MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



69 



rend die beiden iibrigeii ^lurodo n-Arten sich hocbst wabrscheinlich als Vor- 

 laufer der Hyaiieii erwei^un weitleii." (Beitr. z. Palauiit. Oesterr. Uugarns, 

 Bd. VIII. p. 252.) 



In tbese sttitements Scblosser has been misled by the fact that the specimen 

 of yElurodon sceinis which was figured b}' Cope is very old, and the teeth so 

 much worn duwu tliat the anterior lobe of the upper sectorial is hardly distin- 

 guishaljle. The specimens belore us demonstrate clearly that Cope's reference 

 of the species is correct, and that ^-S". JFhecleriunus and hycrnoidcs cannot be 

 generically distinguished from it. The only characters of AHlurodon which in 

 any way resemble those of the hysenas are (1) the massive premolars, (2) the 

 presence of an anteiior basal cusp cm the upper sectorial, and (3) the reduction 

 (in some species) of the postero-internal cusp of the lower sectorial. These 

 resemblances are obviously merely analogical, and are of far less importance 

 than the characters of the skull and limbs, which are distinctively cy;ioid. 

 These animals are genuine dogs, if somewhat peculiarly modified, and to regard 

 them as ancestors of the hyaenas is to ignore the close connection between the 

 latter and the \'-iverrines, besides being improbable on geographical grounds. 



CANIS. 



? Canis vafer, Leidt. 



This small alopecoid is represented in the collection by a mandible with 

 broken teeth and some other fragments. It agrees almost exactly with Leidy's 

 type {op. cit., Plate I. fig. 11), except that the diastema between the canine and 

 pni. 1 is shorter. The small size of the sectorial places the specie.-, in the mi- 

 crodont division of the alopecoid series. M. 2 is very elongate anter.)- posteriorly, 

 and m. 3 is implanted by two fangs. The mandible is very slender, much 



Figure 3. — ? Cams w/er X J. A. First superior molar ; B. Mandible. 



curved, and non-lobate. The first upper nudar is nearly quadrate in shape, the 

 metaconule being almost as large as the protocone, and placed upon nearly the 

 same antero-posterior line. The cingulum is internally very greatly enlarged 

 and thickened, and is disposed symmetrically around the inner side of the 

 crown, instead of being confined to the postero-internal angle, as is usual 

 among the recent Canidoe. 



