SPECIES AND VAKlETJElS. 627 



Behring's Straits, by Baffin's Bay, to the desolate shores of 

 Greenland ; and he extends through all the wilds of North 

 America, to the narrow isthmus which separates the Pacific 

 from the Caribbean Sea. 



Within these vast limits, it may well be inferred that the 

 Wolf has assumed characters which fit him for the varied 

 conditions in which he must exist, with respect to place, cli- 

 mate, and the nature and abundance of his prey. According- 

 ly, he is often found so changed in colour, form, and gene- 

 ral aspect, that naturalists remain in doubt whether certain 

 wolves are to be regarded as distinct from one another, or 

 varieties of the same specific form. Of these there are two, 

 which naturalists generally regard as distinct species, the 

 Black Wolf, and the Dusky Wolf. 



The Black Wolf, Lupus Lycaon, is sometimes termed the 

 Pyrenean Wolf, from his being the prevailing kind of that 

 lofty chain ; but he inhabits other mountainous parts of 

 Southern Europe, and appears to extend to the countries 

 of the Arctic Ocean. He re-appears, likewise, of the same 

 or nearly allied species, in the New World, stretching from 

 the Arctic Circle into Florida. He has muscular limbs, and 

 a shaggy coat, and is more like a dog than even the Com- 

 mon Wolf; and, indeed, so much resembles the Dogs of some 

 countries of Europe, that, to the eye, he appears to be the 

 same. The Dark or Dusky Wolf (Lupus nubilus, Willd.) in- 

 habits likewise the high latitudes of both continents, but has 

 scarcely the same claim to be regarded as a distinct species 

 as the Black Pyrenean Wolf ; and, in truth, neither differs 

 .so much from the Common Wolf as others which are regarded 

 as varieties. 



The Common Wolf, which may be regarded as the type of 

 the group, is about the size of the larger class of the domes- 

 ticated dogs. But he is longer in the body than they : his 

 limbs are stouter, the ball of the foot is more hairy, and the 

 claws are larger. The incisor teeth are more projecting, 

 and his canines more trenchant and strong. His eyes, which 



