MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



Some of the anterior praemolars, and especially the first, may 

 disappear in late life, and the carnassial teeth are of large size. 

 Both of the upper molars and the last two of the lower molars 

 on each side are tuberculate. 



The true Dogs (i.e., the Dog and Wolf) have round or 

 oblique pupils, and a tail which is of moderate length and 

 rarely very hairy. The Foxes ( Vulpes] have very long bushy 

 tails, and the pupil contracts to a mere line. 



The Dog (Cants familiaris) is only known to us at the present day as a 

 domesticated animal. Such wild dogs as there are, are probably merely 

 derived from the domestic dog ; and the original stock, or stocks, from 

 which our numerous varieties of dogs have sprung, is still uncertain. It is 

 worth while remembering, however, that all our varieties of dogs are cap- 

 able of interbreeding ; and there is a strong probability that the Wolf is the 

 parent stock of at least some of our domestic breeds. The Dog, in fact, 

 will interbreed with both the Wolf and the Jackal. The "native dog" 

 (Cam's dingo] of Australia is generally supposed to be only a variety of the 

 Cants familiaris ; and this is certainly the case with the so-called "native 

 dog " of New Zealand. 



The genus Canis, besides the Dog, contains the well-known Jackal 

 (Cants aureus) and the Wolf (Cants lupus), and many writers place the 

 Foxes in the same genus. The Foxes, however, are better considered as 

 forming a separate genus ( Vulpes), of which there are many species, all 

 more or less like the common Fox ( Vulpes vulgaris). One of the most 

 remarkable species is the Arctic Fox ( Vulpes lagopus\ which abounds in 

 the Arctic regions, and changes its colour with the season, being brown or 

 bluish in summer, and white in winter. The soles of its feet are hairy. 

 Other well-known Foxes are the Red Fox ( V. fulvus) of North America, 

 the Deccan Fox ( V. Bengalensis} of India, and the Caama ( V. Caama) of 

 Africa. 



The Jackals have a round pupil, a long muzzle, and a dental formula 

 like that of the Dogs. They inhabit Asia and Africa, are gregarious, hunt 

 in packs, and burrow in the ground. Other species are found in South 

 America. 



One of the most aberrant members of the Canidce is the curious Lycaon 

 pictus or "Hunting Dog " of South Africa, which agrees with the Dogs in 

 its dentition and osteology, but resembles the Hyaenas in the fact that all 

 the feet are tetradactylous. Other aberrant members of the Canidce are 

 the long-eared Megalotis Lalandii of South Africa, and the Racoon-Dog 

 (Nyctereutes procyonoides) of Eastern Asia. 



The last group of the Digitigrada is that of the Felida or 

 Cat tribe, comprising the most typical members of the whole 

 order of the Carnivora, such as the Lions, Tigers, Leopards, 

 Cats, and Panthers. The members of this family all walk 

 upon the tips of their toes, the soles of their feet being hairy, 

 and the whole of the metacarpus and heel being raised above 

 the ground (fig. 424, C). The jaws are short, and owing to 

 this fact, and to the great size of the muscles concerned in 

 mastication, the head assumes a short and rounded form, with 

 an abbreviated and rounded muzzle. The molars and prae- 



