462 DOG TRIBE 



THE CUBEROW 



( Cants siinensis} 



Cuberow, ABYSSINIAN 



(PLATE XV, fig. 8) 



On account of its rarity and zoological interest a few lines may be 

 devoted to the cuberow, or so-called Abyssinian wolf, of the highlands of 

 central Abyssinia, which, although described by Ruppell so long ago as 

 1835, was scarcely known in England, except by its skull, till a few 

 years ago, when skins were brought home by Major Powell-Cotton. 



Although called a wolf by the older writers, the cuberow is 

 regarded by Mr. Oscar Neumann (as quoted by the Hon. Walter 

 Rothschild in the appendix to Powell -Cotton's Sporting Trip to 

 Abyssinia) as an overgrown fox ; its habits, gait, and actions generally 

 being described as essentially those of a fox. The length and slender- 

 ness of the muzzle of the skull (in which the premolar teeth are small 

 and widely sundered) is another fox-like character. More important 

 is the fact that the skull is fox-like in having the upper surface of the 

 projection behind the socket of the eye hollow instead of convex. 



Mr. Pocock, in the work cited under the heading of jackals, refuses, 

 however, to admit the foxy affinity of the cuberow, and places it between 

 the wolves and the jackals, although remarking that it differs more 

 from the former than does the Egyptian representative of the latter. 

 It is certainly neither a wolf nor a jackal. 



In size the cuberow is stated by Mr. Pocock not to exceed the 

 Egyptian jackal ; while its prevailing colour is given as light yellowish 

 red speckled with black. The tail, which is black-tipped, is darker 

 above than the back ; the lower surface of its basal portion, together 

 with the margins of the mouth, the chest, under-parts, and the inner 

 surfaces of the limbs being white. The total length of the animal is 

 about 50 inches, of which 10 are taken up by the tail. 



Even in its native home, the mountains of Simien, the cuberow is 

 a rare animal, although several examples were seen alive by Major 

 Powell-Cotton during his adventurous expedition to that region. 



