488 ZOOLOGY. 



ever, more intimately related to Canidse by the whole of its dentition. 

 This genus contains two species, both from the tertiary beds of France ; 

 therefore, as far as hitherto known, a European type. 



The genus Abathmodon, from Brazil, will j^erhaps go to the group of 

 Viverridae, after a more complete study of its remains, or indicate a synthe- 

 tical type of both Viverrini and Canini. A single species was found in the 

 caverns. 



The genera Galeotherium, Harpogodon^ Agnotherium, a|id Machairodus, 

 from the teai^ry deposits of the Old World, have not j-et a fixed place in 

 the system.^lrhey will prove to be either viverrines or canines. i 



We come now to the living fauna of the family. 



The genus Canis would include all the species of the family, so uniform 

 are they in general form and structure. Nevertheless, for systematic con- 

 venience they are subdivided, the name of Cams being applied more parti- 

 cularly to the dogs, that of Lupus to the wolves, and that of Vidpes to the 

 foxes. The dogs and wolves resembling each other more than the foxes, 

 we shall leave them in the same genus, and mention first the domestic dog, 

 G. famiUaris {pi. 11%, fig. 12), and quote Cuvier on this subject. "He is 

 distinguished by his recurved tail, otherwise varying infinitely as to the 

 size, form, color, and quality of the hair. He is the most complete, singular, 

 and useful conquest ever made by man. The whole species has become 

 his property ; each individual is devoted to his particular master, assumes 

 his manners, knows and defends his possessions, and remains his true and 

 faithful friend till death ; and all this, neither from constraint nor want, but 

 solely from the purest gratitude and the truest friendship. The swiftness, 

 strength, and scent of the dog have rendered him man's powerful ally 

 against all other animals, and were even perhaps necessary to the estab- 

 lishment of society. Of all animals, he is the only one which has followed 

 man through every region of the globe. 



" Some naturalists think the dog is a domesticated jackal, and yet those 

 dogs which have become wild again in desert islands resemble neither the 

 one nor the other. The wild dogs, and those that belong to savages, such 

 as the inhabitants of New Holland, have straight ears, which has occasioned 

 a belief that the European races which approach the most to the original 

 type are the shepherd's dog, C. famiUaris pastoreus [pi. 114, fig. 9), and 

 the wolf dog ; but the comparison of the crania indicates a closer affinity in 

 th^ mastiff and Danish dog, subsequently to which come the hound, the 

 pointer, and the terrier, differing mnongst themselves only in size and in 

 the proportion of the limbs. The greyhound, G.fam. lejjorarius {pi. 116, 

 fig. 14), is longer and more lank, its frontal sinuses are smaller, and its 

 scent weaker. The shepherd's dog and wolf dog resume the straight ears 

 of the wild ones, with a greater cerebral development, which continues to 

 increase together with the intelligence in the barbet and the spaniel. The 

 bull-dog, G.fam. molossus {pi. 116, fig. 13), on the other hand, is remarkable 

 for the shortness and strength of his jaws. The small pet dogs, the pugs, 

 spaniels, shocks, &c., are the most degenerate productions, and exhibit the 

 most striking marks of that power to which man subjects all nature." 

 C92 



