SKELETON OF CARNIVOliA. 503 



for it to cover in completing the cranial walls. In some Viver- 

 rines {Ichneumon, Mangusta), the orbital processes of the frontal 

 and malar meet and circumscribe the rim of the orbit. 



In the Common Fox ( Canis Vulpes), the paroccipital is tri- 

 angular, and applied to the back part of the acoustic bulla, but is 

 smaller and thicker than in the Viverrines^ and stands off more 

 from the bulla. The alisphenoid articulates with the parietal. 

 The interparietal, which has anchylosed with the superoccipital, 

 penetrates the posterior interspace of the parietals. The nasal 

 processes of the maxillaries are truncate, and terminate on the 

 same transverse line as the nasals. The maxillaries directly 

 articulate mth the middle part of the nasals below the bony ten- 

 torium, which appears to be developed from the superoccipital. 



The skull of the Wolf ( Canis Lujjus), as of the Jackal ( Canis 

 aureus'), diifers from that of the Fox in the median depression 

 and transverse convexity of the frontal region produced by the 

 bending down of the postorbital processes ; in the greater pos- 

 terior extension of the nasals, as compared with the maxillaries ; 

 and in the encroachment of the lacrymal on the face. The frontal 

 bones of the Wolf preserve a more uniform breadth than in the 

 Jackal, being less expanded posteriorly where they join the 

 parietals. The short and wide meatus auditorius terminates 

 obliquely in the tympanic bulla. The base of the zygomatic 

 process is pierced by a vertical venous canal. 



Like the Jackal and Wolf, the Dingo {Canis Australis) differs 

 from the Fox in the greater transverse convexity of the frontals, 

 especially opposite the postorbital processes, and in the greater 

 longitudinal depression between the frontals ; in the greater 

 posterior extension of the nasals, as compared with the maxil- 

 laries ; and in the encroachment of the lacrymal bone upon 

 the face. In a comparison of the skull with that of the 

 Marsupial Carnivore ( Thylacinus Harrisii) from the same part 

 of the world, which equals the Dingo in size, the most 

 striking difference is the comparative superiority of the cere- 

 bral cavity in the wild Dog, and of the olfactory cavity in the 

 Thylacine, the proportions being reversed in the two speci- 

 mens. The superoccipital overhangs the foramen magnum in 

 the Dog, but is on the same vertical plane with it in the 

 Thylacine. The paroccipitals are more compressed in the Thy- 

 lacine, and their base is not applied to the acoustic bulla, Avluch is 

 of much smaller size and formed exclusively by the alisphenoid, 



* The extinct p;enus Galecynus of the CEuingcu niioceiie indicates the transition 

 from Viverra to Canis, civ. p. 55. 



