300 



ZOOLOGY. 



wolf. On the other hand, fourteen kinds of dogs can be 

 distinguished in the Eoman and Greek records; of these 

 five are principal types or species, five others climatic vari- 

 eties, the remainder being either breeds artificially pro- 

 duced or hybrids. As regards the Egyptian dogs, seven 

 kinds may be distinguished, three of them, besides the 

 jackal, being distinct species. Wolves, jackals, foxes, etc., 

 are species quite distinct from the domestic dog; they may 

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

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

 There are seven species among our dogs: C. domes ticus, 

 extrarius or spaniel and Newfoundland dogs, vertagus or 



Fig. 325.— Jaguar. South America. From LiitkeD's Zoology. 



badger dog, sagax or hound, molossus or bulldog, leporarius 

 or greyhound, and the naked dog, C. caribceus. Among 

 half-wild dogs is the dingo or hunting-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 Car- 

 nivora. The jaguar (Fig. 32t), panther, leopard, tiger, and 

 lion belong to the genus Felis. The Felis concolor, cougar, 

 panther, or puma, ranges over both continents; it is 1-1.3 

 metres in length. The panther destroys large numbers of, 

 porcupines, but feeds chiefly on young deer. Dr. Merriam 

 tells us that it springs upon the deer from the ground; " on 

 level ground a single spring of twenty feet is by no menus 



