THE PEDIGREE OF THE DOG 199 



First of all we may dismiss the rare South American 

 bush-dog (Speoihos), which is a small somewhat fox-like 

 creature with a short tail and teeth of a quite peculiar 

 type. Equally far removed from the line are the long- 

 eared Cape fox {Otocyon) and the African hunting-dog 

 {Lycaon), the former having more teeth than the domes- 

 ticated breeds, while the latter has fewer toes. Next we 

 may eliminate the wild dogs of Asia, which are frequently 

 separated from the other members of the family under 

 the name of Cyon^ as all these have one pair less of 

 cheek-teeth in the lower jaw, and therefore obviously can- 

 not be the ancestral stock, as an organ once lost cannot 

 be replaced. Rather nearer to the domesticated races are 

 the foxes and fennecs {Vulpes), exclusive of the South 

 American species commonly so called. But if we examine 

 the skull of the British or any other species of true fox, 

 an important difference will be found between it and the 

 skull of any domesticated dog, wolf, or jackal. This 

 difference is best displayed in the shape of the projecting 

 process of bone forming the hinder border of the socket of 

 the eye ; this process in a fox being distinctly concave, 

 whereas in all the others it is highly convex. 



We thus arrive at the conclusion that the only existing 

 members of the family that can possibly be the ancestors 

 of the domesticated breeds are wolves, jackals, the Aus- 

 tralian dingo, and certain South American species which, 

 although commonly termed foxes, are really more closely 

 allied to the jackals and wolves ; and it is further obvious 

 that the only extinct species which can claim a place in the 

 line of descent are those having skulls and teeth of the 

 wolf t3'pe — in other words, species of the genus Canis in 

 its restricted sense. 



Before proceeding farther, it may be mentioned in con- 



