] 



THE SPECIES OF DOGS AND CATS. 617 



more blackish and reddish, till in Florida black wolves pre- 

 dominate, and in Texas red ones." (Jordan's Manual of 

 Vertebrates.) The prairie wolf or coyote (Canis latrans 

 Say), is characteristic of the Western plains and Pacific coast. 

 The Indian dogs breed with the coyote, and the offspring is 

 fertile. (Coues. ) This fact appears to support the theory 

 that the domestic dog (with its conventional name Canis 

 familiaris Linn.) is a descendant of the wolf. On the other 

 hand, Fitzinger in his "Researches on the Origin of the 

 Dog," states that fourteen kinds of dogs can be distinguished 

 in the Roman and Greek records ; of these he considers five 

 to be principal types or species, five others climatic varieties, 

 the remainder being either breeds artificially produced or 

 hybrids. As regards the Egyptian dogs, seven kinds may be 

 distinguished, besides the jackall, three of them being dis- 

 tinct species. He believes that wolves, jackalls, foxes, etc., 

 are species quite distinct from the domestic dog ; they 

 may have interbred with the latter, and thus influenced cer- 

 tain breeds ; but they are not the parents of the domestic 

 dog. He concludes that there are seven species among our 

 dogs : C. domesticus, extrarius or spaniel and Newfound- 

 land dogs, vertagus or badger dog, sagax or hound, tnolossus 

 or bulldog, Icporarius or greyhound, and the naked dog, 

 C. caribaus. Among half-wild dogs is the dingo or hunt- 

 ing-dog of Australia, which goes in packs. 



The Viverra and Genetta or civet cats, and the hyaenas 

 lead to the cat family, which stands at the head of the Oar- 

 nivora. The panther, leopard, tiger, and lion belong to the 

 genus Felis. The Felis concolor Linn., cougar or puma, 

 ranges over both continents; it is 1-1-3 metres in length. 

 The domestic cat, Felis domestica Linn., was first domes- 

 ticated in Egypt, the Greeks and Romans not possessing 

 it ; the cat and common marten were in use as domesticated 

 animals side by side ; and at the same time in Italy, nine 

 hundred years before the crusades. It appears that the do- 

 mestic cat of the ancients was Mnstela foina (Rolleston). 



Of the lynxes there are two species in North America, 

 Lynx rufus Rafinesque, the American wildcat, and the 

 Canada lynx, Lynx Canadensis Rafinesque, the latter being 

 much the larger species. 



