FALKLAND ISLAND AGUARA DOG. 253 



the voyage of the Beagle. Captain Fitzroy having 

 favoured us with several communications on this 

 subject, has removed our former impressions, and 

 we now consider the antarctic animal distinct, not- 

 withstanding that there are none of the same species 

 on the neighbouring islands or on the main land, 

 and no other habitat can be ascribed to it than the 

 western Falkland Island. There is one more cause 

 of misapprehension requiring notice, and that is the 

 presence of two species, varieties or races not clearly 

 distinguished in the accounts, excepting by the dif- 

 ference of size, and possibly by the smaller having 

 a greater length of tail and more white about the 

 feet. The D, Antarticus is full three feet l(Jng, the 

 tail thirteen inches, and the height at the shoulder 

 fifteen inches ; the body is bulky, the legs low, and 

 the head wolf-like ; above, the colour is formed of 

 hairs ringed with black and fulvous, together with 

 dark tan ; the belly and inside of the limbs are pale 

 whitish buff, the throat dirty white, the middle of 

 the tail brown and the extremity white. There is 

 a well-preserved specimen in the Paris museum, 

 brought from the Falkland Islands. Mr Bourgain- 

 ville found it residing in burrows along the sea 

 downs; it had a feeble kind of barking, and fed 

 chiefly on birds. Buffon, who examined two speci- 

 mens, being deceived by the colours, concludes that 

 it was a race of the common fox. This conclusion 

 of the Count's was a natural result of his system, 

 which on the present occasion tended to confuse more 

 than to clear up the history of the canidae. 



