18 MAMMALIAN GALLERY. 



[Cases selection has gone so very much further, that the Dogs have 



'-' gradually lost nearly all traces of their wild ancestry, and have 



developed into the innumerable different races now existing, races 



so distinct that, were they natural instead of artificial, they would 



be referred to several different genera. 



Dogs were domesticated by man long before the earliest records 

 of history, their remains being found in association with the rude 

 implements of the ancient cave- and lake - dwellers of Central 

 Europe. 



Several varieties of the Domestic Dog are exhibited in Case 19; 

 in Case 20 two diminutive Lap-Dogs, not six inches long, and 

 representing the smallest development of the tribe as yet attained ; 

 behind them a head of the largest known Dog, a prize Great 

 Dane, the skeleton of which is mounted in the Osteological Gallery ; 

 the weight of this Dog when alive was nearly 13 stone. A speci- 

 men of the Dingo (Canis dingo), the Wild Dog of Australia, un- 

 doubtedly introduced in that continent, though longbefore the advent 

 of Europeans, and an example of the African Hunting-Dog (Lycaon 

 venaticus), remarkable for the possession of only four toes on each 

 of its feet, and for its superficial resemblance to the Hyaenas, are 

 exhibited in the same Cases. 



In the upper compartments of Cases 17 and 18 are the Wolves, 

 among them a specimen of the European Wolf (Canis lupus) from 

 Moscow, and one of the Black Wolf of Thibet (C. laniger). 

 Wolves range all over Europe, continental Asia, and North 

 America. The Jackals of Africa and India (Case 19) and the 

 Wild Dogs of India (Case 20) are smaller in size. 



Among the Foxes (Vulpes) maybe noticed the Common Fox (V. 

 vulgaris), the Cross-Fox of North America (V.pennsylvanica), and 

 others. The white race of the Arctic Fox (V. lagopus), one of the 

 most valuable fur-bearing animals, changes the colour of its coat 

 according to the season, like many other Arctic animals; while 

 the blue race retains its colour all the year round and yields in 

 winter a still more rich and valuable fur than the white. 



The beautiful large-eared Fennecs of Africa are closely allied to 

 the Foxes. The Bush-Dog of Guiana and Brazil (Icticyon vena- 

 ticus) and the Raccoon Dog of China and Japan (Nyctereutes 

 procyonoides) are other remarkable types of Dogs, very aberrant 



