MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 100 



inseparable. I have already shown that the characters used for their sepa- 

 ration are by no means reliable. Concerning the Greenland reindeer, Mr. 

 Robert Brown, in a recent valuable paper on the Mammals of Greenland,* 

 says, "that after very excellent opportunities of comparison and study," 

 he considers " the Greenland reindeer only a climatic variety of the Eu- 

 ropean species. I have, moreover," he adds, " seen specimens of reindeer 

 horns from Greenland, which could not be distinguished from European, 

 and vict vi rsa. On the whole, however, there is a slight variation." 



As I have previously remarked, I see no good reason why all may not be 

 considered as one species, within which may be distinguished several quite 

 well-marked geographical races. 



In relation to other facts, the differences in size presented by the two 

 races of American reindeer, the woodland and the Barren Ground, be- 

 comes extremely interesting ; for, supposing them to form one species, as 

 there seems to be little reason to doubt, the variation in this respect 

 is directly the reverse, of that ordinarily presented by individuals of the 

 same species from localities differing considerably in latitude ; the general 

 law being an increase in size at the northward. But here there is a 

 marked decrease. It is yet not quite exceptional, as a point is reached 

 in the habitat of the non-migratory circumpolar species, where the rigor 

 of the climate, and the consequent altered conditions of life, seem un- 

 favorable to a maximum development of the animal. This is exempli- 

 fied by the small stature att lined by the circumpolar tribes of men, as the 

 Esquim mx of Greenland and of the north of America, and the Laplanders 

 of the Old World. The common wolf (Cams lupus) has its smaller 

 northern form, which, in America at least, occupies the Barren Grounds 

 and the region northwards to the Arctic coast, and which differs quite 

 positively from its more southern relatives.! 



A smaller circumpolar Arctic form of the fox has long been recognized, dif- 

 fering in color, in size, and in the texture of its fur from the common species 

 (Vulpes vulgaris and V. fulvus a net.). And there is a well-known corre- 

 sponding race of bears, commonly referred to the Ursus arclos, which in 

 America pass almost insensibly into the more southern and larger Ursus 

 liorribilis. Whether this decrease in size in the extreme boreal regions 



* Proc. Lond. Zobl. Soc, 1868, Part II, p. 352. 



t "Ot this species ( Canis gi'isco-albus Rich.) I consider that there are two varieties, 

 one of which is of a dark color and large size, inhabiting the wooded portions of the 

 [Mackenzie's River] District as far north as the Youcon River. The other is usually 



of a dirty white tint, with, in general, a dawk stripe down the back, and frequents the 

 Barren rounds northwards to the Arctic coast. I; is of smaller size than the first- 

 mentioned variety, and lives in much larger hands ; indeed, it may possibly be a distinct 

 species." — B. R. Ross, Nat. Hist. Rev., July, lbG2, p. 271. 



