ALLEN: DOGS OF THE AMERICAN ABORIGLNES. 481 



given to this breed, although lately it has been taken up by dog fan- 

 ciers. LeConte, in 1856, calls it the Comanche Dog, and says it is 

 common among the Indians of that tribe, but, " though some of these 

 dogs ha^■e been brought within the United States, we have no descrip- 

 tion of them." Packard (1885) mentions seeing one in his visit to 

 Mexico, but they were apparently uncommon. In a recent letter 

 from Mr. Arthur Stockdale, he states that in Mexico ( 'ity they are 

 now considered somewhat of a rarity, though said to be common in 

 Chihuahua, where however, little attention is paid them. 



There is some evidence that they do not breed readily with normally 

 haired dogs, yet such crosses have been made, and curiously the result 

 seems to be that about 50% of the young are naked or practically so, 

 the other 50% fully haired. Stockdale (1917) records such a litter 

 consisting of two puppies, one hairless, the other normal. Kohn 

 (1911) records a mating of a Hairless Dog with a Fox-terrier, the four 

 offspring of which comprised two naked and two completely-haired 

 dogs. His microscopic study of the skin of the Hairless Dog indicates 

 that its character is that of a young embryo's, whence it may be that 

 the hairless character is merely the retention of the embryonic condi- 

 tion, just as the short-nosed skull of the Japanese I^ap-dog seems to 

 be a case of the retention of the embryonic proportions of the skull. 



As to the origin of this breed, it is most likely a variant of the larger 

 type of Indian Dog, in which the hairlessness is due to a retention of 

 the emljryonic condition of the skin, precluding hair development, 

 just as the short-nosed Ijreeds of dogs are the result of the failure of 

 the facial bones to attain full growth. 



I have unfortunately l)een unable to obtain skulls for comparison. 



Small Indl\n Dog or Techichi. 

 Plate 10. 



1788. Cains familiaris americatiws Gmelin, Linn6's Syst. nat., ed. 13, 1, 



pt. 1, p. 66 (in part). 

 1792. Canis americanus ■plancus Kerr, Animal kingdom, 1, p. 136 (based on 



the Techichi of Hernandez). 



1840. fCanis alco Hamilton Smith, Jardine's Nat. library. Mammalia, 10, 

 p. 135, pi. 4, left-hand fig. 



1841. ? Canis familiaris cayemietisis Blainville, Osteographie. Atlas, ]:>!. 7^ 

 1867. Canis caraibaeus, hernandesii Fitzinger, Sitzb. K. akad. wiss., Wien, 



56, pt. 1, p. 498. 

 1882. .'Canis ffibbus Duges, La naturaleza, 5, p. 14, fig. 1-3. .,,. 



