bones of the Opossum Order (Marsupialia),
and it has been suggested that since the Dogs diverge so much from
the existing Carnivora they may be survivors of very early forms which
had a close genetic affinity with the Marsupialia. The idea is supported
by the facts (1) that there is a considerable resemblance in form, and in

* Such as the extremely modified forms Machoerodus and Eusmilus. See « The Cat/
pp. 432 & 437, figs. 184 & 190.

xxxiv INTRODUCTION.

the structure of some of the teeth, between the largest existing predatory
Marsupial, the so-called Tasmanian Wolf (TIty I acinus), and the true
Wolf ; and (2) that this large Marsupial is one which is most excep-
tional in its order, through having the Marsupial bones represented by
mere cartilages. We, however, do not attach any importance to these
coincidences, but believe that the resemblances referred to have arisen
independently.

As to speculations concerning the origin of different Canine forms,
M. Marcellin Boule* expresses the opinion that Amphicyon was the
ancestor of both the Bears and the Dogs, while Cynodictis was the
ancestor of both the Civets and Foxes. This appears to us to be a
mere speculation, which, while we have no desire to contest its truth, we
cannot give an express adherence to. Should it, however, turn out to be
a well-founded belief, it would form another interesting example of that
independent origin of similar structures for which we have so long con-
tended. M. Boule very sensibly remarks f that if Dogs and Foxes did
have so diverse an origin, such a fact would constitute no reason why
their descendants should not now be grouped in one single genus.

Indeed, we cannot reasonably arrange our classification of the organic
world upon a basis of what its parts may have been or actually once
were. On the view of Evolution which is as yet most popular, every
kind of intermediate form must have existed at one time or another ; and
if every such form had to be included, no kind of classification whatever
would be possible for us.

The Carnivora were classified by the late H. N. Turner, jun.j, as a
family Ursidcs of Bears, Raccoons, and Weasels, a family Felida of
Civets, Hyaenas, and Cats, and the family Canidce. These( three families
Professor Flower has proposed § to raise to the rank of three suborders,
called respectively Arctoidea, jffiluroidea, and Cynoidea, a proposal
which we have ourselves accepted || , and which has met with a very

* See Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de France, 3e serie, t. xvii. p. 321.
t P. 330. i P. Z. S. 1848, p. 86.

§ P. Z. S. 1869, pp. 4-37.
|| ' The Cat,' p. 474 ; and Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, p. 138.

INTEODTJCTION. xxxv

general acceptance. Schlosser objects to it as receiving very little
support from Palaeontology, and regards the Dogs as very closely related
to the Bears, a view which receives support from both Gaudry * and
Lydekker f. Scott £ also deems the Bears and Dogs to be nearly allied,
while he regards the Civets and Hysenas as being more allied to the
Weasel-group than to the Felidce ; while Schlosser considers the Cats to
be most widely separated from all the other groups of existing Car-
nivora, and to have had an origin independent of them. Garrod, on
account of the form of the brain, represented § the Canidcs as an off-
shoot from the Felida.

Such conflicting opinions suffice to make plain, to everyone who
reflects on them, how speculative and uncertain such phylogenetic
statements are.

Maintaining, then, still that system of classification for the Carni-
vora which we before made use of, it but remains for us to note here
the characters by which the Canida, or Cynoidea, differ from the
Arctoid Mammals on the one hand, and from the ^Eluroids on the
other.

That the Dog-group (excepting domestic forms) is singularly uniform
in structure compared with the others, will be evident if we compare
the amount of divergence between C. lupus and Otocyon megalotis,
with the great contrast which exists between such species as a Lion
and a Mongoose amongst the ^Eluroid forms, and between a Raccoon
and an Otter amongst the Arctoids.

The characters by which the Canidte differ from the Arctoidea are
the following : —

They are always digitigrade.

They possess a smooth auditory bulla which tends to be divided
internally by a bony septum, which nevertheless remains very in-
complete.

* See his ' Les Enchain ements,' chap. ix.

f Paljeontologia Indica, ser. 10, p. 202 ; and Cat. of Fossil Mammalia, part i. p. 106.

i Notes on the Osteology and Systematic Position of Dinictis felina, p. 242.

§ See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 377.

xxxvi INTKODUCTION.

There is a long and prominent paroccipital process, which is applied
to the bulla.

There is no long, outwardly projecting process beneath the opening
of the meatus auditorius externus.

The mastoid is small and not prominent, and the condyloid foramen
opens on a bony ridge.

There is a caecum which, in the great majority of species, is curiously
contorted and coiled.

The prostate is salient.

The bone in the corpus cavernosum is grooved and not dilated and
hilobed anteriorly.

Except in Otocyon there are not * more than two true molars above
and three below, while, except in Icticyon, there are never less than
two true molars above and two below.

The characters by which the Canida differ from the ^luroidea
are : —

They have an auditory bulla which is but very incompletely sub-
divided by a bony septum.

They have a long and prominent paroccipital process, and a large
glenoid foramen.

There is a relatively longer meatus auditorius externus.

The condyloid foramen opens on a bony ridge and is conspicuous.

There is always an alisphenoid canal.

The orbit is never enclosed by bone.

There is a caecum which, in the great majority of species, is curiously
contorted and coiled.

There are no Cowper's glands.

There is a large, symmetrically-shaped bone in the corpus cavernosum.

There are generally four premolars and two true molars above, and
four premolars and three true molars below, while there are generally
two tubercular teeth (devoid of a cutting-blade) behind the sectorial
tooth both above and below.

* Abnormalities of course excepted.

INTRODUCTION. xxxvii

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

General Zoology of the Group, or notices of a considerable number of
the Species contained within it.

BUFFON, Histoire Naturelle, vols. v., vii., xiii., and Supplement, vii.

SHAW, General Zoology, vol. i.

DESMAREST, Mammalogie.

F. CUVIER, Histoire Naturelle des Mammiferes.

J. A. WAGNER, Supplement to Schreber's Siiugthiere, 2nd Abtheilung.

PALLAS, Zoographia Rosso- Asiatica.

HARLAN, Fauna Americana.

RICHARDSON, Fauna Boreali-Americana.

JARDINE'S Naturalist's Library, vols. ix. and x.

PAUL GERVAIS, Mammiferes, vol. ii.

AUDUBON and BACHMAN, Quadrupeds of North America.

TEMMINCR, Siebold's ( Fauna Japonica.'

DARWIN, Animals and Plants under Domestication.

BURMEISTER, Fauna Brasiliens.

BURMEISTER, Republique Argentine, vol. iii.

HARTING, The Zoologist, vol. viii;

HUXLEY, Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1880.

FLOWER, Article "Mammalia," * Encyclopaedia Britannica'*.

GRAY, Catalogue of Carnivorous Mammalia in the British Museum.

JERDON, Mammals of British India.

BLANFORD, Fauna of British India.

ALSTON, Biologia Centrali- American a (Mammals).

RUPPELL, Zoological Atlas.

RUPPELL, Neue Wirbelthiere.

RENGGER, Naturgeschichte der Saugethiere von Paraguay.

AZARA, Essais sur 1'histoire naturelle des Quadrupedes.

HODGSON, Asiatic Researches.

BAIRD, Mammals of North America.

DE BLAINVILLE, Osteographie (Canis).

LEURET, Anatomie comparee du Systeme nerveux.

CUVIER, Lemons d' Anatomie comparee.

MECKEL, Anatomie comparee.

(The works and papers which relate to single kinds or varieties will
be referred to in the description separately assigned to each reputed
species.)

* Shortly to appear in an expanded form as a work on Mammalia, by Flower and
Lydekker.

xxxviii INTKODTICTION.

-«S

Palaeontology of the Group.

CUVIER, Ossemens fossiles.

DE BLAINVILLE, Osteographie (Canis).

PAUL GERVAIS, Zoologie et Paleontologie Franchise.

OWEN, Palaeontology.

GAUDRY, Enchafnements du Monde Animal.

NICHOLSON and LYDEKKER, Manual of Palaeontology.

LYDEKKER, Palaeontologia Indica.

LYDEKKER, Catalogue of Fossil Mammalia in the British Museum.

BOURGUIGNAT, Recherches sur les Oss. des Canidae quatern.

MAX SCHLOSSER, Die Affen, Lemuren, Chiropteren, Insectivoren, Marsu- >

pialien, Creodonten und Carnivoren des Europaischen Tertiars.
Numerous papers by LUND, COPE, LEIDY, FILHOL, ALLEN, MARSH,
NEHRING, WALDRICH, POWEL, F. MAJOR, BOSE, a^jd others.

Amongst the specific names which have been given to fossil specimens
described of the genus Canis are : — enrop&us, edwardsianus, neme- ,
sianus, kercynicus, sussii, scevus, cautleyi, neschersensis, cadurcensis,
Jilholi, falconeri, etruscus, haydenii, dims, wheelerianus, projubatus,
cultridens, indianensis, bracliypus, avus, robustior, lycodes, troglodytes,
validus, fossilis, borbonicus, ceningensis, gypsorum, temerarius, curvi-
palatus, palustris, robustus, parisiensis, viverroides, issiodorensis, brem-
rostris, and palteolycos. A European Cyon and an English Lycaon have
also been described.

C A N I D

Characters of the Family. — The Canidse are Carnivorous Mammals,
with only four complete digits behind and four or five in front ; pre-
molars four above and four below ; molars generally two above and
three below on each side ; auditory bulla smooth, rounded, with a very
incomplete internal septum ; paroccipital process projecting and applied
against the bulla ; mastoid distinct but small ; condyloid and glenoid
foramina conspicuous ; a well-developed alisphenoid canal ; brain with
four convolutions around the Sylvian fissure ; caecum always present,
and mostly coiled on itself; bone of corpus cavernosum straight, wide,
and grooved; prostate salient; no Cowper's glands.

Subdivisions of the Family.

Genera.
fM. . CANIS.

CANIDSE. <

Digits 5 — 4<

^Digits 4 — 4

M. ^ CYON.

M .} ... ICTICYON.

M. \ OTOCYON.

LYCAON.

Genus CANIS, Linneus (1766).

Canis, Linneus, Systema Naturae, 12th ed. vol. i. p. 56 (1766).

Generic characters.

Digits 5 — 4. Pm. 5, M. g.

Nasals extending backwards beyond frontal process of maxillae, or
not so extending ; outer margin of nasals not strongly sigmoid ; ante-
rior palatine foramina not very large ; first upper premolar decidedly
smaller than the second ; inner portion of first upper molar well deve-
loped, the cingulum not coalescing with the inner tubercles ; caecum
generally coiled and contorted.

UNIVERSITY1

teulemazxs del.eL lith

THE COMMON WOLF
Cams

Minlarn Broa . imp

THE COMMON WOLF.

CANIS LUPUS.

Canis lupus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. 12th ed. vol. i. p. 58 (1766) ; Schreber,

Saugthiere, Theil iii. p. 346, pis. 81 & 88 (1778) ; Cuvier,

Regne An. vol. i. p. 153 (1817) ; Desmarest, Mammalogie,

p. 197 (1820) ; Pallas, Zoographia, vol. i. p. 36 (1831) ;

J. A. Wagner, Supplement to Schreber's Saugth., Abtheil.

ii. p. 366 (1840) ; Alston, Biologia Centr.-Amer., Mamm.

p. 65 ; Blanford, Fauna British India, Mammalia, p. 135.
Lupus vulgaris, Brisson, Regnum An. 4to (Paris), p. 235 (1756) ; id.

ibid. 8vo (Ley den), p. 170 (1762) ; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc.

1868, p. 501 ; id. Catalogue of Carnivorous Mammalia in

Brit. Mus. p. 186.
Canis occidentalis, Richardson, Fauna Boreali- Americana, p. 60 (1829) ;

Baird, Mammals North America, p. 104 (1857); De Kay,

Nat. Hist. New York, vol. i. p. 42, pi. 27 (1842) ; Gray,

Catalogue of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 187.
Canis griseus, Audubon & Bachman, Quadrupeds of N. Amer. vol. iii.

p. 279 (1854).

Lupus griseus, Richardson, Fauna B.- Americana, p. 66 (1829).
Canis mexicanus, Brisson, Reg. An. 4to (Paris), p. 237 ; Schreber,

Saugth. Th. iii. p. 352 ; Desmarest, Mamm. p. 199.
Lupus laniger, Hodgson, Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist. vol. vii. p. 474

(1847); Horsfield, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 2nd series,

vol. xvi. p. 107 (1855).

Canis chanco, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1863, p. 94.
Canis pallipes, Sykes, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 101; Jerdon, Mammals of Brit.

India, p. 139 ; Blanford, Fauna Brit. India, p. 139.
Canis hodophylax, Temminck, Siebold's Fauna Japonica (Mammalia),

p. 38, pi. 9 (1847) ; Brauns, The Chrysanthemum (Yoko-
hama), vol. i. p. 66 (1881).
Canis nubilus, Say in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, vol. i.

p. 169 (1823); Richardson, Fauna B.-Americana, p. 69

(1829).
Canis variabilis, Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied, Reise in Nord-America

(Coblenz), vol. ii. p. 95 (1841).

4 THE COMMON WOLF.

Lupus sticte, Richardson, Fauna B.- Americana, p. 68 (1829).

Le Loup, Buffon, Hist. Nat. vol. vii. p. 39 (1758), and Supplement,

vol. vii. pp. 161-217 (1789); F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. des

Mammiferes, vol. ii. (1824).

BLACK VARIETY.

Lycaon, Erxleben, Syst. Nat. (Mammalia), p. 560 (1777).
Canis lycaon, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 198 (1820); Harlan, Fauna

Americana, p. 82 (1825) ; Cuvier, Regne An. vol. i. p. 154.
Lupus ater, Richardson, Fauna B.-Americana, p. 113 (1829) ; Audubon

and Bachman, Quadrupeds of N. Amer. vol. ii. p. 126,

pi. 67 (1851).

Canis niger, Sclater, P. Z. S. 1874, p. 654, pi. 78.
Loup noir, Buffon, Hist. Nat. vol. ix. p. 362, pi. 41 ; F. Cuvier, Hist.

Nat. des Mammiferes, vol. ii.

WHITE VARIETY.
Canis (Lupus) albus, Sabine, in Franklin's Journey to Polar Sea, p. 655

(1823); Audubon and Bachman, Quadrupeds of N. Amer.

vol. ii. p. 156, pi. 72 (1851).
Lupus albus, Richardson, Fauna B.-Americana, p. 68.

THIS animal is the largest and most dreaded of the CanidaB. Its
ferocity and the ravages often made by wolves are matters of common
notoriety, so that even naturalists, following Buffon, have declared it to
be really untamable and incapable of true attachment. We have,
however, ourselves seen a Spanish she-wolf of extreme gentleness. She
would come to be caressed, wagging her tail, and showing the signs of
pleasure a domestic dog would exhibit. F. Cuvier describes one which
had been brought up in domesticity, was perfectly tame and very
strongly attached to its master, who presented it to the Jardin des
Plantes. Thus left, it became for a time gloomy and ate little, but after-
wards began to attach itself to its keepers. Eighteen months later its
old master came to see it, and at the first sound of his voice it was
violently excited. On being set free, it lavished on its master all the
caresses a dog would bestow. Being again tried in the same way,
for a period of three years, it once more exhibited, in a similar manner,
on its master's return, the tenacity of its memory and the vivacity
of its attachment. There is no doubt but that wolves are easily tamed

CANIS LUPUS. 5

when taken young ; and even when not caught till fully adult may be
tamed, so as to live with dogs and learn from them to bark.

Wolves frequent both forests and open country, and they may be
met with by day as well as by night, either singly, in pairs, or in packs.
It is especially in winter time that they herd together for predatory
purposes, to the great danger of solitary travellers. In 1875 one
hundred and sixty-one persons fell victims to wolves in Russia, and
the damage to cattle in 1873 was estimated at seven and a half millions
of roubles. Wolves destroy horses and cattle by combined attacks, but
will singly destroy sheep, goats, or children. They greedily devour
birds, and will eat mice, frogs, or almost any small animals. They will
also feed on carrion, and are said to even seek nourishment from buds
and lichens.

The voice of the wolf is mainly a loud howl, but, as above remarked,
wolves will learn in confinement to bark, if they hear dogs do so.

The males fight together in the month of January, and the successful
combatant who has thus obtained a female, remains with her till the
young are advanced in growth. Gestation lasts 63 days, and from three
to nine cubs may be born. The young are suckled for two months, but
at the end of the first begin to eat half-digested meat thrown up by
the mother for them. She makes her nest in a burrow, small cave, or
dense thicket, often furnishing it with moss as well as the hairs of her
coat, which she sheds about that time.

In November or December the cubs quit their parents, but may keep
together for another six or eight months or longer. They become full-
grown the third year after their birth, and live from twelve to fifteen
years.

The European Wolf may be considered as a survivor of a group of
ferocious beasts of prey — the cave-bear, the cave-hyrena, &c., with which
animals prehistoric man had to contend. It still exists in the wilder
or more mountainous parts of France, Belgium, and all other European
countries except Central and Northern Germany. It is very abundant
in many parts of Russia *.

* For details as to its distribution in Russia, see the ' Zoologische Garten,' xxiv.
Jahrgang (1883), p. 91.

6 THE COMMON WOLF.

In England wolves must still have been common in Yorkshire in the
reign of Richard II., for in the account-rolls of Whitby Abbey there is
an entry* of a payment for dressing wolf-skins. They were probably
exterminated in the reign of Henry VII. The last in Scotland is said
to have been destroyed in 1743, while one is asserted to have been
killed in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland in 1770. Should these
statements, however, be inaccurate, it is, at any rate, certain that Wolves
existed in Scotland till 1680, and in Ireland down to 1710.

The size and proportions of the Wolf roughly resemble those of a
large mastiff, though individuals, especially from different localities, differ
greatly in size.

The prevailing colour is a tawny or rufous grey, and the greyness is
apt to increase with old age. The head, back of the neck, shoulders,
loins, and crupper are blackish with yellow tints. There is an underfur
of a slate or a brown colour, amongst which whitish and black-tipped
hairs are intermixed. The thighs and outsides of the legs reddish yellow,
as is also the tail, save that the end is black. The inner side of the limbs
is of a dirty yellowish grey. The lower jaw, the margin of the upper jaw,
the inside of the ears, and the belly are more or less white. A black
mark extends vertically from the wrist up the front of the leg, and there
is sometimes a V-shaped black mark, with the apex directed backwards,
over the shoulders.

The form and proportions of the skull, and the shape and relative
development of the different teeth, agree generally with those which
have been described in our introductory chapter.

In Plate I. we have a representation of a wolf from the Pyrenees,
which is of a somewhat brighter, richer tint than that commonly found
in the Wolves of Central Europe ; but Spanish wolves are often very
much darker, with a great deal of black in the coat, and sometimes are
almost entirely black, and but little more than twenty years ago a
black wolf was killed f near Dinant, in Belgium. North-European

* See J. E. Harting's ' British Animals extinct during Historic Times.' Trubner
&Go. : 1880.

t See ' Archives Cosmologiques ' (Bruxelles, 1868), p. 78, plate 5.

CANTS LUPUS. 7

Wolves are generally greyer \\ith longer fur, and may be of a very light
colour. A specimen from Moscow, in the British Museum, has
remarkably long, soft hair, of a pale colour, and altogether devoid of a
rufous tint on the outside of the limbs.

The Wolf is a striking example of the variability common to so many
of the Canidse. This variability is by no means confined to its furry
coat, but also affects the details of the skeleton and dentition, and the
general proportions and size of its whole bodily frame.

Various zoologists have regarded different local forms of the Wolf —
both in the Old World and the New — as so many distinct species.
We have already observed, in our Introduction, that many members of
the canine family vary so much that the specific separation of them
must be largely a matter of individual opinion concerning which
zoologists may reasonably differ. Acting on our principle not to
separate as probable species, forms which we have not found to differ
by any characters which seem constant *, we feel compelled to treat
the various local forms here referred to as varieties of Canis lupus.

We have seen that the European Wolf varies greatly — not only in
having predominantly either a red or a grey hue, but in being (as
sometimes in Spain) almost black, or (as in North Europe) of an
extremely light tint.

We might therefore expect to find a similar range of variations in
the Wolves of Asia and America.

In Plate II. we give a representation of a black wolf from Thibet.
It is not, however, completely black, having a reddish tinge on the
hinder part of either thigh, while the margins of the mouth, a patch
on the breast, the under surface of the lower jaw, and the paws are
white.

The individual figured is one of a pair which the Zoological Society
of London received from Lieut. A. A. Kinloch and Lieut. J. Biddulph
in August 1867, and which they had obtained from some Tartars in
Thibet, at the foot of the Lanak pass. These beasts had shaggy fur, and
were uniformly black except on the muzzle, the feet, and a patch on the

* See ante, p. v.

8 THE COMMON WOLF.

breast, which were white. They are the types of Dr. Sclater's * species
C. niger.

Another black wolf in the British Museum has shorter fur and
browner knees than the former. Its face also is not white, but only
the lips, while there is some white behind the thigh, as well as brown
in front of it.

Our Plate III. represents a fine specimen of a uniformly pale colour,
which was shot by Lieut. W. P. Hodnell in Chinese Tartary, and
presented by Lady A. Harvey to the British Museum. It was named
by Dr. Gray f Canis ckanco, and is the actual type of his species. Its
fur is pale fulvous, the hair of the back having black and grey hairs
intermixed. The head is greyish with short black and grey hairs on
the forehead.

Its skull and teeth are like those of the Common Wolf.

This is probably the same variety of wolf as that to which the name
C. laniger has been applied by Mr. B. H. Hodgson J, and which he
says is common all over Thibet, and he describes it as : "Above, dull
earthy-brown ; below, with the entire face and limbs yellowish-white.
No marks on the limbs. Tail concolorous with the body." He adds
that it measures three feet nine inches from snout to tail, and that the
tail is one foot four inches long. Mr. Blanford, in his ' Fauna of British
India ' §, identifies, as we do, this form with the Common Wolf. He is
of a different opinion, however, as regards what is called the Indian
Wolf, to which the name C. pallipes was applied by Sykes || . But
Mr. Blanford only distinguishes it from C. lupus as being smaller and
slighter, with a shorter coat and little or no underfur. In these characters
we have found undoubted specimens of C. lupus to differ as much as
they differ from the Indian Wolf, and in five skins carefully examined by

* P. Z. S. 1874, p. 654, plate Ixxviii. An account of the capture of these animals
will be found in a work entitled " Large-Game Shooting in Thibet and the North-
West." By Alexander A. A. Kinloch. (London, 1869 : Harrison.)

t P. Z. S. 1863, p. 94.

t Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist. vol. vii. (1847), p. 474

§ Part I. pp. 135, 136.

!| P.Z.S. 1831, p. 101.

CANIS LUPUS. 9

us we found no satisfactory distinctive character, though the V-shaped
stripe over the shoulders was more marked than in most European wolves.
We at first thought that the skull would provide us with distinguishing
characters in its greater concavity above between the orbits, the posi-
tion of the suture between the palatine and maxillary bones on the
palate, and in certain details of dental structure. An extended exami-
nation, however, of crania belonging to both varieties convinced us that
not one of these differences was constant, and that no other such could
be depended on.

Our Plate IV., representing the Indian Wolf, is drawn from a
specimen living in the Zoological Gardens.

Its coloration varies from greyish red to reddish white, with a touch
of grey, many of the hairs being black-tipped ; there is generally black
on the back, especially a V-shaped patch behind the shoulders. The
limbs are paler than the body. The tail is slightly or decidedly
tipped with black. The underparts of the body are more or less
white *.

This variety appears to be mainly confined to the plains south of the
Himalayas. It is said but rarely to be found west of the Indus or in
Lower Bengal, and it is unknown in Ceylon as far as present evidence
goes.

As to the habits of the Indian Wolf, Mr. Blanford informs us it does
not associate in large packs, but that two or more will combine to attack
man, while six or eight sometimes hunt together. A large number of
Indian children are carried off each year by them. Their depredations
are facilitated by the superstition of the people, who are very averse to
killing a wolf, thinking its blood injures the bearing of their fields.
Tales are current in India, as in Europe, of male infants reared by
wolves, but are of doubtful authenticity at the best.

* A specimen has newly arrived at the British Museum from Pekin. It is a
rather small animal, with a well-marked patch of black on the back of the neck,
continued backwards as an interrupted dorsal streak. The tail is pale ochre towards
its root, but its distal half is redder and it is black at the point. The ears, snout,
back of head, and limbs are redder than in C. pallipes or than in most specimens of
the European Wolf.

10 THE COMMON WOLF.

It is very rarely that its voice is heard, and it does not howl like the
European Wolf. Its breeding-time is from about the middle of October
to about the end of December, but mostly in December. The young
cubs are blind, and have the ears drooping. Their general colour is
sooty brown on the surface, the roots of the hairs being a light tan
colour, especially on the head and flanks. They have a milk-white
chest-spot, and often the tip of the tail is white. After a time the
chest-spot disappears, and is replaced by a temporary dark collar
beneath the neck *.

The Indian Wolf is remarkable both for its speed and its powers of
endurance. Dr. Jerdori tells us f : — " I have known wolves turn on
dogs that were running at their heels and pursue them smartly till
close up to my horse. A wolf once joined with my greyhounds in
pursuit of a fox, which was luckily killed almost immediately after-
wards, or the wolf might have seized one of the dogs instead of the fox.
He sat down on his haunches about sixty yards off, whilst the dogs
were worrying the fox, looking on with great apparent interest, and
was with difficulty driven away."

The American variety of the wolf, which has been named Cants
occidentalis J, cannot, we are persuaded, be considered a distinct species
from that of Europe. The differences which exist between its extreme
varieties are greater than any which exist between those forms of
European and American wolves which are most alike, as also are the
differences which exist between extreme varieties of the European
Wolf.

We have examined a number of skins, endeavouring with the
greatest care to detect specific characters. We have found the
American forms less red than most European ones, especially on the
legs and hinder part of the head ; but in this they agree with specimens
from Northern Europe. The American skins have generally more black
on the back than most European ones, yet not so much as may be
found in many Spanish wolves.

* See E. Bonavia in ' Nature,' vol. xii. (1875), p. 67.

t Loc. cit. p. 141.

J Richardson, * Fauna Boreali-Americana ' (Murray, 1829), p. 60.

CANIS LUPUS. 11

We have carefully measured skulls and teeth of a number of Ameri-
can wolves, and compared them with the skulls and teeth of European
forms, but could not detect the slightest constant difference between
them, any more than between the skins of specimens of the two
races.

In our Plate V. we have had represented what appears to us to be
a normal specimen of the American variety, C. occidentalis.

The enormous and rapid spread of population and tillage in the
United States have greatly restricted the range of this formidable
animal ; yet Allen * refers to it as still an inhabitant of Massachusetts
a little more than twenty years ago. In 1829 they used to be very
numerous on the sandy plains eastward of the Rocky Mountains,
where they would hang on the skirts of herds of the Bison, and prey
on the sick or on straggling calves. But they would not venture to
attack any vigorous full-grown Bison. Hunters informed Mr. Richard-
son that they had often seen wolves walking through a herd of bulls
without exciting the least alarm amongst them. The hunters used to
rely upon the wary and suspicious nature of the wolf, to preserve the
game they had obtained. For this purpose it was generally found
sufficient to tie a handkerchief, or an inflated bladder, to the branch of
a tree. The ferocity of these animals is, however, vouched for by
Audubon, who relates an instance of two negroes who, though armed
with axes, were set upon while travelling at night, when one, after
fighting as long as he could, saved himself by climbing into a tree,
while the other was killed and eaten. In spite of its carnivorous, pre-
datory habit, this variety sometimes feeds on berries f.

The American Wolf burrbws, and its earths have several outlets,
as was observed by Richardson, who saw some of them on the plains
of the Saskatchewan, and also on the banks of the Coppermine
river.

In the present day I learn, through the kindness of Dr. Elliott Coues,

* See his " Mammals of Massachusetts " in Bulletin of the Museum of Comp.
Zoology of Harvard Coll. 1863-69.

t See a note by J. C. Hughes in the 'American Naturalist,' vol. xvii. (1883),
p. 1192.

12 THE COMMON WOLF.

on the authority of Mr. Allen, that the wolf is found east of the
Mississippi and south of Canada only in the still nearly unsettled
parts of the country, as the northern portion of New England and New
York, portions of the Alleghanies, Southern Florida, and possibly in the
sparsely settled parts of the interior States south of the Ohio. It is only
abundant in the remote districts of Maine. West of the Mississippi its
numbers are very small in comparison with its former abundance, while
over vast areas it has been wholly extirpated. North of the United
States, except in the more settled parts of Canada, it is probably still
more or less common.

Mr. S. F. Baird justly observes *, with respect to the unity or multi-
plicity of species of Wolf : — " It is difficult to occupy a middle ground
between considering all our wolves as one species with many varieties,
or making all these varieties into as many distinct species. Thus, we
have the pure white wolf of the Upper Missouri ; the dusky blackish
plumbeous wolf of the Missouri ; the entirely black wolf of Florida and
the Southern States, and the entirely red or rufous wolf of Texas.
These vary, too, in shape as well as colour, the more southern ones
appearing usually more slender f, and standing higher on the legs, in
consequence, perhaps, of the comparative shortness and compactness
of the fur." The wolf descends so far south in Mexico as the State of
Guanajuato, but these southern wolves are greatly inferior in size to
the northern, and especially the subarctic forms j.

We have examined a black wolf-skin from America, and a perfectly
white one also from America, not an albino, was seen at Liverpool a
short time ago by Mr. A. D. Bartlett. At the British Museum there
is a specimen brought from North America by Dr. Rae, which is most
remarkable on account of its long white hair, being an example of a

* Loc. cit. p. 105.

t This remark is interesting because the Southern Old- World form pallipes is
distinguished by its greater sleuderness from the wolves of northern parts of the
Palaearctic region.

+ Alston, loc. cit. p. 66.

CANIS LUPUS. 13

very pale variety from the far North. Along the middle of the back
this specimen has its long light hairs dark towards their roots.

Thus in both hemispheres we may meet with red, or grey, or black,
or white wolves, as well as wolves of very sturdy, or of slender build,
and either with long and woolly, or very short fur. Moreover, a great
number of intermediate varieties exist, so that species must be greatly
multiplied, without any really distinctive characters ; or else all these
forms must be taken to be (as we take them to be) but local or climatic
varieties of one and the same species. On this account we have, in
our list of synonyms, united under the one head, Canis lupus, the
great number of different names therein cited.

The American Wolf ranges from Mexico to the North of Canada,
and to Greenland*.

There now remains but one form to consider, which is the variety,
or species, named by Temminck Canis hodophylax, which he tells us is
called " Jamainu " by the natives. It is said to inhabit woodv and
mountainous parts of Japan, where it hunts in small troops or families,
and is greatly dreaded by the Japanese, who even consider its flesh
unwholesome to eat.

As to its specific distinctness, Temminck admits that it is very like
the Common Wolf, but asserts it to differ therefrom not only by its
smaller size, but also, and above all, by the shortness of its legs.
Nevertheless, we have seen undoubted specimens of C. lupus with legs
as short as those of the animal represented in Temminck's plate.

Prof. D. Braunsf, however, considers the variety a distinct species,
and his figure, which we here reproduce (fig. 17, p. 14), does show
limbs which are relatively short, but the tail is hardly so, although he
makes its shortness a distinctive character as well as the greater
elongation of the muzzle. But he remarks : " There can be no doubt
as to the existence of only one kind of wolf in Japan."

* See a letter from Dr. Robert Brown in the Ann. of Xat, Hist. 4th series, vol. vii.
(1871), p. 65.

t See ' The Chrysanthemum,' vol. i. (1881), p. 66.

THE COMMON WOLF.

In the British Museum, however, there are two skulls of wolves from
Japan. Neither skull exhibits any character by which it can be
specifically distinguished from C. lupus, but the two differ very much

Fig. 17.

CAKIS HODOPHYLAX.
(Facsimile from ' The Chrysanthemum.' See note, p. 13.)

in size, though both are fully adult. If, then, so great a difference can
exist between the size of the head of adult Japanese wolves, it is
difficult to think that the length of the limbs may not have varied
from that found in the Continental wolves. Moreover, Prof. Brauns
lets us know that the Japanese variety (hodopJiylax) does vary much,
since he expressly says that in the Museum at Tokio there are very

f CAN1S LUPUS. 15

differently coloured skins, namely " yellowish," " brownish," and
"whitish grey."

Of the two skulls in the British Museum, the larger one comes from
the province of Yesso — a region which has Palaearctic affinities. The
small one is from the province of Kotsuke, which is more Oriental in
its zoological character. They may well therefore be nothing more
than local varieties, differently modified in harmony with their respec-
tively diverse environments. This quite agrees with what we find in
the American continent, where the difference of the lengths of the
skull of a number of North-Mexican and Hudson-Bay wolves amounts
to no less than twenty-five per cent, of the average size in the whole
series *.

Altogether, we cannot yet see our way to advancing the Japanese
variety to the rank of a species. Our view is in harmony with the
opinion expressed by Professor Huxley, who, when specially studying
the Canidae, had the advantage of seeing a living specimen of this form.
He says f : — "The Japanese C. hodopltylax, of which there is a fine
specimen now living in the Gardens, appears to be simply a small form
of wolf ; but in the absence of any accessible skulls of this form, I
refrain from giving any definite opinion." Having ourselves now had
the opportunity of examining two skulls, we are in a position to con-
firm the provisional opinion above quoted, based on the inspection of a
living specimen.

Habitat. Treating, then, all the herein noted forms of the Wolf as
mere varieties of the one species, C. lupus, we may say that the animal
has an exceedingly wide geographical range, extending, as it appears to
do, throughout the whole of the Pala3arctic region, with the single
exception of Africa north of the Sahara, and ranging southwards over
Hindostan, without, however, extending to the island of Ceylon, nor
into Burmah or the Indian Archipelago. In America it ranges over
the whole continent northwards from the State of Guanajuato in
Mexico.

* Alston, loc. cit. p. 66.
f P. Z. S. 1830, p. 274.

16 THE COMMON WOLF.

Dimensions (in centimeters) of the large Wolf from Moscow in the

British Museum.

Length from end of snout to root of tail ] 22'0

„ of tail 38-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 25'0

„ of ear lO'O

Skeletal and dental dimensions (in centimeters) of a specimen of the

American variety.

Length of the cervical vertebrae 21 '5

„ dorsal „ 26'0

„ lumbar „ 20'0

,, sacral „ 4*0

,, caudal „ 41'0

Length from front of atlas to hinder end of sacrum . . 7T5.

Length of whole pectoral limb * 67'0

„ whole pelvic f « 76'0

„ humerus J 22'0

„ radius § 21'5

„ femur || 24'2

„ tibia 1 24-0

,, index metacarpal 8'7

„ third „ 9-8

,, metacarpal of pollex 3*0

„ whole pollex 6'3

„ last phalanx of third digit (manus) .... 2'Q

„ index metatarsal 9'3

„ metatarsal of hallux l-4

„ whole hallux 3'0

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) 2'3

Basion to ovalion ** . . . 5*6

„ anterior end of basiphenoid, or sphenoideum . 5'6

Sphenoideum to gnathion ft 16*1

* From upper end of humerus to distal end of manus.
t From upper end of femur to distal end of pes.

£ From head of humerus to end of capitellum. § To root of styloid process.

|| From head to condyloid surface. H To root of malleolus.

** That is, from anterior margin of foramen magnum to the middle of a line joining
the posterior margins of the oval foramina.

ft That is, to the anterior end of the premaxillaD.

CANIS LUPUS. 17

Dimensions (in centimeters) of the Skull and Teeth of a European Wolf.

Basion to ovalion 4-Q

Basion to sphenoideum 5-9

Sphenoideum to gnathion . 14-4

Length* of palate 10'7

Breadth f of palate 5-9

Length of nasals 8'9

Greatest breadth of nasals 2*0

Breadth of brain-case 6-3

» zygomata 11-5

Length of first upper piemolar, or ?iJL 0'7

„ second „ „ or ij_? 1-4

„ third „ „ or LI3 1-55

fourth „ „ or*j_f 3-4

„ first upper molar, or ^ 1 1-55

„ second „ „ or ^L? 0'85

B read th of fourth upper premolar, or ±_iJ 1-1

„ first upper molar, or ^' ^ 2'0

„ second ,, „ or M-2 1-4

Length of first lower premolar, or JT-J 0'5

„ second „ „ or jr^ 1'25

„ third „ „ orjr^ 1'35

„ fourth „ „ or p-j 1-5

„ first lower molar, or -^\ 2*6

„ second „ „ or jj^ 1 '2

„ third „ „ or$L3 °'5

Breadth of first lower molar, or jj^[ 1'05

„ second „ „ «r ^2 °'75

„ third „ „ or TO 0'5

* Backwards to the base of the process projecting backwards from the middle of
the posterior margin of the palate.

t Taken within the angle formed by the approximation of the fourth premolar and
first molar tooth of either side.

THE ABYSSINIAN WOLF.

CANI8 SIMENSIS.

Canis simensis, Riippell, Neue Wirbelthiere z. d. Fauna von Abyssinien

gehorig (Frankfurt, 1835-1840), p. 39, pi. 14 (1835) ;

J. A. Wagner, Supplement to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii.

p. 382.
Simenia simensis, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 506 ; id. Catalogue of

Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 192.

THE animal we have next to consider is plainly a very distinct species,
and has no special affinity to any of the numerous varieties of the
Common Wolf. It was discovered by Dr. Edward Riippell during his
travels in Abyssinia, in most of the provinces of which country it is, he
says, to be met with. It hunts in packs, preying upon domestic sheep
and small wild animals, but it is regarded as never being dangerous
to man. The individual captured was taken in the mountains of
Semyen (Samen or Simen), and is now in the British Museum. This
specimen, which is the type of the species, is figured in our Plate VI.

The animal is about the size of a large sheep-dog.

The Abyssinian Wolf is remarkable for the great length and slender -
ness of its snout.

Its colour is a light yellowish reddish brown on the whole of the
upper and almost all the outer parts. It is white round the mouth,
more or less round the eyes, on the inner margins of the ears, on the
chest, on the front of the fore legs below the wrist, on the front of the
hind legs below the knee, around the vent, beneath and at the sides
of the proximal half of the tail, inside the thighs, and on the hinder
half of the belly. The distal half of the tail is blackish. Those lower

J. G.Kexilentans dal.et.litk.

THE ABYSSINIAN WOLF.
Cams simens]5->.

Mirvtem Bros .

CANIS SIMENSIS.

parts which are not white (beneath the throat, the fore part of the
belly, &c.) are lighter in colour than the upper parts. There is much
black on the dorsum of the proximal half of the tail, and many of the
hairs of the sides of the body and haunches are black for a considerable
part of their length. There are also white hairs intermixed with them.
Habitat. Abyssinia.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 99

„ of tail 25

„ from heel to end of longest digit 20

„ of ear 11

Fig. 18.

CANIS SIMENSIS.

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull of this species presents a great contrast to that of the
Common Wolf, its facial part being so exceedingly long and slender.

The dentition is remarkable for the small size of the fourth upper
premolar compared with the upper molars.

THE ABYSSINIAN WOLF.

Dimensions of Skull and Teeth.

Centimeters.
Basion to ovalion ......... ; . . . 3'5

„ to sphenoideum ............ 5'0

Sphenoideum to gnathion ........... ]3'8

Length of palate .............. 10'2

Breadth of „ .............. 4'9

Length of nasals .............. 8'8

Breadth of „ .............. 1'8

„ brain-case ............ 6'2

„ zygomata ............ 10'5

Length of ?il .............. 0'4

„ ^ .............. 0-85

P. 3 J.Q

3) .............. A "

P. 4 1>G

>i .............. A VJ

M.I

M^ .............. 0-8

Breadth of ZiJ .............. 0'6

Length of 577 .............. 0*4

» P72 ..............

„ P73 .............. 0>9

» PT4 .............. 1>05

,> MH .............. 1>9

,, JO .............. 1<0

» SO - • •• ........... 0<4

Breadth of .............. 07

M72
50

THE MANED WOLF.

CANIS JUBATUS.

Canis jubatus, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 198; Rengger, Natur°-esch.
der Saugethiere von Paraguay, 1830, p. 138 ; Sykes, Proc.
Zool. Soc. 1838, p. Ill ; J. A. Wagner's Supplement to
Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 380; Burrueister, Fauna
Brasiliensis, p. 25, pis. 21 & 26 ; id. Republique Argentine,
vol. iii. p. 140 (1879) ; Hensel, Zool. Garten, xiii. Jahrg.
(1872), p. 76; Sclater, P. Z. S. 1877, p. 806, pi. 81;
Flower, P. Z. S. 1879, p. 766.

Canis campestris, Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied, Beitrage, vol. ii. p. 334.

Chrysocy on jubatus, Hamilton Smith, Naturalist's Library, vol. ix. p. 242
(1839).

Chrysocyon jubata, Gray, P. Z. S. 1868, p. 506 ; id. Catalogue of Carni-
vorous Mammalia, p. 192.

Agouara gouazon, Azara, Essais sur 1'histoire naturelle des Quadrupedes
du Paraguay, vol. i. p. 307 (1801).

THIS Wolf is not well named, since the rather long hair of the nape
of the neck hardly merits to be called a " mane." The animal, how-
ever, is a very interesting one, and, like the Abyssinian Wolf, constitutes
an exceedingly marked and distinct species. It is the largest of the
Canida found in South America, where it inhabits Paraguay and parts
adjacent, and notably the Province of Minas Geraes in Brazil. Its
long limbs, long and large ears, and conspicuous coloration cause it to
be easily recognized.

In spite of its large size, the Maned Wolf is by no means a dangerous
animal, never attacking man. It is described by Azara as inhabiting
low and moist situations, and as being of solitary habit, never hunting
in packs. Although it may pursue wild deer, he declares that it com-
mits no depredations on herds or flocks of domestic animals. It does,

22 THE MANED WOLF.

however, appear sometimes to pursue sheep*. An individual kept by
Azara was very fond of rats, small birds, sugar-cane, and oranges, yet it
never attempted to seize the domestic fowls, which from time to time
came within its reach, and it agreed well with other domestic animals.
In a wild state this Wolf devours pacas, agoutis, birds, reptiles, and even
some insects. It will also eat plants, and is especially fond of the fruit
of Solanum lycocarpum. It is said by Rengger to frequent the outskirts
of the forests in Paraguay, near water ; but it is also found amidst the
high grass of the plains, but being an exceedingly timid animal — afraid
even of small dogs — there is little opportunity of observing it save in
confinement. Except in uninhabited regions, it passes the day in cover,
sallying forth at night. The sexes approach each other in the autumn,
at which season their loud cry is most frequently heard. Its local
name " A-gua-a " is doubtless derived from the sound of this cry.

One reared in captivity came to recognize its name, even when pro-
nounced by strangers, as also its master's voice. It avoided the light
of midday, and generally slept from ten in the morning till five in the
afternoon, and also for a time after midnight.

It will breed with the domestic dog, and the mongrel so produced is
said by Dr. Lund to be an excellent animal for the chase. The female
brings forth three or four young in the month of August.

The species seems to have been first made known, under the name of
" Aguaria," by M. Dobritzhofer (' Geschichte der Abiponer,' i. p. 404 :
Vienna, 1783), and to have been first brought alive to Europe in
1877, when it was exhibited in the Gardens of the Zoological Society
of London.

The animal represented in our Plate VII. is one the skin of which
is preserved in our National Collection, and which came from the
Zoological Society after having lived some time in that Society's
Gardens.

The body is clothed with long hairs, which are predominantly of a
light yellowish reddish tinge. A median longitudinal patch from the
nape of the neck backwards over the shoulders is black, as is also most

* According to Hensel, loc. cit. p. 77.

CANIS JUBATTJS. 23

of the under surface of the lower jaw. There is also a black patch on the
front of the lower part of each fore leg, and also from the heel down-
wards, on the middle of the posterior part. There is a good deal of
black about the jaws generally, but the upper surfaces of the toes are
clothed with whitish hairs. There are also many black hairs about the
head. The front of the upper part of the throat and the hinder part
of the under surface of the lower jaw are white. There are long white
hairs within the ears, and a tuft of white hairs terminates the tail. The
rest of the body is of a reddish-yellow colour, which may be darker across
the shoulders, along the middle of the back, and on the outside of the
ears.

The coloration of this animal is evidently subject to variation. The
specimen figured by Burmeister is much more dull in colour than that
represented by us, or than is shown in the plate in the ' Proceedings of
the Zoological Society.' The latter has white around the mouth, no
white patch on the front of the throat, and no transverse darkening
across the shoulders. Burmeister's specimen has the white throat, but
immediately beneath is a curiously shaped longitudinal black patch
(wanting in our specimen arid that figured by the Zoological Society)
passing downwards and backwards, ending in a point on the front of
the chest. The muzzle also is black.

Habitat. Brazil, Paraguay, and probably Uruguay and the northern
parts of the Argentine Republic.

Centimeters.
Length from the snout to the root of the tail . . . . 120

„ of the tail ............. 25

„ from heel to end of longest digit ...... 20

of ear .............. 11

Skeletal and Dental Characters and Dimensions.

The skull is much elongated, and the angle of the mandible very small.
The fourth upper premolar is exceptionally short, and the two true upper
molars, taken together, exceptionally long in proportion.

Our woodcut is a representation of the skull which was extracted
from the skin we have had figured.

THE MANED WOLF.

The thorax is relatively small.

The radius, maims, and pes are very long.

The pollex is remarkably short, compared with the index of the
maims, and the hallux still more so, compared with the index of the
pes.

Fig. 19.

CANIS JUBATUS.

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrae 21 '0

}, dorsal „ 29'5

„ lumbar „ 25'f>

„ sacral ,, 4*5

„ caudal „ 44*0

Length from front of atlas to hinder end of sacrum . . 80'5

Length of pectoral limb 69*0

., pelvic „ 79'5

„ iiumerus 23'3

radius ... 25 '1

CANIS JUBATUS.

Centimeters.

Length of femur ............. 26'2

„ tibia .............. 27-1

„ index raetacarpal .......... 9'0

third „ .......... 10-2

„ metacarpal of pollex ......... 3'1

„ whole pollex ........... 5'6

„ last phalanx of third digit (manus) .... 2'0

„ index metatarsal .......... 11'2

„ metatarsal of hallux ......... 1'4

„ whole hallux ........... 2*2

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) ..... 1*8

Basion to ovalion .... ......... 3'6

„ sphenoideum ........... 5'1

Sphenoideum to gnathion .......... 15'0

Length of palate ............. 10*7

Breadth of „ ............. 5'5

Length of nasals ............. 8'9

Greatest breadth of nasals .......... 1*9

Breadth of brain-case ............ 6'5

» zygomata ............ 12'7

Length of PJ: .............. 0'6

1-15

Breadth of £_* . ............. 0-7

MJ .............. 1-6

Length of PT"J; ... ........... 0'5

0-Q

» P. 2

„ PT3

SO ..............

l.i

» M.2 ..............

*r-, .... 0-5

^ M. 3 ......

Breadth of jo • • • - .......... °'85

. . . 0-80
» M.2 .........

. . 0-45
» M.3 .......

THE ANTARCTIC WOLF.

CANIS ANTARCTICUS.

Canis antarcticus, Shaw, Gen. Zoology, vol. i. p. 331 (1800) ; Desmarest,
Maramalogie, p. 199 (1820) ; Waterhouse, Zool. of H.M.S.
'Beagle/ Mammalia, p. 7, plate 4 (1839) ; J. A. Wagner,
Supplement to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 402 ; Bur-
meister, Republique Argentine, vol. iii. p. 142.

Dasicyon antarcticus, Hamilton Smith, Naturalist's Library, vol. ix.
p. 252, pi. 23 (1839).

Pseudalopex antarcticus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p, 531 ; id. Cata-
logue of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 200.

Antarctic Dog, Pennant, Quadrupeds, 1st edition, p. 240 (1781), 3rd
edition, p. 257 (1793).

Loup-renard, Bougainville, Voyage autour du Monde, p. 65 (1771).

THIS small species of Wolf, only found in the Falkland Islands, where
its numbers are rapidly diminishing, appears to have been first described
by Dom. Pernetty in his ' Histoire d'un voyage aux isles Maloaines,' in
1763 and 1764*. The explorers of that expedition, seeing that the
animals advanced towards them, were inclined to regard them as
ferocious creatures ; but Pernetty sagaciously observes : — " Peut-etre
cet animal n'est-il pas feroce, et ne venait-il se presenter et s'approcher
de nous, que parce qu'il n'avait jamais vu d'hommes."

The sailors of Commodore Byron's expedition f were similarly
astonished and not a little alarmed. " The master having been sent
one day to sound the coast upon the south shore, reported at his return
that four creatures of great fierceness, resembling wolves, ran up to
their bellies in the water to attack the people in the boat, and that as

* See second edition, vol. i. p. 355.

t Voyage Round the World in H.M.S. 'Dolphin,' 1767.

CANIS ANTAKCTICUS. 27

they happened to have no fire-arms with them, they had immediately
put the boat off in deep water."

In his account of the Voyage of the ' Beagle,'* Mr. Darwin
observes : — " To this day their manners remain the same. They have
been observed to enter a tent, and actually pull some meat from beneath
the head of a sleeping seaman. The Gauchos, also, have frequently
killed them in the evening by holding out a piece of meat in one hand,
and in the other a knife ready to stick them."

The species was found in both the East and West Falkland Islands,
but at the time of the visit of the ' Beagle ' their numbers had already
so decreased that they had altogether disappeared from the neck of land
between San Salvador Bay and Berkeley Sound in the Eastern Island.

They largely feed on native geese, which, to escape them, have taken
to build on outlying islets. Mr. Darwin also tells us that they do not
go in packs, and are not nocturnal, though they wander about more in
the evening than in broad day. Except during the breeding-season,
they are generally silent.

They burrow in the ground like a fox, and Byron noticed pieces of
seals they had mangled, and skins of penguins, scattered about the
mouths of their holes. " To get rid of these creatures," he tells us,
" our people set fire to the grass, so that the country was in a blaze as
far as the eye could reach for several days, and we could see them
running in great numbers to seek other quarters." Our figure,
Plate VIIL, is drawn from a specimen brought from East Falkland
Island by Sir W. Burnet.

The fur of this animal is moderately long, with no very abundant
underfur, which is of a pale brown colour. The hairs are yellow,
commonly black at the apex, annulated with white on the upper parts
of the body ; those of the hinder part of the belly of a nearly uniform
dirty white, and those of the chest yellowish, with black tips and greyish
at the base.

The hairs of the lips, chin, and throat are white, and also the inner
margins of the ears. The insides of the thighs are whitish. The limbs
are fulvous externally, the feet somewhat paler. There may be a

* First edition, vol. iii. p. 250.

28 THE ANTAECTIC WOLF.

blackish tint on the crown of the head ; the muzzle is somewhat lighter
in colour. The tail, which is rather bushy, is coloured like the body
for the proximal two fifths of its length, the next two fifths are black
and its terminal fifth is white.

There are no special markings on the body except a black patch
outside the lower part of the hind leg, just above the heel. There is
also a darkening of the fur at the side of the lower part of the neck, so
as to form an approach to a collar. The individuals inhabiting the
Eastern Island are smaller and redder than those of West Falkland.
The ears are always rather short.

Habitat. The Falkland Islands.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 97'0

„ of tail 28-5

„ from heel to end of longest digit 18*0

„ of ear 6'5

Skeletal and Dental Characters.

The sagittal ridge is flattened, and this flattened tract has a lyrate
margin.

The suture between the palatine and maxillary bones does not
advance so far forwards as a line joining the hinder margins of the
inner tubercles of the fourth upper premolar.

In the skull examined the hind part of the third upper premolar is
placed rather within the anterior part of the fourth premolar, but this
may be an individual peculiarity.

Dimensions of Skull and Teeth.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 3'0

„ sphenoideum 4'2

Sphenoideum to gnathion 1TO

Length of palate 8'35

Breadth of „ 5'0

Length of nasals 6'1

Greatest breadth of nasals . . . 1*2

CANIS ANTAECTICUS. 29

Centimeters.

Breadth of brain-case . 5-2

„ zygomata 9-1

Length of Li 0-55

ZJ? 0-95

„ ™ I'Oo

?-4 1-8

M. 2

0-65

Breadth of Li 0-8

M. 1 j.g

„ ^-2 0-9

Length of 5571 0'4

R2 0-9

» P73 I'O

„ P74 I'1

« MT1 1>9

Breadth of 10 .0-8

!O °'6

,, M73 °'4

THE PRAIRIE-WOLF OR COYOTE.

CANI8 LATRANS.

Canis latrans, Say, Long's Expedition to Rocky Mountains, vol. i. p. 168
(1823) ; Harlau, Fauna Americana, p. 83 (1825) ;
Richardson, Fauna Boreali- Americana, p. 73, pi. 4 (1829) ;
J. A. Wagner, Supplement to Schreber's Saugthiere,
Abth. ii.'p. 397 (1840); Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied,
Reise in Nord-America, vol. ii. p. 96 (1841) ; Audubon,
Quadrupeds of North America, vol. i. p. 150, pi. 71
(1851) ; Baird, Mammals of N. America (in Reports of
Mississippi Railroad), p. 113 (1857) ; id. Report of Mexican
Boundary, vol. ii. Mammals, p. 15 (1858) ; Coues,
American Naturalist, vol. i. p. 289 (1868) ; id. ibid. vol.
vii. p. 385 (1873) ; Alston, Biologia Centrali-Americana,
Mammals, p. 66.

Canis ochropus, Eschscholtz, Zool. Atlas, Heft iii. p. 1, pi. 11 (1829) ;
Gray, Zool. of H.M.S. ' Sulphur/ vol. i. p. 32, pi. 10 (1844) .

Canis frustror, Woodhouse, Proc. Acad. N. Sc. Philadelphia, vol. v.
1850-51, p. 147.

Lyciscus latrans, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Naturalist's Library, vol. ix.
p. 162, pi. 5 (1839); Frantzius, Archiv f. Naturg.
Jahrg. xxxv. vol. i. (1869).

Chrysocyon latrans, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 506; id. Gray, Cat.
of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 192.

THE Prairie- Wolf is an animal to be met with in large numbers
and extends over a very wide range of country.

In reply to our inquiries, Dr. Coues has been kind enough to inform
us, on the authority of Mr. Allen, that it has now been extirpated
over a considerable portion of the United States, and has elsewhere
suffered great reduction in numbers. It has probably wholly disap-
peared from large areas in Kansas, Nebraska, and elsewhere along the

CANIS LATBANS. 31

plains, where it was abundant half a century ago. Nevertheless,
Dr. Coues had himself believed, what we find it difficult to doubt, that
it may yet be found in various regions where the Common Wolf has
now ceased to exist. Its less dangerous nature must have caused it to
be less earnestly pursued, while its smaller size helps it to escape the
observation of pursuers. Even nearly seventy years ago, the Coyote
was, Mr. Say tells us, far more numerous than the Wolf. That
author (who first named it) has described various instances of its
cunning and dexterity in avoiding different kinds of traps.

It appears to be certain that these animals sometimes hunt in packs,
though Prinz Wied only happened to meet with them singly. The
Coyote ranges, at the least, as far as the fifty-fifth degree of north
latitude, while it extends southwards through Central America into
Costa Rica. According to Messrs. Godman and Salvin, it is of very
local distribution in Guatemala. It is, however, very abundant in
Northern Mexico, New Mexico, and Texas.

The animal has a bad name for its howling habit. As to this,
Dr. Coues says, " One must have spent an hour or two vainly trying to
sleep, before he is in a condition to appreciate the full force of the
annoyance." The howling of two or three wolves gives the impression
that a score are engaged, so many and so long-drawn are the notes,
and so uninterruptedly are they continued by one individual after
another. A short, sharp bark is followed by others, which grow
faster and faster, becoming a long-drawn, lugubrious howl. They will
give tongue at any time in the night, as well as morning and evening,
though they are rarely or ever heard during the day. The Coyote feeds
greedily upon all kinds of animal substances, and has been known to
follow for days in the trail of a travelling party, and to rush in each
morning just after camp was broken, to obtain whatever eatable refuse
was left behind. If it cannot get animal food, it will eat vegetable
substances. In the fall of the year it feeds extensively on the fiuit of
the prickly pear, and eats juniper-berries in the winter.

All means are deemed good to destroy these animals and to obtain
their fur ; but it is very difficult to trap them, on account of their
extreme wariness and cunning. They are therefore commonly enough

32 THE PEAIRIE-WOLF.

poisoned by means of a dead carcass or meat left about for them,
treated with strychnine. Aassafoetida is often rubbed in to make the
bait more attractive, as the Prairie-Wolf is very fond of the odour of the
last-named substance.

It is a very common animal in Texas, and thence westwards to the
coast. Dr. Kennerly is quoted by Baird as saying that it is not very
swift, and can be readily overtaken on the open plains by a horse of
ordinary fleetness. He adds: — "I have never known it attack the
larger quadrupeds. It seems to depend mostly for subsistence in the
desert region in hunting rabbits, rats, young birds, &c. I have never
known it to attack a man, unless wounded, when it defends itself with
fierceness and desperation." It may, however, be killed by a single
good-sized dog, although it has been known to make a very good fight
against three. In the time of Richardson (1829) it was common on
the plains of Missouri and Saskatchewan, the animals starting from the
earth in great numbers on hearing the report of a gun, gathering round
in expectation of getting the offal of some slaughtered animal.

Dr. Frantzius has expressed an opinion that it has only become an
inhabitant of Central America in recent times. Towards the south of
that region it seems of late to have much increased in numbers, and he
thinks it probable that it only immigrated from the North after the
invasion of the Spaniards had destroyed the polity and diminished the
population of the semi-civilized states which were conquered by them.

The Prairie-Wolves breed in retreats among rocks or underground
burrows. The young are born in May and June, and number five or
six in a litter, and, it is said, sometimes ten. These animals breed
readily with domestic dogs.

Our illustration (Plate IX.) is taken from an individual living in the
Zoological Society's collection.

The colour of the Prairie-Dog is said by Coues to vary somewhat with
the season, from a rather bright tawny brown in summer, to greyish
or quite grey in winter, overlaid, in either case, with a clouding of
black. This black tint is not uniform, but tends to form stripes along
the back and across the shoulders and hips. The underparts are dingy
white. The upper surface of the muzzle, the outside of the ears and of

CANIS LATKANS. 33

all four legs are mostly of a uniform tawny tint. The Coyote is really
a much more slender animal than it appears to be, on account of the
long and copious coat with which its body is clothed.

Habitat. From the south of Costa Rica to Canada, in at least 55°
N. lat.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 9.2'0 to 101 0

„ of tail . 32-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 18'0

of ear 14*0

Skeletal and Dental Characters.

The skull possesses no distinctive characters, nor have we been able
to detect any in the shape of the teeth.

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrae 16*0

„ dorsal „ 21*5

lumbar „ 18'0

„ sacral „ 3*5

caudal „ 36'0

Length from front of atlas to hinder end of sacrum . . 59'0

Length of pectoral limb 44'5

pelvic „ 51-0

„ humerus lo'O

„ radius 15'2

„ femur 16'5

tibia 17-0

„ index metacarpal 5*6

„ third „ 6-6

„ metacarpal of pollex 3*0

„ whole pollex 3'4

„ last phalanx of third digit (mamis) .... 1'4

„ index metatarsal 6'85

„ metatarsal of hallux I'l

„ whole hallux 1'9

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) 1'3

Length from basion to ovalion 2*6

„ „. to sphenoideum 4'3

„ sphenoideum to gnathion 12'5

34 THE PEAIEIE-WOLF.

Another specimen.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion ............. 3'1

„ sphenoideum ............ 4*5

Sphenoideum to ovalion ........... 12' 5

Length of palate .............. 9'1

Breadth of „ ............ . . 4'8

Length of nasals .............. 8*1

Greatest breadth of nasals ........... T4

Breadth of brain-case ............ 5*7

„ zygomata ...... ...... 9'6

Length of ?d .............. 0'6

M ^-2 .............. 1-2

» ^ .............. 1-8

^ .............. 2-0

, Mi? .............. 0-6

Breadthof^ii .... .......... 0'8

Length of jr~[ 0'4

» P7~2 • • 1-°5

„ FT3 • 1-20

1-4

2-2

1-0

P. 4
MTT
SO

Breadth of gj[ . 0'8

lO °'7

XI-Q 0-4
» M. 3

THE INDIAN JACKAL.

CANIS AUREUS.

Cants aureus, Linn. Syst. Nat. 12th edit. vol. i. p. 59 (1766) ; Schreber,
Saugth. Theil iii. p. 365, pi. 4 ; Cuvier, Regne An. vol. i.
p. 154; Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 200; J. A. Wagner's
Supplem. Abth. ii. p. 383 ; Pallas, Zoographia, vol. i.
p. 39, pi. 3 ; Jerdon, Mammals of India, p. 142 ; Hodgson,
Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii. p. 237 ; Blanford, Fauna
Brit. India, p. 140.

Canis syriacus, Ehrenberg, Symb. Phys. z. pi. 16 (1832).

Lupus aureus, Kampfer, Amo3nitatum Exoticarum politico - physico -
medicarum, p. 403 (1712) ; Gray, Catalogue of Car-
nivorous Mammalia, p. 188.

Sacalius aureus, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Naturalist's Library, vol. ix.
p. 214, pi. 15 (1839).

Oxygons indicus, Hodgson, Journal Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. x. p. 908
(1841).

Le Chacal, Buffon, Hist. Nat. vol. xiii. p. 255 ; F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat.
des Mammiferes, vol. ii. ; Isid. Geoffrey St. -Hilaire, Expe-
dition de Moree, pp. 15 and 19-27 (1833).

THE Indian Jackal has obtained a much wider range than the Indian
Wolf. It is found not only throughout the peninsula of Hindostan,
but also in Ceylon, Burniah, and Pegu. It is also to be met with both
in forests and open plains, and both in the low lands and at consider-
able altitudes — that is, at an elevation of 3000 to 4000 feet, It even
makes its appearance in populous cities, where its almost omnivorous
habits cause it to be a useful scavenger ; although it not only clears off
garbage, but will occasionally seize a fowl or other small domestic
animal. Outside the towns, Jackals will eat any animal they can

36 THE INDIAN JACKAL.

manage to subdue, and though they may be met with singly or in pairs
they sometimes hunt in troops, especially at night, when they may
make a great howling. Sickly sheep and goats readily fall a prey to
them, as well as any antelopes which have been lamed or wounded.
In default of animal food, they will readily eat fruit or sugar-canes, of
which they are said to be fond, as well as of the ber fruit (Zizypkus
jujuba) and ripe coffee-berries. According to Dr. Jerdon, the Jackal
is easily pulled down by greyhounds, but gives an excellent run with
foxhounds. He adds that they are very tenacious of life, and " sham
dead " so well as to deceive even experienced sportsmen. On one
occasion a Jackal came to the aid of another individual — possibly its
mate — which had been seized by greyhounds, attacking them furiously
although Dr. Jerdon was close by on horseback.

The cry of the Jackal is described by Mr. Blanford as consisting of
two parts — " a long wailing howl three or four times repeated, each
repetition in a note a little higher than the preceding, and then a
succession of usually three quick yelps, also repeated two or three times.
The common Anglo-Indian version of ' Dead Hindoo ; where, where,
where' gives some idea of the call."

Besides its ordinary cry, it will utter another, very distinguishable
one when it finds itself in the vicinity of a tiger or leopard. It is
doubtless a cry of terror and warning, as the leopard preys on jackals,
and there can be little doubt but that a hungry tiger would make
short work of one. It appears to have been this habit which has given
rise to the fable of the Jackal being the " lion's provider," and which is
current in India *.

The Jackal breeds in burrows much as does a fox, and produces
about four at a birth. It breeds freely with the domestic dog.

The Indian Jackal varies much in size and somewhat in coloration,
and it is a nice question whether the Common Jackal of North Africa
should or should not be regarded as of the same species. If they are
united, then the European Jackal must also belong to that one species.

* See H. Torrens on " Native Impressions regarding the Natural History of certain
Animals " (Journal of the Asiatic Soc. of Bengal, vol. xviii. part ii. p. 788).

CANIS AUREUS. 37

If they be separated, then another question arises as to whether the
European Jackal is altogether distinct, or, if not distinct, whether it is
to be classed with the Indian or with the North-African Jackal.

The specimen represented by our artist (Plate X.) came from
Northern India to the British Museum through Colonel Cobbe.

Certainly the differences of coloration which exist between these
forms is not nearly so great as those which are to be found to occur
between the different local varieties of C. lupus.

We are nevertheless inclined, for reasons which will be stated shortly,
to keep the North- African and Indian Jackals distinct ; but we only do
so provisionally, and freely recognize the full right of other naturalists
to take the opposite view. It is a mere question of probability, and a
very obscure one. The reasons why we prefer to keep them provision-
ally distinct is that though the difference between the two forms
(African and Indian) is slight as regards coloration, yet it appears to
be a very constant one. Out of seventeen skins of the Indian form, we
have only found one which is wanting in the main characteristic as to
difference of hue. The ears also are relatively shorter than in the
North-African form.

But there is another character to which we attach greater weight.
However much the different races of Wolves differ in size, we have
not succeeded in finding any constant distinctive characters in the
form of the skull or the proportions of the lobes of any of the teeth.
So far as we have been able to observe, such differences do exist
between the Indian and the North-African Jackals, Should further
observations do away with this distinction —as may very probably turn
out to be the case— then, of course, the North- African form must be
united in one species with the Indian one, as we have already united
the Indian and American Wolves in one species with the European
Wolf.

Having so determined, the next question i&, in which category shall
we rank the European Jackal ?

The European form is found in Greece and Turkeyr and as far west
as Dalmatia, nor can we doubt but that the Jackal of the Caucasus and
of Asia Minor is of the same species as that of European Turkey.

38 THE INDIAN JACKAL.

Unfortunately we have had but little opportunity of examining specimen,
from these localities, but in our National Collection there is a skin *
and skull of one from Anatolia, presented by Sir Charles Fellowes.
If we may judge from this example, then this local variety agrees
both as to coloration and dental characters, not with the North-African
Jackal, but with that of India.

In 1833 there was published an account of the French exploration of
the Morea, the Mammals being described by M. Isidore Geoffrey St.-
Hilaire. That illustrious naturalist was disposed to regard the Jackals
of the Morea, of India, and of North Africa as forming together but a
single species, which, we have already admitted, may well be the case.
Nevertheless, according to his description, the colour of the limbs and
head of the Crimean Jackal agrees wii.h what we find in the Indian
Jackal, and not in the North-African one He lays much stress on the
greater amount of black upon the back of the Crimean form ; but this is
just one of those characters in which we have found a considerable
amount of variation in skins all derived from the same locality.

He describes the Jackal as being very common in the Morea, hunting
in packs, uttering cries like the wail of an infant, and suddenly sur-
prising a traveller by their proximity, when the pack is itself invisible.
They not only, as usual, feed on carrion, but he found they had the
habit of disinterring dead bodies. During the war of liberation they
would also enter an encampment at night and eat any boots and shoes
they could find. They were camp-followers, and the scientific expe-
dition found regions to be free of them where they abounded during
the war ; they had left with the troops.

The general colour is a pale dirty yellow, with more or less of a
reddish tinge mixed with a variable amount of black on the upper part
of the body, and a brown under fur. The limbs are decidedly rufous,
as also between and behind the ears and on the muzzle; the backs of
the ears are tawny. The underparts of the body are always paler and
sometimes almost white. The tail is reddish brown, except the tip,
which is black, but the hairs on the lower portion of the tail are also

* No. 44. 7. 13. 3.

CANIS AUKEUS. 39

black towards their apices. There is generally a tendency to develop
two black lines over the haunches, the two lines converging towards
the tail. Examples of melanism and albinism have been met with, and
the colour may be intensified to bright rufous. We have also seen a
specimen from Nepal, and another from the Deccan, of a dusky tint.

Habitat. India, Ceylon, Burmah, and southwards to south of Pegu.
South-western Asia to Caucasus, Asia Minor, Turkey, Greece, and
Dalmatia.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 8OO

•„ of tail 19*5

„ from heel to end of longest digit 14*4

„ of ear 5'0

Sometimes the ear is longer. The maximum we have found is 6' 5.

Skeletal and Dental Characters.

When the skull is viewed in profile, and compared with that of the
Wolf, the elevation between the orbits and the antero-posterior con-
cavity of the dorsum of the muzzle are both very slight ; the two
tubercles behind the principal cusp of the third upper molar are very
small.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2'6

„ sphenoideum 3'9

Sphenoideum to gnathion 9'3

Length of palate G'6

Breadth „ 4'2

Length of nasals o'l

Breadth of „ 1'3

„ brain-case 47

„ zygomata 7'6

Length of Zil 0'45

« *-? 07

PU? 0-9

P. 4 1-G

40 THE INDIAN JACKAL.

Centimeters.

Length of ^i! .............. Tl

M.2 0.7

» — — .............. ^ «

Breadth of Li .............. 0'6

M. 1 l .o

M - .............. A o

„ MI* .............. 0.9

Length of jr-j; .............. (V45

PT~3 .............. '

K1 ............. ro

» SO .............. 1<8

» MT2 .............. 0-9

0-7

THE NORTH-AFRICAN JACKAL.

CANIS ANTHUS.

Canis anthus, F. Cuvier, Hist/ Nat. des Mammiferes, vol. ii. (1824) ;

RUppell, Atlas, Zool. p. 44, pi. 17 (1826).
Canis variegatus, Ruppell, Atlas, Zobl. p. 31, pi. 10 (1826).
Canis lupaster, Ehrenberg, Symb. Phys. ff. (1832).
Lupus anthus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 502.
Dieba anthus, Gray, Catalogue of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 189.
Satalius barbarus, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Naturalist's Library,

vol. ix. p. 218 (1839).
Chacal d'Alger, Isid. Geoffrey St.-Hilaire, Expedition de Moree, vol. iii.

Zoologie, p. 22.

As we observed in treating of the last described species, it is only with
much doubt and hesitation that we provisionally separate the North-
African Jackal from its Indian analogue. The specimens which we
have had the opportunity of examining, and which came from Abyssinia
as well as from Egypt and Tunis, all agreed, however, in having a
distinct tone of coloration from that which we found to prevail in Indian
Jackals, as well as in possessing a different form of skull and somewhat
differently shaped premolar teeth.

It is a question whether or not the C. variegatus of Ruppell is a
variety of this species : such is the opinion of Mr. Blanford. We will
consider the question when treating of the species next described.

The habits and mode of life of the African Jackal are similar to those
of its Asiatic and European congeners. Though the African kind seems
to be generally larger than the Indian one, a considerable variation
occurs in the size of individual specimens. There is also much variation
as to the length of the fur and the amount of black hair to be found
amongst it.

42 THE NOKTH-AFKICAN JACKAL.

The ears of C. anthus are somewhat longer relatively than those of
C. aureus.

The specimen we have selected for our illustration (Plate XL) is one
which was brought from Abyssinia by Captain Harris, and is in our
National Collection.

We identify this species with the C. variegatus of Riippell, mainly
on the authority of Mr. Blanford, who has had so large an opportunity
of becoming acquainted with this species and with that next to be
described, in their native country. Indeed the specific distinctness of
C. variegatus has been given up by its first describer, Riippell himself.
Mr. Blanford met with numerous individuals of the form he identifies
with C. variegatus in the highlands of Abyssinia, at an elevation of
5000 feet. Riippell's figure represents the ears as somewhat longer
than those of (7. anthus, a character in which it agrees with the form
next to be described ; but the ears of C. anthus are long compared
with those of C. aureus, and they may have been either stretched, or
may be somewhat exaggerated in the drawing.

The coloration of this species is similar to that of C. aureus, except that
the sides of the body are greyer and the limbs somewhat less rufous.
The backs of the ears are fawn-coloured. The amount of black on the
back varies as to extent and disposition of the markings, for they tend
to produce rather an irregularly-shaped blotch of black, than a stripe,
over each haunch. The underparts may or may not be whitish in tint.
The end of the tail we have found black, but F. Cuvier does not so
represent it ; whereas more than half the tail is black in Riippell's
figure.

Habitat. Africa north of the Sahara, Egypt and Abyssinia.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 81'0

„ of tail 29-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 16*5

„ of ear 8'0

CAMS ANTHUS.

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull of C. anthus differs from that of C. aureus in its greater
elevation between the orbits, and in the consequent greater antero-
posterior concavity of the dorsum of the muzzle in front of that
elevation.

Fig. 20.

CANIS ANTHTJS.

The anterior palatine foramina are also larger, and the small posterior
tubercles of the third upper premolar are more developed.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2'8

„ sphenoideum 4'0

Sphenoideum to gnathion 10*9

Length of palate 7'8

Breadth

4-6

44 THE NOKTH-AFKICAN JACKAL.

Centimeters.

Length of nasals ............. 6*1

Breadth „ ............. 1-5

"Width of brain-case ............ 5'2

» zygomata ............ 8*9

Length of £iJ .............. 0-5

p- 2 -

Li 1-6

M.1 1$2

M.2 n.T

.............. 0'65

„ Mi.1 .............. 1-50

^i_2 .............. 0-90

Length of pr^ .............. 0'45

„ R2 .............. 0-80

PT3 .............. 0-95

) .............. 1'05

MTl

» lO .............. 0-40

Breadth of j .............. 070

°'30

THE BLACK-BACKED JACKAL.

CANTS MESOMELAS.

Canis mesomelas, Schreber, Saugthiere, Theil iii. p. 370, pi. 95 (1778);
Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 201 (1820) ; Smith, S. African
Quart. Journal, vol. ii. p. 85 (1825); Riippell, Neue
Wirbelthiere, p. 39 (1835-40); J. A. Wagner, Supplement
to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 396 (1840) ; Blanford, Ob-
servations on Geol.and Zool. of Abyssinia, p. 237 (1870).

Vulpes mesomelas, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 150; id. Cat. of
Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 203.

Thous mesomelas, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Nat. Library, vol. ix.
p. 193, pi. 12.

THIS very handsome and strongly marked form of Jackal is well
represented in our National Museum, where there are seven skins of
it from South Africa, and two from Abyssinia. It is a most con-
spicuous animal, from the very red colour of the side of its body and
its very black back, the two diversely coloured spaces being sharply
marked off along a definite line, as shown in our Plate XII., which
represents an adult male, and is one of the most distinctly marked
individuals we have ever seen. It was brought from the Anseba by
Mr. Blanford, F.R.S. This species appears to be widely spread
over South Africa, and its earliest designation was "Jackal of the
Cape of Good Hope."

The form of Jackal which Riippell found in Abyssinia was named by
him Canis variegatus. Its specific distinctness is extremely doubtful,
and has, as already said *, been given up as a species by its describer
himself. Mr. W. T. Blanford, in his expedition to Abyssinia in

* See above, p. 42.

46 THE BLACK-BACKED JACKAL.

1867-68, occasionally met with examples of C. mesomelas in the pass
between Komayli and Senafe, and much more frequently about the base
of the hills west of Massowa, and on the Anseba. He also tells us *•
that at least on one occasion Jackals of this species were met with in the
immediate vicinity of a lion, attention having been called to the place
where that formidable beast lay hidden by the peculiar motions of the
Jackals. As they walked slowly and warily away from his vicinity,
they constantly directed their glances towards the bush which concealed
him.

Mr. Blanford did not find the Black-backed Jackal in the highlands
of Abyssinia (that is, at an elevation above 5000 feet) ; but met with
numerous individuals of the common Jackal of the country, which, as
before said, he regards as being C. variegates of Riippell.

The colour of the young is a uniform dusky brown. The adult is
always brightly coloured, but the sharpness of the distinction between
the back and the sides, and the extent and intensity of the black
colour of the back vary considerably. The hairs of the body are all,
or almost all, annulated, and each is white a considerable part of its
extent, as well as black and yellow. Thus the superficial aspect of
different parts of the body is apt to differ, and present sometimes
nearly black, sometimes nearly white, patches of colour. The black
patch on the back is widest over the shoulders, then narrowing back-
wards. The sides of the body are red. The limbs and proximal part
of the tail are reddish yellow or yellowish red ; the end of the tail is
black. The underpart of the lower jaw, chest, belly, and inner side of
the limbs are white or whitish. The back of the ears are light yellowish
brown, well clothed with hair without and within.

It seems to me most probable that the Jackal noticed by Dr. T.
Noack f under the name C. Uagenbeckii is a form of C. mesomelas in
which the hairs of the back are somewhat longer than usual. Species
have been proposed by Hemprich and Ehrenberg under the names
lupaster, sacer, and riparius, but they are so slightly characterized

* Op. cit. p. 238.

t See Zoologische Garten, xxvii. Jahrgang (1886), p. 233.

CANIS MESOMELAS. 47

that our experience of the variability of the Jackals convinces us that
further notice of them would occasion mere waste of time.
Habitat. Southern Africa and Abyssinia.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 91 '0

„ of tail 31-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 16'0

of ear 10-0

Cranial and Denial Characters.

The skull is not so elevated between the orbits as in C. antlim,
though more so than in C. aureus, but, as in the latter, the anterior
palatine foramina are small. The shape of the third upper premolar
agrees with that of C. aureus (i. e. the tubercles behind the principal
cusp are very small), and differs from that of C. anthus.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2'56

Ovalion to sphenoideum 3'75 0^

Sphenoideum to gnathion 9' 9

Length of palate 7'4

Breadth „ 4'1

Length of nasals 5*2

Breadth of „ 1'4

„ brain-case 5'1

)i zygomata 8'4

Length of ?ii 0'45

^ 0.80

?i? 0-90

„ ?ii T60

„ M._I 1-10

Mi2 0-60

Breadth of Li 0-50

M^l 1-40

M.2 1-00

THE BLACK-BACKED JACKAL.

Centimeters.

Length of IT-} 0'35

„ P72 0-70

,> pT7} °'80

» R4 I'OO

„ MTl 1-70

„ 30 °'90

IO • • • • °'50

Breadth of jo 0'60

MT2 °'60

THE SIDE-STRIPED JACKAL.

CAWS ADUSTUS.

Canis adustus, Sundevall, Ofversigt af Kongl. Vetenskaps-Akademiens
Forhandlingar, Tredje Argangen, p. 121 (1846) ; Peters,
Reise nach Mossambique, Zool. Saugeth. p. 125.

Canis lateralis, Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 279, pi. 23.

Vulpes adusta, Gray, P. Z. S. 1868, p. 515 ; id. Cat. of Carnivorous
Mammalia, p. 203.

THIS elegant species had its most marked character, its light-coloured
lateral stripe, first adequately called attention to by Dr. Sclater, who
proposed for it the new name of C. lateralis. It is, however, we think
the same kind of animal as that which was described by Sundevall and
named Canis adustus. Not only do the skins preserved in the British
Museum show that there are great individual differences as to the
distinctness of the lateral stripe, but the very skin of the type of the
species, which, when it was figured, had the stripe very plain and
distinct, has since come almost entirely to lose it. This typical skin is
preserved in our National Collection ; but we have not thought well to
have it represented on our Plate XIII., because of its present defective
condition. We have preferred to figure the skin of a fine male brought
by Mr. H. H. Johnston from Kilimanjaro, which well shows the
typical character of the species in its most perfect form. The indi-
viduals described by Sundevall and Peters were doubtless examples
in which the lateral stripe was as little noticeable as that of the type of
the species has now become. The character by which C. adustus
most differs from all the other Jackals is the dark colour of the hinder
surface of the ears, and this character also exists in the striped spe-
cimens, which cannot be doubted to be examples of the form called
C. lateralis by Sclater.

50 THE SIDE-STRIPED JACKAL.

This animal was met with by M. Du Chaillu in the Gorilla region of
Africa. He says * : — " Before we got to town again I shot a mboyo, a
very shy animal, of the wolf kind, with long yellowish hair and straight
ears. I have often watched these beasts surrounding and chasing
small game for themselves. The drove runs very well together ; and as
their policy is to run round and round they soon bewilder, tire out,
and capture any animal of moderate endurance."

Mr. H. H. Johnston found the species to be very common near a
village on Kilimanjaro, to which it was attracted by the chance of
stealing refuse or other food. He did not find it elsewhere much above
3000 feet, but the locality where he found it was 5000 feet high.

The snout is long and slender j and the ear is not quite so long
relatively as in C. mesomelas, but is longer than in the other Jackals.

The colour of C. admtus is yellowish brown, paler beneath ; the
backs of the ears dark brown. On each side in the typical specimen a
light-coloured line runs from behind the shoulder-blade, upwards and
backwards to the side of the root of the tail j this light-coloured stripe
is bordered by black at its lower margin.

The greater part of the tail is black, but the apical portion is white,
although in two specimens in the British Museum there are but a few
white hairs at the tip of the tail.

Habitat. Central to Southern Africa.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 86'0

„ of tail 33-0

„ from elbow to end of longest digit 17'2

of ear 7-0

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull of this animal is remarkable for the length of the palate,
which extends backwards beyond a line joining the posterior margin
of the hinder true molars.

* ' Explorations in Equatorial Africa ' (1861), p. 243.

CANIS ADUSTUS. 51

One skull * we found to present the singular anomaly of having
five premolars on the right side above, an extra one being introduced
between the normal first and second premolars. That such is the case
is shown by the presence of a corresponding diastema between the first
and second upper premolars on the left side of the skull.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion ............. 2'9

4 <~<*t*. Ovalion to sphenoideum ........... 4'0

Sphenoideum to gnathion .......... 10'6

Length of palate ............. 8*1

Breadth „ ............. 4'1

Length of nasals ............. 6*4

Breadth of „ ............. 1'4

„ brain-case ............ 4'7

„ zygomata ............ 8'0

Length of M .............. 0'4

„ *J .............. 0-7

„ ?L§ ........... ... 0-85

„ *i .............. 1-3

M.2 0-7

Breadthof?J .............. 0'6

MJ. .............. 1-3

M.2 .............. 0-9

Length of p~j .............. 0*2

« R2 .............. °'7

„ PT3 .............. °'85

„ PT4 .............. 1>0

» Ma .............. l'7

„ MT2 .............. °'9

» MT3 .............. °'5

Breadth of Ml .............. 0'6

°'6

„ MT2
» MT3

* No. 71. 5. 27. 8 in the British Museum Collection.

THE MAGELLANIC DOG OR COLPEO.

CANIS MAGELLANICUS.

Canis magellanicus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1836, p. 88; id. Mag.

Nat. Hist. 1837, p. 578 ; Water-house, Zoology H.M.S.

'Beagle/ Mammalia, p. 10, plate 5 (1839) ; J. A. Wagner,

Suppl. to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 431 ; Gay, Hist.

de Chile, Zool. vol. i. p. 59.
Canis (Pseudalopex) magellanicus, Burmeister, Fauna Brasiliens, pp. 24

and 51 (1856) ; id. Republique Argentine, vol. iii.

p. 146.
Pseudalopex magellanicus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 512; id.

Cat. Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 199.
Cerdocyon magellanicus, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Nat. Library, vol. ix.

p. 266, pi. 30(1839).
Canis culpaeus, Molina, Compendio d. 1. hist. nat. del Regno de Chili,

p. 330; id. Essai sur Fhist. nat. du Chili (Paris, 1789),

p. 274.

THIS handsome animal is represented in our National Collection by
two skins from Tierra del Fuego, and two other skins from Chile, with
several skulls and skeletons. Like so many other species of the Canidae,
it is evidently subject to individual variations, probably due to habitually
different climates or the change of the seasons. The fur of both the
specimens from the extreme south is much longer than that of those
from Chile, although the skulls of specimens from both localities are
alike.

The species was first made known by the Abbe Molina, who, however,
believed it to be the same species as that described by us under the
name of C. antarcticus. In some respects its habits appear to be
similar, for the Abbe tells us that he often met with it in the woods,
and that each time he did so, if he stood still, it would come towards

CANIS MAGELLANICUS. 53

him, stopping every now and then and staring at him, and then turned
and went away. It was an animal not at all feared, and with rather a
weak voice, and had the habit of burrowing like a fox.

The first specimen brought to this country was obtained by Captain
P. P. King, during his survey of the coast of South America, at Port
Famine in Tierra del Fuego. It was this individual which was
named C. magellanicus by Dr. Gray, and is the type of the species.
It is preserved in the British Museum and is represented on our
Plate XIV.

Mr. Darwin brought back in the ' Beagle ' another individual, which
he had found in the Valley of Copiapo, in the northern part of Chile.
It thus, as Mr. Darwin observes *, has a range of the western coast
of South America from the humid and entangled forests of Tierra del
Fuego to the almost absolutely desert country of Northern Chile — a
distance of fully 1600 miles. He neither found it, nor did he believe
it was to be found, on the Atlantic side of the continent. The
inhabitants told him that the creature still has the curious habit of
approaching near to a man to stare at him, which Molina described,
and this in spite of so strange a habit having been the occasion of
great numbers being killed. Though not feared, it is very much
disliked by the inhabitants on account of its craft and destructiveness.
Two of these animals are said to have destroyed nearly two hundred
fowls at a farmhouse in the Copiapo valley.

Though apparently nocturnal, it also wanders about by day, and is
very strong and fleet. " When riding one day," Mr. Darwin tells us,
" accompanied by a half-bred greyhound, I happened to come across
one of these " animals, " and although the ground was, in the first part
of the chase, level, it soon entirely distanced its pursuer. Whilst
running it barked so like a dog, that until it had run some way ahead
of the greyhound, I could not tell from which animal the noise pro-
ceeded. After the Colpeo had reached the mountains, it made a
sudden bend from its course, and returned in a nearly parallel line,
but at the base of a steep cliff of rocks it seated itself on its

* Zool. of H.M.S. ' Beagle,' Mammalia, p. 11.

54 THE MAGELLANTC DOG.

haunches, and seemed to listen with much satisfaction to the dog,
which was running the scent on the mountain side above its head."

The Colpeo is often spoken of as the Magellanic " Fox," but it has
no marked similarity to that animal, and it is a considerably larger and
stouter animal than is the European fox. As we have said, it was con-
founded by Molina with C. antarcticus, but it is a greyer and less red
animal, and the end of the tail is not white but black. It is also
a decidedly smaller animal.

It may have a long, thick, and loose coat with abundant woolly
underfur, with long hair under the feet beneath the pads ; or it may
have short hair and more scanty underfur, with no long hair under
the feet.

The hairs are much annulated, and the disposition of the apparently
resulting general coloration is thus irregular and varied. The back,
however, is dark, with more or less black. The sides of the body are
brownish grey, and the limbs are more or less rufous externally, and
of a lighter tint internally. The under surface of the lower jaw, the
throat, and the underparts are of a dirty yellowish white, as also are
the cheeks. The ears are dark-coloured externally, but have long
yellowish-white hairs within. The tail, which is bushy, is a light
reddish grey, save towards its tip and on the dorsum towards its root,
where it is black.

Habitat. Tierra del Fuego and Chile.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 88' 5

„ oftail 41-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 16'0

„ of ear 6'5

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull has a much elongated facial portion. The interorbital
region appears very little elevated when the skull is viewed in profile ;
behind it is a distinct sagittal ridge. The nasals extend a little
further backwards than do the nasal processes of the maxillae. The
suture between the palatines and the maxillae does not extend forwards

CANIS MAGELLANICUS.

beyond a line joining the anterior margins of the two fourth upper
premolars. The posterior extension of the bony palate varies

Fisr. 21.

Skull of the type of CANIS MAGELLANICUS.

considerably ; it may extend backwards to a line joining the hinder

margins of the two hinder upper molars, or a little further backwards,
or not backwards beyond the middle of those molars.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2*7

„ sphenoideum 4'4

Sphenoideum to gnathion 11*2

Length of palate 8'2

Breadth „ 4'2

Length of nasals 6'2

Breadth of „ 1*3

„ brain-case 5'1

„ zygomata 9'1

56 THE MAGELLANIC DOG.

Centimeters.
Length of *L* .............. 0-4

^ .............. 0-8

MI* .............. 0-55

BreadthofLi ......... ** ..... 0'7

M.I 1.4

» — • ............. x *

M.2 .............. 0-65

Length of p^ .............. 0'4

» R3
» P~4

MTl

» M.3 :

Breadth of jo 0'7

» M72 °'4

» MT3 °'3

THE CARASISSI OR CRAB-EATING DOG.

CANIS CANCRIVORUS.

Canis cuncrivorus, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 199 (1820) ; J. A.
Wagner, Supplem. to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 403 ;
Schomburgk, Ann. Nat. Hist. vol. iv. p. 431 (1840) ; Bur-
meister, Fauna Brasiliens, p. 31, plate 32; id. Archiv f.
Naturgesch. xlii. Jahrg. Bd. i. p. 120; id. Republique
Argentine, vol. iii. p. 143.

Canis brasiliensis, Lund, Blik paa Brasiliens Dyreverden, femte Afhand-
ling, p. 10, pi. 42. figs. 1-3 (1843).

Canis meiampus, Wagner, Archiv f. Naturgesch. ix. Jahrg. Bd. i. pp. 357
& 358 (1843).

Canis melanostcmus, Wagner, Archiv f. Naturgesch. ix. Jahrg. Bd. i. p. 358.

Canis rudis, Giinther, Ann. & Meg. Nat. Hist. 5th ser. vol. iv. pp. 316 &
400 (1879).

Thous cancrivorus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 514; id. Cat. Car-
nivorous Mammalia, p. 201.

Viverra cancrivora, Meyer, Zool. Annalen, vol. i. p. 135 (1794).

Chien des bnis, Buffon, Suppl. vol. vii. p. 146, pi. 38.

L'Agoura, Azara, Essais, vol. i. p. 307 (1801).

BESIDES C. antarcticus and C. magellanicus there are an, as yet, un-
certain number of different kinds of canine animals inhabiting South
America and the islands immediately adjacent to that continent. The
oldest of these which has received a scientific designation is that
which was called by Desmarest Canis cancrivorus. It is an animal
sometimes attaining a considerable size; it has a somewhat obtuse
muzzle, rather short tail, and a powerful frame, so that it is very unlike
the Common Fox, though the South- American Canidce we are about to
describe are very commonly spoken of as " foxes " of different kinds.

The Carasissi appears to be subject not only to considerable variation
as to colour, but also as to size. The British Museum is well off" for

58 THE CAEASISSI.

skins of tliis species, which well exemplify its variability ; for there are
transitional forms which appear to bridge over differences between the
darkest and the palest, the greyest arid the reddest of the number.

We have selected for illustration (Plate XV.) one from Gozo which
well shows the hues of that variety in which the coloration is somewhat
intense. It is probable that later researches and more abundant
collections will show that variations in colour go either with seasonal
or local differences, or both ; we have as yet, however, no direct
evidence on these points with regard to the Carasissi.

The animal ranges through the forests and bushy plains of America,
from the Orinoco down to the La Plata, but does not extend into the
Pampas. It feeds on small animals, such as agoutis and pacas, on
birds, and also upon crayfish (whence its English name), and it will
also partake of vegetable food. Mr. Schomburgk was assured by
Indians that packs of these animals would run down deer. In his
account of the expedition he made to Guiana he tells us that, when
marching early one morning, he frequently observed a number of foot-
prints, like those of a dog, on the sandy path leading to a native village.
His Indian companions assured him that they had been made the
night before by a pack of Carasissi (the native name of C. cancrivorus)
in search of fowls ; and on entering the village the gestures and exclama-
tions of the squaws proved both the truth of the assurance he had
received and the considerable amount of damage the unwelcome visitors
had caused. At the time of his visit (1839) they were abundant in the
wilder inland parts, though they had grown scarce in the neighbour-
hood of the sea-coast. They pursue their prey by the eye in the open
country, but in the woods follow it readily by scent. Mongrels between
this animal and the domestic dog were much prized by the Indians as
being excellent hunters. Mr. Schomburgk purchased a young one
which he considered to be about three weeks old, and it was darker in
colour than the adult individuals he saw. He fed it on boiled yams,
plantains, and fish, but it appeared to prefer plantains. It would follow
those who fed it, as a dog would. When angry it would growl like a
puppy, and emit a harsh grating sound as if in pain.

Amongst what appear to us to be varieties of this species we must

CANIS CANCEIYORUS. 59

reckon that which has been named by Dr. Giinther C. rudis, as after
the most careful investigation we have been unable to find any distinc-
tive characters which some one or other specimen of C. cancrivorus
does not share. It was sent alive to Dr. Giinther from Demerara, and
was a domesticated creature, allowed to run about the house like a dog.
It was very playful, especially towards evening, but slept at night. It
never barked or wagged its tail, but uttered a short, sharp cry when
left by itself, or a hiss when an attempt was made to take away its
food. During a temporary absence of its master from home it was
confined in a cage, a change which it only survived a few weeks.

On dissection its csecum was found to be straight *, as is that of the
true C. cancrivorus^.

The two forms which Wagner has named C. melampus and C. mela-
nostomus — the first from Mato Grosso and the river Araguay, and the
latter from Ypanema — are too briefly noticed to render their satisfactory
determination possible. That on which Lund has bestowed the name
brasiliensis seems only to be a dark (red and black) variety of cancri-
vorus, although the skull is remarkable for the absence of any antero-
posterior concavity dorsally, between the interorbital region and the
end of the nasals.

The colour of C. cancrivorus varies extremely. Its prevailing tint
may be a uniform light reddish grey, or it may be darker and mottled.
It may have a black back and bright red legs, or may be a dull grey
with very little black on the back, or grey with a very black back. The
hue of the underfur may vary as well as that of the longer hairs of the
coat, which is of a rather harsh texture. The most normal tint seems
to be brownish grey above, with the crown of the head, sides of the
body, and outside of the limbs slightly or strongly rufous. The back
is generally more or less black, as also more or less of the dorsum of the
tail, as well as its distal end. There may or may not be a dark band on
either cheek. The underside of the lower jaw is black or dark brown ;
the latter colour may extend for some distance on the neck, which
lower down becomes yellowish or even white. The ears are reddish

* P. Z. S. 1879, p. 767. t P. Z. S. 1873, p. 743.

60 THE CAEASISSI.

brown externally, and have yellowish-white hairs within. The belly
and inner side of the thighs are generally of a dirty pale yellow.
Habitat. Guiana and Demerara to the La Plata.

Dimensions of a large and of a small specimen.

Centimeters.
Length from end of snout to root of tail. . . 7O5 86'5

„ of tail 29-5 30-5

„ from heel to end of longest digit . . 13'0 ] 3'0
„ of ear 6'0 6'4

Cranial and Denial Characters.

We have been unable to detect any remarkable cranial characters
as distinctive of this species, but it seems to be subject to remark-
able abnormalities of dentition. An additional ™L? is occasionally
present, and we have found in one instance * an additional lower
molar (MTI) on both sides. The most singular anomaly we have found,
however, is, as mentioned in our Introduction, the existence on one
side of a group of five small denticles, placed close together, in lieu
of the third lower molar f.

As we have said, the outline of the skull of the variety brasiliensis,
as represented by Lund, is somewhat aberrant.

The average dimensions of ?ii to that of M- l+M. 2 we j^g foun(j
to be 1-27 and 1-57 respectively, or as 100 to 123. That of the
same teeth in the figure of Lund's brasiliensis is as 100 to 122.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion . 2'6

„ sphenoideum 3'8

Sphenoideum to gnathion 8'8

Length of palate 6'5

Breadth „ 3*7

Length of nasals 4'7

Breadth of „ I'l

„ brain-case 4'2

„ zygomata 7'1

* No. 1033 6 in the British Museum. f See ante, p. xxiv.

CANIS CANCEIVOEUS. 61

Centimeters.

Length of *jJ: .......... .... 0'4

P. 2 n.7

)) - .............. U /

— .............. 075

P. 4 -, .„

)> - .............. 1 A

**i! .............. 0-95

„ ** .............. 0-6

Breadth of Eif .............. 0'5

M.I -..o

)) - .............. A <*

„ *L2 .............. 0-95

Length of fr~i .............. 0*3

„ .............. 0'65

w PT4 .............. °'9

M7i .............. 1-4

?> MT2 • • • ........... 0-8

MTs .............. °'4

Breadth of .... .......... 0'65

HT2

THE SMALL-EARED DOG.

CANIS MICE OTIS.
Cants microtis, Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, p. 631, pi. 47.

THIS interesting and seemingly peculiar species of Canidce was made
known to science through a living individual which came to the Gardens
of the Zoological Society from the Amazons, in September 1882, and
was described, named, and figured in the ' Proceedings ' of the Society
by Dr. Sclater, F.R.S.

After its death it was deposited in the British Museum, and the
skin of this unique specimen and type of the species we have had
represented (Plate XVI.), as well as its skull.

When alive the animal stood about fourteen inches high over the
shoulders. The nose is rather elongated and pointed, but the ears, as
its names implies, are remarkably short.

The fur is short and close, and generally of a dark iron-grey ; the
hairs, which are black at their tips, being white towards their base.
The limbs and tail are nearly black. The ears are of a rufous colour
both internally and externally, but there are some whitish hairs within.
The snout is also of a rufous colour. The tail is bushy, and there
is a curious round patch of while underneath it, near its root.

Habitat. Banks of the Amazons.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 78'0

„ of tail 27-0

„ from heel to tip of longest digit 13'0

.. of ear . ... 3*4

CANIS MICROTIS.
Pig. 22.

Side view of skull of CANTS MICROTIS. (Size of nature.)
Fig. 23. Fig. 24.

Surfaces of molar teeth of upper jaw
(right side).

Surfaces of molar teeth
(lower jaw).

64 THE SMALL-EARED DOG.

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The cranial structure of this animal will be best understood on
reference to figs. 22-24 (p. 63), which are of the size of life.

Frontal sinuses are present. It may be well here to note that the
nasals do not extend so far backwards as do the nasal processes of the
maxilla?. The mandible has a very distinct subangular process, much
more marked than in C. cancrivorus, or in the variety described by
Lund as C. brasiliensis.

The third lower molar is exceedingly small. The proportion borne by
R4 M. 1+M.2

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 3'1

„ sphenoideum 4'2

Sphenoideum to gnathion 9'8

Length of palate 7'1

^Breadth „ 3'8

Length of nasals 4'8

Breadth of „ I'l

„ brain-case 4'9

„ zygomata 8'5

Length of LJ: O45

„ ?J 0-65

„ L« 0-90

^ 1-30

))

M.2

0-65

Breadth of Lf 0'65

« Mil ri5

Mi2 0-95

Length of pTi O30

R3 0-80

R4 0-90

CANTS MICKOTIS. 65

Centimeters.

Length of jj^j 1'50

„ 50 0<8°

„ JO 0-30

Breadth of jo 0'60

« MT2 °'50

M.3

0-25

AZARA'S DOG.

CANIS AZAR^E.

Canis azarte, Prinz Max. zu Wied, Beitrage zur Naturgesch. von

Brasilien, vol. ii. p. 338 (1826) ; Rengger, Naturgesch. v.

Paraguay, p. 143 (1830) ; J. A. Wagner, Supplement to

Schreber, Abth. ii. p. 434 ; id. Archiv f. Naturgesch. ix.

Jahrg. Bd. i. p. 356 (1843); Waterhouse, Zool. H.M.S.

' Beagle/ Mammalia, p. 14, pi. 7 ; Tschudi, Fauna Peruana,

p. 121 (1846) ; Gay, Hist, de Chile, Zool. vol. i. p. 61

(1847) ; Burmeister, Uebersicht Thiere Brasil. Th. i.

p. 96 (1854) ; id. Fauna Brasiliens, p. 44, pis. 28 & 29

(1856); id. Reise d. d. La Plata, vol. ii. p. 405 (1861) ;

id. Republique Argentine, vol. iii. p. 147 ; Philippi, Archiv

f. Naturg. xxxv. Jahrg. Bd. i. p. 50 (1869) ; Burmeister,

Archiv f. Naturg. xlii. Jahrg. Bd. i. p. 118 (1876) ; Mivart,

Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 99.
Canis fulvipes, Martin, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 11 ; Waterhouse, Zool.

H.M.S. < Beagle/ p. 12, pi. 6; Gay, Hist, de Chile, vol. i.

p. 58; Philippi, Arch. f. Naturg. xxxv. Jahrg. Bd. i.

p. 45.
Vulpes griseus, Gray, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 88 ; id. Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i.

p. 578.
Canis griseus, Burmeister, Fauna Brasiliens, p. 43, pis. 25, 28, 29 ; id.

Reise d. d. La Plata, p. 407 ; id. Republique Argentine,

vol. iii. p. 151.
Canis gracilis, Burmeister, Reise d. d. La Plata, vol. ii. p. 406 (1861) ;

id. Republique Argentine, vol. iii. p. 150 ; id. Archiv f.

Naturgesch. xlii. Jahrg. Bd. i. p. 116.
Canis entrerianus, Burmeister, Reise d. d. La Plata, vol. ii. p. 400

(1861).
Canis patagonicus, Philippi, Archiv f. Naturgesch. xxxii. Jahrg. Bd. i.

p. 116 (1866).
Canis vetulus, Lund, Blik paa Brasiliens Dyreverden, femte Afhandling,

p. 21, pi. 40 (1843).

CAMS AZAR^E. 67

Canis fulvicaudus ?, Lund, Blik paa Brasiliens Dyreverden, femte

Afhandling, p. 20 (1843).
Pseudalopex azarte, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 512; id. Cat.

Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 199.
Cerdocyon azara, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Nat. Library, vol. ix.

p. 264, pi. 29.
L' Agouarachay , Azara, Essais, vol. i. p. 317 (1801).

AMONGST the South-American Canidce there are a variety of forms to
which different specific names have been assigned, but which, at present,
we can only regard as so many, more or less local, varieties of that kind
which was first described by Prince Wied under the name Canis azarce.
Intermediate varieties of coloration are to be found amongst all of
those here referred to as most distinct, while it has been well ascer-
tained that the abundance and texture of the furry coat, as well as its
hue, vary with the seasons of the year.

The characters which can be best relied on as distinctive are those
presented by the structure of the teeth ; and in this respect all the forms
which we have grouped together in the above list remarkably agree,
while, as we shall hereafter see, other forms upon which the same
names have been bestowed have teeth of a very different type.

Further researches may very likely show that two or more of the
forms we have here associated together are really distinct, but evidence
of their distinctness is not yet before us.

It is greatly to be desired that a numerous collection should be made
of all the kinds of South- American dogs, the locality and sex of each
individual being noted, as well as the time of year when it was obtained,
the skull not being extracted from the skin, save at the Museum in
which it may be deposited.

The type of this species, named C. azara, is the individual specimen,
or specimens, described by Wied and preserved in his collection. Mr.
Ogilby examined the collection, and, through his aid, Mr. G. Water-
house identified that type with the specimen brought back by Mr.
Darwin, and now deposited in the British Museum. This individual
we have had figured in our Plate XVII.

The Canis azara is described by Rengger as occurring over the greater

68 AZAKA'S DOG.

part of South America east of the Andes ; but we know now that it
occurs on both sides of that mountain-chain. Rengger tells us that in
Paraguay it dwells in bushy districts, whence it makes excursions
into the great forest on the one hand, and into the open country on
the other, seeking its prey in the twilight and at night. Its food
consists of small quadrupeds and birds ; but it does not refuse frogs
and lizards, while it occasions great damage amongst the sugar-canes
by the quantity it bites through and wastes, only eating that part
which it finds to be the sweetest. This careful observer sometimes,
when camping out at night, was able in bright moonlight to study the
animal, and, when in a locality where ducks were kept, noticed its
cautious approach always against the wind, by which means it would
be the better warned of danger, and its own, often disagreeable, odour
be less perceived. After thus approaching its prey with great care and
circumspection, it would suddenly spring on a duck, seizing it by the
neck so that it could not cry out. It would then make off, holding up
its victim as much as it could, that obstacles might the less impede its
retreat. If alarmed, during its approach, by the smell of man or dog,
it would quickly retreat to the bush, and later make another approach
by a different route, repeating the attempt four or five times. On one
occasion, after Rengger had been thus robbed of a duck, he had the
animal watched for several nights : nothing was seen of it, although
its footprints were visible in the morning. The first night this watch
was relaxed, a fatal visit was made to the hen-roost.

When hunting its prey the creature runs with its nose to the earth
like a hound, but every now and then raises its head to the wind.

In summer and autumn these animals go about in a solitary manner ;
but in winter the sexes associate, and then at night and in the evening
their loud cries are to be heard. But they are also to be heard at other
seasons, especially when a change in the weather begins.

The male and female inhabit the same nest, which is sometimes
made in the densest scrub, sometimes under the roots of trees, and
sometimes in the abandoned burrow of an armadillo ; but they do not
make an earth for themselves, as European foxes do. In the spring
the female brings forth from three to five young, rarely leaving her

CANIS AZAE^E. 69

nest during the first week, when she is fed by the male. As soon,
however, as the young are able to eat, both parents go off on the
hunt, and bring back food for their offspring. Towards the end of
December the male leaves his family, and the young follow their mother
about for a time till she leaves them also.

When taken young, they are very readily tamed, know their master,
will come when called, or even seek him themselves, and lick his hand,
but they are not otherwise very obedient without the aid of a stick.
They can be left free to run about, and they often go off at night, but
return home in the morning. They will be friendly enough and play
with the dogs of the house in which they live ; but if a strange dog
approaches, their hair bristles up and they will growl or bark.

The greater part of the day they pass in sleep, waking up towards
evening to look after their food and play with their master.

They will readily hunt with hunting-dogs, even joining in the
pursuit of the terrible jaguar ; but if the hunt lasts several hours, they
get tired and go home.

They have a curious habit of carrying away in their teeth to the bush
or into long grass any portable objects, such as pieces of leather or
cloth, or indeed the most various objects novel to them. This is not
with a wish to eat them, and indeed they are simply left in the place
to which they are thus oddly carried away. Travellers have to be
on their guard against this strange habit.

Rengger found that this animal was never eaten by the natives of
Paraguay (on account of its strong taste and odour), and that even its
skin was in but little request. They, however, waged war against it
vigorously, on account of its mischievous habits — trapping it or hunting
it with dogs. In the latter case it would at first run with such speed
that horsemen could with difficulty keep it in sight. After a quarter
of an hour, however, it would generally begin to show fatigue, after
which it would soon be taken.

A skin which was brought from the island of Chiloe was described
by Mr. Martin as a distinct species, under the name of C. fulmpes.
This skin, which is the type of the species, is deposited in the British
Museum, and it is the skull extracted from it which we here figure.

AZAKA'S DOG.

Fig. 25.

Side view of skull of CANIS AZAK.® (var. fiilvi^ics). (Size of nature.)

Fig. 26.

Fig. 27.

Upper molars (right side).

Lower molars (right side).

CANIS AZAK.E. 71

We do not perceive that it differs from C. azara by any important
character, though the fourth upper premolar is somewhat smaller com-
pared with the length of the two upper molars. Bearing in mind the
variability we have found to exist in other species, we cannot bring
ourselves to regard this as more than a dark local variety of C. azara.

Similarly we regard Burmeister's C.griseus and C. gracilis as but pale
varieties of the same species, the skulls and teeth of these forms being
in such full agreement with those of C. azara. Burmeister himself
admits that there is much resemblance between these asserted species,
his C. gracilis being intermediate between his C. griseus and his
C. azarce. It may be that these are distinct species, but as yet we have
no material evidence which, we think, entitles us to assert them so to
be *. The name C. griseus, which was given by Gray to a skin in the
British Museum, cannot be seriously regarded, as it was applied to an
immature animal.

Dr. Burmeister found between the rivers Parana and Uruguay
specimens of a form for which he proposed the name C. entrerianus —
specimens of different sexes, ages, and seasons. He describes his
species as being of " a reddish yellow-brown, with hairs on the back
which were black, tipped with white annulations. Face and limbs red-
brown, like the back. Front of the neck, breast, and inner side of the
limbs whitish or pale yellowish red ; end of the tail black."

The young (which he found sucking in January) were of a yellowish
brown, except the face, limbs, and tail-end, 'which were blackish brown.

A female (which was in milk on the 27th of October) was reddish
brown, with white and black bristly hairs interspersed. An old male
was of a much lighter yellow colour.

These differences of hue show how little distinctions of the kind can

* He says of C. gracilis : — " Le renard de cette espece ressemble beaucoup a la pre-
cedente, mais il est plus petit, plus elegant de forme." Of C. griseus he tells us : —
" C'est un renard extremement elegant et sans doute la plus jolie espece du groupe, se
distinguant des autres par le pelage assez long, fort epais, plus doux, d'apparence
presque soyeuse et de couleur plus harmonique, avec une teinte generale tirant plus sur
le roux que chez les autres." — Description physique de la llepublique Argentine;
vol. iii.(1879), pp. 150 & 151.

72 AZAEA'S DOG.

be depended on for characterizing species, when, as in this case, not
accompanied by some weighty differences as to the skulls and teeth.
We therefore cannot feel justified in regarding this form as more than
a somewhat strongly coloured local variety of C. azarae.

Another variety from the shores of the Straits of Magellan has been
distinguished by Philippi by the designation of C. patagonicus. He
makes its distinctness depend on its having a paler, thicker coat, with
a shorter tail marked with black and white rings. But it is in no
way surprising that an individual from so cold a region should have a
thicker, paler coat. We have found that specimens of C. azara from
the south have longer hair than specimens from Chile. As to the
caudal annulations, we have found two such to exist towards the root
of the tail of a specimen of C. azarcs from Patagonia.

Philippi's species depends only on a single skin, without any skull.
It is therefore impossible for us to treat it as more than a local variety.

Two species have been described by Lund under the names vetulus
and fulvicaudus, but they appear to us to be very imperfectly
distinguished. The former, he tells us, has the body and limbs
" slender ;" the latter has them " somewhat slender." The former,
is said to be above "light ashy grey;" the latter, "whitish
grey." The former is said to have the limbs below " isabel yellow ; "
the latter " brownish yellow." The only marked distinction asserted
is in the tail. That of vetulus is said to be black at the end and
for one fourth of its length; that of ftdvicattdits is described as
having the end and a patch upon its dorsum yellowish, and it is
also said that a patch of ochre-yellow exists behind the ear. This
distinction does not appear to us to be a satisfactory one, owing
to the variations we have found as to the colour of the tail in other
species. Burmeister has also remarked *, as a result of his experience,
that a ruddy tail-end forms no distinctive character, and he affirms
that Lund's two species approximate together strongly. This is
also our opinion. The fourth upper premolar of his C. fulvicaitdus
is small, but the dentition figured, has an aberrant appearance.
But Burmeister identifies Lund's C. vetulus with Wied's C. azarce ;

* Fauna Brasiliens, p. 41.

CANIS AZAK^E. 73

and certainly the coloured plate of the external form given by Lund
looks very like a pale individual of C. azara ; but the figure of the
skull and teeth seems to us to clinch the matter. His figures seem
carefully drawn and are probably accurate ; if so, the C. vetulus of
Lund must, we think, be the C. azarce of Wied, for the proportion
borne by the fourth upper premolar to the upper molars is just that,
which exists in the variety distinguished as C.fulvipes.

Burmeister has also described two species under the terms C. vetulus
and C. fulvicaudus, identifying them with the species so named by
Lund. In this identification he seems to us to be in error ; but we
reserve, till our consideration of the next species, any treatment of the
problem what these forms thus named by Burmeister may really be.

The reader may think that we have united an excessive number of
varieties under one specific name ; but we do not consider that many
of the characters upon which the authors of these reputed species have
dwelt merit any confidence as specifically distinctive marks.

Thus Philippi even ventures to name a species without having seen
the skull of the form he thus names, and Burmeister dwells upon
such matters as the degree of development of the sagittal ridge and the
form of the postorbital processes. But these characters we have found
to vary greatly in different specimens undoubtedly belonging to the
same species.

The coloration presented in the adult condition, by what appears to
us to be a medium average variety of this species, is as follows : —

Burmeister tells us * that the hair is much longer and more grey in
winter than in summer, also that the back becomes almost black
and the face greyish brown instead of yellowish grey, and that the tint
of the limbs changes. At birth the young are entirely brown, except
that they are slightly greyish on the underparts. Sometimes individuals
are met with entirely white.

The dorsal region of the body, which is covered with long hair, is
mottled with black and white, with black patches over the shoulders,
middle of the body, and rump. The sides of the body are grey. The

* See ' Description physique de la Eepublique Argentine/ vol. iii. p. 148.

74 AZARA'S DOG.

limbs externally are fulvous, pale yellowish internally. The under-
parts of the body are dirty white, and there is more or less white
behind the fore limbs and on the inner side of the thighs. A black
patch often traverses the outside of either hind leg a little above the heel.
The edge of the upper lip, thorax, and chest are white. The chin
is black, and this colour may extend backwards beyond the angle of
the mouth. The head is of a yellowish colour above. The ears are
lined with whitish hairs, while those outside these organs are yellowish
brown tipped with black ; the base of the ears and the adjacent parts
of the neck are buff colour. The moustaches are long and black.
The tail is mottled white and black, and is black at its terminal
portion and on the proximal part of its dorsum.

Habitat. Brazil to Tierra del Fuego, Chile, and Chiloe.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 66'5

„ of tail 33-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 14'0

of ear 7'0

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The sagittal ridge variously developed, its anterior portion is wide
and flattened, with a curved margin on either side, so that the two
together resemble somewhat the outline of a lyre.

The fourth upper premolar is well developed compared with the
length of the two upper molars. We have found the average of a
number of specimens to be as 100 to 118.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2'5

„ sphenoideum 3'8

Sphenoideum to gnathion 8'4

Length of palate 6'3

Breadth „ 3'3

Length of nasals 4*6

Breadth 1-0

CANIS AZAB-E. 75

Centimeters.

Breadth of brain-case 4'4

„ zygomata 7'2

Length of EJ: 0'35

P. 2 0.7

5» \J I

P. 3

P. 4 r3

0-9
13
1-0

M.I

M.2 0.5

)) v '*

Breadth of Hi ()'5

M.I i.o

» 1 d

M.2 1.0

Length of pTJ 0*3

„ PT2 0-7

;> PTTJ 0-8

« P74 0-85

« MTl !'3

M SO • • °'8

SL3 °'4

Breadth of 5^1 0-6

>, MT2 °'5

MT3 0-3

R_4toM.l+M.2aslQOtoll5i

THE SMALL-TOOTHED DOG.

CAN18 PARYIDENS.

Canis parvidens , Mivart, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 108.

Canis vetulus, Burmeister, Fauna Brasiliens, p. 37, plates 23, 28, & 29

(1843); id. Uebersicht d. Thiere Brasil. p. 99 (1854); id.

Reise d. d. La Plata, p. 407 (1861).
Canis fulvicaudus, Burmeister, Fauna Brasiliens, p. 40, plates 24, 28, &

29; id. Reise d. d. La Plata, p. 407.

BURMEISTER, in his work first above cited, describes a specimen in his
possession which he regards as identical with the C. vetulus of Lund,
which species (as we have before observed) he also identifies with the
C. azarts of Wied. But his description and his plates show that an
important distinction exists between what he calls C. vetulus and that
of Lund ; for its fourth upper premolar is extremely small, while its
two upper molars are relatively very large. ?if is to M> 1+M- 2 as 100
is to 155. In Lund's C. vetulus the fourth upper premolar is large.

Now although the proportions of the teeth in the Canidce are not
perfectly constant, they yet afford the best distinctive characters we
have, and much better ones than can be derived from differences in the
tints of the furry coat.

Similar reasons render it impossible for the C. vetulus of Burmeister
to be the C. azara of Wied, and therefore the species requires a new
denomination.

In the British Museum there are two skins and three skulls * from

* Nos. 821 A, 821 B, and 821 c. The first skull (here figured) was extracted from
the skin No. 44. 3. 7. 3.

CANIS PARVIDENS. 77

Brazil, which show dental characters remarkably distinct from all the
forms which we have grouped with our C. azarce, but which remarkably
agree with those depicted by Burmeister as pertaining to his C. vetulus.
The skins also fairly resemble the same form, and therefore we are
disposed to regard the specimens in the Museum as belonging to the
same species as named vetulus by Burmeister. That species ° Bur-
meister, however, was anonymous, and therefore we employed tn^ new
name parvidens to denote the British-Museum specimen, which must
retain that name even if it should turn out that Burmeister's species is
different and needs yet another designation, which, however, we are not
inclined to believe.

There are no particulars recorded of the specimen which is our type,
save that it was brought from Brazil in the year 1844. Burmeister
also was unable to give any particulars of the specimen which he
obtained from Campos.

The type is represented on our Plate XVIII. <-.

In colour this species is yellowish grey, slightly darker on the back ;
but the dorsum of the tail is not darker, save a small black spot near
the root. The end of the tail is black. The top of the head is grey
like the sides of the body. The ears, externally, are of a darker grey,
but reddish ochre towards the base and on the dorsum of the head
adjoining the roots of the ears. The limbs are rufous on the hinder
aspect of each. The underparts of the body are of a yellowish white,
the fur of the throat being the whitest. The white throat is separated
from the yellowish white of the ventral part of the body by a yellow
patch, interposed on the front and under surface of the chest. The
under surface of the lower jaw is dark. The lips are not white, and
there is no distinct spot between the eye and the nose. There is a
paler greyish patch obscurely indicated on either shoulder. The hairs
of the sides of the body are yellowish below, white toward^ the tip.
The hairs of the back are yellowish below and then white, but they are
black towards the tips. The hairs of the black terminal portion of the
tail are rufous-grey towards the root. The hairs of the thighs are
yellowish below but with whitish tips. About the heel the hairs are
dusky below, but yellowish red towards their tips.

THE SMALL-TOOTHED DOG.

Fig. 23.

Side view of skull of type of CANIS PARVIDENS.

Fig. 29.

Fig. 30.

Surfaces of molar teeth (right side). Lower molars (right side).

CANIS PAftVIDENS. 79

This animal appears to stand somewhat lower on its limbs than does
C. azartE.

Habitat. Brazil.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 60'0

., of tail 27-5

„ from heel to end of longest digit .' .: . . . ll'O
„ of ear .• . . . . . 4'8

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The sagittal ridge may be very strongly marked posteriorly or be
obsolete. There is generally a raised flattened tract in front of it, the
lateral margins of which have a somewhat lyrate outline.

The relative length of the postorbital processes varies in different
individuals, as also does their curvature.

The dentition is remarkable for the very small size of the fourth upper
premolar compared with the combined lengths of the first two upper
molars, its proportional length to theirs being, on an average, as 100 to
166, three specimens being examined.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2'0

„ sphenoideum 3'0

Sphenoideum to gnathion 6'3

Length of palate 4*8

Breadth „ 2'8

Length of nasals 3'1

Breadth of „ 0-9

„ brain-case 4*0

„ zygomata 6'3

Length of ?jJ: 0*3

,, — . 0-5

„ L§ 0-55

Li 0-7

„ »y . 0-7

M^ o-s

80 THE SMALL-TOOTHED DOG.

Centimeters.
Breadth of £_! 0'4

ML? 0-8

M.2 0.7

Length of 5571 0'25

PT3

0-55

sn °'9

» M72 .............. °'6

w SO ........... °'3

Breadth of jjj^ .............. 0'4

» MT2 .............. °'4

« SO • • • . ........... °'3

THE STRIPED-TAILED DOG.

CANI8 UROSTICTUS.
Cants urostictus, Mivart, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 112.

IN the British Museum there is a skin from Brazil, and also the skull
extracted from it*. We deem this form so remarkable from its dentition
as to need a distinct notice. It most nearly approaches C.parvidens, but
not only the hue of its pelage differs greatly from the latter, but it has a
very distinct mark in the form of a deep black stripe along the middle
two fifths of the dorsum of its tail. Nothing is known about the sex
of the specimen or the exact locality where it was derived, but it was
obtained in 1844. This type we have had figured in Plate XIX., and
its skull f in our woodcuts figs. 31-33.

The general colour is rufous-ochre, washed with black and white.
The hairs of the back are dusky at the base, then ochre, and then
white, becoming black towards the tips. The sides of the head and
the outsides of the ears are more rufous than the back. The limbs,
especially towards the heels, are rufous, and there is a dark mark in
front of each wrist. The underparts and the inner sides of the thighs
are also rufous, but rather lighter, while the throat is whitish, the
under surface of the lower jaw being blackish ; a darker shade inter-
poses between the whitish throat and the light rufous of the ventral
part of the body. The lips are not white, and no distinct mark is
visible between the eye and the nose. The inner sides of the fore
limbs have a slight rufous tinge. The hairs of the head are like
those of the back, but shorter. The hairs of the tail are mostly
dusky towards the root, and then of an ochre colour. Towards

* Skin No. 44. 3. 7. 4. t No. of skull 1033 E.

THE STRIPED-TAILED DOG.

Fig. 31.

Side view of skull of type of CANIS TTKOsTicitrs.

Pig. 32.

Fig. 33.

Surfaces of upper molars.

Surfaces of molar teeth
of lower jaw.

CANIS UROSTICTUS. 83

the end of the tail and in the region of the black dorsal stripe the
hairs of the tail are black towards their tips. Thus the general colour
of the tail is grey. It is blackish towards its apex, and very black at
the dorsal stripe before mentioned, as shown in our Plate.
Habitat. Brazil.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 67'5

„ of tail 22-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 13'0

of ear. 5'2

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The flattened sagittal tract is rather narrow, and ends posteriorly in
a short sagittal ridge.

The upper molars are very large, but their combined length differs
slightly on the two sides, being 1*5 on one side and 1*4 on the other.

Taking the mean and comparing this with the fourth upper premolar
the relative length of the latter to that of the molars is as 100 to 160.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2'1

-f~ Ovalion to sphenoideum 2'9

Sphenoideum to gnathion 7'2

Length of palate 5'0

Breadth of „ 2*8

„ brain-case 4*0

„ zygomata 5'8

Length of ?ii .V- 0'3

„ **. ,*>..., 0-6

„ *» ,.- .- - - 0-55

» ** 0-9

*y 0-8 or 0-85

^ 0-6 or 0-65

Breadth of ?ii 0-5

. ^ I'O

„ ^.2 0.8

84 THE STEIPED-TAILED DOG.

Centimeters.
Length of p> f .............. 0*2

„ P74 ..............

MTl ............. 1-05

w SO .............. °'8

MTS ........ .... 0-4

Breadth of ^Q ............ . . 0'55

» M72 ............. ........ 0*55

« JO .............. °'4

THE COLISHE.

CANI8 VIRGINIANUS.

Cants virginianus, Schreber's Saugthiere, Theil iii. p. 585, plate 92 B ;
Erxleben, Syst. Reg. Anim. p. 567 (quoted from Schreber)
(1777) ; Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. p. 74 (1788) ; Desmarest,
Mammalogie, p. 203 (1820) ; Harlan, Fauna Americana,
p. 89 (1825); Richardson, Fauna Boreali-Amer. p. 96
(1829).

Canis cinereo-argentatus, Erxleben, op. cit. p. 567 ; Gmelin, op. cit. p. 74 ;
Harlan, op. cit. p. 90 ; Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Nat.
Library, vol. x. p. 254, pi. 23.

Canis griseus, Boddaert, Elenchus Anim. i. p. 97 (1784).
Vulpes virginianus, De Kay, Nat. Hist. New York, p. 45, pi. 7. fig. 2
(1842) ; Audubon and Bachman, Quadrupeds of N. Amer.
p. 162, pi. 21 (1852) ; Baird, Mammals of N. Amer. p. 138
(1857); id. U.S. Mexican Boundary, ii. p. 16 (1858); Allen,
Bull. Mus.of Comp. Zool. Harvard Coll. vol. i. p. 160 (1863);
Alston, Biologia Centrali-Americana, Mamm. p. 67 (1880).
Vulpes littoralis, Baird, Mamm. of N. Amer. p. 143 (1857).
Urocyon (as a subgenus), Baird, Mamm. of N. Amer. p. 121 (1857).
Urocyon virginianus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 522 ; id. Catalogue
of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 209 (1869); Frantzius, Archiv
f. Naturgesch. Jahrg. xxxv. Bd. i. p. 284 (1869) ; Allen,
Bulletin U.S. Geolog. Survey, vol. ii. p. 320 (1876).
Urocyon littoralis, Gray, op. cit.

Oztuhua, Hernandez, De Quad. Nov. Hisp. fol. 6, caput xvi. (1651).
Grey Fox, Catesby's Nat. Hist, of Carolina, ii. p. 78 (1731).
Zorro of the Mexicans, Baird, Rep. U.S. Mexican Boundary, p. 17.
Tigrillo of the Costa-Ricans, Frantzius, loc. cit.
Colishe' of the Apaches, Baird, U.S. Mexican Boundary, ii. p. 17.

THIS exceedingly distinct species has been commonly spoken of as the
" Grey Fox " or the " Virginian Fox ; " but as it is a widely different
animal from the true fox, we have preferred to denote it by a native

86 THE COLISHE.

name, rather than employ a trivial one which we deem misleading.
Indeed, this species appears to us to have affinities rather with the
South-American Canida than with its other Nearctic congeners, all of
which latter species and varieties are closely allied to, where they are not
specifically identical with, the Common Fox of Europe and Northern
Asia. Though spoken of as a "Virginian" animal, it has a very
southern range. There are specimens in the British Museum from
Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica, and it may thus be an animal
which has extended northwards from its original area.

Canis mrglnianus appears to have been first made known, after Her-
nandez, by Catesby, who, in his ' Natural History of Carolina,' gives a
very bad figure and a few words as to its habits. Its scientific name
was bestowed by Schreber, although the work in which it appears is
dated a year later than Erxleben's, who nevertheless refers to Schreber's
name and to his (for its date) very tolerable figure.

But the first really good representation is the coloured plate of
F. Cuvier, although it represents an immature individual. A good figure
of an adult animal appears to us still a desideratum, and this we have
endeavoured to supply by our Plate XX., which represents an individual
obtained from Texas.

Two specimens from Santa Rosa Island appear to represent the small
form described as V. littoralis by Baird, but which we agree with our
late lamented friend, the very accomplished naturalist Mr. Alston, in
regarding as a mere variety of C. mrginianus. The American naturalist,
Mr. Allen, came to the same conclusion after comparing a variety of
specimens, declaring that the individuals were the smaller in size the
more southern their habitat. This species, indeed, seems to vary more
in size than in coloration, which, so far as we have observed, remains
pretty constant. Allen gives the length of the skull of a specimen
from Pennsylvania and of one from Yucatan as 4*77 and 3*74 respec-
tively, or a proportional difference of 127 to 100.

The Colishe is said to be less enterprising and sagacious and more
timid than the Common Fox. It is more often caught in steel traps than
is the latter animal. It must also be less destructive to the farmer, as
Audubon never heard of any well-authenticated account of its entering

CANIS V1EGINIANTJS. 87

a farmyard, although it would readily seize upon any poultry that
strayed from home into the woods. In Costa Rica, however, according
to Frantzius, it lives by preference in the vicinity of human dwellings, on
which account it is difficult to protect poultry from its depredations.
However this may be, it is always very fond of birds, and Audubon
had once an opportunity of seeing the animal spontaneously " point."
It was observed in a field of broom-grass, coursing against the wind
and hunting in the manner of a pointer. Suddenly it stood still and
squatted on its haunches. Then it went on again, hut with slow and
cautious steps, raising its nose to sniff at intervals. Soon it began to
crawl and finally made a dead halt, with its ears drawn back and nose
but a few inches from the ground. After remaining in this attitude
about half a minute, it made a sudden pounce on its prey, and secured
a partridge, as the rest of the covey flew away. The animal feeds on
any birds it can obtain and their eggs (notably those of the marsh-
hen), also on rabbits and small mammals, such as the cotton-rat,
Florida rat, and voles. It will, sometimes at least, also eat insects
and vegetable food, especially the ears of maize.

It is often to be seen, Baird tells us, in broad daylight, although it is
mainly a nocturnal animal, for the most part only coming forth at
twilight from the bushes or tall grass in which it hides by day.

The sounds emitted by it are somewhat like those of the Coyote
(C. latrans), but far less abrupt, so that they cannot with any propriety
be called a bark.

Catesby asserts that they will climb trees, and so escape pursuit, a
statement the truth of which has been denied. But Audubon and
Bachman tell us. that though they have often seen the Colishe run down
and killed by hounds without its having attempted to climb a tree, yet
that when its strength begins to fail it will do so if it happens to meet
with one the trunk of which slopes sufficiently to enable it to get up.
On one occasion a Colishe was observed to leap on a low branch four or
five feet from the ground and thence ascend by cautious rather awkward
leaps from branch to branch till it got into a lofty fork, where it stopped.
It has also been seen to get up a small pine-tree by clasping its stem
as a bear would do. When pursued these animals seek the protection

88 THE COLISHE.

of trees more in summer than in winter, probably because in hot
weather they become more speedily exhausted.

The animal has not so rank and penetrating an odour as has the
European Fox, but it seems to afford good sport to hunters. It does
not, however, run far ahead of the hounds, but keeps about seventy to
a hundred yards in front of them. A two hours' chase is said to be
generally necessary to capture it, but a very fleet pack has been known
to run it down in forty minutes. Next to deer-hunting the chase of
the Colish£ is the favourite sport in the Southern States of the Union.

From three to four young are produced in a litter. This occurs be-
tween the middle of March and the middle of April in Carolina, and
somewhat later further north. It makes its home in caves or fissures
in rocks, or holes in the ground, sometimes even in stone walls.
Frantzius found four cubs in a cavity in a wall ; they had a woolly
coat, blackish grey above and whitish below, with whitish-grey markings
on the muzzle and feet. We found the young to be of a dark brown
hue, with the tips of the hairs of the back white.

The coloration of the adult a good deal resembles that of a short-
haired specimen of C. magellanicus. The general colour of the trunk is
a grizzled grey, with the sides of the body and legs more or less rufous.
The tail is dusky above, light chestnut-coloured below, dark at its
termination, with a dark patch on its dorsum, and with a dorsal patch of
stiff, bristly hairs, the existence of which has led to its generic separation
as "Urocyon." There is a dark mark along the middle of the back
extending to this tail-patch. The chin is black, and there is a black spot
between the nose and the eye, with a light mark in front and behind it.
The backs of the ears are of a rusty tint ; within there are whitish hairs.
Throat white or whitish, and underparts of the body yellowish white.
White on the side of the head, behind the mouth, and beneath the eye.

Habitat. United States and Central America.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 63 '5

„ of tail 28'5

„ from heel to end of longest digit 13-5

of ear 5-3

CANIS VIKGINIANUS.

Fig. 34.

Top view of skull of CAXIS VIRGINIAXUS.

Fig. 35.

Side view of lower jaw.

90 THE COLISHE.

Cranial and Dental Characters.

As before mentioned the skull of this animal is very distinctly cha-
racterized. Instead of the dorsal surface of the skull showing a lyrate
sagittal elevation ending in a simple margin on either side, there is a
distinct, elevated, cord-like ridge running backwards in an undulating
manner from the postorbital process of the frontal to the occipital crest,
on either side ; these two lateral ridges enclose a lyrate space indeed,
but not a uniformly elevated tract.

The mandible also is very differently shaped from that of any of the
Canida as yet here described. It has been said to show a subangular
lobe, but it seems to be rather the case that what has been called the
" subangular lobe " is an almost normally formed part, and that the
abnormality consists in the shape of the angle itself, which is small in
size and, as it were, pushed upwards towards the condyle of the jaw.

The length of the fourth upper premolar compared with that of the
two upper molars is as 10.0 to 130.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2'3

„ to sphenoideum 3'7

Sphenoideum to gnathion 8'2

Length of palate 6'1

Breadth of „ 2'9

Length of nasals 4'0

Breadth of „ TO

„ brain-case 4'5

„ zygomata 7'1

Length of Hil 0'3

£J? . . . 0-5

» ^ 0-6

1-0

0-8

0-5

M.I

Breadth of 5i_4 0'5

MJ I'D

M.2 0-8

CANIS VIKGIMANUS. 91

Centimeters.
Length of p^j ............. 0'2

» PT2 ..... ........ .0-5

>, P~i .............. 0-7

» MTI .............. I'l

5O • • - • ........... 0-7

» 5O ...... ,'»".." ...... 0-3

Breadth of 5f7i .............. 0*45

n M72 ........ ...... 0-4

!O • • • • .......... 0-3

THE COMMON FOX.

CANIS VULPES.

Cants vulpes, Linneus, Syst. Nat. p. 59 (4) (1766) ; Schreber, Saugthiere,

Theil iii. p. 354, pi. 90 ; Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 201

(18.20) ; Pallas, Zoographia, vol. i. p. 45 (1831) ; J. A.

Wagner, Supplem. Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 405 ;

Blasius, Naturgesch. d. Saugethiere Deutschlands, p. 191

(1857).

Canis alopex, Linneus, Syst. Nat. p. 59 (5) .
Cani s fulvus, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 203; J. A. Wagner, Suppl. to

Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 413 ; Richardson, Fauna

Boreali-Americana, p. 93 (1829) ; Harlan, Fauna Ameri-
cana, p. 89.
Canis argentatus, Shaw, Gen. Zool. vol. i. p. 325 (1800) ; Desmarest,

Mammalogie, p. 203 (1820) ; Harlan, Fauna Americana,

p. 88.
Canis decussatus, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 203 (1820) ; Harlan,

Fauna Americana, p. 88 (1825).

Canis himalaicus, Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1836, p. 103.
Canis niloticus, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 204; Riippell, Atlas, p. 41

(1826) ; Ehrenb. Symb. Phys. pi. xix.
Canis vulpes montana, Pearson, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. v. p. 313

(1836) ; J. A. Wagner, Suppl. to Schreber's Saugth.,

Abth. ii. p. 408.
Vulpes vulgaris, Brisson, Regne Animal, p. 239 (1756) ; Bell, Hist, of

Brit. Quadrupeds, 2nd edit. p. 225 (1874) ; Allen, Bulletin

of Mus. at Harvard Coll. vol. i. p. 158.
Vulpes crucigera, Brisson, Regne Animal, p. 240 (1756).
Vulpes alopex, Blanford, Fauna Brit. India, Mamm. p. 153 (1858).
Vulpes montanus, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, xi. p. 589, and xxiii.

p. 730; Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 516; Jerdon,

Mammals Brit. India, p. 152 ; Blanford, Journ. Asiat. Soc.

Bengal, xlvi. 2nd part, p. 323, and xlviii. p. 95 ; Scully,

Proc. Zool. Soc. 1881, p. 202.

CANIS YULPES. 93

Vulpes nipalensis, Gray, Charlesworth's Magazine of Nat. Hist. vol. i.

p. 578 (1838).
Vulpes flavescens, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. xi. p. 118 (1843) ;

Hutton, Joum. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, xix. p. 344; Adams,

Proc. Zool. Soc. 3858, p. 516; Blanford, Yarkand Miss.,

Mammalia, p. 23, plate 2.
Vulpes fulvus, Fischer, Synopsis Mammalium, p. 190 (1829) ; De Kay,

Nat. Hist, of New York, p. 44, plate 7. fig. 1 (1842) ;

Auduboii and Bachman, Quadrupeds of N. Amer. vol. ii.

p. 263, pi. 87, and vol. iii. p. 70, pi. 116 ; Baird, Mammals

of N. Amer. (Reports of Mississippi Railroad), p. 123,

plate 31.

Vulpes japonica, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 517.
Vulpes hoole, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 631.
Vulpes lineiventer, Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 632.
Vulpes melanogaster, Bonaparte, Fauna Italica, plate i. (1832) ; J. A.

Wagner, Suppl. to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 409.
Vulpes macrurus, Baird, Stansb. Exploration Great Salt Lake, p. 309

(1852) ; id. Mammals of N. Amer. (Reports of Mississippi

Railroad), p. 130, pi. 33.
Vulpes pennsylv anica, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 518; id. Catalogue

of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 205.
Vulpes Utah, Audubon and Bachman, Quadrupeds of N. Amer. vol. iii.

p. 255, plate 151.
Renard, Bufibn, Hist. Nat. vol. vii. pp. 75 & 82, pi. 4 ; F. Cuvier, Hist.

Nat. des Mammiferes, vol. ii., three plates.

THE great variability which we have already found to be a character of
the Wolf, will prevent the reader being surprised on reading that at
least an equal degree of variability is to be met with in the Fox.

The Foxes, not only of Europe, but even of England itself, suffice to
show this, and also to put us on our guard against the too common
tendency which exists to regard vague and very inconstant differences of
pelage as sufficient evidence of a difference of kind. Thus English
varieties have been distinguished as "Greyhound," "Mountain," "Bush,"
or " Cur " Foxes upon such characters, together with some variations in
absolute size, and small differences in the proportions of different parts
of the body. But the total length of the head and body of adult
English Foxes may differ so much that if the length of one be repre-

94 THE COMMON FOX.

sented by 100. that of another will be 170, the length of the tail and
ears remaining much more constant. The English Fox may not only
vary in general colour, but even the characteristic white end to the
" brush " may be absent, the end of the tail being black or dark grey.
Bell records that an individual taken in Warwickshire had all the under-
parts of a greyish-black hue, thus resembling the Italian variety which
Bonaparte distinguished by the name melanog aster, on account of the
black fur existing on the abdomen ; and Dr. Edward Hamilton brought,
with him from the Ardennes * an example of this form, which has also
been described by Nilsson as existing in Scandinavia. But a careful and
detailed criticism made by Dr. Csesar Lepori f must, we think, suffice
to convince every reader, of the specific identity of these two forms.
The differences which are to be found in our own island and in Europe
being thus so considerable, it is not wonderful that others should also
exist in the Foxes of Northern Asia, Africa, and America. Something
more, then, than differences of tint and small variations in markings is
needed to justify our acceptance of any form, which is only peculiar in
such respects, as the representatives of a distinct species.

The habits of the English Fox are so well known that we feel we
might almost be dispensed from saying anything here on so trite a
subject. Still to some readers the few following words may not be
altogether superfluous.

Like some of the animals we have already described, the Fox will
occasionally make use of the burrow of a badger or a rabbit, though
commonly excavating its own earth. It will also repose, away from its
burrow, in woods or under the shelter of banks or hedges, and has even
been known to make its nest in an old straw-rick, a situation which
may have been convenient for farmyard depredations.

Foxes with us bring forth in April, and have about from four to
six young in a litter. Gestation lasts between sixty and sixty -four days.

As every one knows, the Fox preys upon poultry when it has the
chance, and also on partridges, pheasants, hares, rabbits, eggs, rats and

* See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1869, p. 247.

t See ' Atti della SocieU Italiana di Scienze Natural:,' vol. xxiv. p. 252 (Milan,
1881).

CANIS VULPES. 95

mice, moles, frogs, lizards. It will likewise readily devour any cheese and
butter which it may find. Even worms and beetles are eaten by it, as
also fish, mollusks, and crabs by Foxes which live near the sea and can
find such left on land by the tide. Carrion, moreover, does not come
amiss, nor vegetable food, especially fruit, when animal matter is scarce.

The Fox will give forth a variety of different sounds according to
circumstances — yelping, barking, screaming, or sometimes when at
rest emitting a gentle murmur.

The tricks and wiles practised by Foxes when hunted are so well
known in England, that any details on the subject would be here out
of place. Col. Hamilton Smith considered that in such matters English
Foxes had educated themselves far above their continental fellows ; but
this might be expected from our persistent fox-hunting having gradually
exterminated all the less sagacious and less wily individuals.

The peculiar and penetrating odour of the Fox (due to the secretion
formed by its subcaudal gland) and the absence of it in the dog * may
be one reason why the fox and dog will not breed together, as we have
seen the dog and jackal and the dog and wolf will do.

The Fox becomes adult in a year and a half or soon after, and is said
to live thirteen or fourteen years. It seems hardly susceptible of being
thoroughly tamed, and certainly is much less capable of attachment than
either the jackal or the wolf.

The Fox has, compared with most of the species already here described,
a long, sharp, and very specially pointed muzzle and a very long and
bushy tail, the " brush " being more or less cylindrical in outline for a
great part of its length. The eyes are oblique, and their pupils become
nearly linear when exposed to strong light.

The general colour of the English Fox is fulvous on the head, back,
and sides, and .on the outside of the upper part of the limbs. The
cheeks, upper lip, belly, inner side of the limbs, and the end of the tail are
white. The throat and chest are greyish or whitish, and the shoulders
are mostly reddish grey. There is a black mark between the inner angle
of the eye and the mouth. The anterior aspects of the limbs, from a

* See Buffon's remark, op. cit. p. 81.

96 THE COMMON FOX.

-
little below the elbows and heels, are also more or less black, as

is the hinder surface of each ear, except at the base. Great individual
variation, however, exists, the pelage being sometimes yellowish rather
than reddish, or largely washed with either black or white. The
Honourable R. C. Trollope has been so kind as to send us word that a
pure white English Fox was killed near Taunton in 1886. The speci-
men has been stuffed, and is in the possession of C. J. Erdaile, Esq.,
of Cotheleston House, Taunton, on whose property it was killed.

The length of the head and body may be from about twenty-seven to
forty-six inches, and that of the tail from twelve to fifteen inches.

Our figure (Plate XXI.) is drawn from a living specimen of an
English Fox.

We have already referred to the Italian variety described by Bonaparte
as Canis melanog aster, but a considerable number of other forms have
been described as distinct species, which forms we cannot but regard
as mere varieties of C. vulpes. No less than four types of such named
forms exist in the British Museum as well as representatives of three
other reputed species, which also seem to us to be mere varieties.

One of these is the so-called (7. niloticus, of which two specimens
from Egypt and three from Algiers and Syria are in our National
Collection. Our judgment as to the non-distinctness of this form from
C. vulpes is confirmed by the figures of C. niloticus given by Riippell
and Ehrenberg, which differ strikingly from each other, and, indeed,
Riippell admits that a great likeness exists between the Fox of the
Nile and that of Europe. The representation of a young female Fox
from Algiers given by F. Cuvier, in the second volume of his ' Histoire
Naturelle des Mammiferes/ further confirms our judgment, and indeed
the author only represents it as being a doubtfully distinct kind.

The type of the variety distinguished as C. montanus is, with seven
other specimens, preserved in the British Museum. As to it, the
founder of the species, Mr. Pearson, himself says * that it seems to ,[

be intermediate between C. vulpes and C. decussatus, " which, indeed, \

may, after all, be probably varieties of the same species." Jerdon also

Loc. cit. p. 314.

CANIS VULPES. 97

speaks of its resemblance to the Common Fox, and Blanford, after
having treated it as a distinct species, now considers it but a variety
of the Common Fox. As this form has been a subject of so much doubt,
we think it well to give a figure of the variety. Our Plate XXII.
represents the type of this reputed species. C. himalaicus of Ogilby
belongs to this variety of C. vulpes.

Another variety, as we deem it, is that which was first described

by Gray as Vulpes Jlavescens, of which we have seen specimens

obtained from Thibet, as well as from Persia. The best account of

this form is given by Blanford in his 'Mammalia of the Yarkand

Mission,5 p. 22, plate ii. Therein he expressed his suspicion, rather

than belief, that C. Jlavescens is a really different animal from C. mon-

tanus. He tells us : " That the two are closely allied is certain, and

it is extremely doubtful whether any definite characters can be found to

distinguish them." Cranial and dental characters afford better criteria ;

but here, again, distinctions break down. He observes : — " As a rule,

the skulls of V. montana are larger," but one skull of V. montana

scarcely differs in measurement from that of V. Jlavescens. Distinctions

in the relative size of the teeth are to be more relied on, but, from his

dimensions, the length of the first upper molar of Jlavescens only differs

from that of montana — the fourth upper premolar being taken as 100 —

as 69'22 differs from 69'43. He notes, indeed, certain differences as

existing between the teeth of Jlavescens and the Common European Fox,

but sagaciously and most truly adds : — " There is, however, sufficient

variation amongst the teeth of these skulls to render it doubtful how far

specific characters can be made to depend upon them alone." These

doubts seem to us to be put an end to by this author's ' Fauna of

British India,' wherein he identifies both C. montanus and C. Jlavescens

with the Common Fox. Any doubt which might have lingered in our

own mind as to the validity of such an identification is dissipated by the

judgment of a naturalist not only so distinguished and able, but one

who has enjoyed such exceptional opportunities for arriving at a correct

final decision on the subject. We regard, then, the variety C. montanus

as a Himalayan variety of the Common Fox, and C. Jlavescens as another

variety from Central Asia. We represent in our Plate XXIII. the type

specimen of C. Jlavescens.

98 THE COMMON FOX.

As to habits, Mr. Blanford tells * us : — " The Himalayan Fox lives
in brushwood and cultivated land, from an elevation of 5000 or 6000
feet upwards, frequently haunting the neighbourhood of human habita-
tions and feeding upon such birds and small mammals as he can
capture. . . . The Central- Asiatic variety lives in open country, hiding
in burrows or amongst bushes or rocks by day." The honeycomb
of wild bees is eaten by these animals, which are also exceedingly
fond of grapes.

There are preserved in the British Museum the individual skins
whereon Mr. Swinhoe founded his two proposed species V. hook and
C. lineiventer. The former of these, he tells f us, is a " Fox of the
plains and lower hills of South China, and in form and size very
similar to that of Europe ; but it is paler, wants the black spot on the
sides of the snout, and has the colours of its coat differently arranged."
It is common on the bare granitic hills of Amoy, and Mr. Swinhoe
saw as many as six together at one time. It also inhabits Hongkong
island. When pursued, they spring with great agility from rock to
rock, and will soon outrun a greyhound in such a locality.

V. lineiventer was obtained by Mr. Swinhoe at Amoy, from the
higher mountains of Fokien. He describes it as very like Bona-
parte's melanogaster, but is " remarkable for having a fine line of
chestnut on each side of the belly. It is very brightly coloured, and
so differs conspicuously from" V.hooley "though in form and size very
similar."

With Mr. Swinhoe's careful description in hand, we have com-
pared these skins with those of a number of European and other foxes,
and cannot consider them to be more than local varieties. The same
must be said with regard to a Fox from Japan described by Mr. Adams |,
and Gray's V. japonica, which are of a uniform dull brown colour,
or nearly so, when adult, while a younger specimen is intermediate
between the forms named hoole and lineiventer.

* Loc. cit. p. 154. f Op. cit. p. 631.

J See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1860, p. 195.

CANIS VULPES. 99

Our view is supported by that of Professor Martens *, who had such
good opportunities of examining Poxes in Japan, and has declared them
to be identical with the European Fox. The great variation to which
the Pox is subject is further illustrated by four skins brought from
Siberia by Seebohm : in them the hair is very long and very light in
colour, though the underfur is black.

Skulls of all the varieties of the Fox hitherto described by us have
been carefully compared together, and the judgment which we have
formed from a consideration of the skins is thereby confirmed. We
deem them all to be but varieties, generally local ones, of Canis vnlpes.

The only form now remaining for consideration is the variety of the
Common Fox which inhabits North America.

This animal has been supposed not only to be a species distinct from
the Pox of the Old World, but its subvarieties have been regarded as
distinct kinds distinguished by the names of the Red Pox (V.fulvus),
the Cross Pox (V. decussatus), and the Silver or Black Pox (V. argen-
tatus) respectively. Pven now another form, known as V. macrurus,
is treated as a separate species by Baird — a course, however, in which
we cannot follow him, for reasons hereinafter given.

The red variety, fulvus, is generally of a reddish-yellow colour, with
the hinder part of the back grizzled. The throat and more or less of
the belly are white ; the ears are black posteriorly, and the ends of
the hairs of the tail are black, except, of course, on the white terminal
portion of that organ.

The cross variety, decussatus, has a dark band crossing the shoulders,
as well as a longitudinal band in the middle of the back. The tail is
darker than in fttlvus, and legs, muzzle, and underparts black or
blackish.

The silver or black variety, argentatus, is generally almost entirely
black save the tip of the tail, which is mostly white. On the hinder
half of the back the hairs are annulated with grey, as they are also on the
top and sides of the head and outside of the thighs. A choice skin of

* See ' Die Preussische Expedition nach Ost-Asien,' Zoologischer Theil, p. 152
(Berlin, 1876).

100 THE COMMON FOX.

this variety is represented in our Plate XXIV. ; but specimens may be
met with which are entirely black or entirely grey.

Thus the American Fox varies rather more than the European one ;
and when we consider how great and how parallel these variations are,
and how impossible it is, so far as we can see, to detect any cranial or
dental characters to distinguish the American Fox from the Fox of the
Old World, we cannot hesitate to unite them under one title, that
of Canis vulpes *. A statement of Audubon strongly confirms this
judgment. He says of the Red Fox : — " The young are covered,
for some time after they are born, with a soft woolly fur, quite unlike
the coat of the grown animal, and generally of a pale rufous colour.
Frequently, however, the cubs in a litter are mixed in colour, there
being some red and some black cross Foxes together ; when this is the
case it is difficult to tell which are the red and which the cross Foxes
until they are somewhat grown." F. Cuvier has given a plate of two
young 30 days after birth, the offspring of parents of the red variety,
clothed in grey down like the underfur of the adult ; in them the red
colour began first to appear about the head. That estimable American
zoologist Mr. J. A. Allen f not only considers the European and
American Foxes to be of one species, but declares the three American
varieties to differ in nothing save different degrees of melanism.

Auduboriis of opinion that the American Fox has gradually extended
its range southwards }. According to him Pennsylvania was once its
southern limit. Next it made a home in the mountains of Virginia. A
few years afterwards it appeared in the more elevated portions of North
Carolina, and finally in Georgia, where he had observed it about 1850.
The species is said to have been first seen in Lincoln county, Georgia,
in 1840. A Mr. Beile informed Audubon that " as he was using a

* Baird, in his ' Mammals of North America,' p. 130, remarks on the fact that no
remains of the Fox have been detected among the fossils derived from the Carlisle and
other hone-caves, although C. virginianus is abundantly represented. This, as he says,
would lend colour to the idea that the Fox, like the existing American horse, is an immi-
grant from the Old "World.

t See ' Bulletin of the Museum at Harvard College,' vol. i. p. 159.

% Op, cit. vol. ii. p. 207.

CAMS VULPES. 101

call for wild turkeys, a little before sunrise, in the vicinity of Augusta,
two Red Foxes came to the call, supposing it to be that of a wild
Turkey, and were both killed by one discharge of his gun."

The silver variety is that the skin of which is so valuable an
article of commerce. It is a relatively scarce animal, though in 1850
it was sometimes seen in the mountains of Pennsylvania and the wilder
northern portions of the State of New York. The skins sold by the
American Fur Company came from the head-waters of the Mississippi
and the territories north-west of the Missouri.

The variety to which Baird gave the name macrurus appears to be
one confined to the western side of the Rocky Mountains. It seems to
be the western form of the American Fox, as the Silver Fox is the
northern variety, and the Red and Cross forms are those of the more
eastern parts of the United States.

The American Fox is said to be generally larger than its European
representative, but the Western-American form is reported to be a
magnificent Fox and the finest variety known. The type of the species
is deposited in the American Patent Office. The special characters of
this variety are its large size, the length of its fur, and its long tail.
It is, however, admitted by Baird to be " very similar in general
appearance to the red fox," and to vary like it, its colours " being
very similar to those of the corresponding varieties of the red fox."

No cranial or dental characters distinguish it, save that it has an
exceedingly long and slender muzzle. This difference, however, is
admitted not to be greater than differences which may be observed
between the skulls of European specimens and those of the red varieties
of the American Fox.

Fossil remains of the Common Fox have been found in the Suffolk
Crag, which is an Upper Pliocene deposit.

Habitat. The Fox has the most extensive range of any of the Canidae,
since, unlike the Wolf, it is found in Africa north of the Sahara. It
extends all over Europe and Asia to some distance south of the Hima-
laya and to the island of Japan. In America it ranges from as far
north as the shores of Hudson's Bay and Labrador, down to the latitude
of Northern Mexico.

102 THE COMMON FOX.

In a specimen chosen for measurement we found the dimensions
to be : —

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 7TO

„ of tail 29-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 15*0

of ear 6'8

Skeletal and Dental Characters.

Although if we compare the skull of a fox with that of a wolf or
jackal we are struck with the length and slenderness of the muzzle,
yet we have found it impossible to detect any constant cranial or
dental characters which shall serve to distinguish these species from
some of those already noticed or shortly to be noticed. At first it
seemed that the backward elongation of the nasals compared with
that of the maxillae might answer such a purpose, but an extended
survey showed us that the former might or might not reach further
backwards than the latter. The same remark applies to differences as
to the form of the postorbital processes, or as to whether those
processes are or are not concave dorsally.

The dimensions of the various skeletal parts, in a specimen selected
by us as an example, are as follows : —

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrae ll'O

„ dorsal „ 14'5

„ lumbar „ 12'2

„ sacral „ 2'3

„ caudal „ 3'4

Length from front of atlas to hinder end of sacrum . . 40'0

Length of whole pectoral limb 30'0

„ whole pelvic „ 35'0

„ humerus 10'3

„ radius 9'5

„ femur 10'5

„ tibia 11-6

„ index metacarpal 3*4

CANIS VULPES. 103

Centimeters.

Length of metacarpal of pollex ......... 1'2

}} whole pollex ........... 2'7

„ last phalanx of third digit (manus) . . . . 1*2

„ index metatarsal .......... 4*6

„ metatarsal of hallux ......... 0'7

}) whole hallux ........... 1'25

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) ..... 1'20

Basion to ovalion ............. 2'5

}) sphenoideum ............ 3*3

Sphenoideum to ovalion ........... 8'5

Length of palate .............. 6'3

Breadth of „ ...... ........ 3'7

Length of nasals .............. 5'0

Breadth of „ .............. 1*2

„ brain-case ............ 4'5

„ zygomata ............ 6*5

Length of ?d .............. 0'25

„ PL^ .............. 0.50

^J ............. . 0-55

p-4 .............. 0-90

M-! .............. 0-60

M^ .............. 0-45

Breadth of *L* .............. 0'30

M.I .............. 0-70

M.2 .............. 0-60

Length of i7-[ .............. 0'20

„ PT^ ..... • . ' ....... °'50

„ PT3 ..... • ........ °'55

„ PT4 .............. 0'60

10 ............. •

0'50

in-5 •

» M. 3 ......

Breadthofjo ..... ......... 0'30

« ra ...... ........ 0-so

10 • • • ........... °'20

104

THE KIT FOX.

CANI8 VELOX.

Canis velox, Say, in Long's Expedition to Rocky Mountains, vol. i.
p. 487 (1823) ; Harlan, Fauna Americana, p. 91 (1825);
Max. Wied, Reise Nord-Amer. vol. ii. pp. 44 & 256 (1841).

Canis cinereo-argentatus, Sabine in Franklin's Journ. p. 658.

Canis microtus, Reichenbach, Regnum Animale, i. 10, figs. 72 & 73 ; id.
Universum des Thierreichs, vol. i. p. 43 (1816) ; Wagner,
Wiegmann's Archiv, vol. iii. 1837, p. 162.

Canis (Vulpes) cinereo-argentatus, Richardson, Fauna Boreali- American a,
p. 98.

Vulpes velox, Audubon and Bachman, Quadrupeds of North America,
vol. ii. p. 13, plate 52 (1851) ; Baird, Mammals of North
America, p. 133 (1857) ; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868,
p. 519, pi. 34; id. Catalogue of Carnivorous Mammalia,
p. 206.

Kit Fox, Lewes and Clarke's Travels, vol. ii.

THE Kit Fox is one of the most elegant and attractive of the whole family
of the Canida, and is also much the smallest of all those found in North
America. It was first clearly identified and unequivocally named by
•Say. Schreber and subsequently J. A. Wagner seem to have confused
this animal with C. virginianus. The figure given by Schreber
(Theil ii. plate 92 A) certainly cannot be taken to represent, and the
appellations bestowed by these naturalists cannot be recognized as
appertaining to, the present species,

Say was led to apply to it the name velox through having been
struck with its extraordinary swiftness, when he had opportunities of
observing it run with the antelope and comparing their velocities. Its
movement has been compared to that of a bird skimming the surface of

J.G.KeulemarLS del.etlith

THE KIT FOX.
Cards velox.

Mintern. Bros, im

CANIS VELOX. 105

the earth. Nevertheless, Audubon relates * that a mounted horseman
had no difficulty in keeping up with one and overrunning it. This may,
however, have been an exceptionally slow individual. We ourselves
have been struck with the rapidity of motion displayed by a specimen
in captivity, enclosed in a large cage in our Zoological Gardens.

The Kit Fox was formerly to be found on the open plains between
the Saskatchewan and the Missouri, and in the plains of Columbia,
burrowing in the earth in a country totally destitute of trees and bushes.
It appears, indeed, to be unknown in forest-regions. Audubon brought
one back with him to New York, when it was placed in a large cage-
box two thirds sunk beneath the surface of the ground and half filled
with earth. When thus allowed a comparatively large space and plenty
of earth to burrow in, the Pox immediately began to make its way
into the loose ground, and soon had dug a hole large enough to conceal
itself entirely. It fed regularly, and drank more water than foxes
generally do.

Like other foxes, C. velox appears to vary in the colour of its pelage.
Two skins in the British Museum are remarkable for their beautifully
soft, pale, and abundant fur ; in these the sides of the muzzle are black.

A living specimen in the Gardens, represented in our Plate XXV.,
is somewhat darker than the skins in the British Museum, but agrees
with them in having the back and tail dark grey (with black and white
hairs), a black tip to the tail, rufous cheeks, shoulders, flanks, and
outer side of the legs, and the fur underneath the body white.

According to Bairdf, its underfur is remarkably full and dense,
much more so than in the Common Fox, while the interspersed long
hairs exceed the underfur so little in length that the latter can be readily
seen. The limbs are rather short but stout, and the feet are shorter and
the body lower than in the Red Fox. Long woolly hairs conceal the
naked pads of the paws more or less completely from view. The ears
are much smaller than in the Common Fox, and are thickly and densely
coated with fur. The tail is rather short relatively, being decidedly less
than half the length of the head and body, but very bushy.

* Op. cit. p. 15. t Op. cit. p. 133.

106 THE KIT FOX.

Baird describes the ears as being of a uniform brownish yellow
externally, and yellowish white within. He found the hairs of the tail
less annulated than those of the trunk and flanks, and blacker at their
tips, the blackness augmenting towards the tip of the tail, which appears
to be constantly devoid of the white termination almost always to be
found in the Common Pox.

Its specific distinctness from the latter animal is unmistakable, and
it is constantly very much smaller in size.

Habitat. North-western America.

The skins in the British Museum are imperfect, so that the length of
the limbs could not be measured. Baird gives the following dimensions
in inches : —

Length from nose to tail 24

Tail to end of vertebrae 9

Height of ear 1|

In two British-Museum skins I found the dimensions, in centimeters,
to be as follows : —

Length of head and body 65 or 75

tail 29-5 29

Cranial and Dental Characters.

We have not had an opportunity of examining any skulls of this
species, but we learn from Professor Baird * what we might expect,
namely, " that it exhibits a very close resemblance to that of the Red
Pox." He further tells us that the temporal crests do not approach each
other so much as in the latter animal. The postorbital processes also
appear to be rather shorter relatively and less obtuse, while the distance
between the zygomata is wider and the forehead rather flatter.

The dentition is quite like that of the Common Pox.

Baird gives a very good representation of the skull seen laterally,
and both above and below ; it does not, however, justify his assertion

* Op. dt. p. 135.

CANTS VELOX. 107

that the temporal crests are more like those of C. mrginianus than those
of C. vulpes, for they do not show any appreciable approximation to the
very peculiar condition they present in the Colishe.

The dimensions given in Baird's figure are as follows : —

Centimeters.
Basion to ovalion ............. 2'6

„ sphenoideum ........... 3'1

Sphenoideum to gnathion ........... 7'6

(This last dimension as represented on a plane surface is, of
course, somewhat too short.)

Length of palate .............. 5'8

Breadth „ ...... ........ 3'0

Length of nasals .............. 4*0

Breadth of „ .............. 0'9

„ brain-case ............ 4'1

„ zygomata ............ 6'2

Length of *li .............. 0'5

„ ^ .............. 0-8

„ ** .............. 0-8

„ ** .............. 1-1

M. 1 0.7

» - .............. u •

M.2 .

Breadthof^ii .............. 0'6

„ MJ. ........ ,.., ..... 0-8

„ M.2 ........ . . ..... 0-6

Length of 573; . ....... . ' . . . . . 0'3

.... ........... 0-7

PT4

Breadth of jo °'5

» M72 °'4

» 50 0>3

108

THE ARCTIC FOX.

CANIS LAG OPUS.

Canis lagopus, Linneus, Syst. Nat. 12th edit. vol. i. p. 59 (1766) ;
Schreber, Saugthiere, Theil iii. p. 262, pis. 93 and 93* ;
Shaw, General Zoology, vol. i. p. 326 (1800) ; Desmarest,
Mammalogie, p. 202 (1820) ; Tilesius, Nov. Acta Phys.-
Med. Acad. Caesar. Leopold. -Carolinse, vol. xi. p. 375
(1823) ; Pallas, Zoographia, vol. i. p. 51 (1831) ; Sabine,
Supplement Parry's First Voyage, p. 187 ; Harlan,
Fauna Americana, p. 92 (1825) ; Wagner, Supplem.
Schreber's Saugth., Abth. iii. p. 426 ; Middendorff, Reise
aussersten Nordeu u. Osten Sibiriens, Bd. ii. Th. ii. p. 73
(1851).

Canis isatis, Gmelin, Nov. Com. Petrop. vol. v. p. 358.

Canis ( Vulpes) lagopus, Richardson, Appendix to Capt. Parry's Journal
of his Second Voyage, p. 299 (1825) ; id. Fauna Boreali-
Americana, vol. i. p. 83 (1829).

Vulpes lagopus, Audubon & Bachman, Quadrupeds of N. Amer. vol. iii.
p. 89, pi. 121 (1820) ; Baird, Mammals North America,
p. 137 (1857) ; Fischer & Pelzeln, Internationale Polar-
forschung, p. 128 (Vienna, 1886).

Leucocyon lagopus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 521 ; id. Cat. Carni-
vorous Mammalia, p. 208.

Renard blanc, Buffon, Hist. Nat. Supplem. vol. vii. p. 218, pi. 51
(1789).

L' Isatis, F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes, vol. ii. (two plates) .

AFTER the doubts and difficulties we have now so many times encoun-
tered in endeavouring to determine whether various forms hereinbefore
considered were or were not distinct species, it is refreshing to come
upon one which stands out in unmistakable distinctness and, indeed,
in marked isolation. Not only in coloration and various details of
external form, not only in peculiarities of cranial conformation, not

CANIS LAGOPUS. 109

only in habit of body, as evidenced by its odour and the peculiarity
of its changing hues, but in its psychical nature also, it is distinct from
its congeners, as we may see from its habits and manners, both in a
wild state and in captivity. It is also peculiar in its geographical
position, since, as its name implies, it ranges through almost all the
lands hitherto explored, of both the Old World and the New, which
most nearly approximate to the North Pole.

We have already met with various species which we may confidently
affirm, or reasonably suppose, to vary with the season in the abundance
or in the tints of their furry coat ; but the Arctic Fox is much more
remarkable in this respect, for in the summer it is of a bluish or some-
times brownish-grey tint, while in the winter it becomes almost entirely
white. This change, which is like that met with in the Ermine and the
Variable Hare, seems to occur in no other member of the Canine family.
The transformation, however, does not, by any means, invariably take
place even in this species. Individuals seem often to be met with
in their native haunts with their summer dress in winter *, while
others appear to remain entirely white the whole year round. This
has given rise to the opinion, which F. Cuvier favoured, that there
were two species, one changing and the other permanently white.
Mr. Bartlett, however, assures us, as the result of his observations
on specimens living in our Zoological Gardens, that amongst a
number of individuals, otherwise absolutely indistinguishable, the
greater number of which undergo their seasonal change, there will be
some which do not do so. Schreber also relates, on the authority of
trustworthy hunters, that both white and grey cubs are sometimes
found in the same litter.

The head of this animal is less pointed than that of the true Fox,
the muzzle having a somewhat swollen appearance. The ears also are
short and rounded. There are long hairs on the hinder part of the
cheek, which, projecting backwards, give the face a peculiar aspect. The
soles of the feet are covered, especially in winter, with dense woolly hair ;

* Messrs. Fischer and Pelzeln met with grey foxes till the 27th of December,
although a white one was seen by them on the 21st of November.

110 THE AECTIC FOX.

this not only protects them from the effects of extreme cold, but aids
them in rapid locomotion over slippery ice.

Another most exceptional peculiarity of these animals is their prac-
tice, at least in some regions, of a sort of migration — a practice which,
so far as we know, exists in no other member of the family of dogs.

Richardson * tells us that when he wrote they were numerous on the
shores of Hudson's Bay, and that they do not breed in solitary fashion,
like the Red Fox, but, as it were, in little villages of twenty or thirty
burrows constructed in close proximity. Towards the middle of winter
the Foxes of the far north migrate southwards, keeping as much as
possible to the coast, and going much further southward in districts
where the coast-line is in the direction of their march. Captain Parry
found that they began to leave Melville Peninsula in November, and
that by January few remained. Towards the centre of the continent, in
latitude 65°, they were only seen in winter, and then not in large
numbers. They were very scarce in latitude 61°, and at Carlton House,
in latitude 53°, only two were seen in forty years. It is stated by
Hearne f that they arrived at Churchill, in latitude 59°, about the
middle of October, and afterwards received reinforcements from the
north in very great numbers ; those that escaped capture, crossed
the Churchill river as soon as it was frozen over, and then went
on to the Nelson and Severn rivers.

The Arctic Fox is said, as a rule, to be easily tamed. It is less
cunning and spiteful, and more gentle and confiding, than the true Fox,
and has nothing of the offensive odour of the latter. Captain Lyon,
who carefully studied this animal during a residence of two winters in
Melville Peninsula, tells us | that it is an extremely cleanly animal,
being very careful not to dirt those places where it eats or sleeps.

" Their first impulse on receiving food," he adds, " is to hide it as
soon as possible, even though suffering from hunger, and having no

* Fauna Bor.-Am. p. 87.

t See his ' Journey from Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean/ 1769-72, p. 363.
j: See his ' Private Journal of the Voyage of H.M.S. ' Hecla,' under Capt. Parry,'
pp. 102-105 (London, 1824).

CANIS LAGOPUS. Ill

fellow-prisoners of whose honesty they are doubtful. In this case snow
is of great assistance, as being easily piled over their stores, and then
forcibly pressed down by the nose. I frequently observed my dog-
fox, when no snow was obtainable, gather his chain into his mouth,
and in that manner carefully coil it so as to hide the meat. On moving
away, satisfied with his operation, he of course has drawn it after him
again, and sometimes with great patience repeated his labours five or
six times, until, in a passion, he has been constrained to eat his food
without its having been rendered luxurious by previous concealment."

In 1863 Professor Alfred Newton, F.R.S., joined in an expedition
to Spitzbergeri, and amongst the interesting notes published by him
are the following *, which refer to the animal we are here concerned
with : — " The Arctic Fox is pretty numerous along the shores of
Ice Sound ; and we not only frequently saw examples of it, but in the
immediate neighbourhood of the cliffs wherein the Alcidce were nesting
one could, by listening almost at any time in the twenty-four hours, hear
its yapping bark. It is of course the chief enemy of all the different
kinds of birds, and their dread of it appears to influence them greatly
in their choice of breeding-quarters. What the Foxes do to get a
living in winter when the birds have left the country, is one of the
most curious questions that has presented itself to my mind for some
time. The greater number of them are said to remain on the land,
and to be as active during the long polar night as they are in summer ;
yet there are no berries by which they might eke out their existence,
and there can be no open water, on the margin of which they might
find food, within miles of their haunts. The most natural explanation
which occurs to one is that they lay up a stock of provisions ; but nobody,
that I am aware of, has ever found such a store -closet." He adds :
" A considerable collection of shells of Mya truncata, which I found
one day on the moraine of a glacier in Safe Haven, may possibly have
been due to the cause suggested." Professor Newton's sagacious
anticipation concerning " store-closets " was subsequently abundantly
and very interestingly confirmed by H. W. Feilden, F.G.S., who

* See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 496.

112 THE AECTIC FOX.

accompanied the Arctic Expedition undertaken in 1875, under Captain
G. S. Nares, R.N. From his account of the Mammalia of North
Greenland and Grinnell Land, we learn * that the Arctic Fox was
found to decrease in numbers up Smith's Sound. Its footprints were
seen in the snow at Floe-berg Beach. From Dumbbell Harbour
(some miles further north) an expedition was made to the Uplands
after big game. Having ascended eight hundred feet, the party
became enveloped in snow and mist. " All of a sudden," he tells us,
" we were startled by the sharp bark of a Fox. More than a year had
elapsed since we had heard such a sound. It seemed very close to us,
and as the fog lifted we saw the animal standing on a little hill of
piled-up rocks that rose like an islet from the plateau. Separating, we
approached the Fox from opposite directions. Parr fired at it, when
it dropped down, and crawled below some heavy rocks : out rushed
the female from its lair, and we secured her." .... " As we rested
there, many little Lemmings popped up from their holes, and undis-
mayed by our presence, commenced feeding on plants. We noticed
that many dead Lemmings were scattered around. In every case they
had been killed in the same manner, the sharp canine teeth of the
Foxes had penetrated the brain." ... " Then to our surprise we dis-
covered numerous deposits of dead Lemmings. In one out-of-the-way
corner, under a rock, we pulled out a heap of over fifty dead Lemmings.
We disturbed numerous ' caches ' of twenty and thirty, and the ground
was honeycombed with holes which each contained several bodies of
these little animals, a small quantity of earth being placed over them.
In one hole we found the major part of a hare carefully hidden away."
It was observed by this author that the flora in the neighbourhood of
the spots where he found these animals was wonderfully rich, the soil
having thus been fertilized. He adds : — " It is a very beautiful
arrangement that the increased flora induced by the presence of the
Foxes should be the means of attracting and sustaining the Lemmings
in the immediate vicinity of the Foxes' den." The Arctic Fox may be

* See 'The Zoologist ' (3rd series), vol. i. p. 318 (1877).

CANIS LAGOPUS. 113

considered somewhat rare on the northern part of Grinnell Land. The
northern specimens did not differ in size from those killed further
south.

The Esquimaux take this Fox in traps of a very ingenious kind,
which have been thus described by Captain Parry : — " They consist of
a small circular arched hut, built of stones, having a square aperture at
the top, but quite close and secure in every other part. This aperture
is closed by some blades of whalebone, which, though in reality only
fixed to the stones at one end, appear to form a secure footing, espe-
cially when the deception is assisted by a little snow laid on them.
The bait is so placed that the animal must come upon this platform to
get at it ; when the latter, unable to bear the weight, bends downwards,
and after precipitating the Fox into the trap, which is made too deep
to allow of his escape, returns by its elasticity to its former position, so
that several may then be caught successively."

They are said by Audubon * to be so little cunning, that with a
simple barrel trap the same individual has been caught several times,
" their hunger or want of caution leading them again into the barrel
when only a short time released from captivity," Some that had been
kept on board an ice-bound vessel several days did not appear anxious
to escape, while others which had not been caught would approach it.
They did not appear frightened at seeing a man, but would run a little
way, and then sit down and stare before retreating finally. They appear
to be good eating and fat all the winter, as, in addition to their stores,
they have been seen to follow the polar bear and feed on his leavings
of seals, fish, &c.

In summer dress, the Arctic Fox may have the back and tail of a
brown or dirty rufous tinge, the belly being yellowish white. The
head, chin, outside of the limbs, and the external surface of the ears
are also brown. White hairs are interspersed and also grey ones j
all the hairs are more or less bluish grey towards their roots and the

* Op. tit. p. 92. He refers to the expedition in search of Sir John Franklin under
Mr. Henry Grinnell.

114 THE AECTTC FOX.

underfur is of that colour. Often by a large development of the bluish-
grey parts of the hairs and a less degree of brown, the predominant
colour of the animal in summer becomes bluish grey. Sometimes, as
in a specimen in the British Museum, the back may be bluish grey, with
the sides and underparts nearly white. In another skin the apices of
the hairs generally are much darker than lower down, so that the animal
looks as if it was white, with a veil of grey thrown over it.

As winter approaches the fur lengthens, the white hairs increase in
number, and all the hairs become white towards their tips, but remain
for a time grey towards their roots. When the perfectly developed
winter dress is put on, the hairs are wholly white, the animal becoming
of snowy whiteness, save the tip of the nose, and sometimes the tip of
the tail, which is occasionally black.

But this perfectly, or almost perfectly, white condition is by -no
means constantly to be met with, as before said, even in winter ; so
many of the hairs may remain grey as to greatly diminish the brilliancy
of the white coat, or even to cause it to be predominantly grey.

Richardson * tells us that many individuals retain a little duskiness
on the nose, and others remain more or less coloured all the year, while
a pure white Fox is sometimes to be met with in summer. The
duskiness may sometimes be due to the animals being young, for, accord-
ing to Hearne, the young are of a very dark colour.

Prof. A. Newton f informs us that in Iceland all Arctic Foxes are
" Blue " Foxes — that is to say, their winter coat is of nearly the same
colour as their summer coat.

Our Plate XXVI., drawn from life, represents two individuals which
were living at the same time in the Zoological Gardens.

Habitat. The Arctic Fox inhabits almost all hitherto explored lands
within the Arctic Circle, and descends southwards in the New World
to 50° north latitude, but (according to Pallas) not below 60° N. in
the Old World.

* Op. cit. p. 84. f Loc. cit. p. 497, note *.

CANIS LAG OPUS.

115

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 70*0

„ of tail 31-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 13'0

of ear

4-5

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull of the Arctic Fox is remarkable at the first glance from
its swollen appearance at the root of the muzzle between and beneath
the orbits.

The postfrontal processes are more or less concave dorsally, and

Fig. 36.

Side view of skull of CANIS LAGOPTJS *.

there is a concavity on the dorsum of the skull between them. The
nasals do not extend backwards nearly so far as do the frontal processes
of the maxillae.

The dentition exhibits a largely developed first lower molar.

* The last lower molar is accidentally wanting in the skull figured.

116 THE AECTIC FOX.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion .............. 2'4

„ sphenoideum ............ 3*45

Sphenoideum to gnathion ........... 8'45

Length of palate .............. 6'3

Breadth of „ .............. 3'2

Length of nasals .............. 4'3

Breadth of „ ....... . ...... I'O

„ brain-case ............ 4'1

„ zygomata ............ 6'6

Length of *!i2 ............... 0-4

» ^ ............... 07

„ ^ ............... 0-9

P. 4 i.o

„ - ............... * «

„ M.1 .............. 0-9

„ Mi2 . ............. 0-4

Breadth of ?ii . . / ........... 0-65

M. 1 i .o

» - • • ............ * *

M. 2 .x

Length of yTl ............... 0'4

» PT2 '• '• ............ °'7

» PT4 ............... 0-9

3O • ............ I'5

» IO .............. '

Breadth of 5J7J .............. 0*5

„ W72 .............. °'37

M73

117

THE CORSAC FOX.

CANIS COESAC.

Canis corsac, Linneus, Syst. Nat. 12th edit. vol. iii., Appendix, p. 223
(1768) ; Erxleben, Syst. Nat. p. 566 (1777) ; Gmelin, Syst.
Nat. vol. i. p. 74 (1788) ; Pallas, Reise d. d. Russisch.
Reichs, vol. i. p. 234 (1771) ; id. Neue Nordische Beytrage,
p. 29 (1781) ; id. Zoographia, vol. i. p. 41, pi. 4 (1831) ;
Schreber, Saugthiere, Theil iii. p. 359, pi. 91 B (1778) •
J. A. Wagner, Supplement to Schreber, Abth. ii. p. 425 ;
Tilesius, Nova Acta Phys.-Med. Acad. Caesar. Leopold. -
Carolinee Nat. Curiosorum, vol. xi. p. 400 (1823) ;
Fischer, Syn. Mammalium, p. 185 (1829) ; Radde, Reisen
im Siiden von Ost-Sibirien, vol. i. p. 67, pi. 3 (1862).

Canis karagan, Erxleben, Syst. Nat. p. 566 ; Schreber, Saugth. Theil iii.
p. 359; Pallas, Reise d. d. Russ. Reichs, vol. i. p. 234.

Canis melanotus, Pallas, Zoographia, vol. i. p. 44.

Vulpes corsac, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 518; id. Catalogue of
Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 205.

Cynalopex corsac, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Naturalist's Library, vol. ix.
p. 223, pi. 16 (1839).

L'Adive (?), Buffon, Hist. Nat. Suppl. vol. iii. p. 113, pi. 16 (1786).

THE Corsac Eox is a species which has been generally known by
description for more than a hundred and twenty years, but naturalists
in England have had small opportunity of examining it. Our National
Collection possesses three specimens, two of which came from Siberia,
and the third from. Amoorland.

Whether or not the Corsac Fox is distinct from the kind, or even the
two kinds, which will be next described, seems to us to be a matter
which cannot be affirmed with certainty. We, however, propose to
treat them provisionally as distinct, on account of the very estimable and

118 THE CORSAC FOX.

experienced naturalists who think them so, and who are familiar with
one or more of these species or varieties in their native haunts. But
since, if they are not distinct, they must assume the name of the
Siberian animal we are now concerned with, we begin our enumeration
of these problematical forms with the latter — i. e. with Cams corsac.
Its name is derived from its native appellation " Korssuk." Its Russian
name is " Kirassu."

This Fox is an inhabitant of the open country of Central Asia, and
avoids the forest-clad mountains which are near its range in Eastern
Siberia *.

It is seldom seen abroad in the daytime, which it spends sleeping in
some deserted burrow of a marmot. Its food, like that of most of its
congeners, consists of small mammals and birds, especially of the
alpine hare (Lagomys) and the vole (Arvicola).

It does not make a permanent home, but wanders here and there
from one burrow to another. When snow has fallen it is readily traced
to its temporary home, and then a snare is set for it. Old Foxes,
which understand this, are extremely reluctant to go forth, and will
not do so till driven by the hunger of a six, seven, and sometimes a
nine days' fast. Sometimes even, Radde tells us, nothing will induce
them to venture forth, but they will die of hunger where they are, to
be dug out afterwards when advancing spring has thawed the deeply
frozen ground.

It is also hunted with dogs, and is soon run down if it cannot
secure a safe hiding-place. It is no doubt very easily followed on
account of its rank odour, in which it differs altogether from the species
that inhabits Siberia north of its northern boundary — we mean the
kind last described, C. lagopus. Of a very suspicious and savage
nature, the Corsac seems to be almost, if not quite, untamable, even
when taken young.

It is a small animal, much smaller than the Common Fox, but it has
a similarly offensive odour. The pupil of the eye is round. The
colour of the coat changes towards summer and winter, but less so than

* See Radde, op. cit. p. 75.

CANIS COKSAC. 119

in the northern Wolf and, of course, very much less indeed than in
C. lagopus. The freshly developed hairs of the summer coat are of a
reddish colour. The winter hairs are said to have each a broad silver-
white ring, and are black towards the points, producing a general tint
which may be a fawn or mouse colour. Indeed the winter coat,
which is very thick, may be quite grey. We have found the hairs of
the back to be grey for a considerable distance and then rufous, the
terminal portions being white. The head above is coloured like the
back. The throat, the underparts, and the lips and chin are white ;
and the inner sides of the limbs are yellowish white or pale yellow ;
the moustache is black. There is a dark grey triangular patch in front
of the eye on either side of the muzzle, while a yellowish ring surrounds
the eye itself. A band across the chest is reddish, and the outsides of
the limbs are of a yellower red. The tail is isabel -yellow at the root,
then mixed yellow and black above (the hairs being black towards
their points), beneath it is much paler. The terminal portion of the
tail is black, and there is a black mark on its dorsum near the root.
The ears are yellowish grey externally, but lined with white. The
coloration, however, is, as so usual in the Canidce, variable. Thus
Radde tells us that the fore paws may be yellow or white; the
dorsum of the tail, where the caudal gland is situated, seems to be
constantly black.

Our Plate XXVII. represents a very fine specimen which came from
the country of the Ainoor.

On the back the hairs are grey for a considerable distance, then
rufous, while their terminations are white.

Habitat. From the banks of the Volga and shores of the Caspian to
South-eastern Siberia. It is doubtless found in China, but its southern
range is uncertain, as also its northern limit, though it does not inhabit
Northern Siberia.

Centimeters.

Length from snout to root of tail 52' 5

„ oftail 25-5

„ from heel to end of longest digit 10-0

of ear 5'0

120 THE COESAC FOX.

Cranial and Dental Characters.

Radde's figure of the skull shows the nasal bones stopping short, very
decidedly, of the hinder terminations of the preraaxillae ; and such is
also the case with the skull preserved in the British Museum — so much
so that it seems as if it must be a very marked character of the species.

The only skull we have been able to examine is a mutilated one
(extracted from the skin we have had figured), which presents the
following dimensions : —

Centimeters.

Sphenoideum to gnathion .......... 7'6

Length of palate ............. 5'6

Breadth of „ ............. 3'4

Length of nasals ............. 3'7

Breadth of „ ............. O8

„ brain-case ..... . ...... 4'2

„ zygomata ............ 6*5

Length of HI . . . ........... 0'4

P. 2 0.72

)> - .............. V * «

P. 3 n.7K

)> - .............. u 'O

P. 4 i.o

}) — — .... .......... 1 «

„ Mi.1 . .. ............ o-s

„ *L_2 .............. 0-45

Breadth of *li .............. 0'6

)) - ......... ....

„ ^ .............. 0-65

Length of pr^ .............. 0*3

• • • ........... 0'65

» PT4 • • • • .......... '

» M7l .............. 1>3

« MT2 .............. °'5

„ STs .............. °'3

Breadth of jo .............. °'5

» 10 .............. °'4

» JO .............. °'2

121

THE THIBET FOX.

CANI8 FERRILATUS.

Vulpes ferrilatus, Hodgson, Journal Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. xi. pt. i.

p. 278, and plate (1842) ; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868,

p. 516; id. Catalogue of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 204;

Jerdon, Mammals of India, p. 152 ; Blanford, Fauna of

British India, Mamm. p. 155 ; Blyth, Journal Asiatic Soc.

Bengal, vol. xxiii. p. 731 (1854).
Cynalopex ferrilatus, Blyth, Catalogue of Mammalia in Mus. Asiat.

Soc. Bengal, p. 41 (1863).
Canis eckloni (?), Prejevalski, Eeisen in Tibet, p. Ill (1884) ; id.

Third Journey to Thibet, p. 216.

Two specimens, from Thibet, are preserved in our National Collection,
and one of them (a type of the species) is figured in our accompanying
Plate XXVIII. It is not without some doubt and hesitation that we
present this as a really distinct species, thinking it far from impossible
that it may be but a local variety of Canis corsac.

One distinction consists in the white tip to the tail of C. ferrilatus,
whereas that of C. corsac is black. We have, however, already recorded
instances which show that this character cannot be relied on as an
absolutely constant one. Much more important is the distinction
asserted to exist in the length of the ears ; for C. corsac is rather a
long-eared dog, while C. ferrilatus has the ears decidedly short. It is
this circumstance, together with the fact that it is a native of Thibet,
which leads us strongly to suspect that the newly-described species
C. eckloni of Prejevalski, which is also a Thibetan animal, may really
be nothing but Vulpes ferrilatus of Hodgson and of Blanford.

Until the detailed description of the animal appears this question
must remain undecided, but the photograph already published plainly

122 THE THIBET FOX.

shows that it, like C. ferrilatus, is a short-eared form. The brush also
in both this and C. eckloni is well developed, and the fur is long,
especially on the legs and feet.

Of the habits of this animal no records are known to us.

The coloration of the back and sides is of a pale or bright yellowish rusty.
The face and outside of the ears may be less yellow and more grey, or
may be rufous. The sides of the neck, breast, and body, and the greater
part of the tail have a mixture of black and white hairs, which produces
a general tint of nearly pure grey. The tip of the tail is white, but
there may be a circle or dorsal patch of dark colour towards the root ;
the middle of the tail is for the most part grey. There is a faintly
marked dark stripe running backwards from the eye, but no dark mark
between the eye and the nose. The limbs are yellowish rufous exter-
nally, whitish internally. The lower parts are white, the middle of
the breast being strongly marked off by its whiteness from the dark
grey sides.

This strong contrast between the grey and the white appears (from
the photograph) to 'be exaggerated in C. eckloni by a dark patch at the
ventral margin of the grey colour of the sides of the neck.

The hairs of the back are light grey at the base, then rufous, and
finally black or white.

The vibrissse are black.

The fur on the legs and feet is rather long.
1 Habitat. Thibet*.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 65'50

„ of tail 29-50

„ from heel to end of longest digit lO'O

„ of ear 4-6

We have not been able to examine a skull of this species.

* According to Stoliczka (see Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xxxvii.
part ii. p. 5) it is also found in the valley of the Upper Sutlej. It would be interesting
to have the statement confirmed.

123

THE DESERT-FOX.

CANI8 LEUCOPUS.

Vulpes leucopus, Blyth, Journal Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. xxiii. p. 729
(1854); id. ibid. xxv. p. 443; id. ibid. xxvi. p. 239;
Jerdon, Mammals of India, p. 151 (1867) ; Gray, Proc.
Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 316; id. Catalogue of Carnivorous
Mammalia, p. 204 ; Murray, Vertebrate Zoology of Sind,
p. 37 (1884) ; Blanford, Fauna Brit. India, Mamm. p. 151
(1888).

Vulpes griffithii, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. xxiii. p. 730 ;
Scully, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 5th series, vol. viii. p. 226.

Vulpes pusillus, Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. xxiii. pp. 729, 730 ;
Adams, Proc. Zool. Soe. 1858, p. 516 ; Jerdon, Mammals of
India, p. 153 ; Murray, Vertebrate Zoology of Sind, p. 37.

Vulpes persicus, Blanford, Zoology of Eastern Persia, p. 39, plate 2
(1876).

tf HE Desert-Pox of India inhabits the open country, as does C. corsac,
which it undoubtedly resembles, so that it may be but a local variety
of the latter, especially as the ears are similar in relative length, and not
short as in C. ferrilatits. The end of the tail, however, is white.
Moreover, when its furry coat is fully developed, as in the specimen
at the British Museum represented in our Plate XXIX., it is a
very handsome animal, with very distinct coloration. The colour, how-
ever, varies, and the distinct markings are sometimes hardly, if at all, to
be detected. Nevertheless, as in the cases of C. mesomelas and C. late-
rails, we have treated forms as distinct on account of very exceptional
peculiarities, not invariably present in all specimens, we propose to
do likewise in the present instance.

Mr. Jerdon saw this * animal in India, at Umballa, and near Hansi

* Op. tit. p. 152.

124 THE DESERT-FOX.

and Hissar, almost always on sand-hills or in the broad sandy beds of
nearly dry rivers, and only very rarely in fields, and then in the vicinity
of sandy tracts. He was informed, however, that in parts of ditch
and elsewhere, where it is without the presence of a rival species, it
was to be found in open cultivated land.

It appears to be more exclusively carnivorous in its habits than some
other foxes, — for example, than that next to be described. Its food
largely consists of the jerboa-like sand-rat (Gerbillus), which is very
abundant in the sandy regions this Fox inhabits. It is a rather rapid
runner — enough so, according to Jerdon, to give huntsmen a capital
run, sometimes even with English dogs.

According to Blanford *, it is common in Scinde on the waste land
with scattered bushes that forms so large a portion of the province, a
region also inhabited by the species next described. But C. leucopus
appears to be the only form actually found amongst the sand-hills of
the desert.

The author last mentioned is now disposed to think that his V. per-
sicus may be identical with C. leucopus. In this we are disposed to
agree, though it may be that his V. persicus is a local variety of C. vulpes.

A specimen was sent from Bushire, on the Persian Gulf, to the
Zoological Society in 1874, the skull and skin of which we have
examined. According to Major St. John, it inhabits the low land. It
is said to be very plentiful on the rocky ground close to the shore,
where it retreats into cavities between the rocks. These animals are
easily captured with the aid of dogs, and Europeans resident in Bushire
frequently amuse themselves by hunting them, when they are said
often to seek safety by taking to the sea to avoid the dogs.

When the colours of this Eox are fully developed, it is easily distin-
guishable by a very distinct pale patch on each side of the back behind
the shoulder (to .which Mr. Blanford has already called attention)!,
while a dark transverse stripe over the shoulder passes in front of these
light patches, to which it forms a strong contrast.

The back varies from brownish yellow to rusty red, more or less
speckled with white, while the sides of the body are whitish or greyish,
* Op. cit. p. 152. t Op. cit. p. 151.

CA1STIS LECJCOPUS.

125

and the outside of the limbs iron-grey or rufous. The underparts are of
a slaty hue, or even darker in winter though probably white in summer ;
but the chin and generally also the middle of the breast are white at all
seasons. The inner side of the fore limbs and the whole front of the
hind limbs to the toes are also whitish, if not white. The face is
rufous, markedly so around the eyes, in front of each of which there
is generally a dark spot. The ears are black or dark brown externally
towards their apices, paler near the base ; they are margined externally
and lined with white or whitish hairs. The tail is generally of the

Side view of skull of CANIS LEUCOPUS.

same colour dorsally, as is the back, but less rufous laterally and
beneath. Many of the hairs may have black or blackish tips, and
there may be a black ring near the end of the tail, or there may be no
black at all. The terminal portion of the tail is white.

Habitat. South-western Asia from the Punjaub to Rajpootana, through
Afghanistan and Persia to Arabia.

126

THE DESERT-FOX.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 55-0

„ of tail 30-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 12'3

„ of ear 7'0

Cranial and Dental Characters.

Save the dimensions, we have not observed any skeletal particulars
which seemed worthy of note.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2*5

„ sphenoideum 3*7

Sphenoideum to gnathion 6' 9

Length of palate 5'65

Breadth „ 2'8

Length of nasals 3'9

Breadth of „ 0'9

„ brain-case 4*15

» zygomata 5'9

Length of M 0'4

„ ** . 0-55

„ ^ . 0-7

» *± 1-1

„ ^1 0-8

„ Mi-2 0-54

Breadthof?ii 0'6

M.1 J.Q

» -1 w

„ ^-2 0-8

Length of pTj 0'3

» R2 07

R3 • • - - 0-8

R4 0-85

» SO I'l

» MT2 0-6

SO 0-3

Breadth of U7i 0*4

» SO 0-4

« JO 0-3

127

THE INDIAN FOX.

CANIS BENGALENSIS.

Canis bengalensis, Shaw, Gen. Zoology, vol. i. p. 330 (1800) ; J. A.

Wagner, Supplem. to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 423

(1841).

Canis kokree, Sykes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1831, p. 101.
Canis chrysurus, Gray, Charlesworth's Mag. of Nat. Hist. vol. i. p. 577

(1837).
Canis (Vulpes) indicus, Hodgson, Asiat. Researches, vol. xviii. part ii.

p. 237(1833).
Canis (Vulpes) bengalensis, Gray, Hardwicke's Illustr. Indian Zool.

vol. ii. pi. 2.

Canis ( Vulpes) rufescens, Gray, torn. cit.
Vulpes bengalensis, Horsfield, Catalogue of Mammalia in Mus. E. India

Comp. p. 84; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 517; id.

Catalogue of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 204; Jerdon,

Mammals of India, p. 149 ; Blanford, Fauna of Brit. India,

Mamm. p. 148.

Vulpes hodgsonii, Gray, Charlesworth's Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i. p. 578.
Vulpes xanthura, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 68.
Cynalopex bengalensis, Blyth, Cat. Mamm. Mus. Asiat. Soc. p. 41.

THIS little animal is one of the most attractive of the whole family to
which it belongs. It is elegant in appearance, with slender limbs, a
sharp muzzle, and bushy tail. Its movements are extremely active and
it is readily tamed, when its playful, frolicsome nature makes it an
agreeable pet — especially as it is a cleanly creature, and has (unlike
C. corsac) no fox-like smell.

It is a common animal throughout India, save in forest-regions, and
is frequently to be seen, as it is not shy, and often enters gardens and
other enclosed s*paces, though it is said but rarely to molest poultry.
Mr. Blanford has seen it on the Maidan in Calcutta, and affirms that

128 THE INDIAN FOX.

its cry may be heard almost nightly in the cold season. Its cry is a
sharp yelp, quickly repeated three or four times, and constituting a sort
of little chattering bark.

These animals pair from November to January, according to the
climate, which is, of course, different in different parts of the vast region
over which the species ranges.

It breeds in burrows, when the young, of which there are almost
always four in a litter, make their appearance at some time during
February, March, or April.

Mr. Jerdon describes the burrow as always having several branches,
which radiate from a centre and open separately. With these are
other burrows, which end blindly, not opening into the central chamber
wherein the animal breeds. The burrow is generally made in a quite
open plain, but now and then in some thorny scrub. Advantage is
taken of any small rise in the ground to protect the nest from floods,
and on this account burrows are often made in artificial mounds.
Sometimes, however, it will live for a long time in cavities of old
trees.

It is said to feed by preference on lizards, rats, crabs, white-ants, and
various other insects, and Blanford cites an instance of its having been
watched in the Deccan springing up out of the grass again and again
to catch the moths which passed just before dusk. Nevertheless
Jerdon saw it hunting quails, and there can be no doubt but that it
eats young birds and eggs. But it also habitually takes vegetable
food, such as melons, ber fruit (Zizyphus), and pods and shoots of
Cicer arielinum. Thus altogether it is a much less carnivorous animal
than is C. leucopus.

It is much coursed in India, and Jerdon tells us that with Arab or
country dogs, or half-bred English dogs, it gives a most excellent
course. When hunted, it very soon begins to double in a most dex-
terous manner, and then racing the dogs if it is within a short distance
of its earth. It has been known to escape by running in amidst a herd
of cattle. If well-bred English dogs are used, the animal has but a
poor chance, not being so fleet as the kind last described (C. leucopus).

On account of its not having a strong odour, and because of its

CANIS BENGALENSIS. 129

numerous earths, it is not well suited for fox-hounds. It is believed to
be subject to rabies when kept in confinement. Mr. Jerdon knew one
or two instances of the occurrence of this malady, but they may have
been produced by infection. Certainly nothing of the kind has been
experienced in our own Zoological Gardens, where several individuals
appear to thrive, and one has sat to our artist for its portrait
(Plate XXX.).

This species has been regarded * as " very nearly allied to the Corsac.
It is like it in appearance, no -doubt, but in addition to its white-tipped
tail, the fact of its not possessing a strong odour is against its specific
identity with the Corsac of Central Asia.

The colour of this species appears to vary considerably according to
locality and season. It is generally reddish grey above, with the sides
paler, and the outer surface of the limbs rufous, and the lower parts
whitish. There is no dark stripe across the shoulders. The ears are
externally dark grey, margined with white, and they are whitish within.
The lips and cheeks are whitish, the throat is usually white, and there is
a narrow dark line running backwards from the eye, and often a dark
spot is interposed between the eye and the nose. In winter the body
is of a purer grey, whilst the limbs remain rufous externally. The tail
is grey or reddish grey, with a well-defined black tip.

The hairs of the body are each variously coloured, except those of the
underparts, which may be entirely white. The hairy coat has on this
account that speckled appearance when closely viewed which is so
commonly to be met with in the Canida.

Mr. Blanford f has sometimes found the dorsal fur to be white
throughout, except at the tips of the hairs.

The animal, when freshly killed or alive, is said to weigh from 5J
to 8 Ibs.

Habitat. South of the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. According to
Mr. Blanford, who is so excellent an authority, the animal has not been
noticed west of Sciride and the Punjaub, nor east of Assam (where it is
rare), and he regards its occurrence in Ceylon as very doubtful, while it
is unknown in Burmah.

* Jerdon, op. cit. p. 151. f Op. cit. p. 149.

130 THE INDIAN FOX.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 56'5

„ of tail 24-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 10' 5

of ear . . . 5'6

Fig. 38.

Skull of CANIS BENGALENSIS, side view.

Cranial and Dental Characters.

There is generally a flattened sagittal raised tract between the tem-
poral ridges. The fourth upper premolar is rather small compared with
the length of the first and second upper molars.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion 2'15

„ sphenoideum 2*9

Sphenoideum to gnathion 7'3

Length of palate 5*45

Breadth „ 2'7

Length of nasals 3'6

Breadth of „ Tl

„ brain-case 4*1

„ zygomata 5*6

Length of Li 0'3

» ^-2 • - - 0-6

L_3 0-7

CANIS BENGALENSIS. 131

Centimeters.
Length of *i* .............. I'O

„ Mi-2 ............... 0-55

Breadthof?J .............. 0'5

„ MJ .............. 1-0

„ Mi? ............... 0-8

Length of pTj .............. 0'3

« R2 .............. °'55

» PT3 • • • .......... 0-65

» R4 .............. 0-7

» Ma .... .......... 1*1

» so .............. °'6

MT3 .............. 0-3

Breadth of JJQ . ............. 0*4

a MT2 .............. °'45

50 .............. 0-3

132

THE HOARY FOX.

CANI8 CANUS.

Vulpes canus, Blanford, Journal Asiat. Soc. Bengal, vol. xlvi. part ii.
p. 321 (1877); Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 392;
Blanford, Fauna Brit. India, Mamm. p. 150.

THIS is again a form from South-western Asia. It is a very small
species, and is represented in our National Collection by a single skin,
which came from Beloochistan. By the kindness of Mr. Blanford, we
have had the opportunity of examining two others : one of these
and the British-Museum specimen constitute the types of the species.
The British-Museum skin is figured in our Plate XXXI. Nothing is
known of the habits of this animal.

Blanford gives * the length of the head and body as 18 inches, and
that of the tail, without the hair, as 12 \ to 13 inches.

His description of the colour is as follows : — "Ashy grey, blackish
on the back and sometimes with a rufescent tinge, white below. The
basal half of the dorsal fur is dark purplish grey in some skins, the
distal half grey or rufescent ; in other cases the hairs are light ashy
grey almost throughout, the longer and coarser hairs have white rings
near the end, and black tips on the back. The long tail-hairs are ashy
near the base, white near the ends, the tips black, the black tips being
more developed posteriorly so that the tail has a black tip, though less
defined than in V. lengalensis. Ears grey outside, creamy white on
the margin and within ; forehead rufous ; a dusky or black spot on each
side of the muzzle. Outside of the limbs dark rufous or dark ashy,
almost black in some cases." All that we would remark in addition is

* Op. tit. p. 151.

CANIS CANUS. 133

that it may be the hinder two thirds of the middle of the back which is
by far the darkest part.

Habitat. Beloochistan and Southern Afghanistan, possibly extending
to Scinde.

Centimeters.
Length from end of snout to root of tail ..... 53'0

„ of tail .............. 37-0

„ from elbow to end of longest digit ..... 8'0 (?)

„ of ear .............. 6'3

Cranial and Dental Characters.

In the small and delicate skull of this species the auditory bullas are
prominent.

Centimeters.

Length from basion to ovalion ......... T8

„ of palate .............. 4'5

Breadth „ ..... ......... 2'4

Length from basion to gnathion ......... 8'4

Breadth of brain-case ........ .... 3*5

„ zygomata ....... ..... 5'1

Length of nasals .............. 2'9

The individual examined was old and the teeth much worn.

The inner lobe of the upper sectorial tooth was so small as to be
almost obsolete ; but the breadth from within outwards of the first
upper molar was very great.

Centimeters.
Length of 557-4 ... ........... 1*0

» JO .............. °'65

)) MT2 ....... ....... °'3

Breadth of .............. 0'4

0-90

0-65

134

THE RACCOON-LIKE DOG.

CANI8 PROCYONOIDES.

Canis procyonoides, Gray, Illustrations Ind. Zool. vol. ii. plate i. (1834);

id. Charlesworth's Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i. p. 578 (1837) ;

J. A. Wagner, Suppl. to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii.

p. 439 ; Schrenck, Reisen im Amur-Lande, vol. i. p. 53,

plates3&4 (1859); Radde, Reisen Siiden von Ost-Sibirien,

vol. i. p. 75, plate 3 (1862).
Nyctereutes viverrinus, Temminck, Fauna Japonica, vol. Mammalia, p. 40

plate 8 (1847) ; Martens, Preussische Expedit. Ost-Asien,

p. 78, plate i. (1876).
Nyctereutes procyonoides, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 522; id.

Cat. Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 210 (1869) ; Sclater, Proc.

Zool. Soc. 1874, p. 323, plate 50; Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc.

1878, p. 373.

THE external appearance of this Dog (Plate XXXII. , from a specimen
in the British Museum) is so very peculiar and unlike the aspects of all
its congeners, that it is no wonder it should have been placed in a
distinct genus, and at first supposed, as it was supposed by Temminck*,
to be allied to the raccoon. In reality, however, it is a true dog, as the
whole of its anatomy unmistakably proves. At first also it was believed
that there were two or more species of Raccoon-like Dogs ; but Schrenck,
in his careful and exhaustive account of the form and coloration of this
animal, has supplied sufficient evidence that it was impossible to distin-
guish distinct kinds.

The British Museum possesses specimens enough to prove how great
is the variation in colour to which the animal is liable, and, indeed, its
seasonal changes in this respect were long ago described. But a

* Op. cit. p. 40.

CANIS PKOCYONOIDES. 135

specimen which was living in the Zoological Gardens in 1874 presented
a coloration different from that of all previously figured individuals *.

The Raccoon-like Dog is an inhabitant of Japan, the valley of the
Amoor, and China. Siebold found it to be very common throughout
the Japanese islands, where its flesh was considered as good food with an
agreeable flavour, and its powdered, calcined bones a valuable medicine.
[t makes its nest in hollow trunks as well as in burrows which it ex-
cavates. It inhabits the woods on mountain-slopes, and is said to climb
trees to obtain their fruit. It is sometimes found hidden in the day-
time in cavities between rocks, and in winter will now and then make
its home beneath the foundations of some country cottage. Its vicinity
is in no way dreaded, as it is not deemed destructive to poultry. The
natives employ its skin to make bellows, and also to decorate their
drums and for winter head-gear.

Radde tells us f that the Raccoon-like Dog is said to hibernate like
a badger, if it has had an opportunity of feeding well in the autumn, so
that it is in very good condition. If, however, such is not the case, so
that as winter approaches it is poor and thin, then it has to remain
active and seek its food all through the cold season. This asserted
hibernation is very peculiar, as nothing like it is known to occur in any
other species of the Canida. The fat ones which go to sleep, do so in
the deserted burrow of some fox, or some other excavation which
penetrates below that point to which the frost may extend into the
earth during the depth of winter. The creature is only met with most
rarely in the mountains during the winter months.

At that season it frequents running streams to feed on fish, sleeping in
the daytime concealed behind the tall sedges which extend far and wide
in the valleys of the Amoorland. When traversing the ice it progresses
with numerous short jumps. It is much less wary than the fox, and
extremely greedy, on which account it is easily taken by means of
strychnine, although it will sometimes get far away before succumbing
to the poison.

* See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1874, pi. 50, p. 323.
t Op. cit. p. 85.

136 THE KACCOON-LIKE DOG.

In captivity it accustoms itself pretty quickly to the presence of man,
remaining rather timid than savage, and it is extremely cleanly in its
habits. Its movements are somewhat like those of a civet, and it has a
habit of arching its back. After food it takes a long sleep, tightly rolled
up, so that head and paws are covered by its long hair, its respiratory
movements alone indicating that the round mass is really a living
animal.

It is the most omnivorous of dogs, feeding freely and habitually on
vegetable substance, and largely on acorns. Fishes are eagerly eaten,
especially a kind of carp, of which it will devour eight or ten, always
biting them once in the head to make sure of them. In confinement,
if given fish and flesh, it will take the former and leave the latter, not
eating it, however, at first, save when it feels itself unobserved.

It seldom hunts by day, when it is very timid, but takes the field at
night. Its voice is very peculiar. It does not bark like a fox, but
rather utters a growl, followed by a long-drawn melancholy whine.
When accustomed to confinement it will utter daily a very different kind
of sound when hungry, namely, a sort of mewing plaint. It does not
run fast, so that a dog easily overtakes it, and it has to resort to peculiar
manoeuvres to catch the mice which it pursues in summer.

The Raccoon-like Dog has a very pointed muzzle, but short rounded
ears and bushy tail. Its coat is always extremely long and thick in
winter, but varies in its colouring considerably. Generally the prevailing
tint is a dusky yellow. The cheeks and around the eyes are black, and
thence forward to near the muzzle, where there is a white spot whence
the brown vibrissee take origin. The sides of the head are yellowish,
and the forehead may be so or dusky. The wide rounded ears are white
within or in part white externally, but the margin is brown. The chin
and front of the neck are brown. A yellowish collar may extend
upwards on either side to the shoulder. The whole dorsal region is
clothed with long hairs, which are black towards the tip, so that this
region is a mixture of black and yellow, and there is much variability
as to the amount of black on the back and the degree of its continuity.
The ends of the hairs on the flanks are mostly yellowish. The chest
and belly are brown, and may be almost black, and the legs are blackish

CANIS PEOCTON01DES.

brown. The tail is clothed with long hairs, and is often black distally
and dorsally, and may be light yellow on its ventral aspect.

In summer the tint is more rufous and there is more black.

The above description must not be understood as being more than
an approximation to what seems the normal condition, the variation
being so considerable. The caecum of this species is almost straight*.

Habitat. Japan, North China, and Amoorland.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 53'0

„ of tail 14-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 9'5

of ear . . 3'2

Fig. 39.

Skull of CANIS

* See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 375.

138 THE EACCOON-LIKE DOG.

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull only presents a really noteworthy character in the form of
the mandible, though seen laterally its dorsum is strongly concave
antero-posteriorly between the forehead and the end of the nasals.

The mandible is very remarkable for the great development of what
has been called the " subangular process." The appearance, however,
is rather that of a supra- angular process, for the angle of the mandible
has the form it has in very many mammals, while above it is a strongly
marked, backwardly projecting, distally up-curved process, which is,
like the angular process of many other dogs, pushed up towards the
condyle.

The second upper molar is well developed, but not much more so
than in many others of the Canidce — for instance, in the Common
Fox occasionally.

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrae 10'5

„ dorsal „ 14*5

„ lumbar „ 1TO

„ sacral „ 2'0

„ caudal „ 17*0

Length from front of atlas to hinder end of sacrum . . 38 '0

Length of pectoral limb 24-0

„ pelvic „ 29'3

„ humerus 8'5

„ radius 7-3

„ femur 9*5

„ tibia 9'8

„ index metacarpal 2*9

„ third „ 3'4

„ metacarpal of pollex 1'4

„ whole pollex 2'8

„ last phalanx of third digit (manus) .... 0*9

„ index metatarsal . . . • 3'3

„ metatarsal of hallux 0'7

J} whole hallux T15

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) TO

CANIS PROCYONOIDES. 139

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion ............. 2'1

„ sphenoideum ........... 3'5

Sphenoideum to gnathion .......... 6'6

Length of palate ............. 5'3

Breadth „ . ............ 2'9

Length of nasals ............. 3*9

Breadth of „ ............. 1-2

„ brain-case ............ 4'0

» zygomata ............ 6*1

Length of LJ .............. 0'3

„ ^ .............. 0-5

„ P-3 .............. 0-7

„ ^ ......... ..... 0-9

,, ^_l .............. 0-8

„ ^-2 .............. 0-5

Breadth of Li .............. 0-4

M.I Q.Q

)> — .............. u »

M.2 0.7

)> - .............. u/

Length of pTi .............. 0'25

„ P^ .............. 0-50

R3 .............. 0-55

^ MTl .............. '

» MT2 .............. °'7

» IO .............. °'2

Breadth of y^i .............. 0*4

10 .............. °'4

JO ........... ... 0-2

140

THE ASSE FOX.

CANIS CHAMA.

Canis chama, Smith, South -African Quarterly Journal, vol. ii. p. 89

(1835); Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1875, p. 81, pi. 17.
Fennecus caama, Gray, Catalogue of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 207.

THIS long-eared South-African Fox leads us towards the true Fennec
(C. zerda), although it is a much larger animal. Of the specimens in
the British Museum one is a type of the species, and it is this which
has been selected for representation on our Plate XXXIII.

A living specimen was presented to the Zoological Society in 1875.
It came from the diamond-fields in West Griqualand, having been
caught near a Dutch Boer's farm there. Other individuals had been
seen in the same district. This individual is well figured in the
Zoological Society's ' Proceedings.'

The original description of the species given by Sir Andrew Smith
is as follows : —

" Muzzle, centre of face, and top of head yellowish brown, variegated
by an intermixture of bristly hairs annulated black and white ; sides
of head a uniform whitish yellow ; upper lip, towards angles of mouth,
lower lip, and chin blackish brown ; whiskers and edges of eyelids
black ; ears large, outer surfaces yellowish red, inner margined with
white hairs, elsewhere bare. Woolly hairs of neck and body abundant ;
their tips reddish white or yellowish white, elsewhere a dull smoke
colour ; bristly hairs abundant on back of neck and centre of back ;
on sides, shoulders, and outsides of thighs, less numerous, all annulated
black and white ; the tips black. Extremities yellowish white, inclined
to white on their anterior surfaces ; a large brownish-black blotch on
the posterior surface of each hinder extremity about halfway between

CANIS CHAMA. 141

the feet and the base of the tail. Underparts of neck and body
whitish yellow. Tail very bushy, the prevailing colour yellowish white,
the upper surface towards base variegated with bristly hairs annulated
black and white, the black, about three inches from the root, is so
disposed as to give an appearance of one or two waved transverse
black stripes ; from thence to the point the bristly hairs are all tipped
with black, and at the very extremity of the tail they are almost
entirely of that colour, so that it appears perfectly black. Length from
nose to base of tail 23 inches; length of tail 13 inches; height at
shoulder 12 inches, at rump 13 inches."

He adds that it inhabits Namaqualand on both sides of the Orange
River.

This animal is evidently subject to variation in colour. In the
specimen which lived in our Zoological Gardens, the tail had a black
stripe down its dorsum, instead of presenting an appearance of
transverse markings.

A British Museum specimen also shows that the general tint may be
pale reddish and the underparts pale yellowish, while the tail may be
only dark brown at its terminal portion intermixed with a little black.
The under jaw may also be very dark-coloured.

Habitat. South Africa, north and south of the Orange River.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 63'0

„ of tail 30-5

„ from heel to end of longest digit 13'0

„ of ear 8'0

We have not been able to examine any skull extracted from a skin
undoubtedly belonging to this species.

142

THE PALE FOX.

CANIS PALLIDUS.

Cants pallidus, Riippell, Zool. Atlas, p. 33, pi. 11 (1826); Cuvier, Regne
Anim. 2nd edit. vol. i. p. 152 ; J. A. Wagner, Supplement
to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 422.

Fennecus pallidus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 520; id. Catalogue
of Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 207.

Vulpes edwardsi, Rochebrime, Bulletin d. la Societe Philomatique d.
Paris, p. 8 (1882) ; id. Faune de la Senegambie, Mam-
miferes, p. 93, pi. 5 (1883).

THIS smaller long-eared Fox approximates still more than the last to
the true Fennec. Cuvier deemed that it could hardly be satisfactorily
distinguished from C. corsac, but in addition to its widely different
geographical distribution it is a larger-limbed and higher-standing
animal.

The general colour is that of a pale, slightly reddish yellow, the
woolly hair of the back being grey towards the roots. There are many
white hairs on the head. The ears are coloured like the body externally,
and margined with white within.

On the back and neck the hairs are variegated with white, black,
and yellow, but black is almost wanting from the hairs on the sides of
the body, which are almost entirely yellowish. The cheeks, throat,
and underparts are whitish. The tail has a black spot on its dorsuni
about an inch distant from its roots. There are many black hairs
on the tail, which is black towards and at its apex. The inner sides
of the feet are white, more or less rusty coloured externally. The
specimens in the British Museum, whereof one is the subject of our
Plate XXXIV., are covered with close pale hair, and there is a white
spot both above and beneath each eye.

CANIS PALLIDUS. 143

We cannot recognize any good specific characters by which to
separate the V. edwardsi of Rochebrune from the C. pallidus of Ruppell.
Dr. Rocheburne rests its distinctness on its smaller size, but we have
seen again and again how great a difference may exist in this respect
between forms of the same species which inhabit different regions.
The form distinguished as V. edwardsi comes from Senegambia, whereas
the other type is an inhabitant of Nubia, Darfur, and Cordofan.

Habitat. Eastern and Western Africa.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 40'5

„ of tail 32'0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 10' 0

„ of ear 5'5

Another specimen has a larger body and a somewhat shorter tail,
but the length of the foot is the same.

Cranial and Dental Characters.

We have only met with an imperfect skull of this species. The
muzzle thereof is short, and the nasals do not extend so far backwards
as do the nasal processes of the maxillae. The lower jaw was wanting
in the skull examined.

Centimeters.
Length of *L1 . . ....... ..... 0'26

„ .............. 0-5

„ *i ........... "... 0-8

„ Hd .............. 0-64

„ ML? / ............. 0-45

Breadth of Li .............. 0'3

„ *y .............. 0-7

M.2 .

144

RUPPELL'S FENNEC.

CANIS FAMELICUS.

Canis famelicus, Ruppell, Zool. Atlas, p. 15, pi. 5 (1826) ; J. A.
"Wagner, Suppl. to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 419 ;
Lataste, Actes de la Soc. Liimeenne de Bordeaux, 4e serie,
vol. ix. p. 215 (1885).

THE still longer ears of this species, first described by Ruppell, cause
it to more closely resemble the true Fennec (C. zerda) than does any
other species of the genus Canis, and we therefore distinguish it by the
name of Riippell's Fennec.

He obtained it from the Nubian desert.

There is in the National Collection a skin * from Afghanistan, which
appears to us, as it has appeared to others, very like Riippell' s famelicus,
and therefore we have had it represented on our Plate XXXV.
The species, however, greatly needs a thorough investigation, which
can only be satisfactorily carried out by means of further specimens
from the desert of Nubia.

The sides are grey, the back and shoulders reddish, and the underparts
whitish. The head is fawn-colour, and also a line along the middle of
the back to the tail, but the hairs are only of this light colour towards
their tips; for the greater part of their length they are, like the
underfur, darker. There is a distinct dark mark (which may be a
triangular black spot) between the eye and the nose. The cheeks and
lips are white. The ears are dark within margined with white ; externally
they are fawn-coloured at the base and then black towards the tips, but

* No. 86. 10. 15. 4.

CANIS FAMELICUS. 145

the tips themselves are lighter. The limbs externally are fawn-
coloured like the back. The thighs are whitish within, and the fronts
of the hind legs are whitish. The tail is dark above, lighter below,
and white at the end ; the long hairs on its dorsum are largely
black, those below are bright fawn-coloured towards their tips.

If this form is not the C. famelicus of Riippell, it will require
distinguishing by a distinct, new appellation. Its eastern origin
cannot but suggest doubts as to its identity with the Riippellian
species.

Habitat. Eastern Africa and South-western Asia.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 49'0

„ of tail 26-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit lO'O (?)

of ear 8*5

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull measured was extracted from the skin figured on
Plate XXXV. The auditory bullse were of moderate size.

Centimeters.

Basion to ovalion ............. 2*3

„ sphenoideum ........... 3'1

Sphenoideum to gnathion .......... 6' 8

Length of palate ............. 5*1

Breadth „ ............. 2'9

Length of nasals ............. 3*15

Breadth of „ ............. 0'95

„ brain-case ............ 4*1

» zygomata ............ 6'0

Length of PI! .............. 0'3

£j? .............. 0-65

^-3 .............. 0-7

„ ..............

„ M.1 .............. 0-8

MJ? .............. 0-4

146 RUPPELL'S FENNEC.

Centimeters.

Breadth of ?ii .............. 0'6

M.I ro

» — .............. ± u

*L2 .............. 0-8

Length of jr-j .............. 0'2

« P72 .............. 0-55

« R3 .............. 0-7

w PT4 .............. °'8

>* MTi .............. 1<15

M72 • • • ........... °'5

Breadth of .............. °'45

M73

147

THE TRUE FENNEC.

CANIS ZEEDA.

Canis zerda, Zimmermann, Geograph. Gescliichte, vol. ii. p. 247 (1780) ;

Riippell, Zool. Atlas, p. 5, pi. 2; Cuvier, Regne Anim.

2nd edit. vol. i. p. 153 ; Smith, S. African Quarterly

Journal, p. 90 (1835) ; J. A. Wagner, Supplement to

Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 420.
Canis cerdo, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 75 (1788).
Canis fennecus, Lesson, Man. de Mammalogie, p. 168 (1827).
Vulpes minimus zoarensls, Skioldebrand, Kongl. Vetenskaps-Akademiens

Handlingar, vol. xxxviii. pp. 265, 267, and plate (1777).
Fennecus brucei, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 235 (1820).
Fennecus zoarensis, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 519; id. Cat. of

Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 207.
Megalotis cerdo, Illiger, Prodrom. p. 131 (1821).
Meyalotis zerda, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Nat. Library, vol. ix. p. 237,

pi. 30.
The Zerda, Pennant, History of Quadrupeds, vol. i. p. 248, pi. 28

(1781) ; Span-man, Voyage to Cape of Good Hope, vol. ii.

p. 185 (1786).

Fennec, Bruce, Travels, vol. v. p. 128 and plate (1790).
Animal Anonyme, Buffon, Hist. Nat. Suppl. vol. iii. p. 148, pi. 19

(1776).

THIS beautiful little animal — at once recognizable by its extremely
large ears — was first made known to science by Bruce, inasmuch as he
transmitted a written notice and drawing of it to Buffon, who published
it in the year 1776, thus preceding a similar publication by Skiolde-
brand in the Swedish 'Transactions' for 1777.

Bruce and Skioldebrand were simultaneously consuls at Algiers,
and Sparrman, who in 1786 published the account of his voyage to the
Cape, states therein that Bruce had previously seen the animal in

148 THE TEUE FENNEC.

Algiers, and that Skioldebrand had possessed a figure of the animal
many years before, and had been vainly persuaded to publish it in the
Swedish Transactions, previously to his paper of 1777, to which he
expressly refers. This statement and reference appear to have
curiously irritated Bruce, whose remarks may remind us rather of a
literary dispute of the sixteenth century than of a scientific discussion
of the eighteenth ! But, according to the rules of modern science,
however long Mr. Skioldebrand may have possessed a drawing of the
animal, such possession, or conversations respecting it, could give him
no claim to priority over Bruce, seeing that a figure and notice were
first published to the world, in Bruce's name, by Buffon.

But Buffon and Bruce strangely misapprehended the nature of the
animal, since Buffon quotes Bruce as saying : " -// pardit tenir de plus
pres a 1'ecureuil."

The true Fennec is perhaps the most attractive in aspect of all the
wild Canidae, and it becomes exceedingly tame and gentle in captivity.
No less than five individuals have lived in captivity in our Zoological
Gardens. Of the specimens in the British Museum, the one we have
selected for representation in our Plate XXXVI. is one from which
the skull has been extracted, which we have also had drawn.

Bruce strangely represents the Fennec as an arboreal animal, build-
ing its nest in a tree, an error which probably arose through infor-
mation received by him respecting some other animal to which his
informant had understood him to refer. As a result of his own
observation of a specimen in captivity he says : — " Though his favourite
food seemed to be dates or any sweet fruit, yet I observed he was very
fond of eggs ; pigeons' eggs and small birds' eggs were first brought
him, which he devoured with great avidity ; but he did not seem to
know how to manage the egg of a hen, but when broken for him, he
ate it with the same voracity as the others. When he was hungry he
would eat bread, especially with honey or sugar. It was very observ-
able that a bird, whether confined in a cage near him or flying across
the room, engrossed his whole attention. He followed it with his eyes
wherever it went, nor was he at this time to be diverted by placing
biscuit before him, and it was obvious, by the great interest he seemed

CANIS ZEKDA. 149

to take in its motions, that he was accustomed to watch for victories
over it, either for his pleasure or his food. He seemed very much
alarmed at the approach of a cat, and endeavoured to hide himself,
but showed no symptom of preparing for any defence. I never heard
he had any voice ; he suffered himself, not without some difficulty, to
be handled in the day when he seemed rather inclined to sleep, but
was exceedingly unquiet and restless so soon as night came, and always
endeavouring his escape, and though he did not attempt the wire, yet
with his sharp teeth he very soon mastered the wood of any common
bird-cage."

The Fen nee is above of a pale fawn-colour, or a reddish cream-
colour, or even a whitish stone-colour, white beneath. The end of the
tail is black, and sometimes there are black marks on its dorsum near
the root. A portion of the forehead and the parts surrounding the
eyes are nearly quite white. The very long, erect and pointed ears are
covered externally with short rufous hairs, with long whitish hairs on
their inner margins. A longitudinal black mark on the hinder part
of the dorsum of the body may be present or absent. In one specimen
the hairs on the body were of a light yellowish ochre with the tips white.
In another they were rufous ochre with white tips. The presence
or absence of the black mark on the back, and the differences which
exist as to the length of the ears, may indicate that two species are
confounded under the designation C. zerda.

Habitat. Northern Africa, certainly from Nubia to Algiers, and
throughout the Sahara.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 40*0

„ of tail 17-3

„ from heel to end of longest digit 9'0

„ of ear 8'0

In another specimen the ear was 15-0.

150

THE TEUE FENNEC.

Fig. 40.

Side view of skull of CANIS ZEKDA.

Fig. 41.

Basis cranii of CANTS ZERDA.

CANIS ZERDA. 151

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The most remarkable character of the skull of the Fennec is the
very large size of the auditory bullae and of the external opening of
the meatus auditorius externus.

The proportion borne by the length of the fourth upper premolar to
the length of the two upper molars taken together may be as 100 to
116, or as 100 to 125.

Dimensions of a small specimen.

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrie 7 '2

„ dorsal „ 11*3

„ lumbar „ 9'0

„ sacral „ 1*6

„ caudal „ 35*0

Length from front of atlas to hinder end of sacrum . . 29' 1

Length of pectoral limb 23'0

„ pelvic limb 27'2

„ humerus 8'0

„ radius 7'9

„ femur 8'1

„ tibia 9'8

„ index metacarpal 2'4

„ third „ . 2'8

„ metacarpal of pollex 0'9

„ whole pollex 1*9

„ last phalanx of third digit (manus) .... 0'75

„ index metatarsal 3*9

„ metatarsal of hallux 0*4

„ whole hallux 0*7

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) ..... 0*75

Dimensions of the Skull of the individual figured.

Basion to ovalion 1'8

„ sphenoideum 2'5

Sphenoideum to gnathion .* ,*j'* 5 '8

Length of palate 4*5

Breadth „ 2'4

152 THE TKUE FENNEC.

Centimeters.

Length of nasals .............. 3'2

Breadth of „ . ............. 07

„ brain-case ............ 3'5

„ zygomata ............ 5'8

Length of £J .............. 0'25

P. 2 O.K

» — .............. u D

„ ?L? .............. 0-55

L* .............. 0-90

?y- .............. O-GO

„ Mi_2 .............. 0-45

Breadthof?ii .............. 0-3

„ M.1 .............. 0-7

„ Mi2 .............. 0-6

Length of pTi .... ........... 0-2

„ PT2 ...... i ....... 0-50

» PT3 ..... ......... °'55

» MTl .............. '

« IO .............. °'5

M MT3 .............. °'2

Breadth of |o .............. 0'3

» SO ........ ...... °'3

« 10 .............. °'2

153

THE DINGO.

CANIS DINGO.

Cants familiaris Dingo, Blumenbach, Handbuch der Naturgeschichte,
p. 303 (1780); id. ibid. p. 85, i (1830) ; J. A. Wagner,
Suppl. to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii. p. 374 (1840) ;
Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 509 j id. Cat. of Carni-
vorous Mammalia, p. 195 ; Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871,
p. 629.

Canis Dingo, Gould, Mammals of Australia, vol. iii. plates 51 & 52
(1863).

Canis Dingo Australasia, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 191 (1820) ; E. T.
Bennett, Gardens and Menagerie, p. 51 (1830) ; George
Bennett, Wanderings in New S. Wales, vol. i. p. 231 (1834) .

Chryseus Australia, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Nat. Library, vol. ix.
p. 188, pi. 10.

Dingo, Shaw, General Zoology, vol. i. p. 277 (1800).

Chien de la Nouvelle Hollande, F. Cuvier, Mammiferes, vol. ii. (1824).

WE have now to consider the true dog, the question as to the origin of
which has excited such great and continued interest. Has our dog
sprung from one source, or from several wild species, and does any
wild animal exist which can be supposed to be more nearly related to
the domestic dog than are any of the species of Canidce which we have
already passed in review ?

So far as we have been able to ascertain, there is no animal which
has any even apparently valid claim to be regarded as truly wild, and at
the same time a true and perfect dog, save the Dingo of Australia. It
is for this reason we propose to treat of it before saying the little which
it comes within the scope of this work to say concerning the various
breeds and races of the domestic dog.

Our Plate, which is taken from a specimen living in the Gardens of

154 THE DINGO.

the Zoological Society, gives, we think, a fair representation of the most
usual aspect of the animal.

So far as we know, the first indication of the existence of the Dingo
is given by Capt. William Dampier * in his account of his voyage round
the world, speaking of the continent of Australia, as visited by him in
1688 : — " We saw no sort of animal, nor any Track of Beast, but once ;
and that seemed to be the Tread of a Beast as big as a great Mastiff-
Dog."

The creature itself may have been seen by some of his men, for he
tells us f : — " My men saw two or three Beasts like hungry Wolves,
lean like so many skeletons, being nothing but skin and bones." He
adds : — " 'Tis probable that it was the Foot of one of those Beasts that
I mentioned as seen by us in N. Holland." In the account of Governor
Phillip's voyage in 1788 J, however, we have a description and figure of
an animal of the kind which is declared to have been then living at
Hatfield House, in the possession of the Marchioness of Salisbury.

F. Cuvier has given a good figure of one which was living in the
Gardens at Paris in 1806. One of its most remarkable characteristics
was its readiness to attack other large and formidable animals without
hesitation. It would fly at dogs of much larger size and also at the
bars of cages containing lions and bears. It was very exclusive in its
affection, only manifesting it to the one who most frequently set it at
liberty from time to time.

Mr. George Bennett, who was so many years in Australia, relates
various instances of wild Dingoes pretending to be dead when no other
means of escape seemed practicable. Mr. Gould believed the Dingo to
have been introduced from the north, and had never heard of its being
found in Tasmania " in the wild or semi-wild state in which it occurs
on the Australian continent." He adds : — " From what I saw of the
animal in a state of nature, I could not but regard it in the light of a
variety to which the course of ages had given a wildness of air and

* See ' A Collection of Voyages,' vol. i. p. 463 (London : James and John Knapton,
1729).

t Vol. iii. p. 106.

J See ' The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay.'

CANIS DINGO. 155

disposition. ... I may cite the facility with which the natives bring it
under subjection, and the parti-colouring of its hairy coat ; for although
the normal colouring is red or reddish sand-colour, black or black and
white individuals are not unfrequently seen." That this is not a modern
result of cross-breeding is shown by the fact (also referred to by Gould)
that before 1798 they were observed as of two colours, red or black*.
Mr. Gilbert is also referred to by Mr. Gould as reporting the varied
colours of the Dingoes of Western Australia.

That, nevertheless, the animal has been for a very long time an
inhabitant of the Australian continent is shown by the fact that its
remains have been found in a fossil state, as we mention in detail
below.

The Dingo is a most destructive animal to sheep, biting and destroying
in savage fury to a degree far exceeding its requirements with respect
to food. It is also extremely destructive to poultry, and has often
shown itself, when more or less domesticated, incorrigible in that
matter.

Naturally it never barks, but like wolves and jackals learns to do so
in confinement from hearing other dogs bark.

In 1861 the Dingo was to be met with in all the thick forests,
deeply-scrubbed gullies, in belts of timber bordering on the large plains
throughout the country f. Shy and retired in its habits, it is rarely
seen by day.

The most recent account of this animal we have met with gives us j
the following information : — " I at once set out to find a Dingo suitable
for my next expedition ; this was a very difficult matter, for the Dingoes
are much more rare here § than farther south in Australia, where natives
can be seen followed by ten or twelve dogs, which are of different
breeds, for the Dingoes of the natives quickly mix with the shepherd-dogs,

* See ' An Account of the English Colony of New South Wales,' by David Collins,
p. 567 (1798).

t ' Bush- Wanderings of a Naturalist,' p. 35 (London : Kentledge, Warne, and
Eoutledge, 1861).

t See ' Among Cannibals,' by Carl Lumholtz, p. 178 (1889).

§ /. e. in Queensland, having been so greatly destroyed by Europeans.

156 THE DINGO.

greyhounds, and terriers of the colonists. On Herbert river there are
rarely more than one or two Dingoes in each tribe, and as a rule they
are of pure blood. The natives find them as puppies in the hollow
trunks of trees, and rear them with greater care than they bestow on
their own children. The Dingo is an important member of the family ;
it sleeps in the huts, and gets plenty to eat, not only of meat, but also
of fruit. Its master never strikes but merely threatens it. He caresses
it like a child, eats the fleas off it, and then kisses it on the snout.
Though the Dingo is treated so well it often runs away, especially in
the pairing-season, and at such times it never returns. Thus it never
becomes perfectly domesticated, still is very useful to the natives, for it
has a keen scent, and traces every kind of game ; it never barks, and
hunts less wildly than our dogs, but very rapidly, frequently capturing
the game on the run. Sometimes it refuses to go any further, and its
owner has then to carry it on his shoulders, a luxury of which it is very
fond. The Dingo will follow nobody else but its owner ; this materially
increased my difficulty in finding a dog, for it was useless unless the
owner could be persuaded to go with me ; besides, but few of the
Dingoes understand hunting the boongary *, for which they have to be
specially trained from the beginning."

As to the question of the antiquity and distinctness of the Dingo, it
may be well to quote the remarks and opinions of Frederick McCoy,
F.R.S., who has done so much for science. He tells us f : — " The origin

of the domestic dog is a question of great difficulty and interest, which
it has been suggested could be best investigated by a study of the
Dog known to the lowest types of the human race ; and the aboriginal
inhabitants of Australia were thought to afford these conditions. On
the other hand, the remarkable absence of the higher orders of Mam-
malian Quadrupeds in Australia was supposed to render it highly
probable that the Dingo was not really a native of the place, but was

* A tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus) discovered by Mr. Lumholtz in Australia, and
named D. lumholtzii.

t See the ' Geological Survey of Victoria. Prodromus of the Paleontology of
Victoria,' decade vii. pp. 7-10 (1882).

CAN1S DINGO. 157

brought at some remote period from some other country by human
savage races arriving to constitute the population of Australia. Taking
the case of the Dingo, it was certain that the native dogs of continental
Asia were not clearly related, to the extent of specific identity, with
the Australian one, nor could any near analogues be found elsewhere ;
while on the other hand the facts are beyond dispute: (1st) that the
Dingo is singularly averse to domestication and man's society when
compared with other dogs ; (2nd) that it is extremely abundant, with
little or no variation, over the whole of Australia ; and (3rd) that the
further you go from human haunts, near the coast, into the desert
interior, the more numerous do the Dingoes appear, indicating that
the species was a really indigenous one.

" The announcement, many years ago, of my recognition of bones and
teeth of the Dingo in the Pliocene Tertiary strata of Colac and other
Victorian localities, in company with similarly mineralized remains of
Thylacoleo, Diprotodon, Nototherium, Procoptodon, and other extinct
genera, therefore excited great interest, as proving that the Dingo was
really one of the most ancient of the indigenous mammals of the
country, and abounded as now most probably before man himself

appeared Our present species, although still living in great

numbers, I have no doubt dates from the Pliocene Tertiary time, and I
find, on the most minute comparison and measurements, no difference
between the fossil and recent individuals, either of the adult age, or of
the younger periods before the milk-teeth were shed to give place to
the permanent molar teeth."

As to the bearing of these facts, concerning the antiquity of the
Dingo, on the question as to its origin, we would remark that while they
show that the animal existed in Australia at an extremely remote period,
they are not decisive as to whether it was introduced by man, or (if it
was introduced by him) as to whether it is a race formed in Australia
from domesticated breeds, such as now exist in adjacent regions, or
whether such latter breeds are themselves derived from the Dingo on
its march towards the Australian continent. A recent explorer, Mr.
Charles Morris Woodford, expresses * his own judgment as follows : —

* See « A Naturalist among the Head-hunters ' (1890), p. 54.

158 THE DINGO.

" The Solomon-Island dog, now, of course, rapidly becoming absorbed
and crossed with the mangy curs brought down for the sake of their

\Jv O

teeth from Sydney by every trading-vessel, is assuredly a descendant of
the Dingo. I have seen individuals that in colour, shape of ears, general
expression, and other characteristics were hardly, except in size, to be
distinguished from that animal. I have noticed a similar but smaller
breed in Fiji among the natives, and I think that probably the Dingo is
the progenitor of the domestic dog of all the Pacific Islanders."

It seems almost incredible that the Dingo can have entered Australia
without human aid, but nevertheless some conditions may have existed
that enabled it to do so, of which conditions we can now discover no
trace, and which we are unable to imagine.

As before said, the Dingo varies in its coloration from red to black.
There is a greyish underfur, but, save in the black variety, the long
hairs are generally yellow or whitish. The top of the head and dorsal
region generally are of a darker reddish yellow, often intermixed with
black. The underparts are paler, and may be whitish. The end of the
tail is very often white, as are frequently the feet and sometimes the
muzzle, though this is also sometimes black.

The animal may be of a uniformly light reddish or yellowish brown,
save that it is paler beneath, on the outside of the fore legs, below the
elbow, as well as on the inner side of the limbs and on the cheeks.

Habitat. The continent of Australia.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 103

„ of tail 27

„ from heel to end of longest digit 17

of ear . . 8

Skeletal Characters.

No noticeable and constant characters were found by us to distin-
guish the cranium and dentition of the Dingo from the skulls and teeth
of the other larger species of the genus Cams, such as the wolf and the
jackal.

CANIS DINGO. 159

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrae 16'0

„ dorsal „ 24-0

„ lumbar „ 18'5

„ sacral „ 5'0

„ caudal „ 37'5

Length from atlas to hinder end of sacrum 63'5

Length of pectoral limb . 47*0

„ pelvic „ 54'0

„ humerus 16'5

,, radius 16'0

„ femur 18'0

„ tibia 17-6

„ index metacarpal 5' 7

„ third „ 6'4

„ metacarpal of pollex 2'0

, , whole pollex 4'3

„ last phalanx of third digit (manus) .... 1*7

„ index metatarsal 6'3

„ metatarsal of hallux . 1*2

„ whole hallux 1*8

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) 1*7

Length from basion to ovalion 2" 9

„ „ sphenoideum ....... 5*1

„ from sphenoideum to gnathion 13'2

Dimensions (in centimeters]

of Jive individuals.

Basion to ovalion ....

. 3-0

3-2

3'3

3-5

3-4

„ sphenoideum . .

. 5-1

4-9

4-8

4-9

Sphenoideum to gnathion .

. 13-2

12-5

11-7

12-9

11-6

Length of palate ....

. 9-9

9-3

9-0

9-8

8-9

Breadth „ ....

6-1

5'3

5-6

5'5

Length of nasals ....

. 7-5

7-3

7-8

6-9

6-6

Breadth of „ ....

1-3

2'0

1*9

1-9

1-6

„ brain-case . . .

. 6-1

5-6

5-9

5-6

}) zygomata .

. 11-9

10-3

11-8

11-5

10-5

Length of

0-6

0'6

0-5

0'5

P. 2

1-2

1-1

1-0

P. 3

1-3

1-2

1-1

P. 4

2-1

2'0

2-0

1-8

160 THE DINGO.

Dimensions of Jive individuals (continued).

Length of M- l . . .

. . . 1-5

1-4

1-3

1-2

M.2

. . . 0-8

0-8

0-7

Breadth of p- 4 . . .

. . . 1-1

1-1

1*1

1-0

M. 1

. . . 1-6

1-6

M.2

. . . 1-1

1*1

1-1

1-0

Length of p-[- . . .

. . . 0-5

0-4

0-35

0-4

p—.

. . . 1-0

0-9

0-8

P~3 • • •

. . . 1-1

1-1

0-95

i-o

» Rl • • •

. . . 1-2

1-2

1-1

„ SO • • •

. . . 2-3

2-3

2-0

« SO • • •

. . . 1-0

1-0

0-9

» M. 3 • • •

Breadth of itn •

0-9

C-9

0-8

161

THE DOMESTIC DOG.

CANIS FAMILIARIS.

f As was declared in our PrefaceAit is by no means the object of this
work to describe the varieties of form and faculty which exist amongst
the now multitudinous breeds of the Domestic Dog. Nevertheless,
the companion of man must not be passed over altogether in silence ;
for, whatever may have been its origin, the Domestic Dog has every
appearance of constituting, together with the Dingo, one species now.
Although it may be true that certain breeds of dogs unite more readily
with their own variety than with other forms, it is none the less
abundantly evident that dogs of very different races breed freely
together, and that their offspring are perfectly fertile. But apart from
this matter, no attentive observer of the ways of animals can have
failed to note how, when dogs happen to meet, even though of the
most diverse breeds — some toy lap-dog and some huge mastiff — each
at once makes manifest its feeling that the other is a dog and a brother.
Nor will the spontaneous judgment of the ordinary observer fail to
accord with that indicated by the animals themselves.

Assuming then, at least provisionally, that the dog, as we know it,
is to be considered as a distinct species, it is absolutely the most
wonderful species of animal known to us as regards the number and
diversity of the races which compose it. We have but to think of the
Pug-dog and the Greyhound, the Toy Spaniel and the Bloodhound,
the Turnspit and the St. Bernard's Dog, to recognize diversities of
bodily conformation exceeding those of any other species of Beast or
Bird known to us.

As to the number of breeds, Professor Fitzinger * recognizes no less

* See ' Der Hund und seine Eacen.' 1876.

162 THE DOMESTIC DOG.

than one hundred and eighty-five varieties, nor do we think his
enumeration excessive. He groups these varieties in seven categories,
as follows : — (1) House Dogs, 48 varieties; (2) Spaniels, 30 varieties ;
(3) Terriers, 12 varieties; (4) Hounds, 35 varieties; (5) Mastiffs,
19 varieties; (6) Greyhounds, 35 varieties, and (7) Hairless Dogs,
6 varieties.

With the ancient Romans, dogs seem to have been classed as either
Canes mllatici (House Dogs), Canes pastorales (Shepherd Dogs), or
Canes venatici (Sporting Dogs) ; the last category being subdivided into
A, pugnaces (probably like our Bull-dogs and Terriers), B, nare
sagaces (hunting by scent), and C, pedibus celeres (like our Grey-
hounds).

Lieut.-Col. C. Hamilton Smith * grouped the breeds thus : —
(1) Wolf-Dogs (such e. g. as the Esquimaux, Newfoundland, St.
Bernard, and Pomeranian Dogs, with the Shepherd's Dog and great
AVolf-dog) ; (2) Watch-dogs (such as the German Boar-hound, the
Danish Dog, &c.) ; (3) Greyhounds (including the Lurchers and the
j*V Egyptian street-dog) ; (4) Hounds (including the Bloodhound, Dalma-
tian Coach-dog, Turnspit, Spaniel, and Maltese Dog) ; (5) Cur-dogs
(including with the Terrier the Pariah dog of India and the dogs of the
natives of Tierra del Fuego), and (6) Mastiffs (including that of Thibet
with the Bull-dog, the Pug-dog, and the little Danish Dog).

Mr. Edmund Harting, E.L.S., a naturalist who has paid so much
attention to the birds and beasts of our Islands, has proposed f to
arrange the breeds in six groups (founded to a certain extent on the
form and development of the ears), which he regards as perhaps affording
an approximation to a natural classification. These groups are : —
I. Wolf-like dogs ; II. Greyhounds ; III. Spaniels ; IV. Hounds ;
,V. Mastiffs; VI. Terriers.

By a judicious crossing of these half-dozen types, he believes it
possible to produce every one of the present existing races of domestic
dog.

* In Jardine's Naturalist's Library, vol. x. (1840).

t See his article " Dogs : Ancient and Modern," in ' The Zoologist,' vol. viii. (1884),

). 393.

CANIS FAMILIARIS, 163

One of the most interesting breeds, from its possible relation to
another species, is the Esquimaux Dog, which so closely resembles the
wolf that a pack of them were once mistaken for wolves even by so
experienced an Arctic traveller as Sir John Richardson. Our Plate
XXXVIII. represents a fine specimen of this breed living in the
Gardens of the Zoological Society?)

The Domestic Dog attains sometimes a larger size than does any
wild species of the Canida, the largest of which is the Wolf. Through
the kindness of Dr. Sidney Turner, I have received the dimensions of
several very large Mount St. Bernard's Dogs. The largest of these,
known as " Young Plinlimmon," is an inmate of the kennels at Leeds
belonging to Mr. Sydney W. Smith, who gives the total length of the
animal, from " the tip of the nose to the set on of the tail," as 68^
inches, or more than 1 73 centimeters. OtheFoTTTisdogs thus measure
60 and 64 inches. A St. Bernard, known as " Cadwallader," belong-
ing to Dr. Russell, measures 63 inches. But the Domestic Dog may
not only be thus larger than the wolf, it may also be much smaller
than any wild Canine species. One of the smallest of all breeds is the
Mexican Lap-dog with its soft curly hair. (A specimen of this breed we
have had represented (from one in the British Museum) in our Plate
XXXIX.} Though apparently adult, from the condition of its claws,
it measures no more than 18*0 centims. from the apex of the snout to
the root of the tail. This breed has most probably been formed from
dogs of European origin *.

Everyone knows that Domestic Dogs of different breeds differ hardly
less in configuration than in size — configuration of muzzle, ears, length,
quality, and even absence of hair, and length and form of tail.

Amongst characters which have been found to differ in different
races is the extent of skin between the toes, which in Newfoundland •
Dogs, and more or less in Otter-hounds, produces a sort of vvebbed-
footedness.

The peculiarities of conformation obviously concern not only
external characters, but cranial and dental structures also.

The skull of the Bull-dog is one singularly distorted through the
* Such is the opinion of .Fitzinger, as expressed in his ' Der Hund und seine Racen.'

164 THE DOMESTIC DOG.

shortening of the facial portion of the skull, entailing, as it does, a
variety of other modifications to afford adequate space and attachment
for the vigorous muscles which give the animal its prodigious power
of grip.

Fig. 42.

Skull of a Bull-dog.

The cranial and dental conditions which are commonly found in
different breeds are subject to much variation. Dr. "Windle and Mr.
John Humphreys, who have gone, with exceeding care, into this question,
tell us * : — " The range of variation (as to skull and teeth) in any
breed is much greater, in almost every case, than that existing between

* Troc. Zool. Soc. 1890, pp. 24 & 26.

CANIS FAMILIAKIS. 165

any two breeds." They also add : — " It becomes apparently a hopeless
task to look for evidence as to the proximate or ultimate derivation
of the breeds of domestic dogs in their skulls or teeth."

They have also observed a dozen cases of an additional molar on one
or on both sides of the upper jaw in Domestic Dogs.

Nehring has noted * a Domestic Dog with an additional molar both
above and below, and another (a Terrier) in which an inferior molar
was deficient, as also a Dingo with five premolars both above and
below.

A deficiency of teeth seems to often accompany hairlessness. This
was observed by Mr. Yarrell t in two hairless dogs living in the
Zoological Society's Gardens, neither of which had any premolars, or
the full number of incisors, while one was destitute of canines, and he
possessed the skull of a hairless Terrier which had no premolars. In
another hairless Dog, which died in the Gardens, all the teeth were
wanting save one molar on either side of either jaw.

When the muzzle has become shortened in a breed, the teeth, if not
deficient in number, become distorted in position {.

( Most remarkable of all these forms is the Japanese Pug-dog, the
skull of which, as here given, was originally figured by Dr. Gray §,
who received it from Dr. W. Lockhart. This degraded type has been
erected by Cope || into a new genus and species named " Dysodes
pravus" but we can only regard it as a domestic monstrosity worthy
of notice.

The individual, which was living in England, had slender legs, very
long hair, and carried its tail, which was rather bushy, closely curled
up over its back. It was mainly fed on vegetable food, being
particularly fond of cucumbers.

* Sitzungsb. d. Ges. naturf. Freunde Berlin (1882), p. 65.

t Proc. Zool. Soc. 1833, p. 113. Mr. Yarrell exhibited the specimen referred to
" with the view of illustrating the apparent connexion between the hair and the teeth."

J Darwin, ' Animals and Plants under Domestication,' vol. ii. p. 345 ; and Windle
and Humphreys, op. cit. p. 28.

§ Proc. Zool. Soc. 1867, p. 40.

|| See Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1879, pp. 188 & 189, and ' American
Naturalist,' vol. xiii. (1879), p. 655.

166

THE DOMESTIC DOG.

Fig. 43.

Skull of Japanese Dog.

Fig. 44. — Parts around the occipital foramen.

Fig. 45. — Form of fontanelle (defect of ossification) on the crown of the skull, the
front portion of which is shown in Fig. 46.

CANIS FAMILIAKIS. 167

Dr. W. Lockhart wrote to Dr. Gray as follows : — " The Pug-nosed
Dog, the skull of which I sent you, probably originated in Pekin and
North China, and was taken thence to Japan, whence it was brought to

Europe ; and thus this breed is called Japanese There are two

kinds of Pug in China: — one a small black-and-white, long-legged,
pug-nosed, prominent-eyed dog ; the other long-backed, short-legged,
long-haired, tawny-coloured, with pug-nose and prominent eyes.
Sometimes in these dogs the eyes are so prominent that I have known
a dog have one of his eyes snapped off by another dog at play. The
preference for vegetable food is a fact ; but I think it is a result of
education, as most of them will take animal food ; this is usually kept
from them so that their growth and organization may be kept down.
The sleeve-dog is a degenerated long-legged variety of pug rigidly kept
on low diet, and never allowed to run about on the ground ; they are
kept very much on the top of a kang or stove bed-place, and not allowed
to run about on the ground, as it is supposed . . . they will derive
strength from the ground and be able to grow large. Their food is
much restricted, and consists chiefly of boiled rice. They are very
subject to corneitis and ulceration of the cornea from deficient nutrition."

The various breeds of Dogs being so extraordinarily diverse, a question
which forces itself on «5*r minds is, " What has been the origin of an
animal thus exceptionally polymorphic?" The problem may be
exhaustively expressed as follows : —

Did all domestic races spring,

(1) from one species of true dog still existing?

(2) from more than one species of true dog still existing ?

(3) from one species of true dog now extinct ?

(4) from more than one species of true dog now extinct ?

(5) from one species, not a true dog, now existing ?

(6) from several species, not true dogs, now existing ?

(7) from one species, not a true dog, now extinct ?

(8) from "several species, not true dogs, now extinct E

At first it might seem reasonable to suppose that animals so diverse
as are the Spaniel, the Deerhound, and the Pug-dog have descended
from distinct species, each of which possessed the characteristics of

168 THE DOMESTIC DOG.

one of those breeds, in, as it were, an as yet undeveloped condition.
But no such races exist in nature. They can hardly all have
once existed and become extinct, for two reasons. In the first
place, paleontology affords us no evidence that such has been the
case ; and, in the second place, what we know of the life-history
of existing wild Canines does not favour the supposition. The
Dog family is not one the species of which tend readily to disappear,
as is shown by the long persistent efforts needed to exterminate the
Wolf, even in the most civilized parts of the habitable globe. There-
/ 0 fore the Domestic Dog cannot well be the product of a variety oT wild
true Dog, once widely diffused but now entirely extinct. That the
various breeds known to us may nevertheless have originated from
one form must be admitted to be possible, when we consider the
changes which have taken place m old breeds, and the new forms which
have been called forth in the historical period. The Egyptian and
Assyrian monuments show this, and our King Charles' Spaniels have
been modified and had their characteristics exaggerated since the days
of the Merry Monarch. Darwin, in his admirable work ' Animals and
Plants under Domestication/ has collected and published amply
sufficient evidence * as to this matter.

Can, then, all the breeds of the Domestic Dog have descended from
one wild true dog now existing or extinct ? We have not, so far as is
known to us, any evidence of an extinct dog for which such a distinc-
tion can be claimed, nor has such a claim, to our knowledge, been made.
As to an existing Wild Dog, there is but one species — the Dingo —
which we think can possibly be supposes to have played such a part. Of
course, if the Dingo was always, as now, an Australian animal, then it
cannot have played such a part. But the dogs of the Pacific Islands,
including the Solomon Islands f, are probably of the same race as
/u) the Dingo. Professor Huxley has thrown out the suggestion
that not only some of the tribes of Hindostan, but even the ancient
Egyptians, were of the same race as the inhabitants of Australia, so
that the Australians might thus be regarded as the survivors — degraded

/
* See vol. i. pp. 40-43. f See above, p. 158.

CANIS FAMILIARIS. 169

survivors — of tlie early parents of such Egyptians and Indians. If we
could believe this, we could also believe that with such a more
primitive human race (which, on this view, would have survived in
Australia) the more primitive domestic canine race may have survived
there also and become feral.

JThe doctrine now generally accepted amongst men of science is tha
all existing races of mankind sprang from one primitive -race and

v_y_ari£d locally — radiating from a single geographical centre. We cannot
see any impossibility in all existing races of Dogs having also sprang

D from a single kind and varied locally ; also radiating from a single
geographical centre. We know that the Dog existed in company with
man in prehistoric times, and the fact that different prehistoric races of
Dog succeeded one another, and that the earliest historical monuments
show that various breeds, more or less like existing breeds, had then
arisen, by no means proves that the Dog had not for ages existed in
man's company, as little differentiated as was the Dingo when Euro-
peans first visited Australia. That such a primitive dog would tend
to vary when exposed to very different climatic conditions, is shown
both by the change of coat, according to the seasons, which we have
seen so often takes place in other canine species, and also by the fact
that the Domestic Dog of to-day does undergo much modification from
climatic change. It is also probable that sudden modifications of form
might have excited interest, and so been preserved by selection.

Donitz has described * a Fox's skull shaped like a Bull-dog's, with a
shortened snout and " underhung," the mandible being upturned in front
> -ef the promaxilloQ. This is a very interesting and noteworthy instance
of a wild and very distinct species with an abnormality like that existing
in one of the most peculiar of our races of the Domestic Dog. Darwin
cites evidence f of the degeneration of Greyhounds, Setters, and
Pointers in India, as also of Bull-dogs, after two or three generations,
not only losing their pluck and skill, but also their peculiar shape,
including the underhung jaw.

* Sitzungsb. d. Gesellsch. naturf. Freunde Berlin, 1868, p. 21.
t Op. eit. vol. i. pp. 37-39.

170 THE DOMESTIC DOG.

We are, however, far from asserting that all our Domestic Dogs have
sprung from a dog like the Dingo, which may have arisen as naturally
and as altogether apart from human action as the Wolf has arisen ; all we
would affirm is that such an origin is a possible one. But, as we shall
see, it is also possible that the Domestic Dog may have arisen from one
or more of the wild kinds of Canidcs which we now regard as differing
specifically from the Dog. /there is much to be said for this view,
is the one~that commended itself to Pallas, Ehrenberg, and De Blain-
ville, also to Hamilton Smith, and subsequently to Darwin, as it has
Since done to, .various naturalists of distinction. Others, amongst them
the English naturalist Bell, have held that all true Dogs are the modified
descendants of the Wolf. The general resemblance of some Domestic
Dogs to the Wolf is unquestionable — notably the Esquimaux Dog,
which is often made to unite with the Wolf to increase the strength
and courage of the breed.

The Wolf and the Dog were successfully bred together for four gene-
rations by Buffon ; and there are many instances of the production of
such hybrids *. We are not aware, however, of any recent evidence
that such hybrids are fertile inter se. The evidence appears to be
conflicting f.

On the other hand, Dr. Julius Kuhnj has recently noted the fertility
of hybrids between a Jackal and a Dog, and this not only with the
parent species, but inter se.

Professor Jeitteles contends that whatever otherwise may haVe been
the origin of the Dog, the Jackal and the Wolf (the variety Canis
pallipes) have been the parents respectively of the Domestic Dogs of the
Neolithic and Stone periods of Human existence in Europe, a view which
Mr. Blanford is disposed to accept §. Prof. Jeitteles, oj^conrse,
grounds his opinion on a consideration of the skull and teeth. Such
evidence is to us profoundly unsatisfactory ; and therefore, while we

* See Dr. Th. Noacke's article, Zoologische Garten, xxviii. Jahrgang (1887),
p. 106.

f See Darwin, op. cit. vol. i. p. 32.

J ' Die Stammvater unserer Hunde-Kassen : ' Vienna, 1877.

§ Proc. Asiat. Soc. of Bengal (1877), p. 114.

CANIS FAMILIAEIS. 171

have no reason or disposition to dispute the truth of his view, we
can only regard it as conjectural.

The opinions of naturalists differ much as to this matter. Professor
Dr. John N. Woldrich thinks * that the Domestic Dog of Europe can no
more be traced to existing wild European species of Jackal, Wolf, or
Fox, than the existing European races of man can be traced to existing
wild tribes. He thinks that the ancestors of the European Dog no
longer exist in Europe, though they may do so in Asia or Africa. He
suggests the probability of their derivation from Diluvial predecessors of
C. simensis and C. zerda.

As to the Domestic Dogs of America, as Uengger remarks f, it is
certain that at the time of its discovery the natives had already a race
of domestic dog. Such were found by Alonso Herera in New Granada
and— by^-GarcHanno in Por-tu. The Mexicans also had dogs which
they used as food. It seems to us, however, impossible to determine
whether such races really originated from the wild species of the New
Continent, or were brought by man from Asia in very ancient times.

This doubt, however, does not exist in the minds of some very able
naturalists. Thus Dr. Elliott Coues observes \ : — " We have ....
unquestionable evidence of relationship by direct descent of some Indian
Dogs from the Coyote " (C. latrans). And, as we have before stated,
the Indians habitually cross their dogs with this species.

As to the race of Dogs which belonged to the Incas of Peru (the
Canis Inga of Tschudi) and were preserved as mummies, Nehring §,
wJioJias eighteen specimens, thinks that the animal was derived from
the North- American Wolf, and certainly not from any South- American
species.

The opinion at which Darwin arrived, after considering the mass of
evidence he had accumulated, was that the Domestic Dog had a multiple
origin, — that it arose from several races of Wolves and Jackals, and
from at least one or two South- American species. With this view

* See Anzeiger d. kaiser. Akad. d. "Wissenschaften, xxiii. Jahrgang, 1886, pp. 12-10.

f Naturgeschichte der Siiugethiere von Paraguay, p. 151.

% American Naturalist, vol. vii. 1873, p. 388.

§ Zoologische Jahrbiicher, Biologie, vol. iii. (1888), p. 51.

172 THE DOMESTIC DOG.

Mr. Edmund Harting entirely concurs, and we do not think that any
one;__can affirm with confidence that the Dog may not have had such an
origin, even if he does not go so far as to consider the view a probably
true one. JiDZjpjit^^Ve think that the evidence is as yet insufficient
Jor us to enunciate any judgment in the matter. We have endeavoured
to point out that it is possible that the origin of the Dog may have been
smgle^orlnuitiple, but we refrain from declaring that we regard either
the one or the other as preponderatingly evident. ~~T~jU<

Nevertheless- our judgment inclines to the view -that the Domestic
Dog is a form which has been evolved by human effort from at least
two, probably more, wild species, though it is possible it may be but a
modification of one which has long become extinct save in its domestic
and feral progeny.

We, however, heartily agree with Professor Nehring that many expe-
riments are needed, not only concerning the fertility of hybrids, but
also as to what variations can be induced in pure-bred Wolves and Foxes
by long domestication carried on through a considerable number of
successive generations.

Before dismissing the problem, we think it well to reproduce the
remarks of Mr. A. P. Bartlett, who has been for so many years Super-
intendent of the Gardens of the Zoological Society. He has had most
exceptional opportunity for making valuable observations, and of such
opportunities he has again and again made exceptionally good use.
He says * : —

" The extraordinary and wonderful number of well-marked breeds of
the Domestic Dog, and their variations of size, form, and colour, render
any attempt to account for their origin a task of some difficulty ; but
as many wild dogs appear to be descendants of domestic dogs, it is
necessary to endeavour to account for the origin of the domestic race.
There can be no doubt, for example, that the Esquimaux Dogs are
reclaimed or domesticated Wolves.

"All Wolves, if taken young and reared by man, are tame, playful,
and exhibit a fondness for those who feed and attend to them. The

* Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 47.

CANIS FAMILIARIS. 173

same may be said of all the species of Jackals. This being so, it is
highly probable that both Wolves and Jackals were for many ages found
in the company of man, and that owing to this association the different
species of these animals may have bred together and become mixed.

" A mixed breed would at once develop • a new variety. A variety
oncecommenced would in all probability, in a few generations, undergo
many changes, especially if any well-marked variety should occur.
Nothing would Tie more natural than to suppose that the owners of
this variety would endeavour to increase its number, especially if it was
found to possess useful qualities. «^f/ A^**r ,2$v--/ ^ . 4**^ <*4 *%**.*
"f hunting led in all probability to the separation of

Domestic-Bogs into two well-known breeds, yiz., those that hunt by
sight, as distinguished from those that hunt by scent ; for there can be
no doubt that at a very early period dogs were used in the chase of wild
animals. There are plenty of ancient monuments on which there is
unmistakable evidence of this fact. The usefulness of dogs being
at, g. very early period would naturally lead to great care
them, and doubtless to the breeding of them in a

domestic state. This would lead to the production of the many breeds
and varieties that have been developed, and thus varieties may have been
perpetuated by the mixing and crossing of breeds originally obtained
from distinct wild animals.

" I have found no difficulty in crossing Wolves and Jackals with
Domestic Dogs, when suitably matched. It is a well-known fact that
the Esquimaux frequently allows his dogs to breed with wolves, in
order to keep up the strength, the power of endurance, and the courage
of the race. But as regards Foxes, so far as my experience goes, I
have never met with a well-authenticated instance of a hybrid between
a fox arid a dog, notwithstanding numerous specimens of supposed
hybrids of this sort which from time to time have been brought to my
notice. The habits of Wolves and Jackals are so much alike that I am
unable to point out any marked differences between them.

" Domestic Dogs exhibit many of the habits of Wolves and Jackals,
such as the scratching up of earth with the front feet, and the pushing
back of it with the hind feet, in order to cover up the droppings.

174 THE DOMESTIC DOG.

Again, when about to rest, the turning round two or three times with
the object of forming a hole in which to rest may be noticed in pet
dogs about to lie down upon the hearth-rug, a habit evidently acquired
by inheritance from their wild ancestors.

" The whining, growling, and howling of Wolves, Jackals, and Dogs
are so much alike as to be indistinguishable; but the barking of
Dogs is undoubtedly an acquired habit, and doubtless due to domes-
tication.

""Wolves and Jackals in a wild state never bark, nor do Esquimaux
Dogs nor Dirigos, but if kept associated with barking dogs, these and
other wild dogs in many instances acquire the habit of barking.

" A well-known instance of this occurred under my notice. A wild
Antarctic Wolf, after a few months, hearing the barking of dogs in the
immediate neighbourhood, began to bark, and succeeded admirably.
The same thing has happened to my knowledge in the case of pure-bred
Esquimaux Dogs and Dingos."

This practical naturalist thus strongly declares himself in favour of
the view that the Dog is derived from the Wolf* and the Jackalf.

It now but remaii
which exist

cated amongst certain more or less savage tribes of mankind, other
than the Australians.

The Pacific Islanders, when first discovered, already possessed a

* It has been remarked with respect to the Dog and the Wolf, by Dr. H. Landois
(Morphologisches Jahrbuch, vol. ix. (1884), p. 163), that the intestines of the former
are much longer compared with the length of the body than those of the latter — 5 or
6 to 1 instead of 4 to 1 ; but there is much individual variation in this matter, and,
besides, domestication and change of food seem to lengthen the intestine in other
animals, and therefore probably in the Dog (see Darwin's ' Variation of Animals and
Plants,' vol. i. p. 73).

t The reader desirous of considering other expressions of opinion not already cited
may refer to three other papers by Woldrich. One of these is in the Denkschr. Akad.
Wien, xxxix. Abth. ii. pp. 97-148 ; another is in the Mitth. anthrop. Gesellschaft in
Wien, xi. p. 8 ; and the third in the last-named periodical, vol. xii. pp. 27 and 153.
We may mention yet another by Studer on "Dogs in relation to ancient Lake-
dwellings," in Mitth. naturf. Gesellschaft in Bern (1884), i. p. 3.

ut remains for us briefly to notice certain breeds of Dogs
in *a*1^raTconaraoh — which have run wild — or are domesti-

CANIS FAMILIARIS. 175

domesticated Dog, which was then used as food in Otaheite *, as it is
in various islands to the present day. The Domestic Dog which was
also found existing in New Zealand, and which is now extinct, was
much like that which existed amongst the Pacific Islanders. It was a
much smaller animal than the Dingo, with a pointed nose, long hair of
different colours, and a short bushy tail. It is described as having had
little power of smell, with only a towl-an4- no-proper -bark, and of a
lazy, sullen disposition f. It was trained to catch the Apteryx-and was
.generally mnr IT pettftd by its own er s .

Feral Dogs exist in Cuba, of a mouse-colour, with short ears and
light blue eyes j ; and Mr. Darwin tells us, oiT~tfieH3ntfiorrty -
j rnnrrmin^ TVrnl Dnprn nf Tnnn da NnTft in the

-tbaf"" they had entirely lost the faculty of barking ; had no inclination
for the company of other dogs," but that " they congregate in vast
packs, and catch sea-birds with as munh address aq fffflf^rmiM

ist on the continent of South America and in Africa,

atrd^one sucli in Senegambia has been described under the name

The Pariah Dogs of India are very numerous and breed in the
towns and villages unmolested. Amongst these Colonel Sykes found
one with crooked legs and a long back, like a Turnspit Dog || . It
has the appearance of a mongrel form of the Domestic Dog.

To the breeds which now exist, and which are much more numerous
than in the earliest days of human history, it is probable that others
will be added by variation and careful selection. Nevertheless, when
we consider the resemblance which exists between the most ancient
breeds (as represented by sculpture- and patwtiflg) and those of our

* Captain Cook's Voyages, 4to (1873), vol. ii. p. 152.

t See an article, " On the Ancient Dog of the New Zealanders," in the Trans, of the
N. Zealand Institute, vol. x. (1877), pp. 135-155.

£ See Poeppig, ' lieise in Chile,' vol. i. p. 290. Quoted by Darwin, ' Animals and
Plants under Domestication,' vol. i. p. 27.

§ G. A. T. Rochebrune, Bull. Soc. Philom. (6) vol. vii. p. 9.

I! See Proc. Zool. Soc. 1831, p. 100.

176 THE DOMESTIC DOG.

own day, it seems unlikely that any very profound and startling

modification will be produced. -^h-

/ The space which we can afford for the consideration of the Domestic \
/ Dog being now exhausted, we must, as we have purposely reserved

its consideration for the last of the true Dogs, now proceed to describe /
\the second genus of the family Canida.

177

Genus CYON, Hodgson (1838).

Cuon, Hodgson, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i. p. 152 (1838).
Cyon, Blanford, Fauna Brit. India, Mamm. p. 142 (1888) ; Mivart, Proc.
Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 88.

Generic Characters.

Digits 5 — 4. Pm. 5, M. %.

Nasals extending backwards much beyond the adjacent portions of
the maxillaB; the external margin of each nasal, distad of, the nasal
process of the frontal, strongly concave, so that the outer margin of the
whole length of each nasal has a subsigmoid outline ; face relatively
short ; dorsal surface of interorbital region but little concave transversely;
skull, viewed in profile, showing very little vertical elevation in the inter-
orbital region, the concavity thus apparent between it and the distal end
of the nasals being very slight both in degree and in antero-posterior
extent ; postorbital processes of the frontals projecting outwards but
slightly ; postorbital processes of the malars rather marked ; zygomata
not strongly arched outwards ; anterior palatine foramina very large
and much elongated ; first upper premolar approaching the second
in size more nearly than in Cams ; fourth upper premolar with a
smaller internal lobe than generally in Canis; inner portion of first
upper molar small, its inner tubercles having more or less completely
coalesced with the cingulurn; first lower molar small, especially its
inner ridge ; tail decidedly less than half the length of the body.
Habitat. Asia, from Siberia to Java.

These animals are generally called " Wild Dogs," and the southern
species is commonly termed " The Indian Wild Dog." But the term

178 CTON.

is unfortunate, as they are generically distinct from the true Dogs, and
to call them " Dogs " would therefore lead to confusion and be incon-
venient. We therefore propose to designate them by the term " Dhole."
This is a term which has been made use of*, and will serve very
conveniently for our purpose, whatever may be its origin or present use
in the East. Since it is said to be " an antique Asiatic root " signifying
recklessness and daring, it will be so far the more appropriate to denote
an animal which has hitherto been distinguished, in English parlance,
by the term " wild."

* By Captain Williamson and Colonel C. Hamilton Smith. See Jardine's ' Natura-
list's Library,' vol. ix. p. 179. There we read that " Dhole " is " an antique Asiatic
root, implying daring, recklessness ; in Turkish, Deli ; in Teutonic, Dol, mad ; in
Belgic, Dulle, outrageous."

179

THE SOUTHERN DHOLE.

CTON JAYANICUS.

Canis javanicus, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 198 (1820) ; F. Cuvier,

Diet, des Sc. Nat. vol. viii. p. 557.
Canis familiaris, var. sumatrensis, Hardwicke, Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xiii.

p. 235, pi. xxiii. (1822).
Canis dukhunensis, Sykes, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1831, p. 100; Blyth, Journ.As.

Soc. Bengal, vol. xi. p. 591.
Cards primavus, Hodgson, Asiatic Res. xviii. pt. 2, p. 221 (1833), with

a figure.
Canis rutilans, S. Miiller, Verhandelingen Zool. Zoogd. pp. 27, 51 (1839) ;

Blyth, Catalogue of Mammals and Birds of Burmah, p. 24';

J. A. Wagner, Suppl. to Schreber's Saugthiere, Abth. ii.

p. 379.
Cuonprimaevus, Hodgson, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. i. p. 152 (1838) ;

id. Calcutta Journal Nat. Hist. vol. ii. pp. 208, 412;

Adams, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 514; Cantor, Journ. Asiat.

Soc. Bengal, vol. xv. p. 196; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868,

p. 498; id. Cat. Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 184; Murie,

Proc. Zool. Soc. 1872, p. 715.
Cuon rutilans, Blyth, Catalogue of Mammals and Birds of Burmah, p. 37 ;

Jerdon's Mammals of India, p. 145.
Cuon sumatrensis and dukhunensis, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, pp. 498

and 500.

Cyon dukhunensis, Blanford, Fauna of British India, Mamm. p. 143.
Cyon rutilans, Blanford, ibid. p. 147.
Cyon primavus, Scully, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1881, p. 202.
Cyon javanicus, Mivart, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 89.

WHETHER there are or are not two distinct species of Cyon south of the
Himalayas is a question as to which some distinguished naturalists
differ. We have carefully examined a very large number of skins
— with the several skulls belonging to them — coming from stations

180 THE SOUTHEKN DHOLE.

ranging from Sumatra and Malacca to Thibet, and have been quite
unable to detect what appears to us to be a valid specific distinction.
There are, indeed, great differences between different specimens, but
intermediate conditions connect together the most divergent forms.
The colour, however, is always more or less red, except in specimens
which come from the lofty region of Thibet. These latter have a long
soft furry coat of a pale colour, while specimens from hot regions have
a close and rather harsh coat.

It is not so surprising that this species should vary greatly, seeing
that it ranges over so enormous a space — namely, not only over all
Hindostan and Eastern Thibet, but also over the Malay Peninsula and
its Archipelago as far as Borneo.

The animal is generally, when fully grown, larger than the Jackal,
though it varies in size as well as in colour; it has a moderately
long tail, which may or may not be bushy. It is an inhabitant of the
forests, though not exclusively so. Diurnal, for the most part, and
gregarious in its habits, it hunts in packs of from six to twenty in number.
Mr. Blanford informs us that in India they live principally upon wild
pigs and various kinds of deer, many sambar and spotted deer, Indian
antelopes, and even the nilgai being occasionally killed and devoured
by them. In Thibet they feed on wild sheep. They will sometimes
attack the Himalayan black bear*, and Elliot has known a tiger leaving
a jungle to have been killed by a pack of these creatures. There
is also more evidence to the same effect, though such accounts are no
doubt sometimes mistaken or exaggerated. According to Blanford they
avoid the neighbourhood of man, and, in consequence, rarely attack
domestic animals, though they occasionally pull down a tame buffalo.
One instance of this has been observed both by Jerdon and McM'aster,
and Blanford came across a third case in the jungles east of Baroda :
" I was curious," he tells us, " to see how so large an animal had
been destroyed. There were but a few tooth-marks about the nose
and throat, and some of the pack had evidently attacked the buffalo
in front, whilst others tore it open. This is probably their usual way

* See Captain Baldwin's ' Large and Small Game of Bengal,' p. 19.

CYON JAVANICUS. 181

of killing large animals." They have been seen to snap at the flank
of a running deer. •

Although they are thus ferocious and predatory, there is no
evidence of their attacking man ; and they appear sometimes to feed
not only upon carrion but on vegetable food also. McMaster found
that an animal of this species kept in confinement would greedily
devour herbs, grass, and leaves of various kinds, " not as dogs do when
ill, but with a keen relish."

They appear to be very untamable animals. Hodgson, after keeping
some ten months in confinement, found them as wild * and shy at the
end of that time as at its commencement. They had a peculiarly rank
and fetid odour, and were very silent animals, never uttering a sound
except when they would snarl at each other in a subdued tone, though
they never fought.

One young specimen he found more amenable to kindness, as it
would allow itself to be caressed by its master and would play with
dogs. In a wild state these animals will howl at night ; but it appears
they remain quite silent while hunting their prey.

They breed during the winter, producing two, four, six, or even
more in a litter between the beginning of January and the end of
March. The female makes her nest in caves or hollow spaces amongst
rocks; and several females are saidf to have been found, near Simla,
apparently breeding together.

The colour of this animal is, as we have said, always more or less
red, with the lower parts whitish. Part of the tail, generally the
terminal portion, is black, though occasionally the extreme end is
whitish. There may or may not be underfur. The variety which has
been named rutilans has no woolly underfur, with hair short and harsh,
and a small brush. It may also have much black on the back, as we
have seen in a specimen from Moulmein. Our Plate XL. repre-
sents a specimen obtained from Sumatra. The type (preserved in the
British Museum) of the variety named dukhunensis (Plate XLI.) is
very red, with longish hair and some underfur. Specimens from

* See Jerdon, op. at. p. 148. f Blanford, op. cit. p. 146.

182

THE SOUTHERN DHOLE.

Fig. 47.

Side view of skull of CYON JAVANICUS.

Fig. 48.

Tiff. 49.

Molars of upper jaw (right side). Molars of lower jaw (right side).

(All of the natural size.)

CYOX JAVANICUS. 183

Cashmere are paler, aiid one we have examined from Nepal was quite
light-coloured and covered with long woolly fur.

Habitat. South-eastern Asia, from the Himalaya to Borneo, but
apparently not in Ceylon.

The dark short-haired variety, called rutilans, is found in the
Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and probably in Borneo ; it also
inhabits Moulmein and possibly Northern Burmah.

The variety distinguished as dukhunensis is stated byBlanford* to be
found in Gilgit, Ladak, and other parts of the upper valley of the
Indus, as well as in the Himalayan forests, from Cashmere to Assam.
Hodgson obtained it from Eastern Thibet, and it is undoubtedly
present in all the larger forests of Hindostan.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 92-0

„ of tail 28-0

„ from heel to tip of longest digit 19'0

., of ear 7'5

Skeletal and Dental Characters.

The main cranial and dental characters have been already noted in
describing those common to the genus.

The second upper molar is always small, but we have found a con-
siderable difference as regards its relative size in two skulls extracted
from skins which closely resemble each other.

Centimeters.

Length of cervical region .-- , . 16'5

„ dorsal „ 24-0

„ lumbar „ ' V . * . 19'0

sacral 4'0

* Op. cit. p. 144.

184 THE SOUTHERN DHOLE.

Centimeters.

Atlas to end of sacrum - ... 63'5

Pectoral limb 37'0

Pelvic limb 47'5

Humerus 13'5

Radius to root of styloid process 12'0

Femur ]5'5

Tibia to root of malleolus 14'3

Index metacarpal 4'5

Third „ 5"5

Metacarpal of pollex 1'7

Whole pollex 3'4

Index metatarsal 5'5

Third „ 6'7

Metatarsal of hallux 1-1

Whole hallux 1-6

Basion to ovalion 3'1

„ sphenoideum 4*4

Sphenoideum to gnathion 10'8

Basion to gnathion 15'0

Length of palate 7'5

Breadth „ 5'1

Greatest length of nasals 6'3

Breadth of nasals 1'9

Interorbital breadth 3'2

Between postorbital processes 4'4

Breadth of cranium 6'2

„ zygomata 9*7

Longest incisor T2

Shortest „ 0'8

Length of LJ: 0*6

p- 2 0-8

>} U o

,, — '— I'O

„ E* -..-.• 1-9

M.2 n.A

» Do

BreadthofEii TO

^ 1-5

— 0-8

Length of p^j O45

CYON JAVANICUS. 185

Length of p~^>

Centimeters.
0-8

0'9

2'0

M. 1

0'8

» JM. 2i

Breadth of \r^i

0-7

186

THE NORTHERN DHOLE.

CYON 4LPINUS.

Cants alpinus, Pallas, Zoograpbia Rosso-Asiatica, vol. i. p. 34 (1831) ;
J. A. Wagner, Suppl. to Schreber's Saugth., Abth. ii.p. 372;
Middendorff, Reise aussersten Norden u. Osten Sibiriens,
vol. ii. part ii. p. 71 (1851); Scbrenck, Reisen in Amur-
Land e, vol. i. p. 48, pi. ii. (1859); Radde, Reisen im
Siiden von Ost-Sibirien, vol. i. p. 60 (1862).

Cuon alpinus, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868, p. 498 ; id. Cat. Carnivorous
Mammalia, p. 184.

Cyon alpinus, Mivart, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1890, p. 90.

THIS large, fine species of Northern Asia can only be separated from
C. javanicus on account of the larger size of its second upper molar, and
also of its second or ultimate lower molar.

The two specimens preserved in the British Museum are covered
with very long and woolly hair, which is white in one specimen, and
whitish with a yellow tinge in the other. The former came from
Siberia and is the subject of our Plate XLII. ; the other specimen came
from the Altai Mountains, and our figure representing its dentition
was drawn from the skull which was extracted from it.

We presume that both these specimens display the winter coat of
the animal more or less perfectly developed ; for it is described by
Pallas and Schrenck as being at other times generally red like a fox,
with the back somewhat darker — the hairs being partly white, partly
black, and partly red — with the lips, belly, and inner side of the
limbs white.

This species is subject, like its more southern congener, to great
variations in colour, according to season, locality, and possibly some-
what according to sex.

CTOX ALPINUS.

187

Radde has given careful details as to the exact localities in which he
ascertained that this animal was to be met with. He believes that
it lives by preference in such parts of the mountains as are most
densely covered with forest, and that it only exceptionally frequents
the open steppes. It appears indeed to be very local. It often goes
in troops of from ten to fifteen or even more individuals, led by strong,
fully adult male animals, but is sometimes found solitary — in either case
eagerly hunting the deer, which it will sometimes entirely banish from

Fig. 50.

Fig. 51.

Upper molar teeth of right side. Lower molar teeth of right side.

(Natural size.)

one region to another. It is represented to be a creature both cunning
and swift, and is feared by the hunters, who sometimes seek safety from
it in a tree. The dogs also appear to dread this Dhole, and turn back
from its traces, as if they were those of the tiger. The natives do not
eat its flesh, nor is its fur of any considerable value.

188 THE NOETHEEN DHOLE.

Habitat. Northern Asia, from Siberia southwards at least to the
Altai Mountains, and probably much further south. It is said to
frequent the sources of the Yenisei and the tributaries of the Amur.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 103*3

„ of tail 48-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 22-0

of ear 8*0

Cranial and Dental Characters.

We have noticed no special cranial character other than that the
angle of the mandible is of less massive form than in C. javanicus, and
that the hindmost teeth are relatively larger.

Centimeters.

Length of H* 2'1

M.I 1>5

» JLJ

M.2 0.7

» " •

Breadth of Mil 1>5

„ ^-2 1-0

Length of jo 2'3

» IO 0-9

189

Genus ICTICYON, Lund (1845).

Icticyon, Lund, K. Danske \idenskabernes Selskabs, vol. xi. p. 61

(1845).
Cynalicus, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xvii. p. 293 (1846).

Generic Characters.

Digits 5— 4. Pm. |, M. \. Rarely M. | or j.

Nasals extending backwards about as far as the adjacent portions of
maxillae ; external margin of each rather sigmoid in outline ; face
short ; mandible with a subangular process ; postorbital processes of
both frontals and malars small ; anterior palatine foramina not very
large ; first upper premolar small ; first upper molar subtriangular ; no
second upper molar, or only a minute one ; second lower molar minute
or absent ; limbs short ; tail and ears very short ; ca3cum straight.

190

THE BUSH-DOG.

ICTICYON VENATICUS.

Cynogale venatica, Lund, Blik paa Brasiliens Dyreverden, 4th Afhand-
ling, Kongel. Danske Videnskab. Selskabs, vol. ix. p. 201
(1842).

Icticyon venaticus, Lund, ibid. vol. xi. p. 62, pi. 41 (1845) ; Wagner,
Wiegmann's Archiv, ix. Jahrgang, Bd. i. p. 355 ; Van der
Hoeven, Verhandelingen d. Kon. Akad. van Wetenschap-
pen, Derde Deel, Amsterdam, 1856 ; Burmeister, Fauna
Brasiliens, p. 1, pis. 17-20 (1856) ; id. Thiere Brasiliens,
Theil i. p. 103 (1854) ; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868,
p. 498 ; id. Cat. Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 183 ; Sclater,
Proc. Zool. Soc. 1879, p. 664 j Flower, Proc. Zool. Soc.
1880, p. 70, pi. 10.

Cynalicus melanog aster, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. xvii. p. 293
(1846).

THIS curious and aberrant canine animal was first described by Lund
under a name which was already appropriated to denote an aquatic
member of the Civet family *, so that it must receive the second
generic name imposed on it by the same author. It is an animal of
very considerable antiquity, since remains of the same species have
been obtained from caverns and pleistocene deposits of Brazil ; and yet
it would seem, from its teeth, to be rather a modification of the normal
type of the family than a representative of an ancestral form.
. In external appearance it is at once remarkable from its short limbs,
heel, and ears, its very short tail, its shortened muzzle, and relatively
long body and long and thick neck.

A living specimen in Burmeister's possession was omnivorous, but,

* By Dr. Gray in 1836. For farther information about Cynogale, see our paper on
the ^Eluroidea, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1882, p. 171.

J. G.Keuiema.ns del. eL lith.

THE BUSH DOG.
Icticyon venaticus

ICTICYON VEXATIOUS. 191

as might be expected, preferred raw flesh to vegetable substances, and
drank milk with avidity. It was a bold and determined animal, which
disliked confinement, and gave out a peevish, yelping sound, uttered at
different times in different tones.

Mr. Tinne, who sent a living example to the Zoological Gardens in
1879, has stated his belief that these animals hunt in packs by scent
and are exceedingly savage. They are, he further tells us, rarely seen,
and though taking readily to water, never frequent the low lands on
the coast.

An interesting account of the anatomy of this animal has been given
by Professor Flower *. It is remarkable for its straight ca3cum f, and
for a slight modification in the subdivision of the cerebral convolutions.

Our Plate XLIII. is taken from a specimen in the British Museum.

The colour of this species is generally of a dark brown, but the neck,
shoulders, head, and ears are rusty red. The hind quarters, belly, and
tail are nearly black ; the inner side of the thighs and the hindermost
part of the belly, in the British Museum specimens, are also dark, with
a few whitish hairs on the belly. The irisides of the ears are lighter.
The fore limbs are brownish black both within and without. Burmeister
represents the hinder part of the belly and the inner side of the thighs
of a lighter colour.

Habitat. Brazil and British Guiana.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 65'0

„ of tail 14-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 10*8

„ of ear 2'4

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The most noteworthy character of the skull of this species is the
shortness of the muzzle, which has a much swollen appearance between
anterior margins of the orbits.

* See op. tit.

t See ante, pp. xxviii & xxx, figs. 14, 15, & 16.

192

THE BUSH-DOG.
Fig. 52.

Side view of skull of IciicroN VENATICUS.

Fig. 53.

Fig. 54.

Upper molars (right side). Lower molars (right side).

(All of natural size.)

ICTICYON VENATICUS. 193

The nasals extend backwards about as far as do the nasal processes
of the maxillae, and the outer margin of each nasal is somewhat
sigmoid.

The mandible has a small, subangular process. The teeth are
remarkable for the absence or minute size of the second upper molar,
both above and below. The third upper premolar has its transverse
diameter remarkably large relatively to its antero-posterior extent. In
the skull preserved in the College of Surgeons the second upper molar
is very exceptionally present ; in the skull here figured, which is in
the British Museum, the second lower molar is exceptionally absent.

The two halves of the mandible are anchylosed together.

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrae 10*5

„ dorsal „ 15'5

„ lumbar „ 11'5

„ sacral „ 2'5

„ caudal „ 12'8

Length from atlas to end of sacrum 40 '0

Length of humerus 8'1

„ radius 6'7

„ femur 9*2

„ tibia 8'2

„ index metacarpal . 2 '6

„ third „ 3-1

„ metacarpal of pollex 1'2

„ whole pollex 2*6

„ last phalanx of third digit (manus) .... I'O

„ index metatarsal 2*8

„ third „ 3-3

„ metatarsal of hallux 0'6

„ whole hallux * 0'6

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) 0'9

Basion to ovalion 2'6

„ sphenoideum 3'9

Sphenoideum to gnathion 7 '2

Length of palate 5'5

Breadth of „ 3'6

* The hallux in the specimen examined had no phalanx.

194 THE BUSH-DOG.

Centimeters.

Length of nasals 3*0

Breadth of „ M

„ brain-case 4'5

„ zygomata 6'9

Length of ?ii 0'38

P. 2 n.A

» Ob

PJ? 07

„ ** M

^j 0-6

M.2 r\.f>

„ u^>

Breadthof^if 0'6

„ MJ 0-7

» — — 0'3

Length of jr-j 0'3

PT3 .............. 0-7

P74 .............. 0-7

)> MT2 ..............

Breadth of - .............. 0'40

M.I

50 0-8

195

Genus LYCAON, Brookes (1828).

Lycaon, Brookes, Prodromus Animalium (Brookesian Museum), p. 10
(1828).

Generic Characters.

Digits 4—4. Pm. |, M. \.

Nasals extending backwards about as far as do the orbital processes
of the maxillae ; external margin of each strongly sigmoid in outline ;
face rather short ; palate very broad ; no subangular process ; post-
orbital processes well developed ; anterior palatine foramina very large ;
limbs long ; muzzle short ; coloration very varied ; ears long ; caecum
coiled ; tongue without a lytta.

196

THE HY^INA DOG.

LYCAON PICTUS.

Hy&napictus, Temminck, Ann. Gen. Sc. physiques, vol. iii. p. 54, plate 35

(1820).

Hyaena picta, Kuhl, Beitrage, p. 73.
Hyoena venatica, Burcheirs Travels, vol. i. p. 456, and vol. ii. pp. 99 and

229 (1822).
Canis pictus, Desmarest, Mammalogie, Supplement, p. 538 (1822) ;

Riippell, Atlas, p. 35, plate 12 (1826) ; J. A. Wagner,

Supplement to Schreber's Saugthiere, Abth. ii. p. 439.
Lycaon tricolor, Brookes, Prod. Anim. p. 10 (1828).
Lycaon typicus, A. Smith, S. African Quarterly Journal, vol. ii. (1835)

p. 91.
Lycaon venaticus, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Naturalist's Library, vol. x.

p. 266, plate 24 (1840) ; Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1868,

p. 497; id. Cat. Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 181.
Lycaon pictus, Pagenstecher, Zoologisehe Garten, 1870, pp. 197 and 238

(anatomy) ; Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 373.

THIS animal, as its vernacular name implies, presents a certain resem-
blance to the Hyaena. That resemblance, however, is a merely super-
ficial one, depending on its external markings and its general aspect
alone. In its dentition it is quite dog-like, as is also the form of its
caecum, so that its generic separation from the other Canida depends
mainly on the absence, externally, of the pollex as well as of the hallux.
The species ranges from the vicinity of the Cape through Eastern
Africa to Kordofan. As to its habits, Burchell tells us that it hunts in
regular packs, and that though habitually nocturnal, it nevertheless is often
abroad by day, and is very fleet. Not only sheep but oxen are attacked
by it, the latter being surprised in their sleep and often having the tail
suddenly bitten off. Sir Andrew Smith says that it never barks, but

J. G KeuLemans del . et HtK.

THE HY/ENA DOG
Lycaori pictus .

Mirrf.ern. Bros . imp.

LTCAON PICTUS. 197

gives utterance to a shrill sound resembling ho, bo, ho, ho, ho, ho, — the
sounds tending to run one into the other. This observer entertained
the opinion that there were two distinct species. This we are convinced
is an error ; but the markings of the animal are in no small degree
varied and inconstant.

The animal is said to hunt by scent as well as by sight, but not to
possess the habit of burrowing, so common amongst the Canidce.
Attempts made to tame it in South Africa seem to have been
attended with no success. The individual from which Temminck first
described the species was purchased by him in London.

Several skins and five skulls of this species are preserved in our
National Collection, and one of these skins has served our artist for his
representation in our Plate XLIV.

This species attains the size of a tall greyhound, and its limbs are
long compared with most species of the family. The head is broad and
flat, with a rather short muzzle and large ears. The hairy coat is some-
what scanty.

The colour consists of black, yellowish ochre, grey and white variously
disposed. The general ground-colour is an ochraceous grey, but with
black markings, so that the body and outer sides of the extremities are
blotched and brindled with black intermingled here and there with
white spots edged with black, the markings being very irregular.

The muzzle is black, and a black stripe sometimes, but not always,
passes backwards from between the eyes and ears and along the neck.

The root of the tail is ochraceous, then more or less black, with the
terminal portion white or whitish ; it is rather bushy. The lower parts
and inner sides of the limbs are grey or whitish. The ears are said to
be sometimes more or less naked ; they are more or less black within,
though with some white hairs, while externally they are of an ochre-
colour at their root, above which they may or may not be black. In
the specimen at the British Museum here figured the fore-limbs have
numerous black marks.

Habitat. Africa, south and east of the Sahara.

198 THE HY^NA DOG.

Centimeters.

Length from end of snout to root of tail 112'0

„ of tail 45-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 22'5

„ of ear 12'5

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull is short and thick compared with that of the great majority
of the CanidfE and has a swollen appearance. It somewhat recalls the
aspect of the skull in the genus Cyon, with which it agrees in having

Fig. 55.

Side view of skull of LYCAOKT PICTTJS.

large anterior palatine foramina and a strongly sigmoid external margin
to the nasals, which extend backwards about as far as do the nasal
processes of the maxillae. The more strongly arched zygomata, however,

LTCAON PICTUS. 199

give it a more tiger-like aspect than that presented by the skulls of the

Dholes. The palate is relatively broad. There is no subangular
process.

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrae ]8'0

„ dorsal „ 30*5

„ lumbar „ 21'5

„ sacral „ 4*0

„ caudal „ 36'4

Length from atlas to end of sacrum 74'0

Length of pectoral limb 55'8

„ pelvic „ 64'3

„ humerus 19'0

„ radius 19'1

„ femur 21'5

„ tibia 20-5

„ index metacarpal 6*6

„ third „ 7'4

„ metacarpal of pollex 1'7

„ whole pollex* 1*7

,, last phalanx of third digit (manus) .... 1'4

,, index metatarsal 7'6

third „ 9-0

„ metatarsal of hallux 1*4

„ whole hallux 2'3

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) 1*5

Basion to ovalion . ««*..>•. . t . .- 3'6

„ sphenoideum 5*5

Sphenoideum to gnathion 13'2

Length of palate 9'7

Breadth of „ '. 6'8

Length of nasals 6'7

Breadth of „ 2'7

„ brain-case 6*9

„ zygomata 13*3

Length of EJ: 0-7

IV2 1-0

IV3 v 1-3

P^4 2'0

* There is no phalanx to the pollex.

200 THE HYAENA DOG.

Centimeters.

Length of MJ .............. 1-5

M.2 0.7

}) — .............. u *

Breadth of ^ .............. 0-9

M.I r8

>} — .....

„ Mi_2 .............. i-o

Length of jri .............. 0'6

»t PT2 .............. I'O

» PT3 .............. 1-1

„ P74 .............. 1'3

„ IO ......... ..... 2'5

« SO .............. '

Breadth of 50 ............ • • 1>0

)} JO .............. 0*8

» M73 .............. °'5

201

Genus OTOCYON, Liechtenstein (1838).

Otocyon, Liechtenstein, as referred to in Wiegmann's Archiv fiir Natur-
geschichte, iv. Jahrgang, Bd. i. p. 290 (1838).

Agriodus, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Naturalist's Library, vol. x. p. 258
(1840).

Generic Characters.

Digits 5—4. Pm. |, M. |.

Nasals extending backwards beyond the adjacent portions of the
maxillae ; skull, viewed in profile, showing very little vertical elevation
in the interorbital region ; postorbital processes well developed ; palate
projecting backwards beyond last molars ; mandible with a very large
subangular process and slender horizontal rami ; sectorial teeth relatively
very small, and with small sectorial blades ; ears very large ; caecum
contorted.

202

THE LARGE-EARED CAPE DOG.

OTOCYON MEGALOTIS.

Canis megalotis, Desmarest, Mammalogie, Supplement, p. 538 (1822) ;

A. Smith, South-African Quarterly Journal, vol. ii. p. 90

(1835).

Canis lalandii, Desmoulins, Diet. Class. d'Hist. Nat. vol. iv. p. 18 (1823).
Megalotis lalandii, Gray, Griffith's An. King. vol. ii. p. 372; id. Proc. Zool.

Soc. 1868, p. 523; id. Cat. Carnivorous Mammalia, p. 211.
Otocyon coffer, Lichtenstein, Archiv f. Naturgesch. iv. Jahrgang, Bd. i.

p. 290 (1838) ; J. A. Wagner, Supplement to Schreber's

Saugthiere, Abth. ii. p. 361.
Agriodus auritus, Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Naturalist's Library, vol. x.

p. 260, plate 23 (1840).

THIS animal is by far the most aberrant of all the Canida, not only as
regards the number of its teeth, but also as regards their relative pro-
portions; and, indeed, the lateral aspect of the skull is very different
from that of all the other Canida.

It comes from South Africa, that highly interesting region which has
afforded so many exceptional forms of both animal and vegetal life.
It was discovered there by M. de Lalande, who first sent its relics to
Europe from the Cape of Good Hope.

We have not been able to ascertain any facts concerning its habits
or life-history, except that it has lived in our Zoological Gardens, where
it was shy yet gentle, was fed on raw meat, and slept during a great
part of the day.

It is about the size of a large fox, but stands somewhat higher on
the legs, and has a shorter but equally bushy tail. Its ears are very
large, reminding us of those of Canis zerda, only that they are relatively
broader.

J. G .Kenlemans del. et KtK.

THE LONG-EARED CAPE-DO &
Otocyon megalotis.

MinteiTL Bros . imp.

OTOCYON MEGALOTIS. 203

It is very interesting that, in spite of its singular divergence from the
rest of the Canidte, its caecum is formed completely like that of the
typical Dogs*.

The general colour is a brownish or iron-grey, variegated with
yellow. The upper surface of the head and neck and the shoulders
and outside of the thighs are more slate-colour with black and yellow
intermixed. The throat and breast are occasionally very pale, sometimes
whitish grey, sometimes buff-colour. The outsides of the limbs are
more or less black. The tail is slaty grey, paler beneath, with a black
tip and seme other black marks on its dorsum, or at least many black
hairs forming a longitudinal stripe. The muzzle is blackish, the cheeks
grey. The ears are dark brown externally, bordered with black above,
and the tips are black ; they are bordered with white below, and have
whitish hairs within.

There is, as usual in the Canictce, merely individual .variation. It
may be almost uniformly grey, and it may be of a tint a good deal
lighter than the specimen figured in our Plate XLV., which is one of
those in the British Museum.

Habitat. Southern Africa.

Centimeters.
Length from end of snout to root of tail ..... 56'0

„ of tail 21-0

„ from heel to end of longest digit 12*5

„ of ear 10-0

Cranial and Dental Characters.

The skull of this animal seen dorsally has a considerable resemblance
to that of Canis virginianus f in the shape of the temporal crests and
raised sagittal area. The nasals extend backwards beyond the frontal pro-
cesses of the maxillae, and the postfrontal processes of both the frontals
and malars are well developed. The palate extends backwards beyond
the hindmost molars. The mandible has a very largely developed

* See Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 376.
t See above, p. 89.

2 D2

204 THE LAEGE-EAEED CAPE DOG.

subangular process, and the horizontal rami of the mandible are very
slender.

There are normally three molars in the upper jaw and four in the
lower, but occasionally there are even four molars in the upper jaw.

Fig. 56.

Dorsal aspect of skull of OTOCYON MEGALOTIS.

The fourth upper premolar is relatively very small, and each of the
upper true molars has four cusps and an internal cingulum.

OTOCYON MEGALOTIS.

205

Fig. 57.

Side view of skull of OTOCYON MEGALOTIS.

Fig. 58.

Fig. 59.

Upper molar teeth (right side). Lower molar teeth (right side).

(All of natural size.)

206 THE LONG-EABED CAPE DOG.

The proportion borne by the fourth upper premolar to the first two
upper molars is as 100 to 220.

The less sectorial character of the teeth is very marked, and though
the pattern they follow is the same as in the other Canidte, the smaller
development of the cutting-blades of the sectorial teeth is obvious on
the most cursory examination.

Centimeters.

Length of cervical vertebrae 8*0

„ dorsal „ 12'7

„ lumbar „ 1T1

„ sacral „ T7

„ caudal „ 23'5

Length from atlas to end of sacrum 32' 5

Length of pectoral limb 26 0

„ pelvic „ 34'3

„ humerus 9'0

„ radius 9'4

„ femur 10'9

„ tibia 11-0

„ index metacarpal 3'4r

„ third „ 3-9

„ metacarpal of pollex 0'9

„ whole pollex 2'4 (?)

„ third phalanx of third digit (manus) ... (?)

„ index metatarsal 4'6

„ third „ 5-4

„ metatarsal of hallux 0*8

„ whole hallux 1 -3

„ last phalanx of third digit (pes) 1'2

Basion to ovalion 2*2

„ to sphenoideum 2'9

Sphenoideum to gnathion 7*3

Length of palate 5-2

Breadth of „ 2'3

Length of nasals 3-7

Breadth of „ I-Q

„ brain-case 4-2

„ zygomata 6'2

Length of Zil 0'2

OTOCTON MEGALOTIS. 207

Centimeters.
Length of £_? ......... ..... 0*4

P. 4
M.I

„ .............. 0-45

„ M.8 .............. 0-4

BreadthofL-4 .............. 0'5

M.1 0.7

» — • ........ . . . . . \j i

„ M.2 ...... . ' ....... o-7

„ Mi_3 ..... ....... . . 0-5

Length of jry .............. 0*15

» R2 ........ ...... 0-45

„ PT4 ..... • ......... 0-5

» MTl .......... .... 0-6

„ SO .............. °'5

• - •' .......... °'4

N MT4 ..............

Breadth of .............. 0'4

50 ..............

10 - • • ' .......... °'35

MT4 ..............

INDEX.

Abyssinian Wolf, 18.
Adive, 117.
adusta (Vulpes), 49.
adustus (Canis), 49.
Agouarachay, 67.
Agouara gouazon, 21.
Agoura, 57.
Agriodus auritus, 202.
albus (Canis), 4.

(Lupus), 4.

alopex (Canis), 92.
- (Yulpes), 92.
alpinus (Canis), 186.

(Cuon), 186.

(Cyon), 186.

Animal Anonyme, 147.
Anonyme (Animal), 147.
Antarctic Dog, 27.

Wolf, 27.

antarcticus (Canis), 26.

(Dasicyon), 26.

(Pseudalopex), 26.

anthus (Canis), 41.

(Dieba), 41.

(Lupus), 41.

Arctic Pox, 108.
argentatus (Canis), 92.
Asse Fox, 140.
ater (Lupus), 4.

aureus (Canis), 35.

(Lupus), 35.

(Sacalius), 35.

auritus (Agriodus), 202.
australasise (Canis dingo), 153.
australise (Chryseus), 153.
avus (Canis), xxxviii.
Azara's Dog, 66.
azara? (Canis), 66.

(Cerdocyon), 67.

(Pseudalopex), 67.

barbarus (Sacalius), 41.
bengalensis (Canis), 127.

(Cynalopex), 127.

(Vulpes), 127.

Black-backed Jackal, 45.
borbonicus (Canis), xxxviii.
brachypus (Canis), xxxviii.
brasiliensis (Canis), 57.
brevirostris (Canis), xxxviii.
brucei (Fennecus), 147.
Bush-Dog, 190.

caama (Fennecus), 140.
cadurcensis (Canis), xxxviii.
caffer (Otocyon), 202.
campestris (Canis), 21.
caucrivora (Viverra), 57.

210

INDEX.

cancrivorus (Canis), 57.

- (Thous), 57.
Canis adustus, 49.

nil MIS. 4.

alopex, 92.

— alpinus, 186.

antarcticus, 26.

an thus, 41.

argentatus, 92.

aureus, 35.

— australasije, 153.

avus, xxxviii.

azarae, 66.

bengalensis, 127.

borbonicus, xxxviii.

brachypus, xxxviii.

brasiliensis, 57.

brevirostris, xxxviii.

cadurcensis, xxxviii.

campestris, 21.

cancrivorus, 57.

canus, 132.

cautleyi, xxxviii.

cerdo, 147.

cbama, 140.

— chanco, 3.
chrysurus, 127.

cinereo-argentatus, 85, 104.

corsac, 117.

culpaeus, 52.

cultridens, xxxviii.

curvipalatus, xxxviii.

decussatus, 92.

dingo, 153.

dirus, xxxviii.

dukhunensis, 179.

eckloni, 121.

edwardsianus, xxxviii.

entrerianus, 66.

etruscus, xxxviii.

europseus, xxxviii.

Canis falconeri, xxxviii.

famelicus, 144.

familiaris, 161.

fennecus, 147.

ferrilatus, 121.

filholi, xxxviii.

fossilis, xxxviii.

— frustror, 30.

- fulvicaudus, 67, 76.
fulvipes, 66.

f ulvus, 92.

gracilis, 66.

— griseus, 3, 66, 85.
gypsorum, xxxviii.

— haydenii, xxxviii.

— hercynicus, xxxviii.
himalaicus, 92.

— hodophylax, 3.

indianensis, xxxviii.

indicus, 127.

isatis, 108.

issiodorensis, xxxviii.

javanicus, 179.

jubatus, 21.

karagan, 117.

- kokree, 127.
lagopus, 108.

- lalandii, 202.

— lateralis, 49.

— latrans, 30.

leucopus, 123.

lupaster, 41.

lupus, 3.

— lycaon, 4.

lycodes, xxxviii.

magellanicus, 52.

— megalotis, 202.
melampus, 57.

melanotis, 57.

melanotus, 117.

inesomelas, 45.

INDEX.

211

Canis mexicanus, 3.

microtis, 62.

microtus, 104.

nemesianus, xxxviii.

neschersensis, xxxviii.

niger, 4.

niloticus, 92.

nubilus, 3.

occidentalis, 3.

ochropus, 31.

oeningensis, xxxviii.

palseolycos, xxxviii.

paUidus, 142.

pallipes, 3.

palustris, xxxviii.

parisiensis, xxxviii.

parvidens, 76.

— patagonicus, 66.

— pictus, 196.

primaevus, 179.

procyonoides, 134,

projubatus, xxxviii.

robustior, xxxviii.

robustus, xxxviii.

rudis, 57.

rufescens, 127.

rutilans, 179.

ssevus, xxxviii.

simensis, 18.

sussii, xxxviii.

syriacus, 35.

temerarius, xxxviii.

— : — troglodytes, xxxviii.

uroatictus, 31.

validus, xxxviii.

variabilis, 3.

variegatus, 41.

velox, 104.

vetulus, 66, 76.

virginianus, 85.

viverroides, xxxviii.

Canis vulpes, 92.

vulpes montana, 92.

wheelerianus, xxxviii.

zerda, 147.

canus (Canis), 132.

(Vulpes), 132.

Cape Dog (The Large-eared), 202.
Carasissi, 57.
cautleyi (Canis), xxxviii.
cerdo (Canis), 147.

(Megalotis), 147.

Cerdocyon azarse, 67.

magellanicus, 52.

Chacal, 35.

d'Alger, 41.

chama (Canis), 140.
chanco (Canis), 3.
Chien des bois, 57.

de la Nouvelle Hollands, 153.

Chryseus australise, 153.
Chrysocyon jubatus, 21.

latrans, 30.

chrysurus (Canis), 127.
cinereo-argentatus (Canis), 85, 104.

(Vulpes), 104.

Colishe, 85.
Colpeo, 52.
Common Fox, 92.

Wolf, 3.

corsac (Canis), 117.

(Cynalopex), 117.

- (Vulpes), 117.
Corsac Fox, 117.
Coyote, 30.

crucigera (Vulpes), 92.
culpaeus (Canis), 52.
cultridens (Canis), xxxviii.
Cuon alpinus, 186.

dukhunensis, 179.

primasvus, 179.

rutilans, 179.

2E 2

212

Cuon sumatrensis, 179.
eurvipalatus (Canis), xxxviii.
Cynalicus melanogaster, 190.
Cynalopex bengalensis, 127.

corsac, 117.

ferrilatus, 121.

Cynogale venatica, 190.
('yon alpinus, 186.

dukhunensis, 179.

javanicus, 179.

primsevus, 179.

rutilans, 179.

Dasicyon antarcticus, 26.
decussatus (Canis), 92.
Desert Fox, 123.
Dhole (The Northern), 186.

(The Southern), 179.

Dieba an thus, 41.
dingo (Canis), 153.
Dingo (The), 153.
dims (Canis), xxxviii.
Dog (Antarctic), 27.

(Azara's), 66.

(Bush), 190.

(Domestic), 161.

(Hyaena), 196.

(Magellanic), 52.

(Raccoon-like), 134.

- (Small-toothed), 76.
-(Striped-tailed), 81.

(The Small-eared), 62.

Domestic Dog, 161.
dukhunensis (Canis), 179.

- (Cuon), 179.
(Cyon), 179.

eckloni (Canis), 121.
edwardsi (Vulpes), 142.
edwardsianus (Canis), xxxviii.
cntrerianus (Canis), 66.

INDEX.

etruscus (Canis), xxxviii.
europseus (Canis), xxxviii.

falconeri (Canis), xxxviii.
famelicus (Canis), 144.
familiaris (Canis), 161.

- Dingo (Canis), 153.
Fennec, 147.

(Eiippell's), 144.

(True), 147.

Fennecus brucei, 147.

caama, 140.

— pallidus, 142.

zoarensis, 147.

fennecus (Canis), 147.
ferrilatus (Canis), 121.

- (Cynalopex), 121.

(Vulpes), 121.

filholi (Canis), xxxviii.
flavescens (Vulpes), 93.
fossilis (Canis), xxxviii.
Fox (Arctic), 108.

- (Asse), 149.

(Common), 92.

(Corsac), 117,

(Desert), 123.

- (Grey), 85.

(Hoary), 132.

(Indian), 127.

- (Pale), 142.

- (The Kit), 104.

- (Thibetan), 121.
frustror (Canis), 30.
fulvicaudus (Canis), 67, 76.
fulvipes (Canis), 66.
fulvus (Canis), 92.

- (Vulpes), 93.

gracilis (Canis), 66.
Grey Fox, 85.
griffithii (Vulpes), 123.

INDEX.

213

griseus (Canis), 3, 66, 85.

(Lupus), 3.

(Vulpes), 66.

gypsorum (Canis), xxxviii.

haydenii (Canis), xxxviii.
hercynicus (Canis), xxxviii.
himalaicus (Canis), 92.
Hoary Fox, 132.
hodgsoni (Vulpes), 127.
hodophylax (Canis), 3.
hoole (Vulpes), 93.
Hyaena Dog, 196.

pictus, 196.

venatica, 196.

Icticyon venaticus, 190.
Indian Fox, 127.

Jackal, 35.

indianensis (Canis), xxxviii.
indicus (Canis), 127.

(Oxygous), 35.

isatis (Canis), 108.
issiodorensis (Canis), xxxviii.

Jackal (Black-backed), 45.

(Indian), 35.

(North- African), 41.

(The Side-striped), 49.

japonica (Vulpes), 93.
javanicus (Cyon), 179.
jubatus (Canis), 21.
(Chrysocyon), 21.

karagan (Canis), 117.
Kit Fox, 104.
kokree (Canis), 127.

L'Adive, 117.
L'Agouarachay, 67.
L'Agoura, 57.

lagopus (Canis), 108.

(Leucocyon), 108.

— - (Vulpes), 108.
lalandii (Canis), 202.

- (Megalotis), 202.
laniger (Lupus), 3.
Large-eared Cape Dog, 202.
lateralis (Canis), 49.
latrans (Canis), 30.

(Chrysocyon), 30.

(Lyciscus), 30.

Leucocyon lagopus, 108.
leucopus (Canis), 123.

(Vulpes), 123.

lineiventer (Vulpes), 93.

L'Isatis, 108.

littoralis (Urocyon), 85.

(Vulpes), 85.

Loup (le), 4.
Loup-renard, 27.
lupaster (Canis), 41.
Lupus albus, 4.

an thus, 41.

ater, 4.

aureus, 35.

griseus, 3.

laniger, 3.

sticte, 3.

vulgaris, 3.

lupus (Canis), 3.
Lycaon venaticus, 196.

pictus, 196.

tricolor, 196.

typicus, 196.

lycaon (Canis), 4.
Lyciscus latrans, 30.
lycodes (Canis), xxxviii.

macrurus (Vulpes), 93.
Magellanic Dog, 52.
magellanicus (Canis), 52.

214

INDEX.

magellanicus (Cerdocyon), 52.

(Pseudalopex), 52.

Maned Wolf, 21.
Megalotis cerdo, 147.

lalandii, 202.

zerda, 147.

megalotis (Canis), 202.

(Otocyon), 202.

melampus (Canis), 57.
melanogaster (Cynalicus), 190;

(Vulpes), 93.

melanotis (Canis), 57.
melanotus (Canis), 117.
mesomelas (Canis), 45.

(Thous), 45.

(Vulpes), 45.

mexicanus (Canis), 3.
microtis (Canis), 62.
microtus (Canis), 104.
minimus zoarensis (Vulpes), 147.
montana (Vulpes), 92.
montanus (Vulpes), 92.

nemesianus (Canis), xxxviii.
neschersensis (Canis), xxxviii.
niger (Canis), 4.
niloticus (Canis), 92.
nipalensis (Vulpes), 93.
North- African Jackal, 41.
Northern Dhole, 186.
nubilus (Canis), 3.
Nyctereutes procyonoides, 134.

viverrinus, 134.

occidentalis (Canis), 3.
ochropus (Canis), 31.
03ningensis (Canis), xxxviii.
Otocyon caffer, 202.

megalotis, 202.

Oxygb'us indicus, 35.
Oztuhua, 85.

paleeolycos (Canis), xxxviii.
Pale Fox, 142.
pallidus (Canis), 142.

(Fennecus), 142.

pallipes (Canis), 3.
palustris (Canis), xxxviii.
parisiensis (Canis), xxxviii.
parvidens (Canis), 76.
pennsylvanica (Vulpes), 93.
persicus (Vulpes), 123.
pictus (Canis), 396.

(Hyaena), 196.

(Lycaon), 196.

Prairie-Wolf, 30.
primaevus (Canis), 179.
(Cuon), 179.

- (Cyon), 179.
procyonoides (Canis), 134.

(Nyctereutes), 134.

projubatus (Canis), xxxviii.
Pseudalopex antarcticus, 26.
azarae, 67.

magellanicus, 52.

pusillus (Vulpes), 123.

Raccoon-like Dog, 134.
Eenard, 93.

- blanc, 108.
robustior (Canis), xxxviii.
robustus (Canis), xxxviii.
rudis (Canis), 57.
rufescens (Canis), 127.
RuppelTs Fennec, 144.
rutilans (Cauis), 179.
(Cuon), 179.

- (Cyon), 179.

Sacalius aureus, 35.

barbarus, 41.

ssevus (Canis), xxxviii.
Side-striped Jackal, 49.

INDEX.

215

Simenia simensis, 18.
simensis (Canis), 18.
Small-eared Dog, 62.
Small-toothed Dog, 76.
Southern Dhole, 179.
sticte (Lupus), 3.
Striped-tailed Dog, 81.
sumatrensis (Cuon), 179.
sussii (Canis), xxxviii.
syriacus (Canis), 35.

temerarius (Canis), xxxviii.
Thibetan Fox, 121.
Thous cancrivorus, 57.

mesomelas, 45.

Tigrillo, 85.
tricolor (Lycaon), 196.
troglodytes (Canis), xxxviii.
True Fennec, 147.
typicus (Lycaon), 196.

Urocyon littoralis, 85.

virginianus, 85.

urostictus (Canis), 81.
Utah (Vulpes), 93.

validus (Canis), xxxviii.
variabilis (Canis), 3.
variegatus (Canis), 41.
velox (Canis), 104.

(Vulpes), 104.

venatica (Cynogale), 190.

(Hyaena), 196.

venaticus (Icticyon), 190.

(Lycaon), 196.

vetulus (Canis), 66, 76.
virginianus (Canis), 85.

(Urocyon), 85.

(Yulpes), 85.

Viverra cancrivora, 57.

viverrinus (Nyctereutes), 134.
viverroides (Canis), xxxviii.
vulgaris (Vulpes), 92.
Vulpes adusta, 49.

alopex, 92.

bengalensis, 127.

canus, 132.

cinereo-argentatus, 104.

corsac, 117.

crucigera, 92.

edwardsi, 142.

ferrilatus, 121.

flavescens, 93.

— fulvus, 93.
- grifflthii, 123.

griseus, 66.

hodgsoni, 127.

hoole, 93.

japonica, 93.

lagopus, 108.

leucopus, 123.

lineiventer, 93.

littoralis, 85.

macrurus, 93.

melanogaster, 93.

raesomelas, 45.

minimus zoarensis, 147.

montanus, 92.

nipalensis, 93.

pennsylvanica, 93.

persicus, 123.

pusillus, 123.

velox, 104.

virginianus, 85.

vulgaris, 92.

Utah, 92.

xanthura, 127.

vulpes (Canis), 92.

wheelerianus (Canis), xxxviii.
Wolf (Abyssinian), 18.

216

INDEX.

Wolf (Antarctic), 26.
- (Common), 3.

- (Maned), 21.

- (Prairie), 30.

xanthura (Vulpes), 127.

Zerda, 147.
zerda (Canis), 147.

- (Megalotis), 147.
zoarensis (Vulpes minimus), 147.

(Fennecus), 147.

Zorro, 85.

THE END.

US17BRSITT

PRINTED Br XAYLOK AND PKANCIS, RED LION COUET, FLEET STREET.

JUL 1 4 1986

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Full text of "Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes : a monograph of the Canidae"

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