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September 11 th, 183S. 

 Lieut. Col. Sykes, in the Chair. 



Some notes were read by the Chairman upon three skins of digi- 

 tigrade carnivora, w'hich were on the table for exhibition : one of 

 these was a beautiful skin of the Aguara Guazu of Azara, {Canis 

 jubatus, Desm.) and the other two, those of the Felis Pardina, Temm., 

 in an adult and nonadult statė. Respecting the first of these Col. 

 Sykes offered the following observations : 



" Azara in his preliminary notices of the two species oi Canis, C. ju- 

 batus and C. Azara, says, I prefer for the family the Sp&nish names 

 of Zorro or Fox to the Guaranese name Aguara, vrhich also means 

 fox ; and he accordingly heads the notices with the words ' Zorros 

 or Foxes.' The C. jubatus, measuring 5 feetto the tail, and the tail 

 of which is 19 inches, is certainly a Brobdignag Fox. I mention 

 this circumstance in illustration of the fact, that Azara, in his classi- 

 fication, appears to have overlooked analogies. And this remissness 

 I hope wili authorize me, without the imputation of presumption, in 

 venturing upon the remarks I am about to make. 



" The skin I put before the Societj'^ is that of Azara.' s Canis jubatus, 

 and as it and a fellcw skin in my possession are the only specimens of 

 the kind in England (indeed I believe there are only two other speci- 

 mens in Europe, one in Paris, the other in Cadiz), and as it will most 

 probably have been seen but by few of the gentlemen present, I shall 

 be happy to find that its exhibition is acceptable. Azara statės that 

 the Canis jubatus has 6 incisors in the upper jaw, then on either 

 side of a vacant space follow 2 canines and 6 molar teeth, three of 

 which, however, look more likę incisors than molars; the lower jaw 

 is iit all respects similar to the upper, except that the interval is 

 wanting between the canine teeth and the incisors, and there is one 

 additional molar tooth ; in other respects the form and general cha- 

 racter of these animals are those of the Dog : they differ, however, 

 chiefly in being unsociable and nocturnal. The tail is much thicker 

 and more bushy, and they never raiše or curl it ; the body and neck 

 are skorter and covered with longer f ur ; the neck is also thicker ; the 

 hair too is thicker ; the eye is smaller, the face flatter ; the head 

 rounder and more bulky as far as the front of the eyes, where the 

 thick part diminishes more speedlly and terminates in a sharper 

 muzzle, fumished with wliiskers ; the ear is broader at its origin, 

 and thicker and stiffer, and when they are on the look out they pre- 

 sent the hollow part forwards and approximate their ears much 

 more than Dogs. They do not bark nor howl likę Dogs, nor is their 

 voice heard often ; in fact they so cry but seldom, and submit to be 

 killed without uttering a sound. Other discrepancies between his 

 two ' Zorros' and Dogs are added, but it is unnecessary to specify 

 them. I perfectly agrce with Azara that he has afForded sulticient 



No. LXIX. — Proceedings of the Zoologicajl. Society. 



