236 THE ARCTIC FOX. 



nal eyes, and are capable of some domesticity and 

 training.* 



All true foxes have so strict a resemblance be* 

 tween them, that a satisfactory distinction of species 

 is still impracticable. We intend to arrange them 

 according to their apparent affinity in the two con- 

 tinents, beginning with the northern, because, al- 

 though they are not typical, they may nevertheless 

 be considered as common to both the eastern and 

 western hemispheres. 



The Arctic Fox (Yulpes lagopus, Canis lago- 

 pus, LINN. ; Isatis, GMEL.) It is a question whe- 

 ther the pupils of the eyes in these animals be 

 elliptical, like those of true foxes, or not. "Wanting 

 better means of investigation, more attention is in 

 general bestowed upon the accessible characters of 

 fur and form, and, guided by outward similarities, 

 locations are determined upon, which further exa- 

 mination would not justify ; but where the question 

 must be decided by the form of the pupil, as in the 

 present case, and that form being difficult to observe, 

 it is no wonder, when once the idea was received 

 that the Arctic animal was a fox, that no further at- 

 tention should be paid to the circumstance, even by 

 those who possessed living individuals. Yet, judg- 

 ing from the form of the head, the rounded ears, the 

 barking voice, the confiding aspect, natural unsus- 

 piciousness, and ready familiarity evinced by this 

 species, we so far agree with Buffon that it is an 

 intermediate between the dog and fox, very nearly 

 * See Cynalopex, Dusicyon, and Megalotis. 



