COMMON FOX. 183 



In its general form the Fox approaches to that of 

 the shepherd's dog. The head is of moderate size, 

 with an attenuated muzzle, the neck of ordinary 

 length, but strong, the body rather long and com- 

 pact, the limbs rather slender, the tail long and 

 bushy. The ears are large, erect, and rather 

 pointed ; the eyes of moderate size, with the pupil 

 elliptical ; the mouth opening to beneath the eyes ; 

 the snout rather small, the nostrils terminal, but 

 with a lateral slit ; the upper lip with a groove in 

 front. There are five toes on the fore feet, the 

 inner small and raised from the ground; four on 

 the hind feet ; the claws slightly arched, compressed, 

 bluntish, those of the hind toes broader. In each 

 jaw are six incisors, and two canine teeth ; in the 

 upper, six grinders on each side, in the lower seven. 

 The upper incisors, when unworn, are generally 

 diree-lobed, the lower two-lobed ; the canine teeth 

 are long, slightly curved, conical, and somewhat 

 compressed; the anterior three grinders have con- 

 siderable intervals, the rest are in contact ; the for- 

 mer are conical, compressed, with a posterior tu- 

 bercle ; the fourth large, compressed, with a large 

 conical point, a posterior elevated thin edge, and an 

 anterior internal tubercle; the fifth broader than 

 jbng, with two external and three internal points ; 

 the last exactly similar but smaller ; those of the 

 lower jaw are all compressed ; the first very small, 

 the next two nearly equal, compressed, with a coni- 

 cal point, and a posterior tubercle, the next similar, 

 with two posterior lobes ; the fifth very large, with 



