4 MAMMALS 



the fowl and the pigeon, known to have been derived from 

 a single wild species, lessens the forc^ of the argument. 



Darwin,* however, leans toward the theory of multiple 

 origin, and advances much convincing proof in support of 

 his belief. It is well known that many savage tribes have 

 dogs which appear to be simply half -tamed representatives 

 of the particular wild-dog-like animals inhabiting the same 

 regions. The dogs of the American Plains Indians closely 

 resemble the small prairie wolf or coyote ; the husky of the 

 north country is plainly not far removed from the gray 

 wolf; the German sheep-dog and the Samoyede are strik- 

 ingly wolf -like in appearance. Whether our present dogs 

 are the result of crossing these many simple derivatives of 

 wolves and jackals among themselves, or whether there 

 was an original ancestral dog, now extinct, with which 

 the blood of other species has become mingled, we do not 

 know. Domestic dogs have been shown to be perfectly 

 fertile, for several generations, with various wild species. 



According to Mivart,t the Dingo (Canis dingo) is the 

 only wild dog; still existing which meets the requirements of 

 an ancestor of our modern breeds. This species is found 

 throughout Australia, and fossil bones which have been 

 found show its presence there, from very early times. There 

 is reason to believe, however, that, remote as the period 

 must have been, the Dingo was introduced by man and is 

 not indigenous to Australia. It is certain that the Dingo 

 lends itself to captivity and is frequently kept by the 

 natives, whose dogs bear evidence of free interbreeding with 

 the wild species. This is a feature of great interest, and 

 it may be that in the Dingo we have an animal representing 

 the foundation stock of the domestic dog. 



* Darwin, Charles: Animals and Plants Under Domestication 

 (Westminster Edition), pp. 14-43. 



t Mivart, St. George : A Monograph of the Canidce, 1890, p. 168. 



