54 THE MAGELLANTC DOG. 



haunches, and seemed to listen with much satisfaction to the dog, 

 which was running the scent on the mountain side above its head." 



The Colpeo is often spoken of as the Magellanic " Fox," but it has 

 no marked similarity to that animal, and it is a considerably larger and 

 stouter animal than is the European fox. As we have said, it was con- 

 founded by Molina with C. antarcticus, but it is a greyer and less red 

 animal, and the end of the tail is not white but black. It is also 

 a decidedly smaller animal. 



It may have a long, thick, and loose coat with abundant woolly 

 underfur, with long hair under the feet beneath the pads ; or it may 

 have short hair and more scanty underfur, with no long hair under 

 the feet. 



The hairs are much annulated, and the disposition of the apparently 

 resulting general coloration is thus irregular and varied. The back, 

 however, is dark, with more or less black. The sides of the body are 

 brownish grey, and the limbs are more or less rufous externally, and 

 of a lighter tint internally. The under surface of the lower jaw, the 

 throat, and the underparts are of a dirty yellowish white, as also are 

 the cheeks. The ears are dark-coloured externally, but have long 

 yellowish-white hairs within. The tail, which is bushy, is a light 

 reddish grey, save towards its tip and on the dorsum towards its root, 

 where it is black. 



Habitat. Tierra del Fuego and Chile. 



Centimeters. 



Length from snout to root of tail 88' 5 



oftail 41-0 



from heel to end of longest digit 16'0 



of ear 6'5 



Cranial and Dental Characters. 



The skull has a much elongated facial portion. The interorbital 

 region appears very little elevated when the skull is viewed in profile ; 

 behind it is a distinct sagittal ridge. The nasals extend a little 

 further backwards than do the nasal processes of the maxillae. The 

 suture between the palatines and the maxillae does not extend forwards 



