622 CARXIVORA. 



The distribution is that of the family. The genus dates from the Miocene,* 

 or possibly even from the Eocene. t There are 35 species which maybe 

 divided into the fox-like and the wolf -like, Aust., 1 sp. (C. dingo), Neotrop. 

 9 sp., Ethiopian 7 sp., Oriental 3 sp., Nearct. 9 sp., Pal. 13 sp. C. lupus, 

 wolf, Pal. and Nearct., extinct in England since 1660, in Ireland since 1770 ; 

 C. aureus, jackal, Pal. and Orient. ; C. rutilans, dukhunensis, javaanicus, 

 wild dogs of S.E. Asia ; C. cancrivorus, brasiliensis, etc., wild dogs of S. 

 Amer. ; C. latrans, the prairie wolf ; C. dingo, the Australian dingo, sup- 

 posed by some on no particular grounds to have been introduced by man ; 

 C. vulpes, common fox, with other species ; C. lagopus the arctic fox, 

 changing colour to white. The origin of the domestic dogs is unknown. 

 Probably they have originated from several wild species in different parts 

 of the world. They have long been domesticated, and many primitive 

 peoples at the present time possess them. The mental qualities which fit 

 them to be the companion of man seem to be possessed in varying degrees 

 by more than one species of the genus. Lycaon Brookes, 1 sp. S. Afr., 

 L. pictus the Cape hunting dog. Ic.tic.yon Lund, 1 sp., S. Amer., /. venati- 

 cus, bush dog, m ^. Otocyon Licht., p % m ~^, 1 sp. O. megalotis 

 S. Afr. 



There are several extinct genera, Cynodiclis, Temnocyon, Qalecynus, 

 Amphicyon, Dinocyon, Simocyon. Some of these connect the Canidae 

 with the Viverridae and Ursidae. 



In Cynodictis, U. Eocene, Europe, the dental formula is as in Canis, the 

 teeth like those of the Viverridae ; the auditory bulla is inflated and without 

 septum and there is an entepicondylar foramen. Amphicyon L. and M., 

 Miocene, Europe, on the other hand is dog-like by its dentition but ap- 

 proaches the Ursidae by its limbs which are pentadactyle arid plantigrade. 



ARCTOIDEA. 



Fam. 1. Ursidae. Dantition with some slight variations is i f c | 

 p ^ m f ; the carnassial teeth differ from those of the dogs and cats ; 

 the upper carnassial (p 4) with two outer cusps and an inner posterior 

 cusp without a separate root ; the anterior premolars small transient and 

 sometimes absent ; upper molars quadratic or oblong with multituber- 

 culate crowns, the last is the largest ; in the lower jaw the three anterior 

 premolars are small and may fall out early as in the upper, the carnassial 

 (m 1) is elongated, the front part has three cusps and there is a large 

 tuberculated talon ; m 2 is multituberculate and larger than m 1, m 3 is 

 smaller than either. The milk teeth are small and shed early. The skull 

 is rather elongated. The tympanic bulla is depressed, and there is no 

 septum ; the tympanic is prolonged for a considerable distance on the 

 floor of the external auditory meatus, the paroccipital process is separate 

 from the mastoid process ; the condylar foramen is distinct from the 

 foramen lacerum posterius ; the carotid foramen is large and placed on 

 the inner margin of the bulla, the alisphenoid canal is present except in 

 Aeluropus. Plantigrade ; pentadactyle, with short tail and large os penis. 

 The humerus is without entepicondylar foramen. There is no caecum, 

 and the kidneys are lobate. They are large omnivorous carnivores which 

 feed on flesh, fruits, roots, honey, etc., and are distinguished from all other 



* Scott, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. 18, 1894, p. 75. 

 t Marsh, Amer. Journ. Sci., 1871, p. 123.1 



