EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT. 73 



of that on the upper surface, and consists chiefly of the fine, 

 woolly under fur. 



Dentition. — The teeth are small and weak, much smaller than 

 in Nyctereutes procyonoides, and of not more than one-half the 

 size and strength of those in Vulpes lagopus. As nearly as could 

 be ascertained by an examination of the teeth of the living ani- 

 mal, the dental formula is as follows : 



Incisors ^-^: Canines — : Premolars =!3j Molars ^-^ 

 3-3 l-I 3-3 3-3 



MEASUREMENTS. 



Length of head and body 21.00 in. 



Tail to end of vertebrae 6.25 " 



Tail to end of hair 8.00 " 



Height at shoulders 10.25 " 



Girth, behind fore legs 14.00 " 



Length from inner corner of eye to end of nose . . 2.25 " 



Distance between inner corners of eyes 1.37 " 



Distance between inner corners of ears 3.00 " 



Height of ear 1.50 " 



Length of fore foot to end of middle claw 1.50 " 



Length of middle claw, exposed 50 " 



Length of hind foot, to end of longest claw 4.50 " 



Length of eye-opening 50 " 



Pupil, round; color of iris, dark brown. 

 End of nose, black. 

 Weight, y l / 2 pounds. 



Nomenclature. — In his "Monograph of the Canidae," Mr. St. 

 George Mivart not only discards the genus Nyctereutes, but also 

 the genera Vulpes and Urocyon, and throws all their members, 

 pell-mell, into Canis! The very least that can be said of such a 

 proceeding is to call it remarkable. To the average student of liv- 

 ing mammals it would seem that if generic groups ever are con- 

 venient and desirable, and also fully justified, Vulpes, Urocyon 

 and Nyctereutes are entitled to stand ; and the very appropriately- 

 named genus proposed by Temminck, in 1838, for the raccoon- 

 like dog of North China and Japan, is retained for the species de- 

 scribed above. 



