MAMMALS CANiDAE CANIS OCCIDENTALS. 109 



length to condyles. The one nearest to this is a large head, not very mature, from Hayes 

 county, Texas, in which these proportions are 0.50 and 0.54. A small wolf from Saltillo, 

 (1379,) of about the same age or younger, is a little broader, compared with the total length, 

 and about the same compared with the distance to the posterior edge of the condyles. 



One of the most striking specimens before me is the one collected in Oregon by Mr. Peale, 

 and described by him as Canis ocddentalis. The skin has a good many characteristics of the 

 Sonora " Canis mexicanus," the under jaw quite dusky, a decided collar of black tipped hairs 

 in front of the shoulders, &c. The skull, too, is very similar, and of the same age, but is a 

 good deal larger ; both agree in standing higher, when laid flat on a table, than others, owing 

 partly to a higher ramus of the lower jaw, partly to the greater height of the cranium. The 

 elevation and swelling of the head just behind the postorbital processes in both is unusually 

 great. It is to this Oregon specimen that Townsend refers as being the same with his giant 

 wolf Lupus gigas. There are certainly some very remarkable proportions in the table of 

 measurements given by Dr. Morton in Townsend' s article on the giant wolf, although they are 

 not very different from those of the adult white wolves of the Upper Missouri. A skull of a 

 Swedish wolf (1035) is absolutely longer than that of the giant wolf, but rather narrower ; the 

 breadth of forehead is ten inches. In another specimen (1037) the zygomatic diameter is 

 greater than in the giant wolf, and the forehead measures 1.94. This would bo in the propor 

 tion of 2.15 inches to 2.40, if of the same length as that of the giant wolf. 



The Swedish and Russian wolves in the collection are every way as broad as those of the 

 Upper Missouri, and in fact there is no appreciable difference between No. 1037 and the average 

 of white wolf skulls in the Smithsonian collection. 



The skeletons of Missouri and Swedish wolves exhibit some interesting differences on com 

 parison, although I am unable to say whether these differences are constant and specific. No. 

 1308 from the Platte is a little larger than 1036 from northern Sweden, both being males. 

 Their skulls measure respectively 10 by 5.33 and 9.30 by 5.08, the proportions of transverse 

 diameter to longitudinal being as 53 to 100 in one, and 54 to 100 in the other. The cervical 

 vertebrae are about the same length ; those of the trunk, however, are considerably longer in 

 the American wolf. The scapula is considerably larger in the American wolf ; the cervix and 

 articular surfaces, on the contrary, are decidedly smaller and narrower. The humeri and bones 

 of the fore arm are of nearly the same length in both ; those of the American specimen, however, 

 appreciably more slender, particularly the ulna. The pelves of the two specimens are in about 

 the same proportions as the scapulas ; the femora are the same length, that of the Swedish 

 specimen the stoutest, especially at the lower extremity. The tibia of the Swedish wolf, however, 

 is absolutely longer, and in every way larger than the other. 



It thus appears from the above comparison that the long bones of the Swedish specimen are 

 stouter and longer in every way, particularly the tibia. The cervical vertebrae appear to be 

 larger and those of the trunk rather smaller. 



In conclusion, as already stated, I am not able to come to a decision as to the absolute num 

 ber of species of North American wolves. Of the existence of varieties of color, and perhaps 

 of form and internal structure, there is no doubt. The comparison of a large number of speci 

 mens from many localities, however, will be required to settle permanently all the questions 

 connected with this subject. For the present I prefer to consider all as one species, and to 

 assume this with good reason as distinct from some at least of the European wolves, if that 

 continent possesses more than one. 



