MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 77 



finger on any one species of wolf and say this is the stock from 

 which the dog sprang. It has been observed that the domestic 

 dog in countries where only partially domesticated resembles 

 very closely its wild neighbors, while in more civilized lands 

 where the dog has become the companion of iran, it is more 

 difficult to detect the resemblance to any wild race. The mon- 

 uments of Egypt contain drawings of various species of do 

 mestic dogs and there is no doubt that in every period and in 

 all countries man has brought this willing servant under his 

 yoke. Careful investigations therefore seem to have proved 

 that our various races of dogs have been derived from various 

 species of wild dogs with round pupils which different peoples 

 have independently domesticated and finally caused to in 

 terbreed. The influences of civilization have constantly in- 

 creased the natural tendency to variation until different breeds 

 of dogs differ from each other more than the most widely 

 diverse species of the wild representatives of the genus Canis. 

 In Minnesota we have representatives of two genera, and but 

 three species. 



GENUS CANIS. LINN. 



This genus contains the larger species with long limbs and 

 round pupils; the post-orbital process of the frontal bone is very 

 convex, curving strongly downward. The fox- like wolves of 

 South America furnish the transition between the genera Canis 

 and Vulpes. 



Canis lupus L. 



The evidence that our timber-wolf, so called, is identical with 

 the wolf of Europe, has been very complete, even since the 

 days of Richardson, and, although Prof. Baird cast the great 

 weight of nis opinion against such identity, the greater number 

 of modern authors in Europe as well as America, now consider 

 them the same. Dr. J. A. Allen in his list of the ''Mammalia 

 of Massachusetts" has summarized the evidence in a way quite 

 satisfactory to the writer, and we shall enter into no discussion 

 of the subject. 



The following tabulation of the varieties found is extracted 

 from the Zoology of the 100th Meridian Reports. 



a. WHITE WOLVES Canis lupus, albus SABINE, etc. 

 White, pure or washed with yellowish, with or without 

 black-tipped tail. Among the largest. Northerly or 

 Alpine. 



