ARKIV FÖR ZOOLOm. 



BAND 10. N:o 21. 



A renuarkatole occurrence of tlie flrst liind toe 

 iu the Commoii Fox (Viilpes vtilpes). 



By 



EINAR LÖNNBERG. 



With 2 Figures in the text. 

 Read Juni 7th 1916. 



It is a well known fact that the first hind toe is comple- 

 tely missing in all wild ^ representatives of the family Canidce, 

 and in one genus the most swift running Lycaon, the first 

 toe of the före feet as well has disappeared. As a rule all 

 CanidcB, Wolves, Jaokals, Foxes etc. have not even a rudi- 

 ment of the first hind toe and its phalanges, the only trace 

 of the orojan being a small piece of the proximal part of the 

 first metatarsal which is often united with the second meta- 

 tarsal and serves as insertion point to the mvsculus tihialis 

 anticus. 



It was thiis with some astonishment that I received 

 news a couple of years ago that a Fox with »spurs» (the 

 rudiments of the first hind toe in dögs are known by that 

 name among sportsmen) had been shot in Upland. Un- 

 fortunately the animal was skinned on the spöt, and the 

 carcass thrown awav, so that the skeleton was löst. I sup- 



^ The condition found in some domestic races of dögs will be dis- 

 cussed later on. 



ArJciv för zoologi. Band 10. N:o 21. 1 



