THE DOG TRIBE 



497 



If this formula be compared with the one given on p. 454, it will be seen that 

 the excess in the number of the teeth of a dog over those of a civet is owing to the 

 presence of an additional pair of molars in the lower jaw. This will not, however, 

 serve to distinguish between all the dogs and the civets, since the Indian wild dogs 

 have but two pairs of lower molars. In all cases there are four premolar teeth on 

 each side of both jaws. The cheek-teeth of the dogs are constructed on the same 

 general plan as those of the civets, the upper flesh-tooth having but two lobes to the 

 blade, while the lower flesh-tooth has a large heel posteriorly to the cutting blade ; 

 this heel being, however, relatively smaller than in the civets. In both dogs and 

 civets, the molars of the upper jaw have the same general triangular form. A good 

 idea of the characteristic 

 of the cheek-teeth of the 

 dogs will be gathered from 

 the accompaning figure, 

 while the skull repre- 

 sented on p. 355 shows 

 the lateral aspect of the 

 whole dental series. 



There are other char- 

 acteristics connected with 

 the skull, together with 

 many points in the struc- 

 ture of the soft parts, 

 which afford additional 

 means of distinguishing 

 the dogs from other Carni- 

 vores, but the above are 

 sufficient to define the 

 group, so far as living 

 forms are concerned. 



In their general uni- 



m. i of the lower jaw b indicates the hinder lobe of the cutting blade, and a its 

 forttlity Of Structure and inner cusp. (After Huxley, Proc.Zool.Soc.) 



outward appearance, the 



dogs differ widely from the civets, and more nearly resemble the cats. There is a 

 considerable amount of difference in external appearance between a fox and a wolf, 

 but intermediate forms connect them so closely that they are generally considered as 

 members of a single genus. On the other hand, three members of the family differ 

 so remarkably from all the rest, and also from one another, that they are regarded 

 as the representatives of as many genera. Some diversity of opinion exists as to the 

 advisability of also referring the Asiatic wild dogs to a distinct genus, but they are 

 here classed in the typical genus Canis. We thus have the whole of the existing 

 members of the family ranged under four genera, of which the last three are sever- 

 ally represented by a single species. 



With the marked exception of the Cape hunting-dog, all the members of the 

 family are characterized by their more or less uniform and sombre coloration ; in 

 3 2 



THE RIGHT TIPPER AND I.OWER CHEEK-TEETH OF THE COMMON 

 FOX ( A, A ) AND OF AZARA'S FOX ( B, 6). 



The letters/, m. i to^. m. 4 indicate the premolar, and m. i to m. 3 the molar 

 teeth \ p.m. 4 in the upper and m. i in the lower jaw, being the flesh-tooth. In 



