APRIL, 1914. MAMMALS OF NORTHERN PERU OSGOOD 173 



coyote. The smaller animal, currently known as Cams griseus, has 

 been reported frequently from localities well to the northward in Chile, 

 Bolivia, and southern Peru and is represented by a desert form, Can-is 

 sechurcB, on the northern coast of Peru ; but the larger one, usually called 

 Canis magellanicus, has been regarded as chiefly southern in distribution 

 and the most northerly record has been that of the valley of Copiapo in 

 north central Chile where Darwin found it some seventy-five years ago. 

 It was with some surprise, therefore, that I received reports in northern 

 Peru of a zorro del monte or lobo delmonte said to be much larger than the 

 well known small fox of the coast region. Later I saw its tracks in 

 several localities between Cajamarca and Moyobamba and once near 

 Molinopampa at about 9,000 ft. altitude I succeeded in trapping one of 

 the animals only to have it pull out and escape as I approached the trap. 



Through the courtesy of Mr. E. W. Nelson, I have been privileged 

 recently to examine a specimen of a small wolf collected for the U. S. 

 Biological Survey in Chosica Canyon, west of Lima, Peru, by Dr. C. H. 

 Tyler Townsend. This specimen appears to represent a slightly differ- 

 entiated subspecies of the Chilean Culpeo or Magellanic Wolf. It 

 seems probable, moreover, that Hilzheimer's name Canis reissii should 

 be used for this northern form although neither description nor figure 

 make this wholly conclusive. If this be the case, it should be called 

 Canis culp&us reissi since Molina's name culpoeus 1 has many years prior- 

 ity over magellanicus , 2 the name current for the southern form. Molina 

 had no type and fails to mention a definite locality but his description is 

 adequate and plainly refers to the animal of central and southern Chile 

 where the vernacular name culpeu was and probably still is in use. All 

 authors thus far who have made comparison of the animal of central 

 Chile with that of the extreme south have concluded them to be identi- 

 cal. Therefore, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, it seems 

 necessary to regard magellanicus as a synonym of culpaus. Gray's 

 type of magellanicus was from Port Famine which is on the continental 

 side of the Straits, not on Tierra del Fuego as stated by Mivart. 3 The 

 form inhabiting the island of Tierra del Fuego, if distinct from that of 

 the mainland, will take the name Canis lycoides Philippi. 4 



As represented by the Peruvian specimen before me, the northern 

 form differs from typical culp&us in slightly smaller size, richer color, 



1 Saggio Storia Nat. Chile, p. 293, 1782. I have seen only the second edition and 

 a translation of this work. 



2 Gray, Charlesw. Mag. Nat. Hist., I, p. 578, Nov., 1837. 



3 Monogr. Canidae, p. 53, 1890. 



4 Anales. Univ. Chile, p. 4 (author's ed.), Oct., 1896. 



