43. Yellowish, heavily marked with small black spots, which are often grouped 



to form rosettes; total length of adult about six feet 



Felis hernandesii (Gray) Jaguar, American Leopard 

 Yellowish to gray, heavily marked with dark blotches, bars or rings; about 



three feet long 



Fell's ^ardalis griffithii (Fischer) Ocelot 



44. Total length usually less than three and one-half feet; pupil of eye eb 



liptical; upper incisors without definite sides lobes at the level of the 

 gums Foxes 45. 



Total length usually more than three and one-half feet; pupil of eye round; 

 upper incisors with definite side lobes at the level of the gums Wolves 

 and Coyotes 49. 



45. Tail without under fur; long hairs of tail coarse; back usually grizzled 



gray and black; generally distributed 



Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Schreber) Gray Fox 

 Tail with dense, soft under fur; long hairs of tail silky; back usually red- 

 dish or brownish-yellow, sometimes black or black, tipped with white 46. 



46. Tail white-tipped; total length of adult about three and one-half feet 47. 

 Tail with a black or very dark brown tip; total length seldom as much 



as three feet 48. 



47. Legs largely black; generally distributed 



Vulpes fulva (Desmarest) Common Red Fox 

 (Several subspecies, including macroura Baird, necator Merriam 

 and cascddensis Merriam.) 

 Feet black; legs dark buff; northern plains 



Vulpes regalis Merriam Northern Plains Red Fox 

 (Now considered to be a subspecies of the preceding.) 



48. Ears moderately large; in the western plains 



Vulpes velox (Say) Kit Fox, Prairie Fox 

 Ears about as long as face; along the western Mexican border 

 Vulpes macrotis Merriam Long-eared Kit Fox 



49. Under fur of back reddish-brown; total length less than four feet; weight 



thirty-five to forty pounds; central and western states 

 Cams latrans Say Prairie Wolf, Coyote 

 (Many intergrading subspecies, including lestes Merriam, estor 

 Merriam and ochropus Eschscholtz,) 

 Under fur of back grayish-brown; total length over four feet; weight 

 sixty to one hundred pounds; formerly generally distributed, but now 

 mostly in the western states 50. 



50. Sides mostly grayish; often reaching six feet; first upper molar with ob- 



scure basal ridge on outer side and with outer posterior cusp scarcely 

 smaller than outer anterior cusp; formerly generally distributed 

 Cams lupus Linn. Gray or Timber Wolf 

 (Many intergrading subspecies, including lycaon Schreber, 

 gigas (Townsend) and nuhilus Say) 

 Sides mostly rusty; size smaller, not over five and one-half feet in total 

 length; first molar in upper jaw with pronounced basal ridge on outer 



496 



