158 THE DINGO. 



" The Solomon-Island dog, now, of course, rapidly becoming absorbed 

 and crossed with the mangy curs brought down for the sake of their 

 teeth from Sydney by every trading-vessel, is assuredly a descendant of 

 the Dingo. I have seen individuals that in colour, shape of ears, general 

 expression, and other characteristics were hardly, except in size, to be 

 distinguished from that animal. I have noticed a similar but smaller 

 breed in Fiji among the natives, and I think that probably the Dingo is 

 the progenitor of the domestic dog of all the Pacific Islanders." 



It seems almost incredible that the Dingo can have entered Australia 

 without human aid, but nevertheless some conditions may have existed 

 that enabled it to do so, of which conditions we can now discover no 

 trace, and which we are unable to imagine. 



As before said, the Dingo varies in its coloration from red to black. 

 There is a greyish underfur, but, save in the black variety, the long 

 hairs are generally yellow or whitish. The top of the head and dorsal 

 region generally are of a darker reddish yellow, often intermixed with 

 black. The underparts are paler, and may be whitish. The end of the 

 tail is very often white, as are frequently the feet and sometimes the 

 muzzle, though this is also sometimes black. 



The animal may be of a uniformly light reddish or yellowish brown, 

 save that it is paler beneath, on the outside of the fore legs, below the 

 elbow, as well as on the inner side of the limbs and on the cheeks. 



Habitat. The continent of Australia. 



Centimeters. 



Length from end of snout to root of tail 103 



of tail 27 



„ from heel to end of longest digit 17 



„ of car 8 



Skeletal Characters. 



No noticeable and constant characters were found by us to distin- 

 guish the cranium and dentition of the Dingo from the skulls and teeth 

 of the other larger species of the genus Canis, such as the wolf and the 

 jackal. 



